Active vehicle pitch motion for communication in automated driving

The number of automated vehicles (AVs) is expected to successively increase in the near future. This development has a considerable impact on the informal communication between AVs and pedestrians. Informal communication with the driver will become obsolete during the interaction with AVs. Literature suggests that external human machine interfaces (eHMIs) might substitute the communication between drivers and pedestrians. In the study, we additionally test a recently discussed type of communication in terms of artificial vehicle motion, namely active pitch motion, as an informal communication cue for AVs.N = 54 participants approached AVs in a virtual inner-city traffic environment. We explored the effect of three communication concepts: an artificial vehicle motion, namely active pitch motion, eHMI and the combination of both. Moreover, vehicle types (sports car, limousine, SUV) were varied. A mixed-method approach was applied to investigate the participantś crossing behavior and subjective safety feeling. Furthermore, eye movement parameters were recorded as indicators for mental workload.The results revealed that any communication concept drove beneficial effects on the crossing behavior. The participants crossed the road earlier when an active pitch motion was present, as this was interpreted as a stronger braking. Further, the eHMI and a combination of eHMI and active pitch motion had a positive effect on the crossing behavior. The active pitch motion showed no effect on the subjective safety feeling, while eHMI and the combination enhanced the pedestrianś safety feeling while crossing. The use of communication resulted in less mental workload, as evidenced by eye-tracking parameters. Variations of vehicle types did not result in significant main effects but revealed interactions between parameters. The active pitch motion revealed no learning. In contrast, it took participants several trials for the eHMI and the combination condition to affect their crossing behavior. To sum up, this study indicates that communication between AVs and pedestrians can benefit from the consideration of vehicle motion.     

Australian parents’ willingness to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied children

This study aimed to identify the key factors associated with Australian parents' willingness to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren). Six hundred and thirty-one participants completed an online survey (M = 39.2 years, SD = 10.5, Range = 18.0–70.0 years; Female: 63.4%). Most participants (62.1%) reported that they would 'never' use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child(ren). The results of a logistic regression model showed that participants': previous use of a rideshare vehicle with their child, annual mileage, propensity for technology adoption, aberrant driving behaviours, as well their requirements for vehicle features were significantly associated with their willingness to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied child, χ2(7) = 159.59, p < 0.001. Overall, the findings suggest that Australian parents are mostly ‘unwilling’ to use a rideshare vehicle to transport their unaccompanied children. Understanding the views of parents towards emerging transportation modes for their children is crucial for urban planning, traffic engineering, economic and social mobility and ultimately, on supporting safe modes of transportation.     

Toward Relationship‐Directed Parenting: An Example of North American Born Second‐Generation Korean‐American Mothers and their Partners

Historically, parenting has been constructed hierarchically; however, contemporary parenting models frequently emphasize parenting as relationship (Siegel & Hartzell [2004] Parenting from the inside out: How a deeper self‐understanding can help you raise children who thrive; Tuttle, Knudson‐Martin, & Kim [2012] Family Process, 51, 73–89). Drawing on interviews with 20 North American born second‐generation Korean–American mothers and their partners, and sensitized by TP‐CRO, a social constructionist framework for conceptualizing parent–child relational orientations, this grounded theory analysis identified three main processes that facilitate relational connection as a parenting orientation rather than the rule‐directed approach historically associated with first‐generation immigrant Asian families. These include: (a) emphasizing dominant culture values; (b) inviting open communication; and (c) promoting mutuality. Results also show how parents integrate collectivist cultural values of their first generation immigrant parents' traditional culture into North American parenting ideals with which they primarily identify. The study demonstrates the usefulness of the TP‐CRO for understanding parent–child relationships within multicultural parenting contexts and offers suggestions for working with second‐generation Korean families.     

Social eye gaze modulates processing of speech and co-speech gesture

In human face-to-face communication, language comprehension is a multi-modal, situated activity. However, little is known about how we combine information from different modalities during comprehension, and how perceived communicative intentions, often signaled through visual signals, influence this process. We explored this question by simulating a multi-party communication context in which a speaker alternated her gaze between two recipients. Participants viewed speech-only or speech + gesture object-related messages when being addressed (direct gaze) or unaddressed (gaze averted to other participant). They were then asked to choose which of two object images matched the speaker’s preceding message. Unaddressed recipients responded significantly more slowly than addressees for speech-only utterances. However, perceiving the same speech accompanied by gestures sped unaddressed recipients up to a level identical to that of addressees. That is, when unaddressed recipients’ speech processing suffers, gestures can enhance the comprehension of a speaker’s message. We discuss our findings with respect to two hypotheses attempting to account for how social eye gaze may modulate multi-modal language comprehension.     

ANALYTIC MIND USE AND INTERPSYCHIC COMMUNICATION: DRIVING FORCE IN ANALYTIC TECHNIQUE,PATHWAY TO UNCONSCIOUS MENTAL LIFE

Developed from established psychoanalytic knowledge among different psychoanalytic cultures concerning unconscious interpsychic communication, analysts' use of their receptive mental experience—their analytic mind use, including the somatic, unconscious, and less accessible derivatives—represents a significant investigative road to patients' unconscious mental life, particularly with poorly symbolized mental states. The author expands upon this tradition, exploring what happens when patients unconsciously experience and identify with the analyst's psychic functioning. The technical implications of the analyst's “instrument” are described, including the analyst's ego regression, creation of inner space, taking mind as object, bearing uncertainty and intense affect, and self‐analysis. Brief case vignettes illustrate the structure and obstacles to this work.     

Maternal and paternal infant representations: A comparison between parents of term and preterm infants

Objective

Research on parental attachment representations after preterm birth is limited and inconclusive. The present study is the first in which maternal and paternal attachment representations after term, moderately and very preterm birth are compared. In addition, special attention was directed toward disrupted attachment representations.

Method

Mothers and fathers of term infants (≥37 weeks of gestational age, n = 71), moderately preterm infants (≥32–37 weeks of gestational age, n = 62) and very preterm infants (<32 weeks of gestational age, n = 56) participated in the present study. Attachment representations (balanced, disengaged, distorted) about their infants were evaluated with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI). To asses disrupted representations the coding of the WMCI was extended with the disrupted scale (WMCI-D).

Results

The three main classifications of attachment representations were not affected by preterm birth. In addition, there were no gender differences in the rate of balanced representations. In case of non-balanced representations however, maternal representations were more often distorted, whereas fathers showed more often disengaged representations. Results further revealed that maternal disrupted attachment representations were marked by role/boundary confusion or disorientation, whereas paternal disrupted attachment representations were characterized by withdrawal.

Conclusion

Given the gender differences it is essential to tailor interventions according to the attachment representations of the parent, in order to be able to alter their non-balanced and/or disrupted attachment representations.     

First symbols in a girl with Down syndrome: A longitudinal study from 12 to 18 months

Symbolic uses of objects originate in communicative and triadic contexts (adult–child-object). In this longitudinal study we explore the emergence and development of the first symbolic uses in triadic interaction contexts in a girl with Down syndrome between 12 and 18-months of age. We conducted five sessions of video recording, at 12, 13½, 15, 16½, and 18 months chronological age. At each session we videotaped the girl and her mother interacting with different objects. Data were coded in semiotic categories used in previous studies (Rodríguez & Moro, 1999) and a microgenetic analysis was conducted for each session. The first symbolic uses by the girl appeared at 13½ months. Symbols were of different types and levels of complexity, and the adult had an important role in facilitating the production of these symbols.     

Collaborative mother–toddler communication and theory of mind development at age 4

Focusing on social pragmatics, this longitudinal study investigated the contribution of mother–toddler collaborative communication to theory of mind (ToM) development at age 4. At age 2½, 78 toddlers (42 boys) and their mothers were observed during pretend play. At age 4, children were tested using 4 false belief understanding tasks. Both mothers and toddlers engaged in more collaborative (inform, guide/request, and support/confirm) than non-collaborative communication acts. Other-focused collaborative acts of support/confirm by mothers and toddlers predicted children's false belief understanding, even after controlling for 5 covariates. In addition, as active agents in their own ToM development, the contribution of toddlers' collaborative acts to false belief understanding was independent of their mother's. Finally, the way toddlers and their mothers co-constructed their communication mattered. Only when toddlers engaged in high levels of collaborative acts, the mothers' high levels of collaborative acts demonstrated a positive effect on children's ToM development. The applied implications of these findings are discussed.     

医学影像学见习应用PACS教学法与传统读片教学法的对比研究

将中南大学湘雅医学院2010级临床医学五年制197名学生随机分成两组,在医学影像学见习教学过程中分别应用影像存储及传输系统（PACS）教学法（98人）及传统读片教学法（99人）,学期结束时对两组学生考试成绩进行分析,并对PACS组学生进行问卷调查及结果分析.统计数据显示,PACS组学生读片测验及卷面考试中,病例分析题成绩显著高于传统读片组,问卷调查显示PACS组学生大多数认可该教学方法.因此,应用PACS教学有助于提高学生的临床分析能力及主动学习的能力,是学生欢迎的教学方式.但对医学影像学基本知识的传授,应用PACS法较传统读片法并无明显优势.