Visibility Assessment of New Photovoltaic Power Plants in Areas with Special Landscape Value

Power plants based on renewable sources offer environmental, technical and economic advantages. Of particular importance is the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional power plants. Despite the advantages, people are often opposed to the construction of these facilities due to their high visual impact, particularly if they are close to places with a great cultural and/or landscape value. This paper proposes a new methodology for identifying the most suitable geographical areas for the construction of new photovoltaic (PV) power plants in zones of special scenic or cultural interest, helping to keep the environment free from the visual intrusions caused by these facilities. From several repeated analyses, the degree of visibility of the new PV plant, the potential observation time of passing visitors, considering the route they follow and their speed, and the increase in visibility of the plants when seen totally or partially with the sky as background, are determined. The result obtained is a map showing the ranking of the geographical areas based on a variable calculated in such analyses: the Global Accumulated Perception Time (GAPT). The application of this methodology can help the different agents involved in the decision-making process for the installation of new PV plant by providing them with an objective visibility criterion.

Acoustic-level and language-specific processing of native and non-native phonological sequence onsets in the low gamma and theta-frequency bands

Acoustic structures associated with native-language phonological sequences are enhanced within auditory pathways for perception, although the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. To elucidate processes that facilitate perception, time–frequency (T–F) analyses of EEGs obtained from native speakers of English and Polish were conducted. Participants listened to same and different nonword pairs within counterbalanced attend and passive conditions. Nonwords contained the onsets /pt/, /pət/, /st/, and /sət/ that occur in both the Polish and English languages with the exception of /pt/, which never occurs in the English language in word onset. Measures of spectral power and inter-trial phase locking (ITPL) in the low gamma (LG) and theta-frequency bands were analyzed from two bilateral, auditory source-level channels, created through source localization modeling. Results revealed significantly larger spectral power in LG for the English listeners to the unfamiliar /pt/ onsets from the right hemisphere at early cortical stages, during the passive condition. Further, ITPL values revealed distinctive responses in high and low-theta to acoustic characteristics of the onsets, which were modulated by language exposure. These findings, language-specific processing in LG and acoustic-level and language-specific processing in theta, support the view that multi scale temporal processing in the LG and theta-frequency bands facilitates speech perception.

'My Name to me a Sadness Wears': Self and Other According to 'Diary by E. B. B.'

This paper dwells on the issue of selfhood in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Diary (1831 – 1832). It explores individuation against three major presences in the poetess’s life: her father (and family), Hugh Stuart Boyd, and literature. The employed strategy of research includes a phenomenological (interspersed with feminist touches) focus on select excerpts from the Diary which reveal the writer’s concern for Self as the recognition of the priority of a precursory Other. Observations are made on the limits of human perception, time and space as human variables, the ontological essence of interpretation, and memory as a premise for cognizing life as care. A rare example of prose-fiction in the poetess’s oeuvre, her diary could be read as an instance of simultaneous self-nullification and self-affirmation, which offers possibilities for a dialectical definition of female genius as dialogue through narrative.

The emerging science of microdosing: A systematic review of research on low dose psychedelics (1955 – 2021)

The use of low doses of psychedelic substances (microdosing) is attracting increasing interest. This systematic review summarises all empirical microdosing research to date, including a set of infrequently cited studies that took place prior to prohibition. Specifically, we reviewed 44 studies published between 1955 and 2021, and summarised reported effects across six categories: mood and mental health; wellbeing and attitude; cognition and creativity; personality; changes in conscious state; and neurobiology and physiology. Studies showed a wide range in risk of bias, depending on design, age, and other study characteristics. Laboratory studies found changes in pain perception, time perception, conscious state, and neurophysiology. Self-report studies found changes in cognitive processing and mental health. We review data related to expectation and placebo effects, but argue that claims that microdosing effects are largely due to expectancy are premature and possibly wrong. In addition, we attempt to clarify definitional inconsistencies in the microdosing literature by providing suggested dose ranges across different substances. Finally, we provide specific design suggestions to facilitate more rigorous future research.

Circadian Sensation and Visual Perception

The physiology of living beings presents oscillations that are known as biological rhythms. The most studied rhythm is called circadian (circa = circa, dies = day), because it varies with a period close to 24h. Most functions of the body have circadian variations, one can mention, for example, metabolism, body temperature, the activity of the nervous system, secretion of hormones such as melatonin and cortisol. Circadian rhythms were also found in human behavior, for example: in sensory activity, motor activity, reaction time, visual perception, auditory perception, time perception, attention, memory, arithmetic calculus, and executive functions. The present work reviews the visual path that participates in the synchronization of circadian rhythms, as well as the evidence that exists about the presence of circadian rhythms in the sensation and visual perception of the human being.

Zatrzymać sztuczne raje. O temporalizacji doświadczenia psychodelicznego w pismach Witkacego i Huxleya

The article deals with the problem of verbalizing drug experience and the resulting problem of determining passage of time. I study Aldous Huxley’s and Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz’s trip-reports written during psychedelic experience. Both writers have trouble with defining passage of time, and although they took the same drug, their psychedelic experience took completely different courses. In Huxley’s subjective perception time seems to “freeze”, while Witkacy’s psychedelic experience seems to be quick and dynamic.

FATIGUE ASSESSMENT OF THE VISUAL ANALYZER OF MULTIMONITOR SYSTEMS OPERATORS

Introduction. Working at a computer is associated with an intense cognitive load and an increased load on the visual analyzer due to the peculiarities of the screen image transmission. From 60 to 90% of users suffer from computer visual syndrome, more than 40% experience visual discomfort. If it is necessary to use several software windows in the workplace, multimonitor systems are increasingly used, however, there is still no data on their effect on the visual analyzer. Research objective. Assessment of the state of the visual analyzer of multimonitor systems operators in the dynamics of the work shift. Materials and methods. The study involved 26 operators of multimonitor systems (age 36.7 ± 8.3 years, experience 5.8 ± 3.0 years). The assessment of labor intensity in accordance with the Guidelines R 2.2.2006-05 and ergonomic analysis of workplaces were carried out. The functional state of the visual analyzer was assessed using eye tracking, accommodometry, sequential contrast perception time, subjective assessment of asthenopia symptoms. Research results. The labor intensity of operators of multimonitor systems corresponds to class 3.2. Ergonomic assessment of workplaces indicates irregularities in the arrangement of equipment and office furniture. There were no statistically significant differences in the indicators of oculomotor activity in the dynamics of the shift, while low values of the frequency of blinking were noted only in workers with an irrationally organized workplace, as well as when observing one monitor. By the end of the shift, the volume of accommodation decreased by 19.0%, the time of perception of sequential contrast by 15.3%, the most pronounced symptoms of asthenopia were general and visual fatigue. Conclusions. The use of multimonitor systems leads to the development of asthenopia by the end of the shift, however, the decrease in the volume of accommodation and the time of perception of consistent contrast are more pronounced in workers with one monitor. Due to the impossibility of changing the work process and reducing the class of NT, workers should pay special attention to the ergonomic characteristics of the workplace, compliance with work and rest regimes, prevention of the development of asthenopia and general fatigue.

Visual Perception and Understanding of Variable Message Signs: The Influence of the Drivers’ Age and Message Layout

Variable message signs (VMS) are used to display messages providing up-to-date traffic-relevant information so that drivers can safely adapt their behavior in real time. The information reported in a VMS should be brief but comprehensive to minimize perception time. The latter can be influenced by the way the message is displayed. This study investigates how the different ways of displaying the same message can influence reading time and the information perception process at different driving speeds. Specifically, the following message characteristics are investigated: (i) use of uppercase and lowercase letters; (ii) use of familiar pictograms; and (iii) use of less familiar pictograms. Furthermore, as perception time typically changes with ageing, drivers belonging to three different age classes are tested. The experimentation was performed by simulating a vehicle passing along a straight road upon which a VMS displaying different messages was placed. Experimentation results are analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, Friedman rank-sum test and Welch one-way ANOVA, showing that: (i) the use of uppercase or lowercase does not seem to significantly affect reading times; (ii) the use of pictograms that are not very familiar to habitual road-users can be counterproductive for the perception process; (iii) elderly drivers always have greater difficulty in perceiving the message than young or middle-aged drivers. The findings of this study can be of help for traffic authorities to design the most suitable structure for a VMS so that its information can be unequivocally and immediately conveyed to drivers.