58 research outputs found
Immersive vs desktop virtual reality in game based learning
No full textVirtual environments are recognized as more effective than other digital approaches for the acquisition of several abilities. This is because the brain recognizes the virtual world as real and this facilitates the transfer of the newly acquired skills to the real world. In this paper, we present a game that has been designed and developed with the aim of teaching spatial orientation abilities to teenagers with mild intellectual impairments. In particular, the game focuses on the training of two basic skills: Perspective taking and mental rotation. Perspective taking refers to the ability of imagining how the world looks like from another person's point of view, while mental rotation is the ability to mentally represent and manipulate physical objects in one's mind. The game, which takes place in a virtual environment, shows the player a scene with some objects on the table. The player has to choose among four provided alternatives, the one that shows how the scene would look like from a different side of the table. The game was first developed to be used with either a desktop pc monitor or an interactive touch table. In this case, a virtual world is represented, but the player is not completely immersed in it, he just looks at the scene from outside. A second version of the same game has then been developed using a Head Mounted Display (HMD), which makes the player feel immersed in the virtual environment, where he can freely move around just as if it was real. In this paper, we discuss both advantages and disadvantages of the immersive Virtual Reality (VR) compared to the desktop VR. In fact, on the one hand, having the possibility to "dive" into the virtual world allows the player to: Better build a mental model of the scene and the involved objects by freely moving around the table and examining the objects from all the possible perspectives; Manage by himself the amount of help needed: It is always possible, at any time of the game, to move to the other side of the table and see what the scene looks like. Increase his involvement in the game by exploring the virtual world as he pleases. Have a better learning transfer thanks to the similarities between the virtual and the real worlds. On the other hand, using a HMD can be tiring and cause sickness to some players. Furthermore, the presence of a complete environment in which to move and explore, can draw the attention away from the main task of the game and therefore influence learning negatively. Experiments are planned to verify the foreseen advantages and disadvantages involving young adults with mild intellective disabilities
Lithosarctia goergneri de Freina & Witt 1994
No full textLithosarctia goergneri de Freina & Witt, 1994 (Figs. 17, 18, 26) Lithosarctia y-albula goergneri de Freina & Witt, 1994, Atalanta 25 (3/4): 538, text fig. 3, color pl. 18a, fig. 1 (Type locality: “ China, Gansu [= Kansu = Ghansu], Xiahe [=Siaho = Labrang, ca. 150 km SW Lanzhou], 3000–3500 m ”). Type material examined. Holotype (Fig. 17): ♂, “ China / Gansu, Xiahe, 3000–3300 m, 25–29.VI.1986, Coll. Nr. 245, leg. Görgner ” / “ Holotypus Lithosarctia y-albula ssp. goergneri de Freina & Witt 1994 Atalanta 25 (3/4): 538” / “ W. Thomas Genitalpräp. Nr. A 535” / “ Genitalpräparat Nr. 3092 Th. Witt, München” / “ Coll. Dr. W. Thomas, Mus. Witt München” (Coll. MWM/ ZSM); paratype (Figs. 12, 20): ♂, “ China / Gansu, Xiahe, 3000–3300 m, 25– 29.VI.1986, Coll. Nr. 245, leg. Görgner ” / “ Paratypus Lithosarctia y-album ssp. goergneri de Freina & Witt ” / Museum Witt München ” / “ Coll. Dr. W. Thomas, Mus. Witt München”, slide MWM 33700 Volynkin (Coll. MWM/ ZSM). Diagnosis. Forewing length is 11–12 mm in males. Externally, the species is very similar to L. kozlovi, which belongs to another species-group, and differs only by its paler, dark brown wing coloration. The main differences between the two species are in their male genitalia: in L. goergneri, the uncus is much broader basally, the tegumen is significantly narrower, the distal processes of the valva are reduced, and the vesica is significantly shorter and narrower. The male genitalia of L. goergneri are very similar to those of L. y-albulum (which explains why it was originally described as a subspecies of L. y-albulum), but can be distinguished by the slightly narrower uncus, the juxta having an apical concavity (whereas in L. y-albulum the juxta is more or less rounded apically), the slightly narrower valva, and the much shorter and narrower vesica. Female is unknown. Distribution. China: Gansu (de Freina & Witt 1994) (Fig. 40).Published as part of Volynkin, Anton V., Saldaitis, Aidas & Višinskas, Vytautas, 2018, A brief review of the genus Lithosarctia, with the description of a new species from China (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae), pp. 561-574 in Zootaxa 4444 (5) on pages 572-573, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4444.5.4, http://zenodo.org/record/143727
La neve è sempre bianca, il sangue sempre rosso? E la simpatia com'è? Una ricerca su concetti e effetto Stroop
No full textCome reagisco se leggo "ragno"? E "torta"? Un'indagine sui movimenti di attrazione e repulsione
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Emotive concept-nouns and motor responses: Attraction or repulsion?
No full textTwo experiments investigate whether the triadic interaction between objects, ourselves and other agents modulates the motor system activation during language comprehension. Participants were presented with a sentence formed by a descriptive part referring to an emotional connoted object (positive, negative) and an action part composed of an imperative verb implying a motion toward the self or toward another person (e.g., “The object is nice/ugly. Bring it toward yourself/Give it to another person”). Participants judged whether each sentence made sense by moving the mouse toward or away from their body. Results show that the direction of the performed movement is influenced by the direction of the motion implied by the sentence and by the stimuli valence. More crucially, stimulus valence had a different impact depending on the relational context described by the sentence (action involving another agent or just oneself). Implications of the results for theories of social cognition are discussed.
Apps for intervention in executive functions in young children: A pilot study
No full textRecently, researchers have increasingly shown interest in studying executive functions (EFs) starting from a young age, in particular focusing on interventions in both educational and clinical contexts. Today's children's interest in digital tools is very high allowing for the introduction of new methods of assessment and training. However, there are only a few studies focused on technology-based interventions promoting or assessing EFs in young children. For this reason, a kit of four games for the assessment and training of working memory, inhibition, shifting, and updating in pre-schoolers was developed in the form of apps. The developed prototypes underwent a first test involving some teachers and clinicians who filled an online questionnaire. Data analysis showed that both teachers and clinicians gave a positive and homogeneous evaluation, showing that the apps can be considered useful for the assessment and training of EFs in both educational and clinical contexts
Paropta paradoxa
No full textParopta paradoxa (Herrich-Schäffer, 1851) Cossus paradoxus Herrich-Schäffer, 1851, Syst. Bearb. Schmett. Europ. 6: 39. LT: Smyrna [Izmir, Turkey]. Type material (holotype) is lost. Distribution. Cyprus, Rhodos, Karpathos, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, Jordan (Staudinger 1871a, 1879a; Staudinger & Rebel 1901; Anders & Seitz 1923; Wiltshire 1949b, 1980, 1990; Kiriakoff 1960; de Freina & Witt 1990; Schoorl 1990; de Freina 1996; Hacker 1999; Lewandowski & Fischer 2002; Yakovlev 2006b). Host plants. Ficus carica L., F. pseudosycomorus Decne, Albizia lebbech (L.) Benth., Vitis vinifera L., Olea europeae L., Ceratonia siliqua L. (Anders & Seitz 1923; Schoorl 1990; Lewandowski & Fischer 2002). Remarks. This species currently includes two subspecies, Paropta paradoxa paradoxa (Herrich-Schäffer, [1851]) and P. paradoxa kathikas Yakovlev & Lewandowski, 2007, of which the former is distributed in Iran.Published as part of Alipanah, Helen, Yakovlev, Roman, Falsafi, Hossein, Witt, Thomas & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2021, 5062, pp. 1-100 in Zootaxa 5062 (1) on pages 64-65, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5062.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/580803
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