The influence of sex on preoperative expectations and their fulfillment following total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) remains unexplored. We investigated differences between men and women in... Show moreThe influence of sex on preoperative expectations and their fulfillment following total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) remains unexplored. We investigated differences between men and women in perceived preoperative expectations on the outcome of THA/TKA and their fulfillment 1 year postoperatively. We performed a cohort study. Expectations were collected preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively using the Hospital for Special Surgery Hip/Knee Replacement Expectations Surveys (HSS-HRES/KRES; not applicable = 0, applicable: back to normal = 1, much = 2/moderate = 3/slight improvement = 4). Fulfillment of expectations was calculated by subtracting preoperative from postoperative scores (score < 0:unfulfilled; score >= 0:fulfilled). We included patients with "applicable" expectations. Chi-square and ordinal regression were used to compare expectations and fulfillment regarding sex. 2333 THA (62% women) and 2398 TKA (65% women) patients were included. 77% of THA and 76% of TKA patients completed the HSS-HRES/HSS-KRES both preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. Men more often perceived items as "applicable", with differences in 9/20 (HSS-HRES) and 9/19 (HSS-KRES) preoperative items and, respectively, 12/20 (HSS-HRES) and 10/19 (HSS-KRES) postoperative items. The largest differences (> 10%) were found in sexual activity and working ability. 16/20 (HSS-HRES) and 14/19 (HSS-KRES) items showed an increased probability of having higher preoperative expectations of >= 10%, in favor of men. In all items, 60% of the respondents indicated that their expectation was fulfilled. Differences were observed in 16/20 (HSS-HRES) and 6/19 (HSS-KRES) items in favor of men. Sex differences were present in expectations and fulfillment, with higher applicability of items, preoperative expectations and fulfillment in men, especially on items related to functional activities. Trial registration: Trial-ID NTR3348. Show less
The following dissertation reconstructs Paul Natorp's philosophical psychology. It argues that psychology's main object is the lived experience of concrete subjects, understood as a transcendental... Show moreThe following dissertation reconstructs Paul Natorp's philosophical psychology. It argues that psychology's main object is the lived experience of concrete subjects, understood as a transcendental structure of logical-reflexive conditions for the recognition, appropriation, and evaluation of objective validity. To do so, the dissertation makes explicit the intrinsic relation between Natorp's genetic logic, philosophical psychology, and social pedagogy. Show less
This thesis is about augmented reality (AR). AR is commonly considered a technology that integrates virtual images into a user’s view of the real world. Yet, this thesis is not about such... Show moreThis thesis is about augmented reality (AR). AR is commonly considered a technology that integrates virtual images into a user’s view of the real world. Yet, this thesis is not about such technologies. We believe a technology-based notion of AR is incomplete. In this thesis, we challenge the technology-oriented view, provide new perspectives on AR and propose a different understanding. We argue that AR is characterized by the relationships between the virtual and the real and approach AR from a fundamental, experience-focused view. By doing so, we create an unusually broad and diverse image of what AR is, or arguably could be. We discuss the fundamental characteristics of AR and the many possible manifestations it can take and propose new, imaginative AR environments that have no counterpart in a purely physical world. Show less
Stronks, H.C.; Walker, J.; Parker, D.J.; Barnes, N. 2017
Tactile vision substitution devices are assistive technologies for the blind that redirect visual information to the tactile sense. They typically include a tactile display that conveys visual... Show moreTactile vision substitution devices are assistive technologies for the blind that redirect visual information to the tactile sense. They typically include a tactile display that conveys visual information to the skin. Two important parameters that determine the maximum information bandwidth of tactile displays are the spatial acuity of the skin, and the ability of the user to discriminate between stimulus intensities. These two parameters were investigated by determining the two-point discrimination (TPD) threshold and the just-noticeable intensity difference (JND) using coin motors on the lower back. Coin motors are eccentric rotating-mass motors that are affordable, energy-efficient, and easy to implement. The lower back was chosen because it is a discreet place to wear assistive technology. It is generally available for use, as it is usually not critically involved in activities of daily living. Rehabilitation with sensory substitution devices often requires training by professional occupational therapists, because the user needs to extract visual information from sparse information presented through an alternative channel such as the skin. In this study they determined whether short, automated training sessions of 5 min each could improve the TPD threshold and JND. It was found that 10 min of computer-assisted training improved the vibrotactile TPD threshold on the lower back by 36%, and that 18 min of training improved the just-noticeable intensity difference (JND) by 44%. It was concluded that short, automated training sessions could provide a fast and inexpensive means to improve people's basic spatial acuity and intensity discrimination skills with coin motors. Show less
The study in this thesis focuses on the development of word-onset consonant clusters, in two-year-olds, acquiring Dutch. Word-onset clusters are often simplified during acquisition, but the... Show moreThe study in this thesis focuses on the development of word-onset consonant clusters, in two-year-olds, acquiring Dutch. Word-onset clusters are often simplified during acquisition, but the studies reported here demonstrate a more complex and diverse range of developmental possibilities. For example, reduced onset clusters were found systematically to contain an acoustic trace in the subsequent vowel; a seven-staged process of /Cr/ development in production was revealed. In perception longer looking times at toel (stoel) as opposed to tein (trein), evidenced for a more stable mental representation of correct /sC/ clusters. This phenomenon is studied from different perspectives. Both longitudinal and experimental data are studied, and experiments comprise both production and perception. In addition to phonological analyses, detailed acoustic analyses are performed. The speech production mechanism appears to develop in a top-down manner. The main error source for onset cluster productions is initially formed by incomplete segmental representations in the mental lexicon; with complete specifications, syllable spell-out at the phonological encoding level forms the main error locus. Phonetic encoding errors are the most persistent. Variable word forms are a hallmark of early child language; they show the relative instability of a new developmental state of the speech production mechanism. Show less
Increasing evidence suggests that perception and action planning do not represent separable stages of a unidirectional processing sequence, but rather emerging properties of highly interactive... Show moreIncreasing evidence suggests that perception and action planning do not represent separable stages of a unidirectional processing sequence, but rather emerging properties of highly interactive processes. To capture these characteristics of the human cognitive system, we have developed a connectionist model of the interaction between perception and action planning: HiTEC, based on the Theory of Event Coding (Hommel, M_sseler, Achschersleben & Prinz, 2001). The model is characterized by representations at multiple levels and by shared representations and processes. It complements available models of stimulus__response translation by providing a rationale for (1) how situation-specific meanings of motor actions emerge, (2) how and why some aspects of stimulus__response translation occur automatically and (3) how task demands modulate sensorimotor processing. The model is demonstrated to provide a unitary account and simulation of a number of key findings with multiple experimental paradigms on the interaction between perception and action such as the Simon effect, its inversion (Hommel, 1993), and action__effect learning. Show less
This thesis is about the special relationship that the spectator enters into with sculpture. ‘Sculpture’ here means: immobile objects or three- dimensional bodies in one or more parts, deliberately... Show moreThis thesis is about the special relationship that the spectator enters into with sculpture. ‘Sculpture’ here means: immobile objects or three- dimensional bodies in one or more parts, deliberately made inside the domain of the visual arts. This thesis argues how sculpture, in the first moment, makes the spectator speechless. When thereafter the spectator opens himself up to the sculpture, he feels invited by the work to fully apply his language skills. He finds meaning by repeatedly and precisely describing all he sees in the sculpture. By researching critically how he came to create his interpretation, the interpretation becomes a reading that transcends the private interpretation of the spectator. Perhaps this way of perceiving is applicable to all sorts of artworks, but in the case of sculpture it is particularised in the relations with the sculpture, due to the continued presence of the sculpture as a body. The meeting with the statue is experienced bodily and the being together in the world stimulates the research in a way that is comparable to the meeting of human beings. Show less
De biodiversiteit op akkerbouwbedrijven staat nog steeds sterk onder druk. Het toevoegen van criteria voor natuur aan keurmerken voor de landbouw zou mogelijkheden kunnen bieden om de... Show moreDe biodiversiteit op akkerbouwbedrijven staat nog steeds sterk onder druk. Het toevoegen van criteria voor natuur aan keurmerken voor de landbouw zou mogelijkheden kunnen bieden om de biodiversiteit in het landelijk gebied te kunnen verbeteren. Tot nu toe wordt er echter nog weinig aandacht aan natuur besteed in bestaande keurmerken voor akkerbouwproducten en -bedrijven. Naar aanleiding hiervan zijn een aantal indicatoren voor natuur op akkerbouwbedrijven ontwikkeld. Deze indicatoren richten zich op de oppervlakte natuur per bedrijf, de plantensoortenrijkdom van slootkanten en de schuilplaatsgelegenheid voor vogels en kleine zoogdieren.De toepassing van deze indicatoren liet zien dat de ontwikkelde methoden geschikt zijn voor het vaststellen van verschillen in soortenrijkdom naar aanleiding van verschillen in beheer, landbouwpraktijk en regio’s onafhankelijk van de grootte van het landbouwbedrijf. Op basis van de gevonden resultaten zijn de volgende natuurbeheer criteria voorgesteld voor opname in een bedrijfskeurmerk voor akkerbouwbedrijven: 1) 5% landschapselementen per landbouwbedrijf; 2) bufferzones langs alle landschapselementen afhankelijk van de methode van bemesten en spuiten; 3) ecologisch beheer (maaien en afvoeren) van slootkanten gebufferd met een akkerrand; 4) aanleg van akkerranden en een gevarieerd slootkantbeheer.Daarnaast kunnen de ontwikkelde indicatoren gebruikt worden om de natuurresultaten te volgen en te beoordelen of de boer voldoet aan de gestelde eisen van het keurmerk. Show less
