Tactile pattern perception by two fingers: Temporal interference and response competition

The identification of a spatial pattern (target) presented to one fingerpad may be interfered with by the presentation of a second pattern (nontarget) to either the same fingerpad or a second fingerpad. A portion of the interference appears to be due to masking and a portion to response competition. In the present study, vibrotactile spatial patterns were designed to extend over two fingerpads. Target and nontarget patterns were presented to the same two fingerpads with a temporal separation between the two patterns. The function relating target identification to the temporal separation between the target and nontarget was very similar to the functions obtained with one-finger patterns in temporal masking studies. Subsequent measurements showed that a substantial portion of the interference resulted from response competition. Pattern categorization was better when patterns were presented to two fingers on opposite hands than to two fingers on the same hand; however, there was more interference for patterns presented bilaterally than for patterns presented ipsilaterally. The results supported the conclusion that similar processes are involved in the perception of sequences of spatial patterns whether the patterns are presented to one or to two fingers.     

Near-death visions of unborn children: Indications of a pre-earth life

A limited number of accounts of near-death visions that include unborn children suggest a life before birth. The unborn children in these visions have been described as spirits, as children or children but full-grown, and as residing in another world, perhaps different from the realm of the afterlife. The arrival of these children into our earthly world is similar to the departure of near-death experiencers into the other world.     

The effect of television day part on gender portrayals in television commercials: A content analysis

Gender portrayals in 2,209 network television commercials were content analyzed. To compare differences between three day parts, the sample was chosen from three time periods: daytime, when the audience is mostly women; evening prime time, when the sex of the audience is more evenly distributed; and weekend afternoon sportscasts, when men are a large percentage of the audience. The results indicate large and consistent differences in the way men and women are portrayed in these three day parts, with almost all comparisons reaching significance at the .05 level. Although ads in all day parts tended to portray men in stereotypical roles of authority and dominance, those on weekends tended to emphasize escape from home and family. The findings of earlier studies which did not consider day part differences may now have to be reevaluated.     

Angels in near-death experiences

The literature on near-death experiences (NDEs) contains no substantive discussion of angels in NDEs, even though there are references to angels in several studies of these experiences. In this article I identify angels in NDEs and describe their functions in the NDE based on published NDE accounts. I conclude that angels are personages with whom the NDEr does not usually recall having previous acquaintance. Angels, serve as guides, messengers, or escorts in the NDE.This research was supported by a sabbatical leave granted by the Sabbatical Leave Commitee of Western New Mexico University.     

Using the IBM-compatible microcomputer’s serial port as an input-output interface

A general purpose input-output interface is an essential tool in many common research situations. This article describes a simple way to set up the IBM-compatible microcomputer’s RS-232 serial port as an interface with up to four inputs and two outputs. First, aspects of the serial port relevant to its use as an input-output interface are discussed. Next, port access commands needed to control output lines and monitor input lines in the appropriate way are described, and examples in the Turbo Pascal 5.0 language are provided. Finally, a schematic diagram and a discussion of a simple circuit to implement the interface are provided.     

Effects of setting and number of observations on generalizability of parent-child interactions in childhood obesity treatment

The generalizability of behaviors across observational conditions is a critical issue in behavioral assessment. Generalizability theory was used to examine two aspects of audio recorded parent-child interactions recorded over 6 days of home measurement and 1 day of laboratory measurement in a behavioral treatment program for childhood obesity. Families audiotaped parent-child home meetings during which they reviewed self-monitored diet and exercise records that were coded for the following types of interactions: praise statements, negative statements, prompts for new behaviors, and statements promoting problem solving. A similar meeting was audiotaped in our laboratory. The first question explored was the number of measurements needed to generalize to the universe of the six home measures. Results showed an increase in generalizability over measurements for each behavioral category. Using generalizability coefficients of .60 or more, praise, negative comments and prompts, respectively, could be reliably observed based on 1, 4, or 4 days of measurement. Second, the effects of setting (laboratory versus home) were assessed for 1 day of measurement in each environment. Again using generalizability coefficients of .60, generalizability analysis showed that the lab setting could not be generalized to the home setting based on 1 day of measurement, with generalizability coefficients ranging from .27 for negative comments to .57 for praise. Results suggest that 4 days of behavioral assessment in the home can be used to establish generalizable data for all the dependent measures studied. However, generalizability coefficients suggested that 1 day of laboratory measurement was not adequate to generalize to typical home behavior.This research was supported in part by Grant NIH HD 23713 awarded to the third author.     

The Effectiveness of Partial Information about Attribute Weights for Ranking Alternatives in Multiattribute Decision Making

Weighted additive evaluation functions are widely used to rank alternatives in decision making under certainty with multiple evaluation attributes. Some researchers have suggested that approximate attribute weights may be adequate to accurately rank alternatives. Use of approximate weights would simplify decision analysis since detailed elicitation of weights can be time consuming and controversial. This article investigates the degree to which partial information about the relative magnitudes of attribute weights is sufficient to rank alternatives as a function of the number of decision alternatives, the number of attributes, and the number of allowed levels for each attribute. A simulation analysis, as well as a reanalysis of an actual application, shows that partial information about weights is often not sufficient to determine the most preferred alternative for realistic decision problems. Hence, approximation procedures for specifying weights may lead to errors. However, our work also shows that a simple analysis procedure can be used to accurately determine whether partial information about weights is adequate to correctly specify the most preferred alternative. This procedure can be useful for identifying situations in which detailed elicitation of weights is not needed.     

Social positions in the city of light

This article describes the social positions of inhabitants in the otherworldly City of Light as reported by a limited number of Mormon near-death experiences (NDErs). These social positions included men and women and various relatives and friends, in addition to authorities or administrators, genealogists, guardians, guides, homemakers, missionaries, teachers, and students. These reports of social positions in the City of Light are similar to those described by other researchers, and are comparable to those found in our own world.The authors thanks Jay G.Burrup for providing a section of theDiary of George Henry Carver. This research was supported in part by a sabbatical leave granted to Dr. Lundahl by the Sabbatical Leave Committee of Western New Mexico University.     

WHEN TO BEAR FALSE WITNESS: AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF HONESTY AND DECEIT AMONG COMMERCIAL FISHERS

Abstract. This paper uses an evolutionary perspective to identify variables influencing compliance with moral codes about honest communication. Data on over one thousand radio conversations among lobster fishers in two harbors in Maine are compared in regard to the sharing of information. The sharing of accurate information is found to be significantly more frequent in the harbor that is more integrated by reciprocally altruistic relationships. This is consistent with the view that moral systems are systems of indirect reciprocity, but it also suggests that humans have evolved to base their compliance with moral codes on cues from their social environment.