A systematic review of normative studies using images of common objects

Common objects comprise living and non-living things people interact with in their daily-lives. Images depicting common objects are extensively used in different fields of research and intervention, such as linguistics, psychology, and education. Nevertheless, their adequate use requires the consideration of several factors (e.g., item-differences, cultural-context and confounding correlated variables), and careful validation procedures. The current study presents a systematic review of the available published norms for images of common objects. A systematic search using PRISMA guidelines indicated that despite their extensive use, the production of norms for such stimuli with adult populations is quite limited (N = 55), particularly for more ecological images, such as photos (N = 14). Among the several dimensions in which the items were assessed, the most commonly referred in our sample were familiarity, visual complexity and name agreement, illustrating some consistency across the reported dimensions while also indicating the limited examination of other potentially relevant dimensions for image processing. The lack of normative studies simultaneously examining affective, perceptive and semantic dimensions was also documented. The number of such normative studies has been increasing in the last years and published in relevant peer-reviewed journals. Moreover, their datasets and norms have been complying with current open science practices. Nevertheless, they are still scarcely cited and replicated in different linguistic and cultural contexts. The current study brings important theoretical contributions by characterizing images of common objects stimuli and their culturally-based norms while highlighting several important features that are likely to be relevant for future stimuli selection and evaluative procedures. The systematic scrutiny of these normative studies is likely to stimulate the production of new, robust and contextually-relevant normative datasets and to provide tools for enhancing the quality of future research and intervention.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

RealPic: Picture norms of real-world common items

Pictures are often used as stimuli in several fields, such as psychology and neuroscience. However, co-occurring image-related properties might impact their processing, emphasizing the importance of validating such materials to guarantee the quality of research and professional practices. This is particularly relevant for pictures of common items because of their wide applicability potential. Normative studies have already been conducted to create and validate such pictures, yet most of them focused on stimulus without naturalistic elements (e.g., line drawings). Norms for real-world pictures of common items are rare, and their normative examination does not always simultaneously assess affective, semantic and perceptive dimensions, namely in the Portuguese context. Real-world pictures constitute pictorial representations of the world with realistic details (e.g., natural color or position), thus improving their ecological validity and their suitability for empirical studies or intervention purposes. Consequently, the establishment of norms for real-world pictures is mandatory for exploring their ecological richness and to uncover their impact across several relevant dimensions. In this study, we established norms for 596 real-world pictures of common items (e.g., tomato, drum) selected from existing databases and distributed into 12 categories. The pictures were evaluated on nine dimensions by a Portuguese sample. The results present the norms by item, by dimension and their correlations as well as cross-cultural analyses. RealPic is a culturally based dataset that offers systematic and flexible standards and is suitable for selecting stimuli while controlling for confounding effects in empirical tasks and interventional applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Accurate determination of elastic parameters for multi-component membranes

Heterogeneities in the cell membrane due to coexisting lipid phases have been conjectured to play a major functional role in cell signaling and membrane trafficking. Thereby the material properties of multiphase systems, such as the line tension and the bending moduli, are crucially involved in the kinetics and the asymptotic behavior of phase separation. In this Letter we present a combined analytical and experimental approach to determine the properties of phase-separated vesicle systems. First we develop an analytical model for the vesicle shape of weakly budded biphasic vesicles. Subsequently experimental data on vesicle shape and membrane fluctuations are taken and compared to the model. The combined approach allows for a reproducible and reliable determination of the physical parameters of complex vesicle systems. The parameters obtained set limits for the size and stability of nanodomains in the plasma membrane of living cells.Comment: (*) authors contributed equally, 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; added insets to figure

On the embedding of spacetime in five-dimensional Weyl spaces

We revisit Weyl geometry in the context of recent higher-dimensional theories of spacetime. After introducing the Weyl theory in a modern geometrical language we present some results that represent extensions of Riemannian theorems. We consider the theory of local embeddings and submanifolds in the context of Weyl geometries and show how a Riemannian spacetime may be locally and isometrically embedded in a Weyl bulk. We discuss the problem of classical confinement and the stability of motion of particles and photons in the neighbourhood of branes for the case when the Weyl bulk has the geometry of a warped product space. We show how the confinement and stability properties of geodesics near the brane may be affected by the Weyl field. We construct a classical analogue of quantum confinement inspired in theoretical-field models by considering a Weyl scalar field which depends only on the extra coordinate.Comment: 16 pages, new title and references adde

Improving the quality of Portuguese SMEs through competence evaluation

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020Problem and goal. Since we are going through a key moment in terms of technological advances and their effect on the labour field, the investigation of the on-the-job training processes gains a predominant role. Moreover, the need to research an approach that promotes a balance between the four spheres of development of learning – economic, sustain-able, community and personal – is emerging. This study was conceived as a result of this ur-gency, aiming to respond to the following problem: to what extent does a training model, based on the VPL (Validation of Prior Learning) approach and supported by principles of the educational sciences, can contribute to individual empowerment and, consequently, to an improvement in the organizational quality of Portuguese SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)? Methodology. The division of the research into two parts – Study 1 and Study 2 – al-lowed the collection and analysis of structural data (Study 1) that served as a basis for the defi- nition of a dynamic strategy (Study 2). Although undertaken at different times, they have thus proved to be complementary. In fact, the design of the training model was based, firstly, on the results obtained through exploratory interviews with key informants and, secondly, on the data obtained throughout the training process that involved ninety-two employees from ten Portuguese SMEs from diverse categories and sectors. Results. The training model, which emerged from the interaction between the theoreti-cal reflection and the practical context, comprises five components: distance learning, recog-nition of skills, language skills, intercultural skills and an individual action plan. Conclusion. This study, being an important contribution to the topic of on-the-job training in Portuguese SMEs, at the same time opens the way for the continuation of the research.publishersversionpublishe

Conceptual knowledge modulates memory recognition of common items: The selective role of item-typicality

This work examines the influence of stored conceptual knowledge (i.e., schema and item-typicality) on conscious memory processes. Specifically, we tested whether item-typicality selectively modulates recollection and familiarity-based memories as a function of the availability of a categorical schema during encoding. Experiment 1 manipulated both encoding type (categorical vs. perceptual) and item-typicality (typical vs. atypical) in a single Remember-Know paradigm. Experiment 2 replicated and extended the previous study with a complementary source-memory task. In both experiments, we observed that typical items led to more Guess responses, while atypical items led to more Remember responses. These findings support the idea that the activation of a congruent categorical schema selectively enhances familiarity-based memories, likely due to the bypassing of the activated mechanisms for novel information. In contrast, atypical items improved recollective-based memories only, suggesting that their lesser fit with the stored prototype might have triggered those novelty processing mechanisms. Moreover, atypical items enhanced memory in the categorical condition for both item recognition and recollection memories only, suggesting an episodic gain due to inconsistency/novelty. The source memory results gave further credence to the argument that “Remember” judgments were based on truly recollective experiences and presented the same interaction between encoding type and item-typicality observed in recollective-based memories. Overall, the results suggest that the supposedly opposite conceptual knowledge effects actually coexist and interact, albeit selectively, in the modulation of recollection and familiarity processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Programmed buckling by controlled lateral swelling in a thin elastic sheet

Recent experiments have imposed controlled swelling patterns on thin polymer films, which subsequently buckle into three-dimensional shapes. We develop a solution to the design problem suggested by such systems, namely, if and how one can generate particular three-dimensional shapes from thin elastic sheets by mere imposition of a two-dimensional pattern of locally isotropic growth. Not every shape is possible. Several types of obstruction can arise, some of which depend on the sheet thickness. We provide some examples using the axisymmetric form of the problem, which is analytically tractable.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Aharonov-Bohm-like effect for light propagating in nematics with disclinations

Using a geometric approach for the propagation of light in anisotropic media, we investigate what effect the director field of disclinations may have on the polarization state of light. Parallel transport around the defect, of the spinor describing the polarization, indicates the acquisition of a topological phase, in analogy with the Aharonov-Bohm effect.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in Europhysics Letter