The interplay between early social interaction,language and executive function development in deaf and hearing infants

In this article, we review the influence of early social interaction on the development of executive function and language in infants. We first define social interaction, executive function and language and show how they are related in infant development. Studies of children born deaf are used to illustrate this connection because they represent cases where there has been a disruption to early social interaction and the development of intersubjectivity. Unlike other groups, the disturbance to development is known to be largely environmental rather than neuro-biological. This enables us to more accurately tease apart those impacts on EF that are associated with social interaction and language, since the potential confounds of disordered cognitive development are largely controlled for. The review offers a unifying model for how social, cognitive and linguistic development work together in early human development.     

Mother-Infant Interaction Kinect Analysis (MIIKA): An automatic kinematic-based methodology for the investigation of interpersonal distance during early exchanges

Interpersonal distance is a core aspect of mother-child interaction. While conventional measures based on human coders do not fully capture the dynamics of this feature, computational methods provide automatic measures which can detect even small changes and more accurate estimates both spatially and temporally. Using RGB-D sensors (Microsoft Kinect V2), the present study describes a setup to automatically examine interpersonal distance during mother-child interactions, termed Mother-Infant Interaction Kinect Analysis (MIIKA). First, the laboratory setting and the data extraction method are described. By using an ad-hoc algorithm for kinematic data extraction, MIIKA returns three metrics: barycenter position (distance and velocity of approach and separation), movements (number of small, medium and large approaches and separations) and contributions (proportional contributions of mother and child to approaches and separations). Secondly, preliminary MIIKA metrics are described for a non-clinical mother-child dyad as an exemplification of the protocol. As interpersonal distance can be affected by contingent situations, we detected mother-infant full skeleton during three interactional contexts characterized by different kinds of dyadic exchanges: a free play session, a task-oriented activity and an emotionally arousing condition. Results highlighted similarities and differences between the three interactional contexts. MIIKA appears to be a promising setup to automatically examine interpersonal distance in early mother-child interactions.     

2~3岁幼儿执行功能与母子互动的关系:幼儿气质的调节作用

研究考察幼儿气质与母子互动质量对执行功能的作用。160名2~3岁幼儿及其母亲（主要抚养者）完成了亲子互动任务,然后幼儿完成工作记忆、认知灵活性与抑制控制的测查任务。结果发现母子互动质量对幼儿认知灵活性有显著预测作用,幼儿努力控制负向调节母子互动与认知灵活性的关系,即幼儿努力控制维度得分越高,母子互动对幼儿认知灵活性的作用越小。研究表明幼儿气质与亲子互动质量的交互作用解释幼儿执行功能的发展水平。     

Investigating cycling kinematics and braking maneuvers in the real world: e-bikes make cyclists move faster,brake harder,and experience new conflicts

Pedelecs (e-bikes), which facilitate higher speeds with less effort in comparison to traditional bicycles (t-bikes), have grown considerably in popularity in recent years. Despite the large expansion of this new transportation mode, little is known about the behavior of e-cyclists, or whether cycling an e-bike increases crash risk and the likelihood of conflicts with other road users, compared to cycling on t-bikes. In order to support the design of safety measures and to maximize the benefits of e-bike use, it is critical to investigate the real-world behavior of riders as a result of switching from t-bikes to e-bikes.Naturalistic studies provide an unequaled method for investigating rider cycling behavior and bicycle kinematics in the real world in which the cyclist regularly experiences traffic conflicts and may need to perform avoidance maneuvers, such as hard braking, to avoid crashing. In this paper we investigate cycling kinematics and braking events from naturalistic data to determine the extent to which cyclist behavior changes as a result of transferring from t-bikes to e-bikes, and whether such change influences cycling safety.Data from the BikeSAFE and E-bikeSAFE naturalistic studies were used in this investigation to evaluate possible changes in the behavior of six cyclists riding t-bikes in the first study and e-bikes in the second one. Individual cyclists’ kinematics were compared between bicycle types. In addition, a total of 5092 braking events were automatically extracted after identification of dynamic triggers. The 286 harshest braking events (136 cases for t-bike and 150 for e-bike) were then validated and coded via video inspection.Results revealed that each of the cyclists rode faster on the e-bike than on the t-bike, increasing his/her average speed by 2.9–5.0 km/h. Riding an e-bike also increased the probability to unexpectedly have to brake hard (odds ratio = 1.72). In addition, the risk of confronting abrupt braking and sharp deceleration were higher when riding an e-bike than when riding a t-bike.Our findings provide evidence that cyclists’ behavior and the way cyclists interact with other road users change when cyclists switch from t-bikes to e-bikes. Because of the higher velocity, when on e-bikes, cyclists appear to have harder time predicting movements within the traffic environment and, as a result, they need to brake abruptly more often to avoid collisions, compared with cycling on t-bikes. This study provides new insights into the potential impact on safety that a cycling society moving to e-bikes may have, indicating that e-cycling requires more reactive maneuvers than does cycling traditional bicycles and suggesting that any distractive activity may be more critical when riding e-bikes compared to traditional bikes.     

A Narrative Analysis of Sibling Grief

Sibling grief is linked to serious physical and mental health outcomes, yet remains the least researched of all family bereavement. This exploratory study created a shared sibling grief narrative. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 27 participants who lost a sibling. Primary themes included Shared Life: Identity Within the Sibling Arrangement; Sibling Death: Pivotal Moments in Time; Life After Sibling Loss: Emotional Suffering, Life After Sibling Loss: Missing Roles & Changing Relationships; and The Sibling Lives On. The following study findings clarify the overlooked impact that sibling death has on the surviving sibling and demonstrate the crucial need for more sibling loss research.     

视觉信息呈现材料对视线突显技术的影响作用

本研究选取了基于视线追踪的视线突显技术作为研究对象,探究视觉信息呈现材料对不同视线突显技术的影响作用。结果表明：1）相比无突显,两种视线突显技术在搜索中均能提高操作绩效;2）视线矩阵突显技术在提高搜索速度上更优于视线单项突显技术;3）视线矩阵突显技术均能提高两种词频词组的搜索绩效,而低频词组搜索时,视线单项突显技术下的搜索正确率最优。本研究进一步考察了视线突显技术规律特点,为其实际应用提供理论依据和设计思路。