Selective and sustained attention in children with spina bifida myelomeningocele

This study examined memory functioning in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (DS; velocardiofacial syndrome). An overall verbal better than nonverbal memory pattern was evident on the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL), with children with 22q11.2 DS performing significantly below their siblings and children with low average IQ but similar to children with autism on facial memory. Children with 22q11 DS also performed significantly below their siblings on tests of verbal working memory. Children with autism performed significantly poorer than the siblings of children with 22q11.2 DS only on their recall of stories. Delayed recall was significantly poorer in children with 22q11.2 DS and children with autism, compared to sibling controls. Although there were no significant group differences on tests of multiple trial verbal or visual learning, a relative weakness was noted with multiple trial visual learning in children with 22q11.2 DS and their siblings, suggesting that an alternative or interactive factor other than the deletion may account for the relatively better verbal compared to nonverbal memory abilities. Deficits in facial memory in children with both 22q11.2 DS and autism suggest disruptions in ventral temporal pathways such as between fusiform gyrus and parahippocampal/hippocampal regions whereas deficits in verbal working memory in children with 22q11.2 DS implicates dorsolateral prefrontal regions, both intimating aberrant white matter pathways.     

Neuropsychological Findings in Two Children Diagnosed with Hamartoses: Evidence of a NLD Phenotypic Profile

Hamartoses (HM) are defined as disorders involving nonneoplastic tissue overgrowth. Studies have examined the neuropsychological profiles of children with common HM, such as neurofibromatosis type 1. Limited information is known regarding neuropsychological profiles of rare HM such as Osteochondromatosis Syndrome (OS) and Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS). The current investigation is, to our knowledge, the first attempt to define the cognitive phenotypes in two boys with OS and KTS. Results revealed significantly greater impairments involving sensorimotor and visuospatial skills, while verbal memory and language skills appeared relatively preserved. Significant neurobehavioral problems and marked social difficulties were evident. These findings suggest that these syndromes are on a Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD) continuum, with varying degrees of severity.     

Auditory emotional cues enhance visual perception

Recent studies show that emotional stimuli impair performance to subsequently presented neutral stimuli. Here we show a cross-modal perceptual enhancement caused by emotional cues. Auditory cue words were followed by a visually presented neutral target word. Two-alternative forced-choice identification of the visual target was improved by emotional cues as compared to neutral cues. When the cue was presented visually we replicated the emotion-induced impairment found in other studies. Our results suggest emotional stimuli have a twofold effect on perception. They impair perception by reflexively attracting attention at the expense of competing stimuli. However, emotional stimuli also induce a nonspecific perceptual enhancement that carries over onto other stimuli when competition is reduced, for example, by presenting stimuli in different modalities.     

Commitment of Cultural Minorities in Organizations: Effects of Leadership and Pressure to Conform

Purpose  

In this study, we investigated the commitment of cultural minorities and majorities in organizations. We examined how contextual factors, such as pressure to conform and leadership styles, affect the commitment of minority and majority members.     

政党、民族与国家——中国现代政党-国家形态的历史-理论分析

文章以现代民族国家作为参照,系统地剖析了现当代中国的政党-国家形态演变的历史,阐释了中国现代政党-国家形态的思想和特征,从历史与经验两个层面分析了20世纪中国两大政党对于中国现代国家形态建构的决定性作用,探讨了政党-国家转型的可能性和主要问题.     

认知神经科学关于表象的研究

表象是不是除命题表征之外的一种独立的表征问题一直是心理学上争论不休的话题。争论的焦点主要在视觉表象与视知觉的关系上,有些研究发现视觉表象能够激活视觉系统,甚至能够激活较早的视觉皮质(如V1区),而且视知觉的选择性障碍也会导致相应的视觉表象障碍,但另外的研究却没有发现视觉表象能够激活较早的视觉皮质,而且发现视觉表象与视知觉存在双重分离。文章最后讨论了视觉表象研究中存在的一些问题。     

过度金融化的弊端及其对社会伦理文化的负面影响——对美国金融危机的哲学反思

美国金融危机是全球经济过度金融化的后果。过度金融化不仅形成了脱离实体经济发展水平的巨量金融资产泡沫,而且造成了储蓄动员机制、风险管理机制和分配调节机制等市场经济运行机制的蜕化。更为严重的是,过度金融化破坏了正常的经济生态,使私人资本的逐利本性凌驾于其他社会价值之上,人们的经济行为被恐惧和贪婪所统治。只有深刻认识过度金融化对于市场经济运行机制和社会伦理文化所造成的负面影响,才能在深化金融改革、扩大金融开放的过程中始终保持清醒的头脑,避免重蹈过度金融化的覆辙。     

工程化理学的两个基本问题

工程伦理学如今已成为伦理学领域的一支劲旅,相关问题的争论却愈演愈烈,极难达成伦理共识。至关重要的两个基本问题是:工程伦理学是否可能?工程伦理学为何种伦理学?实际上,工程伦理学不但可能,而且是具有鲜明的现实价值和实践意义的应用伦理学。     

Preventing Violence among Gang-Involved and High-Risk Youth in El Salvador: The Role of School Motivation and Self-Control

El Salvador, as a country of the Northern Triangle, exhibits significantly higher rates of crime and delinquency than the rest of the Latin American countries (World Bank 2011). Mass media portray transnational youth gangs in marginalized communities in Central American nations, such as El Salvador, as one of the main factors responsible for the high levels of violence. Few studies have empirically studied active youth gang members and high-risk youth in these contexts. Among the studies that have accessed active youth gang members, the focus has been on problem behaviors and risk factors analyses; little is known about what variables appear to serve as protective factors for these youth. Based on a cross-sectional sample of high-risk youth and youth gang members (n = 184) between the ages of 13 and 25 living in 10 urban communities in San Salvador, this study used linear regression modeling to analyze protective factors for three outcome variables: aggression, violence, and delinquency. Results reveal that self-control and school motivation act as important protective factors across the three domains, while school behavior is a protective factor of aggression and delinquency. Implications for community-based prevention and harm reduction policies are discussed.     

The Prediction of Students’ Academic Performance With Fluid Intelligence in Giving Special Consideration to the Contribution of Learning

The present study provides a new account of how fluid intelligence influences academic performance. In this account a complex learning component of fluid intelligence tests is proposed to play a major role in predicting academic performance. A sample of 2, 277 secondary school students completed two reasoning tests that were assumed to represent fluid intelligence and standardized math and verbal tests assessing academic performance. The fluid intelligence data were decomposed into a learning component that was associated with the position effect of intelligence items and a constant component that was independent of the position effect. Results showed that the learning component contributed significantly more to the prediction of math and verbal performance than the constant component. The link from the learning component to math performance was especially strong. These results indicated that fluid intelligence, which has so far been considered as homogeneous, could be decomposed in such a way that the resulting components showed different properties and contributed differently to the prediction of academic performance. Furthermore, the results were in line with the expectation that learning was a predictor of performance in school.