An exploratory study of gendered differences in young tourists perception of danger within London

This paper studies young tourists' perception of danger within the urban holiday environment of London, England. The study of perceived danger is important not only in its own right, but also because of the influence it may have on use of leisure spaces and times. This research assesses gender and group composition differences in perception of danger, addressing the relatively neglected issues of men's perception and the relationship between the genders. For the purpose of this paper 'danger' was assessed by studying how safe, relaxed, vulnerable, threatened, and at risk people felt while in London. The study found a number of similarities and differences between the men and women studied, in terms of how they perceived danger and their group composition during the day and nigh-time. These results indicate that gender may not be the only influence on perception and behaviour, and that men and women should not be regarded as-homogenous cohorts. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of videoconferencing on the depth perception of observers

The ability of the human eye to perceive depth was measured using a specially designed instrument. Visual acuity and both monocular and binocular stereoacuity were measured when viewing the instrument directly and via a videoconferencing link. Ten subjects with an average age of 32.5 years (range 24-50) took part in the study. The group mean visual acuity using both eyes under normal test conditions was -0.04 logMAR (Snellen 6/5) compared with 0.18 logMAR (Snellen 6/10) for the video-link. The mean stereoacuity using both eyes was 37 (SD 18) under normal test conditions. When a videoconferencing link was used, the mean stereoacuity fell to 1218 (SD 1203) using one eye and to 1651 (SD 1419) using both eyes. The ability to perceive depth remotely via a video-link was significantly decreased compared with normal test conditions.

Perception or synthesized voice quality in connected speech by Cantonese speakers

Perceptual voice analysis is a subjective process. However, despite reports of varying degrees of intrajudge and interjudge reliability, it is widely used in clinical voice evaluation. One of the ways to improve the reliability of this procedure is to provide judges with signals as external standards so that comparison can be made in relation to these anchor signals. The present study used a Klatt speech synthesizer to create a set of speech signals with varying degree of three different voice qualities based on a Cantonese sentence. The primary objective of the study was to determine whether different abnormal voice qualities could be synthesized using the built-in synthesis parameters using a perceptual study. The second objective was to determine the relationship between acoustic characteristics of the synthesized signals and perceptual judgment. Twenty Cantonese-speaking speech pathologists with at least three years of clinical experience in perceptual voice evaluation were asked to undertake two tasks. The first was to decide whether the voice quality of the synthesized signals was normal or not. The second was to decide whether the abnormal signals should be described as rough, breathy, or vocal fry. The results showed that signals generated with a small degree of aspiration noise were perceived as breathiness while signals with a small degree of flutter or double pulsing were perceived as roughness. When the flutter or double pulsing increased further, tremor and vocal fry, rather than roughness, were perceived. Furthermore, the amount of aspiration noise, flutter, or double pulsing required for male voice stimuli was different from that required for the female voice stimuli with a similar level of perceptual breathiness and roughness. These findings showed that changes in perceived vocal quality could be achieved by systematic modifications of synthesis parameters. This opens up the possibility of using synthesized voice signals as external standards or anchors to improve the reliability of clinical perceptual voice evaluation. (C) 2002 Acoustical Society of America.

Well-formedness judgment: A comparison of offline and online performance in Broca's aphasics

0na eg rcarmitimcaal tfieca tcuorem opfr ethhee nospieornat iodneafli cdietf i(nAitiCoDn )o ft hthaet frequently co-occurs with Broca’s aphasia is above-chance performance on well-formedness judgment tasks for many syntactic constructions, but impaired performance where syntactic binding of traces to their antecedents occurs. However, the methodologies used to establish this aspect of the performance profile of the ACD have been predominantly offline. Offline well-formedness tasks entail extralinguistic processing (e.g. perception, attention, short-term memory, conscious reflection) in varying amounts and the influence of such processes on parsing mechanisms is yet to be fully established. In order to (a) further understand the role of extra-linguistic processing on parsing, and (b) gain a more direct insight into the online nature of parsing in Broca’s aphasia, 8 subjects underwent a series of wellformedness judgment investigations using both offline and online test batteries. The sentence types and error types used were motivated by three current theories about the nature of the ACD, namely, the Trace-Based Account (Grodzinsky, 2000), the Mapping Hypothesis (Linebarger et al., 1983) and Capacity proposals (e.g. Frazier & Friederici, 1991). The results from the present investigation speak directly to the three aforementioned theories and also demonstrate the important role that extralinguistic processing plays during offline assessment. The clinical implications of the different outcomes from the offline vs. online tasks are also discussed.

Do expertise and the degree of perception-action coupling affect natural anticipatory performance?

Two experiments using a temporal occlusion paradigm (the first with expert and novice participants and the second with participants of intermediate skill) were conducted to examine the capability of tennis players to predict the direction of an opponent's service in situ. In both experiments two different response conditions, reflecting differing degrees of perception-action coupling, were employed. In a coupled condition players were required to make a movement-based response identical to that which they would use to hit a return of service in a game situation, whereas in an uncoupled condition a verbal prediction of service direction was required. Experiment 1 provided clear evidence of superior prediction accuracy under the coupled response condition when ball flight was available, plus some limited evidence to suggest that superior prediction accuracy under uncoupled response conditions might hold true if only advance (pre-contact) information was available. Experiment 2 showed the former finding to be a robust one, but was unable to reveal any support for the latter. Experiment 1 also revealed that expert superiority is more apparent for predictions made under natural (coupled) than uncoupled response-mode conditions. Collectively, these findings suggest that different perceptual processes may be in operation in anticipatory tasks which depend on skill level, the type of information presented, and degree of perception-action coupling inherent in the task requirements.

Cidade-paisagem : novas perspectivas sobre a preservação da paisagem urbana no Brasil

The edification of the landscape in the scientific and social field, in speech as in the method, is taken in this study as a complex process, from which were developed relationships of dominance on the perception of space, which persist strongly consolidated, since the genesis of the conceptual practice till its actual praxis. Historically, the landscape studies took place slowly, immersed in many questions, in face of the multiplicity of meanings that the concept offers. In the psyche, the notion of landscape is present since a long time ago, as an unconscious human being practice, even before any ideological hypothesis formulation. However its materialization in the social conscious will come only from painting, and specially with the perspective, through the technicity of the view, at first wandering the infinity, now ordained in a frame‟. Since then, the landscape is perceived according to the order of the view, as the equivalent of nature and beauty, assuming at the same time, an important symbolic value, since it is linked to mnemonic and subjective processes that the being build with the territory. The domain on this space-cognitive experience, characteristic of the contemporary, consolidates in the social imaginary, building consensus on the landscape, whose aesthetic references make a cultural appeal, very pertinent to the actual capitalist dynamics of production the space worldwide, mainly of the spectacle and commodification of cities promoted by the city marketing. In Brazil, this consensual ideology of the landscape surpass the social imaginary and also dominates the political imaginary, whereas the main instrument for preserving the landscape, Decree-law 25, from November 30, 1937, and its limit to those of exceptional value or remarkable feature. The analysis of the processes for putting under governmental trust for inscription of goods by the landscape value, reveals the dominant, if not exclusive, adoption of selection criteria related to aesthetic aspects. Abstain, therefore, from what the nation considers patrimony , other landscapes that, besides not having, at first, remarkable aesthetic value, play a crucial role as an inheritance from ancestor relations between man and space and pre- existing condition for the same present and future relations. From this historical background, the research seeks to transfer into contemporaneity, the ideological analysis of the concept and its relation with the building of the landscape in the collective imaginary, in order to recognize, in current practices to landscape preservation, as much this genesis, rooted in aesthetics, remains strongly consolidated, feeding the current dynamics of consumption and commodification of the city. Therefore, as preliminary conclusion, one can state that the identification of landscapes of different value, especially aesthetic, maintains and intensify the treatment of the city as an object, a standard‟ commodity to be sold / traded on the world market, in detriment of its recognition as a dynamic process that, even though inserted in the global context, develops specificifities and peculiarities, inherent to the production of space, as Lefebvre preconizes, that is, to the production of life, social product , as characteristic, dissent generator

Evaluating the Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture (ECOC): a Tourist Perception Approach

Guimarães has hosted, during the year of 2012, one of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC). The evaluation of the event is needed as public, private and community funds are involved. The approach considers the tourists (domestic and international) as external and independent stakeholders who assessed the cultural activities developed during the event and the attributes of the city. The results of the survey show that hosting the 2012 ECOC was a major contribution for attracting new visitors to the city, although many of them just for a short period of time. The main source of general information collected by tourists was the Internet, and the traditional media. Only a small amount of respondents demonstrated a specialized knowledge of the cultural program. The most cited and appreciated performances came from the areas of music, exhibitions, and theatre. According to the perceptions of tourists, the tangible assets were clearly detached from the set of attributes of Guimarães, including buildings, churches and chapels, whereas intangible assets were less noted. Overall, Guimarães received a very positive evaluation related to city image and stay and is highly recommended by tourists to friends and relatives.

Residents’ perception of the benefits of cultural tourism: the case of Guimarães

In many cities throughout Europe and the rest of the world, cultural tourism plays a major role in local economic development. Tourism also acts to preserve cultural heritage, as it provides a way to acquire the revenue needed to restore and preserve historical buildings, and encourages local people to value their traditions and festivals. However, tourism success can be a double-edged sword with tourist flows having a strong impact on the quality of life of residents when certain tourist thresholds are surpassed. This paper aims to address local residents’ perception of the benefits of cultural tourism. To capture their perception, a survey was implemented, addressed to both the city centre inhabitants and the non-urban residents of the Guimarães municipality.

Guimarães residents’ perceptions towards tourism impacts: a cluster analysis

The present study was designed to assess and segment local residents with respect to their perceived impacts of Guimarães tourism development. The residents of this municipality (located in the northern part of Portugal) are quite strong in their support to tourism. However, they do not keep a homogeneous perception of tourism impacts. A clusters analysis using data from a survey of 400 Guimarães residents’ has revealed the existence of three clusters, according the different degrees of perceived tourism impacts: the Skeptics - moderate in relation to the benefits (averages range from 2.89-3.74) and the ones more concerned with its costs (averages range from 2.86-3.74); the Moderately optimistic - very optimistic about the benefits of tourism (averages range from 3.74-4.51) and conscious of the costs (averages range from 2.71-3.49); the Enthusiasts - very optimistic about tourism benefits (averages range from 2.92-4.52) and little worried about its costs (averages range from 1.78-3.26). Following the data from the survey, the findings are discussed and a few conclusions are extracted.

A informação médica e a tomada de decisão em cirurgias refractivas : o uso de recursos audiovisuais a dar suporte à escolha dos utentes

RESUMO: Neste estudo investigou-se a influência dos meios audiovisuais na tomada de decisão pelos utentes em cirurgias oftalmológicas, especialmente nas cirurgias refractivas. A metodologia escolhida integrou métodos quantitativos e qualitativos, com o objectivo de abranger a máxima amplitude da descrição, explicação e compreensão do objecto a ser investigado. Procura-se evidenciar e analisar sentimentos, motivações e atitudes individuais, como escolhas e tomada de decisão, bem como, perceber a relação entre o processo de comunicação médico / paciente e a tomada de decisão. Foram usados: um questionário, material digital e vídeos com as principais cirurgias refractivas apresentadas aos utentes, com uma amostra de n= 150 participantes do Serviço de Oftalmologia da HOSPOR e SAMS Centro de 01 de Julho 2008 a 28 de Fevereiro de 2009, com a faixa etária de 20 a 80 anos, com diagnóstico escolhido. Os dados recolhidos foram analisados pelo SPSS 18. A fundamentação teórica está baseada no estudo da captação e disfunções no trajecto da imagem, observando-se os componentes da aquisição do conhecimento: sensação, percepção, pensamento, consciência, memória, imaginação, linguagem, informação, bem como bioética, comunicação médica e a tomada de decisão, na qual se valoriza a educação do Utente para decidir. O resultado desta investigação aponta para novos paradigmas nos processos de informação / decisão consciente, indicando a necessidade de se investir na educação e na informação médica humanizada aos utentes para haver maior conhecimento, participação, satisfação e eficácia na terapêutica a ser escolhida. ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes how information and communication technologies, in particular the media of some ophthalmologic surgery, can help better decisions meaning new ways of information and new relationship between doctor and patient. This study investigates how doctors take hold of technological resources and discuss the client`s decision. We used the quantitative and qualitative structured interview of client who are visually impaired, especially myopia / hyperopia / astigmatism, presbyopia and cataract. We used a questionnaire, material and digital videos with the leading refractive surgery presented to the clients, with a sample of n = 150 participants of the Department of Ophthalmology, and SAMS HOSPOR Center from 01 July 2008 to 28 February 2009, with range 20 to 80 years, diagnosed chosen. The data collected were analyzed by SPSS. The theoretical study is based on the capture and routing of image and perception, observing neuro-psycho-social components: sensation, perception, visual perception, consciousness, knowledge, memory, imagination, language, information, bioethics and decision-making, in which values education of user to decide. The result of this research points to new paradigms in information processing / conscious decision, indicating the necessity of investing in education and humane medical information to the Users in order to archive a greater awareness,participation, satisfaction and effectiveness in the treatment to choose.