The Elderly: A Descriptive study of the perceptions of the elderly and their driving abilities

This study advances the understanding of older driver’s perceptions on their driving abilities. It focuses on examining a deeper and more detailed understanding of the different challenges the elderly are experiencing, in respect to driving and retention of their license. Additionally, it is important for others (such as family, doctors, social workers etc.) to interact with the elderly and assist them in receiving services if they are no longer capable of driving a vehicle, as well as talk with them if they are struggling with giving up their license and consequently their independence. Specifically, the analysis focuses on which gender is a safer driver, if older drivers believe there should be a proper age when driving should be terminated, and what proper steps they take in order to continue their own safety as well as the safety of others on the road. Conclusions underscore the implications for professional practice, policy and research when aging adults who continue to keep a drivers license when they no longer should, placing them in the category of being a concern for society. This sample shows that 83.3% still maintain an active driver’s license. The study shows that older drivers sometimes follow the legal speed limit. Findings from the study include sample shows that maintain an active driver’s license

Microdevices for studies of cultured neural networks

A cultured network has the advantages that the network is two-dimensional and easily observed, that the biochemical environment can be controlled, and that conventional electrodes as well as extracellular electrodes incorporated into the cultured substrate can be used to selectively stimulate and record from individual neurons in the network. It is possible to study small numbers of connected neurons, from a few to hundreds. This talk will describe two techniques, the multielectrode array and the silicon neurochip, and their application to long-term communication with a network by means of simultaneous recording or stimulation of many neurons

Teenagers' perspectives on the Canterbury earthquakes : an insight into their needs and experiences : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Natural disasters inflict physical, psychosocial, and economic impacts on individuals and their communities. Although a substantial number of disaster survivors are teenagers (13-19 years), this population group has not been widely investigated, especially regarding their views on their post-disaster needs and received supports. Such information would be important when planning post-disaster supports for current and future disaster-exposed teenagers. The aim of this research therefore, was to explore teenagers’ experiences and retrospective views of their needs, supports, and recovery following the Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes. The first study surveyed 398 Christchurch secondary school students (aged 16-18 years [male = 169; female = 229]) who had experienced at least one of the major Canterbury earthquakes between September 2010 and June 2011. The survey’s purpose was to obtain an overview of teenagers’ experiences (including their needs and supports received), using both qualitative and quantitative data. Content analysis of this data revealed nine overall themes, including: physical basics, secondary stressors, social support, psychological impact, coping, school, support figures, gender, and recovery. Decile 2 school participants reported a need for physical basics significantly more than deciles 3, 9 and 10, and decile 10 reported a need for social support significantly more than decile 2. With gender, females reported a need for social support significantly more than males, and males reported a need for physical basics significantly more than females. Also, participants reported that their parents/caregivers understood their needs better than their siblings and friends, and their teachers were of greater help to them following the earthquakes compared to other students in their class. The second study extended the enquiry and involved six focus groups, each containing three to six students aged 16-18 years (male = 13; female = 18). Findings from the first study informed these focus group discussions, the aims of which were to gain deeper insights into disaster-exposed teenagers’ experiences, needs, and supports. The discussions were transcribed and analysed via thematic analysis. This analysis revealed seven major areas of importance, including participants’ advice for future planning and six others: individual, family, school, community, national and international. The latter six areas were incorporated into an ecological model combined with a timeline spanning from 2010 till 2013. The model demonstrated a number of notable points - for instance, immediately after the earthquakes many of the participants’ most important needs was to be in the presence of family, to know that family members were safe, and to receive comfort from them; however, three years later, participants’ concern had shifted to the rebuild of their city and their need for not only the pace to quicken, but also for youthfocused areas to be built (e.g., for recreational and leisure activities). The main recommendations from the research include: addressing acute post-disaster psychological responses early on and arranging preventative interventions; incorporating parental mental health support into youth-focused interventions; individually tailoring supports that address differences in gender, living conditions, and damage; encouraging youth to talk but not forcing them; having schools resume structured routines as soon as possible; providing psychoeducation to teachers, parents and guardians regarding typical disaster reactions and coping strategies for youth; and providing teenagers with accurate information. It is also recommended that communities provide or facilitate entertainment for youth post-disaster; that they organise youth-focused volunteer groups; involve youth in rebuild consultations; commence the rebuild of a disaster-struck city as soon as possible, and maintain gains in progress; distribute important information in multiple languages; and try to ensure that media coverage maintains a balance between both positive and negative content. Possible areas for future research include a deeper investigation into the experiences of disaster-exposed international students, the impact of the duration and permanency of relocation, and longitudinal studies into the recovery and adaptation of youth

Moving live dissociated neurons with an optical tweezer

The use of an optical tweezer for moving dissociated neurons was studied. The main features of the tweezers are outlined as well as the general principles of its operation. Infrared beams at 980 and 1064 nm were used, focused so as to make a trap for holding neurons and moving them. Absorption by cells at those wavelengths is very small. Experiments were done to evaluate nonsticky substrate coatings, from which neurons could be easily lifted with the tweezers. The maximum speed of cell movement as a function of laser power was determined. Detailed studies of the damage to cells as a function of beam intensity and time of exposure were made. The 980 nm beam was much less destructive, for reasons that are not understood, and could be used to safely move cells through distances of millimeters in times of seconds. An illustrative application of the use of the tweezers to load neurons without damage into plastic cages on a glass substrate was presented. The conclusion is that optical tweezers are an accessible and practical tool for helping to establish neuron cultures of cells placed in specific locations

Modelling the acquisition of syntactic categories

This research represents an attempt to model the child’s acquisition of syntactic categories. A computational model, based on the EPAM theory of perception and learning, is developed. The basic assumptions are that (1) syntactic categories are actively constructed by the child using distributional learning abilities; and (2) cognitive constraints in learning rate and memory capacity limit these learning abilities. We present simulations of the syntax acquisition of a single subject, where the model learns to build up multi-word utterances by scanning a sample of the speech addressed to the subject by his mother

Simulating the referential properties of Dutch, German and English Root Infinitives in MOSAIC

Children learning many languages go through an Optional Infinitive stage in which they produce non-finite verb forms in contexts in which a finite verb form is required (e.g. ‘That go there’ instead of ‘That goes there’). MOSAIC (Model of Syntax Acquisition in Children) is a computational model of language learning that successfully simulates the developmental patterning of the Optional Infinitive (OI) phenomenon in English, Dutch, German and Spanish (Freudenthal, Pine, Aguado-Orea & Gobet, 2007). In the present study, MOSAIC is applied to the simulation of certain subtle but theoretically important phenomena in the cross-linguistic patterning of the OI phenomenon that are typically assumed to require a more complex formal analysis. MOSAIC is shown to successfully simulate 1) The Modal Reference Effect: the finding that Dutch and German children tend to use Root Infinitives in modal contexts, 2) The Eventivity constraint: the finding that Dutch and German Root Infinitives refer predominantly to actions rather than static situations, and 3) The absence or reduced size of these effects in English. These results provide strong support for input-driven explanations of the Modal Reference Effect as well as MOSAIC’s mechanism for producing Root Infinitives, and the wider claim that it is possible to explain key aspects of children’s early multi-word speech in terms of the interaction between a resource-limited distributional learning mechanism and the surface properties of the language to which children are exposed