Assessing Proprioception in Children: A Review

Proprioception is the subconscious and conscious awareness of the spatial and mechanical status of the musculoskeletal framework. When working with children with motor delays and sensory integrative dysfunction, occupational therapists routinely assess the client's proprioceptive system. However, currently available assessments for occupational therapists are primarily observer-based and concerns have been raised about the reliability of observer-based assessments of sensation. The author's purpose was to review measures of proprioception currently available to occupational therapists and explore direct measures of proprioception from neuroscience and rehabilitation that can be adapted for pediatric clinical use. Observer-based and direct measurements of proprioception assessments complement each other in meeting clinical needs. A better understanding of both types of evaluation will improve proprioceptive evaluation.     

A Developmental Study of Chinese Children’s Word and Character Reading

To investigate the relationship between Chinese children’s character and word reading, 62 third and 50 fifth grade children in Hong Kong were asked to read single characters and words that were comprised of these characters. Results showed that words helped children to recognize characters for both grades of children. Compared to older children, younger children’s character reading was more likely to rely on the word that the character appeared in as a component; younger children made more errors in confusing the correct character with words related to it. Younger children’s greater rate of meaning-related errors also underscored the role of the word in their character learning. This study confirmed the important role of words in children’s character learning, and provided evidence for a developmental pattern of character and word reading in Chinese.     

All in the first glance: first fixation predicts individual differences in valence bias*

Surprised expressions are interpreted as negative by some people, and as positive by others. When compared to fearful expressions, which are consistently rated as negative, surprise and fear share similar morphological structures (e.g. widened eyes), but these similarities are primarily in the upper part of the face (eyes). We hypothesised, then, that individuals would be more likely to interpret surprise positively when fixating faster to the lower part of the face (mouth). Participants rated surprised and fearful faces as either positive or negative while eye movements were recorded. Positive ratings of surprise were associated with longer fixation on the mouth than negative ratings. There were also individual differences in fixation patterns, with individuals who fixated the mouth earlier exhibiting increased positive ratings. These findings suggest that there are meaningful individual differences in how people process faces.     

中国不同发展水平城市间幸福指数差异及收入对其的影响作用

对全国四种发展水平城市5471名被试的幸福感进行调查,探讨不同发展水平城市居民幸福指数差异及收入对其的影响作用。结果发现:从一线到四线城市,居民的总体和领域幸福指数都显著上升,二、三线城市显著高于一线,但又显著低于四线城市;个人收入对一线城市总体幸福指数无显著影响,但对二、三、四线影响显著;家庭人均收入对不同发展水平城市总体幸福指数的影响与个人收入的影响作用完全相反,即对一线城市总体幸福指数影响不显著,但对其它三线城市影响显著。以上结果表明不同发展水平城市间在总体和领域幸福指数上均存在差异,且不同收入对其总体幸福指数的影响作用有所不同。该结论对于中国的城市化建设具有一定启示意义。     

儿童的分配公平性:心理理论的作用

心理理论是影响儿童分配公平性的重要因素之一。"多重动机"的理论假设认为心理理论能够帮助儿童在不同的动机中权衡利弊,找到满足自我利益和他人需求之间的平衡;其中,感知需求、推断意图、理解情绪是影响独裁者博弈、最后通牒博弈、第三方惩罚中分配公平性的主要成分。未来研究需为此提供更多实证依据,探讨不同类型的公平分配与心理理论各组成成分的关系,以及可否通过训练心理理论能力促进儿童公平概念的发展。     

未来情景思考对目标达成的双刃作用及其机制

未来情景思考指个体想象并预先感受某个可能在未来发生的自我相关情景事件的心理加工,它对目标达成可产生双刃影响:一些思考方式会妨碍目标达成,如想象理想的结果或过程;而另一些思考方式则会促进目标达成,如过程模拟和想象较为消极的目标相关场景。对于未来情景思考是促进还是妨碍目标达成,动机水平的高低和执行意向的清晰程度可能是关键调节因素,相应的干预策略可通过增强这两者而将未来情景思考对目标达成的妨碍作用转化为促进作用。进一步的研究需系统探讨不同方式的未来情景思考影响目标达成的认知神经机制,并对目标特征和人格特点如何调节未来情景思考对目标达成的影响进行探讨。     

Conformity: moods matter

This study examined the hypotheses that positive mood enhances conformity and that negative mood reduces it. Participants were induced to feel positive, neutral, or negative moods and then answered, in private, six mathematical questions. They observed that wrong answers were unanimously given by five bogus participants for three of the questions. Conformity was measured by whether they indicated the erroneous answers given by these bogus participants in these three questions. The results were supportive of the hypothesis. The current results are consistent with past findings about mood differences in heuristic versus elaborative processing. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mobile Cultures of Migrant Workers in Southern China: Informal Literacies in the Negotiation of (New) Social Relations of the New Working Women

In this paper, we analyze the data collected through in-depth interviews of migrant workers in Southern China about their mobile cultures. In particular, we focus on understanding the role that mobile cultures play in female workers’ negotiation of their social and romantic relations and leisure space and how these negotiations are directly or indirectly facilitated by development of informal literacies through their frequent short message service communicative practices. These will help us understand the lifestyle aspirations and life trajectories of the new young working women in China who are experiencing the most rapid socioeconomic changes in society and negotiating their ways of life amidst much tension between old and new values governing lifestyle aspirations, familial, and gender relations.

组织公正管理——基于心理帐户的视角

组织公正管理对组织意义重大,心理契约的提出给我们动态的管理组织公正提供了指导,心理帐户的提出使我们对组织公正的评判过程有了进一步的了解.其中经济帐户主要与交易型心理契约关联,而情感帐户主要与关系型心理契约关联.并最终影响公平感.     

本教圣地黄龙风景名胜区的藏文化考察

在藏文化的视野中,黄龙是一方秀丽的山川,是一块宗教的圣地,是一座文化的宝库.黄龙藏语全称叫林青夏晓东日,简称东日,意思是东方的白螺圣山即简称白螺圣山.黄龙是本教母续二十五所道场中的一所,它的主人是一对被神格化了的夫妇,他们都是藏人保家护教之神.黄龙成为藏人心中圣地的历史可以追溯到四千年前的本祖辛饶米奥时代.多少年来,无论是历代本教大师还是普通信徒无不对黄龙的魅力增添无限的遇想,演绎许多美丽的传说.随着旅游事业的发展黄龙正面临着前所未有的机遇和挑战.