Interlimb Coordination During Step-to-Step Transition and Gait Performance

Most energy spent in walking is due to step-to-step transitions. During this phase, the interlimb coordination assumes a crucial role to meet the demands of postural and movement control. The authors review studies that have been carried out regarding the interlimb coordination during gait, as well as the basic biomechanical and neurophysiological principles of interlimb coordination. The knowledge gathered from these studies is useful for understanding step-to-step transition during gait from a motor control perspective and for interpreting walking impairments and inefficiency related to pathologies, such as stroke. This review shows that unimpaired walking is characterized by a consistent and reciprocal interlimb influence that is supported by biomechanical models, and spinal and supraspinal mechanisms. This interlimb coordination is perturbed in subjects with stroke.     

Challenges to the four-channel model of flow: Primary assumption of flow support the moderate challenging control channel

Flow theory postulates that the psychological state of flow emerging when one engages in activities where skill level and challenge are both high, results in ‘optimal’ subjective experiences relative to other psychological states, and is intrinsically motivated. The experience sampling method was used on a sample of college students to compare daily activities associated with flow (high skill, high challenge) to the psychological state of control (high skill, moderate challenge) in relation to the subjective experiences of enjoyment, happiness, intrinsic motivation, and cognitive involvement. Contrary to flow theory, enjoyment, happiness, and intrinsic motivation were characteristic of activities associated with being in ‘control,’ as opposed to flow. Flow activities were associated with being cognitively involved in the task at hand. We believe such theoretically important findings have been masked when using the original four-channel model of flow, but are clarified with use of the revised experience fluctuation model.     

Team Spirit,Team Chemistry,and Neuroethics

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of team spirit from a neurobiological point of view. It argues that ethical judgment should be involved in understanding and evaluating the idea. Adopting a liberal individualist point of view helps us understand the phenomenology of team spirit, while also helping us to articulate a critique of communitarian approaches that celebrate the sort of de-individuation that occurs in team spirit. The paper recognizes further complexity in terms of cross-cultural issues, as well as the tendency to toward reductionism. It concludes by imagining a thought experiment involving chemically enhanced team spirit, which shows how our larger ethical framework helps us evaluate possible responses.     

UNSELF‐CONSCIOUS CONTROL: BROADENING THE NOTION OF CONTROL THROUGH EXPERIENCES OF FLOW AND WU‐WEI

Abstract. This paper both clarifies and broadens the notion of control and its relation to the self. By discussing instances of skillful absorption from different cultural backgrounds, I argue that the notion of control is not as closely related to self‐consciousness as is often suggested. Experiences of flow and wu‐wei exemplify a nonself‐conscious though personal type of control. The intercultural occurrence of this type of behavioral control demonstrates its robustness, and questions two long‐held intuitions about the relation between self‐consciousness and the experience of control. The first intuition holds that the conscious self initiates and controls actions, thoughts, and feelings. The second is the view that losing this self‐conscious type of control is a negative and upsetting experience. By focusing on “the paradox of control” in these experiences of skillful absorption, I argue that a feeling of control can occur without a self that narratively claims control. Furthermore, this type of control can be a very positive and pleasurable experience. Therefore, the common views of the notion of control are in need of broader conceptualization and further refinement.     

Pragmatic enrichment: beyond Gricean rational reconstruction – a response to Mandy Simons

It has been claimed that pragmatic effects that arise in embedded clauses pose a problem for the Gricean reasoning procedure. I maintain, however, that the real issue these phenomena raise for Grice, as he himself acknowledged, is their violation of his saying/implicating distinction. While these effects can be accounted for by Gricean reasoning, which Mandy Simons clearly demonstrates, there is no way round this latter problem other than a major revision of Grice’s notion of ‘saying’ and hence of the saying/implicating distinction.     

Local dynamic stability of the spine and its coordinated lower joints during repetitive Lifting: Effects of fatigue and chronic low back pain

The nonlinear Lyapunov exponent (LyE) has been proven effective for evaluating the local stability of human movement and exploring the effects of load, speed and direction of individuals with and without nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP). The purpose of this study was to examine spinal and lower joint stability and response to fatigue of individuals with and without CLBP while performing lifting-lowering movements. Fourteen healthy individuals and 14 patients with nonspecific CLBP were recruited to perform lifting movement repeatedly while holding two equally-sized dumbbells in their hands. The participants continued lifting until they reported their highest level of fatigue. Kinematic data for the spine and its coordinated lower joints were recorded during the task (more than 40 lifting cycles on average). The first and last 20 cycles of each cyclic time series were defined as early- and late-fatigue conditions, respectively. The maximum LyE was estimated to quantify the local dynamic stability of the angular displacement time series of the spine, hip, knee and ankle on different anatomical planes in both the early- and late-fatigue conditions. The results revealed that local stability of the spine and hip was affected by fatigue. Spinal stability decreased as fatigue increased on the sagittal plane (p < 0.05). The hip exhibited a similar affectation (destabilization under fatigue) on all anatomical planes. Patients with CLBP showed more stable hip movement on the frontal and transverse planes (p < 0.05). These results suggested that lifting/progressive fatigue could increase the risk of injury to the spine and hip. These findings indicate that patients with CLBP applied different control strategies for the hip; thus, spinal control stability should be evaluated together with the stability of the lower joints.     

Media framing of proposed nuclear reactors: An analysis of print media

Nuclear energy has received substantial recent attention, marketed as a ‘green’ solution to global climate change (GCC) with calls for new reactors. However, considerable debate exists about whether it represents a viable solution to GCC. Given the complexity and urgency of the issue, a full and balanced debate is desirable. Since media play an important role in shaping public perception, we examined print media coverage of proposed reactors in Georgia—one site in the southeastern United States, which has been the focus of such proposals. We analysed the content of editorials and news articles from two local newspapers—the Augusta Chronicle and Atlanta Journal‐Constitution. The former exclusively published pro‐nuclear opinion pieces whereas the latter published a mix of pro‐ and anti‐nuclear opinions. The majority of news articles in both newspapers generally presented balanced arguments. Pro‐ and anti‐nuclear arguments most often reflected economic and environmental benefits and risks, whereas informational text primarily detailed regulatory processes and financing. Findings suggested that informational text was not necessarily ‘neutral’, sometimes masking covert pro‐ and anti‐nuclear content. Implications for how findings might shape public opinion and strategies for shaping media and extending public deliberation are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

齐鲁人与两汉地方治安

各级地方官作为维护治安职能的主要承担者,是关系地方治安好坏与否的关键因素。两汉社会的治安问题主要集中于三个方面：一是以豪强大姓为主、对社会治安严重破坏的地方恶势力;二是遭遇天灾人祸的诸多灾民、流民;三是官逼民反,以农民为代表的社会下层反抗势力。针对这些不同情况、不同性质的问题,许多齐鲁籍官吏采取了不同的措施和方法,并且留下大量施政范例,在社会治安方面为后人提供了有益的借鉴。     

The authorship of Uri Zohar: the ethics and aesthetics of the Archimedean lever

This article discusses Zohar’s subversive reflexive aesthetics, termed the “Archimedean-lever ethics,” comprised of three stages: the world rendered from one perspective; the same world rendered from a different perspective, challenging or destroying the first; and awareness of the shift of perspectives. It argues that Zohar’s creative energy, imbued with male sexuality, derives from this collision, and examines its ethical aspect in relation to Zionist values during the 1950s and 1960s. Zionism and Israel should always consider more than one perspective, being able not only to build but also to destroy (convictions, territories) in order to bring change, with destruction thus becoming a particular form of creation. However, in Zohar’s films made during the 1970s, the male sexual energy becomes an endless sexual appetite, expressed mostly through coveting gazes, which is no more than a cover up for male impotency, tantamount to Israel’s endless appetite for land.     

动机过程对青少年网络游戏行为意向的影响模型

从行为动机的角度探讨影响青少年网络游戏玩家游戏意向的主要因素。通过对北京市中学生进行抽样调查并采用结构方程模型的方法对模型进行检验。结果显示,青少年网络游戏玩家的游戏意向受多种内在动机和外在动机共同影响。青少年玩网络游戏的基本内在动机（如,社会交际、超越现实、自我效能和享受乐趣）促进沉浸动机的形成。同时,沉浸是提高游戏意向的内在动机,主观规范和游戏涉入度是分别降低和提高游戏意向的外在动机。此外,内部动机和外部动机对游戏意向的影响存在交互作用