Search Results (335)

Auditory cues are an important, though often overlooked, component of the multisensory experience of food consumption, directly influencing consumer perception and enjoyment. This study investigates how prior food-related experiences affect the perception and preference for food sounds, with a focus on artisanal bread, a popular staple food with distinctive auditory characteristics. A group of 113 participants was recruited and assigned to one of the two groups: 53 attended a bread-making workshop to establish enriched audiovisual associations, while 60 watched bread-making videos online, which represented a comparatively limited form of sensory engagement. Participants rated their perceived comfort levels for three distinct bread-related food sounds before and after the intervention. Sound recognition performance was also assessed as well as the appeal of the sounds. The results revealed that those who attended the workshop evaluated the close-up food sounds significantly more positively than those who watched the videos instead. Furthermore, regression analyses revealed that greater visual involvement during the workshop/watching videos was associated with increased comfort and decreased annoyance for the close-up bread sounds. These findings underscore the importance of multisensory integration experiences, particularly audiovisual integration, in shaping consumer responses and preferences for food sounds. To make sure that consumers feel comfortable and even hungry when they listen to food-related audial content, it is beneficial to incorporate familiar food sounds and, where possible, reinforce these with visual or experiential cues. Content that leverages multisensory associations and aligns with listeners’ prior experiences is likely to be more effective in eliciting positive sensory and emotional responses. Full article

Increasingly, attention is being paid to the underutilised wild edible nettle plant (Urtica dioica) as a healthy and sustainable food source. However, little is known about UK consumers’ acceptance of nettles and supplements containing nettles. This study explored UK consumers’ perceptions of nettles as a food source and nettle-based powder supplements, using visual focus group methodology (i.e., creative drawing tasks and group discussion). A total of n = 34 participated in the study, with each participant engaging in one of five visual focus groups. Barriers to consumption and how consumers envisaged using nettle-based supplements were also explored. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse group discussions and pictures were analysed using visual content analysis drawing on the principles of content analysis, semiotics, and iconography. Findings revealed limited awareness amongst consumers about nettles as a food source, with sensory properties and prior experiences negatively affecting perceptions of nettle consumption. Concerns over processing and the inclusion of carrier ingredients reduced consumer trust in a nettle powder supplement viewing these as ‘ultra-processed’ and unhealthy. A preference for natural additional ingredients was revealed, potentially signalling an opportunity to engage and educate consumers around sustainable eating. Transparency in labelling information may improve consumer confidence and trust in nettle powder supplements. Full article

Street art increasingly reshapes aesthetic hierarchies by introducing previously marginalised media into the public sphere. A compelling example is the artistic practice of the Polish artist NeSpoon (Elżbieta Dymna), whose work merges the visual language of traditional lace with the communicative strategies of contemporary urban art. Active since the late 2000s, NeSpoon combines stencils, ceramic lace imprints, and large-scale murals to translate the intimacy of handcraft into the visibility of public space. Her works function as both aesthetic interventions and acts of civic pedagogy. This study employs a qualitative visual research design combining multi-site digital inquiry, iconological and semiotic analysis, and mini focus group (N = 22). Three purposefully selected cases: Łódź, Belorado, and Fundão, were examined to capture the site-specific and cultural variability of lace murals across Europe. The analysis demonstrates that lace functions as an agent of cultural negotiation and a medium of heritage literacy, understood here as embodied and place-based learning. In Łódź, it monumentalises textile memory and women’s labour embedded in the city’s industrial palimpsest. In Belorado, micro-scale responsiveness operates, strengthening the local semiosphere. In Fundão, lace enters an intermedial dialogue with azulejos, negotiating the boundary between craft and art while expanding local visual grammars. The study introduces the conceptualisation of the monumentalisation of intimacy in public art and frames heritage literacy as an embodied, dialogic, and community-oriented educational practice. Its implications extend to feminist art history, place-based pedagogy, urban cultural policy, and the preventive conservation of murals. The research elucidates how domestic craft once confined to the private interior operates in public space as a medium of memory, care, and inclusive aesthetics. Full article

This article investigates strategies for advancing sustainable learning among learners with visual impairments (LVIs) in historically disadvantaged schools in Lesotho, a low-income country. Despite global efforts to promote inclusive education, LVIs in Lesotho continue to experience multiple barriers, including limited access to adapted learning materials and inadequately resourced learning environments. Employing a qualitative participatory case study design and focus group discussions, the study engaged 12 purposively selected participants, including school principals, special education teachers, and general education teachers, from two rural primary schools. Grounded in the principles of the inclusive special education framework, this study contributes to the discourse on promoting sustainable learning by examining specific experiences of LVIs in these contexts. While the focus on LVIs in rural contexts represents one subset of historically disadvantaged institutions, the findings highlight persistent systemic challenges, such as insufficient resources, restrictive learning conditions, and the underutilisation of teachers’ specialised expertise in visual impairment education, that resonate more broadly across marginalised educational settings. Even though its generalisation remains, the study recommends recognising and enhancing the professional status of educators trained in visual impairment, strengthening policy support for sustainable infrastructure, and embedding sustainable learning principles to promote LVI independent learning. By centring the voices of teachers in disadvantaged settings, this research contributes to the discourse on advancing sustainable learning, which offers accessible contextually relevant strategies to advance educational equity and justice for LVIs in Lesotho. Full article

Understanding spatial variability is central to precision agriculture, yet terrain features are often overlooked in remote sensing workflows that inform agronomic decision-making. This work introduces a terrain-aware visual analytics approach that integrates landform classification with crop performance analysis to better support field-level decisions. Terrain features are an important contributor to yield variability, alongside environmental conditions, soil properties, and management practices. However, they are rarely integrated systematically into performance analysis and decision-making workflows—limiting the potential for terrain-aware insights in precision agriculture. Addressing this gap requires approaches that incorporate terrain attributes and landform classifications into agricultural performance analysis and management zone (MZ) delineation—ideally through visual analytics that offer interpretable insights beyond the constraints of purely data-driven methods. We introduce an interactive focus+context visualization tool that integrates multiple data layers—including terrain features, vegetation index–based performance metric, and management zones—into a unified, expressive view. The system leverages freely available remote sensing imagery and terrain data derived from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to evaluate crop performance and landform characteristics in support of agronomic analysis. The tool was applied to eleven agricultural fields across the Canadian Prairies under diverse environmental conditions. Fields were segmented into depressions, hilltops, and baseline areas, and crop performance was evaluated across these landform groups using the system’s interactive visualization and analytics. Depressions and hilltops consistently showed lower mean performance and higher variability (measured by coefficient of variation) compared to baseline regions, which covered an average of 82% of each field. We also subdivided baseline areas using slope and the Sediment Transport Index (STI) to investigate soil erosion effects, but field-level patterns were inconsistent and no systematic differences emerged across all sites. Expert evaluation confirmed the tool’s usability and its value for field-level decision support. Overall, the method enhances terrain-aware interpretation of remotely sensed data and contributes meaningfully to refining management zone delineation in precision agriculture. Full article

This paper presents the Women’s Wise Walkshops (WWW) project, a participatory feminist methodology for urban co-design implemented in Ferrara, Italy. The research explores how women’s situated knowledge and lived experiences can inform inclusive urban planning through collaborative urban traversals and participatory design processes. Drawing on feminist epistemologies and combining elements of flâneuserie and Situationist dérive, the WWW methodology employs a seven-phase approach including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, urban walkshops, and collective mapping exercises. The study involved approximately 110 women across two distinct neighborhoods—Arianuova-Giardino and Krasnodar—representing diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. Through a thematic analysis of interviews, visual documentation, and post-walkshop discussions, six key thematic clusters emerged: safety, public space, mobility systems, community spaces and associations, public services for citizens, and participatory processes. The findings reveal that women’s perspectives from marginalized positions provide critical insights into urban inequalities and offer transformative visions for more inclusive cities. The research shows that structured participatory processes not only generate valuable urban policy recommendations but also foster community cohesion, democratic engagement, and spatial justice. The WWW methodology represents a significant contribution to feminist urban studies and participatory planning, offering a replicable framework for integrating women’s voices into urban governance and design processes. Full article

The transition to a circular economy depends on the widespread adoption of sustainable products by consumers. However, the point-of-sale purchase decision is a complex process, influenced not only by ethical arguments but also by sensory cues. This study investigates how the aesthetics (visual design) and materiality (tactile sensation) of green products shape value perception and purchase intention. Using a qualitative methodology based on a focus group, the research directly compares consumer reactions to green products (e.g., a bamboo toothbrush) versus their conventional alternatives (e.g., plastic). Thematic analysis of the data reveals a fundamental dichotomy among consumers: while one segment associates high-tech aesthetics and perfect finishes with quality and hygiene, another segment values natural materials and their “imperfections” as signs of authenticity and responsibility. The results demonstrate that there is no single, universally accepted “sustainable aesthetic” and highlight the need for designers and marketers to align the visual and tactile language of products with the value system of the target consumer segment. The study provides a framework for understanding how design can act as either a barrier to or a catalyst for the adoption of sustainable products. Full article

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the primary cause of global mortality, with arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease (IHD), and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) forming a progressive continuum from early risk factors to severe outcomes. While numerous studies focus on isolated biomarkers, few integrate multidimensional visualization with artificial intelligence to reveal hidden, clinically relevant patterns. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of 106 patients using an integrated framework that combined clinical, biochemical, and lifestyle data. Parameters included renal function (glomerular filtration rate, cystatin C), inflammatory markers, lipid profile, enzymatic activity, and behavioral factors. After normalization and imputation, we applied correlation analysis, parallel coordinates visualization, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) with k-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), and Random Forest modeling with SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) interpretation. Bootstrap resampling was used to estimate 95% confidence intervals for mean absolute SHAP values, assessing feature stability. Results: Consistent patterns across outcomes revealed impaired renal function, reduced physical activity, and high hypertension prevalence in IHD and CVA. t-SNE clustering achieved complete separation of a high-risk group (100% CVD-positive) from a predominantly low-risk group (7.8% CVD rate), demonstrating unsupervised validation of biomarker discriminative power. PCA confirmed multidimensional structure, while Random Forest identified renal function, hypertension status, and physical activity as dominant predictors, achieving robust performance (Accuracy 0.818; AUC-ROC 0.854). SHAP analysis identified arterial hypertension, BMI, and physical inactivity as dominant predictors, complemented by renal biomarkers (GFR, cystatin) and NT-proBNP. Conclusions: This study pioneers the integration of multidimensional visualization and AI-driven analysis for CVD risk profiling, enabling interpretable, data-driven identification of high- and low-risk clusters. Despite the limited single-center cohort (n = 106) and cross-sectional design, the findings highlight the potential of interpretable models for precision prevention and transparent decision support in cardiovascular aging research. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate how different insertion angles of titanium orthodontic miniscrews (30°, 45°, and 90°) influence stress distribution and displacement in surrounding alveolar bone using three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA), with a focus on biomechanical outcomes at the titanium–bone interface. The 90° insertion angle generated the highest stress in cortical bone (58.2 MPa) but the lowest displacement (0.023 mm), while the 30° angle produced lower stress (36.4 MPa) but greater displacement (0.052 mm). The 45° angle represented a compromise, combining moderate stress (42.7 MPa) and displacement (0.035 mm). This simulation-based study was conducted between January and April 2025 at the Department of Orthodontics, Kocaeli Health and Technology University. A standardized 3D mandibular bone model (2 mm cortical and 13 mm cancellous layers) was constructed, and Ti-6Al-4V miniscrews (1.6 mm × 8 mm) were virtually inserted at 30°, 45°, and 90°. A horizontal orthodontic load of 2 N was applied, and von Mises stress and displacement values were calculated in ANSYS Workbench. Stress patterns were visualized using color-coded maps. The 90° insertion angle generated the highest von Mises stress in cortical bone (50.6 MPa), with a total maximum stress of 58.2 MPa, followed by 45° (42.7 MPa) and 30° (36.4 MPa) insertions (p < 0.001). Stress was predominantly concentrated at the cortical entry point, especially in the 90° model. In terms of displacement, the 90° group exhibited the lowest mean displacement (0.023 ± 0.002 mm), followed by 45° (0.035 ± 0.003 mm) and 30° (0.052 ± 0.004 mm), with statistically significant differences among all groups (p < 0.001). The 45° angle showed a balanced biomechanical profile, combining moderate stress and displacement values, as confirmed by post hoc analysis. From a biomimetics perspective, understanding how insertion angle affects bone response provides insights for designing bio-inspired anchorage systems. By simulating natural stress dissipation, this study demonstrates that insertion angle strongly modulates miniscrew performance. Vertical placement (90°) ensures rigidity but concentrates cortical stress, whereas oblique placement, particularly at 45°, offers a balanced compromise with adequate stability and reduced stress. These results emphasize that beyond material properties, surgical parameters such as insertion angle are critical for clinical success. Full article

By turning a waste stream into a clean energy source, green hydrogen generation from wastewater provides a dual solution to energy and environmental problems. This study presents a thorough bibliometric analysis of research trends in the field of green hydrogen generation from wastewater between 2010 and 2024. A total of 221 publications were extracted from Scopus database, and VOSviewer (1.6.20) was used as a visualization tool to identify influential authors, institutions, collaborations, and thematic focus areas. The analysis revealed a significant increase in research output, with a peak of 122 publications in 2024, with a total of 705 citations. China had the most contributions with 60 publications, followed by India (30) and South Korea (26), indicating substantial regional involvement in Asia. Keyword co-occurrence and coauthorship network mapping revealed 779 distinct keywords grouped around key themes like electrolysis, hydrogen evolution reactions, and wastewater treatment. Significantly, this work was supported by contributions from 115 publication venues, with the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy emerging as the most active and cited source (40 articles, 539 citations). The multidisciplinary aspect of the area was highlighted by keyword co-occurrence analysis, which identified recurring themes including electrolysis, wastewater treatment, and hydrogen evolution processes. Interestingly, the most-cited study garnered 131 citations and discussed the availability of unconventional water sources for electrolysis. Although there is growing interest in the field, it is still in its initial phases, indicating a need for additional research, particularly in developing countries. This work offers a basic overview for researchers and policymakers who are focused on promoting the sustainable generation of green hydrogen from wastewater. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine contemporary perceptions of healthy eating among individuals living in a rapidly evolving social, economic, and cultural environment. A mixed-methods approach was employed using the concept mapping method to collect, visualize, and analyze participants’ perceptions. Methods: Twenty-four Korean individuals aged 16 to 55 participated in the study. Initially, perceptions of healthy eating were gathered through focus group interviews. These responses were organized into sixty-three unique statements. Participants were then asked to sort the statements and rate each one’s importance and performance on a 5-point Likert scale. The sorted and rated data were analyzed using R-CMap, an open-source software for concept mapping. Results: The analysis revealed six key clusters of healthy eating perceptions among Korean consumers: Food Choice, Nutrition, Eating Habits, Eating Environment, Production, and Preparation and Cooking. These perceptions are influenced by Korean food culture and the current eating context. In addition, a detailed analysis of the statements revealed that public perceptions of healthy eating have shifted in recent years. Conclusions: This research is significant in that it offers a structured and visualized framework of healthy eating perceptions among Koreans aged 16–55, reflecting their adaptation to ongoing socio-cultural transformations. Full article

This paper presents the design and evaluation of a multisensory tangible game device aimed at promoting pre-Braille literacy in children with varying visual abilities, including those who are blind, partially sighted, and sighted. The prototype integrates tactile, auditory, and visual elements to provide an inclusive and engaging learning experience. The device combines educational content with game-based learning, allowing users to interact with Braille characters through touch while receiving auditory feedback and visual cues. A focus group evaluation was conducted to assess the prototype’s effectiveness, engagement, and educational value. Results indicated that the device successfully captured users’ attention, with 83% recognizing its potential as a valuable educational tool for teaching pre-Braille literacy, 92% of participants reporting high engagement, and 75% of participants agreeing with the serious game approach. Feedback also highlighted areas for improvement, including the need for clearer tactile differentiation and more adaptive learning features. This study demonstrates the potential of combining multisensory feedback and serious gaming to enhance literacy education in children with visual impairments and provides insights into the further development of inclusive educational technologies. Full article

This study explores opportunities for improving the learning process of design students using multimedia and microlearning, with a focus on architectural visualization. It analyzes the learning habits of students and faculty in higher education, reflects on the need for digitalization and adaptation to the cognitive characteristics of Generations Z and Alpha, and emphasizes the importance of visual perception in design thinking. The research includes a survey of 130 respondents from eight Bulgarian universities and an experiment with three groups of students using different learning methods—live demonstration, video demonstration, and a combined approach. The results indicate that the combined method leads to the highest levels of understanding, confidence, and task performance. The research is grounded in pedagogical theories related to visual learning and cognitive engagement, particularly relevant for Generations Z and Alpha. Students expressed a preference for short, practice-oriented formats, such as project-based learning and video tutorials, aligning with their digital fluency and attention patterns. The results underline the importance of incorporating multimedia elements and flexible instructional strategies to support motivation, engagement, and effective skill development in design education. Full article

(1) Background: Virtual Reality (VR) films challenge traditional visual cognition by offering novel perceptual experiences. This study investigates the applicability of Gestalt grouping principles in dynamic VR scenes, the influence of VR environments on grouping efficiency, and the relationship between viewer experience and grouping effects. (2) Methods: Eye-tracking experiments were conducted with 42 participants using the HTC Vive Pro Eye and Tobii Pro Lab. Participants watched a non-narrative VR film with fixed camera positions to eliminate narrative and auditory confounds. Eye-tracking metrics were analyzed using SPSS version 29.0.1, and data were visualized through heat maps and gaze trajectory plots. (3) Results: Viewers tended to focus on spatial nodes and continuous structures. Initial fixations were anchored near the body but shifted rapidly thereafter. Heat maps revealed a consistent concentration of fixations on the dock area. (4) Conclusions: VR reshapes visual organization, where proximity, continuity, and closure outweigh traditional saliency. Dynamic elements draw attention only when linked to user goals. Designers should prioritize spatial logic, using functional nodes as cognitive anchors and continuous paths as embodied guides. Future work should test these mechanisms in narrative VR and explore neural correlates via fNIRS or EEG. Full article

This study investigates the certification outcomes of intermediate-level ICs in The National Fire Service Academy in South Korea through a comprehensive quantitative analysis of their evaluated competencies. Using assessment data from 141 candidates collected from 2022 to 2024, we examine how scores on six higher-order competencies—comprising 35 sub-competencies—influence pass or fail results. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, logistic regression (a statistical model for binary outcomes), random forest modeling (an ensemble decision-tree machine-learning method), and principal component analysis (PCA; a dimensionality reduction technique) were applied to identify significant predictors of certification success. Visualization techniques, including heatmaps, box plots, and importance bar charts, were used to illustrate performance gaps between successful and unsuccessful candidates. Results indicate that competencies related to decision-making under pressure and crisis leadership most strongly correlate with positive outcomes. Furthermore, unsupervised clustering analysis (a data-driven grouping method) revealed distinctive performance patterns among candidates. These findings suggest that current evaluation frameworks effectively differentiate command readiness but also highlight specific skill domains that may require enhanced instructional focus. The study offers practical implications for fire training academies, policymakers, and certification bodies, particularly in refining curriculum design, competency benchmarks, and evaluation criteria to improve fireground leadership training and assessment standards. Full article