Using an integrated simulation environment for the risk based design of advanced driver assistance systems

When designing new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), the existing guidelines like the RESPONSE 3 Code of Practice imply intense testing of the system prior series production. Within the EU-FP7-Project ISi-PADAS a new methodology of risk based design has been established which includes an integrated simulation platform. This integration enables intense testing of new prototypes in an accelerated way and therefore enhances the design process while directly combining the simulation results with a risk matrix.This paper describes the new methodology while focussing on the software framework and the procedure of risk assessment in detail. It shows the general approach as well as the appropriate steps taken for an ADAS prototype developed in the context of ISi-PADAS.     

Editorial Introduction to the Special Issue: Using Story Completion Methods in Qualitative Research

ABSTRACT

What is story completion? How come I’ve never heard of it? Can it be useful for me as a qualitative researcher? A relatively unknown method for qualitative data collection, story completion has a long history of use in psychotherapy practice and (quantitative) developmental psychology research. We believe it has untapped, exciting potential as a qualitative technique in and beyond psychology, offering something quite different to many of the popular methods (e.g., interviews, focus groups). In this article, an introduction to an exciting Special Issue that discusses and demonstrates the potential of story completion, we provide a brief history of the development of story completion as a qualitative technique and an overview of design, sampling, and data analysis in story completion research. We finish by highlighting potential pitfalls of story completion, alongside a discussion of the possibilities it offers, and briefly introduce the empirical papers in the Special Issue.     

CREATIONISM IN THE NETHERLANDS

Recent events indicate that creationists are becoming increasingly active in the Netherlands. This article offers an overview of these events. First, I discuss the introduction of intelligent‐design (ID) creationism into the Dutch public sphere by a renowned physicist, Cees Dekker. Later, Dekker himself shifted toward a more evolution‐friendly position, theistic evolution. Second, we see how Dekker was followed in this shift by Andries Knevel, an important figure within the Dutch evangelical broadcasting group, the Evangelische Omroep (EO). His conversion to ID, and subsequently to theistic evolution, brought him into conflict with young‐Earth creationists who still strongly identify themselves with the EO. Third, provoked by the dissidence of prominent orthodox believers and the celebrations surrounding the Darwin year, young‐Earth creationists became very visible. After three decades of relative silence, they started a project to make sure that the Dutch people would hear of the “alternatives” to evolutionary theory. This article (1) adds to the growing number of reports on creationists' increased activity in Europe and (2) suggests that ID, in a context different from the United States, did not unite but rather divided the Dutch orthodox Protestant community.     

Moderating effects of appreciation on relationships between illegitimate tasks and intrinsic motivation: a two-wave shortitudinal study

ABSTRACT

This study investigated possible reciprocal relationships between illegitimate tasks and intrinsic motivation and whether appreciation moderated these relationships. Based on a two-wave panel study across one week and a sample of 366 nurses, we examined whether appreciation buffered effects of illegitimate tasks on reduced intrinsic motivation; or enhanced reversed effects of intrinsic motivation on decreased perceived illegitimate tasks. Additionally, we differentiated whether illegitimate tasks and appreciation were elicited by supervisors, colleagues, or patients. Latent structural equation analyses primarily revealed effects for unnecessary than for unreasonable tasks. Such tasks were predominantly the consequence rather than the cause of intrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation increased perceived illegitimate tasks under conditions of low appreciation. Regarding the different sources, most effects were present for illegitimate tasks ascribed by supervisors and for appreciation conveyed by patients. It follows that the perception of illegitimate tasks seems to be a matter of motivation; that the sources of illegitimate tasks and appreciation matter; and that appreciation as a low-budget, but highly powerful practice, is able to facilitate a positive environment where work tasks are less likely to be perceived as illegitimate.     

PALEY'S iPOD: THE COGNITIVE BASIS OF THE DESIGN ARGUMENT WITHIN NATURAL THEOLOGY

The argument from design stands as one of the most intuitively compelling arguments for the existence of a divine Creator. Yet, for many scientists and philosophers, Hume's critique and Darwin's theory of natural selection have definitely undermined the idea that we can draw any analogy from design in artifacts to design in nature. Here, we examine empirical studies from developmental and experimental psychology to investigate the cognitive basis of the design argument. From this it becomes clear that humans spontaneously discern purpose in nature. When constructed theologically and philosophically correctly, the design argument is not presented as conclusive evidence for God's existence but rather as an abductive, probabilistic argument. We examine the cognitive basis of probabilistic judgments in relationship to natural theology. Placing emphasis on how people assess improbable events, we clarify the intuitive appeal of Paley's watch analogy. We conclude that the reason why some scientists find the design argument compelling and others do not lies not in any intrinsic differences in assessing design in nature but rather in the prior probability they place on complexity being produced by chance events or by a Creator. This difference provides atheists and theists with a rational basis for disagreement.     

Holistic face processing is penetrable … depending on the composite design

Holistic processing (HP) of faces is usually measured by the composite effect. While Weston and Perfect [2005. Effects of processing bias on the recognition of composite face halves. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12, 1038–1042. doi:10.3758/BF03206440] found that priming at the local level speeded recognition of components of faces, Gao et al. [2011. Priming global and local processing of composite faces: Revisiting the processing-bias effect on face perception. Attention Perception & Psychophysics, 73, 1477–1486. doi:10.3758/s13414-011-0109-7] found that only global priming had an effect on HP of faces. The two studies used different versions of the composite task (the partial design, which is considered to be prone on bias, and the complete design). However, the two studies also differed in other respects and it is difficult to know to what extent issues with the partial design contributed to the differing conclusions. In the present study, the HP indexed by the complete design measure was augmented by global priming. In contrast, no effect was observed in the partial design index. We claim that the partial design index reflects other factors besides HP, including response bias, and conclude that HP can be understood within the context of domain-general attentional processes.     

Clinical supervision in cognitive behavior therapy improves therapists’ competence: a single-case experimental pilot study

ABSTRACT

Clinical supervision is a cornerstone in psychotherapists’ training but there are few empirical evaluations on the effects of supervision on therapists’ competencies. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the effects of standardized supervision on rater-assessed competency in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Six therapists with basic training in CBT were provided with protocol-based clinical supervision in CBT in a single-case experimental multiple baseline design. The supervision focused on specific CBT competencies and used experiential learning methods such as role-play. Each therapist recorded weekly treatment sessions during phases without and with supervision. The therapists’ CBT competence was assessed by third-party raters using the Revised Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS-R). Statistical analyses showed that the therapists’ CTS-R scores increased significantly during the phase with supervision with a mean item increase of M = 0.71 (range = 0.50–1.0) on the supervision focus areas. This is one of the first empirical studies that can confirm that supervision affect CBT competencies. The results also suggest that supervision can be manualized and that supervisees have a positive perception of more active training methods. Further studies are needed to replicate the results and to find ways to improve the impact of supervision.     

元认知监测与算术知识制约小学儿童心算策略运用能力的发展:一年纵向考察

为探究元认知监测与算术知识对儿童心算策略运用能力的影响如何随个体发展而变化，采用计算机任务与纸笔测量的方法，对85名小学三、五年级儿童进行了历时一年的纵向追踪研究。研究发现：（1）两组儿童的元认知监测和算术知识均呈增长趋势，算术知识的增长速度五年级显著快于三年级，且元认知监测增长速度与算术知识增长速度显著相关；（2）两组儿童中，元认知监测与算术知识增长速度更快的个体策略执行反应时与错误率的减少速度也更快；（3）五年级儿童的算术知识在元认知监测影响策略选择发展中起着完全中介作用。     

From false belief to friendship: Commentary on Fink,Begeer, Peterson,Slaughter, and de Rosnay

Fink, Begeer, Peterson, Slaughter, and de Rosnay (Brit. J. Dev. Psychol, 2015; 33, 1–17) represent a welcome contribution in providing empirical evidence of the link from false belief understanding at Time 1 to mutual friendship 2 years later, controlling for several other possible contributors. This opens a new and important line of inquiry into the practical significance of a Theory of Mind. As is typical of pioneering research, further study is needed to address some issues; here, we point out some of these issues and then briefly discuss the broader implications of Fink et al.'s findings.