Effects of Visually Induced Self-Motion on Sound Localization Accuracy

The deterioration of sound localization accuracy during a listener’s head/body rotation is independent of the listener’s rotation velocity (Honda et al., 2016). However, whether this deterioration occurs only during physical movement in a real environment remains unclear. In this study, we addressed this question by subjecting physically stationary listeners to visually induced self-motion, i.e., vection. Two conditions—one with a visually induced perception of self-motion (vection) and the other without vection (control)—were adopted. Under both conditions, a short noise burst (30 ms) was presented via a loudspeaker in a circular array placed horizontally in front of a listener. The listeners were asked to determine whether the acoustic stimulus was localized relative to their subjective midline. The results showed that in terms of detection thresholds based on the subjective midline, the sound localization accuracy was lower under the vection condition than under the control condition. This indicates that sound localization can be compromised under visually induced self-motion perception. These findings support the idea that self-motion information is crucial for auditory space perception and can potentially enable the design of dynamic binaural displays requiring fewer computational resources.

Prevention behavior of community for spreading COVID-19 in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic caused huge impacts on human being worldwide. The accumulated infected cases are 156,778,078 with 3,272,054 death cases on May 7, 2021. Importantly, not many people practice the prevention behavior of COVID-19 pandemic. This study measured the prevention behavior of COVID-19 in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia by socio-demographic factors and protection motivations from the community. This study used a cross-sectional design which was carried out for two weeks from the end of July to early August. The study involved 385 respondents from 972,635 people in Municipality Pontianak, Municipality Singkawang, and Ketapang Regency, Indonesia. The result showed the majority of the respondent were female (74.3%), in adult age group (61.3%), graduated from university (51.2%), and have a job (64.9%). Multiple logistic regression showed that respondents had no occupation (Adj. OR=1.87, 95% C.I=1.04- 3.37), low perception of self-efficacy (Adj. OR=3.44, 95% C.I=1.98-5.95), and low the evaluated cost response (Adj. OR=1.94, 95% C.I=1.20-3.14) were statistically significant having correlation with poor prevention behavior of spreading COVID-19. The results can be utilized for the promotion of protocol of prevention COVID-19, for instance, provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for people with high-risk occupation including health personal, promote the importance of practice prevention behavior, and control the price of basic PPE including mask and ensure all people have an access to have the mask.

Bereaved parents’ quality of life: resilience and professional support

ObjectivesThe study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) among cancer-bereaved parents with a control group and explore how resilience and support from healthcare professionals associated with QoL of parents 2–8 years after the loss of a child to cancer.MethodsThis nationwide, cross-sectional survey was administered among parents (n=161) who lost their child to cancer between 2009 and 2014, compared with a matched control parent group (n=77). A study-specific questionnaire, Resilience Scale for Adults (six factors: ‘Perception of self’, ‘Planned future’, ‘Social competence’, ‘Structured style’, ‘Family cohesion’ and ‘Social resources’), and a single-item measure of parents’ QoL were included for the study.ResultsThere was a lower QoL in both bereaved parents (mean=5.1) compared with the control parents (mean=5.8) (p<0.001). Two resilience factors, ‘Perception of self’ (OR=1.8, p=0.004) and ‘Planned future’ (OR=2.05, p<0.001), and given sufficient information during the child’s last month (OR=2.63, p=0.003) were positively associated with long-term QoL in cancer-bereaved parents.ConclusionThe findings indicate lower QoL among both fathers and mothers 2–8 years after losing a child to cancer. The study also highlights the positive role of resilience and the importance of informational support on long-term QoL in cancer-bereaved parents. Bereavement support should be tailored for supporting individual needs.

Leveraging machine learning and self-administered tests to predict COVID-19:An olfactory and gustatory dysfunction assessment through crowd-sourced data in India

It has been established that smell and taste loss are frequent symptoms during COVID-19 onset. Most evidence stems from medical exams or self-reports. The latter is particularly confounded by the common confusion of smell and taste. Here, we tested whether practical smelling and tasting with household items can be used to assess smell and taste loss. We conducted an online survey and asked participants to use common household items to perform a smell and taste test. We also acquired generic information on demographics, health issues including COVID-19 diagnosis, and current symptoms. We developed several machine learning models to predict COVID-19 diagnosis. We found that the random forest classifier consistently performed better than other models like support vector machines or logistic regression. The smell and taste perception of self-administered household items were statistically different for COVID-19 positive and negative participants. The most frequently selected items that also discriminated between COVID-19 positive and negative participants were clove, coriander seeds, and coffee for smell and salt, lemon juice, and chillies for taste. Our study shows that the results of smelling and tasting household items can be used to predict COVID-19 illness and highlight the potential of a simple home-test to help identify the infection and prevent the spread.

The Metropolis and the “Bloodless Characters”: A Comparative Study of James Joyce’s “A Painful Case” and Yusuf Idrīs’s “Qāʿ al-Madīna” [“The Bottom of the City”]

The current paper has been developed to examine the complexities of metropolitan subjects’ blasé attitude and bloodless life as portrayed in James Joyce’s “A Painful Case” and Yusuf Idrīs’s “Qāʿ al-Madīna” [“The Bottom of the City”] short stories. The paper aims at analyzing the impact of metropolis on its bloodless characters’ mental health and perception of self through the unpacking of the blasé attitude which emerges in Georg Simmel’s famous study “The Metropolis and Mental Life.” Using Simmel’s study as a tool to analyze the two short stories, the paper will comment on and compare the manner in which the Irish and the Egyptian urban texts decipher the code of their modern metropoles to interpret in what ways Simmel’s insights illuminate our understanding of the dilemma of the metropolitan subject. In this paper the urban and literary theory will complement each other in shedding light on the emergence of new forms of socialization. The paper reaches the conclusion that the overall image of the metropolis portrayed in the two short stories was constructed through the mutilated sensibilities of the metropolitan subjects that have become dispirited by the routine of their daily lives. The two protagonists – Mr. Duffy and Mr. Abdallah - end up living like strangers who maintain minimal comunication with others due the cold and unfeeling rationality they adopt to protect themselves against the overstimulation of their dehumanizing metropoles.

Writing While Black

In this critical personal narrative Keeton explores how identity is negotiated at the site of their Black, queer body. They use autoethnography as a method to record their lived experiences in the context of the social, cultural, and political world. This writing explores their experiences with the education system and how their identities and experiences have influenced how they interact with the world, their perception of self, and their relationship with writing. Throughcritical reflection, Keeton describes how embodying an ethic of love and experiencing supportive role models within the education system allowed them to resist racist indoctrination and find their way to embodying healing and black self-love.

Decoding the Role of Advertisements and Exploring the Motivators that Influence the Perception of Self - Image

The study of a person's opinion of their own body is the study of "body image." While the definition was not much complicated, the arguments around the "Body Image" have numerous folds, from weight and size to appearance and normality. There can be a long list of things that can affect a person's body image concept and make them feel good about themselves or even dread being in their bodies. The source can be anything from one’s peers to the brands advertising their products with the help of models and celebrities. In this research, we will focus on the advertisements impacting the self-body image. The advertisers take the help of models and celebrities to impact the minds of their viewers and nudge them to try their product. In today’s world, a consumer’s self-image is targeted by how an advertisement is made. The research used a mixed-method approach to imply the finding of the study. The study validated and established the identified and the proposed construct and implied that the advertisements impact the viewers to attain or aspire for the sure self-body image. However, for a brief period, the effect and impact it creates cannot be overruled entirely.