Infants' Understanding of Object Weight: Relations with Action Experience and Strength

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

The spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of brain regions activated during the perception of object and non-object patterns

Both animal and human studies suggest that the efficiency with which we are able to grasp objects is attributable to a repertoire of motor signals derived directly from vision. This is in general agreement with the long-held belief that the automatic generation of motor signals by the perception of objects is based on the actions they afford. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to determine the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of brain regions activated during passive viewing of object and non-object targets that varied in the extent to which they afforded a grasping action. Synthetic Aperture Magnetometry (SAM) was used to localize task-related oscillatory power changes within specific frequency bands, and the time course of activity within given regions-of-interest was determined by calculating time-frequency plots using a Morlet wavelet transform. Both single subject and group-averaged data on the spatial distribution of brain activity are presented. We show that: (i) significant reductions in 10-25 Hz activity within extrastriate cortex, occipito-temporal cortex, sensori-motor cortex and cerebellum were evident with passive viewing of both objects and non-objects; and (ii) reductions in oscillatory activity within the posterior part of the superior parietal cortex (area Ba7) were only evident with the perception of objects. Assuming that focal reductions in low-frequency oscillations (< 30 Hz) reflect areas of heightened neural activity, we conclude that: (i) activity within a network of brain areas, including the sensori-motor cortex, is not critically dependent on stimulus type and may reflect general changes in visual attention; and (ii) the posterior part of the superior parietal cortex, area Ba7, is activated preferentially by objects and may play a role in computations related to grasping. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of attribute quality information and sources of information on consumers' perceptions and behavior: A model of Pre-purchase Information Utilization in Service Physical Environments

The search-experience-credence framework from economics of information, the human-environment relations models from environmental psychology, and the consumer evaluation process from services marketing provide a conceptual basis for testing the model of "Pre-purchase Information Utilization in Service Physical Environments." The model addresses the effects of informational signs, as a dimension of the service physical environment, on consumers' perceptions (perceived veracity and perceived performance risk), emotions (pleasure) and behavior (willingness to buy). The informational signs provide attribute quality information (search and experience) through non-personal sources of information (simulated word-of-mouth and non-personal advocate sources).^ This dissertation examines: (1) the hypothesized relationships addressed in the model of "Pre-purchase Information Utilization in Service Physical Environments" among informational signs, perceived veracity, perceived performance risk, pleasure, and willingness to buy, and (2) the effects of attribute quality information and sources of information on consumers' perceived veracity and perceived performance risk.^ This research is the first in-depth study about the role and effects of information in service physical environments. Using a 2 x 2 between subjects experimental research procedure, undergraduate students were exposed to the informational signs in a simulated service physical environment. The service physical environments were simulated through color photographic slides.^ The results of the study suggest that: (1) the relationship between informational signs and willingness to buy is mediated by perceived veracity, perceived performance risk and pleasure, (2) experience attribute information shows higher perceived veracity and lower perceived performance risk when compared to search attribute information, and (3) information provided through simulated word-of-mouth shows higher perceived veracity and lower perceived performance risk when compared to information provided through non-personal advocate sources. ^

Decision-making under extreme *uncertainty: Rethinking hazard -related perceptions and action

Understanding who evacuates and who does not has been one of the cornerstones of research on the pre-impact phase of both natural and technological hazards. Its history is rich in descriptive illustrations focusing on lists of characteristics of those who flee to safety. Early models of evacuation focused almost exclusively on the relationship between whether warnings were heard and ultimately believed and evacuation behavior. How people came to believe these warnings and even how they interpreted the warnings were not incorporated. In fact, the individual seemed almost removed from the picture with analysis focusing exclusively on external measures. ^ This study built and tested a more comprehensive model of evacuation that centers on the decision-making process, rather than decision outcomes. The model focused on three important factors that alter and shape the evacuation decision-making landscape. These factors are: individual level indicators which exist independently of the hazard itself and act as cultural lenses through which information is heard, processed and interpreted; hazard specific variables that directly relate to the specific hazard threat; and risk perception. The ultimate goal is to determine what factors influence the evacuation decision-making process. Using data collected for 1998's Hurricane Georges, logistic regression models were used to evaluate how well the three main factors help our understanding of how individuals come to their decisions to either flee to safety during a hurricane or remain in their homes. ^ The results of the logistic regression were significant emphasizing that the three broad types of factors tested in the model influence the decision making process. Conclusions drawn from the data analysis focus on how decision-making frames are different for those who can be designated “evacuators” and for those in evacuation zones. ^

Endogenous Risk Perception, Geospatial Characteristics and Temporal Variation in Hurricane Evacuation Behavior

The main focus of this thesis was to gain a better understanding about the dynamics of risk perception and its influence on people’s evacuation behavior. Another major focus was to improve our knowledge regarding geo-spatial and temporal variations of risk perception and hurricane evacuation behavior. A longitudinal dataset of more than eight hundred households were collected following two major hurricane events, Ivan and Katrina. The longitudinal survey data was geocoded and a geo-spatial database was integrated to it. The geospatial database was composed of distance, elevation and hazard parameters with respect to the respondent’s household location. A set of Bivariate Probit (BP) model suggests that geospatial variables have had significant influences in explaining hurricane risk perception and evacuation behavior during both hurricanes. The findings also indicated that people made their evacuation decision in coherence with their risk perception. In addition, people updated their hurricane evacuation decision in a subsequent similar event.

Combining human perception and geometric restrictions for automatic pedestrian detection

[EN]Automatic detection systems do not perform as well as human observers, even on simple detection tasks. A potential solution to this problem is training vision systems on appropriate regions of interests (ROIs), in contrast to training on predefined and arbitrarily selected regions. Here we focus on detecting pedestrians in static scenes. Our aim is to answer the following question: Can automatic vision systems for pedestrian detection be improved by training them on perceptually-defined ROIs?

Improving automatic pedestrian detection by means of human perception

[EN]Can automatic vision systems for pedestrian detection be improved by training them on perceptually-defined ROIs?

Context-Based Sound and the Ecological Theory of Perception

This paper aims to investigate the ways in which context-based sonic art is capable of furthering a knowledge and understanding of place based on the initial perceptual encounter. How might this perceptual encounter operate in terms of a sound work’s affective dimension? To explore these issues I draw upon James J. Gibson’s ecological theory of perception and Gernot Böhme’s concept of an ‘aesthetic of atmospheres’. Within the ecological model of perception an individual can be regarded as a ‘perceptual system’: a mobile organism that seeks information from a coherent environment. I relate this concept to notions of the spatial address of environmental sound work in order to explore (a) how the human perceptual apparatus relates to the sonic environment in its mediated form and (b) how this impacts on individuals’ ability to experience such work as complex sonic ‘environments’. Can the ecological theory of perception aid the understanding of how the listener engages with context-based work? In proposing answers to this question, this paper advances a coherent analytical framework that may lead us to a more systematic grasp of the ways in which individuals engage aesthetically with sonic space and environment. I illustrate this methodology through an examination of some of the recorded work of sound artist Chris Watson.

The use of motivational interviews by nurses to promote health behaviors in adolescents: a scoping review protocol

Adolescents - defined as young people between 10 and 19 years of age1 - are, in general, a relatively healthy segment of the population.2 However, the developmental changes that take place during adolescence may affect their subsequent risk for diseases and for a variety of health-related behaviors. In fact, early onset of preventable health problems (e.g. obesity, malnutrition, STDs) and the engagement in health risk behaviors (e.g., sedentary life style, excessive alcohol consumption, unprotected sex) during adolescence, are likely to put them at greater risk for physical and mental health problems at a later stage in life. Moreover, health related problems and health risk behaviors may disrupt adolescents' physical and cognitive development and therefore may affect their ability to think and act in relation to decisions about their health in the future.1 In summary, health-related behaviors in adolescence, apart from their influence on the continuum of "health-disease", they also have the potential to influence future behaviors. In fact, several studies have shown that past behaviors are good predictors of future behaviors .3,4 Thus, promoting healthy practices during adolescence and taking measures to better protect young people from health risks are essential for the prevention of health problems in adulthood.5 According to the World Health Organization, the main problems affecting young people include mental health problems (such as behavioral disorders, eating disorders, suicide, anxiety or depression), the use of substances (illegal substances, alcohol and tobacco), interpersonal violence, nutrition (a proper nutrition consists of healthy eating habits and physical exercise), unintentional injuries (which are a leading cause of death and disability among young people, with road traffic injuries accounting for about 700 deaths per day), sexual and reproductive health (for example, risky sexual behaviors, early pregnancy and childbirth) and HIV (resulting from sexual transmission and drug injection).5,6 On the other hand, the number of children and youth with chronic health conditions has increased dramatically in the past four decades7 as larger numbers of chronically ill children survive beyond the age of 10.8 Despite the lack of data on adolescents' health making it difficult to determine the prevalence of chronic illnesses in this age group9, it is known that one in ten adolescents suffers from a chronic condition worldwide.10 In fact, national population based studies from Western countries show that 20-30% of teenagers have a chronic illness, defined as one that lasts longer than six months.8 The most prevalent chronic illness among adolescents is asthma and the one with the highest incidence is diabetes mellitus, particularly type II.9 Traditionally, healthcare professionals have been mainly investing in health education activities, through the transmission of knowledge with a view to creating habits, customs and behaviors, and promoting healthy lifestyles. However, empowering people does not only consist of giving them the right information11 , i.e. good information is not enough to cause people to make changes.12 The motivation or desire to change unhealthy behaviors and habits depends on many factors, namely intrinsic motivation, control over personal decisions, self-confidence and perception of effectiveness, personal ambivalence, and individualized assistance.12 Many professionals assume that supplying knowledge is sufficient for behavioral changes; however, even very good advice often fails to generate behavioral change. After all, people continue to engage in unhealthy behaviors despite clearly knowing what they should do and how to change. "What is lacking is the motivation to apply that knowledge".13, p.1233 In fact, behavioral change is a complex phenomenon with multiple determinants that also includes motivational variables. It is associated with ambivalent processes expressed in the dilemma between keeping the current status and moving on to new ways of acting. For example, telling adolescents that if they keep on engaging in a certain behavior, they are increasing the risk of developing a long-term condition such as cardiovascular disease, stroke or diabetes is rarely enough to trigger the desired behavioral change; people are more likely to change when they believe that the change is really effective and that they are able to implement it.12 Therefore, it is essential to provide specific training for "healthcare professionals to master motivational techniques, avoid confrontation with the users, and facilitate behavioral changes".14 In this context, motivating patients to make behavioral changes is also an important nursing task where change in lifestyle is a major element of patients' treatment and preventive interventions.15 One of the nurse's goals is to help improve a patient's health or help them to manage existing health conditions. Once nurses are in a position where they have to focus on accomplishing tasks and telling patients what needs to be accomplished16, the role of the nurse is expanding even more into the use of motivational strategies.17 MI is bringing nurses back to therapeutic communication and moving them closer to successful health promotion and disease management, by promoting behavior change and empowering their patients. As the nursing profession evolves, MI is seen as a challenge and the basis of nurse's interactions with individuals, families and communities.16, 17 In the same way, MI may be taken as an essential tool in the provision of nursing care to adolescents, being itself a workspace with possible therapeutic effects regarding problems, clarification of doubts, and development of skills.18 In fact, MI may be particularly applicable in work with adolescents because of their specific developmental stage. Adolescents attempt to establish their own autonomy and identity while struggling with social interactions and moral issues, which leads to ambivalence.19 Consistent with the developmental challenges during adolescence, "MI explicitly honors autonomy, people's right and irrevocable ability to decide about their own behavior"20 while allowing the person to explore possibilities for change of risky or maladaptive behaviours.19 MI can be defined as a directive, client-centred counselling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. It is most centrally defined not by technique but by its spirit as a facilitative style of interpersonal relationship.21 It is a set of strategies and techniques widely used in clinical practice based on the transtheoretical model of change. The Stages of Change model describes five stages of readiness—precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance—and provides a framework for understanding behavior change.22 The MI has been widely tested and applied in different areas, such as modification of addictive behaviors, interventions with offenders in the context of justice, eating disorders, promotion of therapeutic adherence among chronic patients, promotion of learning in school settings or intervention with adolescents at risk.18,23 In general, clinical practice has been adopting the perspective of motivation as something relatively immutable, i.e., the adolescent is either motivated for change/treatment and, in these conditions, the professional's role is to help him/her, or the adolescent is not motivated and then change/treatment is not feasible. Alternatively the theoretical model underlying the MI technique postulates that the individual's adherence to change/treatment depends on his/her motivation, which can change throughout the therapeutic intervention. As several studies found positive results for effects of MI24-26 and its use by health professionals is encouraged23,27 nurses may play an important role in patients' process of change. As nurses have a crucial role in clinical contexts, they can facilitate the process of ending risk behaviors and/or adopting positive health behaviors through some motivational techniques, namely with adolescents. A considerable number of systematic reviews about MI already exist pointing to some benefits of its use in the treatment of a broad range of behavioral problems and diseases.13,28,29 Some of the current reviews focus on examining the effectiveness of MI for adolescents with diverse health risks/problems 30-32. However, to date there are no reviews that present and assess the evidence for the use of nurse-led MI in adolescents. Therefore, we have little knowledge of what works for whom (which adolescent subpopulation) under what circumstances (in which setting, for what problem) in relation to motivational interviewing by nurses. There is a clear need for scoping or mapping the use of MI by nurses with adolescents to identify evidence gaps and to inform opportunities for future development in nursing practice. On the other hand, information regarding nurse-led implemented and evaluated interventions, techniques and/or strategies used, contexts of application and adolescents subpopulation groups is dispersed in the literature33-36 which impedes the formulation of precise questions about the effectiveness of those interventions conducted by nurses and therefore the realization of a systematic review. In other words, it is known that different kind of motivational interventions have been implemented in different contexts by nurses, however does not exist a map about all the motivational techniques and/or strategies used. Furthermore the literature does not clarify which is the role of nurses at cross professional motivational intervention implemented programs and finally the outcomes and evaluation of interventions are unclear. Thus, the practical implication of this mapping will be clarifying all these aspects. Without this clarification is not possible to proceed to the realization of a systematic review about the effectiveness of the use of motivational interviews by nurses to promote health behaviors in adolescents, in a particular context and/or health risk behavior; or regarding the effectiveness of certain technique and/or strategy of MI. Consequently, there are important questions about the nature of the evidence in this area that need to be answered before formulating a precise question of effectiveness. This scoping review aims to respond to these questions. An initial search of the JBI Database of Systematic Reviews & Implementation Reports, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, , Database of promoting health effectiveness reviews (DoPHER), The Campbell Library, Medline and CINAHL, has revealed that currently there is no Scoping Review (published or in progress) on the subject. In this context, this scoping review will examine and map the published and unpublished research around the use of MI by nurses implemented and evaluated to promote health behaviors in adolescents; to establish its current extent, range and nature and identify its feasibility, outcomes and gaps in the evidence defining research priorities in this field. This scoping review will be informed by the JBI methodology37 that suggests a five stage methodological framework for conducting scoping reviews which includes: identifying the research question, searching for relevant studies, selecting studies, charting data, collating, summarizing and reporting the results.

SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR IN GIANT DANIO

A fundamental problem in biology is understanding how and why things group together. Collective behavior is observed on all organismic levels - from cells and slime molds, to swarms of insects, flocks of birds, and schooling fish, and in mammals, including humans. The long-term goal of this research is to understand the functions and mechanisms underlying collective behavior in groups. This dissertation focuses on shoaling (aggregating) fish. Shoaling behaviors in fish confer foraging and anti-predator benefits through social cues from other individuals in the group. However, it is not fully understood what information individuals receive from one another or how this information is propagated throughout a group. It is also not fully understood how the environmental conditions and perturbations affect group behaviors. The specific research objective of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of how certain social and environmental factors affect group behaviors in fish. I focus on two ecologically relevant decision-making behaviors: (i) rheotaxis, or orientation with respect to a flow, and (ii) startle response, a rapid response to a perceived threat. By integrating behavioral and engineering paradigms, I detail specifics of behavior in giant danio Devario aequipinnatus (McClelland 1893), and numerically analyze mathematical models that may be extended to group behavior for fish in general, and potentially other groups of animals as well. These models that predict behavior data, as well as generate additional, testable hypotheses. One of the primary goals of neuroethology is to study an organism's behavior in the context of evolution and ecology. Here, I focus on studying ecologically relevant behaviors in giant danio in order to better understand collective behavior in fish. The experiments in this dissertation provide contributions to fish ecology, collective behavior, and biologically-inspired robotics.

From the human rights-based approach to an ecological approach on how to achieve successful inclusion in international disability education

The barriers that people with disabilities face around the world are not only inherent to the limitations resulting from the disability itself, but, more importantly, these barriers rest with the societal technologies of exclusion. Using a mixed methodology approach, I conduct a quest to revealing several societal factors that limit full participation of people with disabilities in their communities, which will contribute to understanding and developing a more comprehensive framework for full inclusion of people with disabilities into the society. First, I conduct a multiple regression analysis to seek whether there is a statistical relationship between the national level of development, the level of democratization, and the level of education within a country’s population on one hand, and expressed concern for and preparedness to improve the quality of life for people of disabilities on another hand. The results from the quantitative methodology reveal that people without disabilities are more prepared to take care of people with disabilities when the level of development of the country is higher, when the people have more freedom of expression and hold the government accountable for its actions, and when the level of corruption is under control. However, a greater concern for the well-being of people with disabilities is correlated with a high level of country development, a decreased value of political stability and absence of violence, a decreased level of government effectiveness, and a greater level of law enforcement. None of the dependent variables are significantly correlated with the level of education from a given country. Then, I delve into an interpretive analysis to understand multiple factors that contribute to the construction of attitudes and practices towards people with disabilities. In doing this, I build upon the four main principles outlined by the United Nations as strongly recommended to be embedded in all international programmes: (1) identification of claims of human rights and the corresponding obligations of governments, hence, I assess and analyze disability rights in education, looking at United Nation, United States, and European Union Perspectives Educational Rights Provisions for People with Disabilities (Ch. 3); (2) estimated capacity of individuals to claim their rights and of governments to fulfill their obligations, hence, I look at the people with disabilities as rights-holders and duty-bearers and discuss the importance of investing in special capital in the context of global development (Ch. 4); (3) programmes monitor and evaluate the outcomes and the processes under the auspices of human rights standards, hence, I look at the importance of evaluating the UN World Programme of Action Concerning People with Disabilities from multiple perspectives, as an example of why and how to monitor and evaluate educational human rights outcomes and processes (Ch. 5); and (4) programming should reflect the recommendations of international human rights bodies and mechanisms, hence, I focus on programming that fosters development of the capacity of people with disabilities, that is, planning for an ecology of disabilities and ecoducation for people with disabilities (Ch. 6). Results from both methodologies converge to a certain point, and they further complement each other. One common result for the two methodologies employed is that disability is an evolving concept when viewed in a broader context, which integrates the four spaces that the ecological framework incorporates. Another common result is that factors such as economic, social, legal, political, and natural resources and contexts contribute to the health, education and employment opportunities, and to the overall well-being of people with disabilities. The ecological framework sees all these factors from a meta-systemic perspective, where bi-directional interactions are expected and desired, and also from a human rights point of view, where the inherent value of people is upheld at its highest standard.

Classificação de esquizofrenia com base em máquinas de suporte vetorial aplicadas a características de imagens de ressonância magnética

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade Gama, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Biomédica, 2015.