Homelessness in the UK: who is most at risk?

Is the common pressure group and media refrain that ‘we are all two pay cheques away from homelessness’ justified by the evidence? Drawing on multivariate analysis of two cross-sectional datasets (the ‘Scottish Household Survey’ and the UK-wide ‘Poverty and Social Exclusion’) Survey and one longitudinal data-set (the ‘British Cohort Study 1970’), this paper provides a systematic account of the social distribution of homelessness in the UK. Informed by a critical realist explanatory framework, our analysis underlines the centrality of poverty, especially childhood poverty, to the generation of homelessness, while also demonstrating the impact of broader labour and housing market contexts, and certain demographic, personal and social support characteristics. These findings reinforce the moral imperative for policy action on homelessness, while at the same time signalling opportunities to target preventative interventions on high risk groups.     

Built environment,causality and urban planning

Informed by critical realist philosophy of science, this paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the issue of causality within urban and planning research. The concept of causality dominating within certain influential disciplinary and philosophical traditions is difficult to reconcile with research into influences of the built environment on human actions. This paper promotes a conceptualizing of causality in terms of generative mechanisms operating in different combinations in normally non-closed systems, and discusses in what sense the built environment can be said to exert causal influences on human actions. In order to integrate knowledge about causal influences at the level of the individual and at the city level, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods is recommended.     

试论社会剖析派现实主义形成的历史原因及其艺术表现特征

社会剖析派是中国现实主义文学思潮中出现的一个重要文学流派，在当时及其以后 都产生了巨大影响。此派集中出现在３０年代，以茅盾为代表，其他重要作家有叶紫、沙汀、 吴组缃等。本文力图对此流派形成的缘由及其艺术表现特征作一次粗略的梳理和整合，从 而对此派创作现象有深层的把握。     

Relationship between scene complexity and perceptual performance for computer graphics simulations

An important goal for the design of visual displays is to determine how much realism or scene complexity to include in a computer simulation to reach a given level of performance. This is an important task since the present trend in computer graphics is to include the highest level of realism or scene complexity possible in a simulation. However, it may not be necessary to always include the highest level of realism or complexity to reach an acceptable level of performance. In fact, needless degrees of realism, and thus computational resources, may be wasted in the quest for ‘photographic’ realism. To study the relationship between scene complexity and human performance, three different simulations of scene complexity were modeled for a final approach task. The subject's task were to estimate two aspects of situation awareness, perceived altitude and aimpoint, during a simulated final approach at nine unique distances to threshold. The three levels of scene complexity included a homogeneous Lambertian shaded flat surface, farmlands, and farmlands with hills. The results indicated that increasing the level of scene complexity lead to better performance in judging both altitude and aimpoint during the simulated final approach. The relationship between scene complexity and perceptual performance for computer graphics simulations are discussed.     

The radical empiricism of William James and philosophy of history.

William James's philosophy of history is explored in his classic psychological and philosophical works and in 2 articles he devoted specifically to the topic. Historical issues are set forth in terms of James's individualism, pragmatism, and radical empiricism. It is argued that a Jamesian philosophy of history provides a reasoned and believable middle way between the extremes of realism and constructionism. James believed that historical change is brought about both by the contributions of individuals and by forces in cultures and the environment that help shape the direction of things. Finally, the author explores implications of James's pluralism for history and his quarrel with absolutistic conceptual schemes that attempt to reduce all things to 1 thing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ecological moral realism: An alternative theoretical framework for studying moral psychology.

The authors propose that the empirical study of human moral behavior as undertaken by positive psychologists, psychologists interested in the study of values, and experimental ethicists can be normative at its core, yet also remain truly scientific. To do this, those interested in the empirical study of human moral behavior should consider the concept of affordances, which is central to the Gibsonian ecological psychology tradition, as an approach to studying virtues and strengths. From this perspective, virtues can be better defined as part of moral analogues of affordances (MAAs). Just as the affordance "being-climbable" is a relation between climbing ability and height, so one can similarly define a MAA as an opportunity for moral behavior. Virtues, on this account, would be defined as abilities to behave appropriately in morally relevant situations. If one studies virtues as components of MAAs, virtues are only comprehensible in terms of morally relevant situations. Similarly, morally relevant situations are comprehensible only in terms of abilities to behave appropriately in them, that is, in terms of virtues. We believe that such an approach holds many advantages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The epistemology question in psychology.

That psychologists are debating epistemological questions appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon only if one has no appreciation for the history of the discipline. Whether we evoke the writings of Wundt, Hull, Tolman, or more recent cognitive psychologists, it is impossible to escape the recurrence of certain fundamental questions on the nature of psychological knowledge and the justification of that knowledge. Even Skinner is a remarkably adept epistemologist despite his avowal that theories of learning are not necessary. But psychology has been enthralled for the better part of this century by a caricature of the very science it would become, and, while it has been consistently and severely criticized for this mistake, it has shown itself to be remarkably immune to such criticism. Part of the reluctance to change has stemmed from the lack of a serious indigenous alternative to the hackneyed version of logical empiricism and its operationist credo that have held sway over the discipline for the better part of its life. The papers included in the present issue of Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne are a small wedge into the broader conversation concerning what it means to have psychological knowledge. Each of these was part of a symposium presented at the Canadian Psychological Association Meetings in Montreal in 1988 by the Section on the History and Philosphy of Psychology. Each of the four papers argues (a) against the status quo of the shop-worn operationism and its attendant claims which pass for epistemology in psychology, and (b) for a renewed emphasis of either some one form of realism or constructionism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

自行式高空作业平台工业设计研究

以北京京城重工机械有限责任公司产品GTBZ系列高空作业车的转动平台外观造型设计为例,说明了应用计算机辅助工业设计技术,实现高空作业车外观造型设计的设计程序以及其关键技术与方法,阐述了产品结构设计与外形设计同步进行的并行设计思想,并且说明了在计算机三维环境中实现产品的模拟真实感表现的相关内容,根据产品形象设计原理及产品外观的语意学规律,完成了高空作业车的转动平台外观设计和整车的色彩设计。     

Virtual Endoscopy in Research and Clinical Practice

Virtual endoscopy is among the most active topics in virtual medicine and medical imaging. It focuses on the virtual representation of minimally invasive procedures for training, planning and diagnosis without an actual invasive intervention. In the past few years, virtual endoscopy modes have been transferred from research systems in virtually every commercial medical imaging software, but with varying quality and flexibility. This report covers concepts used in current systems in research and products, and how they might be applied to daily practice in health care. Specifically, I will start with an introduction into virtual endoscopy and the related medical field. This will also include typical scenarios of virtual endoscopy applications as they appear in clinical practice. This part will be followed by a discussion of the technical issues of virtual endoscopy and how they are addressed in currently available systems. Among these issues are navigation through the respective body organ and the orientation aids for the users. In addition, I will highlight the different rendering techniques used and its impact on rendering speed and quality.