Gaze‐Contingent Display Changes as New Window on Analytical and Holistic Face Perception in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The strength of holistic face perception in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was evaluated by applying the gaze‐contingent mask and window technique to a face matching and discrimination task in 6‐ to 14‐year‐old children with (n = 36) and without ASD (n = 47), and by examining fixation patterns. Behavioral results suggested a slower and less efficient face processing in the ASD sample compared with the matched control group. Comparing the moving mask and window conditions revealed a reduced holistic face processing bias in the younger age group but not in the older sample. Preferential viewing patterns revealed both similarities and differences between both participant groups.     

Implementing information technology at the Border Technikon in South Africa

The mission of Border Technikon in South Africa is to provide the best vocational and career education to students of all racial and cultural backgrounds in the East London area. The staff believes that an important component of this mission includes giving students marketable skills for the information age. Therefore, in 1996, the Technikon undertook an extensive program to implement new information technologies that would help fulfill the institution's mission. Implementing information technology at academic institutions in developing countries must address a special set of problems, some of which are technology gaps, educational deficits, and lack of adequate facilities. This paper describes some of the more unique problems the Technikon encountered, and a few solutions. During 1996, she served as a Senior Librarian at Border Technikon, East London, South Africa, under the Educators for Africa Program of the International Foundation of Education and Self-Help.     

Transition services for students with intellectual disabilities: School psychologists’ perceptions

For individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), transition services increase access to postschool opportunities. School psychologists should contribute to transition services but have reportedly limited involvement in this area. This study distributed a national survey (N = 176) assessing school psychologists’ current knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding transition services for students with ID. Results indicated that attitudes toward and knowledge of the ID population were significant predictors of transition task performance, and knowledge was a significant predictor of transition‐related attitudes and behaviors. The results provided preliminary evidence that increasing school psychologists’ specific knowledge of transition services and encouraging positive attitudes toward the transition needs of students with ID may increase school psychologists’ performance in transition practice. Specific recommendations are provided.     

Relationships with supply chain partners affecting internal operation of high-tech manufacturers in Taiwan

The increasing number of interactions between Taiwan and the Mainland may bring in both opportunities and competitions among the companies in the region. Companies are forced to continuously change and develop to advance and to sustain in the competitive environment. It also holds true for the companies in the even more competitive high-tech industries. It is therefore of a value to study what challenges the high-tech firms are facing, how these challenges impact on their performance and how these firms are dealing with issues. Among the multiple challenges, supply chain operation has been a critical issue concerning the high-tech manufacturers.The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the various supply chain operation determinants (relationships with business partners, internal operation) and the impacts of relationships with supply chain partners on the internal operation and the collective efficacy relating to the scheduling issues in high-tech manufacturing firms in Taiwan. A research framework linking internal operation and relationships with supply chain partners (supplier and customer) and individuals (perceived collective efficacy) is applied.     

Unzip the Truth: Results from the Fort Peck Men's Sexual Health Intervention and Evaluation Study

American Indian (AI) men experience sexual and reproductive health disparities including sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancy, absent fatherhood, and intimate relationship violence. Using a case-control study within a community-based participatory research framework, we investigated the effectiveness of a sexual and reproductive health peer led education intervention model for AI men, ages 18–24. Intervention results demonstrated the greatest impact on attitudes regarding contraceptives, commitment in relationships, and consistency of condom use. Our study provides insights into how to access education and influence sexual risk behaviors among a diverse group of hard to reach young adult males.     

Index for Volume 55 (1984)

Abstract

This study investigated the timing of the trigger pull in relation to the cardiac cycle during air rifle shooting. Electrocardiogram) was recorded from 20 male nonelite rifle shooters in two separate testing sessions. The testing was conducted at an indoor shooting range using an optoelectronic shooting system. Each participant fired a shot in the standing position at a distance of 10 m from the target. The results showed that compared to random triggering, the shooters fired more often during the phase of 10–50% of the R wave-to-R wave (R-R) interval and less often during the phase of 50–90%. With regard to performance accuracy, the participants exhibited average or above average performance, when the shot occurred in the beginning (0–50%) and in the end (70–99%) of the R-R interval. The less optimal range for the triggering was located within the 50–70% phase of the R-R interval. The length of R-R interval (i.e., heart rate) did not affect the relation of shot placement within the cardiac cycle to the accuracy of shooting performance. The present results extend previous findings by showing that in air rifle shooting the optimum firing time within the cardiac cycle may be located in the systolic phase. It is argued that the systole-diastole dichotomy is not a sufficiently accurate way to investigate the effects of shot placement in the cardiac cycle. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which the relationship between the timing of triggering within the cardiac cycle and shooting performance depends a shooter's skill level.     

The rhetorical construction of the nation in education: the case of Flanders

This paper examines what can be learnt from ‘new rhetoric’ (focusing on the work of the American rhetorician Kenneth Burke [1897–1993]) about (national) identity and discusses how nationalism can be taught from such a rhetorical perspective. Despite the ‘deconstruction’ of nation(alism) as a grand narrative, there is a new tendency towards emphasizing national identity, caused by trends such as globalization and multiculturalism. In the language and literature teaching curriculum, this paradoxical situation often causes frictions for teachers who very often are expected to teach standard language and national literature. The hypothesis is that rhetoric is a tool to deal with these tensions in the curriculum. This paper focuses on Flanders as a case‐study. Together with pre‐service teachers it analysed the rhetorical construction of Flanders from a dramatistic perspective. It is argued that Burke’s concepts are useful tools to make students ‘symbol‐wise’: to understand the way national symbols work, and to develop critical engagement with, as well as on behalf of, those symbols.