Virtual Reality is currently an affordable and consumer ready technology used by many in the games and interactive media industry, however unlike the user interface standards in mobile, PCs, and Macs, VR UI design can vary in complexity and usability. VR has many times been linked in films, TV shows, and animation as a method for navigating through cyberspace. It has been portrayed to be involved in the process of hacking a computer on some network. This study will look at approaches to developing a UI system using cyber-security research applications as a basis for designing a framework. Throughout, this research will analyze the different approaches to UI design and data visualization, extract relevant information, and find out what approaches will help improve the VR software front end design.

Submitted to the Faculty of Theology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in the Department of Practical Theology at the Universty of Zululand, 2002. / No in-depth study has ever been undertaken with respect to the practice adopted by urban, middle-class, South African Christians in response to the Biblical approach to giving to God's work. This study surveys and interrogates traditionally held views about the Biblical approach to tithes, offerings and giving to God's work, and then compares them to the findings of extensive research I conducted amongst South African Christians from a variety of denominations, backgrounds and settings. It examines the relevant Old Testament and New Testament references, and compares them to the current practice of the target group. The study reveals that much of what is being taught and practised in South African churches with regards to giving to God, is based on the prescriptive patterns of the Old Testament Law, particularly those pertaining to the tithe. As a result, Christians in these churches are being denied both the correct interpretation of the Biblical approach and the joy it brings. Were Christians to be taught the principles of grace giving, they would be freed from the legalism which is so clearly evident in many churches and their resulting giving, rather than being less than the tithe, as some church leaders fear, would actually increase. Pertinent recommendations are made to the churches in this regard.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Introduction: Anxiety is a debilitating and difficult sensation many people face on a daily basis. Up to 20% of American adults experience dental anxiety2. Dental anxiety can present both psychologically and physiologically as a barrier to starting, completing and/or finishing dental treatment.2,4 Catastrophizing the procedure, which is common practice in anxious patients, will alter and increase the perception of pain66. Approaching and understanding dental anxiety has shown to produce more positive treatment outcomes and overall increased patient satisfaction2, 4, 6. Non-pharmacological approaches to reducing dental anxiety can be a quick, non-invasive, method to put patients at ease and can save chair time for both practitioner and patient, as well as a more pleasant experience for the patient. Objectives: The goal of this study is to investigate non-pharmacologic approaches to reducing dental anxiety prior to non-surgical root canal treatment. This will be done by comparing an Auditory Alone Brief Relaxation period (ABR) to a Relaxation Virtual Reality period (RVR). Materials and Methods: 60 subjects who need non-surgical root canal treatment was randomly allocated into 2 groups. One group received earphones to listen to a guided brief relaxation recording, focusing on breathing and a body scan. The other group received virtual reality goggles and choose a scene of their liking to experience. State Trait Anxiety Indicator (STAI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and vitals were measured to objectively determine baseline anxiety score followed by the same metrics after brief relaxation or virtual reality experience. A student will perform root canal treatment, and VAS and vitals were again be recorded at the end of the appointment. Results: Both RVR and ABR showed a statistically significant decrease in anxiety in STAI-S (p value <.001 for both), STAI-T (p value 0.025 ABR; <.001 RVR). VAS scores also significantly reduced from T1 to T2 to T3 time frame. Discussion: Our study investigated and compared two different interventions in reducing anxiety prior to endodontic therapy. The results showed that both ABR and RVR reduced anxiety prior to endodontic therapy and had an effect even after the endodontic therapy was completed. Additionally, when comparing the time points T1, T2, and T3, heart rate decreased throughout the procedure and more importantly, after the intervention (ABR or RVR) was delivered. Both anxiety scales, STAI and VAS showed a statistical significant decrease in anxiety throughout the appointment. Conclusion: Non-pharmacological techniques like guided meditation and virtual reality are a valid and unique approach to reducing anxiety prior to endodontic therapy. Both ABR and RVR interventions reduced the feelings of anxiety throughout the entire endodontic appointment. This study displays the ease of incorporating both interventions to reduce anxiety in an economical and noninvasive fashion.

Three experiments were conducted to study the effect of an occluder on the accuracy of nearield depth perception in optical-see-through augmented reality (AR). The first experiment was a duplicate experiment of the one in Edwards et al. [2004]. We found more accurate results than Edwards et al.’s work and did not find the occluder’s main effect or its two-way interaction effect with distance on the accuracy of observers’ depth matching. The second experiment was an updated version of the first one using a within-subject design and a more accurate calibration method. The results were that errors ranged from –5 to 3 mm when the occluder was present, –3 to 2 mm when the occluder was absent, and observers judged the virtual object to be closer after the presentation of the occluder. The third experiment was conducted on three subjects who were depth perception researchers. The result showed significant individual effects.

The thesis presented in this paper is an attempt to quantify generally preferred amounts of virtual image sharpening in augmented reality applications. This preferred amount of sharpening is sought after in an effort to alleviate eye fatigue, and other negative symptoms, caused by accommodation switching between virtual images and real objects in augmented reality (AR) systems. This is an important area of research within the AR world due to the presence of many AR applications that supplement the real world with virtual information, often in the form of virtual text for users to read. An experiment, involving human subjects choosing between higher and lower sharpening amounts, was run to expose preferred amounts of sharpening or patterns of chosen amounts in relation to a number of variables within the experiment; those variables are: virtual text accommodative distance, real text accommodative distance, and the object of focus (real or virtual). The results of this experimentation may benefit future AR research and implementations, specifically in how they handle users switching focus.

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The dissertation is devoted to the development of a systematic theory of political experience. While this project involves, at first, the synthesis of the pragmatist tradition in political philosophy into a theory of reconstructive empiricism, it also entails the elaboration of this revision of political epistemology into a paradigmatic theory of human action. Using this paradigmatic theory of human action as the basis of analysis, an examination then follows of three generalized modes of political experience, and of the relationships which hold between them. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Due to the increased popularity of virtual environment (VE) technology and its potential to develop further technological advances in many fields, considerable research is being done in this area. Nevertheless, VE technology, due to its very nature, depends very strongly on its human user. One of the biggest drawbacks of VE technology today is the health and safety concerns it presents to users. Many VE users experience motion sickness and other aftereffects. In addition, the human body reacts to-these disturbances by adapting to the VE, returning an individual that has learned maladaptive behavior. This is a big concern due to potential health and safety risks. Thus, there is potential to develop effective. measurement techniques that measure changes in visuomotor functioning, such as the kinesthetic position sense (i.e., eye-hand coordination), to gauge VE aftereffects. This research project consists of identifying and testing an objective measurement algorithm that may determine changes in eye-hand coordination by evaluating an individual's pointing ability before and after VE exposure. In order to obtain an effective measurement technique, methods that have proven to quantitatively characterize the nature of pointing behavior and, therefore, provide a measure of kinesthetic position sense, as well as other proposed methods, were investigated. These methods included pointing accuracy in the X, Y and Z directions, difference between identity and experimental touch, the total distance, and the average pointing error. Data gathered from an experiment was analyzed in order to obtain a measurement technique that demonstrates reliability and sensitivity . The results from this study suggested that when measuring changes in proprioceptive functioning due to VE exposure, an individual's exact coordinate location in X, Y and Z dimensions with eyes open conditions (visual feedback) should be measured since, compared to other measurement techniques, this method provides more reliability and sensitivity to changes in proprioceptive functioning.

Virtual Reality (VR) opens up new possibilities for developers to create immersive worlds and experiences. While it’s possible to craft unique and engaging interactive environments with unprecedented realism, the virtual world is constrained by the real one. Current approaches to player navigation in VR applications include joystick controls, teleportation, and motion-based movement. While these methods are effective in certain scenarios to overcome real-world limitations, my research introduces a novel approach that leverages room scale-based movement, with portals, to traverse a given VR world. This work presents algorithms that accurately predict the percentage of play area utilized, and rules to implement typical game elements to allow large scale virtual immersion under real world constraints.