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The learning, information acquisition, processing and storage mechanisms form, at the level of the central human system, a complex, flexible, dynamic and self-regulating system to ensure the information transfer in the best conditions. Therefore, the path of informational transfer between the environment and the central system, being realized through the visual system requires a high level of functioning of all the component modules. Thus, in the first part of the paper, the main functional aspects of the visual system that participate in the process of ocular refraction are identified and analyzed. By systemic and conceptual approach of these parameters, the areas of functional sensitivity can be identified and the active mechanisms of verification and intervention can be understood. In the second part of the paper the procedures for modeling and virtual simulation of the ocular refraction process are presented, starting from the foundation of the ocular models using the principles of theoretical optics and then approaching flexible and easy modeling variants. These models can be combined and their results can be complementary and / or correlated with other practical and real evaluations. In the final part of the paper are presented the results obtained in the foundation of modeling processes for learning the mechanisms of ocular refraction but also the way of correlation with the experimental evaluations. In the next research steps and through the development of high performance computer systems, these virtual models and simulations can become dynamic interactive learning procedures and to add the real experimental observations and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was focused on the adjustment of Romanian migrant pupils learning in host country schools. The sample included a total of 102 Romanian migrant pupils, 40 male pupils and 62 female pupils. They attend different schools in countries such as Spain, Italy and Belgium (i.e. the main countries of destination for Romanian pupils). They were contacted through the Institute for Romanian Language and attend elective classes in Romanian language, culture and civilization supported by the Romanian Ministry of National Education. The pupils’ adjustment was investigated by means of a questionnaire consisting of four subscales: linguistic adaptation, cultural adaptation, school adjustment and teacher-pupil relationship. The findings confirm that, while Romanian migrant pupils have a satisfactory level of educational and linguistic adjustment, the social adjustment is less satisfactory. We also obtained a correlation between linguistic adaptation and school adjustment, linguistic adaptation and social adaptation, linguistic adaptation and teacher-student relationship, school adjustment and social adaptation, school adjustment and teacher-student relationship, social adaptation and teacher-student relationship. We also identified a significant difference between Italy and Spain (the countries with the highest score) for linguistic adaptation. This study is a part of a larger research in which the empirical studies are interrelated. The first one investigates the adaptation of Romanian migrant pupils to the school abroad, through the teachers in the respective schools. The second study researches several dimensions of the Pupils’ effective, real, situational adaption to a new educational context. This research resulted in a corpus of useful knowledge, most of which confirm the validity of the initial hypotheses and may become a supporting material for all the players involved in the proposed issue - pupils, their parents, teachers, and the school in the host-country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the NTC (Nikola Tesla Centre) learning methodologies. The researches that shows the importance of movement for children, especially before primary school, are presented. One of the basic principles of the NTC learning system is to help children, parents and educators for a whole development, in order to achieve the full potential of the child. To gain this result the NTC learning system provides exercises that include rotation, balance, dynamic accommodation of the eye, fine motoric, stimulation of the foot, coordination eye – hand, speech, etc. The paper presents also the importance of usage the Information and communication technologies (ICT) for educational purposes and for a proper use of ICT in education. The second part of the paper presents the results of a pilot research project on the NTC camps held in Croatia and Serbia. The population analysed is a sample of 68 kids from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina from 7 to 12 years old. The aim was to understand how children acquire new learning methodologies and to define which activities they like most. The activities were: morning gym, NTC learning methodologies, playing in nature and on the beach or mountain. The paper analyses also the perception of the possibility to use the NTC learning techniques for learning at the school. The last part of the questionnaire analyses if the children own a smartphone. If yes, how much they use it during the workweek and during the weekend and how to they spend their free time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals do not have equal access to audio information in most educational settings, even with visual translation accommodations such as sign language interpreters or captioners. As a result, their learning and retention rates lag behind in comparison with their hearing peers. Research shows DHH individuals lose lecture information due to two main factors largely unaddressed by the traditional accommodations: 1) increased cognitive load associated with processing the visual translation of audio simultaneously with other visual information sources, and 2) visual attention limits associated with viewing layouts that have widely dispersed visuals that may be far away or at awkward viewing angles. We discuss the impact of architectural visuals on the DHH student, accommodation team and discuss an automatic measure of a simple accessibility app and scale using face and body identification from a 360-degree video snapshot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for determining the pupil boundary in the image of eye is proposed. The method is based on examining connected components of binarized image. The components are first sorted according to probability to contain pupil, which is estimated from their inertia moments by empirically derived rules. Hough transform is applied to border of the component and outlines the center of most pronounced circular arc. If center hypothesis is strong enough the histogram of distances of border points to this center is built. If pronounced maximum exists on the histogram it means that a circle or an arc is present in this component, which is taken for pupil boundary. The method benefits from both stability of Hough approach and small number of pixels detected as boundaries of connected components. Tests were performed with several iris image databases from public domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Optometry and in Audiology, the routine tests to prescribe correction lenses and headsets are respectively the visual acuity test (the first chart with letters was developed by Snellen in 1862) and conventional pure tone audiometry (the first audiometer with electrical current was devised by Hartmann in 1878). At present there are psychophysical non invasive tests that, besides evaluating visual and auditory performance globally and even in cases catalogued as normal according to routine tests, supply early information regarding diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, renal failure, cardiovascular problems, etc. Concerning Optometry, one of these tests is the achromatic luminance contrast sensitivity test (introduced by Schade in 1956). Concerning Audiology, one of these tests is high frequency pure tone audiometry (introduced a few decades ago) which yields information relative to pathologies affecting the basal cochlea and complements data resulting from conventional audiometry. These utilities of the contrast sensitivity test and of pure tone audiometry derive from the facts that Fourier components constitute the basis to synthesize stimuli present at the entrance of the visual and auditory systems; that these systems responses depend on frequencies and that the patient's psychophysical state affects frequency processing. The frequency of interest in the former test is the effective spatial frequency (inverse of the angle subtended at the eye by a cycle of a sinusoidal grating and measured in cycles/degree) and, in the latter, the temporal frequency (measured in cycles/sec). Both tests have similar duration and consist in determining the patient's threshold (corresponding to the inverse multiplicative of the contrast or to the inverse additive of the sound intensity level) for each harmonic stimulus present at the system entrance (sinusoidal grating or pure tone sound). In this article the frequencies, standard normality curves and abnormal threshold shifts inherent to the contrast sensitivity test (which for simplicity could be termed “visionmetry”) and to pure tone audiometry (also termed auditory sensitivity test) are analyzed with the purpose of contributing to divulge their ability to supply early information associated to pathologies not solely related to the visual and auditory systems respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]