In this paper, we report a study that examines the relationship between image-based computational analyses of web pages and users' aesthetic judgments about the same image material. Web pages were iteratively decomposed into quadrants of minimum entropy (quadtree decomposition) based on low-level image statistics, to permit a characterization of these pages in terms of their respective organizational symmetry, balance and equilibrium. These attributes were then evaluated for their correlation with human participants' subjective ratings of the same web pages on four aesthetic and affective dimensions. Several of these correlations were quite large and revealed interesting patterns in the relationship between low-level (i.e., pixel-level) image statistics and design-relevant dimensions.

This study developed a new procedure, a Virtual Guiding Avatar (VGA), which combined self-motion prediction cues and an independent visual background (IVB) to alleviate simulator sickness (SS). The VGA, which was embodied as an abstract airplane, was designed to lead the participant along a horizontal motion trajectory through a virtual environment. Both motion prediction cues and IVBs, which provide an earth-fixed reference frame, reduced SS in separate previous studies. Participants were exposed to complex visual motion through a cartoon-like simulated environment in a very wide field of view driving simulator. Participants' responses to avatars with varying motion properties - fixed, rotation only or rotation plus translation - were assessed using a within-subjects experimental design. Results indicated that SS was reduced by a VGA that presented rotational cues alone or rotation plus translation. The VGA also increased participants' sense of presence and enjoyment relative to conditions lacking a VGA. The VGA procedure can be used to enhance user experiences in immersive virtual environments as well as to improve motion simulator design.

The effects of field-of-view (FOV) in a virtual environment (VE) on presence, enjoyment, memory and simulator sickness (SS) were studied. A refined scale, designed to assess subjects' engagement, enjoyment and immersion (E/sup 2/I), was developed. Items to examine subjects' memory of the VE were included. SS was examined using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). Using a within-subjects design, data were collected from 10 subjects at four FOVs (60/spl deg/, 100/spl deg/, 140/spl deg/ and 180/spl deg/). The VE, called "Crayolaland", was presented in a driving simulator. The results indicated that presence, enjoyment and SS varied as a function of the display FOV. Subjects exhibited higher SSQ and presence subscale scores with increasing FOV. SSQ and presence values approached asymptotes for FOVs beyond 140/spl deg/. Presence and SS were positively correlated, while enjoyment and SS were negatively correlated.

With technological progress, wide field-of-view (FOV) displays will become increasingly common. Wide FOVs provide a more immersive environment and produce stronger self-motion perception. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between FOV and scene content on postural stability in an immersive environment. 10 subjects were tested using two different scenes (a simple radial pattern and a "meaningful" city scene) at six FOVs (30/spl deg/, 60/spl deg/, 90/spl deg/, 120/spl deg/, 150/spl deg/ 180/spl deg/) using a within-subjects design. Subjects exhibited more postural disturbance with increasing FOV. A surprisingly large increase in disturbance was found for the interval between 150/spl deg/ and 180/spl deg/ using the city scene. No statistically significant difference was found for effects of scene content. Two groups (postural stable group and postural unstable group) were identified during experiment. These groups performed differently in the two scene conditions. Future research plans are described.