An evaluation of selected components of the mobile meals program in Greensboro, North Carolina

The purpose of this study was to construct a profile of the Mobile Meals recipients, to obtain an evaluation of the service and organization of Mobile Meals from the volunteers, to determine the general satisfaction and quality of service from recipients, and to evaluate the cycle menu. Demographic data were collected from the Mobile Meals office, the Greensboro Planning and Community Development Department, the United States 1970 Census, and from observations made by the researcher. Data were collected from volunteers and recipients using two instruments developed by the researcher. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 250 volunteers. Personal interviews were conducted with a random sample of thirty-eight recipients. The Mobile Meals menu cycle was evaluated according to the criteria established by the Program Plan and by using basic principles of good nutrition, Results indicated that 88 percent of the Mobile Meals recipients were sixty years of age or older, 68 percent were female and 32 percent were male. The Greensboro population was 54 percent female and 46 percent male. Of those recipients interviewed, 5 5 percent were white and 45 percent were black. Data on the Greensboro population indicated that 71 percent were white and 29 percent were black

Virtual Partner Interaction (VPI): Exploring Novel Behaviors via Coordination Dynamics

Inspired by the dynamic clamp of cellular neuroscience, this paper introduces VPI—Virtual Partner Interaction—a coupled dynamical system for studying real time interaction between a human and a machine. In this proof of concept study, human subjects coordinate hand movements with a virtual partner, an avatar of a hand whose movements are driven by a computerized version of the Haken-Kelso-Bunz (HKB) equations that have been shown to govern basic forms of human coordination. As a surrogate system for human social coordination, VPI allows one to examine regions of the parameter space not typically explored during live interactions. A number of novel behaviors never previously observed are uncovered and accounted for. Having its basis in an empirically derived theory of human coordination, VPI offers a principled approach to human-machine interaction and opens up new ways to understand how humans interact with human-like machines including identification of underlying neural mechanisms