Connectionist and rule-based representations of expert knowledge

Research in computer science has led to the development of two broad classes of models of knowledge representation: rule-based and connectionist systems. Both techniques solve the same abstract problem, that is, the assignment of cases to classes. Connectionist modeling techniques have been applied to three classification situations in which one would expect rule-based models to be applicable. Two of the situations involved the diagnosis of problems in and operation of a fictitious power plant. The third situation involved the classification of misconceptions held by elementary physics students. Connectionist modeling developed adequate simulations of behavior in all three cases.     

O2 consumption,heart rate and subjective ratings under conditions of relaxation and active coping

Oxygen consumption, respiratory rate, minute volume, heart rate (HR) and subjective ratings from 12 graduate students were monitored under conditions of relaxation and active coping. The controlled, within-Ss, cross-over design consisted of the two experimental conditions alternating between three control periods. The relaxation condition consisted of an autogenic procedure which the Ss had practiced daily for more than a week. The active-coping condition involved avoidance of an aversive noise during a reaction-time task. In terms of O₂ consumption, there was a slight (3%) but nonsignificant decrease during relaxation. There was a trend for HR to increase during active coping, although this finding was attenuated by the presence of a subset of Ss who responded with a marked and unexpected decrease in HR under this condition. Subjective ratings obtained at 1-min intervals throughout the experiment indicated that the Ss achieved significant levels of subjective relaxation during the procedure. The results of the study failed to support the presence of a hypometabolic state during relaxation as proposed by Benson.     

Elective mutism in a first grader: The remediation of a complex behavioral problem

Teachers frequently deal with unusual and perplexing behavioral problems in their classes. This study demonstrates how spontaneous and prompted speech were produced in a six-year-old mute by a first-grade teacher and her aide. A reinforcement system for peer-prompted speech and spontaneous speech was employed in three separate school classes in a multiple-baseline fashion. The reinforcement system produced prompted and spontaneous speech in each situation. Postchecks in the second grade indicated the child was still speaking and conversing spontaneously with his peers. This study suggests a method that teachers can use in the classroom to deal with this severely handicapping condition.     

A relational theory of ministry

The many forms that the practice of ministry assumes raise the question whether there is any central purpose or principle that serves as a valid criterion of authentic ministry. The work of the minister is here seen as interpersonal in character (either immediately or ultimately) and the heart of this interpersonal relation is the agapic ideal of reconciling love, the purpose of which is to overcome one's estrangement from himself, his neighbor, and from God.This article is a slightly revised form of his Retirement Address. He now resides at 33 Thrasher Road, Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107.     

Rules all the way down: Consumer behaviour from the standpoint of the ‘ONE behavioural’ research programme

This article sets out a unified behavioural research programme that integrates compatible elements of old, new and evolutionary behavioural approaches to economics as an alternative to the dominant unified approach to economics based on rational choice theory and a Walrasian view of market coordination. However, the proposed programme can also be viewed as a general framework for interdisciplinary research on consumer behaviour. It employs the view of scientific research programmes proposed by Lakatos, setting out groups of ‘hard-core’ propositions and their associated ‘do’ and ‘do not’ rules for the conduct of researchers. The unifying theme is that evolution in the economy (and in human systems more generally) entails the creation, adoption and abandonment of rules for dealing effectively with open-ended choice problems that are bedevilled by infinite regress problems and cognitive challenges that people seek to address via personal repertoires of hierarchically related rules. To anticipate behaviour, researchers need to develop knowledge of these rules (including heuristics and routines), their functionality and the processes by which they get changed or prove difficult to change even where they cause problems.