Cross-modal effect between taste and shape controlled by curvature entropy

In recent years, cross-modal effects in which perceptions interact with each other have been drawing attention. In the case of the cross-modal effect between vision and taste, the effect of the angularity of shapes on taste has been widely studied while there has been little research on the other features of shapes. Previous studies have shown that the emotional valence arisen from visual perception causes the cross-modal effect between vision and taste. Therefore, this study focuses on the complexity of shapes, which is said to influence emotional valence, as a visual stimulus and aims to confirm the cross-modal effect induced by its sensation. First, based on previous research, the hypotheses about the effects of the complexity of shapes on taste were made. Second, by using particle swarm optimization algorithm, closed curve shapes were generated based on curvature entropy, a quantitative index of the complexity of shapes, which indicates the randomness of curvature transition. Third, cup holders, which had these closed curve shapes on their sides, were created by using a 3D printer. Finally, by comparing the tastes of orange juice in these cup holders, the effect of the complexity of shapes on the perception of sweetness, sourness and intensity was confirmed. The results suggest that the complexity of shapes controlled by curvature entropy weakens the perception of sweetness whereas it enhances that of sourness and intensity. This finding can be used for reducing sugar intake in bottle packaging

Development of three-dimensional pieces of inclusive didactics to assist in the teaching and learning process of people with visual impairments

The teaching of some contents of the disciplines of the exact sciences and the earth are considered complex and this scenario worsens when the student has some disability, among these visual deficiencies is one that presents a higher degree of complexity, because the student cannot see what is being demonstrated. Based on this panorama, this article has as its central objective to present some three-dimensional pieces of inclusive didactics, which were developed in software that design three-dimensional objects and later printing in 3D printers, a process that resulted in handleable parts and with information of dimensions, shapes and writings in braille, this set of information aggregated in the construction of these pieces aims to collaborate in the process of teaching and learning of content related to exact disciplines

Complexity and biourbanism: thermodynamical architectural and urban models integrated in modern geographic mapping

The paper was presented on 5th April 2012 by Eleni Tracada in Theoretical Currents II conference in the University of Lincoln.Abstract Vital elements in urban fabric have been often suppressed for reasons of ‘style’. Recent theories, such as Biourbanism, suggest that cities risk becoming unstable and deprived of healthy social interactions. Our paper aims at exploring the reasons for which, fractal cities, which have being conceived as symmetries and patterns, can have scientifically proven and beneficial impact on human fitness of body and mind. During the last few decades, modern urban fabric lost some very important elements, only because urban design and planning turned out to be stylistic aerial views or new landscapes of iconic technological landmarks. Biourbanism attempts to re-establish lost values and balance, not only in urban fabric, but also in reinforcing human-oriented design principles in either micro or macro scale. Human life in cities and beyond emerges during ‘connectivity’ via geometrical continuity of grids and fractals, via path connectivity among highly active nodes, via exchange/movement of people and, finally via exchange of information (networks). All these elements form a hypercomplex system of several interconnected layers of a dynamic structure, all influencing each other in a non-linear manner. Sometimes networks of communication at all levels may suffer from sudden collapse of dynamic patterns, which have been proved to be vital for a long time either to landscapes and cityscapes. We are now talking about negotiating boundaries between human activities, changes in geographic mapping and, mainly about sustainable systems to support continuous growth of communities. We are not only talking about simple lives (‘Bios’) as Urban Syntax (bio and socio-geometrical synthesis), but also about affinities between developing topographies created by roadways and trajectories and the built environment. We shall also have the opportunity to show recent applications of these theories in our postgraduate students’ work, such as a 3D model as a new method of cartography of the Island of Mauritius, with intend to highlight developments in topography and architecture through a series of historical important events and mutating socio-political and economical geographies. This model may be able to predict failures in proposed and/or activated models of expansion, which do not follow strictly morphogenetic and physiological design processes. The same kind of modelling is capable to enable recognition of ‘optimal forms’ at different feedback scales, which, through morphogenetic processes, guarantee an optimal systemic efficiency, and therefore quality of life.ADT funds, university of Derby