Does selecting one visual object from several require inhibition of the actions associated with nonselected objects?

Four experiments are described in which 1 visual object (the target) was selected from another (the distractor) according to its color (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) or its relative location (Experiment 3) and then was classified according to a simple geometric property. Object classification was signaled as fast as possible by a precision or power grip response, and this grip was either compatible or incompatible with either object. When targets were selected by color, target-compatible grip responses were facilitated, but distractor-compatible grip responses were impaired. When targets were selected by location, similar results were obtained for target-compatible grip responses, but not distractor-compatible grip responses. These data are explained in terms of the involvement of action codes in object-level selection.     

Building information systems as universalized locals

We report on our experiences in a participatory design project to develop ICTs in a hospital ward working with deliberate self-harm patients. This project involves the creation and constant re-creation of socio-technical ensembles that satisfy the various, changing and often contradictory and conflicting needs in this context. Such systems are shaped in locally meaningful ways but nevertheless reach beyond their immediate context to gain wider importance and to be integrated with the larger environment. currently working on a participatory design project developing IT systems for psychiatrists working in a toxicology ward of a large general hospital. His research focuses on the local co-production of technologies which he currently explores in a production management context. His research interests lie in the field of human factors and interactive systems design, particularly approaches to IT systems design and development, the relationships between work and technology, and inter-disciplinary approaches to the design of dependable computing systems. carrying out a number of ethnomethodologically informed studies in a variety of applications. He holds a Ph.D. in ethnomethodology from the University of Manchester and is currently involved in research on computer-aided prompting systems for radiological work. He has interests in ethnomethodology, CSCW, SSK and the philosophy of social sciences. where he convenes an interdisciplinary research programme on ‘the social shaping of technology’.     

A survey of university counselling in the united kingdom and some observations on evaluation

Universities were surveyed about their counselling services during 1987 using a postal questionnaire. Information is presented from 44 universities and includes the extent of counselling provision in relation to the number of students, the staffing and accountability of the services, the needs of the clients and how they are met, and some theoretical and professional concerns mentioned by the counsellors. Finally, some observations are made on the need for more systematic evaluation of the services.     

A modern elaboration of the ramified theory of types

The paper first formalizes the ramified type theory as (informally) described in the Principia Mathematica [32]. This formalization is close to the ideas of the Principia, but also meets contemporary requirements on formality and accuracy, and therefore is a new supply to the known literature on the Principia (like [25], [19], [6] and [7]).As an alternative, notions from the ramified type theory are expressed in a lambda calculus style. This situates the type system of Russell and Whitehead in a modern setting. Both formalizations are inspired by current developments in research on type theory and typed lambda calculus; see [3].Supported by the Co-operation Centre Tilburg and Eindhoven Universities. ¹[32], Introduction, Chapter II, Section I, p. 37.Presented by Wolfgang Rautenberg     

Measuring clients' experience of careers guidance interviews: Exploratory studies

Initial findings of the development of a measure of client experience of the careers guidance interview are reported. Initially based on the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (Wolf et al., 1978), items were derived which sampled across affective, cognitive and behavioural components of careers interviewing. The scale is pilot tested on 60 15 and 16 year-old school pupils, of low academic potential and all of whom had experienced a careers interview with a careers officer. Initial results are only partially supportive of the findings of Wolf et al. (1978). Results of a further field study of the 20-item scale based on 54 careers interviews are also reported where factor analytic data are promising. The contribution of the scale in testing related hypotheses (e.g. met expectation hypothesis) is indicated.     

The definability of objective becoming in Minkowski spacetime

In his recent article On Relativity Theory and Openness of the Future (1991), Howard Stein proves not only that one can define an objective becoming relation in Minkowski spacetime, but that there is only one possible definition available if one accepts certain natural assumptions about what it is for becoming to occur and for it to be objective. Stein uses the definition supplied by his proof to refute an argument due to Rietdijk (1966, 1976), Putnam (1967) and Maxwell (1985, 1988) that Minkowski spacetime leaves no room for objective becoming whatsoever. However, Stein's proof does not seem to go far enough. By considering only what events have become from the standpoint of any given event, Stein's uniqueness proof fails from the outset to allow for a more general kind of becoming whereby it is understood to occur from the standpoint of events on the particular worldlines followed by observers. This suggests that there may, after all, be more than one way to define objective becoming in Minkowski spacetime once each observer's worldline is allowed to figure in the definition. This suspicion is further aroused by two recent proposals for objective, worldline-dependent becoming due to Peacock (1992) and Muller (1992) who advocate ways of defining becoming that are not equivalent to the definition Stein's uniqueness proof delivers. Nevertheless, we show that Stein's uniqueness proofcan be extended in a natural way to cover this more general kind of becoming, provided one does not enrich standard Minkowski spacetime by privileging certain sets of worldlines over others in an unwarranted manner. Thus we aim to reinforce Stein's point that standard Minkowski spacetime does make room for objective becoming, but in essentially only one way, despite arguments and proposals to the contrary.     

Coping with intractable controversies: The case for problem structuring in policy design and analysis

Intractable controversies and other types of policy disagreements correspond to policy problems with a different structure. The more structured a problem is, the more consensus there is about which values and information are at stake in the process of problem solving. Policymakers like to treat problems in as structured a way as possible. Three policy strategies are described to move away from the unstructured to the more structured problem type. However, policymakers run the risk of oversimplifying an ill-structured problem, which means that elements of the problem situation relevant to other actors are overlooked or denied. Hence, policy controversies may become intractable. The remedy is a fourth strategy, characterised by problem structuring. This strategy requires political participation of actors with different views on the problem, and an argued political problem choice. His main research areas are problem structuring in public policy, knowledge use, environmental risk, technology and democracy. He is currently working on knowledge-based policy strategies for addressing the issue of climate change. His research interest is to develop and apply discursive and/or argumentative approaches to the policy process.     

Research participation as a contract

In this article, I present a contractualist conception of human-participant research ethics, arguing that the most appropriate source of the rights and responsibilities of researcher and participant is the contractual understanding between them. This conception appears to explain many of the more fundamental ethical incidents of human-participant research. I argue that a system of contractual rights and responsibilities would allow a great deal of research that has often been felt to be ethically problematic, such as research involving deception, concealed research, and research on dependent populations. However, in defining the conditions under which such research should be permissible, my contractualist theory also makes it clear that there are limits -- and explains what those limits are -- to the propriety of such research.