Cognitive abilities,digital games and arithmetic performance enhancement: A study comparing the effects of a math game and paper exercises

Besides entertainment, games have shown to have the potential to impact a broader variety of cognitive abilities. Research has consistently shown that several aspects in cognition such as visual short-memory, multitasking and spatial skills can be enhanced by game play. In a previous study, it was found that playing Monkey Tales, a game aimed at training arithmetic skills, helped second grade pupils to increase their accuracy in mental calculation as compared to paper exercises. In this follow up study we explore whether traditional methods and game training differ in terms of the cognitive processes that both are able to impact. We incorporated standardized measures of working memory and visuo-motor skills. Additionally, the mathematics game was modified and its contents extracted to allow precise comparison between the gaming and paper exercises condition. Thus each single math exercise, type of question (e.g., multiple choice), quantity and order was perfectly matched in the game training and the traditional training conditions. Gains in arithmetical performance, and self-reported measures of enjoyment were also investigated. We found some evidence suggesting that arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises differ not only in terms of enjoyment but also of working memory capacity improvements.     

浅析HPT250轧机中滑移系数对轧制过程的影响

通过HPT250轧机在技术改造中遇到的一个问题，即滑移系数对冷轧元缝钢管在轧制过程中所起的作用。在实际生产中经过不断的技术研究和改进。使闲置多年的HPT250轧机为钢管公司的生产迭拉起到很大的作用。     

哈得4联合站技术改造

位于塔克拉玛干大沙漠腹地的哈得4油田,2004年成为全国最大的沙漠油田,2005年产量达到200×104t。在对联合站存在问题逐一分析的基础上,提出了技术改造的措施。现场采集的运行数据表明技术改造效果明显,增强了流程可靠性,提高了自动化水平,降低了能耗。     

四级蒸馏在常减压装置扩能改造中的应用

四级蒸馏工艺在镇海炼化第二套常减压装置扩能改造中得以成功应用,为新工艺在常减压装置扩能改造中的推广应用提供了可靠的经验。     

双塔脱丙烷工艺技术

对扬子乙烯装置双塔脱丙烷系统低压塔液泛、高压塔再沸器堵塞等问题进行了技术分析,提出了工艺流程修改方案,完善了双塔脱丙烷技术,对同类装置有参考价值。     

大麻工艺纤维长度与细度的相关性初探

通过对大麻工艺纤维长度和直径投影宽度的相关性研究，认为大麻工艺纤维长度和细度之间存在“越长越粗，越短越细”的规律。     

When Teachers' and Parents' Values Differ: Teachers' Ratings of Academic Competence in Children From Low-Income Families.

The authors examined predictors of teachers' ratings of academic competence of 105 kindergarten children from low-income families. Teachers rated target children's expected competence in literacy and math and completed questions about their perceptions of congruence-dissonance between themselves and the child's parents regarding education-related values. Independent examiners assessed children's literacy and math skills. Teachers' instructional styles were observed and rated along dimensions of curriculum-centered and student-centered practices. Controlling for children's skills and socioeconomic status, teachers rated children as less competent when they perceived value differences with parents. These patterns were stronger for teachers who exhibited curriculum-centered, rather than student-centered, practices. The findings suggest a mechanism by which some children from low-income families enter a path of diminished expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived stress management skill mediates the relationship between optimism and positive mood following radical prostatectomy.

This study evaluated relations among optimism, perceived stress management skills (PSMS), and positive mood in 46 men who had surgical treatment for localized prostate cancer. The authors found that optimism, PSMS, and positive mood scores were positively correlated. Positive mood was unrelated to demographic and disease-related control variables. In a hierarchical regression model controlling for PSMS, the relationship between optimism and positive mood became nonsignificant, whereas PSMS remained a correlate of positive mood. Results suggest that the relationship between optimism and positive mood may be mediated by belief in being able to use stress management techniques effectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manual dexterity of older Mexican American adults: a cross-sectional pilot experimental investigation

This paper reports results from an experimental pilot study performed to quantify the manual dexterity of older Mexican American adults. The Purdue pegboard test, a two-arm coordination test, and a hand-tool dexterity test were used in this study. To enable cross-sectional comparisons of manual dexterity measures of older Mexican American adults with young Mexican American adults, these tests were administered to 18 older Mexican American adults aged 63–85 (mean age: 71.3 years, SD: 7.0 years), recruited from senior recreation centers in El Paso, and eighteen young adults aged 21–32 (mean age: 25.6 years, SD: 3.8 years) recruited from the student body at the University of Texas at El Paso. For the Purdue pegboard test, the number of pegs placed in 30 s using the preferred hand, the non-preferred hand, and both hands were first individually monitored. Then, scores on an assembly task using the Purdue pegboard were obtained. For the two-arm coordination test, participants were required to trace a star pattern with a stylus using both hands. The time for task completion and the number of errors made during task performance were monitored. For the hand-tool dexterity test, participants were required to use common hand tools and remove nuts and bolts from one side of a wooden upright, and to assemble nuts and bolts in the corresponding holes on the other side of the upright. The time taken for task completion was recorded. Since modified Levene's test showed equality of variances, two sample t-tests, comparing the mean responses of older adults with the mean responses of young adults for each individual test, were conducted. Results indicate that responses for the older adults were statistically significant different (p<0.001) from young adults for all Purdue pegboard tasks. On the average, older adults performed significantly slower (p<0.001) than young adults on the two-arm coordination test, and committed more errors before task completion (p<0.05). Older adults also took longer to complete the hand-tool dexterity task compared to their younger counterparts (p<0.05). In addition to the t-tests, manual dexterity performance measures from older adults were regressed with age to determine the cross-sectional age effects on manual dexterity measures. Results indicate that all Purdue pegboard performance measures were significantly affected by age (p<0.05). The time to complete the two-arm coordination test was significantly linearly related to age (p<0.05). However, the number of errors committed by older adults in the performance of the two-arm coordination test was not significantly linearly related to age. Time to complete the hand-tool dexterity was also significantly linearly related to age (p<0.05). Accommodating age-related changes in manual dexterity is important for job design in industry, especially in industries employing older adults requiring significant assembly and hand-tool use.

Relevance to industry

Given the aging of the industrial workforce, it is important to understand how manual dexterity is affected by age, so that jobs requiring significant manual dexterity for task initiation, task performance and task completion are designed to fit older adult dexterity levels.     

硫酸钙氨法制取硫酸钾新工艺的实验研究

利用K2 +2 ,Ca2 +/ /SO2 -4 ,Cl2 -2 ,NH3—H2 O混合体系相图作为工艺指导 ,进行硫酸钙制取硫酸钾工艺的相图研究和分析 ,确定实验优选因素及水平并进行正交实验 ,根据实验结果进行极差分析 ,得出新的结论。合适的工艺条件为 :氨浓度为 40 % ,配料比n( 2KCl) :n(CaSO4 ·2H2 O)为 1:1,反应温度为 5℃ ,反应时间为 1h。