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The article contains a critical review of modern problems of Universal Grammar theory by Noam Chomsky. It examines the origins of the theory, the process of its development, the transition to the ‘Second Cognitive Revolution’ and some recent objections to Chomsky’s hypothesis about the innate status of our knowledge of language.

This article is devoted to the consideration of cognitive principles that justify the concept of introducing knowledge about ethnic variants of the German language into the educational process. The presented problem is relevant in connection with the need of modern society in personnel possessing cross-cultural communication skills, including the use of relevant language structures reflecting language variability. The dynamics of national language contacts encourages the development of methodological foundations for teaching linguistic and cultural differences at the lexical level. The stated topic involves consideration of the mental processes that determine the assimilation of language knowledge and their use in communication. The aim of the work is to formulate the cognitive principles of pluricentric knowledge assimilation in the framework of the intercultural competence formation. In the linguistic part of the work, the methods of comparative and conceptual analysis are used in the study of factual material. The didactic component of the study is based on the awareness of the learning process from the standpoint of cognitive processes responsible for the processing and assimilation of various types of information. The use of logical methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as the method of observation implemented in the course of experimental work, made it possible to create a pluricentrically-oriented concept of teaching German. The pluricentricity of the German language is realized in the existence of the Austrian and Swiss national variants. As a result of the study, the cognitive principles of introducing knowledge about German language variants into the educational process were formulated: consideration of the importance of the transition from the sensory stage of cognition to the rational one and the need for the formation of individual cognitive models and strategies that optimize the assimilation of territorial differences. The set of exercises and tasks developed in the course of the experimental work includes language, adaptive and real speech exercises and tasks aimed at the formation of cross-cultural competence within the framework of the development of lexical skills.

The current meta-analysis examines the cognitive approach to lie detection. Our goal was to assess the practical utility of this approach by examining whether it improves the lie detection ability of human observers. The cognitive approach to lie detection led to an average accuracy rate of 60.00%, 95% CI [56.42; 63.53] and a bias corrected average accuracy rate of 55.03%, 95% CI [48.83; 61.16]. Critically, this result is moderated by whether observers were informed, or not, about which cues to focus on. Naïve observers had average accuracy rates of 52.37%, 95% CI [48.80%; 55.93%], little better than chance. In contrast, informed observers had average accuracy rates of 75.81%, 95% CI [71.52%; 79.86%]. This promising result is qualified by indications of publication bias, considerable heterogeneity between studies, and a lack of research on important practical issues, such as the influence of counter-measures. Although these shortcomings raise a note of caution, we remain optimistic about future research on the topic.

The purpose of this article is to define the communicative functions which monologue speech performs; to describe the characteristics of monologue speech; to show psychological approaches for building up a monologue-story. The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: a categorical method, structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling, generalization. The results of the research. We distinguish the main psychological approaches which help pupils to understand English texts. The first one is the approach of Hermeneutics. It sees in the interpretation of the subject perceiving the novel, which is based on the imagination and intuition of the recipient, which allows him / her not only to reveal the author’s idea, but also to feel the process of creating the text. General theoretical backgrounds of hermeneutics and the approach to understanding as the actualization of reflection will be presented in our further articles. The process of understanding how to build meanings occurs by actualizing reflection, the most important source of the person’s experience that allows a person to improve his / her personality. The next approach is psycho-linguistic. We proved that the comprehension of the text was directly connected with the understanding of the person’s speech. We formulated the main aspects, which in subsequent psycholinguistic and cognitive studies were explained in the following aspects: 1) the activity basis of speech, such as its extralingual characteristics; 2) internal speech or universal subject code; 3) the concept of meaning and significance. Conclusions. The main for building up a monologue-story is a cognitive approach. The defining feature of the cognitive approach for the study of comprehension was the position that language was only a small part of the holistic phenomenon that speakers are trying to learn. The process of cognition is based on the complex interactions of memory processes, physiological characteristics of a man, his / her knowledge of the world, the social context of utterances, ways of interaction of all the activities of the individual in general and the organization of all types of knowledge in particular. The cognitive approach characterizes two main factors: 1) shifting the attention of researchers from the object (a text) to the subject («Me – the speaker»; «Me – the listener»; «Me – the reader»); 2) shift of the person’s attention from clearly identified micro-units, which are considered in isolation, to units with a high degree of complexity. In the first case, the understanding of speech is considered as a constructive activity of the subject, carried out on the basis of his / her knowledge; in the second one, involving more complex units for comprehension analysis instead of relatively simple messages. Accordingly, along with the text, the object of the activity, we try actively studying the subjects-speakers (listeners / readers) processes. The movement from meaning to sense determines the very process of understanding, in which we identify several integrated stages that have semantic independence: a psychophysiological perception of a physical sign (a word, color, spatial form); a recognition of meaning (as «a friend» or «a stranger»); understanding its recurring (general) meaning in language; understanding its significance in the specified context (near or far); active-dialogic understanding (agreement – disagreement), such as the evaluative moment in understanding.

This article looks at so-called “deviant” functioning in terminology. The notion of deviancy seems to be situated in relation to a “neutral” functioning of the language, which does not take any particular communication situation into account. The article aims to show that this supposed deviancy has to be related to the communication situation itself, which, in the present case, implies specialised knowledge. Rather than just being deviancies, it is argued that these linguistic formulations are a tangible manifestation of the specificity of the communication situation. Three types of explanation are put forward for their use: linguistic (linguistic prolixity and linguistic economy), sociolinguistic, and cognitive. Each type is exemplified by various studies.

Propositional frame-based modeling is one of the most effective methods of cognitive linguistics. This method considers the interaction between the semantic and cognitive aspects of units of two typologically different languages, e.g. Russian and Chinese, in order to study the way language structures and reflects human knowledge and experience. Propositional structures are the same for all languages, but they are implemented differently in every language. The authors used the propositional frame-based analysis to identify universal and specific aspects in the semantics of proverbs based on frame father – son, which is an important fragment of the Russian and Chinese linguistic world view. The cognitive potential of paroemiological units is enormous: proverbs reflect historical, cultural, linguistic, and extralinguistic cognitive experience. Cognitivists define experience as one’s knowledge about stereotypical situations, stored in one’s mind as frames. A frame is a collection of vertex ("top") and terminal ("low") components. Vertex components are formed by concepts that are valid in relation to the stereotypical situation of the frame. As a result, they are clearly structured and constant. The "low level" is not constant, and its terminals are variable. The semantics of the proverbs in question were represented by frames. The meanings of their components formed a common and complex situation. Knowledge about this situation made it possible to perceive the meaning of each proverb in a holistic way. The proverbs could be interpreted as units that activate a certain cognitive context about the content and structure of the concepts father and son in Russian and Chinese.

Purpose of research. The aim of the study is the use of cognitive technologies for the formation of speech dialogue management models. At present, for the development of the Internet of things, the expansion of communicative opportunities for their interaction, it is important to improve speech dialogue management models in many areas. The need for dialogue can arise between cyber-physical systems, between a person and cyber-physical systems, between users, developers, and administrators. The speech dialogue management models covers many issues related to processing a speech signal, semantic analysis, understanding the meaning of speech, using cognitive mechanisms for interaction, and some others. A special place among them is occupied by the problem of building a speech dialogue between users, developers, and cyberphysical systems. This article is devoted to the consideration of the use of speech dialogue management models of intelligent systems, as well as users, developers, administrators.Materials and methods of research. New approaches and methods are required to solve the problems within the framework of the Industry 4.0. The industry 4.0 concept represents a variety of technologies, including the creation of cyber-physical systems, a variety of different protocols for their interaction. One of its main directions is the Internet of things. Cognitive mechanisms associated with the formation and application of concrete sensory images, concepts-representations, concepts-frames are used to solve the problems of model formation. To form the abilities and speech skills for the communicative activities of the participants of the interaction within the framework of the Industry 4.0 concept, the methods associated with mastering foreign language technologies were used. The ultimate goal of their use is to achieve the ability to master spontaneous speech in both everyday and professional situations. Mastering a foreign language involves the use of cognitive technologies, which allows you to develop the structure of mental operations.Results. Some features of the formation of a voice dialogue management model for intelligent systems and the preparation of interaction participants in the framework of the concept — users, developers, and industrial system administrators – are considered. The application of cognitive mechanisms for organizing and using the model of speech dialogue management is shown. The use of conceptual representations and scripting concepts in intelligent systems allows us to develop the structure of the world model. The application of cognitive mechanisms for training interaction participants, within the framework of the Industry 4.0 concept, improves their training by improving understanding of the material being studied by building logical connections and a mental model of the material. Using concepts allows you to build mental models of your own thoughts. At the end of all mental operations, participants in the interaction acquire the ability to form speech dialogue management models.Conclusion. The use of cognitive technologies makes it possible, both for intelligent systems and for interaction participants, to use generalized static structures of concepts, situations, and dynamic structures for real and mental operations. The active use of such structures makes it possible to better understand the current situation and successfully formulate and use voice dialogue management models for solving problems arising during the development of the Industry 4.0 concept.

Financial education is a subject that still presents great challenges for its dissemination in Brazil since, despite the efforts made in recent years, it still lacks studies, especially regarding methodological discussions and teaching practices. This study sought to describe a pedagogical intervention in financial education from the cognitive approach, in a project carried out in the counter shift of the academic period of a public educational institution. It is a descriptive research of qualitative nature and had as an analysis procedure the observation carried out by the mediators, from the data collected through questionnaires filled out by the students. Students from technical courses integrated to high school at a Federal Educational Institution participated in the research and had as mediators a Finance Professor and a Psychologist. As a result, the cognitive approach was positive for the realization of financial education initiatives, since the fact that the teacher presents himself as a mediator and the student as an active part in the learning process enabled the redefinition of the school space, the course and the contents studied. A educação financeira é um assunto que ainda apresenta grandes desafios para sua disseminação no Brasil visto que, apesar dos esforços realizados nos últimos anos, ainda carece de estudos, principalmente quanto a discussões metodológicas e práticas de ensino. Pensando nisso, este estudo buscou descrever uma intervenção pedagógica em educação financeira a partir da abordagem cognitivista, em um projeto realizado no contra turno do período letivo de uma Instituição pública de ensino. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva de natureza qualitativa e teve como procedimento de análise a observação realizada pelos mediadores, a partir dos dados colhidos por meio de questionários preenchidos pelos estudantes. Participaram da pesquisa estudantes de cursos técnicos integrados ao Ensino Médio de uma Instituição Federal de Ensino e teve como mediadores um Professor de Finanças e uma Psicóloga. Como resultados, a abordagem cognitivista foi positiva para a realização de iniciativas de educação financeira visto que o fato do professor se apresentar como mediador e o estudante como parte ativa no processo de aprendizagem possibilitaram a ressignificação do espaço escolar, do curso e de conteúdos estudados.

Diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is essentially based on the identification of progressive impairment of language abilities while other cognitive functions are preserved. The three variants of PPA are characterized by core and supportive clinical features related to the presence or absence of language impairment in different linguistic domains. In this article, we review the cognitive neuropsychological approach to the assessment of PPA and its contribution to the differential diagnosis of the three variants. The main advantage of this assessment approach is that it goes beyond the mere description and classification of clinical syndromes and identifies impaired and preserved cognitive and linguistic components and processes. The article is structured according to the main language domains: spoken production, language comprehension, and written language. Each section includes a brief description of the cognitive processes involved in the assessment tasks, followed by a discussion of typical characteristics for each PPA variant and common pitfalls in the interpretation of the results. In addition, the clinical benefit of the cognitive neuropsychological approach for the behavioral management of PPA is briefly sketched out in the conclusion.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to introduce, present, and describe the self-review therapeutic method that was designed and presented by Pourhosein based on Beck's cognitive theory, Islamic philosophy, and the return to Iqbal-e-Lahouri's self-awareness to reduce the symptoms of depression and increase happiness. Method: In this study in addition to a theoretical and methodological discussion about self-review intervention method browsing, an example of research done in this field is mentioned.Results: The basic principles of this approach have been based on human integrity with a cognitive approach. The underlying principle in this method is the bareness and consciousness of the human being from the inner and outer features of the self in which as a human being becomes more aware of his internal and external traits and his emotional responses will become more realistic. Conclusion: This method is presented in a systematic manner, which if goes well, the patients’ consciousness about their self is increased and their symptoms of depression will decrease. In this study, while explaining its theoretical and methodological foundations, some research examples suggest a decrease in these symptoms.

Because of the nature of their work, engineers are often asked to be innovative. This implies that they must possess and demonstrate creative abilities However, building an effective and valid course to develop participants’ creativity is not without challenges. Not aiming at educating specialists with a degree in creativity, we nonetheless believe future engineers could benefit from a deliberate development of their creative abilities. The goals of this paper are to (1) describe an innovative cognitive/metacognitive approach to enhance creativity as well as the pedagogical strategies underlining a creativity course for engineering students, (2) present the pre-post results measured with a revised version of the CEDA (Creative Engineering Design Assessment). We evaluated the creative performance of 59 students before and after a 45-hour creativity course. The students’ scores on four variables measured by CEDA—fluidity, flexibility, originality and usefulness—were statistically higher after the course than before. Students’ written comments provided further evidence of the course’s relevance and effectiveness. We concluded that students’ creativity was increased and that the course enabled a better understanding of creativity and how to foster it.

The research indicates that there is no prospect of searching specific entrepreneurial traits that are necessary for conducting successful entrepreneurial activity. It is pointed on the impossibility to fully explain the negative state of domestic business exclusively by the influence of environmental factors. The paper points on the necessity of concentrating the scientific search on the cognitive features of personality, as factors that contribute to success of entrepreneurial activities. It is revealed that the decision-making process directed on problem-solving in entrepreneurial activity, from an entrepreneurial idea to obtaining an appropriate result, cannot be algorithmized. The author points out on the insufficiency of attempts to model cognitive processes of entrepreneurs, in which their cognitive activity is regarded as an information processing system that resembles a computer. The results obtained in the framework of the cognitive approach in studying the phenomenon of the entrepreneur are analyzed. Particular emphasis is placed on the features of heuristics and cognitive biases. It is stated that the high levels of uncertainty, novelty, time deficit, information overload and emotional tension facilitate influence of cognitive biases on the cognitive processes of the entrepreneur. The role of «availability heuristic», «anchoring and adjustment heuristic», «confirmation bias», «hindsight bias» and self-efficacy in making decisions about starting an entrepreneurial activity are considered. The article points to the role of «belief in the law of small numbers» and the illusion of control in establishing optimistic bias (overly positive self-esteem, excessive optimism about future plans and events) that lead to reducing the subjective perception of entrepreneurial risk.

The aim of the study is intelligent modules of organizational-technical systems (OTS) for solving the task of purposeful behavior taking into account features to operate the object in a rapidly changing external environment. A widely used computing paradigm contains inherent symbolic submissions of information and their processing with algorithms focused on the logic and combinatorics of procedures. This computer approach in solving some intellectual tasks is inferior to the man. One of the approaches to study complex tasks can be the use of a simpler model task. For such models, the article investigates the possibility of using the cognitive approach that can be used in the intelligent modules of OTS for solving tasks of purposeful behavior. In order to solve the task of purposeful behavior taking into account features to operate the object in a rapidly changing external environment a cognitive approach to cybernetic systems as intelligent modules of OTS can be used. The author considered the cybernetic approach to the evolution and use of simple model systems with purposeful behavior. A cognitive approach includes plenty of problems. The solution of these problems is connected with the methods, taking into account cognitive aspects referring to processes of perception, thinking, knowledge, explanations and understanding. In a system with a simple model the issues of categorization, the role and place of the Gestalt, the formation of the characteristic values as an important element of cognitive semantics are considered. In further studies it is necessary to pay due attention to the knowledge of cybernetic systems, their submissions, storage, processing, interpretation and production of new knowledge. As a result of the research, the structure of a cybernetic system with a simple model of behavior is proposed. This system is able to solve relatively simple tasks of purposeful behavior. When adding modules, providing recognition of primitive images (geometrical shapes, objects), speech recognition and the formation of voice messages, the cybernetic system is capable to form new signs about the outside world. Using such signs and new controlling actions, the robot can build a more complex interaction with reality. A new system (the robot KSUKHA) allows considering separate categories (the beginnings of the categories) for the further use. Separate categories can become the prototype categories for the future and distant descendants of this cybernetic system (robot) in this evolutionary tree. Application of the considered approach will allow us to come to the solution of tasks of forming categories, and in future to form basic categories to use cognitive mechanisms of human thinking. These mechanisms can be applied in cybernetic systems for solving the tasks of purposeful behavior.

In Cognitive linguistics verb-particle (VP) constructions are treated as compositional and analyzable. The particles when combined with the verbs contribute to the overall meaning in the form of image schemas. This article compares the verbparticle constructions with look and see. It aims at analyzing the nuances of meaning of two synonymous verbs that combine with spatial particles and examines the image schemas associated with them. When the corresponding image schemas are activated they influence the VP constructions, thus they bring forth new evidence for the embodied nature of language and thought. This study also uses the theoretical framework of Construction Grammar to focus on the different ways of processing spatial and non-spatial VP constructions.

In recent times, ethnobiology has revived interest in cognitive aspects of humans' communities. A concept commonly used in this area is cognitive salience. In this paper we assess the wild animal salience meaning for the rural people from an area of the mountain range of the Cordoba province (Argentina). We also analyzed the relationship of cultural and ecological factors over wild animal domain salience. The values of cognitive salience, perception and cultural value were obtained by means of free lists to 16 collaborators, while semistructured interviews were used to inquire about local ecological knowledge and ease of observation about wild animals. The interdependence between the five variables elaborated was analyzed through a Principal Components Regression. The results show a qualitative relationship between Cognitive Salience and Cultural Value and a significant correlation between Cognitive Salience and Local Ecological Knowledge. Ease of Observation did not correlate with Cognitive Salience, but show a significant relationship with the Perceived Abundance. The results suggest a complex network of factors that are modeling the cognitive salience and local perceptions over wild animals. In our findings, highlight the Cultural Value given to harmful animals which reflects an increasing pattern in the region, the conflict between rural people and wild animals. In turn a mutual influences and causal feedback loops between cognitive salience and an ecological factor, the Perceived abundance, is proposed. Investigations over cognition and about how people perceived nature can give us an idea of how they act in it, a compelling factor when it comes to cultural and biological conservation issues. Fil: Wajner, Matias. No especifíca; Fil: Tamburini, Daniela Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina Fil: Zamudio, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina

From the recognition of the scientific literature it emerges that the International Paralympic Committee and the Italian Paralympic Committee, together with the Special Olympics, present a segregative imprint in sports activities, as the current Regulations allow the restricted participation to specific types of disabilities, excluding the inclusion of others, so the difficulty lies in finding a different method that is suitable for all the different types of athletes. Taking up the two approaches (cognitive and ecological), mentioned in the previous study, it is preferable to limit the method of prescriptive teaching for athletes with disabilities on 100, 200, 400m, because they must adapt to a diversity compared to non-disabled people. For this reason, the adaptation is personal and then it occurs according to the heuristic learning method. Therefore, the integration of the above mentioned approaches is proposed, giving shape to a model characterized by a specific training of organic and muscular adaptations, also in qualitative terms, with the integration of heuristic learning and types of periodization and training methods with differences in the competition rules. The aim of this study is to hypothesize, through the theoretical method, a model that is able to enhance all types of athletes, according to their specific characteristics.

Representation of cognitive area and revealing terminological characteristics of the Russian and English names of building materials (NBMs) determine the topicality of the research and the article’s problematic. The authors of the article analyze the Russian and English NBMs and reveal their main stages with the comparative description, and chооse the definition of the names, in which the basic word-identifier of the leading cognitive features have been highlighted. These features have become the basics for the formation of the thematic groups. The classification of the names of building materials is formed from five groups: organic materials / orgonicheskie materialy; inorganic materials / neorgonicheskie materialy; metals and metal products / metaly i izdelija iz nih; other building materials / prochie stroitel’nye materialy; properties of building materials / svojstva stroitel’nyh materialov. Properties of building materials is subdivided into models according to their structural characteristics: physical properties / fizicheskie svoystva; mechanical properties / mehanicheskie svojstva; defects / defekty.

The present article aims at studying the phenomenon of artistic concept by providing a detailed analysis of linguistic choices and patterns in the text with a systematic consideration of the mental processes and representations that are involved in the process of interpretation. The tools provided by the recent developments in cognitive approach are applied to enlarge the scope of studies in artistic concepts in general and also to highlight the major features that make the artistic concept distinct from the general cultural concepts. The practical study is based on alienation – one of the key concepts exploited in the contemporary literature.

The cognitive approach in foreign language teaching attracts young learners’ attention to the topic, enhances and facilitates the comprehension of grammar and language, increases students’ motivation, as well as helps students to memorize new vocabulary and structures. The aim of the article is to persuade teachers that the cognitive approach applied in the lesson provokes a change in the dynamics of the language classroom and serves as a motivational tool for students. An author’s cognitive model is an example for the easy comprehension and production of the difficult English present progressive construction by Bulgarian young learners. The model is discussed within the generativist framework and the usage-based theories as the pre-linguistic conditions take an important part in it. The taxonomy of constructions, which is also part of the model, focuses on the relationship between the English present progressive construction and the constructions preceding it.

There is a long tradition among Keats’s critics that links his medical profession to his poetic career, claiming that the former has influenced the latter. Some of them argue that the poet’s medical learning influenced his thought and formed a source material for his poetry. This paper continues this tradition. I argue that Keats’s knowledge of medicine has provided him with technical information to describe abstract states such as negative mood and mental states through medical language. I examine some of his medical metaphors using a cognitive approach to investigate how Keats employs medical terminology to conceptualize these negative mental states. This new approach allows me to see how concepts and structures which belong to the domain of the medical profession (source) are mapped onto the domain of negative mental states and emotions (target) through the process of cross-domain mapping. Cross-domain mapping allows the speaker to use prior knowledge of the source domain and apply it to the target domain so as to describe it in a new way. Using this cognitive approach offers a better understanding of Keats’s poetry, particularly the metaphors of negative mental states such as depression and melancholy. My analysis differs from previous studies as my approach considers Keats’s medical profession as a domain where he maps concepts and frames onto the domain of negative emotions.

Although there has been significant progress in the study of emo-tions in the HB in recent years, a variety of matters still need atten-tion or serious reflection. Tins article addresses some of these. Aspects that are focused on include: (1) the designation "emotion " and what it entails in a HB context; (2) the limitations of the original psychophysical approach; (3) the cognitive approach and the ques-tion of a dominant conceptual metaphor; (4) the social-construc-tionist view of emotions and the problems of translating emotional communication; and (5) some issues related to gender and emotion.

This paper was written with the objective of checking on the treatment given to the concept of organizational strategy within each of the strategic choice, cognitive and institutional approaches. To carry out this objective, theoretical and methodological criteria were defined. The identification of these criteria was presented in a descriptive fashion, starting with the examination of the referential background for each approach. The descriptions of their respective indicators were grouped into content matrixes, and analyzed by the means of a comparative methodology. The indicators of the theoretical criteria were the representations of the individual, the organization and the environment. The indicator of the methodological criteria was the dimension of analysis. The results obtained reveal significant variations which configure specific arrangements of definition and treatment of the constitutive elements of conception of organizational strategy in each of the approaches under analysis.

This study investigates the impact of cognitive approach to education on the development of social responsibility in pre-school children. Twenty six female pre-school students (from Takrim Cognitive School) constituted the test group and twenty six female pre-school students (from Shookā Pre-School) constituted the control group. Variables such as age, sex, district of education and tuition costs were similar. At the beginning of school year both groups of students took Gresham Social Skills Rating System as pre-test, and took it again after eight months as post-test. In the test group, cognitive approach was exercised while in the control group traditional approach was being adopted. To disclose the difference between the two independent groups Mann–Whitney U test was used. Results of the study showed that there is a meaningful difference between the two groups in terms of their social responsibility toward themselves, other children, older people and environment.

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00.

In this study, we developed a digitizing tablet-based instrument for the clinical assessment of human voluntary movements targeting motor processes of planning, programming and execution. The tool was used to investigate an adaptation of Fitts' reciprocal tapping task [10], comprising four conditions, each of them modulated by three indices of difficulty related to the amplitude of movement required. Temporal, spatial and sequential constraints underlying the various conditions allowed the intricate motor processes to be dissociated. Data obtained from a group of elderly healthy subjects (N = 50) were in agreement with the literature on motor control, in the temporal and spatial domains. Speed constraints generated gains in the temporal domain and costs in the spatial one, while spatial constraints generated gain in the spatial domain and costs in the temporal one; finally, sequential constraints revealed the integrative nature of the cognitive operations involved in motor production. This versatile instrument proved capable of providing quantitative, accurate and sensitive measures of the various processes sustaining voluntary movement in healthy subjects. Altogether, analyses performed in this study generated a theoretical framework and reference data which could be used in the future for the clinical assessment of patients with various movement disorders, in particular Parkinson’s disease.

Intense competition in many industries is forcing firms to reengineer the new product development (NPD) process in order to carry out new, higher quality products at an increasingly rapid pace. The need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the NPD process is particularly perceived by the manufacturing firms of Italian industrial districts (IDs). Although the literature has emphasised the importance of NPD process within IDs, less attention is given to the definition of descriptive models aimed at providing managers with a better understanding of the NPD process within IDs. In the paper a knowledge-based approach is proposed to analyse the NPD process. Such an approach has been used to study a real NPD process within an Italian ID firm. Managerial implications addressed to improve the NPD performance and based on a cognitive approach are discussed.

This article presents a study designed to relate the way decision makers think about organizing to emerging changes in organizations. The complexity and content of the organizing frameworks of key actors in three cases of introduction of computer aided design were analyzed. This resulted in a typology describing actors as analysts, facilitators, or organizers. A correspondence was found between the way these actors thought about organization and the emerging organizations observed in three cases. The study is used to develop a cognitive actor's approach to organizational change.