The virtual playground: an educational virtual reality environment for evaluating interactivity and conceptual learning

The research presented in this paper aims at investigating user interaction in immersive virtual learning environments (VLEs), focusing on the role and the effect of interactivity on conceptual learning. The goal has been to examine if the learning of young users improves through interacting in (i.e. exploring, reacting to, and acting upon) an immersive virtual environment (VE) compared to non interactive or non-immersive environments. Empirical work was carried out with more than 55 primary school students between the ages of 8 and 12, in different between-group experiments: an exploratory study, a pilot study, and a large-scale experiment. The latter was conducted in a virtual environment designed to simulate a playground. In this ‘Virtual Playground’, each participant was asked to complete a set of tasks designed to address arithmetical ‘fractions’ problems. Three different conditions, two experimental virtual reality (VR) conditions and a non-VR condition, that varied the levels of activity and interactivity, were designed to evaluate how children accomplish the various tasks. Pre-tests, post-tests, interviews, video, audio, and log files were collected for each participant, and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. This paper presents a selection of case studies extracted from the qualitative analysis, which illustrate the variety of approaches taken by children in the VEs in response to visual cues and system feedback. Results suggest that the fully interactive VE aided children in problem solving but did not provide as strong evidence of conceptual change as expected; rather, it was the passive VR environment, where activity was guided by a virtual robot, that seemed to support student reflection and recall, leading to indications of conceptual change

Minimalism and diachronic syntax: the development of negative expressions*

The present paper provides a formal account of the development of negative expressions as an instance of grammaticalisation, in the sense of Roberts & Roussou (2003). Drawing on data from the history of Greek, it is shown that (a subclass of) emphatic indefinites in the scope of negation are prone to reanalysis as n-words. It is next argued that n-words follow the typology of pronouns; thus reanalysis of the relevant indefinites is of the DP > φP > NP kind, yielding different types of negative elements accordingly

Wh-interrogatives: from Classical Greek to Modern Greek

The aim of this paper is to provide an account of wh-interrogatives in Classical Greek (CG) and discuss the differences with their Modern Greek (MG) counterparts. Within this context the present analysis offers some new data on the typology of wh-interrogatives, thus extending the discussion provided by Cheng (1991). The main difference between CG and MG is that in the former case the indefinite is also used as a wh-phrase, while in the latter the classes of wh-interrogatives and indefinites (existential quantifiers) are morphologically distinct. Both grammatical systems though exhibit wh-movement. However, CG, unlike MG, seems to permit multiple fronting of wh-phrases, resembling in that respect languages like Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian (Rudin (1988)). I will argue that multiple wh-fronting targets different C positions and is subject to the following two conditions: a) there is a morphological correlation between wh-phrases and indefinites (cf. Cheng (1991)), and b) there is independent evidence for the activation of different C-positions by means of using C-particles, or have second-position effects. Condition (a) considers the properties of the attractee, while (b) links multiple wh-movement to clause-structure, relating it to the attractor. Finally, I will briefly consider the changes from CG to MG

a new challenge for Portuguese religiosity

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Virtual Reality and Education : evaluating the Learning Experience

The paper presents the evaluation of two different case studies involving educational virtual reality experiences for adults and children. The case studies concern applications for two different content domains, archeology and mathematics education, both developed for high-end projection-based virtual reality systems such as the CAVE®. In the first case of archaeology education, an evaluation study was performed in situ with adults and children who used the virtual environment during their museum visit. In the second case of learning abstract mathematics, the evaluation study was held in a controlled laboratory setting. The evaluation methods used ranged from quantifiable pre- and post- questionnaires and log files to the more qualitative methods of direct observation and semi-structured interviewing. Emphasis was given both on usability issues and on the evaluation of effectiveness in terms of learning.L'article presenta l'avaluació de dos estudis de cas diferents que fan referència a experiències educatives per adults i nens utilitzant la realitat virtual. Els estudis de cas consisteixen en aplicacions a dos continguts diferents, l'ensenyament de l'arqueologia i de les matemàtiques, desenvolupades ambdues per sistemes de realitat virtual projectada d'alta definició com CAVE®. En el primer cas que es refereix a l'ensenyament de l'arqueologia, es va dur a terme un estudi in situ amb adults i nens que van utilitzar l'entorn virtual durant una visita a un museu. En el segon cas, el de l'ensenyament de matemàtiques abstractes, l'estudi avaluatiu es va dur a terme en un context controlat de laboratori. Els mètodes avaluatius utilitzats abastaren des de qüestionaris quantificables (per abans i després de l'experiència) fins a mètodes més cualitatius d'observació directa i entrevistes semi-estructurades. S'enfasitzà tant els aspectes relacionats amb les possibilitats d'ús, com l'avaluació de l'efectivitat en termes d'aprenentatge, així com en l'eficàcia del desplegament a llarg termini de la Realitat Virtual en condicions realistes d'ús, especialment quan la tecnologia es pugui convertir en habitual i el contingut prevalgui sobre el mètode expositiu.El artículo presenta la evaluación de dos estudios de caso diferentes referentes a experiencias educativas para adultos y niños utilizando la realidad virtual. Los estudios de caso consisten en aplicaciones a dos contenidos diferentes, la enseñanza de la arqueología y de las matemáticas, desarrolladas ambas para sistemas de realidad virtual proyectada de alta definición como CAVE®. En el primer caso referido a la enseñanza de la arqueología, se llevo a cabo un estudio in situ con adultos y niños que utilizaron el entorno virtual durante una visita a un museo. En el segundo caso, referido a la enseñanza de matemáticas abstractas, el estudio evaluativo se llevo a cabo en un contexto controlado de laboratorio. Los métodos evaluativos utilizados abarcaron desde cuestionarios cuantificables (para antes y después de la experiencia) hasta métodos más cualitativos de observación directa y entrevistas semi-estructuradas. Se enfatizó tanto los aspectos relacionados con las posibilidades de uso, como la evaluación de la efectividad en términos de aprendizaje, así como en la eficacia del despliegue a largo plazo de la Realidad Virtual en condiciones realistas de uso, especialmente cuando la tecnología se pueda convertir en habitual y el contenido prevalezca sobre el medio expositivo

Transnational spirituality and healing: an ethnographic exploration of alternative medicine in Lisbon and Athens

In contemporary Portugal and Greece, the number of individuals who resort to alternative medicine continues to rise. From yoga, meditation and energy therapies to healing based on various religio-spiritual traditions, there is a variety of therapeutic practices one can choose from. The main objective of this paper is to show how a therapeutic and spiritual pluralism is produced through the implementation of transnational influences on spirituality and healing. It investigates the diverse ways in which the practice of spirituality through healing leads to a better understanding of how current processes of globalisation, transnationalism and multiculturalism affect, develop and negotiate one’s individual, social, spiritual and medical identity. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Lisbon and Athens, the Portuguese and Greek capital equivalently, the paper explores the pluralistic and transnational character of alternative medicine and the spiritual creativity with which such therapies are practised. Taking the role of the (spiritual) holistic practitioner as healer as a point of departure, it provides an empirical account of the shifting status of both religiosity and healthcare in two southern European countries that are still followed by the stereotype of being predominantly linked to Christianity as the denominational religion, and to biomedicine as the predominant healthcare system.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Living religion between orthodox christianity and new age spirituality in Greece: Gender and power

In contemporary Greece, Orthodox Christianity remains the predominant institutionalized religion, being directly connected to Greek religious and ethnic identity. However, more recently, the socalled ‘New Age spirituality’ has begun to claim an active position within contemporary Greek religiosity. Based on long-term fieldwork, this paper offers an anthropological account of how a new religious pluralism is formed at the level of vernacular religious practice in Greece, through negotiations of gender and power. The main objective is to show how religiosity is lived and transformed, through the amalgamation of religion and spirituality, in a Mediterranean country where, according to the stereotype that follows most countries of the northern shore of the Mediterranean region, Christianity supposedly prevails.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Exploring the piano accompanist in western duo music ensembles : towards a conceptual framework of professional piano accompaniment practice

This thesis explores the phenomenon of the piano accompanist in Western art duo chamber ensembles, specifically the solo–accompaniment medium. Following a critical examination of relevant literature by practitioners and researchers where changing socio-cultural attitudes towards accompanists are discussed along with related issues about accompaniment and ensemble playing more broadly, two empirical studies are reported. These enquiries aim to investigate the expectations of contemporary professional soloists and pianists about accompanists as well as to explore the skills and roles exhibited by pianists working in the solo–accompaniment duo context, which have yet to be systematically evaluated. Both studies adopt qualitative methodology with interpretative phenomenological analysis, the first comprising interviews with twenty professional musicians, the second involving case study observation of rehearsals and performances using video recalls with three accompanists and three soloists working in different combinations. The data provided insight into the range of musical and other expectations articulated by professional musicians about piano accompanists as well as the nature of the skills and roles involved in achieving ensemble, interpreting soloists’ intentions, dealing with unexpected incidents, achieving balance and communicating with soloists. A novel conceptual framework about accompaniment practice is constructed based upon the data from the two studies as well as the relevant literature which articulates musico-functional and socio-emotional aspects of accompaniment practice

The impact of the European economic and monetary union on the stability of the Greek economy

This paper addresses the issue of how the stability of the Greek economy will be affected by Greece’s accession to the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The theoretical basis for most of the discussion of this issue to date is found in the theory of optimum currency areas (OCA), which identifies the nature of economic disturbances as key to whether currency unions provide a net benefit. We use vector autoregression to identify the nature of the disturbances that the Greek economy has experienced in the past, and add such disturbances to stochastic simulations of a structural macroeconomic model of the Greek economy, part of a larger model of the European economy known as QUEST II. The main conclusion is that the EMU will make output slightly more stable in the Greek economy. Therefore, the Greek economy will reap the efficiency gains of the common currency without suffering significantly from the elimination of its monetary sovereignty.peer-reviewe