Reading and writing direction effects on the aesthetic appreciation of photographs

Does reading and writing direction (RWD) influence the aesthetic appreciation of photography? Pérez González showed that nineteenth-century Iranian and Spanish professional photographers manifest lateral biases linked to RWD in their compositions. The present study aimed to test whether a population sample showed similar biases. Photographs with left-to-right (L-R) and right-to-left (R-L) directionality were selected from Pérez González's collections and presented in both original and mirror-reversed forms to Spanish (L-R readers) and Moroccan (R-L readers) participants. In Experiment 1, participants rated each picture for its aesthetic pleasingness. The results showed neither effects of lateral organization nor interactions with RWD. In Experiment 2, each picture and its mirror version were presented together and participants chose the one they liked better. Spaniards preferred rightward versions and Moroccans preferred leftward versions. RWD therefore affects aesthetic impressions of photography in our participants when people pay attention to the lateral spatial dimension of pictures. The observed directional aesthetic preferences were not sensitive to the sex of the model in the photographs, failing to support expectations from the hypotheses of emotionality and agency. Preferences were attributable to the interaction between general scanning strategies and scanning habits linked to RWD

Influence of annealing conditions on formation of regular lattices of voids and Ge quantum dots in amorphous alumina matrix

In this work, the influence of air pressure during the annealing of Ge quantum dot (QD) lattices embedded in an amorphous Al2O3 matrix on the structural, morphological and compositional properties of the film is studied. The formation of a regularly ordered void lattice after performing a thermal annealing process is explored. Our results show that both the Ge desorption from the film and the regular ordering of the QDs are very sensitive to the annealing parameters. The conditions for the formation of a void lattice, a crystalline Ge QD lattice and a disordered QD lattice are presented. The observed effects are explained in terms of oxygen interaction with the Ge present in the film.This study has been partially funded through the projects (i) FEDER funds through the COMPETE program ‘Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade’ and by Portuguese funds through the Portuguese foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the frame of the project PTDC/FIS/70194/2006 and PEst-C-FIS/UI607/2011–2012; (ii) ELETTRA Synchrotron Radiation Center through the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no 226716. SRCP is grateful for financial support through the FCT grant SFRH/BPD/73548/2010 and JMS is grateful for financial support through the Spanish CSIC JAE-DOC program. MB acknowledges support from the Croatian Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Sport (project number 098-0982886-2859).We thank Dr Anabela Rolo and Engineer Jos´e Santos for all the valuable discussions and the sample preparation

Physico-chemical study and quality control of some types of Moroccan honey

Honey is a very complex biological compound of great diversity, giving it a multitude of properties, both nutritionally and therapeutically. In order to determine the physico-chemical characteristics, three types of samples were collected from the region of Morocco. These are zandaz honey and black honey from the Bouyblane region, multi-flower honey from the Atlas region, and commercial honey called "Achefae". These honeys are analyzed for determination of pH, electrical conductivity, ash content, density, free acidity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, color intensity, and phenolic compounds. These physico-chemical parameters studied are the most frequently used as indicators of the quality and stability of honey and having a great influence on its organoleptic properties. The results showed that there were differences from one sample of honey to another and that they all meet international standards

Building Bridges! Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Transition from Kindergarten to School – A Scoping Review

Sobh Chahboun,1 Kristine Tyldum Lefstad,1,2 Marit Pettersen,1 Ingvild Åmot,1 S’lungile Thwala3 1Department of Pedagogy, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education/QMUC, Trondheim, Norway; 2Department of Health and education, Trøndelag Høyere Yrkesfagskole/THYF, Higher Vocational Education, Stjørdal, Norway; 3Faculty of Education, University of Eswatini, Matsapha, EswatiniCorrespondence: Sobh Chahboun, Department of Pedagogy, Queen Maud University College, Thrond Nergaards veg 7, Trondheim, 7044, Norway, Tel +4747726777, Email [email protected]: The goal of this study was to map the research on the transition from kindergarten to school for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Further, the goal was to identify the elements influencing the transition process as well as the variables that would promote a smooth and positive transition experience for the children in question. The study also aimed to identify knowledge gaps on the subject and the current practice in the field.Methods: The study is a scoping review that includes peer reviewed articles from the databases ERIC, Google scholar, PsycINFO and Web of Science and the search was restricted to articles in English from 2019 to 2024. The search terms used were autism spectrum disorder, autism, transition, preschool, ECEC, inclusion, education intervention, early childhood, early education and kindergarten. After identifying and screening current articles from the databases, the articles were ascertained for relevance in three stages. In phase one, the title was considered. Phase two consisted of reviewing the abstract, and the final stage was to review the full text. At each stage, articles that did not prove relevant to the goal of the study were excluded. This left us with thirteen articles for inclusion in this article.Results: In the selected articles the following elements are necessary for children with autism to have a positive transition from kindergarten to school: 1) School readiness skills and school inclusiveness, 2) Comparable educational opportunities and psychological support, 3) Collaboration and professional competence, 4) A balance to ensure a better transition, and 5) Inclusion and support and 6) Children’s perspectives.Conclusion: The research gaps identified were: 1) that few studies take the child’s perspective into account and 2) that there is an overemphasis on subjective experiences of effectiveness, and a lack of focus on measurable effects within studies on transition and inclusive education.Keywords: transition, autism, kindergarten, school, transition strategie

Extending the Field of Extended Language: A Literature Review on Figurative Language Processing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Figurative and extended uses of language are nonliteral utterances such as irony, sarcasm, and idioms and comprise a core part of social interaction. Children with typical development (TD) show a progressive adultlike understanding of figurative language around the age of ten. In contrast, individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or developmental language disorder often display difficulties with figurative language. However, these difficulties are a puzzle in that the actual underlying causes remain unclear. Those individuals who struggle with understanding figurative language need support through effective interventions. These should be based on solid research findings, which is often problematic as research in this field is characterized by conflicting and incomplete findings. The intention of this study is to conduct a literature review of both available studies and those intervention programs that seek to improve figurative language abilities in these atypical populations. This review will not only provide an overview of available intervention programs but also reveal the research gaps through critically appraising earlier studies. This is done as, in a manner of speaking, research reflects our theoretical understanding of the topic at hand, while interventions reflect the ways in which they are manifested into practice. This will serve to give the reader a more complete overview of the state of knowledge on figurative language and neurodevelopmental disorders. This article may be read for an overview of the field, but it also aims to point out the areas where additional research is needed. For instance, while figurative language takes many forms, there is a disproportionate scholarly focus on metaphors compared to other types. We will ultimately highlight promising approaches and make suggestions for future directions in terms of research and practice.</jats:p

Building Bridges! Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Transition from Kindergarten to School – A Scoping Review

Purpose: The goal of this study was to map the research on the transition from kindergarten to school for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Further, the goal was to identify the elements influencing the transition process as well as the variables that would promote a smooth and positive transition experience for the children in question. The study also aimed to identify knowledge gaps on the subject and the current practice in the field. Methods: The study is a scoping review that includes peer reviewed articles from the databases ERIC, Google scholar, PsycINFO and Web of Science and the search was restricted to articles in English from 2019 to 2024. The search terms used were autism spectrum disorder, autism, transition, preschool, ECEC, inclusion, education intervention, early childhood, early education and kindergarten. After identifying and screening current articles from the databases, the articles were ascertained for relevance in three stages. In phase one, the title was considered. Phase two consisted of reviewing the abstract, and the final stage was to review the full text. At each stage, articles that did not prove relevant to the goal of the study were excluded. This left us with thirteen articles for inclusion in this article. Results: In the selected articles the following elements are necessary for children with autism to have a positive transition from kindergarten to school: 1) School readiness skills and school inclusiveness, 2) Comparable educational opportunities and psychological support, 3) Collaboration and professional competence, 4) A balance to ensure a better transition, and 5) Inclusion and support and 6) Children’s perspectives. Conclusion: The research gaps identified were: 1) that few studies take the child’s perspective into account and 2) that there is an overemphasis on subjective experiences of effectiveness, and a lack of focus on measurable effects within studies on transition and inclusive education.publishedVersio

Post growing annealing effect on the optical, electrical and structural properties of CdSe nanocrystals embedded in silica thin films

In this work post-growth annealing effect on CdSe/SiO2 thin films grown by rf-magnetron co-sputtering technique was investigated. Annealed samples were characterised by Raman scattering, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and room temperature photoluminescence. The nanocrystals (NCs) size changed from 15 to 5 nm by varying the annealing temperature from 550 to 400 degrees C Evaporation of Se at high temperatures was invoked to explain this phenomenon. Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling mechanism was found to be responsible for carrier transport for samples with bigger CdSe NCs sizes, and which showed better photovoltaic properties.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) "Programa Operacional Ciência e Inovação 2010-POCI 2010" co-financed by FEDER (Fundo Comunitário Europeu), Project POCTI/FIS/56930/2004, SFRH/BPD/26532/2006FP6 of the European Commission, project SEMINANO (subcontracts under contract NMP4-CT--2004-505285)