Words, hemispheres, and processing mechanisms: A response to Marsolek and Deason (2007)

Ellis, Ansorge and Lavidor (2007) [Ellis, A.W., Ansorge, L., & Lavidor, M. (2007). Words, hemispheres, and dissociable subsystems: The effects of exposure duration, case alternation, priming and continuity of form on word recognition in the left and right visual fields. Brain and Language, 103, 292–303.] presented three experiments investigating the effects of exposure duration and format (normal vs mixed or alternating case) on the recognition of words presented in the left and right visual fields. The experiments were conducted within the framework of ‘dissociable neural subsystems theory’ developed by Marsolek and colleagues. Marsolek and Deason (2007) [Marsolek, C.J. & Deason, R.G. (2007). Hemispheric asymmetries in visual word-form processing: Progress, conflict, and evaluating theories. Brain and Language, 103, 304–307.] offer some reflections on our paper, including alternative interpretations of some of our findings. We respond to those reflections in this reply.     

犯罪行为决策的理论与研究方法

犯罪行为是犯罪人决策的结果。犯罪行为决策研究旨在通过运用认知心理学的有关原理,说明犯罪行为实施之前的行为决策过程及影响因素,其成果能为国家制定刑事政策与犯罪预防政策等提供理论依据。犯罪行为决策的理论模型主要可分为犯罪理性模型、犯罪期望效用模型和犯罪前景理论模型。犯罪行为决策的研究方法主要采用心理物理法、过程追踪法、访谈法、投射测验法和犯罪统计法等。展望未来,应进一步探讨犯罪行为决策的理性与非理性问题,并加强对犯罪行为决策的验证性研究。     

主管承诺理论研究述评

主管承诺（supervisory commitment or commitment to supervisor）是20世纪80年代以来在组织承诺（organizational commitment or commitment to organization）基础上发展起来的员工承诺理论的一个分支。对它的测量,学者们主要是借鉴Allen和Meyer与O’Reilly和Chatman对组织承诺的测量方法,目前属香港学者陈振雄的测量最为细致和全面。对影响主管承诺的前因,学者们目前探索到文化、感受主管支持（PSS）和领导—成员交换（LMX）三个因素。对主管承诺的结果,学者们普遍认为,主管承诺比组织承诺更能影响员工的工作绩效和组织公民行为（OCB）,但在对工作满意感和跳槽意图的影响上还存在不同的意见。另外,在目前大多数学者的研究中,主管承诺与组织承诺是并列关系,但Hunt和Morgan更主张二者是因果关系,而且是主管承诺带来组织承诺。在全面述评的基础上,作者对未来的研究提出了四点展望。     

On computing time-to-collision for automation scenarios

Time to collision (TTC) has been a key vehicle safety metric for decades. With the increasing prevalence of advanced driver assistance systems and vehicle automation, TTC and many related metrics are being applied to the analysis of more complicated scenarios, as well as being integrated into automation algorithms. While the TTC metric was originally conceived to be inclusive of generic two-dimensional situations, its applications has been mostly limited to one-dimensional scenarios. This paper derives general equations and algorithms using two-dimensional information. Additionally, methods from computational geometry, a field that didn’t exist when TTC was first used, are employed for the general case of computing TTC between bounding boxes. Parametric equations for lines play a prominent role and offer an elegant way to express the geometry of the scenarios described in this paper. Throughout, the approach is not to derive specific algebraic conditions as in previous efforts. Rather, the focus in on developing general algorithms for computation. The techniques presented are not necessary for traditional car following scenarios; but offer options for more complex situations that trade off analytic solutions for computational flexibility.     

Examining arguments against quantitative research: “Case studies” illustrating the challenge of finding a sound philosophical basis for a human sciences approach to psychology

This article offers a close examination of critiques of quantitative research by Michell, 2011, Marecek, 2011, and Morawski (2011). One goal is to show that these three critics actually share with most mainstream quantitative researchers commitments to the Cartesian framework, even though this is not obvious because Cartesianism can appear in different guises. As a result of these commitments, the three theorists advance criticisms of mainstream quantitative research that fail to identify its key failings, put forward flawed views about how we should conduct research, and offer misguided criticisms of an approach I advocate called explicitly interpretive quantitative research. Another goal is to use the examination of the three critiques as a vehicle for clarifying the participatory perspective, a philosophical viewpoint that departs from the Cartesian framework. With regard to research methodology, the participatory perspective provides the basis for explicitly interpretive quantitative research, leads to ideas about changes we should make in how we conduct qualitative research, and treats quantitative and qualitative research as fundamentally similar because both should be pursued as interpretive modes of inquiry. I suggest that my analyses of the three critiques of quantitative research – or “case studies,” as I call these analyses – also may prove useful to researchers and theorists who want to develop a human sciences approach to other issues besides research methodology by helping them (1) recognize when lines of thinking that seem to depart from the mainstream actually represent variants of Cartesianism, and (2) consider what the participatory perspective might have to offer if they were to use it as the philosophical basis for their efforts.     

Extensions of Rasch's multiplicative poisson model

Consideration will be given to a model developed by Rasch that assumes scores observed on some types of attainment tests can be regarded as realizations of a Poisson process. The parameter of the Poisson distribution is assumed to be a product of two other parameters, one pertaining to the ability of the subject and a second pertaining to the difficulty of the test. Rasch's model is expanded by assuming a prior distribution, with fixed but unknown parameters, for the subject parameters. The test parameters are considered fixed. Secondly, it will be shown how additional between- and within-subjects factors can be incorporated. Methods for testing the fit and estimating the parameters of the model will be discussed, and illustrated by empirical examples.     

Where Philosophy and Literature merge in the Platonic dialogues

It is no surprise if a good quality communication unit succeeds in seizing the attention of the intended audience (or readership) and is able to let people see precisely what the author wanted them to see, while avoiding that the average addressee become aware of what the author wants to convey in an almost subliminal way. In this respect Plato is no exception. Nevertheless the study of these resources, far from having been somewhat systematic, still is largely neglected, and only a minority of commentators find it important to pay head to the communicational strategies which are at work in Plato's dialogues. It will be argued that the shades of meaning and the contextualization of thought (a) systematically grant to Plato ample room for affecting the way a reader comes to perceive his points of doctrine and (b) often let him convey a biased perception of his arguments.The paper includes an outline of the already longstanding debate on these matters, a case study (Memo 80–82), and a sketchy typology of how the literary working-out is able to affect the reader's perception of the line of thought, esp. within the aporetic dialogues.     

Hyperalgebraic primitive elements for relational algebraic and topological algebraic models

Using nonstandard methods, we generalize the notion of an algebraic primitive element to that of an hyperalgebraic primitive element, and show that under mild restrictions, such elements can be found infinitesimally close to any given element of a topological field.Presented by Robert Goldblatt     

Multivariate modelling and personality organization: A comparative study of the Defense Mechanism Test and linguistic expressions

The main aim of the study is to establish an empirical connection between perceptual defences as measured by the Defense Mechanism Test (DMT)–a projective percept-genetic method–and manifest linguistic expressions based on word pattern analyses. The subjects were 25 psychiatric patients with the diagnoses neurotic personality organization (NPO), borderline personality organization (BPO) and psychotic personality organization (PPO) in accordance with Kernberg's theory. A set of 130 DMT variables and 40 linguistic variables were analyzed by means of partial least squares (PLS) discriminant analysis separately and then pooled together. The overall hypothesis was that it would be possible to define the personality organization of the patients in terms of an amalgam of perceptual defences and word patterns, and that these two kinds of data would confirm each other. The result of the combined PLS analysis revealed a very good separation between the diagnostic groups as measured by the pooled variable sets. Among other things, it was shown that NPO patients are principally characterized by linguistic variables, whereas BPO and PPO patients are better defined by perceptual defences as measured by the DMT method.     

APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL?

This paper examines Pfadt and Wheeler's (1995) suggestions that the methods of statistical process control (SPC) be incorporated into applied behavior analysis. The research strategies of SPC are examined and compared to those of applied behavior analysis. I argue that the statistical methods that are a part of SPC would likely reduce applied behavior analysts' intimate contacts with the problems with which they deal and would, therefore, likely yield poor treatment and research decisions. Examples of these kinds of results and decisions are drawn from the cases and data Pfadt and Wheeler present. This paper also describes and clarifies many common misconceptions about SPC, including W. Edwards Deming's involvement in its development, its relationship to total quality management, and its confusion with various other methods designed to detect sources of unwanted variability.