Tensorial basis to the constancy of perceived object extent over variations of dynamic touch

Subjects wielded occluded rods, with or without attached masses, and reported the distances reachable with their distal tips. Experiments 1–3 compared wielding about the wrist, the elbow, and the shoulder. Experiments 4 and 5 compared free wielding, using the whole arm, with wielding only about the wrist. The two comparisons, respectively, were of spatial and temporal variations in the rod’s rotational inertia. Perceived extent was found to be constant in both comparisons. This constancy was tied to the inertia tensorI _ij defined about a point that remains a fixed distance from the object during wielding—an invariant of the spatially and temporally dependent patterning of mechanical energy impressed upon the tissues of the body. Discussion focused on the reciprocal action and perception capabilities of multisegmented limbs, the tensorial relations in the neurobiology of dynamic touch, and the strategy of understanding perceptual constancy through invariants.     

Prerequisites to Human Activity on Mars: Scientific and Ethical Aspects

Humans want to go to Mars now. This entails many difficult but solvable challenges. However, human activity on Mars depends on the answers to three fundamental questions: (1) Is there life on Mars, does that life represent at second genesis of life? (2) Can Earth life, and humans in particular, adapt to the Martian gravity of 0.38?g, and will human generations on Mars speciate from humans on Earth? (3) Is there enough carbon, nitrogen, and water on Mars to create a global habitable environment? These answers must be determined on Mars and will decide the scope of human activities.     

Deference and Uniqueness

Philosophical Studies - Deference principles are principles that describe when, and to what extent, it’s rational to defer to others. Recently, some authors have used such principles to argue...     

Runword: An IBM-PC software package for the collection and acoustic analysis of speeded naming responses

Researchers generally collect two dependent measures from most types of speeded responses: reaction time and error proportion. Recently, experimenters have tested lexical theories using alternative empirical measures, such as response force in decision tasks and response duration in naming tasks. We offer a set of software tools that expands the battery of dependent measures normally available to naming experimenters to include various duration and intensity measures of digitized voice recordings. This article explains the functionality, programming logic, and theoretical motivation behind each measure, as well as the software to support digitized naming experiments. The software runs in DOS on IBM-PC-compatible hardware with SoundBlaster 16-bit sound cards, and it takes advantage of the decreasing costs of hard-drive space and digital sound cards.     

Validity of the German Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI‐G) in an Australian sample

Test anxiety (TA) is a prevalent issue among students that can result in deleterious consequences, such as underachievement. However, a contemporary measure that has been validated for use with Australian students seems to be lacking. This study, therefore, investigated the suitability of the German Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI‐G) for use with Australian university students. While the original TAI‐G contains 30 items and was designed to measure four factors (worry, emotionality, interference, and lack of confidence), differing factorial models have been supported in the literature using either the original or a shortened 17‐item version of the measure. These differing TAI‐G models were tested and compared in the current study via confirmatory factor analysis using 224 Australian university students. As expected, results supported the superior fit of the 17‐item four‐factor model. Additionally, the convergent validity of the measure was supported since measures of self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, and general anxiety were all found to correlate significantly with the TAI‐G in the hypothesised directions. Finally, the finding that all of the TAI‐G subscales had acceptably high reliabilities led to the conclusion that the 17‐item TAI‐G is a valid and reliable measure of TA in an Australian university population.     

Values interpretation: A new model for hospital ministry

The importance of values in clinical settings is a topic of increasing discussion in the medical literature, but the nature of values and the process of interpreting them have received little attention. The hospital chaplain or religious professional is an underused resource in addressing values issues. This paper summarizes the current models of the hospital chaplaincy in historical context, and then develops a new model drawn from the disciplines of pastoral care and clinical medical ethics in order to address problems involving values in clinical settings. The model construes the chaplain as values interpreter who provides both consultation and liaison functions in clinical situations. We present a clinical case to illustrate the role of the values interpreter. We conclude that the religious professional can make an important contribution to both clinical decision making and medical education through such a model.The authors thank Don S. Browning, Ph.D., and Thomas H. Jobe, M.D., for their critical readings of earlier versions of this paper.     

Mysticism and psychedelics: The case of the dark night

This study uses a model of consciousness derived from LSD-assisted psychotherapy to illumine an enigmatic set of painful experiences that occur on the mystic's path known in Western circles as the dark night. It argues that the dark night experiences described in John of the Cross's classic workDark Night of the Soul can be conceptualized in terms of Stanislav Grofs category of perinatal experience. The discussion examines the implications of this reconceptualization in three areas: (1) our understanding and evaluation of mysticism, (2) assessing LSD's potential for fostering genuine spirituality, and (3) reassessing the ancient claim that the capacity to experience transcendental states of being is innate.