Field dependence and the role of visual frameworks in the perception of size

The extent to which apparent size is relationally determined has been studied by Rock and Ebenholtz and by Wenderoth, who came to widely differing conclusions as to the magnitude of this phenomenon. In both studies, a large range of individual differences was observed. In the present study, an attempt was made to account for variations in the influence of visual contexts on the perception of size by relating them to the cognitive style dimension of field dependence/independence. In two situations, relativelyfield-dependent observers made size judgments which were influenced by a frame surrounding the target figure, while relatively field-independent observers made size judgments which were influenced by a frame surrounding the target figure, while relatively field-independent observers tended to be less influenced by the frame, making their judgments approximate the retinal size of the target. The results suggest that assessment of the magnitude of the relational determination of apparent size must consider the cognitive style of the observers as well as situational variations.     

Temperature dependence of nucleation rate in a binary solid solution

The influence of regression (partial dissolution) effects on the temperature dependence of nucleation rate in a binary solid solution has been studied theoretically. The results of the analysis are compared with the predictions of the simplest Volmer–Weber theory. Regression effects are shown to have a strong influence on the shape of the curve of nucleation rate versus temperature. The temperature T_M at which the maximum rate of nucleation occurs is found to be lowered, particularly for low interfacial energy (coherent precipitation) and high-mobility species (e.g. interstitial atoms).     

On the need for negative local item dependence

While negative local item dependence (LID) has been discussed in numerous articles, its occurrence and effects often go unrecognized. This is due in part to confusion over what unidimensional latent trait is being utilized in evaluating the LID of multidimensional testing data. This article addresses this confusion by using an appropriately chosen latent variable to condition on. It then provides a proof that negative LID must occur when unidimensional ability estimates (such as number right score) are obtained from data which follow a very general class of multidimensional item response theory models. The importance of specifying what unidimensional latent trait is used, and its effect on the sign of the LIDs are shown to have implications in regard to a variety of foundational theoretical arguments, to the simulation of LID data sets, and to the use of testlet scoring for removing LID.This paper is based in part on a chapter in the first author's doctoral dissertation, written at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of William Stout. Part of this research has been presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, San Diego, California, April 14–16, 1998.The research of the first author was partially supported by a Harold Gulliksen Psychometric fellowship through Educational Testing Service and by a Research and Productive Scholarship award from the University of South Carolina.     

Informational foundations of quantum theory: critical reconsideration from the point of view of a phenomenologist

Continental Philosophy Review - Several contemporary interpretations of quantum mechanics use the concept of information as a tool for addressing and explaining the quantum world. In the article, I...     

On the duality of simultaneous time and size perception

When subjects are asked to judge the duration and size of visually presented circles that vary in duration and size, perceived duration is directly related to stimulus size and perceived size is, in most cases, directly related to stimulus duration. When subjects are asked to process time and size information simultaneously, their time judgments are the same as when only time processing is required, but their size judgments are less than when only size processing is required. These data are discussed within the context of an explicit model for the processing of size information, added to which is the assumption that time judgments are influenced by the time spent processing size information.     

Johns Hopkins's first professorship in philosophy: a critical pivot point in the history of American psychology

The first professorship in philosophy at Johns Hopkins University was contested in the early 1880s by two of the most prominent and influential scholars in America: Charles Sanders Peirce and George Sylvester Morris. A third figure also vied for the position, although he was much less well known at the time: Granville Stanley Hall. Through a series of unexpected circumstances, Hall ultimately won the professorship and then used it to leverage an extraordinary career that included his opening the first American research laboratory in psychology, establishing the American Journal of Psychology, becoming president of Clark University, founding the American Psychological Association, and profoundly affecting the character of developmental psychology in America.     

Visual detection in relation to display size and redundancy of critical elements I

Visual detection was studied in relation to displays of discrete elements, randomly selected consonant letters, distributed in random subsets of cells of a matrix, the S being required on each trial to indicate only which member of a predesignated pair of critical elements was present in a given display. Experimental variables were number of elements per display and number of redundant critical elements per display. Estimates of the number of elements effectively processed by a S during a 50 ms. exposure increased with display size, but not in the manner that would be expected if the S sampled a fixed proportion of the elements present in a display of given area. Test-retest data indicated substantial correlations over long intervals of time in the particular elements sampled by a S from a particular display. Efficiencies of detection with redundant critical elements were very close to those expected on the hypothesis of constant sample size over trials for any given display size and were relatively invariant with respect to distance between critical elements.     

论至善对康德批判哲学的定向作用

至善学说在康德批判哲学中的地位和作用经常遭到研究者的忽视或误解。事实上,至善作为幸福与德性、自然与自由、理论与实践以及感性世界与理智世界的综合统一,对康德伦理学、认识论、历史观和宗教学说中都具有重要的范导意义。至善不但体现了康德批判哲学的最终目的,而且对批判哲学体系的最终建立具有定向作用。     

On the evaporation kinetics of C60/toluene solutions

The increasing interest in fullerene nanoparticles makes the question regarding their effect on liquid evaporation behavior unavoidable. In this study, we used a gravimetric technique to investigate the effect of C₆₀ fullerene nanospheres on the evaporation kinetics of toluene over their entire range of solubility. Saturated solutions showed the highest evaporation rate. The increase in the evaporation rate as a function of concentration is not monotonic, but rather exhibits a maximum and a minimum. The results strongly support the notion of molecular structuring within the liquid toluene depending on fullerene mole fractions.     

On critical African philosophy: Mapping the boundaries of a good philosophical tradition

This essay deploys the existence of epistemic vices in the trajectory of Western philosophy to map the erasures and complicities that accompanied the emergence of contemporary African philosophy (CAP₁). It argues that the complicity of CAP₁ in the hyperspecialization and academic self-absorption that marked the professionalization of Western philosophy, makes it difficult to attend to the conditions for its own possibility. CAP₁ arguably needs to make a critical turn into critical African philosophy (CAP₂), understood as a metatheoretical and metaphilosophical framework for an internal transformation that is emancipatory. CAP₂ is envisioned, first, as a critique of postcoloniality that rehumanizes the autonomous African subject; and, second, as an ethicopolitical project that explores the cracks between philosophy as theoretical practice and philosophy as praxis in opening up the spaces for postcolonial emancipation. The essay identifies three conditions that instigate the emancipatory possibility of philosophizing on the continent: the spatial/platial, demosophic, and political.     

On robust estimation of effect size under semiparametric models

Estimation of effect size is of interest in many applied fields such as Psychology, Sociology and Education. However there are few nonparametric estimators of effect size proposed in the existing literature, and little is known about the distributional characteristics of these estimators. In this article, two estimators based on the sample quantiles are proposed and studied. The first one is the estimator suggested by Hedges and Olkin (see page 93 of Hedges & Olkin, 1985) for the situation where a treatment effect is evaluated against a control group (Case A). A modified version of the robust estimator by Hedges and Olkin is also proposed for the situation where two parallel treatments are compared (Case B). Large sample distributions of both estimators are derived. Their asymptotic relative efficiencies with respect to the normal maximum likelihood estimators under several common distributions are evaluated. The robust properties of the proposed estimators are discussed with respect to the sample-wise breakdown points proposed by Akritas (1991). Simulation studies are provided in which the performing characteristics of the proposed estimator are compared to that of the nonparametric estimators by Kraemer and Andrews (1982). Interval estimation of the effect sizes is also discussed. In an example, interval estimates for the data set in Kraemer and Andrews (1982) are calculated for both cases A and B.     

On beyond urine: clinically useful assessment instruments in the treatment of drug dependence

Although there are a wealth of clinically useful, brief, and low-cost assessment instruments available for use with drug-dependent populations, relatively few are broadly used in clinical practice. With an emphasis on: (1). the multidimensional nature of drug users' problems; and (2). assessments that can be integrated into empirically validated treatments, clinically useful assessments in four general categories (evaluation and diagnosis of drug dependence, identifying concurrent disorders and problems, treatment planning, and evaluation of treatment outcome) are briefly summarized. Progress in the field of drug abuse treatment has been significantly hampered by the failure to adopt, across research and clinical settings, a common set of assessments.     

Deposition-rate dependence of granular size distribution in Cu aggregate on liquid substrate studied by atomic force microscopy

In this article, we report an atomic force microscopy study on the microstructure and the deposition-rate dependence of granular size distribution in copper (Cu) ramified aggregates on a liquid substrate. This study shows that the ramified Cu aggregates are composed of Gaussian size distribution granules, which form immediately after the Cu atoms are deposited. The interesting phenomenon is that the mean diameter Φ_m of the granules exponentially decays and approaches a stable value Φ_c with an increase in the deposition rate f. The granular mean diameter Φ_m slightly changes with the time interval Δt during which the film is kept in the vacuum chamber, owing to the large diffusion coefficient of the Cu granules on the liquid substrates. The experimental behavior strongly depends on the properties of the liquid substrate.