Search Results (387)

Due to the effect of room acoustics on musical interpretation, a musician’s rehearsal may be greatly enhanced by leveraging virtual and augmented reality technology. This paper presents a preliminary study on a rehearsal tool designed for musicians, enabling practice in a virtual acoustic environment with audience-positioned playback. Fourteen participants, both professional and non-professional musicians, were recruited to practice with the rehearsal tool prior to performing in an unfamiliar venue. Throughout the rehearsal, the subjects either played in a virtual environment that matched the acoustics of the performance venue or one that was acoustically different. A control group rehearsed in an acoustically dry room with no virtual acoustic environment. The tool’s effectiveness was evaluated with two 16-item questionnaires that assessed quality, usefulness, satisfaction with the rehearsal, and aspects of the performance. Findings indicate that rehearsing in a virtual acoustic environment that matches the performance venue improves acoustic awareness during the performance and enhances ease and comfort on stage compared to practising in a different environment. These results support the integration of virtual acoustics in rehearsal tools to help musicians better adapt their performance to concert settings. Full article

With the increasing application of digital interactive installations in museums, their role in enhancing audience engagement and cultural dissemination effectiveness has become prominent. However, ensuring the sustained use of these technologies remains challenging. Based on distributed cognition and perceived value theories, this study investigates key factors influencing users’ continuous usage of digital interactive installations using the Capital Museum in Beijing as a case study. A theoretical model was constructed and empirically validated through Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (Bayesian-SEM) with 352 valid samples. The findings reveal that perceived ease of use plays a critical direct predictive role in continuous usage intention. Environmental factors and peer interaction indirectly influence user behavior through learner engagement, while user satisfaction serves as a core mediator between perceived ease of use and continuous usage intention. Notably, perceived usefulness and entertainment showed no direct effects, indicating that convenience and social experience outweigh functional benefits in this context. These findings emphasize the importance of optimizing interface design, fostering collaborative environments, and enhancing user satisfaction to promote sustained participation. This study provides practical insights for aligning digital innovation with audience needs in museums, thereby supporting the sustainable integration of technology in cultural heritage education and preservation. Full article

With the advancement of immersive technologies, metaverse museum exhibitions have become an increasingly important medium through which audiences access cultural content and experience artistic works. This study aims to identify the key factors influencing visitors’ processual experiences in metaverse museum exhibitions and to explore how these factors collectively contribute to the formation of satisfaction with the visiting experience. Adopting an interdisciplinary theoretical perspective, the study integrates the Experience Economy theory with the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model to construct a systematic theoretical framework. This framework reveals how exhibition-related stimuli affect visitors’ behavioral intentions through psychological response pathways. Specifically, perceived educational appeal, interactive entertainment, escapist experience, and perceived visual aesthetics are defined as stimulus variables, while psychological immersion, emotional trigger, and cognitive engagement are introduced as organismic variables to explain their effects on satisfaction with the visiting experience and social sharing intention as response variables. Based on 507 valid responses, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for empirical analysis. The results indicate that interactive entertainment and escapist experience have significant positive effects on psychological responses, serving as key drivers of deep visitor engagement. Emotional Trigger acts as a significant mediator between exhibition stimuli and satisfaction with the visiting experience, which in turn significantly predicts social sharing intention. In contrast, perceived educational appeal and perceived visual aesthetics exhibit weaker impacts at the cognitive and behavioral levels. This study not only identifies these weakened pathways but also proposes optimization strategies grounded in experiential construction and cognitive synergy, offering guidance for enhancing the educational function and deep experiential design of metaverse exhibitions. The findings validate the applicability of the Experience Economy theory and the SOR model in metaverse cultural contexts and deepen our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying immersive cultural experiences. This study further provides a pathway for shifting exhibition design from a “content-oriented” to an “experience-driven” approach, offering theoretical and practical insights into enhancing audience engagement and cultural communication effectiveness in metaverse museums. Full article

Mycelium is a living material that has gained popularity over the last decade in both architecture and design. Apart from understanding the physical behaviour of novel materials, it is also important to grasp how designers and the general audience perceive them. On the one hand, this study investigated mycelium growth in 3D-printed minimal surface shapes using a wood-based filament, and on the other hand, it examined how both designers and the general public experience interacting with mycelium. Using a material-driven design research method, a workshop with architecture students was conducted where various triply periodic minimal surfaces were designed and 3D printed. These shapes were used as molds and impregnated with mycelium, and the growth of mycelium was analyzed visually and photographically. Data on the experiences of the 30 workshop participants of working with mycelium was collected through a survey and analyzed qualitatively. After exhibiting results of the workshop in a public-facing exhibition, semi-structured interviews with members of the general public about their perceptions of mycelium were conducted. Three-dimensionally printed minimal surfaces with wood-based filaments can function as structural cores for mycelium-based composites, and the density of the minimal surface appears to influence mycelium growth, which binds to wood-based filaments. Students exhibited stronger feelings for living materials compared to non-living ones, displaying both biophilia and, to a lesser extent, biophobia. Introducing hands-on workshops with living and experimental materials in design studio settings can help future generations of designers develop sensibilities for, and a critical approach towards, the impact of their design decisions on the environment and sustainability. The study also contributes empirical data on how members of the general public perceive mycelium as a material for design. Full article

The rise of virtual production has created an urgent need for both efficient and high-fidelity 3D face generation schemes for cinema and immersive media, but existing methods are often limited by lighting–geometry coupling, multi-view dependency, and insufficient artistic quality. To address this, this study proposes a cross-modal 3D face generation framework based on single-view semantic masks. It utilizes Swin Transformer for multi-level feature extraction and combines with NeRF for illumination decoupled rendering. We utilize physical rendering equations to explicitly separate surface reflectance from ambient lighting to achieve robust adaptation to complex lighting variations. In addition, to address geometric errors across illumination scenes, we construct geometric a priori constraint networks by mapping 2D facial features to 3D parameter space as regular terms with the help of semantic masks. On the CelebAMask-HQ dataset, this method achieves a leading score of SSIM = 0.892 (37.6% improvement from baseline) with FID = 40.6. The generated faces excel in symmetry and detail fidelity with realism and aesthetic scores of 8/10 and 7/10, respectively, in a perceptual evaluation with 1000 viewers. By combining physical-level illumination decoupling with semantic geometry a priori, this paper establishes a quantifiable feedback mechanism between objective metrics and human aesthetic evaluation, providing a new paradigm for aesthetic quality assessment of AI-generated content. Full article

The research was initiated by the Plečnik House gallery (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and focuses on the 3D architectural reconstruction of the unrealised monument of the Czech military leader Jan Žižka, designed by the Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik. In addition, the experience with the 3D reconstructed monument in the exhibition “Plečnik and the Sacred” was analysed. Using the available references and interpretative approaches, a digital and 3D-printed reconstruction was created that retains Plečnik’s architectural style. The experimental phase included a detailed interpretation of the studied references, 3D modelling, 3D printing, exhibition and experience analysis. The dimensions of the finished 3D-printed model are 52.80 × 55.21 × 44.60 cm. It was produced using stereolithography (SLA) for figurative elements and fused deposition modelling (FDM) for architectural components. The reconstruction was evaluated using participant testing, including semantic differential analysis, comparative studies, and knowledge-based questionnaires. The results showed that architectural elements were reconstructed with an average similarity score of 1.97 out of 5. Statues followed with a score of 1.81, and props, though detailed, met audience expectations, scoring 1.61. Clothing received the lowest score of 1.40. This research emphasises the importance of a hypothetical digital 3D reconstruction of never constructed monument for broader understanding of Plečnik’s legacy. Full article

VisRep (Visualisation Report) is an AI-powered system for capturing and structuring the early stages of the visualisation design process. It addresses a critical gap in predesign: the lack of tools that can naturally record, organise, and transform raw ideation, spoken thoughts, sketches, and evolving concepts into polished, shareable outputs. Users engage in talk-aloud sessions through a terminal-style interface supported by intelligent transcription and eleven structured questions that frame intent, audience, and output goals. These inputs are then processed by a large language model (LLM) guided by markdown-based output templates for reports, posters, and slides. The system aligns free-form ideas with structured communication using prompt engineering to ensure clarity, coherence, and visual consistency. VisRep not only automates the generation of professional deliverables but also enhances reflective practice by bridging spontaneous ideation and structured documentation. This paper introduces VisRep’s methodology, interface design, and AI-driven workflow, demonstrating how it improves the fidelity and transparency of the visualisation design process across academic, professional, and creative domains. Full article

Background/objective: Tailoring involves adapting research findings and evidence to suit specific contexts and audiences. This study examines how international stroke guidelines can be tailored to address gait issues after a stroke. Methods: A three-phase consensus method approach was used. A 10-member health experts panel extracted recommendations from three national clinical guidelines in the first phase. In the second phase, 362 physiotherapists completed an online questionnaire to assess the feasibility of adopting the extracted recommendations. In the third phase, a 15-physical therapist consensus workshop was convened to clarify factors that might affect the tailoring process of the extracted recommendations of gait disorder rehabilitation. Results: In phase one, 21 recommendations reached consensus. In the second phase, 362 stroke physiotherapists rated the applicability of these recommendations: 14 rated high, 7 rated low, and none were rejected. The third phase, a nominal group meeting (NGM), explored four themes related to tailoring. The first theme, “organizational factors”, includes elements such as clinical setting, culture, and regulations. The second theme, “individual clinician factors”, assesses aspects like clinical experience, expertise, abilities, knowledge, and attitudes toward tailoring. The third theme, “patient factors”, addresses issues related to multimorbidity, comorbidities, patient engagement, and shared decision-making. The final theme, “other factors”, examines the impact of research design on tailoring. Conclusions: Tailoring international clinical guidelines involves multiple factors. This situation brings home the importance of a systematic strategy for tailoring that incorporates various assessment criteria to enhance the use of clinical evidence. Future research should investigate additional implementation theories to enhance the translation of evidence into practice. Full article

In today’s market, consumers appear to be less interested in promotional strategies, particularly those that rely on text-based advertisements. Graphic storytelling can be seen as providing a more engaging visual approach to attract audiences and is increasingly being used by marketers and food packaging designers. However, the questions of whether and how graphic storytelling influences consumers’ purchase intentions remain underexplored. Based on the Transportation–Imagery Model, two experimental studies were conducted to examine the effect of graphic storytelling on narrative transportation and food purchase intention, and to explore its underlying mechanism from the perspective of cognitive fluency. The results demonstrated the positive effect of graphic storytelling on narrative transportation (Studies 1 and 2), as well as a significant impact on food purchase intention (Study 2). Furthermore, cognitive fluency was identified as a critical factor impacting narrative transportation, facilitated by graphic storytelling (Studies 1 and 2). This study extends the Transportation–Imagery Model by positioning cognitive fluency as an important antecedent of narrative transportation. Practically, the suggestion would be for restaurants and food firms to optimize their advertising by displaying cooking processes, particularly for part-prepared foods. Full article

Virtual reality interaction design and story co-creation design for multiple users is an interdisciplinary research field that merges human–computer interaction, creative design, and virtual reality technologies. Story co-creation design enables multiple users to collectively generate and share narratives, allowing them to contribute to the storyline, modify plot trajectories, and craft characters, thereby facilitating a dynamic storytelling experience. Through advanced virtual reality interaction design, collaboration and social engagement can be further enriched to encourage active participation. This study investigates the facilitation of narrative creation and enhancement of storytelling skills in virtual reality by leveraging existing research on story co-creation design and virtual reality technology. Subsequently, we developed and evaluated the virtual reality card-based collaborative storytelling platform Co-Relay. By analyzing interaction data and user feedback obtained from user testing and experimental trials, we observed substantial enhancements in user engagement, immersion, creativity, and fulfillment of emotional and social needs compared to a conventional web-based storytelling platform. The primary contribution of this study lies in demonstrating how the incorporation of story co-creation can elevate storytelling proficiency, plot development, and social interaction within the virtual reality environment. Our novel methodology offers a fresh outlook on the design of collaborative narrative creation in virtual reality, particularly by integrating participatory multi-user storytelling platforms that blur the traditional boundaries between creators and audiences, as well as between fiction and reality. Full article

The layout analysis of elements is indispensable in graphic design, as effective layout design not only facilitates the delivery of visual information but also enhances the overall esthetic appeal to the audience. The combination of deep learning and graphic design has gradually turned into a popular research direction in graphic design in recent years. However, in the era of rapid development of artificial intelligence, the analysis of layout still requires manual participation. To address this problem, this paper proposes a method for analyzing the layout of complex layout image elements based on the improved DeepLabv3++ model. The method reduces the number of model parameters and training time by replacing the backbone network. To improve the effect of multi-scale semantic feature extraction, the null rate of ASPP is fine-tuned, and the model is trained by self-constructed movie poster dataset. The experimental results show that the improved DeepLabv3+ model achieves a better segmentation effect on the self-constructed poster dataset, with MIoU reaching 75.60%. Compared with the classical models such as FCN, PSPNet, and DeepLabv3, the improved model in this paper effectively reduces the number of model parameters and training time while also ensuring the accuracy of the model. Full article

This study explores the differences in audience behavior between virtual museums and physical museums. The replica-based virtual museum (RVM) was developed to replicate the exhibit layout of physical museums and support multi-user online visits. The study introduces the RVM-Interaction (RVM-I), which incorporates interactive features to enhance user engagement. In the experiment, 24 participants experienced a physical museum (PM), RVM, RVM-I, and a traditional PC-based virtual museum, with their impressions and behavioral patterns recorded. The results indicate no significant differences between RVM and PM in terms of satisfaction, immersion, aesthetic experience, and social interaction. RVM-I significantly enhanced the participants’ experience through its interactive capabilities. Path analysis shows that both RVM and RVM-I improved audience efficiency, with RVM-I transforming the circumferential, space-based art appreciation found in PM and RVM into a stationary, space-based form, making RVM-I more engaging than RVM. These findings offer valuable insights for the design and development of virtual museum experiences that maintain spatial fidelity to physical exhibitions while enhancing user engagement through interactivity. Full article

Technological developments and the integration of social media into journalistic practices have transformed the media landscape, changing how information is gathered, produced, and shared. This evolution poses challenges, including the lack of clear guidelines and practical tools for ensuring the quality of digital news content. To address these issues, IQJournalism, an intelligent quality prediction advisor, was developed. This paper outlines the methodology for the development of IQJournalism, a platform that leverages advanced AI technologies to process Greek news articles and provide real-time editing recommendations on various dimensions, including language quality, subjectivity level, emotionality, entertainment, and social media engagement. First, a qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 experts, academic researchers and media professionals to identify indicators of perceived quality in journalism. These insights were then transformed into measurable features, which served as training data for explainable machine learning-based models for quality categorization and prediction. Finally, the IQJournalism platform was designed following a user-centered iterative process that included prototyping, testing, and redesigning. The innovative approach aims to serve as a valuable tool for improving journalistic quality, contributing to more reliable and engaging online news content. Importantly, the platform is not limited to the journalistic sector, but can also be used to optimize content in various areas, such as marketing, political, and strategic communication, supporting editors seeking to improve the quality and impact of their writing. Full article

Delivering compelling presentations is a critical skill across academic, professional, and public domains—yet many presenters struggle with structuring content, maintaining visual consistency, and engaging their audience effectively. Existing tools offer isolated support for design or delivery but fail to promote long-term skill development. This paper presents a novel intelligent application, the Presentation Advisor application, powered by a personalized recommendation engine that goes beyond fixing slide content and visualization, enabling users to build presentation competence. The recommendation engine leverages a model based on hybrid multi-tower neural network architecture enhanced with temporal encoding, problem sequence modeling, and utility-based scoring to deliver adaptive context-aware feedback. Unlike current tools, the presented system analyzes user-submitted presentations to detect common issues and delivers curated educational content tailored to user preferences, presentation types, and audiences. The system also incorporates strategic cold-start mitigation, ensuring high-quality recommendations even for new users or unseen content. Comprehensive experimental evaluations demonstrate that the suggested model significantly outperforms content-based filtering, collaborative filtering, autoencoders, and reinforcement learning approaches across both accuracy and personalization metrics. By combining cutting-edge recommendation techniques with a pedagogical framework, the Presentation Advisor application enables users not only to improve individual presentations but to become consistently better presenters over time. Full article

Social media refers to digital platforms that enable users to create, share, and engage with content within virtual communities. Platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok have democratized content creation, allowing individuals to share ideas, opinions, and experiences with global audiences. Social media has revolutionized the way information is shared and consumed, offering unprecedented opportunities for learning, engagement, and democratic participation. However, this accessibility comes with significant ethical challenges, particularly centered around the paradox of freedom versus harm—the tension between upholding freedom of expression and mitigating the harms of misinformation, privacy violations, and AI-driven bias. This entry explores the dilemmas and opportunities associated with social media, examining how these platforms shape public discourse, influence consumer behavior, and challenge traditional notions of truth and accountability. It aims to provide policymakers, educators, and platform designers with actionable insights to foster ethical social media environments. Full article