Activation of action rules in action observation.

Visually perceiving an action may activate corresponding motor programs. This automatic motor activation can occur both for higher level (i.e., the goal of an action) and for lower level (i.e., the specific effector with which it is executed) aspects of an action. The authors used a tool-use action paradigm to experimentally dissociate priming effects for observing the target, the movement, or the target-to-movement mapping of a tool-use action. In 3 experiments, participants took turns in acting, observing the tool-use action of another person in trial n-1, and executing an action in trial n. Trial transitions from n-1 to n were manipulated in 4 conditions with (a) mapping repeated and movement and target changed, (b) target repeated and movement and mapping changed, (c) movement repeated and target and mapping changed, or (d) all components repeated. Results indicate priming effects for repeating the target-to-movement mapping (i.e., the action rule) of a tool-use action and suggest that a rather abstract action schema is activated during action observation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sales and Use Taxation in E-Commerce: Where We Are and What Needs to be Done

As sales through the Internet have increased, states have sought to force remote sellers to collect and remit sales/use taxes. In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Constitutional obstacles, the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) was organized in 2000. SSTP is a voluntary effort by a number of states to address the Constitutional problems and reduce the burden of sales tax administration for all sellers in all types of commerce. This article examines the current state of the law and the major problems surrounding the SSTP.     

Burned area forecasting using past burned area records and Southern Oscillation Index for tropical Africa (1981-1999)

An 18-year time series of monthly NOAA-AVHRR Pathfinder Land burned area was analyzed for the region of tropical Africa, from July 1981 to June 1999. The transition period between NOAA-11 and NOAA-14 platforms from July 1993 to June 1995 was not included due to missing and outlier data. Stability of the time series was addressed for the input variables in the burned area algorithm, reflectance and temperature channels.A Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving-Average (SARIMA) model was developed for forecasting potential burned area. The SARIMA model identified an autoregressive regular term with 1-month lag and an autoregressive 12-month seasonal term with one season (12 months) component. A cross-correlation between Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and burned area was statistically significant predictor variable in a time series with 20-month lag. Results show that the SARIMA model with this predictor improved both, fitting and forecasting, residual variance, by 4.1% and 5.6%, respectively, thereby, demonstrating potential relationship between SOI and burned area for the study region. Forecasting was estimated by considering only the first 16 years of the monthly burned area in the time series, from July 1981 to June 1997. The prediction for the following 24 months (from July 1997 to June 1999) was within the 95% confidence level indicating that the forecast was a valid characterization of the modeled process.     

A theory of personalisation of appearance: quantitative evaluation of qualitatively derived data

Using qualitative data, Blom and Monk (2003) derived a theory of why people choose to personalise the appearance of their PCs and mobile phones. This paper describes some quantitative data that provide some support for, and some modifications to, the theory. Individuals having personal home pages were recruited to fill in a questionnaire that assesses dispositions to personalise and its effects. In addition the 82 home pages were inspected to assess the extent of personalisation. This correlated significantly with the dispositions 'Frequency of Use' and 'Knowledge of Personalisation'. The questionnaire items corresponding to effects were factor analysed. A four-factor solution suggested item groupings similar, but not identical, to those used in the theory. There are significant positive correlations between the extent of personalisation and cognitive effects and enduring emotional effects. The value of quantitative data for confirming and refining a qualitative theory is discussed.     

印制板蚀刻、微蚀刻废液的再生和铜回收的技术及设备

传统的印制板蚀刻废液处理方法存在着工艺落后、操作不便、二次污染、效益不高等问题,本工艺采用特殊的萃取电解、吸附电解技术,使蚀刻废液得以再生循环利用,铜得以100%回收,低含铜废水铜得到98%回收,整个系统不产生二次污染,获得的铜为高纯度铜板,在实现污染控制的同时,废液废水得到了资源化利用。     

用废聚苯乙烯塑料制备胶粘剂的综述

废聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料在自然界中不能自然降解而正成为严重的社会公害，其综合利用在当今社会越来越受到重视。本文着重分析了聚苯乙烯塑料在我国的消费状况并阐述了利用废旧泡沫塑料研制和开发各种不同用途胶粘剂的进展     

Impacts of green roofs and rain water use on the water balance and groundwater levels in urban areas

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Impacts of green roofs and rain water use on the water balance and groundwater levels in urban areas

     

Using information-systems constructs to study online- and telephone-banking technologies

The research literature has seen a number of studies aimed at understanding customer attitudes towards banking technologies, and thereby providing implications for developmental planning and marketing. However, even though banking technologies have a significant amount of information systems (IS) component to them, there is a paucity of research that considers them from the IS perspective. In this paper, we fill this gap by considering three constructs, namely usefulness, ease of use and usage, that are all rooted in the IS literature. We study user’s perceptions of these constructs, as well as the relationships among them, for both online and telephone banking.     

黄河三角洲河口地区土地利用及生态环境景观分析

通过人机交互解译1996年和2004年TM影像得到2期土地利用数据,求得到土地利用转移矩阵和各种生态环境景观指数。通过分析两期土地利用及景观结构指数之间的差异性,指出由自然和人为原因引起的生态环境的变化:研究区总面积有所减少,盐碱地改良后用于了鱼虾养殖,部分未利用地和水域盐碱化,区域景观类型丰富且均匀,局部破碎严重。