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The aim of this research is twofold: to examine the coverage of human trafficking in the digital press and the perceptions of media professionals and specialised entities regarding such news. The methodology employed is mixed and relies on the technique of content analysis of news stories between January 2019 and December 2020 to investigate how the phenomenon is addressed by digital newspapers. This is also combined with the semi-structured interview technique to identify the discourse of media professionals and the heads of specialised non-governmental organisations in relation to their assessment of the news production on trafficking in Spain. There is lack of information on trafficking of human beings, partly due to the lack of media resources to inform and investigate. The trafficking of human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation continues to dominate media coverage. Addressing the trafficking of human beings from a holistic and human rights approach, including the visibility of all forms of trafficking, as well as deepening collaboration and cooperation between the media and specialised entities, are tasks of vital importance for further progress.

This paper presents a novel segmentation algorithm specially developed for applications in 3D point clouds with high variability and noise, particularly suitable for heritage building 3D data. The method can be categorized within the segmentation procedures based on edge detection. In addition, it uses a graph-based topological structure generated from the supervoxelization of the 3D point clouds, which is used to make the closure of the edge points and to define the different segments. The algorithm provides a valuable tool for generating results that can be used in subsequent classification tasks and broader computer applications dealing with 3D point clouds. One of the characteristics of this segmentation method is that it is unsupervised, which makes it particularly advantageous for heritage applications where labelled data is scarce. It is also easily adaptable to different edge point detection and supervoxelization algorithms. Finally, the results show that the 3D data can be segmented into different architectural elements, which is important for further classification or recognition. Extensive testing on real data from historic buildings demonstrated the effectiveness of the method. The results show superior performance compared to three other segmentation methods, both globally and in the segmentation of planar and curved zones of historic buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extended reality, which encompasses virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, emerges as an important didactic resource, offering great potential to bring heritage closer to the educational environment. Heritage education is a challenge for today's society, contributing to cultural and social development. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to analyze documents related to heritage in education through extended reality. The search was conducted using Scopus and Web of Sciences databases, allowing for an international search. We excluded any document that was not a scientific article published in a journal. A total of 52 documents were analyzed, all of which were open-access articles. Preliminary results indicate that virtual reality and augmented reality are utilized in education to work with architectural, historical, archaeological, and musical heritage. Extended reality has been applied in all the stages of the education system, and in formal and non-formal settings, thereby demonstrating its versatility. These experiences increase motivation and academic performance in comparison to less innovative methodologies, which is in line with other studies on this topic. In conclusion, extended reality has the potential to make a significant impact on education, particularly when combined with heritage. The creation of multidisciplinary groups will enhance research in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point cloud acquisition systems now enable the capture of geometric models enriched with additional attribute data, providing a deeper semantic understanding of the measured environments. However, visualizing complex spatiotemporal point clouds remains computationally challenging. This paper presents a fusion methodology that aggregates points from different instants into unified clouds with reduced redundancy while preserving time-varying information. The static 3D structure is condensed using a voxel approach, while temporal attributes are propagated across the merged data. The resulting point cloud is optimized and rendered interactively in a virtual reality (VR) application. This platform allows for intuitive exploration, visualization, and analysis of the merged clouds. Users can examine thermographic properties using color maps and study graphical temperature trends. The potential of VR for insightful interrogation of point clouds enriched with multiple properties is highlighted by the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the teaching and learning of history have been transformed by the incorporation of active methodologies and digital tools. Virtual reality (VR) is one such tool that is being increasingly used in classrooms. It allows students to visit and experience spaces from other historical periods, even those that have been lost. However, due to its relatively slow adoption in formal educational settings, there is still a paucity of scientific references where this type of experience has been empirically tested to prove its potential benefits. Further research on this issue is therefore needed. This study presents a comparative analysis of the didactic use of historical heritage from the Roman period using two different methodological strategies: an educational visit to a museum and a virtual tour via electronic devices. The main objective is to compare the effectiveness of these two methods in terms of usability, learning outcomes, and emotional responses. The study was conducted with 51 primary school teachers in training. Data were collected using two ad hoc questionnaires, which were based on a previous one. A hybrid analysis methodology was adopted, with SPSS used for interpreting the quantitative data and Atlas Ti for the qualitative information. The results indicate that the two methodologies were perceived by future teachers as valuable resources for learning and teaching history. The emotions they evoked were primarily curiosity, joy, and motivation, with only minor occurrences of frustration, nervousness, or fear. The experience gained from this first application will make it possible to extend the study to other educational levels, to enrich the conclusions obtained and to evaluate the potential scope of using this combination of methods to develop historical competences and improve heritage education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a review of the most relevant current techniques that deal with hole-filling in 3D models. Contrary to earlier reports, which approach mesh repairing in a sparse and global manner, the objective of this review is twofold. First, a specific and comprehensive review of hole-filling techniques (as a relevant part in the field of mesh repairing) is carried out. We present a brief summary of each technique with attention paid to its algorithmic essence, main contributions and limitations. Second, a solid comparison between 34 methods is established. To do this, we define 19 possible meaningful features and properties that can be found in a generic hole-filling process. Then, we use these features to assess the virtues and deficiencies of the method and to build comparative tables. The purpose of this review is to make a comparative hole-filling state-of-the-art available to researchers, showing pros and cons in a common framework.

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Virtual laboratories have been demonstrated to contribute successfully to the theoretical understanding of many important systems theory and automatic control concepts in engineering education. This paper describes the pilot experience on the use of such laboratories as learning tools in introductory systems theory courses at the University of Extremadura during the academic year 2015/2016. The purpose of the present paper is to offer some objective academic evidence for the effectiveness of the use of virtual laboratories to improve learning in laboratory lessons in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]