Logical Scheme Research Articles

Людиноцентризм та екологізація виробництва як основні елементи забезпечення економічної безпеки підприємства

The article reveals the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of ensuring the economic security of the enterprise, which affects the dynamics of the national economy in general. The purpose of the study is a scientific and practical assessment of the theoretical foundations of economic security of the enterprise. The methodological basis is general scientific methods, namely: logical generalization, dialectical, tabular, graphic, synthesis, induction, deduction. The information base was, in particular, scientific professional articles, materials of dissertation studies, Internet sources, etc. The approaches of modern economists, as well as the author's approach to this phenomenon, are presented. Factors affecting the economic security of the enterprise are shown. It is proposed to expand the principles of its provision by adding people-centeredness at the enterprise and greening of production. Adherence to these principles will make it possible to more clearly understand the process of sustainable development of the enterprise. They can be supplemented taking into account changes in the exogenous and endogenous policies of the enterprise, changing conditions, industry specifics and state policy. Practical examples of the necessity of greening the enterprise's production activity and people-centeredness are demonstrated. A structural and logical scheme for ensuring the economic security of the enterprise has been formed.

Predictive Methods in the Study of Contemporary International Relations (as Illustrated by the Richardson Dynamic Model)

The issue of studying the possibility of modeling international relations taking into account their dynamic properties is highlighted. Recognizing the mathematical model as a simplified picture of the real world, the limitations of its reproducing effect of the real world are emphasized. The structural and logical scheme of Richardson’s model with its constituent elements is outlined. The application of this model to forecasting foreign policy relations is substantiated. With this in mind, the trends of possible confrontation were analyzed based on the obtained values of the factors: military threat, burden of costs, past grievances. The level of militarization of the economy through the prism of spending on the military industry is revealed. The level of the burden of defense expenditures on the budgets of the subjects of analysis has been established. The work also examines such issues as the essence of the arms race, current trends in defense spending in the world, mathematical modeling of the confrontation between the United States and China, Ukraine and Russia, and the analysis of defense spending by the participants in these conflicts using Richardson’s dynamic model.

FEATURES OF BUILDING STAFF EVALUATION SYSTEMS AT ENTERPRISES IN MODERN CONDITIONS

The role of staff assessment as a key element of the effectiveness of the formation, use and development of the personnel potential of the enterprise in the modern conditions of the enterprises and the functioning of their human resources management systems has been determined. To ensure the effectiveness of staff assessment, it must be carried out in stages, systematically, using certain technologies and tools, which will allow to objectively evaluate employees and make effective management decisions on this basis. All stages, technologies and tools that must be used in the organization of staff assessment at the enterprise were described in the study. At a modern enterprise, in order to implement an effective labor process taking into account innovative development and trends occurring in the economy, it is necessary to take into account not only the qualifications of employees, but also their social behavior, the ability to work in a group, initiative and willingness to take risks and potential opportunities to develop in the future. In turn, this created the need to find a scientifically based basis for the effective implementation of all human resources management processes at the enterprise, including staff assessment. Such a basis is the competence approach, which presents ample opportunities for describing knowledge, abilities, skills, personal and business qualities, motivational and goal settings, experience and potential of employees, which are necessary to achieve a high level of efficiency of the labor process. A competent approach to staff assessment increases the effectiveness of the evaluation in various economic, social, and psychological aspects. The characteristics of the staff assessment system based on the competence approach and its main elements are provided. The article proposed a general algorithm and a logical scheme for evaluating the company's personnel based on the competency approach.
 
 
 
 
 © В.А. Кучинський, І.В. Долина, 2022 
 
 
 

Structural and Logical Model of Educational and Professional Training of Psychologists in the Modern Innovative Educational Environment of Establishments of Higher Education

The purpose of the research is to develop a structural and logical model for the educational and professional training of psychologists in the innovative educational environment of establishments of higher education. In accordance with the set goal, the main tasks are defined: analysis of the de-mands placed on the psychologist in modern conditions; determination of the ratio of theoretical, practical and applied disciplines in educational professional programs; development of a professional training model in the moderninnova-tive educational environment of establishments of higher education.methods of the research. To implement the key tasks, a set of scientific research methods was used: theoretical analysis, generalization, comparison, systematization, theoretical modeling, and scientific interpretation.the results of the research. The structural-logical scheme of professional education in the field of psychology provides for the formation of components of general and professional training in a structural-logical sequence. The components of general training, which provide a basic level, appear first in the educational trajectory. The next level is fundamentally important for the formation of professional competences, it is provided by the educational com-ponents of professional training − these are theoretical, practical and applied disciplines responsible for the content component of the educational and professional program. Its competence component largely depends on its in-tegration with psychological practice. Taking this into account, the structural and logical scheme of the discipline provides for the planning and completion of educational and professional practices by higher education students. The formation of competencies necessary for the implementation of innovative forms of professional training is ensured by a scientifically oriented approach to obtaining higher education. All these components form a continuous model of professional education.The analysis of educational and professional programs shows that today it is important to solve the following problems in the system of higher professional education of psychologists: the need to use system analysis in solving the tasks of professional training of future psychologists; revision of the ratio in educa-tional professional programs of theoretical, practical, and applied disciplines in accordance with the psychologist’s activity model in the conditions of psycho-logical practice; increased volume of educational and methodological training and introducing professionally oriented methods of psychological work into the educational process; increased significance of psychocorrective, psychorehabili-tation orientation of psychological work, provision of psychological assistance in crisis situations; development of an anticipatory learning strategy aimed at studying current trends in psychology.conclusions. Summarizing the theoretical and methodological positions re-garding research, a conceptual model of professional training of psychologists in establishments of higher education has been developed, which provides for multi-level variable education and is provided by four content components: theo-retical, practical, applied and scientific

Current Problems of Psychological Counterfeit of Negative Information Influences on Personality and Ways to Overcome Them

the purpose. Theessence of the social situation that has occurred in the world is that the importance of the psychological factor of personal existence in the formation and functioning of the process are caused by the pandemic. The purpose of the study is to reveal the current problems of psychological counter-feit of negative influences on personality and to find ways to overcome them. methods of the research. Achieving the goal and solving the tasks of our research comprises the use of a number of methods of theoretical scientific re-search: analysis of the education system in the field of psychology; generaliza-tion of conceptual principles of professional education; comparison of educa-tional and professional programs; systematization of the main principles of edu-cational and professional training; modeling of the structural and logical scheme of educational and professional training in establishments of higher education.the results of the research. The results of monitoring the neurointerface of cognitive-emotional reactions of young people of normative and deviant behav-ior before and during the COVID-19 pandemic are presented. During quarantine, changes were observed both at the level of the individual’s psyche and at the macro-social level.conclusions. It is a certain mania of persecution and observance of certain rules of protection, which has become a manic state in society. The mania of per-secution becomes the dominant unit. The second point is the illogicality of thin-king, which is manifested in an inadequate attitude to the world as a whole, and to themselves, to relatives, friends.... And this is a specific form of bifurcation of consciousness. When there are rather incomprehensible paradoxical aggressive and depressive syndromes, on the one hand, it is aggression, and on the other hand, it is the fear of everyone around.Constant transformational processes in society and serious challenges of today such as digitalization, robotics, armed conflicts, economic downturn, pandemic COVID-19, environmental problems force people to constantly adapt to new realities. However, the intensity and dynamics of these changes cause psy-chological maladaptation in young people, which is manifested by behavioral deviations: high aggression, intolerance, addictions, suicidal behavior and sexual deviations. In general, the scale of deviant behavior threatens the na-tional security of many countries. Therefore, now it is more necessary than ever to find effective solutions to overcome the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for such situations. However, it is necessary to know how the cognitive and emotional reactions of young people to psychologi-cal events before and during quarantine have changed. It is these data from the longitudinal study that will make it possible to build adequate programs for the prevention of deviations among young people caused by being in natural and man-made emergencies

Improvement of the management system of industrial enterprises in the interests of reducing environmental damage (on the example of JSC "Russian copper company")

The purpose of the article is to analyze the current model of the management system of JSC "Russian Copper Company" and assess the company's performance in terms of environmental impact and environmental damage, identify management problems, supplement the management system in the interests of reducing environmental damage. In this paper, the issues of the influence of the enterprise management system on environmental damage are considered. The dependence between the decrease in the economic efficiency of the enterprise and the decrease in financial flows to environmental projects is determined. It was also noted that an urgent task for the management staff of enterprises is the introduction of organizational design levers and, possibly, the restructuring of the management system, taking into account the emphasis on the environmental component in production activities in order to prevent environmental damage, taking into account the renewal of fixed assets. The auxiliary management subsystems of the enterprise are considered, the analysis of the current model of the management system of JSC "Russian Copper Company" is carried out. The implementation of an ERP approach at this enterprise, as well as key criteria for environmental responsibility, is proposed. It is determined that the implementation of the ERP approach is due to the emphasis on project and process management and the need to move to innovative management approaches in the modern realities of industrial production. The logical scheme of the development of the enterprise of JSC "Russian Copper Company" is explained based on an eco-oriented approach, the provisions on the successful development of the company's enterprises, taking into account the development and implementation of innovative technologies and modern equipment to solve environmental and technological problems, which, in turn, will diversify the product produced.

Practical Mechanisms for Training of Education Managers for Innovation and Evaluation of their Effectiveness

The article is devoted to the preparation and assessment of the effectiveness of training of education managers for innovations in the system of higher pedagogical education by conducting an empirical study; structural and logical evaluation scheme is described; analysis of the dynamics of managers' readiness for innovative management in comparison groups is carried out.

Detection and isolation of false data injection attack via adaptive Kalman filter bank

Due to the integration of cyber–physical systems, smart grids have faced the new security risks caused by false data injection attacks (FDIAs). FDIAs can bypass the traditional bad data detection techniques by falsifying the process of state estimation. For this reason, this paper studies the detection and isolation problem of FDIAs based on the adaptive Kalman filter bank (AKFB) in smart grids. Taking the covert characteristics of FDIAs into account, a novel detection method is proposed based on the designed AKF. Moreover, the adaptive threshold is proposed to solve the detection delay caused by a priori threshold in the current detection methods. Considering the case of multiple attacked sensor nodes, the AKFB-based isolation method is developed. To reduce the number of isolation iterations, a logical decision matrix scheme is designed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed detection and isolation method is demonstrated on an IEEE 22-bus smart grids.

КЛАСИФІКАЦІЯ ІНТЕРАКТИВНИХ ФУНКЦІЙ ЕЛЕКТРОННОГО АТЛАСУ: ЛОГІЧНА СХЕМА ТА РЕЗУЛЬТАТИ

This paper is the completion of the project started in [1], which is devoted to the development of the classification of interactive functions of the electronic atlas. In the previous work, we developed the theoretical and methodological basis for creating the classification. This paper describes the logical scheme of the classification and the classification groups within the created classification. To detect interactive functions, thirty-four atlases and ten geoportals released between 2006 and 2021 were analyzed. A detailed list of applications can be found at the link: https://bit.ly/3wL35uu. Interactive functions mentioned in the literature on the topic were also taken into account. The proposed classification (https://bit.ly/3Ck3jvK) is artificial and taxonomic with a combined structure: faceted radial at the first level and sequential within each facet (group). The main (type, class, genus, kind) and transitional (subtype, subgenus) taxonomic categories were allocated, the purpose of which is to emphasize the subordination of the classification groups of objects and to reveal the vertical connections between them. One hundred and eighty-one interactive functions are allocated among seven groups, where each group corresponds to one feature by a purpose: Settings and Support, Visual Design Adaptation, Navigation, Analysis, Extensibility, Recoverability, Saving, and Tracking. The sequence of groups corresponds to the hypothetical stages of the user’s work with the electronic atlas and is intended to facilitate the perception of the classification. The classification is open to extension as well as modification for specific thematic atlases. Future additions will include functions with a 3D dimension and an audiovisual component.

Development of knowledge base structure for gout diagnosis

Gout belongs to the group of microcrystalline arthritides and is a systemic tophus manifested by inflammation of various tissues caused by deposition of monosodium urate crystals. Verification of gout diagnosis in Russia takes on average four to eight years from the beginning of the disease. This period is sufficient for the development of various complications (for example, gouty nephropathy) and disability of patient, and, therefore, it is necessary to revise the existing strategy for the diagnosis of this disease. One of the options for improving the provision of medical care can be attributed to the creation of a clinical decision support system (CDSS), which is based on the knowledge of experts, formalized as a knowledge base (KB).Aim. To develop a KB structure for CDSS for gout diagnosis.Material and Methods. Clinical information for gout diagnosis, presented as a nomenclature of medical concepts and logical schemes, which were collected on the basis of federal clinical recommendations, various literature sources and expert knowledge were used as materials. The ontological method was used as a method of knowledge structuring. Combined semantic network and frames were used as the methods of representation.Results. While developing KB structure, a combination of two methods of knowledge representation including semantic network and frames was used. An ontological approach was used in terms of knowledge structuring. The structure was built on the clinical knowledge collected in cooperation with experts in gout diagnosis. Compared with similar developments of diagnosing diseases based on knowledge engineering methods, the main feature of developed KB structure was the use of a separate type “Syndrome” concept as an aggregator accepted in medicine, significantly reducing the volume of KB for diseases.Conclusion. The KB structure was developed comprising the use of seven types of concepts and 11 types of relationships. The structure involved the use of ontological approach and combination of two models of knowledge representation, namely: a semantic network and a frame model.

Logistics control in the system of business process management at enterprises in the transport industry

The article examines the peculiarities of logistics activities of transport enterprises at the macro and micro levels. A transport enterprise can be considered an intra-production logistics system in which incoming material flows are transformed into transport services. The types of logistics activities of transport enterprises are analyzed, which are divided into four groups: “Supply Logistics”, “Intra-Production Logistics”, “Sales Logistics” and “Resource Logistics”. A comprehensive indicator for determining the level of logistics controlling is proposed, which makes it possible to assess the state of logistics management. An algorithm for assessing the level of logistics controlling at transport enterprises has been developed, which consists of three survey stages. In the first stage, a survey of the expert group is conducted regarding the importance of each type of logistics activity in four groups. The second stage of the survey is the selection of the most important logistics and control indicators for further evaluation using the Delphi method. The third stage of the survey is determining the weight, points, and relative importance of each indicator. A structural and logical scheme for the formation of logistics controlling indicators has been formed. On this basis, a system of basic logistics and control indicators for transport enterprises was developed. The developed model summarizes the system of logistic-controlling indicators, stages, and formulas for calculation and serves as a tool for determining the level of logistic controlling at a transport enterprise. The basis of the model is creating an objective system of logistics and control indicators for a specific enterprise. Using the developed model for assessing the level of logistics controlling at a transport enterprise will provide the opportunity to obtain the necessary information for strategic and operational planning, as well as improve the management of logistics processes. Given the size and specificity of the enterprise's work, an essential task for managers is the formation of an information base for logistics management.

Критерии оценки эффективности деятельности нефтегазовых предприятий

The significance of the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of management in a multifactorial and multivariate corporate structure is shown. It emphasizes the need to take into account industry specifics when defining criteria and criteria for performance indicators. The conditions for the emergence of a synergistic effect at the intersection of the coincidence of the organization's performance in two manifestations are determined: as a production structure and social education. A structural and logical scheme of correspondence between the criteria and indicators of the organization's efficiency has been developed, which determines the dominant indicators of management in the production and social block of the organization's efficiency. The key performance management indicators of an oil and gas complex enterprise have been identified.

The system of document and information communications: а terminological analysis

The article contains analytical statements regarding the current state and vector of development of the terminological basis of the document and information communications system, which is currently on the path of a transformational transition from the archaic documentary organization of the Soviet-communist system of the past of Ukraine to adaptive, logical and rational schemes of documentary support implemented by leading international institutions. There is an urgent need to analyze modern approaches to the implementation of regulatory practices through adaptive harmonization of regulatory and regulatory provisions of leading international institutions. Consequently, the purpose of the article was a correlative analysis of the evolutionary development of the terminological base of the introduction of multi-spherical activities to the norms of leading international institutions with a focus on the development of the document and information communications system. Similar to the reorganization and transformation of the system of documentary support, document circulation and the system of document and information intra-industry and inter-agency communication, the need to adapt the current terminological base to modern civilizational requirements is emphasized. The author rightly notes that in the Ukrainian document and information space, on the way to the transition to civilizational methods of forming a document management system and organizing inter-institutional and inter-branch service communications, there have been repeated attempts to introduce ready-made solutions (with different levels of adaptation to the local conditions of Ukrainian reality). It was also emphasized that at the highest regulatory and regulatory level, the Ukrainian document and information space strives for the integration of leading international practices into the terminological base, according to which the organization of effective inter-agency and inter-branch official communication with appropriate documentary support within the limits of modern trends in international case law is expected. With the help of bibliographic research tools in the leading scientometric databases, a correlative analysis of the definitions that make up the terminological basis of the system of document and information communications and circulate in the Ukrainian and international scientific space was performed. The latter made it possible to determine the key goals to be achieved by the Ukrainian system of document management, and the vectors of further development of systems of documentary support for the implementation of multi-spherical activities.

European integration of innovative anti-crisis financial controlling tools into entrepreneurship structures

Introduction. The article summarizes the scientific achievements of domestic and foreign researchers in anti-crisis financial controlling. The approaches of economist scientists to the concept of "controlling" are given. The main european of entrepreneurship structures in terms of production volume are presented. Innovations in the activities of international competitor firms and types of controlling are presented. An optimization structural and logical scheme of the financial cost controlling system is presented on the example of an international company. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the European integration of innovative anti-crisis financial controlling tools into entrepreneurship structures. Results. The article summarizes the scientific achievements of domestic and foreign researchers in anti-crisis financial controlling. The approaches of economist scientists to the concept of "controlling" are given. The main competitors of the international company in terms of production volume are presented. Innovations in the activities of international european competitor firms and types of controlling are presented. The optimization structural and logical scheme of the financial cost control system proposed by the authors is presented in the example of an european international company. Conclusions. Today's transformational processes are a driving force in developing innovative activities and strategic planning. Undoubtedly, the European integration of innovative tools of anti-crisis financial controlling into entrepreneurship structures is the development of an individual business but also of the entire economy of the country. There is no single scientific systematic approach taking into account the specifics of the field of the researched subject of production and economic activity and a single conceptual and categorical apparatus regarding anti-crisis financial controlling. The implementation of innovative tools of strategic financial controlling in the international corporation "Henkel" is an important element in the direction of the development of its activities.

Scalability and Performance of a Program that Uses Domain Decomposition for Monte Carlo Simulation of Molecular Liquids

The main factors hindering the development of supercomputer programs for molecular simulation by the Monte Carlo method within the framework of classical physics are considered, and possible ways to eliminate the problems that arise in this case are discussed. Thus, the use of molecular models with moderate stiffness of covalent bonds between fragments makes it possible not only to increase the efficiency of scanning the configuration space of the model, but also to abandon the complex apparatus of kinematics with rigid links, which significantly limits the possibilities of domain decomposition. Based on the domain decomposition strategy and a simplified treatment of the deformation energy of covalent bonds and angles, an original parallel algorithm for calculating the properties of large all-atomic models of aqueous solutions of biopolymers by the Monte Carlo method was developed. To speed up computations within the framework of this approach, each domain is assigned its own group of processors/cores using local data replication and splitting the loop over the interacting partners. The article discusses the logical scheme of the computational algorithm and the main components of the software package (fortran77, MPI 1.2). Test calculations performed for water and n-hexane demonstrated the high performance and scalability of the program in which the proposed algorithm was implemented.

Postulates of the cognitive theory of thinking and their consequences

Purpose of the work is to create a theoretical model of the thinking process, considered as a set of operations for the formation of cognitive generalizations of the level of categories (concepts). Method for creating a theoretical model is based on the approach used in natural sciences. It involves the selection of a small number of reliable facts, which are accepted as true on the basis of their evidence. On the basis of these facts, established in various scientific disciplines, the axioms of the proposed theory are formulated. Further, from the accepted axioms, they are logically deduced in the form of consequences: a) already known results that could be obtained in various fields of science, including those differing in the content of research, and therefore previously perceived as not related to each other; b) predictions of new connections and patterns in the study area. Results of the work are that it was possible to propose a version of the postulate dynamic theory of thinking, in which the main variables are the number of concepts formed, lost, realized and unconscious by the subject. The introduced postulates and variables made it possible to consider two types of models at the moment. Balanced integrodifferential models that describe the accumulation of the volume of conscious and unconscious concepts, as well as combinatorial models that describe the interactions of concepts. Conclusion. The proposed version of the dynamic thinking model made it possible to construct reasonable theoretical descriptions of the process of spontaneous language acquisition by bilingual children in a bilingual environment and a person’s ability to compare semantically heterogeneous objects with each other. The logical scheme of the approach and the concepts used in it made it possible to connect some facts known in psychology and in an explicitly compact formulation of the difference in the structure of scientific and artistic generalizations of the picture of the world.

From One to Many: A Taxonomy of Abductive Inferences in Organization Science

This article extends the discussion on abduction in organization science, which typically focuses on one type of abduction, to encompass multiple types. Using a logical approach, this article introduces a generalized abduction scheme. We then distinguish four basic types of abductive inferences based on this scheme. The four types can be differentiated according to their primary inference process (selective vs. creative) and primary knowledge outcome (explanatory vs. instrumental). The article contributes to the discussion on abduction in organization science research in three ways. First, the introduction and application of the generalized logical scheme allows us to make the premises of an abductive inference explicit which helps to scrutinize the overall inference made. Second, differentiating between selective and creative abductive inferences is important because they should be evaluated according to different criteria. Third, introducing instrumental abductive inferences to the organization science literature may help to strengthen the inferences of design science research.

FEATURES OF THE FUNCTIONING MECHANISM OF THE ENTRY SUMMARY DECLARATION IN UKRAINE

The article examines the issue of the introduction of the institution of the Entry Summary Declaration in Ukraine and reveals the peculiarities of the mechanism of its functioning. It has been established that the implementation of the procedure for the submission of the Entry Summary Declaration by carriers for passage through the customs border of Ukraine corresponds to the understanding of its tasks and place in ensuring the security of international supply chains accepted in European practice, and the provided data format fully meets the requirements of European customs legislation. The structural and logical scheme of the procedure for the passage of cargo through the customs border of Ukraine using the Entry Summary Declaration is characterized. It was concluded that the main difference between the Entry Summary Declaration in relation to other customs declarations is that the information from it is subject to processing through risk analysis for the purpose of protection and security before the goods arrive on the territory of Ukraine, and not for calculating the amount of customs payments. Based on the analysis of domestic legal acts, it was established that the implementation of such a tool in the national customs legislation is aimed at identifying batches of goods with a high degree of risk, automating customs procedures to reduce subjectivity, facilitating the work of customs officials in order to achieve greater predictability and predictability of the system customs risk management. Attention is focused on the gradual implementation by the customs authorities of format-logical control (automated verification) of the correctness of filling in the data of the Entry Summary Declaration. It was found that currently, customs authorities apply a limited number of risk profiles, in particular security risks for non-tariff regulation: goods from the Russian Federation (conducting an inspection); non-tariff methods – drugs, precursors, waste. The need for further research in the direction of the development of tools for the detection of cases of violation of customs legislation and assessment of customs risks under the Entry Summary Declaration by profiling customs risks in the automated system of customs clearance is emphasized.

STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE QUALITY OF ASSIMILATION OF THE PREVIOUS MATERIAL ON THE PREDICTION OF STUDENT GRADES IN A PARTICULAR DISCIPLINE

The paper considers the basic concepts related to the quality of education in general and the assimilation of students of educational material. The problem of predicting a student's grade in any discipline is formulated, having grades in "providing" disciplines. A list of methods that can be applied to solve the problem (multivariate regression analysis method, artificial neural networks method, k nearest neighbors method) is presented, a conclusion is made about the expediency of using the artificial neural networks method. The formulation of the problem of predicting the assimilation of knowledge and programming skills is described. The architecture used was a perceptron with four input neurons, one output neuron, and 10 hidden layer neurons. By conducting a series of numerical experiments, the optimal architecture of the neural network was selected. As an example, the curriculum and the structural and logical scheme of the educational and professional program "Intelligent Decision Making Systems" of the specialty 124 "System Analysis" were used. The created information model of the designed system is described in the visual modeling language UML (diagrams of use cases, classes, cooperation, sequence, states, activities and components). The possibilities of the system for studying the influence of the assimilation of the previous material on the prediction of students' grades in a particular discipline are described, an example of the functioning of this system is given, and an analysis of the results of calculations is carried out. It is indicated that the system allows analysis of the results of calculations for further selection of the best method for forecasting.

A Haptic Nonverbal Cognitive Test for Children and Adolescents With Visual Impairment

Introduction: The objective of the current study was to design and pilot-test a nonverbal intelligence test for children and adolescents with visual impairment (i.e., blindness and low vision) aged 10 to 16 years. Method: A three-dimensional haptic matrix test of nonverbal cognitive abilities (3-DHMT-CA), initially developed for adults with visual impairment, was adapted and administered to 25 juveniles with severe low vision or blindness and 25 sighted peers. The test consisted of 22 tactual matrices with a missing element, and juveniles were asked to understand the logical scheme underlying each matrix and to complete it. Convergent validity was assessed in the sighted group with the Standard Progressive Matrices. Divergent validity was measured with the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and the Working Memory Index (WMI) of the Italian version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition. Between-group differences were analyzed with Student’s t-test and ANOVA. Results: Results show a high correlation with the convergent measure (with the Standard Progressive Matrices), and the moderate correlations with divergent measures (VCI and WMI). Between-group differences showed significantly higher scores for sighted peers than juveniles with visual impairment at 3-DHMT-CA, and non-significant differences at VCI and WMI. Discussion: This haptic nonverbal cognitive test showed good psychometric properties, but it needs to be validated in a larger sample with a qualitative analysis of solution strategies because juveniles with visual impairment seem to use different verbal and working memory strategies. Implications for Practitioners: The 3-DHMT-CA and the haptic two-hands modality seem to be suitable to test nonverbal cognitive abilities in juveniles with visual impairment. Practitioners should focus on empowering verbal and working memory abilities, since they may affect nonverbal cognitive abilities as well.