The Impact of Three Interfaces for 360-Degree Video on Spatial Cognition

In this paper, we describe an experiment designed to evaluate the effectiveness of three interfaces for surveillance or remote control using live 360-degree video feeds from a person or vehicle in the field. Video feeds are simulated using a game engine. While locating targets within a 3D terrain using a 2D 360-degree interface, participants indicated perceived egocentric directions to targets and later placed targets on an overhead view of the terrain. Interfaces were compared based on target finding and map placement performance. Results suggest 1) nonseamless interfaces with visual boundaries facilitate spatial understanding, 2) correct perception of self-to-object relationships is not correlated with understanding object-toobject relationships within the environment, and 3) increased video game experience corresponds with better spatial understanding of an environment observed in 360- degrees. This work can assist researchers of panoramic video systems in evaluating the optimal interface for observation and teleoperation of remote systems

Promoting Responsible Gambling through Creative Advertising: Developing an Intervention Effectiveness Scale

Abstract Although somewhat controversially grounded, the notion of responsible gambling (RG) subsumes some level of consumer protection (harm-minimization) through restriction of a gambler’s expenditure of time and money to affordable limits (Breen et al., 2005). With RG believed to protect industry interests, Livingstone and Rintoul (2020) argue for a new discourse. We believe creative advertising messaging as a means of preventing and minimizing harm can influence RG. Hence, understanding what makes an effective RG advertising message and determining criteria to assess that effectiveness are critical. Advertising effectiveness includes attention, recall, and behavioral intentions. This presentation focuses on the pressing need for a valid and reliable measure (RG-IES) to examine the relationship between RG messages and effectiveness. We define RG-IES as how well an RG message engages the gambler’s cognitive, emotional, and motivational faculties to increase their likelihood of evaluating individual play duration and intensity. RG-IES has four-dimensions: attention, attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Attention to advertising is necessary for ad effectiveness, and allows consumers to form cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses (Olney et al., 1991); this forms the basis of attitudes. Subjective norms reflect perceived opinions of referent others; PBC indicates consumers’ individual beliefs they can control their behaviors. Implications An effective RG message will enhance how gamers think, feel and consider the space and issues around them in a new light. Effective RG interventions can influence behavioral beliefs about the consequences of problem gambling, normative beliefs about how others perceive problem gambling; and PBC, by reminding gamblers they control their own gambling decisions. REFERENCES Breen, H., Buultjens, J., & Hing, N. (2005). Evaluating implementation of a voluntary responsible gambling code in Queensland, Australia. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 3, 15–25. Livingstone, Charles, and Angela Rintoul (2020). Moving on from responsible gambling: a new discourse is needed to prevent and minimise harm from gambling. Public Health 184,107-112. Olney, T. J., Holbrook, M. B., & Batra, R. (1991). Consumer responses to advertising: The effects of ad content, emotions, and attitude toward the ad on viewing time. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(4), 440-453

Calling Their Bluff: Misplaced Loyalty is a Problem for Gamblers

Abstract Due to the ubiquity of casinos, both brick and mortar and online, problem gambling has emerged as a significant public health issue. It is estimated that 30% - 50% of all casino revenues are generated from problem gamblers who tend to be disproportionately male, young, and minority group members (Welte et al. 2014). Although prior research has examined the mediating role of gambling behaviors in the relationship between casino marketing strategies and problem gambling, it is not clear what role casino loyalty programs play in predicting problem gambling, particularly in underserved and minority populations. Prentice & Wong (2016) examined the mediating role of gambling behaviors in the relationship between casino marketing strategies and problem gambling. Their findings indicate that loyalty programs were not significantly related to problem gambling despite the fact that only customer loyalty was conceptualized to have an effect on problem gambling. So, what role do casino loyalty programs play in predicting problem gambling? The objective of this study is to bridge the identified theoretical gap and examine casino loyalty programs through the normative framework of the “integrative justice model’” (Santos & Laczniak 2009). Specifically, this presentation will discuss the aims and importance of (1) explaining the influence of casino loyalty programs in the relationship between ease of access and problem gambling; and (2) uncovering the impact of casino loyalty programs in the context of an underserved population. Implications Casino loyalty programs are unstudied within the context of problem gambling. Marketing’s role as both a contributor to the problem and as a force in its alleviation is a complex one. Existing customer loyalty programs may need to be modified to reduce disproportionate harm to underserved and minority populations. References Prentice, C., & Wong, I. A. (2016). Embracing or fighting the urge: A multilevel investigation on casino service, branding and impulsive gambling. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 56, 109‐118. Santos, N., & Laczniak, G. (2009). Marketing to the poor: An integratie justice model for engaging impoverished market segments. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 28(1), 3-15. Welte, J. W., Barnes, G. M., Tidwell, M.-C. O., et al. (2015). Gambling and problem gambling in the United States: Changes between 1999 and 2013. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31, 695-715

A Search for Water in the Atmosphere of HAT-P-26b Using LDSS-3C

The characterization of a physically-diverse set of transiting exoplanets is an important and necessary step towards establishing the physical properties linked to the production of obscuring clouds or hazes. It is those planets with identifiable spectroscopic features that can most effectively enhance our understanding of atmospheric chemistry and metallicity. The newly-commissioned LDSS-3C instrument on Magellan provides enhanced sensitivity and suppressed fringing in the red optical, thus advancing the search for the spectroscopic signature of water in exoplanetary atmospheres from the ground. Using data acquired by LDSS-3C and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we search for evidence of water vapor in the transmission spectrum of the Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26b. Our measured spectrum is best explained by the presence of water vapor, a lack of potassium, and either a high-metallicity, cloud-free atmosphere or a solar-metallicity atmosphere with a cloud deck at ~10 mbar. The emergence of multi-scale-height spectral features in our data suggests that future observations at higher precision could break this degeneracy and reveal the planet's atmospheric chemical abundances. We also update HAT-P-26b's transit ephemeris, t_0 = 2455304.65218(25) BJD_TDB, and orbital period, p = 4.2345023(7) days.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Individual differences in teleporting through virtual environments: A latent profile analysis

Teleportation in virtual reality (VR) affords the ability to explore beyond the physical space. Previous work has demonstrated that this interface comes at a spatial cognitive cost – though, upon closer inspection, not everyone appears similarly affected. A latent profile analysis identified three groups that significantly differed on spatial updating performance and follow-up analyses showed significant differences in objective measures of spatial ability (e.g., mental rotation and perspective-taking). These results suggest that there are individual differences in domains of spatial cognition that are related to how well a user may keep track of his or her location while teleporting in VR

Once and Future Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem: Restoration Recommendations of an Expert Working Group

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) well blowout released more petroleum hydrocarbons into the marine environment than any previous U.S. oil spill (4.9 million barrels), fouling marine life, damaging deep sea and shoreline habitats and causing closures of economically valuable fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. A suite of pollutants—liquid and gaseous petroleum compounds plus chemical dispersants—poured into ecosystems that had already been stressed by overfishing, development and global climate change. Beyond the direct effects that were captured in dramatic photographs of oiled birds in the media, it is likely that there are subtle, delayed, indirect and potentially synergistic impacts of these widely dispersed, highly bioavailable and toxic hydrocarbons and chemical dispersants on marine life from pelicans to salt marsh grasses and to deep-sea animals. As tragic as the DWH blowout was, it has stimulated public interest in protecting this economically, socially and environmentally critical region. The 2010 Mabus Report, commissioned by President Barack Obama and written by the secretary of the Navy, provides a blueprint for restoring the Gulf that is bold, visionary and strategic. It is clear that we need not only to repair the damage left behind by the oil but also to go well beyond that to restore the anthropogenically stressed and declining Gulf ecosystems to prosperity-sustaining levels of historic productivity. For this report, we assembled a team of leading scientists with expertise in coastal and marine ecosystems and with experience in their restoration to identify strategies and specific actions that will revitalize and sustain the Gulf coastal economy. Because the DWH spill intervened in ecosystems that are intimately interconnected and already under stress, and will remain stressed from global climate change, we argue that restoration of the Gulf must go beyond the traditional "in-place, in-kind" restoration approach that targets specific damaged habitats or species. A sustainable restoration of the Gulf of Mexico after DWH must: 1. Recognize that ecosystem resilience has been compromised by multiple human interventions predating the DWH spill; 2. Acknowledge that significant future environmental change is inevitable and must be factored into restoration plans and actions for them to be durable; 3. Treat the Gulf as a complex and interconnected network of ecosystems from shoreline to deep sea; and 4. Recognize that human and ecosystem productivity in the Gulf are interdependent, and that human needs from and effects on the Gulf must be integral to restoration planning. With these principles in mind, the authors provide the scientific basis for a sustainable restoration program along three themes: 1. Assess and repair damage from DWH and other stresses on the Gulf; 2. Protect existing habitats and populations; and 3. Integrate sustainable human use with ecological processes in the Gulf of Mexico. Under these themes, 15 historically informed, adaptive, ecosystem-based restoration actions are presented to recover Gulf resources and rebuild the resilience of its ecosystem. The vision that guides our recommendations fundamentally imbeds the restoration actions within the context of the changing environment so as to achieve resilience of resources, human communities and the economy into the indefinite future

A Once and Future Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem: Restoration Recommendations of an Expert Working Group

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) well blowout released more petroleum hydrocarbons into the marine environment than any previous U.S. oil spill (4.9 million barrels), fouling marine life, damaging deep sea and shoreline habitats and causing closures of economically valuable fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. A suite of pollutants — liquid and gaseous petroleum compounds plus chemical dispersants — poured into ecosystems that had already been stressed by overfishing, development and global climate change. Beyond the direct effects that were captured in dramatic photographs of oiled birds in the media, it is likely that there are subtle, delayed, indirect and potentially synergistic impacts of these widely dispersed, highly bioavailable and toxic hydrocarbons and chemical dispersants on marine life from pelicans to salt marsh grasses and to deep-sea animals. As tragic as the DWH blowout was, it has stimulated public interest in protecting this economically, socially and environmentally critical region. The 2010 Mabus Report, commissioned by President Barack Obama and written by the secretary of the Navy, provides a blueprint for restoring the Gulf that is bold, visionary and strategic. It is clear that we need not only to repair the damage left behind by the oil but also to go well beyond that to restore the anthropogenically stressed and declining Gulf ecosystems to prosperity-sustaining levels of historic productivity. For this report, we assembled a team of leading scientists with expertise in coastal and marine ecosystems and with experience in their restoration to identify strategies and specific actions that will revitalize and sustain the Gulf coastal economy. Because the DWH spill intervened in ecosystems that are intimately interconnected and already under stress, and will remain stressed from global climate change, we argue that restoration of the Gulf must go beyond the traditional “in-place, in-kind” restoration approach that targets specific damaged habitats or species. A sustainable restoration of the Gulf of Mexico after DWH must: 1. Recognize that ecosystem resilience has been compromised by multiple human interventions predating the DWH spill; 2. Acknowledge that significant future environmental change is inevitable and must be factored into restoration plans and actions for them to be durable; 3. Treat the Gulf as a complex and interconnected network of ecosystems from shoreline to deep sea; and 4. Recognize that human and ecosystem productivity in the Gulf are interdependent, and that human needs from and effects on the Gulf must be integral to restoration planning. With these principles in mind, we provide the scientific basis for a sustainable restoration program along three themes: 1. Assess and repair damage from DWH and other stresses on the Gulf; 2. Protect existing habitats and populations; and 3. Integrate sustainable human use with ecological processes in the Gulf of Mexico. Under these themes, 15 historically informed, adaptive, ecosystem-based restoration actions are presented to recover Gulf resources and rebuild the resilience of its ecosystem. The vision that guides our recommendations fundamentally imbeds the restoration actions within the context of the changing environment so as to achieve resilience of resources, human communities and the economy into the indefinite future