Ways of Seeing Matter: The Impact of a Naturally Mapped Perceptual System on the Persuasive Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality Advertising

This study examines whether the naturalness of a device’s perceptual system, which defines the way users look around in the virtual environment, influences the persuasive effects of immersive virtual reality (IVR) advertising. In a between-subject experiment (N = 115), participants watched a 360-degree advertisement using one of three devices with different perceptual systems (a head-mounted display [HMD], a tablet, or a desktop computer, representing high, medium, and low naturalness respectively). The results revealed that participants who watched IVR advertising using a more naturally mapped perceptual interface (i.e., an HMD) reported higher levels of perceived naturalness than did those who used devices lower in naturalness (i.e., a tablet or a desktop computer). The use of a perceptual system with a higher level of natural mapping positively affected the sense of presence, which in turn enhanced advertising enjoyment and further improved the effects of IVR advertising, thereby yielding a three-step serial mediation model.     

“Better Times Are Coming Now”: Wartime Dreams and Disenchantment in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rufus M.</Emphasis>

Written and published during World War II, Eleanor Estes’s Rufus M. (1943) is set during the time of American involvement in World War I, the war of the author’s own childhood. Despite the fact that the book was named a Newbery Honor title, many critics have found it unsatisfyingly unstructured and episodic. I argue, however, that the book is far more unified in its construction than these critics recognize and deserves study as a revelatory title about how the First World War was presented to young readers during the Second World War. In his dauntless determination to support the war effort, young Rufus shows himself to be an iconic home-front hero of precisely the sort encouraged by the United States propaganda machine. But read carefully, the book has such an air of pervasive melancholy and contains so many scenes of disappointed hopes and disillusioned dreams that it can be read as encoding doubts about the first war’s legacy. Despite Estes’s clearly intended attempt to provide hope for young readers, the reality of World War I’s ultimate failure haunts Rufus M. as a sort of pentimento, a darker set of images revealed beneath the text’s surface optimism.     

Teaching Assistant Professional Development in Biology: Designed for and Driven by Multidimensional Data

Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are increasingly responsible for instruction in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Various professional development (PD) programs have been developed and implemented to prepare TAs for this role, but data about effectiveness are lacking and are derived almost exclusively from self-reported surveys. In this study, we describe the design of a reformed PD (RPD) model and apply Kirkpatrick''s Evaluation Framework to evaluate multiple outcomes of TA PD before, during, and after implementing RPD. This framework allows evaluation that includes both direct measures and self-reported data. In RPD, TAs created and aligned learning objectives and assessments and incorporated more learner-centered instructional practices in their teaching. However, these data are inconsistent with TAs’ self-reported perceptions about RPD and suggest that single measures are insufficient to evaluate TA PD programs.     

Breast motion asymmetry during running

Breast asymmetry is common in females, despite a similar driving force; dynamic activity may result in asymmetrical breast motion. This preliminary study investigated how breast categorisation (left/right or dominant/non-dominant) may affect breast support recommendations and its relationship with breast pain. Ten females ran on a treadmill at 10 kph in three breast supports (no bra, everyday bra, sports bra). Five reflective markers on the thorax and nipples were tracked using infrared cameras (200 Hz) during five running gait cycles in each breast support. Multiplanar displacements of both breasts were calculated relative to the thorax. Although the maximum individual participant difference was 2.4 cm (mediolaterally) between the left and right breast, no left/right differences were found in any direction or support condition. Notably, correlations between breast pain and anterioposterior breast displacement were stronger with the left breast (r = 0.614) and moderate with the right breast (r = 0.456). Following participant categorisation according to the greatest magnitude of superioinferior breast displacement (dominant breast), results showed significant differences in displacement for all directions across different breast supports. When using breast kinematic data to examine relationships with breast pain or to recommend breast support requirements, data on both breasts should be collected.     

Magnitude of multiplanar breast kinematics differs depending upon run distance

Recommendations for breast support, dynamic breast pain assessment, and implications for sports performance have been made within breast biomechanics research; however, these studies have been based upon short exercise protocols (2–5 min). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of breast support on multiplanar breast kinematics over a 5-kilometre run. Ten female participants (34D or 32DD) conducted two 5-kilometre runs, in a low and high breast support. Relative multiplanar breast kinematics were averaged over five gait cycles at six intervals of a 5-kilometre run. Increases in multiplanar breast kinematics were reported from the start to the end of the run, with the greatest rate of increase in breast kinematics reported within the first two kilometres of running. The greatest relative increases in breast range of motion (34%), velocity (33%), and acceleration (41%) were reported in the superioinferior direction at the fifth kilometre (33 min of running) in the high breast support. Key findings suggest that the run distance, and therefore run duration, employed for both fundamental research and product validation protocols should be carefully considered and it is suggested that running protocols for assessing breast biomechanics should exceed 7 min.     

Building Strong Community Partnerships: Equal Voice and Mutual Benefits

This article explores an urban partnership and service-learning project deliberately created to improve literacy and strengthen learning communities in an urban, Latino neighborhood of Chicago. The project aligns activities and objectives with resources and needs of university participants, a Latino community organization, and local public schools. The needs addressed include (a) improving literacy achievement in Latino students, (b) improving literacy instruction, (c) expanding students’ awareness and engagement with social injustices, and (d) exploring barriers to literacy access in students’ homes and community. This project serves as a model for developing partnerships and outreach between higher education institutions and the community.