Spatial Cognition in Children With Physical Disability; What Is the Impact of Restricted Independent Exploration?

Given the developmental inter-relationship between motor ability and spatial skills, we investigated the impact of physical disability (PD) on spatial cognition. Fifty-three children with special educational needs including PD were divided into those who were wheelchair users (n = 34) and those with independent locomotion ability (n = 19). This division additionally enabled us to determine the impact of limited independent physical exploration (i.e., required wheelchair use) on spatial competence. We compared the spatial performance of children in these two PD groups to that of typically developing (TD) children who spanned the range of non-verbal ability of the PD groups. Participants completed three spatial tasks; a mental rotation task, a spatial programming task and a desktop virtual reality (VR) navigation task. Levels of impairment of the PD groups were broadly commensurate with their overall level of non-verbal ability. The exception to this was the performance of the PD wheelchair group on the mental rotation task, which was below that expected for their level of non-verbal ability. Group differences in approach to the spatial programming task were evident in that both PD groups showed a different error pattern from the TD group. These findings suggested that for children with both learning difficulties and PD, the unique developmental impact on spatial ability of having physical disabilities, over and above the impact of any learning difficulties, is minimal.

Multiplexed optical barcoding of cells via photochemical programming of bioorthogonal host–guest recognition

Barcoding provides abilities to learn about individual species within an apparently homogeneous population. We describe a light-mediated multiplexed cellular barcoding strategy through spatial programming of cucurbit[7]uril molecular recognition.

Live Beyond Buildings: The street as the everyday living space in Istanbul, Turkey

This paper attempts to reveal the importance of the everyday temporal living space on the street as the agency to improve the quality of life in the city. The temporal living space is the collective public space that is produced by the local inhabitants as the response to fulfil their sociocultural needs. This study employed time-based behavioural and spatial mappings to reveal how spatial alteration was employed by the locals, producing the particular spatial programming and atmospheres that allowed the interiorization of the street. The mappings would also reveal how the interaction of the local inhabitants within this temporal living space had impacts on the general wellbeing and the spatial identity of the city. The findings of this study were translated into an interior architectural design exercise, by developing design methods that were adopted from the locals’ spatial mechanisms in producing their temporal outdoor living spaces.

Temporal and spatial programming in soft composite hydrogel objects

A spatial and temporal response of hydrogel objects is demonstrated using an enzyme as a programming tool.