The major goal of this research was to investigate the efficacy of virtual reality therapy (VRT) in the treatment of the fear of public speaking. After an extensive two-stage screening process, sixteen subjects were selected from the pool. They were assigned to two treatment conditions: VRT (N=8) and comparison group (N=8). Fourteen subjects completed the study. The VRT group was exposed to the virtual reality public speaking scene while the comparison group was exposed to a trivial virtual reality scene and guided by the experimenters to manage their phobia either by using visualization techniques or selfexposure to the situation they feared. The VRT and comparison group sessions were conducted on an individual basis over a five week period. Two assessment measures were used in this study. The first measure used was the Attitude Towards Public Speaking (ATPS) Questionnaire. The second measure used was the eleven-point Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale. These measurements assessed the anxiety, avoidance, attitudes and disturbance associated with their fear of public speaking before and after treatments. In addition, objective measures such as heart rate was collected in each stage of the treatment. Significant differences between the six subjects who completed the VRT sessions and comparison group were found on all measures. The VRT group showed significant improvement after five weeks of treatment. The comparison group did not show any meaningful changes. The authors concluded that VRT was successful in reducing the fear of the public speaking.
User experience is a critical component in the development of virtual environment systems and applications. To create an effective and efficient user experience for virtual environment systems, it is imperative to conduct empirical studies to explore factors that contribute to a heightened sense of presence, or immersion, for users, who increasingly demand an experience in a virtual environment that seems as real as possible. The primary hypothesis of this study is that participants will experience higher levels of presence in an Immersive Visualization Environment (IVE) than in a Traditional Virtual Reality Environment (TVRE). The empirical methodology consists of two different experiments designed, developed, and implemented using seventy participants. A simulated virtual airplane scenario was created and conducted for each participant. After completion of each simulation session, each participant was given a questionnaire that measured the participant's sense of presence in either virtual or real environments. Analysis of the collected data indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the level of presence experienced by participants between the TVRE and IVE systems. The primary conclusion is that participants experienced a higher sense of presence in the IVE experiment when compared with the TVRE experiment, indicating significantly more natural and richer user experience through the IVE system's interface.
The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual environment technology in the area of psychotherapy. In particular, this study investigated the effectiveness of virtual environment desensitization (VED) in the treatment of agoraphobia (fear of being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing). Sixty undergraduate college students served as subjects. Thirty subjects served in the experimental group and the other 30 served as a control group. Subjects' degree of fear/anxiety was measured using two instruments, the Attitude Towards Agoraphobia Questionnaire (ATAQ) and the Subjective Units of Discomfort Scale (SUDS). Only subjects in the experimental group were exposed to the VED treatment. The scores of the control group did not change significantly, while both ATAQ and SUDS scores decreased significantly for the experimental group. The average SUDS scores of the experimental group decreased steadily across sessions, indicating steady improvement with treatment. It is hoped that this research will be a first step toward the utilization of virtual environment technology in providing more effective, economical, and confidential treatment of psychological disorders.
This study, the first in a British population, has identified a significant association between ectopic eruption of first permanent molars and other dental anomalies. A multifactorial aetiology is thus supported and clinicians should be alert to the co-existence of ectopic eruption and other dental anomalies.
The purpose of the study was to assess the current opinions and usage of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) for apical barrier formation of non-vital immature permanent teeth by consultants in paediatric dentistry in the UK. A semi-structured postal questionnaire was sent to all known consultants in paediatric dentistry in the UK. The response rate was 78.6% (44 of 56). Thity-eight consultants (86.3%) agreed that the use of this material was a good idea with 68.2% having used or arranged for its use in apical barrier formation. Forty-two consultants (95.5%) agreed that reduced number of visits was an advantage to the technique, with only 34.1% agreeing that this procedure was less likely to weaken the tooth and 63.6% agreed that material and equipment costs were a drawback and 50% agreed that lack of available evidence was a disadvantage to its use. The results from this study give an indication of the extent of MTA use by consultant-led services in paediatric dentistry in the UK and highlights the need for a multi-centre randomised controlled clinical trial.
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