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Three hundred sixty-degree (360°) immersive video applications for Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices offer great potential in providing engaging forms of experiential media solutions especially in Cultural Heritage education. Design challenges emerge though by this new kind of immersive media due to the 2D form of resources used for their construction, the lack of depth, the limited interaction and the need to address the sense of presence. In addition, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets often causes nausea, or motion sickness effects imposing further implications in moderate motion design tasks. This paper introduces a methodological categorisation of tasks and techniques for the design of 360°immersive video applications. Following the design approach presented, a testbed application has been created as an immersive interactive virtual tour at the historical centre of the city of Rethymno in Crete, Greece, which has undergone user trials. Based on the analysis of the results of this study, a set of design guidelines for the implementation of 360°immersive video virtual tours is proposed.

obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners.Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: ((http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/).In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail repository@westminster.ac.uk Engaging immersive video consumers: Challenges regarding 360-degree gamified video applicationsAbstract-360-degree videos is a new medium that has gained the attention of the research community imposing challenges for creating more interactive and engaging immersive experiences. The purpose of this study is to introduce a set of technical and design challenges for interactive, gamified 360-degree mixed reality applications that immerse and engage users. The development of gamified applications refers to the merely incorporation of game elements in the interaction design process to attract and engage the user through playful interaction with the virtual world. The study presents experiments with the incorporation of series of game elements such as time pressure challenges, badges and user levels, storytelling narrative and immediate visual feedback to the interaction design logic of a mixed reality mobile gaming application that runs in an environment composed of 360-degree video and 3D computer generated objects. In the present study, the architecture and overall process for creating such an application is being presented along with a list of design implications and constraints. The paper concludes with future directions and conclusions on improving the level of immersion and engagement of 360-degree video consumers.

This paper reports on a study that is concerned with the cognitive aspects of reading in a hypertext environment. The study focuses on text based electronic documents. A cognitive model for hypertext document reading proposed in an earlier work is here developed and validated with the use of think aloud protocols. Navigational strategies that readers employ in hypertext reading and hypertext links' selection are also under study. The results indicate that 100% of the task related data correspond to the components of the cognitive model, allowing us to conclude that the proposed model sufficiently describes the cognitive processes involved in hypertext reading. In addition, three navigational strategies are revealed: linear, mixed, and mixed review. The quantitative data show no significant differences between different reading goals and comprehension.

Abstract:The effect of gender in learning has often been the focus of research because of its potential implications in academic achievement. However, the effect of gender in hypertext reading has not been thoroughly investigated. The Web in general and the hypertext in particular has modified the way people access and use information. This paper reports the findings of an empirical study into gender differences in hypertext reading. The study focuses on text-based electronic documents. The study is a mixed method design, with the use of the think-aloud protocols and a between subjects experiment. It examines some original variables not previously studied comprehensively, such as coherence of transactions, sum of selected hyperlinks, and hyperlink location. Forty two participants (30 males and 12 females) read a hierarchically structured hypertext and then, all answered the same set of questions. The data consisted of reading times, comprehension scores, reading strategies, coherent links, hyperlink location, sum of hyperlinks, and the sum of read nodes. The results show that gender did not significantly affect any of the measured variables.

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The present study examined the influence of different reading goals on reading in a hypertext environment. The study focused on text based electronic documents. The study was an independent samples design experiment with three different conditions. Ninety participants read the hypertext allocated into three different conditions and then, all answered the same set of questions. The results show that reading goals did not influence reading times, comprehension scores, and amount of visited links. The data also revealed two factors that influence hyperlink selection: coherence, and location.

One big challenge in deploying games-based learning, is the high cost and specialised skills associated with customised development. In this paper we present a serious games platform that offers tools that allow educators without special programming or artistic skills to dynamically create three dimensional (3D) scenes and verbal and non-verbal interaction with fully embodied conversational agents (ECAs) that can be used to simulate numerous educational scenarios. We present evaluation results based on the use of the platform to create two educational scenarios for politics and law in higher education. We conclude with a discussion of directions for the further work. Keywords-dynamic serious games, adapdable environments, embodies conversational agents, virtual humans, interactive virtual environments.I.