Title: Presence in stressful virtual environments

Authors: Ioannis Messinis, Ioannis Vrellis, Panagiotis Pintelas

Addresses: EARTHLab., University of Ioannina, 45110, Greece. ' EARTHLab., University of Ioannina, 45110, Greece. ' ESDLab., University of Patras, 26500, Greece

Abstract: The need for training in dangerous situations in all levels of an educational system through secure environments leads to the implementation of suitable Educational Virtual Environments (EVEs). Participants| sense of presence is a factor of major importance. This work is an evaluation of the factors that contribute to the sense of presence in an EVE in earthquake situations. We have studied the factors of mental transfer, the virtual environment|s realism and the contribution of sensory stimuli. The results showed that the sense of presence depends on the attribution of virtual environment|s content and on its enrichment with external sensory stimuli.

Keywords: presence factors; EVEs; educational virtual environments; earthquakes; training; dangerous situations; mental transfer; external sensory stimuli.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2009.031058

International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, 2009 Vol.2 No.2, pp.136 - 145

Published online: 19 Jan 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article