A factor-adjusted multiple testing procedure for ERP data analysis

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are now widely collected in psychological research to determine the time courses of mental events. When event-related potentials from treatment conditions are compared, often there is no a priori information on when or how long the differences should occur. Testing simultaneously for differences over the entire set of time points creates a serious multiple comparison problem in which the probability of false positive errors must be controlled, while maintaining reasonable power for correct detection. In this work, we extend the factor-adjusted multiple testing procedure developed by Friguet, Kloareg, and Causeur (Journal of the American Statistical Association, 104, 1406-1415, 2009) to manage the multiplicity problem in ERP data analysis and compare its performance with that of the Benjamini and Hochberg (Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B, 57, 289-300, 1995) false discovery rate procedure, using simulations. The proposed procedure outperformed the latter in detecting more truly significant time points, in addition to reducing the variability of the false discovery rate, suggesting that corrections for mass multiple testings of ERPs can be much improved by modeling the strong local temporal dependencies.     

Act first, think later: The presence and absence of inferential planning in problem solving

Planning is fundamental to successful problem solving, yet individuals sometimes fail to plan even one step ahead when it lies within their competence to do so. In this article, we report two experiments in which we explored variants of a ball-weighing puzzle, a problem that has only two steps, yet nonetheless yields performance consistent with a failure to plan. The results fit a computational model in which a solver’s attempts are determined by two heuristics: maximization of the apparent progress made toward the problem goal and minimization of the problem space in which attempts are sought. The effectiveness of these heuristics was determined by lookahead, defined operationally as the number of steps evaluated in a planned move. Where move outcomes cannot be visualized but must be inferred, planning is constrained to the point where some individuals apply zero lookahead, which with n-ball problems yields seemingly irrational unequal weighs. Applying general-purpose heuristics with or without lookahead accounts for a range of rational and irrational phenomena found with insight and noninsight problems.     

Students' online collaborative intention for group projects: Evidence from an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour

Given the increasing use of web technology for teaching and learning, this study developed and examined an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model, which explained students' intention to collaborate online for their group projects. Results indicated that past experience predicted the three antecedents of intention, while past behaviour was predictive of subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Moreover, the three antecedents (attitude towards e‐collaboration, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control) were found to significantly predict e‐collaborative intention. This study explored the use of the “remember” type of awareness (i.e. past experience) and evaluated the value of the “know” type of awareness (i.e. past behaviour) in the TPB model.     

终末的哲学与美好生活——论希腊化哲学的终末论

希腊哲学致力于美好生活的追求,希腊化哲学则视终末论为美好生活操练的本体功夫。终末论是希腊化哲学的根本特征,它以此为出发点越过古典希腊哲学,重新探寻伦理与自我关系的哲学语法,克服生活中为死亡所掌握的诸种激情形式,阐释美好生活的自然维度,充分呈现个体伦理生活的自由纯度。     

注意捕获与自上而下的加工过程

注意捕获对揭示两种控制过程——自下而上的加工与自上而下的加工之间的关系有着重要的研究意义。在当前对注意捕获的研究中,主要存在两大类的实验范式：线索化范式与视觉搜索范式;涉及以下几个方面：刺激驱动的注意捕获与自上而下控制的关系;注意捕获是否涉及注意的空间转移;刺激的显著性对注意捕获的影响;实验范式对注意捕获的影响。总的来说,没有任何一种视觉刺激能绝对的独立于自上而下的控制之外来捕获注意,因此也可以这样认为,注意捕获被默认为是一种自动化的过程,但这个自动化的过程可以被内源性的调节所抑制或者易化。     

The Dynamics of Cyber China: The Characteristics of Chinese ICT Use

This paper provides a preliminary examination of the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs)—limited to mobile phone and internet use—in contemporary China. Based on fieldwork undertaken since 2003 in Guangzhou and Beijing, the paper focuses on the relationship between society and technology in the Chinese cultural context. An analysis of the data on ICT use in China shows how Chinese cultural traits and the speed of the ICT evolution in China have combined to bring about a unique cyber experience. This analysis may be helpful to other scholars who wish to compare the impact of ICTs in various cultures or who are interested in discovering how Mainland China went ‘cyber’.

The dynamics of daily events and well-being across cultures: when less is more

The authors examined cultural and individual differences in the relation between daily events and daily satisfaction. In a preliminary study, they established cross-cultural equivalence of 50 daily events. In the main study, participants in the United States, Korea, and Japan completed daily surveys on the 50 events and daily satisfaction for 21 days. The multilevel random coefficient model analyses showed that (a) the within-person association between positive events and daily satisfaction was significantly stronger among Asian American, Korean, and Japanese participants than among European American participants and (b) the within-person association between positive events and daily satisfaction was significantly weaker among individuals high in global life satisfaction than among those low in global life satisfaction. The findings demonstrate a weaker effect of positive events on daily well-being among individuals and cultures high in global well-being.     

Hippocampal long-term potentiation, memory, and longevity in mice that overexpress mitochondrial superoxide dismutase

Superoxide has been shown to be critically involved in several pathological manifestations of aging animals. In contrast, superoxide also can act as a signaling molecule to modulate signal transduction cascades required for hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD-2 or Mn-SOD) is a key antioxidant enzyme that scavenges superoxide. Thus, SOD-2 may not only prevent aging-related oxidative stress, but may also regulate redox signaling in young animals. We used transgenic mice overexpressing SOD-2 to study the role of mitochondrial superoxide in aging, synaptic plasticity, and memory-associated behavior. We found that overexpression of SOD-2 had no obvious effect on synaptic plasticity and memory formation in young mice, and could not rescue the age-related impairments in either synaptic plasticity or memory in old mice. However, SOD-2 overexpression did decrease mitochondrial superoxide in hippocampal neurons, and extended the lifespan of the mice. These findings increase our knowledge of the role of mitochondrial superoxide in physiological and pathological processes in the brain.     

Does Time Constraint on Users Negate the Efficacy of Decision Support Systems?

Time constraint can impair decision performance: time-constrained decision makers process information faster, process less information, and use less rigorous decision strategies. On the other hand, properly designed decision support systems (DSSs) can induce decision makers to process more information and use more rigorous decision strategies, which can result in enhanced performance. In this study, we investigate, drawing on bounded rationality and cost-benefit theories of DSS use, whether these salutary effects of DSSs still hold in time-constrained environments. Our experimental results replicate past research regarding the effects of time constraint and DSSs taken separately and also show that the positive effects of DSSs are maintained when decision makers are under time constraint. That is, consistent with hypotheses, time-constrained participants processed information in a more compensatorylike manner when aided by DSSs than when not. Some of the results suggest that the negative effects of time constraint can be mitigated or even eliminated by the use of DSSs, but some participants did not take full advantage of the DSS to combat time constraint.