Attitudes of Children with Autism towards Robots: An Exploratory Study

In this exploratory study we assessed how attitudes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) towards robots together with children's autism-related social impairments are linked to indicators of children's preference of an interaction with a robot over an interaction with a person. We found that children with ASD have overall positive attitudes towards robots and that they often prefer interacting with a robot than with a person. Several of children's attitudes were linked to children's longer gazes towards a robot compared to a person. Autism-related social impairments were linked to more repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and to a shorter gaze duration in the interaction with the robot compared to the person. These preliminary results contribute to better understand factors that might help determine sub-groups of children with ASD for whom robots could be particularly useful.Comment: Presented at Interaction Design and Children (IDC-CRI2018) Workshop (arXiv:submit/2277826

Kokkuvõte Euroopa teaduse ja tehnika alase koostöö COST meetme IS0801 raames tehtud tööst

Küberkiusamine tähendab kiusamist ja ahistamist uue elektroonilise tehnoloogia, eelkõige mobiiltelefonide ja interneti kaudu. Tavapärast koolikiusamist on varem põhjalikult uuritud ja selle vastu meetmeid võetud, kuid küberkiusamise puhul on tegemist nähtusega, mis on esile tõusnud ja üha enam levima hakanud viimasel aastakümnel. Selle valdkonna uurimine on arenenud väga kiiresti. Artiklis esitatakse kokkuvõte Euroopa teaduse ja tehnika alase koostöö raames küberkiusamist käsitlenud ja oktoobris 2012 lõppenud meetmest COST Action IS0801 ning tutvustatakse selle tulemusi ja refereeritakse kõnealusel projektil põhinevat raamatut

Measurements of emissions for lpg combustion within a porous cylindrical burners

CO and NO[x] emission characteristics of a hollow cylindrical radiation burner operated in the external and internal combustion modes and premixed LPG+air mixtures are experimentally studies. The influence of the pore structure, equivalence ratio, firing rate and burner design are considered

Safety in Alpine Helicopter Rescue Operations—Minimal Requirements of Alpine Skills for Rescue Personnel

Objective: There is a lack of data to establish minimal requirements for technical alpine climbing skills needed by rescue teams involved in alpine helicopter rescue operations to perform such operations safely. Methods: A year of rescue operations (N = 2731) were investigated for the technical difficulties of the terrain. The difficulties were graded according to the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) scale for rocky terrain and steepness for ice slopes. Results: For 99.7% of the operations, the terrain could be accurately evaluated. In at least 30.7% of all rescue operations, personal advanced alpine climbing skills were required for the rescue personnel, and in 6.0%, the difficulties of the rocky terrain correspond to UIAA scale grade III with another 2.4% to UIAA grade IV or above. About 1.5% of all operations took place in ice faces steeper than 50°. Conclusions: To be able to manage 90% of all operations safely, all crew members, except the pilot, must be competent at climbing rock terrain of UIAA scale grade IV and ice of 50° steepness using appropriate rescue, rope, and belaying techniques. These recommendations include a technical safety margin for adverse conditions, such as bad weathe

Suicidality in adults with autism spectrum disorder: The role of depression and alexithymia.

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a higher risk of depression and suicidality than individuals without ASD. Alexithymia, a personality construct characterized by a lack of emotional awareness, that is highly linked to depression, is also more prevalent among people with ASD than in the general population. Few studies have so far examined the increased risk of suicidality in people with ASD and none have looked into how alexithymia could be a significant risk factor for suicidality in ASD. Objectives: The aim of the present study is to explore more closely the relationship between alexithymia, depression, and suicidality in ASD. It is hypothesized that there are higher rates of depression, suicidality, and alexithymia in people with ASD compared to neurotypical adults. Because the risk of suicidality can be explained by high levels of depression and alexithymia in the general population, this is also hypothesized for the group of people with ASD. Methods: In the present study, 53 adults diagnosed with ASD and a control group of 132 adults without ASD were compared on their self-reported scores on autistic traits (AQ-short), depression (CES-D), suicidality (SBQ-R), and alexithymia (TAS-20). Participants were aged between 18 and 60 years. The ASD group was significantly older (M = 33.75; SD = 11.02) than the control group (M = 29.08; SD = 8.74), t(183) = -3.04, p < .01 and there were significantly more men than women in the ASD group (21 men, 31 women, 1 other) than in the control group (31 men, 101 women), χ2(2) = 7.72, p < .05. Results: The results revealed that the ASD group had significantly higher levels of autistic traits [F(1, 181) = 394.61, p < .001, ɳp2 = .69], depression [F(1, 181) = 51.86, p < .001, ɳp2 = .22], suicidality [F(1, 181) = 71.51, p < .001, ɳp2 = .28], and alexithymia [F(1,181) = 143.44, p < .001, ɳp2 = .44] than the control group. A hierarchical linear regression analysis including age, gender, autistic traits, depressive symptomatology, and alexithymia also revealed that the severity of autistic traits and depressive symptomatology were significant predictors of suicidality (autistic traits: β = 1.24, p <.001; depression: β = 1.30, p <.001). Furthermore, alexithymia played a moderating role in the relation between autistic traits and suicidality: a significant relation was found between autistic traits and suicidality on participants with high levels of alexithymia [b = 1.61, SE = 0.31, p < .001], but autistic traits were not related to suicidality on participants with low levels of alexithymia [b = -0.54, SE = .45, p = .24]. Conclusions: The present results show that individuals with ASD are vulnerable to suicidal ideation and that the severity of autistic traits, depression, and alexithymia are important factors in the occurrence of suicidal ideation in ASD. Because of the high risk of suicidality in ASD, interventions that take into consideration depression, and particularly alexithymia, could potentially benefit people with ASD

Experimental studies - building physics investigations in condensation water on plaster surfaces

In recent years, surfaces of plaster facades increasingly have been covered with algae. This effect is reinforced by improved thermal insulation of the building. Envelope e.g. due to the use of plastics, as well as the climate change and lower air pollution. The accumulation of condensation water is therefore of decisive importance. So far, the amount of condensation water was determined with static weight methods. New developments in material research attempt to illustrate the susceptibility to condensation with different measurement methods. The differences can be seen in various systems and materials. Developing a model representation for the future planning of facades is thus possible for new and the existing building. This model can be used to derive new characteristics for new facade design

Bien-être des salariés au Luxembourg

Vergleicht man die Teilnehmer der Quality of Work Index Luxembourg Umfrage mit anderen europäischen Arbeitnehmern, zeigen die Teilnehmer aus Luxemburg im Durchschnitt ein geringeres Wohlbefinden. Insbesondere jüngere Arbeitnehmer weisen ein tendenziell geringeres Wohlbefinden auf. Differenziert man die Arbeitnehmer nach Berufsgruppen, zeigen Manager und Führungskräfte, Arbeitnehmer in Dienstleistungsberufen sowie Hilfsarbeitskräfte das höchste Wohlbefinden. Arbeitnehmer mit geringeren faktischen Wochenstundenzahlen sowie Arbeitnehmer, die in kleinen Betrieben (1-4 Beschäftigte) arbeiten, berichten über ein höheres Wohlbefinden. Das Wohlbefinden ist hierbei nachweislich mit unterschiedlichen Arbeitsbedingungen assoziiert. So weisen Arbeitnehmer, je höher ihre Partizipation, ihre Rollenklarheit bei der Arbeit sowie ihre Arbeitsplatzsicherheit ist umso ein höheres Wohlbefinden auf. Das Wohlbefinden ist außerdem positiv mit Arbeitszufriedenheit, wahrgenommenem Respekt bei der Arbeit und negativ mit Stress und Burnout korreliert