Academic literature on the topic 'Reach-to-grasp movement'

When grasping an object, the opening between the fingertips (grip aperture) scales with the size of the object. If an object changes in size, the grip aperture has to be corrected. In this study, it was investigated whether such corrections would influence the perceived size of objects. The grasping plan was manipulated with a preview of the object, after which participants initiated their reaching movement without vision. In a minority of the grasps, the object changed in size after the preview and participants had to adjust their grasping movement. Visual feedback was manipulated in two experiments. In experiment 1, vision was restored during reach and both visual and haptic information was available to correct the grasp and lift the object. In experiment 2, no visual information was provided during the movement and grasps could only be corrected using haptic information. Participants made reach-to-grasp movements towards two objects and compared these in size. Results showed that participants adjusted their grasp to a change in object size from preview to grasped object in both experiments. However, a change in object size did not bias the perception of object size or alter discrimination performance. In experiment 2, a small perceptual bias was found when objects changed from large to small. However, this bias was much smaller than the difference that could be discriminated and could not be considered meaningful. Therefore, it can be concluded that the planning and execution of reach-to-grasp movements do not reliably affect the perception of object size.

Most cervical spinal cord injuries result in asymmetrical functional impairments in hand and arm function. However, the extent to which reach-to-grasp movements are affected in humans with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) remains poorly understood. Using kinematics and electromyographic (EMG) recordings in hand and arm muscles we studied the different phases of unilateral self-paced reach-to-grasp movements (arm acceleration, hand opening and closing) to a small cylinder in the more and less affected arms of individuals with cervical SCI and in age-matched controls. We found that SCI subjects showed prolonged movement duration in both arms during arm acceleration, and hand opening and closing compared with controls. Notably, the more affected arm showed an additional increase in movement duration at the time to close the hand compared with the less affected arm. Also, the time at which the index finger and thumb contacted the object and the variability of finger movement trajectory were increased in the more compared with the less affected arm of SCI participants. Participants with prolonged movement duration during hand closing were those with more pronounced deficits in sensory function. The muscle activation ratio between the first dorsal interosseous and abductor pollicis brevis muscles decreased during hand closing in the more compared with the less affected arm of SCI participants. Our results suggest that deficits in movement kinematics during reach-to-grasp movements are more pronounced at the time to close the hand in the more affected arm of SCI participants, likely related to deficits in EMG muscle activation and sensory function. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Humans with cervical spinal cord injury usually present asymmetrical functional impairments in hand and arm function. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that deficits in movement kinematics during reaching and grasping movements are more pronounced at the time to close the hand in the more affected arm of spinal cord injury. We suggest that this is in part related to deficits in muscle activation ratios between hand muscles and a decrease in sensory function.

The purpose of this study was using an accelerometer to access the kinematics of reach-to-grasp movements in subjects with hemiparesis. Eight subjects (59.4 ± 6.9 years old) with chronic hemiparesis (50.9 ± 25.8 months post-stroke) participated in this study. Kinematic assessment was performed using a triaxial accelerometer (EMG Systems, Brazil) attached to the subjects' forearm. Ten reach-to-grasp movements of grabbing a 500ml-size bottle were performed by the subjects with the paretic and the non-paretic upper limbs (ULs). The following space-temporal variables were calculated and used to compare the paretic and non-paretic ULs: movement time (MT), time to reach the peak velocity, absolute and relative (TPV and TPV%MT), relative deceleration duration (DEC%MT), time to peak acceleration (TPA) and peak hand acceleration (PA). Movements were slower in the paretic UL with increased MT, TPA and DEC. The accelerometer allowed to identify of changes in reaching-to-grasp movements of subjects with hemiparesis. When complex systems are not available, accelerometers can be an alternative to measure UL movements.

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans typically damages both sides of the spinal cord, resulting in asymmetric functional impairments in the arms. Despite this well-accepted notion and the growing emphasis on the use of bimanual training strategies, how movement of one arm affects the motion of the contralateral arm after SCI remains unknown. Using kinematics and multichannel electromyographic (EMG) recordings we studied unilateral and bilateral reach-to-grasp movements to a small and a large cylinder in individuals with asymmetric arm impairments due to cervical SCI and age-matched control subjects. We found that the stronger arm of SCI subjects showed movement durations longer than control subjects during bilateral compared with unilateral trials. Specifically, movement duration was prolonged when opening and closing the hand when reaching for a large and a small object, respectively, accompanied by deficient activation of finger flexor and extensor muscles. In subjects with SCI interlimb coordination was reduced compared with control subjects, and individuals with lesser coordination between hands were those who showed prolonged times to open the hand. Although the weaker arm showed movement durations during bilateral compared with unilateral trials that were proportional to controls, the stronger arm was excessively delayed during bilateral reaching. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that during bilateral reach-to-grasp movements the more impaired arm has detrimental effects on hand opening and closing of the less impaired arm and that they are related, at least in part, to deficient control of EMG activity of hand muscles. We suggest that hand opening might provide a time to drive bimanual coordination adjustments after human SCI.

Autism is associated with a wide and complex array of neurobehavioural symptoms. Examination of the motor system offers a particularly appealing method for studying autism by providing information about this syndrome that is relatively immune to experimental influence. In this article, we considered the relationship between possible movement disturbance and symptoms of autism and introduced an experimental model that may be useful for rehabilitation and diagnostic purposes: the reach–to–grasp movement. Research is reviewed that characterizes kinematically the reach–to–grasp movement in children with autism compared with age–matched ‘controls’. Unlike the age–matched children, autistic children showed differences in movement planning and execution, supporting the view that movement disturbances may play a part in the phenomenon of autism.

This commentary raises some issues still unresolved in the study of the reach-to-grasp movement, namely the operational definition of the components of the reach-to-grasp movement, the independence of these components, and the equivocal interpretation of the existing literature. Lastly, this commentary addresses issues pertaining to object properties that require both visual and haptic determination.

In our everyday life, we interact continually with objects. We reach for them, we grasp them, we manipulate them. All these actions are apparently very simple. Yet, this is not so. The mechanisms that underlie them are complex, and require multiple visuomotor transformations entailing the capacity to transform the visual features of the object in the appropriate hand configuration, and the capacity to execute and control hand and finger movements. In neural terms, grasping behavior can be dissociated into separate reach and grip components. According to this view, computations regarding the grasp component occurs within a lateral parietofrontal circuit involving the anterior intraparietal area (AIP) and both the dorsal (PMd) and the ventral (PMv) premotor areas. The general agreement is that the processes occurring in AIP constitute the initial step of the transformation leading from representation of objects to movement aimed at interacting with such objects. Evidence supporting this view comes from neurophysiological studies showing that the representation of three-dimensional object features influences both the rostral sector of the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and the ventro-rostral sector of the dorsal premotor area (area F2vr; for review see Filimon, 2010). With respect to the reach component, there is agreement that it is subserved by a more medial parieto-frontal circuit including the medial intraparietal area (mIP) termed as the parietal reach region (PRR), area V6A, and the dorsal premotor area F2. Human neuroimaging studies go in the same direction. They showed the involvement of the anterior portion of the human AIP in grasping behavior and they proposed human homologues of both the ventral and dorsal premotor cortices during grasping. Whereas, reaching activates the medial intraparietal and the superior parieto-occipital cortex (for review see Castiello & Begliomini, 2008). Altogether these studies suggest that in humans, like in monkeys, reach to grasp movements involve a large network of interconnected structures in the parietal and frontal lobes. And, that this cortical network is differentially involved for the control of distinct aspects characterizing the planning and the control of reach to grasp movement. Nevertheless, how the neural control systems interact with the complex biomechanics of moving limbs - as to help us to identify the operational principles to look for in reach to grasp studies and, more in general, in motor control - remains an open question. In this respect, it is only through the use of converging techniques with different characteristics that we might fully understand how the human brain controls the grasping function. What is so far lacking in the literature on cortical control of grasp in humans is a systematic documentation of the time course of neural activity during performance of reach to grasp movement. To fill this gap the present thesis will consider the co-registration of behavioural and neural events in order to provide deeper insights into the neuro-functional basis of reach to grasp movements in humans. In Chapter 1 an overview on the state of the art in many disciplines investigating reach to grasp processes will be provided, with particular attention to neurophysiology, from which most of the knowledge regarding the neural underpinnings of reach to grasp movements comes from. Furthermore, kinematical as well as neuroimaging, and evoked related potentials (ERP) investigations will be reviewed. Particular emphasis will be given to neuroimaging studies, especially those exploring grasping movements by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as the technique adopted to conduct the studies presented in this thesis (Chapter 1). Basic principles of co-registration techniques, which are at the core of the methodological aspect of the present thesis, will be reviewed (Chapter 2). In this respect, a description of the methodologies adopted in the present thesis together with general information regarding signal processing and data analysis for these different techniques will be provided in specific appendices (III, IV). Then, three studies focusing on the co-registration of kinematical with ERP (Chapters 3 and 4) and FMRI with ERP (Chapter 5) will be presented and discussed. In Chapter 3 the co-registration of ERP and kinematical signals will be considered with specific reference to hand shaping, that is the grasp component of the targeted movement. A similar co-registration approach will be adopted in Chapter 4 for investigating the underlying circuits of reaching. The focus for Chapter 5 will be the co-registration of ERPs and fMRI signals as to reveal the time course of activation of the differential cortical areas related to the planning, initiation and on-line control of reaching and grasping movements and how such activity varies depending on object size. A general discussion (Chapter 6), contextualizing the results obtained by the studies presented in this thesis will follow.<br>Durante la nostra vita quotidiana interagiamo continuamente con gli oggetti circostanti. Raggiungiamo, afferriamo e manipoliamo questi oggetti. Tutte queste azioni sono apparentemente molto semplici. Tuttavia non è proprio così. Il meccanismo sottostante queste azioni è molto complesso, e richiede una serie di trasformazioni visuomotorie che implicano la capacità di trasformare le caratteristiche visive di un oggetto nell'appropriata configurazione della mano oltre all'abilità di eseguire e controllare i movimenti di mano e dita. In termini neurali il movimento di prensione può essere scomposto in due componenti: raggiungimento e prensione. Seguendo questa dicotomia è stato proposto che i sistemi neurali sottostanti la prensione avvengano all'interno del circuito parietofrontale laterale che coinvolge l'area intraparietale anteriore (AIP), ed entrambe le aree premotorie, premotoria dorsale (Pmd) e premotoria ventrale (PMv). Generalmente i processi che si verificano in AIP rappresentano la fase iniziale della trasformazione che conduce dalla rappresentazione degli oggetti al movimento finalizzato all'interazione con gli oggetti stessi. Le prove a sostengo di questa ipotesi provengono dagli studi neurofisiologici; che mostrano come la rappresentazione delle caratteristiche di un oggetto tridimensionale influenza entrambe la sezioni rostrale della coretccia premotoria ventrale (area F5) e la sezione ventro-rostrale dell'area premotoria dorsale (area F2vr). Per quanto concerne la componente di raggiungimento, è stato proposto un circuito parieto-frontale, principalmente mediale, che coinvolge l'area intraparietale mediale (MIP) definita anche come la regione parietale deputata al raggiungimento (PRR), area V6A e l'area premotoria dorsale F2. Nell' uomo studi di neuroimmagine confermano quelli neurofisiologici e dimostrano il coinvolgimento della porzione anteriore del corrispettivo umano del AIP durante il movimento di prensione ed inoltre hanno postulato omologhe aree per entrambe le cortecce premotorie ventrali e dorsali durante la prensione stessa. Mentre il movimento di raggiungimento attiva la corteccia intraparietale e la coretccia parieto-occipitale sueperiore. Complessivamente questi studi suggeriscono che negli esseri umani, cosi come nelle scimmie, I movimenti di raggiungimento e prensione coinvolgono una vasta rete di strutture a livello dei lobi parietale e frontale. Inoltre il coinvolgimento di questa rete neurale si modula durante la pianificazione ed il controllo del movimento. Tuttavia la modalità con la quale i sistemi neurali interagiscono con gli aspetti biomeccanici deputati al controllo del movimento rimane una questione aperta. A tal proposito è solo attraverso l'utilizzo di tecniche convergenti con diverse caratteristiche che possiamo comprendere pienamente come il cervello umano esercita il controllo del movimento. Ciò che finora appare carente nella letteratura sul controllo corticale del movimento di prensione negli esseri umani è difatti una documentazione sistematica dell'andamento temporale dell'attività neurale e cinematica durante l'esecuzione del movimento di raggiungimento e prensione. Con l'intento di colmare questa lacuna il presente lavoro di tesi esaminerà la registrazione simultanea di eventi comportamentali e neurali al fine di fornire più profonde intuizioni sulle basi neuro-funzionali del movimento di raggiungimento e prensione negli esseri umani. Nel Capitolo 1 verrà fornita una panoramica sullo stato dell'arte nelle molte discipline che studiano il processo di raggiungimento e prensione, con particolare attenzione alla neurofisiologia, dalla quale scaturisce la maggior parte delle conoscenze circa le basi neurali di questo tipo di azione nell'uomo. A tal proposito, sanno riesaminati studi riguardanti la cinematica, cosi come le neuroimmagini e i potenziali evocati (ERP). I principi alla base delle tecniche di registrazione simultanea, che costituiscono la base metodologica del presente lavoro di tesi, saranno invece esaminati nel Capitolo 2. A tal proposito una descrizione delle metodologie d'indagine utilizzate nel presente lavoro di tesi assieme alle informazioni generali riguardanti l'elaborazione del segnale e l'analisi dei dati per queste diverse tecniche saranno forniti nelle apposite appendici (III, IV). Successivamente saranno presentati e discussi tre studi incentrati sulla registrazione simultanea dei correlati neurali del movimento di raggiungimento prensione in partecipanti umani rilevati tramite cinematica, ERP e fMRI (capitoli 3, 4 e 5). Nel Capitolo 3 la registrazione simultanea dei segnali ERP e cinematico con specifico riferimento alla coreografia raggiunta dalla mano durante il raggiungimento. Lo stesso approccio di registrazione simultanea sarà adottato nel Capitolo 4 per indagare l'esistenza di circuiti specifici per il movimento di raggiungimento. L'obiettivo del Capitolo 5 sarà invece la registrazione simultanea dei segnali ERPs ed fMRI al fine di rilevare il decorso temporale dell'attivazione delle differenti aree corticali relative alla pianificazione e al controllo dei movimenti di raggiungimento e di prensione. Seguirà una discussione generale (Capitolo 6) volta alla contestualizzazione dei risultati riportati nel presente lavoro di tesi.

碩士<br>國立勤益科技大學<br>工業工程與管理系<br>103<br>Aging is an inevitable process with sensorimotor degeneration and functional movement decline. How target shape and target size interference reach to grasp movement for older adults is still doubtful. This study aims to realize the influence of target shape and size on reach-to-grasp movement for both young and old adults. Ten young adults (averaged age 24±0.82 years) and 10 older adults (averaged age 71.8 ± 2.97 years) were recruited and were voluntary to participate in this study. All subjects claimed without neurological and musculoskeletal illness and signed an informed content. For experimental design, the dependent variables were target shape and target size. Five target shapes including round, cylinder, square, vertical rectangular and horizontal rectangular with five size of 0.5×0.5, 1.0×1.0, 2.0×2.0, 3.0×3.0 and 5.0×5.0 (diameter×height; Φ×h) cm respectively were present randomly. Each subject was asked to reach and grasp the target in front of the desk for twenty-five complete trials under different target shape and target size. An ultrasonic three-dimensional motion analysis system (Zebris CMS 20S, Zebris Medical GmbH, Germany) was used to collect relevant kinematic data comprising the maximum aperture, time percentage to the maximum aperture, maximum velocity, time percentage to the maximum velocity, maximum acceleration, time percentage to the maximum accelerations, maximum decelerations and time percentage to the maximum decelerations during reach to grasp. Moreover, the joint range of motion of wrist and time performance were measured and calculated in this experiment. The results display that the different target shape cause significant influence on time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<0.05). Target size have statistical significant on maximum aperture and time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<0.05). For young adults, target shape would affect the time percentage to the maximum aperture and target size cause considerable influence on maximum aperture and time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<0.05). For older adults, target shape has significant effect on wrist joint range of motion and target size has significant effect on the maximum aperture (p<0.05).This study illustrated that target shape and size have different influence for young and old adults during reach to grasp movement and provide useful information to understand the effect of target shape and target size on reach-to-grasp movement.

碩士<br>國立勤益科技大學<br>工業工程與管理系<br>103<br>Reach to grasp is a sensorimotor integration movement which primary depends on visual perception to providing relevant environment information and target properties, and then to adopt a suitable strategy moving arm and hand to smoothly reach and grasp target. This study aims to investigate the how vision influences reach to grasp movement. Ten normal vision young adults (averaged age 24±0.82 years) and 10 congenital visual-impaired (averaged age 11.3±1.83 years) teenager were recruited and were voluntary to participate in this study. All subjects claimed without musculoskeletal illness and signed an informed content. For experimental design, the dependent variables were target shape and target size. Five target shapes including round, cylinder, square, vertical rectangular and horizontal rectangular with five size of 0.5×0.5, 1.0×1.0, 2.0×2.0, 3.0×3.0 and 5.0×5.0 (diameter  height; Φ×h) cm respectively were present randomly. Each subject was asked to reach and grasp the target in front of the desk for twenty-five complete trials under different target shape and target size. An ultrasonic three-dimensional motion analysis system (Zebris CMS 20S, Zebris Medical GmbH, Germany) was used to collect relevant kinematic data comprising the maximum aperture, time percentage to the maximum aperture, maximum velocity, time percentage to the maximum velocity, maximum acceleration, time percentage to the maximum accelerations, maximum decelerations and time percentage to the maximum decelerations during reach to grasp. Moreover, the joint range of motion of wrist and time performance were measured and calculated in this study. The results of this study showed that target shape have significant influence on the time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<.05). Target size have remarkable effect on maximum aperture and time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<.05).For congenital visual-impaired subjects, although vary target shape would not affect the relevant kinematic data of upper extremity and time performance during reach to grasp target, however, target size have significantly influence on maximum aperture (p<.05). For normal vision subjects, target shape have significant influence on the time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<.05). Moreover, target size have remarkable effect on maximum aperture and time percentage to the maximum aperture (p<.05). For time performance, visual-impaired subjects required longer period to accomplish reach to grasp task. The results from the study that visual action for the implementation of reaching extracts have different effects, relevant research results will be provided in future forecasting and design of reference motion mode.

碩士<br>國立成功大學<br>職能治療學系碩博士班<br>95<br>Background and Purpose: Motor coordination problems have been reported in children with autism, however there were little studies addressing sensory reliance of children with autism while performing fine motor tasks. In this study, we compared two groups of subjects on the reach-to-grasp movement in four experimental blocks: (1) large target with visual feedback (VL), (2) small target with visual feedback (VS), (3) large target with non-visual feedback (NL), and (4) small target with non-visual feedback (NS) blocks to investigate the effects of visual condition and target size during four prehension tasks in all participants. Methods: A counterbalanced repeated measure was designed. Twenty children with high functioning autism (mean age = 91.65 months) and 20 normal subjects (mean age = 92.85 months) were matched according to age and handedness. Qualisys motion analysis system was used to capture the reach-to-grasp movement. Kinematic data such as movement time (MT), peak velocity (PV), time to peak velocity, percentage of time to peak velocity (PPV), normalized jerk score (NJS), movement unit (MU), maximal grip aperture (MGA), normalized maximal grip aperture (NMGA), time to maximal grip aperture (TMGA), and percentage of time to maximal grip aperture (PMGA) were analyzed. Results: Two groups had no significant differences in hand length, finger span, and visual perception. The results of kinematic performance showed that even though children with high functioning autism have longer MT, larger NJS (which represented for motor smoothness), more MU (which represented for motor facileness), and larger MGA and NMGA than controls in VS block, and more MU, larger MGA and NMGA in VL block. No differences of NJS between two groups in VL block were found. In non-visual feedback condition, children with high functioning autism also demonstrated significantly longer MT, larger NJS and more MU than controls, especially while the target was small. No differences of MGA and NMGA between two groups in non-visual feedback condition were found. Conclusions: This study suggested that children with high functioning autism have problems on motor smoothness and coordination in the process of the reach-to-grasp movement, especially in non-visual feedback and small target blocks which suggested that children with high functioning autism depend more visual cuing on performing prehension tasks and demonstrate poor coordination in high accuracy tasks.

碩士<br>朝陽科技大學<br>工業工程與管理系碩士班<br>101<br>The study was aimed at elucidating the effects of object location (distance and orientation) and weight on relevant kinematic of upper extremity, electromyography and reach time during a reach-to-grasp task for elderly adults. A total of 16 healthy subjects, 10 males and 6 females eldery were recruited to participate in this study. The averaged age for elderly were 71.4±4.0 years old. The joint range of motion of upper-extremity, peak velocity, peak acceleration, maximum grip aperture and percentage of time occurred were recorded by an ultrasound-based movement analysis system (Zebris CMS-HS/ Zerbris Medical GmbH, Germany). The reach time, reach return and total time were recorded by movement time measurement software (RT USB COM v2.20). The muscle activity of Biceps, Triceps, Brachioradialis and Pronators Teres were measured by electromyography (Zebris EMG System, Germany). The results of this study indicated that gender and object location had significant influence on joint range of motion and muscle activity of upper extremity. For elderly adults, object weight significantly affected muscle activity (%MVC). Object location significantly affected movement time. The findings of this study can provide useful information for clinical training of upper extremity, rehabilitation goal setting or relevant references.

碩士<br>朝陽科技大學<br>工業工程與管理系<br>103<br>The study investigated effects of environment illumination and target object size on reach-to-grasp movement for old and young people. The kinematics of upper extremity included hand velocity, hand aperture, range of motion of upper, and performance time. The study recruited participants in two phases. We recruited sixteen elderly people in the first phase, and we recruited sixteen young people in the second phase. We used Zebris (CMS-HS, Zebris Medical GmbH, Germany) to collect relevant kinematic data comprising hand velocity (including the maximum velocity of hand, Max V; the maximum acceleration/ deceleration velocity of hand, Max AV/ DV; time percentage to the maximum velocity of hand, Max V%; time percentage to the maximum acceleration/ deceleration velocity of hand, Max AV%/ DV%), hand aperture (including the maximum hand aperture, Max HA; time percentage to the maximum hand aperture, Max HA%), joint range of motion of upper extremity (including wrist flexion-extension, WFE; wrist radial-ulnar deviation, WRU; elbow flexion-extension, EFE) and performance time (including reach time, grip and back time; total time) during reach to grasp. The results showed the environment illumination didn’t affect people reach-to-grasp movement, the target object size mainly affects people reach-to-grasp movement, the age-effect affects most variables of kinematics. This research provides useful information in the fields of clinical training, human factors engineering, and sport science.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2005.<br>Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-103).

America has a perplexing, multifaceted problem that combines hunger, obesity, and unhealthy food. This book examines how this situation was created and shows how people working together can resolve this longstanding issue. The United States—one of the world's wealthiest and resource-richest nations—has multiple food-related problems: declining food quality due to industrialization of its production, obesity across all age groups, and a surprisingly large number of households suffering from food insecurity. These issues threaten to shorten the lives of many and significantly reduce the quality of life for millions of others. This book explores the root causes of food-related problems in the 20th and 21st centuries and explains why collective impact—the social form of working together for a common goal—is the method that needs to be employed to reach a successful resolution to hunger, obesity, and the challenges of the industrial food system. Authored by Mark Winne, a 45-year food activist, the book begins with background information about the evolution of the U.S. food movement since the 1960s that documents its incredible growth and variety of interests, organizations, and sectors. The subsequent sections demonstrate how these divergent interests have created a lack of unity and constitute a deterrent to achieving real change and improvement. Through examples from specific cities and states as well as a discussion of group dynamics and coalition-building methods, readers will come away with an understanding of a complicated topic and grasp the potential of a number of strategies for creating more cohesion within the food movement—and realizing meaningful improvements in our food system for current and future generations.

The chapters in this volume concentrate on the Dissenting traditions of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the United States. The Introduction weaves together their arguments, giving an overview of the historiography on Dissent while making the case for seeing Dissenters in different Anglophone connections as interconnected and conscious of their genealogical connections. The nineteenth century saw the creation of a vast Anglo-world which also brought Anglophone Dissent to its apogee. Yet any treatment of the subject must begin by recognizing the difficulties of spotting ‘Dissent’ outside the British Isles, where church–state relations were different from those that had originally produced Dissent. The chapter starts by emphasizing that if Dissent was a political and constitutional identity, then it was a relative and tactical one, which was often only strong where a strong Church of England existed to dissent against. It also suggests that in most parts of the world the later nineteenth century saw a growing enthusiasm for the moral and educational activism of the state, which plays against the idea of Dissent as a static, purely negative identity. The second section of the Introduction suggests identifying a fixation on the Bible as the watermark of Dissent. This did not mean there was agreement on what the Bible said or how to read it: the emphasis in Dissenting traditions on private judgement meant that conflict over Scripture was always endemic to them. The third section identifies a radical insistence on human spiritual equality as a persistent characteristic of Dissenters throughout the nineteenth century while also suggesting it was hard to maintain as they became aligned with social hierarchies and imperial authorities. Yet it also argues that transnational connections kept Dissenters from subsiding into acquiescence in the powers that were. The fourth section suggests that the defence and revival of a gospel faith also worked best when it was most transnational. The final section asks how far members of Dissenting traditions reconciled their allegiance to them with participation in high, national, and imperial cultures. It suggests that Dissenters could be seen as belonging to a robust subculture, one particularly marked by its domestication of the sacred and sacralization of the domestic. At the same time, however, both ‘Dissenting Gothic’ architecture and the embrace by Dissenters of denominational and national history writing illustrate that their identity was compatible with a confident grasp of national and imperial identities. That confidence was undercut in some quarters by the spread of pessimism among evangelicals and the turn to premillennial eschatology which injected a new urgency into the world mission. The itinerant holiness evangelists who turned away from the institutions built by mainstream denominations fostered Pentecostal movements, which in the twentieth century would decisively shift the balance of global Christianity from north to south. They indicate that the strength and global reach of Anglophone Dissenting traditions still lay in their dynamic heterogeneity.

AbstractIn this work, an approach for robot skill learning from voice command and hand movement sequences is proposed. The motion is recorded by a 3D camera. The proposed framework consists of three elements. Firstly, a hand detector is applied on each frame to extract key points, which are represented by 21 landmarks. The trajectories of index finger tip are then taken as hand motion for further processing. Secondly, the trajectories are divided into five segments by voice command and finger moving velocities. These five segments are: reach, grasp, move, position and release, which are considered as skills in this work. The required voice commands are grasp and release, as they have short duration and can be viewed as discrete events. In the end, dynamic movement primitives are learned to represent reach, move and position. In order to show the result of the approach, a human demonstration of a pick-and-place task is recorded and evaluated.

AbstractSeveral behavioral studies show that semantic content influences reach-to-grasp movement responses. However, not much is known about the influence of motor activation on semantic processing. The present study aimed at filling this gap by examining the influence of pre-activated motor information on a subsequent lexical decision task. Participants were instructed to observe a prime object (e.g., the image of a frying pan) and then judge whether the following target was a known word in the lexicon or not. They were required to make a keypress response to target words describing properties either relevant (e.g., handle) or irrelevant (e.g., ceramic) for action or unrelated to the prime object (e.g., eyelash). Response key could be located on the same side as the depicted action-relevant property of the prime object (i.e., spatially compatible key) or on the opposite side (i.e., spatially incompatible key). Results showed a facilitation in terms of lower percentage errors when the target word was action-relevant (e.g., handle) and there was spatial compatibility between the orientation of the action-relevant component of the prime object and the response. This preliminary finding suggests that the activation of motor information may affect semantic processing. We discuss implications of these results for current theories of action knowledge representation.

AbstractVisual sensor data of manual assembly operations offers rich information that can be extracted in order to analyze and digitalize the assembly. The worker’s interaction with tools and objects, as well as the spatial–temporal nature of assembly operations, makes the recognition and classification of assembly operations a complex task. Therefore, classical methods of computer vision do not provide a sufficient solution. This paper presents a recurrent neural network for the classification of manual assembly operations using visual sensor data and addresses the question as to what extent such a solution is feasible in terms of robustness and reliability. Since complex assembly operations are a combination of basic movements, four main assembly operations of the Methods Time-Measurement base operations are classified using a machine learning approach. A dataset of these four assembly operations, reach, grasp, move and release, containing RGB-, infrared-, and depth-data is used. A Convolutional Neural Network—Long Short Term Memory architecture is investigated regarding its applicability due to the spatial–temporal nature of the data.