Note on Some Fixed Point Constructions in Provability Logic

We present a quite simple proof of the fixed point theorem for GL. We also use this proof to show that Sambin's algorithm yields a fixed point.     

Trunk and center of mass movements during gait in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Motion of the body center of mass (CoM) can often indicate the overall effect of the strategy of forward progression used. In the present study, focus is placed on trunk movements in the sagittal, coronal, and transverse/rotation plane, as well as placement of the CoM, during gait in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Seventeen children with JIA, all with polyarticular lower extremity involvement were examined before and approximately two weeks after treatment with intra-articular cortico-steroid injections. Movement was recorded with a 6-camera 3D motion analysis system in both the children with JIA and in 21 healthy controls. Trunk and center of mass movements were compared between JIA and controls, and effects of intra-articular cortico-steroid treatment were evaluated. Children with JIA were more posteriorly tilted in the trunk, contrary to the common clinical impression, and had their CoM placed more posterior and off-centred, which may have been a result of pain. With such knowledge, it might be possible to better understand the effects of their pain and involvement, and ultimately to plan a treatment strategy for improving their gait patterns.     

Investigating a computerised test of the Stroop effect extended by inclusion of a third, more difficult task

A validation study of a computerised test recently developed involving the Stroop effect, extended here by inclusion of a third, more difficult test series, is presented. Three groups of men belonging to the Swedish armed forces and adjudged to differ in their qualifications (20, 32, and 19 men of levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively) and a fourth group of 18 men convicted of serious crimes of violence were given this test, termed the Stress Strategy Test. Discriminant analysis of the test's 12 variables (four for each of the three test series) yielded a discriminant power of 65% for the total group, highest for the level 1 group (80%) and for the nonmilitary group (72%), results substantially better than obtained for the original version of the test with use of similar subject groups.     

Colour and Consciousness: Untying the Metaphysical Knot

Colours and consciousness both present us with metaphysical problems. But what exactly are the problems? According to standard accounts, they are roughly the following. On the one hand, we have reason to believe, about both colour and consciousness, that they are identical with some familiar natural phenomena. But on the other hand, it is hard to see how these identities could obtain. I argue that this is an adequate characterisation of our metaphysical problem of colour, but a mischaracterisation of the problem of consciousness. It mischaracterises the problem by presenting consciousness as more ‘colour-like’ than we have reason to take it to be. The real problem of consciousness is, I suggest, that almost nothing theoretically useful is known about this phenomenon at present. I also explore some implications of this perspective on the problem of consciousness. Given the shape of the problem, I argue that we can’t rule out all forms of eliminativism about consciousness. Nor can we rule out that future research will close the ‘explanatory gap’ that consciousness gives rise to.     

Stimulus-dependent dopamine release in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is related to an attenuated and dysfunctional dopamine system. Normally, a high extracellular dopamine level yields a tonic dopaminergic input that down-regulates stimuli-evoked phasic dopamine responses through autoreceptors. Abnormally low tonic extracellular dopamine in ADHD up-regulates the autoreceptors so that stimuli-evoked phasic dopamine is boosted. The authors propose that these boosted phasic responses yield hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli in ADHD. Stimuli evoking moderate brain arousal lead to well-functioning performance, whereas either too little or too much stimuli attenuate cognitive performance. Strong, salient stimuli may easily disrupt attention, whereas an environment with impoverished stimuli causes low arousal, which is typically compensated for by hyperactivity. Stochastic resonance is the phenomenon that makes a moderate noise facilitate stimulus discrimination and cognitive performance. Computational modeling shows that more noise is required for stochastic resonance to occur in dopamine-deprived neural systems in ADHD. This prediction is supported by empirical data.     

Cross-cultural comparison of motivation to learn in physical education: Japanese vs Swedish schoolchildren

The present study compared differences between Japanese and Swedish schoolchildren in learning motivation-related variables in physical education. The subjects were 1,562 Japanese fifth and sixth graders (776 boys and 786 girls) ranging in age from 10 to 12 years and 573 Swedish fifth graders (306 boys and 267 girls) from 10 to 13 years (M = 11.4, SD = 0.5). They completed three questionnaires to evaluate the children's learning motivation, factors supporting motivation to learn, and preferences of learning behavior. The questionnaires were taken from Nishida's Diagnosis of Learning Motivation in Physical Education Test, a multidimensional and comprehensive test that measures learning motivation. A 2 x 2 (country by sex) multivariate analysis of variance indicated both Swedish boys and girls scored significantly higher than the Japanese children on most subscales. Results were discussed in relation to differences in the sports environment and culture of the two countries.     

Can Sex‐Undifferentiated Teacher Expectations Mask an Influence of Sex Stereotypes?Alternative Forms of Sex Bias in Teacher Expectations1

This research investigated different forms of sex bias in teacher expectations relative to gymnastics performance. First, a laboratory experiment including 163 physical education teachers confirmed that stereotypes favorable to boys may influence teacher expectations in gymnastics. Next, a naturalistic study involving 15 teachers and 422 students showed that teachers expected no sex differences, even though girls performed better than boys. However, this sex bias was a result of reliance on nondiagnostic student personal characteristics favorable to boys, rather than on a stereotype per se. These results suggest that egalitarian beliefs may mask a bias in favor of a social group when group differences actually exist, and that sex‐biased teacher expectations do not inevitably involve an influence of sex stereotypes.     

Verbal predicates foster conscious recollection but not familiarity of a task-irrelevant perceptual feature – An ERP study

Research on the effects of perceptual manipulations on recognition memory has suggested that (a) recollection is selectively influenced by task-relevant information and (b) familiarity can be considered perceptually specific. The present experiment tested divergent assumptions that (a) perceptual features can influence conscious object recollection via verbal code despite being task-irrelevant and that (b) perceptual features do not influence object familiarity if study is verbal-conceptual. At study, subjects named objects and their presentation colour; this was followed by an old/new object recognition test. Event-related potentials (ERP) showed that a study-test manipulation of colour impacted selectively on the ERP effect associated with recollection, while a size manipulation showed no effect. It is concluded that (a) verbal predicates generated at study are potent episodic memory agents that modulate recollection even if the recovered feature information is task-irrelevant and (b) commonly found perceptual match effects on familiarity critically depend on perceptual processing at study.     

Cadre et concepts-clés de la psychologie communautaire

Community psychology has been developed since the 1960s in North America, whereas its development is much more recent in Europe. It differs from traditional models of psychology by its conception of users and communities as collaborators. This field requires from psychologists that they extend their competencies to prevention and mental health promotion. It lays on a positive conception of the individual and of health, and seeks the investment of users in the development of local mental health models and resources. This paper aims at presenting the history of community psychology, its conceptual framework and its specificities, with regards to traditional models.