The development and evaluation of a computer-based program to test and to teach the recognition of facial affect

Autism is a chronic pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the early onset of social and communicative impairments as well as restricted, ritualized, stereotypic behavior. The endophenotype of autism includes neuropsychological deficits, for instance a lack of "Theory of Mind" and problems recognizing facial affect. In this study, we report the development and evaluation of a computer-based program to teach and test the ability to identify basic facially expressed emotions. 10 adolescent or adult subjects with high-functioning autism or Asperger-syndrome were included in the investigation. A priori the facial affect recognition test had shown good psychometric properties in a normative sample (internal consistency: rtt=.91-.95; retest reliability: rtt=.89-.92). In a prepost design, one half of the sample was randomly assigned to receive computer treatment while the other half of the sample served as control group. The training was conducted for five weeks, consisting of two hours training a week. The trained individuals improved significantly on the affect recognition task, but not on any other measure. Results support the usefulness of the program to teach the detection of facial affect. However, the improvement found is limited to a circumscribed area of social-communicative function and generalization is not ensured.

The impact of a computer based adult literacy program on literacy and numeracy : evidence from India

With over 700 million illiterate adults in the world, many governments have implemented adult literacy programs across the world, although typically with low rates of success partly because the quality of teaching is low. One solution may lie in the standardization of teaching provided by computer-aided instruction. We present the first rigorous evidence of the effectiveness of a computer-based adult literacy program. A randomized control trial study of TARA Akshar Plus, an Indian adult literacy program, was implemented in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. We find large, significant impacts of this computer-aided program on literacy and numeracy outcomes. We compare the improvement in learning to that of other traditional adult literacy programs and conclude that TARA Akshar Plus is effective in increasing literacy and numeracy for illiterate adult women.

A Program for Fractal and Multifractal Analysis of Two-Dimensional Binary Images. Computer Algorithms versus Mathematical Theory.

In this paper we present a tool to carry out the multifractal analysis of binary, two-dimensional images through the calculation of the Rényi D(q) dimensions and associated statistical regressions. The estimation of a (mono)fractal dimension corresponds to the special case where the moment order is q = 0.

The development of UTCS/NETSIM/ICG: an integrated urban traffic control system - network simulation - interactive computer graphics program. Final report.

Transportation Department, Office of University Research, Washington, D.C.

Increased fuel economy in transportation systems by use of energy management. Volume III. Real-time (hybrid computer) simulation program set.

Transportation Department, Washington, D.C.

Improved hybrid computer vehicle handling program. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

A computer research program for solving the reaction rate equations in the E ionospheric region /

Ionospheric Physics Laboratory Project 8653.

Development of a computer simulation program for collinear car/car and car/barrier collisions. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Initial crash test screening studies utilizing the NHTSA/BCL computer simulation program for collinear car/car and car/barrier collisions. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

The graduate program in computer science.

Bibliography: p. 7-9.

Program organization for the University of Illinois digital computer /

"August 10, 1954"

Experiments with an image processing computer : part 3: proposed technical program, October 1, 1970 to September 30, 1971 /

"C00-1018-1213"--Cover.

Program Trixy : multi-group analysis of nuclear reactors in three space dimensions : for the IBM type 704 computer /

"Physics and Math. TID-4500 (15th Ed.)"--Title page.