Encyclopedia of Perception


Book Description

The field of perception is devoted to explaining the operation of the senses and the experiences and behaviors resulting from stimulation of the senses. Perceptual processes such as recognizing faces, seeing color, hearing music, and feeling pain represent the actions of complex mechanisms, yet we usually do them easily. The Encyclopedia of Perception presents a comprehensive overview of the field of perception through authoritative essays written by leading researchers and theoreticians in psychology, the cognitive sciences, neuroscience, and medical disciplines. It presents two parallel and interacting approaches: the psychophysical, or determining the relationship between stimuli in the environment and perception, and the physiological, or locating the biological systems responsible for perception. Are there any processes not associated with perception? Surely there are, but the pervasiveness of perception is truly impressive, and the phenomena of perception and its mechanisms are what this encyclopedia is about. Key Features Contains 16 pages of color illustration and photography to accompany the entries Offers a varied and broad list of topics, including basic research as well as methodologies, theoretical approaches, and real-world applications of perceptual research Emphasizes human perception but includes ample research because of its importance in its own right and because of what this research tells us about human perception Written by recognized experts from many disciplines but for an audience with no previous background in perception—students and members of the general public alike Key Themes Action Attention Audition Chemical Senses Cognition and Perception Computers and Perception Consciousness Disorders of Perception Illusory Perceptions Individual Differences (Human) and Comparative (Across Species; Not Including Ageing, Disorders, and Perceptual Development) Methods Perceptual Development/Experience Philosophical Approaches Physiological Processes Sense Interaction Skin and Body Senses Theoretical Approaches Visual Perception




Lavender


Book Description

Lavandula species are mainly grown for their essential oils, which are used in perfumery, cosmetics, food processing and aromatherapy products, and for their use as ornamental plants and ingredients in numerous cottage industry products. Certain types of lavender oil have also been shown to have antimicrobial and antifungal properties. The dried fl




Perceptions of Knowledge Visualization: Explaining Concepts through Meaningful Images


Book Description

Multisensory perception is emerging as an important factor in shaping current lifestyles. Therefore, computer scientists, engineers, and technology experts are acknowledging the comparative power existing beyond visual explanations. Perceptions of Knowledge Visualization: Explaining Concepts through Meaningful Images discusses issues related to visualization of scientific concepts, picturing processes and products, as well as the role of computing in the advancement of visual literacy skills. By connecting theory with practice, this book gives researchers, computer scientists, and academics an active experience which enhances the perception and the role of computer graphics.







MediaSync


Book Description

This book provides an approachable overview of the most recent advances in the fascinating field of media synchronization (mediasync), gathering contributions from the most representative and influential experts. Understanding the challenges of this field in the current multi-sensory, multi-device, and multi-protocol world is not an easy task. The book revisits the foundations of mediasync, including theoretical frameworks and models, highlights ongoing research efforts, like hybrid broadband broadcast (HBB) delivery and users’ perception modeling (i.e., Quality of Experience or QoE), and paves the way for the future (e.g., towards the deployment of multi-sensory and ultra-realistic experiences). Although many advances around mediasync have been devised and deployed, this area of research is getting renewed attention to overcome remaining challenges in the next-generation (heterogeneous and ubiquitous) media ecosystem. Given the significant advances in this research area, its current relevance and the multiple disciplines it involves, the availability of a reference book on mediasync becomes necessary. This book fills the gap in this context. In particular, it addresses key aspects and reviews the most relevant contributions within the mediasync research space, from different perspectives. Mediasync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization is the perfect companion for scholars and practitioners that want to acquire strong knowledge about this research area, and also approach the challenges behind ensuring the best mediated experiences, by providing the adequate synchronization between the media elements that constitute these experiences.







The Spell of the Sensuous


Book Description

Winner of the International Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction Animal tracks, word magic, the speech of stones, the power of letters, and the taste of the wind all figure prominently in this intellectual tour de force that returns us to our senses and to the sensuous terrain that sustains us. This major work of ecological philosophy startles the senses out of habitual ways of perception. For a thousand generations, human beings viewed themselves as part of the wider community of nature, and they carried on active relationships not only with other people with other animals, plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds, and weather patters) that we have only lately come to think of as "inanimate." How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient reciprocity with the natural world? What will it take for us to recover a sustaining relation with the breathing earth? In The Spell of the Sensuous David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand of magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with a passion, a precision, and an intellectual daring that recall such writers as Loren Eisleley, Annie Dillard, and Barry Lopez.




The Neuro-Consumer


Book Description

Neuroscientific research shows that the great majority of purchase decisions are irrational and driven by subconscious mechanisms in our brains. This is hugely disruptive to the rational, logical arguments of traditional communication and marketing practices and we are just starting to understand how organizations must adapt their strategies. This book explains the subconscious behavior of the "neuro-consumer" and shows how major international companies are using these findings to cast light on their own consumers’ behavior. Written in plain English for business and management readers with no scientific background, it focuses on: how to adapt marketing and communication to the subconscious and irrational behaviors of consumers; the direct influence of the primary senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) on purchasing decisions and the perception of communications by customers’ brains; implications for innovation, packaging, price, retail environments and advertising; the use of "nudges" and artifices to increase marketing and communication efficiency by making them neuro-compatible with the brain’s subconscious expectations; the influence of social media and communities on consumers’ decisions – when collective conscience is gradually replacing individual conscience and recommendation becomes more important than communication; and the ethical limits and considerations that organizations must heed when following these principles. Authored by two globally recognized leaders in business and neuroscience, this book is an essential companion to marketers and brand strategists interested in neuroscience and vital reading for any advanced student or researcher in this area.




Extended Reality Shakespeare


Book Description

This Element argues for the importance of extended reality as an innovative force that changes the understanding of theatre and Shakespeare. It shows how the inclusion of augmented and virtual realities in performance can reconfigure the senses of the experiencers, enabling them to engage with technology actively. Such engagements can, in turn, result in new forms of presence, embodiment, eventfulness, and interaction. In drawing on Shakespeare's dramas as source material, this Element recognises the growing practice of staging them in an extended reality mode, and their potential to advance the development of extended reality. Given Shakespeare's emphasis on metatheatre, his works can inspire the layering of environments and the experiences of transition between the environments both features that distinguish extended reality. The author's examination of selected works in this Element unveils creative convergences between Shakespeare's dramaturgy and digital technology.




Perfumery


Book Description

THE SENSE OF SMELL The nose is normally mistakenly assumed to be the organ of smell reception. It is not. The primary function of the nose is to regulate the temperature and humidity of inspired air, thereby protecting the delicate linings of the lungs. This is achieved by the breathed air passing through narrow passageways formed by three nasal turbinates in each nostril. The turbinates are covered by spongy vascular cells which can expand or contract to open or close the nasal pathways. The olfactory receptors, innervated by the 1st cranial nerve, are located at the top of the nose. There are about 50 million smell receptors in the human olfactory epithelia, the total size of which, in humans, is about that of a small postage stamp, with half being at the top of the left and half at the top of the right nostril. The receptive surfaces of olfactory cells are ciliated and extend into a covering layer of mucus. There is a constant turnover of olfactory cells. Their average active life has been estimated to be about 28 days.