Getting real in analysis

The author uses a detailed clinical example to illustrate how reality testing can create rather than foreclose opportunities for analytic investigation. He proposes that authentic analysis of transference within the treatment relationship requires close and explicit attention to be paid to considerations of reality, but in a way that does not require the patient to defer to the analyst's view. The author reconsiders certain conceptions of a special psychoanalytic reality, of regression in clinical analysis, and of the nature of free association, suggesting that they tend to discourage the realism necessary to effective psychoanalytic work. In this context, he underlines the importance of ongoing reference to therapeutic outcome as an aspect of reality, and reflects upon the impact of the reality of the analytic treatment setting and the question of termination.     

The utility of motion parallax information for the perception and control of heading

Two experiments in which participants were given control over the direction of computer-simulated self-motion were conducted. Environments were designed to evaluate the functionality of simple and multiple motion parallax as well as a separation ratio (sigma; indexing the separation of 2 objects in depth) for the perception and control of heading. Results provide a 1st indication of optimizing performance in the top end of the global optical flow velocity range available during human bipedal self-motion. The introduction of sigma, developed to explain performance improvements with decreasing distance to the target, was able to account for most of the performance differences among all simulated environments. The rate of change in horizontal optical separation between at least 2 discontinuities was identified as a likely candidate for the optical foundation of the perception and control of heading during target approach.     

Increasing Safety Belt Use: Effects of Modeling and Trip Length1

Effects of modeling on car safety belt use were investigated in a field experiment. Modeling, anticipated trip length, and gender of the model were manipulated in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Sixty-four female college students were told that they were to participate in an experiment that would take place in another location, requiring a drive either of less than one mile or of several miles. The driver either used or did not use a safety belt. Subjects' belt use was significantly related to the model's behavior. When the driver used a safety belt, 77.4% of the subjects used one; when the driver did not use a safety belt, only 313% of the subjects used one. A significant effect for trip length was also found. In the long trip condition, 71.9% of the subjects used a belt; in the short trip condition, 35.5% used one. Results are interpreted as support for a social learning theory approach to increasing voluntary safety belt use.     

Working memory and attention in pediatric brain tumor patients treated with and without radiation therapy

Children are at risk for cognitive difficulties following the diagnosis and treatment of a brain tumor. Longitudinal studies have consistently demonstrated declines on measures of intellectual functioning, and recently it has been proposed that specific neurocognitive processes underlie these changes, including working memory, processing speed, and attention. However, a fine-grained examination of the affected neurocognitive processes is required to inform intervention efforts. Radiation therapy (RT) impacts white matter integrity, likely affecting those cognitive processes supported by distributed neural networks. This study examined working memory and attention in children during the early delayed stages of recovery following surgical resection and RT. The participants included 27 children diagnosed with pediatric brain tumor, treated with (n = 12) or without (n = 15) RT, who completed experimental and standardized measures of working memory and attention (n-back and digit span tasks). Children treated with radiation performed less well than those who did not receive radiation on the n-back measure, though performance at the 0-back level was considerably poorer than would be expected for both groups, perhaps suggesting difficulties with more basic processes such as vigilance. Along these lines, marginal differences were noted on digit span forward. The findings are discussed with respect to models of attention and working memory, and the interplay between the two.     

Selective tuning of the right inferior frontal gyrus during target detection

In the human brain, a network of frontal and parietal regions is commonly recruited during tasks that demand the deliberate, focused control of thought and action. Previously, using a simple target detection task, we reported striking differences in the selectivity of the BOLD response in anatomically distinct subregions of this network. In particular, it was observed that the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) followed a tightly tuned function, selectively responding only to the current target object. Here, we examine this functional specialization further, using adapted versions of our original task. Our results demonstrate that the response of the right IFG to targets is a strong and replicable phenomenon. It occurs under increased attentional load, when targets and distractors are equally frequent, and when controlling for inhibitory processes. These findings support the hypothesis that the right IFG responds selectively to those items that are of the most relevance to the currently intended task schema.     

ONE ENCHANTED BEING: NEUROEXISTENTIALISM AND MEANING

The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World is my attempt to explain whether and how existential meaning is possible in a material world, and how such meaning is best conceived naturalistically. Neuroexistentialism conceives of our predicament in accordance with Darwin plus neuroscience. The prospects for our kind of being-in-the-world are limited by our natures as smart but fully embodied short-lived animals. Many find this picture disenchanting, even depressing. I respond to four criticisms of my relentless upbeat naturalism: that naturalism can make no room for norms, for values; that I overvalue truth at the expense of happiness; that I underestimate the extent to which supernaturalism has made peace with naturalism; and that I can give no account for why humans as finite animals should want to overcome our given natures and seek impersonal, self-transcendent value.     

Reviewing policies on satellite broadcasts in east asia: New technology,political economy,and civil society

As an instrument of national integration, domestic television in many post-colonial countries has long neglected cultural minorities. Transnational television via newer satellite and cable technologies has been able to target cross-border ethnic groups which then constituted viable audience markets. Governments in Asia sought initially to control access to transnational broadcasts out of paternalistic nationalism, but audiences and entrepreneurs have circumvented such policies. Thus over the last decade the political economy of television in countries such as Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have been transformed, though in differing ways. Belated media deregulation has often led to alliances between business and political elites. This paper argues that most policy developments in Asian television have been driven by business and government imperatives rather than by civil society involvement. Australia where he teaches marketing and international business. His eclectic research interests include the political economy of international communications, globalization/transnationalization strategies, cross-cultural dimensions in marketing and management, and ethical issues in post-industrial society. Prior to a 15-year academic career across four universities in the Asia-Pacific region, Amos worked for twelve years in multinational corporations, NGOs, and government.