The lateralization of language comprehension using event-related potentials

Event-Related Potentials were recorded over occipital and parietal scalp from left- and right-handed adults presented with a language and a non-language visual stimulus using a divided field, "oddball" paradigm. The major finding of interest was that the P300 component was larger over the left than the right hemisphere of the right-handers when the language stimulus was presented to the left hemisphere; there were no hemispheric differences for the left-handers, regardless of field of presentation. These results are discussed in the context of developing noninvasive measures to lateralize language function.     

Delivering the last blade of grass: Aspects of the bodhisattva ideal in the Mahāyāna

The ideal of the bodhisattva was crucial in the development of the Mahāyāna branch of the Buddhist tradition. It provided a meeting ground for cardinal Mahāyānist doctrines concerning prajñã (wisdom), karunā (compassion) and ?ūnvatā (voidness), as well as introducing into Buddhism more overtly religious elements which help to account for its popular appeal in those areas where the Mahāyāna took hold. The vow of the bodhisattva to forego entry into nirvāna until all beings “down to the last blade of grass” have been delivered raises several apparent contradictions and condundrums; these disappear in the light of a proper understanding of the pivotal Mahāyānist doctrine of ?ūnvatā. This paper examines the relationship of the bodhisattva ideal to the metaphysic of sunyata and discusses the place of this ideal in the spiritual economy of the Mahāyāna.     

Book reviews

Enlightenment East and West Leonard Angel, 1994 Albany, State University of New York Press 388 pp.

Visions of Power: Imagining Medieval Japanese Buddhism Bernard Faure, trans, by Phyius Brooks, 1996 Princeton, Princeton University Press 329 pp.

Pāli Buddhism. Curzon Studies in Asian Philosophy Frank J. Hoffman & Deegaixe Mahinda (Eds), 1996 Richmond, Curzon Press xiii + 233 pp., ISBN 0 7007 0359 4, hb £40

Friendship East and West: philosophical perspectives Oliver Leaman (Ed.), 1996 Richmond UK, Curzon Press ix + 288 pp., ISBN 0 7007 0358 6, hb £40

Heidegger's Hidden Sources: East Asian Influences on his work Reinhard May, trans, by GRAHAM PARKES, 1996 London, Routledge xviii+ 121 pp., hb £35.00, pb £11.99

The Social Self in Zen and American Pragmatism Steve Odin, 1996 Albany, SUNY Press xvi + 482 pp., ISBN 0 9714 2492 8, pb $24.95

The Art of living. Aesthetics of the Ordinary in World Spiritual Traditions Crispin Sartwell, 1995 Albany, State University of New York Press xiv+ 163 pp., hb

East‐West Encounters in Philosophy and Religion Ninian Smart & B. Srinivasa Murthy (Eds), 1997 London, Sangam Books xxiii + 411 pp., ISBN 0 8613 2375 0, hb £24.95

Confucianism and Christianity: a comparative study of Jen and Agape Xinzhong Yao, 1996 Brighton, Sussex Academic Press viii+ 164 pp., ISBN 1 8987 2325 7, hb £35 and $55     

Referenzsemantik in der Partnermodellierung

How can we explain that an assertion on something perceived can be understood in the same manner by somebody who cannot perceive that scene? This problem bases the interest in computational linguistics in how listener modeling could possibly be harmonized with reference semantics. Mental images substituting real perception appear as a way out. The architecture of the listener model has to be adapted to the creation and use of such pictorial data structures. Furthermore, the relation between the latter and a verbal (i. e., propositional) representation must be understood. The resulting architecture of a listener model with reference semantics can be employed to solve communicational problems from three general classes in a better way, as is demonstrated by an example implementation.     

Adolescents' attitudes toward confidentiality between the school counsellor and the adolescent client

It is increasingly acknowledged that confidentiality is relative rather than absolute in any counselling relationship. This is particularly the case for minors receiving counselling at school, where third parties such as parents and teachers frequently have access to information about an adolescent client. The Australian Psychological Society's Code of Professional Conduct (1986) states that minors are unable to provide voluntary, informed consent in consulting relationships, although current research does not necessarily support this view. The current study investigated adolescents' attitudes to confidentiality in situations that may commonly arise in school counselling. The study also investigated the third parties to whom adolescents believed information should be disclosed by a counsellor. Respondents were 303 male and 254 female students attending three single-sex nongovernment schools. Ages ranged from 13 to 18 years. Results suggested that the adolescents' attitudes to confidentiality generally corresponded with adult views. Many adolescents wanted more autonomy regarding disclosure of information obtained in a counselling situation than the APS code provides. Parents were the only third party to whom the adolescents generally believed disclosure should be made. There were few age differences, but a wide range of opinions were evident, with female adolescents consistently more strongly in favor of confidentiality than males.     

The Contributions of Appearance to Occupational Outcomes in Civilian and Military Settings1

Two archival studies examined the impact of people's appearance on the status and type of civilian and military jobs they hold. Study 1 found that, although appearance was not related to job status, taller men had higher incomes. Additionally, appearance was significantly related to the type of jobs people held. Attractive women and tall men held jobs requiring traits more consistent with the attractiveness halo, while babyfaced women and short men held jobs more consistent with the babyface stereotype. These effects remained after controlling for job-relevant personality and educational variables, suggesting an unjustified bias toward people with certain appearances. Study 2 found that heavier men had lower job status, as reflected in military rank attainment. However, this relationship was eliminated when controlling for intelligence and dependability. Also, babyfaced men achieved higher status through being marginally more likely to win a military award. This unexpected effect was attributed to the contrast between heroic actions and the babyface stereotype. Finally, appearance affected the type of military experience men had. Heavier men were more likely to be in situations involving gunfire or casualties. These studies make an important contribution by extending laboratory findings to the real world, exploring the effects of appearance on job type as well as status, and providing evidence that appearance effects are not solely due to covariation with bona fide job qualifications.     

Vibrotactile pattern discrimination and communality at several body sites

In a series of experiments, the effects of spatial layout on vibrotactile pattern perception were explored by testing the ability to discriminate between two sequentially presented patterns that share active elements in the same spatial locations. Two-dimensional displays were used in order to examine the functional relationship between discrimination performance and patterncommunality, defined as the sharing elements, on different body sites. Accuracy of discrimination judgments was inversely proportional to communality, regardless of the number of pattern elements. For compact arrays fitted to the finger, palm, and thigh, the effects of communality appeared equivalent. The similarity between finger and thigh functions is remarkable, considering the dramatic differences between these sites in receptor components and structure. When these data were compared with those from arrays with distributed contactors, performance was substantially better with well-separated pattern elements. Such findings help to explicate how information from apposed patterns can best be delivered to the skin through tactile communication systems.