Coaching and Development of Volleyball Based on Social Skills for Positive Youth Development

The holistic approach to developing volleyball skills that incorporates social skills is essential in shaping the character and life skills of young athletes. Social skills such as cooperation, communication, and trust not only impact performance on the field but also shape the morals and values of participants beyond sports. The roles of coaches, teachers, and educators are crucial in guiding students in the world of sports. This study utilized the Quasi Experimental Design "The Matching Only Pretest Posttest Control Group," comparing the treatment group receiving volleyball training integrated with social skills against the control group receiving conventional training. The research aimed to evaluate the impact of integrating sports values on participants' understanding of these values in the context of sports. The research findings indicate that volleyball training integrated with social skills significantly positively impacted the participants' social skill development. Practical recommendations include strengthening cooperation through regular exercises and evaluations, enhancing verbal and nonverbal communication skills, promoting empathy and appreciation for differences, focusing on collaboration within the team, and providing specific training to build trust among team members. Integrating these aspects into sports training programs not only enhances athletes' performance but also equips them with profound social skills. Coaches must take a proactive role as role models, creating youths who are not only skilled in sports but also possess strong social skills. This approach provides a solid foundation for the development of successful athletes and valuable individuals in society

A comparison of presence and emotion between immersive virtual reality and desktop displays for musical multimedia

Visual and auditory immersion influence sense of presence, and in some cases emotional response. However, these have previously been tested separately and it is unknown whether and how immersion influences experiences combining both, as found in musical multimedia. A within-participants experiment compared participants’ sense of presence (feeling of ‘being there’), and induced and perceived emotions, when experiencing a classical concert performance presented over headphones on a desktop PC (2D video with headlocked sound reproduction) or in virtual reality (VR) (head-mounted display presenting 360° video and reactive spatial sound reproduction). Emotion was measured by self-report questionnaires based on a three-dimensional model (pleasantness, tense arousal and energetic arousal) and presence was measured using four items (Sense of physical space, Engagement, Ecological Validity and Negative Effects). Participants experienced a significant increase in pleasantness and all dimensions of presence in VR compared to the desktop condition. Ratings of felt arousal and perceived emotions did not significantly differ between conditions. The “engagement” component of presence was positively correlated with emotion felt and perceived, whereas “ecological validity” and “sense of physical space” were related to emotions experienced in the desktop condition only. The role of presence should therefore be considered when investigating emotional responses to musical multimedia

Perspective on the Double Edges of Virtual Reality in Medicine - both Addiction & Treatment

Although the therapeutic potential of virtual reality has been foreseen since over half a century ago, the lack of graphical processing power made it impossible to apply in medical therapeutic sciences until last decade; nowadays, the hardware required for virtual reality is even 100 times more affordable. A head-mounted display induces immersivity engulfing the subject’s eyesight perception in a stereoscopic manner. The same tool that may aid better self understanding and bonding can also trigger psychopathological mechanisms through which the user becomes alienated from the real world. As virtual reality became even more popular during SARS-COV2 pandemic, users worldwide have spent more time into a virtual world. Depersonalization/derealization syndrome can occur if virtual reality is abused. The greater the person’s involvement in virtual reality, the greater the chance of a lack of bodily self (depersonalization). Controllers that mimic hands could prevent the subject from acknowledging the real world as true – derealization. Virtual reality’s dissociative potential is related to individual psychological traits and prolonged exposure. Children are the most prone to develop behavioral changes. Adults may develop behavioral problems related to virtual reality gaming, gambling, pornography and also social networking through created avatars. Blue light wavelength could harm sleep architecture and circadian rhythm by disrupting melatonin, therefore making virtual reality exposure problematic after sunset. State of the art reveals that using virtual reality in a therapeutic manner, actually facilitates the fight against addictions with cue therapy intended to extinguish conditioned response. The exposure to a substance (nicotine, alcohol, or any other psychoactive recreational abuse potential substances) can trigger craving in a controlled environment, that is malleable in the hands of the therapist. Virtual reality can offer an exposure perspective that is both vivid enough to be a challenge, but also safe enough to ensure patient involvement and to amplify the therapeutic alliance.</p

Coaching and Development of Volleyball Based on Social Skills for Positive Youth Development

The holistic approach to developing volleyball skills that incorporates social skills is essential in shaping the character and life skills of young athletes. Social skills such as cooperation, communication, and trust not only impact performance on the field but also shape the morals and values of participants beyond sports. The roles of coaches, teachers, and educators are crucial in guiding students in the world of sports. This study utilized the Quasi Experimental Design "The Matching Only Pretest Posttest Control Group," comparing the treatment group receiving volleyball training integrated with social skills against the control group receiving conventional training. The research aimed to evaluate the impact of integrating sports values on participants' understanding of these values in the context of sports. The research findings indicate that volleyball training integrated with social skills significantly positively impacted the participants' social skill development. Practical recommendations include strengthening cooperation through regular exercises and evaluations, enhancing verbal and nonverbal communication skills, promoting empathy and appreciation for differences, focusing on collaboration within the team, and providing specific training to build trust among team members. Integrating these aspects into sports training programs not only enhances athletes' performance but also equips them with profound social skills. Coaches must take a proactive role as role models, creating youths who are not only skilled in sports but also possess strong social skills. This approach provides a solid foundation for the development of successful athletes and valuable individuals in society

Virtual reality-based interventions for patients with paranoia:A systematic review

Background and objective: Paranoia is an important psychiatric symptom with a remarkable effect on daily life. Virtual reality (VR)-based treatments are influential and safe for patients with paranoia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness, and define the clinical and technical characteristics of available VR strategies for the treatment of patients with paranoia. Materials and methods: Studies published up to 25/11/2021 reporting VR-based interventions for the treatment of patients with paranoia were reviewed in five databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Results: Out of 302 initial search results, eight were included in the present study based on the inclusion criteria. Six studies were randomized clinical trials with the interventions in the experimental group being based on VR, compared to routine interventions as controls. Two were before-after studies. The most commonly used hardware and software were head-mounted display and Unity3D, respectively. Interventions had a range of 1-16 sessions with follow-up durations of 0-6 months. All investigations showed positive results in the main target, including improved social participation, reduced level of anxiety, as well as diminished suspicious ideas and paranoid symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that VR-based interventions are effective treatments. Although the use of VR technology is limited for a variety of reasons, such as cost, it improves symptoms in patients with paranoia

Deep Learning Development Environment in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) offers immersive visualization and intuitive interaction. We leverage VR to enable any biomedical professional to deploy a deep learning (DL) model for image classification. While DL models can be powerful tools for data analysis, they are also challenging to understand and develop. To make deep learning more accessible and intuitive, we have built a virtual reality-based DL development environment. Within our environment, the user can move tangible objects to construct a neural network only using their hands. Our software automatically translates these configurations into a trainable model and then reports its resulting accuracy on a test dataset in real-time. Furthermore, we have enriched the virtual objects with visualizations of the model's components such that users can achieve insight about the DL models that they are developing. With this approach, we bridge the gap between professionals in different fields of expertise while offering a novel perspective for model analysis and data interaction. We further suggest that techniques of development and visualization in deep learning can benefit by integrating virtual reality

A Bibliometric Study on the Use of Virtual Reality (VR) as an Educational Tool for High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Children

The use of virtual reality (VR) as an educational tool for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children is a research field that started some 20 years ago. ASD is associated with deficiencies in communication and social interaction, as well as restricted and repetitive behavioural patterns, according to the fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). By using the ISI Web of Knowledge as the reference data basis, we perform a bibliometric study of the use of VR as an educational tool for high-functioning ASD children. By this study we can quantify, on the one hand, the up to day importance of the different types of VR applied to this field: immersive or non-immersive, as well as the use of human or agent avatars. On the other hand, we can also differentiate amongst those interventions that work on emotional and social competences. The analysis of periods of research scarce, research abundance and research trends provides a dynamic view of the strategies used in this field in the last 20 years and suggests future lines of research

Virtual reality and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder

© 2021 The Author(s).Background: Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) have been evaluated as the most promising interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. In recent years, a growing body of literature suggests that technological advancements such as Virtual Reality (VR) are promising intervention tools. However, to the best of our knowledge no studies have combined evidence-based practice with such tools. Aim: This article aims to review the current literature combining NDBI and VR, and provide suggestions on merging NDBI-approaches with VR. Methods: This article is divided into two parts, where we first conduct a review mapping the research applying NDBI-approaches in VR. In the second part we argue how to apply the common features of NDBI into VR-technology. Results: Our findings show that no VR-studies explicitly rely on NDBI-approaches, but some utilize elements in their interventions that are considered to be common features to NDBI. Conclusions and implications: As the results show, to date, no VR-based studies have utilized NDBI in their intervention. We therefore, in the second part of this article, suggests ways to merge VR and NDBI and introduce the term Virtual Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (VNDBI). VNDBI is an innovative way of implementing NDBI which will contribute in making interventions more accessible in central as well as remote locations, while reducing unwanted variation between service sites. VNDBI will advance the possibilities of individually tailoring and widen the area of interventions. In addition, VNDBI can provide the field with new knowledge on effective components enhancing the accuracy in the intervention packages and thus move forward the research field and clinical practice.publishedVersio

Upper limb rehabilitation interventions using virtual reality for people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review

Background Research on Virtual Reality (VR) based motor rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is rapidly growing in popularity, although few studies have focused on the upper limb (UL). The aims of this review were to investigate the effect of VR interventions on UL function in people with MS and determine if the type of VR intervention influences intervention effect. Method Five databases (IEEE Xplore, MEDLINE, ProQuest Central (Health & Medical Collection), Science Direct and Web of Science Core Collection) were searched using keywords that relating to MS, VR and UL. Results Ten articles were included, six randomised controlled trials, three cohort studies and one pilot observational study. Both commercial and custom VR technologies were used in interventions, along with combination approaches using robotics, electrical stimulation and occupational therapy. Using the Nine Hole Peg Test, two studies found significant improvements within groups, one found that VR was more effective than another gaming approach. Significant improvements in other UL measures were in the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the proximal arm; handgrip; perceived strength; Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test; Wolf Motor Function Test; active range of motion and trajectory measures after VR intervention. There were conflicting results regarding if VR was more effective than conventional approaches. Conclusion There is therefore some evidence that VR is effective in improving motor function in the UL, however, there is no clear consensus on which VR based approaches are the most effective, or the optimum intervention duration and intensity. Moreover, as many of the studies had non-immersive approaches it is hard to determine how effective immersion based approaches maybe in such specific context

Implementation of Virtual Reality (VR) simulators in Norwegian maritime pilotage training

With millions of tons of cargo transported to and from Norwegian ports every year, the maritime waterways in Norway are heavily used. The high consequences of accidents and mishaps require well-trained seafarers and safe operating practices. The normal crews of vessels are supported by the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) pilot service when operating vessels not meeting specific regulations. Simulator training is used as part of the toolset designed to educate, train, and advance the knowledge of maritime pilots in order to improve their operability. The NCA is working on an internal project to distribute Virtual Reality (VR) simulators to selected pilot stations along the coast and train and familiarize maritime pilots with the tool. There has been a lack of research on virtual reality simulators and how they are implemented in maritime organizations. The goal of this research is to see if a VR-simulator can be used as a training tool within the Norwegian Coastal Administration's pilot service. Furthermore, the findings of this study contribute to the understanding of VR-simulators in the field of Maritime Education and Training (MET). The thesis is addressing two research questions: 1. Is the Virtual Reality training useful in the competence development process of Norwegian maritime pilots? 2. How can the Virtual Reality simulators improve training outcomes of today’s maritime pilot education? The data gathered from the systematic literature review corresponds to the findings of the interviews. Considering the similarities with previous study findings from sectors such as healthcare, construction, and education, it is concluded that the results of the interviews can be generalized. For maritime pilots, the simulator offers recurrent scenario-based training and a high level of immersion. Pilots can learn at home, onboard a vessel, at the pilot station, and in group settings thanks to the system's mobility and user-friendliness. In terms of motivation and training effectiveness, the study finds that VR-simulators are effective and beneficial. The technology received positive reviews from the pilots. The simulator can be used to teach both novice and experienced maritime pilots about new operations, larger tonnage, and new operational areas, according to the findings of the research. After the NCA has utilized VR-simulators for some time, additional research may analyze the success of VR-simulators using a training evaluation study and investigate the impact of VR-training in the organization