EVALUATING ROUTE LEARNING PERFORMANCE OF OLDER AND YOUNGER ADULTS IN DIFFERENTLY-DESIGNED VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: A TASK-DIFFERENTIAL ANALYSIS

Navigating in unfamiliar environments is a complex task that requires considerable cognitive resources to memorize (and eventually learn) a route. In general, virtual environments (VEs) can be useful tools in training for route learning and improving route recall. However, the visual information presented in VEs, that is, what we choose to present in a virtual scene, can strongly affect the ability to recall a route. This is especially relevant when we consider individual differences, and people’s varying abilities to navigate effectively. Taking various cognitive processes involved in route learning into account, we designed a multi-level experiment that examines route recall effectiveness in a navigation context. We conceptualized that the participants would have to recall information related to the route that is demanding on primarily visual, spatial, or visuospatial memory systems. Furthermore, because there is a clear link between memory capacity and ageing; we conducted our experiment with two different age groups (total 81 participants: 42 young people aged 20–30 yo and 39 older people aged 65–76 yo). We also measured participants’ spatial abilities and visuospatial memory capacity for control purposes. After experiencing a pre-determined route in three different VEs (that we varied in levels of visual realism, and named as AbstractVE, MixedVE, and RealisticVE), each participant solved a list of tasks that was designed to measure visual, spatial, and visuospatial recall of the scene elements and information about the route. Participants solved these tasks immediately after experiencing the route in each VE, as well as after a week, thus we could measure ‘learning’ (delayed recall). Results from our study confirm the well-known decline in recall with age (young vs. older), provide new information regarding memorability of routes and VE scene elements over time (immediate vs. delayed), and most importantly demonstrate the crucial role the visual design decisions play in route learning and memorability of visuospatial displays

Virtual environments as memory training devices in navigational tasks for older adults

Cognitive training approaches using virtual environments (VEs) might counter age-related visuospatial memory decline and associated difficulties in wayfinding. However, the effects of the visual design of a VE in route learning are not fully understood. Therefore, we created a custom-designed VE optimized for route learning, with adjusted levels of realism and highlighted landmark locations (MixedVE). Herein we tested participants’ route recall performance in identifying direction of turn at the intersection with this MixedVE against two baseline alternatives (AbstractVE, RealisticVE). An older vs. a younger group solved the tasks in two stages (immediate vs. delayed recall by one week). Our results demonstrate that the MixedVE facilitates better recall accuracy than the other two VEs for both age groups. Importantly, this pattern persists a week later. Additionally, our older participants were mostly overconfident in their route recall performance, but the MixedVE moderated this potentially detrimental overconfidence. Before the experiment, participants clearly preferred the RealisticVE, whereas after the experiment, most of the younger, and many of the older participants, preferred the MixedVE. Taken together, our findings provide insights into the importance of tailoring visualization design in route learning with VEs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the great potential of the MixedVE and by extension, of similar VEs as memory training devices for route learning, especially for older participants

Fetal-derived macrophages dominate in adult mammary glands

Macrophages serve multiple functions including immune regulation, morphogenesis, tissue homeostasis and healing reactions. The current paradigm holds that mammary gland macrophages first arise postnatally during the prepubertal period from the bone marrow-derived monocytes. Here we delineate the origins of tissue-resident mammary gland macrophages using high-dimension phenotypic analyses, cell-fate mapping experiments, gene-deficient mice lacking selective macrophage subtypes, and antibody-based depletion strategies. We show that tissue-resident macrophages are found in mammary glands already before birth, and that the yolk sac-derived and fetal liver-derived macrophages outnumber the adult-derived macrophages in the mammary gland also in the adulthood. In addition, fetal-derived mammary gland macrophages have a characteristic phenotype, display preferential periductal and perivascular localization, and are highly active in scavenging. These findings identify fetal-derived macrophages as the predominant leukocyte type in the adult mammary gland stroma, and reveal previously unknown complexity of macrophage biology in the breast

Toward optimizing the design of virtual environments for route learning: empirically assessing the effects of changing levels of realism on memory

Broadly, this paper is about designing memorable 3D geovisualizations for spatial knowledge acquisition during (virtual) navigation. Navigation is a fundamentally important task, and even though most people navigate every day, many find it difficult in unfamiliar environments. When people get lost in an unfamiliar environment, or are unable to remember a route that they took, they might feel anxiety, disappointment and frustration; and in real world, such incidents can be costly, and at times, life-threatening. Therefore, in this paper, we study the design decisions in terms of visual realism in a city model, propose a visualization design optimized for route learning, implement and empirically evaluate this design. The evaluation features a navigational route learning task, where we measure short- and long-term recall accuracy of 42 participants with varying spatial abilities and memory capacity. Our findings provide unique empirical evidence on how design choices affect memory in route learning with geovirtual environments, contributing toward empirically verified design guidelines for digital cities

A virtual reality experiment for improving the navigational recall: What can we learn from eye movements of high- and low-performing individuals?

In its broader scope, this paper is concerned about understanding how (visualization) designs of virtual environments (VE) interact with navigational memory. We optimized the design of a VE for route learning following specific visualization guidelines that we derived from previous literature, and tested it with a typical navigational recall task with 42 participants. Recall accuracies of our participants widely vary. We hypothesize that by analyzing the eye movements of high- and low-performing participants in a comparative manner, we can better understand this variability, and identify if these two groups rely on different visual strategies. Such efforts inform the visualization designs, and in turn, these designs can better assist people. Those who perform poorly in navigational tasks for reasons such as lack of training or differences in visuospatial abilities might especially benefit from such assistance. In this paper, we present our concept for a work-in-progress study and provide the relevant background

Evaluating route learning performance of older and younger adults in differently-designed virtual environments: a task-differential analysis

Navigating in unfamiliar environments is a complex task that requires considerable cognitive resources to memorize (and eventually learn) a route. In general, virtual environments (VEs) can be useful tools in training for route learning and improving route recall. However, the visual information presented in VEs, that is, what we choose to present in a virtual scene, can strongly affect the ability to recall a route. This is especially relevant when we consider individual differences, and people’s varying abilities to navigate effectively. Taking various cognitive processes involved in route learning into account, we designed a multi-level experiment that examines route recall effectiveness in a navigation context. We conceptualized that the participants would have to recall information related to the route that is demanding on primarily visual, spatial, or visuospatial memory systems. Furthermore, because there is a clear link between memory capacity and ageing; we conducted our experiment with two different age groups (total 81 participants: 42 young people aged 20-30 yo and 39 older people aged 65-76 yo). We also measured participants’ spatial abilities and visuospatial memory capacity for control purposes. After experiencing a pre-determined route in three different VEs (that we varied in levels of visual realism, and named as AbstractVE, MixedVE, and RealisticVE), each participant solved a list of tasks that was designed to measure visual, spatial, and visuospatial recall of the scene elements and information about the route. Participants solved these tasks immediately after experiencing the route in each VE, as well as after a week, thus we could measure ‘learning’ (delayed recall). Results from our study confirm the well-known decline in recall with age (young vs. older), provide new information regarding memorability of routes and VE scene elements over time (immediate vs. delayed), and most importantly demonstrate the crucial role the visual design decisions play in route learning and memorability of visuospatial displays

Virtual environments as memory training devices in navigational tasks for older adults

Cognitive training approaches using virtual environments (VEs) might counter age-related visuospatial memory decline and associated difficulties in wayfinding. However, the effects of the visual design of a VE in route learning are not fully understood. Therefore, we created a custom-designed VE optimized for route learning, with adjusted levels of realism and highlighted landmark locations (MixedVE). Herein we tested participants’ route recall performance in identifying direction of turn at the intersection with this MixedVE against two baseline alternatives (AbstractVE, RealisticVE). An older vs. a younger group solved the tasks in two stages (immediate vs. delayed recall by one week). Our results demonstrate that the MixedVE facilitates better recall accuracy than the other two VEs for both age groups. Importantly, this pattern persists a week later. Additionally, our older participants were mostly overconfident in their route recall performance, but the MixedVE moderated this potentially detrimental overconfidence. Before the experiment, participants clearly preferred the RealisticVE, whereas after the experiment, most of the younger, and many of the older participants, preferred the MixedVE. Taken together, our findings provide insights into the importance of tailoring visualization design in route learning with VEs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the great potential of the MixedVE and by extension, of similar VEs as memory training devices for route learning, especially for older participants.ISSN:2045-232

User studies in cartography: opportunities for empirical research on interactive maps and visualizations

The possibility of digital interactivity requires us to reenvision the map reader as the map user, and to address the perceptual, cognitive, cultural, and practical considerations that influence the user’s experience with interactive maps and visualizations. In this article, we present an agenda for empirical research on this user and the interactive designs he or she employs. The research agenda is a result of a multi-stage discussion among international scholars facilitated by the International Cartographic Association that included an early round of position papers and two subsequent workshops to narrow into pressing themes and important research opportunities. The focus of our discussion is epistemological and reflects the wide interdisciplinary influences on user studies in cartography. The opportunities are presented as imperatives that cross basic research and user-centered design studies, and identify practical impediments to empirical research, emerging interdisciplinary recommendations to improve user studies, and key research needs specific to the study of interactive maps and visualizations. La possibilité de l’interactivité numérique nous pousse à revoir le lecteur de cartes comme un utilisateur de cartes et à traiter les considérations perceptuelles, cognitives, culturelles et pratiques qui influencent l’expérience d’un utilisateur de cartes et de visualisations interactives. Dans cet article nous présentons un agenda de recherche empirique sur cet utilisateur et sur les conceptions interactives qu’il ou elle réalise. L’agenda de recherche proposé est le résultat d’une discussion en plusieurs étapes menée par des spécialistes internationaux, facilitée par l’association cartographique internationale selon un processus comprenant un premier ensemble de papiers de positions, suivi de deux ateliers dont les objectifs étaient de se concentrer autour de thèmes prioritaires et d'opportunités de recherche majeures. L’objet de la discussion était épistémologique et reflète les larges influences interdisciplinaires des études portant sur les utilisateurs en cartographie. Les opportunités sont présentées comme des impératifs qui associent les recherches fondamentales aux études de conception centrées utilisateurs. Elles permettent d’identifier les obstacles pratiques aux recherches empiriques, les recommandations interdisciplinaires émergeantes pour améliorer les études des utilisateurs et les besoins de recherche prioritaires spécifiques à l’étude des cartes et visualisations interactives