Social Situatedness: Vygotsky and Beyond

The concept of ‘social situatedness’, i.e. the idea that the development of individual intelligence requires a social (and cultural) embedding, has recently received much attention in cognitive science and artificial intelligence research. The work of Lev Vygotsky who put forward this view already in the 1920s has influenced the discussion to some degree, but still remains far from well known. This paper therefore aims to give an overview of his cognitive development theory and discuss its relation to more recent work in primatology and socially situated artificial intelligence, in particular humanoid robotics

High resolution, high frame rate video technology development plan and the near-term system conceptual design

The objective of the High Resolution, High Frame Rate Video Technology (HHVT) development effort is to provide technology advancements to remove constraints on the amount of high speed, detailed optical data recorded and transmitted for microgravity science and application experiments. These advancements will enable the development of video systems capable of high resolution, high frame rate video data recording, processing, and transmission. Techniques such as multichannel image scan, video parameter tradeoff, and the use of dual recording media were identified as methods of making the most efficient use of the near-term technology

Bicycle traffic and its interaction with motorized traffic in an agent-based transport simulation framework

Cycling as an inexpensive, healthy, and efficient mode of transport for everyday traveling is becoming increasingly popular. While many cities are promoting cycling, it is rarely included in transport models and systematic policy evaluation procedures. The purpose of this study is to extend the agent-based transport simulation framework MATSim to be able to model bicycle traffic more realistically. The network generation procedure is enriched to include attributes that are relevant for cyclists (e.g. road surfaces, slopes). Travel speed computations, plan scoring, and routing are enhanced to take into account these infrastructure attributes. The scoring, i.e. the evaluation of simulated daily travel plans, is furthermore enhanced to account for traffic events that emerge in the simulation (e.g. passings by cars), which have an additional impact on cyclists’ decisions. Inspired by an evolutionary computing perspective, a randomizing router was implemented to enable cyclists to find realistic routes. It is discussed in detail why this approach is both feasible in practical terms and also conceptually consistent with MATSim’s co-evolutionary simulation approach. It is shown that meaningful simulation results are obtained for an illustrative scenario, which indicates that the developed methods will make real-world scenarios more realistic in terms of the representation of bicycle traffic. Based on the exclusive reliance on open data, the approach is spatially transferable

Rossby-gravity waves in tropical total ozone data

Evidence for Rossby-gravity waves in tropical data fields produced by the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was recently reported. Similar features are observable in fields of total column ozone from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite instrument. The observed features are episodic, have zonal (east-west) wavelengths of 6,000-10,000 km, and oscillate with periods of 5-10 days. In accord with simple linear theory, the modes exhibit westward phase progression and eastward group velocity. The significance of finding Rossby-gravity waves in total ozone fields is that (1) the report of similar features in ECMWF tropical fields is corroborated with an independent data set and (2) the TOMS data set is demonstrated to possess surprising versatility and sensitivity to relatively smaller scale tropical phenomena

Kelvin waves in total column ozone

Tropical Kelvin waves have been observed previously in ozone mixing ratio data from the SBUV (Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet) and LIMS (Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere) instruments on board the Nimbus-7 satellite. Kelvin wave features in total column ozone, using version 6 data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument (also on board Nimbus-7) are investigated. Results show eastward-propagating zonal waves 1-2 with periods approximately 5-15 days, amplitudes approximately 3-5 DU, and latitudinal symmetry typical of Kelvin waves. A simplified model calculation suggests that the primary source for the perturbations is slow Kelvin waves in the lower-to-middle stratosphere. Maximum Kelvin wave signatures occur in conjunction with westward lower-to-middle stratospheric equatorial zonal winds (a quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) wind modulation effect)

Design of a homeopathic solution for chronic cough

Chronic cough is most commonly defined as a cough that persists for more than eight weeks and is estimated to affect more than 30 million people in the United States at any given time. Diseases contributing to the onset of chronic cough include asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, postnasal drip, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and bronchitis, and may include lifestyle choices such as smoking. For those who seek medical advice, pharmaceuticals and speech therapy are two common methods of combating chronic cough but serve to mask the symptoms rather than treat the problem; frequently, chronic cough is misdiagnosed or cannot be treated. Chronic cough negatively impacts an affected individual’s quality of life and often makes sleeping, eating, working, and speaking difficult. New hypotheses suggest hypersensitivity of the airway is the root cause of chronic cough in a large number of individuals. Though patients may experience different symptoms provoked by certain irritating factors such as postnasal drip, and GERD, it is hypothesized hypersensitivity is the link between a large quantity of chronic cough cases. The purpose of this research project was to design a prototype based on the patent pending method developed by Dr. Christy Ludlow to further investigate the relationship between hypersensitivity and chronic cough. The device enables researchers to control and monitor varying levels of vibration stimulus applied to the tracheal region of the neck with the goal of suppressing the urge to cough in persons with idiopathic cough. Through multiple iterations of user-centered design, a non-invasive wearable prototype was created for the first round of participant testing to assess the feasibility of the technology. Further testing and refinement of the device will validate vibration stimulus treatment for coughing