Search Results (638)

Accessible and quantitative assessment of rapid martial arts movements remains difficult without specialized equipment or continuous expert observation. Here, we present a desktop prototype that uses smartphone-recorded videos to recognize and evaluate three fundamental taekwondo kicks: front, roundhouse and axe kicks. The TKD-Kick3 protocol planned 790 recordings from 150 university students across five physical education classes and retained 765 cleaned pose sequences; because two first-year classes had not yet learned the roundhouse kick, front and axe kick recordings were planned for all students, whereas roundhouse kick recordings were planned only for 95 second-year students. MediaPipe Pose extracted 13 body keypoints, which were encoded as 52-dimensional frame features combining normalized two-dimensional positions and first-order velocities. Because participant identifiers were unavailable, recognition was assessed using a file-level validation split; recordings from the same participant may therefore have crossed subsets, potentially inflating performance estimates. Across three random seeds, the selected BiLSTM with uniform resampling and argmax inference achieved 75.3 ± 2.3% accuracy, 74.3 ± 2.3% macro-F1 and 74.5 ± 2.3% balanced accuracy; within the same validation setting, the best Transformer configuration achieved 67.3 ± 1.7% accuracy. On 30 expert-annotated videos, system scores showed moderate association with expert ratings (Spearman’s rho = 0.627; mean absolute error = 0.601 on a 10-point scale), providing preliminary support for the interpretable scoring approach. These results provide proof-of-concept evidence for smartphone-based kick assessment but do not establish participant-independent generalization or expert-equivalent scoring, motivating future evaluation with participant-level metadata and independent test cohorts. Full article

In an era characterized by the deep integration of digitalization and intelligent technologies, generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is reshaping the ecology of higher education in unprecedented ways. Owing to its inherent complexity, practice-oriented nature, and interdisciplinary characteristics, undergraduate architectural education can no longer be fully supported by traditional pedagogical models in response to emerging demands such as sustainable design, digital twins, and intelligent construction. Based on cross-sectional survey data from 1121 architecture undergraduates across eight universities in Wuhan, Hubei Province, this study proposes the Generative AI-enabled Learning Reshaping Association Model (GAI-LRM) and employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the statistical relationships between the variables. The generative AI tools investigated include text-generation tools such as Kimi AI, Doubao and Seedance, as well as image and design generation tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Forma AI, and ArkoAI. The results indicate that system-generated content quality, system quality, and task–technology fit are all significantly and positively associated with learning reshaping. Learning relationship reshaping and cognitive flexibility demonstrate positive indirect associations within the relevant pathways, whereas technology dependence shows a negative indirect association. Furthermore, there is a significant association between students’ foundational knowledge in the subject and certain variables. These findings reveal the multifaceted connections between the application characteristics of generative AI and changes in the learning processes of architecture undergraduates; they provide empirical insights for optimizing human–AI collaborative learning, critical design reviews, and tiered instruction in design studios at universities in Wuhan, while also establishing a theoretical framework for future cross-regional, longitudinal, and experimental studies. We situate these findings within a core framework of contemporary architectural scholarship, where mainstream architectural education continues to privilege image-driven representation and adherence to established stylistic paradigms, even as a parallel scientific research movement harnesses artificial intelligence to reshape fundamental design principles. Viewed from this perspective, our results reveal not only the current state of technology adoption but also the underlying mechanisms at play. Specifically, technological reliance diminishes cognitive flexibility, while deep disciplinary literacy constitutes the critical differentiator between uncritical replication and deliberate application. Consequently, we argue that architectural education should not merely incorporate GAI within existing visual paradigms but should instead steer it toward science-based, human-centric design principles. Full article

Background: Spinal immobilization during extrication is a key component of trauma care aimed at reducing secondary neurological injury, although conventional techniques such as the Rautek maneuver may induce unintended spinal motion that could increase biomechanical stress on vulnerable structures. Recent developments, including the SNAID^® cervical restraint system, have been designed to improve motion restriction while maintaining operational feasibility in emergency settings. This study aimed to quantitatively compare spinal kinematics during extrication using SNAID^® versus the Rautek maneuver in a simulated environment. Methods: A controlled experimental study was conducted with 15 nursing students performing standardized extrication tasks under both conditions. Four synchronized 9-axis inertial measurement units were placed at the occiput, C7, sternum, and left shoulder to capture kinematic data at 100 Hz. Range of motion (ROM) was calculated for absolute and intersegmental movements, and statistical comparisons were performed using paired non-parametric tests with effect size estimation. Results: The results showed that SNAID^® significantly reduced cervical lateral flexion-extension compared with Rautek (p = 0.013, r_m^b = −0.71), as well as markedly reducing head–trunk relative motion, particularly in sagittal flexion-extension (p < 0.001, r_m^b = −0.99). In contrast, Rautek produced significantly greater shoulder and trunk motion, with the largest effect observed in shoulder lateral displacement (p < 0.001, r_m^b = −0.99). Conclusions: the SNAID^® system demonstrated reduced cervical and intersegmental motion compared with the Rautek maneuver under standardized simulation conditions. These findings indicate differences in biomechanical behavior between both approaches; however, their clinical significance cannot be established from the present study and should not be interpreted as evidence of improved patient outcomes or neurological protection. Full article

Accurate identification of gait abnormalities is fundamental to clinical evaluation in both veterinary medicine and translational research. Commonly used descriptors such as ataxia, paresis, hypermetria, and lameness are frequently applied as single-word summaries of complex movement disorders, yet these terms lack precise, universally accepted operational definitions. Dictionary definitions are often generic or ambiguous, leading to variability in interpretation among clinicians, students, and researchers. This review evaluates commonly used neurologic and gait-related terminology in dogs, examining historical origins, denotation and connotation, as well as the limitations of current usage in a clinical setting. For each term, clinically observable features are delineated to establish functional, operational definitions grounded in movement analysis and neurophysiologic processes. The goal of this reappraisal is to enhance clarity, consistency, and diagnostic accuracy in veterinary neurology by establishing standardized descriptors for gait abnormalities in clinical practice, teaching, and research. Full article

To examine the effect of format familiarity on word segmentation in Tibetan reading, this study manipulated both format familiarity and visual cues. An EyeLink 1000Plus eye tracker was used to record the eye movement characteristics of 75 Tibetan college students during Tibetan reading tasks. The results reveal that, under conditions of low format familiarity, inter-word spaces significantly facilitated Tibetan reading; however, this facilitative effect disappeared as format familiarity increased. These findings suggest that, in Tibetan reading, there is a trade-off between format familiarity and the facilitating effect of inter-word spaces. Full article

Physical activity during recess can provide an important opportunity for secondary school students to accumulate health-enhancing movement within the school day. However, in high-density urban schools, limited campus land and uneven spatial conditions may constrain students’ physical activity during recess. Although previous studies examined the role of the school environment in shaping students’ physical activity, little is known about how different types of campus public spaces and students’ perception of such spaces are associated with recess physical activity. In this study, such associations are examined in three high-density urban schools in Guangzhou, China among 900 students in grades 10–12. The students’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during recess is measured by using Huawei Band 8 wearable devices, and their primary activity spaces and perception of their spatial environment are determined by using a structured questionnaire. The campus public spaces are classified as sports field, courtyard, plaza, undercroft space and corridors, and the students’ perception of their environment is assessed across four dimensions: usability, accessibility, safety and comfort. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression are used for the data analysis. Results show differences in recess MVPA levels across the three schools, with high activity levels observed in the school with superior spatial resources and public space conditions, as well as the use of and MVPA behaviour in the different public spaces. Sports fields were generally associated with high use and higher MVPA levels, whereas corridors mainly supported students’ movement between destinations and brief resting and were associated with relatively low MVPA levels. Courtyards, plazas and undercroft spaces show varied patterns, in which activity is related to specific spatial conditions, such as the scale, openness, paving and shading conditions and facility availability. The perception analysis indicates that usability, comfort, accessibility and safety are significantly and positively associated with recess MVPA, with usability showing the strongest association. The regression model can explain 54.7% of the variance in recess MVPA levels. The findings suggest that in similar high-density urban secondary school contexts, spatial support for recess physical activity depends on not only the amount of available space but also the activity-supportive characteristics and perceived environmental quality of the campus public spaces. Improvement of the usability, comfort and accessibility of campus public spaces may provide favourable spatial conditions for students’ physical activity during recess. Full article

Human pose detection is fundamental to quantitative sports training analysis in college general education courses, enabling an objective assessment of college students’ movement quality and the early identification of sports injury risks among non-professional athletes. At present, those detectors based on YOLO have encountered difficulties in capturing the continuous movement patterns of college athletes in routine training, maintaining the regression accuracy of different size posture targets, and maintaining the real-time calculation speed in the campus sports environment. Furthermore, most existing pose-estimation frameworks are optimized for general scenes and fail to address the unique challenges of college physical education settings, including non-standard student movements, diverse skill levels, and strict cost constraints for large-scale deployment. In order to solve these problems, we put forward PPLCNet-YOLOv11, which is a simplified human posture-estimation framework designed for college physical education. This model is optimized by three key improvements: (1) replacing the original backbone network with PPLCNet to enhance feature extraction, while strictly observing the strict FLOPs and parameter restrictions; (2) an enhanced Multi-Scale Attention Mechanism (MSAM) that combines adaptive scale perception, hierarchical channel attention, and pose-sensitive spatial attention to better represent elongated anatomical structures and multi-scale pose cues; and (3) an improved enhanced IoU loss function that incorporates scale-aware and aspect-ratio-aware penalty terms to refine the bounding box adjustment for atypical and sports-specific gestures. Experiments on both a dedicated college student sports pose dataset and two public benchmark datasets (COCO Keypoints 2017 and MPII Human Pose) demonstrate that PPLCNet-YOLOv11 achieves 77.8% mAP@0.5 and 37.09% mAP@0.95 based on the campus dataset, with 82.34% precision and 75.00% recall, while requiring only 2.62 M parameters and 6.38 GFLOPs. Extensive inference speed tests show that the model achieves 127 FPS on an NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU, 38 FPS on an Intel i7-12700 CPU, and 16 FPS on a Jetson Nano edge device, meeting the real-time requirements of campus sports monitoring. Compared with mainstream lightweight YOLO variants and state-of-the-art specialized pose-estimation models, our proposed method improves mAP@0.5 by 4.93–12.6 percentage points based on the campus dataset. All experiments were repeated five times with different random seeds, and we report mean values with standard deviations and statistical significance tests to ensure result reliability. These results indicate that PPLCNet-YOLOv11 provides an accurate and resource-efficient solution for real-time pose evaluation in college physical training. Full article

Eye-movement studies of manual production often average gaze across an entire trial, obscuring how visual information use changes once actions begin. We separated the pre-writing and writing phases in a fixed progressive Chinese calligraphy task. Thirty-seven postgraduate students completed two style-guided transfer (SGT) pages, a worked example, and two evolution-based mapping (EBM) pages; 34 contributed usable gaze data. On SGT pages, reference allocation fell from 0.626 before writing to 0.131 during writing, whereas the share of reference viewing directed to diagnostic tokens rose from 0.473 to 0.601. On EBM pages, allocation to the cue-plus-context display fell from 0.825 to 0.447 after pen onset but remained substantial; cue share and context coverage also declined. Participant-level process blocks did not improve quality models. In exploratory page-level EBM analyses, greater pre-writing context coverage was associated with higher product quality. These findings identify pen onset as a useful boundary for analyzing visual information use in constrained production: external sampling is greatest before writing, and task-specific re-access persists during execution. Because the task order was fixed, page-family differences cannot be separated from practice or scaffolding. Phase-specific area-of-interest measures can therefore add process information to product scores without treating gaze as a direct measure of cognition. Full article

Educational buildings are characterized by daily movement and continuous interaction between formal and informal learning spaces. Understanding how students navigate and occupy these environments and how these experiences affect their academic performance is essential for developing responsive, human-centered architectural strategies. This research investigates spatial behavior, movement patterns, and physical classroom environments, and their relationship with academic achievement among students in the College of Architecture and Digital Design building at Dar Al-Uloom University. A mixed-methods approach is adopted, combining student surveys, movement mapping, and grade analysis. Movement mapping was used to document circulation patterns, spatial occupancy, and pause behavior across different periods of the academic day. In addition, academic performance categories, together with observed movement and space-use patterns, are used to contextualize spatial engagement. Additionally, an investigative comparative analysis is conducted across two campuses (male and female). The findings indicate that higher-performing students generally exhibit greater movement diversity and spatial engagement, with observable differences in spatial behavior between male and female students. Full article

Combat sports are characterized by sport-specific asymmetrical movement patterns that may influence neuromuscular control, functional stability, and injury risk. Although lower-limb asymmetry has been widely investigated in taekwon-do experienced ITF taekwon-do practitioners, upper-limb functional symmetry remains insufficiently explored. Sixteen experienced male ITF taekwon-do practitioners underwent assessment of hand grip strength and upper-limb dynamic stability using the Upper Quarter Y-Balance Test (UQYBT). Reach distances in anterior (AP), posteromedial (PM), and posterolateral (PL) directions were analyzed together with composite symmetry indices. Inter-limb differences were evaluated using paired Student’s t-tests, and associations between strength and dynamic stability variables were examined using Pearson’s correlations. Significant inter-limb asymmetry was observed only in the posteromedial (PM) UQYBT direction, with higher values for the left upper limb (p < 0.001; dz = 1.34). No significant inter-limb differences were observed for hand grip strength, anterior reach distance, posterolateral reach distance, or composite index values. Correlation analyses demonstrated weak-to-moderate and statistically non-significant relationships between hand grip strength and dynamic stability variables. Experienced taekwon-do athletes demonstrate movement-specific upper-limb asymmetry while maintaining relatively symmetrical overall dynamic stability and grip strength. The findings further suggest that upper-limb dynamic stability may depend more strongly on neuromuscular coordination and sport-specific motor control than on maximal grip strength alone. These findings suggest that asymmetry in taekwon-do may reflect a potential sport-specific adaptation rather than generalized neuromuscular dysfunction. Full article

Twice-exceptional students—those who are both gifted and have one or more disabilities—and gifted learners, more broadly, represent persistently underserved populations within educational systems. Gifted learners frequently encounter provision that does not adequately engage their potential, such as standardised approaches that neither recognise nor respond to their learning requirements. Traditional identification and programming approaches often rely on deficit-based approaches that pathologise neurodivergence and frequently neglect the complex, asynchronous learning profiles characteristic of twice-exceptional students. This article advances a functional alignment framework proposing that generative artificial intelligence’s processing patterns may align with the cognitive characteristics of some gifted and twice-exceptional learners. The proposed functional alignment spans five dimensions: conceptual movement, knowledge integration, topic continuity, working memory, and pacing and temporal flexibility; this positions GenAI as a potentially compatible interactive platform for personalised, strengths-based learning. The functional alignment framework is explicitly theoretical, advancing propositions rather than demonstrated effects, and requires empirical validation. Positioning GenAI as a mediating platform has the potential to disrupt longstanding barriers to evidence-informed educational provision for gifted and twice-exceptional students. Through examining the intersection of gifted education, special education, and educational technology, this theoretical work outlines a trajectory for the field, characterised by flexible, personalised, strengths-based approaches that can be responsive to the student in front of the teacher, instead of the all-too-often default to one-size-fits-all approaches. Critical considerations of equity, teacher capability, and ethical implementation are addressed, theorising that GenAI’s transformative potential may only be realised through deliberate, theoretically informed application grounded in deep understanding of learner neurodivergence and a proposed pivot from GenAI literacy to GenAI fluency. This work contributes to reconceptualising gifted education as inherently inclusive, responsive, and oriented towards actualising potential for gifted and twice-/multi-exceptional learners. Full article

Easy-to-Read (E2R) recommendations aim to improve accessibility, but it remains unclear whether some visual and typographic adaptations may also benefit readers without disabilities. This study examined the effects of different text formats on reading comprehension and visual processing in university students using eye-tracking. Twenty-four young adults without cognitive disabilities read texts presented in three formats: hard-to-read, control, and Easy-to-Read. Reading comprehension was assessed with multiple-choice questions, and eye movements were recorded during reading. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Text Format significantly affected reading comprehension, with estimated accuracy highest in the E2R format and significantly higher than in the hard-to-read format. The E2R format was also associated with shorter fixation durations and larger saccades than the other formats, suggesting a pattern compatible with a reduced cognitive demand in some eye-movement measures. Fixation count was highest for hard-to-read texts and significantly higher than in the control format, whereas differences involving E2R were not significant. Reading time showed a trend towards significance, with descriptively longer reading times for hard-to-read texts than for the control and E2R formats. These findings suggest that E2R adaptations, originally developed to support populations with cognitive needs, may also facilitate comprehension and reading efficiency in readers without cognitive disabilities. Full article

This qualitative study examines how culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) and transformative learning are fostered in higher education when structured reflection, dialogic engagement, and feedback are intentionally embedded in teacher education coursework. Drawing on data from two university courses—one undergraduate course for preservice teachers and one graduate course for in-service educators (n = 44)—the study explores how equity-focused instructional design supports development toward inclusive, globally informed practice. Data sources included student reflective writing, an anonymous pre- and post-semester survey aligned with InTASC dispositions, instructor reflexive journals, peer observation reports, and course feedback artifacts. Of the 44 enrolled participants, 39 completed the pre-survey and 19 completed the post-survey; survey results were analyzed descriptively at the group level because responses were anonymous and could not be matched across time. Analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedures, with trustworthiness strengthened through triangulation, peer debriefing, member checking with a subset of participants, and reflexive journaling. Findings revealed seven interconnected themes demonstrating how reflective writing, critical scholarship, multimedia exemplars, dialogic feedback, and iterative course design supported movement from awareness toward equity-oriented pedagogical praxis. Four overarching outcomes were especially salient: (a) expanded understandings of CRP as justice-oriented praxis; (b) increased capacity to identify and interrogate personal and systemic bias; (c) stronger connections between global and intercultural perspectives and locally grounded teaching commitments; and (d) reported pedagogical shifts toward more inclusive, equity-centered practice. Survey findings indicated a group-level shift from Agree toward Strongly Agree across equity-oriented dispositions, suggesting strengthened professional commitments while warranting cautious interpretation given unmatched responses and post-survey attrition. Comparative analysis also highlighted cohort-differentiated developmental trajectories, underscoring the importance of scaffolded, context-responsive approaches in equity-focused teacher education. Overall, the study demonstrates how intentional instructional design can position reflection as an ethical and professional stance that supports equity, inclusion, and global readiness across educator career stages. Full article

Background: Digital health technologies are increasingly integral to healthcare delivery worldwide; however, successful adoption depends on more than technological availability. In nursing, readiness is particularly important because digital systems increasingly shape documentation, communication, decision support, and care delivery. Within the context of Saudi Arabia’s healthcare transformation, doctoral nursing students are positioned as future educators, clinicians, and leaders whose perceptions can provide insight into digital health readiness and preparation. Aim: This study aimed to explore doctoral nursing students’ perceptions of their readiness to adopt digital health technologies in Saudi Arabia, guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). Methods: This exploratory, qualitative, descriptive study recruited 9 doctoral nursing students from a public university in Saudi Arabia using purposive sampling based on predefined eligibility criteria. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted online and audio-recorded. Data were analyzed using a hybrid inductive–deductive thematic approach. UTAUT2 informed the deductive component of the analysis, while inductive coding and cross-case comparison supported theme generation. Results: Four interrelated themes were identified. First, readiness was positive but conditional, shaped by movement from openness to professional necessity, familiarity, workflow fit, and caution about the possible weakening of foundational or manual competence. Second, adoption depended on practical value and system credibility, including access, convenience, efficiency, safety, documentation integrity, accuracy, privacy, and reliability. Third, adoption was organizationally mediated through leadership, peer culture, infrastructure, implementation conditions, training, follow-up, and academic preparation. Fourth, digital health was understood as supporting, not substituting for, nursing work by reducing avoidable burden and creating more space for direct care while preserving human presence, communication, and clinical judgment. Conclusions: In this sample of doctoral nursing students, digital health readiness was positive but conditional. The findings suggest that readiness reflects a context-sensitive professional judgment shaped by educational preparation, organizational support, system credibility, workflow compatibility, and the perceived ability of digital technologies to enhance nursing work rather than replace it. Implications: The findings suggest that nursing education and practice should strengthen applied digital health competencies through simulation-based preparation, electronic documentation training, privacy and ethics education, workflow-aligned implementation, and sustained organizational support. Full article

Visual fatigue is a serious issue among Chinese secondary school students owing to prolonged daily exposure (8–10 h) to visual display terminals (VDTs) in widely equipped multimedia classrooms. To mitigate such effects, this exploratory study identifies promising lighting parameters by evaluating the influence of blackboard reflection coefficients, the ratio of desktop illumination to blackboard illumination, and correlated color temperature (CCT) in a simulated multimedia classroom environment. Thirteen participants performed visual tasks (Landolt ring visual acuity tests and Anfimov’s Chart Task) under various conditions. Visual fatigue scale (VFS-10), index of mental capacity (IMC), and eye movement parameters (EMP) were used to assess visual fatigue and efficiency. Results suggest that higher blackboard reflection coefficients improved efficiency and reduced fatigue. Increased blackboard illumination alleviated fatigue at constant CCT, whereas changes in desktop illumination showed no significant effect. The highest efficiency among the tested CCT values was observed at 4700 K, while visual fatigue was minimized at 4000 K. The findings provide preliminary practical applications for minimizing visual fatigue and improving performance efficiency in secondary school multimedia classroom environments equipped with VDTs. Full article