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An almost vertical line showing an increase of atmospheric CO2 emissions captures the urgency of a changing climate like no other line. Yet lines are also insufficient for grasping what might come ...

The article is dedicated to analysis of the phenomenon typically referred to as “barbarism,” which remains in social and political practice to this day. The authors focus on so-called “vertical bar...

In previous studies we demonstrated that the speech of a language-acquiring child and that of her parent can be characterized as a transactional process of dynamic adaptation. We reported a striking attunement between child and parent in the global development of mean length of utterance and utterance length between the ages of 1.5 and 2.5 years. Here we present a reanalysis of these data, focusing on the utilization of different categories of utterance length. In particular we analyzed the temporal structure of the dialogue on the linguistic level using the technique of cross-recurrence quantification. This type of analysis enabled us to study the interaction between interlocutors at the microlevel, revealing the dynamics of child-parent conversation and how this changes over time. Results showed decreasing values for measures quantifying the vertical line structures as well as an increasing average length of the diagonal lines in the recurrence plot. This was interpreted as indicating an increasing flexibility in the patterns of parent-child dialogue over the period of 1 year.

Although commonly prescribed, little research exists on bath grab bars. This study examined the use of bath grab bars following an experimentally induced balance perturbation, the influence of the task on grab bar use, and the influence of balance loss on acceptance of grab bars. A mixed design documented the use of four different grab bar configurations: (a) no bars, (b) vertical/horizontal combination, (c) L-shaped bar, and (d) vertical/angled combination following balance loss. Eighty adults were randomly assigned to three groups. Each group tried the "no bar" configuration and one of the other grab bar configurations. In 25% of the trials for each configuration, balance perturbation was induced. Older adults used grab bars 59.4% of time to regain balance, compared to 13.6% for younger adults. The vertical bar on the side wall was favored by both groups of participants during both bathtub entry and exit. To promote safety in the home, existing building codes must be revised to recommend minimally a vertical grab bar on the side wall. Additional bars may be needed to ensure safety during stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand phases of bath transfers. Initiatives must be taken to decrease the prejudice associated with grab bars.

The authors used an optical bench to investigate calibration and errors from improper positioning of prism bars manufactured by R.O. Gulden and Luneau. They urged Gulden to redesign its prism bars to be used back-to-back in front of one eye. The horizontal bar is held with its flat face posteriorly within a channel on the flat face of the vertical bar; the interface is positioned perpendicular to the direction of the fixation object, which demands that the horizontal prism bar be calibrated in the frontal plane position and the vertical bar in the Prentice position. Analysis of calibration demonstrated that Gulden's new combination horizontal/vertical prism bar can be used without significant error (within + 0.5δ of labelled values). Gulden's old vertical prism bar is also calibrated in the Prentice position. Luneau's horizontal and vertical prism bars are calibrated close to the frontal plane position (within +1.0δ and +0.4δ respectively). Improper positioning demonstrated an increasing error with larger prisms. Luneau's 25δ segment measured 27.8δ in the Prentice position, the 40δ segment 67.5δ. The 25δ segment of Gulden's new and old vertical prism bars measured 23.25δ in the frontal plane position. Gulden's vertical prism bars should always be held with the flat surface toward the examiner. Luneau's horizontal and vertical prism bars should be held one in front of each eye when used simultaneously; thus, neither eye is looking directly at the fixation object and defining primary and secondary deviations is not possible. The combination horizontal/vertical prism bar is manufactured by Gulden Ophthalmics, 225 Cadwalader Avenue, Elkins Park, PA 19117-2097. The Luneau prism bars are manufactured by Luneau Ophtalmologie, B.P. 252, 28005 Chartres Cedex, France. The authors have no proprietary or financial interest in these products or in the companies involved.

WrrH THE increasing complexity of modem society, the ubiquitous communication channels impinging on civilized man, and the heightened frequency and intensity of interaction in urban living, men today are confronted more often than ever before with those moral dilemmas sociologists call role conflicts. We propose to discuss types of role conflict in terms of the specific definitions of social status and social role developed herein and then to present a brief statement of methods of role conflict resolution. Status-Role Definition "Social status" refers to a position within a social system as it is defined in terms of the configuration of expectations relating the position to the system as a whole and to each of the other positions within the system.' "Social role" refers to the incumbent's set of expectations associated with occupancy of a specific status. The meanings of these definitions may be clarified by considering how they were derived. In the Model for Role Analysis (Figure 1), all parts of the diagram to the left of the vertical line pertain

We show that when one line approaches a vertical line and another line approaches a horizontal line, the product of the slopes can approach any real number or +oo or — oo or nothing, thus clarifying preceding statements of Subramaniam and Das. We stress that the slope of a vertical line does not exist and explain why all these discussions are very useful in the classroom.