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Epistemic design features of virtual reality-based scientific inquiry across different types of reasoning: A multimodal perspective
No full textVirtual Reality (VR) shows scientific phenomena with the representations digitalized in multimodal ways, and these multimodal representations play critical roles in facilitating inquiry with the affordances of each mode. This study aims to investigate the different patterns of multimodal representation and their epistemic features provided in VR-based inquiries depending on their reasoning types. The analysis focused on 31 VR simulations designed to support scientific inquiry in primary digital science textbooks in South Korea, examining their reasoning types and multimodal patterns. The results reveal intriguing patterns, showing how different combinations of multimodal representations are associated with distinct epistemic features, depending on their reasoning types. In phenomenon-based reasoning, succinct oral, written, and visual elements guided the inquiry, while auditory-visual aids represented phenomena. Relation-based reasoning combined oral, written, and visual elements to facilitate the connections between different variables in observed phenomena, while auditory and kinaesthetic elements provided technical support. Model-based reasoning used diverse combinations of multimodal patterns to help learners understand the structures of scientific models, with increased use of oral, written, and visual elements for explicit presentation of results. Finally, educational implications are discussed in terms of how to design and facilitate VR-based inquiry using multimodal patterns, their semiotic functions and epistemic features
Bilingual English language teachers’ multimodal pedagogies: Implications for professional learning in mainland China
No full textOur study examines the multimodal pedagogies of two bilingual English language teachers in primary-level classrooms in Shanghai, Mainland China, in light of the recent updates to the Chinese Compulsory Education’s English Curriculum Standards, which now include viewing multimodal text as part of English language learning. Multimodal pedagogies involve the strategic and artful use of various semiotic resources, such as images, videos, animations, gestures, and spatial movements, to design meaningful learning experiences for students. This qualitative study draws on triangulated data sources, including video-recorded classroom observations, detailed field notes, and individual post-lesson stimulated-recall interviews in which teachers reflected on their multimodal pedagogies. Through these reflections and analyses using the Lesson Microgenres framework and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, our study examines the teachers’ multimodal pedagogies from the perspectives of multimodality for language learning, the development of multimodal literacy, and the teachers’ embodied teaching. We reflect on our findings and articulate the need for professional learning that equips teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge to incorporate multimodal pedagogies effectively. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of how multimodal pedagogies can be harnessed to foster language learning, multimodal literacy, and the design of meaningful learning experiences in the classroom.Accepted versio
Quantifying the effects of noise in a quantum convolutional neural network
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.21468/scipostphyscore.8.4.093This study quantifies the effects of quantum noise on the performance of a quantum convolutional neural network (QCNN), building on parallels with classical convolutional neural networks (CNNs), where added Gaussian noise can improve training speed, accuracy, and generalizability. While such benefits are established for classical CNNs, the influence of noise on quantum counterparts remains insufficiently characterized. We specifically examine three types of quantum noise: decoherence, Gaussian noise arising from imperfect quantum gates and experimental error, and systematic noise introduced during input state preparation. Our analysis provides a detailed assessment of how these distinct noise sources affect QCNN operation and outlines considerations for mitigating their impact. Though a QCNN is used as an example in this work, the methods used here can be applied to other quantum machine learning models as well
Biomechanical interactions with footwear
No full textWearing appropriate shoes for sport participation is important, as athletic footwear plays a role in enhancing physical performance and reducing injury risk. This chapter focuses on the biomechanical interactions of the human body with athletic footwear when engaging in sport activities. First, common footwear features and biomechanical testing protocols employed in the design and development of various sport shoes are described. Next, the biomechanical effects of footwear pertaining to sport performance and injuries are summarised. This chapter also discusses the current status and future potential of developing athletic footwear for individuals with disabilities to support their participation in sports. Finally, recommendations for future footwear innovation concepts and approaches are proposed
The birth of tragedy in Nietzsche and Stevens: Ideas of order and disintegration in "The Auroras of Autumn"
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1353/wsj.2025.a972491Established readings of Friedrich Nietzsche and Wallace Stevens point to the philosopher's emphasis on acts of perspectival interpretation and how they posit a view of language as anti-metaphysical and open to re-evaluations and textual de-stabilizations, reading into Stevens a similar focus on flux, hermeneutical indeterminacies, and the sheer delight in linguistic playfulness. Nietzsche's early championing of the Greek tragic spirit provides a new critical reading of Stevens's "The Auroras of Autumn" and its theatrical troping. Reading Stevens as a Nietzschean classicist allows us to understand the poet's rejection of the Romantic objectification of nature as an unfallen realm and enables us to see the extent to which Stevens crafts a language resilient enough to encounter what he finds to be the dark and terrible forces at play in the natural world, which we can approach only with a profoundly tragic temperament. Examining the clash between the rational measure of Apollo and the measureless excess of Dionysus in The Birth of Tragedy helps to demonstrate how "The Auroras of Autumn" articulates poetic form and the continual formation and disarticulation of linguistic and conceptual limits through the aesthetic dance enacted between knowledge and action, art and life
Tailoring spin dynamics in asymmetric FM1/Pt/FM2 trilayers via Pt spacer thickness
No full textThe study of trilayers with a non-magnetic (NM) spacer layer separating two ferromagnetic layers (FM/NM/FM) has been an active area of spintronics research due to their real-world applications, such as in development of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) devices where NM spacer layer enables the control of magnetization orientation in free FM layer with respect to pinned FM layer; with application in hard disk drive read heads, MRAM, GMR magnetic sensors etc. For trilayer systems, the generation of spin current, control of magnetization using spin orbit torques (SOTs), understanding the interlayer indirect exchange coupling between the FM layers, effects of NM/FM interface on static and dynamic spin properties etc. are active areas of research. Asymmetric trilayer system (FM1/NM/FM2) comprising dissimilar FM layers and hence dissimilar NM/FM interfaces have additional level of complexities with non-uniform environment for generation and transport of spin current the complex spin dynamics and SOTs remain relatively underexplored. This makes exploration of asymmetric trilayers system, a very interesting area of research for the development of advanced device design and achieving greater spintronic functionalities.This thesis sheds light on the interplay between Pt spacer layer thickness and the magnetization dynamics of an asymmetric trilayer of Ni80Fe20/Pt/Co, particularly focusing on the role of spin pumping, indirect exchange coupling of FM layers, differential spin transport properties of Co/Pt and Ni80Fe20/Pt interfaces, the relative strengths and significances of damping-like and field-like torques in coupled and decoupled magnetization state of the trilayer system. The key findings of this research include:Spin pumping and Spin Transport in Asymmetric Trilayer: The FMR spectroscopy experiments revealed two distinct resonance peaks in the decoupled regime (thicker Pt), indicating independent precession of the Co and NiFe layers, while in coupled regime (thinner Pt) only one resonance peak was observed due to the in-phase precession of the FM layers' magnetizations. The coupling in the trilayer was attributed to indirect exchange coupling (IEC) mediated by the Pt layer. The role of spin pumping in driving spin currents across the the NiFe/Pt and Co/Pt interfaces was iterated and it was found that the spin-pumping-induced damping () has a direct relationship with the Pt spacer layer thickness.Interfacial Spin Characteristics in Asymmetric Trilayer: The role and importance of spin-mixing conductance and spin transparency in characterizing the efficiency of spin transfer at the dissimilar FM/NM interfaces of trilayer system was iterated through this study. The Co/Pt interface was found to be more efficient at transferring spin angular momentum as its spin-mixing conductance (4.12 × 10¹⁹ m⁻²) was estimated to be higher than that of NiFe/Pt interface (1.73 × 10¹⁹ m⁻²). Spin transparency was calculated to be higher (~62%) for the Co/Pt interface compared to NiFe/Pt interface (~25%). The spin current densities estimations at two interfaces also showed similar trend, emphasizing the stronger spin transport capability of the Co/Pt interface.Spin Orbit Torques (SOTs) and Their Origin: The spin torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) and dc-bias ST-FMR experiments conclusively showed that both damping-like torque (DLT) and field-like torque (FLT) were present in the trilayer and primarily originated due to the spin Hall effect (SHE) and the Rashba effect respectively. The study demonstrated that the FLT plays a crucial role in systems where the Pt spacer thickness is small (coupled regime).Influence of NM Pt Spacer Layer Thickness on SOT Efficiencies: SOT efficiencies were found to be highly sensitive to the Pt spacer thickness. For thinner Pt layers (coupled regime), the Rashba effect was found play a more dominant role in generating FLT, whereas in the decoupled regime (thicker Pt), the spin Hall effect (SHE) dominated, leading to more efficient spin current absorption and higher DLT.These results provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between spin pumping, indirect exchange coupling of FM layers and spin current generation and absorption at the two FM/NM interfaces. It is expected that these insights could be essential for developing more efficient spintronic devices such as SOT-MRAM and spin-torque nano-oscillators (STNOs)
Investigating the linguistic and semiotic landscape of Science Centre Singapore: A geosemiotic perspective on public educationscapes
No full textLinguistic landscape (LL) studies examine how languages in public spaces reflect ideologies, status hierarchies, and community dynamics. While Singapore’s multilingual context has been widely studied, educationscapes remain underexplored, specifically those open to the public. This study investigates the educationscape of Science Centre Singapore (SCS), a public science museum under the Ministry of Education. Data comprised 347 photographs of signage, exhibit information panels, and instructional texts on interactive facilities collected in 2023 and 2025. Drawing on Scollon and Scollon’s geosemiotic framework, the analysis examines how linguistic, semiotic, and spatial resources are orchestrated to convey science knowledge and shape visitor engagement. The findings reveal an English-centered configuration across communicative domains as English functions as the primary language for navigation, behavioural regulation, and scientific explanation. Other official and additional languages are selectively incorporated in commercial areas for localized pragmatism, and on certain exhibit panels and interactive interfaces through QR-mediated digital translations or peripheral multilingual assemblages, signalling institutional efforts to enhance multilingual visibility. Yet English remains visually and interactionally dominant. These patterns highlight how geosemiotic orchestration in educationscapes reproduces sociolinguistic ideologies, shapes visitor interaction, and influences visitor perceptions of language hierarchies, extending LL research in educational settings to a public educationscape.Accepted versio
The salinization of the Mekong Delta: Major drivers, coping strategies, and new hopes from ecosystem-based approaches
No full textThe Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) best represents Earth’s deltas in the Anthropocene, with rapid development under constant environmental pressures. Among these, salinity intrusion (SI) is one of the most critical, yet invisible, disturbing freshwater ecosystems and agriculture. We review 50 studies to synthesize the main drivers of SI in the VMD, coping strategies, and the potential of ecosystem-based approaches. The drivers span global to local scales: (i) climate change, (ii) hydropower dams, (iii) riverbed mining, and (iv) groundwater extraction. Coping strategies include water diplomacy and national initiatives. Finally, three EbA models are recommended: (i) agriculture–aquaculture integration, (ii) crop–livestock–forest systems, and (iii) integrated multitrophic aquaculture. Although focused on the VMD, the findings are relevant to other river deltas facing similar environmental challenges.RP 11/22 EPARC 2/23 E
DMA clinical pilates for non-specific chronic low back pain management in adults
No full textLow back pain is a common musculoskeletal health condition. Pain lasting more than three months could be related to movement disorders. Current literature in chronic low back pain management suggests that Pilates is beneficial for pain, function and disability for chronic low back pain. However, there are many variations in Pilates methods which could limit clinical translation. A Clinical Pilates method by Dance Medicine Australia (DMA) uses movement-based exercise testing, but literature investigating the DMA Clinical Pilates method is scarce despite its use in the clinical and sports settings. Whilst the few past studies did not find any differences between the DMA Clinical Pilates method and general exercise intervention, some considerations were taken in this thesis to improve the DMA Clinical Pilates method.A cross-sectional study was first carried out to investigate the use of objective assessments to complement existing DMA Clinical Pilates method. The central tenants of DMA Clinical Pilates method is that individuals with non-specific chronic low back pain have asymmetrical symptoms, with one side more affected than the other. The single-leg squat test was used to assess movement disorder and to detect the side with problem among individuals with low back pain. The study showed reduced squat depth and hamstrings flexibility and required more time to complete five single-leg squats, on the side with problem than the healthy side. These objective measures demonstrated moderate to strong agreement with the DMA Clinical Pilates method in identifying the side with problem. The DMA Clinical Pilates case complexity classification approach successfully classified all cases into basic, intermediate, advanced and expert levels of complexity. The final aim of this study found improvements in the single-leg squat postural sway, hamstrings flexibility and lumbar flexion flexibility after a session of DMA Clinical Pilates.In the second study, a double-blind randomised controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effects of DMA Clinical Pilates against general Pilates and general exercise in improving clinical and biomechanical outcomes among adults with non-specific chronic low back pain. Although all exercise interventions yielded improvements from baseline, the DMA Clinical Pilates method showed greater improvements in pain, function, disability, hamstrings flexibility on the problem side and single-leg squat performance on the problem side. The study found improved agility, control and depth during single-leg squat, which supports current expert opinions that movement control is a common problem in individuals with chronic low back pain.This thesis concludes that identifying the problem side of an individual with non-specific chronic low back pain to treat is important. For those not trained in the DMA Clinical Pilates method, the single-leg squat postural sway assessment and hamstrings muscle flexibility test could assist in identifying the side with problem. The use of a DMA Clinical Pilates case complexity classification approach could help guide and build the confidence of novice clinicians in exercise prescription for adults with non-specific chronic low back pain. The DMA Clinical Pilates method is an effective intervention to improve pain, function, disability, flexibility and movement control in adults with non-specific chronic low back pain