Factors affecting motorcyclists’ behavior in car-following condition

Car-following (CF) maneuver plays an important role in both traffic flow analysis and road safety assessment. However, many studies on this issue have focused on the drivers’ behaviour, neglecting the different driving behaviour of the motorcycle riders and the vulnerability of this type of user. The aim of the present paper is to analyse the factors affecting the riders’ behaviour in CF condition, by using two surrogate safety indicators, Time Headway (TH) and Time To Collision (TTC). A field experiment was conducted to collect data. Twenty young motorcyclists participated in the study driving their own motorcycles, which were instrumented with a camera and a global positioning system device (GPS). A digital image processing algorithm was used to obtain CF related indicators. The results of the study showed that Time Headway (TH) and Time To Collision (TTC) are independent of each other, extending the result obtained in the literature for the four wheeled vehicles to the motorcycles. TTC and TH were therefore analyzed separately. As for TTC, it was observed that only in few cases (0.8%) the riders were found in risky condition (TTC < 5 s), confirming the role of this parameter for the detection of an impending risk. On the other hand, TH gives information about a potentially risky situation, and 99% of the riders were found in such condition (TH < 2 s). Due to the few cases in TTC risky conditions, only TH was further modelled by using the hazard-based duration analysis. Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model specification was used, and the Weibull distribution provided the best fit of the data. The model identified four covariates affecting TH and all of them had the effect of reducing TH, increasing the collision risk. The time spent on CF condition, the speed of the motorcycle, the willingness of overtaking and the engine size of the motorcycle were the factors that reduced TH.The findings of this study could be considered in the development of microsimulation models; the factors that were found affecting the motorcyclists’ behavior in car-following condition could be considered for a more realistic simulation of the riders’ choice of Time Headway.     

Time Will Fly During Future Fun (But Drag Until Then)

Consumers’ lives are filled with scheduled events—both positive and negative. The current research examines how the valence of future scheduled events colors consumers’ temporal judgments in relation to such events: the time until their onset, the time during the events, and the time until their offset. We propose that the lay theory espousing “time flies when you’re having fun” leads consumers to judge that positive (vs. negative) future events of equivalent objective distance and duration are farther away and shorter. Operating in tandem, these elements produce two novel phenomena: (a) The end of positive and negative events can feel similarly far from the present, and (b) The beginning and end of positive events can feel similarly far from the present, whereby, in some circumstances, the event’s duration is effectively eliminated in the mind’s eye. Four studies provide evidence for these predictions, informing future directions regarding prospective time perception.     

Recent advances in research on school-based extracurricular activities and adolescent development

Updating a previous systematic review of the literature, this review summarizes the literature over the last 5 years on the relationship between school-based extracurricular activity participation and academic achievement, substance use, sexual activity, psychological adjustment, and delinquency. The review also considers mediators and moderators of these relationships. This review also discusses recent advances in activity research including participation measurement (intensity, breadth, and duration), person-centered approaches, and an exploration of the overscheduling hypothesis. The review reveals a mixed picture of the relationship between activity participation and these adolescent developmental outcomes. A call for continued exploration into measurement issues, analysis approaches, outcome measures, and causal models of activities and adolescent functioning is made.     

脊髓损伤者生育困难与服务需求调查

对63名18岁以上未婚或已婚未生育子女的脊髓损伤者进行问卷调查,并对其中17人进行了深入访谈,了解其生育愿望、影响因素与生育服务现状,探讨解决脊髓损伤者生育困难的方法和措施.调查发现,脊髓损伤者生育愿望普遍而迫切,受到经济水平、教育背景、生活环境、其他脊髓损伤者生育经历等多方面因素影响;同时发现社会对此问题关注不够、认识不足、服务缺失.建议从改善环境、提高认识、普及知识、专业培训、建立制度等方面对脊髓损伤者提供专业化服务,解决生育困难,保障生育权力.     

数字加工任务影响时距知觉的数字效应

本研究采用复制时距和数字加工双任务,探讨数字大小影响时距知觉的机制。实验首先呈现不同时距的圆点,然后让被试按键复制圆点呈现的时距,与此同时,对屏幕上出现的数字进行命名(实验1)、奇偶数判断(实验2)、大小判断(实验3)。实验结果发现对数字进行奇偶数判断时,数字大小对时距知觉没有影响;进行数字命名和大小判断任务时,数字大小对时距知觉都产生了影响,并且时距不同,数字大小对时距知觉的影响也不同。该结果表明时距知觉的数字效应与数字加工任务和时距长短有关,呈现出动态变化的过程。     

Time for action versus action in time: time estimation differs between motor preparation and execution

Theories relating to time perception and motor performance predict very different temporal distortions depending on the synchronisation or succession of temporal processing and motor behaviour. However, our knowledge about the temporal difference between motor preparation and execution is still scarce. In order to expand on prior studies, two different time reproduction tasks were utilised to measure motor preparation and motor execution. We found that motor preparation of a planned action allows participants to complete the time reproduction task more accurately and, in short duration trials, less variably than for motor execution. Furthermore, under-reproduction was found in motor preparation compared to motor execution, which may be caused by increased temporal information processing. According to the attentional gate theory, more attention allocated to time processing and reduced motor distraction leads to less temporal distortion in the motor preparation. The findings are also important for designing to study consciousness, temporal and visual processing.     

Modality differences in timing and temporal memory throughout the lifespan

The perception of time is heavily influenced by attention and memory, both of which change over the lifespan. In the current study, children (8 yrs), young adults (18–25 yrs), and older adults (60–75 yrs) were tested on a duration bisection procedure using 3 and 6-s auditory and visual signals as anchor durations. During test, participants were exposed to a range of intermediate durations, and the task was to indicate whether test durations were closer to the “short” or “long” anchor. All groups reproduced the classic finding that “sounds are judged longer than lights”. This effect was greater for older adults and children than for young adults, but for different reasons. Replicating previous results, older adults made similar auditory judgments as young adults, but underestimated the duration of visual test stimuli. Children showed the opposite pattern, with similar visual judgments as young adults but overestimation of auditory stimuli. Psychometric functions were analyzed using the Sample Known Exactly-Mixed Memory quantitative model of the Scalar Timing Theory of interval timing. Results indicate that children show an auditory-specific deficit in reference memory for the anchors, rather than a general bias to overestimate time and that aged adults show an exaggerated tendency to judge visual stimuli as “short” due to a reduction in the availability of controlled attention.     

Maintaining stereotypes in communication: Investigating memory biases and coherence-seeking in storytelling

When communicating, a general tendency exists for people to transmit more stereotype consistent (SC) than inconsistent (SI) information. Although some communicative factors have been shown to play a role, it is still not yet known the extent to which general memory biases (i.e. independent of communicative context) contribute to this phenomenon. To examine this issue, and to explore further mechanisms of the bias, the present paper presents quantitative and qualitative data of an experiment involving the transmission of a stereotype-relevant story through 20 four-person chains using the method of serial reproduction. An SC bias emerged when participants had an intention to communicate but not when they reproduced the story from memory with no such intention. Results also suggest that trying to tell a coherent story may be one further factor that contributes to the bias. These and other findings were discussed in terms of the role of communicative processes in maintaining stereotypes.     

On additivity of duration reproduction functions

In the present paper properties of theoretical response functions in the duration reproduction task (drt) are studied. If the drt response is to be interpreted as the measure of a temporal duration elapsed in the past, the reproduction function (rf) must be additively measuring. The additivity property is defined for bivariate rfs, taking into account the delay between retention and reproduction. The requirement that an rf be additively measuring leads to a system of two functional equations, which are solved by (i) linear functions of time, or (ii) functions of the form yielded by the ‘dual klepsydra model’ of duration reproduction [Wackermann, J., & Ehm, W. (2006). The klepsydra model of internal time representation and time reproduction. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 239, 482-493]. This result supports the outstanding rôle of the ‘klepsydraic reproduction function’ (krf) in models of internal representation and reproduction of temporal durations.     

Syllabic processing in handwritten word production in German children and adults

Syllables are thought to be processing units in handwritten word production. Yet, little is known about whether the orthographic characteristics of different languages influence syllabic processing during handwriting, which is critical for the evaluation and further development of extant models of handwritten language production. In the present study, we manipulated syllabic ambiguity, a characteristic of the German language, to investigate the role of syllables in handwritten word production in German. Forty-four 10 to 12-year-old children and fourteen adults were asked to write on pen tablets five-letter disyllabic words that varied in terms of their syllabic ambiguity, while their handwriting was recorded with high spatiotemporal resolution. Productions were analyzed in terms of Mean Stroke Duration (MSD) and Writing Onset Duration (WOD). Increased MSD at syllable boundaries was observed across conditions for both children and adults. There was no difference in WOD across conditions. Our findings offer support for the idea that syllables are functional units in handwriting production in German and motivate the further development of the spelling module in models of handwritten language production.