Reception of Morse code through motional, vibrotactile, and auditory stimulation

The potential for communication through the kinesthetic aspect of the tactual sense was examined in a series of experiments employing Morse code signals. Experienced and inexperienced Morse code operators were trained to identify Morse code signals that were delivered as sequences of motional stimulation through up-down displacements (roughly 10 mm) of the fingertip. Performance on this task was compared with that obtained for both vibrotactile and acoustic presentation of Morse code using a 200-Hz tone delivered either to the fingertip through a minishaker or diotically to the two ears under headphones. For all three modalities, the ability to receive Morse code was examined as a function of presentation rate for tasks including identification of single letters, random three-letter sequences, common words, and sentences. Equivalent word-rate measures (i.e., product of percent correct scores and stimulus presentation rate) were nearly twice as high for auditory presentation as for vibrotactile stimulation, which in turn was about 1.3 times that for motional stimulation. The experienced subjects outperformed the inexperienced subjects by amounts that increased with task complexity. For example, the former were able to receive sentences at 18 words/min with motional stimulation, whereas the latter, following 75 h of training, were unable to perform this task. The present results and those of other research with tactual communication systems are compared, particularly regarding estimates of information-transfer rates.     

Is Default Logic a Reinvention of Inductive-Statistical Reasoning?

Currently there is hardly any connection between philosophy of science and Artificial Intelligence research. We argue that both fields can benefit from each other. As an example of this mutual benefit we discuss the relation between Inductive-Statistical Reasoning and Default Logic. One of the main topics in AI research is the study of common-sense reasoning with incomplete information. Default logic is especially developed to formalise this type of reasoning. We show that there is a striking resemblance between inductive-statistical reasoning and default logic. A central theme in the logical positivist study of inductive-statistical reasoning such as Hempels Criterion of Maximal Specificity turns out to be equally important in default logic. We also discuss to what extent the relevance of the results of Logical Positivism to AI research could contribute to a reevaluation of Logical Positivism in general.     

Language function and dysfunction among Chinese- and English-speaking polyglots: Cortical stimulation, Wada Testing, and clinical studies

Language functions in a group of Chinese- and English-speaking polyglots living in a multiracial society have been investigated by several methods: the effects of cortical stimulation on object-naming and reading tasks in patients who required awake craniotomy, lateralization of cerebral dominance for speech by the Wada Test, and the pattern of language loss and recovery following stroke. The data indicate that these polyglots were all left hemisphere dominant for the languages tested: no consistent evidence for increased participation by the right hemisphere for language functions was found. The cortical stimulation experiments provided data most compatible with the "differential localization" model of cerebral localization in bilingualism. The variable which most influenced performance in all of these investigations was which language was used primarily for speaking as well as reading and writing at the time of the study.     

Conducting community‐based participatory research in an urban Malaysian community: Lessons learned and challenges in establishing partnerships

This paper presents the process of how partnerships are established between an urban residential community and an academic institution in Malaysia by employing community‐based participatory research, which involves researchers, community members, and organizational representatives as coresearchers. The research process encompasses colearning, power sharing, and coconstructing of knowledge, with the community members driving the research direction. The research paradigm is grounded on conducting research with the community. This paper highlights the experience and lessons learned while applying the principles of community‐based participatory research that promotes social participation of older persons living in a residential community. Two pertinent challenges surface in the research process. The first challenge involves the complexity noted in the gap between the emancipation of community‐based participatory research and the hierarchical social structure of the society. The second challenge is the prevalence of unspoken yet subtle domination that undermines the local cultural values affecting the process of coconstructing knowledge with the community. Recommendations for addressing these challenges include future partnerships with other Malaysian communities as well as cross‐border research partnerships.     

The Vasarhelyi method of child art psychotherapy: an adjunctive treatment in childhood depression

We describe the use of child art psychotherapy (CAP) following the Vasarhelyi method in an 11-year-old female with a history of anxiety and depression which limited her capacity to attend school and in a 15-year-old male who had a history of depressive symptoms with suicidal thinking. In each case, the use of other therapies such as cognitive behaviour therapy was not possible or unsuccessful. Through the creation of images, each young person revealed concerns which had not been previously verbalised, and recovery was linked in time to the revelation of these worries. We propose the use of the Vasarhelyi method of CAP as an adjunctive treatment of depression in young people.     

The influence of induced mood on music preference

The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of different self-centered moods on music preference without listening to music. Participants’ affective state (sad vs. happy vs. neutral) were experimentally manipulated through the mood induction procedure, and then their preferences for music were ascertained through self-reports. To understand participants’ internal motivations for their choices, we also asked them to indicate how appropriate he/she felt it would be to select the different music types as well as why they made such choices. Results suggested that participants in a sad mood were inclined to listen to sad (and slow) music, those in a happy mood preferred to listen to happy (and fast) music, and those in a neutral mood did not consistently prefer to listen to neutral music. In addition, participants were averse to sad music when they were in a happy or neutral mood; while they showed no aversion to happy music when they were in a sad mood. In conclusion, individuals select valence-consistent music when they are in an autobiographical memory-induced mood state.     

韦伯对道德合法性问题的探究

道德生活的合法性在哪里?韦伯提供了一种理性主义的道德理想主义路径,通过对幸福主义或功利主义的批判尤其是正面对新教伦理之理想主义的申述,其确立起如下基本观点:道德不是技术、技艺或物质利益,它不能像任何技术性手段一样有助于达到人们眼前的利益,在某种意义上它本身就是目的——它同人的高贵、尊严和终极价值等关联在一起,因而是人生和世界意义之体现,同时构成了人之永恒追求的目的。     

Why rare targets are slow: Evidence that the target probability effect has an attentional locus

Target probability has a well-known effect on detection times: Targets that occur with lower probability are detected more slowly than their higher-probability counterparts. A long-standing issue of interest is what causes this effect. In the two experiments of this study, we examined the possibility that the target probability effect has an attentional locus. We report two key findings that are consistent with this hypothesis. First, we observed a magnification of the effect when the attentional resources available for target detection were limited. Second, we also observed the complementary pattern: an attenuation of the effect when more attentional resources were available for detection. We propose that the target probability effect is caused by an asymmetry in the attentional demands made by targets that occur with different probabilities, with low-probability targets being more attentionally demanding than high-probability ones.