Nonparametric item response theory axioms and properties under nonlinearity and their exemplification with knowledge space theory

This paper investigates the dichotomous Mokken nonparametric item response theory (IRT) axioms and properties under incomparabilities among latent trait values and items. Generalized equivalents of the unidimensional nonparametric IRT axioms and properties are formulated for nonlinear (quasi-ordered) person and indicator spaces. It is shown that monotone likelihood ratio (MLR) for the total score variable and nonlinear latent trait implies stochastic ordering (SO) of the total score variable, but may fail to imply SO of the nonlinear latent trait. The reason for this and conditions under which the implication holds are specified, based on a new, simpler proof of the fact that in the unidimensional case MLR implies SO. The approach is applied in knowledge space theory (KST), a combinatorial test theory. This leads to a (tentative) Mokken-type nonparametric axiomatization in the currently parametric theory of knowledge spaces. The nonparametric axiomatization is compared with the assumptions of the parametric basic local independence model which is fundamental in KST. It is concluded that this paper may provide a first step toward a basis for a possible fusion of the two split directions of psychological test theories IRT and KST.     

弯曲时空理论与生物体DNA双螺旋结构

对爱因斯坦的"弯曲时空"理论与生物体DNA双螺旋结构的相关性进行了哲理性思考:控制生命时间程序的生物钟基因编码及调控细胞分裂的正、负向基因对应表达的严格时间程序,在DNA双螺旋结构上可能具有"时空弯曲"的原理.地球上不同经纬度地区的时间流行病学特征应该具有相对同时性.     

Relativity and Religion: The Abuse of Einstein's Theory

Einstein's special theory of relativity has had a wide influence on fields far removed from physics. It has given the impression that physics has shown that there are now no absolute truths, that all beliefs are relative to the observer, and that traditional stable landmarks have been washed away. We each have our own frame of reference that is as good as any other frame, so that there are no absolute standards by which our actions may be judged. The predictions of relativity theory, such as the elimination of simultaneity, the variation of mass with velocity, and the equivalence of mass and energy, are all highly counterintuitive and yet are precisely confirmed by detailed measurements. The clear rocklike mechanical physics of Newton seems to have dissolved into a swirling mist of unintelligible concepts, and familiar certainties seem to have disappeared. A detailed analysis of relativity theory shows, however, a completely different picture. Properly understood, it is a logical extension of Newtonian physics that expresses the relations of space and time in a more exact and elegant way and in the process shows forth more clearly the invariant features of the world. The apparently counterintuitive features appear as natural consequences that extend and refine our classical concepts. The traditional landmarks remain, but God's world is more subtle than we had previously imagined.     

Primal seduction, matricial space and asymmetry in the psychoanalytic encounter

Wishing to highlight the asymmetric dimension that characterizes ethics as 'responsibility toward the other' in Levinas's philosophy, the author presents as an introduction three related concepts of Levinas's thinking: the caress, the face, the saying. Following some poetic narrative reflections offered as 'interlude' moments, the author seeks to bring together her concept of 'matricial space' inspired by Levinas's conception of ethics and the Laplanchian concept of 'primal seduction', both based on asymmetry. She suggests adding to Laplanche's proposition of two kinds of transference (filled-in transference and hollowed-out transference) a third kind: the matricial-space transference. She argues that together with the hollowed-out transference, which is related to the primal seduction, the matricial-space transference, which relates to the matricial position in the parent/analyst, is provoked by the analyst. If the hollowed-out transference assures the moving-on of the analysis, the matricial-space transference, in combination with the hollowed-out transference, is prerequisite for transformation to occur and may be deciphered specifically in 'impasse' situations, at what she coined 'subjectal moments'. As a conclusion, while insisting on the need for asymmetry in the analytic encounter, she suggests the existence in the human neonate of a need for ethics, and she questions the origin of the human capacity to be responsible toward the other. She illustrates her argument using clinical material from her own work alongside that of other authors.     

Perspective taking in children and adults: Equivalent egocentrism but differential correction

Children generally behave more egocentrically than adults when assessing another's perspective. We argue that this difference does not, however, indicate that adults process information less egocentrically than children, but rather that adults are better able to subsequently correct an initial egocentric interpretation. An experiment tracking participants' eye movements during a referential communication task indicated that children and adults were equally quick to interpret a spoken instruction egocentrically but differed in the speed with which they corrected that interpretation and looked at the intended (i.e., non-egocentric) object. The existing differences in egocentrism between children and adults therefore seems less a product of where people start in their perspective taking process than where they stop, with lingering egocentric biases among adults produced by insufficient correction of an automatic moment of egocentrism. We suggest that this pattern of similarity in automatic, but not controlled, processes may explain between-group differences in a variety of dual-process judgments.     

Measuring perceived ceiling height in a visual comparison task

When judging interior space, a dark ceiling is judged to be lower than a light ceiling. The method of metric judgments (e.g., on a centimetre scale) that has typically been used in such tasks may reflect a genuine perceptual effect or it may reflect a cognitively mediated impression. We employed a height-matching method in which perceived ceiling height had to be matched with an adjustable pillar, thus obtaining psychometric functions that allowed for an estimation of the point of subjective equality (PSE) and the difference limen (DL). The height-matching method developed in this paper allows for a direct visual match and does not require metric judgment. It has the added advantage of providing superior precision. Experiment 1 used ceiling heights between 2.90?m and 3.00?m. The PSE proved sensitive to slight changes in perceived ceiling height. The DL was about 3% of the physical ceiling height. Experiment 2 found similar results for lower (2.30?m to 2.50?m) and higher (3.30?m to 3.50?m) ceilings. In Experiment 3, we additionally varied ceiling lightness (light grey vs. dark grey). The height matches showed that the light ceiling appeared significantly higher than the darker ceiling. We therefore attribute the influence of ceiling lightness on perceived ceiling height to a direct perceptual rather than a cognitive effect.     

Mars: Science Before Settlement

I review Mars science goals, including those associated with the study of Mars’ past and present habitability, as well as those associated with understanding Mars’ atmosphere and climate. I argue that Mars settlement initiatives would likely frustrate attempts to satisfy many of these goals, and therefore that it would be prudent for the Mars science community to prioritize those investigations most threatened by human settlement of Mars.     

‘Everyone who wants to,can be a Körtti’: how young people negotiate the religious space of a revivalist movement

19th century Protestant revivalist movements have played an important role in Nordic societies at large. In this article, I explore young people’s socio-spatial construction of the Awakening movement, one of the largest traditional yet vibrant revivalist movements under the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. In doing so, I aim to reveal how youths define their collective religious identity in a time when non-institutional and private emphasis on religion prevails. In addition, vague membership, ritual-centred participation, and the significance of the annual gathering raise topical questions regarding belonging. I build my analysis on Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of social space. The research data consist of interviews with young people (aged 14–18) and the narratives the young people wrote themselves. These data are complemented with my observations from the movement’s summer gathering. The findings reveal the agency of the young people as ‘inhabitants’ (Lefebvre) of tradition-based religious space.     

Hearing Spaces

In this paper I argue that empty space can be heard. This position contrasts with the generally held view that the only things that can be heard are sounds, their properties, echoes, and perhaps sound sources. Specifically, I suggest that when sounds reverberate in enclosed environments we auditorily represent the volume of space surrounding us. Clearly, we can learn the approximate size of an enclosed space through hearing a sound reverberate within it, and so any account that denies that we hear empty space must instead show how beliefs about volumes of space can be derived indirectly from what is heard. That is, if space is not auditorily represented when we hear sounds reverberate, what is? I consider whether hearing reverberation can be thought of as hearing a distinct sound, hearing echoes, or hearing a property of a sound. I argue that experiences of reverberation cannot be reduced to the perception of any of these types and that therefore empty space is represented in auditory perceptual content. In the final section I outline two ways in which space might be represented.