Who Is a Creative Person? Conceptualisation of creativity by people with autism spectrum disorder.

Arkadiusz Gut, Małgorzata Moszyńska, Natalia Reszuta, Who Is a Creative Person? Conceptualisation of creativity by people with autism spectrum disorder. Interdisciplinary Contexts of Special Pedagogy, no. 27, Poznań 2019. Pp. 373–387. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 2300-391X. e-ISSN 2658-283X. DOI:https://doi.org/10.14746/ikps.2019.27.17 A growing body of literature has focused on individuals with autism spectrum disorder who are entering adulthood. Thus, one of the main topics is social interactions and the issue of their functioning in professional contexts. Researchers focus their attention on those individuals’ folk theories that are also crucial in the lives of the normative sample. One of the key folk theories that guide our professional lives is a folk image of the creative person. The folk theory is nothing more than tacit knowledge held by a group of people. It is a system of beliefs and an inner standard of assessment that serves us to explain, for example, why we believe that someone is creative or when we assess the effects of their work. The aim of this paper is to present chosen findings from our study of the folk theory of creativity and creative person using a sample of persons with an autism spectrum disorder. We used a reversed version of Klaus Urban’s and Hans Jellen’s Test for Creative Thinking – Drawing Production (TCT-DP) where respondents selected previously prepared drawings, instead of making them. Their task was to select the most and least creative drawings and rank all the drawings according totheir level of creativity. We also measured respondents’ levels of creative efficiency and creative identity.Arkadiusz Gut, Małgorzata Moszyńska, Natalia Reszuta, Who Is a Creative Person? Conceptualisation of creativity by people with autism spectrum disorder. Interdisciplinary Contexts of Special Pedagogy, no. 27, Poznań 2019. Pp. 373–387. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 2300-391X. e-ISSN 2658-283X. DOI:https://doi.org/10.14746/ikps.2019.27.17 A growing body of literature has focused on individuals with autism spectrum disorder who are entering adulthood. Thus, one of the main topics is social interactions and the issue of their functioning in professional contexts. Researchers focus their attention on those individuals’ folk theories that are also crucial in the lives of the normative sample. One of the key folk theories that guide our professional lives is a folk image of the creative person. The folk theory is nothing more than tacit knowledge held by a group of people. It is a system of beliefs and an inner standard of assessment that serves us to explain, for example, why we believe that someone is creative or when we assess the effects of their work. The aim of this paper is to present chosen findings from our study of the folk theory of creativity and creative person using a sample of persons with an autism spectrum disorder. We used a reversed version of Klaus Urban’s and Hans Jellen’s Test for Creative Thinking – Drawing Production (TCT-DP) where respondents selected previously prepared drawings, instead of making them. Their task was to select the most and least creative drawings and rank all the drawings according totheir level of creativity. We also measured respondents’ levels of creative efficiency and creative identity

Brain activity underlying response induced by SNARC-congruent and SNARC-incongruent stimuli

At least three well‑documented phenomena indicate a relationship between numbers and the internal representation of space. They are shifting attention in accordance with the localization of numbers on the mental number line (MNL); the spatial‑numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect, which manifests as faster responses to high numbers with the right hand than with the left, and vice versa for low numbers; and the processing of both numbers and space primarily in the parietal cortex. Some EEG studies have pointed to the response selection stage as a locus of this effect. However, this explanation has yet to be corroborated by the fMRI experiments.The goal of this study was to investigate the functional anatomy underlying response selection induced by SNARC‑congruent and SNARC-incongruent stimuli in a spatial visual cueing task. Healthy adult volunteers responded to a pair of target stimuli consisting of digits, non-digit symbols, or a mix of both. In each trial, the stimuli were preceded by a centrally presented numerical or non-numerical cue stimulus which was required to be memorized. One of the target stimuli that then appeared would be identical to the cue; the task was to determine which side it was presented on, within the pair. In the case of numerical stimuli, the side was congruent with its localization on the MNL in one‑half of the trials. In the other half of the trials, it was incongruent. The behavioral results revealed the SNARC effect, as well as a faster reaction to low numbers than to high numbers. The fMRI responses to the target stimuli showed engagement of regions implicated in number processing but also in sensory-motor areas. This suggests that the motor response selection or execution stage may be the locus of the SNARC effect. Yet, the activation pattern obtained in the congruent and incongruent conditions did not allow us to determine, indisputably, the neural correlates of the mechanisms involved in the SNARC effect. Moreover, we did not observe any stimulus-specific responses to cues

Types and circumstances of injury occurence at competitors practicing football

Introduction It is believed that football injuries account for up to 3% of all injuries that requires hospitalization. Often the cause of accidents is brutal and incompatible with the game. Aim The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sports injuries in football competitors in group of players from Złotoryjski Klub Sportowy. Material and methods The research material was a group of 25 male trainees actively football. The respondents were men aged 16 to 38 years old. Players train average 3 times a week for 90 minutes. In research was used the questionnaire of diagnostic sounding. The answers of the respondents were divided into categories and analyzed statistically. Test results In ZKS Górnik Złotoryja team the most common injuries occured on incorrectly prepared grass pitch, said the vast majority – 75%. In studied group the most common injury was sprain ankle which suffered 16 respondents which gives 41%, other suffered of back pain 13%, 11% suffed of hip-joint, 10% suffered of other injuries such as head injuries. Among other injuries, respondents mentioned: twisted knee-joint, twisted wrist, breaking shoulder, back pain, meniscus damage. Conclusions 1. Players in the vast majority suffered injuries of musculoskeletal system. 2. Due to nature of fooball the most vulnerable to injuries were lower limbs. 3. The most common injuries in surveyed group were sprains and bruises in lower limbs. 4. Among the circumstances in which players suffered injuries pointed on overtrain and direct clash with the opponent. Among technical reasons the most pointed was improperly prepared football pitch

Heterogeneity of Dyscalculia Risk Dependent on the Type of Number Line Estimation Task and the Number Magnitude

An ability that is impaired in developmental dyscalculia (DD) is related to number line estimation (NLE). However, due to variability in NLE task performance, group differences do not exemplify the real difficulty level observed in the DD population. Thirty-two of the fifty-two participants posing dyscalculia risk (DR) (mean age = 9.88) experienced difficulties in mathematics. All the children performed two number-to-position tasks and two tasks requiring a verbal estimation of a number indicated on a line, utilizing the ranges 0–100 and 0–1000. The results showed that the estimation error in the verbal task was greater in the DR group than in the typically developed (TD) group for the 0–1000 range. In the number-to-position task, group differences were found for both ranges and the variability within both groups was smaller than it was in the verbal tasks. Analyses of each of the 26 numerical magnitudes revealed a more comprehensive pattern. The majority of the group effects were related to the 0–1000 line. Therefore, considerable data variability, especially in the DD group, suggests this issue must be analyzed carefully in the case of other mathematical capacities. It also critically questions some well-established phenomena and norms in experimental and diagnostic practices

Plastic changes in healthy and damaged brain

During the last several years there has been an increased interest in the ability of the adult central nervous system to reorganize itself in response to injury and to environmental input. Although evidence for plastic changes in animals is considerable, until quite recently there have been few attempts to look for brain reorganization in human subjects and to demonstrate the behavioral consequences of those effects. Here is presented a review of the experiments showing that in humans the brain is also capable of substantial reorganization throughout life in response to environmental changes. One of the findings is that cortex deprived of sensory input in one modality can be recruited by other modalities to process information in a functionally relevant manner. Because behaviorally manipulated use-dependent plasticity could be of value in solving clinical problems, new therapies for patients with various deficits have recently been developed on the base of the research data

Mental representations of number formation in early school period, using motor functions and computer games

Numbers have cognitive (mental) representations that have neuronal underpinnings and are shaped in development and strengthened based on experience. It is also known that neuroplasticity allows the effective training (and therefore development or improvement) of both cognitive and motor functions. Can motor training have anything to do with the effectiveness of cognitive training? Are cognitive processes embodied, and can we influence cognitive ability through movement? The dynamic development of modern technology that is applied in education and therapy has made computerassisted training of cognitive and motor functions increasingly popular. As many studies indicate, cognitive training and cognitive-motor training using computer games are very effective not only in education and development of mathematical competency, but also in overcoming deficits in people suffering from problems with maths. This article provides a review of the most important research results on this issue.Liczby posiadają poznawcze reprezentacje w umyśle człowieka, które kształtują się w toku rozwoju jednostki i są utrwalane na bazie doświadczenia oraz mają dobrze udokumentowane neuronalne podstawy. Wiadomo również, że neuroplastyczność pozwala na efektywne ćwiczenie (a więc rozwój lub poprawę) zarówno funkcji poznawczych, jak i ruchowych. Czy trening motoryczny może mieć jednak coś wspólnego z rozwojem poznawczym? Czy procesy poznawcze są „ucieleśnione” i czy przez ruch możemy wpływać na poziom zdolności poznawczych? Dynamiczny rozwój nowoczesnych technologii, które znalazły zastosowanie w edukacji i terapii, spowodował, że wspierane komputerowo metody rozwijające zdolności matematyczne stają się coraz bardziej popularne. Wyniki licznych badań wskazują na to, że programy ćwiczeń z wykorzystaniem gier komputerowych doskonale sprawdzają się nie tylko w edukacji i rozwijaniu zdolności poznawczych istotnych w kształtowaniu kompetencji matematycznych czy utrwalaniu umysłowych reprezentacji liczb. Okazują się one również skuteczną metodą pokonywania deficytów u osób z problemami w zakresie matematyki

Jak umysł przetwarza ułamki? Poznawcze reprezentacje liczb niecałkowitych

Zagadnienie umysłowych reprezentacji liczb, ich kształtowania się w rozwoju i neuronalnego podłoża jest stosunkowo dobrze poznane i udokumentowane w literaturze. Z badań tych wiadomo między innymi, że istnieje bardzo ścisły związek między umysłowymi reprezentacjami liczb i przestrzeni, co ilustruje koncepcja uporządkowania liczb na tzw. Mentalnej Osi Liczbowej. Doniesienia z badań nad tą zależnością dotyczą jednak głównie liczb całkowitych, zaś analogiczne badania nad poznawczymi reprezentacjami ułamków są nieliczne i dają niejednoznaczne rezultaty. Niniejszy artykuł stanowi próbę przeglądu dotychczasowej literatury dotyczącej tego tematu z odniesieniem do neuronalnych i behawioralnych korelatów mentalnych reprezentacji liczb niecałkowitych, jak również metod ich badania. Stawiane są też pytania, mogące stanowić punkt wyjścia do dalszych dociekań w tym zakresie

Socio-economic aspects of implementing new regulations to reduce air pollution threatening human health

Air pollution is one of the most important current environmental health problems, threatening health in a significant way and contributing to the development of many diseases. The reason for exceeding the air quality standards is mainly low emissions, including, inter alia, pollution from individual sources, such as households. Improving air quality requires a comprehensive and wellthought-out approach when introducing a number of legal regulations. Current and planned regulations aimed at limiting air pollution do not take into account important social issues, such as the right of the poorest to heat or the growing percentage of people falling into energy poverty, which are essentially influenced by three factors: high energy cost, low energy efficiency of buildings, and low household income, which translates into the quality of fuels burned, often including garbage. It should be noted, however, that adopted resolutions may constitute a barrier to the development of innovation in the heating industry. As a result of the regulations already adopted, only installations complying with class 5 standards will be allowed to be used, which means that lower-class boilers will have to be replaced with new, top-class boilers, but no other technical solutions are taken into account – e.g., filters, which in combination with non-class or class 3 and 4 boilers may result in a reduction of emission

Self-esteem and sociocultural influence on body image and readiness for anorectic behavior

The main aim of the this article was presenting results of the research about identifi cation of relation between selfassessment, sociocultural attitude towards body image and establishing proneness to anorectic behavior by teenage girls in their early adolescence. In the study model consecutive variables were isolated: proneness to anorectic behavior (dependent variable) and sell-esteem and factors of sociocultural infl uence on self-body image and physical appearance (independent variables). Consecutive research methods were applied: Questionnaire of Individual Attitude towards Eating (KSJ) developed by B. Ziółkowska, Questionnaire of Sociocultural Attitude towards Physical Appearance and Self-body Image elaborated by Izydorczyk (2014), Self-Esteem Scale by Rosenberg. The research was conducted on a group of 95 girls (early adolescence) aged between 13 and 15 years. In statistical analysis of the results descriptive statistics and correlation measurement was used together with Pearson’s linear correlation coeffi cient. The result of the study diversify relevance of correlation between self-esteem, sociocultural factors and proneness to anorectic behavior by girls in the early adolescence