Higher-achieving peers have repeatedly been found to negatively impact students' evaluations of their own academic abilities (i.e., Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect). Building on social comparison theory, this pattern is assumed to result from students comparing themselves to their classmates; however, based on existing research designs, it remains unclear how exactly students make use of social compar

This article provides a step-by-step guideline for measuring and analyzing visual attention in 3D virtual reality (VR) environments based on eye-tracking data. We propose a solution to the challenges of obtaining relevant eye-tracking information in a dynamic 3D virtual environment and calculating interpretable indicators of learning and social behavior. With a method called "gaze-ray casting," we

This paper explores gaze entropy as a metric for detecting classroom discourse events in a virtual reality (VR) classroom. Using data from a laboratory experiment with N = 240 secondary school students, we distinguished between events of teacher-centered classroom discourse (question, hand raising, answer) and teacher explanation by analyzing their transition and stationary gaze entropy. Employing

Pupil diameter is a reliable indicator of mental effort, but it must be baseline corrected to account for its idiosyncratic nature. Established methods for measuring baselines cannot be applied in virtual reality (VR) experiments. To reliably measure a pupil diameter baseline in VR, we propose a short testing environment of visual arithmetic tasks. In an experiment with 66 university students, we

Mental rotation is the ability to rotate mental representations of objects in space. Shepard and Metzler’s shape-matching tasks, frequently used to test mental rotation, involve presenting pictorial representations of 3D objects. This stimulus material has raised questions regarding the ecological validity of the test for mental rotation with actual visual 3D objects. To systematically investigate

Currently, VR technology is increasingly being used in applications to enable immersive yet controlled research settings. One such area of research is expertise assessment, where novel technological approaches to collecting process data, specifically eye tracking, in combination with explainable models, can provide insights into assessing and training novices, as well as fostering expertise develo

Recent developments in computer graphics and hardware technology enable easy access to virtual reality headsets along with integrated eye trackers, leading to mass usage of such devices. The immersive experience provided by virtual reality and the possibility to control environmental factors in virtual setups may soon help to create realistic digital alternatives to conventional classrooms. The im

Background: Studies have shown that the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) can be improved by using learning prompts (e.g., summary prompts, pretraining, and priming). However, less is known about how such learning prompts affect students’ processing of the learning content within the virtual learning environment. Aims: This study aimed to shed light on students’ processing of learning content

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) provides great potential to experimentally investigate effects of peers on student learning in class and to strategically deploy virtual peer learners to improve learning. The present study examined how three social-related classroom configurations (i.e., students' position in the classroom, visualization style of virtual avatars, and virtual classmates' performance

The complex topography in mountainous regions, exemplified by factors like slope aspect, leads to noticeable variations in vegetation patterns, which are fundamental for understanding mountain ecosystems. However, a consistent global-scale quantification of topography's influence on vegetation patterns is still lacking. Here, we utilize two phenological metrics as proxies for vegetation-maximum ve

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the world, leading to a significant burden to patients and the healthcare system. It is characterised by rapid and irregular atrial contractions stemming from disorganised electrical activity in the atria. The atrioventricular (AV) node regulates heart rate during AF by filtering electrical impulses from the atria.However, for persistent AF

This study analyzes the relationship between drought processes and crop yields in Moldova, together with the effects of possible future climate change on crops. The severity of drought is analyzed over time in Moldova using the Standard Precipitation Index, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and their relationship with crop yields. In addition, rainfall variability and its re

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The prevalence of these conditions is approximately 0.7%. With the advent of new treatments and improved management algorithms throughout the last century, the mortality rates associated with these conditions have decreased steeply. However, IBD is still a major cause of lifetime morbidity.

This chapter sets the stage for examining gendered disinformation within feminist foreign policy analysis. It traces the rise of gendered disinformation as a security threat, emphasising the transformative impact of digital technologies and social media on the dissemination and logic of disinformation strategies. The chapter explores how authoritarian regimes and actors use gendered disinformation

The landscape of healthcare is experiencing a digitalization shift, transferring many medical activities to the patients’ homes, a phenomenon commonly referred to as Hospital-at-Home. While Internet of Things (IoT) devices facilitate the building of such systems, there is a need for powerful middleware that encapsulates device-to-device communication, and enables the construction of user-friendly,

Background: Indoor lighting, exposure to outdoor daylight, physical activity and sleep interact to influence functioning, mood and cicadian rhythm. Older adults (≥ 65 years), who often spend more time at home, are less physically active and experience more sleep problems, could benefit from strategies to support behavioural change and self-managed modifications in the home. The study’s primary objBackgroundIndoor lighting, exposure to outdoor daylight, physical activity and sleep interact to influence functioning, mood and cicadian rhythm. Older adults (≥ 65 years), who often spend more time at home, are less physically active and experience more sleep problems, could benefit from strategies to support behavioural change and self-managed modifications in the home. The study’s primary objec

We address the recognized person-to-person Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) calibration problem and tackle session-dependency through the use of unsupervised canonical polyadic (CP) tensor decomposition. For a motor imagery task, the approach reveals universal structures within EEG data, common between subjects and prominent for a certain task. Further, we develop a novel similarity measure that inc

Static program analysis plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and security of software applications by detecting bugs and potential vulnerabilities in the code. Traditionally, these analyses are performed offline, either as part of the continuous integration/continuous deployment pipeline or overnight on the entire repository. However, this delayed feedback disrupts developer productivity,