Passive Frame Research Articles

The Impact of the Location of a Passive Frame House on Its Energy Demand for the Purpose of Heating—A Case Study

The reduction of energy demand in buildings is one of the key challenges in contemporary construction. To this end, the application of structural and material partitioning solutions that provide a high level of thermal insulation and the employment of technical installations with high energy performance have become widespread. However, there are a number of other factors that can reduce energy demand. These include the optimal use of heat gains from solar radiation. An aspect that is often discussed in the literature is the overheating of buildings due to excessive heat gains from solar radiation. This article is a case study showing the impact of the orientation of a single-family passive house on its heating energy demand. The building under consideration is located in Central Europe. External climate parameters measured directly at the site during experimental examinations were used for the calculations. This paper adopts six calculation options, considering the different orientations of the glazed façade. As the simulations showed, the effect of solar radiation on the energy demand between two extreme options of glazing orientation, that is south and north-facing orientation, reached 4.7% of the annual energy demand for heating, while for the option corresponding to the actual location of the building and the option involving south-facing windows, the difference was 0.3%, respectively.

Identifying Consciousness in Other Creatures: Three Initial Steps.

Identifying consciousness in other creatures, be they animals or exotic creatures that have yet to be discovered, remains a great scientific challenge. We delineate the first three steps that we think are necessary for identifying consciousness in other creatures. Step 1 is to define the particular kind of consciousness in which one is interested. Step 2 is to identify, in humans, the key differences between the brain processes that are associated with consciousness and the brain processes that are not associated with consciousness. For Step 2, to identify these differences, we focus on passive frame theory. Step 3 concerns how the insights derived from consciousness research on humans (e.g., concerning these differences) can be generalized to other creatures. We discuss the significance of examining how consciousness was fashioned by the process of evolution, a process that could be happenstance and replete with incessant tinkering, yielding adaptations that can be suboptimal and counterintuitive, far different in nature from our efficiently designed robotic systems. We conclude that the more that is understood about the differences between conscious processing and unconscious processing in humans, the easier it will be to identify consciousness in other creatures.

Insuppressible cognitions in the reflexive imagery task: Insights and future directions.

In 1959, Neal Miller made the bold claim that the Stimulus–Response, Behaviorist models of that era were describing the way in which stimuli lead to the entry of contents into consciousness (“entry,” for short). Today, researchers have begun to investigate the link between external stimuli and involuntary entry, using paradigms such as the reflexive imagery task (RIT), the focus of our review. The RIT has revealed that stimuli can elicit insuppressible entry of high-level cognitions. Knowledge of the boundary conditions of the RIT effect illuminates the limitations of involuntary processes and the role of consciousness in the regulation of behavior. We review the boundary conditions of this paradigm as well as its systematic effects. Systematic effects are unlikely to be due to experimental demand. While reviewing each effect, we consider its theoretical implications. In addition, throughout our review, we discuss future directions for the study of insuppressible entry using the RIT. Last, we discuss a theoretical development (passive frame theory) that stems from the RIT and illuminates how involuntary entry and encapsulation, though at times disadvantageous for the actor, are essential for adaptive action selection during the course of ontogeny.

Framing real beauty: A framing approach to the effects of beauty advertisements on body image and advertising effectiveness

Current literature is inconsistent about the effects of idealized (i.e., thin) vs. non-idealized (i.e., average or plus-size) models on young women’s well-being. This inconsistency may be explained by different frames (i.e., passive body, active body, and subject) surrounding beauty ad models. The current experimental study among 568 women aged 18–30 years (M = 21.45, SD = 1.84) tested the effects of differently framed ads featuring idealized vs. non-idealized models on well-being and ad effectiveness while taking into account the mediating role of cognitive schemas and moderating role of thin-ideal internalization. Results showed that a passive body frame generated more appearance schemas compared to a subject frame. The effects of framing on body functionality schemas operated differently for idealized vs. non-idealized models. The passive body frame also induced inferior ad outcomes (i.e., lower attitudes to the advertisement and brand and lower purchase intent) compared to an active body frame. No other main framing effects nor moderating effects of thin-ideal internalization were found. These results for advertising outcomes can encourage beauty brands to stop using typical objectifying ads.

Motor Cognition: The Role of Sentience in Perception and Action

The function of the conscious field remains mysterious from a scientific point of view. This article reviews theoretical approaches (passive frame theory and ideomotor approaches) that elucidate how the conscious field is intimately related to a special kind of action selection. This form of action selection is peculiar to the skeletal-muscle output system. The notion of encapsulation and how it explains many properties of the conscious field are discussed, including why the conscious field, though in the service of adaptive action, contains contents that are not action-relevant; why the field has a first-person perspective; and why the field is so thorough, in terms of its contents, the contrasts among contents, and the representation of spatial layout. The authors discuss subordinate encapsulation and the hypothesis that the conscious field is what allows for encapsulated conscious contents to influence action selection collectively, yielding what in everyday life is called voluntary behavior.

A novel dielectric elastomer membrane actuator concept for high-force applications

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are known to be lightweight, energy efficient, and scalable in performance. Two well-studied DEA concepts are represented by stacked and membrane DEAs, respectively. The first configuration is known for providing high forces, while the second one results in high strokes. This work proposes a novel design solution, which combines the advantages of both concepts, i.e., high force and stroke, based on a stack of high stroke (3 mm) membrane DEAs. While a single silicone-based DE membrane provides an actuation force on the order of hundreds of mN only, the proposed stacking results into a parallel mechanical connection, which increases the overall force to the double-digit newton range. The biasing mechanism, which is necessary to operate the dielectric elastomer membrane as an actuator, is placed within the passive frame of the DEAs, leading to an overall compact design. To demonstrate the potential of the concept, two prototypes capable of generating record high forces are assembled and tested. The first one allows to lift a weight of 10 kg up to 3 mm, while the second one allows to generate a compression force of 87 N, while working compressing a linear spring with a stiffness of 30.7 N mm−1 up to 2.8mm. These prototypes allow to establish a boosting factor of about 200 for the force output of membrane DEAs.

Navigation accuracy comparing non-covered frame and use of plastic sterile drapes to cover the reference frame in 3D acquisition.

Advancements in surgical navigation technology coupled with 3-dimensional (3D) radiographic data have significantly enhanced the accuracy and efficiency of spinal fusion implant placement. Increased usage of such technology has led to rising concerns regarding maintenance of the sterile field, as makeshift drape systems are fraught with breaches thus presenting increased risk of surgical site infections (SSIs). A clinical need exists for a sterile draping solution with these techniques. Our objective was to quantify expected accuracy error associated with 2MM and 4MM thickness Sterile-Z Patient Drape® using Medtronic O-Arm® Surgical Imaging with StealthStation® S7® Navigation System. Camera distance to reference frame was investigated for contribution to accuracy error. A testing jig was placed on the radiolucent table and the Medtronic passive reference frame was attached to jig. The StealthStation® S7® navigation camera was placed at various distances from testing jig and the geometry error of reference frame was captured for three different drape configurations: no drape, 2MM drape and 4MM drape. The O-Arm® gantry location and StealthStation® S7® camera position was maintained and seven 3D acquisitions for each of drape configurations were measured. Data was analyzed by a two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni comparisons were used to assess the independent effects of camera angle and drape on accuracy error. Median (and maximum) measurement accuracy error was higher for the 2MM than for the 4MM drape for each camera distance. The most extreme error observed (4.6 mm) occurred when using the 2MM and the 'far' camera distance. The 4MM drape was found to induce an accuracy error of 0.11 mm (95% confidence interval, 0.06-0.15; P<0.001) relative to the no drape testing, regardless of camera distance. Medium camera distance produced lower accuracy error than either the close (additional 0.08 mm error; 95% CI, 0-0.15; P=0.035) or far (additional 0.21mm error; 95% CI, 0.13-0.28; P<0.001) camera distances, regardless of whether a drape was used. In comparison to the 'no drape' condition, the accuracy error of 0.11 mm when using a 4MM film drape is minimal and clinically insignificant.

The science of consciousness must include its more advanced forms.

Morsella et al. argue that science should not focus on high forms of consciousness. We disagree. An understanding of high forms of consciousness is invaluable to the scientific study of consciousness. Moreover, it poses challenges to the passive frame theory. Specifically, it challenges the notions that conscious thoughts are not connected and that consciousness serves skeletomotor conflict only.

Passive frame theory: A new synthesis.

Passive frame theory attempts to illuminate what consciousness is, in mechanistic and functional terms; it does not address the "implementation" level of analysis (how neurons instantiate conscious states), an enigma for various disciplines. However, in response to the commentaries, we discuss how our framework provides clues regarding this enigma. In the framework, consciousness is passive albeit essential. Without consciousness, there would not be adaptive skeletomotor action.

Content encapsulation in consciousness is likely to be incomplete.

Although the passive frame theory (PST) seems to be very plausible, the encapsulation of content generation deserves further elaboration. Many concepts and data considering the capacity theory, perception, and higher cognitive processes seem to contradict this principle. In general, PST can be suitable in many cases, but it needs to be completed by other mechanisms.

Heavy objects and small children: Developmental data extend the passive frame theory.

Passive frame theory is compatible with modern complexity theory and the idea that conflict drives the emergence of a novel structural organization. After describing new developmental data, we suggest that this conflict needs to be expanded to include not only conflict between action options, but also between action and perception.

Action-based synthesis of parental brain consciousness.

Parenting consciousness, in line with passive frame theory, may be considered inseparable from action. With combined brain-imaging and cognitive-behavioral analyses, we are in the early phases of understanding how parental brain circuits regulate parental thoughts and behavior. Furthermore, work on parental consciousness confirms the importance of motor outputs and outlines related circuits that inform consciousness across generations.

Origins of emotional consciousness.

While the field of emotions research has benefited from new developments in neuroscience, many theoretical questions remain unsolved. We propose that integrating our iterative reprocessing (IR) framework with the passive frame theory (PFT) may help unify competing theoretical perspectives of emotion. Specifically, we propose that PFT and the IR framework offer a point of origin for emotional experience.

Four questions for passive frame theory.

Four questions are raised about the passive frame theory of Morsella et al.: (1) What is the relation of the theory to the response-selection-bottleneck view of attention? (2) Does the theory accommodate the contents of consciousness? (3) What about animals without skeletal muscles? (4) How do the contents of consciousness change with the development of automaticity?

Homing in on consciousness in the nervous system: An action-based synthesis.

What is the primary function of consciousness in the nervous system? The answer to this question remains enigmatic, not so much because of a lack of relevant data, but because of the lack of a conceptual framework with which to interpret the data. To this end, we have developed Passive Frame Theory, an internally coherent framework that, from an action-based perspective, synthesizes empirically supported hypotheses from diverse fields of investigation. The theory proposes that the primary function of consciousness is well-circumscribed, serving the somatic nervous system. For this system, consciousness serves as a frame that constrains and directs skeletal muscle output, thereby yielding adaptive behavior. The mechanism by which consciousness achieves this is more counterintuitive, passive, and "low level" than the kinds of functions that theorists have previously attributed to consciousness. Passive frame theory begins to illuminate (a) what consciousness contributes to nervous function, (b) how consciousness achieves this function, and (c) the neuroanatomical substrates of conscious processes. Our untraditional, action-based perspective focuses on olfaction instead of on vision and is descriptive (describing the products of nature as they evolved to be) rather than normative (construing processes in terms of how they should function). Passive frame theory begins to isolate the neuroanatomical, cognitive-mechanistic, and representational (e.g., conscious contents) processes associated with consciousness.

A Qualitative Comparison to Understand the Differences between Perceptions and Reality of Errors in Radiation Therapy: An Understanding Based on Principles of Perception Psychology

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to qualitatively, compare, and understand why perceptions of errors in radiation therapy differ from actual reported errors. MethodsThe qualitative study consisted of one-on-one semi-structured interviews that were conducted with three radiation therapists and two medical physicists. Eight interview questions were based on the discrepancies that existed between perceptions and actual error reports from a survey administered in 2010. Interviews were voice recorded and transcribed followed by three independent thematic analyses. Saturated themes were those that were shared across all respondents. Interpretation of these results was based on the literature of perception psychology in an attempt to understand why such perceptions existed or differed from actual reports. ResultsThe thematic analyses revealed that workload, documentation, motives, continuing education, and expectations were recurring themes. The effects of workload were attributed to the psychology of attention and an overburdened filtration process. It is common to find irrelevant distracters or stressors functioning as noise, which make it more difficult to identify and attend to important information. Many forms of stress such as workload, personal, or environmental can function as noise hindering the filtration process, which has been positively associated with therapist burnout. Respondents shared views on redundancy and consistency of documentation. In the literature, adaptation has been shown to play a major role in the formation and alteration of perceptions. Habituation is a form of adaptation that refers to a lessened degree of sensitivity to any one continuous stimulus. Adapting to an environment with a persistent stimulus can result in a passive frame of mind effectively dismissing the redundant stimulus. It is apparent that with redundant documentation, staff members may find themselves habituated with the process of continually transcribing from one document to the next and therefore, making documentation more prone to error. Motives were found as a common theme when respondents were asked to explain why treatment delivery was the area perceived to be where most errors occur, when in reality this was not true. Respondents expressed the onus of responsibility on therapists at the treatment delivery level. The driving force for this perception is the psychological effect of an individual's motives and the physical consequences of errors at the treatment delivery level. Bolus was perceived to be a greater error than it actually is. From the perspective of the “self-fulfilling prophecy” theory by Robert K. Merton, it would state that radiation therapy staff perceived bolus to be a common error because they expected it to be a common error. Expectations of bolus indicated were its subjectivity of placement, the uncertainty of its error, and its lack of an active interlock system. ConclusionsEmergent themes from this study have shown the implications and value of a qualitative approach in providing detail rich information and insight for further research of radiation therapy error analysis. Specifically, referencing the literature of perception psychology, we were able to theorize why therapists perceive certain errors to be more common than others and what factors may influence these perceptions. Future large scale studies in radiation therapy of this nature would benefit the field in helping to create reflective policies and procedures to ultimately minimize human errors and broaden our approach to error analysis.

Aaaaack! The active voice was used! Language play, technology, and repair in the Daily Kos weblog

This paper analyzes repair phenomena in a bounded episode of language play that appeared in a well-known political weblog, Daily Kos. One diarist-member employed a passive voice frame to make various snarky comments about the current state of American politics as well as member behavior on the blog. This posting, along with the 863 comments it garnered, are examined to describe commenter reactions to active voice contributions that violate the passive frame ‘rule’ set out by the original diarist. The conversation analytic system of repair (Schegloff et al., 1977) provided a framework for understanding these responses. Findings indicate that commenters who did not format their contributions as grammatical passives were regularly subjected to playful repair and correction, reprimand, and even ridicule by other participants. Furthermore, the repairs were sensitive to the technological affordances of computer-mediated discourse (e.g., Herring, 1999, 2013). These results suggest that even in ludic episodes such as those present in the written weblog data, participants regularly employ repair practices that are based on spoken interaction, but ones that are shaped by the weblog medium and employed to further the playfulness that characterizes the diary itself.

To push or not to push? Affective influences on moral judgment depend on decision frame

People’s moods can influence moral judgment. Such influences may arise because moods affect moral emotion, or because moods affect moral thought. The present study provides evidence that, at least in the footbridge dilemma, moods affect moral thought. The results of two experiments are reported in which, after induction of positive, negative, or neutral moods and presentation of the footbridge scenario, participants were asked one of two differentially framed closing questions. In the active frame, participants were asked whether they would be active and push the man, making thoughts about pushing accessible; in the passive frame, they were asked whether they would be passive and not push the man, making thoughts about not pushing accessible. The results show that affective influences on moral judgment depended on participants’ decision frame. Compared to neutral moods, positive moods induced utilitarian responding – i.e., deciding to push – in the active decision frame, but induced nonutilitarian responding – i.e., deciding to not push – in the passive decision frame; in negative moods, exactly the opposite picture arose. The results suggest that people’s moods affect moral judgment by conferring value on moral thought. Positive moods promote and negative moods inhibit accessible thoughts.

Joint Spatial-Temporal Quality Improvement Scheme for H.264 Low Bit Rate Video Coding via Adaptive Frameskip

Conventional rate control (RC) schemes for H.264 video coding usually regulate output bit rate to match channel bandwidth by adjusting quantization parameter (QP) at fixed full frame rate, and the passive frame skipping to avoid buffer overflow usually occurs when scene changes or high motions exist in video sequences especially at low bit rate, which degrades spatial-temporal quality and causes jerky effect. In this paper, an active content adaptive frame skipping scheme is proposed instead of passive methods, which skips subjectively trivial frames by structural similarity (SSIM) measurement between the original frame and the interpolated frame via motion vector (MV) copy scheme. The saved bits from skipped frames are allocated to coded key ones to enhance their spatial quality, and the skipped frames are well recovered based on MV copy scheme from adjacent key ones at the decoder side to maintain constant frame rate. Experimental results show that the proposed active SSIM-based frameskip scheme acquires better and more consistent spatial-temporal quality both in objective (PSNR) and subjective (SSIM) sense with low complexity compared to classic fixed frame rate control method JVT-G012 and prior objective metric based frameskip method.

Dexterous space optimization for robotic belt grinding

Industrial robots are recently introduced to the belt grinding of complex shaped surfaces to obtain high productive efficiency and constant surface quality. The volume of dexterous grinding workspace is a key factor the grinding robot, in which the gripped workpiece could obtain continuous grinding path and constant surface quality. This paper proposes a new structure of a robotic grinding system in which a new robot frame including active work piece frame {W} and passive tool frame {T} was presented. It shows that the dexterity of the system, which is indexed by the volume of dexterous workspace, is affected by the position of the contact wheel relative to the robot. Based on pattern search method, a strategy to optimize the grinding robot position with respect to the grinding wheel is put forward to obtain the desired dexterity grinding space.