A test for conditional independence between response time and accuracy

An important distinction between different models for response time and accuracy is whether conditional independence (CI) between response time and accuracy is assumed. In the present study, a test for CI given an exponential family model for accuracy (for example, the Rasch model or the one‐parameter logistic model) is proposed and evaluated in a simulation study. The procedure is based on the non‐parametric Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests. As an illustrative example, the CI test was applied to data from an arithmetics test for secondary education.     

Rule-based schema matching for ontology-based mediators

Mediating heterogeneous data sources heavily relies on explicit domain knowledge expressed, for example, as ontologies and mapping rules. We discuss the use of logic representations for mapping schema elements onto concepts expressed in a simplified ontology for cultural assets. Starting with a logic representation of the ontology, criteria for a rule-based schema matching are exemplified. Special requirements are the handling of uncertain information and the processing of hierarchical XML structures representing instances.     

A Pilot Study of Psychotherapist Trainees' Alpha-Amylase and Cortisol Levels During Treatment of Recently Suicidal Clients With Borderline Traits

Psychotherapists often experience stress while providing psychotherapy, in particular when working with difficult presentations such as suicidality. As part of a larger study on the treatment of recently suicidal college students with borderline traits, 6 therapists in training collected their own salivary samples for alpha-amylase (AA) and cortisol (C) analyses immediately before and after sessions with 2 selected clients. On average, samples were collected for the same therapist-patient dyad throughout the year-long study to ensure that data reflected therapist responses across stages of treatment. Therapists also completed a working alliance questionnaire and rated perceived session difficulty immediately after each selected session. Contrary to expectations, therapists demonstrated elevated levels of stress as measured by AA and C at presession relative to postsession levels. Greater session difficulty was related to more pronounced declines in AA, whereas a stronger working alliance was linked to more pronounced reductions in C. Results suggest that physiological stress responses while working with recently suicidal clients with borderline traits occur primarily in terms of session anticipatory anxiety, whereas AA and C changes may be affected differently by factors such as session difficulty and working alliance. This is a pilot study, limited by its sample size, but the design, findings, and inclusion of physiological measures present an initial step in an essential line of research.     

Diplomates Certified in 2009

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Diplomates Certified in 2009     

承认之为诠释学的要素

文章鲜明地提出了“承认”在诠释学中的地位这一问题,强调它在诠释学内显得愈来愈大的重要性。作者以他对诠释学历史具有的丰富知识和独到的见地,精彩地列举出了五大类型,并以此来论述和展示“承认”这一概念在诠释学中的地位与作用。文章连贯地在最后部分讲到诠释学研究现在所面临的问题,探讨了从这一概念来解决这些问题的可能性。作者GunterScholtz是德国鲁尔大学哲学系的教授,以研究诠释学、文化学与精神科学史见长。     

The morphosyntactic decomposition and semantic composition of German compound words investigated by ERPs

In two experiments, we investigated the morphosyntactic decomposition and semantic composition of acoustically presented German compound words. A left-anterior negativity (LAN) was found in the ERP for gender incongruent, initial compound constituents although these constituents are syntactically irrelevant in German. This LAN provides online evidence for morphosyntactic decomposition. Experiment 1 showed also preliminary evidence for semantic composition, which was further investigated in Experiment 2 by comparing semantically transparent and opaque compounds. Transparent compounds elicited an increased negativity with a centroparietal maximum that occurred during the presentation of the head constituent. This negativity is suggested to reflect the semantic integration of compound constituents that is necessary after the constituents have been accessed separately.     

The compatibility of feminist theology and gestalt therapy: a study of 'practical-values'

An on-going theoretical issue for pastoral counselling concerns the integration of psychological and theological concepts. Whilst some writers appear to have achieved a comfortable integration of the two disciplines, it is still open to question as to what extent psychological and theological discourses can be co-terminous or compatible. The possibility of exploring the compatibility of gestalt psychotherapy and feminist theology is considered with reference to the 'practical-values' of each, and it is proposed that there is significant common ground between these values.     

Personality and the perception of TV violence

An experiment was carried out to investigate relationships between individuals' personality characteristics and their perceptions of violent TV portrayals. A panel of 40 viewers rated brief violent episodes from five categories of programming, contemporary British crime-detective series, American police series, westerns, science-fiction series and cartoons on eight scales. These responses were then related to viewers' scores on the N, E and P dimensions of the EPQ. Results showed that violent scores from contemporary settings were rated as more serious than scores from non-contemporary and fantastic settings. In addition, viewers exhibited individual differences in ratings of TV violence which were related to certain of their EPQ scores. In particular, high N scorers tended to perceive violence generally, but especially that from contemporary British drama, as more serious than did low N scorers. This study indicates the need to include personality measures in the analysis of audience reactions to TV violence.     

The need for personal and social education in secondary schools and further education

The need for personal and social education in schools is outlined. Reference is made to the concept of psychological education that is being developed in the United States, and a model of personal growth and career development is described with particular emphasis on areas of personal growth that need to be developed within the school curriculum. Results of a survey of young people's personal and interpersonal problems are presented which give accounts of the range of difficulties 235 fourth year and fifth year boys and girls in secondary education and 36 young people in employment had in their interpersonal relationships with parents, teachers, employers, community authority figures, same- and opposite-sex friends, etc. Information was also obtained on what actually occupied young people's thoughts: the things they found it difficult to cope with and talk about, the things that they felt parents should tell their children, what they would like to talk to their teachers and parents about, and the attributes which they felt they could or could not change for themselves.