Impact of the packaging of plain soymilk on the intention to purchase of the consumer

The objective of this work was to evaluate the intention to purchase plain soymilk by correlating it with packaging characteristics through the conjoint analysis. Survey of attributes occurred by focus group (41 participants) and five samples of Brazilian original soymilk. Main attributes that interfered in the purchase decision: brand, presence of nutritional appeal, type of illustration of glass containing beverage and background color. Attributes were combined to generate eight packaging proposals, evaluated by 86 participants. SAS was used for data analysis, 85 of which were consistent. Participants were grouped by similarities/dissimilarities in three groups: G1 (48 participants), G2 (31) and G3 (6). G1 preferred packaging containing nutritional appeal and light background, being influenced by the brand. G2 opted for packaging containing nutritional appeal, lesser-known brand and filled glass. G3 preferred the presence of nutritional appeal, lesser known brand, full glass and dark background. Presence of nutritional appeal is the factor that most impacts the purchase decision, but the brand, type of glass illustration and background color are relevant. Packaging with the presence of nutritional appeal, glass with full filling and clear background is more likely to be of interest to consumers.

MATERIAL DE APOIO NO FORMATO ONLINE PARA CONTRIBUIÇÃO À ACESSIBILIDADE DE PESSOAS COM DEFICIÊNCIA VISUAL

Introdução: O presente estudo teve como finalidade contribuir para a acessibilidade de pessoas cegas e com algum nível de função visual deficiente, no que tange o Ensino à Distância (EaD) no Brasil tendo como foco a sugestão da utilização de material de apoio aos estudos no formato online, visto que as instituições de ensino precisam envidar seus esforços na formação educacional EaD desse público. Objetivo: O objetivo da pesquisa é proporcionar para as instituições de ensino meios de apoio e opções para a inclusão dos deficientes visuais e cegos à modalidade de ensino EaD, visando potencializar o design instrucional para a Educação Especial com a oferta de materiais e ensino de qualidade. Material e métodos: Sugere-se a oferta dos materiais de apoio em websites que possuem acessibilidade web, ou seja, os que proporcionam a qualquer informação presente em texto como leitura falada por meio de um sintetizador de voz. A tecnologia assistiva mencionada precisa estar compatível com o Sistema Operacional e disponível para computadores, tablets e celulares, bem como a responsividade dos websites. Para os usuários cegos é sugerida a utilização de ferramentas como: NVDA, Orca, VoiceOver, TalkBack e DOSVOX. Já para os usuários com algum nível visual de deficiência, sugere-se: LentePro, Magnifixer, ZoomIt, High Contrast, Dark Background and Light Text, entre outros. Resultados: Espera-se que as instituições em meio à pandemia consigam adotar as tecnologias satisfatoriamente podendo atender grande parte dos estudantes cegos e deficientes visuais, bem como o aumentar a produtividade acadêmica e o nível de participação nas atividades. Conclusão: Por fim conclui-se que as instituições de ensino focaram nas tecnologias da educação a distância, mas é importante compreender as questões que motivam a discriminação e preconceitos por falta de um olhar mais crítico para um público que carece de inclusão social e agora acessibilidade virtual.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POLYMORPHISM OF THE GREEN TOAD BUFO VIRIDIS (LAURENTI, 1768) IN THE BIOCENOSES OF THE SOUTHERN URALS (REPUBLIC OF BASHKORTOSTAN)

The results of the study of the features of polymorphism of green toad populations in the conditions of the Trans-Urals of the Republic of Bashkortostan are presented. It was found that among the green toads in the urbanized territories of the Trans-Urals, individuals with the color type M3 ("light background, merged spots") and M4 ("dark background, merged spots") prevail. There was a decrease in the diversity index in the conditions of low-rise buildings (m=1.995), as well as industrial (m=2.843) and green zones (m=2.986) relative to the control areas (3.286<m<3.99).

The Cosmos in “Ginevra de’ Benci’’ by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo observed the celestial phenomena to study the phenomenon of light and shadow, which was to be used in painting. The object of the research is the painting “Ginevra de’ Benci’’. This work was created in 1474-1478 by Leonardo da Vinci. In the left half of the painting the oval shape detail bordered with faint contour is observed. Trough the Paint X program, we moved this detail to the right part of the painting in the place of a round shadow near the face of Ginevra. According to our interpretation, the bright and oval face of Ginevra de’ Benci is a metaphorical image of the moon. The dark background around it is a cosmos with numerous stars. Below the displaced detail is a quarter of the sphere that resembles the Earth’s surface and is associated with our planet. The displaced detail represents the oval and is associated with the moon. The layout of the dark spots on the sphere is compared to the relief of the moon, which is described on a modern photo. Finally we can think that the painting describes the earth, the moon, the cosmos, and the stars.

Background luminance effects on pupil size associated with emotion and saccade preparation

Pupil dilation is consistently evoked by affective and cognitive processing, and this dilation can result from sympathetic activation or parasympathetic inhibition. The relative contributions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems on the pupillary response induced by emotion and cognition may be different. Sympathetic and parasympathetic activity is regulated by global luminance level. Higher luminance levels lead to greater activation of the parasympathetic system while lower luminance levels lead to greater activation of the sympathetic system. To understand the contributions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to pupillary responses associated with emotion and saccade preparation, emotional auditory stimuli were presented following the fixation cue whose color indicated instruction to perform a pro- or anti-saccade while varying the background luminance level. Pupil dilation was evoked by emotional auditory stimuli and modulated by arousal level. More importantly, greater pupil dilation was observed with a dark background, compared to a bright background. In contrast, pupil dilation responses associated with saccade preparation were larger with the bright background than the dark background. Together, these results suggest that arousal-induced pupil dilation was mainly mediated by sympathetic activation, but pupil dilation related to saccade preparation was primarily mediated by parasympathetic inhibition.

A few observations on Hermann Grid stimuli

The Hermann Grid is made up of a series of vertical and horizontal bars. The Hermann Grid Illusion consists in the brightness of the intersections appearing different from that of the sections between intersections in spite of the luminance being the same. In the case of a light grid on a dark background the intersections tend to appear darker than the parts between intersections. It is here pointed out, in two different ways, that the stimulus power is less for the parts of the grid located at intersections than for parts of the grid between intersections. This is all in the stimuli and does not depend on vision or the visual system. Were we to assume that a stronger stimulus gives a brighter appearance this would make the parts between intersections appear brighter than the parts of the grid at intersections. This would be consistent with the Hermann Grid Illusion.

Individual variation of the dark-background-contingent upshift of gaze: effect of past habituation

We studied the shift of gaze direction induced by dark background in monkeys. Faced with large inter-individual variability, we asked how common the upshift is, and how the upshift size is distributed. Furthermore, we sought to reckon processes influencing the variability. Approaching these questions necessitates a large sample. Here we report data from 10 rhesus monkeys recorded in Tübingen, together with reported data from 4 cynomolgus monkeys studied in Rehovot. In all 14 monkeys, dark background induced upshift – but no systematic horizontal shift. The upshift might be thought of as a simple sensorimotor response; nevertheless, surprisingly, the monkeys’ previous experience appeared to have a decisive role in influencing the upshift’s size. All the monkeys were previously trained in tasks that involved vision and eye movements; by their previous training, the monkeys were naturally divided into two groups. Monkeys of the first, ‘bright-habituated’ group, previously trained in photopic, bright ambient-light conditions; monkeys of the second, ‘dark-habituated’ group previously trained mostly with isolated dots of light appearing in dim ambient lighting or in full darkness. The dark-habituated monkeys had a larger upshift than the bright-habituated: the groups were separated by a border-value such that 6/7 of the dark-habituated monkeys had upshift larger than the border, and 5/7 of the bright-habituated monkeys had upshift smaller than the border. Thus, the size of the dark-background-induced upshift largely reflects the extent to which a monkey is habituated to work in the dark. Though the upshift is reflex-like sensorimotor behavior, its amplitude largely reflects cumulative experience.

The limner’s art in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Macbeth is a graphic work whose visual rhetoric mirrors the outside atmosphere of the Scottish heath and the inner psyche of the titular characters. This article explores the early modern visual praxis in Macbeth in connection with the art of limning to show that, against a dark background symbolizing evil, the playwright uses golden and gaudy hues as a mirror reflecting Macbeth’s perturbed mind. Eventually, the colour spots in the play are “diapered over” by the white fog of the Scottish heath. Shakespeare thus resorts to specific colour codes in order to create a visual symphony where “foul” becomes “fair.”