Trust and Goodwill as Attractors: Reflecting on a Complexity-Informed Inquiry

This article discusses a complexity-informed review and evaluation project. Complexity-informed methods and techniques are used to fashion understanding of the relationships and processes implicated between the service agencies constituting the Youth Accommodation Interagency—Nepean (YAIN) and their Resource Worker, the influence of these relationships and processes on the achievement of desired and required goals, and the potential for replication of these relationships and processes elsewhere. The article concludes with critical reflection regarding what was learnt from utilizing complexity in this qualitative inquiry.     

基于概念复杂度的加工容量观

探讨了一个认知科学的概念——容量,主要是介绍一种基于概念维度的加工容量观.这种观点认为加工容量最好以进入某一特定运算过程的独立维度来定义,容量的增长意味着可以表征更多的维度,而概念的组块与分割是常用的表征策略.个体差异通过表征的清晰度和有效性的差异来表现,而认知的发展则是成熟与经验相互作用的结果.     

复杂性思维视域中的新型冠状病毒肺炎诊疗与防控

新型冠状病毒肺炎的诊疗与防控是复杂性事件。人们对新发急性传染病的复杂性认识不足。新型冠状病毒和新型冠状病毒肺炎本身具有本体论意义上的复杂性,表现为病原体本质复杂、传播途径复杂、临床症状复杂、防治手段复杂、环境条件复杂等复杂性特征。其中,无症状传播是新型冠状病毒肺炎防治复杂性的突出表现。复杂性思维是与新型冠状病毒肺炎诊疗和防控相适应的思维方式,体现在诊疗和防控的不可分离性、非线性、动态性、不确定性四个方面。“把人民群众生命安全和身体健康放在第一位”是应对新型冠状病毒肺炎诊疗与防控复杂性的指导思想。     

关系复杂性理论述评

任务复杂性的分析是发展心理学和心理测量学都非常关注的重要课题。哈尔福德等人提出了评估任务难度的关系复杂性理论,认为任务难度可由相关的变量数量即关系复杂性来确定;关系复杂性越大加工要求也越高,这时可采取概念组块和分解机制来减少复杂性;认知发展阶段可归因于随着年龄的增长能够加工的关系复杂性的增加。虽然该理论得到了很多实验证据的支持,但也存在一些不足。主要不足表现在没有区别问题难度与问题解决难度,对维度层次关系不够重视,以及一些基本的理论问题没有明确阐述。这都是今后进一步研究应解决的问题。     

问题解决中图式与策略的关系:来自表征复杂性模型的说明

采用口语报告法收集了26名小学三年级儿童解决两道复杂的算术应用题时的口语报告和作业资料,探讨了问题解决中图式与策略的关系。结果发现,对二者关系的解释要以问题表征复杂性为中介：如果被试的关系图式水平较高,表征复杂性(特别是表征深度)也会较大,相应会选择领域专门性更强的快捷策略;如果缺乏必需的关系图式。表征深度就降低,甚至不能正确表征问题,这时只好使用常规策略甚至错误策略。这个结论适用于有多种表征和解题方式的问题中。     

Healing Humiliation: From Reaction to Creative Action

In the midst of global crises, feelings of humiliation are intensified (Lindner, 2008 ; Moïsi, 2009 ). Counselors are often on the front lines of suffering during turbulent times. This article explores how the dynamics of humiliation are coming to the forefront of concern around the globe. Applying a relational framework, the authors examine the impact of humiliation, offering a case example that illustrates how counselors can lead their clients out of destructive reactions into creative action.     

平衡秤任务复杂性的事前与事后分析

任务复杂性的分析和评估是心理测量学和认知心理学都非常关注的重要主题。以264名小学四、五、六年级儿童为被试,平衡秤任务为研究材料,考察任务在未旋转时第一个因素上的载荷(事后分析)能否作为评价任务复杂性的一个指标,以及关系-表征复杂性模型对平衡秤任务复杂性分析(事前分析)的有效性两个问题。结果表明:平衡秤任务施测后所得所有项目的因素载荷与其难度之间没有显著正相关,即因素载荷的高低没有反映平衡秤任务复杂性的大小;而基于关系-表征复杂性模型对任务的事前分析所确定的任务等级复杂性和知识经验对任务难度的解释率为95.0%,可见,关系-表征复杂性模型提供的分析任务复杂性的思路和方法是较为合理的。     

10～12岁儿童在平衡秤任务上的规则使用及其复杂性

以256名10～12岁儿童为被试,采取规则评估方法探讨了儿童在平衡秤任务上的规则使用类型及其年龄特点,并尝试使用认知复杂性和控制理论对此加以分析和解释.结果表明:(1)除了Siegler所谓的四种规则和补偿规则以外,儿童还使用了规则ⅢA和距离规则,其中规则ⅢA并不特指单一的规则,而是代表儿童在掌握了规则Ⅲ之后向更高级的规则Ⅳ发展的不稳定期和过渡期;(2)10～12岁儿童中使用规则Ⅲ的人数显著多于使用补偿规则的人数,对此认知复杂性和控制理论能够提供较好的解释;(3)规则Ⅰ仍是10～12岁儿童使用的主要规则,并非Siegler认为的主要是4、5岁儿童使用此规则.     

关系复杂性和分类方式对个人关系类别间接性学习的影响

以144名大学生为被试,使用关系复杂性变化的三种虚拟外星生物实验材料,创设功能预测任务和自由分类、限定分类任务,探查关系复杂性和分类方式对个人关系类别间接性学习的影响.结果发现：（1）随着关系复杂性的增高,各学习阶段下,三种学习材料功能预测成绩彼此间均无显著差异;（2）关系复杂性和分类方式对个人关系类别间接性学习的分类结果存在交互影响作用,具体表现为,关系复杂性较低时自由分类和限定分类结果的杰卡德相似性无显著差异,关系复杂性较高和高时限定分类极其显著高于自由分类,自由分类方式下,关系复杂性不同的三种学习材料间差异不显著,限定分类方式下,关系复杂性较高和高两种学习材料分类结果的杰卡德相似性间无显著差异,但均极其显著高于关系复杂性较低的学习材料.     

From being non-judgemental to deconstructing normalising judgement

Beginning with Carl Rogers' exhortation for counsellors to be non-judgemental of their clients, this article explores the rationale for withholding judgement in therapy, including diagnostic judgement. It traces Rogers' incipient sociopolitical analysis as a foundation for this ethic and argues that Michel Foucault provides a stronger basis for it than Rogers. Foucault unearths the role of normalising judgement in the modern world. Rather than simply offering non-judgemental listening, this article argues for the next step of inviting clients to deconstruct processes of normalising judgement. Questions that invite persons to make a judgement on the system of judgement that envelops them are illustrated. Narrative counselling practices for doing this are exemplified.     

The Conceptual Complexity of Presidents Carter and Clinton: An Automated Content Analysis of Temporal Stability and Source Bias

Previous work on the measurement of leaders' foreign policy orientations by Margaret G. Hermann argues that spontaneous utterances should provide more useful indications of stable personality characteristics than prepared statements. This paper reconsiders this question for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton through an automated coding system. A large number of spontaneous utterances and prepared statements by these presidents were compared in an effort to determine the stability of their conceptual complexity across source types and over time. The findings support the ability of Hermann's conceptual complexity measurement to capture robust differences between individuals; however, scores derived from spontaneous comments varied significantly from those derived from prepared remarks. In addition, the trait appears to be stable for some subjects (Carter) but not for others (Clinton).     

RE: From Prefix to Paradigm

This article is a translated chapter from a large study of the philosophy of ecology and biology. It looks at the vast array of reiterative processes in nature and culture and argues that continuous recursion is the core activity that sustains living processes at all levels. Therefore, the prefix “re,” which is central to the concepts of repetition, renewal, reinforcement, regeneration, reorganization, recursion, and religion, is a radical concept that should be considered at the paradigmatic level. The author shows that by working “revolutions into its revolutions” the process of RE complexly unifies and intermixes the past and future in order to generate the creative pulse of evolution.     

Complexity as a guide to understanding decision bias: A contribution to the favorite‐longshot bias debate

This paper investigates the origins of a widespread decision bias in betting markets, the favorite‐longshot bias (FLB); in particular, whether it is caused by cognitive errors on the part of bettors or by the pricing policies of bookmakers. The methodology is based on previous literature, which has suggested that: (i) races, as decision tasks for bettors, can be distinguished by their degree of complexity and their attractiveness to those with access to privileged information (insiders), (ii) cognitive errors increase as complexity increases, and (iii) bookmakers set odds in a manner to protect themselves from insiders. The degree of FLB was examined in races of varying complexity and attractiveness to insiders using a dataset of 8545 races drawn from the parallel bookmaker and pari‐mutuel markets operating in the UK in 2004. The results, interpreted in the light of the cognitive error and complexity literature, suggest that neither bettors' nor bookmakers' cognitive errors are the main cause of the bias. Rather, bettors' preferences for risk and the deliberate pricing policies of bookmakers play key roles in influencing the bias in markets where bookmakers and pari‐mutuel operators coexist. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不能以"复杂"与"简单"界定中西医学方法--与朱清时院士商榷

对朱清时院士以"复杂性"与"简单性"界定中西医学方法提出质疑,认为简单与复杂是中西医学共同面对的基本矛盾,近年盛行的中西医学"相反"论不利于中西医结合.     

God,Information, and Complexity: From Descriptive to Explorative Metaphysics

Abstract

Information and complexity have become central concepts in our contemporary worldview. On this background, it is discussed in which sense concepts of information and complexity may apply to theology proper. While the inherited axiom of divine simplicity forbids complexity and plurality as features of divine nature, an argument is developed for the presence of information and complexity in divine life. Three forms of information are proposed as relevant for a contemporary concept of God: Information as difference (Information1), information as form and relational structure (Information2) and semantic information (Information3). It is argued that features of these forms of information must be internal to divine life, if God can properly be said to facilitate and value the complex world of creation, to allow embodied creates to participate in divine life, and to communicate with creatures. In this light, the notion of divine simplicity will have to be redefined as the divine self-identity throughout temporal flux.     

From syntactical to textual strategies of argumentation

The paper focuses on tevelopmental relations between syntactical complexity, cohesion — especially conjuctional connection — and textual coherence in a sample of 150 argumentative texts written by school children (grades 4, 7, 10 and 12) and young adults (university students). In common sense and even in linguistics and psychology written text and especially written argument has been taken to be the prototype of syntactically complex, self-contained and explicit text over a long period of research on the topic. Thus it has been argued that syntactic connectedness and explicit cohesion of propositions were the most valuable indicators for a well-done contextualization and abstraction of content space and rhetorical space in writing. Empirical data show this common-sense position to be questionable. The discussion emphazises the role of argumentative implicitness as a necessary condition for getting the reader involved in the discourse and thus for the emergence of coherence in argumentative texts.     

From principles to principals: The new direction in medical ethics

Many alternatives or supplements to principalism seek to reconnect medical ethics with the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of the persons directly involved in ethically troublesome situations. This shift of attention, from deeds to doers, from principles to principals, acknowledges the importance of the moral agents involved in the situation — particular practitioners, patients, and families. Taking into account the subjective, lived experience of moral decision-making parallels recent efforts in the teaching of medicine to give the patient's subjectivity — his or her personal experience of being sick or disabled — epistemological parity with scientific medicine's objective, biomedically-oriented view of the person's sickness or disability.Moreover, the shift from principalism to principals signals a growing realization that ethical problems in the profession of medicine are inseparable from its practice. Philosophers and other humanists working in medicine should resist the temptation to institutionalize a professional role as solver of ethical problems, clarifier of values, or mediator of disputes and work instead to help practitioners practice medicine reflectively.     

Story Coalitions: Applying Narrative Theory to the Study of Coalition Formation

This article explores the potential of incorporating narrative theory into the study of coalition formation. Following a discussion of the role of narratives in group‐formation processes in a coalition‐driven dynamic, we offer a theoretical framework to examine the ways political stories espoused by people are mirrored by the partisan system. We integrate theoretical assumptions of narrative studies with coalition‐formation theories in an attempt to frame coalition‐formation models in terms of voters' political stories. We test our theoretical framework by simulating various possible coalitions in the Israeli 2009 elections and assess the results based upon data from an exit poll survey.     

The Spiral Template: The Revolution in the Evolution From Simple to Complex Systems

Change is an inborn trait of all organisms at every level of existence. This article proposes that the evolution of all life follows a course as if bound by a guiding principle or template. Overcoming disorder and entropy through diversity, this template has the properties of a spiral force, which acts to maintain continuity during change and transitions, and operates at all levels, from the simplest of forms to the most complex. Drawing from Chaos Theory, biology, depth psychology, and Buddhism, the spiral template is presented as a new vision of reality guiding scientific and spiritual perspectives toward evolutionary wholeness.