With this article, we aim to increase our understanding of how mobile virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) can help reduce speaking anxiety. Using the results of a longitudinal study, we examined the effect of a new VRET strategy (Public Speech Trainer, PST), that incorporates 360° live recorded VR environments, on the reduction of public speaking anxiety. The PST was developed as a 360° smartphone application for a VR head-mounted device that participants could use at home. Realistic anxiety experiences were created by means of live 360° video recordings of a lecture hall containing three training sessions based on graded exposure framework; empty classroom (a) and with a small (b) and large audience (c). Thirty-five students participated in all sessions using PST. Anxiety levels were measured before and after each session over a period of 4 weeks. As expected, speaking anxiety significantly decreased after the completion of all PST sessions, and the decrement was the strongest in participants with initially high speaking anxiety baseline levels. Results also revealed that participants with moderate and high speaking anxiety baseline level differ in the anxiety state pattern over time. Conclusively and in line with habituation theory, the results supported the notion that VRET is more effective when aimed at reducing high-state anxiety levels. Further implications for future research and improvement of current VRET strategies are discussed.
The evolution of emerging technologies that use Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) has increased the interest of the scientific community and society regarding the possible adverse effects on human health and the environment. This article provides NextGEM’s vision to assure safety for EU citizens when employing existing and future EMF-based telecommunication technologies. This is accomplished by generating relevant knowledge that ascertains appropriate prevention and control/actuation actions regarding RF-EMF exposure in residential, public, and occupational settings. Fulfilling this vision, NextGEM commits to the need for a healthy living and working environment under safe RF-EMF exposure conditions that can be trusted by people and be in line with the regulations and laws developed by public authorities. NextGEM provides a framework for generating health-relevant scientific knowledge and data on new scenarios of exposure to RF-EMF in multiple frequency bands and developing and validating tools for evidence-based risk assessment. Finally, NextGEM’s Innovation and Knowledge Hub (NIKH) will offer a standardized way for European regulatory authorities and the scientific community to store and assess project outcomes and provide access to findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data.
A promising contribution of Learning Analytics is the presentation of a learner's own learning behaviour and achievements via dashboards, often in comparison to peers, with the goal of improving self-regulated learning. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the impact of these dashboards and few designs are informed by theory. Many dashboard designs struggle to translate awareness of learning processes into actual self-regulated learning. In this study we investigate a Learning Analytics dashboard based on existing evidence on social comparison to support motivation, metacognition and academic achievement. Motivation plays a key role in whether learners will engage in self-regulated learning in the first place. Social comparison can be a significant driver in increasing motivation. We performed two randomised controlled interventions in different higher-education courses, one of which took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were shown their current and predicted performance in a course alongside that of peers with similar goal grades. The sample of peers was selected in a way to elicit slight upward comparison. We found that the dashboard successfully promotes extrinsic motivation and leads to higher academic achievement, indicating an effect of dashboard exposure on learning behaviour, despite an absence of effects on metacognition. These results provide evidence that carefully designed social comparison, rooted in theory and empirical evidence, can be used to boost motivation and performance. Our dashboard is a successful example of how social comparison can be implemented in Learning Analytics Dashboards.
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Een op de vijf volwassenen krijgt te maken met chronische pijnklachten, waardoor de kwaliteit van leven vaak fors afneemt. Pijnrevalidatie richt zich op het verminderen van de ervaren beperkingen van deze groep patiënten; en wetenschappelijk onderzoek laat zien dat de effecten robuust, doch klein-tot-matig zijn. Net als overal in de gezondheidszorg is er binnen pijnrevalidatie de push om de zorg doelmatiger te maken; eHealth, bijv. Virtual Reality (VR), zou hierin veelbelovend kunnen zijn. Over het inzetten van VR binnen pijnrevalidatie-programma’s zoals deze door CIR en Adelante worden aangeboden is nog maar weinig bekend. SyncVR biedt SyncVR-FIT aan: een gebruiksvriendelijk platform waarmee patiënten zelfstandig kunnen oefenen en toch behandelaars-feedback krijgen. SyncVR-FIT zou bruikbaar kunnen zijn om de mogelijkheden tot bewegen binnen de revalidatiesetting te vergroten, patiënten te motiveren, hen feedback te geven over hun bewegingen en generalisatie te verbeteren. SyncVR, CIR en Adelante hebben de behoefte om samen met de Universiteit Maastricht uit te zoeken of SyncVR-FIT een waardevolle toevoeging is aan de bestaande pijnrevalidatie-programma's, in welke fase en voor welke patiënt. Om hier uitspraken over te kunnen doen, gaan binnen Adelante en CIR behandelaars de SyncVR-FIT applicatie gebruiken binnen hun programma’s, op verschillende momenten en bij patiënten met variërende kenmerken (bijv. ten aanzien van stemming, bewegingsangst, conditie). Ook gaan zij ervaring opdoen met het gebruiken van de aanvullende beweegdata die SyncVR-FIT genereert. Middels kwalitatief onderzoek (gestructureerde interviews onder zowel patiënten als behandelaars middels focusgroepen) zal de toegevoegde waarde van VR binnen pijnrevalidatie-programma’s beoordeeld worden, evenals identificatie van subgroepen van pijnpatiënten waarvoor SyncVR-FIT mogelijk zinvol is. De bevindingen worden gepresenteerd als een wetenschappelijke voordracht op een internationaal congres en een open access publicatie in internationaal tijdschrift. De bevindingen zullen vervolgens de basis vormen voor subsidie voor vervolgonderzoek om de effectiviteit van SyncVR-FIT te onderzoeken.
