Establishment and Implementation of Guidelines for Narrative Audio-based Room-scale Virtual Reality using Practice-based Methods

Room-scale Virtual Reality (VR) presents sound designers with new challenges to tell stories with audio in games with player-driven narratives. These challenges arise from the player moving in and interacting with the virtual environment. The paper performs a small scoping review of VR/non-VR games and associated literature to identify issues and solutions to the placement of speech-based audio using practice-based research methods. The review leads to the proposition of design guidelines and strategies for their implementation. The paper advocates that each instance of speech-based audio should be short, interactive, and complemented by non-speech audio. Furthermore, each instance’s spatial, interactive, visual, aural, and narrative representation should be considered in combination. The paper also suggests that 3D-binaural audio informed by physics can aid storytelling and make virtual environments player-responsive

Countering the Novelty Effect: A Tutorial for Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environments

Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) is a new technology, the novelty effect of which can reduce the enjoyment of iVR experiences and, especially, learning achievements when presented in the classroom; an effect that the interactive tutorial proposed in this research can help overcome. Its increasingly complex levels are designed on the basis of Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, so that users can quickly gain familiarity with the iVR environment. The tutorial was included in an iVR learning experience for its validation with 65 users. It was a success, according to the user satisfaction and tutorial usability survey. First, it gained very high ratings for satisfaction, engagement, and immersion. Second, high skill rates suggested that it helped users to gain familiarity with controllers. Finally, a medium-high value for flow pointed to major concerns related to skill and challenges with this sort of iVR experience. A few cases of cybersickness also arose. The survey showed that only intense cybersickness levels significantly limited performance and enjoyment; low levels had no influence on flow and immersion and little influence on skill, presence, and engagement, greatly reducing the benefits of the tutorial, despite which it remained useful.This work was partially supported by the ACIS project (Reference Number INVESTUN/21/BU/0002) of the Consejeria de Empleo e Industria of the Junta de Castilla y León (Spain), the Erasmus+ RISKREAL Project (Reference Number 2020-1-ES01-KA204-081847) of the European Commission and the HumanAid Project (Reference Number TED2021-129485B-C43) of the Proyectos Estratégicos Orientados a la Transición Ecológica y a la Transición Digital of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Holo-BLSD – A holographic tool for self-training and self-evaluation of emergency response skills

In case of cardiac arrest, prompt intervention of bystanders can be vital in saving lives. Basic Life Support and Defibrillation (BLSD) is a procedure designed to deliver a proficient emergency first response. Developing skills in BLSD in a large part of the population is a primary educational goal of resuscitation medicine. In this context, novel computer science technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can alleviate some of the drawbacks of traditional instructor-led courses, especially concerning time and cost constraints. This paper presents Holo-BLSD, an AR system that allows users to learn and train the different operations involved in BLSD and receive an automatic assessment. The system uses a standard manikin which is quotes{augmented} by an interactive virtual environment that reproduces realistic emergency scenarios. The proposed approach has been validated through a user study. Subjective results confirmed the usability of the devised tool and its capability to stimulate learners' attention. Objective results indicated no statistical significance in the differences between the examiners' evaluation of users who underwent traditional and AR training; they also showed a close agreement between expert and automatic assessments, suggesting that Holo-BLSD can be regarded as an effective self-learning method and a reliable self-evaluation tool

An Analysis of Presence and User Experiences Over Time

This manuscript presents the result of a series of studies intended to shed light on understanding how trends regarding user experiences in VR changes over time when engaging with VR games. In my first study, I explored how user experiences compared when playing Minecraft on the desktop against playing Minecraft within an immersive virtual reality port. Fourteen players completed six 45 minute sessions, three sessions were played on the desktop, and three in VR. The Gaming Experience Questionnaire, i-Group presence questionnaire, and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire were administered after each session, and players were interviewed at the end of the experiment. Survey data showed substantial increases in presence and positive emotions when playing Minecraft in VR while multiple themes emerged in participant interviews: participants\u27 heightened emotional experiences playing Minecraft in VR was closely linked to feelings of immersion and improved sense of scale; participants overall enjoyed using motion controls, though they felt indirect input was better for some actions; and players generally disliked traveling via teleportation, as they found it disorienting and immersion-breaking. In my second study, I identified temporal shifts in user perceptions that had taken place within the first two years that consumer VR devices had become available. To consider what could be learned about the long-term use of consumer VR devices, I analyzed online forums discussions devoted to specifically VR. I gathered posts made on the /r/Vive subreddit from the first two years after the HTC Vive\u27s release. Over time, users moved from passive to active as their attitudes and expectations towards presence and simulator sickness matured. The significant trends of interest found to influence this was game design implementation and locomotion techniques. In my third study, again, I examined the data taken from the /r/Vive subreddit forum posts to gain further insights into the scope of what ``lingering effects\u27\u27 users had reported experiencing after using VR and the progression of these effects over time. After identifying search terms designed to discover comments made about lingering effects, I found three significant categories of lingering effects (besides simulator sickness) during my qualitative analysis: perceptual effects, behavioral effects, and changes in dreams. The perceptual and behavioral categories were further divided into sub-themes; including disruption of body ownership and proprioception, loss of a sense of depth in the real world, visual after effects, the need to verify the reality of the natural world through touch, hesitation when moving in the real world, and attempts to apply VR interaction metaphors to real-life interactions. After identifying these categories of effects, I mapped out how these effects progressed concerning time. In particular, I coded data according to four temporal concepts: 1) how long must be spent in VR to trigger an effect, 2) how long before the onset of an effect upon exiting VR, 3) the duration of any specific effect, and 4) the total duration that all effects can continue to occur overall. In my fourth study, I examined how user experiences and trends regarding presence changed throughout a single gaming session. Participants were immersed in a virtual experience called \u27The Secret Shop\u27 and given instructions to explore their surroundings with no guided direction. After their experience ended, users performed an After Action Review (AAR) while watching a recording of their recent experience, followed by a semi-structured interview. I graphed each user\u27s feelings of presence over time from second to second using the results of the After Action Review. Presence was shown in these graphs to both rise and fall, gradually and rapidly, throughout the course of each user\u27s experience. The analysis of both the graphs and the interviews then showed that presence was significantly impacted by user expectations, affordance inconsistencies, and the intensity of engagement experienced throughout the session. In my final study, I loaned out VR headsets to local novice users to track their perceptions of presence across the span of four weeks. Users were given the freedom to explore any VR games and applications of interest to them off-site to simulate regular VR consumer experiences. In this study, I analyzed how over time, novice users gradually evolved in their understanding of presence and what became most important to them in order to maintain and create it in the form of visual appeal, interaction techniques, and locomotion. I also found that the levels of engagement experienced across games were shown to be linked to whether users experienced lingering effects, how their perceptions of time spent within VR had been altered, and whether or not they retained any interest in investing in future VR-related purchases

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2022, held in Hamburg, Germany, in May 2022. The 36 regular papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 129 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: haptic science; haptic technology; and haptic applications

Learning to birth, mastering the social practice of birth: conceptualising birthing women as skilful and knowledgeable agents

In this thesis, I draw inspiration from Bourdieu’s theory of practice to inform a conceptualisation of birthing women as skilful and knowledgeable agents. The study contributes to geographical knowledge about spaces of birth and about how these represent key sites of learning. Empirical data were collected in 2011/12 through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 women living in North-West England (involving 68 childbirth experiences). Two key themes emerged from the women’s narratives: the prevalence of trouble (and how this is accepted as ‘just the way things are’) and routine (and non-medically indicated) diversions from an undisturbed physiological birth process. This thesis argues that rather than representing a space in which women might learn to protect the physiological process of birth, successive experiences of birth seem to represent a space in which many women learn to shut down that possibility. Rather, they prioritise defensive action to protect themselves against emotional and physical harm, with some women learning that a physiological approach to birth is unnecessary, abnormal and dangerous. Whilst there is evidence that some women learn to birth physiologically over their childbearing careers by drawing on their experiential knowledge, the main finding is that being skilful and knowledgeable as a birthing woman frequently works in the opposite direction. The study thus offers new understandings of birthing women as skilful and knowledgeable agents and explores the diversity of women’s learning about birth by drawing a distinction between how women come to master the social practice of birth and how they learn to birth physiologically over their childbearing careers. For the wider academy, this study brings a renewed emphasis on the key role of childbearing women in the social practice of birth

Effectiveness of intensive physiotherapy for gait improvement in stroke: systematic review

Introduction: Stroke is one of the leading causes of functional disability worldwide. Approximately 80% of post-stroke subjects have motor changes. Improvement of gait pattern is one of the main objectives of physiotherapists intervention in these cases. The real challenge in the recovery of gait after stroke is to understand how the remaining neural networks can be modified, to be able to provide response strategies that compensate for the function of the affected structures. There is evidence that intensive training, including physiotherapy, positively influences neuroplasticity, improving mobility, pattern and gait velocity in post-stroke recovery. Objectives: Review and analyze in a systematic way the experimental studies (RCT) that evaluate the effects of Intensive Physiotherapy on gait improvement in poststroke subjects. Methodology: Were only included all RCT performed in humans, without any specific age, that had a clinical diagnosis of stroke at any stage of evolution, with sensorimotor deficits and functional gait changes. The databases used were: Pubmed, PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) and CENTRAL (Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials). Results: After the application of the criteria, there were 4 final studies that were included in the systematic review. 3 of the studies obtained a score of 8 on the PEDro scale and 1 obtained a score of 4. The fact that there is clinical and methodological heterogeneity in the studies evaluated, supports the realization of the current systematic narrative review, without meta-analysis. Discussion: Although the results obtained in the 4 studies are promising, it is important to note that the significant improvements that have been found, should be carefully considered since pilot studies with small samples, such as these, are not designed to test differences between groups, in terms of the effectiveness of the intervention applied. Conclusion: Intensive Physiotherapy seems to be safe and applicable in post-stroke subjects and there are indications that it is effective in improving gait, namely speed, travelled distance and spatiotemporal parameters. However, there is a need to develop more RCTs with larger samples and that evaluate the longterm resultsN/

Advances in Minimally Invasive Surgery

The minimally invasive approach in medicine is one of the most common areas of interest in surgery.Advances in Minimally Invasive Surgery describes the latest trends, indications, techniques, and approaches in minimally invasive surgery. It provides step-by-step instructions for both routine and diagnostic procedures via illustrations and video collection

Neo-worlds: Transformative Agency through Fright, Rite, and Myth

This practiced-based artistic research project traces the power of rite and of active mythic thinking to resignify modern experiences of fright, from barren and isolating experiences to potential sources of learning and transformation. It uses my own near-death experience in childbirth as case to explore how ritual action and active mythic thinking might serve to mend the gap instilled by fright between frightened subjects and their surroundings. Similarly, the project investigates how active mythic thinking may equally operate on the levels of society and culture to help generate collective other-becoming beyond modernity’s organisation of humanity and nature. The critical reflection is carried out in dialogue with: A) contemporary art theory and anthropological theory regarding myth and ritual, as well as liminal and liminoid states of being, and auto-ethnography. B) my own artworks and experiments carried out throughout my years as an artistic research fellow to familiarise myself with methods of active mythic thinking on practical, artistic and embodied—rather than theoretical—levels. C) the works of fellow artists. The project culminates in the exhibition Rovhistorier | Histories of Predation at O — Overgaden, which focuses on the shapeshifting figure of the mermaid or -man in the dissident mythic heritages of the peri-Atlantic regions, among them the Danish West Coast. Imaginarily appropriating the predatory gazes of the Atlantic grey shark—in Danish: the ‘havkal,’ i.e. merman—and the modern microscope (the latter as a technoscientific cipher), the exhibition performs the human desire to know, and negotiate with, obliging forces across distant locations in time and space. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dette praksis-baserte kunstneriske forskningsprosjektet undersøker kraften til riter og aktiv mytisk tenkning for å gjenforhandle moderne opplevelser av skrekk, fra golde og isolerende opplevelser til potensielle kilder til læring og transformasjon. Prosjektet er basert i min egen nærdøds-erfaring i fødsel, som brukes som case for å utforske hvordan aktiv mytisk tenkning kan tjene til å bygge bro over det gapet som skrekken innpoder mellom skremte subjekter og omgivelserne deres. På samme måte undersøker prosjektet hvordan rituel handling og aktiv mytisk tenkning kan fungere på like nivåer i samfunnet og kulturen for å bidra til å generere kollektiv transformasjon bakom modernitetens organisering av menneskeheten og naturen. Den kritiske refleksjonen gjennomføres i dialog med: A) samtidskunstteori og antropologisk teori om myte og ritualer, samt liminale og liminoide værenstilstander og autoetnografi. B) mine egne kunstverk og eksperimenter utført gjennom mine år som kunstnerisk stipendiat for å gjøre meg kjent med metoder for aktiv mytisk tenkning på praktiske, kunstneriske og legemliggjorte—snarere enn teoretiske—nivåer. C) verkene til andre kunstnere. Prosjektet kulminerer i utstillingen Rovhistorier | Histories of Predation ved O — Overgaden, som fokuserer på havfruen eller -mannen som en formskiftende og transformativ figur i dissidente nedarvede myter på tværs av det peri-atlantiske område, blant annet langs den danske vestkysten. Ved å tenke seg å tilegne seg rovvilts-blikket til håkjerringa—det vil si ‘havfruen,’ eller på dansk: 'havkalen:' ‘havmannen’—så vel som det moderne mikroskopet (dette som et teknovitenskapelig chiffer), performer utstillingen menneskets ønske om å kjenne til, og forhandle med, forpliktende krefter på tværs av fjerne steder i tid og rom