A computer art assessment system for the evaluation of space usage in drawings with application to the analysis of its relationship to level of dementia

Space usage in drawings is an important element that provides useful information about the drawer’s level of energy and psychological status. In this paper, we delineate the development of a computer system to objectively and quantitatively evaluate the space usage using regression models and computer analysis. We formulate regression models whose dependent variables are the grades and the ranks of space usages. We emphasize the contribution of the area of the painted convex hull in explaining the grades and ranks, which we propose as an independent variable. All possible independent variables including the area of painted regions and the number of colors used are evaluated by the computer algorithms developed in this study. We measure the validity of the system for evaluating grades and ranks. As an application to a real case, the system has been used to investigate the relationship between the space usage and the level of dementia.     

Specific Personality Traits and General Personality Dysfunction as Predictors of the Presence and Severity of Personality Disorders in a Clinical Sample

This study examined the associations of specific personality traits and general personality dysfunction in relation to the presence and severity of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM–IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) personality disorders in a Dutch clinical sample. Two widely used measures of specific personality traits were selected, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory as a measure of normal personality traits, and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire as a measure of pathological traits. In addition, 2 promising measures of personality dysfunction were selected, the General Assessment of Personality Disorder and the Severity Indices of Personality Problems. Theoretically predicted associations were found between the measures, and all measures predicted the presence and severity of DSM–IV personality disorders. The combination of general personality dysfunction models and personality traits models provided incremental information about the presence and severity of personality disorders, suggesting that an integrative approach of multiple perspectives might serve comprehensive assessment of personality disorders.     

今传王弼本《老子》分篇分章源流考

《老子》书大致从战国晚期就开始以道经为上篇、德经为下篇,到王弼为《老子》作注时,《老子》的篇次和章句划分应该初步稳定。唐陆德明采用王弼注为《老子》作音义,并以道、德作为上、下篇题,以后又经历了长时期的流传变化,至明代后期或清代,今传王弼本的篇章结构逐渐固定下来。     

中小学生欺负者归因特点的研究

本研究以归因理论为依据,采用自编的中小学生欺负者归因量表对3-9年级学生施测,以考察中小学生欺负者归因的基本特点。结果发现:(1)中小学生较多地从IUC上知觉欺负者的欺负行为,较少从ESU上知觉该行为;(2)在ISC、ISU、IUC、EUC、EUU这五个原因上存在性别差异;(3)除ESU外的七项原因的知觉上存在组别差异;(4)对八项原因的知觉上均存在显著性年级差异;(5)独生子女因素对欺负者归因不存在显著性影响。     

Changes in cue-induced, prefrontal cortex activity with video-game play

Brain responses, particularly within the orbitofrontal and cingulate cortices, to Internet video-game cues in college students are similar to those observed in patients with substance dependence in response to the substance-related cues. In this study, we report changes in brain activity between baseline and following 6 weeks of Internet video-game play. We hypothesized that subjects with high levels of self-reported craving for Internet video-game play would be associated with increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, particularly the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. Twenty-one healthy university students were recruited. At baseline and after a 6-week period of Internet video-game play, brain activity during presentation of video-game cues was assessed using 3T blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Craving for Internet video-game play was assessed by self-report on a 7-point visual analogue scale following cue presentation. During a standardized 6-week video-game play period, brain activity in the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex of the excessive Internet game-playing group (EIGP) increased in response to Internet video-game cues. In contrast, activity observed in the general player group (GP) was not changed or decreased. In addition, the change of craving for Internet video games was positively correlated with the change in activity of the anterior cingulate in all subjects. These changes in frontal-lobe activity with extended video-game play may be similar to those observed during the early stages of addiction.     

维特根斯坦论意志与经验

前后期维特根斯坦都讨论了意志问题.按照前期维特根斯坦的理解,意志的行使或者说内在的意志行为不是任何一种经验或现象,进而受意志支配的行动对于行动者本人来说也不是任何一种经验或现象.尽管如此,意志必定总是与某种感受或关于这种感受的心象联系在一起的,后者之出现与否可以说构成了意志是否得到了完全地行使的判定标准.后期维特根斯坦对这样的观点进行了深入的反省和批评,指出我们既不能断言意志是经验,也不能断言意志不是经验;哲学家们为这两种断言所提供的论证均是不成立的,甚至是没有意义的.     

The source of dual-task limitations: Serial or parallel processing of multiple response selections?

Although it is generally recognized that the concurrent performance of two tasks incurs costs, the sources of these dual-task costs remain controversial. The serial bottleneck model suggests that serial postponement of task performance in dual-task conditions results from a central stage of response selection that can only process one task at a time. Cognitive-control models, by contrast, propose that multiple response selections can proceed in parallel, but that serial processing of task performance is predominantly adopted because its processing efficiency is higher than that of parallel processing. In the present study, we empirically tested this proposition by examining whether parallel processing would occur when it was more efficient and financially rewarded. The results indicated that even when parallel processing was more efficient and was incentivized by financial reward, participants still failed to process tasks in parallel. We conclude that central information processing is limited by a serial bottleneck.     

Emotional agency appraisals influence responses to preference inconsistent information

Bringing together the literature on emotional appraisals and the literature on biased processing in judgment, two studies investigate how incidental emotions varying in valence and agency influence decision making after exposure to preference consistent vs. inconsistent information. We show that emotions differ in their response to preference inconsistent information due to their differences in self vs. other agency appraisals, whereas no emotional differences were found in response to preference consistent information. Negative emotions associated with other agency appraisals increase resistance to preference inconsistent information whereas negative emotions associated with self agency appraisals encourage acceptance of preference inconsistent information relative to neutral conditions. We show this pattern reverses for positive emotions. These effects were driven by changes in confidence after exposure to inconsistent information and reflected in evaluative judgments. We discuss the significance of these findings for the emotions, preference consistency, and decision-making literatures.     

Synthesis of amorphous and quasicrystal phases by mechanical alloying of Ti 45 Zr 38 Ni 17 powder mixtures,and their hydrogenation

Mechanical alloying of Ti 45 Zr 38 Ni 17 powder mixture forms an amorphous phase, but subsequent annealing causes the formation of an icosahedral ( i ) phase. The maximum hydrogen concentration that can be loaded at 573K at a hydrogen pressure of 3.8MPa is the same (\[H]/\[M] 1.5) for the amorphous and i -phase powders. With hydrogenation, the i -phase is almost stable, forming no hydrides, whereas the amorphous phase transforms to a fcc hydride. The activation energy for hydrogen desorption for the i -phase is about 127kJmol -1, which is lower than that for the amorphous phase, suggesting that the i -phase powder may have better properties for hydrogen-storage applications.     

Compound invariance implies prospect theory for simple prospects

Behavioral conditions such as compound invariance for risky choice and constant decreasing relative impatience for intertemporal choice have surprising implications for the underlying decision model. They imply a multiplicative separability of outcomes and either probability or time. Hence the underlying model must be prospect theory or discounted utility on the domain of prospects with one nonzero outcome. We indicate implications for richer domains with multiple outcomes, and with both risk and time involved.