Using a Game-Like Procedure as a Test of Executive Functions in Children

Concept formation is a term that refers to the ability to create abstract categories and rules for the objects in our environment. It is an ability that develops throughout childhood, and is important in education and learning. However, there are limited concept formation measures for six- and seven-year-old children, many of which are adaptations from adult tests. The present study seeks to explore the utility of a game-based task, called the Alien Game, originally designed by Pavitt (2017) as a child-friendly and culturally fairer measure of concept formation. In this cross-sectional study, 13 six- and seven-year-old participants, completed the Alien Game, and WISC-IV Similarities and Matrix Reasoning. Teachers completed working memory and inhibition ratings. The concurrent validity, applicability and likability of the Alien Game were explored. The Alien Game Abstraction score (AS) had high applicability as a reflection of children’s strategy based on concept formation. Spearman’s Rank correlation tests found a good concurrent validity of AS with Similarities and Matrix Reasoning scores, indicating that the AS is a good measure of concept formation. The AS had low predictive validity of working memory and inhibition. The Alien Game was rated highly by participants, who preferred it to established measures of concept formation. The Alien Game merits further development as a concept formation measure for six- and seven-year-old children. Further development should involve replication with a larger sample, analysis of the relationship between culture and performance in the Alien Game, and clinical utility for children with neurodevelopmental diagnoses and brain injury

Memory and Mimesis

"Memory and Mimesis" commence par une réflexion sur la relation entre l'esprit et la mémoire invoqué par un scénario quotidien de la vie d'un père jouant avec sa fille âgée d'un an dans un bistrot et extrapole, a partir de cette relation, une parallèle relation entre psychologie de l'enfant et de l'évolution humaine en termes du «développement» des formes peu profondes de la mémoire au détriment d'une mémoire plus profonde et primale incorporée dans un esprit non- épiphenominal. L'étude procède alors a le démonter par une exégèse de l'histoire de la création dans le livre de la Genèse avec une attention particulière à l'histoire de la tentation du serpent et le péché originel d'Eve comme une preuve — quand l'histoire est prise ( pas trop ) au sérieux — d’un support biblique pour l'évolution de concert avec des découverts dans la biologie évolutive

Imaging the city: modernity, capitalism and the making of modern Athens

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Protea Peace Parade

New editorial associate, Dr. Panos D. Bardis of Toledo U niversity, con­ tributed this poem after a visit to South Africa

Evolution of human needs in changing civilizations

[Δε διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available]The theory presented in this study is that, as scienceand technology advance and the resulting affluencegenerates higher levels of satisfaction for man’sphysiological drives, our emphasis on sociopsychologicalneeds becomes greater and greater. The dataemployed to test this theory were of two types: one,macroanalytical or historical, and two, microanalyticalor semihistorical, the latter being the problemsand needs of New York’s «neediest» families. Atleast the data included here do support the theory.The numerous implications of these findings areobvious. Below are a few of them:1. We need a standardized and more precise andsystematic nomenclature of human needs in orderto study them more fruitfully.2. Our increasing affluence necessitates further researchinto the psychology and sociology of leisuretime.3. More meaningful education in this sector is alsonecessary.4. We must explore the exact relationship betweenfrustration and violence.5. Social planning in these areas is something thatcan no longer be postponed with impunity.6. The developing economies of the Third Worldwill generate new sociopsychological needs which,unless appropriate measures are taken, may resultin social unrest and even violence.7. Finally, the utopian plans of those who conceiveof purely economic solutions as sufficient panaceasare simplistic and ludicrous, as they reveal theiradvocates’ inability to understand the nature ofboth our physiological and sociopsychological needs.Unfortunately, although physical satiety is ofteneasy to achieve, there is no answer, for instance, tothis question: When does a man have enough power?For man’s sociopsychological needs are insatiable,boundless, unfathomable

Reinforcement in Cooperative Games

Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Επιστήμη Δεδομένων και Μηχανική Μάθηση

Simulation and Evaluation of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Supplying a Desalination Unit on the Island of Lipsi, Greece

Water scarcity is a serious problem for the Aegean Islands in Greece. Due to the fact that tourist development grows in a continuous way, the situation has deteriorated over the last years. Current water resources management practices involving the exploitation of the groundwater reservoirs have provoked the salty water intrusion into the aquifers and in many arid islands water is transported by sea, at a considerably high cost (reaches about 12 €/m³ in some cases). Desalination is foreseen as a solution to this problem and it has already been adopted in many islands, as it is a process that can provide fresh and potable water in the required quantities, at a much lower cost. The coupling of desalination with renewable energy sources (RES) constitutes an appealing and promising option. This paper presents an integrated case study regarding the design and operation of a water-energy system for meeting irrigation and potable water demand in Lipsi Island (Dodecanese complex, Greece). As the desalination unit operation depends on the wind power, a detailed description regarding the generation of synthetic time series of wind speed data is also presented. Finally, a Cost-Benefit Analysis is carried out to discuss each scenario we examine from a financial perspective