Abstract
Virtual Reality is becoming more popular over the years because it allows the user to be the main actor in another environment and interact with it in real time. New interaction methods are being studied, like tangible interfaces, but there is little work done related to small distances when grabbing objects through a virtual environment. This study is important because, in our perspective, interaction in virtual reality will be at arms reach, meaning that the user will interact within very close distances (under 1 m). In this paper, the research team further evaluate distance perception using gender, the presence of avatar and height (fixed or personalised). The sample consisted of 64 participants (32 females and 32 males) evenly distributed between all four conditions (8 males and 8 females for each condition). Results revealed that gender does have an impact on small distance estimation; height does not have an impact on distance estimation; and avatar does make a difference when trying to grab a real object through the virtual environment. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.

Abstract
Distance Education (DE) still have some challenges to be considered similar to the face-to-face mode of instruction regarding the quality of learning, including the lack in promoting the sense of presence. This research investigates whether a differentiated media support, complementary to the traditional Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), composed by the integration of 3D Virtual Worlds (3DVW) and Conversational Agents, in the role of a Virtual Companions, can promote the student’s sense of presence in order to contribute with the learning process in DE. A quasi-experiment pilot study was conducted with 36 students enrolled in the Financial Management discipline from a DE formal course. A 3DVW was developed in the light of the pedagogical model of Experiential Learning, in the form of a role-play simulation. The results reveal that although the students positively evaluated the experience in the 3DVW, it did not stimulate the sense of presence as expected. However, better performance rates were diagnosed for students who had the help of the Virtual Companion. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
Looking forward to enhance visitors’ experience among cultural heritage sites, the use of new technologies within these spaces has seen a fast growth among the last decades. Regarding the increasing technological developments, the importance of understanding the acceptance of technology and the intention to use it in cultural heritage sites, also arises. The existing variety of acceptance models found in literature relatively to the use of technology, and the uncertainty about selecting a suitable model, sparked this research. Accordingly, the current study aims to select, evaluate and analyse an acceptance model, targeted to understand the behavioural intention to use augmented reality technology in archaeological sites. The findings of this research revealed UTAUT as a suitable model. However, regarding the collected data, some moderators’ impact presented in the original study may change significantly. In addition, more constructs can be considered for wider understandings. Copyright

Abstract
Although selection menus are widely used for interaction, their use on 3D virtual reality applications needs to be objectively assessed. The focus of this study is to evaluate a traditional panel and a radial menu in two distinct virtual environment placements (i.e. fixed on the wall and following the users' hands). Fifty-one participants used two different menus of the four possible combinations. To evaluate the menus' effectiveness and efficiency, we measured usability (System Usability Scale Questionnaire), user satisfaction (After-Scenario Questionnaire), time to finish the tasks (in seconds) and the number of unnecessary steps (errors) performed by the users. Overall results showed a clear preference for the traditional panel menu type and the fixed wall placement of the menu. We conclude that all menu types perform well, despite different user preferences, and that fixing the menu to the wall gives users a better overview of both the menu and the virtual environment, improving their ability to perceive their actions on the menu.

Abstract
The area of professional training using virtual reality technologies has received considerable investment due to the advantages that virtual reality provides over traditional training. In this paper, we present an experiment whose goal was to analyse the impact that an additional stimulus has on the effectiveness of a virtual environment designed to train firefighters. The additional stimulus is a smell, more specifically the smell of burnt wood, which is consistent with the audiovisual content presented, and the effectiveness of the VE is measured through participant's feeling of presence, cybersickness, fatigue, stress and transfer of knowledge. The results indicate that, although the VE was successful in transferring knowledge, the addition of smell did not influence any of the measured variables. In the discussion section, we present the various factors that we believe have influenced this result. As future work, more experiments will be performed, with other stimuli, to understand better which stimuli increase participant's feeling of presence in the VE.

Abstract
To deliver more intense and enhanced experiences, multisensory applications have the goal to stimulate all our senses. The way these multisensory systems have been implemented is very distinct, since there are a lot of different approaches among them, aiming different goals. Thus, the structure defined for these systems depends on the stimuli that are being exploited, the technologies that are being used, the context in which they are being implemented, and on what is intended to obtain with the system. This study aims to propose the design of a multisensory system, named SensiMAR, that will provide an outdoor multisensory AR experience located at a cultural heritage site, allowing users to perceive different levels of immersion with the addition of a spatialized soundscape and with related smells.