Measuring driving workload of heavy vehicles at roundabouts

Correctly designed roundabouts proved to have positive safety and functional performances. However, they are also affected by peculiar disadvantages. In particular, they are difficult to manoeuvre, especially for heavy vehicle drivers. Despite these concerns, there are currently no driving workload metrics devoted to roundabouts.A novel methodological approach is proposed for trying to quantify workload impinging on heavy vehicle drivers when manoeuvring through complex at-grade intersections. Proper acquisition of input data constitutes the starting point for future research about ascertainment of workload for these particular road scenarios. The described procedure enables recording steering wheel angles performed by a driver when manoeuvring an articulated lorry through a complex at-grade intersection. A field trial was carried out for verifying the practical feasibility of proposed method in capturing driver’s steering behaviour. Dynamic data acquired via global navigation satellite system instrumentation were related to actual driver’s steering wheel behaviour captured by camera frames. As a complement to the experiment, selected steering behaviour metrics were calculated. Steering Entropy attributed a high difficulty level to the manoeuvres performed through the roundabout, whereas High Frequency Component and Steering Reversal Rate showed intensity and occurrences of driver’s corrections needed for controlling position of the semitrailer at the ring. It appears that even a single roundabout may represent an arduous task for drivers. The study concludes with recommendations for further research about workload imposed by roundabouts to heavy vehicle drivers, with special attention to successions of closely spaced roundabouts.     

The Immune System as a Sensory System: Implications for Psychology

The brain and immune system form a bidirectional communication network in which the immune system operates as a sense organ to provide the brain with information about infection and injury, thereby allowing the brain to coordinate a defense. Activated immune cells release proteins called cytokines, which signal the brain by both blood and neural routes. Information that reaches the brain across this sensory channel produces large changes in neural activity, behavior, mood, and cognitive functioning. Appreciation of the functioning of this network may illuminate poorly understood aspects of stress, depression, and intraindividual variability in behavior, mood, and cognition.     

The effects of a public address system on the off-task behavior of elementary physical education students

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of teacher feedback delivered via a public address system on the off-task behavior of elementary-school physical education students. A multiple baseline design across three classes was used in this investigation. Results indicated a consistent decline in off-task behavior when the public address feedback system was used.     

Affektive Interaktion zwischen Patienten und Therapeuten

Zusammenfassung Eine positive therapeutische Beziehung wird therapieschulenübergreifend als wichtige Voraussetzung für den Therapieerfolg angesehen. Meist wird jedoch in Studien lediglich die schriftliche Patienteneinschätzung erfasst. Nonverbale Aspekte der Interaktion zwischen Patienten und Therapeuten werden kaum untersucht. Aus einer Studie zur Vorhersage des Erfolgs stationärer Fokaltherapie werden affektive Interaktionsprozesse im Erstinterview exemplarisch zwischen einer erfolgreichen und einer nicht erfolgreichen Behandlung mit mikroanalytischen Verfahren (facial action coding system, FACS) verglichen. In der nicht erfolgreichen Therapie waren die mimischen Affektäußerungen reziprok; Therapeutin und Patientin zeigten ähnliche vorherrschende (sog. Leit-)Affekte. Erfolgreicher waren die Behandlungen, wenn die Therapeuten komplementäre Affektmuster zeigten. Implikationen für Behandlungstechnik, Supervision und Weiterbildung werden diskutiert.     

Changes in the structure of children's isometric force variability with practice

This study examined the effect of age and practice on the structure of children's force variability to test the information processing hypothesis that a reduction of sensorimotor system noise accounts in large part for age-related reductions in perceptual-motor performance variability. In the study, 6-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and young adults practiced on 5 consecutive days (15 trials/day), maintaining for 15-s trials a constant level of force (5 or 25% of maximum voluntary contraction) against an object using a pinch grip (thumb and index finger). With increasing age, the amount of force error and variability decreased, but the sequential structure of variability increased in irregularity. With practice, children reduced the amount of variability by changing the structure of the force output so as to be more similar to that of their older counterparts. The findings provide further evidence that practice-driven changes in the structure of force output, rather than a decline in the amount of white noise, largely account for age-related reductions in the amount of force variability.     

语言理解中情绪的动态模拟

采用混合实验设计, 句子-图片匹配范式和动态过程再现范式, 以包含静态情绪和动态变化情绪信息的句子为实验材料, 以被试对图片的反应时间为因变量指标, 通过不同时间间隔的设置以及不同的实验程序, 探讨了语言理解中静态情绪和动态情绪的心理模拟及其时间进程。结果表明：(1)被试对情绪的心理模拟与句中的语言描述一致, 情绪语境能够激活被试的经验模拟。(2)被试在句子理解加工的初期就能迅速、即时地模拟静态情绪信息, 且这种模拟具有一定的稳定性和持久性。(3)被试可以对动态变化的情绪进行动态的心理模拟, 不过这种模拟所需的时间要长, 是在句子理解加工的后期完成的。被试对不同情绪变化方向的句子模拟受到原情绪状态的影响, 当阅读由消极情绪向积极情绪变化的句子时, 由于被试固着于原来的消极情绪而发生了模拟积极情绪的困难。     

Accountability,Collaboration, and Social Change: Ethical Tensions in an Action Research Project to Address Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs)

We conducted a collaborative action research project with stakeholders in Detroit, Michigan, to develop long‐term policy strategies to resolve ~11,000 untested rape kits that were discovered in a police storage facility in August 2009. In our research, we uncovered overwhelming evidence of victim‐blaming behaviors and fundamental disrespect of rape survivors by the police, which directly contributed to their decisions not to submit kits for forensic testing. We had an ethical responsibility to report these negative findings accurately and completely, and in doing so, we were concerned that police stakeholders might disengage from the action research project and hamper our other ethical responsibilities to promote general and public welfare. In this article, we examine the ethical challenges of balancing accountability, collaboration, and social change.     

孤独症碎镜理论述评

孤独症是泛指一大类在社会交往、沟通方面存在功能缺陷的疾病, 至今病因尚未阐明。“碎镜理论”作为孤独症研究领域的新兴理论, 在神经—认知层面较先前理论更为全面地解释了孤独症的各种临床行为表现, 并为这些异常行为间的相互关系提供了一种统一性的研究视角。文章首先对镜像神经元的发现进行了简介, 在此基础上对碎镜理论的由来及其与孤独症相关功能(包括动作识别与模仿、心理理论、共情以及语言理解)缺陷的关系进行了综述, 最后通过区分主动模仿和自动模仿, 就镜像神经元系统及其调控系统与孤独症关系中存在的问题进行了反思与展望。     

新加坡医疗保障体系的特点及对我国的启示

新加坡的卫生状况在国际上处于较高水平,得到了世界卫生组织的较好评价,本文主要介绍了新加坡医疗保障体系在医疗费用的分担、体系的完善、资金的筹集方式和报销制度等方面的特点,并结合我国的具体国情和医疗保障体系的现状,总结了其对我国医疗保障体系建立和完善的几点启示。     

关于中国心理健康服务体系建设的若干问题

从我国心理健康服务的基本模式、技术体系、服务主体、教育培训、管理监督等五个方面回顾了我国心理健康服务体系的现状。近二、三十年来,我国心理健康服务体系从无到有,发展迅速,但也存在若干亟待解决的问题:服务的技术体系不完善,心理服务的从业机构和个人良莠不齐、总体水平偏低,从业人员的教育培训、从业人员和机构的资质认证缺乏有效的监督管理机制等。目前我国的心理健康服务体系难以适应社会对心理健康服务的需求。需要立足国情,借鉴外国的成功经验并结合我国传统文化,以扎实的研究和细致的工作来完善我国的心理健康服务体系。