A new method to analyse the perception of size

In living bodies, the correct perceptual representation of size constancy requires that an object's size appear the same when it changes its location with respect to the observer. At the same time, it is necessary that objects at different locations appear to be the same size if they are. In order to do that, the perceptual system must recover from the stimuli impinging on the individual, from the light falling on the retina, a representation of the relative sizes of objects in the environment. Moreover, at the same time, image perception is related to another type of phenomena. It corresponds to the well known perceptual illusions. To analyze this facts, we propose a system based on a particular arrays of receptive points composed by optical fibers and dummy fibers. The structure is based on the first layers of the mammalians primary visual cortex. At that part of the brain, the neurons located at certain columns, respond to particular directions. This orientation changes in a systematic way as one moves across the cortical surface. In our case, the signals from the above-mentioned array are analyzed and information concerning orientation and size of a particular line is obtained. With this system, the Muelle-Lyer illusion has been studied and some rules to interpret why equal length objects give rise to different interpretations are presented.

Perception of the sport events held in a permanent facility: the case of the Madrid Sports Palace

The aims of this study were to analyse perceptions regarding the sporting events held in the Madrid Sports Palace and to analyse whether those perceptions vary by age or gender. One hundred and ninetyfive residents answered the Ntloko and Swart (2008) questionnaire. The dimensions most highly rated were economic benefits (3.9±0.8), the event as a regional showcase (3.6±0.7), and the event as entertainment (3.4±0.6). However, the respondents did not agree with the negative environmental impact (2.0±0.8). Men rated the use of public money (z=2.4; pmenor que.05) and the regional showcase (z=2.0 pmenor que.05) more positively than women. Finally, women rated the increase in prices (z=2.0; pmenor que.05) more highly than men. The age groups differed significantly only regarding the promotion of community pride. Seniors and middle-aged adults rated it more positively than young adults (?2(2)=9.9; pmenor que.01). The fact that in an urban sports facility regular sporting events take place on a regular basis means that there are diverse perceptions, though mainly positive, and those perceptions differ from the perceptions about mega events that take place once in a life time at temporary sports facilities.

New QR Survey Methodologies to Analyze User Perception of Service Quality in Public Transport: The Experience of Madrid

Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSS) have become an important tool for public transport planners, as improvements in the perceived quality of service lead to greater use of public transport and lower traffic pollution. Until now, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) enhancements in public transport have traditionally included fleet management systems based on Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technologies, which can be used to optimize routing and scheduling, and to feed real-time information into passenger information channels. However, surveys of public transport users could also benefit from the new information technologies. As most customers carry their smartphones when traveling, Quick Response (QR) codes open up the possibility of conducting these surveys at a lower cost.This paper contributes to the limited existing literature by developing the analysis of QR codes applied to CSS in public transport and highlighting their importance in reducing the cost of data collection and processing. The added value of this research is that it provides the first assessment of a real case study in Madrid (Spain) using QR codes for this purpose. This pilot experience was part of a research project analyzing bus service quality in the same case study, so the QR code survey (155 valid questionnaires) was validated using a conventional face-to-face survey (520 valid questionnaires). The results show clearly that, after overcoming a few teething troubles, this QR code application will ultimately provide transport management with a useful tool to reduce survey costs

Unimanual and Bimanual Weight Perception of Virtual Objects with a new Multi-finger Haptic Interface

Accurate weight perception is important particularly in tasks where the user has to apply vertical forces to ensure safe landing of a fragile object or precise penetration of a surface with a probe. Moreover, depending on physical properties of objects such as weight and size we may switch between unimanual and bimanual manipulation during a task. Research has shown that bimanual manipulation of real objects results in a misperception of their weight: they tend to feel lighter than similarly heavy objects which are handled with one hand only [8]. Effective simulation of bimanual manipulation with desktop haptic interfaces should be able to replicate this effect of bimanual manipulation on weight perception. Here, we present the MasterFinger-2, a new multi-finger haptic interface allowing bimanual manipulation of virtual objects with precision grip and we conduct weight discrimination experiments to evaluate its capacity to simulate unimanual and bimanual weight. We found that the bimanual ‘lighter’ bias is also observed with the MasterFinger-2 but the sensitivity to changes of virtual weights deteriorated.

Perception of employers and employees regarding the attitude of businesses toward the environment: a qualitative analysis

Commitment and involvement from the different members of an organization are two key elements for an organization to achieve its environmental excellence. Firstly, businesses are aware of the close relationship between their activities and the environment, for they are not only polluting agents but also agents with the capacity to reduce adverse environmental impacts. Secondly, the fact that employees can play a relevant role in terms of the socially responsible measures to be taken by organizations has started to become an irrefutably important issue. This piece of research is intended to help gain knowledge concerning the attitude of the two main actors in productive activity toward the environmental, that is, employers and employees; as well, this research intends to identify factors determining behaviour towards the environmental. For this, we have gathered the ideas and assessments contained in the discourse of a group of small and medium-sized businesses, large company owners and officers, employees, and work related risk prevention representatives. Qualitative work consisted of in-depth interviews and the creation of discussion groups.

Non-destructive measurements of the optical properties of apples by means of time-resolved reflectance

Time-resolved reflectance is proposed and effectively used for the nondestructive measurement of the optical properties in apples. The technique is based on the detection of the temporal dispersion of a short laser pulse injected into the probed medium. The time-distribution of re-emitted photons interpreted with a solution of the Diffusion equation yields the mean values of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of the medium. The proposed technique proved valuable for the measurement of the absorption and scattering spectra of different varieties of apples. No major variations were observed in the experimental data when the fruit was peeled, proving that the measured optical properties are referred to the pulp. The depth of probed volume was determined to be about 2 cm. Finally, the technique proved capable to follow the change in chlorophyll absorption during storage.

Non-destructive measurements of the optical properties of apples by means of time-resolved reflectance

Time-resolved reflectance is proposed and effectively used for the nondestructive measurement of the optical properties in apples. The technique is based on the detection of the temporal dispersion of a short laser pulse injected into the probed medium. The time-distribution of re-emitted photons interpreted with a solution of the Diffusion equation yields the mean values of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of the medium. The proposed technique proved valuable for the measurement of the absorption and scattering spectra of different varieties of apples. No major variations were observed in the experimental data when the fruit was peeled, proving that the measured optical properties are referred to the pulp. The depth of probed volume was determined to be about 2 cm. Finally, the technique proved capable to follow the change in chlorophyll absorption during storage.

Test Analysis Tool (TATo). A new tool for standardization of time series in maritime and port environment

During the last decades, Puertos del Estado and research groups have developed a huge effort on numerical an physical monitoring. This effort has led to the necessity to implement a tool to standardize, store and process all gathered data. The Test Analysis Tool (TATo) is described in the paper.

Self perception of decision making competence in spanish football players

Background: It is known that competence to make decisions is a fundamental aspect of sport competition. Objective: This study has analyzed the decision profile of a sample of Spanish football players of different levels of expertise. Methods: 690 Spanish football players of national and international level completed the decision making questionnaire, which cover three dimensions ? perceived decision competence, decision anxiety and commitment with decision learning. MANCOVA and ANOVA analysis were carried out to analyse the differences in each dimension based on the level of expertise. Results: Results showed that perception of decision making competence increased and the anxiety decreased with the level of expertise. Conclusions: This study confirmed the usefulness of this questionnaire in the process of training for coaches and sport psychologists.

Assessing the passengers’ perception of implemented advanced management measures in bus service

The aim of this investigation is to evaluate the passenger?s perception of some attributes related to quality of bus services, and how this perception changes with the implementation of different measures. Surveys to passengers riding different bus lines were conducted in two scenarios: before the implementation of the measures and after the measures were implemented. The results of the passenger surveys were statistically analysed; then, an ordered logit model was used to analyse the differences between surveys thanks to the implemented measures. Finally, a factor analysis was done to identify the underlying unobserved factors (latent variables) that the respondents perceived