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The simultaneous classification of the three most basic eye-movement patterns is known as the ternary eye-movement classification problem (3EMCP). Dynamic, interactive real-time applications that must instantly adjust or respond to certain eye behaviors would highly benefit from accurate, robust, fast, and low-latency classification methods. Recent developments based on 1D-CNN-BiLSTM and TCN architectures have demonstrated to be more accurate and robust than previous solutions, but solely considering offline applications. In this paper, we propose a TCN classifier for the 3EMCP, adapted to online applications, that does not require look-ahead buffers. We introduce a new lightweight preprocessing technique that allows the TCN to make real-time predictions at about 500 Hz with low latency using commodity hardware. We evaluate the TCN performance against other two deep neural models: a CNN-LSTM and a CNN-BiLSTM, also adapted to online classification. Furthermore, we compare the performance of the deep neural models against a lightweight real-time Bayesian classifier (I-BDT). Our results, considering two publicly available datasets, show that the proposed TCN model consistently outperforms other methods for all classes. The results also show that, though it is possible to achieve reasonable accuracy levels with zero-length look ahead, the performance of all methods improve with the use of look-ahead information. The codebase, pre-trained models, and datasets are available at https://github.com/elmadjian/OEMC.

Previous research has indicated that individuals with varying levels of reading comprehension (often used as a proxy for general cognitive ability) employ distinct reading eye movement patterns. This exploratory eye-tracking study aimed to investigate the text-reading process in adolescents with differing reading comprehension, specifically examining how these differences manifest at the global eye movement level through scanpath analysis. Our findings revealed two distinct groups of scanpaths characterized by statistically significant differences in eye movement parameters. These groups were identified as “fast readers” and “slow readers”. Both groups exhibited similar oculomotor performance during the initial reading. However, significant differences emerged when they reread and revisited the text. Notably, these findings align with prior research conducted with different samples and languages, although discrepancies emerged in saccade amplitude and first-pass reading behavior. This study contributes to the understanding of how reading comprehension levels are reflected in global eye movement strategies among adolescents. However, limitations inherent in the experimental design, particularly the potential influence of the task on reading patterns, warrant further investigation. Future research should aim to explore these phenomena in more naturalistic reading settings, employing a design specifically tailored to capture the nuances of spontaneous reading behavior.

The mechanisms driving the development of eye movement patterns is an unresolved debate in children during reading, with three competing hypotheses: the oculomotor-tuning hypothesis, the linguistic-proficiency hypothesis, and the combined hypothesis that incorporates both. This study examined eye movement patterns in 215 Chinese children from first to fifth grade using sentence-reading tasks. Oculomotor maturation was measured through saccade tasks, and linguistic abilities were assessed using Chinese character recognition and vocabulary knowledge tests. Path analysis explored how these factors predict temporal and spatial eye movement measures. Results indicated that temporal measures were primarily driven by linguistic abilities, supporting the linguistic-proficiency hypothesis. Spatial measures, however, were influenced by both linguistic abilities and oculomotor maturation, supporting the combined hypothesis. These findings diverge from predictions of the E-Z Reader model in alphabetic scripts, likely due to the unique visual complexity of Chinese characters.

Objectives: The main purpose of this work was to clinically assess the oculomotricity of one hundred Mexican children with poor reading skills but without any specific learning disorder. Methods: The D.E.M. psychometric test was used. Sex and age analyses of the ratio, type, horizontal and vertical performance, and errors were carried out. Results: Our data suggest that 84% of poor readers exhibit oculomotor difficulties. Sex did not significantly influence the results (p > 0.05), whereas age was associated with the horizontal (p = 0.04) and vertical (p = 0.29) performance, as well as the number of errors (p = 0.001). Omissions were the most prevalent error type. Conclusions: This research gives insights into the role of oculomotricity in children with poor reading skills. Our results suggest that oculomotor performance should be included in the evaluation protocol to assess poor readers to identify any influence of the visual system.

A great amount of research has been developed around the early cognitive impairments that best predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is no longer considered to be an intermediate state between normal aging and AD, new paths have been traced to acquire further knowledge about this condition and its subtypes, and to determine which of them have a higher risk of conversion to AD. It is now known that other deficits besides episodic and semantic memory impairments may be present in the early stages of AD, such as visuospatial and executive function deficits. Furthermore, recent investigations have proven that the hippocampus and the medial temporal lobe structures are not only involved in memory functioning, but also in visual processes. These early changes in memory, visual, and executive processes may also be detected with the study of eye movement patterns in pathological conditions like MCI and AD. In the present review, we attempt to explore the existing literature concerning these patterns of oculomotor changes and how these changes are related to the early signs of AD. In particular, we argue that deficits in visual short-term memory, specifically in iconic memory, attention processes, and inhibitory control, may be found through the analysis of eye movement patterns, and we discuss how they might help to predict the progression from MCI to AD. We add that the study of eye movement patterns in these conditions, in combination with neuroimaging techniques and appropriate neuropsychological tasks based on rigorous concepts derived from cognitive psychology, may highlight the early presence of cognitive impairments in the course of the disease.

Mastering scanning techniques is essential for proficient EFL reading, particularly for learners preparing for proficiency tests such as IELTS. Yet, empirical validation of practical scanning strategies remains limited. This study examines the choices and preferences of scanning techniques among independent and proficient EFL learners from diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. A cross‑sectional design was employed with 173 Iranian and Hungarian participants. Three IELTS academic reading tasks were designed to test participants’ ability to locate four types of information: proper nouns, numerals, long phrases, and unfamiliar words, commonly encountered in actual IELTS tests. Prior to the tasks, learners were introduced to seven scanning techniques drawn from two IELTS textbooks. Results showed that Hungarians outpaced Iranians in completing the tasks, with certain techniques emerging as both efficient and frequent. Hungarians primarily favoured left‑to‑right eye movement, consistent with the directionality of their language, whereas Iranian learners exhibited more varied scanning patterns, with only modest tendencies toward right‑to-left techniques. Hungarians more frequently perceived their chosen techniques as useful, whereas Iranians showed less alignment between use and perceived usefulness. The findings suggest that it is pedagogically sound to teach a repertoire of scanning techniques rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all approach, encouraging teachers to expand and explicitly integrate these techniques into instruction.

Purpose: This paper investigated the visual–perceptual and visual–motor skills and the reversal frequency of letters and numbers that mirror one another in one hundred children aged 6–13 years diagnosed with poor reading skills. Methods: TVPS-4th, VMI-6th, and RFT were performed. Age and sex analysis was carried out. The impact of the eye movement patterns in the perceptual–motor skills and laterality–directionality concepts was also estimated to determine the relationship among tests to predict future results. Results: Most children scored between average and 3 stds below average on the motor VMI-6th test, while half of the participants scored between average and 2 stds below average on TVPS-4th. In the RFT, the majority scored between average and 1.5 stds below average. Participants scored higher on the spatial relationship subtest of the TVPS-4th and lower in the VMI-6th test (p<0.001). Statistically significant differences were found between the youngest and oldest participants on the TVPS-4th overall performance, as well as VD, FC and VFG skills (p<0.05). A strong relationship was found between the TVPS-4th and VMI-6th, (p<0.001). RFT results were different among all groups (p<0.05). The RFT was better related to the VMI-6th than TVPS-4th; however, it was statistically insignificant. The horizontal component of the DEM test was the best predictor for the TVPS-4th and ratio for the RFT, without attaining statistical significance. No sex differences were found. Conclusions: Results showed that children with poor reading skills exhibit perceptual–motor and reversal frequency difficulties, which are independent of the oculomotor performance. Considering that visual and motor processing are essential elements of the reading and writing process, their evaluation and treatment should be included as part of the multidisciplinary approach for children with poor reading skills. This would boost the general outcome and contribute to their academic achievement.

In an eye-tracking experiment we examined the risky reading hypothesis, in which long saccades and many regressions are considered to be indicative of a proactive reading style (Rayner et al. in Psychol Aging 21(3):448, 2006 ; Psychol Aging 24(3):755, 2009 ). We did so by presenting short texts—that confirmed or disconfirmed verb-based implicit causality expectations—to two types of readers: proactive readers (long saccades, many regressions) and conservative readers (short saccades, few regressions). Whereas proactive readers used implicit causality information to predict upcoming referents, and slowed down immediately when they encountered a pronoun that was inconsistent with these verb-based expectations, the conservative readers slowed down much later in the sentence. These findings were consistent with the predictions of the risky reading hypothesis and as such presented novel evidence for the general idea that the eye-movement profile of readers reveals valuable information about their processing strategy.

Crisis Mapping is a proper part of Crisis Informatics and Collaboration. This has come about mainly as a response to the major disasters of the last decade. Crisis Mapping has become a strong and effective tool for humanitarian workers especially after the Haiti earthquake of 2010. During the major floods in 2010, Czech Television was used for the very first time in social networks to involve thousands of citizens as sensors of the current state of affairs. Since that experience, Czech Television started experimenting with creating its own crisis map. These experiments resulted in The Crisis Map of the Czech Republic. The main goal of the paper is to evaluate The Crisis Map Web site design and to achieve maximal efficiency of manipulating and reporting user needs during crisis events.