When is a map not a map? Task and language in spatial interpretation with digital map displays

Cognitive studies of map interpretation, for both paper‐based and digital maps (e.g. in geographic information systems), have generally assumed awareness of the map's geographic representational characteristics. However, many tasks using a digital map do not require visualization of the geographic environment it represents, but a conflicting focus on the geometric properties of the visual array. An experimental study demonstrated that the tasks performed and linguistic terms used with a digital map influenced the user's mental representation, as reflected by ease of orientation within the actual geographic environment (as measured by an unexpected photograph interpretation task). The map was still present during this task, since the concern was with interpretation rather than recall. No gender, age or expertise effects were found. Results are discussed with regard to the concept of reference frames and other spatial distinctions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding of the current police caution (England and Wales) among suspects in police detention

The current police caution (England and Wales) provides information about the right to silence to suspects in police detention. Though earlier studies, involving other populations, suggest that the caution would be too complex for detainees to understand fully, the issue has not previously been investigated directly among police detainees. Comprehension of the caution was investigated among two groups, police station suspects (N = 30) and individuals (N = 24) attending a job centre in the same area, matched for intellectual ability. In both groups, understanding was very limited and did not relate either to their situation at the time of testing or to self‐reported experience of the criminal justice system. Even under optimal experimental conditions, only 11% (six) of the participants were able to demonstrate full understanding of its meaning. Worryingly, though more than 96% (52) claimed to have understood the caution fully after it had been presented to them as it would be by the police, none of them did so. We suggest practical measures to ameliorate the difficulties, but the importance of devising a new, simplified, version of the current caution cannot be over‐emphasized; otherwise, miscarriages of justice are likely to occur. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Decision-making by experienced rugby referees: use of perceptual information and episodic memory

The expertise paradigm was used in two studies to examine decision-making by rugby referees. Videoclips were used to assess infraction detection and knowledge base, or sources of information used. In Study 1, referees of high and low experience were compared, and in Study 2 referees and players were compared. Analysis by signal detection used a framework to classify types of information. Study 1 yielded no differences in detection of infractions as a function of experience, however, referees of high experience used significantly more sources of information than the group with low experience across all categories of information. In Study 2, there were no significant differences between referees and players, with the exception that referees displayed greater use of episodic memory information in decision-making.     

How different spatial-frequency components contribute to visual information acquisition

We test 3 theories of global and local scene information acquisition, defining global and local in terms of spatial frequencies. By independence theories, high- and low-spatial-frequency information are acquired over the same time course and combine additively. By global-precedence theories, global information acquisition precedes local information acquisition, but they combine additively. By interactive theories, global information also affects local-information acquisition rate. We report 2 digit-recall experiments. In the 1st, we confirmed independence theories. In the 2nd, we disconfirmed both independence theories and interactive theories, leaving global-precedence theories as the remaining alternative. We show that a specific global-precedence theory quantitatively accounted for Experiments 1-2 data as well as for past data. We discuss how their spatial-frequency definition of spatial scale comports with definitions used by others, and we consider the suggestion by P. G. Schyns and colleagues (e.g., D. J. Morrison & Schyns, 2001) that the visual system may act flexibly rather than rigidly in its use of spatial scales.     

When paying attention becomes counterproductive: impact of divided versus skill-focused attention on novice and experienced performance of sensorimotor skills

Two experiments examined the impact of attention on sensorimotor skills. In Experiment 1, experienced golfers putted under dual-task conditions designed to distract attention from putting and under skill-focused conditions that prompted attention to step-by-step putting performance. Dual-task condition putting was more accurate. In Experiment 2, right-footed novice and experienced soccer players dribbled through a slalom course under dual-task or skill-focused conditions. When using their dominant right foot, experts again performed better in the dual-task condition. However, when using their less proficient left foot, experts performed better in the skill-focused condition. Novices performed better under skill-focus regardless of foot. Whereas novices and the less-proficient performances of experts benefit from online attentional monitoring of step-by-step performance, high-level skill execution is harmed.     

Serial control of phonology in speech production: a hierarchical model

A dynamic oscillator-based model of the sequencing of phonemes in speech production (OSCAR) is described. An analysis of phoneme movement errors (anticipations, perseverations, and exchanges) from a large naturalistic speech error corpus provides a new set of data suitable for quantitative modeling and is used to derive a set of constraints that any speech-production model must address. The new computational model is shown to account for error type proportions, movement error distance gradients, the syllable-position effect, and phonological similarity effects. The model provides an alternative to frame-based accounts, serial buffer accounts, and associative chaining theories of serial order processing in speech.     

Constraints upon word substitution speech errors

We explore the features of a corpus of naturally occurring word substitution speech errors. Words are replaced by more imageable competitors in semantic substitution errors but not in phonological substitution errors. Frequency effects in these errors are complex and the details prove difficult for any model of speech production. We argue that word frequency mainly affects phonological errors. Both semantic and phonological substitutions are constrained by phonological and syntactic similarity between the target and intrusion. We distinguish between associative and shared-feature semantic substitutions. Associative errors originate from outside the lexicon, while shared-feature errors arise within the lexicon and occur when particular properties of the targets make them less accessible than the intrusion. Semantic errors arise early while accessing lemmas from a semantic-conceptual input, while phonological errors arise late when accessing phonological forms from lemmas. Semantic errors are primarily sensitive to the properties of the semantic field involved, whereas phonological errors are sensitive to phonological properties of the targets and intrusions.     

Devices of Responsibility: Over a Decade of Responsible Research and Innovation Initiatives for Nanotechnologies

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) has come to represent a change in the relationship between science, technology and society. With origins in the democratisation of science, and the inclusion of ethical and societal aspects in research and development activities, RRI offers a means of integrating society and the research and innovation communities. In this article, we frame RRI activities through the lens of layers of science and technology governance as a means of characterising the context in which the RRI activity is positioned and the goal of those actors promoting the RRI activities in shaping overall governance patterns. RRI began to emerge during a time of considerable deliberation about the societal and governance challenges around nanotechnology, in which stakeholders were looking for new ways of integrating notions of responsibility in nanotechnology research and development. For this reason, this article focuses on nanotechnology as the site for exploring the evolution and growth of RRI.     

Failing time after time: time perspective,procrastination, and cognitive reappraisal in goal failure

This research novelly explores how Future Time Perspective (FTP) plays a role in reflecting on goal failure and striving for future goals. Participants (N = 139) completed questionnaires assessing recent goal failure, procrastination, emotion regulation and FTP, then coded as either High or Low in FTP. Results support hypotheses that despite goal failure, those high in FTP procrastinated less, planned more and used more cognitive reappraisal strategies. Further, procrastination and cognitive reappraisal significantly predicted FTP scores. Thus, goal failure may be an essential part of learning how to achieve high self‐regulation goals. However, it may discourage some from trying again, particularly those low in FTP. Findings suggest the FTP may offer a strategy to aid attainment of important high self‐regulated, long‐term goals.