Thermal pleasure in built environments: physiology of alliesthesia

International standards that define thermal comfort in uniform environments are based on the steady-state heat balance equation that posits ‘neutrality’ as the optimal occupant comfort state for which environments are designed. But thermal perception is more than an outcome of a deterministic, steady-state heat balance. Thermal alliesthesia is a conceptual framework to understand the hedonics of a much larger spectrum of thermal environments than the more thoroughly researched concept of thermal neutrality. At its simplest, thermal alliesthesia states that the hedonic qualities of the thermal environment are determined as much by the general thermal state of the subject as by the environment itself. A peripheral thermal stimulus that offsets or counters a thermoregulatory load-error will be pleasantly perceived and vice versa, a stimulus that exacerbates thermoregulatory load-error will feel unpleasant. The present paper elaborates the thermophysiological hypothesis of alliesthesia with a particular focus on set-point control and the origins of thermoregulatory load-error signals, and then discusses them within the broader context of thermal pleasure. Alliesthesia provides an overarching framework within which diverse and previously disconnected findings of laboratory experiments, field studies and even comfort standards spanning the last 40 years of thermal comfort research can be more coherently understood.     

明末清初太仓乐郊园示意平面复原探析

明末清初太仓的乐郊园为当时江南地区首屈一指的名园,但对此园的研究尚不深入,与此园的历史地位并不匹配,这主要是由于历史材料的局限,也与研究方法有关。本文通过几种材料的综合比对判断,在获得历史材料间的关系认识基础上,针对两篇园记分别作出示意平面复原、并综合3种材料绘制总体示意平面图。以此为基础,进一步对乐郊园的布局构成、景物配置、营造过程等基本特点进行分析,从而对这一具有重要历史价值的园林作出认识上的推进。     

Electrophysiological correlates of emotional responding in schizophrenia.

People with schizophrenia consistently report normal levels of pleasant emotion when exposed to evocative stimuli, suggesting intact consummatory pleasure. However, little is known about the neural correlates and time course of emotion in schizophrenia. This study used a well-validated affective picture viewing task that elicits a characteristic pattern of event-related potentials (ERPs) from early to later processing stages (i.e., P1, P2, P3, and late positive potentials [LPPs]). Thirty-eight stabilized outpatients with schizophrenia and 36 healthy controls viewed standardized pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictures while ERPs were recorded and subsequently rated their emotional responses to the stimuli. Patients and controls responded to the pictures similarly in terms of their valence ratings, as well as the initial ERP components (P1, P2, and P3). However, at the later LPP component (500–1,000 ms), patients displayed diminished electrophysiological discrimination between pleasant versus neutral stimuli. This pattern suggests that patients demonstrated normal self-reported emotional experience and intact initial sensory processing of and resource allocation to emotional stimuli. However, they showed a disruption in a later component associated with sustained attentional processing of emotional stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic variation in pleasure in children predicts nonlinear change in lateral frontal brain electrical activity.

Individual variation in the experience and expression of pleasure may relate to differential patterns of lateral frontal activity. Brain electrical measures have been used to study the asymmetric involvement of lateral frontal cortex in positive emotion, but the excellent time resolution of these measures has not been used to capture second-by-second changes in ongoing emotion until now. The relationship between pleasure and second-by-second lateral frontal activity was examined with the use of hierarchical linear modeling in a sample of 128 children ages 6–10 years. Electroencephalographic activity was recorded during “pop-out toy,” a standardized task that elicits pleasure. The task consisted of 3 epochs: an anticipation period sandwiched between 2 play periods. The amount of pleasure expressed during the task predicted the pattern of nonlinear change in lateral frontal activity. Children who expressed increasing amounts of pleasure during the task exhibited increasing left lateral frontal activity during the task, whereas children who expressed contentment exhibited increasing right/decreasing left activity. These findings indicate that task-dependent changes in pleasure relate to dynamic, nonlinear changes in lateral frontal activity as the task unfolds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ending on a high note: Adding a better end to effortful study.

Remembered utility is the retrospective evaluation about the pleasure and pain associated with a past experience. It has been shown to influence prospective choices about whether to repeat or to avoid similar situations in the future (D. Kahneman 2000; D. Kahneman, D. L. Fredrickson, C. A. Schreiber, & D. A. Redelmeier, 1993). Evaluations about our hedonic past often disregard the duration of the experience and are influenced more by the peak and the final levels of discomfort (B. L. Fredrickson & D. Kahneman, 1993). Two experiments explored the remembered discomfort of an effortful learning experience and the influence of this evaluation on prospective study choices. The design of the studies mimicked D. Kahneman et al.'s (1993) cold-pressor study, but used an exceptionally challenging learning experience in place of the painful experience of submerging one's hand in ice water. An extremely effortful study episode extended by a more moderate interval was preferred to a shorter, unextended interval, despite better test performance following the shorter interval. Future study choices reflected this preference. These findings suggest that the act of acquiring knowledge has value in the learning process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Letter of Congatutulation

正I take great pleasure in congratulating CHINA FOUNDRY journal on its 10th anniversary.The CHINA FOUNDRY journal started ten years ago.Since its inaugural,China has seen exceptional growth in the Castings Sector and rapid development in Machinery Industry.The journal is becoming an important communication platform for experts     

Reply to Shill (2004).

Shill's (see record 2004-11107-008) claim that the intersubjective perspective does not address conflict and defense is glaringly mistaken. In his article on signal anxiety, Shill (2004) declared that "the intersubjectivist approach does not address issues of conflict and defense at all" (p. 119). Astoundingly, he seems to have made this absurd pronouncement without being aware of any of the numerous articles and chapters my collaborators and I have written on the subject of psychological conflict and defense over the past three decades, one of which was published in this very journal (Stolorow & Brandchaft, 1987). Our aim has never been to defocus emotional conflict but rather to contextualize it-that is, to locate it within constitutive intersubjective systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

画龙点睛一包

皮包对于每一位女士而言都具有双重价值，即使用价值与装饰价值。选择一款款式、颜色与衣服相得益彰的皮包，对自己的整体魅力而言，确实是点睛之笔。     

明确意义 突出重点 大力发展休闲农业与乡村旅游

文章在对休闲农业和乡村旅游进行定义解读的基础上,分析了四川休闲农业与乡村旅游的发展现状,阐述了加快发展休闲农业与乡村旅游的重大意义,提出了大力发展休闲农业与乡村旅游的思路、原则和对策措施。     

海河游船设计研究

在广泛调研的基础上,分析了游船的特点以及海河河道的特点,提出了针对海河特点的游船定位,最后,设计出一款鸟巢结构的游船产品。展望了海河两岸的提升改造,海河游船旅游成为游客休闲旅游的主要方式之一,它必将成为天津市旅游业的重要组成部分。