@article{wu_chen_sekelsky_peterson_harper-gampp_delgado_2023, title={Shrink or grow the kids? Scale cognition in an immersive virtual environment for K-12 summer camp}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/vrw58643.2023.00203}, DOI={10.1109/VRW58643.2023.00203}, abstractNote={Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used for education and affords embodied learning experiences. Here we describe: Scale Worlds (SW), an immersive virtual environment to allow users to shrink or grow by powers of ten (10X) and experience entities from molecular to astronomical levels; and students' impressions and outcomes from experiencing SW in a CAVE (Figure 1) during experiential summer outreach sessions. Data collected from post-visit surveys of 69 students, and field observations, revealed that VR technologies: enabled interactive learning experiences; encouraged active engagement and discussions among participating students; enhanced the understanding of size and scale; and increased interest in STEM careers.}, journal={2023 IEEE CONFERENCE ON VIRTUAL REALITY AND 3D USER INTERFACES ABSTRACTS AND WORKSHOPS, VRW}, publisher={IEEE}, author={Wu, Linfeng and Chen, Karen B. and Sekelsky, Brian and Peterson, Matthew and Harper-Gampp, Tyler and Delgado, Cesar}, year={2023}, pages={721–722} }
 @article{wu_chen_2022, title={Examining the Effects of Gender Transfer in Virtual Reality on Implicit Gender Bias}, volume={12}, ISSN={["1547-8181"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208221145264}, DOI={10.1177/00187208221145264}, abstractNote={Objective To investigate the effect of gender transfer in virtual reality on implicit gender bias. Background Gender bias is a type of discrimination based on gender, which can lead to increased self-doubt and decreased self-esteem. Sexual harassment is a hostile form of gender bias that can cause anxiety, depression, and significant mental health issues. Virtual reality (VR) has been employed to help make people become aware of their biases and change their attitudes regarding gender, race, and age. Methods Forty participants were embodied in avatars of different genders and experienced sexual harassment scenarios in VR. A gender Implicit Association Test (IAT) was administered before and after the experience. Results There was a statistically significant main effect of participant gender ( F (1,36) = 10.67, p = .002, partial η2 = .23) on ΔIAT, where males and females reported a decrease (M = −.12, SD = .24) and an increase (M = .10, SD = .25) in IAT scores, respectively. A statistically significant two-way interaction between gender transfer and participant gender was revealed ( F (1,36) = 6.32, p = .02, partial η2 = .15). There was a significant simple effect of gender transfer for male participants ( F (1,36) = 8.70, p = .006, partial η2 = .19). Conclusions Implicit gender bias can be modified, at least temporarily, through embodiment in VR. Gender transfer through embodiment while encountering different sexual harassment scenarios helped reduce implicit gender bias. There was a tendency for individuals to increase bias for the gender of the avatar in which they embodied. Applications The current research provided promising evidence that a virtual environment system may be used as a potential training tool to improve implicit gender bias. }, journal={HUMAN FACTORS}, author={Wu, Linfeng and Chen, Karen B. B.}, year={2022}, month={Dec} }