When Right Goes Left: Phantom Touch Induced by Mirror Box Procedure in Healthy Individuals

In the present article, we investigated the possibility of inducing phantom tactile sensations in healthy individuals similar to those that we observed in patients after stroke. On the basis of previous research, we assumed that manipulating visual feedbacks may guide and influence, under certain conditions, the phenomenal experience of touch. To this aim, we used the Tactile Quadrant Stimulation (TQS) test in which subjects, in the crucial condition, must indicate whether and where they perceive a double tactile stimulation applied simultaneously in different quadrants of the two hands (asymmetrical Double Simultaneous Stimulation trial, Asym-DSS). The task was performed with the left-hand out of sight and the right-hand reflected in a mirror so that the right-hand reflected in the mirror looks like the own left-hand. We found that in the Asym-DSS trial, the vision of the right-hand reflected in the mirror and stimulated by a tactile stimulus elicited on the left-hand the sensation of having been touched in the same quadrant as the right-hand. In other words, we found in healthy subjects the same phantom touch effect that we previously found in patients. We interpreted these results as modulation of tactile representation by bottom-up (multisensory integration of stimuli coming from the right real and the right reflected hand) and possibly top-down (body ownership distortion) processing triggered by our experimental setup, unveiling bilateral representation of touch.

HR policy of the enterprise: theory and practice of improvement

The formation of a competent personnel policy is the crucial condition for the effective work of the organization’s staff. In this regard, it is necessary to analyze existing approaches to this issue and calculate the economic efficiency of the decisions taken.

Ágil fake

Objective of the study: The agility causes structural changes in companies, such as: in the organizational culture, in the way people think, in the processes, roles, responsibilities and behaviors. For this process, we call it agile transformation, which has become the target of more and more companies in the last 20 years with the promise of achieving many benefits.Originality/Relevance: The speed with which things change requires companies to change their course quickly. Therefore, being agile has become a crucial condition for the survival of companies today.Social/management contributions: Some difficulties experienced during the agile transformation, make the companies not reach the full agility, getting lost in the middle of the way, reaching an ambiguous form of the agile. They do not return to their previous management model, but neither do they become 100% agile. We call this phenomenon Fake Agile and this is the topic we will talk about in this perspective.

A few remarks on some issues and problems of self-determination and foundation in the works of Milan Brdar

This paper critically discusses the achievements of the most important representatives of the history of philosophy, sociology, political science in the interpretation of the fundamental philosophical issues and social phenomena of modern times. In the philosophical works which begin with the debate with Popper through the most recent papers in which the research in the modern and postmodern European philosophy is intensified, Milan Brdar critically reconsiders the main ideas of Descartes? and Hegel?s philosophy trying to address the modern idea of reason as self-conscious self-relation in the spirit of analytic Cartesian method and radical philosophical self-reflection. This form of critical theoretical reconsideration implies that, if we want to be autonomous and free subjects not only of our individual but also of our collective way of life and history, we have to relate to ourselves as well as to others critically and to be conscious of that relation. This paper points out that the author starts from the crucial idea of the modern European philosophy that philosophy does not address, only the matter itself, but also one?s self-reflection. In his opinion the permanent self-reflection of philosophy represents the crucial condition which philosophy has to fulfill in order to become the reliable instrument of understanding of the society.

Forutsetninger for vellykket sosial innovasjon i sykehjem: ledernes perspektiv – en kvalitativ intervjustudie

Preconditions for successful social innovation in nursing homes: Managers' perspectives - a qualitative interview studyIn this article, we investigate preconditions for social innovation in institution-based elderly care in Norway and Denmark. The article draws on two semi-structured interviews and one focus-group interview. The interviewees are managers in elderly-care facilities that are known to be proficient with regards to innovation. The analysis point to three principles managers describe as being pertinent to successful social innovation. Firstly, an overall theme across the interviews was that the managers underscored the importance of eagerness and willingness to change as a prerequisite for innovation. Secondly, the managers claimed that another crucial condition to facilitate innovation is to involve the employees in both the negotiation and the implementation of innovation. Thirdly, the managers reported that they strive to create a learning environment, arguing that learning and social innovation are interrelated terms and should be treated as such.

The Hydraulic Cavitation Affected by Nanoparticles in Nanofluids

When liquids flow through a throttling element, the velocity increases and the pressure decreases. At this point, if the pressure is below the saturated vapor pressure of this liquid, the liquid will vaporize into small bubbles, causing hydraulic cavitation. In fact, a vaporization nucleus is another crucial condition for vaporizing, and particles contained in the liquid can also work as the vaporization nuclear. As a novel heat transfer medium, nanofluids have attracted the attention of many scholars. The nanoparticles contained in the nanofluids play a significant role in the vaporization of liquids. In this paper, the effects of the nanoparticles on hydraulic cavitation are investigated. Firstly, a geometric model of a perforated plate, the throttling element in this paper, is established. Then with different nanoparticle volume fractions and diameters, the nanofluids flowing through the perforated plate are numerically simulated based on a validated numerical method. The operation conditions, such as the ratio of inlet to outlet pressures and the temperature are the considered variables. Additionally, cavitation numbers under different operating conditions are achieved to investigate the effects of nanoparticles on hydraulic cavitation. Meanwhile, the contours are extracted to research the distribution of bubbles for further investigation. This study is of interest for researchers working on hydraulic cavitation or nanofluids.

ENSINANDO MATEMÁTICA AOS BEBÊS: encantos, descobertas e exploração das relações entre grandezas

No cenário da educação infantil, principalmente na prática pedagógica com bebês, ainda persistem desafios em torno da organização do ensino para esse período de vida. Diante disso, este texto tem o objetivo de discutir as possibilidades educativas para os primeiros anos de vida da criança em relação à aprendizagem da matemática por meio de uma atividade de ensino, considerando a singularidade do desenvolvimento infantil. Ancoradas na Teoria Histórico-Cultural, estruturamos essa discussão em dois momentos: a) a especificidade do desenvolvimento da criança pequena e a organização do ensino de matemática na educação infantil; b) a análise de uma atividade de ensino para crianças do berçário. Esperamos que o texto possa auxiliar o trabalho educativo com a matemática na educação infantil, pois um ensino sistemático e dirigido, desde os primeiros anos, é condição fundamental para a aprendizagem e para as transformações qualitativas no desenvolvimento psíquico das crianças.Palavras-chave: Educação Infantil. Ensino de Matemática. Primeira Infância.TEACHING MATHEMATICS TO YOUNG CHILDREN: attraction, discovery and exploration in relationships between magnitudes ABSTRACT: Several challenges exist on teaching organization within early childhood, mainly with regard to the pedagogical practice with young children. Owing to the uniqueness of children´s development, the educational possibilities on the teaching of Mathematics, through activities, in their early life period, are discussed. Based on the Cultural and Historical Theory, current discussion underscores two factors: a) the specificity of children´s development and the organization of the teaching of Mathematics in early education; b) the analysis of a teaching activity for kindergarten children. The authors expect that current analysis will aid the teaching of Mathematics in young children´s education. In fact, systematic and monitored teaching during the early years of life is a crucial condition for learning and for qualitative transformations in children´s psychic development.Keywords: Early Childhood Education; the teaching of Mathematics; Early childhood.ENSEÑANDO MATEMÁTICA A LOS BEBÉS: encantos, descubrimientos y exploración de las relaciones entre grandezas RESUMEN: En el escenario de la educación inicial, principalmente en la práctica pedagógica con bebés, aún persisten desafíos en torno a la organización de la enseñanza para ese período de vida. Este texto tiene por objetivo discutir las posibilidades educativas de los primeros años de vida del niño en relación al aprendizaje de las matemáticas considerando la singularidad del desarrollo infantil, a través de una actividad educativa. Ancladas en la Teoría Histórico-Cultural, estructuramos esta discusión en dos momentos: a) la especificidad del desarrollo del niño y la organización de la enseñanza de las matemáticas en la educación inicial; b) el análisis de una actividad de enseñanza para bebés. Esperamos que el texto pueda auxiliar el trabajo educativo con las matemáticas en la educación inicial, pues una enseñanza sistemática y dirigida desde los primeros años es condición fundamental para el aprendizaje y las transformaciones cualitativas en el desarrollo psíquico de los niños.Palabras clave: Educación inicial; Enseñanza de la Matemática; Primera infancia.

Effects of nanoparticles on hydraulic cavitation

When liquids flowing through a throttling element, such as a perforated plate, the velocity increases and the pressure decreases. If the pressure is below the saturated vapor pressure, the liquid will vaporize into small bubbles, which is called hydraulic cavitation. In fact, vaporization nucleus is another crucial condition for vaporizing. The nanoparticles contained in the nanofluids play a significant role in vaporization of liquids. In this paper, the effects of the nanoparticles on hydraulic cavitation are investigated. Firstly, a geometric model of a pipe channel equipped with a perforated plate is established. Then with different nanoparticle volume fractions and diameters, the nanofluids flowing through the channel is numerically simulated based on a validated numerical method. The operation conditions, such as the temperature and the pressure ratio of inlet to outlet, are the considered variables. As a significant parameter, cavitation numbers under different operation conditions are achieved to investigate the effects of nanoparticles on hydraulic cavitation. Meanwhile, the contours are extracted to research the distribution of bubbles for further investigation. This study is of interests for researchers working on hydraulic cavitation or nanofluids.

Increasing Perspectival Obliqueness Increases the Leaning Tower Illusion

The leaning tower illusion is a perceptual illusion in which two identical images of a tower photographed from below appear to diverge when juxtaposed. We manipulated the perceived obliqueness of the (upright) St Mark bell tower in Venice by modifying two parameters both related to the position of the camera with respect to the tower: (a) increasing the peripherality of the tower and (b) reducing the distance between the camera and the tower. The resulting images clearly show that the illusory leaning effect increases as a function of the obliqueness. Another crucial condition for the leaning tower effect must be that the twin images are perceived as parts of a unitary display: The illusion increases when the distance between the photos is progressively increased, but beyond a certain level of separation, the integration of the images should, of course, break down, and the illusion vanish.