scholarly journals The Use of Virtual Reality in Overcoming the State of Anxiety

Author(s):  
V.G. Anikina ◽  
P.A. Pobokin ◽  
J.Y. Ivchenkova

Modern research in the field of virtualistics concerns the problem of studying the impact of virtual reality on the state of a person’s personality. This perspective of research concerns the issue of corrective and therapeutic use of the potential of virtual reality in solving problems of practical psychology. The experimental study presented in the work is devoted to the study of the influence of virtual reality on the state of anxiety in senior schoolchildren (senior adolescence and early adolescence). In the framework of the diagnostic stage (before and after the experimental exposure), the following were used: Phillips’ School Anxiety Test and Color Sociometry. At the experimental — formative stage — schoolchildren who were diagnosed with high (17.5%) and increased levels of anxiety (30.1%) were included in a virtual reality program to overcome nytophobia. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesis of a decrease in the indicators of the state of anxiety in the study participants; the changes on the scale “General anxiety” of changes in the high level of anxiety φ* = 3.3 (p≤ 0.001) were significant. Micro-changes in color attribution values occurred for all color groups, but significant changes in preferences for self-attribution of crimson color φ* = 2.84 (p ≤ 0.05), and brown color also gave significant results φ* = 3.6 ** (p ≤ 0.001), which may indirectly confirm changes in the state of anxiety in older students

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4663
Author(s):  
Janaina Cavalcanti ◽  
Victor Valls ◽  
Manuel Contero ◽  
David Fonseca

An effective warning attracts attention, elicits knowledge, and enables compliance behavior. Game mechanics, which are directly linked to human desires, stand out as training, evaluation, and improvement tools. Immersive virtual reality (VR) facilitates training without risk to participants, evaluates the impact of an incorrect action/decision, and creates a smart training environment. The present study analyzes the user experience in a gamified virtual environment of risks using the HTC Vive head-mounted display. The game was developed in the Unreal game engine and consisted of a walk-through maze composed of evident dangers and different signaling variables while user action data were recorded. To demonstrate which aspects provide better interaction, experience, perception and memory, three different warning configurations (dynamic, static and smart) and two different levels of danger (low and high) were presented. To properly assess the impact of the experience, we conducted a survey about personality and knowledge before and after using the game. We proceeded with the qualitative approach by using questions in a bipolar laddering assessment that was compared with the recorded data during the game. The findings indicate that when users are engaged in VR, they tend to test the consequences of their actions rather than maintaining safety. The results also reveal that textual signal variables are not accessed when users are faced with the stress factor of time. Progress is needed in implementing new technologies for warnings and advance notifications to improve the evaluation of human behavior in virtual environments of high-risk surroundings.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Sveva Magnanelli ◽  
Elisa Raoli ◽  
Riccardo Tiscini

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of art of female directors in terms of presence, role and remuneration for Italian corporate boards. The analysis wants to highlight the changes occurred after the introduction of the mandatory female quotas legislation in 2012 and to check how many firms are already complying with the law after 2 years. The picture of the state of art is drawn looking at 163 Italian listed firms for a period of 4 years, from 2011 to 2014. The analysis of the data reveals relevant differences in board composition before and after the law. A significant result concerning the presence of female directors stands in the difference between family and non-family firms: the first are those with higher number of female members in the board. Additionally, an interesting data refers to the amount of remuneration for women, which is significantly lower than the remuneration provided to male directors. Being the first work which charts the situation of board composition and board member remuneration in Italy before and after female quotas introduction, this paper wants to trace some key points for future analysis about the impact of female quotas on various firm’s aspects, such as firm performance, firm earning management and quality, governance characteristics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Peteuil ◽  
Corinne Rat ◽  
Sahar Moussa-Badran ◽  
Maud Carpentier ◽  
Jean-François Pelletier ◽  
...  

Objective. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of a therapeutic educational program in oral health (TEPOH) for persons with schizophrenia (PWS). Design. In a qualitative study, we explored the representation of oral health before and after a TEPOH. Clinical Setting: PWS are at greater risk of decayed and missing teeth and periodontal diseases. In a previous publication, we described the different steps in building a TEPOH by taking into account the experiences of PWS concerning oral health quality of life. This TEPOH aimed at promoting a global health approach. Participants: Voluntary PWS and their caregivers were recruited during face-to-face interviews at “Les Boisseaux” (a psychiatric outpatient centre) in Auxerre (France) and were included in the study between November and December 2016. Intervention: We explored the experiences of participants and their perceptions of oral health before and after the TEPOH with focus group meetings. Results. Four females and three males participated in the study, and the mean age was 29.4 ± 5. Before the TEPOH, the PWS produced 28 ideas about oral health perception and 37 after the TEPOH. After the TEPOH, elements relating to the determinants of oral health (smoking and poor diet) emerged. Conclusions. These results show an evolution in oral health representation, and after some adjustments to the TEPOH, the second step will be to test this program in a large sample to generate a high level of evidence of the impact of TEPOH in the long term.


Author(s):  
Alina Butu ◽  
Ioan Sebastian Brumă ◽  
Lucian Tanasă ◽  
Steliana Rodino ◽  
Codrin Dinu Vasiliu ◽  
...  

The present paper intends to address the impact of COVID-19 crisis upon the consumer buying behavior of fresh vegetables directly from local producers as observed 30 days later, after enforcing the state of emergency in Romania within a well-defined area, namely, the quarantined area of Suceava. The study relies on the interpretation of answers received from the quarantined area (N = 257) to a questionnaire applied online nationwide. The starting point of this paper is the analysis of the sociodemographic factors on the purchasing decision of fresh vegetables directly from local producers before declaring the state of emergency in Romania (16 March 2020). Further research has been conducted by interpreting the changes triggered by the COVID-19 crisis on the purchasing intention of such products before and after the end of the respective crisis. The aim of this scientific investigation relies on identifying the methods by which these behavioral changes can influence the digital transformation of short food supply chains.


Author(s):  
Nurzhanat Dalelovna Shakirova ◽  
Nidal Al Said ◽  
Svetlana Mihailovna Konyushenko

The paper discusses the technological capabilities of virtual reality (VR) in the field of education as a highly developed form of computer modeling. VR is con-sidered to be able to revolutionize the education field since it provides better en-gagement in learning activities than other teaching methods. In order to study the impact of VR technology on ensuring the quality of e-learning, an experiment is conducted during the Physical Geography online course. The current research in-volves 60 third-year students from the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical Uni-versity, Moscow Pedagogical State University, and Ajman University. All the re-spondents were divided into two groups. The training of the first group is under-gone through distance learning in the Moodle e-learning system, while the educa-tional process of the second is supplemented with the technological capabilities of the latest VR services (Google Earth, Apple Maps, My Way VR, The VR Muse-um of Fine Art). During the study, students’ subjective assessment of the training is performed according to the basic, expected, and desirable criteria. The exami-nation is carried out in two stages - before and after the course. At the first stage of the assessment, the use of VR corresponds to the desired quality of the educa-tional product. However, after the course and the acquiring of virtual experience, the transfer of the students' desired training criteria into the expected can be ob-served. This indicates a high degree of adaptability of VR technology in educa-tion as well as an increase in the respondents' requirements against the quality of subsequent training courses. Consequently, a significant impact of immersive technology's evolution on the demands on the e-learning quality can be noted.


2015 ◽  
Vol 86 (11) ◽  
pp. e4.103-e4
Author(s):  
James Keitley ◽  
Timothy Lavin ◽  
Martin Punter ◽  
Jason McMinn ◽  
Mark Kellett

BackgroundFrom June 2014, regional guidelines to transfer within 24 hours all radiologically confirmed cases of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) were implemented across Greater Manchester. This service review assesses the impact on assessment, diagnosis and treatment.MethodsWe prospectively recorded all CVT cases transferred into our unit between June 1st and November 30th 2014 (14 patients), and retrospectively reviewed the casenotes of patients admitted in 2012, 2013 and early 2014 (13 patients).ResultsMean number of days from diagnosis to transfer after guideline introduction was 0.4. More patients underwent fundoscopy (86% vs 77%), visual acuity (50% vs 27%), visual field (79% vs 69%) and otoscopy (29% vs 8%). Patients admitted to SRFT previously had shorter symptom to diagnosis, imaging, transfer, and treatment times.ConclusionsAfter guideline introduction we found a high level of compliance with time to transfer, with improvements in several aspects of clinical assessments. We expect that patients previously admitted to our centre were more unwell or already admitted for other reasons (e.g. neurosurgical) and therefore time from symptoms to diagnosis appears longer. We aim to extend the current evaluation to all patients in the region who weren't transferred to our centre to allow a more valid comparison.


2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 618-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ahmadi ◽  
Abdelfettah Bouri

Purpose This research paper aims to identify and measure the contribution of the financial safety act (FSA) regulation in improving the level of financial disclosure of listed Tunisian firms. To answer the problems of the subject, the authors tried to hold accountable several determinants of the level of financial disclosure relating to the particular characteristics of the firm, and the adoption of the recommendations envisaged by the FSA, as likely to have an impact on the level of financial disclosure of Tunisian firms. Design/methodology/approach With a sample composed by 20 companies during the period from 2003 to 2010 (160 observations), the contribution of the FSA regulation in improving the level of financial disclosure of listed Tunisian firms was identified and measured. After that, the levels of financial disclosure before and after the FSA were compared. Findings The study results confirm the positive and significant effect of the FSA on the level of financial disclosure. This impact seems to appear through the improvement of the disclosure level during the years which follow the adoption of the new regulation. The results of this study also show that firms with a high level of financial disclosure are those which have an independent board of directors, auditor BIG and joint audit. Originality/value This paper is devoted to evaluate the impact of the FSA n°2005-96 and corporate governance on the level of financial disclosure. The empirical study relates to a sample of 20 firms listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange observed over the period 2003-2010.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-236
Author(s):  
Jeremie Pagnol Bille Bonga ◽  
Michele Corneille Matchim Kamdem ◽  
Leila Sandra Nnanga ◽  
Ghislain François Eyimi Abessolo ◽  
Marcellin Ndoe Guiaro

Background: The majority of pregnancies and births proceed without complications. However, all pregnancies present risks of complications that could endanger the maternal prognosis. One of the most serious of these complications is the bleeding during delivery. It’s often unpredictable nature, when it occurs, involves an urgent obstetric situation which requires early diagnosis and rapid and effective follow-up. The general objective of this study was to assess the impact of the introduction of the active follow-up care of the third phase of childbirth in the prevention of bleeding during delivery with our place of study, the obstetrical gynecology department of Kindia regional hospital (Konacri Guinea), with the aim of optimizing the follow-up care of pregnant women during their childbirth. Methodology: We carried out a case-control study with both retrospective and prospective data collection on the records of participants with cases of hemorrhage during delivery in the gynecology department of the Kindia regional hospital. Retrospective data collection covered a period of 25 months before the active follow-up care of the third stage of childbirth and concerned the control group of study participants, while the one of prospective data covered a period of 19 months after the introduction of the active follow-up care of the third stage of childbirth from the 1st January 2019 to 30th September 2020 and concerned the cases group. The criteria for matching these two groups of study participants were the diagnosis and the follow-up of the delivery hemorrhage. Results: During our study period in the gynecology department of the Kindia regional hospital, we identified 223 cases of delivery hemorrhage out of 2198 deliveries before the period of introduction of the active follow-up care of the third stage. This represents an incidence of 10.14%, compared to 73 cases of delivery hemorrhage out of 2714 deliveries during the period of the active follow-up care of the third stage. For an incidence of 2.68%. We found that the hemorrhages during delivery did not spare any age group and were observed for all parities. There were common reasons for admission before and after the integration of the active follow-up care of the third stage of childbirth namely vulvar hemorrhage and physical asthenia, which were reflected in the clinical picture of all cases bleeding from the issue. In addition, headaches, dizziness, and thirst were found, but in different proportions and significantly less frequent since the introduction of the active follow-up care of the third stage of childbirth. This sign were in this context the consequence of the state of shock with respective frequencies of 46.63% and 28.76% before and after the introduction of the active follow-up care of the third stage of childbirth and anemia was present in all cases of delivery hemorrhage. Conclusion: The introduction of active follow-up care of the third stage of childbirth has reduced the frequency of delivery hemorrhages and may therefore help to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.


Author(s):  
N. V. Shishkina ◽  
E. A. Mamistova ◽  
T. V. Sabetova

This paper tackles the economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the labor markets and human capital. Specifically, it looks into the issues the pandemic brought upon the human resources and personnel during coronavirus lockdowns. The high level of globalization characteristic of the modern economy has only exacerbated the negative impact of the pandemic. At the moment, it remains impossible to assess the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the damage caused to the economies of countries and regions by this event. However, it is possible to identify the main directions of analysis of the consequences of the pandemic, including in terms of the impact on the state of the labor market, which was the main goal of this study. In particular, the authors highlight a number of consequences, the work on overcoming which is still to be done by the Russian socio-economic system. The most obvious of them is the growth of unemployment, the release of part of the employed and the reduction in the number of jobs, and this is observed extremely unevenly across the sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, the authors point out that the problem of staff release is aggravated by the size of the share of informal employment in the labor market, especially in the sectors of public catering, leisure and tourism that have been most affected by the pandemic. As the second important problem, the authors point to ineffective staff reduction, the dismissal of useful and valuable employees of some organizations while maintaining an unnecessarily bloated staff of others. It also mentions the reasons and forms of staff retention, some of which, being either forced or economically and technologically attractive, give rise to additional problems. The authors call an important social consequence of the pandemic a reduction in the number and level of personal contacts in society, in particular, in working groups. As a result, the author's vision of the long-term consequences of current events for the state of the labor market, employment of the population and the economy as a whole is proposed.)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Agulló ◽  
◽  
Anna Matamala ◽  

Virtual reality has attracted the attention of industry and researchers. Its applications for entertainment and audiovisual content creation are endless. Filmmakers are experimenting with different techniques to create immersive stories. Also, subtitle creators and researchers are finding new ways to implement (sub)titles in this new medium. In this article, the state-of-the-art of cinematic virtual reality content is presented and the current challenges faced by filmmakers when dealing with this medium and the impact of immersive content on subtitling practices are discussed. Moreover, the different studies on subtitles in 360º videos carried out so far and the obtained results are reviewed. Finally, the results of a corpus analysis are presented in order to illustrate the current subtitle practices by The New York Times and the BBC. The results have shed some light on issues such as position, innovative graphic strategies or the different functions, challenging current subtitling standard practices in 2D content.


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