116 research outputs found
Rethinking postcolonial Europe: moving identities, changing subjectivities
Europe has always presented a problem for postcolonial studies. In the elisions of temporal and spatial coordinates that occur so frequently in theoretical discourse that ostensibly addresses the task of understanding the nature of colonialism and its aftermaths, of how colonialism shaped the modern world, and of how it may be resisted in the name of an equitable, peaceful, and just ‘postcolonial’ future, the ‘when’ and ‘where’ and ‘why’ of Europe has often been obscured
Age-Related Attenuation of Dominant Hand Superiority
The decline of motor performance of the human hand-arm system with age is well-documented. While dominant hand performance is superior to that of the non-dominant hand in young individuals, little is known of possible age-related changes in hand dominance. We investigated age-related alterations of hand dominance in 20 to 90 year old subjects. All subjects were unambiguously right-handed according to the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. In Experiment 1, motor performance for aiming, postural tremor, precision of arm-hand movement, speed of arm-hand movement, and wrist-finger speed tasks were tested. In Experiment 2, accelerometer-sensors were used to obtain objective records of hand use in everyday activities
Retrieval of Snow Depth on Arctic Sea Ice From Surface-Based, Polarimetric, Dual-Frequency Radar Altimetry
Snow depth on sea ice is an Essential Climate Variable and a major source of uncertainty in satellite altimetry-derived sea ice thickness. During winter of the MOSAiC Expedition, the “KuKa” dual-frequency, fully polarized Ku- and Ka-band radar was deployed in “stare” nadir-looking mode to investigate the possibility of combining these two frequencies to retrieve snow depth. Three approaches were investigated: dual-frequency, dual-polarization and waveform shape, and compared to independent snow depth measurements. Novel dual-polarization approaches yielded r2 values up to 0.77. Mean snow depths agreed within 1 cm, even for data sub-banded to CryoSat-2 SIRAL and SARAL AltiKa bandwidths. Snow depths from co-polarized dual-frequency approaches were at least a factor of four too small and had a r2 0.15 or lower. r2 for waveform shape techniques reached 0.72 but depths were underestimated. Snow depth retrievals using polarimetric information or waveform shape may therefore be possible from airborne/satellite radar altimeters
Distinct Timing Mechanisms Produce Discrete and Continuous Movements
The differentiation of discrete and continuous movement is one of the pillars of motor behavior classification. Discrete movements have a definite beginning and end, whereas continuous movements do not have such discriminable end points. In the past decade there has been vigorous debate whether this classification implies different control processes. This debate up until the present has been empirically based. Here, we present an unambiguous non-empirical classification based on theorems in dynamical system theory that sets discrete and continuous movements apart. Through computational simulations of representative modes of each class and topological analysis of the flow in state space, we show that distinct control mechanisms underwrite discrete and fast rhythmic movements. In particular, we demonstrate that discrete movements require a time keeper while fast rhythmic movements do not. We validate our computational findings experimentally using a behavioral paradigm in which human participants performed finger flexion-extension movements at various movement paces and under different instructions. Our results demonstrate that the human motor system employs different timing control mechanisms (presumably via differential recruitment of neural subsystems) to accomplish varying behavioral functions such as speed constraints
Wind redistribution of snow impacts the Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures of Arctic sea ice
Wind-driven redistribution of snow on sea ice alters its
topography and microstructure, yet the impact of these processes on radar
signatures is poorly understood. Here, we examine the effects of snow
redistribution over Arctic sea ice on radar waveforms and backscatter
signatures obtained from a surface-based, fully polarimetric Ka- and Ku-band
radar at incidence angles between 0∘ (nadir) and 50∘.
Two wind events in November 2019 during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for
the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition are evaluated. During both events, changes in Ka- and
Ku-band radar waveforms and backscatter coefficients at nadir are observed,
coincident with surface topography changes measured by a terrestrial laser
scanner. At both frequencies, redistribution caused snow densification at
the surface and the uppermost layers, increasing the scattering at the
air–snow interface at nadir and its prevalence as the dominant radar scattering surface. The waveform data also detected the presence of previous
air–snow interfaces, buried beneath newly deposited snow. The additional
scattering from previous air–snow interfaces could therefore affect the
range retrieved from Ka- and Ku-band satellite altimeters. With increasing
incidence angles, the relative scattering contribution of the air–snow
interface decreases, and the snow–sea ice interface scattering increases.
Relative to pre-wind event conditions, azimuthally averaged backscatter at
nadir during the wind events increases by up to 8 dB (Ka-band) and 5 dB (Ku-band). Results show substantial backscatter variability within the scan
area at all incidence angles and polarizations, in response to increasing
wind speed and changes in wind direction. Our results show that snow
redistribution and wind compaction need to be accounted for to interpret
airborne and satellite radar measurements of snow-covered sea ice.</p
Moving to capture children’s attention: developing a methodology for measuring visuomotor attention
Attention underpins many activities integral to a child’s development. However, methodological limitations currently make large-scale assessment of children’s attentional skill impractical, costly and lacking in ecological validity. Consequently we developed a measure of ‘Visual Motor Attention’ (VMA) - a construct defined as the ability to sustain and adapt visuomotor behaviour in response to task-relevant visual information. In a series of experiments, we evaluated the capability of our method to measure attentional processes and their contributions in guiding visuomotor behaviour. Experiment 1 established the method’s core features (ability to track stimuli moving on a tablet-computer screen with a hand-held stylus) and demonstrated its sensitivity to principled manipulations in adults’ attentional load. Experiment 2 standardised a format suitable for use with children and showed construct validity by capturing developmental changes in executive attention processes. Experiment 3 tested the hypothesis that children with and without coordination difficulties would show qualitatively different response patterns, finding an interaction between the cognitive and motor factors underpinning responses. Experiment 4 identified associations between VMA performance and existing standardised attention assessments and thereby confirmed convergent validity. These results establish a novel approach to measuring childhood attention that can produce meaningful functional assessments that capture how attention operates in an ecologically valid context (i.e. attention's specific contribution to visuomanual action)
Fine motor skills of the hands in Polish and Czech female senior citizens from different backgrounds
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