M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Schoolreadiness is an important prerequisite for scholastic learning and progress. This forms the underlying basis for this study. The child who is not ready for school and learning, may eventually experience learning difficulties. It is alarming that so many children have developed learning problems in, for instance, reading, spelling or mathematics, because they were not ready for school. The need for support for these children should be seen as the primary objective of this study. A great number of these difficulties might be related to their not being schoolready, and could probably be reduced or avoided by timeous intervention. The aim of this study was to determine any perceptual-motor problems that grade one pupils still experienced after having completed the compulsory prescribed schoolreadiness programme. Another objective was to determine guidelines for a learning readiness programme which would remedy any of the identified perceptual-motor problems which might still exist. The study commenced with a survey of the literature on schoolreadiness. It was decided to do an empirical study where 75 grade one pupils were sUbjected to the Aptitude Test for School Beginners (ASB) to identify any possible factors which would indicate non-schoolreadiness. The results indicated that a large group of pupils still have problems with spatial orientation, gestalt and co-ordination after the initial TED schoolreadiness programme. In the light of the mentioned perceptual-motor problems, some guidelines were designed to be used in a programme to stimulate the child to become more schoolready...

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Our eyes are horizontally separated in the head by approximately 6.5cm. As a result of this separation there are subtle differences in the position of corresponding image points within the two eyes. The horizontal component of this binocular positional difference is termed horizontal disparity. Horizontal disparity is an important visual cue as once scaled with an estimate of the viewing distance, it can theoretically provide full metric information about the structure of the world. This thesis will address the issue of how binocular visual cues are used by the human visual system for the estimation of three-dimensional (3-D) shape for perception and visuomotor control. The research presented is particularly focused on understanding why biases in the perception of 3-D shape from binocular cues are found, their importance for perception and visuomotor control and how these biases may be overcome by combining binocular cues with other sources of visual information.

Traditionally brain function is studied through measuring physiological responses in controlled sensory, motor, and cognitive paradigms. However, even at rest, in the absence of overt goal-directed behavior, collections of cortical regions consistently show temporally coherent activity. In humans, these resting state networks have been shown to greatly overlap with functional architectures present during consciously directed activity, which motivates the interpretation of rest activity as day dreaming, free association, stream of consciousness, and inner rehearsal. In monkeys, it has been shown though that similar coherent fluctuations are present during deep anesthesia when there is no consciousness. These coherent fluctuations have also been characterized on multiple temporal scales ranging from the fast frequency regimes, 1-100 Hz, commonly observed in EEG and MEG recordings, to the ultra-slow regimes, < 0.1 Hz, observed in the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal of functi onal magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, the mechanism for their genesis and the origin of the ultra-slow frequency oscillations has not been well understood. Here, we show that comparable resting state networks emerge from a stability analysis of the network dynamics using biologically realistic primate brain connectivity, although anatomical information alone does not identify the network. We specifically demonstrate that noise and time delays via propagation along connecting fibres are essential for the emergence of the coherent fluctuations of the default network. The combination of anatomical structure and time delays creates a spacetime structure in which the neural noise enables the brain to explore various functional configurations representing its dynamic repertoire. / Using a simplified network model comprised of 3 nodes governed by the dynamics of FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) oscillators, we systematically study the role of time delay and coupling strength in the Using a simplified network model comprised of 3 nodes governed by the dynamics of FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) oscillators, we systematically study the role of time delay and coupling strength in the generation o f the slow coherent fluctuations. We find that these fluctuations in the BOLD signal are significantly correlated with the level of neural synchrony implicating that transient interareal synchronizations are the mechanism causing the emergence of the ultra slow coherent fluctuations in the BOLD signal. / by Young-Ah Rho. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Visual motion can be conveyed by a variety of information sources in the environment, and those types of information may be detected at various levels by different motion-perceiving mechanisms in the visual system. High-level visual information has been demonstrated to have 3rd order, or salience-based properties (Lu & Sperling, 1995). The perceptual system they describe that computes motion from these types of information shares several characteristics with Hock and colleagues' counterchange detection system, notably flexibility with respect to types of input from which motion can be computed, which comes at the cost of diminished processing speed. The mechanism of counterchange detection is well suited to processing visual features often present in environmental scenes, e.g., objects and surfaces, and may be a mechanism of 3rd order motion. Consistent with reported properties of 3rd order motion, the current experiments tested count erchange-, luminance-, and color-based motion stimuli with 3 objectives: to identify whether the 3 systems framework generalizes beyond the stimulus type with which it was defined, to test whether counterchange shares similarities with the 3rd order system with respect to dichoptic integration, and perception of isoluminant color-based motion, and to test subjectively objectless sources of motion-defining information (spreading luminance and hue) to see if they display properties of the 1st order system derived from sine wave gratings. Results indicate that counterchange-based stimuli displayed predicted properties of dichoptic integration, and perception at isoluminance, but putative 1st order (spreading) stimuli also displayed these properties. This may suggest that object-like surfaces, even when not directly the source of motion information, can contribute to computation of motion. Further, these results highlight the difficulty of generalizing from one theoretical framework to another, and specifically, of psychophysically testing high-level information while isolating contributions from low level information upon which high level visual stimuli are built. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Prior research has explored the counterchange model of motion detection in terms of counterchanging information that originates in the stimulus foreground (or objects). These experiments explore counterchange apparent motion with regard to a new apparent motion stimulus where the necessary counterchanging information required for apparent motion is provided by altering the luminance of the background. It was found that apparent motion produced by background-counterchange requires longer frame durations and lower levels of average stimulus contrast compared to foreground-counterchange. Furthermore, inter-object distance does not influence apparent motion produced by background-counterchange to the degree it influences apparent motion produced by foreground-counterchange. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Computer Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-130).

Bimanual movement is integral to daily function. As such, it is important to understand factors that influence bimanual performance. Playing the piano was employed to examine bimanual movement. Additionally, the weather prediction task was administered as a measure of non-declarative learning. Sex influenced motor performance. Males tended to perform asymmetrical movements with less skill than females. Age affected motor performance. Older adults were less proficient, but improved similarly with practice as young adults. Further, older adults exhibited differential deterioration of bimanual movement. Feedback and music training affected motor performance. Females performed bimanual movement less proficiently with auditory feedback. Individuals with music training performed bimanual movements relative to unimanual movements better with feedback. Music training moderated age-related differential deterioration of bimanual movements. Older adults performed significantly worse than young adults on the weather prediction task. In addition, the weather prediction task correlated with motor measures in a sample including older adults. / xii, 159 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate manual asymmetries in the reach-to-grasp movement based on two hypotheses: 1) manual asymmetries are resultant from asymmetries in the dorsal vision-for-action system; and 2) manual asymmetries are contingent on task difficulty. Participants grasped glasses of water under different visual-feedback conditions. Demand was manipulated by varying the level of the water contained in the glass. Hand asymmetries of the reach-to-grasp movement were studied through kinematic analyses. Visual feedback availability and task demand affected all kinematic measures. Manual asymmetries were found in peak velocity, movement time, and variability of maximum grip aperture. Consistent with reach-to-point literature, reach-to-grasp actions were faster and more accurate when performed with the right hand and when guided by the dorsal vision-for-action system. The results of the thesis provide support for a theory of left-hemisphere specialization for the visual control of actions. / xiv, 121 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

The purpose of this investigation was to compare associative and dissociative psychological strategies of attentional focus for their effects on self - report ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and heart rate during endurance exercise. Trained cyclists (n = 7) performed three 60 minute experimental rides on a bicycle ergometer which consisted of an association ride (attention focused on heart rate feedback), a dissociation ride (attention focused on responding to a cue word on a videotape), and a control condition ride in which focus of attention was not purposely manipulated. Results indicated that the deliberate application of a cognitive strategy designed to encourage an individual to associate or dissociate did not differentially effect either actual efficiency (heart rate) or perception of exercise intensity (RPE scores). Overall, it was concluded that there was a trend for the dissociation condition to result in higher RPE scores than the association condition or control condition. / School of Physical Education