Methods of studying the planar distribution of objects in histological sections of brain tissue

This article reviews the statistical methods that have been used to study the planar distribution, and especially clustering, of objects in histological sections of brain tissue. The objective of these studies is usually quantitative description, comparison between patients or correlation between histological features. Objects of interest such as neurones, glial cells, blood vessels or pathological features such as protein deposits appear as sectional profiles in a two-dimensional section. These objects may not be randomly distributed within the section but exhibit a spatial pattern, a departure from randomness either towards regularity or clustering. The methods described include simple tests of whether the planar distribution of a histological feature departs significantly from randomness using randomized points, lines or sample fields and more complex methods that employ grids or transects of contiguous fields, and which can detect the intensity of aggregation and the sizes, distribution and spacing of clusters. The usefulness of these methods in understanding the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is discussed. © 2006 The Royal Microscopical Society.

Comparing neural correlates of configural processing in faces and objects:An ERP study of the thatcher illusion

In the Thatcher illusion, a face with inverted eyes and mouth looks abnormal when upright but not when inverted. Behavioral studies have shown that thatcherization of an upright face disrupts perceptual processing of the local configuration. We recorded high-density EEG from normal observers to study ERP correlates of the illusion during the perception of faces and nonface objects, to determine whether inversion and thatcherization affect similar neural mechanisms. Observers viewed faces and houses in four conditions (upright vs. inverted, and normal vs. thatcherized) while detecting an oddball category (chairs). Thatcherization delayed the N170 component over occipito-temporal cortex to faces, but not to houses. This modulation matched the illusion as it was larger for upright than inverted faces. The P1 over medial occipital regions was delayed by face inversion but unaffected by thatcherization. Finally, face thatcherization delayed P2 over occipito-temporal but not over parietal regions, while inversion affected P2 across categories. All effects involving thatcherization were face-specific. These results indicate that effects of face inversion and feature inversion (in thatcherized faces) can be distinguished on a functional as well as neural level, and that they affect configural processing of faces in different time windows. © 2006 Elsevier Inc.

Accounting information systems as knowledge objects:some effects of objectualization

This paper will outline a research methodology informed by theorists who have contributed to actor network theory (ANT). Research informed from such a perspective recognizes the constitutive role of accounting systems in the achievement of broader social goals. Latour, Knoor Cetina and others argue that the bringing in of non-human actants, through the growth of technology and science, has added immeasurably to the complexity of modern society. The paper ‘sees’ accounting and accounting systems as being constituted by technological ‘black boxes’ and seeks to discuss two questions. One concerns the processes which surround the establishment of ‘facts’, i.e. how ‘black boxes’ are created or accepted (even if temporarily) within society. The second concerns the role of existing ‘black boxes’ within society and organizations. Accounting systems not only promote a particular view of the activities of an organization or a subunit, but in their very implementation and operation ‘mobilize’ other organizational members in a particular direction. The implications of such an interpretation are explored in this paper. Firstly through a discussion of some of the theoretic constructs that have been proposed to frame ANT research. Secondly an attempt is made to relate some of these ideas to aspects of the empirics in a qualitative case study. The case site is in the health sector and involves the implementation of a casemix accounting system. Evidence from the case research is used to exemplify aspects of the theoretical constructs.

Strategy tools as boundary objects: a strategy-as-practice perspective

This review is structured in three sections and provides a conceptual framework for the empirical analysis of strategy tools as they are used in practice. Examples of strategy tools are SWOT analysis or Porter’s Five Forces, among others. Section one reviews empirical research into the use of strategy tools, classifying them according to variations in their use. Section two explains the concept of boundary objects as the basis for our argument that strategy tools may be understood as boundary objects. Boundary objects are artefacts that are meaningfully and usefully incorporated to enable sharing of information and transfer of knowledge across intra-organizational boundaries, such as laterally across different strategic business units or vertically across hierarchical levels. Section three draws the two bodies of literature together, conceptualizing strategy tools in practice as boundary objects. This review contributes to knowledge on using strategy tools in practice.

Objects and the production of technological forms of life:understanding organisational arrangements from a postsocial perspective

Objects are produced within, and simultaneously affect, the process of organizing as a consequence of their interaction within social collectives. This paper discusses the impact and influences of the growth of post-social relations, between human and technological objects, on social and organisational arrangements. The paper presents a discussion largely at the conceptual level and draws from a variety of literatures, including the burgeoning sociology of science literature. The discussion in this paper is based on a view that posits the growth of intimate links with epistemic objects within organisations and society. Organising through networks of post-social relations increasingly comes to affect the manner in which differing groups of organisational participants, and particularly various categories of knowledge workers, experience time and spatial arrangements within organisations.

Translation and interpreting as activities and as objects of research

Despite differences, translation and interpreting have much in common. This volume focuses on aspects of conducting research into these two modes. It reviews recent developments and explores kinship, differences and prospects for partnership between Translation Research and Interpreting Research.

A corpus of 714 full-color images of depth-rotated objects

A set of full-color images of objects is described for use in experiments investigating the effects of in-depth rotation on the identification of three-dimensional objects. The corpus contains up to 11 perspective views of 70 nameable objects. We also provide ratings of the "goodness" of each view, based on Thurstonian scaling of subjects' preferences in a paired-comparison experiment. An exploratory cluster analysis on the scaling solutions indicates that the amount of information available in a given view generally is the major determinant of the goodness of the view. For instance, objects with an elongated front-back axis tend to cluster together, and the front and back views of these objects, which do not reveal the object's major surfaces and features, are evaluated as the worst views.

Recognition times of different views of 56 depth-rotated objects: a note concerning Verfaillie and Boutsen (1995)

The present study examines the effect of the goodness of view on the minimal exposure time required to recognize depth-rotated objects. In a previous study, Verfaillie and Boutsen (1995) derived scales of goodness of view, using a new corpus of images of depth-rotated objects. In the present experiment, a subset of this corpus (five views of 56 objects) is used to determine the recognition exposure time for each view, by increasing exposure time across successive presentations until the object is recognized. The results indicate that, for two thirds of the objects, good views are recognized more frequently and have lower recognition exposure times than bad views.

False recognition of objects in visual scenes:findings from a combined direct and indirect memory test

We report an extension of the procedure devised by Weinstein and Shanks (Memory & Cognition 36:1415-1428, 2008) to study false recognition and priming of pictures. Participants viewed scenes with multiple embedded objects (seen items), then studied the names of these objects and the names of other objects (read items). Finally, participants completed a combined direct (recognition) and indirect (identification) memory test that included seen items, read items, and new items. In the direct test, participants recognized pictures of seen and read items more often than new pictures. In the indirect test, participants' speed at identifying those same pictures was improved for pictures that they had actually studied, and also for falsely recognized pictures whose names they had read. These data provide new evidence that a false-memory induction procedure can elicit memory-like representations that are difficult to distinguish from "true" memories of studied pictures. © 2012 Psychonomic Society, Inc.

The data type of spatial objects

A spatial object consists of data assigned to points in a space. Spatial objects, such as memory states and three dimensional graphical scenes, are diverse and ubiquitous in computing. We develop a general theory of spatial objects by modelling abstract data types of spatial objects as topological algebras of functions. One useful algebra is that of continuous functions, with operations derived from operations on space and data, and equipped with the compact-open topology. Terms are used as abstract syntax for defining spatial objects and conditional equational specifications are used for reasoning. We pose a completeness problem: Given a selection of operations on spatial objects, do the terms approximate all the spatial objects to arbitrary accuracy? We give some general methods for solving the problem and consider their application to spatial objects with real number attributes. © 2011 British Computer Society.

Age effect in generating mental images of buildings but not common objects

Imagining a familiar environment is different from imagining an environmental map and clinical evidence demonstrated the existence of double dissociations in brain-damaged patients due to the contents of mental images. Here, we assessed a large sample of young and old participants by considering their ability to generate different kinds of mental images, namely, buildings or common objects. As buildings are environmental stimuli that have an important role in human navigation, we expected that elderly participants would have greater difficulty in generating images of buildings than common objects. We found that young and older participants differed in generating both buildings and common objects. For young participants there were no differences between buildings and common objects, but older participants found easier to generate common objects than buildings. Buildings are a special type of visual stimuli because in urban environments they are commonly used as landmarks for navigational purposes. Considering that topographical orientation is one of the abilities mostly affected in normal and pathological aging, the present data throw some light on the impaired processes underlying human navigation.

Dialogue, partnership and empowerment for network and information security:the changing role of the private sector from objects of regulation to regulation shapers

The protection of cyberspace has become one of the highest security priorities of governments worldwide. The EU is not an exception in this context, given its rapidly developing cyber security policy. Since the 1990s, we could observe the creation of three broad areas of policy interest: cyber-crime, critical information infrastructures and cyber-defence. One of the main trends transversal to these areas is the importance that the private sector has come to assume within them. In particular in the area of critical information infrastructure protection, the private sector is seen as a key stakeholder, given that it currently operates most infrastructures in this area. As a result of this operative capacity, the private sector has come to be understood as the expert in network and information systems security, whose knowledge is crucial for the regulation of the field. Adopting a Regulatory Capitalism framework, complemented by insights from Network Governance, we can identify the shifting role of the private sector in this field from one of a victim in need of protection in the first phase, to a commercial actor bearing responsibility for ensuring network resilience in the second, to an active policy shaper in the third, participating in the regulation of NIS by providing technical expertise. By drawing insights from the above-mentioned frameworks, we can better understand how private actors are involved in shaping regulatory responses, as well as why they have been incorporated into these regulatory networks.