School of Liberal Arts (SoLA)

&ldquo;IIT Jodhpur is committed to impart quality education to facilitate the creation of qualified, competent and responsible human resources to meet the emerging technological challenges of the world. It is working towards creating an equitable learning platform that is positive, accessible and effective in the face of the modern societal and scientific advancements.

Flexibility in curriculum, in all its academic programs, encompassing elements of teaching, research, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship is the most unique feature of IIT Jodhpur. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), under the National Mission on Cyber Physical Systems, has identified IIT Jodhpur as a Technology &amp; Innovation Hub in the area of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The institute has also been nominated as the coordinator for the Jodhpur City and Knowledge Cluster by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India.

The sprawling 852-acre IIT Jodhpur campus is a majestic tribute to the deep-rooted diverse cultural heritage of the region. The campus is an architectural masterpiece, which is slated to become an international exemplar of sustainability with net-zero energy, and advanced water and waste management strategies.&rdquo;

IIT Jodhpur

The present study examined the fear of death among young adults in the wake of the COVID-19. It explored the association between neuroticism and death anxiety during this pandemic crisis, and it also examined the mediating role of perceived stress in this relationship. An online survey of 200 participants, including both students and employed young adults, aged between 18 and 30 years, was conducted. Results showed that neuroticism was positively correlated to death anxiety; however, the relationship was completely mediated by perceived stress. The results and implications are discussed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

World University root node

Death Studies

Fear of death in the shadow of COVID-19: The mediating role of perceived stress in the relationship between neuroticism and death anxiety

In human-computer interaction research, prototypes allow for communicating design ideas and conducting early user studies to understand user experience without developing the actual product. For investigating deformation-based interaction, functional prototyping becomes challenging due to the unavailability of commercial platforms and the marginal availability of flexible electronic components. During functional prototyping, incurred time and cost are essential factors that further depend on the ease of stiffness customization, reproduction, and upgrade. To offer these advantages, this work presents the fabrication workflow of Nāmya, a smartphone-sized flexible prototype that can detect bend gestures and touch-based inputs using off-the-shelf sensors and flexible materials. This do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to fabricating deformable prototypes focuses on addressing the challenges of selecting flexible material, type of sensor, and sensor positions. We also demonstrate that the proposed use of a flexible three-dimensional- (3D-) printed internal structure with sensor pockets and the one-part silicone cast allows the development of robust deformable prototypes. This fabrication process offers the opportunity to easily customize device stiffness, reproduce prototypes with similar physical properties, and upgrade existing prototypes. © 2022 Pranjal Protim Borah and Keyur B. Sorathia.

Fulltext

Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

Fabrication of Nāmya: A Bend and Touch-Sensitive Flexible Smartphone-Sized Prototype

Two experiments examined how participants view food-related information and visuals when making food choices. Participants were asked to choose between various food items while using an eye-tracking device. For each food type, they were given four different options; participants selected one of the four given options using the provided information. They could change their decision, if desired, after seeing images of the options shown immediately after the information slide. Individuals viewed and compared the food option they selected more than other available options. The study shows that, under no time constraints, food decisions are more rational and are based on food-related information. © 2022 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal

Making food choices under no time constraint: An eye-tracking investigation

This article describes the psychometric properties of a semantic differential scale developed to evaluate the attitudes towards menstruation among Roman Catholics in India, which is referred to as Menstrual Semantic Differential Scale (MSDS). For this purpose, the south Indian state of Kerala was chosen as the location. First, exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the data collected from a sample of participants of different ages, gender, and caste groups. The analysis produced a 10 item scale with a tri-factorial structure that explained 74 percent of the variance. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis on a different sample established that the three-factor model was a good fit. Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the subscales ranged from 0.73 to 0.93, confirming the acceptable reliability of the instrument. The findings suggest that the MSDS is a reliable and valid measure for assessing attitudes towards menstruation among Roman Catholics in India. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Journal of Religion and Health

Psychometric Properties of the Semantic Differential Scale in Studying Attitudes Toward Menstruation among Roman Catholics in India

The term anaphor–agreement effect refers to the descriptive generalization that anaphors cannot control agreement on the verb. The general consensus in the literature is that the anaphor–agreement effect is a universal phenomenon. Contrary to that consensus, in this article, I present data from a set of languages where an anaphor does indeed control agreement on the verb, in violation of the anaphor–agreement effect. To explain this dual nature of anaphors in the world's languages, I propose a derivational-timing analysis that derives not only the anaphor–agreement effect but also those problematic cases in which it seems to be violated. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Syntax

Deriving the anaphor–agreement effect and the violations of it

The present study explores the reason for conflict that Indian middle-class married couples face and the ways they manage those conflicts. For the purpose, 30 long-term married couples (Mage = 44.70 years; Mmarriage years = 19.48) were interviewed. Thematic analysis was carried out using Quirkos software. The reliability of the codes was checked by two independent raters and ICR was found to be 0.902. The analysis shows that disputes related to daily problems, finances, children, and in-laws, are more common in Indian middle-class couples. Unlike Western studies, Indian middle-class couples are not very vocal about problems related to intimacy and personal needs. Moreover, results show that the conflict management style of Indian middle-class couples is more relationship and partner-centric, that is, it is focused on benefiting their marital stability overall. We found three different but interdependent conflict management approaches—problem-solving, prioritizing partner, and harmonizing relationship. The results of the study show that some conflicts, as well as conflict management strategies, are more specific to Indian married couples, which probably gives longevity to Indian marriages. The findings can also help to guide and encourage couples facing problems in their marriage, especially young couples to choose an effective approach to solve a conflict. © The Author(s) 2022.

Family Journal

The Conflicts and Conflict Management in Stable Middle-Class Marriages: An Indian Perspective

Object selection is an essential task in Virtual Reality applications. Current object selection techniques suffer from issues of hand jitter, accuracy, and higher errors in selecting nail-sized objects in a dense virtual environment. We present tiny hands, a technique to reduce the size of virtual hands to easily navigate and accurately select nail-sized object in a dense environment. We present 3 gesture based interaction techniques (i) Fisting non-dominant hand (ii) Palm downwards for 2 s and (iii) Pinch-in and Pinch-out non-dominant hand in this paper. Our initial findings indicate that tiny hands technique is a versatile approach for selection of small objects in dense VE. Users also found these techniques to be natural, intuitive, easy to use and accurate in selecting small targets in dense VEs. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Communications in Computer and Information Science

Tiny Hands are Cute: Adaptive Virtual Hands to Accurately Select Nail-Size Arm’s Reach Virtual Objects in Dense Immersive VR

Self-realization or the path which involves the elaborate process of knowing oneself leads people to a meaningful and fulfilling life. The present study aims to examine how the COVID-19-led lockdown proved to be an opportunity for emerging adults to reflect on and eventually discover their true selves. This study particularly explores the factors that facilitated the self-realization process during the lockdown. An online survey was conducted on 1280 Indian university students. The age of participants ranged between 18 and 29 years. An eight-item scale was developed to measure self-realization during the lockdown, which was thereafter administered along with other study variables. The results showed that factors including family bonding, social comparison, self-image, and a positive orientation toward life help young adults in the process of self-realization. Furthermore, the participants who employed adaptive ways to cope with the COVID-19 stress reported higher levels of self-realization. The present study showed that the interaction of young adults with their significant others, solving their daily problems, and having a positive outlook toward themselves and the future, helped them during the COVID-19 imposed lockdown and led them on the path of self-realization. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Journal of Adult Development

Expanding the Self Behind Closed Doors: Exploring the Role of the Lockdown in Self-Realization Among Young Adults

Research indicates that deliberate thinking and eye movements are related. However, how various thought processes influence eye movements is not explored well. The present research examined the role of convergent and divergent thinking in eye movement. Divergent thinking involves novel alternatives, multiple uses, and unconventional answers which may require scanning visual surroundings precisely and extensively. Hence, it was hypothesized that divergent thinking would involve more scattered and detailed visual scanning than convergent thinking. Two experiments were conducted using repeated measures design: both involved a visual remote association task for convergent thinking and an adapted visual task of the alternate uses task for divergent thinking. Experiment 1 tracked participants’ eye movement while solving the task when images of objects were on the screen; whereas, in Experiment 2, the blank screen paradigm was used where the images of items were removed and the eyes were tracked while participants solved the task. Data analysis showed that the eye movements were more object focused during convergent thinking than divergent thinking. The results confirmed that participants in divergent thinking had more detailed and dispersed visual scanning than in convergent thinking. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Psychological Research

Do our eyes mirror our thought patterns? A study on the influence of convergent and divergent thinking on eye movement

Research on construal level theory shows the influence of abstract and concrete mindsets on self-control. These studies indicate that in the abstract mindset people have more self-control than in the concrete mindset. Though some studies have been carried out on behavioral control as well, however, the influence of mindsets on eye movement control has not been explored. Aiming to explore this relationship, two experiments were conducted on university students using an eye-tracker. The mindsets of participants in both the experiments were manipulated by the temporal distancing technique. To test eye movement control, experiment 1 used an anti-saccade task, in which the participants were asked to look away from the target, while experiment 2 used a visual search task where participants were asked to make goal-directed eye movements and avoid any distraction. The results of both the experiments showed that participants tended to have more control over their eye movement during the abstract mindset than the concrete mindset. This shows that mindsets not only help in controlling thoughts and general behaviors but also influence eye movements and govern what to look and where to look. Results are discussed in the light of self-control and construal level theory. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.