Racism en Route

This article argues that in Africa, the nature and advent of racism has to be traced back to the earliest encounters between Africans and Europeans, including the first seven centuries but especially during the slavery and colonial eras. Religion (notably Islam and Christianity), trade, education, culture, and “science” were important incubators and justifiers of racism, in earlier as well as recent times. The paper concludes by proposing some ways in which African theology can stay agile and keep pace with the resilient and adaptive forms of racism in contemporary Africa.     

Travel behavior changes and responses to advanced traveler information in prolonged and large-scale network disruptions: A case study of west LRT line construction in the city of Calgary

The objective of this study was the investigation of travel behavioral effects of the reduction in traffic capacity resulting from the construction of the West LRT (Light Rail Transit) line in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Travelers’ responses to real-time information providing traffic updates and advisory detours due to lane/road closures were also examined. The West LRT alignment extends approximately 8.2 km from downtown into the city’s southwest. Many road closures took place in the vicinity of the LRT line construction zones, inducing significant delays to traffic. Data on travelers’ behavioral responses and responses to real-time information were obtained by conducting a survey on a sample of users of the main road affected by the construction. The survey also investigated the effects of West LRT line construction on drivers’ daily commutes, including increases in travel times, mode choices, alternate route choices, and selection of sources of information on traffic conditions. A significant change in the selection of transportation mode was caused by West LRT construction. Throughout the construction period, there was a decrease in the percentage of respondents who reported private vehicles as their first choice and an increase in the percentage of respondents who preferred public transit as their first and second choices. Radio was found to be the most preferred source for traffic updates and detour advice, followed by variable message signs (VMS). The findings of the en-route information model showed that driving experience, employment status, travel time and purpose, and desire for pre-trip information had significant effects on traveler’s rerouting decisions after getting en-route information through VMS. The results from this study are of interest for understanding behavioral changes for the purposes of traffic management, mitigation schemes and design of advanced traveler information systems in response to network disruptions.     

路径知识习得的认知老化效应

年龄与路径知识习得的关系是空间与认知老化两大领域研究的重要议题。老年人在面对不同的路径学习环境时呈现出不同的认知老化表现。以往与年龄相关的路径知识习得能力变化的研究, 主要支持了认知老化衰退理论。然而近来发现随着年龄增长, 老年人保留了一种空间认知补偿能力。由此, 在对前人文献进行回顾和反思的基础上, 整合路径知识习得的认知老化表现及机制以探究缓解空间认知老化可能的内部因素和外部有效措施。     

When the mental number line involves a delay: the writing of numbers by children of different arithmetical abilities

Our study focused on number transcoding in children. It investigated how 9-year-olds with and without arithmetical disabilities wrote Arabic digits after they had heard them as number words. Planning time before writing each digit was registered. Analyses revealed that the two groups differed not only in arithmetical abilities but also in verbal and reading abilities. Children with arithmetical disabilities were overall slower in planning Arabic digits than were control children with normal arithmetical abilities. In addition, they showed a number size effect for numbers smaller than 10, suggesting a semantically mediated route in number processing. Control children did not need more planning time for large numbers (e.g., 8) than for small numbers (e.g., 3), suggesting a direct nonsemantic route. For both two- and three-digit numbers, both groups of children showed a number size effect, although the effect was smaller each time for control children. The presence of the stronger number size effect for children with arithmetical disabilities was seen as a delay in the development of quick and direct transcoding. The relation between transcoding problems and arithmetical disabilities is discussed. A defect in the linking of numerical symbols to analog numerical representations is proposed as an explanation for the transcoding problems found in some children.     

Spatial navigation: Cognitive variables involved in route retracing among an elderly population

The cognitive processes involved in route retracing are not well known. This study aims to highlight them in an elderly population in which contradictory results have been obtained, certain studies showing specific difficulties for route retracing, others not. Thirty-nine elderly subjects performed a route-learning task (forward-backward) in a garden, then completed spatial knowledge tasks and standardised cognitive tests. Results show four factors that were predictive of route retracing performance: route repetition, the pointing task, and two standardised cognitive tests, one assessing spatial working memory, and another global cognitive efficiency. According to these results, route retracing involves route and survey knowledge (i.e., egocentric and allocentric strategy), and the integration of forward-backward perspectives is underpinned by the spatial working memory. Moreover, the subjects did not make more errors in route retracing than in the route repetition task, suggesting that a real environment could compensate for a failing allocentric strategy.     

The mental representation of verb-noun compounds in Italian: evidence from a multiple single-case study in aphasia

This study seeks information on the mental representation of Verb–Noun (VN) nominal compounds through neuropsychological methods. The lexical retrieval of compound nouns is tested in 30 aphasic patients using a visual confrontation naming task. The target names are VN compounds, Noun–Noun (NN) compounds, and long morphologically simple nouns (LSN). In order to check the ability to produce simple nouns and verbs in the same participants, a further visual confrontation naming task of objects and actions is used. Results of the study confirm that several patients with disproportionate verb deficit are also impaired in naming VN compounds. Data are in favor of a (de)compositional processing of compound words. A further group of patients is selectively more impaired with compound nouns than with comparably long simple nouns, irrespective of their VN or NN morphological structure. It is suggested that this impairment is to be ascribed to a specific disorder in retrieving two different lexemes with a single lexical entry.     

新时期我国农村卫生服务体系的路径选择

解决好占中国人口将近70%的农民的健康问题,是全面建设小康社会中非常重要的问题。如何完善现有的卫生服务体系、构建真正惠及全体农业人口的卫生服务体系又是农村卫生事业发展的重中之重。试从制度经济学的角度出发,探讨新时期我国农村卫生服务体系的路径选择。     

替罗非班不同给药途径对DM合并急性STEMI患者PCI术后血小板α-颗粒膜蛋白及心肌灌注水平的影响

为探讨替罗非班不同给药途径对糖尿病（DM）合并急性ST段抬高型心肌梗死（STEMI）患者PCI术后血小板α-颗粒膜蛋白及心肌灌注水平的影响,对149例DM合并急性STEMI患者进行研究,测定并比较经静脉（A组）、冠脉给药途径（B组）和无替罗非班（C组）的患者术前及术中应用替罗非班后血小板α-颗粒膜蛋白GMP140浓度、造影结果、心肌酶及肌钙蛋白I水平峰值及峰值时间、心电图变化。结果显示A、B两组术中血小板α-颗粒膜蛋白浓度较术前明显降低（P〈0．05）,且B组较A组降低更明显（P〈0．05）,而C组未见明显变化（P〉0．05）,A、B两组术后即刻TIMI血流、2h sumSTR、心肌酶及肌钙蛋白Ⅰ峰值及峰值时间的变化均优于C组（P〈0．05）,且B组优于A组（P〈0．05）。因此,替罗非班可以降低血小板α-颗粒膜蛋白浓度和改善心肌灌注水平,与静脉途径给药相比,经冠脉给药更具有优势。     

SNARC效应: 现状、理论与建议

SNARC效应是当对数字进行奇偶判断时,即使数的奇偶性与数的大小无关,但右手（左手）对相对大（小）的数的反应快。首先介绍SNARC效应的起源和理论解释,然后总结SNARC效应的特性,论述SNARC效应和Simon效应以及MARC 效应的关系,并对SNARC效应的脑机制进行了概述,最后提出3个有待深入研究的问题：（1）SNARC效应的加工处理机制;（2）SANRC效应的理论探索;（3）SNARC效应的本质。     

Argumentation Schemes in Persuasive Brochures

Many public information documents attempt to persuade the recipients that they should engage in or refrain from specific behaviour. This is based on the assumption that the recipient will decide about his or her behaviour on the basis of the information given and a rational evaluation of the pros and cons. An analysis of 20 public information brochures shows that the argumentation in persuasive brochures is often not marked as such. Argumentation is presented as factual information, and in many instances the task of making argumentational links and drawing conclusions is left to the reader. However, since the information offered does follow familiar argumentational schemes, readers can, in principle, reconstruct the argument. All the brochures make use of pragmatic argumentation (argumentation from consequences),i. e.,they formulate at least certain benefits of the desirable behaviour or disadvantages of the undesirable behaviour. In addition, they make regular use of argumentation from cause to effect and argumentation from example. Argumentation from rules and argumentation from authority are less frequently used. This empirical analysis of the use of argumentation schemes is a solid base for interesting and rich hypotheses about the cognitive processing of persuasive brochures. Central processing requires the reader to be able to reconstruct argumentation from informational texts and to identify and evaluate various types of argumentation.