An empirical investigation into carpooling behaviour for sustainability

Carpooling is a sustainable, economical, and environmental friendly solution that can significantly reduce air pollution and traffic congestion in urban areas. In spite of its numerous benefits, commuters are still skeptic about adopting it as a routine choice for transportation. This study attempts to map commuters’ attitude towards carpooling services. The study has focused on a few motivational constructs that can have an influence on commuters’ behavior. The study has looked at the role of cognitive complexity and empowerment perceptions of commuters to check if these constructs significantly intervene in the behavioral outcomes. The methodology used is a scenario-based 2 × 2 survey design where the sample is an individual who has experience with carpooling. The survey has used two levels (high, low) each of cognitive complexity and psychological empowerment to give rise to four scenarios. The final sample consisted of 400 carpoolers selected from an IT park having more than 5000 employees. MANOVA analysis showed that cognitive complexity and psychological empowerment had significant influence on the motivational constructs used in the study. Value beliefs, safety and platform quality perceptions were found to have a direct impact on attitude formation and intention to engage in carpooling behavior. The findings offer many implications for managers in the sense that that they can focus on creating suitable communication that creates favorable perceptions towards carpooling to bring about better adoption intentions.     

The social dynamics involved in recovery and return to sport following a sport-related concussion: A study of three athlete-teammate-coach triads

An athlete's connection to their team and team members is an important part of their sport experience. However, researchers currently know little about the nature of these social dynamics with respect to concussed athletes. Our study explored athletes' recovery and reintegration into the team environment following a sport-related concussion. We conducted semi-structured interviews with each member of three athlete-teammate-coach triads (N = 9). We analysed the data using thematic narrative analysis and present the results as three stories that focused on each athlete's experience. For Cassie, we found two major plot points in her story: the transition in her role (and shift in identity) from athlete to student assistant coach/team manager and, once recovered, back to an athlete on the team. For Jess, we found that the main plot in her story was “pressure”. Specifically, the interplay between internal (placed on herself) and external (perceived from teammates and coaches) pressures to return to sport. In the third and final story, the main plot point was the tensions that arose from Jaden's preferences for social support and the type of support that his teammates and coaches believed he needed during his recovery. Our results highlight the interplay between athlete's personal and social identities, feelings of pressure to return and readiness, and the challenges of providing the right amount and type of social support. This research contributes to our limited understanding of the social dynamics involved in athletes' return to sport following a concussion.     

γ节律神经振荡：反映自闭症多感觉整合失调的一项重要生物指标

多感觉整合是对不同感官信息进行选择、联系、统一乃至解释的加工过程, 它需要神经系统不同功能区域的共同投入与相互协调, 以实现多种感觉信息的时间捆绑以及全局性的预测编码。而γ神经振荡因具有反映神经皮层兴奋/抑制的平衡状况, 实现多感官信息的时间同步, 以及通过跨频耦合实现全局性预测编码的特点, 在多感觉整合的加工过程中发挥着重要作用。相比正常个体, 自闭症患者神经系统中的GABA中间神经元存在结构与功能异常, 导致γ神经振荡紊乱, 由此破坏了正常的时间同步以及预测编码加工, 并最终引发多感觉整合失调。基于上述因果关联, 未来研究可结合无创可逆性干预技术, 以γ节律神经振荡为生物反馈指标, 形成科学系统化的临床干预治疗方案。     

创造力产生过程中的神经振荡机制

创造力究竟是怎么产生的, 目前尚未得出一致的结论。神经电生理技术因其高时间分辨率, 可以准确地揭示创造力产生进程中的神经振荡机制, 从而帮助人们更深刻地理解创造力的本质。近年来的研究发现, 单节律alpha神经振荡会随着创造力的增加而增强, 这反映了创造力产生过程中的内部信息加工需求增加、自上而下的抑制控制增强。同时, 多频段神经振荡交叉节律耦合体现了创造性产生过程中额叶、颞叶和顶叶等多脑区之间信息交流的动态变化。未来研究应该以整合理论框架为基础, 结合多层次多方法的研究工具, 引进更生态化的数理计算方法, 并利用计算神经科学建模来预测个体创造力发展趋势, 从而全面深刻地认识创造力的本质。     

中国人限制性饮食和食物渴求的认知神经机制

物质丰富的时代, 如何抵御美味食物线索带来的食物渴求, 并限制饮食从而保持健康成为人们关注的重要话题之一。近年来, 国内学者为了探讨节食成功的原因, 创建中国食物图片库, 考察限制性饮食的认知神经机制, 以及成功和失败限制性饮食者的脑机制差异; 开展了特质食物渴求及中国特色的辣食渴求的认知神经研究。对推进饮食行为研究的理论发展, 也为肥胖、饮食失调等健康干预工作提供重要支持。     

音乐愉悦体验的神经机制

愉悦情绪体验是音乐活动中最普遍的心理现象。通过系统回顾相关的神经科学研究, 认为音乐愉悦体验与大脑奖赏系统的活动有关, 并涉及伏隔核与听觉皮层等其他脑区的交互。在这个过程中, 多巴胺的传递与音乐愉悦体验存在因果联系。基于预期视角, 奖赏预测误差理论和音乐信息理论模型可以解释音乐愉悦体验的产生机制。未来研究应进一步检验伏隔核及各皮层在音乐愉悦体验中的功能, 并整合不同的预期理论。     

心理因素与学业表现：机器学习分类预测模型

随着高等教育规模的扩大,学业表现不良逐渐成为一个不容忽视的现象,对学业表现不良的学生进行预测并提早给予干预可降低退学率并减少教育资源的损失。由于导致学业表现不良的因素众多且关系复杂,传统的基于相关分析的研究方法很难建立早期预测模型并进行应用。本研究旨在利用机器学习算法,对数据进行挖掘,并建立学业表现预测模型。研究对653名大一新生的心理健康状况、应对方式、人格、内外控倾向和相关人口统计学信息进行了收集,并在一年后采集了其学业成绩,利用随机森林(RF)、K邻近（KNN）、支持向量机（SVM）、决策树（DT）、朴素贝叶斯（NB）等机器学习算法建立了分类模型。结果显示,随机森林算法在识别学业表现不良学生时有最好的表现,其中准确率95.86%, 召回率91.83%,f1分数为93.80%。特征重要性分析显示,前10个对模型有最高贡献度的特征包括：年龄、性别、是否为独生子、内外控倾向、神经质倾向、积极应对倾向、宜人性倾向、一般症状指数、开放性倾向和焦虑水平。为避免过度拟合问题,本研究在一年后收集的166名新生样本中进行了模型验证,结果显示模型在新数据集上有较好的泛化表现,其中f1分数90.90％,准确率92.60％,召回率89.26％。研究提示基于人口统计学和心理测评信息,机器学习算法有助于及早识别学业表现不良学生并为开展早期干预提供启示。     

Evolution and the nonlegal equivalent of aggressive criminal behavior

Within the framework of modern evolutionary theory, arguments are reviewed that the nonlegal equivalent of aggressive criminal behavior may have evolved by natural selection among mammals, particularly primates, as part of their overall approach to reproduction. If so, the commission of aggressive crimes (or their nonlegal equivalent) by humans, and even efforts to prevent fellow social group members from being victimized by aggressive crimes, may also be partially explainable in natural selection terms. The plausibility of this deduction was explored, first, by specifying the three elements that a human act must have to be regarded as an aggressive crime. Summarily, these were that (1) injury to a victim must be a likely result of the act, (2) the act must be intended, and (3) the act must elicit negative responses from those witnessing it. The primate behavior literature was examined for evidence that some behavior of nonhumans met all three conditions. Affirmative results were obtained. Therefore, while further research is in order, human aggressive criminal behavior, as well as human efforts to control it, seem to have close parallels in other primates. This would be consistent with the notion that aggressive criminal behavior (along with its condemnation by fellow group members) is part of a social system produced and sustained by natural selection.     

Generating interior search directions for multiobjective linear programming

A new multiobjective linear programming (MOLP) algorithm is presented. The algorithm uses a variant of Karmarkar's interior-point algorithm known as the affine-scaling primal algorithm. Using this single-objective algorithm, interior search directions are generated and used to provide an approximation to the gradient of the (implicitly known) utility function. The approximation is guided by assessing locally relevant preference information for the various interior directions through interaction with a decision maker (DM). The resulting algorithm is an interactive approach that makes its progress towards the solution through the interior of the constraints polytope.     

Remembrances of parental rejection are associated with loneliness as mediated by psychological maladjustment in young Bangladeshi men but not women

Loneliness is a significant public health issue that affects young adults. This investigation drew from interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory to understand how remembrances of parental rejection contributed to psychological maladjustment and loneliness in Bangladeshi college students (N = 300; 50% female). Students reported their remembrances of mothers' and fathers' acceptance-rejection, their current psychological maladjustment, and loneliness. Remembrances of rejection by parents in childhood were associated with psychological maladjustment (hostility/aggression, negative self-esteem, negative self-adequacy, emotional unresponsiveness, emotional instability, and negative worldview) for young adult men and women. Psychological maladjustment, in turn, was associated with feelings of loneliness in young adulthood for young men, but not women. Remembrances of parental rejection were also associated with greater hostility and aggression over and above general psychological functioning among both men and women. Findings are discussed in the context of different social and structural features of young adulthood for women and men in Bangladesh.