Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Recognize Spatial and Object Correspondences Between a Scale Model and its Referent

In the present study, the contributions of spatial and object features to chimpanzees’ comprehension of scale models were examined. Seven chimpanzees that previously demonstrated the ability to use a scale model as an information source for the location of a hidden item were tested under conditions manipulating the feature correspondence and spatial-relational correspondence between objects in the model and an outdoor enclosure. In Experiment 1, subjects solved the task under two conditions in which one object cue (color or shape) was unavailable, but positional cues remained. Additionally, performance was above chance under a third condition in which both types of object cues, but not position cues, were available. In Experiment 2, 2 subjects solved the task under a condition in which shape and color object cues were simultaneously unavailable. The results suggest that, much like young children, chimpanzees are sensitive to both object and spatial-relational correspondences between a model and its referent

The Effect of Response Contingencies on Scale Model Task Performance by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The effects of modified procedures on chimpanzees\u27 (Pan troglodytes) performance in a scale model comprehension task were examined. Seven chimpanzees that previously participated in a task in which they searched an enclosure for a hidden item after watching an experimenter hide a miniature item in the analogous location in a scale model were retested under procedures incorporating response costs. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees were trained under procedures that rewarded only item retrievals occurring on the 1st search attempt. During test trials, 6 chimpanzees performed above chance, including 4 that were previously unsuccessful under the original procedures (V. A. Kuhlmeier, S. T. Boysen, & K. L. Mukobi, 1999). Experiment 2 compared performance under the new and original procedures. Results indicated that for some chimpanzees, performance depended on procedures that decreased the use of competing search strategies and encouraged strategies based on information from the scale model

Nachweis von Nukleinsäure-Wechselwirkungen mit Hilfe optischer Biosensoren

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde untersucht, ob sich optische Biosensoren eignen, um Wechselwirkungen zwischen Nukleinsäuren nachweisen zu können. Dabei wurden der Gitterkoppler, ein integriert-optischer Detektor, sowie das BIAcore-System verwendet. Beide Detektoren nutzen ein sensitives, sog. evaneszentes Feld, um Anlagerungen von Molekülen auf der Sensoroberfläche zu verfolgen. Dieses elektromagnetische Feld wird bei beiden Geräten durch optische Anregung induziert. Wichtig für die Anwendung von Biosensoren ist eine möglichst hohe Dichte von 'Erkennungsmolekülen' auf der Sensoroberfläche. Deshalb wurden die Belegung zu Beginn mit Hilfe eines Atom-Kraftmikroskops (AFM) untersucht. Damit konnte die Dichte des immobilisierten Proteins Avidin charakterisiert sowie das Anlagerungsverhalten von DNA an verschieden modifizierten Oberflächen untersucht werden. Um Wechselwirkungen zwischen Nukleinsäuremolekülen mit Hilfe der optischen Biosensoren zu detektieren, wurde ein Reaktionspartner, ein kurzes Oligonukleotid ('Sonde'), chemisch oder vermittelt durch das Affinitätspaar Avidin-Biotin auf die Oberfläche immobilisiert. War aufgrund übereinstimmender Basenabfolge eine Doppelstrang-bildung ('Hybridisierung') zwischen der kurzen Sonde auf dem Sensor und einer Probe möglich, veränderte sich durch die Anlagerung der effektive Brechungsindex auf der Oberfläche. Diese Verschiebung konnte durch die optischen Biosensoren gemessen werden. Beide Sensoren wurden in Hinblick auf Konzentrations- und Längenabhängigkeit der Oligonukleotidprobe charakterisiert. Dabei zeigte sich eine niedrigere Nachweisgrenze beim BIAcore, die auf die unterschiedlichen Oberflächen der Sensoren zurückzuführen war. Anhand von zwei Applikationen wurde untersucht, ob die Biosensoren konventionelle Methoden der Molekularbiologie ergänzen bzw. ersetzen können. In der ersten Anwendung wurde versucht, ein bakterielles Plasmid anhand einer spezifischen Basenabfolge nachzuweisen. Es zeigteThis work is focused on the use of optical biosensors and their possible application to nucleic acid analysis. Therefore, the integrated optical grating coupler system and the BIAcore, a system based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) were used. Both devices exploit a propagating electromagnetic field, which is induced by optical irradiation. Direct sensing of (bio-)chemical reactions is based on the change of the effective refractive index of a waveguide mode due to the adsorption of molecules to the surface of the sensor. Desirable for the application of biosensors is a high density of surface bound receptor molecules. To characterize the homogeneity of the surface coverage and orientation of the biomolecules, the atomic force microscope (AFM) was utilized. The investigations focused on the binding of the protein avidin and the adsorption of DNA to different modified surfaces. To investigate the hybridization of nucleic acid strands, a short oligonucleotide was bound to the sensor surface via covalent binding or via the affinity couple biotin-avidin. Hybridization was observable in real time depending on the sequence of the probe strand. Both optical biosensors mentioned above were characterized in terms of signal dependency of the concentration and length of the probe oligonucleotide. However, with respect to the different loading capacities of the sensor surfaces, the BIAcore system showed a lower detection limit compared to grating coupler experiments. Two different applications were chosen to investigate whether optical biosensors could complement or replace conventional methods in molecular biology: The first application demonstrated the specific detection of a bacterial plasmid. It was shown that the denatured plasmid resulted in no detectable signal. However, an amplified plasmid sequence produced by asymmetric polymerase chain reaction (PCR) could be hybridized easily to the sensor surface. The dependency between biosensor signal an

Scale-Model Comprehension by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The ability of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to recognize the correspondence between a scale model and its real-world referent was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, an adult female and a young adult male watched as an experimenter hid a miniature model food in 1 of 4 sites in a scale model. Then, the chimpanzees were given the opportunity to find the real food item that had been hidden in the analogous location in the real room. The female performed significantly above chance, whereas the male performed at chance level. Experiments 3 and 4 tested 5 adult and 2 adolescent chimpanzees in a similar paradigm, using a scale model of the chimpanzees\u27 outdoor area. Results indicate that some adult chimpanzees were able to reliably demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between a scale model and the larger space it represented, whereas other subjects were constrained by inefficient and unsuccessful search patterns

Scale-Model Comprehension by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The ability of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to recognize the correspondence between a scale model and its real-world referent was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, an adult female and a young adult male watched as an experimenter hid a miniature model food in 1 of 4 sites in a scale model. Then, the chimpanzees were given the opportunity to find the real food item that had been hidden in the analogous location in the real room. The female performed significantly above chance, whereas the male performed at chance level. Experiments 3 and 4 tested 5 adult and 2 adolescent chimpanzees in a similar paradigm, using a scale model of the chimpanzees\u27 outdoor area. Results indicate that some adult chimpanzees were able to reliably demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between a scale model and the larger space it represented, whereas other subjects were constrained by inefficient and unsuccessful search patterns

Scale-Model Comprehension by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The ability of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to recognize the correspondence between a scale model and its real-world referent was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, an adult female and a young adult male watched as an experimenter hid a miniature model food in 1 of 4 sites in a scale model. Then, the chimpanzees were given the opportunity to find the real food item that had been hidden in the analogous location in the real room. The female performed significantly above chance, whereas the male performed at chance level. Experiments 3 and 4 tested 5 adult and 2 adolescent chimpanzees in a similar paradigm, using a scale model of the chimpanzees\u27 outdoor area. Results indicate that some adult chimpanzees were able to reliably demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between a scale model and the larger space it represented, whereas other subjects were constrained by inefficient and unsuccessful search patterns

Exploring User Experience with a Conversational Agent to Treat Depression in Youth: A Think-Aloud Study

Conversational agents are a promising digital health intervention that can mitigate help-seeking barriers for youth with depression to receive treatment. Although studies have shown sufficient acceptance, feasibility, and promising effectiveness for adults, not much is known about how youth experience interacting with conversational agents to improve mental health. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory study with 15 youth with to collect data on their interaction with a conversational agent prototype using the think-aloud protocol. We coded the material from the think-aloud sessions using an inductive approach. Our findings provide insights into how youth with depression interacted with the prototype. Participants frequently and controversially discussed the conversational agent’s (1) personality and interaction style, (2) its functionality, and (3) the dialogue content with implications for the design of conversational agents to treat depression and future research

Die Kooperation zwischen Fach und Fachdidaktik in der gewerblich-technischen Lehrerbildung im Studiengang Lehramt an Beruflichen Schulen (LAB) in Hamburg

ZusammenfassungDie Berufsschullehrerausbildung in den gewerblich-technischen Fachrichtungen ist in Hamburg auf zwei Universitäten verteilt. Je nach Fachrichtung ist die Integration lehramtsbezogener Inhalte im fachwissenschaftlichen Studium unterschiedlich stark ausgeprägt. Außerdem ist die Vernetzung zwischen fachwissenschaftlicher und fachrichtungsdidaktischer Ausbildung bisher nur eingeschränkt realisiert. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt die im Projekt durchgeführten Aktivitäten zur Verbesserung der Vernetzung von Fachwissenschaft und Fachrichtungsdidaktik. Dabei werden detailliert die durchgeführten Erhebungen erläutert und auch die sich während der Projektphase abzeichnenden Herausforderungen beschrieben. Ein besonderer Fokus wird auf die Darstellung der bisherigen und geplanten Interventionen gelegt.Schlüsselwörter: Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung, Fachwissenschaft, gewerblich-technische Fachrichtungen, Fachdidaktik, Kooperation___________The cooperation between subject and subject didactics in the industrial and technical teacher training in the study program Lehramt at Vocational Schools (LAB) in HamburgAbstractThe teaching-training for vocational school teachers in technical subjects is distributed in two universities in Hamburg. Depending on the subject, the integration of teaching-related content in the course of studies in science is different. In addition, the networking between professional science and subject didactics has so far only been implemented to a limited extent. This paper describes the activities carried out in the project to improve the networking of professional science and subject didactics. The detailed surveys are explained in detail and the challenges emerging during the project phase are described. A special focus will be placed on presenting the current and planned interventions.Keywords: teacher education quality campaign, subject didactics, vocational and technical subjects, professional science, cooperatio

Intention Attribution and the Development of Moral Evaluation

Research with infants and toddlers suggests that even early in development, humans evaluate others by considering the outcome of an action in relation to the intention underlying it. When someone tries but fails to do a good deed, for example, it seems that it is “the thought that counts.” However, research with slightly older children in the preschool years has produced mixed results: in some cases, children are solely considering the positive or negative outcome of an action when evaluating others, while in others, intention attributions are integrated. Such contradictory findings have prompted debate about the development of moral reasoning. Here, we examine extant research on early moral evaluation and propose that differences in the way that task procedures present intention and outcome information can (1) support or preclude young children’s intention attribution and (2) alter the relative saliency or predominance of each kind of information. In turn, these differences would influence the frequency and degree to which young children generate intention-oriented moral evaluations