This workshop will focus on the human experience when interacting with different media, such as virtual reality, computer games, simulation rides, television shows, radio programmes, or books. On the one hand, many of these media attempt to represent reality as convincingly as possible, whereas on the other hand many people seek out these media to escape reality, to become immersed in a differe...

O n page 999, Holway et al. reveal that worm embryos would rather risk genomic mutation than disturb the timing of cell division. DNA damage–induced checkpoints, the group fi nds, are silenced during early embryogenesis. The need for the silencing arises because of the importance of timing in embryogenesis. At the worm’s two-cell stage, for instance, a two-min...

This research examined human defensive reactivity when exposure to an aversive event could be escaped but not entirely avoided. Prolonged visual cues indicated whether exposure to an upcoming aversive (i.e., disgusting) picture could be terminated after onset (escaped) or not, or that a neutral go signal would appear. Acoustically elicited startle reflexes were measured during each cue interval...

The simulation of damaged buildings is of great interest. Virtual-reality technologies allow us to experience such a situation. A main concern here is escaping from the building. To simulate this scenario, a model of the environment and an interface for locomotion are needed. Locomotion inside virtual buildings requires special input devices. This paper discusses several simulation methods for ...