An interactional “live eye tracking” study in autism spectrum disorder: combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in the study of gaze

Recent studies on gaze behaviours in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have utilised “live eye tracking.” Such research has focused on generating quantitative eye tracking measurements, which provide limited (if any) qualitative contextual details of the actual interactions in which gaze occurs. This article presents a novel methodological approach that combines live eye tracking with qualitative interaction analysis, multimodally informed conversation analysis. Drawing on eye tracking and wide-angle video recordings, this combination renders visible some of the functions, or what gaze “does,” in interactional situations. The participants include three children with ASD and their adult co-participants during body-movement gaming sessions. The article demonstrates how quantitative eye tracking research can be extended qualitatively using a microanalytic interaction analysis to recontextualise the gaze shifts identified. The findings in this article show that the co-participants treat a child’s gaze shifts differently depending on when these occur in a stream of other action. The study suggests that introducing this qualitative dimension to eye tracking research could increase its ecological validity and offer new insight into gaze behaviours in ASD.     

Lifetime Abuse and Mental Health Among Older Persons: A European Study

This study aimed to investigate the association of lifetime abuse and mental health among older persons, considering associated factors (e.g., demographics) through a cross-sectional design. We recruited 4,467 women and men ages 60–84 years from 7 European cities. Mental health was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and physical injuries) based on the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale and the UK survey of abuse/neglect of older people. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that country of residence, low educational level, and experienced financial strain increased the odds of probable cases of anxiety and depression. Female sex, white-collar profession, and financial support by social/other benefits/or partner income were associated with higher odds of anxiety, while older age and experience of lifetime injury were associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms. The findings of this study indicate that socioeconomic factors, as well as experienced lifetime severe physical abuse leading to injuries, are significant in perceived mental health of adults in later life.     

Proactive and reactive aggression among school bullies,victims, and bully‐victims

Bullies, victims, bully‐victims, and control children were identified from a sample of 1062 children (530 girls and 532 boys), aged 10 to 12 years, participating in the study. Their reactive and proactive aggression was measured by means of peer and teacher reports. Peer and teacher reports were more concordant with respect to reactive than proactive aggression. Comparing the children in different bullying roles in terms of their reactive and proactive aggression, bully‐victims were found to be the most aggressive group of all. For this group, it was typical to be highly aggressive both reactively and proactively. Although bullies were significantly less aggressive than bully‐victims, they scored higher than victims and controls on both reactive and proactive aggression. However, observations at the person level, i.e., cross‐tabulational analyses, indicated that bullies were not only overrepresented among children who were both reactively and procatively aggressive but also among the only reactively aggressive as well as the only proactively aggressive groups. Victims scored higher than control children on reactive aggression, but they were not proactively aggressive. Furthermore, even their reactive aggression was at a significantly lower level than that of bullies and bully‐victims. Aggr. Behav. 28:30–44, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The effect of severe carotid occlusive disease and its surgical treatment on cognitive functions of the brain

Surgery of a high-grade carotid stenosis is evidence-based stroke prevention. Also cognitive effects are reported after carotid endarterectomy (CEA): both deterioration and improvement, the former attributed to perioperative complications and the latter often to learning effect. By imaging, brain perfusion and diffusion changes were shown in subjects with a high-grade stenosis undergoing CEA. We wanted to find out if the cognition of patients undergoing CEA display postoperative worsening or true improvement in association with findings in serial MR imaging. The patients had a poorer overall cognition than healthy matched controls. The cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to the stenosis had higher diffusion and more sluggish perfusion leading to perfusion deficits. These asymmetries were abolished by CEA. Postoperatively, the patients showed a trend for cognitive worsening, most often attentional, but over months, the group performance improved similarly to the controls. Still, lower baseline perfusion was associated with a greater cognitive improvement, most clearly in executive functions. Consequently, despite the risk for transient decline, true cognitive benefit by CEA seems possible.     

Mobile-Centric Ambient Intelligence in Health- and Homecare—Anticipating Ethical and Legal Challenges

Ambient Intelligence provides the potential for vast and varied applications, bringing with it both promise and peril. The development of Ambient Intelligence applications poses a number of ethical and legal concerns. Mobile devices are increasingly evolving into tools to orientate in and interact with the environment, thus introducing a user-centric approach to Ambient Intelligence. The MINAmI (Micro-Nano integrated platform for transverse Ambient Intelligence applications) FP6 research project aims at creating core technologies for mobile device based Ambient Intelligence services. In this paper we assess five scenarios that demonstrate forthcoming MINAmI-based applications focusing on healthcare, assistive technology, homecare, and everyday life in general. A legal and ethical analysis of the scenarios is conducted, which reveals various conflicting interests. The paper concludes with some thoughts on drafting ethical guidelines for Ambient Intelligence applications.     

Psychosocial correlates of hopelessness among men

This study examined overall hopelessness, explored differences in various variables (e.g. burnout) between men reporting no/mild hopelessness and moderate/severe hopelessness, and scrutinized factors associated with hopelessness. The study design was cross-sectional, and the participants were 517 men randomly selected from the general population. About 12% of men reported moderate/severe hopelessness, and men with moderate/severe hopelessness were more often older, divorced/widowed, low educated, employed in blue-collar positions, on sick leave/other/unemployment/retirement, and financially strained. They also reported more depression, posttraumatic symptoms, and burnout. Only unemployment/retirement, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms were independently associated with an increased risk for moderate/severe hopelessness in the regression analysis, with unemployment and retirement as the most important factors. In conclusion, this study seems to corroborate previous findings and may provide new insights into men's experiences and predictors of hopelessness. More research into the predictors of hopelessness in men is warranted.     

Trauma Lives in Speech

The author approaches the topic through infant observation. At the age of eight months the baby moves in the borderland between the physical and the symbolic. When the baby hurts herself, she needs the mother's arms to protect her: at the same time, her budding spoken symbol "mama" is comforting in itself, it carries the memory of the mother's arms. Can speech - tone of voice, rhythm, pauses - and the moments of loss, absence, the losing of self also be intertwined? The author discusses the question of how trauma starts to live in speech through two patients. She talks about "a silent language" which speaks in between the words and sentences - changes the rhythm of speech, makes lose words, tears a hole in speech. This "silent language" talks about trauma, reaches for its very essence - a bodily experience and meaning to the wholeness/disruption of self.