Virtual stage sets in live performing arts (from the spectator to the spect-actor)

This paper studies the added value of VR to the art of stage setting through examples and experiments. It will also analyze the link between the audience and digital sets (VR, AR), from an aesthetic point of view as well as a practical one. It is important for us to succeed in creating a theatrical set which favors the spectator's presence for him to become a live performing spectator, and thus have a stronger link with the setting in the short as well as long run

Skill Development on the Shop Floor - Heading to a Digital Divide?

In recent years, there has been a huge debate on how modern sensor technology and the increasing connectivity of production systems have changed industrial production processes and working conditions. This article contributes to the discussion on the effects of digitalization on skill development under different working conditions with the following question: How has learning in the work-process changed with the introduction of data-based technologies? To examine the interaction between digital assistance systems and organizational parameters on informal learning, we analyzed the implementation of digital assistant systems in two different groups: low-skilled assembly workers and high-skilled shop floor managers. Our findings suggest that a lack of autonomy in workplaces has negative impacts on informal learning and thus skill development. When the design of assistance systems perpetuates preexisting inequalities in the working conditions, their use can contribute to a polarization of qualifications and a digital divide of the workforce

A COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR TRAINING OF SECURITY AGENTS IN NUCLEAR EMERGENCIES

In face the recently observed security menaces related to terrorist actions and natural disasters, there is a need for a major qualification and training of the agents responsible for avoid any problems regarding to abnormal conditions. In the conventional training procedures, however, field simulations are associated to logistical and operational constraints regarded to the execution of the tests which can expose the user to risk. On the other hand, the use of virtual simulations provides an alternative to such limitations besides of promote the qualifying of professionals with a great reliability. For this reason, this paper proposes the development of a collaborative virtual environment that will be used to prepare the security agents on identifying individuals suspected of carrying radioactive materials. The development of the virtual environment consisted on modeling using Autodesk 3ds Max, where the scene itself and the scene objects were modeled besides the terrain creation and basic features programming using the Game Engine Unity 3D. In the Engine Game were included radiation detectors and avatars. The security agents were able to communicate to each other by means of auxiliary external tools like a headset software that makes possible the communication, coordination and cooperation required for an effective collaboration. Experimental tests of the virtual simulations were performed with the participation of CNEN radiological protection agents and collaborators. The tests have shown that the proposed method can contribute to improve the training results of the basic collaborative skills required for a CNEN agent in an emergency situation without the need to espose him to any kind of risk. In face of that, we hope that it can contribute to minimize the demand for qualified security professionals

Use of virtual simulator for agent training in radiation protection actions in major events

With the proximity of the events of the Olympic Games, Brazil can become a great place of visibility for running dirty bombs or any other radiation mode proliferation by terrorists. Aware of these problems, the government and the organizations created managements of emergencies to ensure that these events elapse in an orderly and safe manner. The management of emergency situations at an event is a complex problem, which involves dynamic, unforeseen and unintended situations, emphasizing the potential complexity of the contexts in which organizations operate and, as a consequence, the people involved in the execution of multiple tasks from activities that require intense cognitive effort, are often challenged to adapt dynamically to maintain the productivity of the organization at satisfactory levels of performance usually impedes these people reflect on the results of their actions and learn from them. Therefore, it is extremely important to create tools that address the methods and techniques of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) to assist in the previous training of the security agents, for example, detection and approaches of people who carry radioactive elements. One of the possible ways to accomplish this training is through the use of virtual reality. Virtual environments bring some advantages like reducing costs and risks. The aim of this paper is to present a virtual simulator to evaluate the use in training agents in major events. As a case study, the Maracanã and the agents of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) was chosen

The effect of priming on physics perception in small-scale virtual environments

Abstract. For humans, it is difficult to understand how physics would work in an environment in which they are not the size they normally are, but their size has been altered. A good way to experience it is in a simulated virtual environment run by a computer, and with a virtual reality headset. What humans think physics and the environment should look and feel like often differs from what would happen in a similar situation. This thesis focuses on whether priming the participants’ experience in a virtual environment before altering their size affects their perception of physics, specifically, rigid body dynamics. The hypothesis is, that priming would make participants feel that real-life physics is how objects in virtual reality should act, instead of how small-scale phenomena are usually depicted in media. To test the hypothesis experimentally, a VR environment was developed. This environment contained many different perception clues to inform the participants they have been shrunk tenfold and that this environment corresponds to reality. In the experiment, the representation of rigid body dynamics played a huge part as it affects how participants perceive the environment when interacting with physically simulated objects and items. More specifically, the participants experienced two different physics representations; one in which objects behaved similarly to what would be realistic at that scale, and another one closer to what is usually shown in movies and television. The participants were surveyed, and their answers were analyzed, giving insights into their physics perception in the virtual environment. The study found that priming the participant gave them a point of comparison to real life. They felt that it helped them choose the correct scenario when they were presented with scenarios with realistic physics and physics usually seen in movies and other media. Although they felt that the priming helped, the participants nevertheless considered the physics representation corresponding to movies and television to be the more realistic one. This was further confirmed by statistically comparing the results of this study to a similar, previous study in which no priming process was utilized.Perehdytyksen vaikutus fysiikan havainnointiin pienen mittakaavan virtuaaliympäristöissä. Tiivistelmä. Ihmisille on vaikeaa havainnoida fysikaalisia ilmiöitä, kuten kiinteiden kappaleiden liikeratoja, tavallisista poikkeavissa mittakaavoissa. Paras tapa kokea se on tietokoneen simuloimassa virtuaaliympäristössä virtuaalitodellisuuslasien luoman immersiivisen kokemuksen kautta. Se, mikä vastaa ympäristöön ja fysikaalisiin ilmiöihin liittyviä ennakko-odotuksia voi monin tavoin poiketa todellisuudesta. Esimerkiksi kymmenen kertaa pienemmässä mittakaavassa realistisesti kuvatut kappaleiden liikeradat näyttäytyvät ihmisille äkillisinä kiihtyvyyksinä ja lyhyinä lentoratoina, kuten aiemmassa tutkimuksessa on osoitettu. Sen sijaan, epärealistiset fysikaaliset mallit joissa liikeradat vastaavat normaalia mittakaavaa suhteessa käyttäjään itseensä vaikuttaisi näyttäytyvän realistisena simuloidusta mittakaavasta huolimatta. Tässä opinnäytetyössä pyritään selvittämään, voiko virtuaalitodellisuusjärjestelmän käyttäjiä perehdyttää fysikaalisten ilmiöiden suhteen siten, että se muuttaisi heidän käsitystään simuloitujen fysikaalisten ilmöiden suhteen virtuaaliympäristössä. Työssä kuvataan tutkimus jossa koehenkilöille esitettiin perehdytysvaihe jossa havainnollistettiin erilaisten esineiden liikeratoja jonka jälkeen heidän tuli valita oikea fysiikkamalli realistisen ja väärän mallin välillä. Tätä tarkoitusta varten kehitettiin virtuaalitodellisuusympäristö, jossa oli lukuisia erilaisia havaintovihjeitä, joiden tarkoitus oli havainnollistaa käyttäjälle fyysisesti simuloitujen kappaleiden liikeratoja. Koehenkilöt käsittelivät fyysisesti simuloituja esineitä kahdessa eri mittakaavassa realistisessa painovoimassa. Tämän jälkeen he käsittelivät simuloituja esineitä sekä realistisessa, että epärealistisessa painovoimassa, jonka jälkeen heidän tuli valita kumpi simulaatioista vastasi paremmin todellisuutta. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että koehenkilöiden perehdytys näyttäytyi heille hyödyllisenä antaen vertailukohdan todellisuuteen. Vastausten mukaan he kokivat, että perehdytys auttoi heitä valitsemaan oikean fysiikkamallin. Tästä huolimatta epärealistinen fysiikkamalli näyttäytyi heille todellisempana merkittävästi useammin kuin realistisesti simuloitu malli. Tämä voitiin vahvistaa myös vertaamalla tilastollisesti tässä tutkimuksessa kerättyä aineistoa aiempaan vastaavaan tutkimukseen jossa perehdytysvaihetta ei ollut. Tästä voidaan päätellä, että koeasettelussa käytetty perehdytysmenetelmä ei pystynyt muuttamaan koehenkilöiden ennakkokäsityksiä fysikaalisten ilmöiden havainnoimisessa

Utilização da realidade virtual para ensino de informática através de um museu virtual sobre a evolução dos computadores / Using virtual reality to teach computer science through a virtual museum about the evolution of computers

Neste artigo tem-se como proposta o desenvolvimento e aplicação da Realidade Virtual (RV) como Tecnologia de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) para auxiliar no processo de ensino-aprendizado de disciplinas do Ensino Médio. A RV permite a interação e navegação de usuários em ambientes 3D mantidos por computador, utilizando de canais de mapeamento e análise do comportamento dos usuários, possibilitando a troca de informação entre o ambiente virtual e o usuário, afetando um ou vários sentidos humanos. É uma tecnologia de interação e entretenimento que pode ser aplicada com êxito para auxiliar nas estratégias de ensino em disciplinas do ensino médio. Com a evolução da educação, isto é, o aperfeiçoamento dos processos de exploração, descoberta, observação e construção de conhecimento, novas ferramentas de ensino vêm surgindo, de onde destacam-se os ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem por permitirem de uma maneira nova e diferente que pessoas possam fazer e realizar experimentos ou tarefas que elas não poderiam fazer no mundo físico/real, como voar, visitar lugares que não existem ou de difícil acesso através da manipulação e análise do próprio objeto de estudo. Assim a RV será fundamental nesse processo de evolução educacional, onde busca-se cada vez mais o uso de ferramentas digitais como TICs para a aplicação bem-sucedida de metodologias ativas de ensino em sala de aula, e principalmente neste momento de pandemia. Por conseguinte, o objetivo deste artigo refere-se ao desenvolvimento de um sistema interativo de RV por óculos, projetado, modelado e renderizado usando o software livre Blender, para auxiliar no ensino de disciplinas do ensino médio, especificamente nas aulas de introdução a informática, podendo ser estendido a outras disciplinas

Virtual reality to teach anatomy

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have been gradually introduced in the curriculum of schools given the benefits they bring to classical education. We present an experiment designed to expose students to a VR session where they can directly inspect 3D models of several human organs by using Virtual Reality systems. Our systems allow the students to see the models directly visualized in 3D and to interact with them as if they were real. The experiment has involved 254 students of a Nursing Degree, enrolled in the Human anatomy and physiology course during 2 years (2 consecutive courses). It includes 10 3D models representing different anatomical structures which have been enhanced with meta-data to help the students understand the structure. In order to evaluate the students' satisfaction facing such a new teaching methodology, the students were asked to fill in a questionnaire with two categories. The first one measured whether or not, the teaching session using VR facilitates the understanding of the structures. The second one measured the student's satisfaction with this VR session. From the results we can see that the items most valuated are the use of the activity as a learning tool, and the satisfaction of the students' expectations. We can therefore conclude that VR session for teaching is a powerful learning tool that helps to understand the anatomical structures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Utilização de jogos como ferramentas pedagógicas em escolas públicas - relato de experiência do projeto Jogos Mentais

This article aims to present a report on the didactic-pedagogical interventions carried out through brain games with students of Basic Education in public schools in the municipality of Diamantina and region, in Minas Gerais and discuss the importance of ludic in science learning. The actions were carried out by a group of students and teachers from the Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha and Mucuri in the university extension project “Brain Games: learning and challenging the mind”. Initially, a survey was made in the literature about view of several authors on the theme of ludic in education. After, the following games were chosen to be executed during workshops in schools: Puzzle, chess, checkers, magic cube and use of virtual reality. The data for the report were obtained through the descriptions made by the workshop announcers rom their experiences. The results of this article show the importance of games as educational and social tools. In addition, the realization of the workshops reveals elements that were observed by other authors, which are: increased attention and the interest of students, motivation during learning and the development of skills related to social interactions and the interdisciplinary work.O presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar um relato sobre as intervenções didático-pedagógicas realizadas por meio de jogos inteligentes com estudantes da Educação Básica de escolas públicas do município de Diamantina e região, em Minas Gerais, e discutir sobre a importância do lúdico na aprendizagem de ciências. As ações foram realizadas por um grupo de estudantes e professores da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM) no projeto de extensão universitária “Jogos Mentais: aprendendo e desafiando a mente”. Inicialmente, foi feito um levantamento sobre a visão de diversos autores sobre a temática do lúdico na educação. Na sequência, foram escolhidos os seguintes jogos para serem executados durante as oficinas nas escolas: quebra-cabeça, xadrez, damas, cubo mágico e uso da realidade virtual. Os dados para o relato foram obtidos por descrições feitas pelos ministrantes das oficinas a partir das suas experiências. Os resultados do presente artigo mostram a importância dos jogos como ferramentas pedagógicas e sociais. Além disso, a realização das oficinas revela elementos que foram observados por outros autores, que são: o aumento da atenção e o interesse dos estudantes, a motivação durante a aprendizagem e o desenvolvimento de competências relacionadas às interações sociais e ao trabalho interdisciplinar

Interdisciplinary Trust Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis of approximately 800 trust articles written from 1966 to 2006 in A+, A, and B journals are structured and analyzed. Contributions from the number of published trust articles, multidisciplinarity, trust objects, trust interactions types, and occurrence of key variables – in addition to the term trust - are deduced