Student Trajectories in Physics: The Need for Analysis through a Socio-Cultural Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zapata, Mara

2010-01-01

An analysis of student connections through time and space relative to the core discipline of physics is attempted, as viewed through the lens of actor-network-theory, by Antonia Candela. Using lenses of cultural realities, networks, and perceived power in the discourse of one specific university in the capital city of Mexico and one undergraduate…

Physical activity in the mass media: an audience perspective.

PubMed

Smith, Ben J; Bonfiglioli, Catriona M F

2015-04-01

Physical activity's role in promoting health is highlighted in public health campaigns, news and current affairs, reality television and other programs. An investigation of audience exposure, beliefs and reactions to media portrayals of physical activity offers insights into the salience and influence of this communication. An audience reception study was conducted involving in-depth interviews with 46 adults in New South Wales, Australia. The sample was stratified by gender, age group, area of residence and body mass index. Most respondents could only recall media coverage of physical activity with prompting. Television was the primary channel of exposure, with reality television the dominant source, followed by news programs and sports coverage. The messages most readily recalled were the health risks of inactivity, especially obesity, and the necessity of keeping active. Physical activity was regarded as a matter of personal volition, or for children, parental responsibility. Respondents believed that the media had given physical activity inadequate attention, focused too heavily on risks and not provided practical advice. In Australia, there is a need to counter the framing of physical activity by reality television, and engage the media to generate understanding of the socioecological determinants of inactivity. Physical activity campaigns should deliver positive and practical messages. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Teaching of transcendence in physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaki, Stanley L.

1987-10-01

Efforts aimed at showing that modern physics points to a truly transcendental factor as the explanation of the universe should be welcomed by those who have urged the teaching of physics in a broad cultural context. Those efforts may profit from the following guidelines: avoid the antiontological basis of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics; make much of the reality of the universe and its enormous degree of specificity as revealed by general relativity and the cosmic background radiation; exploit Gödel's incompleteness theorems against any grand unified theory proposed as if it were true a priori and necessarily; and realize that the design argument always presupposes the validity of the cosmological argument.

Theoretical Explanations in Mathematical Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivadulla, Andrés

Many physicists wonder at the usefulness of mathematics in physics. According Madrid to Einstein mathematics is admirably appropriate to the objects of reality. Wigner asserts that mathematics plays an unreasonable important role in physics. James Jeans affirms that God is a mathematician, and that the first aim of physics is to discover the laws of nature, which are written in mathematical language. Dirac suggests that God may have used very advanced mathematics in constructing the universe. And Barrow adheres himself to Wigner's claim about the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics for the workings of the physical world.

Transcending matter: physics and ultimate meaning.

PubMed

Paulson, Steve; Frank, Adam; Kaiser, David; Maudlin, Tim; Natarajan, Priyamvada

2015-12-01

From the discovery of new galaxies and nearly undetectable dark energy to the quantum entanglement of particles across the universe, new findings in physics naturally elicit a sense of awe and wonder. For the founders of modern physics-from Einstein and Bohr to Heisenberg, Pauli, and Bohm-a fascination with deeper questions of meaning and ultimate reality led some of them to explore esoteric traditions and metaphysics. More recently, however, physicists have largely shunned such philosophical and spiritual associations. What can contemporary physics offer us in the quest to understand our place in the universe? Has physics in some ways become a religion unto itself that rejects the search for existential meaning? Discussion of these and related questions is presented in this paper. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Exploring Virtual Reality for Classroom Use: The Virtual Reality and Education Lab at East Carolina University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auld, Lawrence W. S.; Pantelidis, Veronica S.

1994-01-01

Describes the Virtual Reality and Education Lab (VREL) established at East Carolina University to study the implications of virtual reality for elementary and secondary education. Highlights include virtual reality software evaluation; hardware evaluation; computer-based curriculum objectives which could use virtual reality; and keeping current…

Inclusion Needs of 3.0 Students in Latin America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budden, Connie B.; Brenes, Lizette; Baraya, Aristides R.; Budden, Michael C.

2010-01-01

Recent changes in information and communication technologies offer people unprecedented opportunities to generate and share knowledge. Currently, inclusion refers to equal opportunities for the 3.0 person and it is not limited to special physical needs or reducing the digital divide. Faced with this reality, universities, in general must transform…

A Sense of Place in the Science Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Membiela, Pedro; DePalma, Renee; Pazos, Mercedes Suarez

2011-01-01

Place-based science education engages with the laboratories of complex reality where natural processes combine with social practice, going beyond the physical world, to encompass the meanings and sense of attachment local residents feel for places. This brief report describes how a university science methods class in a primary teacher training…

"Race" Talk! Tensions and Contradictions in Sport and PE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hylton, Kevin

2015-01-01

Background: The universal sport discourses of meritocracy and equality are so engrained that few challenge them. The most cursory interest in sport, Physical Education (PE), and society will reveal that the lived reality is quite different. Racial disparities in the leadership and administration of sport are commonplace worldwide; yet, from…

Science and Ultimate Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrow, John D.; Davies, Paul C. W.; Harper, Charles L., Jr.

2004-06-01

This preview of the future of physics comprises contributions from recognized authorities inspired by the pioneering work of John Wheeler. Quantum theory represents a unifying theme within the book, as it relates to the topics of the nature of physical reality, cosmic inflation, the arrow of time, models of the universe, superstrings, quantum gravity and cosmology. Attempts to formulate a final unification theory of physics are also considered, along with the existence of hidden dimensions of space, hidden cosmic matter, and the strange world of quantum technology. John Archibald Wheeler is one of the most influential scientists of the twentieth century. His extraordinary career has spanned momentous advances in physics, from the birth of the nuclear age to the conception of the quantum computer. Famous for coining the term "black hole," Professor Wheeler helped lay the foundations for the rebirth of gravitation as a mainstream branch of science, triggering the explosive growth in astrophysics and cosmology that followed. His early contributions to physics include the S matrix, the theory of nuclear rotation (with Edward Teller), the theory of nuclear fission (with Niels Bohr), action-at-a-distance electrodynamics (with Richard Feynman), positrons as backward-in-time electrons, the universal Fermi interaction (with Jayme Tiomno), muonic atoms, and the collective model of the nucleus. His inimitable style of thinking, quirky wit, and love of the bizarre have inspired generations of physicists.

Reality and the Physicist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Espagnat, Bernard; Whitehouse, Translated by J. C.

1989-03-01

Preface; Introduction; Part I. Instrumentalism and Science: 1. The positivism of the physicists; 2. Positivism and fallibilism: philosophical controversies; 3. Border areas of instrumentalism; Part II. Physical Realism and Contemporary Physics: 4. Physical realism and fallibilism; 5. Microrealism and non-separability; 6. Physical realism in trouble; Part III. Causality, Reality and Time: 7. Irreversibility; 8. Sensible reality; 9. Independent reality; 10. The dilemma of modern physics: reality or meaning?; 11. Questions and answers; 12. Summary and perspectives; Appendixes; Addendum; Notes; References; Index.

Fairy-Tale Physics Farewell to Reality Bankrupting Physics: Baggott-Unzicker-Jones Critiques Shame Physics' Shameless Media-Hype P.R. Spin-Doctoring Touting Sci-Fi Veracity-Abandonment ``Show-Biz'' Spectacle: Caveat Emptor!!!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siegel, Edward

2014-03-01

Baggott[Farewell to Reality: How Fairy-Tale Physics Betrayed Search For Scientific Truth]-Unzicker [Bankrupting Physics: How Top Scientists Are Gambling Away Credibility] shame physics shameless rock-star media-hype P.R. spin-doctoring veracity-abandoning touting sci-fi show-biz aided by online proliferation of uncritical pop-sci science-writers verbal diarrhea, all spectacle vs little truth, lacking Kant-Popper skepticism/ falsification, lemming-like stampedes to truth abandonment, qualified by vague adverbs: might, could, should, may,...vs factual is! Physics, motivated by financial greed, swept up in its very own hype, touts whatever next big thing/cutting-edge bombast ad infinitum/ad nauseum, turning it into mere trendy carney sideshow, full of fury(FOF) but signifying absolutely nothing! Witness: GIGO claims string-theory holographic-universe causes cuprates optical conductivity; failed Anderson RVB cuprates theory vs. Keimer discovery all cuprates ``paramagnons'' bosons aka Overhauser SDWs; Overbye NYT holographic-universe jargonial-obfuscation comments including one from APS journals editor-in-chief re. its unintelligibility, FOF but signifying absolutely nothing INTELLIGIBLE!; Bak/BNL SOC tad late rediscovery of F =ma mere renaming of Siegel acoustic-emission!; 2007 physics Nobel-prize Fert-Gruenberg rediscovery of Siegel[JMMM 7,312(78); https://www.flickr.com/search/?q = GIANT-MAGNETORESISTANCE] GMR. Each trendy latest big thing modulo lack of prior attribution aka out and out bombastic chicanery! Siegel caveat emptor ``Buzzwordism, Bandwagonism, Sloganeering for Fun Profit Survival Ego'' sociological-dysfunctionality thrives!

Fairy-Tale Physics Farewell to Reality Bankrupting Physics: Baggott-Unzicker-Jones Critiques Shame Physics' Shameless Media-Hype P.R. Spin-Doctoring Touting Sci-Fi Veracity-Abandonment ``Show-Biz'' Spectacle: Caveat Emptor!!!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siegel, Edward

2014-03-01

Baggott[Farewell to Reality: How Fairy-Tale Physics Betrayed Search For Scientific Truth]-Unzicker [Bankrupting Physics: How Top Scientists Are Gambling Away Credibility] shame physics shameless rock-star media-hype P.R. spin-doctoring veracity-abandoning touting sci-fi show-biz aided by online proliferation of uncritical pop-sci science-writers verbal diarrhea, all spectacle vs little truth, lacking Kant-Popper skepticism/falsification, lemming-like stampedes to truth abandonment, qualified by vague adverbs: might, could, should, may,...vs factual is! Physics, motivated by financial greed, swept up in its very own hype, touts whatever next big thing/cutting-edge bombast ad infinitum/ad nauseum, turning it into mere trendy carney sideshow, full of fury(FOF) but signifying absolutely nothing! Witness: GIGO claims string-theory holographic-universe causes cuprates optical conductivity; failed Anderson RVB cuprates theory vs. Keimer discovery all cuprates ``paramagnons'' bosons aka Overhauser SDWs; Overbye NYT holographic-universe jargonial-obfuscation comments including one from APS journals editor-in-chief re. its unintelligibility, FOF but signifying absolutely nothing INTELLIGIBLE!; Bak/BNL SOC tad late rediscovery of F =ma mere renaming of Siegel acoustic-emission!; 2007 physics Nobel-prize Fert-Gruenberg rediscovery of Siegel[JMMM 7,312(78); https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=GIANT-MAGNETORESISTANCE] GMR. Each trendy latest big thing modulo lack of prior attribution aka out and out bombastic chicanery! Siegel caveat emptor ``Buzzwordism, Bandwagonism, Sloganeering for Fun Profit Survival Ego'' sociological-dysfunctionality thrives!

The World of D-PETE: Examining the Complexity and Reality of Doctoral Education in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lund, Jacalyn

2016-01-01

The world of PETE doctoral education is changing rapidly given the current climate in U.S. universities. This article will introduce the reader to the issues facing higher education and set the stage for a series of articles to follow in this special issue of "Quest."

Experiments in mixed reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krum, David M.; Sadek, Ramy; Kohli, Luv; Olson, Logan; Bolas, Mark

2010-01-01

As part of the Institute for Creative Technologies and the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, the Mixed Reality lab develops technologies and techniques for presenting realistic immersive training experiences. Such experiences typically place users within a complex ecology of social actors, physical objects, and collections of intents, motivations, relationships, and other psychological constructs. Currently, it remains infeasible to completely synthesize the interactivity and sensory signatures of such ecologies. For this reason, the lab advocates mixed reality methods for training and conducts experiments exploring such methods. Currently, the lab focuses on understanding and exploiting the elasticity of human perception with respect to representational differences between real and virtual environments. This paper presents an overview of three projects: techniques for redirected walking, displays for the representation of virtual humans, and audio processing to increase stress.

Tribute to H. John Caulfield: hijacking of the 'holographic principle' by cosmologists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roychoudhuri, Chandrasekhar

2013-09-01

I came to know Caulfield as a graduate student while developing suitable techniques to quantitatively evaluate coherence properties of pulsed Ruby and YAG lasers beams during the first decade of their evolutions. We continued our professional acquaintance till 2011 through various yearly conferences. It was at the 2011, 4th biennial conference on, "The nature of light: What are photons?" [1], Caulfield gave a paper on this topic and privately expressed his deep concern that the optical "Holographic Principle" has been hijacked by the cosmologists based upon insufficient understanding of the physical processes behind generation and reconstruction of optical holograms. Unlike our material universe, holographic images do not exist as touchable objects; but the material universe does. Now, in his absence, I have taken the liberty of presenting his views about the holographic principle and extend that to further challenge the prevailing hypothesis that cosmological red shift is purely optical Doppler shift that has led to the postulate that the current universe is expanding rapidly. Rigorously speaking, the core problem is generated when we assign reality to human interpreted information out of experimentally derived data, which can never capture complete behavioral properties of any cosmological object that we try to characterize. In holography, an object is a touch-able reality. Scattered light from an object brings incomplete, but sufficient information about the object to construct a decent hologram. It records phase and amplitude information indirectly as intensity fringes. Further, the reconstructed IMAGE does not represent the original touch-able reality. Besides, the image is further degraded from the insufficient information originally recorded on the hologram. Physical theories should be based upon our need to map physical processes behind the phenomenon under study. Information is a subjective human interpretation of measurable parameters registered by instruments, whose registration fidelities are always less than 100%. We illustrate this point by further criticizing the postulate of "Expanding Universe" by analyzing optical Doppler shift as a function of the two velocities, those of source-atoms and those of detector-atoms, in the coronas of stars in different galaxies with respect to the stationary space, instead of just the relative velocities between all possible pairs of galaxies.

From Music to Physics: The Undervalued Legacy of Pythagoras

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caleon, Imelda; Ramanathan, Subramaniam

2008-01-01

This paper presents the early investigations about the nature of sound of the Pythagoreans, and how they started a tradition that remains valid up to present times--the use of numbers in representing natural reality. It will touch on the Pythagorean notion of musical harmony, which was extended to the notion of universal harmony. How the…

Mixed reality ventriculostomy simulation: experience in neurosurgical residency.

PubMed

Hooten, Kristopher G; Lister, J Richard; Lombard, Gwen; Lizdas, David E; Lampotang, Samsun; Rajon, Didier A; Bova, Frank; Murad, Gregory J A

2014-12-01

Medicine and surgery are turning toward simulation to improve on limited patient interaction during residency training. Many simulators today use virtual reality with augmented haptic feedback with little to no physical elements. In a collaborative effort, the University of Florida Department of Neurosurgery and the Center for Safety, Simulation & Advanced Learning Technologies created a novel "mixed" physical and virtual simulator to mimic the ventriculostomy procedure. The simulator contains all the physical components encountered for the procedure with superimposed 3-D virtual elements for the neuroanatomical structures. To introduce the ventriculostomy simulator and its validation as a necessary training tool in neurosurgical residency. We tested the simulator in more than 260 residents. An algorithm combining time and accuracy was used to grade performance. Voluntary postperformance surveys were used to evaluate the experience. Results demonstrate that more experienced residents have statistically significant better scores and completed the procedure in less time than inexperienced residents. Survey results revealed that most residents agreed that practice on the simulator would help with future ventriculostomies. This mixed reality simulator provides a real-life experience, and will be an instrumental tool in training the next generation of neurosurgeons. We have now implemented a standard where incoming residents must prove efficiency and skill on the simulator before their first interaction with a patient.

The Potential of Using Virtual Reality Technology in Physical Activity Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasco, Denis

2013-01-01

In recent years, virtual reality technology has been successfully used for learning purposes. The purposes of the article are to examine current research on the role of virtual reality in physical activity settings and discuss potential application of using virtual reality technology to enhance learning in physical education. The article starts…

A Staged Reading of the Play: TRANSCENDENCE: Relativity and Its Discontents by Robert Marc Friedman

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Robert Marc

2015-04-01

TRANSCENDENCE explores aspects of Einstein's life and his general theory of relativity at the time of the theory's creation and initial reception. While being faithful to historical scholarship, the play creates its own theatrical reality aiming to engage emotions and intellect. Those who strive for transcendence must nevertheless also confront the harsh realities of living in specific time-bound social contexts. Universal constants that anchor physical theory in an objective reality, as Einstein believed, do not readily have equivalents in notions of identity, duty, loyalty, and excellence. In November 1915 after toiling for years in Zurich, Prague, and now Berlin, Einstein achieved his general theory of relativity. When in 1919 British astronomers announced evidence for the bending of starlight by the sun as Einstein had predicted, he soon surprisingly found himself an international celebrity. Expectations arose that he would be called to Stockholm. But the Nobel Committee for Physics refused to acknowledge ``speculations'' such Einstein's. The dismissal of relativity entailed principled and biased opposition, and not simply mistakes in evaluation. Several committee members agreed that Einstein must not receive a Prize. Join us for a dramatic staged reading of TRANSCENDENCE, a play by the science historian Robert Marc Friedman (http://www.hf.uio.no/iakh/english/people/aca/robertfr/index.html) and directed by James Glossman, Lecturer in Directing and Shakespeare, Johns Hopkins University. After the performance, the playwright, director and actors will be available for a talk-back audience discussion.

Strengthening the Transition to University by Confronting the Expectation-Reality Gap in Psychology Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winstone, Naomi; Bretton, Hannah

2013-01-01

In negotiating the transition to Higher Education, students bring core expectations from their A-level study that are likely to be different to the lived reality of university study. Bridging the transition to university requires an in-depth understanding of the differences between the imagined and the reality; the expectations and the experience.…

The evolving block universe and the meshing together of times.

PubMed

Ellis, George F R

2014-10-01

It has been proposed that spacetime should be regarded as an evolving block universe, bounded to the future by the present time, which continually extends to the future. This future boundary is defined at each time by measuring proper time along Ricci eigenlines from the start of the universe. A key point, then, is that physical reality can be represented at many different scales: hence, the passage of time may be seen as different at different scales, with quantum gravity determining the evolution of spacetime itself at the Planck scale, but quantum field theory and classical physics determining the evolution of events within spacetime at larger scales. The fundamental issue then arises as to how the effective times at different scales mesh together, leading to the concepts of global and local times. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.

Levels and loops: the future of artificial intelligence and neuroscience.

PubMed Central

Bell, A J

1999-01-01

In discussing artificial intelligence and neuroscience, I will focus on two themes. The first is the universality of cycles (or loops): sets of variables that affect each other in such a way that any feed-forward account of causality and control, while informative, is misleading. The second theme is based around the observation that a computer is an intrinsically dualistic entity, with its physical set-up designed so as not to interfere with its logical set-up, which executes the computation. The brain is different. When analysed empirically at several different levels (cellular, molecular), it appears that there is no satisfactory way to separate a physical brain model (or algorithm, or representation), from a physical implementational substrate. When program and implementation are inseparable and thus interfere with each other, a dualistic point-of-view is impossible. Forced by empiricism into a monistic perspective, the brain-mind appears as neither embodied by or embedded in physical reality, but rather as identical to physical reality. This perspective has implications for the future of science and society. I will approach these from a negative point-of-view, by critiquing some of our millennial culture's popular projected futures. PMID:10670021

Hybrid Reality Lab Capabilities - Video 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delgado, Francisco J.; Noyes, Matthew

2016-01-01

Our Hybrid Reality and Advanced Operations Lab is developing incredibly realistic and immersive systems that could be used to provide training, support engineering analysis, and augment data collection for various human performance metrics at NASA. To get a better understanding of what Hybrid Reality is, let's go through the two most commonly known types of immersive realities: Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. Virtual Reality creates immersive scenes that are completely made up of digital information. This technology has been used to train astronauts at NASA, used during teleoperation of remote assets (arms, rovers, robots, etc.) and other activities. One challenge with Virtual Reality is that if you are using it for real time-applications (like landing an airplane) then the information used to create the virtual scenes can be old (i.e. visualized long after physical objects moved in the scene) and not accurate enough to land the airplane safely. This is where Augmented Reality comes in. Augmented Reality takes real-time environment information (from a camera, or see through window, and places digitally created information into the scene so that it matches with the video/glass information). Augmented Reality enhances real environment information collected with a live sensor or viewport (e.g. camera, window, etc.) with the information-rich visualization provided by Virtual Reality. Hybrid Reality takes Augmented Reality even further, by creating a higher level of immersion where interactivity can take place. Hybrid Reality takes Virtual Reality objects and a trackable, physical representation of those objects, places them in the same coordinate system, and allows people to interact with both objects' representations (virtual and physical) simultaneously. After a short period of adjustment, the individuals begin to interact with all the objects in the scene as if they were real-life objects. The ability to physically touch and interact with digitally created objects that have the same shape, size, location to their physical object counterpart in virtual reality environment can be a game changer when it comes to training, planning, engineering analysis, science, entertainment, etc. Our Project is developing such capabilities for various types of environments. The video outlined with this abstract is a representation of an ISS Hybrid Reality experience. In the video you can see various Hybrid Reality elements that provide immersion beyond just standard Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality.

Information and the Nature of Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Paul; Gregersen, Niels Henrik

2014-05-01

1. Introduction: does information matter?; Paul Davies and Niels Henrik Gregersen; Part I. History: 2. From matter to materialism and (almost) back Ernan McMullin; 3. Unsolved dilemmas: the concept of matter in the history of philosophy and in contemporary physics Philip Clayton; Part II. Physics: 4. Universe from bit Paul Davies; 5. The computational universe Seth Lloyd; 6. Minds and values in the quantum universe Henry Pierce Stapp; Part III. Biology: 7. The concept of information in biology John Maynard Smith; 8. Levels of information: Shannon-Bolzmann-Darwin Terrence W. Deacon; 9. Information and communication in living matter Bernd-Olaf Kuppers; 10. Semiotic freedom: an emerging force Jesper Hoffmeyer; 11. Care on earth: generating informed concern Holmes Rolston; Part IV. Philosophy and Theology: 12. The sciences of complexity - a new theological resource? Arthur Peacocke; 13. God as the ultimate informational principle Keith Ward; 14. Information, theology and the universe John F. Haught; 15. God, matter, and information: towards a Stoicizing Logos christology Niels Henrik Gregersen; 16. What is the 'spiritual body'? Michael Welker; Index.

Information and the Nature of Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Paul; Gregersen, Niels Henrik

2010-09-01

1. Introduction: does information matter?; Paul Davies and Niels Henrik Gregersen; Part I. History: 2. From matter to materialism and (almost) back Ernan McMullin; 3. Unsolved dilemmas: the concept of matter in the history of philosophy and in contemporary physics Philip Clayton; Part II. Physics: 4. Universe from bit Paul Davies; 5. The computational universe Seth Lloyd; 6. Minds and values in the quantum universe Henry Pierce Stapp; Part III. Biology: 7. The concept of information in biology John Maynard Smith; 8. Levels of information: Shannon-Bolzmann-Darwin Terrence W. Deacon; 9. Information and communication in living matter Bernd-Olaf Küppers; 10. Semiotic freedom: an emerging force Jesper Hoffmeyer; 11. Care on earth: generating informed concern Holmes Rolston; Part IV. Philosophy and Theology: 12. The sciences of complexity - a new theological resource? Arthur Peacocke; 13. God as the ultimate informational principle Keith Ward; 14. Information, theology and the universe John F. Haught; 15. God, matter, and information: towards a Stoicizing Logos christology Niels Henrik Gregersen; 16. What is the 'spiritual body'? Michael Welker; Index.

The STRIVE-ONR Project: Stress Resistance in Virtual Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-29

from the Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) system at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative...better sense of health outcomes; that is, "how the social environment exerts a cumulative impact on the physical and mental well being of individuals...levels with functional decline in elderly men and women. Geriatrics & gerontology international, 9 3, 282-289. Goldman, N., Turra, C. M., Glei, D

Ash'arite's atomistic conception of the physical world: A restatement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pozi, Firdaus; Othman, Mohd Yusof; Mohamed, Faizal

2013-11-27

Atomism plays an important role in the history of human thought. It can be traced back from Democritus atomos in the 500 BC to particle physics and quantum theory in the 21{sup st} century. However, as it being rejected and developed in the course of history of science, it still brings the fundamental question that perplexes physicists. It gives the views that the world is eternal; that the laws of nature is immutable and eternal therefore all phenomena can be determined through the laws and that there is no reality behind the quantum world. In this paper, we shall brieflymore » describe all these three views on the nature of the physical world or universe and this include on the nature of matter. Then, we shall explain our stand on those conceptions based on the Ash'arites atomistic conception of the physical world. We hope this paper can shed a light on several fundamental issues in the conception of the universe and gives the proper response to them.« less

Paraphysics: Physics Misused and Misinterpreted

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stenger, Victor J.

2000-03-01

Today we find physics being misused and misinterpreted in support of a wide range of paranormal and paranatural claims. In alternative medicine, we hear the terms ``energy" and ``quantum" used to suggest a scientific basis for ``energy therapies" and mind-over-matter healing. Quantum mechanics is also misinterpreted as implying the reality of purported psychic phenomena such as extrasensory perception. On the cosmic scale, a sophisticated form of the theological design argument is now being widely disseminated among some scholars and the press: the laws and constants of physics are said to be so finely tuned for the production of life as to provide strong evidence for intelligent design in the universe. However, such an interpretation is not necessitated by data or theory, in physics and cosmology.

Demonstration of entanglement assisted invariance on IBM's quantum experience.

PubMed

Deffner, Sebastian

2017-11-01

Quantum entanglement is among the most fundamental, yet from classical intuition also most surprising properties of the fully quantum nature of physical reality. We report several experiments performed on IBM's Quantum Experience demonstrating envariance - entanglement assisted invariance. Envariance is a recently discovered symmetry of composite quantum systems, which is at the foundational origin of physics and a quantum phenomenon of pure states. These very easily reproducible and freely accessible experiments on Quantum Experience provide simple tools to study the properties of envariance, and we illustrate this for several cases with "quantum universes" consisting of up to five qubits.

Physical Models and Virtual Reality Simulators in Otolaryngology.

PubMed

Javia, Luv; Sardesai, Maya G

2017-10-01

The increasing role of simulation in the medical education of future otolaryngologists has followed suit with other surgical disciplines. Simulators make it possible for the resident to explore and learn in a safe and less stressful environment. The various subspecialties in otolaryngology use physical simulators and virtual-reality simulators. Although physical simulators allow the operator to make direct contact with its components, virtual-reality simulators allow the operator to interact with an environment that is computer generated. This article gives an overview of the various types of physical simulators and virtual-reality simulators used in otolaryngology that have been reported in the literature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategic planning for future learning environments: an exploration of interpersonal, interprofessional and political factors.

PubMed

Schmidt, Cathrine

2013-09-01

This article, written from the stance of a public planner and a policy maker, explores the challenges and potential in creating future learning environments through the concept of a new learning landscape. It is based on the belief that physical planning can support the strategic goals of universities. In Denmark, a political focus on education as a mean to improve national capacity for innovation and growth are redefining the universities role in society. This is in turn changing the circumstances for the physical planning. Drawing on examples of physical initiatives in three different scales--city, building and room scale, the paper highlights how space and place matters on an interpersonal, an interprofessional and a political level. The article suggests that a wider understanding of how new learning landscapes are created--both as a material reality and a political discourse--can help frame an emerging community of practice. This involves university leaders, faculty and students, architects, designers and urban planners, citizens and policy makers with the common goal of creating future learning environments today.

Modeling of luminance distribution in CAVE-type virtual reality systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meironke, Michał; Mazikowski, Adam

2017-08-01

At present, one of the most advanced virtual reality systems are CAVE-type (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) installations. Such systems are usually consisted of four, five or six projection screens and in case of six screens arranged in form of a cube. Providing the user with a high level of immersion feeling in such systems is largely dependent of optical properties of the system. The modeling of physical phenomena plays nowadays a huge role in the most fields of science and technology. It allows to simulate work of device without a need to make any changes in the physical constructions. In this paper distribution of luminance in CAVE-type virtual reality systems were modelled. Calculations were performed for the model of 6-walled CAVE-type installation, based on Immersive 3D Visualization Laboratory, situated at the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics at the Gdańsk University of Technology. Tests have been carried out for two different scattering distribution of the screen material in order to check how these characteristicinfluence on the luminance distribution of the whole CAVE. The basis assumption and simplification of modeled CAVE-type installation and results were presented. The brief discussion about the results and usefulness of developed model were also carried out.

Cosmology of Universe Particles and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wei

2016-06-01

For the first time in history, all properties of cosmology particles are uncovered and described concisely and systematically, known as the elementary particles in contemporary physics.Aligning with the synthesis of the virtual and physical worlds in a hierarchical taxonomy of the universe, this theory refines the topology framework of cosmology, and presents a new perspective of the Yin Yang natural laws that, through the processes of creation and reproduction, the fundamental elements generate an infinite series of circular objects and a Yin Yang duality of dynamic fields that are sequenced and transformed states of matter between the virtual and physical worlds.Once virtual objects are transformed, they embody various enclaves of energy states, known as dark energy, quarks, leptons, bosons, protons, and neutrons, characterized by their incentive oscillations of timestate variables in a duality of virtual realities: energy and time, spin and charge, mass and space, symmetry and antisymmetry.As a consequence, it derives the fully-scaled quantum properties of physical particles in accordance with numerous historical experiments, and has overcome the limitations of uncertainty principle and the Standard Model, towards concisely exploring physical nature and beyond...

So you have a degree in physics. Now what?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tromp, Rudolf

Physics students (undergraduate and graduate), as well as postdoctoral researchers, are usually embedded in an academic environment, working with or for a professor with extensive research experience. This professor will naturally be a role model, and many students aspire to also become a university professor and spend their careers in academia. But reality is different: the vast majority of physics students will not end up in academia, and will not end up spending their careers doing research. Even more, physics research in industry has sharply declined over the last 20 years. So what is a fresh physics graduate to expect, and what career options are available to her? In this (hopefully interactive) talk I will discuss how a degree in physics provides a starting point for addressing a variety of societal grand challenges in a broad range of professional settings.

Expectations versus Realities of Higher Education: Gap Analysis and University Service Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yooyen, Ayooth; Pirani, Mohammed; Mujtaba, Bahaudin G.

2011-01-01

The university education providers are waking to student recruitment challenges, competition, and the realities of marketing. With these changes, a related and equally important issue has emerged; that is, the student service quality and evaluating of the educational encounter. Using university services as the primary study setting, the study…

Learning from avatars: Learning assistants practice physics pedagogy in a classroom simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chini, Jacquelyn J.; Straub, Carrie L.; Thomas, Kevin H.

2016-06-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Preparing and Supporting University Physics Educators.] Undergraduate students are increasingly being used to support course transformations that incorporate research-based instructional strategies. While such students are typically selected based on strong content knowledge and possible interest in teaching, they often do not have previous pedagogical training. The current training models make use of real students or classmates role playing as students as the test subjects. We present a new environment for facilitating the practice of physics pedagogy skills, a highly immersive mixed-reality classroom simulator, and assess its effectiveness for undergraduate physics learning assistants (LAs). LAs prepared, taught, and reflected on a lesson about motion graphs for five highly interactive computer generated student avatars in the mixed-reality classroom simulator. To assess the effectiveness of the simulator for this population, we analyzed the pedagogical skills LAs intended to practice and exhibited during their lessons and explored LAs' descriptions of their experiences with the simulator. Our results indicate that the classroom simulator created a safe, effective environment for LAs to practice a variety of skills, such as questioning styles and wait time. Additionally, our analysis revealed areas for improvement in our preparation of LAs and use of the simulator. We conclude with a summary of research questions this environment could facilitate.

Physical Scaffolding Accelerates the Evolution of Robot Behavior.

PubMed

Buckingham, David; Bongard, Josh

2017-01-01

In some evolutionary robotics experiments, evolved robots are transferred from simulation to reality, while sensor/motor data flows back from reality to improve the next transferral. We envision a generalization of this approach: a simulation-to-reality pipeline. In this pipeline, increasingly embodied agents flow up through a sequence of increasingly physically realistic simulators, while data flows back down to improve the next transferral between neighboring simulators; physical reality is the last link in this chain. As a first proof of concept, we introduce a two-link chain: A fast yet low-fidelity ( lo-fi) simulator hosts minimally embodied agents, which gradually evolve controllers and morphologies to colonize a slow yet high-fidelity ( hi-fi) simulator. The agents are thus physically scaffolded. We show here that, given the same computational budget, these physically scaffolded robots reach higher performance in the hi-fi simulator than do robots that only evolve in the hi-fi simulator, but only for a sufficiently difficult task. These results suggest that a simulation-to-reality pipeline may strike a good balance between accelerating evolution in simulation while anchoring the results in reality, free the investigator from having to prespecify the robot's morphology, and pave the way to scalable, automated, robot-generating systems.

Comment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-03-01

Virtual reality - whose reality? There is an old joke about a farmer who wanted to improve his milk yields and employed an engineer, a psychologist and a physicist to make suggestions. They all went away for a month and came back with their proposals. The engineer had measured the size of the milking stalls, the ambient temperature and the milking process. She suggested a modest rise in ambient temperature and an alteration in the pumping equipment. The psychologist decided to paint the stalls green and play a tape-recording of birdsong to the cows to make them feel more content and release their milk more easily. The physicist explained that he had decided to look at things more fundamentally: 'Let us assume that the cow is a sphere' ... he began. And that's the joke. Some people think that this is the funniest thing out - a physicist can't recognize a cow when they see one. What troubles me is that I didn't get the joke straight away. I am so used to the language and the often-ludicrous assumptions in physics that it did not seem particularly strange or funny. What did you think? The joke, for me, illustrates the essence of our problem in physics teaching. In a very real way, physics is about another world. It isn't about the real world in which ordinary people live, and they know it. Physics has its own language, its own laws and its own values. Depleted uranium has been in the news of late. It is interesting to compare the casual way in which physics teachers have discussed the possibilitiy that one atom of uranium can kill someone with the shock-horror reporting of this fact in the press. We are caricatured, sometimes for good reason, being callous, calculating, cold people - out of touch with the things that really matter. And then there's that other 'real world' - of really tough people who make serious money. Our friends who work out in the worlds of commerce and industry like to mutter, with some superiority, that teachers would never survive in the real world. So here we are, buffered from the 'reality' of commerce by kind managers, left to teach equations at the expense of moral standards ... Excuse me! Physics is the only subject that confronts real reality head on. Physics is all about how this world, this Universe, this reality works. Moral laws, government legislation and theories of economics are all well, and sometimes good, but they take place within this space we call Our Universe. Physics is real This issue of Physics Education contains lots of excellent suggestions for practical work - demonstrations of what happens, and suggestions for investigations. I hope that readers will find them useful and maybe share some good ideas of their own. We are dealing with stuff that actually happens, and that is what makes physics both significant and attractive. The joke I really hate runs 'If it moves it's biology, if it smells it's chemistry and if it doesn't work it's physics'. This is rubbish: gravity always works, in my experience, physics never gets it wrong. In the classroom, maybe a piece of equipment is broken, or the technician forgot the batteries, but we can never say truthfully that 'the experiment didn't work'. Virtual physics Last week a school governor challenged me to justify the cost of so much laboratory space and equipment when, nowadays, so much can be done using computers. Probably the best 'virtual physics' currently available is on CD-ROM. In this issue of Physics Education we have concentrated on CDs for our review section. There is lots of good material out there which can enhance our teaching with wonderful images, immediate feedback for students, and the possibility of continuously monitored differentiated work but, as I explained to the governor, I don't want to teach virtual physics - physics is very firmly, fairly and squarely in this real world (which may, of course, approximate to a sphere ... .). EditorDr Kerry Parker

Planck Visualization Project: Seeing and Hearing the Cosmic Microwave Background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Veen, J.

2010-08-01

The Planck Mission, launched May 14, 2009, will measure the sky over nine frequency channels, with temperature sensitivity of a few microKelvin, and angular resolution of up to 5 arc minutes. Planck is expected to provide the data needed to set tight constraints on cosmological parameters, study the ionization history of the Universe, probe the dynamics of the inflationary era, and test fundamental physics. The Planck Education and Public Outreach collaborators at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of California, Santa Barbara and Purdue University are preparing a variety of materials to present the science goals of the Planck Mission to the public. Two products currently under development are an interactive simulation of the mission which can be run in a virtual reality environment, and an interactive presentation on interpreting the power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background with music. In this paper we present a brief overview of CMB research and the Planck Mission, and discuss how to explain, to non-technical audiences, the theory of how we derive information about the early universe from the power spectrum of the CMB by using the physics of music.

Mentoring Expectations and Realities: An Analysis of Metaphorical Thinking among Female Undergraduate Proteges and Their Mentors in a University Mentoring Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Storrs, Debbie; Putsche, Laura; Taylor, Amy

2008-01-01

This article describes the differences between mentors' and proteges' expectations and realities regarding mentoring relationships and goals. Faculty and senior undergraduate mentors and female undergraduate proteges who participated in a formal, university mentoring programme at the University of Idaho, organised by the institution's Women's…

Sheaf theoretic formulation for consciousness and qualia and relationship to the idealism of non-dual philosophies.

PubMed

Kafatos, Menas C; Kato, Goro C

2017-12-01

Questions about the nature of reality, whether Consciousness is the fundamental reality in the universe, and what is Consciousness itself, have no answer in systems that assume an external reality independent of Consciousness. Ultimately, the ontological foundation of such systems is the absolute division of subject and object. We advocate instead what we consider to be an approach that is in agreement with the foundation of quantum reality, which is based on Rāmānuja's version of Vedanta philosophy and non-dual Kashmir Śaivism. Quantum mechanics opened the door to consciousness, but it cannot account for consciousness. However, the quantum measurement problem implies that we cannot remove subjective experience from the practice of science. It is then appropriate to seek mathematical formalisms for the workings of consciousness that don't rely on specific interpretations of quantum mechanics. Temporal topos provides such a framework. In the theory of temporal topos, which we outline here, the difference between a subject and an object involves the direction of a morphism in a category. We also note that in the dual category, the direction of the morphism is in the opposite direction compared with the original direction of the original category. The resulting formalism provides powerful ways to address consciousness and qualia, beyond attempts to account for consciousness through physical theories. We also discuss the implications of the mathematics presented here for the convergence of science and non-dualist philosophies, as an emerging science of Consciousness, that may bring out the underlying unity of physics, life and mind. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Virtual Reality Astronomy Education Using AAS WorldWide Telescope and Oculus Rift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weigel, A. David; Moraitis, Christina D.

2017-01-01

The Boyd E. Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University (Birmingham, AL) offers family friendly, live, and interactive planetarium presentations that educate the public on topics from astronomy basics to current cutting edge astronomical discoveries. With limited funding, it is not possible to provide state of the art planetarium hardware for these community audiences. In a society in which many people, even young children, have access to high resolution smart phones and highly realistic video games, it is important to leverage cutting-edge technology to intrigue young and old minds alike. We use an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset running AAS WorldWide Telescope software to visualize 3D data in a fully immersive environment. We create interactive experiences and videos to highlight astronomical concepts and also to communicate the beauty of our universe. The ease of portability enables us to set up at Virtual Reality (VR) experience at various events, festivals, and even in classrooms to provide a community outreach that a fixed planetarium cannot. This VR experience adds the “wow” factor that encourages children and adults to engage in our various planetarium events to learn more about astronomy and continue to explore the final frontier of space. These VR experiences encourages our college students to participate in our astronomy education resulting in increased interest in STEM fields, particularly physics and math.

Utility fog: A universal physical substance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, J. Storrs

1993-01-01

Active, polymorphic material ('Utility Fog') can be designed as a conglomeration of 100-micron robotic cells ('foglets'). Such robots could be built with the techniques of molecular nanotechnology. Controllers with processing capabilities of 1000 MIPS per cubic micron, and electric motors with power densities of one milliwatt per cubic micron are assumed. Utility Fog should be capable of simulating most everyday materials, dynamically changing its form and properties, and forms a substrate for an integrated virtual reality and telerobotics.

Trunk-arm coordination in reaching for moving targets in people with Parkinson's disease: comparison between virtual and physical reality.

PubMed

Ma, Hui-Ing; Hwang, Wen-Juh; Wang, Ching-Yi; Fang, Jing-Jing; Leong, Iat-Fai; Wang, Tsui-Ying

2012-10-01

We used a trunk-assisted prehension task to examine the effect of task (reaching for stationary vs. moving targets) and environmental constraints (virtual reality [VR] vs. physical reality) on the temporal control of trunk and arm motions in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-four participants with PD and 24 age-matched controls reached for and grasped a ball that was either stationary or moving along a ramp 120% of arm length away. In a similar VR task, participants reached for a virtual ball that was either stationary or moving. Movement speed was measured as trunk and arm movement times (MTs); trunk-arm coordination was measured as onset interval and offset interval between trunk and arm motions, as well as a summarized index-desynchrony score. In both VR and physical reality, the PD group had longer trunk and arm MTs than the control group when reaching for stationary balls (p<.001). When reaching for moving balls in VR and physical reality, however, the PD group had lower trunk and arm MTs, onset intervals, and desynchrony scores (p<.001). For the PD group, VR induced shorter trunk MTs, shorter offset intervals, and lower desynchrony scores than did physical reality when reaching for moving balls (p<.001). These findings suggest that using real moving targets in trunk-assisted prehension tasks improves the speed and synchronization of trunk and arm motions in people with PD, and that using virtual moving targets may induce a movement termination strategy different from that used in physical reality. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Establishment of a university academic spine center: from concept to reality.

PubMed

Arnold, Paul M; Burton, Douglas C; Khan, Talal W; Dixon, Kimberly A; Asher, Marc A; Varghese, George

2013-01-01

In fewer than five years, the University of Kansas Hospital Spine Center became the largest and most comprehensive spine care facility in the greater metropolitan Kansas City area. The 22,000-square-foot facility has 27 exam rooms, four specialized diagnostic rooms, 11 pre-/post-interventional procedure rooms, and a 4000-square-foot outpatient rehabilitation gym. Patients can meet with their physicians, undergo diagnostic tests and treatment, and attend therapy sessions in one location. The multidisciplinary Spine Center brings together orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, pain-management anesthesiologists, radiologists, and physical and occupational therapists. The Spine Center became successful because a group of physicians bought into the philosophy of a comprehensive interdisciplinary program, were willing to sacrifice some territorial claims, and were willing to put patient care and the good of the institution above individual egos.

Negative Entropy of Life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goradia, Shantilal

2015-10-01

We modify Newtonian gravity to probabilistic quantum mechanical gravity to derive strong coupling. If this approach is valid, we should be able to extend it to the physical body (life) as follows. Using Boltzmann equation, we get the entropy of the universe (137) as if its reciprocal, the fine structure constant (ALPHA), is the hidden candidate representing the negative entropy of the universe which is indicative of the binary information as its basis (http://www.arXiv.org/pdf/physics0210040v5). Since ALPHA relates to cosmology, it must relate to molecular biology too, with the binary system as the fundamental source of information for the nucleotides of the DNA as implicit in the book by the author: ``Quantum Consciousness - The Road to Reality.'' We debate claims of anthropic principle based on the negligible variation of ALPHA and throw light on thermodynamics. We question constancy of G in multiple ways.

[Magical and physical reality].

PubMed

Kállai, János

In the postmodern countries the computer generated virtual reality provides new perceptual domains wherein the evaluation of real and unreal contents generates an essential challenge for both children and adults. The expectances to perceive unreal content which is contradictory with the common sense experiences become seductive for most of people. The time in front of the screen that emits the magic reality gradually rises. The sudden advance in generation of alternative realities demands that we have to recall the basic principles of psychological reality testing and the involving mechanism that produces a distinction between phantasy and reality for both healthy and pathological mind. Frame of reference usually restrains the thinking. This review contains two parts, the first is focuses on the historical aspect of magical and physical reality and the second one, that will be published in a next issue, will present an evaluation of the boundary between self and another person in point of view of the psychopathological phenomenon. This analysis will focus on how the boundary of the self behaves in physically real and magic computer generated environment.

Physics Education in Virtual Reality: An Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufmann, Hannes; Meyer, Bernd

2009-01-01

We present an immersive virtual reality (VR) application for physics education. It utilizes a recent physics engine developed for the PC gaming market to simulate physical experiments correctly and accurately. Students are enabled to actively build their own experiments and study them. A variety of tools are provided to analyze forces, mass, paths…

Healthcare information technology's relativity problems: a typology of how patients' physical reality, clinicians' mental models, and healthcare information technology differ.

PubMed

Smith, Sean W; Koppel, Ross

2014-01-01

To model inconsistencies or distortions among three realities: patients' physical reality; clinicians' mental models of patients' conditions, laboratories, etc; representation of that reality in electronic health records (EHR). To serve as a potential tool for quality improvement of EHRs. Using observations, literature, information technology (IT) logs, vendor and US Food and Drug Administration reports, we constructed scenarios/models of how patients' realities, clinicians' mental models, and EHRs can misalign to produce distortions in comprehension and treatment. We then categorized them according to an emergent typology derived from the cases themselves and refined the categories based on insights gained from the literature of interactive sociotechnical systems analysis, decision support science, and human computer interaction. Typical of grounded theory methods, the categories underwent repeated modifications. We constructed 45 scenarios of misalignment between patients' physical realities, clinicians' mental models, and EHRs. We then identified five general types of misrepresentation in these cases: IT data too narrowly focused; IT data too broadly focused; EHRs miss critical reality; data multiplicities-perhaps contradictory or confusing; distortions from data reflected back and forth across users, sensors, and others. The 45 scenarios are presented, organized by the five types. With humans, there is a physical reality and actors' mental models of that reality. In healthcare, there is another player: the EHR/healthcare IT, which implicitly and explicitly reflects many mental models, facets of reality, and measures thereof that vary in reliability and consistency. EHRs are both microcosms and shapers of medical care. Our typology and scenarios are intended to be useful to healthcare IT designers and implementers in improving EHR systems and reducing the unintended negative consequences of their use.

The Reality of Peurbach's Orbs: Cosmological Continuity in Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barker, Peter

In this paper I argue for continuity in astronomical models and their cosmological consequences, from the time of Peurbach's Theoricae novae planetarum (c. 1474) throughout the sixteenth century. Contrary to many modern discussions that still follow Duhem, the reality of celestial orbs was generally accepted in astronomy before Copernicus. I will present evidence that authors of commentaries on the two main university texts in astronomy, the theorica and the sphaera, adopted Peurbach's orbs as physically real before the end of the fifteenth century. This provoked a response from Averroists, like Alessandro Achillini (in 1498), who had their own agenda in cosmology. The result was a controversy that formed an important backdrop to Copernicus's work and its reception by Melanchthon and his circle. I will conclude by outlining the development of the same themes by Brahe and Kepler.

Turning Virtual Reality into Reality: A Checklist to Ensure Virtual Reality Studies of Eating Behavior and Physical Activity Parallel the Real World

PubMed Central

Tal, Aner; Wansink, Brian

2011-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) provides a potentially powerful tool for researchers seeking to investigate eating and physical activity. Some unique conditions are necessary to ensure that the psychological processes that influence real eating behavior also influence behavior in VR environments. Accounting for these conditions is critical if VR-assisted research is to accurately reflect real-world situations. The current work discusses key considerations VR researchers must take into account to ensure similar psychological functioning in virtual and actual reality and does so by focusing on the process of spontaneous mental simulation. Spontaneous mental simulation is prevalent under real-world conditions but may be absent under VR conditions, potentially leading to differences in judgment and behavior between virtual and actual reality. For simulation to occur, the virtual environment must be perceived as being available for action. A useful chart is supplied as a reference to help researchers to investigate eating and physical activity more effectively. PMID:21527088

Turning virtual reality into reality: a checklist to ensure virtual reality studies of eating behavior and physical activity parallel the real world.

PubMed

Tal, Aner; Wansink, Brian

2011-03-01

Virtual reality (VR) provides a potentially powerful tool for researchers seeking to investigate eating and physical activity. Some unique conditions are necessary to ensure that the psychological processes that influence real eating behavior also influence behavior in VR environments. Accounting for these conditions is critical if VR-assisted research is to accurately reflect real-world situations. The current work discusses key considerations VR researchers must take into account to ensure similar psychological functioning in virtual and actual reality and does so by focusing on the process of spontaneous mental simulation. Spontaneous mental simulation is prevalent under real-world conditions but may be absent under VR conditions, potentially leading to differences in judgment and behavior between virtual and actual reality. For simulation to occur, the virtual environment must be perceived as being available for action. A useful chart is supplied as a reference to help researchers to investigate eating and physical activity more effectively. © 2011 Diabetes Technology Society.

Astrobiology and the Biological Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dick, S. J.

2002-12-01

Four hundred years ago two astronomical world views hung in the balance: the geocentric and the heliocentric. Today astronomy faces a similar choice between two grand world views: a purely physical universe, in which cosmic evolution commonly ends in planets, stars and galaxies, and a biological universe, in which cosmic evolution routinely results in life, mind and intelligence. Astrobiology is the science providing the data to make this critical choice. This 20th century overview shows how we have arrived at the view that cosmic evolution may have resulted in life and intelligence in the universe. It examines how our astronomical world view has changed over the last century, recalls the opinions of astronomical pioneers like Russell, Shapley, and Struve on life in the universe, and shows how planetary science, planetary systems science, origins of life studies and SETI have combined to form a new discipline. Astrobiology now commands \\$50 million in direct funding from NASA, funds 15 Astrobiology Institute members around the country and four affiliates around the world, and seeks to answer one of astronomy's oldest questions. Whether we live in a mostly physical universe, as exemplified in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, or in a biological universe, as portrayed in Arthur C. Clarke's works, this reality will have profound consequences, no less than the Copernican theory. Astrobiology also looks to the future of life; taking a long-term ``Stapledonian" view, it is possible we may live in a postbiological universe.

Mediated Modeling in Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halloun, Ibrahim A.

2007-08-01

Following two decades of corroboration, modeling theory is presented as a pedagogical theory that promotes mediated experiential learning of model-laden theory and inquiry in science education. Students develop experiential knowledge about physical realities through interplay between their own ideas about the physical world and particular patterns in this world. Under teacher mediation, they represent each pattern with a particular model that they develop through a five-phase learning cycle, following particular modeling schemata of well-defined dimensions and rules of engagement. Significantly greater student achievement has been increasingly demonstrated under mediated modeling than under conventional instruction of lecture and demonstration, especially in secondary school and university physics courses. The improved achievement is reflected in more meaningful understanding of course materials, better learning styles, higher success rates, lower attrition rates and narrower gaps between students of different backgrounds.

The City and the University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hester, James M.

The old concept of higher education as a period of deliberate separation from the pressures and realities of the world does not appeal to many young people today who want to experience the realities of urban civilization and to learn to master them. The responsibility of today's urban university is to win the allegiance of tomorrow's leaders for…

Whitehead's Multiverse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHenry, Leemon

2012-09-01

Alfred North Whitehead advanced a version of multiverse theory in 19291 that bears a remarkable affinity to the revolutionary ideas of current cosmological speculation.2 He postulated his theory for some of the very same reasons as those advanced today by leading cosmologists and physicists such as Martin Rees, Lee Smolin, Stephen Hawking, Max Tegmark and Steven Weinberg, but his theory has largely gone unnoticed. While Whitehead knew nothing of the great advances in big bang theory, expansion, inflation and the unification of physics in post-Hubble cosmology when he wrote Process and Reality in the 1920s, he sought to explain the origin of our universe from its predecessor and to unify the fragmentary theories of physics into a grand theory.

Jorge Luis Borges and the New Physics: the Literature of Modern Science and the Science of Modern Literature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosher, Mark Robert

1992-01-01

By examining the works of the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, and the parallels it has with modern physics, literature and science converge in their quest for truth regarding the structure and meaning of the universe. The classical perception of physics as a "hard" science--that of quantitative, rational thought which was established during the Newtonian era--has been replaced by the "new physics," which integrates the so-called "soft" elements into its paradigm. It presents us with a universe based not exclusively on a series of particle-like interactions, or a "billiard-ball" hypothesis where discrete objects have a measurable position and velocity in absolute space and time, but rather on a combination of these mechanistic properties and those that make up the non-physical side of nature such as intuition, consciousness, and emotion. According to physicists like James Jeans science has been "humanized" to the extent that the universe as a "great machine" has been converted into a "great thought.". In nearly all his collections of essays and short stories, Borges complements the new physics by producing a literature that can be described as "scientized." The abstract, metaphysical implications and concerns of the new world-view, such as space, time, language, consciousness, free will, determinism, etc., appear repeatedly throughout Borges' texts, and are treated in terms that are remarkably similar to those expressed in the scientific texts whose authors include Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schrodinger. As a final comparison, Borges and post-modern physicists address the question of the individual's ability to ever comprehend the universe. They share an attitude of incredulity toward all models and theories of reality simply because they are based on partial information, and therefore seen only as conjectures.

Vroom: designing an augmented environment for remote collaboration in digital cinema production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margolis, Todd; Cornish, Tracy

2013-03-01

As media technologies become increasingly affordable, compact and inherently networked, new generations of telecollaborative platforms continue to arise which integrate these new affordances. Virtual reality has been primarily concerned with creating simulations of environments that can transport participants to real or imagined spaces that replace the "real world". Meanwhile Augmented Reality systems have evolved to interleave objects from Virtual Reality environments into the physical landscape. Perhaps now there is a new class of systems that reverse this precept to enhance dynamic media landscapes and immersive physical display environments to enable intuitive data exploration through collaboration. Vroom (Virtual Room) is a next-generation reconfigurable tiled display environment in development at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) at the University of California, San Diego. Vroom enables freely scalable digital collaboratories, connecting distributed, high-resolution visualization resources for collaborative work in the sciences, engineering and the arts. Vroom transforms a physical space into an immersive media environment with large format interactive display surfaces, video teleconferencing and spatialized audio built on a highspeed optical network backbone. Vroom enables group collaboration for local and remote participants to share knowledge and experiences. Possible applications include: remote learning, command and control, storyboarding, post-production editorial review, high resolution video playback, 3D visualization, screencasting and image, video and multimedia file sharing. To support these various scenarios, Vroom features support for multiple user interfaces (optical tracking, touch UI, gesture interface, etc.), support for directional and spatialized audio, giga-pixel image interactivity, 4K video streaming, 3D visualization and telematic production. This paper explains the design process that has been utilized to make Vroom an accessible and intuitive immersive environment for remote collaboration specifically for digital cinema production.

On a New Theory of the System of Reference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalanov, Temur Z.

2003-04-01

A new theory of the system of reference is suggested. It represents the new point of view which has arisen from the critical analysis of the foundations of physics (in particular, the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics), mathematics, cosmology and philosophy. The main idea following from the analysis is that the correct concept of system of reference represents a key to comprehension of many basic logic errors which are in modern physics. The starting point of the theory is represented by the philosophical (dialectical materialistic) principles, in particular, the gnosiological principle. (The gnosiological principle is briefly formulated as follows. The purpose of a science is to know the laws of the Nature. The law is a form of scientific knowledge of the essence and the phenomenon. The essence is the internal basis of the phenomenon, and the phenomenon is the manifestation of the essence. Human practice is a basis of knowledge and a criterion of truth). These principles lead to the following statements. (1) The reality is the dialectical unity of the opposites: the objective reality and the non-objective (subjective) reality. (2) The system mankind + means of knowledge belongs to the subjective reality and is called system of reference. In this wide sense, the system of reference is the universal informational gnostic basis (i.e. the system consisting of natural objects and processes, of constructed devices and instruments, of sum of human knowledge and skills) created and used by mankind for the purpose of knowledge of the world. (3) The opposites are bounds of each other. Hence, the principle of objectivity of the physical laws is formulated as follows: the objective physical laws must not contain mentions of system of reference (in particular, references to procedure of measurement or of calculation). (4) The main informational property of the unitary system set of researches physical objects + system of reference is that the system of reference determines (measures, calculates) the parameters of the subsystem set of researched physical objects (for example, the coordinates x_M, y_M, zM of the object M); the parameters characterize the system of reference (for example, the system of coordinates). (5) The main gnostic property of the unitary system set of researches physical objects + system of reference is that the system of reference defines (formulates) the physical laws (i.e. creates the theories); the physical laws characterize the system of reference. (6) The parameters which take on values independently of existence of the researched physical objects characterize the system of reference. For example, the clock C, a part of the system of reference S, determines (but it does not measure!) the time t_C; the time tC characterizes the clock C. If all clocks have been synchronized, the universal time tS characterizes the system of reference S. (7) Researched physical object M and a clock are mutually independent objects. Hence, the coordinates x_M, y_M, zM and the time tS are mutually independent parameters. (8) The informational one-to-one correspondence between motion of object M and physical clock-process in clock is established (is defined) by man. For example, it has a form: dx_M/dtS ≡ v_x_M. Consequences: (a) information about the world is an ordered information because the system of reference S is an ordered and universal system. This information is an objective one if it does not depend on a system of reference; (b) mathematical operations on physical quantities with the coordinates and with the time are allowed by the laws of logic because the set of researches physical objects + system of reference is a unitary system; (c) the principle of existence and of transformation of coordinates: there are no coordinates and no transformation of coordinates in general, and there exist the coordinates x_M, y_M, zM and transformation of the coordinates x_M, y_M, zM of the object M only; (d) the special and general theories of relativity are an erroneous theories because their foundations, firstly, do not satisfy the principle of objectivity of the physical laws, secondly, they contradict the principle of transformation of coordinates and, thirdly, they assume mutual dependence between the researched physical object and a clock (i.e. between coordinates and time); (e) quantum mechanics does not satisfy the principle of objectivity of the physical laws.

Ensembles and Experiments in Classical and Quantum Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumaier, Arnold

A philosophically consistent axiomatic approach to classical and quantum mechanics is given. The approach realizes a strong formal implementation of Bohr's correspondence principle. In all instances, classical and quantum concepts are fully parallel: the same general theory has a classical realization and a quantum realization. Extending the ''probability via expectation'' approach of Whittle to noncommuting quantities, this paper defines quantities, ensembles, and experiments as mathematical concepts and shows how to model complementarity, uncertainty, probability, nonlocality and dynamics in these terms. The approach carries no connotation of unlimited repeatability; hence it can be applied to unique systems such as the universe. Consistent experiments provide an elegant solution to the reality problem, confirming the insistence of the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation on that there is nothing but ensembles, while avoiding its elusive reality picture. The weak law of large numbers explains the emergence of classical properties for macroscopic systems.

Pulse!!: a model for research and development of virtual-reality learning in military medical education and training.

PubMed

Dunne, James R; McDonald, Claudia L

2010-07-01

Pulse!! The Virtual Clinical Learning Lab at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, in collaboration with the United States Navy, has developed a model for research and technological development that they believe is an essential element in the future of military and civilian medical education. The Pulse!! project models a strategy for providing cross-disciplinary expertise and resources to educational, governmental, and business entities challenged with meeting looming health care crises. It includes a three-dimensional virtual learning platform that provides unlimited, repeatable, immersive clinical experiences without risk to patients, and is available anywhere there is a computer. Pulse!! utilizes expertise in the fields of medicine, medical education, computer science, software engineering, physics, computer animation, art, and architecture. Lab scientists collaborate with the commercial virtual-reality simulation industry to produce research-based learning platforms based on cutting-edge computer technology.

Testing Cosmic Inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chuss, David

2010-01-01

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) has provided a wealth of information about the history and physics of the early Universe. Much progress has been made on uncovering the emerging Standard Model of Cosmology by such experiments as COBE and WMAP, and ESA's Planck Surveyor will likely increase our knowledge even more. Despite the success of this model, mysteries remain. Currently understood physics does not offer a compelling explanation for the homogeneity, flatness, and the origin of structure in the Universe. Cosmic Inflation, a brief epoch of exponential expansion, has been posted to explain these observations. If inflation is a reality, it is expected to produce a background spectrum of gravitational waves that will leave a small polarized imprint on the CMB. Discovery of this signal would give the first direct evidence for inflation and provide a window into physics at scales beyond those accessible to terrestrial particle accelerators. I will briefly review aspects of the Standard Model of Cosmology and discuss our current efforts to design and deploy experiments to measure the polarization of the CMB with the precision required to test inflation.

The Virtual Reality Roving Vehicle Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winn, William

1995-01-01

Describes the Virtual Reality Roving Vehicle project developed at the University of Washington to teach students in grades 4 through 12 about virtual reality. Topics include teacher workshops; virtual worlds created by students; learning outcomes compared with traditional instruction; and the effect of student characteristics, including gender, on…

Employment Realities of Recent Junior/Community College and University Graduates and Premature Leavers with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Mary; Fichten, Catherine; Nguyen, Mai Nhu; Budd, Jillian; Barile, Maria; Asuncion, Jennison; Tibbs, Anthony; Jorgensen, Shirley

2015-01-01

The goal of the current descriptive and comparative study is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the employment realities of recent junior/community college and university graduates and premature leavers (i.e., those who drop out before completing their program of study) with disabilities. We investigate the following research…

The Mismatch between Student Educational Expectations and Realities: Prevalence, Causes, and Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maloshonok, Natalia; Terentev, Evgeniy

2017-01-01

This article aims to answer three questions concerning (1) the prevalence of the mismatch between student expectations and real university life, (2) factors influencing this mismatch, and (3) the effect of the expectation-reality mismatch on academic performance during the first year of study at university. The results of this study suggest that a…

Learning From Where Students Look While Observing Simulated Physical Phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demaree, Dedra

2005-04-01

The Physics Education Research (PER) Group at the Ohio State University (OSU) has developed Virtual Reality (VR) programs for teaching introductory physics concepts. Winter 2005, the PER group worked with OSU's cognitive science eye-tracking lab to probe what features students look at while using our VR programs. We see distinct differences in the features students fixate on depending upon whether or not they have formally studied the related physics. Students who first make predictions seem to fixate more on the relevant features of the simulation than those who do not, regardless of their level of education. It is known that students sometimes perform an experiment and report results consistent with their misconceptions but inconsistent with the experimental outcome. We see direct evidence of one student holding onto misconceptions despite fixating frequently on the information needed to understand the correct answer. Future studies using these technologies may prove valuable for tackling difficult questions regarding student learning.

Virtual Reality: Emerging Applications and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludlow, Barbara L.

2015-01-01

Virtual reality is an emerging technology that has resulted in rapid expansion in the development of virtual immersive environments for use as educational simulations in schools, colleges and universities. This article presents an overview of virtual reality, describes a number of applications currently being used by special educators for…

The Internationalization of Higher Education: Realities and Implications. Report of the International Workshop on University, 2013. RIHE International Seminar Reports. No. 21

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, 2014

2014-01-01

The Research Institute for Higher Education (RIHE), Hiroshima University, hosted an international workshop on December 5, 2013. The theme was "The Internationalization of Higher Education: Realities and Implications." To discuss the theme, three foreign speakers, one Japanese speaker, and one commentator, were invited to speak. This…

A Modular Set of Mixed Reality Simulators for blind and Guided Procedures

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

W81XWH-14-1-0113 – Year 1 Report University of Florida Page 1 of 12 AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-14-1-0113 TITLE: A Modular Set of Mixed Reality...Simulators for “blind” and Guided Procedures PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Samsun Lampotang CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: University of Florida Gainesville, FL...designated by other documentation. W81XWH-14-1-0113 – Year 1 Report University of Florida Page 2 of 12 REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No

Low cost heads-up virtual reality (HUVR) with optical tracking and haptic feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margolis, Todd; DeFanti, Thomas A.; Dawe, Greg; Prudhomme, Andrew; Schulze, Jurgen P.; Cutchin, Steve

2011-03-01

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have created a new, relatively low-cost augmented reality system that enables users to touch the virtual environment they are immersed in. The Heads-Up Virtual Reality device (HUVR) couples a consumer 3D HD flat screen TV with a half-silvered mirror to project any graphic image onto the user's hands and into the space surrounding them. With his or her head position optically tracked to generate the correct perspective view, the user maneuvers a force-feedback (haptic) device to interact with the 3D image, literally 'touching' the object's angles and contours as if it was a tangible physical object. HUVR can be used for training and education in structural and mechanical engineering, archaeology and medicine as well as other tasks that require hand-eye coordination. One of the most unique characteristics of HUVR is that a user can place their hands inside of the virtual environment without occluding the 3D image. Built using open-source software and consumer level hardware, HUVR offers users a tactile experience in an immersive environment that is functional, affordable and scalable.

Integrating Video-Capture Virtual Reality Technology into a Physically Interactive Learning Environment for English Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jie Chi; Chen, Chih Hung; Jeng, Ming Chang

2010-01-01

The aim of this study is to design and develop a Physically Interactive Learning Environment, the PILE system, by integrating video-capture virtual reality technology into a classroom. The system is designed for elementary school level English classes where students can interact with the system through physical movements. The system is designed to…

Using Alternate Reality Games to Support First Year Induction with ELGG

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piatt, Katie

2009-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to describe a pilot project investigating the use of alternate reality game/treasure-hunt formats to provide an alternative to existing mechanisms for introducing new students to university information and services. Design/methodology/approach: An alternate reality game was designed to be played online and offline, which…

Use of virtual reality gaming systems for children who are critically ill.

PubMed

Salem, Yasser; Elokda, Ahmed

2014-01-01

Children who are critically ill are frequently viewed as "too sick" to tolerate physical activity. As a result, these children often fail to develop strength or cardiovascular endurance as compared to typically developing children. Previous reports have shown that early participation in physical activity in is safe and feasible for patients who are critically ill and may result in a shorter length of stay and improved functional outcomes. The use of the virtual reality gaming systems has become a popular form of therapy for children with disabilities and has been supported by a growing body of evidence substantiating its effectiveness with this population. The use of the virtual reality gaming systems in pediatric rehabilitation provides the children with opportunity to participate in an exercise program that is fun, enjoyable, playful, and at the same time beneficial. The integration of those systems in rehabilitation of children who are critically ill is appealing and has the potential to offer the possibility of enhancing physical activities. The lack of training studies involving children who are critically ill makes it difficult to set guidelines on the recommended physical activities and virtual reality gaming systems that is needed to confer health benefits. Several considerations should be taken into account before recommended virtual reality gaming systems as a training program for children who are critically ill. This article highlighted guidelines, limitations and challenges that need to be considered when designing exercise program using virtual reality gaming systems for critically ill children. This information is helpful given the popular use of virtual reality gaming systems in rehabilitation, particularly in children who are critically ill.

Improving Physical Fitness of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disability through a Virtual Reality Intervention Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotan, Meir; Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Weiss, Patrice L.

2009-01-01

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are in need of effective physical fitness training programs. The aim was to test the effectiveness of a Virtual Reality (VR)-based exercise program in improving the physical fitness of adults with IDD. A research group (N = 30; mean age = 52.3 plus or minus 5.8 years; moderate IDD…

Virtual Reality as Means to Improve Physical Fitness of Individuals at a Severe Level of Intellectual and Developmental Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotan, Meir; Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Weiss, Patrice L.

2010-01-01

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are in need of effective and motivating physical fitness training programs. The aim was to test the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR)-based exercise program in improving the physical fitness of adults with severe IDD when implemented by on-site caregivers. A research group (N…

Psychology Student Opinion of Virtual Reality as a Tool to Educate about Schizophrenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tichon, Jennifer; Loh, Jennifer; King, Robert

2004-01-01

Virtual Reality (VR) techniques are increasingly being used in e-health education, training and in trial clinical programs in the treatment of certain types of mental illness. Undergraduate psychology student opinion of the use of Virtual Reality (VR) to teach them about schizophrenia at the University of Queensland, was determined with reference…

Decision Space Operations: Campaign Design Aimed at an Adversary’s Decision Making

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

14 Figure 3: Reflexive control, Initial situation (physical reality ...20 Figure 4: Reflexive control, reality as X imagines it to be...20 Figure 5: Reflexive control, reality as Y imagines it to be .......................................................21 Figure 6: Reflexive

Augmenting the thermal flux experiment: A mixed reality approach with the HoloLens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strzys, M. P.; Kapp, S.; Thees, M.; Kuhn, J.; Lukowicz, P.; Knierim, P.; Schmidt, A.

2017-09-01

In the field of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), technologies have made huge progress during the last years and also reached the field of education. The virtuality continuum, ranging from pure virtuality on one side to the real world on the other, has been successfully covered by the use of immersive technologies like head-mounted displays, which allow one to embed virtual objects into the real surroundings, leading to a Mixed Reality (MR) experience. In such an environment, digital and real objects do not only coexist, but moreover are also able to interact with each other in real time. These concepts can be used to merge human perception of reality with digitally visualized sensor data, thereby making the invisible visible. As a first example, in this paper we introduce alongside the basic idea of this column an MR experiment in thermodynamics for a laboratory course for freshman students in physics or other science and engineering subjects that uses physical data from mobile devices for analyzing and displaying physical phenomena to students.

An Analysis of Engagement in a Combination Indoor/Outdoor Augmented Reality Educational Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Folkestad, James; O'Shea, Patrick

2011-01-01

This paper describes the results of a qualitative analysis of video captured during a dual indoor/outdoor Augmented Reality experience. Augmented Reality is the layering of virtual information on top of the physical world. This Augmented Reality experience asked students to interact with the San Diego Museum of Art and the Botanical Gardens in San…

Can a virtual supermarket bring realism into the lab? Comparing shopping behavior using virtual and pictorial store representations to behavior in a physical store.

PubMed

van Herpen, Erica; van den Broek, Eva; van Trijp, Hans C M; Yu, Tian

2016-12-01

Immersive virtual reality techniques present new opportunities for research into consumer behavior. The current study examines whether the increased realism of a virtual store compared to pictorial (2D) stimuli elicits consumer behavior that is more in line with behavior in a physical store. We examine the number, variety, and type of products selected, amount of money spent, and responses to price promotions and shelf display, in three product categories (fruit & vegetables, milk, and biscuits). We find that virtual reality elicits behavior that is more similar to behavior in the physical store compared to the picture condition for the number of products selected (Milk: M store  = 1.19, M virtual  = 1.53, M pictures  = 2.58) and amount of money spent (Milk: M store  = 1.27, M virtual  = 1.53, M pictures  = 2.60 Euro), and for the selection of products from different areas of the shelf, both vertically (purchases from top shelves, milk and biscuits: P store  = 21.6%, P virtual  = 33.4%, P pictures  = 50.0%) and horizontally (purchase from left shelf, biscuits: P store  = 35.5%, P virtual  = 53.3%, P pictures  = 66.7%). This indicates that virtual reality can improve realism in responses to shelf allocation. Virtual reality was not able to diminish other differences between lab and physical store: participants bought more products and spent more money (for biscuits and fruit & vegetables), bought more national brands, and responded more strongly to price promotions in both virtual reality and pictorial representations than in the physical store. Implications for the use of virtual reality in studies of consumer food choice behavior as well as for future improvement of virtual reality techniques are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Reality of Virtual Reality Product Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dever, Clark

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are emerging areas of research and product development in enterprise companies. This talk will discuss industry standard tools and current areas of application in the commercial market. Attendees will gain insights into how to research, design, and (most importantly) ship, world class products. The presentation will recount the lessons learned to date developing a Virtual Reality tool to solve physics problems resulting from trying to perform aircraft maintenance on ships at sea.

Quasars.

PubMed

Smith, H J

1966-11-01

A short historical outline of the discovery and a description of observed properties of quasars introduces questions as to their nature. Some of the principal arguments concerning their reality, distance, intrinsic properties and age lead to the conclusion that, while there is room for other points of view; a strong case can be made for the interpretation, on which quasars are the most distant observable objects in the known universe. To produce such luminosities over times of thousands to millions of years requires the presence of millions of solar masses. For each quasar this enormous mass may be concentrated into a single object, in which case novel physics comes into play. Whatever the final interpretation, quasars seem certain to illuminate such questions as the origin and evolution of galaxies, perhaps also the structure and origin of the universe.

Virtual reality visualization algorithms for the ALICE high energy physics experiment on the LHC at CERN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myrcha, Julian; Trzciński, Tomasz; Rokita, Przemysław

2017-08-01

Analyzing massive amounts of data gathered during many high energy physics experiments, including but not limited to the LHC ALICE detector experiment, requires efficient and intuitive methods of visualisation. One of the possible approaches to that problem is stereoscopic 3D data visualisation. In this paper, we propose several methods that provide high quality data visualisation and we explain how those methods can be applied in virtual reality headsets. The outcome of this work is easily applicable to many real-life applications needed in high energy physics and can be seen as a first step towards using fully immersive virtual reality technologies within the frames of the ALICE experiment.

Astronomy and Shakespeare's Hamlet.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usher, P. D.

1996-05-01

Payne-Gaposchkin and others have suggested that Hamlet shows evidence of the Bard's awareness of the astronomical revolutions of the sixteenth century. I summarize major arguments and note that the play's themes recur in modern astronomy teaching and research: (1) The play amounts to a redefinition of universal order and humankind's position in it. (2) There is interplay between appearance and reality. Such a contrast is commonplace wherever superficial celestial appearances obscure underlying physical realities, the nature of which emerge as the tale unfolds. (3) The outermost sphere of the Ptolemaic and Copernican models seems to encase humanity, who are liberated by the reality of Digges' model and the implications advanced by Bruno. Similarly the oppressiveness of the castle interior is relieved by the observing platform which enables the heavens to be viewed in their true light. (4) Hamlet could be bounded in a nut-shell and count himself a king of infinite space, were it not that he has bad dreams. These concern the subversiveness of the new doctrine, for Hamlet refers to the infinite universe only hypothetically and in the presence of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are named for relatives of the Danish astronomer Brahe. (5) Hamlet, and Brahe and Bruno, have connections to the university at Wittenberg, as does the Copernican champion Rheticus. (6) Ways are needed to reveal both the truths of nature, and the true nature of Danish royalty. Those unaccustomed to science think that there is madness in Hamlet's method. In particular, `doubt' is advanced as a methodological principle of inquiry. (7) The impression of normalcy and propriety in the upper reaches of society is like the false impression of an encapsulating universe. In Hamlet this duality is dramatized tragically, whereas in King John (cf. BAAS 27, 1325, 1995) it is not; for by 1601 when the writing of Hamlet was probably completed, Shakespeare would have known of the martyrdom of Bruno the previous year, whereas in 1593-4 when King John was written, the picture was less clear. For these reasons, Hamlet's princely `philosophy' speaks to our day.

Virtual Reality as a Leisure Activity for Young Adults with Physical and Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Weiss, Patrice L.

2008-01-01

Participation in leisure activities is a fundamental human right and an important factor of quality of life. Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) and physical disabilities often experience limited opportunities to participate in leisure activities, virtual reality (VR) technologies may serve to broaden their repertoire of accessible leisure…

Exploring the Impact of Culture- and Language-Influenced Physics on Science Attitude Enhancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales, Marie Paz E.

2016-01-01

"Culture," a set of principles that trace and familiarize human beings within their existential realities, may provide an invisible lens through which reality could be discerned. Critically explored in this study is how culture- and language-sensitive curriculum materials in physics improve Pangasinan learners' attitude toward science.…

Belle2VR: A Virtual-Reality Visualization of Subatomic Particle Physics in the Belle II Experiment.

PubMed

Duer, Zach; Piilonen, Leo; Glasson, George

2018-05-01

Belle2VR is an interactive virtual-reality visualization of subatomic particle physics, designed by an interdisciplinary team as an educational tool for learning about and exploring subatomic particle collisions. This article describes the tool, discusses visualization design decisions, and outlines our process for collaborative development.

One hundred years of quantum physics.

PubMed

Kleppner, D; Jackiw, R

2000-08-11

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Max Planck's creation of the quantum concept, an idea so revolutionary that it took nearly 30 years for scientists to develop it into the theory that has transformed the way scientists view reality. In this month's essay, Daniel Kleppner and Roman Jackiw recount how quantum theory, which they rate as "the most precisely tested and most successful theory in the history of science," came to be, how it changed the world, and how it might continue to evolve to make the dream of ultimate understanding of the universe come true.

A Computational Unification of Scientific Law:. Spelling out a Universal Semantics for Physical Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcer, Peter J.; Rowlands, Peter

2013-09-01

The principal criteria Cn (n = 1 to 23) and grammatical production rules are set out of a universal computational rewrite language spelling out a semantic description of an emergent, self-organizing architecture for the cosmos. These language productions already predicate: (1) Einstein's conservation law of energy, momentum and mass and, subsequently, (2) with respect to gauge invariant relativistic space time (both Lorentz special & Einstein general); (3) Standard Model elementary particle physics; (4) the periodic table of the elements & chemical valence; and (5) the molecular biological basis of the DNA / RNA genetic code; so enabling the Cybernetic Machine specialist Groups Mission Statement premise;** (6) that natural semantic language thinking at the higher level of the self-organized emergent chemical molecular complexity of the human brain (only surpassed by that of the cosmos itself!) would be realized (7) by this same universal semantic language via (8) an architecture of a conscious human brain/mind and self which, it predicates consists of its neural / glia and microtubule substrates respectively, so as to endow it with; (9) the intelligent semantic capability to be able to specify, symbolize, spell out and understand the cosmos that conceived it; and (10) provide a quantum physical explanation of consciousness and of how (11) the dichotomy between first person subjectivity and third person objectivity or `hard problem' is resolved.

Virtual reality goes to war: a brief review of the future of military behavioral healthcare.

PubMed

Rizzo, Albert; Parsons, Thomas D; Lange, Belinda; Kenny, Patrick; Buckwalter, John G; Rothbaum, Barbara; Difede, JoAnn; Frazier, John; Newman, Brad; Williams, Josh; Reger, Greg

2011-06-01

Numerous reports indicate that the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returning OEF/OIF military personnel is creating a significant healthcare challenge. These findings have served to motivate research on how to better develop and disseminate evidence-based treatments for PTSD. Virtual Reality delivered exposure therapy for PTSD has been previously used with reports of positive outcomes. This article details how virtual reality applications are being designed and implemented across various points in the military deployment cycle to prevent, identify and treat combat-related PTSD in OIF/OEF Service Members and Veterans. The summarized projects in these areas have been developed at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, a U.S. Army University Affiliated Research Center, and this paper will detail efforts to use virtual reality to deliver exposure therapy, assess PTSD and cognitive function and provide stress resilience training prior to deployment.

From Mars to the Multiverse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin Rees, Lord

2017-01-01

Lord Martin Rees will discuss questions including: What does the long-range future hold? Should we be surprised that the physical laws permitted the emergence of complexity? Is physical reality even more extensive than the domain that our telescopes can probe? Are there many `big bangs'? Powerful instruments have led to astonishing progress in tracing the emergence of atoms, galaxies, stars and planets from a mysterious `beginning' nearly 14 billion years ago. Unmanned spacecraft have visited the other planets of our Solar System (and some of their moons), beaming back pictures of varied and distinctive worlds. An exciting development in the last two decades has been the realization that many other stars are orbited by retinues of planets - some resembling our Earth (and capable of harboring life). Looking further afield, observers can probe galaxies and the massive back holes at their centers and can check models of their evolution by detecting objects all the way back to an epoch only a billion years after the Big Bang. Indeed we can trace pre-galactic history with some confidence back to a nanosecond after the Big Bang. But the key parameters of our expanding universe - the expansion rate, the geometry and the content - were established far earlier still, when the physics is still conjectural but is being constrained, especially by precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background. These advances pose new questions: What does the long-range future hold? Should we be surprised that the physical laws permitted the emergence of complexity? Is physical reality even more extensive than the domain that our telescopes can probe? Are there many `big bangs'? This illustrated lecture will attempt to address such issues.

Combining physical and virtual contexts through augmented reality: design and evaluation of a prototype using a drug box as a marker for antibiotic training

PubMed Central

Tomson, Tanja; Zary, Nabil

2014-01-01

Introduction. Antimicrobial resistance is a global health issue. Studies have shown that improved antibiotic prescription education among healthcare professionals reduces mistakes during the antibiotic prescription process. The aim of this study was to investigate novel educational approaches that through the use of Augmented Reality technology could make use of the real physical context and thereby enrich the educational process of antibiotics prescription. The objective is to investigate which type of information related to antibiotics could be used in an augmented reality application for antibiotics education. Methods. This study followed the Design-Based Research Methodology composed of the following main steps: problem analysis, investigation of information that should be visualized for the training session, and finally the involvement of the end users the development and evaluation processes of the prototype. Results. Two of the most important aspects in the antibiotic prescription process, to represent in an augmented reality application, are the antibiotic guidelines and the side effects. Moreover, this study showed how this information could be visualized from a mobile device using an Augmented Reality scanner and antibiotic drug boxes as markers. Discussion. In this study we investigated the usage of objects from a real physical context such as drug boxes and how they could be used as educational resources. The logical next steps are to examine how this approach of combining physical and virtual contexts through Augmented Reality applications could contribute to the improvement of competencies among healthcare professionals and its impact on the decrease of antibiotics resistance. PMID:25548733

Combining physical and virtual contexts through augmented reality: design and evaluation of a prototype using a drug box as a marker for antibiotic training.

PubMed

Nifakos, Sokratis; Tomson, Tanja; Zary, Nabil

2014-01-01

Introduction. Antimicrobial resistance is a global health issue. Studies have shown that improved antibiotic prescription education among healthcare professionals reduces mistakes during the antibiotic prescription process. The aim of this study was to investigate novel educational approaches that through the use of Augmented Reality technology could make use of the real physical context and thereby enrich the educational process of antibiotics prescription. The objective is to investigate which type of information related to antibiotics could be used in an augmented reality application for antibiotics education. Methods. This study followed the Design-Based Research Methodology composed of the following main steps: problem analysis, investigation of information that should be visualized for the training session, and finally the involvement of the end users the development and evaluation processes of the prototype. Results. Two of the most important aspects in the antibiotic prescription process, to represent in an augmented reality application, are the antibiotic guidelines and the side effects. Moreover, this study showed how this information could be visualized from a mobile device using an Augmented Reality scanner and antibiotic drug boxes as markers. Discussion. In this study we investigated the usage of objects from a real physical context such as drug boxes and how they could be used as educational resources. The logical next steps are to examine how this approach of combining physical and virtual contexts through Augmented Reality applications could contribute to the improvement of competencies among healthcare professionals and its impact on the decrease of antibiotics resistance.

Learning Physics through Play in an Augmented Reality Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enyedy, Noel; Danish, Joshua A.; Delacruz, Girlie; Kumar, Melissa

2012-01-01

The Learning Physics through Play Project (LPP) engaged 6-8-year old students (n = 43) in a series of scientific investigations of Newtonian force and motion including a series of augmented reality activities. We outline the two design principles behind the LPP curriculum: 1) the use of socio-dramatic, embodied play in the form of participatory…

Intelligent virtual reality in the setting of fuzzy sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dockery, John; Littman, David

1992-01-01

The authors have previously introduced the concept of virtual reality worlds governed by artificial intelligence. Creation of an intelligent virtual reality was further proposed as a universal interface for the handicapped. This paper extends consideration of intelligent virtual realty to a context in which fuzzy set principles are explored as a major tool for implementing theory in the domain of applications to the disabled.

Achieving Presence through Evoked Reality

PubMed Central

Pillai, Jayesh S.; Schmidt, Colin; Richir, Simon

2013-01-01

The sense of “Presence” (evolving from “telepresence”) has always been associated with virtual reality research and is still an exceptionally mystifying constituent. Now the study of presence clearly spans over various disciplines associated with cognition. This paper attempts to put forth a concept that argues that it’s an experience of an “Evoked Reality (ER)” (illusion of reality) that triggers an “Evoked Presence (EP)” (sense of presence) in our minds. A Three Pole Reality Model is proposed to explain this phenomenon. The poles range from Dream Reality to Simulated Reality with Primary (Physical) Reality at the center. To demonstrate the relationship between ER and EP, a Reality-Presence Map is developed. We believe that this concept of ER and the proposed model may have significant applications in the study of presence, and in exploring the possibilities of not just virtual reality but also what we call “reality.” PMID:23550234

Psychological and physiological human responses to simulated and real environments: A comparison between Photographs, 360° Panoramas, and Virtual Reality.

PubMed

Higuera-Trujillo, Juan Luis; López-Tarruella Maldonado, Juan; Llinares Millán, Carmen

2017-11-01

Psychological research into human factors frequently uses simulations to study the relationship between human behaviour and the environment. Their validity depends on their similarity with the physical environments. This paper aims to validate three environmental-simulation display formats: photographs, 360° panoramas, and virtual reality. To do this we compared the psychological and physiological responses evoked by simulated environments set-ups to those from a physical environment setup; we also assessed the users' sense of presence. Analysis show that 360° panoramas offer the closest to reality results according to the participants' psychological responses, and virtual reality according to the physiological responses. Correlations between the feeling of presence and physiological and other psychological responses were also observed. These results may be of interest to researchers using environmental-simulation technologies currently available in order to replicate the experience of physical environments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RealityConvert: a tool for preparing 3D models of biochemical structures for augmented and virtual reality.

PubMed

Borrel, Alexandre; Fourches, Denis

2017-12-01

There is a growing interest for the broad use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in the fields of bioinformatics and cheminformatics to visualize complex biological and chemical structures. AR and VR technologies allow for stunning and immersive experiences, offering untapped opportunities for both research and education purposes. However, preparing 3D models ready to use for AR and VR is time-consuming and requires a technical expertise that severely limits the development of new contents of potential interest for structural biologists, medicinal chemists, molecular modellers and teachers. Herein we present the RealityConvert software tool and associated website, which allow users to easily convert molecular objects to high quality 3D models directly compatible for AR and VR applications. For chemical structures, in addition to the 3D model generation, RealityConvert also generates image trackers, useful to universally call and anchor that particular 3D model when used in AR applications. The ultimate goal of RealityConvert is to facilitate and boost the development and accessibility of AR and VR contents for bioinformatics and cheminformatics applications. http://www.realityconvert.com. dfourch@ncsu.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Immersive realities: articulating the shift from VR to mobile AR through artistic practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margolis, Todd; Cornish, Tracy; Berry, Rodney; DeFanti, Thomas A.

2012-03-01

Our contemporary imaginings of technological engagement with digital environments has transitioned from flying through Virtual Reality to mobile interactions with the physical world through personal media devices. Experiences technologically mediated through social interactivity within physical environments are now being preferenced over isolated environments such as CAVEs or HMDs. Examples of this trend can be seen in early tele-collaborative artworks which strove to use advanced networking to join multiple participants in shared virtual environments. Recent developments in mobile AR allow untethered access to such shared realities in places far removed from labs and home entertainment environments, and without the bulky and expensive technologies attached to our bodies that accompany most VR. This paper addresses the emerging trend favoring socially immersive artworks via mobile Augmented Reality rather than sensorially immersive Virtual Reality installations. With particular focus on AR as a mobile, locative technology, we will discuss how concepts of immersion and interactivity are evolving with this new medium. Immersion in context of mobile AR can be redefined to describe socially interactive experiences. Having distinctly different sensory, spatial and situational properties, mobile AR offers a new form for remixing elements from traditional virtual reality with physically based social experiences. This type of immersion offers a wide array of potential for mobile AR art forms. We are beginning to see examples of how artists can use mobile AR to create social immersive and interactive experiences.

The super-indeterminism in orthodox quantum mechanics does not implicate the reality of experimenter free will

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walleczek, J.

2016-03-01

The concept of ‘super-indeterminism’ captures the notion that the free choice assumption of orthodox quantum mechanics necessitates only the following requirement: an agent's free-choice performance in the selection of measurement settings must not represent an exception to the rule of irreducible quantum indeterminism in the physical universe (i.e, “universal indeterminism”). Any additional metaphysical speculation, such as to whether quantum indeterminism, i.e., intrinsic randomness, implicates the reality of experimenter “freedom”, “free will”, or “free choice”, is redundant in relation to the predictive success of orthodox quantum mechanics. Accordingly, super-indeterminism views as redundant also, from a technical standpoint, whether an affirmative or a negative answer is claimed in reference to universal indeterminism as a necessary precondition for experimenter freedom. Super-indeterminism accounts, for example, for the circular reasoning which is implicit in the free will theorem by Conway and Kochen [1,2]. The concept of super-indeterminism is of great assistance in clarifying the often misunderstood meaning of the concept of “free variables” as used by John Bell [3]. The present work argues that Bell sought an operational, effective free will theorem, one based upon the notion of “determinism without predetermination”, i.e., one wherein “free variables” represent universally uncomputable variables. In conclusion, the standard interpretation of quantum theory does not answer, and does not need to answer in order to ensure the predictive success of orthodox theory, the question of whether either incompatibilism or compatibilism is valid in relation to free-will metaphysics and to the free-will phenomenology of experimenter agents in quantum mechanics.

Collaborative Embodied Learning in Mixed Reality Motion-Capture Environments: Two Science Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson-Glenberg, Mina C.; Birchfield, David A.; Tolentino, Lisa; Koziupa, Tatyana

2014-01-01

These 2 studies investigate the extent to which an Embodied Mixed Reality Learning Environment (EMRELE) can enhance science learning compared to regular classroom instruction. Mixed reality means that physical tangible and digital components were present. The content for the EMRELE required that students map abstract concepts and relations onto…

Social Augmented Reality: Enhancing Context-Dependent Communication and Informal Learning at Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pejoska, Jana; Bauters, Merja; Purma, Jukka; Leinonen, Teemu

2016-01-01

Our design proposal of social augmented reality (SoAR) grows from the observed difficulties of practical applications of augmented reality (AR) in workplace learning. In our research we investigated construction workers doing physical work in the field and analyzed the data using qualitative methods in various workshops. The challenges related to…

Effects of conventional neurological treatment and a virtual reality training program on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Shin, Ji-Won; Song, Gui-Bin; Hwangbo, Gak

2015-07-01

[Purpose] The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of conventional neurological treatment and a virtual reality training program on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy. [Subjects] Sixteen children (9 males, 7 females) with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy were recruited and randomly assigned to the conventional neurological physical therapy group (CG) and virtual reality training group (VRG). [Methods] Eight children in the control group performed 45 minutes of therapeutic exercise twice a week for eight weeks. In the experimental group, the other eight children performed 30 minutes of therapeutic exercise and 15 minutes of a training program using virtual reality twice a week during the experimental period. [Results] After eight weeks of the training program, there were significant differences in eye-hand coordination and visual motor speed in the comparison of the virtual reality training group with the conventional neurological physical therapy group. [Conclusion] We conclude that a well-designed training program using virtual reality can improve eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy.

In-Factory Learning - Qualification For The Factory Of The Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quint, Fabian; Mura, Katharina; Gorecky, Dominic

2015-07-01

The Industry 4.0 vision anticipates that internet technologies will find their way into future factories replacing traditional components by dynamic and intelligent cyber-physical systems (CPS) that combine the physical objects with their digital representation. Reducing the gap between the real and digital world makes the factory environment more flexible, more adaptive, but also more complex for the human workers. Future workers require interdisciplinary competencies from engineering, information technology, and computer science in order to understand and manage the diverse interrelations between physical objects and their digital counterpart. This paper proposes a mixed-reality based learning environment, which combines physical objects and visualisation of digital content via Augmented Reality. It uses reality-based interaction in order to make the dynamic interrelations between real and digital factory visible and tangible. We argue that our learning system does not work as a stand-alone solution, but should fit into existing academic and advanced training curricula.

On understanding the very different science premises meaningful to CAM versus orthodox medicine: Part II--applications of Part I fundamentals to five different space-time examples.

PubMed

Tiller, William A

2010-04-01

In Part I of this pair of articles, the fundamental experimental observations and theoretical perspectives were provided for one to understand the key differences between our normal, uncoupled state of physical reality and the human consciousness-induced coupled state of physical reality. Here in Part II, the thermodynamics of complementary and alternative medicine, which deals with the partially coupled state of physical reality, is explored via the use of five different foci of relevance to today's science and medicine: (1) homeopathy; (2) the placebo effect; (3) long-range, room temperature, macroscopic size-scale, information entanglement; (4) an explanation for dark matter/energy plus human levitation possibility; and (5) electrodermal diagnostic devices. The purpose of this pair of articles is to clearly differentiate the use and limitations of uncoupled state physics in both nature and today's orthodox medicine from coupled state physics in tomorrow's complementary and alternative medicine.

Comments on the New Tesla Electromagnetics. Part I. Discrepancies in Present EM Theory,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

reality. In this reality superluminal velocity, multiple universes, travel back and forth in time, higher dimensions, variation of all "fundamental...logic -- fitted to the photon interaction by vector light as the fundamental observation mechanism -- is incapable of describing or modeling this more...fundamental reality. Using scalar waves and scalar interactions as much subtler, far less limited * observation/detection mechanisms , we must have a

New directions in the use of virtual reality for food shopping: marketing and education perspectives.

PubMed

Ruppert, Barb

2011-03-01

Virtual reality is used in marketing research to shape food selection and purchase decisions. Could it be used to counteract the marketing of less-nutritious foods and teach healthier food selection? This article presents interviews with Raymond Burke, Ph.D., of Indiana University Bloomington, and Rachel Jones, M.P.H., of the University of Utah College of Health. Topics covered include new marketing research technologies, including virtual reality simulations; retailing and shopper behavior; and the use of virtual grocery stores to help students explore quality of diet and food/nutrient relationships. The interviewees discuss how the technologies they have developed fit into research and behavior change related to obesity and diabetes. © 2011 Diabetes Technology Society.

New Directions in the Use of Virtual Reality for Food Shopping: Marketing and Education Perspectives

PubMed Central

Ruppert, Barb

2011-01-01

Virtual reality is used in marketing research to shape food selection and purchase decisions. Could it be used to counteract the marketing of less-nutritious foods and teach healthier food selection? This article presents interviews with Raymond Burke, Ph.D., of Indiana University Bloomington, and Rachel Jones, M.P.H., of the University of Utah College of Health. Topics covered include new marketing research technologies, including virtual reality simulations; retailing and shopper behavior; and the use of virtual grocery stores to help students explore quality of diet and food/nutrient relationships. The interviewees discuss how the technologies they have developed fit into research and behavior change related to obesity and diabetes. PMID:21527099

Role and reality: technology transfer at Canadian universities.

PubMed

Bubela, Tania M; Caulfield, Timothy

2010-09-01

Technology transfer offices (TTOs) play a central role in the knowledge translation and commercialization agenda of Canadian universities. Despite this presumed mandate, there is a disconnect between the expectations of government and research institutions (which view TTOs' primary role as the promotion of profitable commercialization activities) and the reality of what TTOs do. Interviews with professionals at Canadian TTOs have revealed that, at their best, TTOs support the social and academic missions of their institutions by facilitating knowledge mobilization and research relationships with other sectors, including industry; however, this does not always produce obvious or traditional commercial outputs. Thus, the existing metrics used to measure the success of TTOs do not capture this reality and, as such, realignment is needed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing an Augmented Reality Environment for Earth Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratt, M. J.; Skemer, P. A.; Arvidson, R. E.

2017-12-01

The emerging field of augmented reality (AR) provides new and exciting ways to explore geologic phenomena for research and education. The primary advantage of AR is that it allows users to physically explore complex three-dimensional structures that were previously inaccessible, for example a remote geologic outcrop or a mineral structure at the atomic scale. It is used, for example, with OnSight software during tactical operations to plan the Mars Curiosity rover's traverses by providing virtual views to walk through terrain and the rover at true scales. This mode of physical exploration allows users more freedom to investigate and understand the 3D structure than is possible on a flat computer screen, or within a static PowerPoint presentation during a classroom lecture. The Microsoft HoloLens headset provides the most-advanced, mobile AR platform currently available to developers. The Fossett Laboratory for Virtual Planetary Exploration at Washington University in St. Louis has applied this technology, coupled with photogrammetric software and the Unity 3D gaming engine, to develop photorealistic environments of 3D geologic outcrops from around the world. The untethered HoloLens provides an ideal platform for a classroom setting as it allows for shared experiences of the holograms of interest, projecting them in the same location for all users to explore. Furthermore, the HoloLens allows for face-to-face communication during use that is important in teaching, a feature that virtual reality does not allow. Our development of an AR application includes the design of an online database of photogrammetric outcrop models curated for the current limitations of AR technology. This database will be accessible to both those wishing to submit models, and is free to those wishing to use the application for teaching, outreach or research purposes.

Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for Excellence in Advanced Laboratory Instruction: Advanced Instructional Labs: Why Bother?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bistrow, Van

What aren't we teaching about physics in the traditional lecture course? Plenty! By offering the Advanced Laboratory Course, we hope to shed light on the following questions: How do we develop a systematic process of doing experiments? How do we record procedures and results? How should we interpret theoretical concepts in the real world? What experimental and computational techniques are available for producing and analyzing data? With what degree of confidence can we trust our measurements and interpretations? How well does a theory represent physical reality? How do we collaborate with experimental partners? How do we best communicate our findings to others?These questions are of fundamental importance to experimental physics, yet are not generally addressed by reading textbooks, attending lectures or doing homework problems. Thus, to provide a more complete understanding of physics, we offer laboratory exercises as a supplement to the other modes of learning. The speaker will describe some examples of experiments, and outline the history, structure and student impressions of the Advanced Lab course at the University of Chicago Department of Physics.

Effectiveness of conventional versus virtual reality-based balance exercises in vestibular rehabilitation for unilateral peripheral vestibular loss: results of a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Meldrum, Dara; Herdman, Susan; Vance, Roisin; Murray, Deirdre; Malone, Kareena; Duffy, Douglas; Glennon, Aine; McConn-Walsh, Rory

2015-07-01

To compare the effectiveness of virtual reality-based balance exercises to conventional balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation in patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular loss (UVL). Assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial. Two acute care university teaching hospitals. Patients with UVL (N=71) who had dizziness/vertigo, and gait and balance impairment. Patients with UVL were randomly assigned to receive 6 weeks of either conventional (n=36) or virtual reality-based (n=35) balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation. The virtual reality-based group received an off-the-shelf virtual reality gaming system for home exercise, and the conventional group received a foam balance mat. Treatment comprised weekly visits to a physiotherapist and a daily home exercise program. The primary outcome was self-preferred gait speed. Secondary outcomes included other gait parameters and tasks, Sensory Organization Test (SOT), dynamic visual acuity, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefits Questionnaire, and Activities Balance Confidence Questionnaire. The subjective experience of vestibular rehabilitation was measured with a questionnaire. Both groups improved, but there were no significant differences in gait speed between the groups postintervention (mean difference, -.03m/s; 95% confidence interval [CI], -.09 to .02m/s). There were also no significant differences between the groups in SOT scores (mean difference, .82%; 95% CI, -5.00% to 6.63%) or on any of the other secondary outcomes (P>.05). In both groups, adherence to exercise was high (∼77%), but the virtual reality-based group reported significantly more enjoyment (P=.001), less difficulty with (P=.009) and less tiredness after (P=.03) balance exercises. At 6 months, there were no significant between-group differences in physical outcomes. Virtual reality-based balance exercises performed during vestibular rehabilitation were not superior to conventional balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation but may provide a more enjoyable method of retraining balance after unilateral peripheral vestibular loss. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A randomized, controlled trial of immersive virtual reality analgesia, during physical therapy for pediatric burns.

PubMed

Schmitt, Yuko S; Hoffman, Hunter G; Blough, David K; Patterson, David R; Jensen, Mark P; Soltani, Maryam; Carrougher, Gretchen J; Nakamura, Dana; Sharar, Sam R

2011-02-01

This randomized, controlled, within-subjects (crossover design) study examined the effects of immersive virtual reality as an adjunctive analgesic technique for hospitalized pediatric burn inpatients undergoing painful physical therapy. Fifty-four subjects (6-19 years old) performed range-of-motion exercises under a therapist's direction for 1-5 days. During each session, subjects spent equivalent time in both the virtual reality and the control conditions (treatment order randomized and counterbalanced). Graphic rating scale scores assessing the sensory, affective, and cognitive components of pain were obtained for each treatment condition. Secondary outcomes assessed subjects' perception of the virtual reality experience and maximum range-of-motion. Results showed that on study day one, subjects reported significant decreases (27-44%) in pain ratings during virtual reality. They also reported improved affect ("fun") during virtual reality. The analgesia and affect improvements were maintained with repeated virtual reality use over multiple therapy sessions. Maximum range-of-motion was not different between treatment conditions, but was significantly greater after the second treatment condition (regardless of treatment order). These results suggest that immersive virtual reality is an effective nonpharmacologic, adjunctive pain reduction technique in the pediatric burn population undergoing painful rehabilitation therapy. The magnitude of the analgesic effect is clinically meaningful and is maintained with repeated use. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Immersive Virtual Reality Analgesia during Physical Therapy for Pediatric Burn Injuries

PubMed Central

Schmitt, Yuko S.; Hoffman, Hunter G.; Blough, David K.; Patterson, David R.; Jensen, Mark P.; Soltani, Maryam; Carrougher, Gretchen J.; Nakamura, Dana; Sharar, Sam R.

2010-01-01

This randomized, controlled, within-subjects (crossover design) study examined the effects of immersive virtual reality as an adjunctive analgesic technique for hospitalized pediatric burn inpatients undergoing painful physical therapy. Fifty-four subjects (6–19 years old) performed range-of-motion exercises under a therapist’s direction for one to five days. During each session, subjects spent equivalent time in both the virtual reality and the control conditions (treatment order randomized and counterbalanced). Graphic rating scale scores assessing the sensory, affective, and cognitive components of pain were obtained for each treatment condition. Secondary outcomes assessed subjects’ perception of the virtual reality experience and maximum range-of-motion. Results showed that on study day one, subjects reported significant decreases (27–44%) in pain ratings during virtual reality. They also reported improved affect (“fun”) during virtual reality. The analgesia and affect improvements were maintained with repeated virtual reality use over multiple therapy sessions. Maximum range-of-motion was not different between treatment conditions, but was significantly greater after the second treatment condition (regardless of treatment order). These results suggest that immersive virtual reality is an effective nonpharmacologic, adjunctive pain reduction technique in the pediatric burn population undergoing painful rehabilitation therapy. The magnitude of the analgesic effect is clinically meaningful and is maintained with repeated use. PMID:20692769

Visual Environment for Designing Interactive Learning Scenarios with Augmented Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mota, José Miguel; Ruiz-Rube, Iván; Dodero, Juan Manuel; Figueiredo, Mauro

2016-01-01

Augmented Reality (AR) technology allows the inclusion of virtual elements on a vision of actual physical environment for the creation of a mixed reality in real time. This kind of technology can be used in educational settings. However, the current AR authoring tools present several drawbacks, such as, the lack of a mechanism for tracking the…

Integrating Augmented Reality in Higher Education: A Multidisciplinary Study of Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delello, Julie A.; McWhorter, Rochell R.; Camp, Kerri M.

2015-01-01

Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology that blends physical objects with virtual reality. Through the integration of digital and print media, a gap between the "on and offline" worlds are merged, radically shifting student-computer interaction in the classroom. This research examined the results of a multiple case study on the…

The Singular Universe and the Reality of Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mangabeira Unger, Roberto; Smolin, Lee

2015-01-01

Introduction; Part I. Roberto Mangabeira Unger: 1. The science of the one universe in time; 2. The context and consequences of the argument; 3. The singular existence of the universe; 4. The inclusive reality of time; 5. The mutability of the laws of nature; 6. The selective realism of mathematics; Part II. Lee Smolin: 1. Cosmology in crisis; 2. Principles for a cosmological theory; 3. The setting: the puzzles of contemporary cosmology; 4. Hypotheses for a new cosmology; 5. Mathematics; 6. Approaches to solving the metalaw dilemma; 7. Implications of temporal naturalism for philosophy of mind; 8. An agenda for science; 9. Concluding remarks; A note concerning disagreements between our views.

From Real Challenges to Virtual Reality: Realizing Your Collection through Digital Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jennifer; Mandity, Edward

2010-01-01

In fall 2008, a collaborative partnership was formed between the libraries of two Indiana universities--Marian College's (now Marian University) Mother Theresa Hackelmeier Memorial Library, and the University Library at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The authors discuss the digital nature of this collaboration, which…

From cosmic ray physics to cosmic ray astronomy: Bruno Rossi and the opening of new windows on the universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonolis, Luisa

2014-01-01

Bruno Rossi is considered one of the fathers of modern physics, being also a pioneer in virtually every aspect of what is today called high-energy astrophysics. At the beginning of 1930s he was the pioneer of cosmic ray research in Italy, and, as one of the leading actors in the study of the nature and behavior of the cosmic radiation, he witnessed the birth of particle physics and was one of the main investigators in this fields for many years. While cosmic ray physics moved more and more towards astrophysics, Rossi continued to be one of the inspirers of this line of research. When outer space became a reality, he did not hesitate to leap into this new scientific dimension. Rossi's intuition on the importance of exploiting new technological windows to look at the universe with new eyes, is a fundamental key to understand the profound unity which guided his scientific research path up to its culminating moments at the beginning of 1960s, when his group at MIT performed the first in situ measurements of the density, speed and direction of the solar wind at the boundary of Earth's magnetosphere, and when he promoted the search for extra-solar sources of X rays. A visionary idea which eventually led to the breakthrough experiment which discovered Scorpius X-1 in 1962, and inaugurated X-ray astronomy.

Kepler's "War on Mars"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorsey, William; Orchiston, W.; Stephenson, F. R.

2011-01-01

This paper presents an interpretation of how Johannes Kepler changed the study of astronomy. We propose that in his metaphorical "War on Mars,” the Astronomia Nova, Kepler used a revolutionary rhetoric to bring about the usurpation of seventeenth-century astronomy. We discuss how Kepler approached the well-established conceptual framework within which the hypotheses of Ptolemy, Copernicus and Tycho Brahe functioned, and how he sought comprehensive physical principles that could determine the true cause and form of the known Universe. We examine Kepler's need to redefine reality and his use of rhetoric in shaping his astronomical argument for a new astronomy, and we show that his new `laws’ represent a fusion of physics and geometry based upon astronomical observations. We suggest that although Kepler may have believed in and defended some Copernican ideas, his innovative Astronomia Nova opened up a whole new vista for international astronomy.

Personalized medicine: reality and reality checks.

PubMed

Leeder, J Steven; Spielberg, Stephen P

2009-05-01

The evolving era of pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine is greeted with optimism by many, but this sentiment is not universally shared. The existence of diametrically opposed opinions concerning the potential benefits and obstacles facing the widespread implementation of genomic medicine should stimulate discussion and guide the design of studies to establish the value of interventions targeted at the level of individual patients. One of the more controversial aspects of personalized medicine is whether the anticipated benefits will be realized at an acceptable cost. Recently released analyses suggest that the returns on investment depend on the particular scenario and are different for different stakeholders. On the other hand, cost is only one of the challenges regarding implementation of personalized medicine. Among these are the development of universal standards for managing genomic information in electronic medical records, improvement in the collection and interpretation of clinical phenotype data, and new strategies to educate practitioners and patients/consumers. The reality is that personalized medicine is upon us; open discourse and periodic reality checks will be necessary as we confront it.

Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background: Are These Guys Serious?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kogut, Alan

2007-01-01

The polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) could contain the oldest information in the universe, dating from an inflationary epoch just after the Big Bang. Detecting this signal presents an experimental challenge, as it is both faint and hidden behind complicated foregrounds. The rewards, however, are great, as a positive detection would not only establish inflation as a physical reality but also provide a model-independent measurement of the relevant energy scale. I will present the scientific motivation behind measurements of the CMB polarization and discuss how recent experimental progress could lead to a detection in the not-very-distant future.

Towards Pervasive Augmented Reality: Context-Awareness in Augmented Reality.

PubMed

Grubert, Jens; Langlotz, Tobias; Zollmann, Stefanie; Regenbrecht, Holger

2017-06-01

Augmented Reality is a technique that enables users to interact with their physical environment through the overlay of digital information. While being researched for decades, more recently, Augmented Reality moved out of the research labs and into the field. While most of the applications are used sporadically and for one particular task only, current and future scenarios will provide a continuous and multi-purpose user experience. Therefore, in this paper, we present the concept of Pervasive Augmented Reality, aiming to provide such an experience by sensing the user's current context and adapting the AR system based on the changing requirements and constraints. We present a taxonomy for Pervasive Augmented Reality and context-aware Augmented Reality, which classifies context sources and context targets relevant for implementing such a context-aware, continuous Augmented Reality experience. We further summarize existing approaches that contribute towards Pervasive Augmented Reality. Based our taxonomy and survey, we identify challenges for future research directions in Pervasive Augmented Reality.

Basic Perception in Head-worn Augmented Reality Displays

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Basic Perception in Head-worn Augmented Reality Displays Mark A. Livingston, Joseph L. Gabbard , J. Edward Swan II, Ciara M. Sibley, and Jane H...mark.livingston@nrl.navy.mil Joseph L. Gabbard Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA e-mail: jgabbard@vt.edu J...Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 2 Livingston, Gabbard , et al. 1 Introduction For many first-time users of augmented reality

Virtual reality and physical rehabilitation: a new toy or a new research and rehabilitation tool?

PubMed Central

Keshner, Emily A

2004-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) technology is rapidly becoming a popular application for physical rehabilitation and motor control research. But questions remain about whether this technology really extends our ability to influence the nervous system or whether moving within a virtual environment just motivates the individual to perform. I served as guest editor of this month's issue of the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (JNER) for a group of papers on augmented and virtual reality in rehabilitation. These papers demonstrate a variety of approaches taken for applying VR technology to physical rehabilitation. The papers by Kenyon et al. and Sparto et al. address critical questions about how this technology can be applied to physical rehabilitation and research. The papers by Sveistrup and Viau et al. explore whether action within a virtual environment is equivalent to motor performance within the physical environment. Finally, papers by Riva et al. and Weiss et al. discuss the important characteristics of a virtual environment that will be most effective for obtaining changes in the motor system. PMID:15679943

Evaluating Remapped Physical Reach for Hand Interactions with Passive Haptics in Virtual Reality.

PubMed

Han, Dustin T; Suhail, Mohamed; Ragan, Eric D

2018-04-01

Virtual reality often uses motion tracking to incorporate physical hand movements into interaction techniques for selection and manipulation of virtual objects. To increase realism and allow direct hand interaction, real-world physical objects can be aligned with virtual objects to provide tactile feedback and physical grasping. However, unless a physical space is custom configured to match a specific virtual reality experience, the ability to perfectly match the physical and virtual objects is limited. Our research addresses this challenge by studying methods that allow one physical object to be mapped to multiple virtual objects that can exist at different virtual locations in an egocentric reference frame. We study two such techniques: one that introduces a static translational offset between the virtual and physical hand before a reaching action, and one that dynamically interpolates the position of the virtual hand during a reaching motion. We conducted two experiments to assess how the two methods affect reaching effectiveness, comfort, and ability to adapt to the remapping techniques when reaching for objects with different types of mismatches between physical and virtual locations. We also present a case study to demonstrate how the hand remapping techniques could be used in an immersive game application to support realistic hand interaction while optimizing usability. Overall, the translational technique performed better than the interpolated reach technique and was more robust for situations with larger mismatches between virtual and physical objects.

Global Learning in a New Era

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramaley, Judith

2016-01-01

Our nation's colleges and universities frequently adapt their approach to education in response to the reality of social, economic and environmental challenges. Today the reality is that we are increasingly interconnected on a global scale. This new era of globalization impacts every facet of society, and it offers both an exciting blend of…

Children's Interpretations of Computer-Animated Dinosaurs in Theatre.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Jeanne

2003-01-01

Describes how a "virtual reality" production by the University of Kansas Theatre for Young People provided the opportunity to garner the perceptions and responses of child audiences as a descriptive study. Discusses students' perceptions of results. Provides little evidence of a "videocy" dimension of perceived reality, for it…

Higher Learning in America: Aims and Realities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, W. Ann

Although the realities of higher education accurately match the aims of early educators, there are limits to our ability to measure the learning that occurs in colleges and universities. As higher education has been made available to a greater quantity of participants, the demand for accountability has increased. Accountability concerns vary for…

Integrating a Mobile Augmented Reality Activity to Contextualize Student Learning of a Socioscienti?c Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Hsin-Yi; Wu, Hsin-Kai; Hsu, Ying-Shao

2013-01-01

virtual objects or information overlaying physical objects or environments, resulting in a mixed reality in which virtual objects and real environments coexist in a meaningful way to augment learning…

[Surgery and anatomy in the Renaissance].

PubMed

Romero-y Huesca, Andrés; Ramírez-Bollas, Julio; Ponce-Landín, Francisco Javier; Moreno-Rojas, Juan Carlos; Soto-Miranda, Miguel Angel

2005-01-01

The interest in the physical perfection and the corporal forms brings as a result the creation of new anatomical studies. The anatomical knowledge progressed in the second half of the XV century, conceiving the knowledge of the human body as a basic reality of Medicine. One of the greater contributions of the Italian Universities to medicine was the teaching of anatomy. The Universities of Padua, Bologna, and Pisa educated in their classrooms great physicians like Andres Vesalio, Gabriel Fallopio, Realdo Colombo, Mondino de Luzzi, Julio Ceasar Aranzio, and Gaspare Tagliacozzi, among others. The teaching of anatomy during the Renaissance was characterized by the development of dissection techniques and autopsy practice, which was recognized as an extremely valuable skill for anatomical study. The dissections were made in circular amphitheatres in the following way: a Medicine professor read the text book, another one made the dissection, and a third one indicated the structures referred.

Effects of virtual reality training on mobility and physical function in stroke.

PubMed

Malik, Arshad Nawaz; Masood, Tahir

2017-10-01

Stroke is a common disabling condition which declines the functional and mobility level. The purpose of the case series was to determine the effect of virtual reality training on sensorimotor function and mobility level in stroke patients. Ten male (40-60 year) patients of stroke (08 Infarction, 02 Haemorrhagic) were selected from Physiotherapy department of Pakistan Railway Hospital, Rawalpindi. The additional virtual reality training (15-20 minutes) was provided 03 days per week for 06weeks along with task oriented training. All patients were assessed through Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) and Timed Get Up and Go Test (TUG) at baseline and after 06 weeks of training. The results showed that there was significant improvement in mobility level of stroke patients. It is concluded that combination of task oriented and virtual reality training considerably improves the physical performance and mobility level in stroke patients.

Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR). Volume 20, Number 7

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-01

involves social support, education, group therapy, mind- body medicine, virtual reality , hypnosis , spiritual counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy...deaths of innocent civilians including children. Sometimes the reality of what these service members have experienced is inde- scribable and usually...Th is month’s edition of the MSMR highlights the stark reality that “war is hell.” Forceful and intense physical and mental stress is a natural

The Evolution of Consciousness in the Novel in English

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gojkovic, Zorica

This dissertation examines how the novel in English reflects the evolution of human consciousness. Characters in novels express a level of consciousness through their world view, which reflects the level of consciousness of the author and his/her period. Over time the world view evolves from a perception of physical reality as ultimate reality, to physical reality as illusion, in contrast to primary reality, which is spirit, or energy, or God, or the holistic frequency realm. Great mystics and sages all over the world, and throughout history, have had this understanding about the nature of reality. What is new is that different investigative currents are coming together and sharing this new vision of reality. The underlying unity, or enfolded order, is a broader realm where fragmentation is united by a deeper truth. This oneness is analogized to a hologram, where each part is in the whole and the whole in each part. The process of the evolution of consciousness in the novel is examined in three parts. In part one, Chapter One, connections are established between some of the pertinent developments in quantum physics, mysticism and Erich Neumann's theory of the evolution of consciousness. This information sets the stage for the exploration of the evolutionary process in the novel. Part two, chapters two to seven, explore various themes that demonstrate the evolutionary process in the novel. Novels that most effectively demonstrate the evolution are used. Part three, Chapter Eight, summarizes the evolutionary process and demonstrates the way in which wholeness is achieved from the initial separateness. Part three also explores some implications for the novel in light of this analysis.

High Energy Laser on the Joint Strike Fighter: A Reality in 2025?

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-02-26

10 October 2006. 19. Siegman , A.E., Nemes, G., Serna, J. “How to (Maybe) Measure Laser Beam Quality,” in DPSS (Diode Pumped Solid State) Lasers ...AIR WAR COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY HIGH ENERGY LASER ON THE JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER A REALITY IN 2025? by Jeffrey A. Hausmann, Lt Col, USAF A...00-00-2007 to 00-00-2007 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE High Energy Laser on the Joint Strike Fighter a Reality in 2025? 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT

Effect of Topography on Learning Military Tactics - Integration of Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) and Augmented REality Sandtable (ARES)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) and Augmented REality Sandtable ( ARES ) by Michael W Boyce, Ramsamooj J Reyes, Deeja E Cruz, Charles...NOTICES Disclaimers The findings in this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by...REality Sandtable ( ARES ) by Michael W Boyce Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN LT COL Ramsamooj J Reyes Air Force Institute of

The University System of Sri Lanka. Vision and Reality. ICES Sri Lanka Studies Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Silva, K. M., Ed.; Peiris, G. H., Ed.

This book reviews the history of university education in Sri Lanka, paying special attention to the University of Peradeniya, originally the University of Ceylon. The book focuses on how an institution of higher learning, modeled initially on the older universities of Britain, has been influenced by the challenges and constraints of continuing…

Interactive augmented reality using Scratch 2.0 to improve physical activities for children with developmental disabilities.

PubMed

Lin, Chien-Yu; Chang, Yu-Ming

2015-02-01

This study uses a body motion interactive game developed in Scratch 2.0 to enhance the body strength of children with disabilities. Scratch 2.0, using an augmented-reality function on a program platform, creates real world and virtual reality displays at the same time. This study uses a webcam integration that tracks movements and allows participants to interact physically with the project, to enhance the motivation of children with developmental disabilities to perform physical activities. This study follows a single-case research using an ABAB structure, in which A is the baseline and B is the intervention. The experimental period was 2 months. The experimental results demonstrated that the scores for 3 children with developmental disabilities increased considerably during the intervention phrases. The developmental applications of these results are also discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is the Quilted Multiverse Consistent with a Thermodynamic Arrow of Time?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonov, Yakir; Cohen, Eliahu; Shushi, Tomer

2018-02-01

Theoretical achievements, as well as much controversy, surround multiverse theory. Various types of multiverses, with an increasing amount of complexity, were suggested and thoroughly discussed in literature by now. While these types are very different, they all share the same basic idea: our physical reality consists of more than just one universe. Each universe within a possibly huge multiverse might be slightly or even very different from the others. The quilted multiverse is one of these types, whose uniqueness arises from the postulate that every possible event will occur infinitely many times in infinitely many universes. In this paper we show that the quilted multiverse is not self-consistent due to the instability of entropy decrease under small perturbations. We therefore propose a modified version of the quilted multiverse which might overcome this shortcoming. It includes only those universes where the minimal entropy occurs at the same instant of (cosmological) time. Only these universes whose initial conditions are fine-tuned within a small phase-space region would evolve consistently to form their "close"' states at present. A final boundary condition on the multiverse may further lower the amount of possible, consistent universes. Finally, some related observations regarding the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the emergence of classicality are discussed.

Virtual reality for dermatologic surgery: virtually a reality in the 21st century.

PubMed

Gladstone, H B; Raugi, G J; Berg, D; Berkley, J; Weghorst, S; Ganter, M

2000-01-01

In the 20th century, virtual reality has predominantly played a role in training pilots and in the entertainment industry. Despite much publicity, virtual reality did not live up to its perceived potential. During the past decade, it has also been applied for medical uses, particularly as training simulators, for minimally invasive surgery. Because of advances in computer technology, virtual reality is on the cusp of becoming an effective medical educational tool. At the University of Washington, we are developing a virtual reality soft tissue surgery simulator. Based on fast finite element modeling and using a personal computer, this device can simulate three-dimensional human skin deformations with real-time tactile feedback. Although there are many cutaneous biomechanical challenges to solve, it will eventually provide more realistic dermatologic surgery training for medical students and residents than the currently used models.

Interpretations of virtual reality.

PubMed

Voiskounsky, Alexander

2011-01-01

University students were surveyed to learn what they know about virtual realities. The two studies were administered with a half-year interval in which the students (N=90, specializing either in mathematics and science, or in social science and humanities) were asked to name particular examples of virtual realities. The second, but not the first study, was administered after the participants had the chance to see the movie "Avatar" (no investigation was held into whether they really saw it). While the students in both studies widely believed that activities such as social networking and online gaming represent virtual realities, some other examples provided by the students in the two studies differ: in the second study the participants expressed a better understanding of the items related to virtual realities. At the same time, not a single participant reported particular psychological states (either regular or altered) as examples of virtual realities. Profound popularization efforts need to be done to acquaint the public, including college students, with virtual realities and let the public adequately understand how such systems work.

Reality-Based Learning: Outbreak, an Engaging Introductory Course in Public Health and Epidemiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calonge, David Santandreu; Grando, Danilla

2013-01-01

Objective: To develop a totally online reality-based course that engages students and enables the development of enhanced teamwork and report-writing skills. Setting: Outbreaks of infectious diseases impacts upon commerce, trade and tourism as well as placing strains on healthcare systems. A general course introducing university students to…

A Profile of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Student Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilks, Judith; Wilson, Katie

2015-01-01

This paper brings together recent statistics relating to the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education. A number of key statistical realities relating to their enrolment into, retention during, and completion of, their university courses are depicted. Foremost among these realities is that despite…

The Nature of Knowledge and the Structure of the University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Patricia J.

This paper argues that women experience two realities, a "private sphere" and a "public sphere," and the implication of this dual perspective needs to be addressed by women scholars in all disciplines. The idea behind these two spheres of reality is traced back to the ancient Greeks where household management (oikos) was the…

Exploring the Effect of Materials Designed with Augmented Reality on Language Learners' Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solak, Ekrem; Cakir, Recep

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the motivational level of the participants in a language classroom towards course materials designed in accordance with augmented reality technology and to identify the correlation between academic achievement and motivational level. 130 undergraduate students from a state-run university in Turkey…

The Educational Possibilities of Augmented Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cabero, Julio; Barroso, Julio

2016-01-01

A large number of emergent technologies have been acquiring a strong impulse in recent years. One of these emergent technologies is Augmented Reality (RA), which will surely have a high level of penetration into all our educational centers, including universities, in the next 3 to 5 years, as a number of different reports have already highlighted.…

Employment Myths and Realities in Speech and Language Pathology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, T. C.; Curran, Theresa; Deskin, Caroline

This study compared the professional expectations of graduate students in speech and language pathology (SLP) with the employment realities offered by the profession. A total of 89 graduate students enrolled in the SLP program at Valdosta State University (VSU) in Georgia during 1995-97 completed a seven-item questionnaire on employment prospects.…

Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake, Robin J., Ed.; Hill, Paul T., Ed.

2006-01-01

This is the second annual report from the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education. Like last year's debut edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality, the 2006 volume explores some of the most current and controversial issues facing the charter school movement. This…

Virtual reality interactive media for universitas sumatera utara - a campus introduction and simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmat, R. F.; Anthonius; Muchtar, M. A.; Hizriadi, A.; Syahputra, M. F.

2018-03-01

Universitas Sumatera Utara is one of the public universities that have over 100 buildings with total area of more than 133.141 square meters. Information delivery on the location of the institutional buildings becomes challenging since the university land reaches 93.4 Ha. The information usually delivers orally, in video presentation and in the form of two-dimensional such as maps, posters, and brochures. These three techniques of information delivery have their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, we know that virtual reality has come to existence, touching every domain of knowledge. In this paper we study and implement virtual reality as a new approach to distribute the information to cover all of the deficiencies. The utilization of virtual reality technology combined with 3D modeling is aims to introduce and inform the location of USU institutional buildings in interactive and innovative ways. With the application existence, the campus introduction is expected to be more convenient so that all the USU students will be able to find the exact location of the building they are headed for.

Bedding down the Embedding: IL Reality in a Teacher Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hobbs, Helen; Aspland, Tania

2003-01-01

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is one of Australia's largest universities, enrolling 30 000 students. Our Information Literacy Framework and Syllabus was endorsed as university policy in February 2001. QUT Library uses the Australian Information Literacy Standards as the basis and entry point for our syllabus. The university-wide…

The Future Campus: Destiny in a Virtual World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Samuel

1999-01-01

Discussion of the future of the university uses the book, "The University in Ruins" (Bill Readings), to analyze the globalization of the economy and the virtualization of reality. The history and role of the university and the position of the university within a transnational framework are examined. Virtualization is seen as a network of links…

The Modern University as an Imagined Community: European Dreams and Belarusian Realities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Mark S.; Tereshkovich, Pavel

2014-01-01

This article explores various aspects of modern Belarusian national identity through an analysis of two connected case studies, the development of the flagship national university, Belarusian State University (BSU) in Minsk and of the European Humanities University (EHU), a private institution founded in Minsk in 1992 with international funding.…

Telemanipulation, telepresence, and virtual reality for surgery in the year 2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satava, Richard M.

1995-12-01

The new technologic revolution in medicine is based upon information technologies, and telemanipulation, telepresence and virtual reality are essential components. Telepresence surgery returns the look and feel of `open surgery' to the surgeon and promises enhancement of physical capabilities above normal human performance. Virtual reality provides basic medical education, simulation of surgical procedures, medical forces and disaster medicine practice, and virtual prototyping of medical equipment.

Verifying the Simulation Hypothesis via Infinite Nested Universe Simulacrum Loops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Vikrant

2017-01-01

The simulation hypothesis proposes that local reality exists as a simulacrum within a hypothetical computer's dimension. More specifically, Bostrom's trilemma proposes that the number of simulations an advanced 'posthuman' civilization could produce makes the proposition very likely. In this paper a hypothetical method to verify the simulation hypothesis is discussed using infinite regression applied to a new type of infinite loop. Assign dimension n to any computer in our present reality, where dimension signifies the hierarchical level in nested simulations our reality exists in. A computer simulating known reality would be dimension (n-1), and likewise a computer simulating an artificial reality, such as a video game, would be dimension (n +1). In this method, among others, four key assumptions are made about the nature of the original computer dimension n. Summations show that regressing such a reality infinitely will create convergence, implying that the verification of whether local reality is a grand simulation is feasible to detect with adequate compute capability. The action of reaching said convergence point halts the simulation of local reality. Sensitivities to the four assumptions and implications are discussed.

The future of the CAVE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Defanti, Thomas A.; Acevedo, Daniel; Ainsworth, Richard A.; Brown, Maxine D.; Cutchin, Steven; Dawe, Gregory; Doerr, Kai-Uwe; Johnson, Andrew; Knox, Chris; Kooima, Robert; Kuester, Falko; Leigh, Jason; Long, Lance; Otto, Peter; Petrovic, Vid; Ponto, Kevin; Prudhomme, Andrew; Rao, Ramesh; Renambot, Luc; Sandin, Daniel J.; Schulze, Jurgen P.; Smarr, Larry; Srinivasan, Madhu; Weber, Philip; Wickham, Gregory

2011-03-01

The CAVE, a walk-in virtual reality environment typically consisting of 4-6 3 m-by-3 m sides of a room made of rear-projected screens, was first conceived and built in 1991. In the nearly two decades since its conception, the supporting technology has improved so that current CAVEs are much brighter, at much higher resolution, and have dramatically improved graphics performance. However, rear-projection-based CAVEs typically must be housed in a 10 m-by-10 m-by-10 m room (allowing space behind the screen walls for the projectors), which limits their deployment to large spaces. The CAVE of the future will be made of tessellated panel displays, eliminating the projection distance, but the implementation of such displays is challenging. Early multi-tile, panel-based, virtual-reality displays have been designed, prototyped, and built for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. New means of image generation and control are considered key contributions to the future viability of the CAVE as a virtual-reality device.

Seeing by exploring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregory, Richard L.

1989-01-01

The classical notion of how things are seen is that perception is passive, that the eyes are windows, and in floods reality. Physiological work of the 19th century cast doubt on this view that perception is passive acceptance of reality. Perception is not at the present time a popular topic for philosophers. This must be partly because scientific accounts of perception have now gone a long way away from appearances. They depend on physiological and psycho-physical experiments which require technical investigation and do not fall within traditional concepts of philosophy. Theories of visual perception are examined, both from a physical and psycho-physical standpoint.

From Geo-Modelling to Lecture Demonstrations to Poster Carnivals to Science-Art Crossovers to Children's Museum Exhibits to Sports Science Education to some Skateboarding Experiments for good measure (plus some other stuff)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenardic, A.

2011-12-01

If an untenured faculty member, hired under the title of looking at mantle processes, told his/her department chair that they wanted to get involved in the projects of this abstract title, with an education/outreach focus, the department chair would likely wish them a happy career elsewhere after their tenure case was rejected. University higher-ups would echo that I suspect. I know from a bit of direct experience as I was told by one of my universities most prominent outreach advocates that if I wanted to blend outreach with my research then I should only do it after tenure. Reality is reality. The reality of a CAREER grant is that it can change this reality. Being able to show that NSF was behind the blend of research and outreach I had in mind provided the 'money were your mouth is' needed to allow a junior faculty to do scientific research and to use scientific knowledge for outreach beyond the university walls. I will review how the CAREER program allowed me to branch out beyond the traditional role junior faculty can fall into. Along the way I will highlight some of the eduction/outreach projects explored and discuss successes as well as areas that could be improved in the future.

Minor Corrections to Physics for Optimizing Homeland Security by Our Pal Asija

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asija, Pal

2008-04-01

To optimize Homeland security it must be based on correct physics. There is But ONE Reality of Physics and finding that rugged reality requires identifying and expunging erroneous knowledge. Six examples are included. *Lighter Bodies Travel Faster. (Aristotle got it backwards) *Faster Objects Become Lighter. (Einstein got it backwards) *Two Minor Corrections to Newton's First Law of Motion. *Three D or No D (Any theory based on other than 3 D is fantastic) *Gravity is A Local and Physical Contact Force *Light is never Waves and Photons at the Same Instant. These corrections are then further delineated by several examples for leading and driving innovations in homeland security.

Purposes of Transnational Higher Education Programs: Lessons from Two Indonesian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutrisno, Agustian; Pillay, Hitendra

2013-01-01

While intended to facilitate knowledge transfer from international universities and develop Indonesian universities' capacity, transnational higher education programs (TEPs) in Indonesia have been criticised for operating merely as an international trade in education -- implying discrepancy between the rhetoric and reality surrounding the key…

Boosting physics education through mobile augmented reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crǎciun, Dana; Bunoiu, Mǎdǎlin

2017-12-01

The integration of collaborative applications, based on modern learning technologies and the Internet, of various visualization techniques and digital strategies in open, flexible modern learning environments which facilitate access to resources, represents a challenge for physics teachers in Romania in general, and for novice teachers in particular. Although large efforts have been made worldwide to invest in educational technologies, their impact on the students' learning outcomes is quite modest. In this paper, we describe and analyze various curricular and extracurricular activities specifically designed for and undertaken by pre-service physics teachers. These activities employ new educational technologies, mobile augmented reality (MAR) and are based on modern teaching and learning theories. MAR is an extension for mobile devices of augmented reality, an interactive and in real time combination, of real and virtual objects overlaid in the real environment. The obtained results show that pre-service physics teachers are confident in using MAR in their teaching and learning activities, and consider that the activities performed helped them develop the skills necessary for science teachers in a technology-based society and to reflect upon the role of technology in the current Romanian educational context.

Virtual Reality on a Desktop Hailed as New Tool in Distance Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Jeffrey R.

2000-01-01

Describes college and university educational applications of desktop virtual reality to provide a more human touch to interactive distance education programs and impress the brain with more vivid images. Critics suggest the technology is too costly and time consuming and may even distract students from the content of an online course. (DB)

The Professions and Ethics: Views and Realities in New Jersey. Professions Forum Proceedings (Rutgers, New Jersey, November 17, 1981).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orzack, Louis H., Ed.; Simcoe, Annell L., Ed.

Papers and summaries from Rutgers University's 1981 Professions Forum, "The Professions and Ethics: Views and Realities in New Jersey," are presented. Titles and authors are as follows: an introduction (Louis H. Orzack and Annell L. Simcoe); "Do Special Ethical Norms Apply to Professions?" (Daniel Callahan); "Ethical…

Pre-Service Teachers' Motivation, Sense of Teaching Efficacy, and Expectation of Reality Shock

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hyunjin; Cho, YoonJung

2014-01-01

The present study investigated how pre-service teachers' motivation and their sense of teaching efficacy influence their expectation about reality shock during the first year of professional teaching. A total of 533 pre-service teachers at a state university in the US Midwest participated in this study. The results showed that the pre-service…

Cosmogonic Models Overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bordeanu, C.

2010-11-01

Science offers us a body of knowledge acquired by observation, experiments and deductions. By this, we are able to approximate reality. Religion or mythology explains reality so that to put the basis of social or religious order based on a set of moral values. ``No question is more sublime than why there is a Universe: why there is anything rather than nothing.''

The Use of Virtual Reality for Creating Unusual Environmental Stimulation to Motivate Students to Explore Creative Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Kung Wong; Lee, Pui Yuen

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the roles of simulation in creativity education and how to apply immersive virtual environments to enhance students' learning experiences in university, through the provision of interactive simulations. An empirical study of a simulated virtual reality was carried out in order to investigate the effectiveness of providing…

Some Remarks on Knowledge and Probability Arising from Counterfactual Quantum Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupacchini, Rossella

Can the mere possibility of a physical phenomenon affect the outcome of an experiment? In fact quantum theory presents us actual physical effects arising from "counterfactuals", that is physical effects brought about by things that might have happened, although they did not happen. How can it be? After a short outline of the quantum-mechanical description of physical reality, the occurrence of such counterfactual effects in quantum theory is illustrated by means of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Then these paradoxical phenomena undermining the very notion of physical event and questioning about which knowledge of physical reality can ever be obtained will be analysed using a classical possible-worlds model of knowledge and probability. Finally, a surprising application of counterfactual quantum effects producing a new kind of computing with no classical analogue will be shown.

The Reality, Direction, and Future of Computerized Publications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levenstein, Nicholas

2012-01-01

Sharing information in digital form by using a computer is a growing phenomenon. Many universities are making their applications available on computer. More than one hundred and thirty-six universities have developed computerized applications on their own or through a commercial vendor. Universities developed computerized applications in order to…

Rendezvous with the World: Missouri Southern State University's Themed Semesters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stebbins, Chad

2011-01-01

Although most universities emphasize study abroad as the primary vehicle to internationalize the campus, in reality only a small percentage of students actually participate in this endeavor. The internationally themed semesters at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) reach virtually every student, and provide a global perspective and cultural…

Rendezvous of the "Third Kind": Triple Helix Origins and Future Possibilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Etzkowitz, Henry

2015-01-01

The Triple Helix, representing university-industry-government interactions, was rooted in a 1993 International Workshop on University-Industry Relations at UNAM's Centro Para la Innovacion Technologica in Mexico City. Impelled by Mexican reality, where university-industry interactions and the institutions themselves operated within a governmental…

An Empirical Inquiry on Knowledge Sharing among Academicians in Higher Learning Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramayah, T.; Yeap, Jasmine A. L.; Ignatius, Joshua

2013-01-01

Universities are expected to be places where knowledge is shared freely among academicians. However, the reality shows that knowledge sharing is barely present within universities these days. As Malaysia shifts towards building a knowledge-based society, academic institutions, particularly the public universities, now face ever-growing faculty…

The University and the Strategic Defense Initiative.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winn, Ira J.

1987-01-01

Under full scrutiny, the Strategic Defense Initiative program is revealed as a form of escapism from global realities, with dangerous and destabilizing themes for both the university and society. Universities must face this issue squarely, and limit their focus to activities best suited to an intellectually constructive and humane purpose. (MSE)

Design Principles for Augmented Reality Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunleavy, Matt

2014-01-01

Augmented reality is an emerging technology that utilizes mobile, context-aware devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) that enable participants to interact with digital information embedded within the physical environment. This overview of design principles focuses on specific strategies that instructional designers can use to develop AR learning…

From Einstein's theorem to Bell's theorem: a history of quantum non-locality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiseman, H. M.

2006-04-01

In this Einstein Year of Physics it seems appropriate to look at an important aspect of Einstein's work that is often down-played: his contribution to the debate on the interpretation of quantum mechanics. Contrary to physics ‘folklore’, Bohr had no defence against Einstein's 1935 attack (the EPR paper) on the claimed completeness of orthodox quantum mechanics. I suggest that Einstein's argument, as stated most clearly in 1946, could justly be called Einstein's reality locality completeness theorem, since it proves that one of these three must be false. Einstein's instinct was that completeness of orthodox quantum mechanics was the falsehood, but he failed in his quest to find a more complete theory that respected reality and locality. Einstein's theorem, and possibly Einstein's failure, inspired John Bell in 1964 to prove his reality locality theorem. This strengthened Einstein's theorem (but showed the futility of his quest) by demonstrating that either reality or locality is a falsehood. This revealed the full non-locality of the quantum world for the first time.

Human Pacman: A Mobile Augmented Reality Entertainment System Based on Physical, Social, and Ubiquitous Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheok, Adrian David

This chapter details the Human Pacman system to illuminate entertainment computing which ventures to embed the natural physical world seamlessly with a fantasy virtual playground by capitalizing on infrastructure provided by mobile computing, wireless LAN, and ubiquitous computing. With Human Pacman, we have a physical role-playing computer fantasy together with real human-social and mobile-gaming that emphasizes on collaboration and competition between players in a wide outdoor physical area that allows natural wide-area human-physical movements. Pacmen and Ghosts are now real human players in the real world experiencing mixed computer graphics fantasy-reality provided by using the wearable computers on them. Virtual cookies and actual tangible physical objects are incorporated into the game play to provide novel experiences of seamless transitions between the real and virtual worlds. This is an example of a new form of gaming that anchors on physicality, mobility, social interaction, and ubiquitous computing.

Physics Reality Show

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erukhimova, Tatiana

The attention span of K-12 students is very short; they are used to digesting information in short snippets through social media and TV. To get the students interested in physics, we created the Physics Reality Show: a series of staged short videos with duration no longer than a few minutes. Each video explains and illustrates one physics concept or law through a fast-paced sequence of physics demonstrations and experiments. The cast consists entirely of physics undergraduate students with artistic abilities and substantial experience in showing physics demonstrations at current outreach events run by the department: Physics Shows and Physics & Engineering Festival. Undergraduate students are of almost the same age as their high-school audience. They are in the best position to connect with kids and convey their fascination with physics. The PI and other faculty members who are involved in the outreach advise and coach the cast. They help students in staging the episodes and choosing the most exciting and relevant demonstrations. Supported by the APS mini-outreach Grant.

Becoming Dragon: a mixed reality durational performance in Second Life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cárdenas, Micha; Head, Christopher; Margolis, Todd; Greco, Kael

2009-02-01

The goal for Becoming Dragon was to develop a working, immersive Mixed Reality system by using a motion capture system and head mounted display to control a character in Second Life - a Massively Multiplayer Online 3D environment - in order to examine a number of questions regarding identity, gender and the transformative potential of technology. This performance was accomplished through a collaboration between Micha Cardenas, the performer and technical director, Christopher Head, Kael Greco, Benjamin Lotan, Anna Storelli and Elle Mehrmand. The plan for this project was to model the performer's physical environment to enable them to live in the virtual environment for extended amounts of time, using an approach of Mixed Reality, where the physical world is mapped into the virtual. I remain critical of the concept of Mixed Reality, as it presents an idea of realities as totalities and as objective essences independent of interpretation through the symbolic order. Part of my goal with this project is to explore identity as a process of social feedback, in the sense that Donna Haraway describes "becoming with"iii, as well as to explore the concept of Reality Spectrum that Augmentology.com discusses, thinking about states such as AFK (Away From Keyboard) that are in-between virtual and corporeal presence.iv Both of these ideas are ways of overcoming the dualisms of mind/body, real/virtual and self/other that have been a problematic part of thinking about technology for so long. Towards thinking beyond these binaries, Anna Munster offers a concept of enfolding the body and technologyv, building on Gilles Deleuze's notion of the baroque fold. She says "the superfold... opens up for us a twisted topology of code folding back upon itself without determinate start or end points: we now live in a time and space in which body and information are thoroughly imbricated."vi She elaborates on this notion of body and code as becoming with each other saying "the incorporeal vectors of digital information draw out the capacities of our bodies to become other than matter conceived as a mere vessel for consciousness or a substrate for signal... we may also conceive of these experiences as a new territory made possible by the fact that our bodies are immanently open to these kinds of technically symbiotic transformations"vii. A number of the technologies used in this performance were used in an attempt to blur the line between the actual and the digital, such as motion capture, live video streaming into Second Life and 3D fabrication of physical copies of Second Life avatars. The performance was developed using the following components: - An Emagin Z800 immersive head mounted display (HMD) allowed the performer to move around in the physical environment within Calit2 and still remain "in game". Head tracking and stereoscopic imagery help to provide a realistic feeling of immersion. We built on the University of Michigan 3D (UM3D) lab's stereoscopic patch for the Second Life client, updating it to work with the latest version of Second Life. - A motion tracking system. A Vicon MX40+ motion capture system was installed into the Visiting Artist Lab at CRCA, which served as the physical performance space, to allow real-time motion tracking data to be sent to a PC running Windows. Using this data, the plan was to map the physical motion in the real world back into game space, so that, for example, the performer could easily get to their food source or to the restroom. We developed a C++ bridge that includes a parser for the Vicon real time data stream in order to communicate this to the Second Life server to produce changes in avatar and object positions based on real physical movement. The goal was to get complete body gestures into Second Life in near real time. - A Puredata patch called Lila, developed by Shahrokh Yadegadi of UCSD, which was used to modulate the performer's voice, to provide a voice system that allowed chat ability in Second Life, which was less gendered and less human.

Relational particle models: I. Reconciliation with standard classical and quantum theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Edward

2006-04-01

This paper concerns the absolute versus relative motion debate. The Barbour and Bertotti (1982) work may be viewed as an indirectly set up relational formulation of a portion of Newtonian mechanics. I consider further direct formulations of this and argue that the portion in question—universes with zero total angular momentum that are conservative and with kinetic terms that are (homogeneous) quadratic in their velocities—is capable of accommodating a wide range of classical physics phenomena. Furthermore, as I develop in paper II, this relational particle model is a useful toy model for canonical general relativity. I consider what happens if one quantizes relational rather than absolute mechanics, indeed whether the latter is misleading. By exploiting Jacobi coordinates, I show how to access many examples of quantized relational particle models and then interpret these from a relational perspective. By these means, previous suggestions of bad semiclassicality for such models can be eluded. I show how small (particle number) universe relational particle model examples display eigenspectrum truncation, gaps, energy interlocking and counterbalanced total angular momentum. These features mean that these small universe models make interesting toy models for some aspects of closed-universe quantum cosmology. Meanwhile, these features do not compromise the recovery of reality as regards the practicalities of experimentation in a large universe such as our own.

The Value of Biomechanical Research in Dance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ranney, D. A.

Simple observation of dance movement, while very useful, can lead to misconceptions, about the physical realities of dance movement, that make learning difficult. This gap between reality and understanding can be reduced by the application of biomechanical techniques such as cinematography, electromyography, and force-plate analysis. Biomechanical…

Cosmic secrets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schommers, W.

1. The absolute truth. 1.1. Final truth. 1.2. Two important questions. 1.3. Why does the cosmos exist? 1.4. Are the laws of nature independent of the observer's own nature? 1.5. Self0indulgence was dominant. 1.6. Newton's mechanics and its overestimation. 1.7. Scientific realism. 1.8. An important principle: as little outside world as possible. 1.9. Inside world and outside world. 1.10. Principal questions. 1.11. How does science progress? 1.12. Final remarks -- 2. The projection principle. 2.1. The elements of space and time. 2.2. Relationship between matter and space-time. 2.3. Two relevant features. 2.4. Two kinds of "objects". 2.5. Perception processes. 2.6. Inside world and outside world. 2.7. The influence of evolution. 2.8. Information in the picture versus information in basic reality (outside reality). 2.9. Other biological systems. 2.10. How many (geometrical) objects can be in space-time? 2.11. Two types of space-time? 2.12. Summary -- 3. Fictitious realities. 3.1. Conventional quantum theory: critical remarks. 3.2. The projection principle in connection with fictitious realities. 3.3. Distribution of information. 3.4. Basic transformation effects. 3.5. Pictures within projection theory. 3.6. Auxiliary construction. 3.7. Basic laws. 3.8. Extension of conventional quantum theory. 3.9. Only processes are relevant! 3.10. Interactions. 3.11. Distance-independent interactions. 3.12. Arbitrary jumps within (r, t)-space. 3.13.Mach's principle: preliminary remarks. 3.14. Can a lone, elementary object exist in the cosmos? 3.15. The meaning of the potential functions. 3.16. Time. 3.17. Time travel in physics. 3.18. Summary -- 4. Basic reality and levels of reality. 4.1. Hard objects. 4.2. General physical laws. 4.3. States of mind. 4.4. Outside world and basic reality. 4.5. Objective processes. 4.6. Observations. 4.7. No interactions within (r, t)-space. 4.8. The general cannot be deduced from the particular. 4.9. Remarks on the notion "world equation". 4.10. On the anthropic principle. 4.11. Summary -- 5. Cosmological constant and physical reality. 5.1. Introductory remarks. 5.2. The cosmological constant. 5.3. Critical remarks on basic quantum theory. 5.4. Projection theory and the emptying. 5.5. Artificial vacuum effects!? 5.6. On the observation of physically real process. 5.7. Curved spaces. 5.8. Flatness and horizon problem. 5.8. Summary -- 6. Final remarks.

A microbased shared virtual world prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, Gerald; Robinson, Mark; Strange, Steve

1993-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) allows sensory immersion and interaction with a computer-generated environment. The user adopts a physical interface with the computer, through Input/Output devices such as a head-mounted display, data glove, mouse, keyboard, or monitor, to experience an alternate universe. What this means is that the computer generates an environment which, in its ultimate extension, becomes indistinguishable from the real world. 'Imagine a wraparound television with three-dimensional programs, including three-dimensional sound, and solid objects that you can pick up and manipulate, even feel with your fingers and hands.... 'Imagine that you are the creator as well as the consumer of your artificial experience, with the power to use a gesture or word to remold the world you see and hear and feel. That part is not fiction... three-dimensional computer graphics, input/output devices, computer models that constitute a VR system make it possible, today, to immerse yourself in an artificial world and to reach in and reshape it.' Our research's goal was to propose a feasibility experiment in the construction of a networked virtual reality system, making use of current personal computer (PC) technology. The prototype was built using Borland C compiler, running on an IBM 486 33 MHz and a 386 33 MHz. Each game currently is represented as an IPX client on a non-dedicated Novell server. We initially posed the two questions: (1) Is there a need for networked virtual reality? (2) In what ways can the technology be made available to the most people possible?

Modeling and Reality in Early Twentieth-Century Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seth, Suman

2011-04-01

Towards the end of 1913, Arnold Sommerfeld, Professor of theoretical physics at Munich University, sent a letter of congratulations to a young Niels Bohr. The Dane's now-classic trilogy of papers, which coupled Rutherford's conception of the atom with a ``planetary'' configuration of electrons, had just appeared. Sommerfeld saw the calculation of the Rydberg constant as a singular triumph and immediately spotted an opportunity to try to explain the Zeeman effect. Yet he also sounded a note of caution, confessing that he remained ``somewhat skeptical'' of atomic models in general. In this, of course, he was hardly alone. Bohr's atom was a particularly egregious example of a peculiar model, one requiring what even its creator considered ``horrid assumptions.'' Nonetheless, success bred conviction. Expanding upon Bohr's original ideas, Sommerfeld soon produced the so-called ``Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization conditions,'' using them to calculate a myriad of results. Experimental evidence, Sommerfeld argued in 1915, showed that quantised electron-paths ``correspond exactly to reality'' and possess ``real existence.'' This kind of realism would not, of course, last long. In 1925, Werner Heisenberg (earlier a student of Sommerfeld's) made scepticism about the details of the Bohr model into a methodological dictum, one later enshrined in the ``Copenhagen interpretation'' of quantum mechanics. This paper uses Sommerfeld's work from the turn of the twentieth century to the mid-1920s as a window onto a landscape involving multiple contestations over the legitimacy of atomic modelling. The surprise that greeted Heisenberg's and others' phenomenological insistences, we will see, can only be understood with reference to what should be considered a ``realist interlude'' in the history of twentieth century atomic physics, one inspired by the astonishing successes of Rutherford's and Bohr's imaginings.

Ontic structural realism and quantum field theory: Are there intrinsic properties at the most fundamental level of reality?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berghofer, Philipp

2018-05-01

Ontic structural realism refers to the novel, exciting, and widely discussed basic idea that the structure of physical reality is genuinely relational. In its radical form, the doctrine claims that there are, in fact, no objects but only structure, i.e., relations. More moderate approaches state that objects have only relational but no intrinsic properties. In its most moderate and most tenable form, ontic structural realism assumes that at the most fundamental level of physical reality there are only relational properties. This means that the most fundamental objects only possess relational but no non-reducible intrinsic properties. The present paper will argue that our currently best physics refutes even this most moderate form of ontic structural realism. More precisely, I will claim that 1) according to quantum field theory, the most fundamental objects of matter are quantum fields and not particles, and show that 2) according to the Standard Model, quantum fields have intrinsic non-relational properties.

Television and aggression: a test of a mediated model with a sample of Portuguese students.

PubMed

Matos, Armanda Pinto da Mota; Ferreira, Joaquim Armando G Alves; Haase, Richard F

2012-01-01

We examined the role of identification with violent TV heroes, enjoyment of TV violence, and perceived reality in TV violence as mediators of the relationship between viewing TV violence and subsequent physical and verbal aggression. A sample of 722 4th, 6th, and 8th grade students from schools in the central region of Portugal completed measures assessing enjoyment of TV violence, perceived reality, aggression, identification with violent TV heroes, and exposure to TV violence. The results showed that the relationship between TV violence and physical aggression is mediated by enjoyment of TV violence, perceived reality in TV violence, and identification with violent TV heroes. The TV violence to verbal aggression relationship was also mediated by enjoyment of TV violence.

Virtual reality simulation: using three-dimensional technology to teach nursing students.

PubMed

Jenson, Carole E; Forsyth, Diane McNally

2012-06-01

The use of computerized technology is rapidly growing in the classroom and in healthcare. An emerging computer technology strategy for nursing education is the use of virtual reality simulation. This computer-based three-dimensional educational tool simulates real-life patient experiences in a risk-free environment, allows for repeated practice sessions, requires clinical decision making, exposes students to diverse patient conditions, provides immediate feedback, and is portable. The purpose of this article was to review the importance of virtual reality simulation as a computerized teaching strategy. In addition, a project to explore readiness of nursing faculty at one major Midwestern university for the use of virtual reality simulation as a computerized teaching strategy is described where faculty thought virtual reality simulation would increase students' knowledge of an intravenous line insertion procedure. Faculty who practiced intravenous catheter insertion via virtual reality simulation expressed a wide range of learning experiences from using virtual reality simulation that is congruent with the literature regarding the barriers to student learning. Innovative teaching strategies, such as virtual reality simulation, address barriers of increasing patient acuity, high student-to-faculty ratio, patient safety concerns from faculty, and student anxiety and can offer rapid feedback to students.

Dialectic of the university: a critique of instrumental reason in graduate nursing education.

PubMed

Petrovskaya, Olga; McDonald, Carol; McIntyre, Marjorie

2011-10-01

Our analysis in this paper unfolds on two levels: a critique of the 'realities' of graduate nursing education and an argument to sustain its 'ideals'. We open for discussion an aspect of graduate nursing education dominated by instrumental reason, namely the research industry, using an internal critique approach developed by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno of the Early Frankfurt School. As we explain, internal critique arises out of, and relies on, the mismatch between goals, or 'ideals', and existing realities. Thinking about 'ideals' of the academy, we draw on Hans-Georg Gadamer's view of the university as a place to think freely, creatively, and critically. The contemporary realities of the university, on the other hand, that emphasize the market values of the research industry forcefully shape nursing academic scholarship in a particular direction. In our attempt to recognize and disrupt the forces of the research industry with its instrumental reason, we consider Judith Butler's writings on how norms operate in society. We show that our growing involvement in the research industry makes it very difficult to disentangle ourselves from that situation. The values of the research industry actually suppress the very ideals of education and scholarship that we would like to uphold. As a contra-force, the internal critique of the 'existing realities' in the graduate nursing education unmasks the tyranny of the research industry and makes visible the importance of sustaining the higher goals and ideals in nursing scholarship. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

An Investigation of University Students' Collaborative Inquiry Learning Behaviors in an Augmented Reality Simulation and a Traditional Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Hung-Yuan; Duh, Henry Been-Lirn; Li, Nai; Lin, Tzung-Jin; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare students' collaborative inquiry learning behaviors and their behavior patterns in an augmented reality (AR) simulation system and a traditional 2D simulation system. Their inquiry and discussion processes were analyzed by content analysis and lag sequential analysis (LSA). Forty…

Juxtapositioning Geriatrics and Art: The Essence of Caring, Carer, and Cared-For in Films

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Guzman, Allan B.; Carungcong, Bobbie Jo H.; Castillo, Jasper Q.; Castillo, Joyce Anne A.; Castro, Jenelyn S.

2009-01-01

The need to revolutionize geriatric nursing is dawning. However, there is a negative view regarding this nursing field. The dearth of literature on the use of theatrical films to surface universal realities in a care-driven profession has led to this attempt of bringing to reality the essences of caring, carer, and cared-for and their interactions…

Virtual reality simulators and training in laparoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Yiannakopoulou, Eugenia; Nikiteas, Nikolaos; Perrea, Despina; Tsigris, Christos

2015-01-01

Virtual reality simulators provide basic skills training without supervision in a controlled environment, free of pressure of operating on patients. Skills obtained through virtual reality simulation training can be transferred on the operating room. However, relative evidence is limited with data available only for basic surgical skills and for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. No data exist on the effect of virtual reality simulation on performance on advanced surgical procedures. Evidence suggests that performance on virtual reality simulators reliably distinguishes experienced from novice surgeons Limited available data suggest that independent approach on virtual reality simulation training is not different from proctored approach. The effect of virtual reality simulators training on acquisition of basic surgical skills does not seem to be different from the effect the physical simulators. Limited data exist on the effect of virtual reality simulation training on the acquisition of visual spatial perception and stress coping skills. Undoubtedly, virtual reality simulation training provides an alternative means of improving performance in laparoscopic surgery. However, future research efforts should focus on the effect of virtual reality simulation on performance in the context of advanced surgical procedure, on standardization of training, on the possibility of synergistic effect of virtual reality simulation training combined with mental training, on personalized training. Copyright © 2014 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Who Are Members of the University Community?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunsford, Terry F.

1968-01-01

The relationship between the ideal of a university and its reality in the experience of its members has become a major issue of controversy. The courts, however, rarely discuss the university in terms of a community. Most cases concerning student-institutional relationships that reach court are decided ad hoc, for the law leaves student rights and…

Voices of University Students with Disabilities: Inclusive Education on the Tertiary Level -- A Reality or a Distant Dream?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strnadová, Iva; Hájková, Vanda; Kvetonová, Lea

2015-01-01

Twenty-four university students with disabilities were interviewed about their experiences studying at Czech universities. The interviews were analysed using the grounded theory approach. The most commonly experienced barriers faced by these students were institutional barriers, attitudinal barriers, and disability-specific barriers. The types of…

The Digital Divide among University Freshmen

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ricoy, Carmen; Feliz, Tiberio; Couto, Maria Joao

2013-01-01

Use of new technologies in university training is an ongoing reality today. However, the inequalities that exist among university students are the source of an important problem. Such inequalities need to be detected and analyzed and therefore a study of college freshmen can be very valuable. This qualitative study intends to analyze the digital…

The University and the Voluntary Work Culture: Reality and Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Almaraee, Mohammed Abdullah

2016-01-01

To explore the present role of universities in propagating the culture of voluntary work in the Saudi community, mixed research design has been incorporated along with descriptive statistics for retrieving outcomes. The research design has been implemented in order to evaluate the concept of voluntary work culture among the university staff and…

Universities and Marketing Mass Communication in Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boffo, Stefano

2004-01-01

Marketing mass communication is a quite recent reality of Italian (mainly public) university system. Up to the last decade, these institutions had a certain reluctance to use marketing in order to raise funds and acquire students. The change was made possible through a variety of factors, among which the extension of mass university, a higher…

Frames of Reference in Mobile Augmented Reality Displays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mou, Weimin; Biocca, Frank; Owen, Charles B.; Tang, Arthur; Xiao, Fan; Lim, Lynette

2004-01-01

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated spatial updating in augmented reality environments. Participants learned locations of virtual objects on the physical floor. They were turned to appropriate facing directions while blindfolded before making pointing judgments (e.g., "Imagine you are facing X. Point to Y"). Experiments manipulated the…

Applications of Augmented Reality-Based Natural Interactive Learning in Magnetic Field Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cai, Su; Chiang, Feng-Kuang; Sun, Yuchen; Lin, Chenglong; Lee, Joey J.

2017-01-01

Educators must address several challenges inherent to the instruction of scientific disciplines such as physics -- expensive or insufficient laboratory equipment, equipment error, difficulty in simulating certain experimental conditions. Augmented reality (AR) can be a promising approach to address these challenges. In this paper, we discuss the…

Improving the Efficiency of Virtual Reality Training by Integrating Partly Observational Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuviler-Gavish, Nirit; Rodríguez, Jorge; Gutiérrez, Teresa; Sánchez, Emilio; Casado, Sara

2014-01-01

The current study hypothesized that integrating partly observational learning into virtual reality training systems (VRTS) can enhance training efficiency for procedural tasks. A common approach in designing VRTS is the enactive approach, which stresses the importance of physical actions within the environment to enhance perception and improve…

Virtual Reality: Is It for Real?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowding, Tim J.

1994-01-01

Defines virtual reality and describes its application to psychomotor skills training. A description of a system that could be used to teach a college course in physical therapy, including the use of miniature computer workstation, sensory gloves, a programmable mannequin, and other existing technology, is provided. (Contains 10 references.) (KRN)

Establishing the reliability and concurrent validity of physical performance tests using virtual reality equipment for community-dwelling healthy elders.

PubMed

Griswold, David; Rockwell, Kyle; Killa, Carri; Maurer, Michael; Landgraff, Nancy; Learman, Ken

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and concurrent validity of commonly used physical performance tests using the OmniVR Virtual Rehabilitation System for healthy community-dwelling elders. Participants (N = 40) were recruited by the authors and were screened for eligibility. The initial method of measurement was randomized to either virtual reality (VR) or clinically based measures (CM). Physical performance tests included the five times sit to stand, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Forward Functional Reach (FFR) and 30-s stand test. A random number generator determined the testing order. The test-re-test reliability for the VR and CM was determined. Furthermore, concurrent validity was determined using a Pearson product moment correlation (Pearson r). The VR demonstrated excellent reliability for 5 × STS intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.931(3,1), FFR ICC = 0.846(3,1) and the TUG ICC = 0.944(3,1). The concurrent validity data for the VR and CM (ICC 3, k) were moderate for FFR ICC = 0.682, excellent 5 × STS ICC = 0.889 and excellent for the TUG ICC = 0.878. The concurrent validity of the 30-s stand test was good ICC = 0.735(3,1). This study supports the use of VR equipment for measuring physical performance tests in the clinic for healthy community-dwelling elders. Virtual reality equipment is not only used to treat balance impairments but it is also used to measure and determine physical impairments through the use of physical performance tests. Virtual reality equipment is a reliable and valid tool for collecting physical performance data for the 5 × STS, FFR, TUG and 30-s stand test for healthy community-dwelling elders.

Moving from Virtual Reality Exposure-Based Therapy to Augmented Reality Exposure-Based Therapy: A Review

PubMed Central

Baus, Oliver; Bouchard, Stéphane

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the move from virtual reality exposure-based therapy to augmented reality exposure-based therapy (ARET). Unlike virtual reality (VR), which entails a complete virtual environment (VE), augmented reality (AR) limits itself to producing certain virtual elements to then merge them into the view of the physical world. Although, the general public may only have become aware of AR in the last few years, AR type applications have been around since beginning of the twentieth century. Since, then, technological developments have enabled an ever increasing level of seamless integration of virtual and physical elements into one view. Like VR, AR allows the exposure to stimuli which, due to various reasons, may not be suitable for real-life scenarios. As such, AR has proven itself to be a medium through which individuals suffering from specific phobia can be exposed “safely” to the object(s) of their fear, without the costs associated with programing complete VEs. Thus, ARET can offer an efficacious alternative to some less advantageous exposure-based therapies. Above and beyond presenting what has been accomplished in ARET, this paper covers some less well-known aspects of the history of AR, raises some ARET related issues, and proposes potential avenues to be followed. These include the type of measures to be used to qualify the user’s experience in an augmented reality environment, the exclusion of certain AR-type functionalities from the definition of AR, as well as the potential use of ARET to treat non-small animal phobias, such as social phobia. PMID:24624073

Moving from virtual reality exposure-based therapy to augmented reality exposure-based therapy: a review.

PubMed

Baus, Oliver; Bouchard, Stéphane

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the move from virtual reality exposure-based therapy to augmented reality exposure-based therapy (ARET). Unlike virtual reality (VR), which entails a complete virtual environment (VE), augmented reality (AR) limits itself to producing certain virtual elements to then merge them into the view of the physical world. Although, the general public may only have become aware of AR in the last few years, AR type applications have been around since beginning of the twentieth century. Since, then, technological developments have enabled an ever increasing level of seamless integration of virtual and physical elements into one view. Like VR, AR allows the exposure to stimuli which, due to various reasons, may not be suitable for real-life scenarios. As such, AR has proven itself to be a medium through which individuals suffering from specific phobia can be exposed "safely" to the object(s) of their fear, without the costs associated with programing complete VEs. Thus, ARET can offer an efficacious alternative to some less advantageous exposure-based therapies. Above and beyond presenting what has been accomplished in ARET, this paper covers some less well-known aspects of the history of AR, raises some ARET related issues, and proposes potential avenues to be followed. These include the type of measures to be used to qualify the user's experience in an augmented reality environment, the exclusion of certain AR-type functionalities from the definition of AR, as well as the potential use of ARET to treat non-small animal phobias, such as social phobia.

Physics, philosophy, and the nature of reality.

PubMed

Maudlin, Tim

2015-12-01

Both science and philosophy have been characterized as seeking to understand the nature of reality. They are sometimes even pitted against each other, suggesting that the success of science undermines the relevance of philosophy. But attending to the sort of understanding or explanation being sought offers a different picture: contemporary physics as practiced sometimes fails to provide a clear physical account of the world. This lies at the root of the dissatisfaction with standard quantum theory expressed by Einstein, Schrödinger, and John Bell. As an example, close consideration of Schrödinger's famous cat example suggests that physicists often have missed his point. What a philosophical disposition can contribute is not alternative physics, but rather the sort of careful attention to argument needed to extract a physical picture from a mathematical formalism. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Virtual reality in Latin American clinical psychology and the VREPAR project. Virtual Reality Environments for Psycho-Neuro-physiological Assessment and Rehabilitation.

PubMed

Silva, Mauro Rubens

2002-10-01

Starting with the excellent collective work done by the European Community (EC)-funded Virtual Reality Environments for Psycho-Neuro-physiological Assessment and Rehabilitation (VREPAR) projects, I try to indicate some possible pathways that would allow a better integration of this advanced technology into the reality of Latin American psychology. I myself use analyses that I did in my master's degree in the PUCSP-Catholic University in São Paulo, Brazil. I also include a brief description of the CD-ROM Clinical Psychology Uses of Virtual Reality (CPUVR) that accompanies my thesis. I point out the importance of collaboration between psychology and other disciplines, including computer science. I explain the method that I used to work with digital information, important for the formation of a critical mass of people thinking in Portuguese and Spanish to accelerate a technological jump.

Virtual reality-based therapy for the treatment of balance deficits in patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Cuthbert, Jeffrey P; Staniszewski, Kristi; Hays, Kaitlin; Gerber, Don; Natale, Audrey; O'Dell, Denise

2014-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility and safety of utilizing a commercially available virtual reality gaming system as a treatment intervention for balance training. A randomized controlled trial in which assessment and analysis were blinded. An inpatient rehabilitation facility. Interventions included balance-based physical therapy using a Nintendo Wii, as monitored by a physical therapist, and receipt of one-on-one balance-based physical therapy using standard physical therapy modalities available for use in the therapy gym. Participants in the standard physical therapy group were found to have slightly higher enjoyment at mid-intervention, while those receiving the virtual reality-based balance intervention were found to have higher enjoyment at study completion. Both groups demonstrated improved static and dynamic balance over the course of the study, with no significant differences between groups. Correlational analyses suggest a relationship exists between Wii balance board game scores and BBS scores for measures taken beyond the baseline assessment. This study provides a modest level of evidence to support using commercially available VR gaming systems for the treatment of balance deficits in patients with a primary diagnosis of TBI receiving inpatient rehabilitation. Additional research of these types of interventions for the treatment of balance deficits is warranted.

Comparison of gross anatomy test scores using traditional specimens vs. QuickTime Virtual Reality animated specimens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maza, Paul Sadiri

In recent years, technological advances such as computers have been employed in teaching gross anatomy at all levels of education, even in professional schools such as medical and veterinary medical colleges. Benefits of computer based instructional tools for gross anatomy include the convenience of not having to physically view or dissect a cadaver. Anatomy educators debate over the advantages versus the disadvantages of computer based resources for gross anatomy instruction. Many studies, case reports, and editorials argue for the increased use of computer based anatomy educational tools, while others discuss the necessity of dissection for various reasons important in learning anatomy, such as a three-dimensional physical view of the specimen, physical handling of tissues, interactions with fellow students during dissection, and differences between specific specimens. While many articles deal with gross anatomy education using computers, there seems to be a lack of studies investigating the use of computer based resources as an assessment tool for gross anatomy, specifically using the Apple application QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR). This study investigated the use of QTVR movie modules to assess if using computer based QTVR movie module assessments were equal in quality to actual physical specimen examinations. A gross anatomy course in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University was used as a source of anatomy students and gross anatomy examinations. Two groups were compared, one group taking gross anatomy examinations in a traditional manner, by viewing actual physical specimens and answering questions based on those specimens. The other group took the same examinations using the same specimens, but the specimens were viewed as simulated three-dimensional objects in a QTVR movie module. Sample group means for the assessments were compared. A survey was also administered asking students' perceptions of quality and user-friendliness of the QTVR movie modules. The comparison of the two sample group means of the examinations show that there was no difference in results between using QTVR movie modules to test gross anatomy knowledge versus using physical specimens. The results of this study are discussed to explain the benefits of using such computer based anatomy resources in gross anatomy assessments.

Learning physical biology via modeling and simulation: A new course and textbook for science and engineering undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Philip

To a large extent, undergraduate physical-science curricula remain firmly rooted in pencil-and-paper calculation, despite the fact that most research is done with computers. To a large extent, undergraduate life-science curricula remain firmly rooted in descriptive approaches, despite the fact that much current research involves quantitative modeling. Not only does our pedagogy not reflect current reality; it also creates a spurious barrier between the fields, reinforcing the narrow silos that prevent students from connecting them. I'll describe an intermediate-level course on ``Physical Models of Living Systems.'' The prerequisite is first-year university physics and calculus. The course is a response to rapidly growing interest among undergraduates in a broad range of science and engineering majors. Students acquire several research skills that are often not addressed in traditional undergraduate courses: •Basic modeling skills; •Probabilistic modeling skills; •Data analysis methods; •Computer programming using a general-purpose platform like MATLAB or Python; •Pulling datasets from the Web for analysis; •Data visualization; •Dynamical systems, particularly feedback control. Partially supported by the NSF under Grants EF-0928048 and DMR-0832802.

Shifting Sands and Turning Tides: Using 3D Visualization Technology to Shape the Environment for Undergraduate Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, H. S.; Gant, R.; Hopkins, D.

2014-12-01

Teaching natural science in a technologically advancing world requires that our methods reach beyond the traditional computer interface. Innovative 3D visualization techniques and real-time augmented user interfaces enable students to create realistic environments to understand the world around them. Here, we present a series of laboratory activities that utilize an Augmented Reality Sandbox to teach basic concepts of hydrology, geology, and geography to undergraduates at Harvard University and the University of Redlands. The Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox utilizes a real sandbox that is overlain by a digital projection of topography and a color elevation map. A Microsoft Kinect 3D camera feeds altimetry data into a software program that maps this information onto the sand surface using a digital projector. Students can then manipulate the sand and observe as the Sandbox augments their manipulations with projections of contour lines, an elevation color map, and a simulation of water. The idea for the AR Sandbox was conceived at MIT by the Tangible Media Group in 2002 and the simulation software used here was written and developed by Dr. Oliver Kreylos of the University of California - Davis as part of the NSF funded LakeViz3D project. Between 2013 and 2014, we installed AR Sandboxes at Harvard and the University of Redlands, respectively, and developed laboratory exercises to teach flooding hazard, erosion and watershed development in undergraduate earth and environmental science courses. In 2013, we introduced a series of AR Sandbox laboratories in Introductory Geology, Hydrology, and Natural Disasters courses. We found laboratories that utilized the AR Sandbox at both universities allowed students to become quickly immersed in the learning process, enabling a more intuitive understanding of the processes that govern the natural world. The physical interface of the AR Sandbox reduces barriers to learning, can be used to rapidly illustrate basic concepts of geology, geography and hydrology, and enabled our undergraduate students to understand topography intuitively. We therefore find the AR Sandbox to be a novel teaching tool and an effective demonstration of the capabilities of 3D visualization and real-time augmented user interfaces that enable students to better understand environmental processes.

Turning Paris into reality at the University of California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Victor, David G.; Abdulla, Ahmed; Auston, David; Brase, Wendell; Brouwer, Jack; Brown, Karl; Davis, Steven J.; Kappel, Carrie V.; Meier, Alan; Modera, Mark; Zarin Pass, Rebecca; Phillips, David; Sager, Jordan; Weil, David; TomKat Natural Gas Exit Strategies Working Group

2018-03-01

The Paris Agreement highlights the need for local climate leadership. The University Of California's approach to deep decarbonization offers lessons in efficiency, alternative fuels and electrification. Bending the emissions curve globally requires efforts that blend academic insights with practical solutions.

Brave New World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Panettieri, Joseph C.

2007-01-01

Across the globe, progressive universities are embracing any number of MUVEs (multi-user virtual environments), 3D environments, and "immersive" virtual reality tools. And within the next few months, several universities are expected to test so-called "telepresence" videoconferencing systems from Cisco Systems and other leading…

Environment as a witness: Selective proliferation of information and emergence of objectivity in a quantum universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ollivier, Harold; Poulin, David; Zurek, Wojciech H.

2005-10-01

We study the role of the information deposited in the environment of an open quantum system in the course of the decoherence process. Redundant spreading of information—the fact that some observables of the system can be independently read off from many distinct fragments of the environment—is investigated as the key to effective objectivity, the essential ingredient of classical reality. This focus on the environment as a communication channel through which observers learn about physical systems underscores the importance of quantum Darwinism—selective proliferation of information about “the fittest states” chosen by the dynamics of decoherence at the expense of their superpositions—as redundancy imposes the existence of preferred observables. We demonstrate that the only observables that can leave multiple imprints in the environment are the familiar pointer observables singled out by environment-induced superselection (einselection) for their predictability. Many independent observers monitoring the environment will therefore agree on properties of the system as they can only learn about preferred observables. In this operational sense, the selective spreading of information leads to appearance of an objective classical reality from within the quantum substrate.

Whiteheadian Actual Entitities and String Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bracken, Joseph A.

2012-06-01

In the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, the ultimate units of reality are actual entities, momentary self-constituting subjects of experience which are too small to be sensibly perceived. Their combination into "societies" with a "common element of form" produces the organisms and inanimate things of ordinary sense experience. According to the proponents of string theory, tiny vibrating strings are the ultimate constituents of physical reality which in harmonious combination yield perceptible entities at the macroscopic level of physical reality. Given that the number of Whiteheadian actual entities and of individual strings within string theory are beyond reckoning at any given moment, could they be two ways to describe the same non-verifiable foundational reality? For example, if one could establish that the "superject" or objective pattern of self- constitution of an actual entity vibrates at a specific frequency, its affinity with the individual strings of string theory would be striking. Likewise, if one were to claim that the size and complexity of Whiteheadian 'societies" require different space-time parameters for the dynamic interrelationship of constituent actual entities, would that at least partially account for the assumption of 10 or even 26 instead of just 3 dimensions within string theory? The overall conclusion of this article is that, if a suitably revised understanding of Whiteheadian metaphysics were seen as compatible with the philosophical implications of string theory, their combination into a single world view would strengthen the plausibility of both schemes taken separately. Key words: actual entities, subject/superjects, vibrating strings, structured fields of activity, multi-dimensional physical reality.

Cosmic vacuum energy decay and creation of cosmic matter.

PubMed

Fahr, Hans-Jörg; Heyl, Michael

2007-09-01

In the more recent literature on cosmological evolutions of the universe, the cosmic vacuum energy has become a nonrenouncable ingredient. The cosmological constant Lambda, first invented by Einstein, but later also rejected by him, presently experiences an astonishing revival. Interestingly enough, it acts like a constant vacuum energy density would also do. Namely, it has an accelerating action on cosmic dynamics, without which, as it appears, presently obtained cosmological data cannot be conciliated with theory. As we are going to show in this review, however, the concept of a constant vacuum energy density is unsatisfactory for very basic reasons because it would claim for a physical reality that acts upon spacetime and matter dynamics without itself being acted upon by spacetime or matter.

European training network on full-parallax imaging (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez-Corral, Manuel; Saavedra, Genaro

2017-05-01

Current displays are far from truly recreating visual reality. This requires a full-parallax display that can reproduce radiance field emanated from the real scenes. The develop-ment of such technology will require a new generation of researchers trained both in the physics, and in the biology of human vision. The European Training Network on Full-Parallax Imaging (ETN-FPI) aims at developing this new generation. Under H2020 funding ETN-FPI brings together 8 beneficiaries and 8 partner organizations from five EU countries with the aim of training 15 talented pre-doctoral students to become future research leaders in this area. In this contribution we will explain the main objectives of the network, and specifically the advances obtained at the University of Valencia.

Force Feedback Joystick

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

I-FORCE, a computer peripheral from Immersion Corporation, was derived from virtual environment and human factors research at the Advanced Displays and Spatial Perception Laboratory at Ames Research Center in collaboration with Stanford University Center for Design Research. Entrepreneur Louis Rosenberg, a former Stanford researcher, now president of Immersion, collaborated with Dr. Bernard Adelstein at Ames on studies of perception in virtual reality. The result was an inexpensive way to incorporate motors and a sophisticated microprocessor into joysticks and other game controllers. These devices can emulate the feel of a car on the skid, a crashing plane, the bounce of a ball, compressed springs, or other physical phenomenon. The first products incorporating I-FORCE technology include CH- Products' line of FlightStick and CombatStick controllers.

At the University of Arizona, Goals Collide with Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelderman, Eric

2009-01-01

To be at the University of Arizona these days is, in some ways, to be under siege. The flagship university in one of the nation's fastest-growing states may have to eliminate some 600 jobs and merge dozens of programs to deal with two rounds of budget cuts imposed since June. Now the governor is telling the university and other state agencies to…

Effects of University Education on the Conception of Reality. Reports from the Institute of Education, University of Goteborg.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahlgren, Lars Owe

The effects of university education in economics on students' conceptions of economic aspects of their everyday life were studied. A random sample of 15 beginninq students at the University of Goteborg, Sweden, were interviewed before and after the course. Ten questions were asked that were taken from the students' everyday life and brought out…

Multicolinearity and Indicator Redundancy Problem in World University Rankings: An Example Using Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2013-2014 Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaycheng, Soh

2015-01-01

World university ranking systems used the weight-and-sum approach to combined indicator scores into overall scores on which the universities are then ranked. This approach assumes that the indicators all independently contribute to the overall score in the specified proportions. In reality, this assumption is doubtful as the indicators tend to…

The Oxford Questions on the foundations of quantum physics.

PubMed

Briggs, G A D; Butterfield, J N; Zeilinger, A

2013-09-08

The twentieth century saw two fundamental revolutions in physics-relativity and quantum. Daily use of these theories can numb the sense of wonder at their immense empirical success. Does their instrumental effectiveness stand on the rock of secure concepts or the sand of unresolved fundamentals? Does measuring a quantum system probe, or even create, reality or merely change belief? Must relativity and quantum theory just coexist or might we find a new theory which unifies the two? To bring such questions into sharper focus, we convened a conference on Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality. Some issues remain as controversial as ever, but some are being nudged by theory's secret weapon of experiment.

Directed and Direct: Changing Conventions in the American Documentary; University Film Study Center Research Program: A Symposium on The American Documentary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conrad, Randall

This article discusses the history of American documentary films and examines several specific films. Any documentary has the primary job of reacting a virtual reality and maintaining an impression of immediate experience. While this has remained a constant requirement, the formal conventions which filmmakers use to create the virtual reality have…

The AIDLET Model: A Framework for Selecting Games, Simulations and Augmented Reality Environments in Mobile Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bidarra, José; Rothschild, Meagan; Squire, Kurt; Figueiredo, Mauro

2013-01-01

Smartphones and other mobile devices like the iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, and iPad have boosted educators' interest in using mobile media for education. Applications from games to augmented reality are thriving in research settings, and in some cases schools and universities, but relatively little is known about how such devices may be used for…

Instrument Motion Metrics for Laparoscopic Skills Assessment in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

PubMed

Fransson, Boel A; Chen, Chi-Ya; Noyes, Julie A; Ragle, Claude A

2016-11-01

To determine the construct and concurrent validity of instrument motion metrics for laparoscopic skills assessment in virtual reality and augmented reality simulators. Evaluation study. Veterinarian students (novice, n = 14) and veterinarians (experienced, n = 11) with no or variable laparoscopic experience. Participants' minimally invasive surgery (MIS) experience was determined by hospital records of MIS procedures performed in the Teaching Hospital. Basic laparoscopic skills were assessed by 5 tasks using a physical box trainer. Each participant completed 2 tasks for assessments in each type of simulator (virtual reality: bowel handling and cutting; augmented reality: object positioning and a pericardial window model). Motion metrics such as instrument path length, angle or drift, and economy of motion of each simulator were recorded. None of the motion metrics in a virtual reality simulator showed correlation with experience, or to the basic laparoscopic skills score. All metrics in augmented reality were significantly correlated with experience (time, instrument path, and economy of movement), except for the hand dominance metric. The basic laparoscopic skills score was correlated to all performance metrics in augmented reality. The augmented reality motion metrics differed between American College of Veterinary Surgeons diplomates and residents, whereas basic laparoscopic skills score and virtual reality metrics did not. Our results provide construct validity and concurrent validity for motion analysis metrics for an augmented reality system, whereas a virtual reality system was validated only for the time score. © Copyright 2016 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

UNESCO active learning approach in optics and photonics leads to significant change in Morocco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berrada, K.; Channa, R.; Outzourhit, A.; Azizan, M.; Oueriagli, A.

2014-07-01

There are many difficulties in teaching science and technology in developing countries. Several different teaching strategies have to be applied in these cases. More specifically, for developing countries competencies in teaching science in the introductory classroom has attracted much attention. As a specific example we will consider the Moroccan system. In most developing countries everything is moving so slowly that the progress stays static for development. Also, any change needs time, effort and engagement. In our case we discovered that many teachers feel uncomfortable when introducing new teaching methods and evaluation in classes at introductory physics. However, the introduction of an Active Learning in our curricula showed difficulties that students have in understanding physics and especially concepts. Students were interested in having Active Learning courses much more than passive and traditional ones. Changing believes on physical phenomena and reality of the world students become more attractive and their way of thinking Science changed. The main philosophy of fostering modern hands-on learning techniques -adapted to local needs and availability of teaching resources- is elaborated. The Active Learning program provides the teachers with a conceptual evaluation instrument, drawn from relevant physics education research, giving teachers an important tool to measure student learning. We will try to describe the UNESCO Chair project in physics created in 2010 at Cadi Ayyad University since our first experience with UNESCO ALOP program. Many efforts have been done so far and the project helps now to develop more national and international collaborations between universities and Regional Academies of Education and Training. As a new result of these actions and according to our local needs, the translation of the ALOP program into Arabic is now available under the auspice of UNESCO and encouragement of international partners SPIE, ICTP, ICO and OSA.

Augmented Reality: A Brand New Challenge for the Assessment and Treatment of Psychological Disorders

PubMed Central

Chicchi Giglioli, Irene Alice; Pedroli, Elisa

2015-01-01

Augmented Reality is a new technological system that allows introducing virtual contents in the real world in order to run in the same representation and, in real time, enhancing the user's sensory perception of reality. From another point of view, Augmented Reality can be defined as a set of techniques and tools that add information to the physical reality. To date, Augmented Reality has been used in many fields, such as medicine, entertainment, maintenance, architecture, education, and cognitive and motor rehabilitation but very few studies and applications of AR exist in clinical psychology. In the treatment of psychological disorders, Augmented Reality has given preliminary evidence to be a useful tool due to its adaptability to the patient needs and therapeutic purposes and interactivity. Another relevant factor is the quality of the user's experience in the Augmented Reality system determined from emotional engagement and sense of presence. This experience could increase the AR ecological validity in the treatment of psychological disorders. This paper reviews the recent studies on the use of Augmented Reality in the evaluation and treatment of psychological disorders, focusing on current uses of this technology and on the specific features that delineate Augmented Reality a new technique useful for psychology. PMID:26339283

Augmented Reality: A Brand New Challenge for the Assessment and Treatment of Psychological Disorders.

PubMed

Chicchi Giglioli, Irene Alice; Pallavicini, Federica; Pedroli, Elisa; Serino, Silvia; Riva, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Augmented Reality is a new technological system that allows introducing virtual contents in the real world in order to run in the same representation and, in real time, enhancing the user's sensory perception of reality. From another point of view, Augmented Reality can be defined as a set of techniques and tools that add information to the physical reality. To date, Augmented Reality has been used in many fields, such as medicine, entertainment, maintenance, architecture, education, and cognitive and motor rehabilitation but very few studies and applications of AR exist in clinical psychology. In the treatment of psychological disorders, Augmented Reality has given preliminary evidence to be a useful tool due to its adaptability to the patient needs and therapeutic purposes and interactivity. Another relevant factor is the quality of the user's experience in the Augmented Reality system determined from emotional engagement and sense of presence. This experience could increase the AR ecological validity in the treatment of psychological disorders. This paper reviews the recent studies on the use of Augmented Reality in the evaluation and treatment of psychological disorders, focusing on current uses of this technology and on the specific features that delineate Augmented Reality a new technique useful for psychology.

The Virtual University: Creating an Emergent Reality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latta, Gail F.

Higher education has traditionally been defined as a two dimensional affair concerned with content (curriculum) and pedagogy (instructional design). Information technologies are transforming the educational enterprise into a three-dimensional universe through the diversification of instructional delivery systems. The success of higher education in…

A Conceptual Framework for Tiered Intervention in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dauenhauer, Brian; Keating, Xiaofen; Lambdin, Dolly; Knipe, Robert

2017-01-01

Our goal as physical educators is to help all students develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to be physically active for a lifetime. Despite efforts to address the diverse needs of students through quality physical education, the reality is that some students still need additional support beyond physical education to achieve their full…

Advanced Visual and Instruction Systems for Maintenance Support (AVIS-MS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

Hayashi , "Augmentable Reality: Situated Communication through Physical and Digital Spaces," Proc. 2nd Int’l Symp. Wearable Computers, IEEE CS Press...H. Ohno , "An Optical See-through Display for Mutual Occlusion of Real and Virtual Environments," Proc. Int’l Symp. Augmented Reality 2000 (ISARO0

Acceptability of Virtual Reality Interoceptive Exposure for the Treatment of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quero, Soledad; Pérez-Ara, M. Ángeles; Bretón-López, Juana; García-Palacios, Azucena; Baños, Rosa M.; Botella, Cristina

2014-01-01

Interoceptive exposure (IE) is a standard component of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for panic disorder and agoraphobia. The virtual reality (VR) program "Panic-Agoraphobia" has several virtual scenarios designed for applying exposure to agoraphobic situations; it can also simulate physical sensations. This work examines patients'…

The Potential Role of Virtual Reality in Environmental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Gregory L.; Disinger, John F.

1997-01-01

Investigates the acceptability and possible role of virtual reality (VR) in environmental education. Among the principal findings were that the sample population of environmental educators indicated an acceptance of VR as a teaching tool. VR applications that allow students to have an experience not available in the physical world were perceived…

Constructing Liminal Blends in a Collaborative Augmented-Reality Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enyedy, Noel; Danish, Joshua A.; DeLiema, David

2015-01-01

In vision-based augmented-reality (AR) environments, users view the physical world through a video feed or device that "augments" the display with a graphical or informational overlay. Our goal in this manuscript is to ask "how" and "why" these new technologies create opportunities for learning. We suggest that AR is…

Interrogating Reality in Terms of Retention and Student Success at a South Texas University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bain, Steve F.; Gandy, Rex F.; Golightly, Vivian H.

2012-01-01

Student retention has become the most significant issue facing American colleges and universities. For the student, retention has everything to do with academic success and the completion of the most lofty of educational goals--the acquiring of a degree. For the educational institution, college, or university, retention impacts federal funding,…

The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henry, Frances; Dua, Enakshi; James, Carl E.; Kobayashi, Audrey; Li, Peter; Ramos, Howard; Smith, Malinda S.

2017-01-01

The university is often regarded as a bastion of liberal democracy where equity and diversity are promoted and racism does not exist. In reality, the university still excludes many people and is a site of racialization that is subtle, complex, and sophisticated. While some studies do point to the persistence of systemic barriers to equity and…

The Freedom to Set Research Agendas--Illusion and Reality of the Research Units in the Dutch Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leisyte, Liudvika; Enders, Jurgen; De Boer, Harry

2008-01-01

The Dutch higher education and research system has incrementally changed during the last decade. Several reforms, initiated by the government, have hinted towards influencing the basic processes within universities, such as research programming. However, it is largely unknown how these reforms have been implemented at the university shop floor…

On the usefulness of the concept of presence in virtual reality applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mestre, Daniel R.

2015-03-01

Virtual Reality (VR) leads to realistic experimental situations, while enabling researchers to have deterministic control on these situations, and to precisely measure participants' behavior. However, because more realistic and complex situations can be implemented, important questions arise, concerning the validity and representativeness of the observed behavior, with reference to a real situation. One example is the investigation of a critical (virtually dangerous) situation, in which the participant knows that no actual threat is present in the simulated situation, and might thus exhibit a behavioral response that is far from reality. This poses serious problems, for instance in training situations, in terms of transfer of learning to a real situation. Facing this difficult question, it seems necessary to study the relationships between three factors: immersion (physical realism), presence (psychological realism) and behavior. We propose a conceptual framework, in which presence is a necessary condition for the emergence of a behavior that is representative of what is observed in real conditions. Presence itself depends not only on physical immersive characteristics of the Virtual Reality setup, but also on contextual and psychological factors.

Virtual reality for mobility devices: training applications and clinical results: a review.

PubMed

Erren-Wolters, Catelijne Victorien; van Dijk, Henk; de Kort, Alexander C; Ijzerman, Maarten J; Jannink, Michiel J

2007-06-01

Virtual reality technology is an emerging technology that possibly can address the problems encountered in training (elderly) people to handle a mobility device. The objective of this review was to study different virtual reality training applications as well as their clinical implication for patients with mobility problems. Computerized literature searches were performed using the MEDLINE, Cochrane, CIRRIE and REHABDATA databases. This resulted in eight peer reviewed journal articles. The included studies could be divided into three categories, on the basis of their study objective. Five studies were related to training driving skills, two to physical exercise training and one to leisure activity. This review suggests that virtual reality is a potentially useful means to improve the use of a mobility device, in training one's driving skills, for keeping up the physical condition and also in a way of leisure time activity. Although this field of research appears to be in its early stages, the included studies pointed out a promising transfer of training in a virtual environment to the real-life use of mobility devices.

Mark Stock | NREL

Science.gov Websites

, he started the Boston Virtual Reality Meetup group, develops physics plugins for games and demos for physically accurate lighting model, Second Conference on Computational Semiotics for Games and New Media

For the Problem of Knowledge of the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalanov, Temur Z.

2003-04-01

A new approach to the problem of knowledge of the Universe is suggested. This approach represents the new point of view which has arisen from the critical analysis of the foundations of physics, cosmology and philosophy (dialectical materialism). The principal idea following from the analysis is that only concepts (categories) and principles of dialectics are a basis of the correct theory of the Universe. The foundation of the correct theory is represented by the following philosophical principles. (a) The principle of materiality (objective reality) of the Nature: the Nature (Universe) is a system (set) of material objects (particles, bodies, fields). (b) The principle of existence of material object: an object exists as the objective reality, and movement is a form of existence of object. (c) The principle (definition) of movement of object: the movement is change (i.e. transition of some states into others) in general; the movement determines a direction, and direction characterizes the movement. (d) The principle of existence of time: the time exist as the parameter of the system of reference. (e) The principle of unity of opposites. (In particular, it means that the opposites are bounds of each other. In other words, if a class is divided into two non intersecting (opposite) subclasses, then each subclass is a bound another). (f) System principle: the properties of the system are not logical consequence, corollary of the properties of the elements of the system. These principles result in the following main statements about the Nature (Universe). The Universe does not contain subset of non objects (i.e. empty subset). Therefore, in accordance with (e), the Universe has no objective bound. It means that size (radius), mass, energy are not parameters of the Universe (i.e. size, mass, energy have physical meaning only in the case of limited objects). Consequences. (1) The generally accepted theories of evolution of the Universe (for example, Big Bang Theory) are incorrect if they contain the assumption of existence of the bound of the Universe (i.e. if concepts of singular state of the Universe, of expending or compressing of the Universe, of stability or instability of the Universe underlie the theories). (2) The principle of movement of the Universe: the movement of the Universe is represented by birth and extermination of objects and, consequently, change of structure of the Universe as a system. In particular, it means that there exist copies of objects. (In fact, the principle of identity of quantum particles of the same kind (for example, electrons) is a form of manifestation (consequence) of the principle of birth and extermination of objects). (3) The principle of movement of the Universe is a form of manifestation of the principle of development of the Universe (Nature). (4) The principle of development of the Universe (Nature) is a form of manifestation of the principle of existence of Unitary (i.e. of God). (5) The principle of existence of Unitary (God): Unitary (God) exists as the dialectical unity, identity of the opposites the real (material) and non real (non material) aspects of Unitary. (6) The principle of existence of Unitary (God) represents principal point of a new dialectical gnosiology (i.e. theory of knowledge). (7) Dialectical unity, identity of human practice and of human non practice (i.e. of human ethics based on comprehension of existence of God) is the criterion human truth. (8) The criterion of human truth determines a true way of knowledge of the Nature (Universe). (9) A bound of human knowledge and of human development is determined by development principle. (10) The existence of the bound of human development means existence of the bound only between Mankind and non Mankind (i.e. Supreme Intellect). Hence, the end of evolution of Mankind means transition, transformation, transmutation, dissolution of Mankind into Supreme Intellect. The comprehension of existence of Supreme Intellect around us will mean a beginning of contact, of dialogue with it.

Supervising the Extended Practicum: A Contextual Approach. Monograph No. 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ralph, Edwin G.

Conflicts or disagreements between student teachers and university supervisors in the Extended Practicum program, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, are often attributed to factors such as "personality clash," laziness, stubbornness, authoritarianism, prejudice, stereotyping, dogmatism, or malice. In reality, many of these…

Relativistic Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Bernard J. T.; Markovic, Dragoljub

1997-06-01

Preface; Prologue: Conference overview Bernard Carr; Part I. The Universe At Large and Very Large Redshifts: 2. The size and age of the Universe Gustav A. Tammann; 3. Active galaxies at large redshifts Malcolm S. Longair; 4. Observational cosmology with the cosmic microwave background George F. Smoot; 5. Future prospects in measuring the CMB power spectrum Philip M. Lubin; 6. Inflationary cosmology Michael S. Turner; 7. The signature of the Universe Bernard J. T. Jones; 8. Theory of large-scale structure Sergei F. Shandarin; 9. The origin of matter in the universe Lev A. Kofman; 10. New guises for cold-dark matter suspects Edward W. Kolb; Part II. Physics and Astrophysics Of Relativistic Compact Objects: 11. On the unification of gravitational and inertial forces Donald Lynden-Bell; 12. Internal structure of astrophysical black holes Werner Israel; 13. Black hole entropy: external facade and internal reality Valery Frolov; 14. Accretion disks around black holes Marek A. Abramowicz; 15. Black hole X-ray transients J. Craig Wheeler; 16. X-rays and gamma rays from active galactic nuclei Roland Svensson; 17. Gamma-ray bursts: a challenge to relativistic astrophysics Martin Rees; 18. Probing black holes and other exotic objects with gravitational waves Kip Thorne; Epilogue: the past and future of relativistic astrophysics Igor D. Novikov; I. D. Novikov's scientific papers and books.

Academic Libraries: Myths and Realities. Proceedings of the National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries (3rd, Seattle, Washington, April 4-7, 1984).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dodson, Suzanne C., Ed.; Menges, Gary L., Ed.

The 56 papers in this proceedings are divided into three groups--theme, alternative format, and contributed papers. Myths and realities are explored in the first group as they relate to university, college, community, and junior college libraries, and to private sector information utilities. The conference wrap-up session is included in this…

Dreams, reality and memory: confabulations in lucid dreamers implicate reality-monitoring dysfunction in dream consciousness.

PubMed

Corlett, P R; Canavan, S V; Nahum, L; Appah, F; Morgan, P T

2014-01-01

Dreams might represent a window on altered states of consciousness with relevance to psychotic experiences, where reality monitoring is impaired. We examined reality monitoring in healthy, non-psychotic individuals with varying degrees of dream awareness using a task designed to assess confabulatory memory errors - a confusion regarding reality whereby information from the past feels falsely familiar and does not constrain current perception appropriately. Confabulatory errors are common following damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Ventromedial function has previously been implicated in dreaming and dream awareness. In a hospital research setting, physically and mentally healthy individuals with high (n = 18) and low (n = 13) self-reported dream awareness completed a computerised cognitive task that involved reality monitoring based on familiarity across a series of task runs. Signal detection theory analysis revealed a more liberal acceptance bias in those with high dream awareness, consistent with the notion of overlap in the perception of dreams, imagination and reality. We discuss the implications of these results for models of reality monitoring and psychosis with a particular focus on the role of vmPFC in default-mode brain function, model-based reinforcement learning and the phenomenology of dreaming and waking consciousness.

What is going on in augmented reality simulation in laparoscopic surgery?

PubMed

Botden, Sanne M B I; Jakimowicz, Jack J

2009-08-01

To prevent unnecessary errors and adverse results of laparoscopic surgery, proper training is of paramount importance. A safe way to train surgeons for laparoscopic skills is simulation. For this purpose traditional box trainers are often used, however they lack objective assessment of performance. Virtual reality laparoscopic simulators assess performance, but lack realistic haptic feedback. Augmented reality (AR) combines a virtual reality (VR) setting with real physical materials, instruments, and feedback. This article presents the current developments in augmented reality laparoscopic simulation. Pubmed searches were performed to identify articles regarding surgical simulation and augmented reality. Identified companies manufacturing an AR laparoscopic simulator received the same questionnaire referring to the features of the simulator. Seven simulators that fitted the definition of augmented reality were identified during the literature search. Five of the approached manufacturers returned a completed questionnaire, of which one simulator appeared to be VR and was therefore not applicable for this review. Several augmented reality simulators have been developed over the past few years and they are improving rapidly. We recommend the development of AR laparoscopic simulators for component tasks of procedural training. AR simulators should be implemented in current laparoscopic training curricula, in particular for laparoscopic suturing training.

2010 and Beyond: Virtual Reality and the Communication Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siddens, Paul J., III

The use of virtual reality technology in the Communication discipline is a challenge that educators in the field should investigate thoroughly and begin to embrace as they move into the 21st century. Classrooms with access to the Internet allow students to move outside the physical boundaries of the classroom and suggest a significant change in…

Usability Evaluation of an Augmented Reality System for Teaching Euclidean Vectors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Gonzalez, Anabel; Chi-Poot, Angel; Uc-Cetina, Victor

2016-01-01

Augmented reality (AR) is one of the emerging technologies that has demonstrated to be an efficient technological tool to enhance learning techniques. In this paper, we describe the development and evaluation of an AR system for teaching Euclidean vectors in physics and mathematics. The goal of this pedagogical tool is to facilitate user's…

Augmented Reality Comes to Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buesing, Mark; Cook, Michael

2013-01-01

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology used on computing devices where processor-generated graphics are rendered over real objects to enhance the sensory experience in real time. In other words, what you are really seeing is augmented by the computer. Many AR games already exist for systems such as Kinect and Nintendo 3DS and mobile apps, such as…

Emboldened by Embodiment: Six Precepts for Research on Embodied Learning and Mixed Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindgren, Robb; Johnson-Glenberg, Mina

2013-01-01

The authors describe an emerging paradigm of educational research that pairs theories of embodied learning with a class of immersive technologies referred to as "mixed reality" (MR). MR environments merge the digital with the physical, where, for example, students can use their bodies to simulate an orbit around a virtual planet. Recent…

Computer-Assisted Culture Learning in an Online Augmented Reality Environment Based on Free-Hand Gesture Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Mau-Tsuen; Liao, Wan-Che

2014-01-01

The physical-virtual immersion and real-time interaction play an essential role in cultural and language learning. Augmented reality (AR) technology can be used to seamlessly merge virtual objects with real-world images to realize immersions. Additionally, computer vision (CV) technology can recognize free-hand gestures from live images to enable…

Pokémon Go: digital health interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk.

PubMed

Krittanawong, Chayakrit; Aydar, Mehmet; Kitai, Takeshi

2017-10-01

Physical activity is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease/cardiovascular disease mortality, and current guidelines recommend physical activity for primary prevention in healthy individuals and secondary prevention in patients with coronary heart disease/cardiovascular disease. Over the last decade, playing classic video games has become one of the most popular leisure activities in the world, but is associated with a sedentary lifestyle. In the new era of rapidly evolving augmented reality technology, Pokémon Go, a well-known augmented reality game, may promote physical activity and prevent cardiovascular disease risks - that is, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Pokémon Go makes players willing to be physically active for regular and long periods of time. We report on an assessment of regular walking and playing Pokémon Go by performing data mining in Twitter.

A Conceptual Framework for the Quality Assurance of Programme Design at the Durban University of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sattar, K.; Cooke, L. A.

2012-01-01

At the end of 2010 the Durban University of Technology initiated a Curriculum Renewal Project, central to which is the aspiration to become a student centred university through the transformation of teaching and learning and the promotion of quality enhancement. However, the current realities for curriculum development and quality assurance at the…

The Campus Environmental Management System Cycle in Practice: 15 Years of Environmental Management, Education and Research at Dalhousie University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Amelia

2006-01-01

Purpose: To challenge the deliberate strategy approach of the environmental management system (EMS) cycle, and offer a model based on both the practical reality experienced at Dalhousie University and emergent strategy theory. Also, to share some of the lessons learned in the 15 years of environmental management at Dalhousie University.…

Separability and Non-Individuality: Is It Possible to Conciliate (At Least A Form Of) Einstein's Realism with Quantum Mechanics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krause, Décio; Arenhart, Jonas R. B.

2014-12-01

In this paper we argue that physical theories, including quantum mechanics, refer to some kind of `objects', even if only implicitly. We raise questions about the logico-mathematical apparatuses commonly employed in such theories, bringing to light some metaphysical presuppositions underlying such apparatuses. We point out to some incongruities in the discourse holding that quantum objects would be entities of some `new kind' while still adhering to the logico-mathematical framework we use to deal with classical objects. The use of such apparatus would hinder us from being in complete agreement with the ontological novelties the theories of quanta seem to advance. Thus, we join those who try to investigate a `logic of quantum mechanics', but from a different point of view: looking for a formal foundation for a supposed new ontology. As a consequence of this move, we can revisit Einstein's ideas on physical reality and propose that, by considering a new kind of object traditionally termed `non-individuals', it is possible to sustain that they still obey some of Einstein's conditions for `physical realities', so that it will be possible to talk of a `principle of separability' in a sense which is not in complete disagreement with quantum mechanics. So, Einstein's departure from quantum mechanics might be softened at least concerning a form of his realism, which sees separated physical objects as distinct `physical realities'.

The effect of virtual reality gaming on dynamic balance in older adults.

PubMed

Rendon, Abel Angel; Lohman, Everett B; Thorpe, Donna; Johnson, Eric G; Medina, Ernie; Bradley, Bruce

2012-07-01

physical therapy interventions that increase functional strength and balance have been shown to reduce falls in older adults. this study compared a virtual reality group (VRG) and a control group (CG). randomised controlled 6-week intervention with pre- and post-test evaluations. outpatient geriatric orthopaedic and balance physical therapy clinic. forty participants were randomised into two groups. the VRG received three different Nintendo® Wii FIT balance interventions three times per week for 6 weeks and the CG received no intervention. compared with the CG, post-intervention measurements showed significant improvements for the VRG in the 8-foot Up & Go test [median decrease of 1.0 versus -0.2 s, (P=0.038) and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (6.9 versus 1.3%) (P=0.038)]. virtual reality gaming provides clinicians with a useful tool for improving dynamic balance and balance confidence in older adults.

Avatar - a multi-sensory system for real time body position monitoring.

PubMed

Jovanov, E; Hanish, N; Courson, V; Stidham, J; Stinson, H; Webb, C; Denny, K

2009-01-01

Virtual reality and computer assisted physical rehabilitation applications require an unobtrusive and inexpensive real time monitoring systems. Existing systems are usually complex and expensive and based on infrared monitoring. In this paper we propose Avatar, a hybrid system consisting of off-the-shelf components and sensors. Absolute positioning of a few reference points is determined using infrared diode on subject's body and a set of Wii Remotes as optical sensors. Individual body segments are monitored by intelligent inertial sensor nodes iSense. A network of inertial nodes is controlled by a master node that serves as a gateway for communication with a capture device. Each sensor features a 3D accelerometer and a 2 axis gyroscope. Avatar system is used for control of avatars in Virtual Reality applications, but could be used in a variety of augmented reality, gaming, and computer assisted physical rehabilitation applications.

Dual-aspect monism à la Pauli and Jung perforates the completeness of physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atmanspacher, Harald

2012-12-01

In the mid 19th century, the physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung developed a philosophical position for the mind-matter problem that is today called dual-aspect monism. They conjectured a picture in which the mental and the material arise as two complementary aspects of one underlying psychophysically neutral reality to which they cannot be reduced and to which direct empirical access is impossible. This picture suggests structural, persistent,re-producible mind-matter correlations by splitting the underlying reality into aspects. In addition, it suggests induced, occasional, evasive mind-matter correlations above and below, respectively, those stable baseline correlations. These correlations, and the way they arise, suggest that the domain of the physical is not completely independent of the domain of the mental, and both are not independent from the assumed reality underlying them. Some ideas are presented of how these relationships might be conceived.

Use of Virtual Reality Tools for Vestibular Disorders Rehabilitation: A Comprehensive Analysis.

PubMed

Bergeron, Mathieu; Lortie, Catherine L; Guitton, Matthieu J

2015-01-01

Classical peripheral vestibular disorders rehabilitation is a long and costly process. While virtual reality settings have been repeatedly suggested to represent possible tools to help the rehabilitation process, no systematic study had been conducted so far. We systematically reviewed the current literature to analyze the published protocols documenting the use of virtual reality settings for peripheral vestibular disorders rehabilitation. There is an important diversity of settings and protocols involving virtual reality settings for the treatment of this pathology. Evaluation of the symptoms is often not standardized. However, our results unveil a clear effect of virtual reality settings-based rehabilitation of the patients' symptoms, assessed by objectives tools such as the DHI (mean decrease of 27 points), changing symptoms handicap perception from moderate to mild impact on life. Furthermore, we detected a relationship between the duration of the exposure to virtual reality environments and the magnitude of the therapeutic effects, suggesting that virtual reality treatments should last at least 150 minutes of cumulated exposure to ensure positive outcomes. Virtual reality offers a pleasant and safe environment for the patient. Future studies should standardize evaluation tools, document putative side effects further, compare virtual reality to conventional physical therapy, and evaluate economical costs/benefits of such strategies.

Use of Virtual Reality Tools for Vestibular Disorders Rehabilitation: A Comprehensive Analysis

PubMed Central

Bergeron, Mathieu; Lortie, Catherine L.; Guitton, Matthieu J.

2015-01-01

Classical peripheral vestibular disorders rehabilitation is a long and costly process. While virtual reality settings have been repeatedly suggested to represent possible tools to help the rehabilitation process, no systematic study had been conducted so far. We systematically reviewed the current literature to analyze the published protocols documenting the use of virtual reality settings for peripheral vestibular disorders rehabilitation. There is an important diversity of settings and protocols involving virtual reality settings for the treatment of this pathology. Evaluation of the symptoms is often not standardized. However, our results unveil a clear effect of virtual reality settings-based rehabilitation of the patients' symptoms, assessed by objectives tools such as the DHI (mean decrease of 27 points), changing symptoms handicap perception from moderate to mild impact on life. Furthermore, we detected a relationship between the duration of the exposure to virtual reality environments and the magnitude of the therapeutic effects, suggesting that virtual reality treatments should last at least 150 minutes of cumulated exposure to ensure positive outcomes. Virtual reality offers a pleasant and safe environment for the patient. Future studies should standardize evaluation tools, document putative side effects further, compare virtual reality to conventional physical therapy, and evaluate economical costs/benefits of such strategies. PMID:26556560

Coherence, Dissonance, and Personal Style in Learning to Teach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson-Levitt, Kathryn; van Draanen, Jenna; Davis, Helen M.

2017-01-01

Concern that practical realities in classrooms will "trump" theories has led some universities to design residency teacher education programs that maximize coherence between university coursework and field experiences. Yet, some research suggests that student teachers can learn from dissonance. This qualitative case study of one cohort…

Making a Case for Having a Physical Education Specialist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaldor, Amanda; Deutsch, Joe

2013-01-01

"A strong K-12 physical education program is usually backed up by a strong leader" (Franck, 2007, p. 7). Strong and persistent leadership is especially important in today's reality of undervalued physical education. Despite the obesity epidemic and the many health problems facing youth, physical education is viewed as a low-status…

Notebooks, Handhelds, and Software in Physical Education (Grades 5-8)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohnsen, Bonnie

2005-01-01

Heart monitors, pedometers, and now virtual reality-based equipment (e.g., Cyberbikes, "Dance Dance Revolution") have been embraced by physical educators as technologies worth using in the physical education program; however, the use of computers (be it a desktop, notebook, or handheld) in the physical education instructional program, has not been…

Bell theorem without inequalities for two spinless particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernstein, Herbert J.; Greenberger, Daniel M.; Horne, Michael A.; Zeilinger, Anton

1993-01-01

We use the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger [in Bell's Theorem, Quantum Theory,and Conceptions of the Universe, edited by M. Kafatos (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1989)] approach to present three demonstrations of the failure of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) [Phys. Rev. 47, 777 (1935)] local realism for the case of two spinless particles in a two-particle interferometer. The original EPR assumptions of locality and reality do not suffice for this. First, we use the EPR assumptions of locality and reality to establish that in a two-particle interferometer, the path taken by each particle is an element of reality. Second, we supplement the EPR premises by the postulate that when the path taken by a particle is an element of reality, all paths not taken are empty. We emphasize that our approach is not applicable to a single-particle interferometer because there the path taken by the particle cannot be established as an element of reality. We point out that there are real conceptual differences between single-particle, two-particle, and multiparticle interferometry.

Emerging Utility of Virtual Reality as a Multidisciplinary Tool in Clinical Medicine.

PubMed

Pourmand, Ali; Davis, Steven; Lee, Danny; Barber, Scott; Sikka, Neal

2017-10-01

Among the more recent products borne of the evolution of digital technology, virtual reality (VR) is gaining a foothold in clinical medicine as an adjunct to traditional therapies. Early studies suggest a growing role for VR applications in pain management, clinical skills training, cognitive assessment and cognitive therapy, and physical rehabilitation. To complete a review of the literature, we searched PubMed and MEDLINE databases with the following search terms: "virtual reality," "procedural medicine," "oncology," "physical therapy," and "burn." We further limited our search to publications in the English language. Boolean operators were used to combine search terms. The included search terms yielded 97 potential articles, of which 45 were identified as meeting study criteria, and are included in this review. These articles provide data, which strongly support the hypothesis that VR simulations can enhance pain management (by reducing patient perception of pain and anxiety), can augment clinical training curricula and physical rehabilitation protocols (through immersive audiovisual environments), and can improve clinical assessment of cognitive function (through improved ecological validity). Through computer-generated, life-like digital landscapes, VR stands to change the current approach to pain management, medical training, neurocognitive diagnosis, and physical rehabilitation. Additional studies are needed to help define best practices in VR utilization, and to explore new therapeutic uses for VR in clinical practice.

Object relations, reality testing, and social withdrawal in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Hansen, Charlotte Fredslund; Torgalsbøen, Anne-Kari; Røssberg, Jan Ivar; Romm, Kristin Lie; Andreassen, Ole Andreas; Bell, Morris D; Melle, Ingrid

2013-03-01

In this study, we investigated the relationships between observed social withdrawal (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] Passive Social Withdrawal and PANSS Active Social Avoidance), subjectively experienced social withdrawal (Social Functioning Scale [SFS] Withdrawal and SFS Interpersonal Behavior), and their associations to the underlying psychological patterns of Object Relations and Reality Testing. Patients with schizophrenia (n = 55) and bipolar disorder (n = 51) from the ongoing Thematically Organized Psychosis project, Oslo University Hospital, Norway, were evaluated using the Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, the PANSS, and the SFS. Object relations and reality testing subscales related differentially to PANSS Passive Social Withdrawal and PANSS Active Social Avoidance. These two measures, together with the level of alienation, explained a significant amount of variance in self-experienced social dysfunction. Findings reveal the multidimensional nature of social dysfunction in severe mental disorders.

Fiia: A Model-Based Approach to Engineering Collaborative Augmented Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfe, Christopher; Smith, J. David; Phillips, W. Greg; Graham, T. C. Nicholas

Augmented reality systems often involve collaboration among groups of people. While there are numerous toolkits that aid the development of such augmented reality groupware systems (e.g., ARToolkit and Groupkit), there remains an enormous gap between the specification of an AR groupware application and its implementation. In this chapter, we present Fiia, a toolkit which simplifies the development of collaborative AR applications. Developers specify the structure of their applications using the Fiia modeling language, which abstracts details of networking and provides high-level support for specifying adapters between the physical and virtual world. The Fiia.Net runtime system then maps this conceptual model to a runtime implementation. We illustrate Fiia via Raptor, an augmented reality application used to help small groups collaboratively prototype video games.

Toward the Multicultural University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowser, Benjamin P., Ed.; And Others

This book is about the growing need for a more inclusive curriculum and university. The debate about multicultural education is moved from an ideological debate to the realm of the practical in these selections. The first part of the book outlines the demographic and historic realities that make multiculturalism imperative. The second part gives…

Teaming up to Close Educational Gaps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Diana L.; Arriaga, Trudy Tuttle; Lindsey, Randall B.

2013-01-01

The Ventura Unified School District, in collaboration with California Lutheran University, is in the process of addressing the reality of deep achievement gap issues in ways that are redefining how district staff, site administrators, school counselors and the university work together. With a common focus on confronting educational inequities that…

McEducation Marginalized: Multiverse of Learning-Living in Grassroots Commons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prakash, Madhu Suri; Stuchul, Dana; Madhu, Suri; Stuchul, Dana

2004-01-01

Fast food explored both as metaphor and social reality help us challenge the assumptions about education as a universal good transformed into a universal human right. Relations between education, development, and "one world" discourses expose the incommensurability of Western liberal ideals with diverse cosmo-visions now flourishing among…

E-Learning--A Financial and Strategic Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruth, Stephen R.

2006-01-01

In this article, the author discusses three distinct challenges that demand solutions if traditional universities are to successfully confront the economic realities of distance learning: (1) Many traditional universities are not willing to draw useful lessons from the more advantageous financial and IT models of for-profit or other nontraditional…

Internationalization of Higher Education in Post-Soviet Small States: Realities and Perspectives of Moldova

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kushnarenko, Valentyna; Cojocari, Ludmila

2012-01-01

Internationalization of higher education has become a priority for many universities in post-Soviet small states. Focusing on international communication networks, student mobility, or international curriculum development, universities invest human and financial resources to prepare graduates to meet global challenges. Globalization and…

Sustainability, Student Affairs, and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerr, Kathleen G.; Hart-Steffes, Jeanne S.

2012-01-01

Colleges and universities are developing both the next generation of leaders as well as state-of-the-art technology that allow climate reduction aspirations and triple bottom-line outcomes to become realities. Divisions of student affairs play a crucial role in the sustainability movement in colleges and universities. The technology-savvy,…

Viewpoint: The Challenge of Creating Engaged Public Research Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherwitz, Rick

2010-01-01

The quest to create engaged public research universities requires academe to confront a stark reality: inflexible administrative structures, historically embedded practices, status-quo thinking, and inertia. Until these obstacles are overcome, the retreat from public life will not be arrested. In this article, the author provides a sample of the…

Scholasticism: Causes and Cures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mead, Lawrence M.

2011-01-01

The claim that faculty conduct research is one of the main justifications for the modern university. Supposedly, academe carries out important, cutting-edge inquiries in which society has an interest. In fact, states this author, research at American universities is becoming narrow and artificial, out of touch with social realities, and of…

Digital Downsides: Exploring University Students' Negative Engagements with Digital Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selwyn, Neil

2016-01-01

Digital technologies are now an integral feature of university study. As such, academic research has tended to concentrate on the potential of digital technologies to support, extend and even "enhance" student learning. This paper, in contrast, explores the rather more messy realities of students' engagements with digital technology. In…

Me, myself, and I: the rise of the modern self.

PubMed

Hanna, Robert; Izenberg, Gerald; Martin, Raymond; Wiley, Norbert; Seigel, Jerrold

2011-10-01

Moderated by Robert Hanna (University of Colorado), historians Gerald Izenberg (Washington University, St. Louis) and Jerrold Seigel (New York University), philosopher Raymond Martin (University of Maryland and Union College), and sociologist Norbert Wiley (University of Illinois) trace the evolution of the meaning of self from antiquity to the present and consider how the self described by classical philosophers matches the reality of what we know about ourselves from human experience and research. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

[Quality of Life of Teenage Mothers, University Students].

PubMed

Aponte, María Rosa Estupiñán; Correa, Diana Rocío Vela

2012-09-01

University education and motherhood are two aspects not generally associated, although their relationship determines a significant risk regarding the learning process of student-mothers. To assess life quality as perceived by university- student mothers. Comprehensive study of the phenomenological-hermeneutical type. Interviews and life stories of 34 students between 19 and 24, who were, or are teenager mothers, were used. A qualitative analysis was applied to triangulate the discourses so as to establish relationships between practice and the social phenomenon studied. The University as a social support network is negatively perceived; student mothers feel rejected and disregarded. Sometimes they feel alone and experience emotional emptiness. Additionally, physical health, stress and depression affect their emotional health; in general, they also experience eating and sleeping difficulties. When positively assumed, motherhood generates personal productivity leading to professional growth thus achieving a good working performance. The quality of life in student-mothers is strongly linked to the condition of their family relationships and the social support perceived in the university context. In terms of their personal productivity, emotional expression, health, and safety, they become dependent but can be strengthened with acceptance of the commitment implied by motherhood within their families and academic communities. Universities face a major challenge regarding this reality and the criteria to be followed to accompany the integral formation student-mothers. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Resilient Multi-Domain Command and Control: Enabling Solutions for 2025 with Virtual Reality

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-16

AIR WAR COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY RESILIENT MULTI-DOMAIN COMMAND AND CONTROL : ENABLING SOLUTIONS FOR 2025 WITH VIRTUAL REALITY by...monolithic, command and control (C2) sites, such as the theater Air Operation Centers (AOC), at risk. The Multi-Domain Command and Control (MDC2...Air Force respond to the these threats, considering the use of new and existing weapons and concepts, to ensure our ability to command, control and

Effects of substituting a portion of standard physiotherapy time with virtual reality games among community-dwelling stroke survivors.

PubMed

Singh, Devinder Kaur Ajit; Mohd Nordin, Nor Azlin; Abd Aziz, Noor Azah; Lim, Beng Kooi; Soh, Li Ching

2013-12-13

Evidence indicates that the continuation of therapy among community-dwelling stroke survivors improves physical function. Community rehabilitation programmes often face limitations in terms of resources. It is imperative to include new motivational interventions to encourage some level of non-clinician management. The aim of this study was to determine whether there were any changes in physical function and activities of daily living when substituting a portion of the standard physiotherapy time with virtual reality games among community-dwelling stroke survivors. In this controlled trial, the experimental group received 30 minutes of virtual reality balance games in addition to 90 minutes of standard physiotherapy. The control group continued with their two hours of routine standard physiotherapy. Both groups received 12 therapy sessions: two-hour sessions twice per week for six continuous weeks. Changes in physical function, activities of daily living and balance ability were assessed using the Timed Up and Go test, 30-second Sit to Stand test, Timed Ten-Metre Walk test, Six-Minute Walk test and the Barthel Index, and static balance was assessed using a probalance board. Twenty-eight participants completed post-intervention assessments. The results showed a significant within-subject effect on the Timed Up and Go test: F (1, 26) = 5.83, p = 0.02; and the 30-second Sit to Stand test; F (1, 26) = 13.50, p = 0.001. The between-subject effect was not significant (p > 0.05) for any of the outcome measurements. Substituting a portion of the standard physiotherapy time with virtual reality games was equally effective in maintaining physical function outcomes and activities of daily living among community-dwelling stroke survivors. Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register, ACTRN12613000478718.

A Mobile Mixed-Reality Environment for Children's Storytelling Using a Handheld Projector and a Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sugimoto, Masanori

2011-01-01

This paper describes a system called GENTORO that uses a robot and a handheld projector for supporting children's storytelling activities. GENTORO differs from many existing systems in that children can make a robot play their own story in a physical space augmented by mixed-reality technologies. Pilot studies have been conducted to clarify the…

Children's Beliefs about the Fantasy/Reality Status of Hypothesized Machines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Claire; Sobel, David M.

2011-01-01

Four-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults were asked to make judgments about the reality status of four different types of machines: real machines that children and adults interact with on a daily basis, real machines that children and adults interact with rarely (if at all), and impossible machines that violated a real-world physical or biological…

"Survivor": Three Principles of Economics Lessons as Taught by a Reality Television Show

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlan, Dean

2017-01-01

The reality television show "Survivor" has been a ratings success on CBS for over 16 years. In the show, 16 strangers are marooned in a remote location, required to compete in physical and mental challenges and periodically vote to eliminate players from the game. The last person remaining wins one million dollars. The author uses this…

Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR) for Remote Wiring and Measurement of Electronic Circuits on Breadboard

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tawfik, M.; Sancristobal, E.; Martin, S.; Gil, R.; Diaz, G.; Colmenar, A.; Peire, J.; Castro, M.; Nilsson, K.; Zackrisson, J.; Hakansson, L.; Gustavsson, I.

2013-01-01

This paper reports on a state-of-the-art remote laboratory project called Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR). VISIR allows wiring and measuring of electronic circuits remotely on a virtual workbench that replicates physical circuit breadboards. The wiring mechanism is developed by means of a relay switching matrix connected to a PCI…

The NASA Augmented/Virtual Reality Lab: The State of the Art at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Little, William

2017-01-01

The NASA Augmented Virtual Reality (AVR) Lab at Kennedy Space Center is dedicated to the investigation of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, with the goal of determining potential uses of these technologies as human-computer interaction (HCI) devices in an aerospace engineering context. Begun in 2012, the AVR Lab has concentrated on commercially available AR and VR devices that are gaining in popularity and use in a number of fields such as gaming, training, and telepresence. We are working with such devices as the Microsoft Kinect, the Oculus Rift, the Leap Motion, the HTC Vive, motion capture systems, and the Microsoft Hololens. The focus of our work has been on human interaction with the virtual environment, which in turn acts as a communications bridge to remote physical devices and environments which the operator cannot or should not control or experience directly. Particularly in reference to dealing with spacecraft and the oftentimes hazardous environments they inhabit, it is our hope that AR and VR technologies can be utilized to increase human safety and mission success by physically removing humans from those hazardous environments while virtually putting them right in the middle of those environments.

The Reality of the Future: Spacetime Physics and the Objectivity of Temporal Becoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorato, Mauro

1993-01-01

Temporal becoming is usually considered the essence of the concept of time. But in our century most physicists and philosophers have defended the view that becoming is dependent on the existence of conscious beings and that there is no ontological difference between past and future. I evaluate these related claims both in light of their conceptual implications and by bringing to bear our best spacetime theories. Since a mind-independent becoming should be grounded in an ontological, non-epistemic asymmetry between past and future, I discuss the philosophical motivations for various "non-full views" of the future in contrast to the view that the future is as real as the past. I present the disagreement between these views both in terms of what is and in terms of possession of a definite truth value, thereby distinguishing an ontological and a semantic formulation. A formal definition of the "tree model" of reality allows a clear distinction of the often conflated notions of 'determinate', 'determined' and 'stable', and helps to formulate the differences between the "non-full" views and the "full view" of reality. To settle the issue concerning these views, I bring into the discussion the special theory of relativity (STR). I show that oft-discussed arguments against the openness of the future presuppose a clarification of the properties of the relation 'being determinate for', in particular symmetry and transitivity. Within STR, objective becoming can be defended at the cost of relativizing what is determinate to spacetime points, of making the relation of determinedness time-asymmetric, and of denying determinateness to spacelike-related events. I conclude by urging that mind-independent temporal becoming can find a more hospitable environment in some isotropic cosmological models of general relativity, a claim that has been unreasonably neglected. If the universe does not present causal anomalies (and there is some evidence to suggest that it does not), the proper time of a co-moving 'fundamental particle' can be made common to every other world line. The existence of such a cosmic time would make current scientific talk of 'cosmic evolution' and 'the future of the universe' non-metaphorical.

The Extent of the Contribution of the Educational Environment of Najran University in Developing Creative and Innovative Enterprises among the University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nimer, Ameen Mohammad

2016-01-01

This study aims at identifying the reality of stimulating educational environment for creativity at the Najran University (NU), and the importance of the availability of certain influencing factors, which in turn contribute to the provision of innovative and creative projects. Reviewing the literature and related studies, the importance of the…

Grade Inflation: Reality or Myth? Student Preparation Level vs. Grades at Brigham Young University, 1975-1994. AIR 1997 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Danny R.

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which grade inflation has existed at Brigham Young University (BYU) after accounting for increased preparation levels of entering students over time. Analyses were conducted for the university at large and individual colleges. The study first developed a model to forecast student grade point…

Practical Recommendations for the Development and Implementation of Youth Policy in the University as a Tool for Development of Student Public Associations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ezhov, Sergey G.; Komarova, Nataliya M.; Khairullina, Elmira R.; Rapatskaia, Liudmila, A.; Miftakhov, Radik R.; Khusainova, Liana R.

2016-01-01

The research urgency is caused by the increase of social responsibility of universities for improvement of the quality of higher education and development of students' socio-professional values. In terms of the conflicting realities of modern society the youth policy at the University is the most important tool to form students' commitment to…

Indivisibility, Complementarity and Ontology: A Bohrian Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roldán-Charria, Jairo

2014-12-01

The interpretation of quantum mechanics presented in this paper is inspired by two ideas that are fundamental in Bohr's writings: indivisibility and complementarity. Further basic assumptions of the proposed interpretation are completeness, universality and conceptual economy. In the interpretation, decoherence plays a fundamental role for the understanding of measurement. A general and precise conception of complementarity is proposed. It is fundamental in this interpretation to make a distinction between ontological reality, constituted by everything that does not depend at all on the collectivity of human beings, nor on their decisions or limitations, nor on their existence, and empirical reality constituted by everything that not being ontological is, however, intersubjective. According to the proposed interpretation, neither the dynamical properties, nor the constitutive properties of microsystems like mass, charge and spin, are ontological. The properties of macroscopic systems and space-time are also considered to belong to empirical reality. The acceptance of the above mentioned conclusion does not imply a total rejection of the notion of ontological reality. In the paper, utilizing the Aristotelian ideas of general cause and potentiality, a relation between ontological reality and empirical reality is proposed. Some glimpses of ontological reality, in the form of what can be said about it, are finally presented.

The universal numbers. From Biology to Physics.

PubMed

Marchal, Bruno

2015-12-01

I will explain how the mathematicians have discovered the universal numbers, or abstract computer, and I will explain some abstract biology, mainly self-reproduction and embryogenesis. Then I will explain how and why, and in which sense, some of those numbers can dream and why their dreams can glue together and must, when we assume computationalism in cognitive science, generate a phenomenological physics, as part of a larger phenomenological theology (in the sense of the greek theologians). The title should have been "From Biology to Physics, through the Phenomenological Theology of the Universal Numbers", if that was not too long for a title. The theology will consist mainly, like in some (neo)platonist greek-indian-chinese tradition, in the truth about numbers' relative relations, with each others, and with themselves. The main difference between Aristotle and Plato is that Aristotle (especially in its common and modern christian interpretation) makes reality WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get: reality is what we observe, measure, i.e. the natural material physical science) where for Plato and the (rational) mystics, what we see might be only the shadow or the border of something else, which might be non physical (mathematical, arithmetical, theological, …). Since Gödel, we know that Truth, even just the Arithmetical Truth, is vastly bigger than what the machine can rationally justify. Yet, with Church's thesis, and the mechanizability of the diagonalizations involved, machines can apprehend this and can justify their limitations, and get some sense of what might be true beyond what they can prove or justify rationally. Indeed, the incompleteness phenomenon introduces a gap between what is provable by some machine and what is true about that machine, and, as Gödel saw already in 1931, the existence of that gap is accessible to the machine itself, once it is has enough provability abilities. Incompleteness separates truth and provable, and machines can justify this in some way. More importantly incompleteness entails the distinction between many intensional variants of provability. For example, the absence of reflexion (beweisbar(⌜A⌝) → A with beweisbar being Gödel's provability predicate) makes it impossible for the machine's provability to obey the axioms usually taken for a theory of knowledge. The most important consequence of this in the machine's possible phenomenology is that it provides sense, indeed arithmetical sense, to intensional variants of provability, like the logics of provability-and-truth, which at the propositional level can be mirrored by the logic of provable-and-true statements (beweisbar(⌜A⌝) ∧ A). It is incompleteness which makes this logic different from the logic of provability. Other variants, like provable-and-consistent, or provable-and-consistent-and-true, appears in the same way, and inherits the incompleteness splitting, unlike beweisbar(⌜A⌝) ∧ A. I will recall thought experience which motivates the use of those intensional variants to associate a knower and an observer in some canonical way to the machines or the numbers. We will in this way get an abstract and phenomenological theology of a machine M through the true logics of their true self-referential abilities (even if not provable, or knowable, by the machine itself), in those different intensional senses. Cognitive science and theoretical physics motivate the study of those logics with the arithmetical interpretation of the atomic sentences restricted to the "verifiable" (Σ1) sentences, which is the way to study the theology of the computationalist machine. This provides a logic of the observable, as expected by the Universal Dovetailer Argument, which will be recalled briefly, and which can lead to a comparison of the machine's logic of physics with the empirical logic of the physicists (like quantum logic). This leads also to a series of open problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promise Or Reality? Physical Education in Schools in Europe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardman, Ken

2006-01-01

Most European governments have committed themselves through legislation to making provision for physical education in schools but they have been either slow or reticent in translating this into action in schools. Consequently, there are perceived deficiencies in school physical education provision, specifically in curriculum time allocation,…

Physical Activity in the Mass Media: An Audience Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Ben J.; Bonfiglioli, Catriona M. F.

2015-01-01

Physical activity's role in promoting health is highlighted in public health campaigns, news and current affairs, reality television and other programs. An investigation of audience exposure, beliefs and reactions to media portrayals of physical activity offers insights into the salience and influence of this communication. An audience reception…

Rural Canadian Youth Exposed to Physical Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laye, Adele M.; Mykota, David B.

2014-01-01

Exposure to physical violence is an unfortunate reality for many Canadian youth as it is associated with numerous negative psychosocial effects. The study aims to assist in understanding resilience in rural Canadian youth exposed to physical violence. This is accomplished by identifying the importance of protective factors, as measured by the…

Pedagogical Principles of Learning to Teach Meaningful Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ní Chróinín, Déirdre; Fletcher, Tim; O'Sullivan, Mary

2018-01-01

Background: Concerns that current forms of physical education teacher education (PETE) are not adequately providing teachers with the tools necessary for working with the realities and challenges of teaching physical education in contemporary schools has led some scholars to advocate for an approach that prioritises meaningfulness in physical…

Ideals and Realities: Articulating Feminist Perspectives in Physical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smeal, Georgia; And Others

1994-01-01

Information from feminist physical educators helps examine relationships between theoretical debates in feminism and feminist practice in secondary schools. The article discusses debates over equality, how theoretical struggles between feminists are handled in sport and physical education, and how calls for equality are understood as calls for…

Active Gaming: Is "Virtual" Reality Right for Your Physical Education Program?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Lisa; Sanders, Stephen W.

2012-01-01

Active gaming is growing in popularity and the idea of increasing children's physical activity by using technology is largely accepted by physical educators. Teachers nationwide have been providing active gaming equipment such as virtual bikes, rhythmic dance machines, virtual sporting games, martial arts simulators, balance boards, and other…

Impact of virtual reality games on psychological well-being and upper limb performance in adults with physical disabilities: A pilot study.

PubMed

Singh, D K A; Rahman, N N A; Seffiyah, R; Chang, S Y; Zainura, A K; Aida, S R; Rajwinder, K H S

2017-04-01

There is limited information regarding the effects of interactive virtual reality (VR) games on psychological and physical well-being among adults with physical disabilities. We aimed to examine the impact of VR games on psychological well-being, upper limb motor function and reaction time in adults with physical disabilities. Fifteen participants completed the intervention using Wii VR games in this pilot study. Depressive, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) and Capabilities of Upper Extremity (CUE) questionnaires were used to measure psychological well-being and upper limb motor function respectively. Upper limb reaction time was measured using reaction time test. Results showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in DASS questionnaire and average reaction time score after intervention. There is a potential for using interactive VR games as an exercise tool to improve psychological wellbeing and upper limb reaction time among adults with disabilities.

The New Physics and Cosmology - Dialogues with the Dalai Lama

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zajonc, Arthur; Houshmand, Zara

2004-03-01

What happens when the Dalai Lama meets with leading physicists and a historian? This book is the carefully edited record of the fascinating discussions at a Mind and Life conference in which five leading physicists and a historian (David Finkelstein, George Greenstein, Piet Hut, Arthur Zajonc, Anton Zeilinger, and Tu Weiming) discussed with the Dalai Lama current thought in theoretical quantum physics, in the context of Buddhist philosophy. A contribution to the science-religion interface, and a useful explanation of our basic understanding of quantum reality, couched at a level that intelligent readers without a deep involvement in science can grasp. In the tradition of other popular books on resonances between modern quantum physics and Zen or Buddhist mystical traditions--notably The Dancing Wu Li Masters and The Tao of Physics , this book gives a clear and useful update of the genuine correspondences between these two rather disparate approaches to understanding the nature of reality.

Toward a comprehensive hybrid physical-virtual reality simulator of peripheral anesthesia with ultrasound and neurostimulator guidance.

PubMed

Samosky, Joseph T; Allen, Pete; Boronyak, Steve; Branstetter, Barton; Hein, Steven; Juhas, Mark; Nelson, Douglas A; Orebaugh, Steven; Pinto, Rohan; Smelko, Adam; Thompson, Mitch; Weaver, Robert A

2011-01-01

We are developing a simulator of peripheral nerve block utilizing a mixed-reality approach: the combination of a physical model, an MRI-derived virtual model, mechatronics and spatial tracking. Our design uses tangible (physical) interfaces to simulate surface anatomy, haptic feedback during needle insertion, mechatronic display of muscle twitch corresponding to the specific nerve stimulated, and visual and haptic feedback for the injection syringe. The twitch response is calculated incorporating the sensed output of a real neurostimulator. The virtual model is isomorphic with the physical model and is derived from segmented MRI data. This model provides the subsurface anatomy and, combined with electromagnetic tracking of a sham ultrasound probe and a standard nerve block needle, supports simulated ultrasound display and measurement of needle location and proximity to nerves and vessels. The needle tracking and virtual model also support objective performance metrics of needle targeting technique.

Reality-Theoretical Models-Mathematics: A Ternary Perspective on Physics Lessons in Upper-Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansson, Lena; Hansson, Örjan; Juter, Kristina; Redfors, Andreas

2015-01-01

This article discusses the role of mathematics during physics lessons in upper-secondary school. Mathematics is an inherent part of theoretical models in physics and makes powerful predictions of natural phenomena possible. Ability to use both theoretical models and mathematics is central in physics. This paper takes as a starting point that the…

Augmented Reality Comes to Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buesing, Mark; Cook, Michael

2013-04-01

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology used on computing devices where processor-generated graphics are rendered over real objects to enhance the sensory experience in real time. In other words, what you are really seeing is augmented by the computer. Many AR games already exist for systems such as Kinect and Nintendo 3DS and mobile apps, such as Tagwhat and Star Chart (a must for astronomy class). The yellow line marking first downs in a televised football game2 and the enhanced puck that makes televised hockey easier to follow3 both use augmented reality to do the job.

Can mathematics explain the evolution of human language?

PubMed

Witzany, Guenther

2011-09-01

Investigation into the sequence structure of the genetic code by means of an informatic approach is a real success story. The features of human language are also the object of investigation within the realm of formal language theories. They focus on the common rules of a universal grammar that lies behind all languages and determine generation of syntactic structures. This universal grammar is a depiction of material reality, i.e., the hidden logical order of things and its relations determined by natural laws. Therefore mathematics is viewed not only as an appropriate tool to investigate human language and genetic code structures through computer science-based formal language theory but is itself a depiction of material reality. This confusion between language as a scientific tool to describe observations/experiences within cognitive constructed models and formal language as a direct depiction of material reality occurs not only in current approaches but was the central focus of the philosophy of science debate in the twentieth century, with rather unexpected results. This article recalls these results and their implications for more recent mathematical approaches that also attempt to explain the evolution of human language.

Brief virtual reality therapy for public speaking anxiety.

PubMed

Harris, Sandra R; Kemmerling, Robert L; North, Max M

2002-12-01

The primary goal of this research program was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality therapy (VRT) in reducing public speaking anxiety of university students. The prevalence and impact of public speaking anxiety as a type of Social Phobia are discussed. Studies of VRT as an emerging treatment for psychological problems are reviewed. In the present study, eight students completed VRT individual treatment and post-testing, and six students in a Wait-List control group completed post-testing. Assessment measures included four self-report inventories, self-report of Subjective Units of Discomfort during exposure to VRT and physiological measurements of heart rate during speaking tasks. Four weekly individual exposure treatment sessions of approximately 15 min each were conducted by the author serving as therapist. Results on self-report and physiological measures appear to indicate that four virtual reality treatment sessions were effective in reducing public speaking anxiety in university students, corroborating earlier studies of VRT's effectiveness as a psychotherapeutic modality. Future research directions are discussed, primarily the need for research on younger populations, to assess the effectiveness of VRT for earlier intervention with public speaking anxiety.

Symmetry and aesthetics in introductory physics: An experiment in interdisciplinary physics and fine arts education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Veen, Janet Krause

In a recent editorial in Physics Today (July, 2006, p. 10) the ability of physicists to "imagine new realities" was correlated with what have been traditionally considered non-scientific qualities of imagination and creativity, which are usually associated with fine arts. In view of the current developments in physics of the 21st Century, including the searches for cosmic dark energy and evidence from the Large Hadron Collider which, it is hoped, will verify or refute the proposals of String Theory, the importance of developing creativity and imagination through education is gaining recognition. Two questions are addressed by this study: First, How can we bring the sense of aesthetics and creativity, which are important in the practice of physics, into the teaching and learning of physics at the introductory college level, without sacrificing the mathematical rigor which is necessary for proper understanding of physics? Second, How can we provide access to physics for a diverse population of students which includes physics majors, arts majors, and future teachers? An interdisciplinary curriculum which begins with teaching math as a language of nature, and utilizes arts to help visualize the connections between mathematics and the physical universe, may provide answers to these questions. In this dissertation I describe in detail the case study of the eleven students - seven physics majors and four arts majors - who participated in an experimental course, Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics, in Winter Quarter, 2007, at UCSB's College of Creative Studies. The very positive results of this experiment suggest that this model deserves further testing, and could provide an entry into the study of physics for physics majors, liberal arts majors, future teachers, and as a foundation for media arts and technology programs.

The Impact of an Assurance System on the Quality of Teaching and Learning--Using the Example of a University in Russia and One of the Universities in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szymenderski, Peggy; Yagudina, Liliya; Burenkova, Olga

2015-01-01

In this paper we consider the question of how quality assurance can have a real, positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning at universities, considering the realities of different systems--the system of control and the system of quality culture--in using the example of two universities: the KNITU-KAI in Russia and the TU Dresden in…

The potential and reality of physical education in controlling overweight and obesity.

PubMed

Kahan, David; McKenzie, Thomas L

2015-04-01

Although preventing youth overweight and obesity is a public health priority, quality physical education (PE) is marginalized in practice. In May 2014, we estimated energy expenditure (EE; derived from PE frequency, duration, and intensity; mean student mass; and class size) from national recommendations and data from the 19 US states with PE duration guidelines, under 3 scenarios: potential (quality PE, defined as 50% moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA]), reality (MVPA = 35%), and classroom instruction only. Students in schools following nationally recommended PE standards from grades 1 through 10 could expend from 35 000 to 90 000 more kilocalories than students who received classroom instruction instead. PE's potential for increasing student EE will only be realized with stronger school policies and increased accountability.

The Potential and Reality of Physical Education in Controlling Overweight and Obesity

PubMed Central

McKenzie, Thomas L.

2015-01-01

Although preventing youth overweight and obesity is a public health priority, quality physical education (PE) is marginalized in practice. In May 2014, we estimated energy expenditure (EE; derived from PE frequency, duration, and intensity; mean student mass; and class size) from national recommendations and data from the 19 US states with PE duration guidelines, under 3 scenarios: potential (quality PE, defined as 50% moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA]), reality (MVPA = 35%), and classroom instruction only. Students in schools following nationally recommended PE standards from grades 1 through 10 could expend from 35 000 to 90 000 more kilocalories than students who received classroom instruction instead. PE's potential for increasing student EE will only be realized with stronger school policies and increased accountability. PMID:25713972

Man, mind, and machine: the past and future of virtual reality simulation in neurologic surgery.

PubMed

Robison, R Aaron; Liu, Charles Y; Apuzzo, Michael L J

2011-11-01

To review virtual reality in neurosurgery, including the history of simulation and virtual reality and some of the current implementations; to examine some of the technical challenges involved; and to propose a potential paradigm for the development of virtual reality in neurosurgery going forward. A search was made on PubMed using key words surgical simulation, virtual reality, haptics, collision detection, and volumetric modeling to assess the current status of virtual reality in neurosurgery. Based on previous results, investigators extrapolated the possible integration of existing efforts and potential future directions. Simulation has a rich history in surgical training, and there are numerous currently existing applications and systems that involve virtual reality. All existing applications are limited to specific task-oriented functions and typically sacrifice visual realism for real-time interactivity or vice versa, owing to numerous technical challenges in rendering a virtual space in real time, including graphic and tissue modeling, collision detection, and direction of the haptic interface. With ongoing technical advancements in computer hardware and graphic and physical rendering, incremental or modular development of a fully immersive, multipurpose virtual reality neurosurgical simulator is feasible. The use of virtual reality in neurosurgery is predicted to change the nature of neurosurgical education, and to play an increased role in surgical rehearsal and the continuing education and credentialing of surgical practitioners. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dreams, reality and memory: confabulations in lucid dreamers implicate reality-monitoring dysfunction in dream consciousness

PubMed Central

Corlett, P.R.; Canavan, S.V.; Nahum, L.; Appah, F.; Morgan, P.T.

2014-01-01

Introduction. Dreams might represent a window on altered states of consciousness with relevance to psychotic experiences, where reality monitoring is impaired. We examined reality monitoring in healthy, non-psychotic individuals with varying degrees of dream awareness using a task designed to assess confabulatory memory errors – a confusion regarding reality whereby information from the past feels falsely familiar and does not constrain current perception appropriately. Confabulatory errors are common following damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Ventromedial function has previously been implicated in dreaming and dream awareness. Methods. In a hospital research setting, physically and mentally healthy individuals with high (n = 18) and low (n = 13) self-reported dream awareness completed a computerised cognitive task that involved reality monitoring based on familiarity across a series of task runs. Results. Signal detection theory analysis revealed a more liberal acceptance bias in those with high dream awareness, consistent with the notion of overlap in the perception of dreams, imagination and reality. Conclusions. We discuss the implications of these results for models of reality monitoring and psychosis with a particular focus on the role of vmPFC in default-mode brain function, model-based reinforcement learning and the phenomenology of dreaming and waking consciousness. PMID:25028078

Physics and spirituality: the next grand unification?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Josephson, Brian

1987-01-01

In what light should a scientist regard the assertions of a religion, or of religions in general? One extreme position is the atheistic one of regarding the assertions of religion as falsehoods. Such a position can be sustained only by regarding the experiences which individuals consider as validating their religious beliefs as being explicable in other ways and, in the absence of an adequate research programme to support it, must be considered more as falling within the field of opinion that as within that of science. The alternative to this atheistic position is that there exists an aspect of reality-that one may for convenience call transcendental-which embraces the subject matter of religion (or as some may prefer to term it, the spiritual aspect of life) and which is not at present encompassed by science. The question then arises whether some future science may be able to cope with this aspect of reality, or whether it will remain forever beyond the scope of science. The author attempts to explain the ways in which current scientific orthodoxies are being challenged and to convey some idea of the alternatives presently emerging. A number of important themes here include the questions of the validity of reductionism and the universality of quantum mechanics, as well as that of the relevance of mystical experience.

Emerging technology in surgical education: combining real-time augmented reality and wearable computing devices.

PubMed

Ponce, Brent A; Menendez, Mariano E; Oladeji, Lasun O; Fryberger, Charles T; Dantuluri, Phani K

2014-11-01

The authors describe the first surgical case adopting the combination of real-time augmented reality and wearable computing devices such as Google Glass (Google Inc, Mountain View, California). A 66-year-old man presented to their institution for a total shoulder replacement after 5 years of progressive right shoulder pain and decreased range of motion. Throughout the surgical procedure, Google Glass was integrated with the Virtual Interactive Presence and Augmented Reality system (University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama), enabling the local surgeon to interact with the remote surgeon within the local surgical field. Surgery was well tolerated by the patient and early surgical results were encouraging, with an improvement of shoulder pain and greater range of motion. The combination of real-time augmented reality and wearable computing devices such as Google Glass holds much promise in the field of surgery. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Effects of augmented reality-based Otago exercise on balance, gait, and physical factors in elderly women to prevent falls: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Lee, Jin; Yoo, Ha-Na; Lee, Byoung-Hee

2017-09-01

[Purpose] To determine the effect of augmented reality (AR)-based otago exercise on muscle strength, balance, and physical factors in falls of elderly women. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to AR group (AR, n=10), yoga group (yoga, n=10), and self-exercise group (self, n=10). For 12 weeks, these groups were given lessons related to AR-based otago exercise including strengthening, balance training, or yoga three times a week (60 minutes each time) and self-exercise using elastic band exercise program. [Results] Knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion strength were significantly improved in all three groups (AR, yoga, and self-exercise groups). Regarding balance, eye open center of pressure-x (EO CoP-x) was significantly decreased in AR group and yoga group. However, eye close CoP-x, eye open standard deviation-x (EO SD-x), and eye open height of ellipse (EO HoE) were only significantly decreased in AR group. AR group also showed meaningfully improved results in morse fall scale. [Conclusion] Augmented reality-based otago exercise can improve muscle strength, balance, and physical factors in elderly women to prevent falls.

FlyAR: augmented reality supported micro aerial vehicle navigation.

PubMed

Zollmann, Stefanie; Hoppe, Christof; Langlotz, Tobias; Reitmayr, Gerhard

2014-04-01

Micro aerial vehicles equipped with high-resolution cameras can be used to create aerial reconstructions of an area of interest. In that context automatic flight path planning and autonomous flying is often applied but so far cannot fully replace the human in the loop, supervising the flight on-site to assure that there are no collisions with obstacles. Unfortunately, this workflow yields several issues, such as the need to mentally transfer the aerial vehicle’s position between 2D map positions and the physical environment, and the complicated depth perception of objects flying in the distance. Augmented Reality can address these issues by bringing the flight planning process on-site and visualizing the spatial relationship between the planned or current positions of the vehicle and the physical environment. In this paper, we present Augmented Reality supported navigation and flight planning of micro aerial vehicles by augmenting the user’s view with relevant information for flight planning and live feedback for flight supervision. Furthermore, we introduce additional depth hints supporting the user in understanding the spatial relationship of virtual waypoints in the physical world and investigate the effect of these visualization techniques on the spatial understanding.

Gravitational Self-Energy as the Litmus of Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, K. R. W.

It is argued that the correct physical treatment of self-energy in Newtonian quantum gravity offers a constrained and predictive discriminator for the interpretation of ψ, and thus a clear point of departure for the unification of modern physics.

Evaluating the Implementation of International Computing Curricular in African Universities: A Design-Reality Gap Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dasuki, Salihu Ibrahim; Ogedebe, Peter; Kanya, Rislana Abdulazeez; Ndume, Hauwa; Makinde, Julius

2015-01-01

Efforts are been made by Universities in developing countries to ensure that it's graduate are not left behind in the competitive global information society; thus have adopted international computing curricular for their computing degree programs. However, adopting these international curricula seem to be very challenging for developing countries…

Indigenous Legal Translators: Challenges of a University Program for the Maya of Guatemala.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera Pena, Guillermina; Raymundo, Jorge Manuel

1998-01-01

Guatemala is overhauling its justice system to be more congruent with its indigenous reality. A Rafael Landivar University program trains indigenous legal translators not only in legal and linguistic aspects, but also in strengthening indigenous identity and student commitment to the community. Challenges and future plans are described. A former…

Myths and Realities of "Global" English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillipson, Robert

2017-01-01

The expansion of English worldwide tends to be both seen and marketed uncritically, as a universally relevant lingua franca and medium of education. The post-1945 expansion of English was a deliberate policy of the US and UK governments, foreseen in a speech by Churchill. Elsewhere Churchill endorsed university academic freedom and autonomy, which…

Virtual Realities for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graves, Roger

In a time of continually shrinking budgets, first year composition programs in Canadian universities, particularly the University of Waterloo, Ontario, have proven to be vulnerable to budget cuts. In 1980, each teaching assistant had one class of about 22 students and there were over 20 tutors in the writing center. In 1992, each teaching…

School-Sponsored Health Insurance: Planning for a New Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Bryan A.

2010-01-01

Health care reform efforts in both the Clinton and Obama administrations have attempted to address college and university health. Yet, although the world of health care delivery has almost universally evolved to managed care, school health programs have not. In general, school-sponsored health plans do little to improve access and have adopted…

Strategic Leadership of Teaching and Learning Centres: From Reality to Ideal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Stuart; Holt, Dale; Challis, Di

2011-01-01

This paper reports on the third phase of a study of Australian Teaching and Learning Centres to identify factors that contribute to the effective strategic leadership of Centres. Focus groups at 10 Australian universities included 66 respondents, providing a diverse range of perspectives, from students to members of the university executive.…

Revisiting Reflection: Utilizing Third Spaces in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flessner, Ryan

2014-01-01

Much has been written about the importance of reflective practice. What is missing is reflective work on the part of teacher educators to address the mismatch between university-based methods courses and the realities of classroom life. With examples from a third grade mathematics classroom as well as a university-based mathematics methods course,…

Improving Leadership Preparation Programs through a School, University, and Professional Organization Partnership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peel, Henry A.; Wallace, Corinna

Beginning educational administrators often find that they are unprepared to deal with the realities of school administration. This paper describes how the Halifax County, North Carolina, school system worked with a national organization and an area university to develop a plan to improve its administrator-preparation program. In 1992 the school…

Increasing Understanding of Public Problems and Policies, 1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ernstes, David P., Ed.; Hicks, Dawne M., Ed.

This document contains 21 papers: "Land Grant University and Extension in the 21st Century" (Jon Wefald); "A Reality Check" (Bud Webb); "Land Grant Colleges and Universities of the Future" (Michael J. Phillips); "Vulnerability of the Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture: A Public Affairs Perspective" (Allen Rosenfeld); "The Future of Land Grant…

The Declining Significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Relevance, Reputation, and Reality in Obamamerica

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, M. Christopher, II

2013-01-01

Historically Black colleges and universities are a unique institutional cohort in American higher education. These colleges have been celebrated for their achievements and critiqued for their composition at differing points during their collective history. This article addresses contemporary ebbs and flows of their relevance and reputation in the…

Providing Authentic Leadership Opportunities through Collaboratively Developed Internships: A University-School District Partnership Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Havard, Timothy S.; Morgan, Joyce; Patrick, Lynne

2010-01-01

Programs designed to develop future educational leaders must include practical learning experiences that connect the theoretical content of university coursework with the realities of the K-12 workplace. Internships, which offer a common method of providing these experiences, have been generally lacking in the degree to which aspiring leaders…

Legislative Action & Assessment: Reason & Reality. Conference Proceedings (Arlington, Virginia, July 7-9, 1986).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGuinness, Kathleen, Comp.

Legislative action and assessment in higher education are addressed in 24 papers from a 1986 conference sponsored by George Mason University (Virginia) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Titles and authors include: "Defining and Assessing Baccalaureate Skills: Ten Case Studies" (American Association of State…

Overview: Conflict of Interest in University-Industry Relationships: Realities, Politics, and Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kodish, Eric; And Others

1996-01-01

Summarizes and comments on three presentations relative to the life sciences and medicine given at the October 1995 working symposium of the Project on Conflict of Interest in University-Industry Research Relationships and included in this issue. Discusses the work of medical researcher David Blumenthal, political scientist Mark Frankel, and…

Are Digital Natives a Myth or Reality? University Students' Use of Digital Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Margaryan, Anoush; Littlejohn, Allison; Vojt, Gabrielle

2011-01-01

This study investigated the extent and nature of university students' use of digital technologies for learning and socialising. The findings show that students use a limited range of mainly established technologies. Use of collaborative knowledge creation tools, virtual worlds, and social networking sites was low. "Digital natives" and students of…

Taking the Metropolitan University to a Rural Community: The Role of a Needs Assessment Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmed, Shamima

1999-01-01

When metropolitan universities refer to serving the entire metropolitan area, they often refer to rural fringes as well as concentrated urban populations. Working with rural communities requires somewhat different approaches to planning programs and understanding needs. Survey research helps the campus understand the perceptions and realities of…

Barriers and Pathways to Creating Sustainability Education Programs: Policy, Rhetoric and Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Janet

2005-01-01

This article outlines an action-oriented research project regarding the University of British Columbia's engagement with sustainability. In 1997, the University of British Columbia (UBC) created a sustainability policy that suggests all UBC students should be educated about sustainability. Using data from a series of in-depth interviews the author…

The Open Systems University and Organizational Intelligence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Counelis, James Steve

The open systems model of the university defines the function of institutional research to be a cybernetic one. The internal and external reality-testing function is a vital duty and a moral charge. Though policy makers and educational practitioners can carry on for a considerable length of time with organizational intelligence of low validity,…

Lithuanian University Students' Knowledge of Biotechnology and Their Attitudes to the Taught Subject

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamanauskas, Vincentas; Makarskaite-Petkeviciene, Rita

2008-01-01

The impact of genetic engineering on peoples' everyday life has become present reality. In order to establish the level of the available schoolchildren and university students' knowledge of biotechnology, various investigations have been conducted. However, the current situation in Lithuania remains unclear. A total of 287 students--pre-service…

Validation of reaching in a virtual environment in typically developing children and children with mild unilateral cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Robert, Maxime T; Levin, Mindy F

2018-04-01

To compare three reaching movements made in two planes between a low-cost, game-based virtual reality and a matched physical environment in typically developing children and children with cerebral palsy (CP). To determine if differences in kinematics are related to sensory deficits. An observational study in which 27 children (typically developing, n=17, mean age 13y, [SD] 2y 2mo, range 9y 3mo-17y 2mo; CP, n=10, mean age 13y 8mo, [SD] 1y 8mo, range 11y 1mo-17y 1mo, Manual Ability Classification System levels I-II) performed 15 trials of three gestures in each of a virtual reality and a matched physical environment. Upper-limb and trunk kinematics were recorded using an electromagnetic system (G4, Polhemus, six markers, 120Hz). Compared to the physical environment, movements in virtual reality made by typically developing children were slower (p=0.002), and involved less trunk flexion (p=0.002) and rotation (p=0.026). Children with CP had more curved trajectories (p=0.005) and used less trunk flexion (p=0.003) and rotation (p=0.005). Elbow and shoulder kinematics differed from 2.8% to 155.4% between environments in both groups. Between groups, there were small, clinically insignificant differences with only the vertical gesture being longer in typically developing children. Children with CP who had greater tactile impairment used more trunk displacement. Clinicians and researchers need to be aware of differences in movement variables when setting goals or designing protocols for improving reaching in children with CP using low-cost, game-based virtual reality systems. Upper-limb kinematics differed in each group when reaching in physical versus virtual environments. There were small differences in movements made by children with mild unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) compared to typically developing children. Differences in reaching kinematics should be considered when goal setting using virtual reality interventions for children with mild unilateral CP. © 2018 Mac Keith Press.

Realistic Reflections for Marine Environments in Augmented Reality Training Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

Static Backgrounds. Top: Agua Background. Bottom: Blue Background.............48 Figure 27. Ship Textures Used to Generate Reflections. In Order from...Like virtual simulations, augmented reality trainers can be configured to meet specific training needs and can be restarted and reused to train...Wave Distortion, Blurring and Shadow Many of the same methods outlined in Full Reflection shader were reused for the Physics shader. The same

"Analysis of Leadership Styles Developed by Teachers and Administrators in Technical-Technological Programs: The Case of The Cooperative University of Colombia"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuadros, María del Pilar Jaime; Cáceres Reche, María Pilar; Lucena, Francisco Javier Hinojo

2018-01-01

This work is part of a wider research effort in the field of leadership and organizational development, coordinated by the University of Granada and the A.R.E.A Research Group (Analysis of Educational Reality in Andaluz), HUM/672. It was developed in the Cooperative University of Colombia, a country where technical and technological programmes…

The Elderly Perceived Meanings and Values of Virtual Reality Leisure Activities: A Means-End Chain Approach.

PubMed

Lin, Cheng-Shih; Jeng, Mei-Yuan; Yeh, Tsu-Ming

2018-04-03

This study uses means-end chain (MEC) techniques to examine the awareness, decision-making procedure, and personal values of the elderly with regard to virtual reality leisure activities. The results of the study show that elderly respondents value virtual reality leisure activities that are fun, safe, and easy. In terms of outcome benefits, elderly respondents value feeling physically and mentally healthy, firsthand experience, and satisfied curiosity. In value terms, elderly respondents hope that their chosen virtual reality leisure activities improve not only their relationships with others, but also their enjoyment, quality of life, and sense of belonging. The results show that, while consumers with different awarenesses of virtual reality leisure activities have different decision-making processes, they share creating "good memories" as the terminal value with the most significant effect. This presents a potential opportunity to promote virtual reality leisure activities. Relevant bodies or enterprises can seek to create good memories in consumers by developing activities that are safe and fun, promote good health, and provide good service, thereby attracting the interest of elderly consumers.

The Elderly Perceived Meanings and Values of Virtual Reality Leisure Activities: A Means-End Chain Approach

PubMed Central

Lin, Cheng-Shih; Jeng, Mei-Yuan

2018-01-01

This study uses means-end chain (MEC) techniques to examine the awareness, decision-making procedure, and personal values of the elderly with regard to virtual reality leisure activities. The results of the study show that elderly respondents value virtual reality leisure activities that are fun, safe, and easy. In terms of outcome benefits, elderly respondents value feeling physically and mentally healthy, firsthand experience, and satisfied curiosity. In value terms, elderly respondents hope that their chosen virtual reality leisure activities improve not only their relationships with others, but also their enjoyment, quality of life, and sense of belonging. The results show that, while consumers with different awarenesses of virtual reality leisure activities have different decision-making processes, they share creating “good memories” as the terminal value with the most significant effect. This presents a potential opportunity to promote virtual reality leisure activities. Relevant bodies or enterprises can seek to create good memories in consumers by developing activities that are safe and fun, promote good health, and provide good service, thereby attracting the interest of elderly consumers. PMID:29614012

A Feasibility Study of Virtual Reality Exercise in Elderly Patients with Hematologic Malignancies Receiving Chemotherapy.

PubMed

Tsuda, Kenji; Sudo, Kazuaki; Goto, Goro; Takai, Makiko; Itokawa, Tatsuo; Isshiki, Takahiro; Takei, Naoko; Tanimoto, Tetsuya; Komatsu, Tsunehiko

2016-01-01

Adherence to rehabilitation exercise is much lower in patients with hematologic malignancies (22.5-45.8%) than in patients with solid tumors (60-85%) due to the administration of more intensive chemotherapeutic regimens in the former. Virtual reality exercise can be performed even in a biological clean room and it may improve the adherence rates in elderly patients with hematologic malignancies. Thus, in this pilot study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility and safety of virtual reality exercise intervention using Nintendo Wii Fit in patients with hematologic malignancies receiving chemotherapy. In this feasibility study, 16 hospitalized patients with hematologic malignancies aged ≥60 years performed virtual reality exercise for 20 minutes using the Nintendo Wii Fit once a day, five times a week, from the start of chemotherapy until hospital discharge. The adherence rate, safety, and physical and psychological performances were assessed. The adherence rate for all 16 patients was 66.5%. Nine patients completed the virtual reality exercise intervention with 88 sessions, and the adherence rate was 62.0%. No intervention-related adverse effects >Grade 2, according to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 3.0, were observed. We noted maintenance of the physical performance (e.g., Barthel index, handgrip strength, knee extension strength, one-leg standing time, and the scores of timed up and go test and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living) and psychosocial performance (e.g., score of hospital anxiety and depression scale). Virtual reality exercise using the Wii Fit may be feasible, safe and efficacious, as demonstrated in our preliminary results, for patients with hematologic malignancies receiving chemotherapy.

Finding an information concept suited for a universal theory of information.

PubMed

Brier, Søren

2015-12-01

The view argued in this article is that if we want to define a universal concept of information covering subjective experiential and meaningful cognition - as well as intersubjective meaningful communication in nature, technology, society and life worlds - then the main problem is to decide, which epistemological, ontological and philosophy of science framework the concept of information should be based on and integrated in. All the ontological attempts to create objective concepts of information result in concepts that cannot encompass meaning and experience of embodied living and social systems. There is no conclusive evidence that the core of reality across nature, culture, life and mind is purely either mathematical, logical or of a computational nature. Therefore the core of the information concept should not only be based only on pure logical or mathematical rationality. We need to include interpretation, signification and meaning construction in our transdisciplinary framework for information as a basic aspect of reality alongside the physical, chemical and molecular biological. Dretske defines information as the content of new, true, meaningful, and understandable knowledge. According to this widely held definition information in a transdisciplinary theory cannot be 'objective', but has to be relativized in relation to the receiver's knowledge, as also proposed by Floridi. It is difficult to produce a quantitative statement independently of a qualitative analysis based on some sort of relation to the human condition as a semiotic animal. I therefore alternatively suggest to build information theories based on semiotics from the basic relations of embodied living systems meaningful cognition and communication. I agree with Peircean biosemiotics that all information must be part of real relational sign-processes manifesting as tokens. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Who Is Still Playing Pokémon Go? A Web-Based Survey.

PubMed

Rasche, Peter; Schlomann, Anna; Mertens, Alexander

2017-04-05

Poor physical activity is one of the major health care problems in Western civilizations. Various digital gadgets aiming to increase physical activity, such as activity trackers or fitness apps, have been introduced over recent years. The newest products are serious games that incorporate real-life physical activity into their game concept. Recent studies have shown that such games increase the physical activity of their users over the short term. In this study, we investigated the motivational effects of the digital game "Pokémon Go" leading to continued use or abandonment of the game. The aim of the study was to determine aspects that motivate individuals to play augmented reality exergames and how this motivation can be used to strengthen the initial interest in physical activity. A total of 199 participants completed an open self-selected Web-based survey. On the basis of their self-indicated assignment to one of three predefined user groups (active, former, and nonuser of Pokémon Go), participants answered various questions regarding game experience, physical activity, motivation, and personality as measured by the Big Five Inventory. In total, 81 active, 56 former, and 62 nonusers of Pokémon Go were recruited. When asked about the times they perform physical activity, active users stated that they were less physically active in general than former and nonusers. However, based on a subjective rating, active users were more motivated to be physically active due to playing Pokémon Go. Motivational aspects differed for active and former users, whereas fan status was the same within both groups. Active users are more motivated by features directly related to Pokémon, such as catching all possible Pokémon and reaching higher levels, whereas former users stress the importance of general game quality, such as better augmented reality and more challenges in the game. Personality did not affect whether a person started to play Pokémon Go nor their abandonment of the game. The results show various motivating elements that should be incorporated into augmented reality exergames based on the game Pokémon Go. We identified different user types for whom different features of the game contribute to maintained motivation or abandonment. Our results show aspects that augmented reality exergame designers should keep in mind to encourage individuals to start playing their game and facilitate long-term user engagement, resulting in a greater interest in physical activity. ©Peter Rasche, Anna Schlomann, Alexander Mertens. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (http://games.jmir.org), 05.04.2017.

Who Is Still Playing Pokémon Go? A Web-Based Survey

PubMed Central

Mertens, Alexander

2017-01-01

Background Poor physical activity is one of the major health care problems in Western civilizations. Various digital gadgets aiming to increase physical activity, such as activity trackers or fitness apps, have been introduced over recent years. The newest products are serious games that incorporate real-life physical activity into their game concept. Recent studies have shown that such games increase the physical activity of their users over the short term. Objective In this study, we investigated the motivational effects of the digital game “Pokémon Go” leading to continued use or abandonment of the game. The aim of the study was to determine aspects that motivate individuals to play augmented reality exergames and how this motivation can be used to strengthen the initial interest in physical activity. Methods A total of 199 participants completed an open self-selected Web-based survey. On the basis of their self-indicated assignment to one of three predefined user groups (active, former, and nonuser of Pokémon Go), participants answered various questions regarding game experience, physical activity, motivation, and personality as measured by the Big Five Inventory. Results In total, 81 active, 56 former, and 62 nonusers of Pokémon Go were recruited. When asked about the times they perform physical activity, active users stated that they were less physically active in general than former and nonusers. However, based on a subjective rating, active users were more motivated to be physically active due to playing Pokémon Go. Motivational aspects differed for active and former users, whereas fan status was the same within both groups. Active users are more motivated by features directly related to Pokémon, such as catching all possible Pokémon and reaching higher levels, whereas former users stress the importance of general game quality, such as better augmented reality and more challenges in the game. Personality did not affect whether a person started to play Pokémon Go nor their abandonment of the game. Conclusions The results show various motivating elements that should be incorporated into augmented reality exergames based on the game Pokémon Go. We identified different user types for whom different features of the game contribute to maintained motivation or abandonment. Our results show aspects that augmented reality exergame designers should keep in mind to encourage individuals to start playing their game and facilitate long-term user engagement, resulting in a greater interest in physical activity. PMID:28381393

Black holes in the early Universe.

PubMed

Volonteri, Marta; Bellovary, Jillian

2012-12-01

The existence of massive black holes (MBHs) was postulated in the 1960s, when the first quasars were discovered. In the late 1990s their reality was proven beyond doubt in the Milky way and a handful nearby galaxies. Since then, enormous theoretical and observational efforts have been made to understand the astrophysics of MBHs. We have discovered that some of the most massive black holes known, weighing billions of solar masses, powered luminous quasars within the first billion years of the Universe. The first MBHs must therefore have formed around the time the first stars and galaxies formed. Dynamical evidence also indicates that black holes with masses of millions to billions of solar masses ordinarily dwell in the centers of today's galaxies. MBHs populate galaxy centers today, and shone as quasars in the past; the quiescent black holes that we detect now in nearby bulges are the dormant remnants of this fiery past. In this review we report on basic, but critical, questions regarding the cosmological significance of MBHs. What physical mechanisms led to the formation of the first MBHs? How massive were the initial MBH seeds? When and where did they form? How is the growth of black holes linked to that of their host galaxy? The answers to most of these questions are works in progress, in the spirit of these reports on progress in physics.

Peer Relations as a Function of Physical Attractiveness: The Eye of the Beholder or Behavioral Reality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langlois, Judith H.; Downs, A. Chris

This study examines the relationship between physical attractiveness and behavior by assessing whether behavioral differences exist between children judged by adults to be physically attractive and unattractive. Sixty-four 3- and 5-year-old boys and girls were selected as subjects on the basis of physical attractiveness. Three types of same-age…

Sensor supervision and multiagent commanding by means of projective virtual reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossmann, Juergen

1998-10-01

When autonomous systems with multiple agents are considered, conventional control- and supervision technologies are often inadequate because the amount of information available is often presented in a way that the user is effectively overwhelmed by the displayed data. New virtual reality (VR) techniques can help to cope with this problem, because VR offers the chance to convey information in an intuitive manner and can combine supervision capabilities and new, intuitive approaches to the control of autonomous systems. In the approach taken, control and supervision issues were equally stressed and finally led to the new ideas and the general framework for Projective Virtual Reality. The key idea of this new approach for an intuitively operable man machine interface for decentrally controlled multi-agent systems is to let the user act in the virtual world, detect the changes and have an action planning component automatically generate task descriptions for the agents involved to project actions that have been carried out by users in the virtual world into the physical world, e.g. with the help of robots. Thus the Projective Virtual Reality approach is to split the job between the task deduction in the VR and the task `projection' onto the physical automation components by the automatic action planning component. Besides describing the realized projective virtual reality system, the paper will also describe in detail the metaphors and visualization aids used to present different types of (e.g. sensor-) information in an intuitively comprehensible manner.

How would photons describe natural phenomena based upon their physical experiences?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roychoudhuri, Chandrasekhar

2013-10-01

The question posed in the title represents an impossible approach to scientific investigation, but the approach is like a subjectivist. Obviously, photons cannot express their views; neither can we ask directly any scientific questions to the photons. The purpose is to draw the attention of the reader that even our strongly mathematically driven scientific enterprise is full of subjectivism when we start dissecting our thinking process. First, we frame questions in our mind to understand a natural phenomenon we have been observing. Let us not forget that framing the question determine the answer. The answers guide us to frame the foundational hypotheses to build a theory to "explain" the phenomenon under study. Our mind is a product of biological evolutionary requirements; which is further re-programmed by strong human social cultures. In other words, human constructed theories cannot spontaneously become rigorously objective, unless we consciously make them so. We need to develop a methodology of scientific thinking that will automatically force us to make repeated iterative corrections in generating questions as objectively as possible. Those questions will then guide us to re-construct the foundational hypotheses and re-frame the working theories. We are proposing that we add Interaction Process Mapping Epistemology (IPM-E) as a necessary extra thinking tool; which will complement the prevailing Measurable Data Modeling Epistemology (MDM-E). We believe that ongoing interaction processes in nature represent reality ontology. So the iterative application of IPM-E, along with MDM-E, will keep us along the route of ontological reality. We apply this prescription to reveal the universal property, Non-Interaction of Waves, which we have been neglecting for centuries. Using this property, we demonstrate that a large number of ad hoc hypotheses from Classical-, QM-, Relativity- and Astro-Physics can be easily modified to make physics more causal and understandable through common sense logics.

Use of virtual reality technique for the training of motor control in the elderly. Some theoretical considerations.

PubMed

de Bruin, E D; Schoene, D; Pichierri, G; Smith, S T

2010-08-01

Virtual augmented exercise, an emerging technology that can help to promote physical activity and combine the strengths of indoor and outdoor exercise, has recently been proposed as having the potential to increase exercise behavior in older adults. By creating a strong presence in a virtual, interactive environment, distraction can be taken to greater levels while maintaining the benefits of indoor exercises which may result in a shift from negative to positive thoughts about exercise. Recent findings on young participants show that virtual reality training enhances mood, thus, increasing enjoyment and energy. For older adults virtual, interactive environments can influence postural control and fall events by stimulating the sensory cues that are responsible in maintaining balance and orientation. However, the potential of virtual reality training has yet to be explored for older adults. This manuscript describes the potential of dance pad training protocols in the elderly and reports on the theoretical rationale of combining physical game-like exercises with sensory and cognitive challenges in a virtual environment.

SU-E-P-19: A National Collaborative Academic Medical Physics Network: Structure, Activity and Outcomes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thwaites, D

Purpose: A national Australian inter-university medical physics (MP) group was formed in 2011/12, supported by Department of Health Better Access to Radiation Oncology BARO) seed funding. Core membership includes the six universities providing postgraduate MP courses. Objectives include increasing capacity, development and efficiency of national academic MP structures/systems and hence supporting education, clinical training and research, for the MP workforce support. Although the BARO scheme focuses on Radiation Oncology, the group has wider MP interests. Methods: Two further BARO seed grants were achieved: 1) for networked academic activities, including shared-resource teaching, eg using virtual reality systems; MP outreach to schoolsmore » and undergraduates; developing web-based student and registrar education/resources, etc.; and 2) for conjoint ‘translational research’ posts between universities and partner hospitals, to clinically progress advanced RT technologies and to support students and registrars. Each university received 0.5 FTE post from each grant over 2 years (total: $1.75M) and leveraged local additional partner funds. Results: Total funding: $4–5M. Overall there have been 35 (mainly overseas) postholders bringing specific expertise, beginning in early 2013. Periods in Australia have been from 0.25–2 years (median=1). As well as the education activities, research projects include lung/spine SBRT, 4D RT, FFF beams, technology assessment, complex treatment planning, imaging for radiation oncology, DIR, adaptive breast, datamining, radiomics,etc. Observed positive impacts include: increased interest in MP courses, training support, translational research infrastructure and/or clinical practice in the hospitals involved, plus increased collaboration and effectiveness between the universities. Posts are continuing beyond grant end using leveraged funds, providing the basis for sustainability of some posts. Conclusion: The BARO-funded projects have cost-effectively produced a range of positive impacts on training, research and practice in hospitals and between universities. The evaluation of the specific post roles and activities, and their outcomes, has produced focused recommendations on continuation and sustainability. Funding was from the Australian federal Department of Health; leveraged funding was from partner universities and hospitals.« less

Quantum theory of the classical: quantum jumps, Born's Rule and objective classical reality via quantum Darwinism.

PubMed

Zurek, Wojciech Hubert

2018-07-13

The emergence of the classical world from the quantum substrate of our Universe is a long-standing conundrum. In this paper, I describe three insights into the transition from quantum to classical that are based on the recognition of the role of the environment. I begin with the derivation of preferred sets of states that help to define what exists-our everyday classical reality. They emerge as a result of the breaking of the unitary symmetry of the Hilbert space which happens when the unitarity of quantum evolutions encounters nonlinearities inherent in the process of amplification-of replicating information. This derivation is accomplished without the usual tools of decoherence, and accounts for the appearance of quantum jumps and the emergence of preferred pointer states consistent with those obtained via environment-induced superselection, or einselection The pointer states obtained in this way determine what can happen-define events-without appealing to Born's Rule for probabilities. Therefore, p k =| ψ k | 2 can now be deduced from the entanglement-assisted invariance, or envariance -a symmetry of entangled quantum states. With probabilities at hand, one also gains new insights into the foundations of quantum statistical physics. Moreover, one can now analyse the information flows responsible for decoherence. These information flows explain how the perception of objective classical reality arises from the quantum substrate: the effective amplification that they represent accounts for the objective existence of the einselected states of macroscopic quantum systems through the redundancy of pointer state records in their environment-through quantum Darwinism This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Foundations of quantum mechanics and their impact on contemporary society'. © 2018 The Author(s).

The Selimiye Mosque of Edirne, Turkey - AN Immersive and Interactive Virtual Reality Experience Using Htc Vive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kersten, T. P.; Büyüksalih, G.; Tschirschwitz, F.; Kan, T.; Deggim, S.; Kaya, Y.; Baskaraca, A. P.

2017-05-01

Recent advances in contemporary Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are going to have a significant impact on veryday life. Through VR it is possible to virtually explore a computer-generated environment as a different reality, and to immerse oneself into the past or in a virtual museum without leaving the current real-life situation. For such the ultimate VR experience, the user should only see the virtual world. Currently, the user must wear a VR headset which fits around the head and over the eyes to visually separate themselves from the physical world. Via the headset images are fed to the eyes through two small lenses. Cultural heritage monuments are ideally suited both for thorough multi-dimensional geometric documentation and for realistic interactive visualisation in immersive VR applications. Additionally, the game industry offers tools for interactive visualisation of objects to motivate users to virtually visit objects and places. In this paper the generation of a virtual 3D model of the Selimiye mosque in the city of Edirne, Turkey and its processing for data integration into the game engine Unity is presented. The project has been carried out as a co-operation between BİMTAŞ, a company of the Greater Municipality of Istanbul, Turkey and the Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning Lab of the HafenCity University Hamburg, Germany to demonstrate an immersive and interactive visualisation using the new VR system HTC Vive. The workflow from data acquisition to VR visualisation, including the necessary programming for navigation, is described. Furthermore, the possible use (including simultaneous multiple users environments) of such a VR visualisation for a CH monument is discussed in this contribution.

Development of a low-cost virtual reality workstation for training and education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, James A.

1996-01-01

Virtual Reality (VR) is a set of breakthrough technologies that allow a human being to enter and fully experience a 3-dimensional, computer simulated environment. A true virtual reality experience meets three criteria: (1) it involves 3-dimensional computer graphics; (2) it includes real-time feedback and response to user actions; and (3) it must provide a sense of immersion. Good examples of a virtual reality simulator are the flight simulators used by all branches of the military to train pilots for combat in high performance jet fighters. The fidelity of such simulators is extremely high -- but so is the price tag, typically millions of dollars. Virtual reality teaching and training methods are manifestly effective, but the high cost of VR technology has limited its practical application to fields with big budgets, such as military combat simulation, commercial pilot training, and certain projects within the space program. However, in the last year there has been a revolution in the cost of VR technology. The speed of inexpensive personal computers has increased dramatically, especially with the introduction of the Pentium processor and the PCI bus for IBM-compatibles, and the cost of high-quality virtual reality peripherals has plummeted. The result is that many public schools, colleges, and universities can afford a PC-based workstation capable of running immersive virtual reality applications. My goal this summer was to assemble and evaluate such a system.

Virtual reality welder training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Steven A.; Reiners, Dirk; Prachyabrued, Mores; Borst, Christoph W.; Chambers, Terrence L.

2010-01-01

This document describes the Virtual Reality Simulated MIG Lab (sMIG), a system for Virtual Reality welder training. It is designed to reproduce the experience of metal inert gas (MIG) welding faithfully enough to be used as a teaching tool for beginning welding students. To make the experience as realistic as possible it employs physically accurate and tracked input devices, a real-time welding simulation, real-time sound generation and a 3D display for output. Thanks to being a fully digital system it can go beyond providing just a realistic welding experience by giving interactive and immediate feedback to the student to avoid learning wrong movements from day 1.

Sensorimotor enhancement with a mixed reality system for balance and mobility rehabilitation.

PubMed

Fung, Joyce; Perez, Claire F

2011-01-01

We have developed a mixed reality system incorporating virtual reality (VR), surface perturbations and light touch for gait rehabilitation. Haptic touch has emerged as a novel and efficient technique to improve postural control and dynamic stability. Our system combines visual display with the manipulation of physical environments and addition of haptic feedback to enhance balance and mobility post stroke. A research study involving 9 participants with stroke and 9 age-matched healthy individuals show that the haptic cue provided while walking is an effective means of improving gait stability in people post stroke, especially during challenging environmental conditions such as downslope walking.

Strategic Leadership: Integrating Strategy and Leadership in Colleges and Universities. ACE/Praeger Series on Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrill, Richard L.

2007-01-01

"Strategic Leadership" addresses deep and continuing issues relating to strategy, governance, management, and leadership in higher education during a period of rapid change. Each of these themes is at the heart of current debates about the capacity of universities to respond to new expectations, market realities, reduced state funding,…

The Distinctive Mission of Catholic Colleges & Universities and Faculty Reward Policies for Community Engagement: Aspirational or Operational?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Joan

2017-01-01

College and university mission statements commonly declare contributions for the public good and the development of engaged and responsible citizens as central to their institution's work. Yet, a different narrative is often revealed when rhetoric meets reality in the promotion and tenure policies for faculty. Since Ernest Boyer's seminal work…

The Student as Co-Producer: Learning from Public Administration about the Student-University Relationship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCulloch, Alistair

2009-01-01

The dominant metaphor/model used to characterise the relationship of the student to the university, that is, the "student as consumer", is partial and not appropriate to the realities of contemporary higher education. This article suggests that co-production, a concept drawn from the public administration literature, offers a more…

IT Implementation in ITE in the Limpopo Province (South Africa): A Dream or Reality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monobe, Ratau John

2011-01-01

This paper describes the results of a survey about the most critical issues facing the implementation of IT (information technology) ITE (initial teacher education) in all the HBUs (historically black universities) in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Over 250 responses were received and both universities in the Limpopo Province were…

Knowledge and Skill Competency Values of an Undergraduate University Managed Cooperative Internship Program: A Case Study in Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barbarash, David

2016-01-01

Students from the Purdue University landscape architecture program undergo a year-long managed cooperative internship between their junior and senior years of enrollment. During this paid internship students experience the realities of a professional design office outside of the protection of the academic classroom. Through surveys of faculty…

Silicon Valley's Processing Needs versus San Jose State University's Manufacturing Systems Processing Component: Implications for Industrial Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obi, Samuel C.

2004-01-01

Manufacturing professionals within universities tend to view manufacturing systems from a global perspective. This perspective tends to assume that manufacturing processes are employed equally in every manufacturing enterprise, irrespective of the geography and the needs of the people in those diverse regions. But in reality local and societal…

When Tensions between Ideology and Practice Become Personal: Unpacking Mentorship in Early Childhood Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Haeny S.; Larkin, Kelly Ann

2018-01-01

University-based teacher education programs are criticized for being too theoretical, disconnected from the everyday realities of schools. To bridge this gap, teacher education programs give students year-long field experiences under the joint tutelage of mentor teachers and university faculty. However, this assumes that mentor teachers will not…

Developing Capacity for Research and Teaching in Higher Education: A Case of Makerere University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mugimu, Christopher B.; Nakabugo, Mary Goretti; Katunguka-Rwakishaya, Eli

2013-01-01

Research and teaching are key pillars in higher education. This article examines the factors associated with the current faculty research and teaching agenda at Makerere University (MU) and explores the realities of ongoing capacity building for faculty in research and teaching. This research was guided by the following questions: What motivates…

Realizing the Potential of Information Resources: Information, Technology, and Services. Track 3: Serving Clients with Client/Server.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CAUSE, Boulder, CO.

Eight papers are presented from the 1995 CAUSE conference track on client/server issues faced by managers of information technology at colleges and universities. The papers include: (1) "The Realities of Client/Server Development and Implementation" (Mary Ann Carr and Alan Hartwig), which examines Carnegie Mellon University's transition…

An Analysis of the Perceptions and Resources of Large University Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cash, Ceilidh Barlow; Letargo, Jessa; Graether, Steffen P.; Jacobs, Shoshanah R.

2017-01-01

Large class learning is a reality that is not exclusive to the first-year experience at midsized, comprehensive universities; upper-year courses have similarly high enrollment, with many class sizes greater than 200 students. Research into the efficacy and deficiencies of large undergraduate classes has been ongoing for more than 100 years, with…

Land-Grant Universities and their Continuing Challenge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, G. Lester, Ed.

A series of essays address the question: What can and might we expect of the land-grant system and values today and in the future? The essays include: what's ahead for the land-grant colleges (Ralph K. Huitt); the land-grant university, myth and reality (David Madsen); colleges of agriculture revisited (Henry R. Fortmann, Jerome K. Pasto, Thomas…

Student Expectations of Tertiary Institutions: A Case Study of the Fiji National University (FNU)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Shana Nigar

2012-01-01

Education is a human right and Fiji's tertiary education board recently declared that all tertiary institutions in Fiji must abide by the framework in order to meet student-customers' needs. The Fiji National University's (FNU's) destiny to be Fiji's leading higher education provider could be a reality if students and staff's expectations are…

The Leaning Ivory Tower. Latino Professors in American Universities. SUNY Series in Hispanic Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Padilla, Raymond V., Ed.; Chavez, Rudolfo Chavez, Ed.

Authors represented in this collection challenge the hegemony that is fostered and maintained by the colleges and universities in which these Latino professors function daily. Each of the writers presents the reality of survival in academia. Collectively, these narratives are connected by themes of personal struggle, marginality, and valuing the…

First Steps Towards a University Social Network on Personal Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marín-Diaz, Veronica; Vázquez Martínez, Ana Isabel; McMullin, Karen Josephine

2014-01-01

The evolution of the media and the Internet in education today is an unquestionable reality. At the university level, the use of Web 2.0 tools has become increasingly visible in the new resources that professors have been incorporating both into the classroom and into their research, reinforcing the methodological renewal that the implementation…

Four Rationales of HE Internationalization: Perspectives of U.K. Universities on Attracting Students from Former Soviet Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chankseliani, Maia

2018-01-01

In the context marked by increasing competition between nation-states and universities, expanding individualization, growing influence of nonstate actors, and the new reality of Brexit, this study uses narrative and numeric data to explore the rationales of U.K. higher education (HE) internationalization, specifically motives of attracting…

What Factors Support or Inhibit Secondary Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers' Implementation of Problem-Solving Tasks during Professional Experience?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Jake; Anderson, Judy

2016-01-01

There is an acknowledged gap between the theory presented in university preparation programmes and the reality of classroom practice that has resulted in many secondary mathematics pre-service teachers failing to implement university-endorsed teaching strategies. Using responses to a questionnaire and interviews, this qualitative study examined…

AAFCS Accreditation: From Dream to Reality at Jacksonville State University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Debra K.; Roberts, W. Tim; Boggs, Robbie; Townsel, Kim; Frazier, Jeannie; Marsh, Jill

2014-01-01

Accreditation by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) was a long-held dream of the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Unit at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. After more than 6 decades of preparing FCS students for life and the workplace, the FCS Unit resolutely began the journey to the coveted and honored…

The Role of Mediation within University Protocols concerning Student Complaints and Appeals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hoorebeek, Mark; Gale, Chris; Walker, Stuart

2011-01-01

Purpose: As the predicted escalation in the litigation becomes a reality for universities in the UK, increasing importance is placed on the consideration given to the integrity of institutional protocols regulating decision making at all stages of student progression. The purpose of this paper is to outline the structures that are in place to…

Globalisation and the University: Myths and Realities in an Unequal World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altbach, Philip G.

2004-01-01

Much has been said about the impact of globalisation on higher education. Some have argued that globalisation, the Internet and the scientific community will level the playing field in the new age of knowledge interdependence. Others claim that globalisation means both worldwide inequality and the McDonaldisation of the university. It is argued…

The US Bayh-Dole Act and Revisionism Redux

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremer, Howard; Allen, Joseph; Latker, Norman J.

2009-01-01

In the past several years various published papers have questioned whether the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (The University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act) has in reality been a determining factor in promoting the transfer of technology from US universities, as has been credited to it. This paper responds to that criticism, presenting facts and…

Why Quark Rhymes with Pork

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mermin, N. David

2016-03-01

Part I. Reference Frame Columns, Physics Today, 1988-2009: 1. What's wrong with this Lagrangean? April 1988; 2. What's wrong with this library? August 1988; 3. What's wrong with these prizes? January 1989; 4. What's wrong with this pillow? April 1989; 5. What's wrong with this prose? May 1989; 6. What's wrong with these equations? October 1989; 7. What's wrong with these elements of reality? June 1990; 8. What's wrong with these reviews? August 1990; 9. What's wrong with those epochs? November 1990; 10. Publishing in computopia, May 1991; 11. What's wrong with those grants, June 1991; 12. What's wrong in computopia, April 1992; 13. What's wrong with those talks? November 1992; 14. Two lectures on the wave-particle duality, January 1993; 15. A quarrel we can settle, December 1993; 16. What's wrong with this temptation, June 1994; 17. What's wrong with this sustaining myth, March 1996; 18. The golemization of relativity, April 1996; 19. Diary of a Nobel guest, March 1997; 20. What's wrong with this reading, October 1997; 21. How not to create tigers, August 1999; 22. What's wrong with this elegance? March 2000; 23. The contemplation of quantum computation, July 2000; 24. What's wrong with these questions? February 2001; 25. What's wrong with this quantum world? February 2004; 26. Could Feynman have said this? May 2004; 27. My life with Einstein, December 2005; 28. What has quantum mechanics to do with factoring? April 2007; 29. Some curious facts about quantum factoring, October 2007; 30. What's bad about this habit, May 2009; Part II. Shedding Bad Habits: 31. Fixing the shifty split, Physics Today, July 2012; 32. What I think about Now, Physics Today, March 2014; 33. Why QBism is not the Copenhagen interpretation, lecture, Vienna, June 2014; Part III. More from Professor Mozart: 34. What's wrong with this book? Unpublished, 1992; 35. What's wrong with these stanzas? Physics Today, July 2007; Part IV. More to be said: 36. The complete diary of a Nobel guest, unpublished, 1996; 37. Elegance in physics, unpublished lecture, Minneapolis, 1999; 38. Questions for 2105, unpublished lecture, Zurich, 2005; Part V. Some People I've Known: 39. My life with Fisher, lecture, Rutgers University, 2001; 40. My life with Kohn, 2003, updated 2013; 41. My life with Wilson, lecture, Cornell University, 2014; 42. My life with Peierls, unpublished lecture, Santa Barbara, 1997; Part VI. Summing It Up: 43. Writing physics, lecture, Cornell University, 1999.

Heart rate response to fear conditioning and virtual reality in subthreshold PTSD.

PubMed

Roy, Michael J; Costanzo, Michelle E; Jovanovic, Tanja; Leaman, Suzanne; Taylor, Patricia; Norrholm, Seth D; Rizzo, Albert A

2013-01-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant health concern for U.S. military service members (SMs) returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Early intervention to prevent chronic disability requires greater understanding of subthreshold PTSD symptoms, which are associated with impaired physical health, mental health, and risk for delayed onset PTSD. We report a comparison of physiologic responses for recently deployed SMs with high and low subthreshold PTSD symptoms, respectively, to a fear conditioning task and novel virtual reality paradigm (Virtual Iraq). The high symptom group demonstrated elevated heart rate (HR) response during fear conditioning. Virtual reality sequences evoked significant HR responses which predicted variance of the PTSD Checklist-Military Version self-report. Our results support the value of physiologic assessment during fear conditioning and combat-related virtual reality exposure as complementary tools in detecting subthreshold PTSD symptoms in Veterans.

Universality for shape dependence of Casimir effects from Weyl anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Rong-Xin; Chu, Chong-Sun

2018-03-01

We reveal elegant relations between the shape dependence of the Casimir effects and Weyl anomaly in boundary conformal field theories (BCFT). We show that for any BCFT which has a description in terms of an effective action, the near boundary divergent behavior of the renormalized stress tensor is completely determined by the central charges of the theory. These relations are verified by free BCFTs. We also test them with holographic models of BCFT and find exact agreement. We propose that these relations between Casimir coefficients and central charges hold for any BCFT. With the holographic models, we reproduce not only the precise form of the near boundary divergent behavior of the stress tensor, but also the surface counter term that is needed to make the total energy finite. As they are proportional to the central charges, the near boundary divergence of the stress tensor must be physical and cannot be dropped by further artificial renormalization. Our results thus provide affirmative support on the physical nature of the divergent energy density near the boundary, whose reality has been a long-standing controversy in the literature.

Cosmic Convergence: Art and Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayo, Elizabeth A.; Zisholtz, E.; Hilton, H.

2010-01-01

The I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium is a major educational and teaching resource for South Carolina State University, K-12 schools, other universities and the community of Orangeburg and well beyond. The concept of creating a museum with a planetarium on the campus of SC State was ahead of its time. Today scholars are writing about the unity of creative disciplines. Through its integration of the arts, humanities and sciences, the Stanback, the only art museum with a planetarium at any of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and one of the few in the nation, stands in the forefront of modern thinking. Cosmic Convergence: Art and Science, opening at the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium in February 2010, will feature the works of Mildred Thompson (1936-2003), a prominent African American artist who worked in the media of painting, drawing, print making, sculpture, and photography. Thompson’s artwork shows the strong influences of her interest in physics, astronomy, and metaphysics as well as music and spiritualism. “My work in the visual arts is, and has always been, a continuous search for understanding. It is an expression of purpose and reflects a personal interpretation of the Universe.” Cosmic Convergence will explore the meeting of Art and Science through Mildred Thompson's work and the scientific basis of that work. The paintings and sculptures of the exhibit will be combined with astronomical images showing both the reality and interpretation of the surrounding Universe. Support for this work was provided by the NSF PAARE program to South Carolina State University under award AST-0750814.

The Oxford Questions on the foundations of quantum physics

PubMed Central

Briggs, G. A. D.; Butterfield, J. N.; Zeilinger, A.

2013-01-01

The twentieth century saw two fundamental revolutions in physics—relativity and quantum. Daily use of these theories can numb the sense of wonder at their immense empirical success. Does their instrumental effectiveness stand on the rock of secure concepts or the sand of unresolved fundamentals? Does measuring a quantum system probe, or even create, reality or merely change belief? Must relativity and quantum theory just coexist or might we find a new theory which unifies the two? To bring such questions into sharper focus, we convened a conference on Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality. Some issues remain as controversial as ever, but some are being nudged by theory's secret weapon of experiment. PMID:24062626

Deformation-based augmented reality for hepatic surgery.

PubMed

Haouchine, Nazim; Dequidt, Jérémie; Berger, Marie-Odile; Cotin, Stéphane

2013-01-01

In this paper we introduce a method for augmenting the laparoscopic view during hepatic tumor resection. Using augmented reality techniques, vessels, tumors and cutting planes computed from pre-operative data can be overlaid onto the laparoscopic video. Compared to current techniques, which are limited to a rigid registration of the pre-operative liver anatomy with the intra-operative image, we propose a real-time, physics-based, non-rigid registration. The main strength of our approach is that the deformable model can also be used to regularize the data extracted from the computer vision algorithms. We show preliminary results on a video sequence which clearly highlights the interest of using physics-based model for elastic registration.

E-virtual reality exposure therapy in acrophobia: A pilot study.

PubMed

Levy, Fanny; Leboucher, Pierre; Rautureau, Gilles; Jouvent, Roland

2016-06-01

Virtual reality therapy is already used for anxiety disorders as an alternative to in vivo and in imagino exposure. To our knowledge, however, no one has yet proposed using remote virtual reality (e-virtual reality). The aim of the present study was to assess e-virtual reality in an acrophobic population. Six individuals with acrophobia each underwent six sessions (two sessions per week) of virtual reality exposure therapy. The first three were remote sessions, while the last three were traditional sessions in the physical presence of the therapist. Anxiety (STAI form Y-A, visual analog scale, heart rate), presence, technical difficulties and therapeutic alliance (Working Alliance Inventory) were measured. In order to control the conditions in which these measures were made, all the sessions were conducted in hospital. None of the participants dropped out. The remote sessions were well accepted. None of the participants verbalized reluctance. No major technical problems were reported. None of the sessions were cancelled or interrupted because of software incidents. Measures (anxiety, presence, therapeutic alliance) were comparable across the two conditions. e-Virtual reality can therefore be used to treat acrophobic disorders. However, control studies are needed to assess online feasibility, therapeutic effects and the mechanisms behind online presence. © The Author(s) 2015.

One Teacher's Experience of Teaching Physical Education and Another School Subject: An Inter-Role Conflict?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iannucci, Cassandra; MacPhail, Ann

2018-01-01

Purpose: This study was situated within a longitudinal study of 5 teachers examining the realities of teaching physical education by determining the impact of individual dispositions and contextual factors on the career trajectories of postprimary physical education teachers in Ireland (Iannucci & MacPhail, 2017). One of these participants,…

Interpretation and Enactment of Senior Secondary Physical Education: Pedagogic Realities and the Expression of Arnoldian Dimensions of Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Trent D.; Penney, Dawn

2017-01-01

Background: New curriculum developments present opportunities for established thinking and practice in physical education to be reaffirmed or challenged in government, professional and institutional arenas. The introduction of a new official text for the Victorian Certificate of Education Physical Education [VCEPE] in 2011 provided a prompt for…

Robotic and Virtual Reality BCIs Using Spatial Tactile and Auditory Oddball Paradigms.

PubMed

Rutkowski, Tomasz M

2016-01-01

The paper reviews nine robotic and virtual reality (VR) brain-computer interface (BCI) projects developed by the author, in collaboration with his graduate students, within the BCI-lab research group during its association with University of Tsukuba, Japan. The nine novel approaches are discussed in applications to direct brain-robot and brain-virtual-reality-agent control interfaces using tactile and auditory BCI technologies. The BCI user intentions are decoded from the brainwaves in realtime using a non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) and they are translated to a symbiotic robot or virtual reality agent thought-based only control. A communication protocol between the BCI output and the robot or the virtual environment is realized in a symbiotic communication scenario using an user datagram protocol (UDP), which constitutes an internet of things (IoT) control scenario. Results obtained from healthy users reproducing simple brain-robot and brain-virtual-agent control tasks in online experiments support the research goal of a possibility to interact with robotic devices and virtual reality agents using symbiotic thought-based BCI technologies. An offline BCI classification accuracy boosting method, using a previously proposed information geometry derived approach, is also discussed in order to further support the reviewed robotic and virtual reality thought-based control paradigms.

Robotic and Virtual Reality BCIs Using Spatial Tactile and Auditory Oddball Paradigms

PubMed Central

Rutkowski, Tomasz M.

2016-01-01

The paper reviews nine robotic and virtual reality (VR) brain–computer interface (BCI) projects developed by the author, in collaboration with his graduate students, within the BCI–lab research group during its association with University of Tsukuba, Japan. The nine novel approaches are discussed in applications to direct brain-robot and brain-virtual-reality-agent control interfaces using tactile and auditory BCI technologies. The BCI user intentions are decoded from the brainwaves in realtime using a non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) and they are translated to a symbiotic robot or virtual reality agent thought-based only control. A communication protocol between the BCI output and the robot or the virtual environment is realized in a symbiotic communication scenario using an user datagram protocol (UDP), which constitutes an internet of things (IoT) control scenario. Results obtained from healthy users reproducing simple brain-robot and brain-virtual-agent control tasks in online experiments support the research goal of a possibility to interact with robotic devices and virtual reality agents using symbiotic thought-based BCI technologies. An offline BCI classification accuracy boosting method, using a previously proposed information geometry derived approach, is also discussed in order to further support the reviewed robotic and virtual reality thought-based control paradigms. PMID:27999538

SmartSIM - a virtual reality simulator for laparoscopy training using a generic physics engine.

PubMed

Khan, Zohaib Amjad; Kamal, Nabeel; Hameed, Asad; Mahmood, Amama; Zainab, Rida; Sadia, Bushra; Mansoor, Shamyl Bin; Hasan, Osman

2017-09-01

Virtual reality (VR) training simulators have started playing a vital role in enhancing surgical skills, such as hand-eye coordination in laparoscopy, and practicing surgical scenarios that cannot be easily created using physical models. We describe a new VR simulator for basic training in laparoscopy, i.e. SmartSIM, which has been developed using a generic open-source physics engine called the simulation open framework architecture (SOFA). This paper describes the systems perspective of SmartSIM including design details of both hardware and software components, while highlighting the critical design decisions. Some of the distinguishing features of SmartSIM include: (i) an easy-to-fabricate custom-built hardware interface; (ii) use of a generic physics engine to facilitate wider accessibility of our work and flexibility in terms of using various graphical modelling algorithms and their implementations; and (iii) an intelligent and smart evaluation mechanism that facilitates unsupervised and independent learning. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simulation-Based Training for Colonoscopy

PubMed Central

Preisler, Louise; Svendsen, Morten Bo Søndergaard; Nerup, Nikolaj; Svendsen, Lars Bo; Konge, Lars

2015-01-01

Abstract The aim of this study was to create simulation-based tests with credible pass/fail standards for 2 different fidelities of colonoscopy models. Only competent practitioners should perform colonoscopy. Reliable and valid simulation-based tests could be used to establish basic competency in colonoscopy before practicing on patients. Twenty-five physicians (10 consultants with endoscopic experience and 15 fellows with very little endoscopic experience) were tested on 2 different simulator models: a virtual-reality simulator and a physical model. Tests were repeated twice on each simulator model. Metrics with discriminatory ability were identified for both modalities and reliability was determined. The contrasting-groups method was used to create pass/fail standards and the consequences of these were explored. The consultants significantly performed faster and scored higher than the fellows on both the models (P < 0.001). Reliability analysis showed Cronbach α = 0.80 and 0.87 for the virtual-reality and the physical model, respectively. The established pass/fail standards failed one of the consultants (virtual-reality simulator) and allowed one fellow to pass (physical model). The 2 tested simulations-based modalities provided reliable and valid assessments of competence in colonoscopy and credible pass/fail standards were established for both the tests. We propose to use these standards in simulation-based training programs before proceeding to supervised training on patients. PMID:25634177

Relativity, entanglement and the physical reality of the photon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, S. C.

2002-04-01

Recent experiments on the classic Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) setting claim to test the compatibility between nonlocal quantum entanglement and the (special) theory of relativity. Confirmation of quantum theory has led to the interpretation that Einstein's image of physical reality for each photon in the EPR pair cannot be maintained. A detailed critique on two representative experiments is presented following the original EPR notion of local realism. It is argued that relativity does not enter into the picture, however for the Bell-Bohm version of local realism in terms of hidden variables such experiments are significant. Of the two alternatives, namely incompleteness of quantum theory for describing an individual quantum system, and the ensemble view, it is only the former that has been ruled out by the experiments. An alternative approach gives a statistical ensemble interpretation of the observed data, and the significant conclusion that these experiments do not deny physical reality of the photon is obtained. After discussing the need for a photon model, a vortex structure is proposed based on the space-time invariant property-spin, and pure gauge fields. To test the prime role of spin for photons and the angular-momentum interpretation of electromagnetic fields, experimental schemes feasible in modern laboratories are suggested.

Helicopter Aircrew Training Using Fused Reality

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

PROCESS Blue screening involving human filming usually employs a blue or green backdrop, since skin contains little blue or green hue. These backdrops...Helicopter Aircrew Training Using Fused Reality 27 - 10 RTO-MP-HFM-136 a. b. c. d. e. f. Figure 13: Frames Showing Physical Object ( witch ... filming . However, when a user’s hands disrupt the light from a helmet-mounted light source, the shadows cast onto the distant background are diffuse and

Effects of substituting a portion of standard physiotherapy time with virtual reality games among community-dwelling stroke survivors

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Evidence indicates that the continuation of therapy among community-dwelling stroke survivors improves physical function. Community rehabilitation programmes often face limitations in terms of resources. It is imperative to include new motivational interventions to encourage some level of non-clinician management. The aim of this study was to determine whether there were any changes in physical function and activities of daily living when substituting a portion of the standard physiotherapy time with virtual reality games among community-dwelling stroke survivors. Methods In this controlled trial, the experimental group received 30 minutes of virtual reality balance games in addition to 90 minutes of standard physiotherapy. The control group continued with their two hours of routine standard physiotherapy. Both groups received 12 therapy sessions: two-hour sessions twice per week for six continuous weeks. Changes in physical function, activities of daily living and balance ability were assessed using the Timed Up and Go test, 30-second Sit to Stand test, Timed Ten-Metre Walk test, Six-Minute Walk test and the Barthel Index, and static balance was assessed using a probalance board. Results Twenty-eight participants completed post-intervention assessments. The results showed a significant within-subject effect on the Timed Up and Go test: F (1, 26) = 5.83, p = 0.02; and the 30-second Sit to Stand test; F (1, 26) = 13.50, p = 0.001. The between-subject effect was not significant (p > 0.05) for any of the outcome measurements. Conclusion Substituting a portion of the standard physiotherapy time with virtual reality games was equally effective in maintaining physical function outcomes and activities of daily living among community-dwelling stroke survivors. Trial Registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register, ACTRN12613000478718 PMID:24330250

National Summit on Campus Public Safety. Strategies for Colleges and Universities in a Homeland Security Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Justice, 2005

2005-01-01

The aftermath of September 11, 2001 prompted the reexamination of the nation's defenses and vulnerabilities in light of new realities. Every sector of society, particularly those who protect the well being of communities, required change. Safety and security operations on the nation's college and university campuses are no exception. The nation's…

Curricula and Pedagogic Potentials When Educating Diverse Students in Higher Education: Students' "Funds of Knowledge" as a Bridge to Disciplinary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daddow, Angela

2016-01-01

With the massification of higher education in a knowledge-driven economy, Western universities have struggled to keep pace with the cultural, linguistic, educational and economic diversity of university students and the complex realities of their lifeworlds. This has generated systemic inequities for diverse or "non-traditional"…

The Invisible Reality of Whiteness: An Examination of Whiteness in Jesuit Higher Education Student Affairs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitz, Diane Shirley

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to promote an ethic of care and justice through the examination of the manifestations of whiteness within student affairs on a Jesuit Catholic university campus. To achieve this purpose a qualitative, exploratory case study was used to examine a student affairs division at Western Jesuit University (pseudonym), an…

"The Best Education in the World": Reality, Repetition or Cliche? International Students' Reasons for Choosing an English University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemsley-Brown, Jane

2012-01-01

Universities and students collaborate in a shared language of excellence, quality and choice, and become part of the same discourse of marketisation, commodification and globalisation, where each plays their part as provider and consumer in a highly competitive international area. Whilst there are an increasing number of studies which focus on the…

Differentiated Pedagogy to Address Learner Diversity in Secondary Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvis, Jane M.; Pill, Shane A.; Noble, Anna G.

2017-01-01

This article discusses the challenge of addressing student diversity in secondary physical education (PE) classes. Contemporary curriculum documents and teacher standards emphasize differentiated pedagogy in order to engage and challenge all learners. However, the reality of designing effective learning experiences for diverse students represents…

Developing a Virtual Physics World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wegener, Margaret; McIntyre, Timothy J.; McGrath, Dominic; Savage, Craig M.; Williamson, Michael

2012-01-01

In this article, the successful implementation of a development cycle for a physics teaching package based on game-like virtual reality software is reported. The cycle involved several iterations of evaluating students' use of the package followed by instructional and software development. The evaluation used a variety of techniques, including…

Student trajectories in physics: the need for analysis through a socio-cultural lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapata, Mara

2010-09-01

An analysis of student connections through time and space relative to the core discipline of physics is attempted, as viewed through the lens of actor-network-theory, by Antonia Candela. Using lenses of cultural realities, networks, and perceived power in the discourse of one specific university in the capital city of Mexico and one undergraduate physics classroom, the trajectories and itineraries of students are analyzed, relative to a physics professor's pedagogical practices. This ethnographic study then yields comparisons between Mexican undergraduate students and students from the United States. Actor network theory recognizes that the symbiotic relationship existing between an actor and a continuum of space and time is defined by the symbiotic yet interdependent relationships and networks of practice (Lemke in Downward causation: Minds, bodies, and matter 2000). As part of this study and in line with actor-network-theory, human actors and non-human participants were viewed in relation to how subjects acted and were acted upon within networks of practice. Through this forum I reflect on this work with particular focus on the issues of situatedness of actors from a sociocultural perspective and how established networks viewed within this perspective frame and subsequently impact student trajectories and itineraries. In essence I argue for a need to look at a myriad of further complexities driving the symbiotic relationships being analyzed.

Perspectives in quantum physics: Epistemological, ontological and pedagogical An investigation into student and expert perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics, with implications for modern physics instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baily, Charles Raymond

A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our studies suggest this notoriously difficult task may be frustrated by the intuitively realist perspectives of introductory students, and a lack of ontological flexibility in their conceptions of light and matter. We have developed a framework for understanding and characterizing student perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics, and demonstrate the differential impact on student thinking of the myriad ways instructors approach interpretive themes in their introductory courses. Like expert physicists, students interpret quantum phenomena differently, and these interpretations are significantly influenced by their overall stances on questions central to the so-called measurement problem: Is the wave function physically real, or simply a mathematical tool? Is the collapse of the wave function an ad hoc rule, or a physical transition not described by any equation? Does an electron, being a form of matter, exist as a localized particle at all times? These questions, which are of personal and academic interest to our students, are largely only superficially addressed in our introductory courses, often for fear of opening a Pandora's Box of student questions, none of which have easy answers. We show how a transformed modern physics curriculum (recently implemented at the University of Colorado) may positively impact student perspectives on indeterminacy and wave-particle duality, by making questions of classical and quantum reality a central theme of our course, but also by making the beliefs of our students, and not just those of scientists, an explicit topic of discussion.

Optical methods for enabling focus cues in head-mounted displays for virtual and augmented reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hua, Hong

2017-05-01

Developing head-mounted displays (HMD) that offer uncompromised optical pathways to both digital and physical worlds without encumbrance and discomfort confronts many grand challenges, both from technological perspectives and human factors. Among the many challenges, minimizing visual discomfort is one of the key obstacles. One of the key contributing factors to visual discomfort is the lack of the ability to render proper focus cues in HMDs to stimulate natural eye accommodation responses, which leads to the well-known accommodation-convergence cue discrepancy problem. In this paper, I will provide a summary on the various optical methods approaches toward enabling focus cues in HMDs for both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Perform light and optic experiments in Augmented Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wozniak, Peter; Vauderwange, Oliver; Curticapean, Dan; Javahiraly, Nicolas; Israel, Kai

2015-10-01

In many scientific studies lens experiments are part of the curriculum. The conducted experiments are meant to give the students a basic understanding for the laws of optics and its applications. Most of the experiments need special hardware like e.g. an optical bench, light sources, apertures and different lens types. Therefore it is not possible for the students to conduct any of the experiments outside of the university's laboratory. Simple optical software simulators enabling the students to virtually perform lens experiments already exist, but are mostly desktop or web browser based. Augmented Reality (AR) is a special case of mediated and mixed reality concepts, where computers are used to add, subtract or modify one's perception of reality. As a result of the success and widespread availability of handheld mobile devices, like e.g. tablet computers and smartphones, mobile augmented reality applications are easy to use. Augmented reality can be easily used to visualize a simulated optical bench. The students can interactively modify properties like e.g. lens type, lens curvature, lens diameter, lens refractive index and the positions of the instruments in space. Light rays can be visualized and promote an additional understanding of the laws of optics. An AR application like this is ideally suited to prepare the actual laboratory sessions and/or recap the teaching content. The authors will present their experience with handheld augmented reality applications and their possibilities for light and optic experiments without the needs for specialized optical hardware.

Molecular Rift: Virtual Reality for Drug Designers.

PubMed

Norrby, Magnus; Grebner, Christoph; Eriksson, Joakim; Boström, Jonas

2015-11-23

Recent advances in interaction design have created new ways to use computers. One example is the ability to create enhanced 3D environments that simulate physical presence in the real world--a virtual reality. This is relevant to drug discovery since molecular models are frequently used to obtain deeper understandings of, say, ligand-protein complexes. We have developed a tool (Molecular Rift), which creates a virtual reality environment steered with hand movements. Oculus Rift, a head-mounted display, is used to create the virtual settings. The program is controlled by gesture-recognition, using the gaming sensor MS Kinect v2, eliminating the need for standard input devices. The Open Babel toolkit was integrated to provide access to powerful cheminformatics functions. Molecular Rift was developed with a focus on usability, including iterative test-group evaluations. We conclude with reflections on virtual reality's future capabilities in chemistry and education. Molecular Rift is open source and can be downloaded from GitHub.

Augmented reality system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chien-Liang; Su, Yu-Zheng; Hung, Min-Wei; Huang, Kuo-Cheng

2010-08-01

In recent years, Augmented Reality (AR)[1][2][3] is very popular in universities and research organizations. The AR technology has been widely used in Virtual Reality (VR) fields, such as sophisticated weapons, flight vehicle development, data model visualization, virtual training, entertainment and arts. AR has characteristics to enhance the display output as a real environment with specific user interactive functions or specific object recognitions. It can be use in medical treatment, anatomy training, precision instrument casting, warplane guidance, engineering and distance robot control. AR has a lot of vantages than VR. This system developed combines sensors, software and imaging algorithms to make users feel real, actual and existing. Imaging algorithms include gray level method, image binarization method, and white balance method in order to make accurate image recognition and overcome the effects of light.

Connecting the Dots between Math and Reality: A Study of Critical Thinking in High School Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loper, Timothy K.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this mixed method study was to discover whether training in understanding relationships between variables would help students read and interpret equations for the purposes of problem solving in physics. Twenty students from two physics classes at a private Catholic high school participated in a one group pretest-posttest unit with…

Effects of virtual reality exercise for Korean adults with schizophrenia in a closed ward.

PubMed

Jo, Garam; Rossow-Kimball, Brenda; Park, Gwitaek; Lee, Yongho

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of virtual reality exercise (VRE) using Nintendo Wii-Fit on physical fitness of Korean adults with schizophrenia living in a mental health facility located in South Korea. Two male participants diagnosed with schizophrenia, ages 53 and 61, were recruited and selected for inclusion in this study. The intervention using the Nintendo Wii-Fit consisted of 35-min sessions, 3 times per week for 8 weeks and was facilitated by the primary researcher and two graduate students. The senior fitness test and 10-m walking test were used to measure the physical functioning, specifically, physical fitness and mobility, of the participants. The study was divided into three phases using an A-B-A single-subject design and involved multiple repeated measures of functional physical fitness. Both participants were evaluated each week for the duration of 18 weeks. Both participants exhibited measureable improvement in some of the physical fitness measures, but not in the mobility. These results thus provide preliminary evidence to support the use of VRE to improve physical function for Korean adults with schizophrenia as an alternative exercise regimen to the conventional exercise.

Explanation of relativistic phenomena on the basis of interactions of particle energy, applied energy, and field energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernando, Viraj

2011-09-01

This paper formulates a coherent theory of occurrence of relativistic phenomena in their interconnection in a feedback loop, unlike other theories, by tracing back concepts that Newton held but suppressed, when he developed his mechanics in his Principia. Despite Newtonian mechanics being based on a closed system, Newton in the General Scholium has indicated that in reality thee is in an open system, where 'a certain most subtle spirit' participates and directs all interactions from motion of bodies, to motion of light, to how the human brain operates. We have identified this 'most subtle spirit' as the non-empirical 'universal governing field' and that no empirical interaction in this universe can occur without exchange of energy between the empirical interactants and the governing field. By analyzing the energy momentum equation, we have demonstrated that everything empirical has a non-empirical substratum, identified with Spinoza's primitive substance, which binds everything in the universe to the field and through it to one another. Algorithm of Motion is founded on the Pythagorean character of the energy-momentum equation, which is applicable to all velocities 0

[Development of the unexpected reality scale for childcare training].

PubMed

Matsuda, Yuko; Shitara, Saeko; Hamada, Shoko

2016-10-01

This study aimed to develop a scale for unexpected reality for childcare training (Study 1) and examine the change and influence it exerts on the efficacy of preschool teachers (Study 2). In Study 1, the sample consisted of 571 university and junior college students enrolled in a childcare course. After exploratory factor analysis, four factors were extracted: “actual feelings for childcare as a field of study,” “difficulties faced during involvement with children,” “negative aspects of the childcare worker,” and “severity of work.” The study’s scale was shown to be internally consistent and valid. In Study 2, the sample consisted of 122 junior college students enrolled in a childcare course. The results showed that the high-scoring groups of each unexpected reality subscales experienced less unexpected reality in the subsequent training session. Moreover, the results of multiple regression showed that preschool teacher efficacy was predicted positively by “actual feelings for childcare as a field of study” and negatively by “difficulties faced during involvement with children.” Thus, we suggest that for effective pre- and post-guidance of childcare training, unexpected realities should be considered.

Augmented reality and photogrammetry: A synergy to visualize physical and virtual city environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portalés, Cristina; Lerma, José Luis; Navarro, Santiago

2010-01-01

Close-range photogrammetry is based on the acquisition of imagery to make accurate measurements and, eventually, three-dimensional (3D) photo-realistic models. These models are a photogrammetric product per se. They are usually integrated into virtual reality scenarios where additional data such as sound, text or video can be introduced, leading to multimedia virtual environments. These environments allow users both to navigate and interact on different platforms such as desktop PCs, laptops and small hand-held devices (mobile phones or PDAs). In very recent years, a new technology derived from virtual reality has emerged: Augmented Reality (AR), which is based on mixing real and virtual environments to boost human interactions and real-life navigations. The synergy of AR and photogrammetry opens up new possibilities in the field of 3D data visualization, navigation and interaction far beyond the traditional static navigation and interaction in front of a computer screen. In this paper we introduce a low-cost outdoor mobile AR application to integrate buildings of different urban spaces. High-accuracy 3D photo-models derived from close-range photogrammetry are integrated in real (physical) urban worlds. The augmented environment that is presented herein requires for visualization a see-through video head mounted display (HMD), whereas user's movement navigation is achieved in the real world with the help of an inertial navigation sensor. After introducing the basics of AR technology, the paper will deal with real-time orientation and tracking in combined physical and virtual city environments, merging close-range photogrammetry and AR. There are, however, some software and complex issues, which are discussed in the paper.

Virtual reality for intelligent and interactive operating, training, and visualization systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freund, Eckhard; Rossmann, Juergen; Schluse, Michael

2000-10-01

Virtual Reality Methods allow a new and intuitive way of communication between man and machine. The basic idea of Virtual Reality (VR) is the generation of artificial computer simulated worlds, which the user not only can look at but also can interact with actively using data glove and data helmet. The main emphasis for the use of such techniques at the IRF is the development of a new generation of operator interfaces for the control of robots and other automation components and for intelligent training systems for complex tasks. The basic idea of the methods developed at the IRF for the realization of Projective Virtual Reality is to let the user work in the virtual world as he would act in reality. The user actions are recognized by the Virtual reality System and by means of new and intelligent control software projected onto the automation components like robots which afterwards perform the necessary actions in reality to execute the users task. In this operation mode the user no longer has to be a robot expert to generate tasks for robots or to program them, because intelligent control software recognizes the users intention and generated automatically the commands for nearly every automation component. Now, Virtual Reality Methods are ideally suited for universal man-machine-interfaces for the control and supervision of a big class of automation components, interactive training and visualization systems. The Virtual Reality System of the IRF-COSIMIR/VR- forms the basis for different projects starting with the control of space automation systems in the projects CIROS, VITAL and GETEX, the realization of a comprehensive development tool for the International Space Station and last but not least with the realistic simulation fire extinguishing, forest machines and excavators which will be presented in the final paper in addition to the key ideas of this Virtual Reality System.

The Butterfly and the Photon:. New Perspectives on Unpredictability, and the Notion of Casual Reality, in Quantum Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmer, T. N.

2012-12-01

This essay discusses a proposal that draws together the three great revolutionary theories of 20th Century physics: quantum theory, relativity theory and chaos theory. Motivated by the Bohmian notion of implicate order, and what in chaos theory would be described as a strange attractor, the proposal attributes special ontological significance to certain non-computable, dynamically invariant state-space geometries for the universe as a whole. Studying the phenomenon of quantum interference, it is proposed to understand quantum wave-particle duality, and indeed classical electromagnetism, in terms of particles in space time and waves on this state space geometry. Studying the EPR experiment, the acausal constraints that this invariant geometry provides on spatially distant degrees of freedom, provides a way for the underlying dynamics to be consistent with the Bell theorem, yet be relativistically covariant ("nonlocality without nonlocality"). It is suggested that the physical basis for such non-computable geometries lies in properties of gravity with the information irreversibility implied by black hole no-hair theorems being crucial. In conclusion it is proposed that quantum theory may be emergent from an extended theory of gravity which is geometric not only in space time, but also in state space. Such a notion would undermine most current attempts to "quantise gravity".

Virtual reality and telerobotics applications of an Address Recalculation Pipeline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Regan, Matthew; Pose, Ronald

1994-01-01

The technology described in this paper was designed to reduce latency to user interactions in immersive virtual reality environments. It is also ideally suited to telerobotic applications such as interaction with remote robotic manipulators in space or in deep sea operations. in such circumstances the significant latency is observed response to user stimulus which is due to communications delays, and the disturbing jerkiness due to low and unpredictable frame rates on compressed video user feedback or computationally limited virtual worlds, can be masked by our techniques. The user is provided with highly responsive visual feedback independent of communication or computational delays in providing physical video feedback or in rendering virtual world images. Virtual and physical environments can be combined seamlessly using these techniques.

Quantum Physics and Mental Health Counseling: The Time Is...!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstein, Lawrence H.; Bennett, Matt

1999-01-01

Introduces a new framework of mental health counseling based on quantum physics. The framework stresses systemic thinking and intervention, interdependence, and the importance of adopting a novel perspective about time, space, reality, and change. This framework has the potential of modifying mental health counseling practice and training. Offers…

Let's Get Physical-Or Not

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Ann

2005-01-01

Necessity is still the mother of invention, and physical processing is a reality for most libraries. Ergo, the inevitable development of Indigo Media and its innovative MediaPrint software, which allows distributors to overlay customized labels, logos, barcodes, and artwork onto retail labels of audiobooks, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, on a…

Role Socialization Theory: The Sociopolitical Realities of Teaching Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, K. Andrew R.

2015-01-01

Much has been learned about the socialization of physical education (PE) teachers using occupational socialization theory (OST). However, important to understanding any socialization process is explaining how the roles that individuals play are socially constructed and contextually bound. OST falls short of providing a comprehensive overview of…

From Action to English: Reality in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuern, Guenther

1982-01-01

Describes use of total physical response as a teaching strategy in English-as-a-second-language classes. Students act out commands from teacher with no initial emphasis on oral production. This approach makes a lesson more real to students and physically involving them makes for more successful learning. (Author/BK)

Understanding the Realities of Teaching: A Seminar Series Focused on Induction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, K. Andrew R.; Gaudreault, Karen Lux; Templin, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

The role of school teachers is becoming increasingly complex. This complexity may be even more pronounced for physical education teachers, who must often cope with additional challenges stemming from marginalization, isolation, and teacher/coach role conflict. Physical education teachers must also manage relationships with colleagues,…

Video Games: A Potential New World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsushita, Yuriko; Matsushita, Koji

The paper states that there are negative physical and psychological effects from video games. The physical effects include asthenopia and weight gain. The psychological effects include confusion between reality and fiction, and immature relationships with others. However, video games can also have a therapeutic effect in some cases. Four positive…

Information-reality complementarity: The role of measurements and quantum reference frames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieguez, P. R.; Angelo, R. M.

2018-02-01

Recently, a measure has been put forward which allows for the quantification of the degree of reality of an observable for a given preparation [Bilobran and Angelo, Europhys. Lett. 112, 40005 (2015), 10.1209/0295-5075/112/40005]. Here we employ this quantifier to establish, on formal grounds, relations among the concepts of measurement, information, and physical reality. After introducing mathematical objects that unify weak and projective measurements, we study scenarios showing that an arbitrary-intensity unrevealed measurement of a given observable generally leads to an increase of its reality and also of its incompatible observables. We derive a complementarity relation connecting an amount of information associated with the apparatus with the degree of irreality of the monitored observable. Specifically for pure states, we show that the entanglement with the apparatus precisely determines the amount by which the reality of the monitored observable increases. We also point out some mechanisms whereby the irreality of an observable can be generated. Finally, using the aforementioned tools, we construct a consistent picture to address the measurement problem.

[Virtual + 1] * Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beckhaus, Steffi

Virtual Reality aims at creating an artificial environment that can be perceived as a substitute to a real setting. Much effort in research and development goes into the creation of virtual environments that in their majority are perceivable only by eyes and hands. The multisensory nature of our perception, however, allows and, arguably, also expects more than that. As long as we are not able to simulate and deliver a fully sensory believable virtual environment to a user, we could make use of the fully sensory, multi-modal nature of real objects to fill in for this deficiency. The idea is to purposefully integrate real artifacts into the application and interaction, instead of dismissing anything real as hindering the virtual experience. The term virtual reality - denoting the goal, not the technology - shifts from a core virtual reality to an “enriched” reality, technologically encompassing both the computer generated and the real, physical artifacts. Together, either simultaneously or in a hybrid way, real and virtual jointly provide stimuli that are perceived by users through their senses and are later formed into an experience by the user's mind.

Biologically inspired information theory: Adaptation through construction of external reality models by living systems.

PubMed

Nakajima, Toshiyuki

2015-12-01

Higher animals act in the world using their external reality models to cope with the uncertain environment. Organisms that have not developed such information-processing organs may also have external reality models built in the form of their biochemical, physiological, and behavioral structures, acquired by natural selection through successful models constructed internally. Organisms subject to illusions would fail to survive in the material universe. How can organisms, or living systems in general, determine the external reality from within? This paper starts with a phenomenological model, in which the self constitutes a reality model developed through the mental processing of phenomena. Then, the it-from-bit concept is formalized using a simple mathematical model. For this formalization, my previous work on an algorithmic process is employed to constitute symbols referring to the external reality, called the inverse causality, with additional improvements to the previous work. Finally, as an extension of this model, the cognizers system model is employed to describe the self as one of many material entities in a world, each of which acts as a subject by responding to the surrounding entities. This model is used to propose a conceptual framework of information theory that can deal with both the qualitative (semantic) and quantitative aspects of the information involved in biological processes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving physical fitness of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability through a Virtual Reality Intervention Program.

PubMed

Lotan, Meir; Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Weiss, Patrice L Tamar

2009-01-01

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are in need of effective physical fitness training programs. The aim was to test the effectiveness of a Virtual Reality (VR)-based exercise program in improving the physical fitness of adults with IDD. A research group (N=30; mean age=52.3+/-5.8 years; moderate IDD level) was matched for age, IDD level and functional abilities with a control group (N=30, mean age=54.3+/-5.4 years). A 5-6 week fitness program consisting of two 30 min sessions per week included game-like exercises provided by the Sony PlayStation II EyeToy VR system. Changes in physical fitness were monitored by the Energy Expenditure Index (EEI), the modified 12 min walk/run and the Total Heart Beat Index (THBI). Significant (p<0.05) improvements in physical fitness were demonstrated for the research group in comparison to the control group for the Modified Cooper test and the THBI but not for the EEI test. The EEI, Modified Cooper and THBI tests were found feasible to evaluate physical fitness levels and change of individuals with IDD under clinical conditions. VR technology intervention was suitable for adults with IDD and resulted in significant improvements in the physical fitness levels of the participants.

Time and timelessness: inscription and representation.

PubMed

Levine, Howard B

2009-04-01

Time is a real dimension of the physical universe and a subjective matter of mind. Depending on their relationship to Eros and the Death Instinct, our feelings about time and timelessness may serve disparate ends- positive or negative, constructive or destructive. The conflicts that emerge between time and timelessness will be affected by and drawn into our conflicts between the reality principle and the pleasure principle and by our capacity to acknowledge and bear the losses, hurts, and disappointments with which life presents us and the hopes and possibilities that life may hold. The "making" and inscribing of time-i.e., articulating and ordering mental elements in the act of representation, symbolization, and verbal linkage of previously unrepresented and inchoate proto-mental elements and states-are central to psychic functioning and the psychoanalytic process. Clinical material will illustrate these processes and their relation to the binding and mastery of trauma: internal and external, massive and cumulative.

Much Ado About (Almost!) Nothing: The Experimental Study of Neutrino Masses and Mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messier, Mark

2009-11-01

Neutrinos have been described by their discoverer Frederick Reines as ``the most tiny quantity of reality ever imagined by a human being.'' Yet these particles which verge on nothingness have had an enormous influence on the past and future evolution of the universe and are the subject of an increasingly active program of experimental physics. In this talk I will review some of the basic properties of neutrinos and summarize the recent results on neutrino masses and mixing from studies of neutrinos produced in the Sun, cosmic rays, reactors, and accelerators including searches for zero neutrino double beta decay. Looking ahead, I will outline the future course of experiments in the U.S., Asia, and Europe which will address the questions of the fundamental character of the neutrino, the hierarchy of their masses, and their matter anti-matter symmetries.

Understanding space weather with new physical, mathematical and philosophical approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mateev, Lachezar; Velinov, Peter; Tassev, Yordan

2016-07-01

The actual problems of solar-terrestrial physics, in particular of space weather are related to the prediction of the space environment state and are solved by means of different analyses and models. The development of these investigations can be considered also from another side. This is the philosophical and mathematical approach towards this physical reality. What does it constitute? We have a set of physical processes which occur in the Sun and interplanetary space. All these processes interact with each other and simultaneously participate in the general process which forms the space weather. Let us now consider the Leibniz's monads (G.W. von Leibniz, 1714, Monadologie, Wien; Id., 1710, Théodicée, Amsterdam) and use some of their properties. There are total 90 theses for monads in the Leibniz's work (1714), f.e. "(1) The Monad, of which we shall here speak, is nothing but a simple substance, which enters into compounds. By 'simple' is meant 'without parts'. (Theod. 10.); … (56) Now this connexion or adaptation of all created things to each and of each to all, means that each simple substance has relations which express all the others, and, consequently, that it is a perpetual living mirror of the universe. (Theod. 130, 360.); (59) … this universal harmony, according to which every substance exactly expresses all others through the relations it has with them. (63) … every Monad is, in its own way, a mirror of the universe, and the universe is ruled according to a perfect order. (Theod. 403.)", etc. Let us introduce in the properties of monads instead of the word "monad" the word "process". We obtain the following statement: Each process reflects all other processes and all other processes reflect this process. This analogy is not formal at all, it reflects accurately the relation between the physical processes and their unity. The category monad which in the Leibniz's Monadology reflects generally the philosophical sense is fully identical with the physical one, in our case. The corresponding mathematical relations are needed for the application of this analogy in the solar-terrestrial physics and space weather. For this purpose in the contemporary categories theory in the algebra a whole field for it exists - the theory of monads (M. Barr, Ch. Wells, 1985, Toposes, Triples and Theories, Springer-Verlag, 278, p. 82). This theory is generated by analogous elements as in the Leibniz's Monadology. As it is known the categories theory and in particular the monad theory (also named triple or triad theory) tends to make axioms in mathematics. This approach would be very useful for such complex systems and processes as these in the solar-terrestrial physics and space weather. Here some methods for algebraic data structures could be introduced. Or some imperative programs can be embedded in a purely functional program for modeling, respectively. All these problems are principally considered in the proposed report.

Realities of and Perspectives for Languages in the Globalised World: Can Language Teaching Survive the Inadequacies of Policies Implemented Today at Leeds Beckett University?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gamir, Saadia

2017-01-01

Various newspaper articles report that British ministers, university representatives, exam chiefs and business bodies agree that foreign languages skills in primary, secondary and tertiary UK education are in crisis. Lower funding and policy changes have caused language skills deficiencies felt gravely in the business sectors. Funding and support…

Low Factual Understanding and High Anxiety about Climate Warming Impedes University Students to Become Sustainability Stewards: An Australian Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfautsch, Sebastian; Gray, Tonia

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study, from Western Sydney University, aims to assess the disposition of students towards climate warming (CW)--a key component of sustainability. CW is a global reality. Any human born after February 1985 has never lived in a world that was not constantly warming, yet little is known about how higher education students perceive…

Change in Language Policy in Malaysia: The Reality of Implementation in Public Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Saran Kaur

2006-01-01

In Malaysia, a sudden change in language policy, from Bahasa Melayu to English, has been instituted for the disciplines of science and technology at varying levels of the educational system. For this paper, it will be the domain of higher education that will be focused on. In 2005, the students who had their pre-university courses in English would…

PEOPLE IN PHYSICS: David Bohm and the implicate order: a new paradigm for physics teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bettany, Laurence

1998-11-01

David Bohm (1917-93) was a highly original and individual physicist. His novel ideas and profound intuition extended not only to the physical world but also to the nature of consciousness and society. Bohm regarded science as having become essentially fragmented in its approach to understanding physical reality and sought a more holistic physics based on order, transformation and flowing movement. His notion of an implicate order provides an unusual and exciting challenge for both teachers and students alike.

Pre-measured Products Boost Efficiency, Cut Costs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Floyd G.; Pleasant, James

1974-01-01

Reduction of storage requirements, purchasing problems, handling, and costs has become a reality through the use of cleaning products in portion-controlled packages at the Chicago Circle Campus and the Medical Center of the University of Illinois. (Author)

Virtual reality for the treatment of autism.

PubMed

Strickland, D

1997-01-01

Autism is a mental disorder which has received attention in several unrelated studies using virtual reality. One of the first attempts was to diagnose children with special needs at Tokyo University using a sandbox playing technique. Although operating the computer controls proved to be too difficult for the individuals with autism in the Tokyo study, research at the University of Nottingham, UK, is successful in using VR as a learning aid for children with a variety of disorders including autism. Both centers used flat screen computer systems with virtual scenes. Another study which concentrated on using VR as a learning aid with an immersive headset system is described in detail in this chapter. Perhaps because of the seriousness of the disorder and the lack of effective treatments, autism has received more study than attention deficit disorders, although both would appear to benefit from many of the same technology features.

Effects of virtual reality-based training and task-oriented training on balance performance in stroke patients.

PubMed

Lee, Hyung Young; Kim, You Lim; Lee, Suk Min

2015-06-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the clinical effects of virtual reality-based training and task-oriented training on balance performance in stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were randomly allocated to 2 groups: virtual reality-based training group (n = 12) and task-oriented training group (n = 12). The patients in the virtual reality-based training group used the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus, which provided visual and auditory feedback as well as the movements that enabled shifting of weight to the right and left sides, for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. The patients in the task-oriented training group practiced additional task-oriented programs for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. Patients in both groups also underwent conventional physical therapy for 60 min/day, 5 times/week for 6 weeks. [Results] Balance and functional reach test outcomes were examined in both groups. The results showed that the static balance and functional reach test outcomes were significantly higher in the virtual reality-based training group than in the task-oriented training group. [Conclusion] This study suggested that virtual reality-based training might be a more feasible and suitable therapeutic intervention for dynamic balance in stroke patients compared to task-oriented training.

Effects of virtual reality-based training and task-oriented training on balance performance in stroke patients

PubMed Central

Lee, Hyung Young; Kim, You Lim; Lee, Suk Min

2015-01-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the clinical effects of virtual reality-based training and task-oriented training on balance performance in stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were randomly allocated to 2 groups: virtual reality-based training group (n = 12) and task-oriented training group (n = 12). The patients in the virtual reality-based training group used the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus, which provided visual and auditory feedback as well as the movements that enabled shifting of weight to the right and left sides, for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. The patients in the task-oriented training group practiced additional task-oriented programs for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. Patients in both groups also underwent conventional physical therapy for 60 min/day, 5 times/week for 6 weeks. [Results] Balance and functional reach test outcomes were examined in both groups. The results showed that the static balance and functional reach test outcomes were significantly higher in the virtual reality-based training group than in the task-oriented training group. [Conclusion] This study suggested that virtual reality-based training might be a more feasible and suitable therapeutic intervention for dynamic balance in stroke patients compared to task-oriented training. PMID:26180341

Cranial implant design using augmented reality immersive system.

PubMed

Ai, Zhuming; Evenhouse, Ray; Leigh, Jason; Charbel, Fady; Rasmussen, Mary

2007-01-01

Software tools that utilize haptics for sculpting precise fitting cranial implants are utilized in an augmented reality immersive system to create a virtual working environment for the modelers. The virtual environment is designed to mimic the traditional working environment as closely as possible, providing more functionality for the users. The implant design process uses patient CT data of a defective area. This volumetric data is displayed in an implant modeling tele-immersive augmented reality system where the modeler can build a patient specific implant that precisely fits the defect. To mimic the traditional sculpting workspace, the implant modeling augmented reality system includes stereo vision, viewer centered perspective, sense of touch, and collaboration. To achieve optimized performance, this system includes a dual-processor PC, fast volume rendering with three-dimensional texture mapping, the fast haptic rendering algorithm, and a multi-threading architecture. The system replaces the expensive and time consuming traditional sculpting steps such as physical sculpting, mold making, and defect stereolithography. This augmented reality system is part of a comprehensive tele-immersive system that includes a conference-room-sized system for tele-immersive small group consultation and an inexpensive, easily deployable networked desktop virtual reality system for surgical consultation, evaluation and collaboration. This system has been used to design patient-specific cranial implants with precise fit.

An augmented reality haptic training simulator for spinal needle procedures.

PubMed

Sutherland, Colin; Hashtrudi-Zaad, Keyvan; Sellens, Rick; Abolmaesumi, Purang; Mousavi, Parvin

2013-11-01

This paper presents the prototype for an augmented reality haptic simulation system with potential for spinal needle insertion training. The proposed system is composed of a torso mannequin, a MicronTracker2 optical tracking system, a PHANToM haptic device, and a graphical user interface to provide visual feedback. The system allows users to perform simulated needle insertions on a physical mannequin overlaid with an augmented reality cutaway of patient anatomy. A tissue model based on a finite-element model provides force during the insertion. The system allows for training without the need for the presence of a trained clinician or access to live patients or cadavers. A pilot user study demonstrates the potential and functionality of the system.

Child abuse in Chandigarh, India, and its implications.

PubMed

Sharma, B R; Gupta, Manisha

2004-10-01

Few abuses of human rights are so universally condemned but at the same time so universally practiced as child abuse. Over the centuries, children have been subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as neglect. By any objective measures, this issue should rank high on the global agenda but in practice it is surrounded by a wall of silence and perpetuated by ignorance. Child sexual abuse is a dark reality that routinely inflicts our daily lives but in a majority of cases it goes unnoticed and unreported on account of the innocence of the victim, stigma attached to the act, callousness and insensitivity of the investigating and the law enforcement agencies, etc. A child who has been sexually abused is traumatized for life but it is only much later in life when the emotional and psychological trauma aggravates that such people seek medical help. There is an urgent need to take up the problem as a larger social issue where the society has a responsibility to help the victims overcome their trauma and move on with life as normally as possible. We report a retrospective review of children (age<16 years) referred for medicolegal examination, an autopsy in Chandigarh, India, between 2000 and 2003.

Similarities and differences between eating disorders and obese patients in a virtual environment for normalizing eating patterns.

PubMed

Perpiñá, Conxa; Roncero, María

2016-05-01

Virtual reality has demonstrated promising results in the treatment of eating disorders (ED); however, few studies have examined its usefulness in treating obesity. The aim of this study was to compare ED and obese patients on their reality judgment of a virtual environment (VE) designed to normalize their eating pattern. A second objective was to study which variables predicted the reality of the experience of eating a virtual forbidden-fattening food. ED patients, obese patients, and a non-clinical group (N=62) experienced a non-immersive VE, and then completed reality judgment and presence measures. All participants rated the VE with similar scores for quality, interaction, engagement, and ecological validity; however, ED patients obtained the highest scores on emotional involvement, attention, reality judgment/presence, and negative effects. The obese group gave the lowest scores to reality judgment/presence, satisfaction and sense of physical space, and they held an intermediate position in the attribution of reality to virtually eating a "fattening" food. The palatability of a virtual food was predicted by attention capturing and belonging to the obese group, while the attribution of reality to the virtual eating was predicted by engagement and belonging to the ED group. This study offers preliminary results about the differential impact on ED and obese patients of the exposure to virtual food, and about the need to implement a VE that can be useful as a virtual lab for studying eating behavior and treating obesity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spies: an educational game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Souza, P. V. S.; Morais, L. P.; Girardi, D.

2018-07-01

We present an educational game for teaching physics, Spies. The game is based on the popular boardgame Codenames. It is useful as a didactic tool to promote and improve student engagement. Spies is practical, fast and requires very little physical resources, which makes it ideal for high school teaching and viable in most diverse school realities.

Modes of Meaning in High School Science. CELA Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Richard F.; Nguyen, Hanh Thi

Using the framework of systematic functional grammar, this study compares two modes of presenting the same scientific topic: in a physics textbook and in interactive teacher talk. Three aspects of scientific meaning making are analyzed: representations of physical and mental reality, lexical packaging, and the rhetorical structure of reasoning.…

Improving Access Using Simulations of Community Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Germann, Clark; Broida, Jane Kaufman; Broida, Jeffrey M.; Thompson, Kimberly

The Community Access Through Technology Project (CATT) is developing and implementing virtual reality software that persons with disabilities can use to experience a physical location prior to visiting it in person. A virtual scenario of one physical location has been developed, implemented, and tested, and work is underway on two others. Using a…

Limbs beyond the Skin: Exploring the Physical Realities of Digital Composition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doerr-Stevens, Candance

2011-01-01

This article discusses how prolonged participation and digital composition online intersect to forge material extensions of the physical body, or limbs beyond the skin. Based on postmodern theories of technology and the body, I argue that these limbs, while less tangible, merit serious consideration given their potential to engender physical…

Learning While Exercising for Science Education in Augmented Reality among Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, Kuei-Fang; Chen, Nian-Shing; Huang, Shih-Yu

2012-01-01

Because of a shortage of physical exercise, concerns about adolescents have recently been raised in Taiwan. In educational environments where student exercise has been limited by scheduling constraints and the lack of physical exercise has become a vital problem, "learning while exercising" may be part of a possible solution. This study…

Navigating the Realities of the Induction Years: Exploring Approaches for Supporting Beginning Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ensign, Julene; Mays Woods, Amelia

2017-01-01

Because significant challenges continue to exist in the retention of teachers, the need for an infusion of proactive assimilation strategies, especially related to the induction phase, has become a mandate in physical education. Beginning teachers face countless potential hurdles. From marginalization, role conflict, and teaching diverse student…

Reality, Contextuality, and Probability in Quantum Theory and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plotnitsky, Arkady

This chapter explores the relationships among reality, contextuality, and probability, especially in quantum theory and, brie y and by extension, in other fields where these concepts, in their quantum-like versions, may play key roles. The chapter contends, following Derrida's argument, that while no meaning or event could be determined apart from its context, no context ultimately permits saturation, that is, could ever be determined with certainty. Any such determination is ultimately provisional. However, because of its mathematical-experimental character, physics allows one, in classical physics and relativity, to disregard the role of the context of observation in describing the physical systems considered, and in quantum mechanics, where the context of observation cannot be so disregarded, to determine such a context sufficiently. While, however, classical physics or relativity and quantum mechanics can do so sufficiently for their disciplinary functioning and practice, they cannot do so entirely. Moreover, a given concept of this functioning, especially as concerns what is considered its proper functioning, still depends on a broader contextual field that defies saturation or guaranteed determination.

Exploring the Impact of Culture- and Language-Influenced Physics on Science Attitude Enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales, Marie Paz E.

2016-02-01

"Culture," a set of principles that trace and familiarize human beings within their existential realities, may provide an invisible lens through which reality could be discerned. Critically explored in this study is how culture- and language-sensitive curriculum materials in physics improve Pangasinan learners' attitude toward science. Their cultural preference or profile defined their cultural dimensions, epistemological beliefs, and views on integration of culture and language in the teaching and learning processes. The culture- and language-influenced curriculum materials in physics were heavily influenced by Pangasinan learners' cultural preference or profile. Results of the experimental participants' pretest and posttest on science attitude measure, when compared, showed significant statistical difference. Assessment of science attitude enhancement favored the experimental group over the control group. Qualitative data gathered from postimplementation interviews, focus group discussions, and journal log entries indicated the same trend in favor of the experimental participants. The study yielded that culture and language integration in the teaching and learning processes of physics concepts allowed students to develop positive attitude to science, their culture, and native language.

The effect of a virtual reality exercise program on physical fitness, body composition, and fatigue in hemodialysis patients.

PubMed

Cho, Hyeyoung; Sohng, Kyeong-Yae

2014-10-01

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a virtual reality exercise program (VREP) on physical fitness, body composition, and fatigue in hemodialysis (HD) patients with end-stage renal failure. [Subjects and Methods] A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Forty-six HD patients were divided into exercise (n=23) and control groups (n=23); while waiting for their dialyses, the exercise group followed a VREP, and the control group received only their usual care. The VREP was accomplished using Nintendo's Wii Fit Plus for 40 minutes, 3 times a week for 8 weeks during the period of May 27 to July 19, 2013. Physical fitness (muscle strength, balance, flexibility), body composition (skeletal muscle mass, body fat rate, arm and leg muscle mass), and fatigue were measured at baseline and after the intervention. [Results] After the VREP, physical fitness and body composition significantly increased, and the level of fatigue significantly decreased in the exercise group. [Conclusion] These results suggest that a VREP improves physical fitness, body composition, and fatigue in HD patients. Based on the findings, VREPs should be used as a health promotion programs for HD patients.

Complexity theory and physical unification: From microscopic to oscopic level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlos, G. P.; Iliopoulos, A. C.; Karakatsanis, L. P.; Tsoutsouras, V. G.; Pavlos, E. G.

During the last two decades, low dimensional chaotic or self-organized criticality (SOC) processes have been observed by our group in many different physical systems such as space plasmas, the solar or the magnetospheric dynamics, the atmosphere, earthquakes, the brain activity as well as in informational systems. All these systems are complex systems living far from equilibrium with strong self-organization and phase transition character. The theoretical interpretation of these natural phenomena needs a deeper insight into the fundamentals of complexity theory. In this study, we try to give a synoptic description of complexity theory both at the microscopic and at the oscopic level of the physical reality. Also, we propose that the self-organization observed oscopically is a phenomenon that reveals the strong unifying character of the complex dynamics which includes thermodynamical and dynamical characteristics in all levels of the physical reality. From this point of view, oscopical deterministic and stochastic processes are closely related to the microscopical chaos and self-organization. In this study the scientific work of scientists such as Wilson, Nicolis, Prigogine, Hooft, Nottale, El Naschie, Castro, Tsallis, Chang and others is used for the development of a unified physical comprehension of complex dynamics from the microscopic to the oscopic level.

The online appeal of the physical shop: How a physical store can benefit from a virtual representation.

PubMed

Moes, Anne; Vliet, Harry van

2017-06-01

Consumer behaviour in 2016 shows that (r)etailers need online/offline integration to better serve their clients. An important distinguishing feature of the physical shop is how it can offer consumers a shopping experience. This study uses two experiments to research the extent a fashion store's shopping experience can be presented to consumers via visual material (a regular photo, a 360-degree photo and a virtual reality photo of the shop) without the consumers being in the shop itself. The effects of these visual materials will also be measured in (among others) terms of purchase intention, visiting intention to the physical shop and online visit satisfaction. A theoretical framework is used to substantiate how the three types of pictures can be classified in terms of medium richness. The completed experiments show, among other outcomes, that consumers who saw the virtual reality photo of the shop have a more positive shopping experience, a higher purchase intention, a higher intention to visit the physical shop and more online visit satisfaction than people who have only seen the regular photo or the 360-degree photo of the shop. Enjoyment and novelty seem to partly explain these found effects.

Method for exploiting bias in factor analysis using constrained alternating least squares algorithms

DOEpatents

Keenan, Michael R.

2008-12-30

Bias plays an important role in factor analysis and is often implicitly made use of, for example, to constrain solutions to factors that conform to physical reality. However, when components are collinear, a large range of solutions may exist that satisfy the basic constraints and fit the data equally well. In such cases, the introduction of mathematical bias through the application of constraints may select solutions that are less than optimal. The biased alternating least squares algorithm of the present invention can offset mathematical bias introduced by constraints in the standard alternating least squares analysis to achieve factor solutions that are most consistent with physical reality. In addition, these methods can be used to explicitly exploit bias to provide alternative views and provide additional insights into spectral data sets.

Implementation of 3d Tools and Immersive Experience Interaction for Supporting Learning in a Library-Archive Environment. Visions and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angeletaki, A.; Carrozzino, M.; Johansen, S.

2013-07-01

In this paper we present an experimental environment of 3D books combined with a game application that has been developed by a collaboration project between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway the NTNU University Library, and the Percro laboratory of Santa Anna University in Pisa, Italy. MUBIL is an international research project involving museums, libraries and ICT academy partners aiming to develop a consistent methodology enabling the use of Virtual Environments as a metaphor to present manuscripts content through the paradigms of interaction and immersion, evaluating different possible alternatives. This paper presents the results of the application of two prototypes of books augmented with the use of XVR and IL technology. We explore immersive-reality design strategies in archive and library contexts for attracting new users. Our newly established Mubil-lab has invited school classes to test the books augmented with 3D models and other multimedia content in order to investigate whether the immersion in such environments can create wider engagement and support learning. The metaphor of 3D books and game designs in a combination allows the digital books to be handled through a tactile experience and substitute the physical browsing. In this paper we present some preliminary results about the enrichment of the user experience in such environment.

The Student Experience With Varying Immersion Levels of Virtual Reality Simulation.

PubMed

Farra, Sharon L; Smith, Sherrill J; Ulrich, Deborah L

With increasing use of virtual reality simulation (VRS) in nursing education and given the vast array of technologies available, a variety of levels of immersion and experiences can be provided to students. This study explored two different levels of immersive VRS capability. Study participants included baccalaureate nursing students from three universities across four campuses. Students were trained in the skill of decontamination using traditional methods or with VRS options of mouse and keyboard or head-mounted display technology. Results of focus group interviews reflect the student experience and satisfaction with two different immersive levels of VRS.

Virtual reality jogging as a novel exposure paradigm for the acute urge to be physically active in patients with eating disorders: Implications for treatment.

PubMed

Paslakis, Georgios; Fauck, Vanessa; Röder, Kathrin; Rauh, Elisabeth; Rauh, Manfred; Erim, Yesim

2017-11-01

The acute urge to be physically active is a relevant clinical phenomenon in patients suffering from eating disorders. In this study with n = 20 female patients with anorexia nervosa and n = 10 female patients with bulimia nervosa, a virtual reality (VR) jogging paradigm was applied as a novel highly immersive 3D exposure paradigm. Patients were asked to rate their acute urge to be physically active during the exposure procedure. A 10-item self-report questionnaire (smQ) was developed to capture the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of the acute urge to move. We hypothesized that exposure would lead to habituation of the urge to be physically active. We also hypothesized that leptin levels would be associated with the degree of the subjective urge to be physically active, while habituation would be associated with a decrease in stress hormones (α-amylase, cortisol, and cortisone in saliva). A statistically significant change in subjective scores in the smQ from baseline to postexposure was seen. Our novel VR paradigm may serve as a therapeutic tool for exposure and habituation of the urge of acutely engaging in physical activity in patients with eating disorders. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Wearable computer for mobile augmented-reality-based controlling of an intelligent robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turunen, Tuukka; Roening, Juha; Ahola, Sami; Pyssysalo, Tino

2000-10-01

An intelligent robot can be utilized to perform tasks that are either hazardous or unpleasant for humans. Such tasks include working in disaster areas or conditions that are, for example, too hot. An intelligent robot can work on its own to some extent, but in some cases the aid of humans will be needed. This requires means for controlling the robot from somewhere else, i.e. teleoperation. Mobile augmented reality can be utilized as a user interface to the environment, as it enhances the user's perception of the situation compared to other interfacing methods and allows the user to perform other tasks while controlling the intelligent robot. Augmented reality is a method that combines virtual objects into the user's perception of the real world. As computer technology evolves, it is possible to build very small devices that have sufficient capabilities for augmented reality applications. We have evaluated the existing wearable computers and mobile augmented reality systems to build a prototype of a future mobile terminal- the CyPhone. A wearable computer with sufficient system resources for applications, wireless communication media with sufficient throughput and enough interfaces for peripherals has been built at the University of Oulu. It is self-sustained in energy, with enough operating time for the applications to be useful, and uses accurate positioning systems.

The self-organizing fractal theory as a universal discovery method: the phenomenon of life.

PubMed

Kurakin, Alexei

2011-03-29

A universal discovery method potentially applicable to all disciplines studying organizational phenomena has been developed. This method takes advantage of a new form of global symmetry, namely, scale-invariance of self-organizational dynamics of energy/matter at all levels of organizational hierarchy, from elementary particles through cells and organisms to the Universe as a whole. The method is based on an alternative conceptualization of physical reality postulating that the energy/matter comprising the Universe is far from equilibrium, that it exists as a flow, and that it develops via self-organization in accordance with the empirical laws of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. It is postulated that the energy/matter flowing through and comprising the Universe evolves as a multiscale, self-similar structure-process, i.e., as a self-organizing fractal. This means that certain organizational structures and processes are scale-invariant and are reproduced at all levels of the organizational hierarchy. Being a form of symmetry, scale-invariance naturally lends itself to a new discovery method that allows for the deduction of missing information by comparing scale-invariant organizational patterns across different levels of the organizational hierarchy.An application of the new discovery method to life sciences reveals that moving electrons represent a keystone physical force (flux) that powers, animates, informs, and binds all living structures-processes into a planetary-wide, multiscale system of electron flow/circulation, and that all living organisms and their larger-scale organizations emerge to function as electron transport networks that are supported by and, at the same time, support the flow of electrons down the Earth's redox gradient maintained along the core-mantle-crust-ocean-atmosphere axis of the planet. The presented findings lead to a radically new perspective on the nature and origin of life, suggesting that living matter is an organizational state/phase of nonliving matter and a natural consequence of the evolution and self-organization of nonliving matter.The presented paradigm opens doors for explosive advances in many disciplines, by uniting them within a single conceptual framework and providing a discovery method that allows for the systematic generation of knowledge through comparison and complementation of empirical data across different sciences and disciplines.

The self-organizing fractal theory as a universal discovery method: the phenomenon of life

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

A universal discovery method potentially applicable to all disciplines studying organizational phenomena has been developed. This method takes advantage of a new form of global symmetry, namely, scale-invariance of self-organizational dynamics of energy/matter at all levels of organizational hierarchy, from elementary particles through cells and organisms to the Universe as a whole. The method is based on an alternative conceptualization of physical reality postulating that the energy/matter comprising the Universe is far from equilibrium, that it exists as a flow, and that it develops via self-organization in accordance with the empirical laws of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. It is postulated that the energy/matter flowing through and comprising the Universe evolves as a multiscale, self-similar structure-process, i.e., as a self-organizing fractal. This means that certain organizational structures and processes are scale-invariant and are reproduced at all levels of the organizational hierarchy. Being a form of symmetry, scale-invariance naturally lends itself to a new discovery method that allows for the deduction of missing information by comparing scale-invariant organizational patterns across different levels of the organizational hierarchy. An application of the new discovery method to life sciences reveals that moving electrons represent a keystone physical force (flux) that powers, animates, informs, and binds all living structures-processes into a planetary-wide, multiscale system of electron flow/circulation, and that all living organisms and their larger-scale organizations emerge to function as electron transport networks that are supported by and, at the same time, support the flow of electrons down the Earth's redox gradient maintained along the core-mantle-crust-ocean-atmosphere axis of the planet. The presented findings lead to a radically new perspective on the nature and origin of life, suggesting that living matter is an organizational state/phase of nonliving matter and a natural consequence of the evolution and self-organization of nonliving matter. The presented paradigm opens doors for explosive advances in many disciplines, by uniting them within a single conceptual framework and providing a discovery method that allows for the systematic generation of knowledge through comparison and complementation of empirical data across different sciences and disciplines. PMID:21447162

Intrinsically restless: Unifying science, writing, and the human condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sissom, Matthew

The field of physics has always fascinated me, but I never possessed the mathematical skills necessary to extend that interest past the point of curiosity. This thesis was set up to explore how I and other writers, specifically Walt Whitman, use(d) the skills we do have to ask and attempt to answer the same cosmic questions normally reserved for scientists overseeing particle collider experiments. In Tao of Physics, Fritjof Capra attempted to blend the principles of Eastern philosophy with the movements associated with modern physics. In doing so, he offers up a few insights into the human desire to "divide the world into separate objects and events" (117), which I believe, when it comes to fiction, greatly influences the audience's interpretive framework. Capra suggests, "To believe that our abstract concepts of separate `things' and `vents' are realities of nature is an illusion" (117). Humans use this division to cope with our everyday environment, yet it is not a fundamental feature of reality but, rather, an abstraction devised by our discriminating and categorizing intellect. It is a coping mechanism, as Capra refers to it, that pins writers in a corner, encouraging them to forms and styles set by their predecessors to better satisfy the "discriminating and categorizing intellect" of their audience. Writers often struggle to achieve a balance between accurately presenting the human condition that, like Capra's description of subatomic particles as "intrinsically restless" (117), changes based on myriad variables and properly structuring their writing to fit a predetermined model. Whitman, a fan of popular science, drew from the scientific world, using his understanding of the interpretive framework, to better craft his poems' metaphors. In "Song of Myself," Whitman suggests that the celebration of one's own existence cannot be separated from the celebration of the universe, "For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you" (1-3). Whitman's writing reinforces the concept that the human desire to define existence begins at the subatomic level. In terms of my own writing, the focus turns to the origin of change. What is change? What brings it about? When I wrote "Of Higgs and Flame," the physics world was still riding the waves of CERN's Higgs boson particle discovery. Admittedly, the story contains a not-so-researched passage in which Darren contemplates the surge of change coursing from within, but this was done intentionally. Darren represents my approach to physics, which is mostly relegated to a spectator role, in that he is trying to define the occurring change based on his incomplete, loose understanding of Higgs boson and other scientific concepts. The analysis of my writing and that of Whitman reflects Stephen Hawking's explanation in A Briefer History of Time regarding the possibilities of a true, unifying theory of physics. He poses that there may exist an infinite sequence of theories that may get closer and closer to accurately describing the universe but are never exact (134). This is what I try to do with my work. I do not write under the pretense that I will be able to precisely replicate, in epiphany-like fashion, the human condition, accurately wrangling all of the variables that influence our reasons for changing or acting within a given scenario or conflict. Instead, I hope that my use of the same curiosity that fuels my passion to both read about physics and write fiction presents a more accurate understanding of the human condition, offering up characters whose changes within each story forces the audience to, at least momentarily, linger on that existential Why?.

Mixed reality virtual pets to reduce childhood obesity.

PubMed

Johnsen, Kyle; Ahn, Sun Joo; Moore, James; Brown, Scott; Robertson, Thomas P; Marable, Amanda; Basu, Aryabrata

2014-04-01

Novel approaches are needed to reduce the high rates of childhood obesity in the developed world. While multifactorial in cause, a major factor is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle of children. Our research shows that a mixed reality system that is of interest to children can be a powerful motivator of healthy activity. We designed and constructed a mixed reality system that allowed children to exercise, play with, and train a virtual pet using their own physical activity as input. The health, happiness, and intelligence of each virtual pet grew as its associated child owner exercised more, reached goals, and interacted with their pet. We report results of a research study involving 61 children from a local summer camp that shows a large increase in recorded and observed activity, alongside observational evidence that the virtual pet was responsible for that change. These results, and the ease at which the system integrated into the camp environment, demonstrate the practical potential to impact the exercise behaviors of children with mixed reality.

Virtual reality simulation in neurosurgery: technologies and evolution.

PubMed

Chan, Sonny; Conti, François; Salisbury, Kenneth; Blevins, Nikolas H

2013-01-01

Neurosurgeons are faced with the challenge of learning, planning, and performing increasingly complex surgical procedures in which there is little room for error. With improvements in computational power and advances in visual and haptic display technologies, virtual surgical environments can now offer potential benefits for surgical training, planning, and rehearsal in a safe, simulated setting. This article introduces the various classes of surgical simulators and their respective purposes through a brief survey of representative simulation systems in the context of neurosurgery. Many technical challenges currently limit the application of virtual surgical environments. Although we cannot yet expect a digital patient to be indistinguishable from reality, new developments in computational methods and related technology bring us closer every day. We recognize that the design and implementation of an immersive virtual reality surgical simulator require expert knowledge from many disciplines. This article highlights a selection of recent developments in research areas related to virtual reality simulation, including anatomic modeling, computer graphics and visualization, haptics, and physics simulation, and discusses their implication for the simulation of neurosurgery.

LVC interaction within a mixed-reality training system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollock, Brice; Winer, Eliot; Gilbert, Stephen; de la Cruz, Julio

2012-03-01

The United States military is increasingly pursuing advanced live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) training systems for reduced cost, greater training flexibility, and decreased training times. Combining the advantages of realistic training environments and virtual worlds, mixed reality LVC training systems can enable live and virtual trainee interaction as if co-located. However, LVC interaction in these systems often requires constructing immersive environments, developing hardware for live-virtual interaction, tracking in occluded environments, and an architecture that supports real-time transfer of entity information across many systems. This paper discusses a system that overcomes these challenges to empower LVC interaction in a reconfigurable, mixed reality environment. This system was developed and tested in an immersive, reconfigurable, and mixed reality LVC training system for the dismounted warfighter at ISU, known as the Veldt, to overcome LVC interaction challenges and as a test bed for cuttingedge technology to meet future U.S. Army battlefield requirements. Trainees interact physically in the Veldt and virtually through commercial and developed game engines. Evaluation involving military trained personnel found this system to be effective, immersive, and useful for developing the critical decision-making skills necessary for the battlefield. Procedural terrain modeling, model-matching database techniques, and a central communication server process all live and virtual entity data from system components to create a cohesive virtual world across all distributed simulators and game engines in real-time. This system achieves rare LVC interaction within multiple physical and virtual immersive environments for training in real-time across many distributed systems.

Quantum Spacetime: Mimicry of Paths and Black Holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spaans, Marco

2015-08-01

Since its inception, general relativity has been unreceptive to a marriage with the quantum aspects of our universe. Following the ideas of Einstein, one may pursue an approach that allows spacetime itself to take center stage. The quantum properties of matter are then carried by the dynamics of spacetime shape and connectivity. This monograph introduces the reader to the foundations of quantum spacetime in a manner accessible to researchers and students. Likewise, interested laymen that lack a strong background in quantum mechanics or spacetime studies but are keen to learn will find this book worthwhile. It is shown from first principles how spacetime is globally built up by paths which constitute entire histories in four dimensions. The central physical idea is that the collective existence of observers and observed derives from one mimicking the other unremittingly, thereby inducing tangible reality. This world of identity by mimicry creates a multitude of interacting histories. Throughout the text, thought experiments are used to derive physical principles. Obtained results are therefore intuitive and accessible to non-experts. This monograph also discusses consequences of quantum spacetime for black holes, dark energy, inflation, the Higgs boson, and the multiverse.

Fear of falling: efficacy of virtual reality associated with serious games in elderly people.

PubMed

Levy, Fanny; Leboucher, Pierre; Rautureau, Gilles; Komano, Odile; Millet, Bruno; Jouvent, Roland

2016-01-01

Fear of falling is defined as an ongoing concern about falling that is not explained by physical examination. Focusing on the psychological dimension of this pathology (phobic reaction to walking), we looked at how virtual reality associated with serious games can be used to treat this pathology. Participants with fear of falling were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a waiting list. The therapy consisted of 12 weekly sessions of virtual reality exposure therapy associated with serious games. Sixteen participants were included. The mean age of the treatment group was 72 years and that of the control group was 69 years. Participants' scores on the fear of falling measure improved after treatment with virtual reality associated with serious games, leading to a significant difference between the two groups. Virtual reality exposure therapy associated with serious games can be used in the treatment of fear of falling. The two techniques are complementary (top-down and bottom-up processes). To our knowledge, this is the first time that a combination of the two has been assessed. There was a specific effect of this therapy on the phobic reaction. Further studies are needed to confirm its efficacy and identify its underlying mechanism.

Challenges to the development of complex virtual reality surgical simulations.

PubMed

Seymour, N E; Røtnes, J S

2006-11-01

Virtual reality simulation in surgical training has become more widely used and intensely investigated in an effort to develop safer, more efficient, measurable training processes. The development of virtual reality simulation of surgical procedures has begun, but well-described technical obstacles must be overcome to permit varied training in a clinically realistic computer-generated environment. These challenges include development of realistic surgical interfaces and physical objects within the computer-generated environment, modeling of realistic interactions between objects, rendering of the surgical field, and development of signal processing for complex events associated with surgery. Of these, the realistic modeling of tissue objects that are fully responsive to surgical manipulations is the most challenging. Threats to early success include relatively limited resources for development and procurement, as well as smaller potential for return on investment than in other simulation industries that face similar problems. Despite these difficulties, steady progress continues to be made in these areas. If executed properly, virtual reality offers inherent advantages over other training systems in creating a realistic surgical environment and facilitating measurement of surgeon performance. Once developed, complex new virtual reality training devices must be validated for their usefulness in formative training and assessment of skill to be established.

The Canadian Corporate-Academic Complex

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turk, James

2010-01-01

As universities more aggressively embrace corporate values, corporate management practices, corporate labor-relations policies, and corporate money, faculty associations face troubling challenges. The new reality is particularly hostile to academic freedom, and people see that hostility in the actions of corporate funders and university…

Human Revolution: Confronting the Realities of Them and Us

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jourard, Sidney M.

1970-01-01

The nation's schools and universities have been largely engaged in training and indoctrination as opposed to"education." An educational system is needed that provides time and opportunities for self-renewal and personal growth for both teachers and students. (JH)

Virtual reality games for movement rehabilitation in neurological conditions: how do we meet the needs and expectations of the users?

PubMed

Lewis, Gwyn N; Rosie, Juliet A

2012-01-01

To review quantitative and qualitative studies that have examined the users' response to virtual reality game-based interventions in people with movement disorders associated with chronic neurological conditions. We aimed to determine key themes that influenced users' enjoyment and engagement in the games and develop suggestions as to how future systems could best address their needs and expectations. There were a limited number of studies that evaluated user opinions. From those found, seven common themes emerged: technology limitations, user control and therapist assistance, the novel physical and cognitive challenge, feedback, social interaction, game purpose and expectations, and the virtual environments. Our key recommendations derived from the review were to avoid technology failure, maintain overt therapeutic principles within the games, encompass progression to promote continuing physical and cognitive challenge, and to provide feedback that is easily and readily associated with success. While there have been few studies that have evaluated the users' perspective of virtual rehabilitation games, our findings indicate that canvassing these experiences provides valuable information on the needs of the intended users. Incorporating our recommendations may enhance the efficacy of future systems to optimize the rehabilitation benefits of virtual reality games.

Can walking motions improve visually induced rotational self-motion illusions in virtual reality?

PubMed

Riecke, Bernhard E; Freiberg, Jacob B; Grechkin, Timofey Y

2015-02-04

Illusions of self-motion (vection) can provide compelling sensations of moving through virtual environments without the need for complex motion simulators or large tracked physical walking spaces. Here we explore the interaction between biomechanical cues (stepping along a rotating circular treadmill) and visual cues (viewing simulated self-rotation) for providing stationary users a compelling sensation of rotational self-motion (circular vection). When tested individually, biomechanical and visual cues were similarly effective in eliciting self-motion illusions. However, in combination they yielded significantly more intense self-motion illusions. These findings provide the first compelling evidence that walking motions can be used to significantly enhance visually induced rotational self-motion perception in virtual environments (and vice versa) without having to provide for physical self-motion or motion platforms. This is noteworthy, as linear treadmills have been found to actually impair visually induced translational self-motion perception (Ash, Palmisano, Apthorp, & Allison, 2013). Given the predominant focus on linear walking interfaces for virtual-reality locomotion, our findings suggest that investigating circular and curvilinear walking interfaces offers a promising direction for future research and development and can help to enhance self-motion illusions, presence and immersion in virtual-reality systems. © 2015 ARVO.

Framing Cross-Cultural Ethical Practice in Adapt[ive] Physical Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Donna; Howe, P. David

2016-01-01

Academics and practitioners are often at a loss when it comes to understanding the ethical socio-political and cultural contexts that invade the world of adapted physical activity. Ethical practice is situated in the local and the specific. In this article we highlight the reality that both academics and practitioners need to be ever mindful that…

The Hegemonic Triumvirate--Ideologies, Discourses, and Habitus in Sport and Physical Education: Implications and Suggestions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandez-Balboa, Juan-Miguel; Muros, Beatriz

2006-01-01

In this paper, we introduce the concept of "the hegemonic triumvirate" (HT)--a powerful system of "reality" construction resulting from the interrelation of dominant ideologies, habitus, and discourses. Then, after analyzing HT's components and some of their interrelations within the contexts of sport and physical education (PE), we examine some…

Understanding the Realities of School Life: Recommendations for the Preparation of Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, K. Andrew R.; Templin, Thomas J.; Gaudreault, Karen Lux

2013-01-01

While quality physical education teacher education requires recruits to be trained in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective teaching, research stemming from socialization theory and role theory indicates that this may not be adequate. Pre-service teachers also need to be made aware of organizational challenges they will…

Exercise/recreation facility for a lunar or Mars analog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The University of Idaho, NASA/USRA project for the 1990-91 school year is an exercise/recreation station for an Earth-based simulator of a lunar or martian habitat. Specifically, a stationary bicycle that will help people keep fit and prevent muscular atrophy while stationed in space was designed. To help with motivation and provide an element of recreation during the workout, the bicycle is to be enhanced by a virtual reality system. The system simulates various riding situations, including the choice of a mountain bike or a road bike. The bike employs a magnetic brake that provides continuously changing tension to simulate actual riding conditions. This braking system is interfaced directly with the virtual reality system. Also, integrated into the virtual reality display will be a monitoring system that regulates heart rate, work rate, and other functions during the course of the session.

The Vision of Students Enrolled in European Technical Universities Regarding Tomorrow'S World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duşe, Dan-Maniu; Nemeş, Cătălin

2014-11-01

Starting from Michael Rendell and his team's "Managing tomorrow's people", this paper sets out to build a possible future of leadership in European technical universities. We can ask ourselves if European technical universities could exist in a Blue, Green and Orange World. How would they look like and how efficient would "corporate" universities be, assuming that the Blue World would prevail in the next 10 years. What should their development strategies be and what labor markets would absorb its graduates? What if universities would be in the Green or Orange World? What leaders should they have then? Starting from these questions we try to construct possible scenarios for a European reality

Simulated worlds, physical eschatology, the finite nature hypothesis and the final anthropic principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prince, N. H. E.

2005-10-01

Meaning and purpose can be given to life, consciousness, the laws of physics, etc. If one assumes that the Universe is endowed with some form of (strong) anthropic principle. In particular, the final anthropic principle (FAP) of Barrow and Tipler postulates that intelligent life will continue in the Universe until the far future when the computational power of descendent civilizations will be sufficient to run simulations of enormous scale and power. Tipler has claimed that it will be possible to create simulations with rendered environments and inhabitants, i.e. intelligent software constructs, which are effectively ‘people’. Proponents of this FAP claim that if both substrate independence and the pattern identity postulate hold, then these simulations would be able to contain reanimated individuals that once lived. These claims have been heavily criticized but the growing study of physical eschatology, initiated by Freeman Dyson in a seminal work, and the developments in computational theory have made some progress in showing that simulations containing intelligent information processing software constructs, which may be conscious, are not only feasible but may be a reality within the next few centuries. In this work, arguments and conservative calculations are given which concur with these latter more minimal claims. FAP-type simulations inevitably rely on cosmology type, but current observations would seem to rule appropriate models out. However, it is argued that dark energy, described in the recent forms of ‘quintessence’ cosmological models may show the current conclusions from observations to be too presumptive. In this paper some relevant physical and cosmological aspects are reviewed in the light of the recent propositions regarding the plausibility of certain simulations given by Bostrom, and the longer held postulate of finite nature due to Fredkin which has grown in credibility, following advances in quantum mechanics and the computational theory of cellular automata. This latter postulate supports the conclusions of Bostrom, which, under certain plausible assumptions, can imply that our Universe is itself already a simulated entity. It is demonstrated in this paper how atemporal memory connections could make efficient ancestor simulations possible, solving many of the objections faced by the FAP of Barrow and Tipler. Also, if finite nature is true then it can offer a similar vindication to this FAP. Indeed the conclusions of this postulate can be realized more easily, but only if the existence of life within the simulation/Universe is not merely incidental to the (currently unknown) purpose for which it was generated to fulfil.

The Changing Academic Profession in Asia: Contexts, Realities and Trends. Report of the International Conference on the Changing Academic Profession Project, 2011. RIHE International Seminar Reports. No. 17

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, 2011

2011-01-01

The Research Institute for Higher Education (RIHE) at Hiroshima University established a program of research on the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) in 2005. The first conference of this new project was held in Hiroshima in February 2011. This conference was organized by the Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, Japan in…

Virtual Reality Adaptive Stimulation in Stress Resistance Training

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

Kukolja, Branimir Dropuljić University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Unska 3, 10000 Zagreb , Croatia Ivica Kostović...Miloš Judaš, Marko Radoš, Milan Radoš, Lana Vasung, Branka Bartolić Spajić University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatian Institute for Brain...Research, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb , Croatia Svjetlana Doričić, Dalibor Mesić Ministry of Defense, Republic of Croatia ABSTRACT Serious mental health

Educational Uses of Virtual Reality Technology.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

technology. It is affordable in that a basic level of technology can be achieved on most existing personal computers at either no cost or some minimal...actually present in a virtual environment is termed "presence" and is an artifact of being visually immersed in the computer -generated virtual world...Carolina University, VREL Teachers 1996 onward £ CO ■3 u VR in Education University of Illinois, National Center for Super- computing Applications

Confessions of a Researcher Turned Policymaker.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mortimer, Kenneth P.

1992-01-01

A university president advises policy analysts to understand the realities of institutional administration, including the power and influence of the board of trustees, time constraints, importance of ceremonies and symbols, administrative accountability, dangers of the rumor mill, problems in implementing policy recommendations, and the tendency…

Internationalization of Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antelo, Absael

2012-01-01

Strategies used by institutions of higher learning for the internationalization of research represent a new reality in their operations. Universities actually use a variety of strategies to achieve some degrees of campus internationalization and their activities are limited to exchanges of students, faculty, and academic staff. Few institutions…

After the Honeymoon: Living with Reality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Robert O.; Temares, M. Lewis

1986-01-01

A seven-year long-range information systems plan at the University of Miami outlined 44 applications, most of which were to be installed in a database environment via prototyping with fourth-generation tools. The challenges that confront information systems managers are described. (Author/MLW)

Tending the Flock

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Nathalie

2011-01-01

Many universities, colleges, and independent schools face the reality of geographically expanding alumni bases, likely combined with constant or decreasing budgets for alumni activities. Well-intentioned colleagues understand the potential power of a geographically diverse alumni network but do not always grasp the time and complexity associated…

Hearing in True 3-D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

In 1984, researchers from Ames Research Center came together to develop advanced human interfaces for NASA s teleoperations that would come to be known as "virtual reality." The basis of the work theorized that if the sensory interfaces met a certain threshold and sufficiently supported each other, then the operator would feel present in the remote/synthetic environment, rather than present in their physical location. Twenty years later, this prolific research continues to pay dividends to society in the form of cutting-edge virtual reality products, such as an interactive audio simulation system.

Measurement and Ontology: What Kind of Evidence Can We Have for Quantum Fields?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falkenburg, Brigitte

In the following, I deal with the ontology of quantum field theory (QFT) from a Kantian point of view, in terms of parts of empirical reality and their relations. In contradistinction to a formal ontology of QFT that is based primarily on the formal structure of the theory, I focus on the ways in which quantum fields can be measured, and on the structural features of empirical reality to which these measurements give rise. To approach the ontology of quantum fields in terms of measurement results in two paradoxes. First, ontology is about the structure of independent entities which belong to the furniture of the world, but measurements rely on interaction. Second, experimental evidence for quantum field theories is mainly based on particle tracks and other local phenomena. Thus, what kind of evidence can we have for the field structure of quantum fields? My paper attempts to unravel these paradoxes in the following steps. First, I give a rough sketch of the appearances of particle physics, the kinds of experimental evidence which count as tests of quantum electrodynamcs (QED) and the standard model of particle physics (1). In an intermezzo on Kant's view of scientific experience, I explain in which terms we might conceive of empirical reality beyond the claims of strict empiricism (2). Finally, I apply these ideas to the appearances of particle physics and suggest that they commit us to a relational ontology of QFT (3).

Reichert Award Talk: Preparing Physics Students in an Era of Virtual Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akerlof, Carl; Torres-Isea, Ramón

2015-03-01

Like many other institutions with a large and active faculty, the University of Michigan Physics Department has a rich curriculum of undergraduate courses that focus on the use of 19th Century mathematics to understand the behavior of matter and energy. Most people who have pursued a career in this field appreciate that success usually depends on a much wider variety of skills. Addressing those needs has been the major emphasis of our undergraduate advanced lab program. This covers a broad range of topics. First of all, physics will continue to enlarge its encroachment into new areas. Thus, we have added experiments in radio astrophysics and non-linear dynamics. Computational and statistical methods are integrated into the experiments as appropriate and development of effective communication skills is heavily stressed. While there are efforts elsewhere to replace traditional hands- on experimentation with simulations, interactive video-based laboratory modules, and remotely controlled laboratory experiments, we consider these tools to be appropriate only for pre-lab and post-lab activities. None of these tools can provide the long-lasting experimental skills and knowledge-packed memories that a well-designed teaching experiment can. Hence, we choose to focus on providing a comprehensive list of experiments in a safe, well-equipped, teaching environment. The overall guiding principle is to provide a multi-faceted introduction to a rewarding career in science.

Causality from the Cosmological Perspective in Vedanta and Western Physics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawley, Danny Lee

The relation between Western physics and Indian Vedanta philosophy is investigated through the topic of causality, taken in the sense of explanatory theories of the origin of the universe and the relations among its physical, mental, and spiritual aspects. Both physics and Vedanta have a common goal of explanation by means of a unitary principle. While physics has long been separated from metaphysics, its discoveries indicate that consciousness must be included in a complete explanation. Consciousness is taken as the fundamental basis and source of all phenomena in Vedanta. This work traces the developments of causal explanation in Western physics and Indian philosophy, and considers how these views may relate to each other and how they may together suggest a comprehensive view of reality. Approaches typically applied by historians of religion to the study of creation myths, especially the psychological approach which considers myths from the perspective or cyclical stages of conscious development, are applied to the causal theories of the two cultures. The question of how causal explanations attempt to bridge the gap between cause and effect, unity and multiplicity, absolute and relative, conscious and unconscious, etc., is addressed. Though the investigation begins from the earliest causal explanations, viz., creation myths, emphasis is placed upon Samkara's commentaries of Advaita Vedanta, examined in the original Sanskrit, and upon the convergence of modern field theory, astrophysics, and cosmology, seen from the perspective of a previous doctorate in physics. Consideration is given to the comparison between physics and Vedanta as to goals, methods, and domains, to the question of the incompleteness of physics and the extent to which it nevertheless points beyond itself, to the possibility of a synthetic view and how it might be effected, and to analogies and metaphors through which physics and Vedanta may illuminate each other. An intuitive picture is presented which uses an analogy between higher dimensions and levels of consciousness to suggest a comprehensive view.

[An essay on science, cosmogenesis and religion].

PubMed

Cugini, P

2012-11-01

The relationships between science and religion are not easy from both the parts. But, the major controversy deals with the cosmogenesis and, thus, the existence of God. Science excludes the hypothesis of a divine creation, while theology assumes the origin of universe as a mere supernatural act. In my opinion, the scientific negation of the existence of God is a merely fideistic position, being founded on the hypothesis that the Bing Bang was an episode governed by casuality. An hypothesis that is more dogmatic that the Plato's idea of a demiurge as the creator of universe. As a matter of fact, nobody, among the scientists, has never explained how something of concrete can be created from Nothingness, i.e., 1. how the primitive Black Hole could have had its origin; 2. how the primordial Black Hole was physically filled up by raw matter, energy, space and time; 3. in which space and time the black hole was located assuming that the both the physical space and time were resident inside its context; 4. why the physical time is immaterial in its essence. All these interrogatives can be better explained by assuming the existence of a divine Creator, existing in a metaphysical spatial and temporal setting, whose omnipotence only can be effective in giving origin to a novel physical matter, energy, space and time. Additionally, the epistemology of science pretends that the scientific negation of something has to be derived by undisputable observational or experimental or theoretic evidences. Finally, it is important to stress that the modern science has its base of knowledge in the statistical probabilistic certainty. With respect to this the fideistic probability that God really exists, is only apparently equivalent to the fideistic probability that God does not exist. Blaise Pascal has clearly demonstrated that is more logical to believe in God than the opposite, because it is important to remember that in the presence of equivalent probabilities, the choice has to be conceived to the existence of God which is more apologetically convincing and intellectually convenient. Affirming the existence of God means to gain the eternal life in a transcendental reality. The atheistic negation of God means nothing and implies the conclusion that the life of human beings has no meaning, as no meaning has the nature as well as the universe. It is, thus, more confortable that the theological positivism should prevail on the scientific negativism.

Non-Separability and Synchronicity: Pauli, Jung and a New Historical, Philosophical Perspective on Quantum Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannetto, E. A.; Pozzi, F.

We would like to discuss the historical emergence of quantum physics and quantum non-separability, by analysing Pauli's point of view in relation to Jung's ideas. Recent inquiries on EPR shows that quantum non-separability indicates an a-causal connection of the "quantum reality" for space-like intervals ("simultaneity region ") of world (measurement) events: this non-causal connection is the physical counterpart of what Jung called "synchronicity " with an assessment given also by Pauli. This does not imply any violation of mechanical causality by any introduction of action-at-a-distance. From a physical point of view a-causal connections can be interpreted as implying a particular quantum topology of space-time, which leads to a non-mechanistic conception of nature and which could be related to a holistic quantum dynamical reality of the world like Bohm's "holomovement" or "light". This kind of non-mechanistic conception of nature as well as the idea of non-separability of the world and of synchronicity, as stated by Jung itself, was developed by Leibnitz: from this point of view, we can look at quantum physics (as well as for relativity it was shown) as related to a new emergence of concepts belonging to the Leibnitzian (anti-Newtonian) tradition.

Gravity Does it: Redshift of Light from the Galaxies Yes, Expanding Universe NO!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malhotra, Satish

2018-04-01

In the history of physics, ideas on space and time have changed the course of physics a number of times; this is another such event. We postulate 'space and time' as a flow of quantum gravity energy, having the absolute velocity c (same as velocity of light), where time is the delay in the spread of space (delay from infinite velocity flow, when there would be no time), such a flow has to have a reverse cycle, as energy creating it (howsoever large it might be has to be limited and limited energy can only create a limited space and time energy spread) and the reverse cycle is that of the creation of fundamental particles. This explanation of the universe tells us that the idea of an expanding universe is only an appearance, the argument, in brief, is as follows: One, the universe is so large that we cannot see the edges, light from the edges, the reality is non-observable. Two, the process is dark, it is beyond observation, the process of creation of charge (the reflection of light starts with it), the space energy flow process is in the range of invisible (before charge emerged); it is the elusive dark energy of the universe; we never connected space and time to flow of energy, and so did not find its connection either to its limitedness or to its dark nature (dark energy). Three, the space energy flow has a reverse process which leads to the formation of fundamental particles we have not included it in the totality of the processes of the universe, the former is the dark energy and the initial part of the reverse process—till it reaches the state of ionisation-- is dark matter. In the continuity of the cycle of space flow and its reversal to matter forms, ionisation happens at a particular point and visibility comes through along with; ionisation here is a later event (which is a part of the reverse process, enters visibility).It is this reverse process which creates fundamental particles (no big bang creation. With no idea of space as energy flow and no idea of the reverse process, physicists could never take the step in the direction of the correct understanding of the 'dark energy' or 'dark matter'.

Death: the ultimate social construction of reality.

PubMed

Brabant, Sarah

Using Berger and Luckmann's thesis (1966) on the social construction of reality as rationale, this research analyzes the death drawings of 946 university students enrolled in a Death and Dying course between 1985 and 2004 to investigate the basic constructs elicited by the word "death": dying, moment of death, after death, after life, and bereavement. Consistent with earlier research, gender, race, religion, and religiosity proved to be significant factors. As expected, personal experience with grief was strongly correlated with drawings focused on bereavement. In contrast to earlier studies, fear of death was not significantly related to a particular construct. Implications for research, education, and counseling are discussed.