Paul Arnold

Transfer of Route Learning from Virtual to Real Environments

The authors investigated the extent to which route learning in a virtual environment (VE) transfers to the real world. In Experiment 1, active VE exploration, on its own or with a map, produced better transfer of training than either no VE training at all or passive VE training; however, transfer was achieved after shorter training times with the map. Experiment 2 demonstrated that VE + map training was not superior to training with a map alone, and Experiment 3 demonstrated that the poorer performances observed after passive VE training were not simply due to a lack of attention but to the lack of active navigational decisions. The authors concluded that the present VE technology does not provide better route learning than studying a map.

Memory for Faces and Objects by Deaf and Hearing Signers and Hearing Nonsigners

The visual spatial memory of 15 deaf signers, 15 hearing signers, and 15 hearing nonsigners for shoes, faces, and verbalizable objects was measured using the game Concentration. It was hypothesized that the deaf and hearing signers would require fewer attempts than the hearing nonsigners on the shoes and faces tasks because of their experience of using a visual-spatial language; and, in the case of the Deaf, also possibly, due to a compensatory mechanism. It was also hypothesized that memory for shoes would be more like that for faces than for simple objects. It was also anticipated that there would be no difference between the three groups memories for verbalizable objects. Deaf signers were found to be similar to hearing signers, both of whom were better than hearing nonsigners on the faces and shoes tasks. Generally, performance on the faces and shoes tasks was similar and followed the same pattern for the three groups. The three groups performed at a similar level on the objects task. There were no gender differences.

Co-Occurrence of Autism and Deafness: Diagnostic Considerations

Autism spectrum disorders are particularly difficult to diagnose in the presence of early profound deafness because of communication related issues. Two parts of the Autism Screening Instrument were administered to 13 deaf individuals with autism and two comparison groups: hearing autistic and deaf learning disabled. A parental questionnaire was also used. No differences in autistic symptomatology were found between the deaf autistic and the hearing autistic group. However, the deaf autistic group was diagnosed later than the hearing autistic group. It is concluded that autism can be diagnosed in the deaf; that it resembles autism in the hearing; and that it is not a consequence of deafness per se. Learning disabled deaf individuals who are not autistic do not resemble people with autism in behavioural terms. The findings have implications for remediation, education, and the emergence and management of challenging behaviours.

Self-esteem, aspirations and expectations of adolescents with physical disability.

Fifteen adolescents with physical disabilities were compared with able‐bodied controls by means of questionnaires to assess their self‐esteem and their future aspirations and expectations. There was no significant difference for self‐esteem between the two groups. This encouraging finding is inconsistent with earlier findings of low self‐esteem. There was no significant correlation between the self‐esteem of the physically disabled adolescents and the difference between their aspirations and expectations; however, there was a significant negative correlation for the able‐bodied controls.

Can virtual reality be used to measure and train surgical skills

The quantitative literature on the use of virtual environments to measure and train a variety of surgical skills is critically reviewed. We selected works from the years 1995-2000. Theoretical perspectives, such as those of Saltzman (1979), Bernstein (1967) and Schmidt (1975) and techniques, such as hierarchical task analysis, are presented and contrasted with the largely atheoretical approach of the practitioners of virtual surgery. It is concluded that the quantitative work discussed provides few findings of value to practising surgeons. This may be due in part to the lack of consideration paid to fundamental issues in the learning of motor skills, such as whether motor skills learning is most effective with varying training conditions and the distinction between purely motoric aspects and knowledge of procedures. Possible ways forward for surgical training are outlined. It is suggested that the theoretical perspectives and techniques available in the area of motor behaviour should be incorporated into future experimental studies of surgery in virtual environments.

Does classroom amplification aid comprehension

Many classrooms are noisy and this interferes with listening and teaching. FM soundfield (FM) amplification systems have been developed which provide a uniform soundfield throughout the classroom and increase the speech-signal:noise ratio. The effect on comprehension of such a system was investigated. Forty-nine pupils (comprising the two top classes of a mainstream primary school) participated in this study, with a mean age of 9.92 years (range 8.58-11.42 years). The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (Neale, 1988a, b) was modified and administered as a spoken comprehension test. Tests of nonverbal intelligence, auditory memory and a questionnaire were given. The passages spoken though the FM amplification system were understood better than the comparable unamplified passages. Auditory memory, sex and non-verbal intelligence had no effect on improved comprehension. FM amplification significantly improved comprehension and could be considered for use in other schools.

Lipreading, Reading and Memory of Hearing and Hearing-impaired Children

The relationship between lipreading, reading and visual and sequential memory was investigated in hearing 10-year-olds and two groups of hearing-impaired 10-year-olds, one educated through the medium of English and the other through British Sign Language. The scores and the pattern of correlations between the variables were hypothesized to be different in the three groups and this was found to be the case. In the case of the hearing, visual memory for complex shapes was significantly correlated with lipreading. For the oral deaf, reading ability was significantly correlated with lipreading, but for the bilingual deaf the correlation was not significant. The possible implications of these findings for the relationships between the cognitive processes involved in lipreading and for the education of the deaf are discussed.

Presence Accompanying Induced Hearing Loss: Implications for Immersive Virtual Environments

Gilkey and Weisenberger (1995) discussed the experience of sound and its importance for a sense of presence within an encompassing virtual environment. In this paper, we develop Gilkey and Weisenbergers work in three ways. Firstly, we review theoretical work regarding the role of auditory information in perceptual experience. Secondly, we report on previous empirical studies of induced hearing loss that have implicitly addressed issues pertinent to an understanding of presence in virtual environments. We draw on this work to further inform the theoretical contribution made to the study of presence with regards to auditory experience. Thirdly, we report our empirical work on induced hearing loss, addressing issues associated with presence using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. We report our findings and discuss methodological issues surrounding the investigation of presence. This work found that participants have difficulty in expressing their experience within the constraints of more-traditional research methods. Evidence emerged of different forms of presence experience, including, in our terminology, social, environmentally anchored, and self-presence. Finally, we discuss the implications of this work for the development of immersive virtual environments.

Children's knowledge of the earth's shape and its gravitational field

Abstract One hundred and eight children aged between seven and 11 took part in a cross‐sectional study of the development of their concepts of the Earth and the direction of its gravitational field. A new form of ‘Earth drawing classification’ (EDC) was found to be drawn by 36% of the sample, together with the five classifications established in earlier work. This new EDC is conceptually contradictory and appears to be a critical development stage. It is the result of the pupils’ attempts to reconcile scientific information with their own common‐sense knowledge base. The educational implications of this are discussed. The relationship between the developmental sequence of their Earth drawings and the quality of their human figure drawing was also investigated. It was established that restricted drawing ability does not explain their non‐scientific early EDCs.

Performance of a skilled motor task in virtual and real environments

Three experiments compared the performances of adult participants (three groups of 10) on a perceptuo-motor task in both real world (RW) and virtual environments (VEs). The task involved passing a hoop over a bent wire course, and three versions of the task were used: a 3-D wire course with no background, a flattened version of the 3-D course (2½-D course) with no background, and the 2½-D course with added background to provide spatial context. In all three experiments the participants had to prevent the hoop from touching the wire as they moved it. In the first experiment, the VE condition produced about 18 times more errors than the RW task. The VE 2½-D task was found to be as difficult as the 3-D, and the 2½-D with the added background produced more errors than the other two experiments. Taken together, the experiments demonstrate the difficulty of performing fine motor tasks in VEs, a phenomenon that has not been given due attention in many previous studies of motor control in VEs.