THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ECOLOGICAL AWARENESS IN VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN EDUCATION

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Aristarchus Pranayama

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Dalam era dimana kepedulian terhadap lingkungan sangatlah penting%2C desain komunikasi visual perlu memperhitungkan pengintegrasian kesadaran ekologis dalam program pendidikannya. Prinsip bentuk dan fungsi tidaklah cukup lagi dalam menentukan kesuksesan sebuah desain. Pembelajaran lebih lanjut mengenai eco-design – atau sering disebut green design atau sustainable design – membuktikan pentingnya pemahaman mengenai proses desain secara menyeluruh%2C keterkaitannya dengan bidang-bidang lain%2C dan dampaknya terhadap lingkungan. Para pengajar desain dapat berperan dalam menumbuhkan calon “desainer warga” melalui pendidikan desain komunikasi visual yang mengimplementasikan kesadaran ekologis. Dengan kesadaran bahwa pilihan dan keputusan yang diambil para desainer berpengaruh%2C nantinya kekuatan dampak desain dapat digunakan untuk membuat perubahan yang positif Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : In this day of age where environmental concern is critical%2C visual communication design has to consider an integration of ecological awareness into its education programs. The principles of form and function alone are not enough anymore to evaluate a design’s success. Further studies of eco-design – often called green design or sustainable design – would prove to be important in the understanding of the design process as a whole%2C its interconnectedness with other fields%2C and its impact towards the environment. Design educators can play a role in cultivating future “citizen designers” through visual communication design education which implement ecological awareness. In our awareness as designers that our choices and decisions matter can in turn utilizes design’s powerful impact to create positive change. eco-design%2C green design%2C sustainable design%2C pendidikan desain komunikasi visual%2C kesadaran ekologis%2C lingkungan.

Sandwich masking eliminates both visual awareness of faces and face-specific brain activity through a feedforward mechanism.

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Harris, Joseph A; Wu, Chien-Te; Woldorff, Marty G

2011-06-07

It is generally agreed that considerable amounts of low-level sensory processing of visual stimuli can occur without conscious awareness. On the other hand, the degree of higher level visual processing that occurs in the absence of awareness is as yet unclear. Here, event-related potential (ERP) measures of brain activity were recorded during a sandwich-masking paradigm, a commonly used approach for attenuating conscious awareness of visual stimulus content. In particular, the present study used a combination of ERP activation contrasts to track both early sensory-processing ERP components and face-specific N170 ERP activations, in trials with versus without awareness. The electrophysiological measures revealed that the sandwich masking abolished the early face-specific N170 neural response (peaking at ~170 ms post-stimulus), an effect that paralleled the abolition of awareness of face versus non-face image content. Furthermore, however, the masking appeared to render a strong attenuation of earlier feedforward visual sensory-processing signals. This early attenuation presumably resulted in insufficient information being fed into the higher level visual system pathways specific to object category processing, thus leading to unawareness of the visual object content. These results support a coupling of visual awareness and neural indices of face processing, while also demonstrating an early low-level mechanism of interference in sandwich masking.

Effects of awareness interventions on children's attitudes toward peers with a visual impairment.

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Reina, Raul; López, Víctor; Jiménez, Mario; García-Calvo, Tomás; Hutzler, Yeshayahu

2011-09-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of two awareness programs (6-day vs. 1-day programs) on children's attitudes toward peers with a visual impairment. Three hundred and forty-four Spanish physical education students (164 girls and 180 boys) aged 10-15 years, took part in the study. A modified version of the Attitudes Toward Disability Questionnaire (ATDQ) was used, which includes three sub-scales: (i) cognitive perceptions, (ii) emotional perception, and (iii) behavioral readiness to interact with children with disabilities. The questionnaire was filled out during the regular physical education class before and immediately after the awareness activity. The 6-day didactical unit included a lecture on visual impairments and a video describing visual impairments and the game of 5-a-side soccer (first lesson), sensibilization activities toward visual impairment (second and third lessons), training and competitive 5-a-side soccer tasks using blindfolded goggles (fourth and fifth lessons), and a sport show and chat with soccer players with a visual impairment (sixth lesson). The 1-day awareness unit only included the final session of the didactical activity. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant time effects in the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral subscales. Sex also was found to demonstrate significant effects, in which women showed more favorable results than men. A time-by-group intervention effect was only demonstrated in the cognitive sub-scale, and the 6-day didactic intervention was more effective than the 1-day awareness unit.

Visual awareness suppression by pre-stimulus brain stimulation; a neural effect.

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Jacobs, Christianne; Goebel, Rainer; Sack, Alexander T

2012-01-02

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has established the functional relevance of early visual cortex (EVC) for visual awareness with great temporal specificity non-invasively in conscious human volunteers. Many studies have found a suppressive effect when TMS was applied over EVC 80-100 ms after the onset of the visual stimulus (post-stimulus TMS time window). Yet, few studies found task performance to also suffer when TMS was applied even before visual stimulus presentation (pre-stimulus TMS time window). This pre-stimulus TMS effect, however, remains controversially debated and its origin had mainly been ascribed to TMS-induced eye-blinking artifacts. Here, we applied chronometric TMS over EVC during the execution of a visual discrimination task, covering an exhaustive range of visual stimulus-locked TMS time windows ranging from -80 pre-stimulus to 300 ms post-stimulus onset. Electrooculographical (EoG) recordings, sham TMS stimulation, and vertex TMS stimulation controlled for different types of non-neural TMS effects. Our findings clearly reveal TMS-induced masking effects for both pre- and post-stimulus time windows, and for both objective visual discrimination performance and subjective visibility. Importantly, all effects proved to be still present after post hoc removal of eye blink trials, suggesting a neural origin for the pre-stimulus TMS suppression effect on visual awareness. We speculate based on our data that TMS exerts its pre-stimulus effect via generation of a neural state which interacts with subsequent visual input. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Barack Obama Blindness (BOB): Absence of Visual Awareness to a Single Object.

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Persuh, Marjan; Melara, Robert D

2016-01-01

In two experiments, we evaluated whether a perceiver's prior expectations could alone obliterate his or her awareness of a salient visual stimulus. To establish expectancy, observers first made a demanding visual discrimination on each of three baseline trials. Then, on a fourth, critical trial, a single, salient and highly visible object appeared in full view at the center of the visual field and in the absence of any competing visual input. Surprisingly, fully half of the participants were unaware of the solitary object in front of their eyes. Dramatically, observers were blind even when the only stimulus on display was the face of U.S. President Barack Obama. We term this novel, counterintuitive phenomenon, Barack Obama Blindness (BOB). Employing a method that rules out putative memory effects by probing awareness immediately after presentation of the critical stimulus, we demonstrate that the BOB effect is a true failure of conscious vision.

Barack Obama Blindness (BOB: Absence of visual awareness to a single object

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Marjan ePersuh

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In two experiments we evaluated whether a perceiver’s prior expectations could alone obliterate his or her awareness of a salient visual stimulus. To establish expectancy, observers first made a demanding visual discrimination on each of three baseline trials. Then, on a fourth, critical trial, a single, salient and highly visible object appeared in full view at the center of the visual field and in the absence of any competing visual input. Surprisingly, fully half of the participants were unaware of the solitary object in front of their eyes. Dramatically, observers were blind even when the only stimulus on display was the face of U.S. President Barack Obama. We term this novel, counterintuitive phenomenon, Barack Obama Blindness (BOB. Employing a method that rules out putative memory effects by probing awareness immediately after presentation of the critical stimulus, we demonstrate that the BOB effect is a true failure of conscious vision.

Seeing without knowing: task relevance dissociates between visual awareness and recognition.

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Eitam, Baruch; Shoval, Roy; Yeshurun, Yaffa

2015-03-01

We demonstrate that task relevance dissociates between visual awareness and knowledge activation to create a state of seeing without knowing-visual awareness of familiar stimuli without recognizing them. We rely on the fact that in order to experience a Kanizsa illusion, participants must be aware of its inducers. While people can indicate the orientation of the illusory rectangle with great ease (signifying that they have consciously experienced the illusion's inducers), almost 30% of them could not report the inducers' color. Thus, people can see, in the sense of phenomenally experiencing, but not know, in the sense of recognizing what the object is or activating appropriate knowledge about it. Experiment 2 tests whether relevance-based selection operates within objects and shows that, contrary to the pattern of results found with features of different objects in our previous studies and replicated in Experiment 1, selection does not occur when both relevant and irrelevant features belong to the same object. We discuss these findings in relation to the existing theories of consciousness and to attention and inattentional blindness, and the role of cognitive load, object-based attention, and the use of self-reports as measures of awareness. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Testing the impact on natural risks' awareness of visual communication through an exhibition

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Charrière, Marie; Bogaard, Thom; Junier, Sandra; Malet, Jean-Philippe; Mostert, Erik

2014-05-01

The need to communicate about natural disasters in order to improve the awareness of communities at risk is not a matter for debate anymore. However, communication can be implemented using different media and tools, and their effectiveness may be difficult to grasp. Current research on the topic is usually focused on assessing whether communication practices meet users' needs, whereas impact assessment is mostly left out. It can be explained by difficulties arising from (1) the definition of the impact to measure, i.e. awareness, and the appropriate indicators to measure it and its variations, and (2) the implementation of a research design that allows assessing these impacts without bias. This research aims at both developing a methodology to measure risk awareness and to use it for testing the effectiveness of visual communication. The testing was conducted in the Ubaye Valley in France, an alpine area affected by multiple hazards, from December 2013 to mid-February 2014. The setting consisted of an exhibition in the public library of the main town, Barcelonnette. The main natural hazards of the study case (i.e. landslides, avalanches, flooding, debris flows and earthquakes), as well as structural and non-structural measures were presented to the general public using local examples of hazards events and mitigation. Various visualization tools were used: videos, Google earth map, interactive timeline, objects, mock-ups, technical devices as well as posters with pictures, drawings and graphs. In order to assess the effects of the exhibition on risk awareness, several groups of children and adults were submitted to a research design, consisting of 1) a pre-test, 2) the visit of the exhibition and 3) a post-test similar to the pre-test. Close-ended questions addressed the awareness indicators according to the literature, i.e. worry level, previous experiences with natural hazards events, exposure to awareness raising, ability to mitigate/respond/prepare, attitude to

The Effect of Eye Contact Is Contingent on Visual Awareness

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Shan Xu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The present study explored how eye contact at different levels of visual awareness influences gaze-induced joint attention. We adopted a spatial-cueing paradigm, in which an averted gaze was used as an uninformative central cue for a joint-attention task. Prior to the onset of the averted-gaze cue, either supraliminal (Experiment 1 or subliminal (Experiment 2 eye contact was presented. The results revealed a larger subsequent gaze-cueing effect following supraliminal eye contact compared to a no-contact condition. In contrast, the gaze-cueing effect was smaller in the subliminal eye-contact condition than in the no-contact condition. These findings suggest that the facilitation effect of eye contact on coordinating social attention depends on visual awareness. Furthermore, subliminal eye contact might have an impact on subsequent social attention processes that differ from supraliminal eye contact. This study highlights the need to further investigate the role of eye contact in implicit social cognition.

Treemap Visualizations for Space Situational Awareness

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Ianni, J.; Gorrell, Z.

Making sense of massive data sets is a problem for many military domains including space. With unwieldy big data sets used for space situational awareness (SSA), important trends and outliers may not be easy to spot especially not at-a-glance. One method being explored to visualize SSA data sets is called treemapping. Treemaps fill screen space with nested rectangles (tiles) of various sizes and colors to represent multiple dimensions of hierarchical data sets. By mapping these dimensions effectively with a tiling algorithm that maintains an appropriate aspect ratio, patterns can emerge that often would have gone unnoticed. The ability to interactively perform range filtering (in our case with sliders) and object drill-downs (hyperlinking the tiles) make this technology powerful for in-depth analyses in addition to at-a-glance awareness. For one SSA analysis, the tiles could represent satellites that are grouped by country, sized by apogee, and colored/shaded by the launch date. Filter sliders could allow apogee range or launch dates to be narrowed for better resolution of a smaller data set. The application of this technology for the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) Mission System (JMS) is being explored on a DARPA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) effort as a plug-in to the existing User-Defined Operational Picture (UDOP). In addition, visualization of DARPA OrbitOutlook small telescope data will be demonstrated. This research will investigate what SSA analyses are best served by treemaps, the best tiling algorithms for these problems, and how the treemaps should be integrated into the existing JMS UDOP workflow. Finally, we introduce a variation of treemaps that help leaders allocate their time to tasks based on importance and urgency.

Differential Visual Processing of Animal Images, with and without Conscious Awareness.

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Zhu, Weina; Drewes, Jan; Peatfield, Nicholas A; Melcher, David

2016-01-01

The human visual system can quickly and efficiently extract categorical information from a complex natural scene. The rapid detection of animals in a scene is one compelling example of this phenomenon, and it suggests the automatic processing of at least some types of categories with little or no attentional requirements (Li et al., 2002, 2005). The aim of this study is to investigate whether the remarkable capability to categorize complex natural scenes exist in the absence of awareness, based on recent reports that "invisible" stimuli, which do not reach conscious awareness, can still be processed by the human visual system (Pasley et al., 2004; Williams et al., 2004; Fang and He, 2005; Jiang et al., 2006, 2007; Kaunitz et al., 2011a). In two experiments, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to animal and non-animal/vehicle stimuli in both aware and unaware conditions in a continuous flash suppression (CFS) paradigm. Our results indicate that even in the "unseen" condition, the brain responds differently to animal and non-animal/vehicle images, consistent with rapid activation of animal-selective feature detectors prior to, or outside of, suppression by the CFS mask.

On the use of continuous flash suppression for the study of visual processing outside of awareness

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Eunice eYang

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The interocular suppression technique termed continuous flash suppression (CFS has become an immensely popular tool for investigating visual processing outside of awareness. The emerging picture from studies using CFS is that extensive processing of a visual stimulus, including its semantic and affective content, occurs despite suppression from awareness of that stimulus by CFS. However, the current implementation of CFS in many studies examining processing outside of awareness has several drawbacks that may be improved upon for future studies using CFS. In this paper, we address some of those shortcomings, particularly ones that affect the assessment of unawareness during CFS, and ones to do with the use of ‘visible’ conditions that are often included as a comparison to a CFS condition. We also discuss potential biases in stimulus processing as a result of spatial attention and feature-selective suppression. We suggest practical guidelines that minimize the effects of those limitations in using CFS to study visual processing outside of awareness.

A Closed-Loop Model of Operator Visual Attention, Situation Awareness, and Performance Across Automation Mode Transitions.

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Johnson, Aaron W; Duda, Kevin R; Sheridan, Thomas B; Oman, Charles M

2017-03-01

This article describes a closed-loop, integrated human-vehicle model designed to help understand the underlying cognitive processes that influenced changes in subject visual attention, mental workload, and situation awareness across control mode transitions in a simulated human-in-the-loop lunar landing experiment. Control mode transitions from autopilot to manual flight may cause total attentional demands to exceed operator capacity. Attentional resources must be reallocated and reprioritized, which can increase the average uncertainty in the operator's estimates of low-priority system states. We define this increase in uncertainty as a reduction in situation awareness. We present a model built upon the optimal control model for state estimation, the crossover model for manual control, and the SEEV (salience, effort, expectancy, value) model for visual attention. We modify the SEEV attention executive to direct visual attention based, in part, on the uncertainty in the operator's estimates of system states. The model was validated using the simulated lunar landing experimental data, demonstrating an average difference in the percentage of attention ≤3.6% for all simulator instruments. The model's predictions of mental workload and situation awareness, measured by task performance and system state uncertainty, also mimicked the experimental data. Our model supports the hypothesis that visual attention is influenced by the uncertainty in system state estimates. Conceptualizing situation awareness around the metric of system state uncertainty is a valuable way for system designers to understand and predict how reallocations in the operator's visual attention during control mode transitions can produce reallocations in situation awareness of certain states.

High-level face shape adaptation depends on visual awareness : Evidence from continuous flash suppression

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stein, T.; Sterzer, P.

When incompatible images are presented to the two eyes, one image dominates awareness while the other is rendered invisible by interocular suppression. It has remained unclear whether complex visual information can reach high-level processing stages in the ventral visual pathway during such

Disruption of visual awareness during the attentional blink is reflected by selective disruption of late-stage neural processing

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Harris, Joseph A.; McMahon, Alex R.; Woldorff, Marty G.

2015-01-01

Any information represented in the brain holds the potential to influence behavior. It is therefore of broad interest to determine the extent and quality of neural processing of stimulus input that occurs with and without awareness. The attentional blink is a useful tool for dissociating neural and behavioral measures of perceptual visual processing across conditions of awareness. The extent of higher-order visual information beyond basic sensory signaling that is processed during the attentional blink remains controversial. To determine what neural processing at the level of visual-object identification occurs in the absence of awareness, electrophysiological responses to images of faces and houses were recorded both within and outside of the attentional blink period during a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream. Electrophysiological results were sorted according to behavioral performance (correctly identified targets versus missed targets) within these blink and non-blink periods. An early index of face-specific processing (the N170, 140–220 ms post-stimulus) was observed regardless of whether the subject demonstrated awareness of the stimulus, whereas a later face-specific effect with the same topographic distribution (500–700 ms post-stimulus) was only seen for accurate behavioral discrimination of the stimulus content. The present findings suggest a multi-stage process of object-category processing, with only the later phase being associated with explicit visual awareness. PMID:23859644

Attention capture without awareness in a non-spatial selection task.

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Oriet, Chris; Pandey, Mamata; Kawahara, Jun-Ichiro

2017-02-01

Distractors presented prior to a critical target in a rapid sequence of visually-presented items induce a lag-dependent deficit in target identification, particularly when the distractor shares a task-relevant feature of the target. Presumably, such capture of central attention is important for bringing a target into awareness. The results of the present investigation suggest that greater capture of attention by a distractor is not accompanied by greater awareness of it. Moreover, awareness tends to be limited to superficial characteristics of the target such as colour. The findings are interpreted within the context of a model that assumes sudden increases in arousal trigger selection of information for consolidation in working memory. In this conceptualization, prolonged analysis of distractor items sharing task-relevant features leads to larger target identification deficits (i.e., greater capture) but no increase in awareness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phoneme Awareness, Visual-Verbal Paired-Associate Learning, and Rapid Automatized Naming as Predictors of Individual Differences in Reading Ability

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Warmington, Meesha; Hulme, Charles

2012-01-01

This study examines the concurrent relationships between phoneme awareness, visual-verbal paired-associate learning, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and reading skills in 7- to 11-year-old children. Path analyses showed that visual-verbal paired-associate learning and RAN, but not phoneme awareness, were unique predictors of word recognition,…

Increasing awareness and preparedness by an exhibition and studying the effect of visuals

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Charrière, Marie; Bogaard, Thom; Malet, Jean-Philippe; Mostert, Erik

2013-04-01

Damages caused by natural hazards can be reduced not only by protection, management and intervention activities, but also by information and communication to improve awareness and preparedness of local communities and tourists. Risk communication is particularly crucial for mountainous areas, such as the Ubaye Valley (France), as they are affected by multiple hazards and are particularly sensitive to the potential effects of climate and socio-economic changes which may increase the risk associated with natural hazards significantly. An exhibition is a powerful tool to communicate with the general public. It allows1: (1) targeting specific audiences, (2) transmitting technical and scientific knowledge using a suitable language, (3) anchoring the collective memory of past events, (4) visualize and emotionalize the topic of natural hazards, (5) strengthening the communication between peers, and (6) highlighting local resources and knowledge. In addition to these theoretical advantages, an exhibition may fulfill the requirements of a community. In the Ubaye Valley (France), this tool was proposed by the stakeholders themselves to increase awareness and preparedness of the general public. To meet this demand, the exhibition was designed following three general topics: (1) the natural phenomena and their potential consequences on the elements at risk, (2) the management and protection measures (individual and collective) and (3) the evolution of events and knowledge throughout past up to the present and the anticipation of the future situations. Besides being a real risk communication practice, this exhibition will be the setting for an extensive research project studying the effect of the use of visualization tools on the awareness and preparedness of a community. A wide range of visuals (photos, videos, maps, models, animations, multimedia, etc.) will present many dimensions of locally occurring natural hazards and risk problems. The aim of the research is (1) to

A Location Aware Middleware Framework for Collaborative Visual Information Discovery and Retrieval

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2017-09-14

scalable location-aware distributed indexing to enable the leveraging of collaborative effort for the construction and maintenance of world-scale visual... Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.1 Related Works...build an image-based database for road navigation, Google hires cars to drive and take pictures along roads . For this effort to have complete global

Semantically Induced Distortions of Visual Awareness in a Patient with Balint's Syndrome

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Soto, David; Humphreys, Glyn W.

2009-01-01

We present data indicating that visual awareness for a basic perceptual feature (colour) can be influenced by the relation between the feature and the semantic properties of the stimulus. We examined semantic interference from the meaning of a colour word ("RED") on simple colour (ink related) detection responses in a patient with simultagnosia…

Acting without seeing: Eye movements reveal visual processing without awareness Miriam Spering & Marisa Carrasco

OpenAIRE

Spering, Miriam; Carrasco, Marisa

2015-01-01

Visual perception and eye movements are considered to be tightly linked. Diverse fields, ranging from developmental psychology to computer science, utilize eye tracking to measure visual perception. However, this prevailing view has been challenged by recent behavioral studies. We review converging evidence revealing dissociations between the contents of perceptual awareness and different types of eye movements. Such dissociations reveal situations in which eye movements are sensitive to part...

Using Visual Analytics to Maintain Situation Awareness in Astrophysics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragon, Cecilia R.; Poon, Sarah S.; Aldering, Gregory S.; Thomas, Rollin C.; Quimby, Robert

2008-07-01

We present a novel collaborative visual analytics application for cognitively overloaded users in the astrophysics domain. The system was developed for scientists needing to analyze heterogeneous, complex data under time pressure, and then make predictions and time-critical decisions rapidly and correctly under a constant influx of changing data. The Sunfall Data Taking system utilizes severalnovel visualization and analysis techniques to enable a team of geographically distributed domain specialists to effectively and remotely maneuver a custom-built instrument under challenging operational conditions. Sunfall Data Taking has been in use for over eighteen months by a major international astrophysics collaboration (the largest data volume supernova search currently in operation), and has substantially improved the operational efficiency of its users. We describe the system design process by an interdisciplinary team, the system architecture, and the results of an informal usability evaluation of the production system by domain experts in the context of Endsley?s three levels of situation awareness.

Effects of Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Navigation Cues on Navigation Performance, Situation Awareness, and Mental Workload

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Davis, Bradley M

2007-01-01

.... Results from both experiments indicate that augmented visual displays reduced time to complete navigation, maintained situation awareness, and drastically reduced mental workload in comparison...

Predictive information speeds up visual awareness in an individuation task by modulating threshold setting, not processing efficiency.

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De Loof, Esther; Van Opstal, Filip; Verguts, Tom

2016-04-01

Theories on visual awareness claim that predicted stimuli reach awareness faster than unpredicted ones. In the current study, we disentangle whether prior information about the upcoming stimulus affects visual awareness of stimulus location (i.e., individuation) by modulating processing efficiency or threshold setting. Analogous research on stimulus identification revealed that prior information modulates threshold setting. However, as identification and individuation are two functionally and neurally distinct processes, the mechanisms underlying identification cannot simply be extrapolated directly to individuation. The goal of this study was therefore to investigate how individuation is influenced by prior information about the upcoming stimulus. To do so, a drift diffusion model was fitted to estimate the processing efficiency and threshold setting for predicted versus unpredicted stimuli in a cued individuation paradigm. Participants were asked to locate a picture, following a cue that was congruent, incongruent or neutral with respect to the picture's identity. Pictures were individuated faster in the congruent and neutral condition compared to the incongruent condition. In the diffusion model analysis, the processing efficiency was not significantly different across conditions. However, the threshold setting was significantly higher following an incongruent cue compared to both congruent and neutral cues. Our results indicate that predictive information about the upcoming stimulus influences visual awareness by shifting the threshold for individuation rather than by enhancing processing efficiency. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contingency blindness: location-identity binding mismatches obscure awareness of spatial contingencies and produce profound interference in visual working memory.

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Fiacconi, Chris M; Milliken, Bruce

2012-08-01

The purpose of the present study was to highlight the role of location-identity binding mismatches in obscuring explicit awareness of a strong contingency. In a spatial-priming procedure, we introduced a high likelihood of location-repeat trials. Experiments 1, 2a, and 2b demonstrated that participants' explicit awareness of this contingency was heavily influenced by the local match in location-identity bindings. In Experiment 3, we sought to determine why location-identity binding mismatches produce such low levels of contingency awareness. Our results suggest that binding mismatches can interfere substantially with visual-memory performance. We attribute the low levels of contingency awareness to participants' inability to remember the critical location-identity binding in the prime on a trial-to-trial basis. These results imply a close interplay between object files and visual working memory.

Supporting learning skills in visual art classes: The benefits of teacher awareness

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Helen Arov

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study focused on middle school art teachers supporting the development of students learning skills, specifically their awareness of the framework of learning skills. It also looked at the relations between the teaching practices teachers use for supporting learning skills and students' learning motivation in art classes. The study combined qualitative and quantitative research methods. The class observations and interviews were conducted with ten Estonian middle school art teachers. One hundred and forty-eight students from the observed classes filled out the learning motivation questionnaire about their interest and achievement goals in visual arts. The study draws attention to the importance of teachers being aware of and valuing learning skills alongside subject specific knowledge, as it could enhance students autonomous motivation and support adaptive goal setting.

Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness

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Forder, Lewis; Taylor, Olivia; Mankin, Helen; Scott, Ryan B.; Franklin, Anna

2016-01-01

The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry), detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this paradigm and further investigated whether colour terms likewise influence the detection of colours or colour-associated object images suppressed from visual awareness by continuous flash suppression. This method presents rapidly changing visual noise to one eye while the target stimulus is presented to the other. It has been shown to delay conscious perception of a target for up to several minutes. In Experiment 1 we presented greyscale photos of objects. They were either preceded by a congruent object label, an incongruent label, or white noise. Detection sensitivity (d’) and hit rates were significantly poorer for suppressed objects preceded by an incongruent label compared to a congruent label or noise. In Experiment 2, targets were coloured discs preceded by a colour term. Detection sensitivity was significantly worse for suppressed colour patches preceded by an incongruent colour term as compared to a congruent term or white noise. In Experiment 3 targets were suppressed greyscale object images preceded by an auditory presentation of a colour term. On congruent trials the colour term matched the object’s stereotypical colour and on incongruent trials the colour term mismatched. Detection sensitivity was significantly poorer on incongruent trials than congruent trials. Overall, these findings suggest that colour terms affect awareness of coloured stimuli and colour- associated objects, and provide new evidence for language-perception interaction in the brain. PMID:27023274

Own-race and own-age biases facilitate visual awareness of faces under interocular suppression

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Timo eStein

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The detection of a face in a visual scene is the first stage in the face processing hierarchy. Although all subsequent, more elaborate face processing depends on the initial detection of a face, surprisingly little is known about the perceptual mechanisms underlying face detection. Recent evidence suggests that relatively hard-wired face detection mechanisms are broadly tuned to all face-like visual patterns as long as they respect the typical spatial configuration of the eyes above the mouth. Here, we qualify this notion by showing that face detection mechanisms are also sensitive to face shape and facial surface reflectance properties. We used continuous flash suppression (CFS to render faces invisible at the beginning of a trial and measured the time upright and inverted faces needed to break into awareness. Young Caucasian adult observers were presented with faces from their own race or from another race (race experiment and with faces from their own age group or from another age group (age experiment. Faces matching the observers’ own race and age group were detected more quickly. Moreover, the advantage of upright over inverted faces in overcoming CFS, i.e. the face inversion effect, was larger for own-race and own-age faces. These results demonstrate that differences in face shape and surface reflectance influence access to awareness and configural face processing at the initial detection stage. Although we did not collect data from observers of another race or age group, these findings are a first indication that face detection mechanisms are shaped by visual experience with faces from one’s own social group. Such experience-based fine-tuning of face detection mechanisms may equip in-group faces with a competitive advantage for access to conscious awareness.

Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness.

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Forder, Lewis; Taylor, Olivia; Mankin, Helen; Scott, Ryan B; Franklin, Anna

2016-01-01

The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry), detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this paradigm and further investigated whether colour terms likewise influence the detection of colours or colour-associated object images suppressed from visual awareness by continuous flash suppression. This method presents rapidly changing visual noise to one eye while the target stimulus is presented to the other. It has been shown to delay conscious perception of a target for up to several minutes. In Experiment 1 we presented greyscale photos of objects. They were either preceded by a congruent object label, an incongruent label, or white noise. Detection sensitivity (d') and hit rates were significantly poorer for suppressed objects preceded by an incongruent label compared to a congruent label or noise. In Experiment 2, targets were coloured discs preceded by a colour term. Detection sensitivity was significantly worse for suppressed colour patches preceded by an incongruent colour term as compared to a congruent term or white noise. In Experiment 3 targets were suppressed greyscale object images preceded by an auditory presentation of a colour term. On congruent trials the colour term matched the object's stereotypical colour and on incongruent trials the colour term mismatched. Detection sensitivity was significantly poorer on incongruent trials than congruent trials. Overall, these findings suggest that colour terms affect awareness of coloured stimuli and colour- associated objects, and provide new evidence for language-perception interaction in the brain.

Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lewis Forder

Full Text Available The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry, detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this paradigm and further investigated whether colour terms likewise influence the detection of colours or colour-associated object images suppressed from visual awareness by continuous flash suppression. This method presents rapidly changing visual noise to one eye while the target stimulus is presented to the other. It has been shown to delay conscious perception of a target for up to several minutes. In Experiment 1 we presented greyscale photos of objects. They were either preceded by a congruent object label, an incongruent label, or white noise. Detection sensitivity (d' and hit rates were significantly poorer for suppressed objects preceded by an incongruent label compared to a congruent label or noise. In Experiment 2, targets were coloured discs preceded by a colour term. Detection sensitivity was significantly worse for suppressed colour patches preceded by an incongruent colour term as compared to a congruent term or white noise. In Experiment 3 targets were suppressed greyscale object images preceded by an auditory presentation of a colour term. On congruent trials the colour term matched the object's stereotypical colour and on incongruent trials the colour term mismatched. Detection sensitivity was significantly poorer on incongruent trials than congruent trials. Overall, these findings suggest that colour terms affect awareness of coloured stimuli and colour- associated objects, and provide new evidence for language-perception interaction in the brain.

asking questions for higher order thinking in visual literacy

African Journals Online (AJOL)

thinking skills in the English visual literacy (VL) learning classroom. .... out that the use of assessment in the classroom as a tool to promote greater learner ..... tions on technical knowledge and critical language awareness were not asked.

Unifying Terrain Awareness for the Visually Impaired through Real-Time Semantic Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kailun Yang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Navigational assistance aims to help visually-impaired people to ambulate the environment safely and independently. This topic becomes challenging as it requires detecting a wide variety of scenes to provide higher level assistive awareness. Vision-based technologies with monocular detectors or depth sensors have sprung up within several years of research. These separate approaches have achieved remarkable results with relatively low processing time and have improved the mobility of impaired people to a large extent. However, running all detectors jointly increases the latency and burdens the computational resources. In this paper, we put forward seizing pixel-wise semantic segmentation to cover navigation-related perception needs in a unified way. This is critical not only for the terrain awareness regarding traversable areas, sidewalks, stairs and water hazards, but also for the avoidance of short-range obstacles, fast-approaching pedestrians and vehicles. The core of our unification proposal is a deep architecture, aimed at attaining efficient semantic understanding. We have integrated the approach in a wearable navigation system by incorporating robust depth segmentation. A comprehensive set of experiments prove the qualified accuracy over state-of-the-art methods while maintaining real-time speed. We also present a closed-loop field test involving real visually-impaired users, demonstrating the effectivity and versatility of the assistive framework.

Attentional bias to food-related visual cues: is there a role in obesity?

Science.gov (United States)

Doolan, K J; Breslin, G; Hanna, D; Gallagher, A M

2015-02-01

The incentive sensitisation model of obesity suggests that modification of the dopaminergic associated reward systems in the brain may result in increased awareness of food-related visual cues present in the current food environment. Having a heightened awareness of these visual food cues may impact on food choices and eating behaviours with those being most aware of or demonstrating greater attention to food-related stimuli potentially being at greater risk of overeating and subsequent weight gain. To date, research related to attentional responses to visual food cues has been both limited and conflicting. Such inconsistent findings may in part be explained by the use of different methodological approaches to measure attentional bias and the impact of other factors such as hunger levels, energy density of visual food cues and individual eating style traits that may influence visual attention to food-related cues outside of weight status alone. This review examines the various methodologies employed to measure attentional bias with a particular focus on the role that attentional processing of food-related visual cues may have in obesity. Based on the findings of this review, it appears that it may be too early to clarify the role visual attention to food-related cues may have in obesity. Results however highlight the importance of considering the most appropriate methodology to use when measuring attentional bias and the characteristics of the study populations targeted while interpreting results to date and in designing future studies.

No impact of affective person knowledge on visual awareness : Evidence from binocular rivalry and continuous flash suppression

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stein, T.; Grubb, C.; Bertrand, M.; Suh, S.M.; Verosky, S.C.

2017-01-01

Stimuli with intrinsic emotional value, like emotional faces, and stimuli associated with reward and punishment are often prioritized in visual awareness relative to neutral stimuli. Recently, Anderson, Siegel, Bliss-Moreau, and Barrett (2011) demonstrated that simply associating a face with

Relationships between Categorical Perception of Phonemes, Phoneme Awareness, and Visual Attention Span in Developmental Dyslexia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Zoubrinetzky

Full Text Available We tested the hypothesis that the categorical perception deficit of speech sounds in developmental dyslexia is related to phoneme awareness skills, whereas a visual attention (VA span deficit constitutes an independent deficit. Phoneme awareness tasks, VA span tasks and categorical perception tasks of phoneme identification and discrimination using a d/t voicing continuum were administered to 63 dyslexic children and 63 control children matched on chronological age. Results showed significant differences in categorical perception between the dyslexic and control children. Significant correlations were found between categorical perception skills, phoneme awareness and reading. Although VA span correlated with reading, no significant correlations were found between either categorical perception or phoneme awareness and VA span. Mediation analyses performed on the whole dyslexic sample suggested that the effect of categorical perception on reading might be mediated by phoneme awareness. This relationship was independent of the participants' VA span abilities. Two groups of dyslexic children with a single phoneme awareness or a single VA span deficit were then identified. The phonologically impaired group showed lower categorical perception skills than the control group but categorical perception was similar in the VA span impaired dyslexic and control children. The overall findings suggest that the link between categorical perception, phoneme awareness and reading is independent from VA span skills. These findings provide new insights on the heterogeneity of developmental dyslexia. They suggest that phonological processes and VA span independently affect reading acquisition.

Relationships between Categorical Perception of Phonemes, Phoneme Awareness, and Visual Attention Span in Developmental Dyslexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoubrinetzky, Rachel; Collet, Gregory; Serniclaes, Willy; Nguyen-Morel, Marie-Ange; Valdois, Sylviane

2016-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that the categorical perception deficit of speech sounds in developmental dyslexia is related to phoneme awareness skills, whereas a visual attention (VA) span deficit constitutes an independent deficit. Phoneme awareness tasks, VA span tasks and categorical perception tasks of phoneme identification and discrimination using a d/t voicing continuum were administered to 63 dyslexic children and 63 control children matched on chronological age. Results showed significant differences in categorical perception between the dyslexic and control children. Significant correlations were found between categorical perception skills, phoneme awareness and reading. Although VA span correlated with reading, no significant correlations were found between either categorical perception or phoneme awareness and VA span. Mediation analyses performed on the whole dyslexic sample suggested that the effect of categorical perception on reading might be mediated by phoneme awareness. This relationship was independent of the participants' VA span abilities. Two groups of dyslexic children with a single phoneme awareness or a single VA span deficit were then identified. The phonologically impaired group showed lower categorical perception skills than the control group but categorical perception was similar in the VA span impaired dyslexic and control children. The overall findings suggest that the link between categorical perception, phoneme awareness and reading is independent from VA span skills. These findings provide new insights on the heterogeneity of developmental dyslexia. They suggest that phonological processes and VA span independently affect reading acquisition.

Relationships between Categorical Perception of Phonemes, Phoneme Awareness, and Visual Attention Span in Developmental Dyslexia

Science.gov (United States)

Zoubrinetzky, Rachel; Collet, Gregory; Serniclaes, Willy; Nguyen-Morel, Marie-Ange; Valdois, Sylviane

2016-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that the categorical perception deficit of speech sounds in developmental dyslexia is related to phoneme awareness skills, whereas a visual attention (VA) span deficit constitutes an independent deficit. Phoneme awareness tasks, VA span tasks and categorical perception tasks of phoneme identification and discrimination using a d/t voicing continuum were administered to 63 dyslexic children and 63 control children matched on chronological age. Results showed significant differences in categorical perception between the dyslexic and control children. Significant correlations were found between categorical perception skills, phoneme awareness and reading. Although VA span correlated with reading, no significant correlations were found between either categorical perception or phoneme awareness and VA span. Mediation analyses performed on the whole dyslexic sample suggested that the effect of categorical perception on reading might be mediated by phoneme awareness. This relationship was independent of the participants’ VA span abilities. Two groups of dyslexic children with a single phoneme awareness or a single VA span deficit were then identified. The phonologically impaired group showed lower categorical perception skills than the control group but categorical perception was similar in the VA span impaired dyslexic and control children. The overall findings suggest that the link between categorical perception, phoneme awareness and reading is independent from VA span skills. These findings provide new insights on the heterogeneity of developmental dyslexia. They suggest that phonological processes and VA span independently affect reading acquisition. PMID:26950210

Low-complex energy-aware image communication in visual sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Phamila, Yesudhas Asnath Victy; Amutha, Ramachandran

2013-10-01

A low-complex, low bit rate, energy-efficient image compression algorithm explicitly designed for resource-constrained visual sensor networks applied for surveillance, battle field, habitat monitoring, etc. is presented, where voluminous amount of image data has to be communicated over a bandwidth-limited wireless medium. The proposed method overcomes the energy limitation of individual nodes and is investigated in terms of image quality, entropy, processing time, overall energy consumption, and system lifetime. This algorithm is highly energy efficient and extremely fast since it applies energy-aware zonal binary discrete cosine transform (DCT) that computes only the few required significant coefficients and codes them using enhanced complementary Golomb Rice code without using any floating point operations. Experiments are performed using the Atmel Atmega128 and MSP430 processors to measure the resultant energy savings. Simulation results show that the proposed energy-aware fast zonal transform consumes only 0.3% of energy needed by conventional DCT. This algorithm consumes only 6% of energy needed by Independent JPEG Group (fast) version, and it suits for embedded systems requiring low power consumption. The proposed scheme is unique since it significantly enhances the lifetime of the camera sensor node and the network without any need for distributed processing as was traditionally required in existing algorithms.

Knowledge Discovery for Smart Grid Operation, Control, and Situation Awareness -- A Big Data Visualization Platform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gu, Yi; Jiang, Huaiguang; Zhang, Yingchen; Zhang, Jun Jason; Gao, Tianlu; Muljadi, Eduard

2016-11-21

In this paper, a big data visualization platform is designed to discover the hidden useful knowledge for smart grid (SG) operation, control and situation awareness. The spawn of smart sensors at both grid side and customer side can provide large volume of heterogeneous data that collect information in all time spectrums. Extracting useful knowledge from this big-data poll is still challenging. In this paper, the Apache Spark, an open source cluster computing framework, is used to process the big-data to effectively discover the hidden knowledge. A high-speed communication architecture utilizing the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model is designed to transmit the data to a visualization platform. This visualization platform uses Google Earth, a global geographic information system (GIS) to link the geological information with the SG knowledge and visualize the information in user defined fashion. The University of Denver's campus grid is used as a SG test bench and several demonstrations are presented for the proposed platform.

Susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion does not tell the whole body-awareness story.

Science.gov (United States)

David, Nicole; Fiori, Francesca; Aglioti, Salvatore M

2014-03-01

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is an enigmatic illusion that creates a feeling of owning an artificial limb. Enthusiasts of this paradigm assert that it operationalizes bodily self-awareness, but there are reasons to doubt such a clear link. Because little is known about other functional contributions to the RHI, including effects of context-dependent visual processing and cognitive control or the ability to resolve intermodal conflict, we carried out two complementary experiments. In the first, we examined the relationships between the RHI and (1) body awareness, as assessed by the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ); (2) context-dependent visual processing, as assessed by the rod-and-frame test (RFT); and (3) conflict resolution, as assessed by the Stroop test. We found a significant positive correlation between the RHI-associated proprioceptive drift and context-dependent visual processing on the RFT, but not between the RHI and body awareness on the BPQ. In the second experiment, we examined the RHI in advanced yoga practitioners with an embodied lifestyle and a heightened sense of their own body in space. They succumbed to the illusion just as much as did yoga-naïve control participants, despite significantly greater body awareness on the BPQ. These findings suggest that susceptibility to the RHI and awareness of one's own body are at least partially independent processes.

Structure-aware Local Sparse Coding for Visual Tracking

KAUST Repository

Qi, Yuankai

2018-01-24

Sparse coding has been applied to visual tracking and related vision problems with demonstrated success in recent years. Existing tracking methods based on local sparse coding sample patches from a target candidate and sparsely encode these using a dictionary consisting of patches sampled from target template images. The discriminative strength of existing methods based on local sparse coding is limited as spatial structure constraints among the template patches are not exploited. To address this problem, we propose a structure-aware local sparse coding algorithm which encodes a target candidate using templates with both global and local sparsity constraints. For robust tracking, we show local regions of a candidate region should be encoded only with the corresponding local regions of the target templates that are the most similar from the global view. Thus, a more precise and discriminative sparse representation is obtained to account for appearance changes. To alleviate the issues with tracking drifts, we design an effective template update scheme. Extensive experiments on challenging image sequences demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm against numerous stateof- the-art methods.

On detection and visualization techniques for cyber security situation awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wei; Wei, Shixiao; Shen, Dan; Blowers, Misty; Blasch, Erik P.; Pham, Khanh D.; Chen, Genshe; Zhang, Hanlin; Lu, Chao

2013-05-01

Networking technologies are exponentially increasing to meet worldwide communication requirements. The rapid growth of network technologies and perversity of communications pose serious security issues. In this paper, we aim to developing an integrated network defense system with situation awareness capabilities to present the useful information for human analysts. In particular, we implement a prototypical system that includes both the distributed passive and active network sensors and traffic visualization features, such as 1D, 2D and 3D based network traffic displays. To effectively detect attacks, we also implement algorithms to transform real-world data of IP addresses into images and study the pattern of attacks and use both the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) based scheme and the statistical based scheme to detect attacks. Through an extensive simulation study, our data validate the effectiveness of our implemented defense system.

Impact of verbal, braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children

OpenAIRE

P Brahmanna Chowdary; K S Uloopi; C Vinay; V Veerabhadra Rao; Chandrasekhar Rayala

2016-01-01

Background: Visually impaired children face limitations in interacting with the environment, as they cannot see the facial expression of parents, teachers and cannot perceive social behavior. These children are challenged every day in learning basic life skills and maintenance of oral hygiene being one among them. Aim: To evaluate the impact of verbal, braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children. Materials and Methods: One ...

Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness

OpenAIRE

Forder, Lewis; Taylor, Olivia; Mankin, Helen; Scott, Ryan B.; Franklin, Anna

2016-01-01

The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry), detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this parad...

Use of Highways in the Sky and a virtual pad for landing Head Up Display symbology to enable improved helicopter pilots situation awareness and workload in degraded visual conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, Neville A; Plant, Katherine L; Roberts, Aaron P; Allison, Craig K

2017-12-15

Flight within degraded visual conditions is a great challenge to pilots of rotary-wing craft. Environmental cues typically used to guide interpretation of speed, location and approach can become obscured, forcing the pilots to rely on data available from in-cockpit instrumentation. To ease the task of flight during degraded visual conditions, pilots require easy access to flight critical information. The current study examined the effect of 'Highways in the Sky' symbology and a conformal virtual pad for landing presented using a Head Up Display (HUD) on pilots' workload and situation awareness for both clear and degraded conditions across a series of simulated rotary-wing approach and landings. Results suggest that access to the HUD lead to significant improvements to pilots' situation awareness, especially within degraded visual conditions. Importantly, access to the HUD facilitated pilot awareness in all conditions. Results are discussed in terms of future HUD development. Practitioner Summary: This paper explores the use of a novel Heads Up Display, to facilitate rotary-wing pilots' situation awareness and workload for simulated flights in both clear and degraded visual conditions. Results suggest that access to HUD facilitated pilots' situation awareness, especially when flying in degraded conditions.

Visual awareness of objects and their colour.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilling, Michael; Gellatly, Angus

2011-10-01

At any given moment, our awareness of what we 'see' before us seems to be rather limited. If, for instance, a display containing multiple objects is shown (red or green disks), when one object is suddenly covered at random, observers are often little better than chance in reporting about its colour (Wolfe, Reinecke, & Brawn, Visual Cognition, 14, 749-780, 2006). We tested whether, when object attributes (such as colour) are unknown, observers still retain any knowledge of the presence of that object at a display location. Experiments 1-3 involved a task requiring two-alternative (yes/no) responses about the presence or absence of a colour-defined object at a probed location. On this task, if participants knew about the presence of an object at a location, responses indicated that they also knew about its colour. A fourth experiment presented the same displays but required a three-alternative response. This task did result in a data pattern consistent with participants' knowing more about the locations of objects within a display than about their individual colours. However, this location advantage, while highly significant, was rather small in magnitude. Results are compared with those of Huang (Journal of Vision, 10(10, Art. 24), 1-17, 2010), who also reported an advantage for object locations, but under quite different task conditions.

Perceptual Discrimination of Basic Object Features Is Not Facilitated When Priming Stimuli Are Prevented From Reaching Awareness by Means of Visual Masking.

Science.gov (United States)

Peel, Hayden J; Sperandio, Irene; Laycock, Robin; Chouinard, Philippe A

2018-01-01

Our understanding of how form, orientation and size are processed within and outside of awareness is limited and requires further investigation. Therefore, we investigated whether or not the visual discrimination of basic object features can be influenced by subliminal processing of stimuli presented beforehand. Visual masking was used to render stimuli perceptually invisible. Three experiments examined if visible and invisible primes could facilitate the subsequent feature discrimination of visible targets. The experiments differed in the kind of perceptual discrimination that participants had to make. Namely, participants were asked to discriminate visual stimuli on the basis of their form, orientation, or size. In all three experiments, we demonstrated reliable priming effects when the primes were visible but not when the primes were made invisible. Our findings underscore the importance of conscious awareness in facilitating the perceptual discrimination of basic object features.

Perceptual Discrimination of Basic Object Features Is Not Facilitated When Priming Stimuli Are Prevented From Reaching Awareness by Means of Visual Masking

Science.gov (United States)

Peel, Hayden J.; Sperandio, Irene; Laycock, Robin; Chouinard, Philippe A.

2018-01-01

Our understanding of how form, orientation and size are processed within and outside of awareness is limited and requires further investigation. Therefore, we investigated whether or not the visual discrimination of basic object features can be influenced by subliminal processing of stimuli presented beforehand. Visual masking was used to render stimuli perceptually invisible. Three experiments examined if visible and invisible primes could facilitate the subsequent feature discrimination of visible targets. The experiments differed in the kind of perceptual discrimination that participants had to make. Namely, participants were asked to discriminate visual stimuli on the basis of their form, orientation, or size. In all three experiments, we demonstrated reliable priming effects when the primes were visible but not when the primes were made invisible. Our findings underscore the importance of conscious awareness in facilitating the perceptual discrimination of basic object features. PMID:29725292

Visual processing in rapid-chase systems: Image processing, attention, and awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas eSchmidt

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Visual stimuli can be classified so rapidly that their analysis may be based on a single sweep of feedforward processing through the visuomotor system. Behavioral criteria for feedforward processing can be evaluated in response priming tasks where speeded pointing or keypress responses are performed towards target stimuli which are preceded by prime stimuli. We apply this method to several classes of complex stimuli. 1 When participants classify natural images into animals or non-animals, the time course of their pointing responses indicates that prime and target signals remain strictly sequential throughout all processing stages, meeting stringent behavioral criteria for feedforward processing (rapid-chase criteria. 2 Such priming effects are boosted by selective visual attention for positions, shapes, and colors, in a way consistent with bottom-up enhancement of visuomotor processing, even when primes cannot be consciously identified. 3 Speeded processing of phobic images is observed in participants specifically fearful of spiders or snakes, suggesting enhancement of feedforward processing by long-term perceptual learning. 4 When the perceived brightness of primes in complex displays is altered by means of illumination or transparency illusions, priming effects in speeded keypress responses can systematically contradict subjective brightness judgments, such that one prime appears brighter than the other but activates motor responses as if it was darker. We propose that response priming captures the output of the first feedforward pass of visual signals through the visuomotor system, and that this output lacks some characteristic features of more elaborate, recurrent processing. This way, visuomotor measures may become dissociated from several aspects of conscious vision. We argue that "fast" visuomotor measures predominantly driven by feedforward processing should supplement "slow" psychophysical measures predominantly based on visual

Equating spatial summation in visual field testing reveals greater loss in optic nerve disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalloniatis, Michael; Khuu, Sieu K

2016-07-01

To test the hypothesis that visual field assessment in ocular disease measured with target stimuli within or close to complete spatial summation results in larger threshold elevation compared to when measured with the standard Goldmann III target size. The hypothesis predicts a greater loss will be identified in ocular disease. Additionally, we sought to develop a theoretical framework that would allow comparisons of thresholds with disease progression when using different Goldmann targets. The Humphrey Field Analyser (HFA) 30-2 grid was used in 13 patients with early/established optic nerve disease using the current Goldmann III target size or a combination of the three smallest stimuli (target size I, II and III). We used data from control subjects at each of the visual field locations for the different target sizes to establish the number of failed points (events) for the patients with optic nerve disease, as well as global indices for mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD). The 30-2 visual field testing using alternate target size stimuli showed that all 13 patients displayed more defects (events) compared to the standard Goldmann III target size. The median increase for events was seven additional failed points: (range 1-26). The global indices also increased when the new testing approach was used (MD -3.47 to -6.25 dB and PSD 4.32 to 6.63 dB). Spatial summation mapping showed an increase in critical area (Ac) in disease and overall increase in thresholds when smaller target stimuli were used. When compared to the current Goldmann III paradigm, the use of alternate sized targets within the 30-2 testing protocol revealed a greater loss in patients with optic nerve disease for both event analysis and global indices (MD and PSD). We therefore provide evidence in a clinical setting that target size is important in visual field testing. © 2016 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2016 The College of Optometrists.

Modifying Bodily Self-Awareness during Acupuncture Needle Stimulation Using the Rubber Hand Illusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Seon Chang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background. The rubber hand illusion (RHI is an experimental paradigm that manipulates important aspects of body self-awareness. Objectives. We were interested in whether modifying bodily self-awareness by manipulation of body ownership and visual expectations using the RHI would change the subjective perception of pain as well as the autonomic response to acupuncture needle stimulation. Methods. Acupuncture needle stimulation was applied to the real hand during the RHI with (experiment 1 or without (experiment 2 visual expectation while measuring concurrent autonomic changes such as the skin conductance response (SCR. Subjective responses such as perception of the RHI and perceived pain were measured by questionnaires. Results. In experiment 1, the amplitude of the increase in SCR was visibly higher during the synchronous session compared with that of the asynchronous session. In experiment 2, the amplitude of the increase of SCR was lower for the synchronous session compared with that for the asynchronous session. Comparing these two experiments, the visual expectation of needle stimulation produced a greater autonomic response to acupuncture stimulation. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the sympathetic response to acupuncture needle stimulation is primarily influenced by visual expectation rather than by modifications of body ownership.

Awareness of Emotional Stimuli Determines the Behavioral Consequences of Amygdala Activation and Amygdala-Prefrontal Connectivity

Science.gov (United States)

Lapate, R. C.; Rokers, B.; Tromp, D. P. M.; Orfali, N. S.; Oler, J. A.; Doran, S. T.; Adluru, N.; Alexander, A. L.; Davidson, R. J.

2016-01-01

Conscious awareness of negative cues is thought to enhance emotion-regulatory capacity, but the neural mechanisms underlying this effect are unknown. Using continuous flash suppression (CFS) in the MRI scanner, we manipulated visual awareness of fearful faces during an affect misattribution paradigm, in which preferences for neutral objects can be biased by the valence of a previously presented stimulus. The amygdala responded to fearful faces independently of awareness. However, when awareness of fearful faces was prevented, individuals with greater amygdala responses displayed a negative bias toward unrelated novel neutral faces. In contrast, during the aware condition, inverse coupling between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex reduced this bias, particularly among individuals with higher structural connectivity in the major white matter pathway connecting the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Collectively, these results indicate that awareness promotes the function of a critical emotion-regulatory network targeting the amygdala, providing a mechanistic account for the role of awareness in emotion regulation. PMID:27181344

Early correlates of visual awareness following orientation and colour rivalry.

Science.gov (United States)

Veser, Sandra; O'Shea, Robert P; Schröger, Erich; Trujillo-Barreto, Nelson J; Roeber, Urte

2008-10-01

Binocular rivalry occurs when dissimilar images are presented to corresponding retinal regions of the two eyes: visibility alternates irregularly between the two images, interspersed by brief transitions when parts of both may be visible. We measured event-related potentials (ERPs) following binocular rivalry by changing the stimulus viewed by one eye to be identical to that in the other eye, eliciting binocular fusion. Because of the rivalry, observers either saw the change, when it happened to the visible stimulus, or did not see the change, when it happened to the invisible stimulus. The earliest ERP differences between visible and invisible changes occurred after about 100 ms (P1) when the rivalry was between stimuli differing in orientation, and after about 200 ms (N1) when the rivalry was between stimuli differing in colour. These differences originated from ventro-lateral temporal and prefrontal areas. We conclude that the rivalling stimulus property influences the timing of modulation of correlates of visual awareness in a property-independent cortical network.

Enabling Seamless Access to Digital Graphical Contents for Visually Impaired Individuals via Semantic-Aware Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baoxin Li

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Vision is one of the main sources through which people obtain information from the world, but unfortunately, visually-impaired people are partially or completely deprived of this type of information. With the help of computer technologies, people with visual impairment can independently access digital textual information by using text-to-speech and text-to-Braille software. However, in general, there still exists a major barrier for people who are blind to access the graphical information independently in real-time without the help of sighted people. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-level and multi-modal approach aiming at addressing this challenging and practical problem, with the key idea being semantic-aware visual-to-tactile conversion through semantic image categorization and segmentation, and semantic-driven image simplification. An end-to-end prototype system was built based on the approach. We present the details of the approach and the system, report sample experimental results with realistic data, and compare our approach with current typical practice.

Enabling Seamless Access to Digital Graphical Contents for Visually Impaired Individuals via Semantic-Aware Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Zheshen

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Vision is one of the main sources through which people obtain information from the world, but unfortunately, visually-impaired people are partially or completely deprived of this type of information. With the help of computer technologies, people with visual impairment can independently access digital textual information by using text-to-speech and text-to-Braille software. However, in general, there still exists a major barrier for people who are blind to access the graphical information independently in real-time without the help of sighted people. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-level and multi-modal approach aiming at addressing this challenging and practical problem, with the key idea being semantic-aware visual-to-tactile conversion through semantic image categorization and segmentation, and semantic-driven image simplification. An end-to-end prototype system was built based on the approach. We present the details of the approach and the system, report sample experimental results with realistic data, and compare our approach with current typical practice.

Supporting exploration awareness for visual analytics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shrinivasan, Y.B.; Wijk, van J.J.

2008-01-01

While exploring data using information visualization, analysts try to make sense of the data, build cases, and present them to others. However, if the exploration is long or done in multiple sessions, it can be hard for analysts to remember all interesting visualizations and the relationships among

Maintaining the ties that bind: the role of an intermediate visual memory store in the persistence of awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferber, Susanne; Emrich, Stephen M

2007-03-01

Segregation and feature binding are essential to the perception and awareness of objects in a visual scene. When a fragmented line-drawing of an object moves relative to a background of randomly oriented lines, the previously hidden object is segregated from the background and consequently enters awareness. Interestingly, in such shape-from-motion displays, the percept of the object persists briefly when the motion stops, suggesting that the segregated and bound representation of the object is maintained in awareness. Here, we tested whether this persistence effect is mediated by capacity-limited working-memory processes, or by the amount of object-related information available. The experiments demonstrate that persistence is affected mainly by the proportion of object information available and is independent of working-memory limits. We suggest that this persistence effect can be seen as evidence for an intermediate, form-based memory store mediating between sensory and working memory.

Continuous measures of situation awareness and workload

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Droeivoldsmo, Asgeir; Skraaning, Gyrd jr.; Sverrbo, Mona; Dalen, Joergen; Grimstad, Tone; Andresen, Gisle

1998-03-01

This report presents methods for continuous measures for Situation Awareness and Workload. The objective has been to identify, develop and test the new measures, and compare them to instruments that require interruptions of scenarios. The new measures are: (1) the Visual Indicator of Situation Awareness (VISA); where Situation Awareness is scored from predefined areas of visual interest critical for solving scenarios. Visual monitoring of areas was recorded by eye-movement tracking. (2) Workload scores reflected by Extended Dwell Time (EDT) and the operator Activity Level. EDT was calculated from eye-movement data files, and the activity level was estimated from simulator logs. Using experimental data from the 1996 CASH NRC Alarm study and the 1997 Human Error Analysis Project/ Human-Centred Automation study, the new measurement techniques have been tested and evaluated on a preliminary basis. The results showed promising relationships between the new continuous measures of situation awareness and workload, and established instruments based upon scenario interruptions. (author)

Tactical decisions for changeable cuttlefish camouflage: visual cues for choosing masquerade are relevant from a greater distance than visual cues used for background matching.

Science.gov (United States)

Buresch, Kendra C; Ulmer, Kimberly M; Cramer, Corinne; McAnulty, Sarah; Davison, William; Mäthger, Lydia M; Hanlon, Roger T

2015-10-01

Cuttlefish use multiple camouflage tactics to evade their predators. Two common tactics are background matching (resembling the background to hinder detection) and masquerade (resembling an uninteresting or inanimate object to impede detection or recognition). We investigated how the distance and orientation of visual stimuli affected the choice of these two camouflage tactics. In the current experiments, cuttlefish were presented with three visual cues: 2D horizontal floor, 2D vertical wall, and 3D object. Each was placed at several distances: directly beneath (in a circle whose diameter was one body length (BL); at zero BL [(0BL); i.e., directly beside, but not beneath the cuttlefish]; at 1BL; and at 2BL. Cuttlefish continued to respond to 3D visual cues from a greater distance than to a horizontal or vertical stimulus. It appears that background matching is chosen when visual cues are relevant only in the immediate benthic surroundings. However, for masquerade, objects located multiple body lengths away remained relevant for choice of camouflage. © 2015 Marine Biological Laboratory.

The mere exposure effect is modulated by selective attention but not visual awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yu-Feng; Hsieh, Po-Jang

2013-10-18

Repeated exposures to an object will lead to an enhancement of evaluation toward that object. Although this mere exposure effect may occur when the objects are presented subliminally, the role of conscious perception per se on evaluation has never been examined. Here we use a binocular rivalry paradigm to investigate whether a variance in conscious perceptual duration of faces has an effect on their subsequent evaluation, and how selective attention and memory interact with this effect. Our results show that face evaluation is positively biased by selective attention but not affected by visual awareness. Furthermore, this effect is not due to participants recalling which face had been attended to. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Situation Awareness with Systems of Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laar, P. van de; Tretmans, J.; Borth, M.

2013-01-01

This book discusses various aspects, challenges, and solutions for developing systems-of-systems for situation awareness, using applications in the domain of maritime safety and security. Topics include advanced, multi-objective visualization methods for situation awareness, stochastic outlier

A Network and Visual Quality Aware N-Screen Content Recommender System Using Joint Matrix Factorization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farman Ullah

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a network and visual quality aware N-Screen content recommender system. N-Screen provides more ways than ever before to access multimedia content through multiple devices and heterogeneous access networks. The heterogeneity of devices and access networks present new questions of QoS (quality of service in the realm of user experience with content. We propose, a recommender system that ensures a better visual quality on user’s N-screen devices and the efficient utilization of available access network bandwidth with user preferences. The proposed system estimates the available bandwidth and visual quality on users N-Screen devices and integrates it with users preferences and contents genre information to personalize his N-Screen content. The objective is to recommend content that the user’s N-Screen device and access network are capable of displaying and streaming with the user preferences that have not been supported in existing systems. Furthermore, we suggest a joint matrix factorization approach to jointly factorize the users rating matrix with the users N-Screen device similarity and program genres similarity. Finally, the experimental results show that we also enhance the prediction and recommendation accuracy, sparsity, and cold start issues.

A network and visual quality aware N-screen content recommender system using joint matrix factorization.

Science.gov (United States)

Ullah, Farman; Sarwar, Ghulam; Lee, Sungchang

2014-01-01

We propose a network and visual quality aware N-Screen content recommender system. N-Screen provides more ways than ever before to access multimedia content through multiple devices and heterogeneous access networks. The heterogeneity of devices and access networks present new questions of QoS (quality of service) in the realm of user experience with content. We propose, a recommender system that ensures a better visual quality on user's N-screen devices and the efficient utilization of available access network bandwidth with user preferences. The proposed system estimates the available bandwidth and visual quality on users N-Screen devices and integrates it with users preferences and contents genre information to personalize his N-Screen content. The objective is to recommend content that the user's N-Screen device and access network are capable of displaying and streaming with the user preferences that have not been supported in existing systems. Furthermore, we suggest a joint matrix factorization approach to jointly factorize the users rating matrix with the users N-Screen device similarity and program genres similarity. Finally, the experimental results show that we also enhance the prediction and recommendation accuracy, sparsity, and cold start issues.

Multimedia-assisted breathwalk-aware system.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Meng-Chieh; Wu, Huan; Lee, Ming-Sui; Hung, Yi-Ping

2012-12-01

Breathwalk is a science of combining specific patterns of footsteps synchronized with the breathing. In this study, we developed a multimedia-assisted Breathwalk-aware system which detects user's walking and breathing conditions and provides appropriate multimedia guidance on the smartphone. Through the mobile device, the system enhances user's awareness of walking and breathing behaviors. As an example application in slow technology, the system could help meditator beginners learn "walking meditation," a type of meditation which aims to be as slow as possible in taking pace, to synchronize footstep with breathing, and to land every footstep with toes first. In the pilot study, we developed a walking-aware system and evaluated whether multimedia-assisted mechanism is capable of enhancing beginner's walking awareness while walking meditation. Experimental results show that it could effectively assist beginners in slowing down the walking speed and decreasing incorrect footsteps. In the second experiment, we evaluated the Breathwalk-aware system to find a better feedback mechanism for learning the techniques of Breathwalk while walking meditation. The experimental results show that the visual-auditory mechanism is a better multimedia-assisted mechanism while walking meditation than visual mechanism and auditory mechanism.

Awareness Becomes Necessary Between Adaptive Pattern Coding of Open and Closed Curvatures

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeny, Timothy D.; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2012-01-01

Visual pattern processing becomes increasingly complex along the ventral pathway, from the low-level coding of local orientation in the primary visual cortex to the high-level coding of face identity in temporal visual areas. Previous research using pattern aftereffects as a psychophysical tool to measure activation of adaptive feature coding has suggested that awareness is relatively unimportant for the coding of orientation, but awareness is crucial for the coding of face identity. We investigated where along the ventral visual pathway awareness becomes crucial for pattern coding. Monoptic masking, which interferes with neural spiking activity in low-level processing while preserving awareness of the adaptor, eliminated open-curvature aftereffects but preserved closed-curvature aftereffects. In contrast, dichoptic masking, which spares spiking activity in low-level processing while wiping out awareness, preserved open-curvature aftereffects but eliminated closed-curvature aftereffects. This double dissociation suggests that adaptive coding of open and closed curvatures straddles the divide between weakly and strongly awareness-dependent pattern coding. PMID:21690314

Melodic sound enhances visual awareness of congruent musical notes, but only if you can read music.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Minyoung; Blake, Randolph; Kim, Sujin; Kim, Chai-Youn

2015-07-07

Predictive influences of auditory information on resolution of visual competition were investigated using music, whose visual symbolic notation is familiar only to those with musical training. Results from two experiments using different experimental paradigms revealed that melodic congruence between what is seen and what is heard impacts perceptual dynamics during binocular rivalry. This bisensory interaction was observed only when the musical score was perceptually dominant, not when it was suppressed from awareness, and it was observed only in people who could read music. Results from two ancillary experiments showed that this effect of congruence cannot be explained by differential patterns of eye movements or by differential response sluggishness associated with congruent score/melody combinations. Taken together, these results demonstrate robust audiovisual interaction based on high-level, symbolic representations and its predictive influence on perceptual dynamics during binocular rivalry.

Comparing the Effect of Audio and Visual Notifications on Workspace Awareness using Head-Mounted Displays for Remote Collaboration in Augmented Reality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cidota, M.A.; Lukosch, S.G.; Datcu, D.; Lukosch, H.K.

2016-01-01

In many fields of activity, working in teams is necessary for completing tasks in a proper manner and often requires visual context-related information to be exchanged between team members. In such a collaborative environment, awareness of other people’s activity is an important feature of

A Visual Test for Visual "Literacy."

Science.gov (United States)

Messaris, Paul

Four different principles of visual manipulation constitute a minimal list of what a visually "literate" viewer should know about, but certain problems exist which are inherent in measuring viewers' awareness of each of them. The four principles are: (1) paraproxemics, or camera work which derives its effectiveness from an analogy to the…

Creating social presence through peripheral awareness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruyter, de B.E.R.; Huijnen, C.A.G.J.; Markopoulos, P.; IJsselsteijn, W.A.; Stephanidis, C.; Jacko, J.

2003-01-01

This paper describes an experimental assessment of affective user benefits that may result from peripheral awareness of a remote friend or group of friends during a shared viewing of a televised event. The experiment suggests that awareness supported through a visual display enhances the level of

Effects of spatial attention on motion discrimination are greater in the left than right visual field.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosworth, Rain G; Petrich, Jennifer A F; Dobkins, Karen R

2012-01-01

In order to investigate differences in the effects of spatial attention between the left visual field (LVF) and the right visual field (RVF), we employed a full/poor attention paradigm using stimuli presented in the LVF vs. RVF. In addition, to investigate differences in the effects of spatial attention between the dorsal and ventral processing streams, we obtained motion thresholds (motion coherence thresholds and fine direction discrimination thresholds) and orientation thresholds, respectively. The results of this study showed negligible effects of attention on the orientation task, in either the LVF or RVF. In contrast, for both motion tasks, there was a significant effect of attention in the LVF, but not in the RVF. These data provide psychophysical evidence for greater effects of spatial attention in the LVF/right hemisphere, specifically, for motion processing in the dorsal stream. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

An optimized content-aware image retargeting method: toward expanding the perceived visual field of the high-density retinal prosthesis recipients

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Heng; Zeng, Yajie; Lu, Zhuofan; Cao, Xiaofei; Su, Xiaofan; Sui, Xiaohong; Wang, Jing; Chai, Xinyu

2018-04-01

Objective. Retinal prosthesis devices have shown great value in restoring some sight for individuals with profoundly impaired vision, but the visual acuity and visual field provided by prostheses greatly limit recipients’ visual experience. In this paper, we employ computer vision approaches to seek to expand the perceptible visual field in patients implanted potentially with a high-density retinal prosthesis while maintaining visual acuity as much as possible. Approach. We propose an optimized content-aware image retargeting method, by introducing salient object detection based on color and intensity-difference contrast, aiming to remap important information of a scene into a small visual field and preserve their original scale as much as possible. It may improve prosthetic recipients’ perceived visual field and aid in performing some visual tasks (e.g. object detection and object recognition). To verify our method, psychophysical experiments, detecting object number and recognizing objects, are conducted under simulated prosthetic vision. As control, we use three other image retargeting techniques, including Cropping, Scaling, and seam-assisted shrinkability. Main results. Results show that our method outperforms in preserving more key features and has significantly higher recognition accuracy in comparison with other three image retargeting methods under the condition of small visual field and low-resolution. Significance. The proposed method is beneficial to expand the perceived visual field of prosthesis recipients and improve their object detection and recognition performance. It suggests that our method may provide an effective option for image processing module in future high-density retinal implants.

Covert spatial attention in search for the location of a color-afterimage patch speeds up its decay from awareness: introducing a method useful for the study of neural correlates of visual awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bachmann, Talis; Murd, Carolina

2010-06-01

Previous research has reported that attention to color afterimages speeds up their decay. However, the inducing stimuli in these studies have been overlapping, thereby implying that they involved overlapping receptive fields of the responsible neurons. As a result it is difficult to interpret the effect of focusing attention on a phenomenally projected target-afterimage. Here, we present a method free from these shortcomings. In searching for a target-afterimage patch among spatially separate alternatives the target fades from awareness before its competitors. This offers a good means to study neural correlates of visual awareness unconfounded with attention and enabling a temporally extended pure phenomenal experience free from simultaneous inflow of sensory transients. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greater executive and visual memory dysfunction in comorbid bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, David F; Walker, Sara J; Ryan, Kelly A; Kamali, Masoud; Saunders, Erika F H; Weldon, Anne L; Adams, Kenneth M; McInnis, Melvin G; Langenecker, Scott A

2012-12-30

Measures of cognitive dysfunction in Bipolar Disorder (BD) have identified state and trait dependent metrics. An influence of substance abuse (SUD) on BD has been suggested. This study investigates potential differential, additive, or interactive cognitive dysfunction in bipolar patients with or without a history of SUD. Two hundred fifty-six individuals with BD, 98 without SUD and 158 with SUD, and 97 Healthy Controls (HC) completed diagnostic interviews, neuropsychological testing, and symptom severity scales. The BD groups exhibited poorer performance than the HC group on most cognitive factors. The BD with SUD exhibited significantly poorer performance than BD without SUD in visual memory and conceptual reasoning/set-shifting. In addition, a significant interaction effect between substance use and depressive symptoms was found for auditory memory and emotion processing. BD patients with a history of SUD demonstrated worse visual memory and conceptual reasoning skills above and beyond the dysfunction observed in these domains among individuals with BD without SUD, suggesting greater impact on integrative, gestalt-driven processing domains. Future research might address longitudinal outcome as a function of BD, SUD, and combined BD/SUD to evaluate neural systems involved in risk for, and effects of, these illnesses. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Big data for space situation awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Blasch, Erik; Pugh, Mark; Sheaff, Carolyn; Raquepas, Joe; Rocci, Peter

2017-05-01

Recent advances in big data (BD) have focused research on the volume, velocity, veracity, and variety of data. These developments enable new opportunities in information management, visualization, machine learning, and information fusion that have potential implications for space situational awareness (SSA). In this paper, we explore some of these BD trends as applicable for SSA towards enhancing the space operating picture. The BD developments could increase in measures of performance and measures of effectiveness for future management of the space environment. The global SSA influences include resident space object (RSO) tracking and characterization, cyber protection, remote sensing, and information management. The local satellite awareness can benefit from space weather, health monitoring, and spectrum management for situation space understanding. One area in big data of importance to SSA is value - getting the correct data/information at the right time, which corresponds to SSA visualization for the operator. A SSA big data example is presented supporting disaster relief for space situation awareness, assessment, and understanding.

Dissociating Perceptual Confidence from Discrimination Accuracy Reveals No Influence of Metacognitive Awareness on Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Samaha, Jason; Barrett, John J; Sheldon, Andrew D; LaRocque, Joshua J; Postle, Bradley R

2016-01-01

Visual awareness is hypothesized to be intimately related to visual working memory (WM), such that information present in WM is thought to have necessarily been represented consciously. Recent work has challenged this longstanding view by demonstrating that visual stimuli rated by observers as unseen can nevertheless be maintained over a delay period. These experiments have been criticized, however, on the basis that subjective awareness ratings may contain response bias (e.g., an observer may report no awareness when in fact they had partial awareness). We mitigated this issue by investigating WM for visual stimuli that were matched for perceptual discrimination capacity (d'), yet which varied in subjective confidence ratings (so-called relative blindsight). If the degree of initial subjective awareness of a stimulus facilitates later maintenance of that information, WM performance should improve for stimuli encoded with higher confidence. In contrast, we found that WM performance did not benefit from higher visual discrimination confidence. This relationship was observed regardless of WM load (1 or 3). Insofar as metacognitive ratings (e.g., confidence, visibility) reflect visual awareness, these results challenge a strong relationship between conscious perception and WM using a paradigm that controls for discrimination accuracy and is less subject to response bias (since confidence is manipulated within subjects). Methodologically, we replicate prior efforts to induce relative blindsight using similar stimulus displays, providing a general framework for isolating metacognitive awareness in order to examine the function of consciousness.

Dissociating perceptual confidence from discrimination accuracy reveals no influence of metacognitive awareness on working memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason eSamaha

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Visual awareness is hypothesized to be intimately related to visual working memory (WM, such that information present in WM is thought to have necessarily been represented consciously. Recent work has challenged this longstanding view by demonstrating that visual stimuli rated by observers as unseen can nevertheless be maintained over a delay period. These experiments have been criticized, however, on the basis that subjective awareness ratings may contain response bias (e.g., an observer may report no awareness when in fact they had partial awareness. We mitigated this issue by investigating WM for visual stimuli that were matched for perceptual discrimination capacity (d’, yet which varied in subjective confidence ratings (so called relative blindsight. If the degree of initial subjective awareness of a stimulus facilitates later maintenance of that information, WM performance should improve for stimuli encoded with higher confidence. In contrast, we found that WM performance did not benefit from higher visual discrimination confidence. This relationship was observed regardless of WM load (1 or 3. Insofar as metacognitive ratings (e.g., confidence, visibility reflect visual awareness, these results challenge a strong relationship between conscious perception and WM using a paradigm that controls for discrimination accuracy and is less subject to response bias (since confidence is manipulated within subjects. Methodologically, we replicate prior efforts to induce relative blindsight using similar stimulus displays, providing a general framework for isolating metacognitive awareness in order to examine the function of consciousness.

Do older people with visual impairment and living alone in a rural developing country report greater difficulty in managing stairs?

Science.gov (United States)

Hairi, Noran N; Bulgiba, Awang; Peramalah, Devi; Mudla, Izzuna

2013-01-01

Managing stairs is a challenging activity of daily living (ADL) for older people. This study aims to examine the association between visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone and those living with others. A population-based cross sectional study was conducted in rural Malaysia from 2007 till 2008. Seven hundred and sixty five older people aged 60 years and over underwent eye examination for visual impairment. Visual acuity criteria were used to define visual impairment. Presenting visual acuity was assessed using a standard metric Snellen Chart of E type. Difficulty in managing stairs was measured according to a question drawn from the Barthel Index which asks "do you need help in climbing stairs". Overall, the prevalence of difficulty in managing stairs among older people in our population was 135 (18.3%, 95% CI 15.7-21.2). After adjusting for important confounders the odds ratio (OR) for visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs among older people living alone was 5.04 (95% CI 2.27, 10.62). Among older people living with others, the adjusted OR for visual impairment and difficulty in managing stairs was 3.10 (95% CI 1.52, 6.80). In a sample of older people aged 60 years and over, those living alone with visual impairment had greater difficulty in managing stairs than those living with others. Identification of these groups of older people is useful for targeting interventions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Additional helmet and pack loading reduce situational awareness during the establishment of marksmanship posture.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Jongil; Palmer, Christopher J; Busa, Michael A; Amado, Avelino; Rosado, Luis D; Ducharme, Scott W; Simon, Darnell; Van Emmerik, Richard E A

2017-06-01

The pickup of visual information is critical for controlling movement and maintaining situational awareness in dangerous situations. Altered coordination while wearing protective equipment may impact the likelihood of injury or death. This investigation examined the consequences of load magnitude and distribution on situational awareness, segmental coordination and head gaze in several protective equipment ensembles. Twelve soldiers stepped down onto force plates and were instructed to quickly and accurately identify visual information while establishing marksmanship posture in protective equipment. Time to discriminate visual information was extended when additional pack and helmet loads were added, with the small increase in helmet load having the largest effect. Greater head-leading and in-phase trunk-head coordination were found with lighter pack loads, while trunk-leading coordination increased and head gaze dynamics were more disrupted in heavier pack loads. Additional armour load in the vest had no consequences for Time to discriminate, coordination or head dynamics. This suggests that the addition of head borne load be carefully considered when integrating new technology and that up-armouring does not necessarily have negative consequences for marksmanship performance. Practitioner Summary: Understanding the trade-space between protection and reductions in task performance continue to challenge those developing personal protective equipment. These methods provide an approach that can help optimise equipment design and loading techniques by quantifying changes in task performance and the emergent coordination dynamics that underlie that performance.

Cogito ergo video: Task-relevant information is involuntarily boosted into awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Gayet, Surya; Brascamp, Jan W; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Paffen, Chris L E

2015-01-01

Only part of the visual information that impinges on our retinae reaches visual awareness. In a series of three experiments, we investigated how the task relevance of incoming visual information affects its access to visual awareness. On each trial, participants were instructed to memorize one of two presented hues, drawn from different color categories (e.g., red and green), for later recall. During the retention interval, participants were presented with a differently colored grating in each eye such as to elicit binocular rivalry. A grating matched either the task-relevant (memorized) color category or the task-irrelevant (nonmemorized) color category. We found that the rivalrous stimulus that matched the task-relevant color category tended to dominate awareness over the rivalrous stimulus that matched the task-irrelevant color category. This effect of task relevance persisted when participants reported the orientation of the rivalrous stimuli, even though in this case color information was completely irrelevant for the task of reporting perceptual dominance during rivalry. When participants memorized the shape of a colored stimulus, however, its color category did not affect predominance of rivalrous stimuli during retention. Taken together, these results indicate that the selection of task-relevant information is under volitional control but that visual input that matches this information is boosted into awareness irrespective of whether this is useful for the observer.

Perspective information in the cockpit to improve situational awareness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Breda, L. van

1999-01-01

Three simulator experiments were carried out to quantify the potential benefits of perspective visual displays in the cockpit for situational awareness support of the pilot, in local guidance and global awareness tasks. In the first experiment, the application of an egocentric perspective display

A new measure for the assessment of visual awareness in individuals with tunnel vision.

Science.gov (United States)

AlSaqr, Ali M; Dickinson, Chris M

2017-01-01

Individuals with a restricted peripheral visual field or tunnel vision (TV) have problems moving about and avoiding obstacles. Some individuals adapt better than others and some use assistive optical aids, so measurement of the visual field is not sufficient to describe their performance. In the present study, we developed a new clinical test called the 'Assessment of Visual Awareness (AVA)', which can be used to measure detection of peripheral targets. The participants were 20 patients with TV due to retinitis pigmentosa (PTV) and 50 normally sighted participants with simulated tunnel vision (STV) using goggles. In the AVA test, detection times were measured, when subjects searched for 24 individually presented, one degree targets, randomly positioned in a 60 degrees noise background. Head and eye movements were allowed and the presentation time was unlimited. The test validity was investigated by correlating the detection times with the 'percentage of preferred walking speed' (PPWS) and the 'number of collisions' on an indoor mobility course. In PTV and STV, the detection times had significant negative correlation with the field of view. The detection times had significant positive relations with target location. In the STV, the detection time was significantly negatively correlated with the PPWS and significantly positively correlated with the collisions score on the indoor mobility course. In the PTV, the relationship was not statistically significant. No significant difference in performance of STV was found when repeating the test one to two weeks later. The proposed AVA test was sensitive to the field of view and target location. The test is unique in design, quick, simple to deliver and both repeatable and valid. It could be a valuable tool to test different rehabilitation strategies in patients with TV. © 2016 Optometry Australia.

Situational Awareness Support to Enhance Teamwork in Collaborative Environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kulyk, Olga Anatoliyivna; van der Veer, Gerrit C.; van Dijk, Elisabeth M.A.G.; Jorge, J

2008-01-01

Modern collaborative environments often provide an overwhelming amount of visual information on multiple displays. The multitude of personal and shared interaction devices leads to lack of awareness of team members on ongoing activities, and awareness of who is in control of shared artefacts. This

Cyber defense and situational awareness

CERN Document Server

Kott, Alexander; Erbacher, Robert F

2015-01-01

This book is the first publication to give a comprehensive, structured treatment to the important topic of situational awareness in cyber defense. It presents the subject in a logical, consistent, continuous discourse, covering key topics such as formation of cyber situational awareness, visualization and human factors, automated learning and inference, use of ontologies and metrics, predicting and assessing impact of cyber attacks, and achieving resilience of cyber and physical mission. Chapters include case studies, recent research results and practical insights described specifically for th

Independent neural definitions of visual awareness and attention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lamme, V.A.F.; Raftopoulos, A.

2005-01-01

In this chapter, what I will try is to explain the very related phenomena of attention and awareness at the basic neural level. It will be an endeavour in the spirit of cognitive neuroscience, where cognitive psychology and neuroscience meet, to obtain new definitions for behavioral and mental

Manipulation of the extrastriate frontal loop can resolve visual disability in blindsight patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Badgaiyan, Rajendra D

2012-12-01

Patients with blindsight are not consciously aware of visual stimuli in the affected field of vision but retain nonconscious perception. This disability can be resolved if nonconsciously perceived information can be brought to their conscious awareness. It can be accomplished by manipulating neural network of visual awareness. To understand this network, we studied the pattern of cortical activity elicited during processing of visual stimuli with or without conscious awareness. The analysis indicated that a re-entrant signaling loop between the area V3A (located in the extrastriate cortex) and the frontal cortex is critical for processing conscious awareness. The loop is activated by visual signals relayed in the primary visual cortex, which is damaged in blindsight patients. Because of the damage, V3A-frontal loop is not activated and the signals are not processed for conscious awareness. These patients however continue to receive visual signals through the lateral geniculate nucleus. Since these signals do not activate the V3A-frontal loop, the stimuli are not consciously perceived. If visual input from the lateral geniculate nucleus is appropriately manipulated and made to activate the V3A-frontal loop, blindsight patients can regain conscious vision. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

GABAA agonist reduces visual awareness : a masking-EEG experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Loon, Anouk M; Scholte, H Steven; van Gaal, Simon; van der Hoort, Björn J J; Lamme, Victor A F

Consciousness can be manipulated in many ways. Here, we seek to understand whether two such ways, visual masking and pharmacological intervention, share a common pathway in manipulating visual consciousness. We recorded EEG from human participants who performed a backward-masking task in which they

GPU-based large-scale visualization

KAUST Repository

Hadwiger, Markus

2013-11-19

Recent advances in image and volume acquisition as well as computational advances in simulation have led to an explosion of the amount of data that must be visualized and analyzed. Modern techniques combine the parallel processing power of GPUs with out-of-core methods and data streaming to enable the interactive visualization of giga- and terabytes of image and volume data. A major enabler for interactivity is making both the computational and the visualization effort proportional to the amount of data that is actually visible on screen, decoupling it from the full data size. This leads to powerful display-aware multi-resolution techniques that enable the visualization of data of almost arbitrary size. The course consists of two major parts: An introductory part that progresses from fundamentals to modern techniques, and a more advanced part that discusses details of ray-guided volume rendering, novel data structures for display-aware visualization and processing, and the remote visualization of large online data collections. You will learn how to develop efficient GPU data structures and large-scale visualizations, implement out-of-core strategies and concepts such as virtual texturing that have only been employed recently, as well as how to use modern multi-resolution representations. These approaches reduce the GPU memory requirements of extremely large data to a working set size that fits into current GPUs. You will learn how to perform ray-casting of volume data of almost arbitrary size and how to render and process gigapixel images using scalable, display-aware techniques. We will describe custom virtual texturing architectures as well as recent hardware developments in this area. We will also describe client/server systems for distributed visualization, on-demand data processing and streaming, and remote visualization. We will describe implementations using OpenGL as well as CUDA, exploiting parallelism on GPUs combined with additional asynchronous

Two memories for geographical slant: separation and interdependence of action and awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Creem, S. H.; Proffitt, D. R.; Kaiser, M. K. (Principal Investigator)

1998-01-01

The present study extended previous findings of geographical slant perception, in which verbal judgments of the incline of hills were greatly overestimated but motoric (haptic) adjustments were much more accurate. In judging slant from memory following a brief or extended time delay, subjects' verbal judgments were greater than those given when viewing hills. Motoric estimates differed depending on the length of the delay and place of response. With a short delay, motoric adjustments made in the proximity of the hill did not differ from those evoked during perception. When given a longer delay or when taken away from the hill, subjects' motoric responses increased along with the increase in verbal reports. These results suggest two different memorial influences on action. With a short delay at the hill, memory for visual guidance is separate from the explicit memory informing the conscious response. With short or long delays away from the hill, short-term visual guidance memory no longer persists, and both motor and verbal responses are driven by an explicit representation. These results support recent research involving visual guidance from memory, where actions become influenced by conscious awareness, and provide evidence for communication between the "what" and "how" visual processing systems.

Early Local Activity in Temporal Areas Reflects Graded Content of Visual Perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiara Francesca Tagliabue

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In visual cognitive neuroscience the debate on consciousness is focused on two major topics: the search for the neural correlates of the different properties of visual awareness and the controversy on the graded versus dichotomous nature of visual conscious experience. The aim of this study is to search for the possible neural correlates of different grades of visual awareness investigating the Event Related Potentials (ERPs to reduced contrast visual stimuli whose perceptual clarity was rated on the four-point Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS. Results revealed a left centro-parietal negative deflection (Visual Awareness Negativity; VAN peaking at 280-320 ms from stimulus onset, related to the perceptual content of the stimulus, followed by a bilateral positive deflection (Late Positivity; LP peaking at 510-550 ms over almost all electrodes, reflecting post-perceptual processes performed on such content. Interestingly, the amplitude of both deflections gradually increased as a function of visual awareness. Moreover, the intracranial generators of the phenomenal content (VAN were found to be located in the left temporal lobe. The present data thus seem to suggest 1 that visual conscious experience is characterized by a gradual increase of perceived clarity at both behavioral and neural level and 2 that the actual content of perceptual experiences emerges from early local activation in temporal areas, without the need of later widespread frontal engagement.

Situation awareness with systems of systems

CERN Document Server

Tretmans, Jan; Borth, Michael

2013-01-01

This book discusses various aspects, challenges, and solutions for developing systems-of-systems for situation awareness, using applications in the domain of maritime safety and security.  Topics include advanced, multi-objective visualization methods for situation awareness, stochastic outlier selection, rule-based anomaly detection, an ontology-based event model for semantic reasoning, new methods for semi-automatic generation of adapters bridging communication gaps, security policies for systems-of-systems, trust assessment, and methods to deal with the dynamics of systems-of-systems in run-time monitoring, testing, and diagnosis. Architectural considerations for designing information-centric systems-of-systems such as situation awareness systems, and an integrated demonstrator implementing many of the investigated aspects, complete the book.

Audio-visual interactions uniquely contribute to resolution of visual conflict in people possessing absolute pitch.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sujin Kim

Full Text Available Individuals possessing absolute pitch (AP are able to identify a given musical tone or to reproduce it without reference to another tone. The present study sought to learn whether this exceptional auditory ability impacts visual perception under stimulus conditions that provoke visual competition in the form of binocular rivalry. Nineteen adult participants with 3-19 years of musical training were divided into two groups according to their performance on a task involving identification of the specific note associated with hearing a given musical pitch. During test trials lasting just over half a minute, participants dichoptically viewed a scrolling musical score presented to one eye and a drifting sinusoidal grating presented to the other eye; throughout the trial they pressed buttons to track the alternations in visual awareness produced by these dissimilar monocular stimuli. On "pitch-congruent" trials, participants heard an auditory melody that was congruent in pitch with the visual score, on "pitch-incongruent" trials they heard a transposed auditory melody that was congruent with the score in melody but not in pitch, and on "melody-incongruent" trials they heard an auditory melody completely different from the visual score. For both groups, the visual musical scores predominated over the gratings when the auditory melody was congruent compared to when it was incongruent. Moreover, the AP participants experienced greater predominance of the visual score when it was accompanied by the pitch-congruent melody compared to the same melody transposed in pitch; for non-AP musicians, pitch-congruent and pitch-incongruent trials yielded equivalent predominance. Analysis of individual durations of dominance revealed differential effects on dominance and suppression durations for AP and non-AP participants. These results reveal that AP is accompanied by a robust form of bisensory interaction between tonal frequencies and musical notation that boosts

Design for Visual Arts.

Science.gov (United States)

Skeries, Larry

Experiences suggested within this visual arts packet provide high school students with awareness of visual expression in graphic design, product design, architecture, and crafts. The unit may be used in whole or in part and includes information about art careers and art-related jobs found in major occupational fields. Specific lesson topics…

Developing Cultural Awareness in Foreign Language Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Shemshadsara, Zahra Ghorbani

2012-01-01

Culture awareness has become an important focus of modern language education, a shift that reflects a greater awareness of the inseparability of language and culture, and the need to prepare students for intercultural communication. The paper reports on an ongoing study into the presence and status of cultural understanding in EFL teaching. In…

Impact of verbal, braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P Brahmanna Chowdary

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Visually impaired children face limitations in interacting with the environment, as they cannot see the facial expression of parents, teachers and cannot perceive social behavior. These children are challenged every day in learning basic life skills and maintenance of oral hygiene being one among them. Aim: To evaluate the impact of verbal, braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty institutionalized visually impaired children aged 6-16 years were selected and divided into three groups (40 children each. Group I: Verbal and tactile, Group II: Verbal and braille, Group III: Verbal, braille, and tactile. Instructions regarding maintenance of good oral hygiene and brushing technique were explained to all the children, and oral health status of these children using plaque index (Silness and Loe and gingival index (Loe and Silness was evaluated at 1, 3, and 6 months interval. Statistical Analysis: ANOVA test was used to analyze the intra- and inter-group comparisons and Tukey post-hoc test for multiple group comparisons. Results: Children in all the groups showed reduction in plaque and gingival scores. There was the highest percentage of reduction in plaque scores in Group III (70.6%, and the decrease in gingival scores was the highest in Group II (84%. Conclusion: Severity of dental plaque and gingivitis in visually impaired individuals can be reduced by a controlled and supervised educational program. The combination of all three, i.e., verbal, braille, and tactile mode of oral health educational aids proved to be effective.

Impact of verbal, Braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children.

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdary, P Brahmanna; Uloopi, K S; Vinay, C; Rao, V Veerabhadra; Rayala, Chandrasekhar

2016-01-01

Visually impaired children face limitations in interacting with the environment, as they cannot see the facial expression of parents, teachers and cannot perceive social behavior. These children are challenged every day in learning basic life skills and maintenance of oral hygiene being one among them. To evaluate the impact of verbal, braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children. One hundred and twenty institutionalized visually impaired children aged 6-16 years were selected and divided into three groups (40 children each). Group I: Verbal and tactile, Group II: Verbal and braille, Group III: Verbal, braille, and tactile. Instructions regarding maintenance of good oral hygiene and brushing technique were explained to all the children, and oral health status of these children using plaque index (Silness and Loe) and gingival index (Loe and Silness) was evaluated at 1, 3, and 6 months interval. ANOVA test was used to analyze the intra- and inter-group comparisons and Tukey post-hoc test for multiple group comparisons. Children in all the groups showed reduction in plaque and gingival scores. There was the highest percentage of reduction in plaque scores in Group III (70.6%), and the decrease in gingival scores was the highest in Group II (84%). Severity of dental plaque and gingivitis in visually impaired individuals can be reduced by a controlled and supervised educational program. The combination of all three, i.e., verbal, braille, and tactile mode of oral health educational aids proved to be effective.

Different effects of executive and visuospatial working memory on visual consciousness.

Science.gov (United States)

De Loof, Esther; Poppe, Louise; Cleeremans, Axel; Gevers, Wim; Van Opstal, Filip

2015-11-01

Consciousness and working memory are two widely studied cognitive phenomena. Although they have been closely tied on a theoretical and neural level, empirical work that investigates their relation is largely lacking. In this study, the relationship between visual consciousness and different working memory components is investigated by using a dual-task paradigm. More specifically, while participants were performing a visual detection task to measure their visual awareness threshold, they had to concurrently perform either an executive or visuospatial working memory task. We hypothesized that visual consciousness would be hindered depending on the type and the size of the load in working memory. Results showed that maintaining visuospatial content in working memory hinders visual awareness, irrespective of the amount of information maintained. By contrast, the detection threshold was progressively affected under increasing executive load. Interestingly, increasing executive load had a generic effect on detection speed, calling into question whether its obstructing effect is specific to the visual awareness threshold. Together, these results indicate that visual consciousness depends differently on executive and visuospatial working memory.

VISA: AN AUTOMATIC AWARE AND VISUAL AIDS MECHANISM FOR IMPROVING THE CORRECT USE OF GEOSPATIAL DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. H. Hong

2016-06-01

Full Text Available With the fast growth of internet-based sharing mechanism and OpenGIS technology, users nowadays enjoy the luxury to quickly locate and access a variety of geospatial data for the tasks at hands. While this sharing innovation tremendously expand the possibility of application and reduce the development cost, users nevertheless have to deal with all kinds of “differences” implicitly hidden behind the acquired georesources. We argue the next generation of GIS-based environment, regardless internet-based or not, must have built-in knowledge to automatically and correctly assess the fitness of data use and present the analyzed results to users in an intuitive and meaningful way. The VISA approach proposed in this paper refer to four different types of visual aids that can be respectively used for addressing analyzed results, namely, virtual layer, informative window, symbol transformation and augmented TOC. The VISA-enabled interface works in an automatic-aware fashion, where the standardized metadata serve as the known facts about the selected geospatial resources, algorithms for analyzing the differences of temporality and quality of the geospatial resources were designed and the transformation of analyzed results into visual aids were automatically executed. It successfully presents a new way for bridging the communication gaps between systems and users. GIS has been long seen as a powerful integration tool, but its achievements would be highly restricted if it fails to provide a friendly and correct working platform.

Simple Smartphone-Based Guiding System for Visually Impaired People.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Bor-Shing; Lee, Cheng-Che; Chiang, Pei-Ying

2017-06-13

Visually impaired people are often unaware of dangers in front of them, even in familiar environments. Furthermore, in unfamiliar environments, such people require guidance to reduce the risk of colliding with obstacles. This study proposes a simple smartphone-based guiding system for solving the navigation problems for visually impaired people and achieving obstacle avoidance to enable visually impaired people to travel smoothly from a beginning point to a destination with greater awareness of their surroundings. In this study, a computer image recognition system and smartphone application were integrated to form a simple assisted guiding system. Two operating modes, online mode and offline mode, can be chosen depending on network availability. When the system begins to operate, the smartphone captures the scene in front of the user and sends the captured images to the backend server to be processed. The backend server uses the faster region convolutional neural network algorithm or the you only look once algorithm to recognize multiple obstacles in every image, and it subsequently sends the results back to the smartphone. The results of obstacle recognition in this study reached 60%, which is sufficient for assisting visually impaired people in realizing the types and locations of obstacles around them.

Simple Smartphone-Based Guiding System for Visually Impaired People

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bor-Shing Lin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Visually impaired people are often unaware of dangers in front of them, even in familiar environments. Furthermore, in unfamiliar environments, such people require guidance to reduce the risk of colliding with obstacles. This study proposes a simple smartphone-based guiding system for solving the navigation problems for visually impaired people and achieving obstacle avoidance to enable visually impaired people to travel smoothly from a beginning point to a destination with greater awareness of their surroundings. In this study, a computer image recognition system and smartphone application were integrated to form a simple assisted guiding system. Two operating modes, online mode and offline mode, can be chosen depending on network availability. When the system begins to operate, the smartphone captures the scene in front of the user and sends the captured images to the backend server to be processed. The backend server uses the faster region convolutional neural network algorithm or the you only look once algorithm to recognize multiple obstacles in every image, and it subsequently sends the results back to the smartphone. The results of obstacle recognition in this study reached 60%, which is sufficient for assisting visually impaired people in realizing the types and locations of obstacles around them.

Similar effects of feature-based attention on motion perception and pursuit eye movements at different levels of awareness

OpenAIRE

Spering, Miriam; Carrasco, Marisa

2012-01-01

Feature-based attention enhances visual processing and improves perception, even for visual features that we are not aware of. Does feature-based attention also modulate motor behavior in response to visual information that does or does not reach awareness? Here we compare the effect of feature-based attention on motion perception and smooth pursuit eye movements in response to moving dichoptic plaids–stimuli composed of two orthogonally-drifting gratings, presented separately to each eye–in ...

Multilevel Cognitive Machine-Learning-Based Concept for Artificial Awareness: Application to Humanoid Robot Awareness Using Visual Saliency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurosh Madani

2012-01-01

Full Text Available As part of “intelligence,” the “awareness” is the state or ability to perceive, feel, or be mindful of events, objects, or sensory patterns: in other words, to be conscious of the surrounding environment and its interactions. Inspired by early-ages human skills developments and especially by early-ages awareness maturation, the present paper accosts the robots intelligence from a different slant directing the attention to combining both “cognitive” and “perceptual” abilities. Within such a slant, the machine (robot shrewdness is constructed on the basis of a multilevel cognitive concept attempting to handle complex artificial behaviors. The intended complex behavior is the autonomous discovering of objects by robot exploring an unknown environment: in other words, proffering the robot autonomy and awareness in and about unknown backdrop.

The Influence of Errors in Visualization Systems on the Level of Safety Threat in Air Traffic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Ferduła

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Air traffic management is carried out by air traffic controllers assisted by complex technical systems that provide them with visualization of the traffic situation. In practice, visualization systems errors sometimes occur. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of errors of different types on the safety of the air traffic. The assessment of the threat level is influenced by subjective factors and cannot be expressed precisely. Therefore, the fuzzy reasoning theory has been used. The developed fuzzy model has been used to obtain a tool for simulation of the impact of various factors on traffic safety assessment. The results obtained indicate that the most important determinants of safety are the time when the air traffic controller remains unaware of the breakdown and the total time he/she does not have full knowledge of the traffic situation. It has been found that the key role for the proper operation of the air traffic visualization system and the restoration of full situational awareness is played by self-diagnostic systems that can restore the system’s correct functioning without even the controller being aware of the error occurrence. Their role in ensuring safety might be even greater than redundancy which is commonly used.

Women's finger pressure sensitivity at rest and recalled body awareness during partnered sexual activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, R M; Pestana, José; Costa, David; Wittmann, Marc

2017-07-01

Greater vibrotactile sensitivity has been related to better erectile function in men, and vibrotactile and pressure tactile sensitivity have been related to better sexual function in women. Our previous study found that, for both sexes, greater recalled body awareness during last sexual relation correlated with greater recalled desire and arousal. Using the same sample of that study (68 women and 48 men, recruited in the Lisbon area, Portugal), we tested if greater recalled body awareness during last sexual relation correlates with tactile pressure sensitivity, as assessed by von Frey microfilaments. In simple and partial correlations controlling for social desirability and smoking before last sex, the hypothesis was confirmed for women, but not for men. Greater tactile sensitivity might enhance sexual arousal through greater awareness of the body during sex, and/or more frequent and pleasant body sensations during sex might lead to greater tactile sensitivity in nonsexual situations. Pressure sensitivity might be more closely linked to sexual arousal in women than in men.

Effects of vicarious pain on self-pain perception: investigating the role of awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Terrighena, Esslin L; Lu, Ge; Yuen, Wai Ping; Lee, Tatia MC; Keuper, Kati

2017-01-01

The observation of pain in others may enhance or reduce self-pain, yet the boundary conditions and factors that determine the direction of such effects are poorly understood. The current study set out to show that visual stimulus awareness plays a crucial role in determining whether vicarious pain primarily activates behavioral defense systems that enhance pain sensitivity and stimulate withdrawal or appetitive systems that attenuate pain sensitivity and stimulate approach. We employed a mixed factorial design with the between-subject factors exposure time (subliminal vs optimal) and vicarious pain (pain vs no pain images), and the within-subject factor session (baseline vs trial) to investigate how visual awareness of vicarious pain images affects subsequent self-pain in the cold-pressor test. Self-pain tolerance, intensity and unpleasantness were evaluated in a sample of 77 healthy participants. Results revealed significant interactions of exposure time and vicarious pain in all three dependent measures. In the presence of visual awareness (optimal condition), vicarious pain compared to no-pain elicited overall enhanced self-pain sensitivity, indexed by reduced pain tolerance and enhanced ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness. Conversely, in the absence of visual awareness (subliminal condition), vicarious pain evoked decreased self-pain intensity and unpleasantness while pain tolerance remained unaffected. These findings suggest that the activation of defense mechanisms by vicarious pain depends on relatively elaborate cognitive processes, while – strikingly – the appetitive system is activated in highly automatic manner independent from stimulus awareness. Such mechanisms may have evolved to facilitate empathic, protective approach responses toward suffering individuals, ensuring survival of the protective social group. PMID:28831270

Fashionista: A Fashion-aware Graphical System for Exploring Visually Similar Items

OpenAIRE

He, Ruining; Lin, Chunbin; McAuley, Julian

2016-01-01

To build a fashion recommendation system, we need to help users retrieve fashionable items that are visually similar to a particular query, for reasons ranging from searching alternatives (i.e., substitutes), to generating stylish outfits that are visually consistent, among other applications. In domains like clothing and accessories, such considerations are particularly paramount as the visual appearance of items is a critical feature that guides users' decisions. However, existing systems l...

Situation-aware GeoVisualization considering applied logic and extensibility: a new architecture and mechanism for intelligent GeoWeb

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xuelin; Gold, Christopher

2010-11-01

Recent years have witnessed the emerging Virtual Globe technology which has been increasingly exhibiting powerful features and capabilities. However, the current technical architecture for geovisualization is still the traditional data- viewer mode, i.e. KML-Geobrowser. Current KML is basically an encoding format for wrapping static snapshots of information frozen at discrete time points, and a geobrowser is virtually a data renderer for geovisualization. In the real world spatial-temporal objects and elements possess specific semantics, applied logic and operational rules, naturally or socially, which need to be considered and to be executed when corresponding data is integrated or visualized in a visual geocontext. However, currently there is no a way to express and execute this kind of applied logic and control rules within the current geobrowsing architecture. This paper proposes a novel architecture by originating a new mechanism, DKML, and implementing a DKML-supporting prototype geobrowser. Embedded programming script within KML files can express applied logic, control conditions, situation-aware analysis utilities and special functionality, to achieve intelligent, controllable and applied logic-conformant geovisualization, and to flexibly extend and customize the DKMLsupporting geobrowser. Benefiting from the mechanism developed in this research, geobrowsers can truly evolve into powerful multi-purpose GeoWeb platforms with promising potential and prospects.

Awareness and Use of Modern Contraceptives Among Physically ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AJRH Managing Editor

Abstract. This study assessed awareness and use of modern contraceptives among physically challenged in-school adolescents in Osun ... visually impaired respondents had significantly heard about modern contraceptives compared with females, younger ones and ..... Parker C, WP05 N. Adolescents and Emergency.

Instrumentation in Support of Interactive Visualization, Computation and Simulation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Wegman, Edward

1997-01-01

... and related spatial and volumetric visualization problems. By virtual environments, we meant an immersive visual and audio technology such that experimenter has little or no awareness of the real environment...

Visual experience and blindsight: A methodological review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overgaard, Morten

2011-01-01

Blindsight is classically defined as residual visual capacity, e.g., to detect and identify visual stimuli, in the total absence of perceptual awareness following lesions to V1. However, whereas most experiments have investigated what blindsight patients can and cannot do, the literature contains...

Phonological Awareness of Young Children with Visual Impairments

Science.gov (United States)

Hatton, Deborah D.; Erickson, Karen A.; Lee, Donna Brostek

2010-01-01

The findings from a sample of 22 young children with visual impairments and no additional disabilities suggest that potential readers of braille or dual media had better syllable-segmentation, sound-isolation, and sound-segmentation skills than potential readers of print. Potential readers of print seemed to have slightly better…

Recognition without Awareness: Encoding and Retrieval Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Craik, Fergus I. M.; Rose, Nathan S.; Gopie, Nigel

2015-01-01

The article reports 4 experiments that explore the notion of recognition without awareness using words as the material. Previous work by Voss and associates has shown that complex visual patterns were correctly selected as targets in a 2-alternative forced-choice (2-AFC) recognition test although participants reported that they were guessing. The…

Object-graphs for context-aware visual category discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yong Jae; Grauman, Kristen

2012-02-01

How can knowing about some categories help us to discover new ones in unlabeled images? Unsupervised visual category discovery is useful to mine for recurring objects without human supervision, but existing methods assume no prior information and thus tend to perform poorly for cluttered scenes with multiple objects. We propose to leverage knowledge about previously learned categories to enable more accurate discovery, and address challenges in estimating their familiarity in unsegmented, unlabeled images. We introduce two variants of a novel object-graph descriptor to encode the 2D and 3D spatial layout of object-level co-occurrence patterns relative to an unfamiliar region and show that by using them to model the interaction between an image’s known and unknown objects, we can better detect new visual categories. Rather than mine for all categories from scratch, our method identifies new objects while drawing on useful cues from familiar ones. We evaluate our approach on several benchmark data sets and demonstrate clear improvements in discovery over conventional purely appearance-based baselines.

Low awareness of the Charles Bonnet syndrome in patients attending a retinal clinic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Amardeep; Subhi, Yousif; Sørensen, Torben Lykke

2014-01-01

Visually impaired patients may experience visual hallucinations due to the Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS). While benign in nature, these hallucinations may cause distress in those unfamiliar with the phenomenon. The overall purpose of this study was to determine the degree of awareness of CBS...

The sensory strength of voluntary visual imagery predicts visual working memory capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Keogh, Rebecca; Pearson, Joel

2014-10-09

How much we can actively hold in mind is severely limited and differs greatly from one person to the next. Why some individuals have greater capacities than others is largely unknown. Here, we investigated why such large variations in visual working memory (VWM) capacity might occur, by examining the relationship between visual working memory and visual mental imagery. To assess visual working memory capacity participants were required to remember the orientation of a number of Gabor patches and make subsequent judgments about relative changes in orientation. The sensory strength of voluntary imagery was measured using a previously documented binocular rivalry paradigm. Participants with greater imagery strength also had greater visual working memory capacity. However, they were no better on a verbal number working memory task. Introducing a uniform luminous background during the retention interval of the visual working memory task reduced memory capacity, but only for those with strong imagery. Likewise, for the good imagers increasing background luminance during imagery generation reduced its effect on subsequent binocular rivalry. Luminance increases did not affect any of the subgroups on the verbal number working memory task. Together, these results suggest that luminance was disrupting sensory mechanisms common to both visual working memory and imagery, and not a general working memory system. The disruptive selectivity of background luminance suggests that good imagers, unlike moderate or poor imagers, may use imagery as a mnemonic strategy to perform the visual working memory task. © 2014 ARVO.

Simultaneous Visualization of Different Utility Networks for Disaster Management

Science.gov (United States)

Semm, S.; Becker, T.; Kolbe, T. H.

2012-07-01

Cartographic visualizations of crises are used to create a Common Operational Picture (COP) and enforce Situational Awareness by presenting and representing relevant information. As nearly all crises affect geospatial entities, geo-data representations have to support location-specific decision-making throughout the crises. Since, Operator's attention span and their working memory are limiting factors for the process of getting and interpreting information; the cartographic presentation has to support individuals in coordinating their activities and with handling highly dynamic situations. The Situational Awareness of operators in conjunction with a COP are key aspects of the decision making process and essential for coming to appropriate decisions. Utility networks are one of the most complex and most needed systems within a city. The visualization of utility infrastructure in crisis situations is addressed in this paper. The paper will provide a conceptual approach on how to simplify, aggregate, and visualize multiple utility networks and their components to meet the requirements of the decision-making process and to support Situational Awareness.

Metacognitive monitoring and control in visual change detection: Implications for situation awareness and cognitive control

Science.gov (United States)

McAnally, Ken I.; Morris, Adam P.; Best, Christopher

2017-01-01

Metacognitive monitoring and control of situation awareness (SA) are important for a range of safety-critical roles (e.g., air traffic control, military command and control). We examined the factors affecting these processes using a visual change detection task that included representative tactical displays. SA was assessed by asking novice observers to detect changes to a tactical display. Metacognitive monitoring was assessed by asking observers to estimate the probability that they would correctly detect a change, either after study of the display and before the change (judgement of learning; JOL) or after the change and detection response (judgement of performance; JOP). In Experiment 1, observers failed to detect some changes to the display, indicating imperfect SA, but JOPs were reasonably well calibrated to objective performance. Experiment 2 examined JOLs and JOPs in two task contexts: with study-time limits imposed by the task or with self-pacing to meet specified performance targets. JOPs were well calibrated in both conditions as were JOLs for high performance targets. In summary, observers had limited SA, but good insight about their performance and learning for high performance targets and allocated study time appropriately. PMID:28915244

Situational Awareness Applied to Geology Field Mapping using Integration of Semantic Data and Visualization Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Houser, P. I. Q.

2017-12-01

21st century earth science is data-intensive, characterized by heterogeneous, sometimes voluminous collections representing phenomena at different scales collected for different purposes and managed in disparate ways. However, much of the earth's surface still requires boots-on-the-ground, in-person fieldwork in order to detect the subtle variations from which humans can infer complex structures and patterns. Nevertheless, field experiences can and should be enabled and enhanced by a variety of emerging technologies. The goal of the proposed research project is to pilot test emerging data integration, semantic and visualization technologies for evaluation of their potential usefulness in the field sciences, particularly in the context of field geology. The proposed project will investigate new techniques for data management and integration enabled by semantic web technologies, along with new techniques for augmented reality that can operate on such integrated data to enable in situ visualization in the field. The research objectives include: Develop new technical infrastructure that applies target technologies to field geology; Test, evaluate, and assess the technical infrastructure in a pilot field site; Evaluate the capabilities of the systems for supporting and augmenting field science; and Assess the generality of the system for implementation in new and different types of field sites. Our hypothesis is that these technologies will enable what we call "field science situational awareness" - a cognitive state formerly attained only through long experience in the field - that is highly desirable but difficult to achieve in time- and resource-limited settings. Expected outcomes include elucidation of how, and in what ways, these technologies are beneficial in the field; enumeration of the steps and requirements to implement these systems; and cost/benefit analyses that evaluate under what conditions the investments of time and resources are advisable to construct

Error-related anterior cingulate cortex activity and the prediction of conscious error awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine eOrr

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Research examining the neural mechanisms associated with error awareness has consistently identified dorsal anterior cingulate activity (ACC as necessary but not predictive of conscious error detection. Two recent studies (Steinhauser and Yeung, 2010; Wessel et al. 2011 have found a contrary pattern of greater dorsal ACC activity (in the form of the error-related negativity during detected errors, but suggested that the greater activity may instead reflect task influences (e.g., response conflict, error probability and or individual variability (e.g., statistical power. We re-analyzed fMRI BOLD data from 56 healthy participants who had previously been administered the Error Awareness Task, a motor Go/No-go response inhibition task in which subjects make errors of commission of which they are aware (Aware errors, or unaware (Unaware errors. Consistent with previous data, the activity in a number of cortical regions was predictive of error awareness, including bilateral inferior parietal and insula cortices, however in contrast to previous studies, including our own smaller sample studies using the same task, error-related dorsal ACC activity was significantly greater during aware errors when compared to unaware errors. While the significantly faster RT for aware errors (compared to unaware was consistent with the hypothesis of higher response conflict increasing ACC activity, we could find no relationship between dorsal ACC activity and the error RT difference. The data suggests that individual variability in error awareness is associated with error-related dorsal ACC activity, and therefore this region may be important to conscious error detection, but it remains unclear what task and individual factors influence error awareness.

Eye contact facilitates awareness of faces during interocular suppression

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stein, T.; Senju, A.; Peelen, M.V.; Sterzer, P.

Eye contact captures attention and receives prioritized visual processing. Here we asked whether eye contact might be processed outside conscious awareness. Faces with direct and averted gaze were rendered invisible using interocular suppression. In two experiments we found that faces with direct

Advancing Water Science through Data Visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Troy, T.

2014-12-01

As water scientists, we are increasingly handling larger and larger datasets with many variables, making it easy to lose ourselves in the details. Advanced data visualization will play an increasingly significant role in propelling the development of water science in research, economy, policy and education. It can enable analysis within research and further data scientists' understanding of behavior and processes and can potentially affect how the public, whom we often want to inform, understands our work. Unfortunately for water scientists, data visualization is approached in an ad hoc manner when a more formal methodology or understanding could potentially significantly improve both research within the academy and outreach to the public. Firstly to broaden and deepen scientific understanding, data visualization can allow for more analyzed targets to be processed simultaneously and can represent the variables effectively, finding patterns, trends and relationships; thus it can even explores the new research direction or branch of water science. Depending on visualization, we can detect and separate the pivotal and trivial influential factors more clearly to assume and abstract the original complex target system. Providing direct visual perception of the differences between observation data and prediction results of models, data visualization allows researchers to quickly examine the quality of models in water science. Secondly data visualization can also improve public awareness and perhaps influence behavior. Offering decision makers clearer perspectives of potential profits of water, data visualization can amplify the economic value of water science and also increase relevant employment rates. Providing policymakers compelling visuals of the role of water for social and natural systems, data visualization can advance the water management and legislation of water conservation. By building the publics' own data visualization through apps and games about water

Do gender differences in audio-visual benefit and visual influence in audio-visual speech perception emerge with age?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magnus eAlm

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Gender and age have been found to affect adults’ audio-visual (AV speech perception. However, research on adult aging focuses on adults over 60 years, who have an increasing likelihood for cognitive and sensory decline, which may confound positive effects of age-related AV-experience and its interaction with gender. Observed age and gender differences in AV speech perception may also depend on measurement sensitivity and AV task difficulty. Consequently both AV benefit and visual influence were used to measure visual contribution for gender-balanced groups of young (20-30 years and middle-aged adults (50-60 years with task difficulty varied using AV syllables from different talkers in alternative auditory backgrounds. Females had better speech-reading performance than males. Whereas no gender differences in AV benefit or visual influence were observed for young adults, visually influenced responses were significantly greater for middle-aged females than middle-aged males. That speech-reading performance did not influence AV benefit may be explained by visual speech extraction and AV integration constituting independent abilities. Contrastingly, the gender difference in visually influenced responses in middle adulthood may reflect an experience-related shift in females’ general AV perceptual strategy. Although young females’ speech-reading proficiency may not readily contribute to greater visual influence, between young and middle-adulthood recurrent confirmation of the contribution of visual cues induced by speech-reading proficiency may gradually shift females AV perceptual strategy towards more visually dominated responses.

Increasing Situational Awareness by Combining Realistic and Non-Realistic Rendering Techniques

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Summers, Valerie A; Normoyle, Aline; Flo, Robert

2005-01-01

.... Although this improved visual realism can lead to a better sense of immersion and a more faithful reproduction of the natural world, it does not necessarily promote increased awareness of an evolving situation...

Ambiguous science and the visual representation of the real

Science.gov (United States)

Newbold, Curtis Robert

The emergence of visual media as prominent and even expected forms of communication in nearly all disciplines, including those scientific, has raised new questions about how the art and science of communication epistemologically affect the interpretation of scientific phenomena. In this dissertation I explore how the influence of aesthetics in visual representations of science inevitably creates ambiguous meanings. As a means to improve visual literacy in the sciences, I call awareness to the ubiquity of visual ambiguity and its importance and relevance in scientific discourse. To do this, I conduct a literature review that spans interdisciplinary research in communication, science, art, and rhetoric. Furthermore, I create a paradoxically ambiguous taxonomy, which functions to exploit the nuances of visual ambiguities and their role in scientific communication. I then extrapolate the taxonomy of visual ambiguity and from it develop an ambiguous, rhetorical heuristic, the Tetradic Model of Visual Ambiguity. The Tetradic Model is applied to a case example of a scientific image as a demonstration of how scientific communicators may increase their awareness of the epistemological effects of ambiguity in the visual representations of science. I conclude by demonstrating how scientific communicators may make productive use of visual ambiguity, even in communications of objective science, and I argue how doing so strengthens scientific communicators' visual literacy skills and their ability to communicate more ethically and effectively.

SIMULTANEOUS VISUALIZATION OF DIFFERENT UTILITY NETWORKS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Semm

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Cartographic visualizations of crises are used to create a Common Operational Picture (COP and enforce Situational Awareness by presenting and representing relevant information. As nearly all crises affect geospatial entities, geo-data representations have to support location-specific decision-making throughout the crises. Since, Operator's attention span and their working memory are limiting factors for the process of getting and interpreting information; the cartographic presentation has to support individuals in coordinating their activities and with handling highly dynamic situations. The Situational Awareness of operators in conjunction with a COP are key aspects of the decision making process and essential for coming to appropriate decisions. Utility networks are one of the most complex and most needed systems within a city. The visualization of utility infrastructure in crisis situations is addressed in this paper. The paper will provide a conceptual approach on how to simplify, aggregate, and visualize multiple utility networks and their components to meet the requirements of the decision-making process and to support Situational Awareness.

Effects of presentation modality on team awareness and choice accuracy in a simulated police team task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Streefkerk, J.W.; Wiering, C.; Esch van-Bussemakers, M.; Neerincx, M.

2008-01-01

Team awareness is important when asking team members for assistance, for example in the police domain. This paper investigates how presentation modality (visual or auditory) of relevant team information and communication influences team awareness and choice accuracy in a collaborative team task. An

Greater trochanteric fracture with occult intertrochanteric extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiter, Michael; O'Brien, Seth D; Bui-Mansfield, Liem T; Alderete, Joseph

2013-10-01

Proximal femoral fractures are frequently encountered in the emergency department (ED). Prompt diagnosis is paramount as delay will exacerbate the already poor outcomes associated with these injuries. In cases where radiography is negative but clinical suspicion remains high, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the study of choice as it has the capability to depict fractures which are occult on other imaging modalities. Awareness of a particular subset of proximal femoral fractures, namely greater trochanteric fractures, is vital for both radiologists and clinicians since it has been well documented that they invariably have an intertrochanteric component which may require surgical management. The detection of intertrochanteric or cervical extension of greater trochanteric fractures has been described utilizing MRI but is underestimated with both computed tomography (CT) and bone scan. Therefore, if MRI is unavailable or contraindicated, the diagnosis of an isolated greater trochanteric fracture should be met with caution. The importance of avoiding this potential pitfall is demonstrated in the following case of an elderly woman with hip pain and CT demonstrating an isolated greater trochanteric fracture who subsequently returned to the ED with a displaced intertrochanteric fracture.

Lower-limb proprioceptive awareness in professional ballet dancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiefer, Adam W; Riley, Michael A; Shockley, Kevin; Sitton, Candace A; Hewett, Timothy E; Cummins-Sebree, Sarah; Haas, Jacqui G

2013-09-01

Enhanced proprioceptive feedback strengthens synergistic muscle groups and stabilizes the coordination of limbs, thus contributing to the movement efficiency of ballet dancers. The present study compared lower-limb proprioceptive awareness in professional ballet dancers to matched controls who had no dance training. Two assessment methods were used to test the hypothesis that ballet dancers would demonstrate increased proprioceptive awareness in the ankle, knee, and hip: 1. a joint-position matching task to assess static proprioceptive joint awareness, and 2. an eyes-closed, quiet standing task to assess both static and dynamic proprioceptive awareness through measures of center of pressure (COP) variability. Results of the matching task indicated that the dancers exhibited greater proprioceptive awareness than controls for all three joints (p 0.05), whereas controls were less aware of their ankle position compared to their knee and hip joints (p 0.05). This indicates that quiet stance may have limited value as a means for evaluating proprioception. These findings provide preliminary evidence that enhanced proprioceptive awareness of lower limb joints should be considered as an evaluative criterion for dancers' ability to learn complex ballet skills. They also indicate that quiet standing tasks may not provide sufficient challenge for dancers' enhanced proprioceptive awareness to manifest.

Visuals Matter! Designing and using effective visual representations to support project and portfolio decisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geraldi, Joana; Arlt, Mario

. They can help managers to be sharper and quicker, especially if visuals are used in a mindful manner. The intent of this book is to increase the awareness of project, program and portfolio practitioners and scholars about the importance of visuals and to provide practical recommendations on how they can......This book is the result of a two-year research project, funded by Project Management Institute and University College London on data visualization in the project and portfolio management contexts. Visuals are powerful and constitute an integral part of analyzing problems and making decisions...... be used and designed mindfully. The research, which underpins this book, focuses on the impact of visuals on cognition of data in project portfolio decisions. The complexity of portfolio problems often exceed human cognitive limitations as a result of a number of factors, such as the large number...

Eye Contact Facilitates Awareness of Faces during Interocular Suppression

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Timo; Senju, Atsushi; Peelen, Marius V.; Sterzer, Philipp

2011-01-01

Eye contact captures attention and receives prioritized visual processing. Here we asked whether eye contact might be processed outside conscious awareness. Faces with direct and averted gaze were rendered invisible using interocular suppression. In two experiments we found that faces with direct gaze overcame such suppression more rapidly than…

Information Visualization: The State of the Art for Maritime Domain Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

2006-08-01

les auteurs et aux évaluations de la qualité de certains documents, mots-clés et liens. La version sur papier de cette base de données se trouve à...interface design principles, psychological studies, and perception research • include a review of visualization theory including current visualization...builds on that a theory of how maps are understood (knowledge schemata and cognitive representations), and then analyses the use of symbols and

Energy Data Visualization Requires Additional Approaches to Continue to be Relevant in a World with Greater Low-Carbon Generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grant Wilson, I. A.

2016-01-01

The hypothesis described in this article proposes that energy visualization diagrams commonly used need additional changes to continue to be relevant in a world with greater low-carbon generation. The diagrams that display national energy data are influenced by the properties of the type of energy being displayed, which in most cases has historically meant fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, or hydro. As many energy systems throughout the world increase their use of electricity from wind- or solar-based renewables, a more granular display of energy data in the time domain is required. This article also introduces the shared axes energy diagram that provides a simple and powerful way to compare the scale and seasonality of the demands and supplies of an energy system. This aims to complement, rather than replace existing diagrams, and has an additional benefit of promoting a whole systems approach to energy systems, as differing energy vectors, such as natural gas, transport fuels, and electricity, can all be displayed together. This, in particular, is useful to both policy makers and to industry, to build a visual foundation for a whole systems narrative, which provides a basis for discussion of the synergies and opportunities across and between different energy vectors and demands. The diagram’s ability to wrap a sense of scale around a whole energy system in a simple way is thought to explain its growing popularity.

Energy Data Visualization Requires Additional Approaches to Continue to be Relevant in a World with Greater Low-Carbon Generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grant Wilson, I. A., E-mail: grant.wilson@sheffield.ac.uk [Environmental and Energy Engineering Group, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield (United Kingdom)

2016-08-31

The hypothesis described in this article proposes that energy visualization diagrams commonly used need additional changes to continue to be relevant in a world with greater low-carbon generation. The diagrams that display national energy data are influenced by the properties of the type of energy being displayed, which in most cases has historically meant fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, or hydro. As many energy systems throughout the world increase their use of electricity from wind- or solar-based renewables, a more granular display of energy data in the time domain is required. This article also introduces the shared axes energy diagram that provides a simple and powerful way to compare the scale and seasonality of the demands and supplies of an energy system. This aims to complement, rather than replace existing diagrams, and has an additional benefit of promoting a whole systems approach to energy systems, as differing energy vectors, such as natural gas, transport fuels, and electricity, can all be displayed together. This, in particular, is useful to both policy makers and to industry, to build a visual foundation for a whole systems narrative, which provides a basis for discussion of the synergies and opportunities across and between different energy vectors and demands. The diagram’s ability to wrap a sense of scale around a whole energy system in a simple way is thought to explain its growing popularity.

Torsion of the greater omentum: A rare preoperative diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tandon, Ankit Anil; Lim, Kian Soon

2010-01-01

Torsion of the greater omentum is a rare acute abdominal condition that is seldom diagnosed preoperatively. We report the characteristic computed tomography (CT) scan findings and the clinical implications of this unusual diagnosis in a 41-year-old man, who also had longstanding right inguinal hernia. Awareness of omental torsion as a differential diagnosis in the acute abdomen setting is necessary for correct patient management

Improving Vision Awareness in Autism Services: Evaluation of a Dedicated Education Programme for Support Practitioners

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Joseph J.; Butchart, Maggie; Brown, Michael; Bain, Janice; McMillan, Anne; Karatzias, Thanos

2018-01-01

Background: The research reported here sought to evaluate whether a dedicated education programme in vision awareness improved the knowledge and skills of autism support practitioners in identifying visual impairment in autistic people with intellectual disabilities and providing better support to those individuals identified as visually impaired.…

A Novel Audiovisual Brain-Computer Interface and Its Application in Awareness Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fei; He, Yanbin; Pan, Jiahui; Xie, Qiuyou; Yu, Ronghao; Zhang, Rui; Li, Yuanqing

2015-01-01

Currently, detecting awareness in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) is a challenging task, which is commonly addressed through behavioral observation scales such as the JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide an alternative approach to detect awareness in patients with DOC. However, these patients have a much lower capability of using BCIs compared to healthy individuals. This study proposed a novel BCI using temporally, spatially, and semantically congruent audiovisual stimuli involving numbers (i.e., visual and spoken numbers). Subjects were instructed to selectively attend to the target stimuli cued by instruction. Ten healthy subjects first participated in the experiment to evaluate the system. The results indicated that the audiovisual BCI system outperformed auditory-only and visual-only systems. Through event-related potential analysis, we observed audiovisual integration effects for target stimuli, which enhanced the discriminability between brain responses for target and nontarget stimuli and thus improved the performance of the audiovisual BCI. This system was then applied to detect the awareness of seven DOC patients, five of whom exhibited command following as well as number recognition. Thus, this audiovisual BCI system may be used as a supportive bedside tool for awareness detection in patients with DOC. PMID:26123281

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... to the terrain awareness and warning system audio and visual warnings. (d) Exceptions. Paragraphs (a... after March 29, 2002. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may operate a... minimum meets the requirements for Class B equipment in Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C151. (b) Airplanes...

Promoting Social Network Awareness: A Social Network Monitoring System

Science.gov (United States)

Cadima, Rita; Ferreira, Carlos; Monguet, Josep; Ojeda, Jordi; Fernandez, Joaquin

2010-01-01

To increase communication and collaboration opportunities, members of a community must be aware of the social networks that exist within that community. This paper describes a social network monitoring system--the KIWI system--that enables users to register their interactions and visualize their social networks. The system was implemented in a…

Awareness, Knowledge, and Concern about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Science.gov (United States)

Cimarolli, Verena R.; Laban-Baker, Allie; Hamilton, Wanda S.; Stuen, Cynthia

2012-01-01

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)--a common eye disease causing vision loss--can be detected early through regular eye-health examinations, and measures can be taken to prevent visual decline. Getting eye examinations requires certain levels of awareness, knowledge, and concern related to AMD. However, little is known about AMD-related…

Demonstration of a Novel Synchrophasor-based Situational Awareness System: Wide Area Power System Visualization, On-line Event Replay and Early Warning of Grid Problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosso, A.

2012-12-31

Since the large North Eastern power system blackout on August 14, 2003, U.S. electric utilities have spent lot of effort on preventing power system cascading outages. Two of the main causes of the August 14, 2003 blackout were inadequate situational awareness and inadequate operator training In addition to the enhancements of the infrastructure of the interconnected power systems, more research and development of advanced power system applications are required for improving the wide-area security monitoring, operation and planning in order to prevent large- scale cascading outages of interconnected power systems. It is critically important for improving the wide-area situation awareness of the operators or operational engineers and regional reliability coordinators of large interconnected systems. With the installation of large number of phasor measurement units (PMU) and the related communication infrastructure, it will be possible to improve the operators’ situation awareness and to quickly identify the sequence of events during a large system disturbance for the post-event analysis using the real-time or historical synchrophasor data. The purpose of this project was to develop and demonstrate a novel synchrophasor-based comprehensive situational awareness system for control centers of power transmission systems. The developed system named WASA (Wide Area Situation Awareness) is intended to improve situational awareness at control centers of the power system operators and regional reliability coordinators. It consists of following main software modules: • Wide-area visualizations of real-time frequency, voltage, and phase angle measurements and their contour displays for security monitoring. • Online detection and location of a major event (location, time, size, and type, such as generator or line outage). • Near-real-time event replay (in seconds) after a major event occurs. • Early warning of potential wide-area stability problems. The system has been

Effect of Visual Art School-Based Stroke Intervention for Middle School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ashleigh B; Montgomery, Chelsea M; Dillard, Wesley A; Morrill, Kenneth; Hoesli, Coral; Gillette, Wesley M; Johnson, Brandon K; Nathaniel, Thomas I

2017-08-01

Community stroke awareness initiatives have traditionally been used to expand knowledge of stroke signs and risk factors to high-risk adult populations. Here, we use a novel unfettered, visual art-based approach for an elementary school initiative to raise stroke awareness. Seventh graders in a middle school art class received stroke awareness training during the course of the 2015 to 2016 school year through their teacher in the visual arts class. In turn, they used this training to develop their own artistic interpretations of key stroke awareness concepts via project-based learning and then present their projects to raise awareness about stroke. We evaluated our predata and postdata to determine whether the visual art school-based stroke intervention was effective in both educating students about stroke and enabling them to effectively disseminate this information to parents and other adults in their community. The pretest evaluation indicates a fair or good knowledge about stroke, and no student indicated an "outstanding" or "excellent" knowledge. The posttest evaluation indicated a higher degree of stroke awareness because students were rated as having an "outstanding," "excellent," or "very good" performance especially in the ability to translate knowledge of stroke awareness lessons learned in their art class into a well-articulated stroke-related project and presentation. Pearson χ test reveals significant difference (P art teacher to lead the educational component in the intervention indicates that expertise in neurology or stroke is not necessary to facilitate understanding of stroke and highlights the importance of creativeness in stroke education for children.

Desempenho de indivíduos com Síndrome de Down nos testes de consciência fonológica aplicados com e sem apoio visual de figuras Performance of individuals with Down's Syndrome in tests of phonological awareness applied with and without visual support of illustrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Teresa de Mello Camuzzo Lara

2007-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: avaliar o desempenho dos indivíduos com Síndrome de Down, com e sem estímulo visual na consciência fonológica. MÉTODOS: participaram 40 sujeitos com Síndrome de Down de ambos os sexos, que se encontravam em uma das fases do processo de apropriação da linguagem escrita, separados em dois grupos aleatórios, com números similares a partir das mesmas fases. Foram aplicadas nove provas de consciência fonológica do nível de sílaba do teste CONFIAS como proposto originalmente, no primeiro grupo e as mesmas provas adaptadas com figuras de apoio para todas as palavras, no segundo grupo. RESULTADOS: os resultados mostraram que a média total de acerto dos 20 sujeitos que fizeram os testes com apoio visual de figuras é significativamente melhor se comparado com a média de acerto dos 20 sujeitos que fizeram o teste sem o apoio visual de figuras. Com o uso de figuras como apoio na avaliação da consciência fonológica, observou-se que os resultados referem-se a real habilidade que o individuo apresenta sem a interferência de um possível déficit na memória auditiva de curto prazo. CONCLUSÃO: os achados permitem afirmar que, com 95% de probabilidade, a aplicação de figuras nos testes de consciência fonológica consiste em um benefício aos indivíduos com Síndrome de Down.PURPOSE: this study aims at assessing the performance of individuals with Down's Syndrome when phonological awareness is stimulated with illustrations or not. METHODS: the study involved 40 subjects with Down's Syndrome, of both genders, and still in one of the phases of written language acquisition, separated in two random groups, with similar numbers starting from the same phases. A group of twenty subjects did nine tests of the syllable level CONFIAS test for phonological awareness. The second group of twenty did the version of the same test with the adaptation of illustrations. RESULTS: the results revealed that the total average score of the 20

Noisy visual feedback training impairs detection of self-generated movement error: implications for anosognosia for hemiplegia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine ePreston

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Anosognosia for hemiplegia (AHP is characterised as a disorder in which patients are unaware of their contralateral motor deficit. Many current theories for unawareness in AHP are based on comparator model accounts of the normal experience of agency. According to such models, while small mismatches between predicted and actual feedback allow unconscious fine-tuning of normal actions, mismatches that surpass an inherent threshold reach conscious awareness and inform judgements of agency (whether a given movement is produced by the self or another agent. This theory depends on a threshold for consciousness that is greater than the intrinsic noise in the system to reduce the occurrence of incorrect rejections of self-generated movements and maintain a fluid experience of agency. Pathological increases to this threshold could account for reduced motor awareness following brain injury, including AHP. The current experiment tested this hypothesis in healthy controls by exposing them to training in which noise was applied the visual feedback of their normal reaches. Subsequent self/other attribution tasks without noise revealed a decrease in the ability to detect manipulated (other feedback compared to training without noise. This suggests a slackening of awareness thresholds in the comparator model that may help to explain clinical observations of decreased action awareness following stroke.

Information matching the content of visual working memory is prioritized for conscious access.

Science.gov (United States)

Gayet, Surya; Paffen, Chris L E; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

2013-12-01

Visual working memory (VWM) is used to retain relevant information for imminent goal-directed behavior. In the experiments reported here, we found that VWM helps to prioritize relevant information that is not yet available for conscious experience. In five experiments, we demonstrated that information matching VWM content reaches visual awareness faster than does information not matching VWM content. Our findings suggest a functional link between VWM and visual awareness: The content of VWM is recruited to funnel down the vast amount of sensory input to that which is relevant for subsequent behavior and therefore requires conscious access.

Testing the idea of privileged awareness of self-relevant information.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Timo; Siebold, Alisha; van Zoest, Wieske

2016-03-01

Self-relevant information is prioritized in processing. Some have suggested the mechanism driving this advantage is akin to the automatic prioritization of physically salient stimuli in information processing (Humphreys & Sui, 2015). Here we investigate whether self-relevant information is prioritized for awareness under continuous flash suppression (CFS), as has been found for physical salience. Gabor patches with different orientations were first associated with the labels You or Other. Participants were more accurate in matching the self-relevant association, replicating previous findings of self-prioritization. However, breakthrough into awareness from CFS did not differ between self- and other-associated Gabors. These findings demonstrate that self-relevant information has no privileged access to awareness. Rather than modulating the initial visual processes that precede and lead to awareness, the advantage of self-relevant information may better be characterized as prioritization at later processing stages. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The nature of visual self-recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Suddendorf, Thomas; Butler, David L

2013-03-01

Visual self-recognition is often controversially cited as an indicator of self-awareness and assessed with the mirror-mark test. Great apes and humans, unlike small apes and monkeys, have repeatedly passed mirror tests, suggesting that the underlying brain processes are homologous and evolved 14-18 million years ago. However, neuroscientific, developmental, and clinical dissociations show that the medium used for self-recognition (mirror vs photograph vs video) significantly alters behavioral and brain responses, likely due to perceptual differences among the different media and prior experience. On the basis of this evidence and evolutionary considerations, we argue that the visual self-recognition skills evident in humans and great apes are a byproduct of a general capacity to collate representations, and need not index other aspects of self-awareness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical success factors in awareness of and choice towards low vision rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, Sarah A; Johnson, Aaron P; Wittich, Walter; Overbury, Olga

2015-01-01

The goal of the current study was to examine the critical factors indicative of an individual's choice to access low vision rehabilitation services. Seven hundred and forty-nine visually impaired individuals, from the Montreal Barriers Study, completed a structured interview and questionnaires (on visual function, coping, depression, satisfaction with life). Seventy-five factors from the interview and questionnaires were entered into a data-driven Classification and Regression Tree Analysis in order to determine the best predictors of awareness group: positive personal choice (I knew and I went), negative personal choice (I knew and did not go), and lack of information (Nobody told me, and I did not know). Having a response of moderate to no difficulty on item 6 (reading signs) of the Visual Function Index 14 (VF-14) indicated that the person had made a positive personal choice to seek rehabilitation, whereas reporting a great deal of difficulty on this item was associated with a lack of information on low vision rehabilitation. In addition to this factor, symptom duration of under nine years, moderate difficulty or less on item 5 (seeing steps or curbs) of the VF-14, and an indication of little difficulty or less on item 3 (reading large print) of the VF-14 further identified those who were more likely to have made a positive personal choice. Individuals in the lack of information group also reported greater difficulty on items 3 and 5 of the VF-14 and were more likely to be male. The duration-of-symptoms factor suggests that, even in the positive choice group, it may be best to offer rehabilitation services early. Being male and responding moderate difficulty or greater to the VF-14 questions about far, medium-distance and near situations involving vision was associated with individuals that lack information. Consequently, these individuals may need additional education about the benefits of low vision services in order to make a positive personal choice. © 2014

Effects of vicarious pain on self-pain perception: investigating the role of awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terrighena EL

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Esslin L Terrighena,1,2 Ge Lu,1 Wai Ping Yuen,1 Tatia M C Lee,1–4 Kati Keuper1,2,5 1Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 2Laboratory of Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 3The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Hong Kong; 4Institute of Clinical Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 5Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany Abstract: The observation of pain in others may enhance or reduce self-pain, yet the boundary conditions and factors that determine the direction of such effects are poorly understood. The current study set out to show that visual stimulus awareness plays a crucial role in ­determining whether vicarious pain primarily activates behavioral defense systems that enhance pain sensitivity and stimulate withdrawal or appetitive systems that attenuate pain sensitivity and stimulate approach. We employed a mixed factorial design with the between-subject factors exposure time (subliminal vs optimal and vicarious pain (pain vs no pain images, and the within-subject factor session (baseline vs trial to investigate how visual awareness of vicarious pain images affects subsequent self-pain in the cold-pressor test. Self-pain tolerance, intensity and unpleasantness were evaluated in a sample of 77 healthy participants. Results revealed ­significant interactions of exposure time and vicarious pain in all three dependent measures. In the presence of visual awareness (optimal condition, vicarious pain compared to no-pain elicited overall enhanced self-pain sensitivity, indexed by reduced pain tolerance and enhanced ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness. Conversely, in the absence of visual awareness (subliminal condition, vicarious pain evoked decreased self-pain intensity and unpleasantness while pain tolerance remained unaffected. These

Evaluating the impact of a community-based cancer awareness roadshow on awareness, attitudes and behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Samuel G; Osborne, Kirstie; Tring, Sophie; George, Helen; Power, Emily

2016-06-01

Improving public awareness of cancer and encouraging health behavior change are important aspects of cancer control. We investigated whether a community-based roadshow was an effective way of communicating with the public about cancer and encouraging behavior change. Data were from 1196 people who completed questionnaires at a Cancer Research UK Cancer Awareness Roadshow in 2013. Of these, 511 (43%) completed questionnaires immediately before their visit (pre-visit group) and 685 (57%) completed questionnaires immediately after their visit (post-visit group). Among the post-visit sample, 217 (32%) were retained after two months. Self-reported data were available on risk factor and symptom awareness, help-seeking barriers, use of healthcare services and health behaviors. Compared with the pre-visit sample, the post-visit group had greater awareness of cancer risk factors and was more positive about aspects of help-seeking but awareness of potential symptoms was similar. Most effects were maintained over two months. Intentions to eat more fruit and vegetables and to exercise more were comparable between the groups but more people in the post-visit sample intended to quit smoking. At 2-month follow-up, smoking prevalence had significantly reduced but fruit and vegetable consumption decreased and there was no change to physical activity. User of weight loss services and general practitioner visits were high at follow-up and largely attributed to the Roadshow. The Cancer Research UK Roadshow appears to improve risk factor awareness, promote positive attitudes towards help-seeking and increase smoking cessation. This approach could be a useful building block for additional cancer prevention and control strategies. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of momentary visual disruption on hazard anticipation and awareness in driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Borowsky, Avinoam; Horrey, William J; Liang, Yulan; Garabet, Angela; Simmons, Lucinda; Fisher, Donald L

2015-01-01

Driver distraction is known to increase crash risk, especially when a driver glances inside the vehicle for especially long periods of time. Though it is clear that such glances increase the risk for the driver when looking inside the vehicle, it is less clear how these glances disrupt the ongoing processing of information outside the vehicle once the driver's eyes return to the road. The present study was aimed at exploring the effect of in-vehicle glances on the top-down processes that guide the detection and monitoring of hazards on the forward roadway. Using a driving simulator, 12 participants were monitored with an eye-tracking system while they navigated various hazardous scenarios. Six participants were momentarily interrupted by a visual secondary task (simulating a glance inside the vehicle) prior to the occurrence of a potential hazard and 6 were not. Eye movement analyses showed that interrupted drivers often failed to continue scanning for a potential hazard when their forward view reappeared, especially when the potential threat could not easily be localized. Additionally, drivers' self-appraisal of workload and performance of the driving task indicated that, contrary to what one might expect, drivers in the interruption condition reported workload levels lower than and performance equal to drivers in the no interruption condition. Drivers who are momentarily disrupted even for a brief duration are at risk of missing important information when they return their gaze to the forward roadway. In addition, because they are not aware of missing this information they are likely to continue engaging in in-vehicle tasks even though they are demonstrably unsafe. The implications for safety, calibration, and targeted remediation are discussed.

AODA Training Experiences of Blindness and Visual Impairment Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, S. J.; Koch, D. Shane; McKee, Marissa F.; Nelipovich, Michael

2009-01-01

Co-existing alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) and blindness or visually impairment may complicate the delivery of rehabilitation services. Professionals working with individuals who are blind or visually impaired need to be aware of unique issues facing those with co-existing disabilities. This study sought to examine the AODA training needs,…

Reading skill related to left ventral occipitotemporal cortex during a phonological awareness task in 5–6-year old children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Wang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT is important in visual word recognition. Studies have shown that the left vOT is generally observed to be involved in spoken language processing in skilled readers, suggesting automatic access to corresponding orthographic information. However, little is known about where and how the left vOT is involved in the spoken language processing of young children with emerging reading ability. In order to answer this question, we examined the relation of reading ability in 5–6-year-old kindergarteners to the activation of vOT during an auditory phonological awareness task. Two experimental conditions: onset word pairs that shared the first phoneme and rhyme word pairs that shared the final biphone/triphone, were compared to allow a measurement of vOT’s activation to small (i.e., onsets and large grain sizes (i.e., rhymes. We found that higher reading ability was associated with better accuracy of the onset, but not the rhyme, condition. In addition, higher reading ability was only associated with greater sensitivity in the posterior left vOT for the contrast of the onset versus rhyme condition. These results suggest that acquisition of reading results in greater specialization of the posterior vOT to smaller rather than larger grain sizes in young children. Keywords: Left vOT, Grain size, Phonological awareness, Spoken language

Optimizing Visually-Assisted Listening Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Kashani, Ahmad Sabouri; Sajjadi, Samad; Sohrabi, Mohammad Reza; Younespour, Shima

2011-01-01

The fact that visual aids such as pictures or graphs can lead to greater comprehension by language learners has been well established. Nonetheless, the order of presenting visuals to listeners is left unattended. This study examined listening comprehension from a strategy of introducing visual information, either prior to or during an audio…

The minimal energetic requirement of sustained awareness after brain injury

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stender, Johan; Mortensen, Kristian Nygaard; Thibaut, Aurore

2016-01-01

of glucose has been proposed as an indicator of consciousness [2 and 3]. Likewise, FDG-PET may contribute to the clinical diagnosis of disorders of consciousness (DOCs) [4 and 5]. However, current methods are non-quantitative and have important drawbacks deriving from visually guided assessment of relative...... changes in brain metabolism [4]. We here used FDG-PET to measure resting state brain glucose metabolism in 131 DOC patients to identify objective quantitative metabolic indicators and predictors of awareness. Quantitation of images was performed by normalizing to extracerebral tissue. We show that 42......% of normal cortical activity represents the minimal energetic requirement for the presence of conscious awareness. Overall, the cerebral metabolic rate accounted for the current level, or imminent return, of awareness in 94% of the patient population, suggesting a global energetic threshold effect...

Body Awareness and Movement for Students with Multiple Disabilities Including Visual Impairments

Science.gov (United States)

DePountis, Vicki; Cady, Deborah; Hallak, Tracy

2013-01-01

This conference presentation examines concept development for congenitally blind students. It presents current research on best-practice for teaching this population. Examples of strategies to reinforce understanding of body concepts, spatial awareness, and positional language, while promoting mirroring, self regulation, and purposeful movement to…

Cortical response tracking the conscious experience of threshold duration visual stimuli indicates visual perception is all or none

Science.gov (United States)

Sekar, Krithiga; Findley, William M.; Poeppel, David; Llinás, Rodolfo R.

2013-01-01

At perceptual threshold, some stimuli are available for conscious access whereas others are not. Such threshold inputs are useful tools for investigating the events that separate conscious awareness from unconscious stimulus processing. Here, viewing unmasked, threshold-duration images was combined with recording magnetoencephalography to quantify differences among perceptual states, ranging from no awareness to ambiguity to robust perception. A four-choice scale was used to assess awareness: “didn’t see” (no awareness), “couldn’t identify” (awareness without identification), “unsure” (awareness with low certainty identification), and “sure” (awareness with high certainty identification). Stimulus-evoked neuromagnetic signals were grouped according to behavioral response choices. Three main cortical responses were elicited. The earliest response, peaking at ∼100 ms after stimulus presentation, showed no significant correlation with stimulus perception. A late response (∼290 ms) showed moderate correlation with stimulus awareness but could not adequately differentiate conscious access from its absence. By contrast, an intermediate response peaking at ∼240 ms was observed only for trials in which stimuli were consciously detected. That this signal was similar for all conditions in which awareness was reported is consistent with the hypothesis that conscious visual access is relatively sharply demarcated. PMID:23509248

Predictors of beer advertising awareness among eighth graders.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Rebecca L; Schell, Terry; Ellickson, Phyllis L; McCaffrey, Daniel

2003-09-01

To identify correlates of beer advertising awareness among adolescents at an age when most initiate use of alcohol. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of an in-school survey about alcohol advertising. Structural equation modeling was used to test for independent predictors of a latent beer advertising awareness construct, separately among boys and girls. Twenty middle schools in South Dakota, USA participated during their spring semester. A total of 1530 eighth graders. A latent advertisement awareness variable was derived based on recognition of six masked beer advertisements, knowledge of beer brands and knowledge of beer slogans. Tested predictors included measures of exposure to alcohol advertising in various venues, social norms regarding drinking, drinking beliefs and behavior and gender. Adolescents with greater exposure to advertisements in magazines, at sporting and music events and on television were more advertisement aware than those with less exposure, as were teens who watch more TV, pay attention to beer advertisements and know adults who drink. Beer advertisement awareness was dramatically higher among boys, and was associated with drinking only among boys. Each of a variety of advertising venues appears to influence independently the extent to which beer advertising is incorporated into an adolescent's cognitive world. Boys are more likely to be aware of and remember beer marketing, and may be more likely to drink as a result of this awareness than girls.

The impact of national cancer awareness campaigns for bowel and lung cancer symptoms on sociodemographic inequalities in immediate key symptom awareness and GP attendances

Science.gov (United States)

Moffat, J; Bentley, A; Ironmonger, L; Boughey, A; Radford, G; Duffy, S

2015-01-01

Background: National campaigns focusing on key symptoms of bowel and lung cancer ran in England in 2012, targeting men and women over the age of 50 years, from lower socioeconomic groups. Methods: Data from awareness surveys undertaken with samples of the target audience (n=1245/1140 pre-/post-bowel campaign and n=1412/1246 pre-/post-lung campaign) and Read-code data extracted from a selection general practitioner (GP) practices (n=355 for bowel and n=486 for lung) were analysed by population subgroups. Results: Unprompted symptom awareness: There were no significant differences in the magnitude of shift in ABC1 vs C2DE groups for either campaign. For the bowel campaign, there was a significantly greater increase in awareness of blood in stools in the age group 75+ years compared with the 55–74 age group, and of looser stools in men compared with women. Prompted symptom awareness: Endorsement of ‘blood in poo' remained stable, overall and across different population subgroups. Men showed a significantly greater increase in endorsement of ‘looser poo' as a definite warning sign of bowel cancer than women. There were no significant differences across subgroups in endorsement of a 3-week cough as a definite warning sign of lung cancer. GP attendances: Overall, there were significant increases in attendances for symptoms directly linked to the campaigns, with the largest percentage increase seen in the 50–59 age group. For the bowel campaign, the increase was significantly greater for men and for practices in the most-deprived quintile, whereas for lung the increase was significantly greater for practices in the least-deprived quintile. Conclusions: The national bowel and lung campaigns reached their target audience and have also influenced younger and more affluent groups. Differences in impact within the target audience were also seen. There would seem to be no unduly concerning widening in inequalities, but further analyses of the equality of impact across

Visual Dysfunction and Associated Co-morbidities as Predictors of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Seen Among Veterans in Non-VA Facilities: Implications for Clinical Practice.

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Urosevich, Thomas G; Boscarino, Joseph J; Hoffman, Stuart N; Kirchner, H Lester; Figley, Charles R; Adams, Richard E; Withey, Carrie A; Boscarino, Joseph A

2018-05-24

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder are considered the signature injuries of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. With the extensive use of improvised explosive devices by the enemy, the concussive effects from blast have a greater potential to cause mild TBI (mTBI) in military Service Members. These mTBI can be associated with other physical and psychological health problems, including mTBI-induced visual processing and eye movement dysfunctions. Our study assessed if any visual dysfunctions existed in those surveyed in non-Veterans Administration (VA) facilities who had suffered mTBI (concussive effect), in addition to the presence of concussion-related co-morbidities. As part of a larger study involving veterans from different service eras, we surveyed 235 Veterans who had served during the Iraq and/or Afghanistan conflict era. Data for the study were collected using diagnostic telephone interviews of these veterans who were outpatients of the Geisinger Health System. We assess visual dysfunction in this sample and compare visual dysfunctions of those who had suffered a mTBI (concussive effect), as well as co-morbidities, with those in the cohort who had not suffered concussion effects. Of those veterans who experienced visual dysfunctions, our results reflected that the visual symptoms were significant for concussion with the subjects surveyed, even though all had experienced a mTBI event greater than five years ago. Although we did find an association with concussion and visual symptoms, the association for concussion was strongest with the finding of greater than or equal to three current TBI symptoms, therefore we found this to be the best predictor of previous concussion among the veterans. Veterans from the Iraq/Afghanistan era who had suffered concussive blast effects (mTBI) can present with covert visual dysfunction as well as additional physical and psychological health problems. The primary eye care providers, especially

Explicit awareness supports conditional visual search in the retrieval guidance paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Buttaccio, Daniel R; Lange, Nicholas D; Hahn, Sowon; Thomas, Rick P

2014-01-01

In four experiments we explored whether participants would be able to use probabilistic prompts to simplify perceptually demanding visual search in a task we call the retrieval guidance paradigm. On each trial a memory prompt appeared prior to (and during) the search task and the diagnosticity of the prompt(s) was manipulated to provide complete, partial, or non-diagnostic information regarding the target's color on each trial (Experiments 1-3). In Experiment 1 we found that the more diagnostic prompts was associated with faster visual search performance. However, similar visual search behavior was observed in Experiment 2 when the diagnosticity of the prompts was eliminated, suggesting that participants in Experiment 1 were merely relying on base rate information to guide search and were not utilizing the prompts. In Experiment 3 participants were informed of the relationship between the prompts and the color of the target and this was associated with faster search performance relative to Experiment 1, suggesting that the participants were using the prompts to guide search. Additionally, in Experiment 3 a knowledge test was implemented and performance in this task was associated with qualitative differences in search behavior such that participants that were able to name the color(s) most associated with the prompts were faster to find the target than participants who were unable to do so. However, in Experiments 1-3 diagnosticity of the memory prompt was manipulated via base rate information, making it possible that participants were merely relying on base rate information to inform search in Experiment 3. In Experiment 4 we manipulated diagnosticity of the prompts without manipulating base rate information and found a similar pattern of results as Experiment 3. Together, the results emphasize the importance of base rate and diagnosticity information in visual search behavior. In the General discussion section we explore how a recent computational model of

Study On Technology Based Home Vision Screening And Creating Awareness On Eye Health

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Nirav Mehta

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction Technology is one of most important factor in todays life. IPAD is leading as people can make use of technology by just pressing buttons. Networking technology and education makes communication easier and helps people in easy education and awareness. Aim amp objectives The main aim of the study is to educate and aware among people regarding eye health and the check the visual function of their eye by using Apple I pad. Material and Methodology The following study is a home based vision screening program using IPAD which uses the basic tests like visual acuity color vision contrast sensitivity and amsler tests for checking the basic functions of the eye. The study was performed in many societies moving from one place to another using IPAD as a tool. Reliability of ipad was checked a pilot study on 25 subjects visual acuity colour vision and contrast sensitivity was taken on both ipad and Original chart like snellen ishihara and pellirobson and compared in which the results and the accuracy were same. The study also contains questionnaire on the awareness and education about eye health. The subjects included in the study were an age group of 10 to 70. Subjects like infants and blind were not included in the study. Results During the study it was observed that there is no significant difference in testing of visual acuity between ipad and Snellen standard chart. The subjects responded actively towards screening and that home vision screening can be possible. During the study it was found that 40 subjects out of 100 needed further detailed check-up and were referred in Rotary eye hospital hospital but only 3 out of 40 came for it. This shows that they are less aware and education about their eye health. Software used in IPAD were visual acuity color vision contrast sensitivity and amsler tests A questionnaire was also asked which indicated less awareness among the common people. Conclusion We examined with just an ipad and not an

Real World Awareness in Distributed Organizations: A View on Informal Processes

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Eldar Sultanow

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Geographically distributed development has consistently had to deal with the challenge of intense awareness extensively more than locally concentrated development. Awareness marks the state of being informed incorporated with an understanding of project-related activities, states or relationships of each individual employee within a given group as a whole. In multifarious offices, where social interaction is necessary in order to distribute and locate information together with experts, awareness becomes a concurrent process which amplifies the exigency of easy routes for staff to be able to access this information, deferred or decentralized, in a formalized and problem-oriented way. Although the subject of Awareness has immensely increased in importance, there is extensive disagreement about how this transparency can be conceptually and technically implemented [1]. This paper introduces a model in order to visualize and navigate this information in three tiers using semantic networks, GIS and Web3D.

Visual graphics for human rights, social justice, democracy and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The value of human rights in a democratic South Africa is constantly threatened and often waived for nefarious reasons. We contend that the use of visual graphics among incoming university visual art students provides a mode of engagement that helps to inculcate awareness of human rights, social responsibility, and the ...

Data Representations, Transformations, and Statistics for Visual Reasoning

CERN Document Server

Maciejewski, Ross

2011-01-01

Analytical reasoning techniques are methods by which users explore their data to obtain insight and knowledge that can directly support situational awareness and decision making. Recently, the analytical reasoning process has been augmented through the use of interactive visual representations and tools which utilize cognitive, design and perceptual principles. These tools are commonly referred to as visual analytics tools, and the underlying methods and principles have roots in a variety of disciplines. This chapter provides an introduction to young researchers as an overview of common visual

Visual acuity and visual field impairment in Usher syndrome.

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Edwards, A; Fishman, G A; Anderson, R J; Grover, S; Derlacki, D J

1998-02-01

To determine the extent of visual acuity and visual field impairment in patients with types 1 and 2 Usher syndrome. The records of 53 patients with type 1 and 120 patients with type 2 Usher syndrome were reviewed for visual acuity and visual field area at their most recent visit. Visual field areas were determined by planimetry of the II4e and V4e isopters obtained with a Goldmann perimeter. Both ordinary and logistic regression models were used to evaluate differences in visual acuity and visual field impairment between patients with type 1 and type 2 Usher syndrome. The difference in visual acuity of the better eye between patients with type 1 and type 2 varied by patient age (P=.01, based on a multiple regression model). The maximum difference in visual acuity between the 2 groups occurred during the third and fourth decades of life (with the type 1 patients being more impaired), while more similar acuities were seen in both younger and older patients. Fifty-one percent (n=27) of the type 1 patients had a visual acuity of 20/40 or better in at least 1 eye compared with 72% (n=87) of the type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 3.9). Visual field area to both the II4e (P=.001) and V4e (Ptype 1 patients than type 2 patients. A concentric central visual field greater than 20 degrees in at least 1 eye was present in 20 (59%) of the available 34 visual fields of type 1 patients compared with 70 (67%) of the available 104 visual fields of type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 2.9) with the V4e target and in 6 (21%) of the available 29 visual fields of type 1 patients compared with 36 (38%) of the available 94 visual fields of type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 4.9) with the II4e target. The fraction of patients who had a visual acuity of 20/40 or better and a concentric central visual field greater than 20 degrees to the II4e target in at least 1 eye was 17% (n=5) in the type 1 patients and 35% (n=33) in the type 2 patients (age-adjusted odds ratio, 3

Access to electronic resources by visually impaired people

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Craven

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Research into access to electronic resources by visually impaired people undertaken by the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management has not only explored the accessibility of websites and levels of awareness in providing websites that adhere to design for all principles, but has sought to enhance understanding of information seeking behaviour of blind and visually impaired people when using digital resources.

Awareness of BIM adoption in Brunei

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Md Motiar

2017-09-01

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is getting increased attention day-by-day due to its many benefits, including clash detection, collaboration between contract parties, visualization future structure, optimized schedule and project control, waste control, design documentation, and harmonized facilities management. As such, many countries have already adopted BIM, and many other countries are exploring the potential of adopting it. However, it is still relatively new and unknown to some other countries like Brunei. This study was therefore undertaken to generate and/or gauge the awareness of Brunei construction industry participants, targeting adoption of BIM, through a structured questionnaire survey. Responses from 90 industry participants reveal that Brunei Construction industry is not well aware of BIM, lack the required technical knowledge and application in construction, and cost involvement. They are unsure about the potential benefits and barriers to implementing BIM. However, respondents are hopeful that BIM can bring the required changes in construction, willing to adopt BIM, expects cliental support with initial investment for its adoption, and believe that BIM is the future of construction project information management. On the whole, private sector was seen to be more aware on BIM than public sector. The study outcomes are expected to provide the policy makers a first-hand information on the industry awareness on BIM, which in turn help them for further exploration / examination and to design any action plan and guidelines for BIM adoption.

World, environment, Umwelt, and innerworld: a biological perspective on visual awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Koenderink, Jan J.

2013-03-01

The world is all physical reality (Higgs bosons, and so forth), the "environment" is a geographical locality (your city, …), the "Umwelt" is the totality of possible actions of the environment on the sensitive body surface of an agent (you, your dog, …) and the possible actions of the agent on the environment (mechanical, chemical, …), whereas the "innerworld" is what it is for the agent to be, that is awareness. Awareness is pre-personal, proto-conscious, and (perhaps) proto-rational. The various "worlds" described above are on distinct ontological levels. The world, and the environment are studied in the exact sciences, the Umwelt is studied by physiology and ethology. Ethology is like behavioristic psychology, with the difference that it applies to all animals. It skips the innerworld, e.g., it considers speech to be a movement of air molecules.The innerworld can only be known through first person reports, thus is intrinsically subjective. It can only be approached through "experimental phenomenology", which is based on intersubjectivity among humans. In this setting speech may mean something in addition to the movements of molecules. These views lead to a model of vision as an "optical user interface". It has consequences for many applications.

Computer vision syndrome-A common cause of unexplained visual symptoms in the modern era.

Science.gov (United States)

Munshi, Sunil; Varghese, Ashley; Dhar-Munshi, Sushma

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to assess the evidence and available literature on the clinical, pathogenetic, prognostic and therapeutic aspects of Computer vision syndrome. Information was collected from Medline, Embase & National Library of Medicine over the last 30 years up to March 2016. The bibliographies of relevant articles were searched for additional references. Patients with Computer vision syndrome present to a variety of different specialists, including General Practitioners, Neurologists, Stroke physicians and Ophthalmologists. While the condition is common, there is a poor awareness in the public and among health professionals. Recognising this condition in the clinic or in emergency situations like the TIA clinic is crucial. The implications are potentially huge in view of the extensive and widespread use of computers and visual display units. Greater public awareness of Computer vision syndrome and education of health professionals is vital. Preventive strategies should form part of work place ergonomics routinely. Prompt and correct recognition is important to allow management and avoid unnecessary treatments. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Act quickly, decide later: long-latency visual processing underlies perceptual decisions but not reflexive behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jolij, J.; Scholte, H.S.; van Gaal, S.; Hodgson, T.L.; Lamme, V.A.F.

2011-01-01

Humans largely guide their behavior by their visual representation of the world. Recent studies have shown that visual information can trigger behavior within 150 msec, suggesting that visually guided responses to external events, in fact, precede conscious awareness of those events. However, is

Act quickly, decide later : long latency visual processing underlies perceptual decisions but not reflexive behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jolij, Jacob; Scholte, H. Steven; van Gaal, Simon; Hodgson, Timothy L.; Lamme, Victor A. F.

2011-01-01

Humans largely guide their behavior by their visual representation of the world. Recent studies have shown that visual information can trigger behavior within 150 msec, suggesting that visually guided responses to external events, in fact, precede conscious awareness of those events. However, is

Sonification of network traffic flow for monitoring and situational awareness

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Maintaining situational awareness of what is happening within a computer network is challenging, not only because the behaviour happens within machines, but also because data traffic speeds and volumes are beyond human ability to process. Visualisation techniques are widely used to present information about network traffic dynamics. Although they provide operators with an overall view and specific information about particular traffic or attacks on the network, they often still fail to represent the events in an understandable way. Also, because they require visual attention they are not well suited to continuous monitoring scenarios in which network administrators must carry out other tasks. Here we present SoNSTAR (Sonification of Networks for SiTuational AwaReness), a real-time sonification system for monitoring computer networks to support network administrators’ situational awareness. SoNSTAR provides an auditory representation of all the TCP/IP traffic within a network based on the different traffic flows between between network hosts. A user study showed that SoNSTAR raises situational awareness levels by enabling operators to understand network behaviour and with the benefit of lower workload demands (as measured by the NASA TLX method) than visual techniques. SoNSTAR identifies network traffic features by inspecting the status flags of TCP/IP packet headers. Combinations of these features define particular traffic events which are mapped to recorded sounds to generate a soundscape that represents the real-time status of the network traffic environment. The sequence, timing, and loudness of the different sounds allow the network to be monitored and anomalous behaviour to be detected without the need to continuously watch a monitor screen. PMID:29672543

Sonification of network traffic flow for monitoring and situational awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Debashi, Mohamed; Vickers, Paul

2018-01-01

Maintaining situational awareness of what is happening within a computer network is challenging, not only because the behaviour happens within machines, but also because data traffic speeds and volumes are beyond human ability to process. Visualisation techniques are widely used to present information about network traffic dynamics. Although they provide operators with an overall view and specific information about particular traffic or attacks on the network, they often still fail to represent the events in an understandable way. Also, because they require visual attention they are not well suited to continuous monitoring scenarios in which network administrators must carry out other tasks. Here we present SoNSTAR (Sonification of Networks for SiTuational AwaReness), a real-time sonification system for monitoring computer networks to support network administrators' situational awareness. SoNSTAR provides an auditory representation of all the TCP/IP traffic within a network based on the different traffic flows between between network hosts. A user study showed that SoNSTAR raises situational awareness levels by enabling operators to understand network behaviour and with the benefit of lower workload demands (as measured by the NASA TLX method) than visual techniques. SoNSTAR identifies network traffic features by inspecting the status flags of TCP/IP packet headers. Combinations of these features define particular traffic events which are mapped to recorded sounds to generate a soundscape that represents the real-time status of the network traffic environment. The sequence, timing, and loudness of the different sounds allow the network to be monitored and anomalous behaviour to be detected without the need to continuously watch a monitor screen.

The Significance of Consumer’s Awareness about Organic Food Products in the United Arab Emirates

OpenAIRE

Safdar Muhummad; Eihab Fathelrahman; Rafi Ullah Tasbih Ullah

2016-01-01

Awareness about negative externalities generated by conventional farming is gaining momentum with consumers around the world, opting for alternatively, namely organically, produced food products. Information about consumers’ awareness is an essential element for farmers and marketing agencies to successfully plan production that can capture a greater market share. This study discusses effective factors influencing consumers’ awareness about the benefits of organic food in the United Arab Emir...

Fusion and rivalry are dependent on the perceptual meaning of visual stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Timothy J; Lotto, R Beau

2004-03-09

We view the world with two eyes and yet are typically only aware of a single, coherent image. Arguably the simplest explanation for this is that the visual system unites the two monocular stimuli into a common stream that eventually leads to a single coherent sensation. However, this notion is inconsistent with the well-known phenomenon of rivalry; when physically different stimuli project to the same retinal location, the ensuing perception alternates between the two monocular views in space and time. Although fundamental for understanding the principles of binocular vision and visual awareness, the mechanisms under-lying binocular rivalry remain controversial. Specifically, there is uncertainty about what determines whether monocular images undergo fusion or rivalry. By taking advantage of the perceptual phenomenon of color contrast, we show that physically identical monocular stimuli tend to rival-not fuse-when they signify different objects at the same location in visual space. Conversely, when physically different monocular stimuli are likely to represent the same object at the same location in space, fusion is more likely to result. The data suggest that what competes for visual awareness in the two eyes is not the physical similarity between images but the similarity in their perceptual/empirical meaning.

Can you perceive ensembles without perceiving individuals?: The role of statistical perception in determining whether awareness overflows access.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Emily J; Bear, Adam; Scholl, Brian J

2016-07-01

Do we see more than we can report? Psychologists and philosophers have been hotly debating this question, in part because both possibilities are supported by suggestive evidence. On one hand, phenomena such as inattentional blindness and change blindness suggest that visual awareness is especially sparse. On the other hand, experiments relating to iconic memory suggest that our in-the-moment awareness of the world is much richer than can be reported. Recent research has attempted to resolve this debate by showing that observers can accurately report the color diversity of a quickly flashed group of letters, even for letters that are unattended. If this ability requires awareness of the individual letters' colors, then this may count as a clear case of conscious awareness overflowing cognitive access. Here we explored this requirement directly: can we perceive ensemble properties of scenes even without being aware of the relevant individual features? Across several experiments that combined aspects of iconic memory with measures of change blindness, we show that observers can accurately report the color diversity of unattended stimuli, even while their self-reported awareness of the individual elements is coarse or nonexistent-and even while they are completely blind to situations in which each individual element changes color mid-trial throughout the entire experiment. We conclude that awareness of statistical properties may occur in the absence of awareness of individual features, and that such results are fully consistent with sparse visual awareness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coding and inferences from visual and other behavioural data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sønderstrup-Andersen, Hans Henrik Krogh; Andersen, Henning Boje; Hilburn, B.G.

In this report we focus on developing and testing methods for the analysis of team situation awareness. That is, focus is on methods for analysing team situation awareness relating visual and other behavioural data; development of tools to facilitate usability and efficiency of Eye Point of Gaze......) subjective measures (Workload, Situation Awareness (SA), Self-assessment) and (c) elicitation of subjects' awareness of team-mates' current SA correlate. Measures of subjects' awareness of team-mates was developed and tested during small-scale experiments. Specifically focus has been the combination...... of small-scale experiments was carried out in the following domains: Flight Simulation, Nuclear Power Plant Operation, Air Traffic Control Simulation and Anaesthesia Simulation. A device has been developed (JAZZ) that provides operators with real-time as well as historic data on co-operators attention mode...

Content-Aware Scalability-Type Selection for Rate Adaptation of Scalable Video

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Tekalp A Murat

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Scalable video coders provide different scaling options, such as temporal, spatial, and SNR scalabilities, where rate reduction by discarding enhancement layers of different scalability-type results in different kinds and/or levels of visual distortion depend on the content and bitrate. This dependency between scalability type, video content, and bitrate is not well investigated in the literature. To this effect, we first propose an objective function that quantifies flatness, blockiness, blurriness, and temporal jerkiness artifacts caused by rate reduction by spatial size, frame rate, and quantization parameter scaling. Next, the weights of this objective function are determined for different content (shot types and different bitrates using a training procedure with subjective evaluation. Finally, a method is proposed for choosing the best scaling type for each temporal segment that results in minimum visual distortion according to this objective function given the content type of temporal segments. Two subjective tests have been performed to validate the proposed procedure for content-aware selection of the best scalability type on soccer videos. Soccer videos scaled from 600 kbps to 100 kbps by the proposed content-aware selection of scalability type have been found visually superior to those that are scaled using a single scalability option over the whole sequence.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals the content of visual short-term memory in the visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvanto, Juha; Cattaneo, Zaira

2010-05-01

Cortical areas involved in sensory analysis are also believed to be involved in short-term storage of that sensory information. Here we investigated whether transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can reveal the content of visual short-term memory (VSTM) by bringing this information to visual awareness. Subjects were presented with two random-dot displays (moving either to the left or to the right) and they were required to maintain one of these in VSTM. In Experiment 1, TMS was applied over the motion-selective area V5/MT+ above phosphene threshold during the maintenance phase. The reported phosphene contained motion features of the memory item, when the phosphene spatially overlapped with memory item. Specifically, phosphene motion was enhanced when the memory item moved in the same direction as the subjects' V5/MT+ baseline phosphene, whereas it was reduced when the motion direction of the memory item was incongruent with that of the baseline V5/MT+ phosphene. There was no effect on phosphene reports when there was no spatial overlap between the phosphene and the memory item. In Experiment 2, VSTM maintenance did not influence the appearance of phosphenes induced from the lateral occipital region. These interactions between VSTM maintenance and phosphene appearance demonstrate that activity in V5/MT+ reflects the motion qualities of items maintained in VSTM. Furthermore, these results also demonstrate that information in VSTM can modulate the pattern of visual activation reaching awareness, providing evidence for the view that overlapping neuronal populations are involved in conscious visual perception and VSTM. 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Causal events enter awareness faster than non-causal events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pieter Moors

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Philosophers have long argued that causality cannot be directly observed but requires a conscious inference (Hume, 1967. Albert Michotte however developed numerous visual phenomena in which people seemed to perceive causality akin to primary visual properties like colour or motion (Michotte, 1946. Michotte claimed that the perception of causality did not require a conscious, deliberate inference but, working over 70 years ago, he did not have access to the experimental methods to test this claim. Here we employ Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS—an interocular suppression technique to render stimuli invisible (Tsuchiya & Koch, 2005—to test whether causal events enter awareness faster than non-causal events. We presented observers with ‘causal’ and ‘non-causal’ events, and found consistent evidence that participants become aware of causal events more rapidly than non-causal events. Our results suggest that, whilst causality must be inferred from sensory evidence, this inference might be computed at low levels of perceptual processing, and does not depend on a deliberative conscious evaluation of the stimulus. This work therefore supports Michotte’s contention that, like colour or motion, causality is an immediate property of our perception of the world.

Extension Agents' Awareness of Climate Change in Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Abegaz, Dagmawi M.; Wims, Padraig

2015-01-01

Purpose: The fact that highly vulnerable countries like Ethiopia face far greater challenges from climate change makes agricultural adaptation a top priority. Even though the public agriculture extension system in Ethiopia plays a central role in facilitating and supporting adaptation, very limited information is available on how aware the actual…

Chronic Kidney Disease Awareness Among Individuals with Clinical Markers of Kidney Dysfunction

Science.gov (United States)

Plantinga, Laura C.; Hsu, Chi-yuan; Jordan, Regina; Burrows, Nilka Ríos; Hedgeman, Elizabeth; Yee, Jerry; Saran, Rajiv; Powe, Neil R.

2011-01-01

Summary Background and objectives Awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among providers and patients is low. Whether clinical cues prompt recognition of CKD is unknown. We examined whether markers of kidney disease that should trigger CKD recognition among providers are associated with higher individual CKD awareness. Design, setting, participants, & measurements CKD awareness was assessed in 1852 adults with an estimated GFR kidneys?” Participants were grouped by distribution of the following abnormal markers of CKD: hyperkalemia, acidosis, hyperphosphatemia, elevated blood urea nitrogen, anemia, albuminuria, and uncontrolled hypertension. Odds of CKD awareness associated with each abnormal marker and groupings of markers were estimated by multivariable logistic regression. Results Among individuals with kidney disease, only those with albuminuria had greater odds of CKD awareness (adjusted odds ratio, 4.0, P disease. Conclusions Although individuals who manifest many markers of kidney dysfunction are more likely to be aware of their CKD, their CKD awareness remains low. A better understanding of mechanisms of awareness is required to facilitate earlier detection of CKD and implement therapy to minimize associated complications. PMID:21784832

Engaging Audiences in Planetary Science Through Visualizations

Science.gov (United States)

Shupla, C. B.; Mason, T.; Peticolas, L. M.; Hauck, K.

2017-12-01

One way to share compelling stories is through visuals. The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), in collaboration with Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and Space Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, has been working with planetary scientists to reach and engage audiences in their research through the use of visualizations. We will share how images and animations have been used in multiple mediums, including the planetarium, Science on a Sphere, the hyperwall, and within apps. Our objectives are to provide a tool that planetary scientists can use to tell their stories, as well as to increase audience awareness of and interest in planetary science. While scientists are involved in the selection of topics and the development of the visuals, LPI and partners seek to increase the planetary science community's awareness of these resources and their ability to incorporate them into their own public engagement efforts. This presentation will share our own resources and efforts, as well as the input received from scientists on how education and public engagement teams can best assist them in developing and using these resources, and disseminating them to both scientists and to informal science education venues.

How Does Awareness Modulate Goal-Directed and Stimulus-Driven Shifts of Attention Triggered by Value Learning?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexia Bourgeois

Full Text Available In order to behave adaptively, attention can be directed in space either voluntarily (i.e., endogenously according to strategic goals, or involuntarily (i.e., exogenously through reflexive capture by salient or novel events. The emotional or motivational value of stimuli can also strongly influence attentional orienting. However, little is known about how reward-related effects compete or interact with endogenous and exogenous attention mechanisms, particularly outside of awareness. Here we developed a visual search paradigm to study subliminal value-based attentional orienting. We systematically manipulated goal-directed or stimulus-driven attentional orienting and examined whether an irrelevant, but previously rewarded stimulus could compete with both types of spatial attention during search. Critically, reward was learned without conscious awareness in a preceding phase where one among several visual symbols was consistently paired with a subliminal monetary reinforcement cue. Our results demonstrated that symbols previously associated with a monetary reward received higher attentional priority in the subsequent visual search task, even though these stimuli and reward were no longer task-relevant, and despite reward being unconsciously acquired. Thus, motivational processes operating independent of conscious awareness may provide powerful influences on mechanisms of attentional selection, which could mitigate both stimulus-driven and goal-directed shifts of attention.

How Does Awareness Modulate Goal-Directed and Stimulus-Driven Shifts of Attention Triggered by Value Learning?

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgeois, Alexia; Neveu, Rémi; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2016-01-01

In order to behave adaptively, attention can be directed in space either voluntarily (i.e., endogenously) according to strategic goals, or involuntarily (i.e., exogenously) through reflexive capture by salient or novel events. The emotional or motivational value of stimuli can also strongly influence attentional orienting. However, little is known about how reward-related effects compete or interact with endogenous and exogenous attention mechanisms, particularly outside of awareness. Here we developed a visual search paradigm to study subliminal value-based attentional orienting. We systematically manipulated goal-directed or stimulus-driven attentional orienting and examined whether an irrelevant, but previously rewarded stimulus could compete with both types of spatial attention during search. Critically, reward was learned without conscious awareness in a preceding phase where one among several visual symbols was consistently paired with a subliminal monetary reinforcement cue. Our results demonstrated that symbols previously associated with a monetary reward received higher attentional priority in the subsequent visual search task, even though these stimuli and reward were no longer task-relevant, and despite reward being unconsciously acquired. Thus, motivational processes operating independent of conscious awareness may provide powerful influences on mechanisms of attentional selection, which could mitigate both stimulus-driven and goal-directed shifts of attention.

PANORAMA - Explorations in the aesthetics of social awareness

OpenAIRE

Eliëns, A.; Eliens, A.P.W.; Vyas, Dhaval; Roccetti, M.

2007-01-01

In this paper we reflect on our experiences in developing PANORAMA, a playful application meant to promote and support social awareness in a work environment, through art-inspired visualisations of social processes and personal contributions. With respect to the design of PANORAMA, we found common notions of visual semiotics helpful in determining the overall composition of the screen layout. More in general, however, the development of PANORAMA proved to be an exercise in interaction aesthet...

Macular pigment and visual performance in glare: benefits for photostress recovery, disability glare, and visual discomfort.

Science.gov (United States)

Stringham, James M; Garcia, Paul V; Smith, Peter A; McLin, Leon N; Foutch, Brian K

2011-09-22

One theory of macular pigment's (MP) presence in the fovea is to improve visual performance in glare. This study sought to determine the effect of MP level on three aspects of visual performance in glare: photostress recovery, disability glare, and visual discomfort. Twenty-six subjects participated in the study. Spatial profiles of MP optical density were assessed with heterochromatic flicker photometry. Glare was delivered via high-bright-white LEDs. For the disability glare and photostress recovery portions of the experiment, the visual task consisted of correct identification of a 1° Gabor patch's orientation. Visual discomfort during the glare presentation was assessed with a visual discomfort rating scale. Pupil diameter was monitored with an infrared (IR) camera. MP level correlated significantly with all the outcome measures. Higher MP optical densities (MPODs) resulted in faster photostress recovery times (average P disability glare contrast thresholds (average P visual discomfort (P = 0.002). Smaller pupil diameter during glare presentation significantly correlated with higher visual discomfort ratings (P = 0.037). MP correlates with three aspects of visual performance in glare. Unlike previous studies of MP and glare, the present study used free-viewing conditions, in which effects of iris pigmentation and pupil size could be accounted for. The effects described, therefore, can be extended more confidently to real-world, practical visual performance benefits. Greater iris constriction resulted (paradoxically) in greater visual discomfort. This finding may be attributable to the neurobiologic mechanism that mediates the pain elicited by light.

Visualizing common operating picture of critical infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Rummukainen, Lauri; Oksama, Lauri; Timonen, Jussi; Vankka, Jouko

2014-05-01

This paper presents a solution for visualizing the common operating picture (COP) of the critical infrastructure (CI). The purpose is to improve the situational awareness (SA) of the strategic-level actor and the source system operator in order to support decision making. The information is obtained through the Situational Awareness of Critical Infrastructure and Networks (SACIN) framework. The system consists of an agent-based solution for gathering, storing, and analyzing the information, and a user interface (UI) is presented in this paper. The UI consists of multiple views visualizing information from the CI in different ways. Different CI actors are categorized in 11 separate sectors, and events are used to present meaningful incidents. Past and current states, together with geographical distribution and logical dependencies, are presented to the user. The current states are visualized as segmented circles to represent event categories. Geographical distribution of assets is displayed with a well-known map tool. Logical dependencies are presented in a simple directed graph, and users also have a timeline to review past events. The objective of the UI is to provide an easily understandable overview of the CI status. Therefore, testing methods, such as a walkthrough, an informal walkthrough, and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), were used in the evaluation of the UI. Results showed that users were able to obtain an understanding of the current state of CI, and the usability of the UI was rated as good. In particular, the designated display for the CI overview and the timeline were found to be efficient.

The Impact of Morphological Awareness on Word Reading and Dictation in Chinese Early Adolescent Readers With and Without Dyslexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalindi, Sylvia Chanda; Chung, Kevin Kien Hoa

2018-01-01

This study investigated the role of morphological awareness in understanding Chinese word reading and dictation among Chinese-speaking adolescent readers in Hong Kong as well as the cognitive-linguistic profile of early adolescent readers with dyslexia. Fifty-four readers with dyslexia in Grades 5 and 6 were compared with 54 chronological age-matched (CA) typical readers on the following measures of cognitive-linguistic and literacy skills: morphological awareness, phonological awareness, visual-orthographic knowledge, rapid naming, vocabulary knowledge, verbal short-term memory (STM), Chinese word reading, and dictation (or spelling). The results indicated that early adolescent readers with dyslexia performed less well than the typical readers on all cognitive-linguistic and literacy measures except the phonological measures. Both groups' scores showed substantial correlations between morphological awareness and Chinese word reading and dictation. Visual-orthographic knowledge and rapid naming were also associated with dictation in early adolescent readers with and without dyslexia, respectively. Moderated multiple regression analyses further revealed that morphological awareness and rapid naming explained unique variance in word reading and dictation for the readers with dyslexia and typical readers separately after controlling readers' age and group effect. These results highlight the potential importance of morphological awareness and rapid naming in Chinese word reading and writing in Chinese early adolescents' literacy development and impairment.

Inattentional Deafness: Visual Load Leads to Time-Specific Suppression of Auditory Evoked Responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Molloy, Katharine; Griffiths, Timothy D; Chait, Maria; Lavie, Nilli

2015-12-09

Due to capacity limits on perception, conditions of high perceptual load lead to reduced processing of unattended stimuli (Lavie et al., 2014). Accumulating work demonstrates the effects of visual perceptual load on visual cortex responses, but the effects on auditory processing remain poorly understood. Here we establish the neural mechanisms underlying "inattentional deafness"--the failure to perceive auditory stimuli under high visual perceptual load. Participants performed a visual search task of low (target dissimilar to nontarget items) or high (target similar to nontarget items) load. On a random subset (50%) of trials, irrelevant tones were presented concurrently with the visual stimuli. Brain activity was recorded with magnetoencephalography, and time-locked responses to the visual search array and to the incidental presence of unattended tones were assessed. High, compared to low, perceptual load led to increased early visual evoked responses (within 100 ms from onset). This was accompanied by reduced early (∼ 100 ms from tone onset) auditory evoked activity in superior temporal sulcus and posterior middle temporal gyrus. A later suppression of the P3 "awareness" response to the tones was also observed under high load. A behavioral experiment revealed reduced tone detection sensitivity under high visual load, indicating that the reduction in neural responses was indeed associated with reduced awareness of the sounds. These findings support a neural account of shared audiovisual resources, which, when depleted under load, leads to failures of sensory perception and awareness. The present work clarifies the neural underpinning of inattentional deafness under high visual load. The findings of near-simultaneous load effects on both visual and auditory evoked responses suggest shared audiovisual processing capacity. Temporary depletion of shared capacity in perceptually demanding visual tasks leads to a momentary reduction in sensory processing of auditory

Performances of Occupational Therapy in the museum context: awareness of the diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desirée Nobre Salasar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the Occupational Therapist actions in a museum. Therefore, we approach issues that characterize the areas of museum environment presenting it as a possible workplace for the professionals, and will discuss which activities can be performed by professional occupational therapy in a museum, its relevance, and the achievement gap when performed by the occupational therapist and other professionals. Thus, the study’s main objective is to present a new occupational therapy work field for the highlighting the importance of public awareness activities and how these can influence the museum visitor experiences. We report two distinct activities with visually impaired awareness theme, conducted between February and March 2015, at the Batalha Community Museum in Portugal. We report the activities and analyze the results, seeking to qualitatively assess the public participation, and its response to the impact that such activities may bear in the cultural inclusion of visually impaired people.

The effect of body awareness therapy and aerobic exercises on pain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The effect of body awareness therapy and aerobic exercises on pain and quality of life in the patients with tension type headache. ... Pain severity of the individuals was evaluated by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and pain diary, disability with ache; by Pain Disability Index (PDI) and Headache Impact Tests (HIT) and quality of ...

Metabolic Pathways Visualization Skills Development by Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

dos Santos, Vanessa J. S. V.; Galembeck, Eduardo

2015-01-01

We have developed a metabolic pathways visualization skill test (MPVST) to gain greater insight into our students' abilities to comprehend the visual information presented in metabolic pathways diagrams. The test is able to discriminate students' visualization ability with respect to six specific visualization skills that we identified as key to…

From Crib to Kindergarten: A Continuum of Needs of the Visually Impaired Preschooler.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrell, Lois

The paper focuses on the needs of visually impaired preschoolers in various developmental areas. The importance of attachment to a significant other for establishing trust is outlined and the fact that body awareness, object permanence, range of motion, spatial awareness and orientation must be logically and actively introduced is cited. Aspects…

Raising Awareness of Conveyed Personality In Social Media Traces

OpenAIRE

Xu, Bin; Gou, Liang; Xu, Anbang; Mahmud, Jalal; Cosley, Dan

2017-01-01

Users' persistent social media contents like posts on Facebook Timeline are presented as an "exhibition" about the person to others, and managing these exhibitional contents for impression management needs intentional and manual efforts. To raise awareness of and facilitate impression management around past contents, we developed a prototype called PersonalityInsight. The system employs computational psycho-linguistic analysis to help users visualize the way their past text posts might convey...

Issues and Problems in Malaysian Contemporary Visual Arts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Faizuan Mat

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In Malaysia, there is a question in term of intellectualism activities in the context of visual epistemology. Therefore, this paper revealed the problems that linger in the Malaysian contemporary visual art scene. In fact, Malaysian contemporary artists appear to have insufficient intellectualism values and less discourse activities. The lacks of scholars in the field of visual arts create a gap in the visual arts scene in Malaysia. The question of this study was to uncover the main problems in Malaysian visual arts that led to the problem of art intellectual development. In addition, this paper presents the awareness of the valuable contributions in the intellectual development that able to enhance the communication in the art object.Keywords: art knowledge; art object; contemporary art; interpretation; perception;

Visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Karla K; Horowitz, Todd S; Howe, Piers; Pedersini, Roccardo; Reijnen, Ester; Pinto, Yair; Kuzmova, Yoana; Wolfe, Jeremy M

2011-09-01

A typical visual scene we encounter in everyday life is complex and filled with a huge amount of perceptual information. The term, 'visual attention' describes a set of mechanisms that limit some processing to a subset of incoming stimuli. Attentional mechanisms shape what we see and what we can act upon. They allow for concurrent selection of some (preferably, relevant) information and inhibition of other information. This selection permits the reduction of complexity and informational overload. Selection can be determined both by the 'bottom-up' saliency of information from the environment and by the 'top-down' state and goals of the perceiver. Attentional effects can take the form of modulating or enhancing the selected information. A central role for selective attention is to enable the 'binding' of selected information into unified and coherent representations of objects in the outside world. In the overview on visual attention presented here we review the mechanisms and consequences of selection and inhibition over space and time. We examine theoretical, behavioral and neurophysiologic work done on visual attention. We also discuss the relations between attention and other cognitive processes such as automaticity and awareness. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 503-514 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.127 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social Awareness and Action Training (SAAT)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-01

unmarried  Soldiers  showed  a  greater  increase  in  social  fitness  beliefs  than   married ...a  serious  relationship.   19. Marital  status  (MARSTAT,  MAR1).  Current  marital  status  (5  categories);   married ... vs .  Cultural   Awareness)  and  one  within-­‐subject  factor  (Time:  Pretest   vs .  Posttest).  The

Dissociation between the neural correlates of conscious face perception and visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Navajas, Joaquin; Nitka, Aleksander W; Quian Quiroga, Rodrigo

2017-08-01

Given the higher chance to recognize attended compared to unattended stimuli, the specific neural correlates of these two processes, attention and awareness, tend to be intermingled in experimental designs. In this study, we dissociated the neural correlates of conscious face perception from the effects of visual attention. To do this, we presented faces at the threshold of awareness and manipulated attention through the use of exogenous prestimulus cues. We show that the N170 component, a scalp EEG marker of face perception, was modulated independently by attention and by awareness. An earlier P1 component was not modulated by either of the two effects and a later P3 component was indicative of awareness but not of attention. These claims are supported by converging evidence from (a) modulations observed in the average evoked potentials, (b) correlations between neural and behavioral data at the single-subject level, and (c) single-trial analyses. Overall, our results show a clear dissociation between the neural substrates of attention and awareness. Based on these results, we argue that conscious face perception is triggered by a boost in face-selective cortical ensembles that can be modulated by, but are still independent from, visual attention. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Mining Data from Interactions with a Motivational-Aware Tutoring System Using Data Visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Rebolledo-Mendez, Genaro; Du Boulay, Benedict; Luckin, Rosemary; Benitez-Guerrero, Edgard Ivan

2013-01-01

Tutoring systems are a common tool for delivering educational content and recent advances in this field include the detection of and reaction to learners' motivation. A data set derived from interactions in a tutoring system and its motivationally-aware variant provided opportunities to discover patterns of behavior in connection with motivational…

An educational video program to increase aging services technology awareness among older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Tam, Joyce W; Van Son, Catherine; Dyck, Dennis; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen

2017-08-01

Aging services technologies (ASTs), health technology that meets the needs of seniors, are being underutilized due to a lack of awareness. This study evaluated a video-based educational program to increase AST awareness. Two hundred and thirty-one older adults completed AST measures pre- and post-program. Participants endorsed significantly improved AST knowledge and attitude and a lower level of perceived stigma post-program. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a greater reduction in stigma post-program and a higher number of physical/cognitive needs supported by ASTs at baseline were significant predictors of a greater increase in expressed intention to use ASTs following the video program. Furthermore, individuals living in their own homes, with a lower level of education, fewer physical and/or cognitive needs supported by ASTs at baseline, and greater functional limitations were found to be more likely to report a significant reduction in perceived stigma post-program. Four-week follow-up data from 75 individuals showed stable program gains. Program feedback was positive. The current findings provide support for the utility of the AST videos. The educational materials used in this study can be used clinically or for public health education to increase awareness and adoption of ASTs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of auditory and visual oddball fMRI in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Azurii K; Wolf, Daniel H; Valdez, Jeffrey N; Turetsky, Bruce I; Elliott, Mark A; Gur, Raquel E; Gur, Ruben C

2014-09-01

Individuals with schizophrenia often suffer from attentional deficits, both in focusing on task-relevant targets and in inhibiting responses to distractors. Schizophrenia also has a differential impact on attention depending on modality: auditory or visual. However, it remains unclear how abnormal activation of attentional circuitry differs between auditory and visual modalities, as these two modalities have not been directly compared in the same individuals with schizophrenia. We utilized event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare patterns of brain activation during an auditory and visual oddball task in order to identify modality-specific attentional impairment. Healthy controls (n=22) and patients with schizophrenia (n=20) completed auditory and visual oddball tasks in separate sessions. For responses to targets, the auditory modality yielded greater activation than the visual modality (A-V) in auditory cortex, insula, and parietal operculum, but visual activation was greater than auditory (V-A) in visual cortex. For responses to novels, A-V differences were found in auditory cortex, insula, and supramarginal gyrus; and V-A differences in the visual cortex, inferior temporal gyrus, and superior parietal lobule. Group differences in modality-specific activation were found only for novel stimuli; controls showed larger A-V differences than patients in prefrontal cortex and the putamen. Furthermore, for patients, greater severity of negative symptoms was associated with greater divergence of A-V novel activation in the visual cortex. Our results demonstrate that patients have more pronounced activation abnormalities in auditory compared to visual attention, and link modality specific abnormalities to negative symptom severity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Role of Visual and Auditory Temporal Processing for Chinese Children with Developmental Dyslexia

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Kevin K. H.; McBride-Chang, Catherine; Wong, Simpson W. L.; Cheung, Him; Penney, Trevor B.; Ho, Connie S. -H.

2008-01-01

This study examined temporal processing in relation to Chinese reading acquisition and impairment. The performances of 26 Chinese primary school children with developmental dyslexia on tasks of visual and auditory temporal order judgement, rapid naming, visual-orthographic knowledge, morphological, and phonological awareness were compared with…

Visual Graphics for Human Rights, Social Justice, Democracy and the Public Good

Science.gov (United States)

Nanackchand, Vedant; Berman, Kim

2012-01-01

The value of human rights in a democratic South Africa is constantly threatened and often waived for nefarious reasons. We contend that the use of visual graphics among incoming university visual art students provides a mode of engagement that helps to inculcate awareness of human rights, social responsibility, and the public good in South African…

A deafening flash! Visual interference of auditory signal detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Fassnidge, Christopher; Cecconi Marcotti, Claudia; Freeman, Elliot

2017-03-01

In some people, visual stimulation evokes auditory sensations. How prevalent and how perceptually real is this? 22% of our neurotypical adult participants responded 'Yes' when asked whether they heard faint sounds accompanying flash stimuli, and showed significantly better ability to discriminate visual 'Morse-code' sequences. This benefit might arise from an ability to recode visual signals as sounds, thus taking advantage of superior temporal acuity of audition. In support of this, those who showed better visual relative to auditory sequence discrimination also had poorer auditory detection in the presence of uninformative visual flashes, though this was independent of awareness of visually-evoked sounds. Thus a visually-evoked auditory representation may occur subliminally and disrupt detection of real auditory signals. The frequent natural correlation between visual and auditory stimuli might explain the surprising prevalence of this phenomenon. Overall, our results suggest that learned correspondences between strongly correlated modalities may provide a precursor for some synaesthetic abilities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual hallucinations caused by Charles Bonnet Syndrome: A case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

had no cognitive impairment and was fully aware of the ... eration. Ms P's main complaint was visual hallucinations. ... brother in front of her eyes. She also displayed ... her would seem to develop a full beard. .... Beta blocking agents. 4.

VITA-6.2: Advanced visual tool for information management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobson, Z.; Truong, Q.S.; Houston, B.; Taylor, V.; Herber, N.; El Gebaly, A.

2007-01-01

Visual Interface for Text Analysis (VITA), our combined user interface and meta-search engine software application, improves the quality and speed at which intelligence analysts can explore novel massive text corpora via innovations that facilitate user contextual awareness. (author)

External self-representations improve self-awareness in a child with autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Root, Nicholas B; Case, Laura K; Burrus, Caley J; Ramachandran, V S

2015-01-01

We have previously suggested that the social symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could be caused in part by a dysfunctional mirror neuron system (MNS). Since the recursive activity of a functioning MNS might enable the brain to integrate visual and motor sensations into a coherent body schema, the deficits in self-awareness often seen in ASD might be caused by the same mirror neuron dysfunction. CL is an autistic adolescent who is profoundly fascinated with his reflection, looking in mirrors at every opportunity. We demonstrate that CL's abnormal gait improves significantly when using a mirror for visual feedback. We also show that both the fascination and the happiness that CL derives from looking at a computer-generated reflection diminish when a delay is introduced between the camera input and screen output. We believe that immediate, real-time visual feedback allows CL to integrate motor sensations with external visual ones into a coherent body schema that he cannot internally generate, perhaps due to a dysfunctional MNS.

Use of visualization technology to improve decision-making performance in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanes, Lewis F.; Naser, Joseph

2005-01-01

This paper contains a description of modern 2.5-D and 3-D visualization technology that may be applied to improve human situation awareness and decision-making in nuclear power plants. Visualization technology is being applied widely and successfully in several industries. Examples are presented of successful applications in the military, aviation, medical, entertainment, and nuclear industries. Additional opportunities are identified in the nuclear industry that may benefit from improved visualization

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN AWARENESS OF ILLNESS (INSIGHT AND HISTORY OF ADDICTION IN HEROIN-ADDICTED PATIENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Giovanni Icro eMaremmani

2012-07-01

Full Text Available In a group of 1066 heroin addicts, who were seeking treatment for opioid agonist treatment, we looked for differences in historical, demographic and clinical characteristics, between patients with different levels of awareness of illness (insight. The results showed that, in the cohort studied, a majority of subjects lacked insight into their heroin-use behaviour. Compared with the impaired-insight group, those who possessed insight into their illness showed significantly greater awareness of past social, somatic and psychopathological impairments, and had a greater number of past treatment-seeking events for heroin addiction. In contrast with other psychiatric illnesses, the presence of awareness appears to be related to the passing of time and to the worsening of the illness. Methodologies to improve the insight of patients should, therefore, be targeted more directly on patients early in their history of heroin dependence, because the risk of lack of insight is greatest during this period.

Filling the Astronomical Void - A Visual Medium for a Visual Subject

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, J.

1996-12-01

Astronomy is fundamentally a visual subject. The modern science of astronomy has at its foundation the ancient art of observing the sky visually. The visual elements of astronomy are arguably the most important. Every person in the entire world is affected by visually-observed astronomical phenomena such as the seasonal variations in daylight. However, misconceptions abound and the average person cannot recognize the simple signs in the sky that point to the direction, the hour and the season. Educators and astronomy popularizers widely lament that astronomy is not appreciated in our society. Yet, there is a remarkable dearth of popular literature for teaching the visual elements of astronomy. This is what I refer to as *the astronomical void.* Typical works use illustrations sparsely, relying most heavily on text-based descriptions of the visual astronomical phenomena. Such works leave significant inferential gaps to the inexperienced reader, who is unequipped for making astronomical observations. Thus, the astronomical void remains unfilled by much of the currently available literature. I therefore propose the introduction of a visually-oriented medium for teaching the visual elements of Astronomy. To this end, I have prepared a series of astronomy "comic strips" that are intended to fill the astronomical void. By giving the illustrations the central place, the comic strip medium permits the depiction of motion and other sequential activity, thus effectively representing astronomical phenomena. In addition to the practical advantages, the comic strip is a "user friendly" medium that is inviting and entertaining to a reader. At the present time, I am distributing a monthly comic strip entitled *Starman*, which appears in the newsletters of over 120 local astronomy organizations and on the web at http://www.cyberdrive.net/ starman. I hope to eventually publish a series of full-length books and believe that astronomical comic strips will help expand the perimeter of

Visual memory and visual mental imagery recruit common control and sensory regions of the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Slotnick, Scott D; Thompson, William L; Kosslyn, Stephen M

2012-01-01

Separate lines of research have shown that visual memory and visual mental imagery are mediated by frontal-parietal control regions and can rely on occipital-temporal sensory regions of the brain. We used fMRI to assess the degree to which visual memory and visual mental imagery rely on the same neural substrates. During the familiarization/study phase, participants studied drawings of objects. During the test phase, words corresponding to old and new objects were presented. In the memory test, participants responded "remember," "know," or "new." In the imagery test, participants responded "high vividness," "moderate vividness," or "low vividness." Visual memory (old-remember) and visual imagery (old-high vividness) were commonly associated with activity in frontal-parietal control regions and occipital-temporal sensory regions. In addition, visual memory produced greater activity than visual imagery in parietal and occipital-temporal regions. The present results suggest that visual memory and visual imagery rely on highly similar--but not identical--cognitive processes.

Developing a visualized cultural knowledge transfer proto-type

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodil, Kasper; Eskildsen, Søren; Rehm, Matthias

2011-01-01

Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from a loss of valuable cultural knowledge, which has been a foundation for the coming generations’ survival and cultural self-awareness. By transferring cultural knowledge contexts into 3D visualizations, we prototyped and evaluated a system to bridge the gap...

Examining the direct and indirect effects of visual-verbal paired associate learning on Chinese word reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiou, George; Liu, Cuina; Xu, Shiyang

2017-08-01

Associative learning, traditionally measured with paired associate learning (PAL) tasks, has been found to predict reading ability in several languages. However, it remains unclear whether it also predicts word reading in Chinese, which is known for its ambiguous print-sound correspondences, and whether its effects are direct or indirect through the effects of other reading-related skills such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of visual-verbal PAL on word reading in an unselected sample of Chinese children followed from the second to the third kindergarten year. A sample of 141 second-year kindergarten children (71 girls and 70 boys; mean age=58.99months, SD=3.17) were followed for a year and were assessed at both times on measures of visual-verbal PAL, rapid naming, and phonological awareness. In the third kindergarten year, they were also assessed on word reading. The results of path analysis showed that visual-verbal PAL exerted a significant direct effect on word reading that was independent of the effects of phonological awareness and rapid naming. However, it also exerted significant indirect effects through phonological awareness. Taken together, these findings suggest that variations in cross-modal associative learning (as measured by visual-verbal PAL) place constraints on the development of word recognition skills irrespective of the characteristics of the orthography children are learning to read. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Similar effects of feature-based attention on motion perception and pursuit eye movements at different levels of awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Spering, Miriam; Carrasco, Marisa

2012-05-30

Feature-based attention enhances visual processing and improves perception, even for visual features that we are not aware of. Does feature-based attention also modulate motor behavior in response to visual information that does or does not reach awareness? Here we compare the effect of feature-based attention on motion perception and smooth-pursuit eye movements in response to moving dichoptic plaids--stimuli composed of two orthogonally drifting gratings, presented separately to each eye--in human observers. Monocular adaptation to one grating before the presentation of both gratings renders the adapted grating perceptually weaker than the unadapted grating and decreases the level of awareness. Feature-based attention was directed to either the adapted or the unadapted grating's motion direction or to both (neutral condition). We show that observers were better at detecting a speed change in the attended than the unattended motion direction, indicating that they had successfully attended to one grating. Speed change detection was also better when the change occurred in the unadapted than the adapted grating, indicating that the adapted grating was perceptually weaker. In neutral conditions, perception and pursuit in response to plaid motion were dissociated: While perception followed one grating's motion direction almost exclusively (component motion), the eyes tracked the average of both gratings (pattern motion). In attention conditions, perception and pursuit were shifted toward the attended component. These results suggest that attention affects perception and pursuit similarly even though only the former reflects awareness. The eyes can track an attended feature even if observers do not perceive it.

Controlling images: How awareness of group stereotypes affects Black women's well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerald, Morgan C; Cole, Elizabeth R; Ward, L Monique; Avery, Lanice R

2017-10-01

This paper presents research exploring how stereotypes that are simultaneously racialized and gendered affect Black women. We investigated the mental and physical health consequences of Black women's awareness that others hold these stereotypes and tested whether this association was moderated by the centrality of racial identity. A structural equation model tested among 609 young Black women revealed that metastereotype awareness (i.e., being aware that others hold negative stereotypes of one's group) predicted negative mental health outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, hostility), which, in turn, predicted diminished self-care behaviors and greater drug and alcohol use for coping. High racial centrality exacerbated the negative association between metastereotype awareness and self-care. We discuss implications of the findings for clinical practice and for approaches to research using intersectionality frameworks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Dreams, hallucinations, moving statues, and Ekphrasis in Ludwig Tieck's visual writings

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Rockelmann, Joseph D

2014-01-01

When reading Ludwig Tieck's texts the reader becomes aware that dreams, the unconscious, and art play a key role. This study seeks to posit that Ekphrasis and dream interpretation are similar due to both analyzing a visual image and attempting to translate the visual into the verbal in order to gain a better and more complete understanding of it. G.E. Lessing believed that poetry and the visual arts were equal since each art form has its own strengths and when combined they create a complete ...

Task-specific visual cues for improving process model understanding

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Petrusel, Razvan; Mendling, Jan; Reijers, Hajo A.

2016-01-01

Context Business process models support various stakeholders in managing business processes and designing process-aware information systems. In order to make effective use of these models, they have to be readily understandable. Objective Prior research has emphasized the potential of visual cues to

Avoiding the conflict: Metacognitive awareness drives the selection of low-demand contexts.

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Desender, Kobe; Buc Calderon, Cristian; Van Opstal, Filip; Van den Bussche, Eva

2017-07-01

Previous research attempted to explain how humans strategically adapt behavior in order to achieve successful task performance. Recently, it has been suggested that 1 potential strategy is to avoid tasks that are too demanding. Here, we report 3 experiments that investigate the empirically neglected role of metacognitive awareness in this process. In these experiments, participants could freely choose between performing a task in either a high-demand or a low-demand context. Using subliminal priming, we ensured that participants were not aware of the visual stimuli creating these different demand contexts. Our results showed that participants who noticed a difference in task difficulty (i.e., metacognitive aware participants) developed a clear preference for the low-demand context. In contrast, participants who experienced no difference in task difficulty (i.e., metacognitive unaware participants) based their choices on variables unrelated to cognitive demand (e.g., the color or location associated with a context), and did not develop a preference for the low-demand context. Crucially, this pattern was found despite identical task performance in both metacognitive awareness groups. A multiple regression approach confirmed that metacognitive awareness was the main factor driving the preference for low-demand contexts. These results argue for an important role of metacognitive awareness in the strategic avoidance of demanding tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the Link between Visual Perception, Visual-Motor Integration, and Reading in Normal Developing and Impaired Children using DTVP-2.

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Bellocchi, Stéphanie; Muneaux, Mathilde; Huau, Andréa; Lévêque, Yohana; Jover, Marianne; Ducrot, Stéphanie

2017-08-01

Reading is known to be primarily a linguistic task. However, to successfully decode written words, children also need to develop good visual-perception skills. Furthermore, motor skills are implicated in letter recognition and reading acquisition. Three studies have been designed to determine the link between reading, visual perception, and visual-motor integration using the Developmental Test of Visual Perception version 2 (DTVP-2). Study 1 tests how visual perception and visual-motor integration in kindergarten predict reading outcomes in Grade 1, in typical developing children. Study 2 is aimed at finding out if these skills can be seen as clinical markers in dyslexic children (DD). Study 3 determines if visual-motor integration and motor-reduced visual perception can distinguish DD children according to whether they exhibit or not developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Results showed that phonological awareness and visual-motor integration predicted reading outcomes one year later. DTVP-2 demonstrated similarities and differences in visual-motor integration and motor-reduced visual perception between children with DD, DCD, and both of these deficits. DTVP-2 is a suitable tool to investigate links between visual perception, visual-motor integration and reading, and to differentiate cognitive profiles of children with developmental disabilities (i.e. DD, DCD, and comorbid children). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Promoting awareness of legal requirements and liabilities in food and beverage operations

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A. Nicolaides

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to shed more light on the importance of promoting greater awareness of legal requirements and liabilities of food and beverage operations (F&B operations. It is a descriptive analysis which highlights aspects related to food hygiene. Managing legal issues in the hospitality industry, especially in F&B, is a tricky business. The magnitude of the global tourism industry means that the laws governing it are exhaustive and at the best of times, highly complex. Since tourists need to eat and drink it is imperative that industry employees have a meaningful grasp on what is expected legally speaking. Tourists spend large amounts of money on food and beverages and this is second only to airfare to and from destinations. Creating awareness of legal requirements and liabilities in food and beverage operations among industry employees is essential. As very little has been written on consumer rights and industry obligations in the South African hospitality industry food and beverage context, it is hope that this article will create greater awareness of a critically important aspect in the hospitality industry.

Parents Awareness of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youths Sexual Orientation

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Daugelli, Anthony R.; Grossman, Arnold H.; Starks, Michael T.

2005-01-01

This study used a sample of 293 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth to examine factors that differentiated youth whose parents knew of their sexual orientation from youth whose parents did not know. Earlier awareness and disclosure of same-gender attractions, greater childhood gender atypicality, and less internalized homophobia were characteristic…

Access to Awareness for Faces during Continuous Flash Suppression Is Not Modulated by Affective Knowledge.

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Milena Rabovsky

Full Text Available It is a controversially debated topic whether stimuli can be analyzed up to the semantic level when they are suppressed from visual awareness during continuous flash suppression (CFS. Here, we investigated whether affective knowledge, i.e., affective biographical information about faces, influences the time it takes for initially invisible faces with neutral expressions to overcome suppression and break into consciousness. To test this, we used negative, positive, and neutral famous faces as well as initially unfamiliar faces, which were associated with negative, positive or neutral biographical information. Affective knowledge influenced ratings of facial expressions, corroborating recent evidence and indicating the success of our affective learning paradigm. Furthermore, we replicated shorter suppression durations for upright than for inverted faces, demonstrating the suitability of our CFS paradigm. However, affective biographical information did not modulate suppression durations for newly learned faces, and even though suppression durations for famous faces were influenced by affective knowledge, these effects did not differ between upright and inverted faces, indicating that they might have been due to low-level visual differences. Thus, we did not obtain unequivocal evidence for genuine influences of affective biographical information on access to visual awareness for faces during CFS.

Neural Anatomy of Primary Visual Cortex Limits Visual Working Memory.

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Bergmann, Johanna; Genç, Erhan; Kohler, Axel; Singer, Wolf; Pearson, Joel

2016-01-01

Despite the immense processing power of the human brain, working memory storage is severely limited, and the neuroanatomical basis of these limitations has remained elusive. Here, we show that the stable storage limits of visual working memory for over 9 s are bound by the precise gray matter volume of primary visual cortex (V1), defined by fMRI retinotopic mapping. Individuals with a bigger V1 tended to have greater visual working memory storage. This relationship was present independently for both surface size and thickness of V1 but absent in V2, V3 and for non-visual working memory measures. Additional whole-brain analyses confirmed the specificity of the relationship to V1. Our findings indicate that the size of primary visual cortex plays a critical role in limiting what we can hold in mind, acting like a gatekeeper in constraining the richness of working mental function. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effects of Visual Feedback Distortion on Gait Adaptation: Comparison of Implicit Visual Distortion Versus Conscious Modulation on Retention of Motor Learning.

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Kim, Seung-Jae; Ogilvie, Mitchell; Shimabukuro, Nathan; Stewart, Trevor; Shin, Joon-Ho

2015-09-01

Visual feedback can be used during gait rehabilitation to improve the efficacy of training. We presented a paradigm called visual feedback distortion; the visual representation of step length was manipulated during treadmill walking. Our prior work demonstrated that an implicit distortion of visual feedback of step length entails an unintentional adaptive process in the subjects' spatial gait pattern. Here, we investigated whether the implicit visual feedback distortion, versus conscious correction, promotes efficient locomotor adaptation that relates to greater retention of a task. Thirteen healthy subjects were studied under two conditions: (1) we implicitly distorted the visual representation of their gait symmetry over 14 min, and (2) with help of visual feedback, subjects were told to walk on the treadmill with the intent of attaining the gait asymmetry observed during the first implicit trial. After adaptation, the visual feedback was removed while subjects continued walking normally. Over this 6-min period, retention of preserved asymmetric pattern was assessed. We found that there was a greater retention rate during the implicit distortion trial than that of the visually guided conscious modulation trial. This study highlights the important role of implicit learning in the context of gait rehabilitation by demonstrating that training with implicit visual feedback distortion may produce longer lasting effects. This suggests that using visual feedback distortion could improve the effectiveness of treadmill rehabilitation processes by influencing the retention of motor skills.

Posing for awareness: proprioception modulates access to visual consciousness in a continuous flash suppression task.

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Salomon, Roy; Lim, Melanie; Herbelin, Bruno; Hesselmann, Guido; Blanke, Olaf

2013-06-03

The rules governing the selection of which sensory information reaches consciousness are yet unknown. Of our senses, vision is often considered to be the dominant sense, and the effects of bodily senses, such as proprioception, on visual consciousness are frequently overlooked. Here, we demonstrate that the position of the body influences visual consciousness. We induced perceptual suppression by using continuous flash suppression. Participants had to judge the orientation a target stimulus embedded in a task-irrelevant picture of a hand. The picture of the hand could either be congruent or incongruent with the participants' actual hand position. When the viewed and the real hand positions were congruent, perceptual suppression was broken more rapidly than during incongruent trials. Our findings provide the first evidence of a proprioceptive bias in visual consciousness, suggesting that proprioception not only influences the perception of one's own body and self-consciousness, but also visual consciousness.

Towards Sensorial Approaches to Visual Research with Racially Diverse Young Men

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Emmanuel Tabi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This is a collaborative ethnographic research project that highlights the artistic, literary contributions of racially diverse young men. It uses Critical Race Theory to question conventional, Eurocentric educational approaches that historically and currently continue to suppress various socially and culturally learned modes of communication. This article presents two research projects in urban and suburban formal and informal educational institutions to highlight multimodal literary approaches. The first project is an amalgamation of two critical, ethnographic case studies that explores how racially diverse young men express their literacy through rap and spoken word poetry. The second project uses ethnographic methods to observe racially diverse young men’s production of films and photographs in high school, community centers, and art gallery spaces. This study uses visual methods coupled with affect and sensory-laden approaches to collect data and conduct an analysis. The article reflects on conversations surrounding young men, particularly racialized young men, their relationship with literacy, and how these conversations are founded on their failure and deficit language about their literacy repertoires. We believe that such research is closely tied with other social justice themes and modes of inquiry. This article steers away from the ways racialized young men do not use literacy, and focuses instead on the ways that they do use literacy. Their literacy practices are predominantly visual in nature, frequently accompanied by other modes such as words and moving images. Fitting within the scope of the special issue on social justice and visual methods, we argue for a greater acknowledgement and analytical gaze on sensory and affective nuances within visual research. This approach adds texture and volume to interpreting racialized young men’s narratives. Interrogating their visuals and talking through their narratives that have agentive

VStops: A Thinking Strategy and Visual Representation Approach in Mathematical Word Problem Solving toward Enhancing STEM Literacy

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Abdullah, Nasarudin; Halim, Lilia; Zakaria, Effandi

2014-01-01

This study aimed to determine the impact of strategic thinking and visual representation approaches (VStops) on the achievement, conceptual knowledge, metacognitive awareness, awareness of problem-solving strategies, and student attitudes toward mathematical word problem solving among primary school students. The experimental group (N = 96)…

Understanding social disparities in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control: the role of neighborhood context.

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Morenoff, Jeffrey D; House, James S; Hansen, Ben B; Williams, David R; Kaplan, George A; Hunte, Haslyn E

2007-11-01

The spatial segregation of the US population by socioeconomic position and especially race/ethnicity suggests that the social contexts or "neighborhoods" in which people live may substantially contribute to social disparities in hypertension. The Chicago Community Adult Health Study did face-to-face interviews, including direct measurement of blood pressure, with a representative probability sample of adults in Chicago. These data were used to estimate socioeconomic and racial-ethnic disparities in the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, and to analyze how these disparities are related to the areas in which people live. Hypertension was significantly negatively associated with neighborhood affluence/gentrification, and adjustments for context eliminated the highly significant disparity between blacks/African-Americans and whites, and reduced the significant educational disparity by 10-15% to borderline statistical significance. Awareness of hypertension was significantly higher in more disadvantaged neighborhoods and in places with higher concentrations of blacks (and lower concentrations of Hispanics and immigrants). Adjustment for context completely eliminated blacks' greater awareness, but slightly accentuated the lesser awareness of Hispanics and the greater levels of awareness among the less educated. There was no consistent evidence of either social disparities in or contextual associations with treatment of hypertension, given awareness. Among those on medication, blacks were only 40-50% as likely as whites to have their hypertension controlled, but context played little or no role in either the level of or disparities in control of hypertension. In sum, residential contexts potentially play a large role in accounting for racial/ethnic and, to a lesser degree, socioeconomic disparities in hypertension prevalence and, in a different way, awareness, but not in treatment or control of diagnosed hypertension.

Patients' Awareness Of The Prevention And Treatment Of Colorectal Cancer.

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Dziki, Łukasz; Puła, Anna; Stawiski, Konrad; Mudza, Barbara; Włodarczyk, Marcin; Dziki, Adam

2015-09-01

The aim of the study was to assess patients' awareness of the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer. Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, hospitalised at the Department of General and Colorectal Surgery of the Medical University in Łódź during the period from January 2015 to April 2015, were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their families' medical case record, factors predisposing them to the development of colorectal cancer, the tests applied in diagnostics, and the treatment process. The questionnaire comprised 42 closed-ended questions with one correct answer. A statistical analysis of all answers was carried out. The study group consisted of 30 men and 20 women aged 27-94 years old. A strong, statistically significant negative correlation between a patient's age and his/her awareness of the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer was noted (pcancer (p=0.008), and the awareness of the prevention programme. The women's group was characterised by statistically significantly greater awareness of colonoscopy as a screening examination (p=0.004). Patients need more information on colorectal cancer, its risk factors, prevention, the treatment process, and postoperative care. Lack of awareness of the colorectal cancer issue can be one of the major factors contributing to the high incidence of this disease.

Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies.

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Mehling, Wolf E; Wrubel, Judith; Daubenmier, Jennifer J; Price, Cynthia J; Kerr, Catherine E; Silow, Theresa; Gopisetty, Viranjini; Stewart, Anita L

2011-04-07

Enhancing body awareness has been described as a key element or a mechanism of action for therapeutic approaches often categorized as mind-body approaches, such as yoga, TaiChi, Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, Body Awareness Therapy, mindfulness based therapies/meditation, Feldenkrais, Alexander Method, Breath Therapy and others with reported benefits for a variety of health conditions. To better understand the conceptualization of body awareness in mind-body therapies, leading practitioners and teaching faculty of these approaches were invited as well as their patients to participate in focus groups. The qualitative analysis of these focus groups with representative practitioners of body awareness practices, and the perspectives of their patients, elucidated the common ground of their understanding of body awareness. For them body awareness is an inseparable aspect of embodied self awareness realized in action and interaction with the environment and world. It is the awareness of embodiment as an innate tendency of our organism for emergent self-organization and wholeness. The process that patients undergo in these therapies was seen as a progression towards greater unity between body and self, very similar to the conceptualization of embodiment as dialectic of body and self described by some philosophers as being experienced in distinct developmental levels.

Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies

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Silow Theresa

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Enhancing body awareness has been described as a key element or a mechanism of action for therapeutic approaches often categorized as mind-body approaches, such as yoga, TaiChi, Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, Body Awareness Therapy, mindfulness based therapies/meditation, Feldenkrais, Alexander Method, Breath Therapy and others with reported benefits for a variety of health conditions. To better understand the conceptualization of body awareness in mind-body therapies, leading practitioners and teaching faculty of these approaches were invited as well as their patients to participate in focus groups. The qualitative analysis of these focus groups with representative practitioners of body awareness practices, and the perspectives of their patients, elucidated the common ground of their understanding of body awareness. For them body awareness is an inseparable aspect of embodied self awareness realized in action and interaction with the environment and world. It is the awareness of embodiment as an innate tendency of our organism for emergent self-organization and wholeness. The process that patients undergo in these therapies was seen as a progression towards greater unity between body and self, very similar to the conceptualization of embodiment as dialectic of body and self described by some philosophers as being experienced in distinct developmental levels.

AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF DIABETIC EYE DISEASE AMONG DIABETIC PATIENTS PRESENTING TO EYE OPD IN CENTRAL INDIA

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Pranav Saluja

2018-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Diabetic eye disease can lead to permanent visual impairment or blindness if medical attention is delayed. Awareness and knowledge of diabetes-related eye complications is important for early medical presentation and maximisation of visual prognosis. The aim of the study is to study the level of awareness and knowledge of diabetic eye disease among diabetic patients presenting to eye OPD in central India. MATERIALS AND METHODS A hospital-based study was conducted on 300 diabetic patients presenting to eye OPD. A questionnaire was provided to the patients based on their awareness and knowledge of diabetic eye disease. On the basis of their response, answers were categorised into three groups for awareness (fully, partially and not aware and for knowledge (good, fair and poor knowledge. RESULTS Out of 300, the mean age of participants was 50.3 ± 12.4 years (range 20-79 years from which 123 (41% were males and 177 (59% were females. 106 (35.3% were from rural area and 194 (64.7% were from urban area. 164 (54.7% were literate and 136 (45.3% were illiterate. Maximum patients 172 (57.3% were diabetic since last 5 years with the average duration being 5.9 ± 4.1 years. Out of 300 patients, only 89 (29.7% were found to be fully aware and only 66 (22.0% had good knowledge (p<0.001. There was little knowledge of retinopathy risk factors or the need for routine eye examination. Most of the patients 152 (50.7% were not advised by their physician for screening. CONCLUSION The present study showed that there is poor awareness and knowledge among a larger portion of the sample among the illiterate patients, patients from rural area and those who were recently diagnosed diabetics. There is therefore a need for increasing awareness about diabetes in patients and physicians and providing access to retinopathy screening services to the patients.

Visual perception and stereoscopic imaging: an artist's perspective

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Mason, Steve

2015-03-01

This paper continues my 2014 February IS and T/SPIE Convention exploration into the relationship of stereoscopic vision and consciousness (90141F-1). It was proposed then that by using stereoscopic imaging people may consciously experience, or see, what they are viewing and thereby help make them more aware of the way their brains manage and interpret visual information. Environmental imaging was suggested as a way to accomplish this. This paper is the result of further investigation, research, and follow-up imaging. A show of images, that is a result of this research, allows viewers to experience for themselves the effects of stereoscopy on consciousness. Creating dye-infused aluminum prints while employing ChromaDepth® 3D glasses, I hope to not only raise awareness of visual processing but also explore the differences and similarities between the artist and scientist―art increases right brain spatial consciousness, not only empirical thinking, while furthering the viewer's cognizance of the process of seeing. The artist must abandon preconceptions and expectations, despite what the evidence and experience may indicate in order to see what is happening in his work and to allow it to develop in ways he/she could never anticipate. This process is then revealed to the viewer in a show of work. It is in the experiencing, not just from the thinking, where insight is achieved. Directing the viewer's awareness during the experience using stereoscopic imaging allows for further understanding of the brain's function in the visual process. A cognitive transformation occurs, the preverbal "left/right brain shift," in order for viewers to "see" the space. Using what we know from recent brain research, these images will draw from certain parts of the brain when viewed in two dimensions and different ones when viewed stereoscopically, a shift, if one is looking for it, which is quite noticeable. People who have experienced these images in the context of examining their own

Human rather than ape-like orbital morphology allows much greater lateral visual field expansion with eye abduction

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Denion, Eric; Hitier, Martin; Levieil, Eric; Mouriaux, Frédéric

2015-01-01

While convergent, the human orbit differs from that of non-human apes in that its lateral orbital margin is significantly more rearward. This rearward position does not obstruct the additional visual field gained through eye motion. This additional visual field is therefore considered to be wider in humans than in non-human apes. A mathematical model was designed to quantify this difference. The mathematical model is based on published computed tomography data in the human neuro-ocular plane (NOP) and on additional anatomical data from 100 human skulls and 120 non-human ape skulls (30 gibbons; 30 chimpanzees / bonobos; 30 orangutans; 30 gorillas). It is used to calculate temporal visual field eccentricity values in the NOP first in the primary position of gaze then for any eyeball rotation value in abduction up to 45° and any lateral orbital margin position between 85° and 115° relative to the sagittal plane. By varying the lateral orbital margin position, the human orbit can be made “non-human ape-like”. In the Pan-like orbit, the orbital margin position (98.7°) was closest to the human orbit (107.1°). This modest 8.4° difference resulted in a large 21.1° difference in maximum lateral visual field eccentricity with eyeball abduction (Pan-like: 115°; human: 136.1°). PMID:26190625

Spatially localized motion aftereffect disappears faster from awareness when selectively attended to according to its direction.

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Murd, Carolina; Bachmann, Talis

2011-05-25

In searching for the target-afterimage patch among spatially separate alternatives of color-afterimages the target fades from awareness before its competitors (Bachmann, T., & Murd, C. (2010). Covert spatial attention in search for the location of a color-afterimage patch speeds up its decay from awareness: Introducing a method useful for the study of neural correlates of visual awareness. Vision Research 50, 1048-1053). In an analogous study presented here we show that a similar effect is obtained when a target spatial location specified according to the direction of motion aftereffect within it is searched by covert top-down attention. The adverse effect of selective attention on the duration of awareness of sensory qualiae known earlier to be present for color and periodic spatial contrast is extended also to sensory channels carrying motion information. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Awareness and Knowledge of Glaucoma in Central India: A Hospital-Based Study.

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Maharana, Prafulla K; Rai, Vaishali G; Pattebahadur, Rajesh; Singhi, Shipra; Chauhan, Ashish K

2017-01-01

To assess the awareness and knowledge of glaucoma among people attending the ophthalmology outpatient department at a tertiary care hospital in central India. A prospective observational study. A questionnaire-based study was conducted, involving persons aged 18 and above attending the ophthalmology outpatient department from October 2014 to September 2015. Data on awareness and knowledge of glaucoma was collected through a face-to-face interview. Fourteen hundred people participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 43 ± 15 years (range, 18-85). The study participants included 53% men and 47% women. Only 27% (n = 380/1400) of the participants were aware of glaucoma. Age, sex, and presence or type of refractive error had no impact on glaucoma awareness. Awareness level was greater in individuals with higher education levels and those belonging to an upper socioeconomic class (SEC). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed significantly higher levels of glaucoma awareness among participants belonging to the upper 2 SECs (P = 0.05) and those educated above the high school level (P = 0.001). The most common source of awareness was close acquaintance with relatives, famly members, and friends of glaucoma patients. Awareness of glaucoma in India is low. Lack of education and lower socioeconomic status are the major risk factors for late preentation of glaucoma. Continuous presence of a low level of awareness and the same factors accounting for it warrants the need for an aggressive and refined approach to increase awareness of glaucoma to prevent glaucoma-related blindness. Copyright 2017 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.

Characterizing head motion in three planes during combined visual and base of support disturbances in healthy and visually sensitive subjects.

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Keshner, E A; Dhaher, Y

2008-07-01

Multiplanar environmental motion could generate head instability, particularly if the visual surround moves in planes orthogonal to a physical disturbance. We combined sagittal plane surface translations with visual field disturbances in 12 healthy (29-31 years) and 3 visually sensitive (27-57 years) adults. Center of pressure (COP), peak head angles, and RMS values of head motion were calculated and a three-dimensional model of joint motion was developed to examine gross head motion in three planes. We found that subjects standing quietly in front of a visual scene translating in the sagittal plane produced significantly greater (pplane of platform motion significantly increased (phistory of vestibular disorder produced large, delayed compensatory head motion. Orthogonal head motions were significantly greater in visually sensitive than in healthy subjects in the dark (pplanes orthogonal to the direction of a physical perturbation. These results suggest that the mechanisms controlling head orientation in space are distinct from those that control trunk orientation in space. These behaviors would have been missed if only COP data were considered. Data suggest that rehabilitation training can be enhanced by combining visual and mechanical perturbation paradigms.

Validation of a measurement tool to assess awareness of breast cancer.

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Linsell, Louise; Forbes, Lindsay J L; Burgess, Caroline; Kapari, Marcia; Thurnham, Angela; Ramirez, Amanda J

2010-05-01

Until now, there has been no universally accepted and validated measure of breast cancer awareness. This study aimed to validate the new Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (BCAM) which assesses, using a self-complete questionnaire, knowledge of breast cancer symptoms and age-related risk, and frequency of breast checking. We measured the psychometric properties of the BCAM in 1035 women attending the NHS Breast Screening Programme: acceptability was assessed using a feedback questionnaire (n=292); sensitivity to change after an intervention promoting breast cancer awareness (n=576), and test-retest reliability (n=167). We also assessed readability, and construct validity using the 'known-groups' method. The readability of the BCAM was high. Over 90% of women found it acceptable. The BCAM was sensitive to change: there was an increase in the proportion of women obtaining the full score for breast cancer awareness one month after receiving the intervention promoting breast cancer awareness; this was greater among those who received a more intensive version (less intensive version (booklet): 9.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.5-14.1%; more intensive version (interaction with health professional plus booklet): 30%, 95% CI: 23.4-36.6%). Test-retest reliability of the BCAM was moderate to good for most items. Cancer experts had higher levels of cancer awareness than non-medical academics (50% versus 6%, p=0.001), indicating good construct validity. The BCAM is a valid and robust measure of breast cancer awareness suitable for use in surveys of breast cancer awareness in the general population and to evaluate the impact of awareness-raising interventions. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Blind jealousy? Romantic insecurity increases emotion-induced failures of visual perception.

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Most, Steven B; Laurenceau, Jean-Philippe; Graber, Elana; Belcher, Amber; Smith, C Veronica

2010-04-01

Does the influence of close relationships pervade so deeply as to impact visual awareness? Results from two experiments involving heterosexual romantic couples suggest that they do. Female partners from each couple performed a rapid detection task where negative emotional distractors typically disrupt visual awareness of subsequent targets; at the same time, their male partners rated attractiveness first of landscapes, then of photos of other women. At the end of both experiments, the degree to which female partners indicated uneasiness about their male partner looking at and rating other women correlated significantly with the degree to which negative emotional distractors had disrupted their target perception during that time. This relationship was robust even when controlling for individual differences in baseline performance. Thus, emotions elicited by social contexts appear to wield power even at the level of perceptual processing. Copyright 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Soldier-worn augmented reality system for tactical icon visualization

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Roberts, David; Menozzi, Alberico; Clipp, Brian; Russler, Patrick; Cook, James; Karl, Robert; Wenger, Eric; Church, William; Mauger, Jennifer; Volpe, Chris; Argenta, Chris; Wille, Mark; Snarski, Stephen; Sherrill, Todd; Lupo, Jasper; Hobson, Ross; Frahm, Jan-Michael; Heinly, Jared

2012-06-01

This paper describes the development and demonstration of a soldier-worn augmented reality system testbed that provides intuitive 'heads-up' visualization of tactically-relevant geo-registered icons. Our system combines a robust soldier pose estimation capability with a helmet mounted see-through display to accurately overlay geo-registered iconography (i.e., navigation waypoints, blue forces, aircraft) on the soldier's view of reality. Applied Research Associates (ARA), in partnership with BAE Systems and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), has developed this testbed system in Phase 2 of the DARPA ULTRA-Vis (Urban Leader Tactical, Response, Awareness, and Visualization) program. The ULTRA-Vis testbed system functions in unprepared outdoor environments and is robust to numerous magnetic disturbances. We achieve accurate and robust pose estimation through fusion of inertial, magnetic, GPS, and computer vision data acquired from helmet kit sensors. Icons are rendered on a high-brightness, 40°×30° field of view see-through display. The system incorporates an information management engine to convert CoT (Cursor-on-Target) external data feeds into mil-standard icons for visualization. The user interface provides intuitive information display to support soldier navigation and situational awareness of mission-critical tactical information.

Quality-aware features-based noise level estimator for block matching and three-dimensional filtering algorithm

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Xu, Shaoping; Hu, Lingyan; Yang, Xiaohui

2016-01-01

The performance of conventional denoising algorithms is usually controlled by one or several parameters whose optimal settings depend on the contents of the processed images and the characteristics of the noises. Among these parameters, noise level is a fundamental parameter that is always assumed to be known by most of the existing denoising algorithms (so-called nonblind denoising algorithms), which largely limits the applicability of these nonblind denoising algorithms in many applications. Moreover, these nonblind algorithms do not always achieve the best denoised images in visual quality even when fed with the actual noise level parameter. To address these shortcomings, in this paper we propose a new quality-aware features-based noise level estimator (NLE), which consists of quality-aware features extraction and optimal noise level parameter prediction. First, considering that image local contrast features convey important structural information that is closely related to image perceptual quality, we utilize the marginal statistics of two local contrast operators, i.e., the gradient magnitude and the Laplacian of Gaussian (LOG), to extract quality-aware features. The proposed quality-aware features have very low computational complexity, making them well suited for time-constrained applications. Then we propose a learning-based framework where the noise level parameter is estimated based on the quality-aware features. Based on the proposed NLE, we develop a blind block matching and three-dimensional filtering (BBM3D) denoising algorithm which is capable of effectively removing additive white Gaussian noise, even coupled with impulse noise. The noise level parameter of the BBM3D algorithm is automatically tuned according to the quality-aware features, guaranteeing the best performance. As such, the classical block matching and three-dimensional algorithm can be transformed into a blind one in an unsupervised manner. Experimental results demonstrate that the

Artificial Vision, New Visual Modalities and Neuroadaptation

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Hilmi Or

2012-01-01

Full Text Available To study the descriptions from which artificial vision derives, to explore the new visual modalities resulting from eye surgeries and diseases, and to gain awareness of the use of machine vision systems for both enhancement of visual perception and better understanding of neuroadaptation. Science could not define until today what vision is. However, some optical-based systems and definitions have been established considering some factors for the formation of seeing. The best known system includes Gabor filter and Gabor patch which work on edge perception, describing the visual perception in the best known way. These systems are used today in industry and technology of machines, robots and computers to provide their "seeing". These definitions are used beyond the machinery in humans for neuroadaptation in new visual modalities after some eye surgeries or to improve the quality of some already known visual modalities. Beside this, “the blindsight” -which was not known to exist until 35 years ago - can be stimulated with visual exercises. Gabor system is a description of visual perception definable in machine vision as well as in human visual perception. This system is used today in robotic vision. There are new visual modalities which arise after some eye surgeries or with the use of some visual optical devices. Also, blindsight is a different visual modality starting to be defined even though the exact etiology is not known. In all the new visual modalities, new vision stimulating therapies using the Gabor systems can be applied. (Turk J Oph thal mol 2012; 42: 61-5

Awareness and Self-Awareness for Multi-Robot Organisms

OpenAIRE

Kernbach, Serge

2011-01-01

Awareness and self-awareness are two different notions related to knowing the environment and itself. In a general context, the mechanism of self-awareness belongs to a class of co-called "self-issues" (self-* or self-star): self-adaptation, self-repairing, self-replication, self-development or self-recovery. The self-* issues are connected in many ways to adaptability and evolvability, to the emergence of behavior and to the controllability of long-term developmental processes. Self-* are ei...

Hearing, listening, action: Enhancing nursing practice through aural awareness education.

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Collins, Anita; Vanderheide, Rebecca; McKenna, Lisa

2014-01-01

Abstract Noise overload within the clinical environment has been found to interfere with the healing process for patients, as well as nurses' ability to assess patients effectively. Awareness and responsibility for noise production begins during initial nursing training and consequently a program to enhance aural awareness skills was designed for graduate entry nursing students in an Australian university. The program utilized an innovative combination of music education activities to develop the students' ability to distinguishing individual sounds (hearing), appreciate patients' experience of sounds (listening) and improve their auscultation skills and reduce the negative effects of noise on patients (action). Using a mixed methods approach, students reported heightened auscultation skills and greater recognition of both patients' and clinicians' aural overload. Results of this pilot suggest that music education activities can assist nursing students to develop their aural awareness and to action changes within the clinical environment to improve the patient's experience of noise.

Content-Aware Video Adaptation under Low-Bitrate Constraint

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Hsiao Ming-Ho

2007-01-01

Full Text Available With the development of wireless network and the improvement of mobile device capability, video streaming is more and more widespread in such an environment. Under the condition of limited resource and inherent constraints, appropriate video adaptations have become one of the most important and challenging issues in wireless multimedia applications. In this paper, we propose a novel content-aware video adaptation in order to effectively utilize resource and improve visual perceptual quality. First, the attention model is derived from analyzing the characteristics of brightness, location, motion vector, and energy features in compressed domain to reduce computation complexity. Then, through the integration of attention model, capability of client device and correlational statistic model, attractive regions of video scenes are derived. The information object- (IOB- weighted rate distortion model is used for adjusting the bit allocation. Finally, the video adaptation scheme dynamically adjusts video bitstream in frame level and object level. Experimental results validate that the proposed scheme achieves better visual quality effectively and efficiently.

Pervasive Visual Interfaces to Change Energy Consumption Behaviour at the Workplace

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Börner, Dirk; Kalz, Marco; Ternier, Stefaan; Specht, Marcus

2014-01-01

This position paper introduces pervasive interventions at a university campus to increase the pro-environmental awareness, consciousness, and learning of employees making use of different visual interfaces. We briefly present the design of three intervention iterations. While in the first

Does working memory capacity predict cross-modally induced failures of awareness?

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Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Simons, Daniel J; Memmert, Daniel

2016-01-01

People often fail to notice unexpected stimuli when they are focusing attention on another task. Most studies of this phenomenon address visual failures induced by visual attention tasks (inattentional blindness). Yet, such failures also occur within audition (inattentional deafness), and people can even miss unexpected events in one sensory modality when focusing attention on tasks in another modality. Such cross-modal failures are revealing because they suggest the existence of a common, central resource limitation. And, such central limits might be predicted from individual differences in cognitive capacity. We replicated earlier evidence, establishing substantial rates of inattentional deafness during a visual task and inattentional blindness during an auditory task. However, neither individual working memory capacity nor the ability to perform the primary task predicted noticing in either modality. Thus, individual differences in cognitive capacity did not predict failures of awareness even though the failures presumably resulted from central resource limitations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of body awareness and mindfulness in the relationship between exercise and eating behavior.

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Martin, Rachel; Prichard, Ivanka; Hutchinson, Amanda D; Wilson, Carlene

2013-12-01

This study examined the potential mediating roles of mindfulness and body awareness in the relationship between exercise and eating behavior. Female exercisers (N = 159) recruited from fitness centers, yoga centers, and the community completed a questionnaire incorporating measures of exercise behavior, body awareness, trait mindfulness, mindful eating, dietary intake, and disordered eating symptoms. Participation in yoga was associated with significantly lower disordered eating (mediated by body awareness), whereas the amount of time spent participating in cardio-based exercise was associated with greater eating disturbance. The relationships between amount of exercise and actual food intake were not mediated by trait mindfulness or body awareness. The differential findings for dietary intake and disordered eating indicate that the body awareness cultivated in different forms of exercise may be more beneficial for clinical populations or those at risk for eating disorders than for modifying actual dietary intake in the general population.

Students multicultural awareness

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F.I Soekarman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Multicultural awareness is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions. Multicultural awareness becomes central when we have to interact with people from other cultures. People see, interpret and evaluate things in a different ways. What is considered an appropriate behaviour in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another one. this research use descriptive- quantitative methodology to indentify level of students multicultural awareness specifically will be identified by gender and academic years. This research will identify multicultural awareness based on differences of gender, academic years. This research use random and purposive random sampling of 650 students from university. These studies identify of multicultural awareness 34, 11, 4% in high condition, 84, 1% medium and 4, 5% in low. Further, there is a significant difference in the level of multicultural awareness based on gender and academic year. These findings could not be generalized because of the limited sample and ethnicity; it should need a wider research so that can be generalized and recommended the efforts to development and improvement of multicultural awareness conditions for optimization the services.

Attentional load modulates responses of human primary visual cortex to invisible stimuli.

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Bahrami, Bahador; Lavie, Nilli; Rees, Geraint

2007-03-20

Visual neuroscience has long sought to determine the extent to which stimulus-evoked activity in visual cortex depends on attention and awareness. Some influential theories of consciousness maintain that the allocation of attention is restricted to conscious representations [1, 2]. However, in the load theory of attention [3], competition between task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli for limited-capacity attention does not depend on conscious perception of the irrelevant stimuli. The critical test is whether the level of attentional load in a relevant task would determine unconscious neural processing of invisible stimuli. Human participants were scanned with high-field fMRI while they performed a foveal task of low or high attentional load. Irrelevant, invisible monocular stimuli were simultaneously presented peripherally and were continuously suppressed by a flashing mask in the other eye [4]. Attentional load in the foveal task strongly modulated retinotopic activity evoked in primary visual cortex (V1) by the invisible stimuli. Contrary to traditional views [1, 2, 5, 6], we found that availability of attentional capacity determines neural representations related to unconscious processing of continuously suppressed stimuli in human primary visual cortex. Spillover of attention to cortical representations of invisible stimuli (under low load) cannot be a sufficient condition for their awareness.

Visual Information and Support Surface for Postural Control in Visual Search Task.

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Huang, Chia-Chun; Yang, Chih-Mei

2016-10-01

When standing on a reduced support surface, people increase their reliance on visual information to control posture. This assertion was tested in the current study. The effects of imposed motion and support surface on postural control during visual search were investigated. Twelve participants (aged 21 ± 1.8 years; six men and six women) stood on a reduced support surface (45% base of support). In a room that moved back and forth along the anteroposterior axis, participants performed visual search for a given letter in an article. Postural sway variability and head-room coupling were measured. The results of head-room coupling, but not postural sway, supported the assertion that people increase reliance on visual information when standing on a reduced support surface. Whether standing on a whole or reduced surface, people stabilized their posture to perform the visual search tasks. Compared to a fixed target, searching on a hand-held target showed greater head-room coupling when standing on a reduced surface. © The Author(s) 2016.

Energy conservation awareness and practice in restaurants of Hennepin County, Minnesota.

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Brondum, Jack; Palchick, Susan

2012-12-01

Greenhouse gases result mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels in energy use. Restaurants use large amounts of energy in their operation but systematically gathered information about such use is lacking. Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department surveyed owners of licensed restaurants to assess their energy use and awareness of energy conservation measures. Of 434 owners surveyed, 276 (63.6%) returned completed surveys. Responses indicated that large pluralities or majorities of restaurant owners often were aware of energy-efficient methods of operation and the means to achieve greater efficiency but used such means much less frequently. For example, 57% of respondents were familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, but only 33% of this group actually used Energy Star appliances. Given the gap between awareness and practice, opportunities for consultation and outreach to restaurant owners about energy-efficient business operation are manifold.

Right hemispheric dominance of visual phenomena evoked by intracerebral stimulation of the human visual cortex.

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Jonas, Jacques; Frismand, Solène; Vignal, Jean-Pierre; Colnat-Coulbois, Sophie; Koessler, Laurent; Vespignani, Hervé; Rossion, Bruno; Maillard, Louis

2014-07-01

Electrical brain stimulation can provide important information about the functional organization of the human visual cortex. Here, we report the visual phenomena evoked by a large number (562) of intracerebral electrical stimulations performed at low-intensity with depth electrodes implanted in the occipito-parieto-temporal cortex of 22 epileptic patients. Focal electrical stimulation evoked primarily visual hallucinations with various complexities: simple (spot or blob), intermediary (geometric forms), or complex meaningful shapes (faces); visual illusions and impairments of visual recognition were more rarely observed. With the exception of the most posterior cortical sites, the probability of evoking a visual phenomenon was significantly higher in the right than the left hemisphere. Intermediary and complex hallucinations, illusions, and visual recognition impairments were almost exclusively evoked by stimulation in the right hemisphere. The probability of evoking a visual phenomenon decreased substantially from the occipital pole to the most anterior sites of the temporal lobe, and this decrease was more pronounced in the left hemisphere. The greater sensitivity of the right occipito-parieto-temporal regions to intracerebral electrical stimulation to evoke visual phenomena supports a predominant role of right hemispheric visual areas from perception to recognition of visual forms, regardless of visuospatial and attentional factors. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Knowledge-based public health situation awareness

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Mirhaji, Parsa; Zhang, Jiajie; Srinivasan, Arunkumar; Richesson, Rachel L.; Smith, Jack W.

2004-09-01

There have been numerous efforts to create comprehensive databases from multiple sources to monitor the dynamics of public health and most specifically to detect the potential threats of bioterrorism before widespread dissemination. But there are not many evidences for the assertion that these systems are timely and dependable, or can reliably identify man made from natural incident. One must evaluate the value of so called 'syndromic surveillance systems' along with the costs involved in design, development, implementation and maintenance of such systems and the costs involved in investigation of the inevitable false alarms1. In this article we will introduce a new perspective to the problem domain with a shift in paradigm from 'surveillance' toward 'awareness'. As we conceptualize a rather different approach to tackle the problem, we will introduce a different methodology in application of information science, computer science, cognitive science and human-computer interaction concepts in design and development of so called 'public health situation awareness systems'. We will share some of our design and implementation concepts for the prototype system that is under development in the Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Informatics Research, in the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The system is based on a knowledgebase containing ontologies with different layers of abstraction, from multiple domains, that provide the context for information integration, knowledge discovery, interactive data mining, information visualization, information sharing and communications. The modular design of the knowledgebase and its knowledge representation formalism enables incremental evolution of the system from a partial system to a comprehensive knowledgebase of 'public health situation awareness' as it acquires new knowledge through interactions with domain experts or automatic discovery of new knowledge.

Visual risk factors for falls in older people.

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Lord, Stephen R

2006-09-01

Poor vision reduces postural stability and significantly increases the risk of falls and fractures in older people. Most studies have found that poor visual acuity increases the risk of falls. However, studies that have included multiple visual measures have found that reduced contrast sensitivity and depth perception are the most important visual risk factors for falls. Multifocal glasses may add to this risk because their near-vision lenses impair distance contrast sensitivity and depth perception in the lower visual field. This reduces the ability of an older person to detect environmental hazards. There is now evidence that maximising vision through cataract surgery is an effective strategy for preventing falls. Further randomised controlled trials are required to determine whether individual strategies (such as restriction of use of multifocal glasses) or multi-strategy visual improvement interventions can significantly reduce falls in older people. Public health initiatives are required to raise awareness in older people and their carers of the importance of regular eye examinations and use of appropriate prescription glasses.

Logographic Kanji versus phonographic Kana in literacy acquisition: how important are visual and phonological skills?

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Koyama, Maki S; Hansen, Peter C; Stein, John F

2008-12-01

It is well-established that phonological skills are important for literacy acquisition in all scripts. However, the role of visual skills is less well understood. For logographic scripts in which a symbol represents a whole word or a meaningful unit, the importance of visual memory in literacy acquisition might be expected to be high because of the visual complexity of logographic characters, but in fact its role remains poorly understood. The Japanese writing system uses both phonographic "Kana" and logographic "Kanji" scripts concurrently and thus allows for the assessment of the contribution of phonological and visual processing to literacy acquisition in these two different scripts in the same language. We tested 74 Japanese children (39 second graders and 35 fourth graders) on a range of literacy, sensory, and cognitive tasks. We found that Kana literacy performance was significantly predicted by low-level sensory processing (both auditory frequency modulation sensitivity and visual motion sensitivity) as well as phonological awareness, but not by visual memory. This result is largely consistent with previous studies in other phonographic scripts such as English. In contrast, Kanji literacy performance was strongly predicted by visual memory (particularly visual long-term memory), but not by either low-level sensory processing or phonological awareness. Our results show differences in the skills that predict literacy performance in phonographic Kana and logographic Kanji, as well as providing experimental evidence that visual memory is important when learning Kanji. Therefore, children's literacy problems and remediation programs should be considered in the context of the script in which children are learning to read and write.

Ultrascale Visualization of Climate Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Dean N. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Bremer, Peer-Timo [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Doutriaux, Charles [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Patchett, John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Williams, Sean [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Shipman, Galen M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Miller, Ross G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pugmire, Dave [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Smith, Brian E. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Steed, Chad A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bethel, E. Wes [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Childs, Hank [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Krishnan, Harinarayan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Silva, Claudio T. [New York University, New York, NY (United States). Center for Urban Sciences; Santos, Emanuele [Universidade Federal do Ceara, Ceara (Brazil); Koop, David [New York University, New York, NY (United States); Ellqvist, Tommy [New York University, New York, NY (United States); Poco, Jorge [Polytechnic Institute of New York University, New York, NY (United States); Geveci, Berk [Kitware Inc., Clifton Park, NY (United States); Chaudhary, Aashish [Kitware Inc., Clifton Park, NY (United States); Bauer, Andy [Kitware Inc., Clifton Park, NY (United States); Pletzer, Alexander [Tech-X Corporation, Boulder, CO (United States); Kindig, Dave [Tech-X Corporation, Boulder, CO (United States); Potter, Gerald [National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington, DC (United States); Maxwell, Thomas P. [National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington, DC (United States)

2013-09-01

To support interactive visualization and analysis of complex, large-scale climate data sets, UV-CDAT integrates a powerful set of scientific computing libraries and applications to foster more efficient knowledge discovery. Connected through a provenance framework, the UV-CDAT components can be loosely coupled for fast integration or tightly coupled for greater functionality and communication with other components. This framework addresses many challenges in the interactive visual analysis of distributed large-scale data for the climate community.

Creating visual explanations improves learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobek, Eliza; Tversky, Barbara

2016-01-01

Many topics in science are notoriously difficult for students to learn. Mechanisms and processes outside student experience present particular challenges. While instruction typically involves visualizations, students usually explain in words. Because visual explanations can show parts and processes of complex systems directly, creating them should have benefits beyond creating verbal explanations. We compared learning from creating visual or verbal explanations for two STEM domains, a mechanical system (bicycle pump) and a chemical system (bonding). Both kinds of explanations were analyzed for content and learning assess by a post-test. For the mechanical system, creating a visual explanation increased understanding particularly for participants of low spatial ability. For the chemical system, creating both visual and verbal explanations improved learning without new teaching. Creating a visual explanation was superior and benefitted participants of both high and low spatial ability. Visual explanations often included crucial yet invisible features. The greater effectiveness of visual explanations appears attributable to the checks they provide for completeness and coherence as well as to their roles as platforms for inference. The benefits should generalize to other domains like the social sciences, history, and archeology where important information can be visualized. Together, the findings provide support for the use of learner-generated visual explanations as a powerful learning tool.

Shifting attention among working memory representations: testing cue type, awareness, and strategic control.

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Berryhill, Marian E; Richmond, Lauren L; Shay, Cara S; Olson, Ingrid R

2012-01-01

It is well known that visual working memory (VWM) performance is modulated by attentional cues presented during encoding. Interestingly, retrospective cues presented after encoding, but prior to the test phase also improve performance. This improvement in performance is termed the retro-cue benefit. We investigated whether the retro-cue benefit is sensitive to cue type, whether participants were aware of their improvement in performance due to the retro-cue, and whether the effect was under strategic control. Experiment 1 compared the potential cueing benefits of abrupt onset retro-cues relying on bottom-up attention, number retro-cues relying on top-down attention, and arrow retro-cues, relying on a mixture of both. We found a significant retro-cue effect only for arrow retro-cues. In Experiment 2, we tested participants' awareness of their use of the informative retro-cue and found that they were aware of their improved performance. In Experiment 3, we asked whether participants have strategic control over the retro-cue. The retro-cue was difficult to ignore, suggesting that strategic control is low. The retro-cue effect appears to be within conscious awareness but not under full strategic control.

Are Auditory and Visual Processing Deficits Related to Developmental Dyslexia?

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Georgiou, George K.; Papadopoulos, Timothy C.; Zarouna, Elena; Parrila, Rauno

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine if children with dyslexia learning to read a consistent orthography (Greek) experience auditory and visual processing deficits and if these deficits are associated with phonological awareness, rapid naming speed and orthographic processing. We administered measures of general cognitive ability, phonological…

Message design strategies to raise public awareness of social determinants of health and population health disparities.

Science.gov (United States)

Niederdeppe, Jeff; Bu, Q Lisa; Borah, Porismita; Kindig, David A; Robert, Stephanie A

2008-09-01

Raising public awareness of the importance of social determinants of health (SDH) and health disparities presents formidable communication challenges. This article reviews three message strategies that could be used to raise awareness of SDH and health disparities: message framing, narratives, and visual imagery. Although few studies have directly tested message strategies for raising awareness of SDH and health disparities, the accumulated evidence from other domains suggests that population health advocates should frame messages to acknowledge a role for individual decisions about behavior but emphasize SDH. These messages might use narratives to provide examples of individuals facing structural barriers (unsafe working conditions, neighborhood safety concerns, lack of civic opportunities) in efforts to avoid poverty, unemployment, racial discrimination, and other social determinants. Evocative visual images that invite generalizations, suggest causal interpretations, highlight contrasts, and create analogies could accompany these narratives. These narratives and images should not distract attention from SDH and population health disparities, activate negative stereotypes, or provoke counterproductive emotional responses directed at the source of the message. The field of communication science offers valuable insights into ways that population health advocates and researchers might develop better messages to shape public opinion and debate about the social conditions that shape the health and well-being of populations. The time has arrived to begin thinking systematically about issues in communicating about SDH and health disparities. This article offers a broad framework for these efforts and concludes with an agenda for future research to refine message strategies to raise awareness of SDH and health disparities.

Awareness of Risk Factors for Breast, Lung and Cervical Cancer in a UK Student Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Susan M; Lane, Emily L

2015-12-01

The objective of this study is to identify levels of risk awareness for breast, lung and cervical cancer, in a UK student population. A sample of male (N=62) and female (N=58) university students, mean age 21.62 years completed a questionnaire identifying which risk factors they knew for each cancer. Analysis of variance was used to compare differences in risk awareness across gender and cancer types. Risk factor awareness was highest for lung cancer (0.78), mid-range for breast cancer (0.61) and lowest for cervical cancer (0.47). Women had greater risk factor awareness (0.67) than males (0.57) across all three cancers. There is also significant belief in mythic risk factors such as stress (from 14 to 40% across the three cancers). Previous research has demonstrated that risk factor awareness increases with educational status, yet even in a university student population, in which the majority of females would have been offered the HPV vaccination, risk factor awareness for cancers is variable. More health education is needed particularly around the risk factors for cervical cancer.

Correlates of e-cigarette ad awareness and likeability in U.S. young adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica M Rath

2017-04-01

Higher ad likeability was correlated with greater susceptibility to try an e-cigarette among U.S. young adults. Future studies are needed to monitor how awareness and likeability of e-cigarette advertising influence patterns of e-cigarette and other tobacco use in young people.

CAUSES OF VISUAL DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH VISUAL DISABILITY CERTIFICATES OBTAINED IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN MUMBAI

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Vikas Vijaykumar Kamat

2016-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Visual disability is a major public health problem in developing countries. Ocular diseases cause partial or total blindness. Causes can be treatable or non-treatable. Non-treatable causes lead to permanent visual disability. Persons with disabilities are given certificates mentioning percentage of disability after they demand certificates for various benefits. MATERIALS AND METHODS Records of the individuals who had been issued visual disability certificates during the period of 1 st March 2011 to 30 th June 2013 were obtained from Medical Records Office of the hospital and the information was analysed. RESULTS Out of 132 individuals with visual disability certificates, 97 were males and 35 were females. Avoidable causes of visual impairment were found in 43.18% individuals who were with corneal opacity, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, traumatic retinal detachment and postoperative retinal detachment. Unavoidable causes were found in 56.82% individuals who were with congenital diseases, optic nerve atrophy, hereditary causes, retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Maximum numbers of individuals were issued certificates of 40% visual disability and least being 20% visual disability. Maximum number of individuals (48.49% demanded disability certificates for benefit in jobs. CONCLUSION High number of congenital diseases of eye explains the need of genetic counselling. Gender-based inequality for getting visual disability certificates should be minimised through awareness and education of people. Avoiding trauma to eyes can reduce the visual disability due to corneal scarring and infections in large extent. Early diagnosis and treatment is necessary to prevent blindness from avoidable causes like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and retinopathy of prematurity.

Functional visual fields: relationship of visual field areas to self-reported function.

Science.gov (United States)

Subhi, Hikmat; Latham, Keziah; Myint, Joy; Crossland, Michael D

2017-07-01

The aim of this study is to relate areas of the visual field to functional difficulties to inform the development of a binocular visual field assessment that can reflect the functional consequences of visual field loss. Fifty-two participants with peripheral visual field loss undertook binocular assessment of visual fields using the 30-2 and 60-4 SITA Fast programs on the Humphrey Field Analyser, and mean thresholds were derived. Binocular visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and near reading performance were also determined. Self-reported overall and mobility function were assessed using the Dutch ICF Activity Inventory. Greater visual field loss (0-60°) was associated with worse self-reported function both overall (R 2 = 0.50; p function (R 2 = 0.61, p function in multiple regression analyses. Superior and inferior visual field areas related similarly to mobility function (R 2 = 0.56, p function in multiple regression analysis. Mean threshold of the binocular visual field to 60° eccentricity is a good predictor of self-reported function overall, and particularly of mobility function. Both the central (0-30°) and peripheral (30-60°) mean threshold are good predictors of self-reported function, but the peripheral (30-0°) field is a slightly better predictor of mobility function, and should not be ignored when considering functional consequences of field loss. The inferior visual field is a slightly stronger predictor of perceived overall and mobility function than the superior field. © 2017 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2017 The College of Optometrists.

Disaster Managers’ Perception of Effective Visual Risk Communication for General Public

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Charriere, M.K.M.; Bogaard, T.A.; Mostert, E.

2012-01-01

Risk communication is one of the measures that should be implemented to increase the awareness and preparedness of the general public in order to attain disaster risk reduction. Among the various forms that can be used in communication campaigns, visualizations are appropriate to disseminate

Learning Program for Enhancing Visual Literacy for Non-Design Students Using a CMS to Share Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Ariga, Taeko; Watanabe, Takashi; Otani, Toshio; Masuzawa, Toshimitsu

2016-01-01

This study proposes a basic learning program for enhancing visual literacy using an original Web content management system (Web CMS) to share students' outcomes in class as a blog post. It seeks to reinforce students' understanding and awareness of the design of visual content. The learning program described in this research focuses on to address…

Public awareness of income-related health inequalities in Ontario, Canada

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Shankardass Ketan

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Continued action is needed to tackle health inequalities in Canada, as those of lower income continue to be at higher risk for a range of negative health outcomes. There is arguably a lack of political will to implement policy change in this respect. As a result, we investigated public awareness of income-related health inequalities in a generally representative sample of Ontarians in late 2010. Methods Data were collected from 2,006 Ontario adults using a telephone survey. The survey asked participants to agree or disagree with various statements asserting that there are or are not health inequalities in general and by income in Ontario, including questions pertaining to nine specific conditions for which inequalities have been described in Ontario. A multi-stage process using binary logistic regression determined whether awareness of health inequalities differed between participant subgroups. Results Almost 73% of this sample of Ontarians agreed with the general premise that not all people are equally healthy in Ontario, but fewer participants were aware of health inequalities between the rich and the poor (53%–64%, depending on the framing of the question. Awareness of income-related inequalities in specific outcomes was considerably lower, ranging from 18% for accidents to 35% for obesity. Conclusions This is the first province-wide study in Canada, and the first in Ontario, to explore public awareness on health inequalities. Given that political will is shaped by public awareness and opinion, these results suggest that greater awareness may be required to move the health equity agenda forward in Ontario. There is a need for health equity advocates, physicians and researchers to increase the effectiveness of knowledge translation activities for studies that identify and explore health inequalities.

Melanoma awareness and prevalence of dermoscopic examination among internet users: a cross-sectional survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grazyna Kaminska-Winciorek

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction : Melanoma presents the greater threat to health the later the disease is detected and treated, although treatment results can be improved by the widespread use of dermoscopy. However, scarce data are available concerning the awareness of dermoscopy and the frequency of its performance in the non-patient population. Aim: To assess the awareness of melanoma detection by dermoscopic examination among the audience of a scientific website. Material and methods : Respondents were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey. They were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed by the authors. The preliminary analysis of 5,154 collected forms and the exclusion of incomplete forms yielded 4,919 fully completed questionnaires; the resulting database was analyzed statistically using logistic regression with the R software program (95% CI. Results: Less than two-fifths (39.2% of respondents reported ever having sought the advice of a medical professional (dermatologist or other specialist, and 25.4% of the respondents had undergone dermoscopy at least once in their life. Furthermore, approximately one-tenth of respondents (10.7% were not aware of this detection tool. The study respondents gained knowledge about dermoscopic examination from television and magazines. The performance of dermoscopy was more increasingly associated with inhabitants of larger locales, the use of higher-SPF sunscreens, and greater awareness of the relationship between the risk of melanoma and sunburn. Conclusions : Awareness of melanoma and sun care varied within the analyzed population. A subset of individuals at high risk of melanoma was identified. This group included those who engaged in risky sun exposure behaviors and who had never been examined by dermoscopy.

Awareness of memory failures and motivation for cognitive training in mild cognitive impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Werheid, Katja; Ziegler, Matthias; Klapper, Annina; Kühl, Klaus-Peter

2010-01-01

Awareness of cognitive deficits is considered to be decisive for the effectiveness of cognitive training in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, it is unclear in what way awareness influences motivation to participate in cognitive training. Thirty-two elderly adults with MCI and 72 controls completed the 5-scale Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ) and a motivation questionnaire. The predictive value of the MFQ scales on motivation was analyzed using regression analysis. In the MCI group, but not in controls, higher perceived frequency of memory failures was associated with a lower motivation score. Our findings indicate that, in MCI, greater awareness of cognitive deficits does not necessarily increase motivation to participate in cognitive trainings, and suggest that success expectancy may be a moderating factor. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Hard Retinal exudates and visual loss due to papilledema

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rush, J.A.

1982-01-01

Bilateral papilledema developed in a patient with a cystic, grade 3 astrocytoma of the right frontal lobe. Despite successful neurosurgical treatment, 60 Co radiotherapy, and oral corticosteroid therapy, progressive visual loss occurred. At examination one year later, visual activity was 20/200 and 20/70, and extensive lipid exudates in the peripapillary retina and central macula of each eye were noted. Retinal lipid exudates rarely complicate the course of surviving patients who had papilledema from intracranial tumor; physicians involved in the multispecialty care of such patients should be aware of the possible ocular residuals of persistent papilledema in an otherwise successfully treated patient

Knowledge of breast density and awareness of related breast cancer risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, Mark A; Duric, Neb; Littrup, Peter; Bey-Knight, Lisa; Penner, Louis; Albrecht, Terrance L

2013-06-01

Little is known about women's knowledge of breast density or between-race differences in this knowledge. In the current study, we examined knowledge of breast density and awareness of its role as a breast cancer risk factor among women who had previously taken part in a breast imaging study. Seventy-seven women (54.5 % Black) returned a survey assessing perceptions and accuracy of breast density knowledge, knowledge of one's own breast density, and breast cancer risk awareness. White women had greater perceived knowledge of breast density compared to Black women; however, differences in the accuracy of definitions of breast density were due to education. Black women were less likely to know how dense their own breasts were. Black and White women both lacked awareness that having dense breast increased breast cancer risk. The results highlight the need to disseminate information regarding breast density to women, while ensuring that the information is equally accessible to both Black and White women.

Mobility scooter driving ability in visually impaired individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordes, Christina; Heutink, Joost; Brookhuis, Karel A; Brouwer, Wiebo H; Melis-Dankers, Bart J M

2018-06-01

To investigate how well visually impaired individuals can learn to use mobility scooters and which parts of the driving task deserve special attention. A mobility scooter driving skill test was developed to compare driving skills (e.g. reverse driving, turning) between 48 visually impaired (very low visual acuity = 14, low visual acuity = 10, peripheral field defects = 11, multiple visual impairments = 13) and 37 normal-sighted controls without any prior experience with mobility scooters. Performance on this test was rated on a three-point scale. Furthermore, the number of extra repetitions on the different elements were noted. Results showed that visually impaired participants were able to gain sufficient driving skills to be able to use mobility scooters. Participants with visual field defects combined with low visual acuity showed most problems learning different skills and needed more training. Reverse driving and stopping seemed to be most difficult. The present findings suggest that visually impaired individuals are able to learn to drive mobility scooters. Mobility scooter allocators should be aware that these individuals might need more training on certain elements of the driving task. Implications for rehabilitation Visual impairments do not necessarily lead to an inability to acquire mobility scooter driving skills. Individuals with peripheral field defects (especially in combination with reduced visual acuity) need more driving ability training compared to normal-sighted people - especially to accomplish reversing. Individual assessment of visually impaired people is recommended, since participants in this study showed a wide variation in ability to learn driving a mobility scooter.

Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder Associated with Abnormal Bodily Self-Awareness? A Study Using the Rubber Hand Illusion

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Ryan A.; Enticott, Peter G.; Hohwy, Jakob; Castle, David J.; Rossell, Susan L.

2014-01-01

Evidence from past research suggests that behaviours and characteristics related to body dissatisfaction may be associated with greater instability of perceptual body image, possibly due to problems in the integration of body-related multisensory information. We investigated whether people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition characterised by body image disturbances, demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which arises as a result of multisensory integration processes when a rubber hand and the participant's hidden real hand are stimulated in synchrony. Overall, differences in RHI experience between the BDD group and healthy and schizophrenia control groups (n = 17 in each) were not significant. RHI strength, however, was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and related tendencies. For the healthy control group, proprioceptive drift towards the rubber hand was observed following synchronous but not asynchronous stimulation, a typical pattern when inducing the RHI. Similar drifts in proprioceptive awareness occurred for the BDD group irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or not. These results are discussed in terms of possible abnormalities in visual processing and multisensory integration among people with BDD. PMID:24925079

Is body dysmorphic disorder associated with abnormal bodily self-awareness? A study using the rubber hand illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Ryan A; Enticott, Peter G; Hohwy, Jakob; Castle, David J; Rossell, Susan L

2014-01-01

Evidence from past research suggests that behaviours and characteristics related to body dissatisfaction may be associated with greater instability of perceptual body image, possibly due to problems in the integration of body-related multisensory information. We investigated whether people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition characterised by body image disturbances, demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which arises as a result of multisensory integration processes when a rubber hand and the participant's hidden real hand are stimulated in synchrony. Overall, differences in RHI experience between the BDD group and healthy and schizophrenia control groups (n = 17 in each) were not significant. RHI strength, however, was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and related tendencies. For the healthy control group, proprioceptive drift towards the rubber hand was observed following synchronous but not asynchronous stimulation, a typical pattern when inducing the RHI. Similar drifts in proprioceptive awareness occurred for the BDD group irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or not. These results are discussed in terms of possible abnormalities in visual processing and multisensory integration among people with BDD.

Foundations for self-awareness: An exploration through autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobson, Peter R; Chidambi, Gayathri; Lee, Anthony; Meyer, Jessica

2006-01-01

Developmental psychopathology holds promise for elucidating the structure of self-awareness. Here we studied social emotions in matched groups of children and adolescents with and without autism. Our aims were to determine whether there are potentially dissociable aspects of self-awareness, and to reconsider how the qualities of young children's engagement with other persons influences the development of their sense of self. Parent interviews yielded evidence that children with autism are limited in social-relational and emotional domains of self-awareness; for example, few were reported to show guilt, embarrassment, or shame. Yet according to parent report, most were affected by the moods of others, showed some degree of pity and concern, and manifested jealousy. When presented with videotaped scenes, participants with autism were similar to those without autism in identifying pride, guilt, and shame, and they were able to describe their own experiences of pride and, more rarely, guilt. In situations designed to elicit emotions, participants with autism were rated as showing pride, but they manifested lesser degrees and atypical qualities of guilt and coyness. Relatively few showed personal forms of self-consciousness when asked to pose for a photograph. We argue that in order for children to achieve depth in self-awareness, and to relate to themselves as occupying a distinctive stance within a framework of mutual self-other relatedness, they need to identify with the attitudes of other people. We interpret the present studies in terms of dissociations among three forms of social emotion: "person-centered" qualities of relational self-awareness that require identification and are specifically limited among children with autism, more diffuse modes of relational self-consciousness, and a third group of social emotions, epitomized by jealousy, situated in a separate developmental line. We propose a rebalancing of emotion theory that gives greater prominence to

Awareness and knowledge of osteoporosis in Vietnamese women.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Nguyen V; Dinh, Tri A; Ngo, Quang V; Tran, Vinh D; Breitkopf, Carmen Radecki

2015-03-01

Vietnamese women are at particular risk of osteoporosis and its complications. This study examined osteoporosis knowledge and awareness among Vietnamese women who have accessed health care. A sample of 217 women, 13 to 76 years of age, who were attending 1 of 2 health care facilities in Da Nang, Vietnam, between November and December 2009 completed a questionnaire assessing their awareness of osteoporosis and measuring their knowledge using a 30-item instrument reflecting 9 knowledge domains (eg, risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis). A majority (81.6%) of the women had heard of osteoporosis. Awareness was associated with education, working in health care, and having a family member with osteoporosis. On average, Vietnamese women answered 49% of the knowledge questions correctly; scores ranged from 0 to 26 questions correct out of 30 (mean = 14.71 ± 5.2, median = 15). Mean knowledge scores were higher among those reporting a family member with osteoporosis, nurses (vs other vocations), and women with a high school education or greater (relative to those who had not completed high school). More than 90% of the women expressed interest in a prevention and treatment program. Vietnamese women may have heard of osteoporosis, yet they would benefit from education targeting prevention and treatment of the disease. © 2011 APJPH.

From sensation to perception: Using multivariate classification of visual illusions to identify neural correlates of conscious awareness in space and time.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogendoorn, Hinze

2015-01-01

An important goal of cognitive neuroscience is understanding the neural underpinnings of conscious awareness. Although the low-level processing of sensory input is well understood in most modalities, it remains a challenge to understand how the brain translates such input into conscious awareness. Here, I argue that the application of multivariate pattern classification techniques to neuroimaging data acquired while observers experience perceptual illusions provides a unique way to dissociate sensory mechanisms from mechanisms underlying conscious awareness. Using this approach, it is possible to directly compare patterns of neural activity that correspond to the contents of awareness, independent from changes in sensory input, and to track these neural representations over time at high temporal resolution. I highlight five recent studies using this approach, and provide practical considerations and limitations for future implementations.

Research in Architectural Education: Theory and Practice of Visual Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristin Jones

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Today, the significance of vision is often considered from multiple points of view including perceptual, cognitive, imaginative, historical, technical, ethical, cultural, and critical perspectives.  Visual Studies, Visual Communication and Visual Design are popular courses of study.  This paper brings to light a course in architectural education called Visual Training which aims to sharpen visual perception and enhance aesthetic judgment. The paper articulates the pedagogy of Visual Training linking the 78-year old practice with educational theory.  It describes the course structure, the conduct of the exercises and interpretation of course outcomes to inform teaching practice.  The discussion shows how Visual Training addresses enduring pedagogical concerns and establishes the grounds for architectural critique. The paper raises awareness of the role of vision in architectural education and brings attention to a program for developing the eye which acknowledges a connection between the sensory and the intellectual realms.  Looking at the grounds and potential of Visual Training in architectural education raises important questions about pedagogy in architecture that may stimulate further discussion and cause a rethinking of not only the importance of training the eye, but also the significance of the methods we use.

Learner-to-learner visual acuity screening: A solution for early ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The National School Health Policy guidelines (2002) stipulate that primary school learners should have their vision, speech, hearing, mental health, teeth, ... This project created greater awareness among learners, parents and teachers ...

Reconfigurable Auditory-Visual Display

Science.gov (United States)

Begault, Durand R. (Inventor); Anderson, Mark R. (Inventor); McClain, Bryan (Inventor); Miller, Joel D. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

System and method for visual and audible communication between a central operator and N mobile communicators (N greater than or equal to 2), including an operator transceiver and interface, configured to receive and display, for the operator, visually perceptible and audibly perceptible signals from each of the mobile communicators. The interface (1) presents an audible signal from each communicator as if the audible signal is received from a different location relative to the operator and (2) allows the operator to select, to assign priority to, and to display, the visual signals and the audible signals received from a specified communicator. Each communicator has an associated signal transmitter that is configured to transmit at least one of the visual signals and the audio signal associated with the communicator, where at least one of the signal transmitters includes at least one sensor that senses and transmits a sensor value representing a selected environmental or physiological parameter associated with the communicator.

GeoViQua: quality-aware geospatial data discovery and evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Bigagli, L.; Papeschi, F.; Mazzetti, P.; Nativi, S.

2012-04-01

GeoViQua (QUAlity aware VIsualization for the Global Earth Observation System of Systems) is a recently started FP7 project aiming at complementing the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) with rigorous data quality specifications and quality-aware capabilities, in order to improve reliability in scientific studies and policy decision-making. GeoViQua main scientific and technical objective is to enhance the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) providing the user community with innovative quality-aware search and evaluation tools, which will be integrated in the GEO-Portal, as well as made available to other end-user interfaces. To this end, GeoViQua will promote the extension of the current standard metadata for geographic information with accurate and expressive quality indicators, also contributing to the definition of a quality label (GEOLabel). GeoViQua proposed solutions will be assessed in several pilot case studies covering the whole Earth Observation chain, from remote sensing acquisition to data processing, to applications in the main GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas. This work presents the preliminary results of GeoViQua Work Package 4 "Enhanced geo-search tools" (WP4), started in January 2012. Its major anticipated technical innovations are search and evaluation tools that communicate and exploit data quality information from the GCI. In particular, GeoViQua will investigate a graphical search interface featuring a coherent and meaningful aggregation of statistics and metadata summaries (e.g. in the form of tables, charts), thus enabling end users to leverage quality constraints for data discovery and evaluation. Preparatory work on WP4 requirements indicated that users need the "best" data for their purpose, implying a high degree of subjectivity in judgment. This suggests that the GeoViQua system should exploit a combination of provider-generated metadata (objective indicators such as summary statistics), system-generated metadata (contextual

Individual differences in emotional processing and autobiographical memory: interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in the fading affect bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Muir, Kate; Madill, Anna; Brown, Charity

2017-11-01

The capacity to perceive internal bodily states is linked to emotional awareness and effective emotional regulation. We explore individual differences in emotional awareness in relation to the fading affect bias (FAB), which refers to the greater dwindling of unpleasant compared to pleasant emotions in autobiographical memory. We consider interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in relation to the FAB, and private event rehearsal as a mediating process. With increasing interoceptive awareness, there was an enhanced FAB, but with increasing alexithymia, there was a decreased FAB. Further, the effects of interoceptive awareness were partially mediated by private rehearsal of pleasant events. We provide novel evidence that capacity for emotional awareness and thus effective processing is an important factor predictive of the FAB. Moreover, our results imply an important role for maintaining positive affect in the FAB. Our findings offer new insights into the effects of interoception and alexithymia on autobiographical memory, and support concepts of the FAB emerging as a result of adaptive emotional regulation processes.

Integrated situational awareness for cyber attack detection, analysis, and mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Yi; Sagduyu, Yalin; Deng, Julia; Li, Jason; Liu, Peng

2012-06-01

Real-time cyberspace situational awareness is critical for securing and protecting today's enterprise networks from various cyber threats. When a security incident occurs, network administrators and security analysts need to know what exactly has happened in the network, why it happened, and what actions or countermeasures should be taken to quickly mitigate the potential impacts. In this paper, we propose an integrated cyberspace situational awareness system for efficient cyber attack detection, analysis and mitigation in large-scale enterprise networks. Essentially, a cyberspace common operational picture will be developed, which is a multi-layer graphical model and can efficiently capture and represent the statuses, relationships, and interdependencies of various entities and elements within and among different levels of a network. Once shared among authorized users, this cyberspace common operational picture can provide an integrated view of the logical, physical, and cyber domains, and a unique visualization of disparate data sets to support decision makers. In addition, advanced analyses, such as Bayesian Network analysis, will be explored to address the information uncertainty, dynamic and complex cyber attack detection, and optimal impact mitigation issues. All the developed technologies will be further integrated into an automatic software toolkit to achieve near real-time cyberspace situational awareness and impact mitigation in large-scale computer networks.

Large-Scale Context-Aware Volume Navigation using Dynamic Insets

KAUST Repository

Al-Awami, Ali

2012-07-01

Latest developments in electron microscopy (EM) technology produce high resolution images that enable neuro-scientists to identify and put together the complex neural connections in a nervous system. However, because of the massive size and underlying complexity of this kind of data, processing, navigation and analysis suffer drastically in terms of time and effort. In this work, we propose the use of state-of- the-art navigation techniques, such as dynamic insets, built on a peta-scale volume visualization framework to provide focus and context-awareness to help neuro-scientists in their mission to analyze, reconstruct, navigate and explore EM neuroscience data.

White Awareness: The Frontier of Racism Awareness Training

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Judy H.; Ivey, Allen

1977-01-01

This article's purpose is to make white professional helpers aware of how racism undermines the helping field and to demonstrate how racism affects white people. A systematic training program for white people that develops an awareness of the masking effect of racism and develops interventions for changes is presented. (Author)

Sensitivity to the visual field origin of natural image patches in human low-level visual cortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damien J. Mannion

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Asymmetries in the response to visual patterns in the upper and lower visual fields (above and below the centre of gaze have been associated with ecological factors relating to the structure of typical visual environments. Here, we investigated whether the content of the upper and lower visual field representations in low-level regions of human visual cortex are specialised for visual patterns that arise from the upper and lower visual fields in natural images. We presented image patches, drawn from above or below the centre of gaze of an observer navigating a natural environment, to either the upper or lower visual fields of human participants (n = 7 while we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to measure the magnitude of evoked activity in the visual areas V1, V2, and V3. We found a significant interaction between the presentation location (upper or lower visual field and the image patch source location (above or below fixation; the responses to lower visual field presentation were significantly greater for image patches sourced from below than above fixation, while the responses in the upper visual field were not significantly different for image patches sourced from above and below fixation. This finding demonstrates an association between the representation of the lower visual field in human visual cortex and the structure of the visual input that is likely to be encountered below the centre of gaze.

Regulating the Access to Awareness: Brain Activity Related to Probe-related and Spontaneous Reversals in Binocular Rivalry.

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, Brian A; Mathewson, Kyle E; Tapia, Evelina; Fabiani, Monica; Gratton, Gabriele; Beck, Diane M

2017-06-01

Research on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) has implicated an assortment of brain regions, ERP components, and network properties associated with visual awareness. Recently, the P3b ERP component has emerged as a leading NCC candidate. However, typical P3b paradigms depend on the detection of some stimulus change, making it difficult to separate brain processes elicited by the stimulus itself from those associated with updates or changes in visual awareness. Here we used binocular rivalry to ask whether the P3b is associated with changes in awareness even in the absence of changes in the object of awareness. We recorded ERPs during a probe-mediated binocular rivalry paradigm in which brief probes were presented over the image in either the suppressed or dominant eye to determine whether the elicited P3b activity is probe or reversal related. We found that the timing of P3b (but not its amplitude) was closely related to the timing of the report of a perceptual change rather than to the onset of the probe. This is consistent with the proposal that P3b indexes updates in conscious awareness, rather than being related to stimulus processing per se. Conversely, the probe-related P1 amplitude (but not its latency) was associated with reversal latency, suggesting that the degree to which the probe is processed increases the likelihood of a fast perceptual reversal. Finally, the response-locked P3b amplitude (but not its latency) was associated with the duration of an intermediate stage between reversals in which parts of both percepts coexist (piecemeal period). Together, the data suggest that the P3b reflects an update in consciousness and that the intensity of that process (as indexed by P3b amplitude) predicts how immediate that update is.

Users’ perception of visual design and usefulness of a web-based educational tool

OpenAIRE

Sánchez Franco, Manuel Jesús; Villarejo Ramos, Ángel Francisco; Peral Peral, Begoña; Buitrago Esquinas, Eva María; Roldán Salgueiro, José Luis

2012-01-01

Our research has become increasingly aware of the relevance of visual design in understanding learners’ attitudes towards the use of virtual tools. Likewise, perceived usefulness is an essential antecedent of the cumulative impressions of and preferences for them. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the main effects of visual design and usefulness on learning and productivity in the domain of web-based educational tools. A Structural Equation Modelling, specifically Partial Lea...

Visual short-term memory load suppresses temporo-parietal junction activity and induces inattentional blindness.

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, J Jay; Fougnie, Daryl; Marois, René

2005-12-01

The right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is critical for stimulus-driven attention and visual awareness. Here we show that as the visual short-term memory (VSTM) load of a task increases, activity in this region is increasingly suppressed. Correspondingly, increasing VSTM load impairs the ability of subjects to consciously detect the presence of a novel, unexpected object in the visual field. These results not only demonstrate that VSTM load suppresses TPJ activity and induces inattentional blindness, but also offer a plausible neural mechanism for this perceptual deficit: suppression of the stimulus-driven attentional network.

Green Open Space: Awareness for Health or Sustainability?

Science.gov (United States)

Dewi, O. C.; Chairunnisa, I.; Hidayat, T.; Anggraini, M.; Napitupulu, A.

2018-03-01

Universitas Indonesia in cooperation with American Red Cross and Indonesian Red Cross have been assisting green open space revitalisation program in 7 locations in Bogor Regency (2016-2017). The program was held under The Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Greater Jakarta Project; an initiative program from American Red Cross Indonesia. This project was not only improving the existing green open space quality, but also creating one adapted from public land. The revitalization project figures what happened on daily basis on the existing land, proposing new programming facilities, community-based construction, monitoring and handing over. This paper discovers the meaning of a green space for the community, whether the community aware of its benefit on human health or environmental sustainability. The research question is does the community aware of green open space benefit for human health or environmental sustainability? Or both? The original data from the community was gathered and grouped based on its relevance with environmental quality and public health.

Awareness of Central Luminance Edge is Crucial for the Craik-O'Brien-Cornsweet Effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Masuda, Ayako; Watanabe, Junji; Terao, Masahiko; Watanabe, Masataka; Yagi, Akihiro; Maruya, Kazushi

2011-01-01

The Craik-O'Brien-Cornsweet (COC) effect demonstrates that perceived lightness depends not only on the retinal input at corresponding visual areas but also on distal retinal inputs. In the COC effect, the central edge of an opposing pair of luminance gradients (COC edge) makes adjoining regions with identical luminance appear to be different. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of the effect, we examined whether the subjective awareness of the COC edge is necessary for the generation of the effect. We manipulated the visibility of the COC edge using visual backward masking and continuous flash suppression while monitoring subjective reports regarding online percepts and aftereffects of adaptation. Psychophysical results showed that the online percept of the COC effect nearly vanishes in conditions where the COC edge is rendered invisible. On the other hand, the results of adaptation experiments showed that the COC edge is still processed at the early stage even under the perceptual suppression. These results suggest that processing of the COC edge at the early stage is not sufficient for generating the COC effect, and that subjective awareness of the COC edge is necessary.

Visual dependence and spatial orientation in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, Maitreyi A; Mulavara, Ajitkumar P; Bloomberg, Jacob J; Sangi-Haghpeykar, Haleh; Cohen, Helen S

2018-01-01

People with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) probably have otoconial particles displaced from the utricle into the posterior semicircular canal. This unilateral change in the inertial load distributions of the labyrinth may result in visual dependence and may affect balance control. The goal of this study was to explore the interaction between visual dependence and balance control. We compared 23 healthy controls to 17 people with unilateral BPPV on the Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance on compliant foam with feet together, the Rod-and-Frame Test and a Mental Rotation Test. In controls, but not BPPV subjects, subjects with poor balance scores had significantly greater visual dependence, indicating that reliance on visual cues can affect balance control. BPPV and control subjects did not differ on the mental rotation task overall but BPPV reaction time was greater at greater orietantions, suggesting that this cognitive function was affected by BPPV. The side of impairment was strongly related to the side of perceived bias in the Earth vertical determined by BPPV subjects, indicating the relationship between the effect of asymmetric otolith unloading with simultaneous canal loading on spatial orientation perception.

Visual fatigue while watching 3D stimuli from different positions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Antonio Aznar-Casanova

2017-07-01

Conclusion: This results support a mixed model, combining a model based on the visual angle (related to viewing distance and another based on the oculomotor imbalance (related to visual direction. This mixed model could help to predict the distribution of seats in the cinema room ranging from those that produce greater visual comfort to those that produce more visual discomfort. Also could be a first step to pre-diagnosis of binocular vision disorders.

Awareness in Gestalt sex therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosher, D L

1979-01-01

Awareness is conceived to be selective, curative, a method, a prescription for ideal living, and a ground for human existence. In this paper the following gestalt awareness methods are described: continuum of awareness, awareness questions, biobehavioral feedback, directed awareness, concentration, present-centering, taking responsibilty, and shuttles in awareness. The use of these methods is illustrated in a gestalt therapy dialogue. The application of awareness as concept and method to sensate focus and to the treatment of the prematurely ejaculating male is discussed. Shuttles in awareness and the shared continua of awareness are introduced as promising new methods in the treatment of sexual dysfunction and as enhancing sexual pleasure and communion.

An atypical presentation of visual conversion disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Foutch, Brian K

2015-01-01

Nonorganic vision loss accounts for up to 5% of patients and presents in two forms, malingering and visual conversion disorder (VCD). It is described a case of VCD in a new mother struggling both with her husband being deployed overseas and the recent death of her father. In addition, she had been evaluated for a concussion secondary to a motor vehicle accident three months prior. An inexpensive series of clinical tests were performed to rule out organic disease and obtained equivocal results. Some tests revealed intact vision in the affected eye while others supported a neurological cause for the vision loss. However, the patient quickly recovered normal visual acuity when encouraged to discuss situations that have been causing emotional stress. This almost immediate recovery of vision confirmed the diagnosis of VCD. This report should make primary eye care professionals more aware of visual conversion disorder and its clinical evaluation. Copyright © 2014 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Is that disgust I see? Political ideology and biased visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Oosterhoff, Benjamin; Shook, Natalie J; Ford, Cameron

2018-01-15

Considerable evidence suggests that political liberals and conservatives vary in the way they process and respond to valenced (i.e., negative versus positive) information, with conservatives generally displaying greater negativity biases than liberals. Less is known about whether liberals and conservatives differentially prioritize certain forms of negative information over others. Across two studies using eye-tracking methodology, we examined differences in visual attention to negative scenes and facial expressions based on self-reported political ideology. In Study 1, scenes rated high in fear, disgust, sadness, and neutrality were presented simultaneously. Greater endorsement of socially conservative political attitudes was associated with less attentional engagement (i.e., lower dwell time) of disgust scenes and more attentional engagement toward neutral scenes. Socially conservative political attitudes were not significantly associated with visual attention to fear or sad scenes. In Study 2, images depicting facial expressions of fear, disgust, sadness, and neutrality were presented simultaneously. Greater endorsement of socially conservative political attitudes was associated with greater attentional engagement with facial expressions depicting disgust and less attentional engagement toward neutral faces. Visual attention to fearful or sad faces was not related to social conservatism. Endorsement of economically conservative political attitudes was not consistently associated with biases in visual attention across both studies. These findings support disease-avoidance models and suggest that social conservatism may be rooted within a greater sensitivity to disgust-related information. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional MRI of the visual cortex and visual testing in patients with previous optic neuritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langkilde, Annika Reynberg; Frederiksen, J.L.; Rostrup, Egill

2002-01-01

of the activated area and the signal change following ON, and compared the results with results of neuroophthalmological testing. We studied nine patients with previous acute ON and 10 healthy persons served as controls using fMRI with visual stimulation. In addition to a reduced activated volume, patients showed...... a reduced blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal increase and a greater asymmetry in the visual cortex, compared with controls. The volume of visual cortical activation was significantly correlated to the result of the contrast sensitivity test. The BOLD signal increase correlated significantly......The volume of cortical activation as detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the visual cortex has previously been shown to be reduced following optic neuritis (ON). In order to understand the cause of this change, we studied the cortical activation, both the size...

Coordinated computer-supported collaborative learning: Awareness and awareness tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssen, J.J.H.M.; Bodermer, D.

2013-01-01

Traditionally, research on awareness during online collaboration focused on topics such as the effects of spatial information about group members’ activities on the collaborative process. When the concept of awareness was introduced to computer-supported collaborative learning, this focus shifted to

Music Therapy in the Treatment of Social Isolation in Visually Impaired Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Gourgey, Charles

1998-01-01

Reviews the literature on the use of music therapy with visually impaired and socially isolated children. Describes ways that music therapy can help the child explore his environment, modify blindisms (stereotypic, autistic-like behaviors), and encourage social awareness and interaction with other children. (DB)

From sensation to perception: : Using multivariate classification of visual illusions to identify neural correlates of conscious awareness in space and time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogendoorn, Hinze

2015-01-01

An important goal of cognitive neuroscience is understanding the neural underpinnings of conscious awareness. Although the low-level processing of sensory input is well understood in most modalities, it remains a challenge to understand how the brain translates such input into conscious awareness.

Route Descriptions : The Role of Intersection Type and Visual Clutter for Spatial Reference

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baltaretu, A.A.; Krahmer, E.J.; Maes, Alfons

2014-01-01

New technological advances (e.g., Google Glasses) enable context aware pedestrian navigation systems to generate instructions making use of all (variable and stable) environmental information. We know little about how the visual surroundings influence the turn-by-turn production of pedestrian

The Significance of Consumer’s Awareness about Organic Food Products in the United Arab Emirates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safdar Muhummad

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Awareness about negative externalities generated by conventional farming is gaining momentum with consumers around the world, opting for alternatively, namely organically, produced food products. Information about consumers’ awareness is an essential element for farmers and marketing agencies to successfully plan production that can capture a greater market share. This study discusses effective factors influencing consumers’ awareness about the benefits of organic food in the United Arab Emirates. Sample data and ordinary least square (OLS regression techniques are applied to delineate factors influencing consumers’ awareness about organic food. The results from this regression analysis highlight the importance of specific socioeconomic determinants that change awareness about organic food products in United Arab Emirates (UAE households. This study finds that awareness about organic food is influenced more effective factors such as gender, nationality, and education as well as income, occupation and age. These research findings apply to other economies and societies that have an increasing per capita spending on organic food, but also where people are highly sensitive to information provided about organic food. Therefore, these results are important to these research beneficiaries including food marketing planners, researchers, and agricultural and food policy makers.

Audio-Visual and Meaningful Semantic Context Enhancements in Older and Younger Adults.

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Kirsten E Smayda

Full Text Available Speech perception is critical to everyday life. Oftentimes noise can degrade a speech signal; however, because of the cues available to the listener, such as visual and semantic cues, noise rarely prevents conversations from continuing. The interaction of visual and semantic cues in aiding speech perception has been studied in young adults, but the extent to which these two cues interact for older adults has not been studied. To investigate the effect of visual and semantic cues on speech perception in older and younger adults, we recruited forty-five young adults (ages 18-35 and thirty-three older adults (ages 60-90 to participate in a speech perception task. Participants were presented with semantically meaningful and anomalous sentences in audio-only and audio-visual conditions. We hypothesized that young adults would outperform older adults across SNRs, modalities, and semantic contexts. In addition, we hypothesized that both young and older adults would receive a greater benefit from a semantically meaningful context in the audio-visual relative to audio-only modality. We predicted that young adults would receive greater visual benefit in semantically meaningful contexts relative to anomalous contexts. However, we predicted that older adults could receive a greater visual benefit in either semantically meaningful or anomalous contexts. Results suggested that in the most supportive context, that is, semantically meaningful sentences presented in the audiovisual modality, older adults performed similarly to young adults. In addition, both groups received the same amount of visual and meaningful benefit. Lastly, across groups, a semantically meaningful context provided more benefit in the audio-visual modality relative to the audio-only modality, and the presence of visual cues provided more benefit in semantically meaningful contexts relative to anomalous contexts. These results suggest that older adults can perceive speech as well as younger

Visual spatial attention enhances the amplitude of positive and negative fMRI responses to visual stimulation in an eccentricity-dependent manner

Science.gov (United States)

Bressler, David W.; Fortenbaugh, Francesca C.; Robertson, Lynn C.; Silver, Michael A.

2013-01-01

Endogenous visual spatial attention improves perception and enhances neural responses to visual stimuli at attended locations. Although many aspects of visual processing differ significantly between central and peripheral vision, little is known regarding the neural substrates of the eccentricity dependence of spatial attention effects. We measured amplitudes of positive and negative fMRI responses to visual stimuli as a function of eccentricity in a large number of topographically-organized cortical areas. Responses to each stimulus were obtained when the stimulus was attended and when spatial attention was directed to a stimulus in the opposite visual hemifield. Attending to the stimulus increased both positive and negative response amplitudes in all cortical areas we studied: V1, V2, V3, hV4, VO1, LO1, LO2, V3A/B, IPS0, TO1, and TO2. However, the eccentricity dependence of these effects differed considerably across cortical areas. In early visual, ventral, and lateral occipital cortex, attentional enhancement of positive responses was greater for central compared to peripheral eccentricities. The opposite pattern was observed in dorsal stream areas IPS0 and putative MT homolog TO1, where attentional enhancement of positive responses was greater in the periphery. Both the magnitude and the eccentricity dependence of attentional modulation of negative fMRI responses closely mirrored that of positive responses across cortical areas. PMID:23562388

Identification of Barriers to Stroke Awareness and Risk Factor Management Unique to Hispanics

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Marina Martinez

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Barriers to risk factor control may differ by race/ethnicity. The goal of this study was to identify barriers to stroke awareness and risk factor management unique to Hispanics as compared to non-Hispanic whites (NHWs. We performed a prospective study of stroke patients from an academic Stroke Center in Arizona and surveyed members of the general community. Questionnaires included: the Duke Social Support Index (DSSI, the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC Scale, a stroke barriers questionnaire, and a Stroke Awareness Test. Of 145 stroke patients surveyed (72 Hispanic; 73 NHW, Hispanics scored lower on the Stroke Awareness Test compared to NHWs (72.5% vs. 79.1%, p = 0.029. Hispanic stroke patients also reported greater barriers related to medical knowledge, medication adherence, and healthcare access (p < 0.05 for all. Hispanics scored higher on the “powerful others” sub-scale (11.3 vs. 10, p < 0.05 of the MHLC. Of 177 members of the general public surveyed, Hispanics had lower stroke awareness compared to NHWs and tended to have lower awareness than Hispanic stroke patients. These results suggest that Hispanic stroke patients perceive less control over their health, experience more healthcare barriers, and demonstrate lower rates of stroke literacy. Interventions for stroke prevention and education in Hispanics should address these racial/ethnic differences in stroke awareness and barriers to risk factor control.

Users’ perception of visual aesthetics and usefulness of a web-based educational tool

OpenAIRE

Sánchez Franco, Manuel Jesús; Villarejo Ramos, Ángel Francisco; Peral Peral, Begoña; Buitrago Esquinas, Eva María; Roldán Salgueiro, José Luis

2013-01-01

As a result of our research we have become increasingly aware of the relevance of visual design in understanding learners’ attitudes towards the use of virtual tools. Likewise, perceived usefulness is an essential antecedent of the cumulative impressions of, and preferences for, such tools. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the main effects of visual design and usefulness on learning and productivity in the domain of web-based educational tools. Structural Equation M...

Consideration of the effect for enhancing the disaster prevention awareness by visualization of the tsunami lore

Science.gov (United States)

Chiharu, M.

2017-12-01

One effective measure for enhancing the residents' disaster prevention awareness is to know the natural hazard which has occurred in the past at residence. Mie Disaster Mitigation Center had released the digital archive for promoting an understanding of disaster prevention on April 28, 2015. This archive is recording the past disaster information as digital catalog. An effective contribution to enhancement of the inhabitants' disaster prevention awareness is expected. It includes the following contents (1) The interview with disaster victim (the 1944 Tonankai Earthquake, The Ise Bay Typhoon and so on) (2) The information on "monument of Tsunami" (3) The description of disaster on the local history material (the school history books, municipal history books, and so on). These contents are being dropped on a map and it is being shown clearly geographically. For all age groups, this way makes it easy to understand that the past disaster information relates to their residence address.

Action without awareness: reaching to an object you do not remember seeing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Heath

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Previous work by our group has shown that the scaling of reach trajectories to target size is independent of obligatory awareness of that target property and that "action without awareness" can persist for up to 2000 ms of visual delay. In the present investigation we sought to determine if the ability to scale reaching trajectories to target size following a delay is related to the pre-computing of movement parameters during initial stimulus presentation or the maintenance of a sensory (i.e., visual representation for on-demand response parameterization. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants completed immediate or delayed (i.e., 2000 ms perceptual reports and reaching responses to different sized targets under non-masked and masked target conditions. For the reaching task, the limb associated with a trial (i.e., left or right was not specified until the time of response cuing: a manipulation that prevented participants from pre-computing the effector-related parameters of their response. In terms of the immediate and delayed perceptual tasks, target size was accurately reported during non-masked trials; however, for masked trials only a chance level of accuracy was observed. For the immediate and delayed reaching tasks, movement time as well as other temporal kinematic measures (e.g., times to peak acceleration, velocity and deceleration increased in relation to decreasing target size across non-masked and masked trials. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that speed-accuracy relations were observed regardless of whether participants were aware (i.e., non-masked trials or unaware (i.e., masked trials of target size. Moreover, the equivalent scaling of immediate and delayed reaches during masked trials indicates that a persistent sensory-based representation supports the unconscious and metrical scaling of memory-guided reaching.

Exclusively visual analysis of classroom group interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Laura; Scherr, Rachel E.; Zickler, Todd; Mazur, Eric

2016-12-01

Large-scale audiovisual data that measure group learning are time consuming to collect and analyze. As an initial step towards scaling qualitative classroom observation, we qualitatively coded classroom video using an established coding scheme with and without its audio cues. We find that interrater reliability is as high when using visual data only—without audio—as when using both visual and audio data to code. Also, interrater reliability is high when comparing use of visual and audio data to visual-only data. We see a small bias to code interactions as group discussion when visual and audio data are used compared with video-only data. This work establishes that meaningful educational observation can be made through visual information alone. Further, it suggests that after initial work to create a coding scheme and validate it in each environment, computer-automated visual coding could drastically increase the breadth of qualitative studies and allow for meaningful educational analysis on a far greater scale.

Exclusively visual analysis of classroom group interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Tucker

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Large-scale audiovisual data that measure group learning are time consuming to collect and analyze. As an initial step towards scaling qualitative classroom observation, we qualitatively coded classroom video using an established coding scheme with and without its audio cues. We find that interrater reliability is as high when using visual data only—without audio—as when using both visual and audio data to code. Also, interrater reliability is high when comparing use of visual and audio data to visual-only data. We see a small bias to code interactions as group discussion when visual and audio data are used compared with video-only data. This work establishes that meaningful educational observation can be made through visual information alone. Further, it suggests that after initial work to create a coding scheme and validate it in each environment, computer-automated visual coding could drastically increase the breadth of qualitative studies and allow for meaningful educational analysis on a far greater scale.

Women's greater ability to perceive happy facial emotion automatically: gender differences in affective priming.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uta-Susan Donges

Full Text Available There is evidence that women are better in recognizing their own and others' emotions. The female advantage in emotion recognition becomes even more apparent under conditions of rapid stimulus presentation. Affective priming paradigms have been developed to examine empirically whether facial emotion stimuli presented outside of conscious awareness color our impressions. It was observed that masked emotional facial expression has an affect congruent influence on subsequent judgments of neutral stimuli. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of gender on affective priming based on negative and positive facial expression. In our priming experiment sad, happy, neutral, or no facial expression was briefly presented (for 33 ms and masked by neutral faces which had to be evaluated. 81 young healthy volunteers (53 women participated in the study. Subjects had no subjective awareness of emotional primes. Women did not differ from men with regard to age, education, intelligence, trait anxiety, or depressivity. In the whole sample, happy but not sad facial expression elicited valence congruent affective priming. Between-group analyses revealed that women manifested greater affective priming due to happy faces than men. Women seem to have a greater ability to perceive and respond to positive facial emotion at an automatic processing level compared to men. High perceptual sensitivity to minimal social-affective signals may contribute to women's advantage in understanding other persons' emotional states.

Women's greater ability to perceive happy facial emotion automatically: gender differences in affective priming.

Science.gov (United States)

Donges, Uta-Susan; Kersting, Anette; Suslow, Thomas

2012-01-01

There is evidence that women are better in recognizing their own and others' emotions. The female advantage in emotion recognition becomes even more apparent under conditions of rapid stimulus presentation. Affective priming paradigms have been developed to examine empirically whether facial emotion stimuli presented outside of conscious awareness color our impressions. It was observed that masked emotional facial expression has an affect congruent influence on subsequent judgments of neutral stimuli. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of gender on affective priming based on negative and positive facial expression. In our priming experiment sad, happy, neutral, or no facial expression was briefly presented (for 33 ms) and masked by neutral faces which had to be evaluated. 81 young healthy volunteers (53 women) participated in the study. Subjects had no subjective awareness of emotional primes. Women did not differ from men with regard to age, education, intelligence, trait anxiety, or depressivity. In the whole sample, happy but not sad facial expression elicited valence congruent affective priming. Between-group analyses revealed that women manifested greater affective priming due to happy faces than men. Women seem to have a greater ability to perceive and respond to positive facial emotion at an automatic processing level compared to men. High perceptual sensitivity to minimal social-affective signals may contribute to women's advantage in understanding other persons' emotional states.

The Ultra-scale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools (UV-CDAT): Data Analysis and Visualization for Geoscience Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Dean [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Doutriaux, Charles [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Patchett, John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Williams, Sean [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Shipman, Galen [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Miller, Ross [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Steed, Chad [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Krishnan, Harinarayan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Silva, Claudio [NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, New York, NY (United States); Chaudhary, Aashish [Kitware, Inc., Clifton Park, NY (United States); Bremer, Peer-Timo [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Pugmire, David [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bethel, E. Wes [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Childs, Hank [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Prabhat, Mr. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Geveci, Berk [Kitware, Inc., Clifton Park, NY (United States); Bauer, Andrew [Kitware, Inc., Clifton Park, NY (United States); Pletzer, Alexander [Tech-X Corp., Boulder, CO (United States); Poco, Jorge [NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, New York, NY (United States); Ellqvist, Tommy [NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, New York, NY (United States); Santos, Emanuele [Federal Univ. of Ceara, Fortaleza (Brazil); Potter, Gerald [NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Smith, Brian [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Maxwell, Thomas [NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Kindig, David [Tech-X Corp., Boulder, CO (United States); Koop, David [NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, New York, NY (United States)

2013-05-01

To support interactive visualization and analysis of complex, large-scale climate data sets, UV-CDAT integrates a powerful set of scientific computing libraries and applications to foster more efficient knowledge discovery. Connected through a provenance framework, the UV-CDAT components can be loosely coupled for fast integration or tightly coupled for greater functionality and communication with other components. This framework addresses many challenges in the interactive visual analysis of distributed large-scale data for the climate community.

Visual field impairment captures disease burden in multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Perez, Santiago; Andorra, Magí; Sanchez-Dalmau, Bernardo; Torres-Torres, Rubén; Calbet, David; Lampert, Erika J; Alba-Arbalat, Salut; Guerrero-Zamora, Ana M; Zubizarreta, Irati; Sola-Valls, Nuria; Llufriu, Sara; Sepúlveda, María; Saiz, Albert; Villoslada, Pablo; Martinez-Lapiscina, Elena H

2016-04-01

Monitoring disease burden is an unmeet need in multiple sclerosis (MS). Identifying patients at high risk of disability progression will be useful for improving clinical-therapeutic decisions in clinical routine. To evaluate the role of visual field testing in non-optic neuritis eyes (non-ON eyes) as a biomarker of disability progression in MS. In 109 patients of the MS-VisualPath cohort, we evaluated the association between visual field abnormalities and global and cognitive disability markers and brain and retinal imaging markers of neuroaxonal injury using linear regression models adjusted for sex, age, disease duration and use of disease-modifying therapies. We evaluated the risk of disability progression associated to have baseline impaired visual field after 3 years of follow-up. Sixty-two percent of patients showed visual field defects in non-ON eyes. Visual field mean deviation was statistically associated with global disability; brain (normalized brain parenchymal, gray matter volume and lesion load) and retinal (peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and macular ganglion cell complex thickness) markers of neuroaxonal damage. Patients with impaired visual field had statistically significative greater disability, lower normalized brain parenchymal volume and higher lesion volume than patients with normal visual field testing. MS patients with baseline impaired VF tripled the risk of disability progression during follow-up [OR = 3.35; 95 % CI (1.10-10.19); p = 0.033]. The association of visual field impairment with greater disability and neuroaxonal injury and higher risk of disability progression suggest that VF could be used to monitor MS disease burden.

Visual communication in the psychoanalytic situation.

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Kanzer, M

1980-01-01

The relationship between verbal and visual aspects of the analytic proceedings shows them blended integrally in the experiences of both patient and analyst and in contributing to the insights derived during the treatment. Areas in which the admixture of the verbal and visual occur are delineated. Awareness of the visual aspects gives substance to the operations of empathy, intuition, acting out, working through, etc. Some typical features of visual 'language" are noted and related to the analytic situation. As such they can be translated with the use of logic and consciousness on the analyst's part, not mere random eruptions of intuition. The original significance of dreams as a royal road to the unconscious is confirmed-but we also find in them insights to be derived with higher mental processes. Finally, dyadic aspects of the formation and aims of dreams during analysis are pointed out, with important implications for the analyst's own self-supervision of his techniques and 'real personality" and their effects upon the patient. how remarkable that Dora's dreams, all too belatedly teaching Freud about their transference implications, still have so much more to communicate that derives from his capacity to record faithfully observations he was not yet ready to explain.

Attention without awareness: Attentional modulation of perceptual grouping without awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Shih-Yu

2018-04-01

Perceptual grouping is the process through which the perceptual system combines local stimuli into a more global perceptual unit. Previous studies have shown attention to be a modulatory factor for perceptual grouping. However, these studies mainly used explicit measurements, and, thus, whether attention can modulate perceptual grouping without awareness is still relatively unexplored. To clarify the relationship between attention and perceptual grouping, the present study aims to explore how attention interacts with perceptual grouping without awareness. The task was to judge the relative lengths of two centrally presented horizontal bars while a railway-shaped pattern defined by color similarity was presented in the background. Although the observers were unaware of the railway-shaped pattern, their line-length judgment was biased by that pattern, which induced a Ponzo illusion, indicating grouping without awareness. More importantly, an attentional modulatory effect without awareness was manifested as evident by the observer's performance being more often biased when the railway-shaped pattern was formed by an attended color than when it was formed by an unattended one. Also, the attentional modulation effect was shown to be dynamic, being more pronounced with a short presentation time than a longer one. The results of the present study not only clarify the relationship between attention and perceptual grouping but also further contribute to our understanding of attention and awareness by corroborating the dissociation between attention and awareness.

Do International Studies Students Have a Broader Global Awareness than Other College Students?

Science.gov (United States)

De Soto, William; Tajalli, Hassan; Villarreal, Alison

2016-01-01

Purpose: Common knowledge seem to suggest that international studies (IS) programs are at the forefront of helping their students better understand the world beyond United States borders. The purpose of this study is to test the proposition that IS students have a greater global awareness than other college students. Method: Hanvey's (1976) five…

Modelling of Situation Awareness with Perception, Attention, and Prior and Retrospective Awareness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thilakarathne, D.J.

2015-01-01

Human awareness under different circumstances is complex and non-trivial to understand. Nevertheless, due to the importance of awareness for safety and efficiency in many domains (e.g.; the aviation domain), it is necessary to study the processes behind situation awareness, to eliminate possible

Quick start users guide for the PATH/AWARE decision support system.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knowlton, Robert G.; Melton, Brad J; Einfeld, Wayne; Tucker, Mark D; Franco, David Oliver; Yang, Lynn I.

2013-06-01

The Prioritization Analysis Tool for All-Hazards/Analyzer for Wide Area Restoration Effectiveness (PATH/AWARE) software system, developed by Sandia National Laboratories, is a comprehensive decision support tool designed to analyze situational awareness, as well as response and recovery actions, following a wide-area release of chemical, biological or radiological materials. The system provides capability to prioritize critical infrastructure assets and services for restoration. It also provides a capability to assess resource needs (e.g., number of sampling teams, laboratory capacity, decontamination units, etc.), timelines for consequence management activities, and costs. PATH/AWARE is a very comprehensive tool set with a considerable amount of database information managed through a Microsoft SQL (Structured Query Language) database engine, a Geographical Information System (GIS) engine that provides comprehensive mapping capabilities, as well as comprehensive decision logic to carry out the functional aspects of the tool set. This document covers the basic installation and operation of the PATH/AWARE tool in order to give the user enough information to start using the tool. A companion users manual is under development with greater specificity of the PATH/AWARE functionality.

EDUCATION PROCESS VISUALIZATION IN METACOGNITION DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Aleksandrovna Makarova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article reflects on the role of visualization in education. Modern society is characterized by rapid growth of information that people have to process in order to maintain progress and sustainability in science and development of education. The amount of information is growing so quickly that a person is no longer able to perceive actual data about the outside world and process it using traditional methods. The basis of the “image of the world” contains not only concepts, but the semantic images created with the help of visual thinking. In our study we assume that students are quite limited in their knowledge about cognitive phenomena or in their meta-cognition and do relatively little monitoring of their own memory, comprehension, and other cognitive enterprises. But we also assume that every student is potentially capable of meta-cognition, which is thinking of how better to perform cognitive actions and to be aware of how to learn. Developing meta-cognitive awareness is important because it helps learners become more efficacious and more autonomous. For many of them it can be identified as the most effective way of acquiring knowledge. Visualizing the very process of learning can help see how well it is going. Schema theory offers different ways of using schemas, especially in education. So far, there have been researches on schema as a tool for particular skills such as better comprehension, memorizing and retrieval of the knowledge received. It means students can use schemas to better understand the process of learning and skills acquired.

Online social media analysis and visualization

CERN Document Server

Kawash, Jalal

2015-01-01

This edited volume addresses the vast challenges of adapting Online Social Media (OSM) to developing research methods and applications. The topics cover generating realistic social network topologies, awareness of user activities, topic and trend generation, estimation of user attributes from their social content, behavior detection, mining social content for common trends, identifying and ranking social content sources, building friend-comprehension tools, and many others. Each of the ten chapters tackle one or more of these issues by proposing new analysis methods or new visualization techn

Smart-system of distance learning of visually impaired people based on approaches of artificial intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Samigulina, Galina A.; Shayakhmetova, Assem S.

2016-11-01

Research objective is the creation of intellectual innovative technology and information Smart-system of distance learning for visually impaired people. The organization of the available environment for receiving quality education for visually impaired people, their social adaptation in society are important and topical issues of modern education.The proposed Smart-system of distance learning for visually impaired people can significantly improve the efficiency and quality of education of this category of people. The scientific novelty of proposed Smart-system is using intelligent and statistical methods of processing multi-dimensional data, and taking into account psycho-physiological characteristics of perception and awareness learning information by visually impaired people.

Visual cognition in disorders of consciousness: from V1 to top-down attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Monti, Martin M; Pickard, John D; Owen, Adrian M

2013-06-01

What is it like to be at the lower boundaries of consciousness? Disorders of consciousness such as coma, the vegetative state, and the minimally conscious state are among the most mysterious and least understood conditions of the human brain. Particularly complicated is the assessment of residual cognitive functioning and awareness for diagnostic, rehabilitative, legal, and ethical purposes. In this article, we present a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging exploration of visual cognition in a patient with a severe disorder of consciousness. This battery of tests, first developed in healthy volunteers, assesses increasingly complex transformations of visual information along a known caudal to rostral gradient from occipital to temporal cortex. In the first five levels, the battery assesses (passive) processing of light, color, motion, coherent shapes, and object categories (i.e., faces, houses). At the final level, the battery assesses the ability to voluntarily deploy visual attention in order to focus on one of two competing stimuli. In the patient, this approach revealed appropriate brain activations, undistinguishable from those seen in healthy and aware volunteers. In addition, the ability of the patient to focus one of two competing stimuli, and switch between them on command, also suggests that he retained the ability to access, to some degree, his own visual representations. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relationship between Phonological Awareness, Rapid Automatized Naming and Reading in First Grade Students in Tehran, Iran

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Zahra Soleymani

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Reading is one of the human's communicative skills. Phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming are parts of the person's linguistic knowledge. Research in different languages and communities suggest that there is a relation between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming and reading. To survey these relations in Persian language is the aim of this study.Methods: In this study 130 male students from the first grade were selected at random. They were normal in IQ, visual and hearing status. Language development was also normal in these children. This study was a cross-sectional one. Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression test were used to analyze data.Results: The relation between phonological awareness and automatized rapid naming was significant (p<0.0001. Pearson correlation coefficient between phonological awareness and reading was direct (0.86. Pearson correlation coefficient between rapid automatized naming and reading was indirect that equals -0.87. In investigating the relation of two variables simultaneously with reading we concluded that the relation between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming and reading is statistically significant (p<0.0001.Conclusion: The results of this research revealed that in Persian language like other languages there is a relation between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and reading. Reading skills of children could be improved with this exercises.

Feature-aware natural texture synthesis

KAUST Repository

Wu, Fuzhang

2014-12-04

This article presents a framework for natural texture synthesis and processing. This framework is motivated by the observation that given examples captured in natural scene, texture synthesis addresses a critical problem, namely, that synthesis quality can be affected adversely if the texture elements in an example display spatially varied patterns, such as perspective distortion, the composition of different sub-textures, and variations in global color pattern as a result of complex illumination. This issue is common in natural textures and is a fundamental challenge for previously developed methods. Thus, we address it from a feature point of view and propose a feature-aware approach to synthesize natural textures. The synthesis process is guided by a feature map that represents the visual characteristics of the input texture. Moreover, we present a novel adaptive initialization algorithm that can effectively avoid the repeat and verbatim copying artifacts. Our approach improves texture synthesis in many images that cannot be handled effectively with traditional technologies.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Visual Analytics and Data Fusion Techniques on Situation Awareness in Cyber-Security

Science.gov (United States)

Giacobe, Nicklaus A.

2013-01-01

Cyber-security involves the monitoring a complex network of inter-related computers to prevent, identify and remediate from undesired actions. This work is performed in organizations by human analysts. These analysts monitor cyber-security sensors to develop and maintain situation awareness (SA) of both normal and abnormal activities that occur on…

Awareness and uptake of direct-to-consumer genetic testing among cancer cases, their relatives, and controls: the Northwest Cancer Genetics Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Taryn O; Renz, Anne D; Snapinn, Katherine W; Bowen, Deborah J; Edwards, Karen L

2012-07-01

To determine if awareness of, interest in, and use of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing is greater in a sample of high-risk individuals (cancer cases and their relatives), compared to controls. Participants were recruited from the Northwest Cancer Genetics Network. A follow-up survey was mailed to participants to assess DTC genetic testing awareness, interest, and use. One thousand two hundred sixty-seven participants responded to the survey. Forty-nine percent of respondents were aware of DTC genetic testing. Of those aware, 19% indicated interest in obtaining and testing. Additional information supplied by respondents who reported use of DTC genetic tests indicated that 55% of these respondents likely engaged in clinical genetic testing, rather than DTC genetic testing. Awareness of DTC genetic testing was greater in our sample of high-risk individuals than in controls and population-based studies. Although interest in and use of these tests among cases in our sample were equivalent to other population-based studies, interest in testing was higher among relatives and people who self-referred for a registry focused on cancer than among cases and controls. Additionally, our results suggest that there may be some confusion about what constitutes DTC genetic testing.

SIMULTANEOUS VISUALIZATION OF DIFFERENT UTILITY NETWORKS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

S. Semm; T. Becker; T. H. Kolbe

2012-01-01

Cartographic visualizations of crises are used to create a Common Operational Picture (COP) and enforce Situational Awareness by presenting and representing relevant information. As nearly all crises affect geospatial entities, geo-data representations have to support location-specific decision-making throughout the crises. Since, Operator's attention span and their working memory are limiting factors for the process of getting and interpreting information; the cartographic presentation has t...

Relating Pitch Awareness to Phonemic Awareness in Children: Implications for Tone-Deafness and Dyslexia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Psyche eLoui

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Language and music are complex cognitive and neural functions that rely on awareness of one’s own sound productions. Information on the awareness of vocal pitch, and its relation to phonemic awareness which is crucial for learning to read, will be important for understanding the relationship between tone-deafness and developmental language disorders such as dyslexia. Here we show that phonemic awareness skills are positively correlated with pitch perception-production skills in children. Children between the ages of 7 and 9 were tested on pitch perception and production, phonemic awareness, and IQ. Results showed a significant positive correlation between pitch perception-production and phonemic awareness, suggesting that the relationship between musical and linguistic sound processing is intimately linked to awareness at the level of pitch and phonemes. Since tone-deafness is a pitch-related impairment and dyslexia is a deficit of phonemic awareness, we suggest that dyslexia and tone-deafness may have a shared and/or common neural basis.

The specific relation of visual attention span with reading and spelling in Dutch

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Den Boer, Madelon; Van Bergen, Elsje; de Jong, Peter F.

2015-01-01

Visual attention span, the number of orthographic units that can be processed at a glance, has been shown to predict reading performance in orthographically opaque languages (i.e., French and English), independent from phonological awareness. Whether this relation is also found in Dutch, a more

Degraded visual environment image/video quality metrics

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgartner, Dustin D.; Brown, Jeremy B.; Jacobs, Eddie L.; Schachter, Bruce J.

2014-06-01

A number of image quality metrics (IQMs) and video quality metrics (VQMs) have been proposed in the literature for evaluating techniques and systems for mitigating degraded visual environments. Some require both pristine and corrupted imagery. Others require patterned target boards in the scene. None of these metrics relates well to the task of landing a helicopter in conditions such as a brownout dust cloud. We have developed and used a variety of IQMs and VQMs related to the pilot's ability to detect hazards in the scene and to maintain situational awareness. Some of these metrics can be made agnostic to sensor type. Not only are the metrics suitable for evaluating algorithm and sensor variation, they are also suitable for choosing the most cost effective solution to improve operating conditions in degraded visual environments.

Interoception across modalities: on the relationship between cardiac awareness and the sensitivity for gastric functions.

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Beate M Herbert

Full Text Available The individual sensitivity for ones internal bodily signals ("interoceptive awareness" has been shown to be of relevance for a broad range of cognitive and affective functions. Interoceptive awareness has been primarily assessed via measuring the sensitivity for ones cardiac signals ("cardiac awareness" which can be non-invasively measured by heartbeat perception tasks. It is an open question whether cardiac awareness is related to the sensitivity for other bodily, visceral functions. This study investigated the relationship between cardiac awareness and the sensitivity for gastric functions in healthy female persons by using non-invasive methods. Heartbeat perception as a measure for cardiac awareness was assessed by a heartbeat tracking task and gastric sensitivity was assessed by a water load test. Gastric myoelectrical activity was measured by electrogastrography (EGG and subjective feelings of fullness, valence, arousal and nausea were assessed. The results show that cardiac awareness was inversely correlated with ingested water volume and with normogastric activity after water load. However, persons with good and poor cardiac awareness did not differ in their subjective ratings of fullness, nausea and affective feelings after drinking. This suggests that good heartbeat perceivers ingested less water because they subjectively felt more intense signals of fullness during this lower amount of water intake compared to poor heartbeat perceivers who ingested more water until feeling the same signs of fullness. These findings demonstrate that cardiac awareness is related to greater sensitivity for gastric functions, suggesting that there is a general sensitivity for interoceptive processes across the gastric and cardiac modality.

Developing Cultural Awareness

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İsmail Fırat Altay

2005-04-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at emphasizing the issue of teaching of culture in foreign languageteaching. In this respect, the reasons of teaching culture in foreign language classes arefocused on initially. So, the justifications of teaching culture are considered and explainedand by the help of a dialogue. Right after this, ways of developing cultural awareness is takeninto account. At this step, types of courses to develop cultural awareness are dealt with.Developing cultural awareness in class is another aspect to handle. Besides, ways ofdeveloping cultural awareness outside the class are worked on. Whether there are dangers ofusing culture in foreign language class is explained in dangers and problems part. In theconclusion, ideas of the writer on the subject as final remarks are clarified.

Neural activity induced by visual food stimuli presented out of awareness: a preliminary magnetoencephalography study.

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Takada, Katsuko; Ishii, Akira; Matsuo, Takashi; Nakamura, Chika; Uji, Masato; Yoshikawa, Takahiro

2018-02-15

Obesity is a major public health problem in modern society. Appetitive behavior has been proposed to be partially driven by unconscious decision-making processes and thus, targeting the unconscious cognitive processes related to eating behavior is essential to develop strategies for overweight individuals and obese patients. Here, we presented food pictures below the threshold of awareness to healthy male volunteers and examined neural activity related to appetitive behavior using magnetoencephalography. We found that, among participants who did not recognize food pictures during the experiment, an index of heart rate variability assessed by electrocardiography (low-frequency component power/high-frequency component power ratio, LF/HF) just after picture presentation was increased compared with that just before presentation, and the increase in LF/HF was negatively associated with the score for cognitive restraint of food intake. In addition, increased LF/HF was negatively associated with increased alpha band power in Brodmann area (BA) 47 caused by food pictures presented below the threshold of awareness, and level of cognitive restraint was positively associated with increased alpha band power in BA13. Our findings may provide valuable clues to the development of methods assessing unconscious regulation of appetite and offer avenues for further study of the neural mechanisms related to eating behavior.

An Association between Auditory-Visual Synchrony Processing and Reading Comprehension: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence.

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Mossbridge, Julia; Zweig, Jacob; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2017-03-01

The perceptual system integrates synchronized auditory-visual signals in part to promote individuation of objects in cluttered environments. The processing of auditory-visual synchrony may more generally contribute to cognition by synchronizing internally generated multimodal signals. Reading is a prime example because the ability to synchronize internal phonological and/or lexical processing with visual orthographic processing may facilitate encoding of words and meanings. Consistent with this possibility, developmental and clinical research has suggested a link between reading performance and the ability to compare visual spatial/temporal patterns with auditory temporal patterns. Here, we provide converging behavioral and electrophysiological evidence suggesting that greater behavioral ability to judge auditory-visual synchrony (Experiment 1) and greater sensitivity of an electrophysiological marker of auditory-visual synchrony processing (Experiment 2) both predict superior reading comprehension performance, accounting for 16% and 25% of the variance, respectively. These results support the idea that the mechanisms that detect auditory-visual synchrony contribute to reading comprehension.

Awareness of the healthcare system and rights to healthcare in the Colombian population.

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Delgado Gallego, María Eugenia; Vázquez-Navarrete, María Luisa

2013-01-01

To analyze changes in users' awareness of the healthcare system and of their rights to healthcare in Colombia in the last 10 years, as well as the factors that influence users' awareness. We carried out a descriptive study to compare the results of two cross-sectional studies based on two surveys of users of the Colombian healthcare system. The first survey was performed in 2000 and the second in 2010. The municipalities of Tuluá (urban area) and Palmira (rural area) were surveyed. In both surveys, a stratified, multistage probability sample was selected. There were 1497 users in the first sample and 1405 in the second. Changes in awareness of the healthcare system and associated factors in each year were assessed through multivariate logistic regressions. Users' awareness of the healthcare system was limited in 2000 and was significantly lower in 2010, except for that relating to health insurers and providers. In contrast, more than 90% of users in both surveys perceived themselves as having healthcare rights. The factors consistently associated with greater awareness were belonging to a high socioeconomic stratum and having higher education. The most underprivileged users were less likely to be aware of the healthcare system, hampering their ability to make informed decisions and to exercise their health rights. To correct this situation, health institutions and the government should act decisively to reduce social inequalities. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

The Effect of the SCAMPER Technique in Raising Awareness Regarding the Collection and Utilization of Solid Waste

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Çelikler, Dilek; Harman, Gonca

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the SCAMPER technique in raising awareness among science students regarding the collection and utilization of solid waste. The participants included a total of 65 third-year students. According to the study results, the science students described schools and visual media as their main source of…

What you say matters: exploring visual-verbal interactions in visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Mate, Judit; Allen, Richard J; Baqués, Josep

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore whether the content of a simple concurrent verbal load task determines the extent of its interference on memory for coloured shapes. The task consisted of remembering four visual items while repeating aloud a pair of words that varied in terms of imageability and relatedness to the task set. At test, a cue appeared that was either the colour or the shape of one of the previously seen objects, with participants required to select the object's other feature from a visual array. During encoding and retention, there were four verbal load conditions: (a) a related, shape-colour pair (from outside the experimental set, i.e., "pink square"); (b) a pair of unrelated but visually imageable, concrete, words (i.e., "big elephant"); (c) a pair of unrelated and abstract words (i.e., "critical event"); and (d) no verbal load. Results showed differential effects of these verbal load conditions. In particular, imageable words (concrete and related conditions) interfered to a greater degree than abstract words. Possible implications for how visual working memory interacts with verbal memory and long-term memory are discussed.

Non linear relationship between change in awareness in municipal solid waste management and domestic wastewater management - A case of the Jodipan and Ksatrian village, Malang, East Java

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Zakiyya, Nida Maisa; Sarli, Prasanti Widyasih; Soewondo, Prayatni

2017-11-01

In developing countries the awareness on the importance of sanitation facilities, whether it is for municipal solid waste or domestic wastewater treatment, is still very low. Jodipan and Ksatrian Village, in Malang, East Java, are two slum areas that have recently been improved visually by using simple colorful paints. The visual improvement was expected to increase the resident's awareness on the importance of keeping the area clean; adjacent to the project, a new municipal waste management system was also put in place, changing the president's behaviour towards municipal solid waste. This study focuses on the relationship between community awareness in municipal solid waste management and domestic wastewater management. The result is expected to be an input for the government to enhance wastewater infrastructure program and its sustainability, related to its awareness on municipal solid waste. A descriptive model through questionnaire to 48 households of Jodipan sub district in Kampung Warna-warni and 69 households of Ksatrian sub district in Kampung 3D by random sampling, with an error of 0.1, was used to conduct this research. A nonlinear relationship between the change in awareness in municipal solid waste management (MSW) and domestic wastewater management was observed, with only 0.1312 of determination coefficient. Weak Spearman correlation coefficient number was found, ranging from 0.284 to 0.39, indicating another parameter turned into a role on affecting the awareness of wastewater. Further study about another parameter (eg. social and economic parameter) intervension on sanitation awareness could be investigated.

Awareness of Knowledge or Awareness of Processing? Implications for Sleep-Related Memory Consolidation

OpenAIRE

Yordanova, Juliana; Kolev, Vasil; Verleger, Rolf

2009-01-01

The present study assessed the effects of awareness at encoding on off-line learning during sleep. A new framework is suggested according to which two aspects of awareness are distinguished: awareness of task information, and awareness of task processing. The number reduction task (NRT) was employed because it has two levels of organization, an overt one based on explicit knowledge of task instructions, and a covert one based on hidden abstract regularities of task structure (implicit knowled...

Familial History of Reading Difficulty Is Associated with Diffused Bilateral Brain Activation during Reading and Greater Association with Visual Attention Abilities

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Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi

2017-01-01

Reading difficulty (RD; or dyslexia) is a heritable condition characterized by slow, inaccurate reading accompanied by executive dysfunction, specifically with respect to visual attention. The current study was designed to examine the effect of familial history of RD on the relationship between reading and visual attention abilities in children…

Awareness in contextual cueing of visual search as measured with concurrent access- and phenomenal-consciousness tasks.

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Schlagbauer, Bernhard; Müller, Hermann J; Zehetleitner, Michael; Geyer, Thomas

2012-10-25

In visual search, context information can serve as a cue to guide attention to the target location. When observers repeatedly encounter displays with identical target-distractor arrangements, reaction times (RTs) are faster for repeated relative to nonrepeated displays, the latter containing novel configurations. This effect has been termed "contextual cueing." The present study asked whether information about the target location in repeated displays is "explicit" (or "conscious") in nature. To examine this issue, observers performed a test session (after an initial training phase in which RTs to repeated and nonrepeated displays were measured) in which the search stimuli were presented briefly and terminated by visual masks; following this, observers had to make a target localization response (with accuracy as the dependent measure) and indicate their visual experience and confidence associated with the localization response. The data were examined at the level of individual displays, i.e., in terms of whether or not a repeated display actually produced contextual cueing. The results were that (a) contextual cueing was driven by only a very small number of about four actually learned configurations; (b) localization accuracy was increased for learned relative to nonrepeated displays; and (c) both consciousness measures were enhanced for learned compared to nonrepeated displays. It is concluded that contextual cueing is driven by only a few repeated displays and the ability to locate the target in these displays is associated with increased visual experience.

The processing of visual and auditory information for reaching movements.

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Glazebrook, Cheryl M; Welsh, Timothy N; Tremblay, Luc

2016-09-01

Presenting target and non-target information in different modalities influences target localization if the non-target is within the spatiotemporal limits of perceptual integration. When using auditory and visual stimuli, the influence of a visual non-target on auditory target localization is greater than the reverse. It is not known, however, whether or how such perceptual effects extend to goal-directed behaviours. To gain insight into how audio-visual stimuli are integrated for motor tasks, the kinematics of reaching movements towards visual or auditory targets with or without a non-target in the other modality were examined. When present, the simultaneously presented non-target could be spatially coincident, to the left, or to the right of the target. Results revealed that auditory non-targets did not influence reaching trajectories towards a visual target, whereas visual non-targets influenced trajectories towards an auditory target. Interestingly, the biases induced by visual non-targets were present early in the trajectory and persisted until movement end. Subsequent experimentation indicated that the magnitude of the biases was equivalent whether participants performed a perceptual or motor task, whereas variability was greater for the motor versus the perceptual tasks. We propose that visually induced trajectory biases were driven by the perceived mislocation of the auditory target, which in turn affected both the movement plan and subsequent control of the movement. Such findings provide further evidence of the dominant role visual information processing plays in encoding spatial locations as well as planning and executing reaching action, even when reaching towards auditory targets.

The interaction between awareness of one's own speech disorder with linguistics variables: distinctive features and severity of phonological disorder.

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Dias, Roberta Freitas; Melo, Roberta Michelon; Mezzomo, Carolina Lisbôa; Mota, Helena Bolli

2013-01-01

To analyze the possible relationship among the awareness of one's own speech disorder and some aspects of the phonological system, as the number and the type of changed distinctive features, as well as the interaction among the severity of the disorder and the non-specification of distinctive features. The analyzed group has 23 children with diagnosis of speech disorder, aged 5:0 to 7:7. The speech data were analyzed through the Distinctive Features Analysis and classified by the Percentage of Correct Consonants. One also applied the Awareness of one's own speech disorder test. The children were separated in two groups: with awareness of their own speech disorder established (more than 50% of correct identification) and without awareness of their own speech disorder established (less than 50% of correct identification). Finally, the variables of this research were submitted to analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics. The type of changed distinctive features weren't different between the groups, as well as the total of changed features and the severity disorder. However, a correlation between the severity disorder and the non-specification of distinctive features was verified, because the more severe disorders have more changes in these linguistic variables. The awareness of one's own speech disorder doesn't seem to be directly influenced by the type and by the number of changed distinctive features, neither by the speech disorder severity. Moreover, one verifies that the greater phonological disorder severity, the greater the number of changed distinctive features.

The impact of multiple information on coupled awareness-epidemic dynamics in multiplex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yaohui; Yan, Zhijun

2018-02-01

Growing interest has emerged in the study of the interplay between awareness and epidemics in multiplex networks. However, previous studies on this issue usually assume that all aware individuals take the same level of precautions, ignoring individual heterogeneity. In this paper, we investigate the coupled awareness-epidemic dynamics in multiplex networks considering individual heterogeneity. Here, the precaution levels are heterogeneous and depend on three types of information: contact information and local and global prevalence information. The results show that contact-based precautions can decrease the epidemic prevalence and augment the epidemic threshold, but prevalence-based precautions, regardless of local or global information, can only decrease the epidemic prevalence. Moreover, unlike previous studies in single-layer networks, we do not find a greater impact of local prevalence information on the epidemic prevalence compared to global prevalence information. In addition, we find that the altruistic behaviors of infected individuals can effectively suppress epidemic spreading, especially when the level of contact-based precaution is high.

Tertiary Institutions in Ghana Curriculum Coverage on Climate Change: Implications for Climate Change Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Boateng, C. A.

2015-01-01

Global problems such as climate change, which have deeper implications for survival of mankind on this planet, needs to be given wider attention in the quest for knowledge. It is expected that, improved knowledge derived from curriculum coverage may promote greater public awareness of such important global issue. This research aims at examining…

Analyzing Spatiotemporal Anomalies through Interactive Visualization

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Tao Zhang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available As we move into the big data era, data grows not just in size, but also in complexity, containing a rich set of attributes, including location and time information, such as data from mobile devices (e.g., smart phones, natural disasters (e.g., earthquake and hurricane, epidemic spread, etc. We are motivated by the rising challenge and build a visualization tool for exploring generic spatiotemporal data, i.e., records containing time location information and numeric attribute values. Since the values often evolve over time and across geographic regions, we are particularly interested in detecting and analyzing the anomalous changes over time/space. Our analytic tool is based on geographic information system and is combined with spatiotemporal data mining algorithms, as well as various data visualization techniques, such as anomaly grids and anomaly bars superimposed on the map. We study how effective the tool may guide users to find potential anomalies through demonstrating and evaluating over publicly available spatiotemporal datasets. The tool for spatiotemporal anomaly analysis and visualization is useful in many domains, such as security investigation and monitoring, situation awareness, etc.

Assessing air quality index awareness and use in Mexico City.

Science.gov (United States)

Borbet, Timothy C; Gladson, Laura A; Cromar, Kevin R

2018-04-23

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area has an expansive urban population and a long history of air quality management challenges. Poor air quality has been associated with adverse pulmonary and cardiac health effects, particularly among susceptible populations with underlying disease. In addition to reducing pollution concentrations, risk communication efforts that inform behavior modification have the potential to reduce public health burdens associated with air pollution. This study investigates the utilization of Mexico's IMECA risk communication index to inform air pollution avoidance behavior among the general population living in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. Individuals were selected via probability sampling and surveyed by phone about their air quality index knowledge, pollution concerns, and individual behaviors. The results indicated reasonably high awareness of the air quality index (53% of respondents), with greater awareness in urban areas, among older and more educated individuals, and for those who received air quality information from a healthcare provider. Additionally, behavior modification was less influenced by index reports as it was by personal perceptions of air quality, and there was no difference in behavior modification among susceptible and non-susceptible groups. Taken together, these results suggest there are opportunities to improve the public health impact of risk communication through an increased focus on susceptible populations and greater encouragement of public action in response to local air quality indices.

Is body dysmorphic disorder associated with abnormal bodily self-awareness? A study using the rubber hand illusion.

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Ryan A Kaplan

Full Text Available Evidence from past research suggests that behaviours and characteristics related to body dissatisfaction may be associated with greater instability of perceptual body image, possibly due to problems in the integration of body-related multisensory information. We investigated whether people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD, a condition characterised by body image disturbances, demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to the rubber hand illusion (RHI, which arises as a result of multisensory integration processes when a rubber hand and the participant's hidden real hand are stimulated in synchrony. Overall, differences in RHI experience between the BDD group and healthy and schizophrenia control groups (n = 17 in each were not significant. RHI strength, however, was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and related tendencies. For the healthy control group, proprioceptive drift towards the rubber hand was observed following synchronous but not asynchronous stimulation, a typical pattern when inducing the RHI. Similar drifts in proprioceptive awareness occurred for the BDD group irrespective of whether stimulation was synchronous or not. These results are discussed in terms of possible abnormalities in visual processing and multisensory integration among people with BDD.

A Prospective Profile of Visual Field Loss following Stroke: Prevalence, Type, Rehabilitation, and Outcome

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Fiona J. Rowe

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aims. To profile site of stroke/cerebrovascular accident, type and extent of field loss, treatment options, and outcome. Methods. Prospective multicentre cohort trial. Standardised referral and investigation protocol of visual parameters. Results. 915 patients were recruited with a mean age of 69 years (SD 14. 479 patients (52% had visual field loss. 51 patients (10% had no visual symptoms. Almost half of symptomatic patients (n=226 complained only of visual field loss: almost half (n=226 also had reading difficulty, blurred vision, diplopia, and perceptual difficulties. 31% (n=151 had visual field loss as their only visual impairment: 69% (n=328 had low vision, eye movement deficits, or visual perceptual difficulties. Occipital and parietal lobe strokes most commonly caused visual field loss. Treatment options included visual search training, visual awareness, typoscopes, substitutive prisms, low vision aids, refraction, and occlusive patches. At followup 15 patients (7.5% had full recovery, 78 (39% had improvement, and 104 (52% had no recovery. Two patients (1% had further decline of visual field. Patients with visual field loss had lower quality of life scores than stroke patients without visual impairment. Conclusions. Stroke survivors with visual field loss require assessment to accurately define type and extent of loss, diagnose coexistent visual impairments, and offer targeted treatment.

Awareness of biomedical waste management among dental professionals and auxiliary staff in Amritsar, India.

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Narang, Ramandeep S; Manchanda, Adesh; Singh, Simarpreet; Verma, Nitin; Padda, Sarfaraz

2012-12-01

The aim of this study was to determine awareness of biomedical waste (BMW) management policies and practices among dental professionals and auxiliary staff in a dental hospital/clinics in Amritsar, India, to inform the development of future policies for effective implementation of BMW rules. The study involved 160 staff members at the Amritsar hospital/clinics (80 dentists and 80 auxiliary staff) to whom a questionnaire was distributed regarding policies, practices and awareness relating to BMW. The questionnaire was first piloted. Completed questionnaires were returned anonymously. The resulting data were statistically tested using the chi-square test for differences between the dentists and auxiliary staff. In respect of BMW management policies, there was a highly significant difference in the responses of the dentists, whose answers suggested far greater knowledge than that of the auxiliaries (Pmanagement practices, the dentists were significantly more aware (Pwaste collection in the hospital and the disposal of various items into different colour-coded bags. As for employee education/awareness, there was a significant difference (Pmanagement among dental auxiliary staff in the dental hospital/clinics in Amritsar and a lack of awareness of some aspects among dentists who work in the hospital/clinics. The results provide the hospital authorities with data upon which they can develop a strategy for improving BMW management.

Impaired Visual Motor Coordination in Obese Adults.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Gaul, David

2016-09-01

Objective. To investigate whether obesity alters the sensory motor integration process and movement outcome during a visual rhythmic coordination task. Methods. 88 participants (44 obese and 44 matched control) sat on a chair equipped with a wrist pendulum oscillating in the sagittal plane. The task was to swing the pendulum in synchrony with a moving visual stimulus displayed on a screen. Results. Obese participants demonstrated significantly (p < 0.01) higher values for continuous relative phase (CRP) indicating poorer level of coordination, increased movement variability (p < 0.05), and a larger amplitude (p < 0.05) than their healthy weight counterparts. Conclusion. These results highlight the existence of visual sensory integration deficiencies for obese participants. The obese group have greater difficulty in synchronizing their movement with a visual stimulus. Considering that visual motor coordination is an essential component of many activities of daily living, any impairment could significantly affect quality of life.

A Glance at Worldwide Employment of People with Visual Impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolffe, Karen E.; Spungin, Susan J.

2002-01-01

A survey of 75 countries investigated jobs performed by adults with visual impairments throughout the world. Although there is a greater diversity in the range of jobs in developed countries, people who are visually impaired do not have the same range of opportunities available to them as sighted people. (Contains references.) (CR)

Facial Speech Gestures: The Relation between Visual Speech Processing, Phonological Awareness, and Developmental Dyslexia in 10-Year-Olds

Science.gov (United States)

Schaadt, Gesa; Männel, Claudia; van der Meer, Elke; Pannekamp, Ann; Friederici, Angela D.

2016-01-01

Successful communication in everyday life crucially involves the processing of auditory and visual components of speech. Viewing our interlocutor and processing visual components of speech facilitates speech processing by triggering auditory processing. Auditory phoneme processing, analyzed by event-related brain potentials (ERP), has been shown…

Discrepant perceptions of communication, teamwork and situation awareness among surgical team members.

Science.gov (United States)

Wauben, L S G L; Dekker-van Doorn, C M; van Wijngaarden, J D H; Goossens, R H M; Huijsman, R; Klein, J; Lange, J F

2011-04-01

To assess surgical team members' differences in perception of non-technical skills. Questionnaire design. Operating theatres (OTs) at one university hospital, three teaching hospitals and one general hospital in the Netherlands. Sixty-six surgeons, 97 OT nurses, 18 anaesthetists and 40 nurse anaesthetists. All surgical team members, of five hospitals, were asked to complete a questionnaire and state their opinion on the current state of communication, teamwork and situation awareness at the OT. Ratings for 'communication' were significantly different, particularly between surgeons and all other team members (P ≤ 0.001). The ratings for 'teamwork' differed significantly between all team members (P ≤ 0.005). Within 'situation awareness' significant differences were mainly observed for 'gathering information' between surgeons and other team members (P communication, teamwork and situation awareness. Future research needs to ascertain whether these discrepancies are linked to greater risk of adverse events or to process as well as systems failures. Establishing this link would support implementation and use of complex team interventions that intervene at multiple levels of the healthcare system.

2-D and 3-D Visualization of Many-to-Many Relationships

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SeungJin Lim

2017-08-01

Full Text Available With the unprecedented wave of Big Data, the importance of information visualization is catching greater momentum. Understanding the underlying relationships between constituent objects is becoming a common task in every branch of science, and visualization of such relationships is a critical part of data analysis. While the techniques for the visualization of binary relationships are widespread, visualization techniques for ternary or higher relationships are lacking. In this paper, we propose a 3-D visualization primitive which is suitable for such relationships. The design goals of the primitive are discussed, and the effectiveness of the proposed visual primitive with respect to information communication is demonstrated in a 3-D visualization environment.

Visual advantage in deaf adults linked to retinal changes.

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Charlotte Codina

Full Text Available The altered sensory experience of profound early onset deafness provokes sometimes large scale neural reorganisations. In particular, auditory-visual cross-modal plasticity occurs, wherein redundant auditory cortex becomes recruited to vision. However, the effect of human deafness on neural structures involved in visual processing prior to the visual cortex has never been investigated, either in humans or animals. We investigated neural changes at the retina and optic nerve head in profoundly deaf (N = 14 and hearing (N = 15 adults using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT, an in-vivo light interference method of quantifying retinal micro-structure. We compared retinal changes with behavioural results from the same deaf and hearing adults, measuring sensitivity in the peripheral visual field using Goldmann perimetry. Deaf adults had significantly larger neural rim areas, within the optic nerve head in comparison to hearing controls suggesting greater retinal ganglion cell number. Deaf adults also demonstrated significantly larger visual field areas (indicating greater peripheral sensitivity than controls. Furthermore, neural rim area was significantly correlated with visual field area in both deaf and hearing adults. Deaf adults also showed a significantly different pattern of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL distribution compared to controls. Significant correlations between the depth of the RNFL at the inferior-nasal peripapillary retina and the corresponding far temporal and superior temporal visual field areas (sensitivity were found. Our results show that cross-modal plasticity after early onset deafness may not be limited to the sensory cortices, noting specific retinal adaptations in early onset deaf adults which are significantly correlated with peripheral vision sensitivity.

Measuring the Effects of Self-Awareness: Construction of the Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire

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Anna Sutton

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Dispositional self-awareness is conceptualized in several different ways, including insight, reflection, rumination and mindfulness, with the latter in particular attracting extensive attention in recent research. While self-awareness is generally associated with positive psychological well-being, these different conceptualizations are also each associated with a range of unique outcomes. This two part, mixed methods study aimed to advance understanding of dispositional self-awareness by developing a questionnaire to measure its outcomes. In Study 1, expert focus groups categorized and extended an initial pool of potential items from previous research. In Study 2, these items were reduced to a 38 item self-report questionnaire with four factors representing three beneficial outcomes (reflective self-development, acceptance and proactivity and one negative outcome (costs. Regression of these outcomes against self-awareness measures revealed that self-reflection and insight predicted beneficial outcomes, rumination predicted reduced benefits and increased costs, and mindfulness predicted both increased proactivity and costs. These studies help to refine the self-awareness concept by identifying the unique outcomes associated with the concepts of self-reflection, insight, reflection, rumination and mindfulness. It can be used in future studies to evaluate and develop awareness-raising techniques to maximize self-awareness benefits while minimizing related costs.

Attitudes toward Everyday Odors for Children with Visual Impairments: A Pilot Study

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Ferdenzi, Camille; Coureaud, Gerard; Camos, Valerie; Schaal, Benoist

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot investigation of the self-reported awareness and reactivity to odors of children with visual impairments and sighted children. A questionnaire related to relevant everyday contexts involving food and social cues, as well as the general environment, was used to determine whether, and in which…

Eating attentively: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of food intake memory and awareness on eating.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Eric; Aveyard, Paul; Daley, Amanda; Jolly, Kate; Lewis, Amanda; Lycett, Deborah; Higgs, Suzanne

2013-04-01

Cognitive processes such as attention and memory may influence food intake, but the degree to which they do is unclear. The objective was to examine whether such cognitive processes influence the amount of food eaten either immediately or in subsequent meals. We systematically reviewed studies that examined experimentally the effect that manipulating memory, distraction, awareness, or attention has on food intake. We combined studies by using inverse variance meta-analysis, calculating the standardized mean difference (SMD) in food intake between experimental and control groups and assessing heterogeneity with the I(2) statistic. Twenty-four studies were reviewed. Evidence indicated that eating when distracted produced a moderate increase in immediate intake (SMD: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.53) but increased later intake to a greater extent (SMD: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.45, 1.07). The effect of distraction on immediate intake appeared to be independent of dietary restraint. Enhancing memory of food consumed reduced later intake (SMD: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.68), but this effect may depend on the degree of the participants' tendencies toward disinhibited eating. Removing visual information about the amount of food eaten during a meal increased immediate intake (SMD: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.68). Enhancing awareness of food being eaten may not affect immediate intake (SMD: 0.09; 95% CI: -0.42, 0.35). Evidence indicates that attentive eating is likely to influence food intake, and incorporation of attentive-eating principles into interventions provides a novel approach to aid weight loss and maintenance without the need for conscious calorie counting.

Domestic burns prevention and first aid awareness in and around Jamshedpur, India: strategies and impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, A; Bharat, R

2000-11-01

This article highlights the strategy for awareness creation regarding burns prevention and first aid and its impact in and around the steel-producing city of Jamshedpur, India. This is a joint venture of the Burns Centre and the Medico Social Welfare Unit of the Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur in collaboration with the Social Service Division of Tata Steel and city schools. The first phase of 5 years has been devoted to general awareness building in the population through two main programmes, namely "Community Awareness Programmes" for the target group of ladies and teenage girls and "School Education Programmes" for the target group of school children of Standard 8 in the steel-producing city. These programmes include audio-visual presentations as well as face to face interactions regarding structure and arrangements in the kitchen, floor level cooking, clothing while cooking, careful use of electrical appliances, pressure stoves, etc. The discussions also include suicidal and homicidal burns prevention strategies. Various competitions for the target group provide feedback on programmes. The growing awareness about burns prevention among school children and community members, and steady increase in the number of patients who use water as first aid, speak about the success of the strategies.

Electronic cigarette awareness and use among adults in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Nan; Chen, Jing; Wang, Man-Ping; McGhee, Sarah M; Kwong, Antonio C S; Lai, Vienna W Y; Lam, Tai-Hing

2016-01-01

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have gained popularity rapidly in the Western world but data in the East are scarce. We examined the awareness and ever use of e-cigarettes, and reasons for e-cigarette use in a probability sample of adults in Hong Kong. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2014 from Chinese adults aged 15-65 in Hong Kong (819 never smokers, 800 former smokers, 800 current smokers) via computer-assisted telephone interviews (response rate: 73.8%). Analysis was limited to a subset of 809 respondents (i.e., 357 never smokers, 269 former smokers, 183 current smokers) who were randomly selected to answer questions on e-cigarettes. Chi-square analyses compared e-cigarette awareness and ever use by gender, age, education, and cigarette smoking status. Multivariable logistic regression examined if e-cigarette awareness was associated with demographic variables and cigarette smoking status. 75.4% of adults had heard of e-cigarettes, and 2.3% reported having used e-cigarettes. Greater awareness was associated with male gender and higher education. Ever use of e-cigarettes was higher among males (3.6%, p=.03), younger adults (aged 15-29, 5.2%, p=.002), and current cigarette smokers (11.8%, preasons for using e-cigarettes were curiosity (47.4%), the stylish product design (25.8%), and quitting smoking (13.6%). Awareness of e-cigarettes was widespread in Hong Kong. Although the use of e-cigarettes was low, its relation with younger age and current smoking is of concern. Health surveillance of e-cigarette use is needed. Interventions should target young adults and cigarette smokers, and address the marketing messages, especially the effect of e-cigarettes on smoking cessation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual processing of music notation: a study of event-related potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Horng-Yih; Wang, Yu-Sin

2011-04-01

In reading music, the acquisition of pitch information depends mostly on the spatial position of notes, hence more spatial processing, whereas the acquisition of temporal information depends mostly on the visual features of notes and object recognition. This study used both electrophysiological and behavioral methods to compare the processing of pitch and duration in reading single musical notes. It was observed that in the early stage of note reading, identification of pitch could elicit greater N1 and N2 amplitude than identification of duration at the parietal lobe electrodes. In the later stages of note reading, identifying pitch elicited a greater negative slow wave at parietal electrodes than did identifying note duration. The sustained contribution of parietal processes for pitch suggests that the dorsal pathway is essential for pitch processing. However, the duration task did not elicit greater amplitude of any early ERP components than the pitch task at temporal electrodes. Accordingly, a double dissociation, suggesting involvement of the dorsal visual stream, was not observed in spatial pitch processing and ventral visual stream in processing of note durations.

Increased deficit of visual attention span with development in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jing; Liu, Menglian; Liu, Hanlong; Huang, Chen

2018-02-16

It has been suggested that orthographic transparency and age changes may affect the relationship between visual attention span (VAS) deficit and reading difficulty. The present study explored the developmental trend of VAS in children with developmental dyslexia (DD) in Chinese, a logographic language with a deep orthography. Fifty-seven Chinese children with DD and fifty-four age-matched normal readers participated. The visual 1-back task was adopted to examine VAS. Phonological and morphological awareness tests, and reading tests in single-character and sentence levels were used for reading skill measurements. Results showed that only high graders with dyslexia exhibited lower accuracy than the controls in the VAS task, revealing an increased VAS deficit with development in the dyslexics. Moreover, the developmental trajectory analyses demonstrated that the dyslexics seemed to exhibit an atypical but not delayed pattern in their VAS development as compared to the controls. A correlation analysis indicated that VAS was only associated with morphological awareness for dyslexic readers in high grades. Further regression analysis showed that VAS skills and morphological awareness made separate and significant contributions to single-character reading for high grader with dyslexia. These findings suggested a developmental increasing trend in the relationship between VAS skills and reading (dis)ability in Chinese.

Sonic morphology: Aesthetic dimensional auditory spatial awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehouse, Martha M.

The sound and ceramic sculpture installation, " Skirting the Edge: Experiences in Sound & Form," is an integration of art and science demonstrating the concept of sonic morphology. "Sonic morphology" is herein defined as aesthetic three-dimensional auditory spatial awareness. The exhibition explicates my empirical phenomenal observations that sound has a three-dimensional form. Composed of ceramic sculptures that allude to different social and physical situations, coupled with sound compositions that enhance and create a three-dimensional auditory and visual aesthetic experience (see accompanying DVD), the exhibition supports the research question, "What is the relationship between sound and form?" Precisely how people aurally experience three-dimensional space involves an integration of spatial properties, auditory perception, individual history, and cultural mores. People also utilize environmental sound events as a guide in social situations and in remembering their personal history, as well as a guide in moving through space. Aesthetically, sound affects the fascination, meaning, and attention one has within a particular space. Sonic morphology brings art forms such as a movie, video, sound composition, and musical performance into the cognitive scope by generating meaning from the link between the visual and auditory senses. This research examined sonic morphology as an extension of musique concrete, sound as object, originating in Pierre Schaeffer's work in the 1940s. Pointing, as John Cage did, to the corporeal three-dimensional experience of "all sound," I composed works that took their total form only through the perceiver-participant's participation in the exhibition. While contemporary artist Alvin Lucier creates artworks that draw attention to making sound visible, "Skirting the Edge" engages the perceiver-participant visually and aurally, leading to recognition of sonic morphology.

Electrophysiological Evidence of Heterogeneity in Visual Statistical Learning in Young Children with ASD

Science.gov (United States)

Jeste, Shafali S.; Kirkham, Natasha; Senturk, Damla; Hasenstab, Kyle; Sugar, Catherine; Kupelian, Chloe; Baker, Elizabeth; Sanders, Andrew J.; Shimizu, Christina; Norona, Amanda; Paparella, Tanya; Freeman, Stephanny F. N.; Johnson, Scott P.

2015-01-01

Statistical learning is characterized by detection of regularities in one's environment without an awareness or intention to learn, and it may play a critical role in language and social behavior. Accordingly, in this study we investigated the electrophysiological correlates of visual statistical learning in young children with autism…

The occurrence of early impaired self-awareness after traumatic brain injury and its relationship with emotional distress and psychosocial functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Geytenbeek, Megan; Fleming, Jennifer; Doig, Emmah; Ownsworth, Tamara

2017-01-01

To describe the occurrence of impaired self-awareness (ISA) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its association with emotional distress and psychosocial functioning following discharge. Prospective cohort design with data collection at discharge and 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-up. 81 adults with TBI. Self-awareness was measured using a discrepancy score generated from the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Index (MPAI-4) Ability subscale, and significant other's ratings of Item 20 on the MPAI-4. Other measures were the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 and Sydney Psychosocial and Reintegration Scale. The discrepancy score method identified more cases of ISA than the single-item rating by significant others. Using discrepancy scores, the occurrence of ISA was 69.1% at discharge, and for those remaining in the study 6 months later, it was 54.3%. Better self-awareness was associated with greater anxiety at discharge, and stress at discharge, 3 and 6 months later, and better psychosocial functioning at all time points. Participants with ISA had significantly poorer relationships at 6 months post-discharge after controlling for injury severity. Whilst self-awareness is associated with greater stress in patients with TBI, it is also associated with better outcomes, indicating the importance of targeting ISA in rehabilitation.

A dissociation between selective attention and conscious awareness in the representation of temporal order information.

Science.gov (United States)

Eimer, Martin; Grubert, Anna

2015-09-01

Previous electrophysiological studies have shown that attentional selection processes are highly sensitive to the temporal order of task-relevant visual events. When two successively presented colour-defined target stimuli are separated by a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of only 10 ms, the onset latencies of N2pc components to these stimuli (which reflect their attentional selection) precisely match their objective temporal separation. We tested whether such small onset differences are accessible to conscious awareness by instructing participants to report the category (letter or digit) of the first of two target-colour items that were separated by an SOA of 10, 20, or 30 ms. Performance was at chance level for the 10 ms SOA, demonstrating that temporal order information which is available to attentional control processes cannot be utilized for conscious temporal order judgments. These results provide new evidence that selective attention and conscious awareness are functionally separable, and support the hypothesis that attention and awareness operate at different stages of cognitive processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual prediction: psychophysics and neurophysiology of compensation for time delays.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijhawan, Romi

2008-04-01

A necessary consequence of the nature of neural transmission systems is that as change in the physical state of a time-varying event takes place, delays produce error between the instantaneous registered state and the external state. Another source of delay is the transmission of internal motor commands to muscles and the inertia of the musculoskeletal system. How does the central nervous system compensate for these pervasive delays? Although it has been argued that delay compensation occurs late in the motor planning stages, even the earliest visual processes, such as phototransduction, contribute significantly to delays. I argue that compensation is not an exclusive property of the motor system, but rather, is a pervasive feature of the central nervous system (CNS) organization. Although the motor planning system may contain a highly flexible compensation mechanism, accounting not just for delays but also variability in delays (e.g., those resulting from variations in luminance contrast, internal body temperature, muscle fatigue, etc.), visual mechanisms also contribute to compensation. Previous suggestions of this notion of "visual prediction" led to a lively debate producing re-examination of previous arguments, new analyses, and review of the experiments presented here. Understanding visual prediction will inform our theories of sensory processes and visual perception, and will impact our notion of visual awareness.

Use of sexual risk assessment and feedback at intake to promote counselor awareness of subsequent client risk behavior during early treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartzler, Bryan; Beadnell, Blair; Calsyn, Donald A

2014-08-01

Sexual risk is an important, oft-neglected area in addiction treatment. This report examines computerized sexual risk assessment and client feedback at intake as means of enhancing counselor awareness of client risk behavior during early treatment, as well as any clinical impact of that counselor awareness. In 2009-2011, new clients at both opiate treatment and drug-free treatment programs endorsed in a computer-assisted assessment at intake 90-day retrospective indices for: being sexually active, having multiple partners, having sex under drug influence, and inconsistently using condoms. Clients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive or not receive a personal feedback report, and those receiving a report chose if a counselor copy was also distributed. Ninety days later, retained clients (N = 79) repeated the assessment and their counselors concurrently reported perceptions of recent client risk behavior. Based on client reports, pretreatment risk behaviors were prevalent among men and women and remained so during treatment. A general linear model revealed greater counselor awareness of subsequent client risk behavior with mutual distribution of intake feedback reports to client and counselor, and at the opiate treatment program. A repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated that counselor awareness did not predict change in temporally stable patterns of sexual risk behavior. CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE: Findings document that computerized intake assessment of sexual risk and mutually distributed feedback reports prompt greater counselor awareness of clients' subsequent risk behavior. Future research is needed to determine how best to prepare counselors to use such awareness to effectively prompt risk reduction in routine care.

Korean Cancer Patients' Awareness of Clinical Trials, Perceptions on the Benefit and Willingness to Participate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Yoojoo; Lim, Jee Min; Jeong, Won Jae; Lee, Kyung-Hun; Keam, Bhumsuk; Kim, Tae-Yong; Kim, Tae Min; Han, Sae-Won; Oh, Do Youn; Kim, Dong-Wan; Kim, Tae-You; Heo, Dae Seog; Bang, Yung-Jue; Im, Seock-Ah

2017-10-01

The purpose of this study was to assess current levels of awareness of clinical trials (CTs), perceptions regarding their benefits and willingness to participate to CTs among Korean cancer patients. From December 2012 to August 2015, we distributed questionnaires to cancer patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy at Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. A total of 397 out of 520 requested patients (76.3%) responded to the survey. Among the 397 patients, 62.5% were female and the median age was 52 years. Overall, 97.4% (387/397) answered that they have at least heard of CTs. When asked about their level of awareness, 23.8% (92/387) answered that they could more than roughly explain about CTs. The average visual analogue scale score of CT benefit in all patients was 6.43 (standard deviation, 2.20). Patients who were only familiar with the term without detailed knowledge of the contents had the least expectation of benefit from CTs (p=0.015). When asked about their willingness to participate in CTs, 56.7% (225/397) answered positively. Patients with higher levels of awareness of CTs showed higher willingness to participate (p awareness regarding CTs was positively related to the positive perception and willingness to participate. Although the general awareness of CTs was high, a relatively large proportion of patients did not have accurate knowledge; therefore, proper and accurate patient education is necessary.

Korean Cancer Patients’ Awareness of Clinical Trials, Perceptions on the Benefit and Willingness to Participate

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Yoojoo; Lim, Jee Min; Jeong, Won Jae; Lee, Kyung-Hun; Keam, Bhumsuk; Kim, Tae-Yong; Kim, Tae Min; Han, Sae-Won; Oh, Do Youn; Kim, Dong-Wan; Kim, Tae-You; Heo, Dae Seog; Bang, Yung-Jue; Im, Seock-Ah

2017-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess current levels of awareness of clinical trials (CTs), perceptions regarding their benefits and willingness to participate to CTs among Korean cancer patients. Materials and Methods From December 2012 to August 2015, we distributed questionnaires to cancer patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy at Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. Results A total of 397 out of 520 requested patients (76.3%) responded to the survey. Among the 397 patients, 62.5% were female and the median age was 52 years. Overall, 97.4% (387/397) answered that they have at least heard of CTs. When asked about their level of awareness, 23.8% (92/387) answered that they could more than roughly explain about CTs. The average visual analogue scale score of CT benefit in all patients was 6.43 (standard deviation, 2.20). Patients who were only familiar with the term without detailed knowledge of the contents had the least expectation of benefit from CTs (p=0.015). When asked about their willingness to participate in CTs, 56.7% (225/397) answered positively. Patients with higher levels of awareness of CTs showed higher willingness to participate (p awareness regarding CTs was positively related to the positive perception and willingness to participate. Although the general awareness of CTs was high, a relatively large proportion of patients did not have accurate knowledge; therefore, proper and accurate patient education is necessary. PMID:28392549

Medication-handling challenges among visually impaired population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Zhi-Han

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: Visually impaired individuals are particularly at higher risk for experiencing a medication error. The aim of this study is to identify the problems encountered by the visually impaired population when handling their medication. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an interviewer-guided questionnaire with 100 visually impaired individuals. The questionnaire comprised a series of questions in medication management. Results: All of the respondents perceived that self-administration of medication was a challenging task. A total of 89% of respondents were unable to read the prescription labels, 75% of respondents did not know the expiry date of their own medication, and 58% of respondents did not know the name of the medication. With regard to storage of medication, 72% of respondents did not practice appropriate methods to store their medication, and 80% of respondents kept the unused medication. All of the respondents disposed leftover medication through household rubbish. A total of 64% of respondents never practice medication review. Most (96% of them did not tell health-care providers when they faced difficulties in handling their medication. Conclusion: Most of the visually impaired individuals did not receive appropriate assistance regarding medicine use and having low awareness in medication management. This can lead to increased risk of medication errors or mismanagement among visually impaired population. Hence, effective strategies, especially in pharmaceutical care services, should be structured to assist this special population in medication handling.

Integrated Visualization Environment for Science Mission Modeling, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The proposed work will provide NASA with an integrated visualization environment providing greater insight and a more intuitive representation of large technical...

“ABC”—The Awareness-Body-Chart: A new tool assessing body awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Avian, Alexander; Macheiner, Tanja; Salchinger, Beate; Dalkner, Nina; Fellendorf, Frederike T.; Birner, Armin; Bengesser, Susanne A.; Platzer, Martina; Kapfhammer, Hans-Peter; Probst, Michel; Reininghaus, Eva Z.

2017-01-01

Background Despite the importance of body awareness for health and well-being there is still a lack of valid assessment tools to scan proper body awareness. To respond to the limitations of questionnaires (reading/interpretation problems) the Awareness-Body-Chart (ABC) was designed to assess body awareness by colouring 51 regions according to their awareness. The objective of this study was to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the ABC. Methods In a questionnaire-study, 106 students in Graz (79 females, 27 males, age median 21 (IQR 20–23) years) filled in the ABC, furthermore a German body awareness questionnaire „KEKS”, and the Beck Depression Inventory II. Factor structure, internal consistency, and retest reliability of the ABC were investigated. Correlations of the ABC with the KEKS and the Beck Depression Inventory II and comparisons of subgroups were conducted. Results Through factor analyses, 14 factors with clear assignments to body parts could be categorized: cranium, face, cervical/lumbar region, chest/abdomen, back, shoulder, upper arm, lower arm/elbow, hand, genital area, thigh/hip, knee, lower leg, and foot. The 14 body parts and the total score showed acceptable to high Cronbach’s alphas (α = .64 - .97). The test-retest reliability showed values between ρ = .71 and ρ = .96. The correlation of the ABC and KEKS (r = .66, p awareness-patterns of various subgroups. PMID:29036217

Subjective Perception of Visual Distortions or Scotomas in Individuals with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Science.gov (United States)

Wittich, Walter; Watanabe, Donald H.; Kapusta, Michael A.; Overbury, Olga

2011-01-01

It is often assumed that persons who develop ocular disease have some form of visual experience that makes them aware of their deficits. However, in the case of peripheral field loss or decreasing vision in dim lighting, as in retinitis pigmentosa, for example, symptoms are more obscure and may not be as easily identified by the persons who have…

Norm-Aware Socio-Technical Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Savarimuthu, Bastin Tony Roy; Ghose, Aditya

The following sections are included: * Introduction * The Need for Norm-Aware Systems * Norms in human societies * Why should software systems be norm-aware? * Case Studies of Norm-Aware Socio-Technical Systems * Human-computer interactions * Virtual environments and multi-player online games * Extracting norms from big data and software repositories * Norms and Sustainability * Sustainability and green ICT * Norm awareness through software systems * Where To, From Here? * Conclusions

Visual neglect following stroke: current concepts and future focus.

Science.gov (United States)

Ting, Darren S J; Pollock, Alex; Dutton, Gordon N; Doubal, Fergus N; Ting, Daniel S W; Thompson, Michelle; Dhillon, Baljean

2011-01-01

Visual neglect is a common, yet frequently overlooked, neurological disorder following stroke characterized by a deficit in attention and appreciation of stimuli on the contralesional side of the body. It has a profound functional impact on affected individuals. A assessment and management of this condition are hindered, however, by the lack of professional awareness and clinical guidelines. Recent evidence suggests that the underlying deficit in visual attention is due to a disrupted internalized representation of the outer world rather than a disorder of sensory inputs. Dysfunction of the cortical domains and white-matter tracts, as well as inter-hemispheric imbalance, have been implicated in the various manifestations of visual neglect. Optimal diagnosis requires careful history-taking from the patient, family, and friends, in addition to clinical assessment with the line bisection test, the star cancellation test, and the Catherine Bergego Scale. Early recognition and prompt rehabilitation employing a multidisciplinary approach is desirable. Although no treatment has been definitively shown to be of benefit, those with promise include prism adaptation, visual scanning therapy, and virtual reality-based techniques. Further high quality research to seek optimum short- and long-term rehabilitative strategies for visual neglect is required. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Awareness in cardiac anesthesia.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Serfontein, Leon

2010-02-01

Cardiac surgery represents a sub-group of patients at significantly increased risk of intraoperative awareness. Relatively few recent publications have targeted the topic of awareness in this group. The aim of this review is to identify areas of awareness research that may equally be extrapolated to cardiac anesthesia in the attempt to increase understanding of the nature and significance of this scenario and how to reduce it.

Final Report. Institute for Ultralscale Visualization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Kwan-Liu [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Galli, Giulia [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Gygi, Francois [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Max, Nelson [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Owens, John [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Pickett, Warren [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Huang, Jian [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Humphreys, Gregory [NVIDIA Corp., Santa Clara, CA (United States); Moreland, Kenneth [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Ross, Rob [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Shen, Han-Wei [The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Silver, Deborah [Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)

2015-03-01

The SciDAC Institute for Ultrascale Visualization brought together leading experts from visualization, high-performance computing, and science application areas to make advanced visualization solutions for SciDAC scientists and the broader community. Over the five-year project, the Institute introduced many new enabling visualization techniques, which have significantly enhanced scientists’ ability to validate their simulations, interpret their data, and communicate with others about their work and findings. This Institute project involved a large number of junior and student researchers, who received the opportunities to work on some of the most challenging science applications and gain access to the most powerful high-performance computing facilities in the world. They were readily trained and prepared for facing the greater challenges presented by extreme-scale computing. The Institute’s outreach efforts, through publications, workshops and tutorials, successfully disseminated the new knowledge and technologies to the SciDAC and the broader scientific communities. The scientific findings and experience of the Institute team helped plan the SciDAC3 program.

Do Visually Impaired People Develop Superior Smell Ability?

Science.gov (United States)

Majchrzak, Dorota; Eberhard, Julia; Kalaus, Barbara; Wagner, Karl-Heinz

2017-10-01

It is well known that visually impaired people perform better in orientation by sound than sighted individuals, but it is not clear whether this enhanced awareness also extends to other senses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe whether visually impaired subjects develop superior abilities in olfactory perception to compensate for their lack of vision. We investigated the odor perception of visually impaired individuals aged 7 to 89 ( n = 99; 52 women, 47 men) and compared them with subjects of a control group aged 8 to 82 years ( n = 100; 45 women, 55 men) without any visual impairment. The participants were evaluated by Sniffin' Sticks odor identification and discrimination test. Identification ability was assessed for 16 common odors presented in felt-tip pens. In the odor discrimination task, subjects had to determine which of three pens in 16 triplets had a different odor. The median number of correctly identified odorant pens in both groups was the same, 13 of the offered 16. In the discrimination test, there was also no significant difference observed. Gender did not influence results. Age-related changes were observed in both groups with olfactory perception decreasing after the age of 51. We could not confirm that visually impaired people were better in smell identification and discrimination ability than sighted individuals.

Context-awareness and Mobile HCI

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qin, Xiangang; Tan, Chee Wee; Clemmensen, Torkil

2017-01-01

-awareness has been employed broadly in developing applications and services on mobile platform, has had a huge impact on mobile user experience, and has altered the interaction between humans and computers by giving the latter a more active role to play. The significance of context-awareness in the usage......Context-awareness endows mobile devices and services with the capability of interacting with users in an efficient, intelligent, natural and smart fashion. Consequently, context-awareness makes a significant difference to mobile HCI. However, the challenges brought by context-awareness to users...... of mobile devices are rarely examined in depth. In this paper, previous conceptions of context and their contribution to context-awareness in mobile HCI is scrutinized and a preliminary context-computer interaction (CCI) model is advanced to illustrate the interaction characterized by mobile context...

Awareness, knowledge, and barriers to low vision services among eye care practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Jose, Judy; Thomas, Jyothi; Bhakat, Premjit; Krithica, S

2016-01-01

Eyesight plays an important role in our day today life. When the vision gets hampered, daily activities of an individual will be affected. The prevalence of visual impairment is increasing across the globe, with more burdens on the developing world. The uptake of low vision services remains to be low in developing countries like India. A newly constructed questionnaire using information from previously conducted telephonic interviews and article search was administered among 50 eye care practitioners from Kerala, India for the pilot study. Modifications were made in the questionnaire, based on the responses obtained from the pilot study. From their responses, awareness, knowledge, and barriers for the low vision services among eye care practitioners were assessed. (1) Pilot study - the Cronbach's alpha values obtained for knowledge, awareness and barrier questions were 0.814, 0.297, and 0.810, respectively, and content validity index was found to be 0.64. (2) Main study - 211 eye care practitioners from 12 states of India took part in the study that accounted for a response rate of 16.7%. The participants included were 95 (45%) men and 116 (55%) women with a mean age of 28.18 ± 7.04 years. The lack of awareness was found to be the major barrier in the provision and uptake of low vision services from the practitioner's perspective. The study results showed that there is a lack of awareness among eye care practitioners about low vision services, which acts as a major barrier in the effective delivery of these services.

Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers' Views about Visual Arts Education and Aesthetics

Science.gov (United States)

Bilir-Seyhan, Gamze; Ocak-Karabay, Sakire

2018-01-01

Purpose: Pre-service teachers start their university study with only a limited knowledge of art and aesthetics. Early childhood pre-service teachers should be equipped with visual arts education and aesthetics so they will be able to direct artistic activities. Elective courses about art and aesthetics raise pre-service teachers' awareness of…

Tuning to the significant: neural and genetic processes underlying affective enhancement of visual perception and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Markovic, Jelena; Anderson, Adam K; Todd, Rebecca M

2014-02-01

Emotionally arousing events reach awareness more easily and evoke greater visual cortex activation than more mundane events. Recent studies have shown that they are also perceived more vividly and that emotionally enhanced perceptual vividness predicts memory vividness. We propose that affect-biased attention (ABA) - selective attention to emotionally salient events - is an endogenous attentional system tuned by an individual's history of reward and punishment. We present the Biased Attention via Norepinephrine (BANE) model, which unifies genetic, neuromodulatory, neural and behavioural evidence to account for ABA. We review evidence supporting BANE's proposal that a key mechanism of ABA is locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) activity, which interacts with activity in hubs of affective salience networks to modulate visual cortex activation and heighten the subjective vividness of emotionally salient stimuli. We further review literature on biased competition and look at initial evidence for its potential as a neural mechanism behind ABA. We also review evidence supporting the role of the LC-NE system as a driving force of ABA. Finally, we review individual differences in ABA and memory including differences in sensitivity to stimulus category and valence. We focus on differences arising from a variant of the ADRA2b gene, which codes for the alpha2b adrenoreceptor as a way of investigating influences of NE availability on ABA in humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Market characteristics and awareness of managed care options among elderly beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare.

Science.gov (United States)

Mittler, Jessica N; Landon, Bruce E; Zaslavsky, Alan M; Cleary, Paul D

2011-10-14

Medicare beneficiaries' awareness of Medicare managed care plans is critical for realizing the potential benefits of coverage choices. To assess the relationships of the number of Medicare risk plans, managed care penetration, and stability of plans in an area with traditional Medicare beneficiaries' awareness of the program. Cross-sectional analysis of Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data about beneficiaries' awareness and knowledge of Medicare managed care plan availability. Logistic regression models used to assess the relationships between awareness and market characteristics. Traditional Medicare beneficiaries (n = 3,597) who had never been enrolled in Medicare managed care, but had at least one plan available in their area in 2002, and excluding beneficiaries under 65, receiving Medicaid, or with end stage renal disease. Traditional Medicare beneficiaries' knowledge of Medicare managed care plans in general and in their area. Having more Medicare risk plans available was significantly associated with greater awareness, and having an intermediate number of plans (2-4) was significantly associated with more accurate knowledge of Medicare risk plan availability than was having fewer or more plans. Medicare may have more success engaging consumers in choice and capturing the benefits of plan competition by more actively selecting and managing the plan choice set. Public Domain.

Saturated in beer: awareness of beer advertising in late childhood and adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Rebecca L; Ellickson, Phyllis L; McCaffrey, Daniel F; Hambarsoomians, Katrin

2005-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine exposure, response to, and awareness of beer advertising in 2 age groups, including awareness of a Budweiser advertisement (ad) that portrayed lizards and an animated ferret. In the spring of 2000, 1,996 fourth graders and 1,525 ninth graders attending 1 of 60 South Dakota schools participated in an in-school survey. Several indicators of advertising awareness, exposure, and response were assessed: recognition, product naming, brand naming, and liking in response to stills drawn from 4 masked television beer ads, listing of beer brands, exposure, attention to, and skepticism toward television beer ads. Fourteen percent of 4th graders and 20% of 9th graders recognized at least 3 of 4 sample beer ads. Seventy-five percent of 4th graders and 87% of 9th graders recognized the Budweiser ferret ad; about one in three 4th graders could name the brand it advertised, whereas more than three in four 9th graders could do so. When asked to list as many beer brands as they could, almost 29% of 4th graders listed 3 or more beer brands and 82% of 9th graders did so. Ninth graders liked beer advertisements more and paid greater attention to them, but 4th graders were exposed to them more often. Television beer ads result in high levels of beer advertising awareness in children as young as age 9, and even higher awareness among 14-year-olds. Practices that expose or appeal to youth, including use of animated characters, should be avoided by beer advertisers.

Visual function, driving safety, and the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Keltner, J L; Johnson, C A

1987-09-01

The authors have conducted a survey of the Departments of Motor Vehicles in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico requesting information about the visual standards, accidents, and conviction rates for different age groups. In addition, we have reviewed the literature on visual function and traffic safety. Elderly drivers have a greater number of vision problems that affect visual acuity and/or peripheral visual fields. Although the elderly are responsible for a small percentage of the total number of traffic accidents, the types of accidents they are involved in (e.g., failure to yield the right-of-way, intersection collisions, left turns onto crossing streets) may be related to peripheral and central visual field problems. Because age-related changes in performance occur at different rates for various individuals, licensing of the elderly driver should be based on functional abilities rather than age. Based on information currently available, we can make the following recommendations: (1) periodic evaluations of visual acuity and visual fields should be performed every 1 to 2 years in the population over age 65; (2) drivers of any age with multiple accidents or moving violations should have visual acuity and visual fields evaluated; and (3) a system should be developed for physicians to report patients with potentially unsafe visual function. The authors believe that these recommendations may help to reduce the number of traffic accidents that result from peripheral visual field deficits.

Matisse: A Visual Analytics System for Exploring Emotion Trends in Social Media Text Streams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steed, Chad A [ORNL; Drouhard, Margaret MEG G [ORNL; Beaver, Justin M [ORNL; Pyle, Joshua M [ORNL; BogenII, Paul L. [Google Inc.

2015-01-01

Dynamically mining textual information streams to gain real-time situational awareness is especially challenging with social media systems where throughput and velocity properties push the limits of a static analytical approach. In this paper, we describe an interactive visual analytics system, called Matisse, that aids with the discovery and investigation of trends in streaming text. Matisse addresses the challenges inherent to text stream mining through the following technical contributions: (1) robust stream data management, (2) automated sentiment/emotion analytics, (3) interactive coordinated visualizations, and (4) a flexible drill-down interaction scheme that accesses multiple levels of detail. In addition to positive/negative sentiment prediction, Matisse provides fine-grained emotion classification based on Valence, Arousal, and Dominance dimensions and a novel machine learning process. Information from the sentiment/emotion analytics are fused with raw data and summary information to feed temporal, geospatial, term frequency, and scatterplot visualizations using a multi-scale, coordinated interaction model. After describing these techniques, we conclude with a practical case study focused on analyzing the Twitter sample stream during the week of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The case study demonstrates the effectiveness of Matisse at providing guided situational awareness of significant trends in social media streams by orchestrating computational power and human cognition.

Working memory can enhance unconscious visual perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yi; Cheng, Qiu-Ping; Luo, Qian-Ying

2012-06-01

We demonstrate that unconscious processing of a stimulus property can be enhanced when there is a match between the contents of working memory and the stimulus presented in the visual field. Participants first held a cue (a colored circle) in working memory and then searched for a brief masked target shape presented simultaneously with a distractor shape. When participants reported having no awareness of the target shape at all, search performance was more accurate in the valid condition, where the target matched the cue in color, than in the neutral condition, where the target mismatched the cue. This effect cannot be attributed to bottom-up perceptual priming from the presentation of a memory cue, because unconscious perception was not enhanced when the cue was merely perceptually identified but not actively held in working memory. These findings suggest that reentrant feedback from the contents of working memory modulates unconscious visual perception.

Future needs for improvement of NIHL awareness training and HPD practices in the South African mining industry

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Edwards, A

2012-08-01

Full Text Available around the ears. ? Custom moulded for individuals ear-some of the brand names are Variphone, Noise Ban, Noise Clipper 7 Methodology ? Literature review ? Survey mines- interview managers ? Interview employees ? Observe employees 8... like?...continued 6. Training methods - Adult education - own language, visually stimulating, interactive, perceptions of susceptibility, touch emotions 7. Essential content of awareness training-cause of NIHL, effect of NIHL, methods to mitigate...

Mammographic breast density as a risk factor for breast cancer: awareness in a recently screened clinical sample.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Suzanne C; Leventhal, Kara Grace; Scarles, Marie; Evans, Chalanda N; Makariou, Erini; Pien, Edward; Willey, Shawna

2014-01-01

Breast density is an established, independent risk factor for breast cancer. Despite this, density has not been included in standard risk models or routinely disclosed to patients. However, this is changing in the face of legal mandates and advocacy efforts. Little information exists regarding women's awareness of density as a risk factor, their personal risk, and risk management options. We assessed awareness of density as a risk factor and whether sociodemographic variables, breast cancer risk factors. and perceived breast cancer risk were associated with awareness in 344 women with a recent screening mammogram at a tertiary care center. Overall, 62% of women had heard about density as a risk factor and 33% had spoken to a provider about breast density. Of the sample, 18% reported that their provider indicated that they had high breast density. Awareness of density as a risk factor was greater among White women and those with other breast cancer risk factors. Our results suggest that although a growing number of women are aware of breast density as a risk factor, this awareness varies. Growing mandates for disclosure suggest the need for patient education interventions for women at increased risk for the disease and to ensure all women are equally aware of their risks. Copyright © 2014 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effective communication of risks to young adults: using message framing and visual aids to increase condom use and STD screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Retamero, Rocio; Cokely, Edward T

2011-09-01

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)-including HIV/AIDS-are among the most common infectious diseases in young adults. How can we effectively promote prevention and detection of STDs in this high risk population? In a two-phase longitudinal experiment we examined the effects of a brief risk awareness intervention (i.e., a sexual health information brochure) in a large sample of sexually active young adults (n = 744). We assessed the influence of gain- and loss-framed messages, and visual aids, on affective reactions, risk perceptions, attitudes, behavioral intentions, and reported behaviors relating to the prevention and detection of STDs. Results indicate that gain-framed messages induced greater adherence for prevention behaviors (e.g., condom use), whereas loss-framed messages were more effective in promoting illness-detecting behaviors (e.g., making an appointment with a doctor to discuss about STD screening). The influence of the framed messages on prevention and detection of STDs was mediated by changes in participants' attitudes toward the health behaviors along with changes in their behavioral intentions. Moreover, when visual aids were added to the health information, both the gain- and loss-framed messages became equally and highly effective in promoting health behaviors. These results converge with other data indicating that well-constructed visual aids are often among the most highly effective, transparent, fast, memorable, and ethically desirable means of risk communication. Theoretical, economic, and public policy implications of these results are discussed. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Task-related modulation of visual neglect in cancellation tasks

OpenAIRE

Sarri, Margarita; Greenwood, Richard; Kalra, Lalit; Driver, Jon

2008-01-01

Unilateral neglect involves deficits of spatial exploration and awareness that do not always affect a fixed portion of extrapersonal space, but may vary with current stimulation and possibly with task demands. Here, we assessed any ‘top-down’, task-related influences on visual neglect, with novel experimental variants of the cancellation test. Many different versions of the cancellation test are used clinically, and can differ in the extent of neglect revealed, though the exact factors determ...

Global projects and Astronomy awareness activities in Nepal

Science.gov (United States)

Gautam, Suman

2015-08-01

Modern astronomy is a crowning achievement of human civilization which inspires teenagers to choose career in science and technology and is a stable of adult education. It is a unique and cost effective tool for furthering sustainable global development because of its technological, scientific and cultural dimensions which allow us to reach with the large portion of the community interact with children and inspire with our wonderful cosmos.Using astronomy to stimulate quality and inspiring education for disadvantaged children is an important goal of Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO) since its inception. NASO is carrying out various awareness activities on its own and in collaboration with national and international organizations like Central Department of Physics Tribhuvan University (TU), International astronomical Union (IAU), Department of Physics Prithvi Narayan Campus Pokhara, Nepal academy of science and technology (NAST), Global Hands on Universe (GHOU), EU- UNAWE and Pokhara Astronomical Society (PAS) to disseminate those activities for the school children and teachers in Nepal. Our experiences working with kids, students, teachers and public in the field of universe Awareness Activities for the school children to minimize the abstruse concept of astronomy through some practical approach and the project like Astronomy for the visually impaired students, Galileo Teacher Training program and International School for young astronomers (ISYA) outskirts will be explained which is believed to play vital role in promoting astronomy and space science activities in Nepal.

Public Computer Assisted Learning Facilities for Children with Visual Impairment: Universal Design for Inclusive Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Siu, Kin Wai Michael; Lam, Mei Seung

2012-01-01

Although computer assisted learning (CAL) is becoming increasingly popular, people with visual impairment face greater difficulty in accessing computer-assisted learning facilities. This is primarily because most of the current CAL facilities are not visually impaired friendly. People with visual impairment also do not normally have access to…

Sex differences in adults' relative visual interest in female and male faces, toys, and play styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Gerianne M; Charles, Nora

2009-06-01

An individual's reproductive potential appears to influence response to attractive faces of the opposite sex. Otherwise, relatively little is known about the characteristics of the adult observer that may influence his or her affective evaluation of male and female faces. An untested hypothesis (based on the proposed role of attractive faces in mate selection) is that most women would show greater interest in male faces whereas most men would show greater interest in female faces. Further, evidence from individuals with preferences for same-sex sexual partners suggests that response to attractive male and female faces may be influenced by gender-linked play preferences. To test these hypotheses, visual attention directed to sex-linked stimuli (faces, toys, play styles) was measured in 39 men and 44 women using eye tracking technology. Consistent with our predictions, men directed greater visual attention to all male-typical stimuli and visual attention to male and female faces was associated with visual attention to gender conforming or nonconforming stimuli in a manner consistent with previous research on sexual orientation. In contrast, women showed a visual preference for female-typical toys, but no visual preference for male faces or female-typical play styles. These findings indicate that sex differences in visual processing extend beyond stimuli associated with adult sexual behavior. We speculate that sex differences in visual processing are a component of the expression of gender phenotypes across the lifespan that may reflect sex differences in the motivational properties of gender-linked stimuli.

Contraceptive awareness among men in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Mohammad Amirul; Padmadas, Sabu S; Smith, Peter W F

2006-04-01

A considerable gap exists between contraceptive awareness and use. Traditional approaches to measuring awareness are inadequate to properly understand the linkages between awareness and use. The objective of this study was to examine the degree of men's modern contraceptive awareness in Bangladesh and the associated determinants and further testing of a hypothesis that current contraceptive use confers a high degree of method awareness. This study used the couple data set from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (1999-2000). A two-level, multinomial logistic regression was used with the degree of contraceptive awareness as the dependent variable. The degree of awareness was measured by the reported number of modern contraceptive methods known among men aged 15-59 years. Men's responses on method awareness were classified according to those reported spontaneously and probed. Nearly 100% of the study participants reported having heard of at least one method and about half reported awareness of at least eight different methods of contraception. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that older and educated men were more likely to have reported a high degree of awareness. The findings confirmed our hypothesis that current contraceptive use is likely to confer a high degree of modern method awareness among men (pknowledge of contraceptive methods to improve the uptake of especially male-based modern methods.

Visual exploration and analysis of human-robot interaction rules

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hui; Boyles, Michael J.

2013-01-01

We present a novel interaction paradigm for the visual exploration, manipulation and analysis of human-robot interaction (HRI) rules; our development is implemented using a visual programming interface and exploits key techniques drawn from both information visualization and visual data mining to facilitate the interaction design and knowledge discovery process. HRI is often concerned with manipulations of multi-modal signals, events, and commands that form various kinds of interaction rules. Depicting, manipulating and sharing such design-level information is a compelling challenge. Furthermore, the closed loop between HRI programming and knowledge discovery from empirical data is a relatively long cycle. This, in turn, makes design-level verification nearly impossible to perform in an earlier phase. In our work, we exploit a drag-and-drop user interface and visual languages to support depicting responsive behaviors from social participants when they interact with their partners. For our principal test case of gaze-contingent HRI interfaces, this permits us to program and debug the robots' responsive behaviors through a graphical data-flow chart editor. We exploit additional program manipulation interfaces to provide still further improvement to our programming experience: by simulating the interaction dynamics between a human and a robot behavior model, we allow the researchers to generate, trace and study the perception-action dynamics with a social interaction simulation to verify and refine their designs. Finally, we extend our visual manipulation environment with a visual data-mining tool that allows the user to investigate interesting phenomena such as joint attention and sequential behavioral patterns from multiple multi-modal data streams. We have created instances of HRI interfaces to evaluate and refine our development paradigm. As far as we are aware, this paper reports the first program manipulation paradigm that integrates visual programming

Survey on the awareness of diabetic retinopathy among people with diabetes in the Songnan community of Shanghai

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Xiong

2015-07-01

Full Text Available AIM: To investigatethe prevalence and awareness of diabetic retinopathy(DR, as well as its influential factors, among patients with diabetes mellitus in the Songnan Community of Shanghai.METHODS: Residents with diabetes mellitus were randomly sampled in Shanghai's Songnan Community. These patients received full physical examinations. DR was diagnosed using non-mydriatic fundus photography. The patients completed a survey concerning their general knowledge and awareness of DR.RESULTS: A total of 1120 valid questionnaires and fundus photographs were collected. The incidence of DR among patients with diabetes was 23.6%; 17.1% had mild DR, 5.1% had moderate DR and 1.4% had severe DR. Of the survey participants, 14.1% received ophthalmic examinations over the last year, 71.5% knew their normal blood glucose levels, 85.7% were aware of the possibility of systemic complications caused by diabetes, 77.2% were aware of ocular complications, 47.9% were aware of the need for regular fundus examinations, 58.0% were aware that the early treatment of DR is an important measure to prevent visual impairment, and 59.9% were willing to participate in regular health education seminars. A univariate analysis indicated that the knowledge and awareness scores regarding DR were correlated with age, education level, type of medical insurance, duration of diabetes, diet control, blood glucose monitoring, fasting blood glucose level, exercise frequency and DR stage. A logistic regression analysis indicated that the factors affecting the DR awareness scores were age, education level, type of medical insurance, stage of diabetes, diet control, exercise frequency and DR stage.CONCLUSION: The patients with diabetes in the Songnan Community lacked sufficient awareness of DR prevention and treatment methods. The existing awareness of DR among the survey participants did not lead to effective prevention or treatment actions associated with this condition. It is necessary to

The "wh" questions of visual phonics: what, who, where, when, and why.

Science.gov (United States)

Narr, Rachel F; Cawthon, Stephanie W

2011-01-01

Visual Phonics is a reading instructional tool that has been implemented in isolated classrooms for over 20 years. In the past 5 years, several experimental studies demonstrated its efficacy with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Through a national survey with 200 participants, this study specifically addresses who, where, how, and why a sample of teachers use Visual Phonics in their everyday reading instruction. Through checklists of teaching practice, rating scales, and open-ended questions, teachers self-reported their use of Visual Phonics, reflected upon its efficacy, and what they think about using it with students with a diverse set of instructional needs. The majority reported that Visual Phonics was easy to use, engaging to students, and easy to integrate into a structured reading curriculum. The majority of respondents agreed that it helps increase phonemic awareness and decoding skills, build vocabulary, as well as increase reading comprehension. The implications of these findings in bridging the research-to-practice gap are discussed.

Metabolic mapping of the brain's response to visual stimulation: studies in humans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phelps, M.E.; Kuhl, D.E.; Mazziotta, J.C.

1981-01-01

These studies demonstrated increasing glucose metabolic rates in the human primary (PVC) and associative (AVC) visual cortex as the complexity of visual scenes increased. The metabolic response of the AVC increased more rapidly with scene complexity than that of the PVC, indicating the greater involvement of the higher order AVC for complex visual interpretations. Increases in local metabolic activity by as much as a factor of 2 above that of control subjects with eyes closed indicate the wide range and metabolic reserve of the visual cortex

Awareness, understanding and attitudes of Italians regarding palliative care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franca Benini

2011-01-01

Full Text Available There are numerous difficulties encountered in the diffusion of palliative care (PC in developed countries. A correct and widespread awareness of PC among the general public represents an important factor for its enhanced diffusion and use. The aim of this study is to verify the level of awareness of PC among Italians and their perception of the needs of patients with incurable illness. A random sample of 1897 adult subjects, aged 18 to 74 years, representative of the Italian population, was interviewed after stratification by gender, age (6 strata, education (3 levels, geographic area of residency (4 areas and town of residency (4 dimensions. 59.4% of those interviewed had heard of PC, but only 23.5% of them believed that they had an adequate or precise idea of what PC is; 27% of them did not know or had a mistaken idea about the nature of PC. The most accepted perception was that PC alleviates pain and improves quality-of-life. The principal concerns attributed to incurable patients were: fear of suffering and of death, and the principal needs were perceived as: relief from pain and physical suffering. The primary needs of the family were identified in: medical and nursing care at home, followed by: care provided by volunteers and psychological support. The most appropriate care-setting for these patients was indicated as their home, possibly with the support of professional carers. In the case of children, the main concern indicated was that of being "separated" from family, friends, home and toys. Only 45.2% of interviewees thought that they knew a person who had experienced PC. In conclusion, the awareness of the Italian population of PC is scarce and often incorrect. In order to achieve a greater diffusion and better use of PC in our country, this awareness needs to be improved by appropriate intervention.

Comparing Canadian and American cybersecurity awareness levels: Educational strategies to increase public awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Hoggard, Amy

Cybersecurity awareness is an important issue that affects everyone who uses a computer or a mobile device. Canada and the United States both recognize the value of mitigating cybersecurity risks in terms of national safety, economic stability and protection of their citizens. The research performed compared the levels of cybersecurity awareness in Canadian and American Internet users. Canadian and American users were equally aware of cybersecurity measures, but were not implementing best practices to keep themselves safe. The research suggested users needed to understand why a cybersecurity measure was important before being motivated to implement it. Educational strategies were reviewed in both Canada and the United States and it was determined that although there were significant resources available, they were not being utilized by both the educators and the public. In order to increase cybersecurity awareness levels, nations should focus on increasing the public's awareness by using various types of messaging, such as cartoons, in media. One possible consideration is a compulsory awareness model before accessing the Internet. Cybersecurity topics should be included in the curriculum for students at all levels of education and a focus on providing training and resources to teachers will help increase the cybersecurity knowledge of children and youth.

Situational Awareness of Network System Roles (SANSR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huffer, Kelly M [ORNL; Reed, Joel W [ORNL

2017-01-01

In a large enterprise it is difficult for cyber security analysts to know what services and roles every machine on the network is performing (e.g., file server, domain name server, email server). Using network flow data, already collected by most enterprises, we developed a proof-of-concept tool that discovers the roles of a system using both clustering and categorization techniques. The tool's role information would allow cyber analysts to detect consequential changes in the network, initiate incident response plans, and optimize their security posture. The results of this proof-of-concept tool proved to be quite accurate on three real data sets. We will present the algorithms used in the tool, describe the results of preliminary testing, provide visualizations of the results, and discuss areas for future work. Without this kind of situational awareness, cyber analysts cannot quickly diagnose an attack or prioritize remedial actions.

A dynamic binaural synthesis system for investigation into situational awareness for truck drivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Flemming; Møller, Anders Kalsgaard; Hammershøi, Dorte

2016-01-01

into the reason for this point to cognitive phenomena such as change blindness, where more visual information won’t help. For other professional vehicle operators such as pilots, auditory solutions adding to a higher situational awareness has proven valuable. This paper describes the development of a dynamic...... communicating over a network protocol (UDP) enabling distribution on several hardware devices. The modules are: Graphical user interface, head tracking server, truck tracking, and binaural synthesis module. The function of the individual modules as well as overall topology of the system will be presented...

Low Cognitive Awareness, but Not Complaint, is a Good Marker of Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Cacciamani, Federica; Tandetnik, Caroline; Gagliardi, Geoffroy; Bertin, Hugo; Habert, Marie-Odile; Hampel, Harald; Boukadida, Laurie; Révillon, Marie; Epelbaum, Stéphane; Dubois, Bruno

2017-01-01

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may result from many conditions, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we searched for a specific pattern of SCD in asymptomatic individuals at risk for AD. Cognitively normal older adults (N = 318) reporting SCD and their informants were enrolled in the INSIGHT-PreAD cohort. We examined the relationship between six SCD measures and both cognitive scores and AD neuroimaging markers (amyloid burden, hippocampal atrophy and brain hypometabolism). An awareness of cognitive decline index (ACDI) has been introduced based on the subject-informant discrepancy in a questionnaire of SCD and participants with low versus high awareness were compared. Scores in the INSIGHT-PreAD SCD questionnaires did not correlate with AD neuroimaging markers. As well, no correlation has been found between SCD measures and cognitive scores. Comparing subjects with a low (n = 19) and high (n = 86) level of awareness, no significant difference in terms of demography, neuropsychiatric symptoms, autonomy, quality of life, cognition, and hippocampal volume was found. However, the "low awareness" group showed greater amyloid burden and lower cortical metabolism, compared to the "high awareness" group. This study provided additional evidence that reporting SCD by itself is not a specific symptom of preclinical AD. Conversely, a low cognitive awareness (namely, when subjects report fewer difficulties than their relatives do) may represent a very early form of anosognosia and serve as a specific indicator of preclinical AD. This finding is of key importance as an enrichment factor to consider in both clinical practice and research trials.

Visual abilities in students with severe developmental delay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Welinder, Lotte G; Baggesen, Kirsten L

previously been undiagnosed. Students tested with preferential looking systems (N = 78) had significantly lower visual acuities [VA (decimal) = 0.55] than students tested with ortho types [VA (decimal) = 0.91] and had problems participating in the colour and form tests, possibly due to cerebral VI...... impairment is a common condition in students with severe DD. Despite increased awareness of VI in the school and health care system, we continued to find a considerable number of students with hitherto undiagnosed decreased vision....

The impact of work experience of small and medium-sized enterprises owners or managers on their competitive intelligence awareness and practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rene Pellissier

2013-06-01

Objectives: The objective of this research was to establish the influence of owners’ and managers' working experience of CI practice and awareness in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs environment. Method: This research was quantitative in nature and a questionnaire was used to collect data from SMEs owners and managers in The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Results: This research indicates that SMEs in the study are aware of CI through education and training. Moreover, the study reveals that the working experience of owners and managers has a great influence on awareness and practice of CI and one should implement training programmes in this domain to assist with building competitive advantage. Conclusion: Small and medium-sized enterprises owners or managers’ years of working experience has a greater influence on awareness and practice of CI. Put differently, years of working experience is a great predictor of CI awareness and practice.

Awareness Mechanisms in Groupware Systems

OpenAIRE

Byrne, Peter

2004-01-01

The main focus of this dissertation is to study the awareness mechanisms in groupware computing. The object of this study is to create a platform for testing awareness mechanisms in a general and empirical fashion. The platform will allow different awareness schemes to be enabled and disabled as required. The awareness mechanisms that will be supported in this project are the use of colour as a carrier of embodiment information, the use of radars and telepointers to present location awaren...

How to Visualize and Communicate Challenges in Climate and Environmental Sciences?

Science.gov (United States)

Vicari, R.; Schertzer, D. J. M.; Deutsch, J. C.

2014-12-01

The challenges of climate and environmental sciences need a renewed dialogue with a large spectrum of stakeholders, ranging from the general publics to specialists. This requires a better use of sophisticated visualization techniques to both forward the information and to follow the corresponding flow of information. A particular case of interest is the question of resilience to extreme weather events that also relies on increasing awareness of urban communities. This research looks at the development of exploration techniques of unstructured Big Data. Indeed access to information on environmental and climate sciences has hugely increased in terms of variety and quantity, as a consequence of different factors, among others the development of public relations by research institutes and the pervasive role of digital media (Bucchi 2013; Trench 2008). We are left with unthinkable amounts of information from blogs, social networks postings, public speeches, press releases, articles, etc. It is possible now to explore and visualize patterns followed by digital information with the support of automated analysis tools. On the other hand these techniques can provide important insights on how different techniques of visual communication can impact on urban resilience to extreme weather. The selected case studies correspond to several research projects under the umbrella of the Chair "Hydrology for resilient cities" aimed to develop and test new solutions in urban hydrology that will contribute to the resilience of our cities to extreme weather. These research projects - ranging from regional projects (e.g. RadX@IdF), European projects (e.g. Blue Green Dream and RainGain), to worldwide collaborations (e.g. TOMACS) - include awareness raising and capacity building activities aimed to foster cooperation between scientists, professionals, and beneficiaries. This presentation will explore how visualization techniques can be used in the above mentioned projects in order to support

Computing and Visualizing Reachable Volumes for Maneuvering Satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, M.; de Vries, W.; Pertica, A.; Olivier, S.

2011-09-01

Detecting and predicting maneuvering satellites is an important problem for Space Situational Awareness. The spatial envelope of all possible locations within reach of such a maneuvering satellite is known as the Reachable Volume (RV). As soon as custody of a satellite is lost, calculating the RV and its subsequent time evolution is a critical component in the rapid recovery of the satellite. In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo approach to computing the RV for a given object. Essentially, our approach samples all possible trajectories by randomizing thrust-vectors, thrust magnitudes and time of burn. At any given instance, the distribution of the "point-cloud" of the virtual particles defines the RV. For short orbital time-scales, the temporal evolution of the point-cloud can result in complex, multi-reentrant manifolds. Visualization plays an important role in gaining insight and understanding into this complex and evolving manifold. In the second part of this paper, we focus on how to effectively visualize the large number of virtual trajectories and the computed RV. We present a real-time out-of-core rendering technique for visualizing the large number of virtual trajectories. We also examine different techniques for visualizing the computed volume of probability density distribution, including volume slicing, convex hull and isosurfacing. We compare and contrast these techniques in terms of computational cost and visualization effectiveness, and describe the main implementation issues encountered during our development process. Finally, we will present some of the results from our end-to-end system for computing and visualizing RVs using examples of maneuvering satellites.

Computing and Visualizing Reachable Volumes for Maneuvering Satellites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, M.; de Vries, W.H.; Pertica, A.J.; Olivier, S.S.

2011-01-01

Detecting and predicting maneuvering satellites is an important problem for Space Situational Awareness. The spatial envelope of all possible locations within reach of such a maneuvering satellite is known as the Reachable Volume (RV). As soon as custody of a satellite is lost, calculating the RV and its subsequent time evolution is a critical component in the rapid recovery of the satellite. In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo approach to computing the RV for a given object. Essentially, our approach samples all possible trajectories by randomizing thrust-vectors, thrust magnitudes and time of burn. At any given instance, the distribution of the 'point-cloud' of the virtual particles defines the RV. For short orbital time-scales, the temporal evolution of the point-cloud can result in complex, multi-reentrant manifolds. Visualization plays an important role in gaining insight and understanding into this complex and evolving manifold. In the second part of this paper, we focus on how to effectively visualize the large number of virtual trajectories and the computed RV. We present a real-time out-of-core rendering technique for visualizing the large number of virtual trajectories. We also examine different techniques for visualizing the computed volume of probability density distribution, including volume slicing, convex hull and isosurfacing. We compare and contrast these techniques in terms of computational cost and visualization effectiveness, and describe the main implementation issues encountered during our development process. Finally, we will present some of the results from our end-to-end system for computing and visualizing RVs using examples of maneuvering satellites.

Awareness of nutrition problems among Vietnamese health and education professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Thi Hai Quynh; Worsley, Anthony; Lawrence, Mark; Marshall, Bernie

2017-10-01

Professionals who provide nutrition education and consulting to the public are encouraged to take into account the health, environmental and social contexts that influence health-related attitudes and behaviours in the population. This paper examined the awareness of shifts in population health outcomes associated with the nutrition transition in Vietnam among university nutrition lecturers, health professionals and school education professionals. Most of these professionals held accurate views of the current population health issues in Vietnam. However, they differed in their awareness of the seriousness of overweight and obesity. Although the majority indicated that the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had increased, nearly half believed that the government should complete its attempts to control undernutrition before trying to control obesity. More health professionals believed that food marketing was responsible for the growing prevalence of children's obesity, and more of them disapproved of the marketing of less healthy food to children. In contrast, the university nutrition lecturers were least aware of food marketing and the seriousness of obesity. Of the three groups, the university nutrition lecturers held less accurate perceptions of nutrition transition problems and their likely drivers. There is an urgent need for greater provision of public nutrition education for all three groups of professionals. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A review of consumer awareness, understanding and use of food based dietary guidelines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brown, Kerry; Timotijevic, Lada; Barnett, Julie

2011-01-01

discussed interchangeably. Nevertheless, a greater amount of evidence for consumer awareness and understanding was reported than consumer use of FBDG. The twenty-eight studies varied in terms of aim, design and method. Study quality also varied with raw qualitative data, and quantitative method details were......Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) have primarily been designed for the consumer to encourage healthy, habitual food choices, decrease chronic disease risk and improve public health. However, minimal research has been conducted to evaluate whether FBDG are utilised by the public. The present...... review used a framework of three concepts, awareness, understanding and use, to summarise consumer evidence related to national FBDG and food guides. Searches of nine electronic databases, reference lists and Internet grey literature elicited 939 articles. Predetermined exclusion criteria selected twenty...

Unlocking User-Centered Design Methods for Building Cyber Security Visualizations

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-03

3, 10, 24, 25, 30]. Personas are doc- uments meant to foster communication within a design team as archetypes of users, their behaviors, and their...to evaluation, these two user archetypes became the key motivation to justify and balance all our decisions as a design team. Outcomes We present the...domain-specific task for each archetypal user and visually illustrated the user’s cyber knowl- edge and situational awareness (SA) focus. We also

Phonemic Awareness and Young Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Wasik, Barbara A.

2001-01-01

Asserts that regardless of the method used to teach reading, children first need a strong basis in phonemic awareness. Describes phonemic awareness, differentiates it from phonics, and presents available research findings. Advises on the development of phonemic awareness and creation of a classroom environment supportive of its development. (SD)

Awareness of deficits in traumatic brain injury: a multidimensional approach to assessing metacognitive knowledge and online-awareness.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Keeffe, Fiadhnait

2007-01-01

Recent models of impaired awareness in brain injury draw a distinction between metacognitive knowledge of difficulties and online awareness of errors (emergent and anticipatory). We examined performance of 31 Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) participants and 31 healthy controls using a three-strand approach to assessing awareness. Metacognitive knowledge was assessed with an awareness interview and discrepancy scores on three questionnaires--Patient Competency Rating Scale, Frontal Systems Behavioral Scale and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. Online Emergent Awareness was assessed using an online error-monitoring task while participants performed tasks of sustained attention. Online anticipatory awareness was examined using prediction performance on two cognitive tasks. Results indicated that the TBI Low Self-Awareness (SA) group and High SA group did not differ in terms of severity, chronicity or standard neuropsychological tasks but those with Low SA were more likely to exhibit disinhibition, interpersonal problems and more difficulties in total competency. Sustained attention abilities were associated with both types of online awareness (emergent and anticipatory). There was a strong relationship between online emergent and online anticipatory awareness. Metacognitive knowledge did not correlate with the other two measures. This study highlights the necessity in adopting a multidimensional approach to assessing the multifaceted phenomenon of awareness of deficits.

Overview of Human-Centric Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Science and Technology (S&T)

Science.gov (United States)

Ianni, J.; Aleva, D.; Ellis, S.

2012-09-01

A number of organizations, within the government, industry, and academia, are researching ways to help humans understand and react to events in space. The problem is both helped and complicated by the fact that there are numerous data sources that need to be planned (i.e., tasked), collected, processed, analyzed, and disseminated. A large part of the research is in support of the Joint Space Operational Center (JSpOC), National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), and similar organizations. Much recent research has been specifically targeting the JSpOC Mission System (JMS) which has provided a unifying software architecture. This paper will first outline areas of science and technology (S&T) related to human-centric space situational awareness (SSA) and space command and control (C2) including: 1. Object visualization - especially data fused from disparate sources. Also satellite catalog visualizations that convey the physical relationships between space objects. 2. Data visualization - improve data trend analysis as in visual analytics and interactive visualization; e.g., satellite anomaly trends over time, space weather visualization, dynamic visualizations 3. Workflow support - human-computer interfaces that encapsulate multiple computer services (i.e., algorithms, programs, applications) into a 4. Command and control - e.g., tools that support course of action (COA) development and selection, tasking for satellites and sensors, etc. 5. Collaboration - improve individuals or teams ability to work with others; e.g., video teleconferencing, shared virtual spaces, file sharing, virtual white-boards, chat, and knowledge search. 6. Hardware/facilities - e.g., optimal layouts for operations centers, ergonomic workstations, immersive displays, interaction technologies, and mobile computing. Secondly we will provide a survey of organizations working these areas and suggest where more attention may be needed. Although no detailed master plan exists for human

Visual loss at presentation in children with pseudotumor cerebri

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rana Al-Senawi

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To describe visual loss at presentation in children with pseudotumor cerebri (PTC, and discuss mechanisms of visual loss and distinguishing features of pediatric PTC. Materials and Methods: Two children with papilledema and visual complaints were referred for ophthalmic evaluation. Both patients underwent a detailed ophthalmic work-up. Results: Patient 1, an 8-year-old girl, presented with a 2-week history of headache, vomiting, and visual impairment in both eyes. The child had no previous medical history. Patient 2, a 9-year-old boy, experienced sudden loss of vision in both eyes one week prior to presentation, along with severe headache and vomiting. He had undergone a renal transplantation one year back, and his current medications included cyclosporine A (CsA and oral prednisolone. Extensive disc swelling, lipid exudation and retinal thickening in the posterior pole were observed in both patients. Lumbar puncture in both showed elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressure. Both were treated with oral acetazolamide. Patient 1 additionally received intravenous methylprednisolone followed by an oral taper. CsA was stopped in patient 2. PTC and papilledema resolved with above measures in both patients, with partial recovery of visual function. Conclusions: PTC in children may have atypical manifestations. Visual acuity may be compromised acutely due to several factors. Patients with PTC and severe visual loss at presentation mandate an aggressive management approach. Use of intravenous steroids may be considered along with acetazolamide. Despite resolution of PTC, sequelae such as optic atrophy or macular scarring may impede eventual visual recovery. Physicians following patients on CsA need to be aware of the possible neuro-ophthalmic complications of the drug.

Changing viewer perspectives reveals constraints to implicit visual statistical learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yuhong V; Swallow, Khena M

2014-10-07

Statistical learning-learning environmental regularities to guide behavior-likely plays an important role in natural human behavior. One potential use is in search for valuable items. Because visual statistical learning can be acquired quickly and without intention or awareness, it could optimize search and thereby conserve energy. For this to be true, however, visual statistical learning needs to be viewpoint invariant, facilitating search even when people walk around. To test whether implicit visual statistical learning of spatial information is viewpoint independent, we asked participants to perform a visual search task from variable locations around a monitor placed flat on a stand. Unbeknownst to participants, the target was more often in some locations than others. In contrast to previous research on stationary observers, visual statistical learning failed to produce a search advantage for targets in high-probable regions that were stable within the environment but variable relative to the viewer. This failure was observed even when conditions for spatial updating were optimized. However, learning was successful when the rich locations were referenced relative to the viewer. We conclude that changing viewer perspective disrupts implicit learning of the target's location probability. This form of learning shows limited integration with spatial updating or spatiotopic representations. © 2014 ARVO.

Visual attention to food cues in obesity: an eye-tracking study.

Science.gov (United States)

Doolan, Katy J; Breslin, Gavin; Hanna, Donncha; Murphy, Kate; Gallagher, Alison M

2014-12-01

Based on the theory of incentive sensitization, the aim of this study was to investigate differences in attentional processing of food-related visual cues between normal-weight and overweight/obese males and females. Twenty-six normal-weight (14M, 12F) and 26 overweight/obese (14M, 12F) adults completed a visual probe task and an eye-tracking paradigm. Reaction times and eye movements to food and control images were collected during both a fasted and fed condition in a counterbalanced design. Participants had greater visual attention towards high-energy-density food images compared to low-energy-density food images regardless of hunger condition. This was most pronounced in overweight/obese males who had significantly greater maintained attention towards high-energy-density food images when compared with their normal-weight counterparts however no between weight group differences were observed for female participants. High-energy-density food images appear to capture visual attention more readily than low-energy-density food images. Results also suggest the possibility of an altered visual food cue-associated reward system in overweight/obese males. Attentional processing of food cues may play a role in eating behaviors thus should be taken into consideration as part of an integrated approach to curbing obesity. © 2014 The Obesity Society.

An Investigation of the Use of Real-time Image Mosaicing for Facilitating Global Spatial Awareness in Visual Search

Science.gov (United States)

Soung Yee, Anthony

Three experiments have been completed to investigate whether and how a software technique called real-time image mosaicing applied to a restricted field of view (FOV) might influence target detection and path integration performance in simulated aerial search scenarios, representing local and global spatial awareness tasks respectively. The mosaiced FOV (mFOV) was compared to single FOV (sFOV) and one with double the single size (dFOV). In addition to advancing our understanding of visual information in mosaicing, the present study examines the advantages and limitations of a number of metrics used to evaluate performance in path integration tasks, with particular attention paid to measuring performance in identifying complex routes. The highlights of the results are summarized as follows, according to Experiments 1 through 3 respectively. 1. A novel response method for evaluating route identification performance was developed. The surmised benefits of the mFOV relative to sFOV and dFOV revealed no significant differences in performance for the relatively simple route shapes tested. Compared to the mFOV and dFOV conditions, target detection performance in the local task was found to be superior in the sFOV condition. 2. In order to appropriately quantify the observed differences in complex route selections made by the participants, a novel analysis method was developed using the Thurstonian Paired Comparisons Method. 3. To investigate the effect of display size and elevation angle (EA) in a complex route environment, a 2x3 experiment was conducted for the two spatial tasks, at a height selected from Experiment 2. Although no significant differences were found in the target detection task, contrasts in the Paired Comparisons Method results revealed that route identification performance were as hypothesised: mFOV > dFOV > sFOV for EA = 90°. Results were similar for EA = 45°, but with mFOV being no different than dFOV. As hypothesised, EA was found to have an effect

The Puzzle of Visual Development: Behavior and Neural Limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiorpes, Lynne

2016-11-09

The development of visual function takes place over many months or years in primate infants. Visual sensitivity is very poor near birth and improves over different times courses for different visual functions. The neural mechanisms that underlie these processes are not well understood despite many decades of research. The puzzle arises because research into the factors that limit visual function in infants has found surprisingly mature neural organization and adult-like receptive field properties in very young infants. The high degree of visual plasticity that has been documented during the sensitive period in young children and animals leaves the brain vulnerable to abnormal visual experience. Abnormal visual experience during the sensitive period can lead to amblyopia, a developmental disorder of vision affecting ∼3% of children. This review provides a historical perspective on research into visual development and the disorder amblyopia. The mismatch between the status of the primary visual cortex and visual behavior, both during visual development and in amblyopia, is discussed, and several potential resolutions are considered. It seems likely that extrastriate visual areas further along the visual pathways may set important limits on visual function and show greater vulnerability to abnormal visual experience. Analyses based on multiunit, population activity may provide useful representations of the information being fed forward from primary visual cortex to extrastriate processing areas and to the motor output. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3611384-10$15.00/0.