A Survey of Cognitive and Psychological Factors Effective on Travelling

Nowadays, due to the advances of many industries people tend to travel much more in compared to the past. Without any doubt, various types of climates and weathers, vemacular diseases, changes in life style and qualitative and quantitative changes of nutrition are all the factors of which many diseases occur during trips. Travel associated anxieties and fears are common. It has been suggested that enjoyment of travel depends upon a predisposition to cope well with a variety of physical and psychological stresses. In this study we have aimed to survey the cognitive and psychological factors effecting the passengers as they travel

3D virtual environment as a sport psychological rehabilitation tool to enhance performance of volleyball athletes

This study identified the pre-competitive state anxiety level among volleyball athletes in Malaysia by assessing psychology changes on the cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, self-confidence and several physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure and skin conductance. A 3D virtual environment intervention program was then introduced as a psychological rehabilitation tool to enhance athlete’s self-confidence level and to reduce their anxiety levels. The 3D virtual environment follows Paivio’s theoretical framework, in which implementation of virtual learning of different skill sets, external factors of the environment and match strategies were introduced in stages using a cost-effective Google Cardboard HMD unit. A quasi experimental design consists of 20 respondents in an experimental group and 20 respondents in a control group was conducted within a period of one month with 12 sessions for the experimental group, while the control group only followed the regular volleyball training. The findings clearly demonstrated an overall improvement upon completion of the psychological rehabilitation program. The experimental group results displayed positive changes in terms of the psychological responses where the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test indicated statistically significant improvements for cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence for the experimental group (Z> ±1.96). The T-Distribution test also indicated statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) of the physiological responses (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and skin conductance) for the experimental group. However, the results of control group indicated lack of improvements or insignificant changes in both psychological and physiological responses. Therefore, it was proven that 3D virtual environment can be utilized as an effective psychological rehabilitation tool to overcome the pre-competitive state anxiety levels and to enhance the self-confidence level of volleyball athletes

Arvonluonti virtuaalitodellisuuden ja lisätyn todellisuuden avulla

The technologies of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) have huge potential and their market value has been predicted to reach $100 billion within the next few years. However, the lack of peer-reviewed literature and the media-hype concerning these new technologies makes it difficult to tell the difference between quality information and exaggerated expectations. Therefore, there is a need for research about VR/AR solutions and the value potential they propose. In this study the case study method was applied, together with a method called the business model canvas, to answer the research question: how do enterprises create value with VR/AR solutions and how this value can be communicated? Material was collected from multiple sources and qualitatively analysed to form 10 different VR/AR related business models from 5 different industries. The goal was to examine the key value creation processes in VR/AR business models. As a result, each individual VR/AR business model case had their own specific insights about how enterprises create value with VR/AR. However, when analysed together, the 10 business model cases also revealed common themes of value creation of VR/AR solutions as a whole. The most important value creation opportunities of the technologies lie within their ability to: 1) provide more engaging experiences as well as the possibility to create more engaging content, 2) improve previous graphical user interfaces by eliminating complexity, 3) reduce costs by transforming physical resources to virtual resources, and 4) improve communication and collaboration. In addition, companies can support these value creation opportunities with various business model processes that fit the current state of the VR/AR business ecosystem. The business model canvas works well as a method for communicating the value creation process of VR/AR enterprises. In addition, the method is suitable for creating new VR/AR business models and/or improving existing ones. However, the lack of common practices and transparency in how the method is used can often diminish its value as a communication and collaboration tool. This study proposes one possible way to use the business model canvas. However, there exists a need for further research regarding the business model canvas and how it should be used in both business and research context