Imitation and pantomime in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

A study was designed to test 2 alternative hypotheses--a symbolic hypothesis and an executive function hypotheses--for the imitation and pantomime deficits found in previous studies of autism. The subjects were 17 adolescent high-functioning subjects with autism spectrum disorders and 15 clinical comparison subjects who were matched on chronological age and verbal IQ. Meaning and sequence were manipulated in facial and manual imitation tasks. Sequence was manipulated in the pantomime and control tasks. Recognition memory and motor control tasks were matched to the experimental tasks. The results provided no support for the symbolic deficit hypothesis; meaning aided rather than hindered the performance of the group with autism. Partial support for the executive deficit hypothesis was found. There were no group differences on motor control tasks, and few on the memory control tasks, arguing against deficits in motor initiation, basic motor coordination, or visual recognition memory.     

Implicit processing in the cued recall of young and old adults.

Reports 2 cued recall experiments in which younger and older Ss studied target words varying in number of preexperimental associates. In Exp 1, targets were studied in either the absence or presence of meaning-related context cues, with recall always prompted by the cues. In the absence of context, words with smaller sets of associates were easier to recall than those with larger sets, but this effect was reduced for older Ss. The presence of a study context cue facilitated recall and eliminated the effect of associative set size for both ages. In Exp 2, targets were studied and tested in the presence of unrelated words. In this situation, words with smaller sets of associates were less likely to be recalled than words with larger sets; again the effect was reduced for older Ss. The results are interpreted as an age decrement in processing implicitly activated information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Large deformation and ultimate properties of biopolymer gels: 2. Mixed gel systems

Biphasic, mixed gels of agarose and gelatin were prepared, and their mechanical behaviour in tensile tests was determined, up to failure, utilising four decades of (constant) strain rate. The behaviour of pure agarose and pure gelatin in such tests has been determined previously. Suitable ‘blending-laws’ relating the small deformation shear modulus of the composite to the moduli of the component phases have also been discussed elsewhere. This report extends the latter treatment to the more aggressive large deformation regime, deriving bounds for modulus and break stress which closely model observed behaviour.     

Deviant auditory stimuli activate human left and right auditory cortex differently

Infrequent "deviant' auditory stimuli embedded in a homogeneous sequence of "standard' sounds evoke a neuromagnetic mismatch field (MMF), which is assumed to reflect automatic change detection in the brain. We investigated whether MMFs would reveal hemispheric differences in cortical auditory processing. Seven healthy adults were studied with a whole-scalp neuromagnetometer. The sound sequence, delivered to one ear at time, contained three infrequent deviants (differing from standards in duration, frequency, or interstimulus interval) intermixed with standard tones. MMFs peaked 9-34 msec earlier in the right than in the left hemisphere, irrespective of the stimulated ear. Whereas deviants activated only one MMF source in the left hemisphere, two temporally overlapping but spatially separate sources, one in the temporal lobe and another in the inferior parietal cortex, were necessary to explain the right-hemisphere MMFs. We suggest that the bilateral MMF components originating in the supratemporal cortex are feature specific whereas the right-hemisphere parietal component reflects more global auditory change detection. The results imply hemispheric differences in sound processing and suggest stronger involvement of the right than the left hemisphere in change detection.     

Work-arounds and Boundary Crossing in a High Tech Optronics Company: The Role of Co-operative Workflow Technologies

This study examines how some employeescoped with the exceptions that they encountered withtheir on-going use of a co-operative workflowtechnology in an optronics company. By drawing on thecase material, this paper will indicate thatapproaches which view work as being capable of beingplanned and managed through the formal authority ofthe hierarchy are insufficient. Instead, this paperwill suggest that exception handling, work-arounds andimprovisation are more characteristic of humanactivity. Computer supported co-operative work will beconceptualised as being embedded in a dynamicrelationship between the context it is situatedwithin, and the actors that engage in it. Theprinciples underlying ethnography have informed theresearch approach.     

Using Diary Methods to Study Marital and Family Processes.

Diary methods allow researchers to study marital and family processes within the context of daily life in a way that is not possible with more traditional methods. The authors review applications of diary designs in marital and family research and detail the types of research questions that can uniquely be asked of dyadic/family diary data. Technological developments for the use of electronic palm-top devices for implementing diary methods are also reviewed. Additionally, the authors discuss specific issues relevant to the analysis of diary data that come from dyads or families. Last, the authors raise unresolved issues and directions for future research in the use of diary methods for studying marital and family processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

生态建造：教育套餐和环境手册

生态建造是一个关注于传播建成环境中可持续性的需要以及促成可持续性的方式的项目。它针对于两个群体：16-19岁的学生，为他们制作了一个交互式的光盘；建造行业中的专业人员。光盘中提出了这样的问题--你的家和学校有多绿色？它说明了类似于建筑尺度和朝向的设计决策如何影响到建筑在能耗方面的表现和CO2的排放量。光盘包括了衡量如往宅温室节能效果的术语表，来解释它们对建筑的影响。这样学生们就可以对他们自己的学校和家进行评估，并提出怎样的设计可以提高它们的节能效果。如果我们想全球化地实现可持续性的未来，下一代的介入至关重要。环境手册中更深入地研究了这些问题，并关注到了其他建筑类型，如办公建筑。本文描述了正趋于完成的教育光盘和环境手册中涉及的一些根本的环境和教育因素。     

景观再造：面向新环境现实的新兴景观设计实践与教学

工业与制造业中心可以被看作更宜居和可持续的大都市工业景观的一部分,是地方和全球经济不断变化的场所以及解决能源、废弃物、代谢物问题的创造性的环境。重点介绍了“第五次工业革命”——一种当代景观的系统性转型：它将资源、治理结构、公民社会、人类认同、自然意义的变化与新的加工制造方法在2个尺度上相结合。这2个尺度包括：1）景观规划尺度,涉及与城市肌理相关的后石油经济工业区;2）景观设计尺度,涉及工业生态、垃圾填埋场、一系列的公共和社区开放空间以及景观中的能源利用。创造性地提出一种方法,即通过一系列立足于为自然环境和现代建成环境的未来提供多样选择的景观教学法,来探讨传统和现代的规划、设计、文化以及技术等主题。     

Activation of microcomponents with light for micro-electro-mechanical systems and micro-optical-electro-mechanical systems applications

We examine the light-activation properties of micrometer-sized gear structures fabricated with polysilicon surface micromachining techniques. The gears are held in place on a substrate through a capped anchor post and are free to rotate about the post. The light-activation technique is modeled on photon radiation pressure, and the equation of motion of the gear is solved for this activation technique. Experimental measurements of torque and damping are found to be consistent with expected results for micrometer-scale devices. Design optimization for optically actuated microstructures is discussed.