Pokemon gaming causes pedestrians to run a red light: An observational study of crossing behaviours at a signalised intersection in Taipei City

Since the launch of the smartphone game “Pokemon Go”, the worldwide craze has led to numerous traffic crashes and injuries resulting from falling or tripping. This paper investigates the effects of several smartphone distracting activities (gaming, talking, texting, Web surfing, and listening to music) on the street-crossing behaviours of pedestrians in Taipei City, Taiwan. A field study using video cameras was conducted to observe pedestrian crossing behaviours (e.g., crossing time, sudden movements, running a red light, and walking outside the crosswalk) at a selected signalised intersection. Data such as phone features, distracting activities, and personal attributes of the pedestrians were obtained in interviews conducted after pedestrians had completed crossing the street. In total, 1995 pedestrians engaging in various smartphone activities were observed. Results indicate that unsafe crossing behaviours were more prevalent among those playing “Pokemon Go”. Texting via instant-message apps appeared to be the second-most risk distracting activity. Results of the logistic models reveal that contributing factors to unsafe behaviours include being a student, phone screen of 5 in. or larger, and having an unrestricted 4G Internet data allowance. Two interaction terms (gaming × students, and gaming × unlimited 4G data allowance) in the models appear to be important determinants of unsafe crossing behaviours. The current research suggests that to prevent potential crashes and injuries, smartphone gaming while crossing the street should be prohibited.     

The effect of time constraints and personality facets on general cognitive ability (GCA) assessment

General cognitive ability (GCA) is a recognized construct for predicting job performance and capacity to learn. However, it has recently been argued that the time constraints under which GCA is assessed might provoke test anxiety, which negatively biases GCA scores. This can then lead to erroneous rejection of qualified candidates in personnel hiring contexts. This paper aimed to investigate: (1) to what extent candidates’ GCA scores increase when tested without time constraints and the ability of this GCA score to predict job performance; and (2) the personality characteristics that hinder GCA test performance under time constraints. Results from two field studies conducted in an actual personnel selection context partially confirmed the hypotheses. They revealed that, aside from the improvement of all candidates’ GCA scores when time constraint was removed, only GCA assessed without time constraints predicts job performance. Furthermore, while all candidates’ scores were influenced by the time constraint condition, individuals who are anxious, low-impulse, low value-questioning and deliberating are more penalized by the time constraint condition of such testing and, thus, are more likely to be erroneously eliminated in a selection process.     

Ethical breaches and deviations of method in psychoanalysis: A heuristic model for the differentiation of boundary transgressions in psychoanalytic work

The boundary concept has been central to discussions on ethics and psychoanalysis over the past few decades. The main distinction has been between less malignant boundary crossings and more harmful violations. More recently, the concept has been criticized as not discriminating between technique and ethics. The author argues that these problems are connected to the way the boundary concept is defined. He suggests that it is specified to indicate a delimitation of an analytic area of conduct. In an analogous manner, an area of ethical conduct is framed by a boundary between ethical and unethical actions in the treatment situation. The analytic area has a narrower limitation than ethics and a stricter articulation of its concept of attitude; not all unanalytic actions are unethical. This simple model of interpersonally specified boundaries allows us to discriminate between different kinds of transgression in analytic work. In addition to violations and crossings, a third instance is described denoting a transgression of the analytic but not the ethical boundary. These can be called boundary stretchings, and are either intended or unintended deviations of method. The slippery slope mechanism of ethical misconduct is an imminent risk if boundary stretchings are ignored and not subject to scrutiny and analysis.     

Public Option Versus the Market: Perceived Value Violations Drive Opposition to Healthcare Reform

The debate over healthcare reform in the United States has been divisive. Research demonstrates that beliefs that policy beneficiaries violate values strongly predict opposition to these policies. Similar dynamics may be happening regarding opposition to healthcare reform. Specifically, this study tested the hypothesis that opposition to a public option in healthcare reform results from stereotypes that public‐option beneficiaries violate values. In two studies utilizing three samples, beliefs about beneficiaries violating values of hard work consistently predicted opposition to a public option and an alternative market‐based healthcare reform plan, often proposed by public‐option opponents. Results also suggest that assertions that a public option would lead to bigger government increases opposition to a public option by indirectly masking underlying stereotypes about value violations.     

Men's grooming in the Latter-day Saints Church: A qualitative study of norm violation

The role of personal grooming as an indicator of commitment to church hierarchy is examined in a study of one congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Latter-day Saints Church policy urges men to be clean-shaven. In the present study, we interview all men in one ward who have worn beards or mustaches, in order to investigate questions of authority, identity, and conflict that occurred as a result of violating the grooming norm. Interviewees describe an identity conflict, with self-expression conflicting with the desire to demonstrate faithfulness to their church. In some cases, they reconcile the conflict by conforming to the norm; in others, they violate the norm out of a sense of asserting their own identity, but this comes at a cost of distance from their church identity.     

Plane of Motion Mediates the Coalition of Constraints in Rhythmic Bimanual Coordination

The authors hypothesized that the modulation of coordinative stability and accuracy caused by the coalition of egocentric (neuromuscular) and allocentric (directional) constraints varies depending on the plane of motion in which coordination patterns are performed. Participants (N = 7) produced rhythmic bimanual movements of the hands in the sagittal plane (i.e., up-and-down oscillations resulting from flexion—extension of their wrists). The timing of activation of muscle groups, direction of movements, visual feedback, and across-trial movement frequency were manipulated. Results showed that both the egocentric and the allocentric constraints modulated pattern stability and accuracy. However, the allocentric constraint played a dominant role over the egocentric. The removal of vision only slightly destabilized movements, regardless of the effects of directional and (neuro)muscular constraints. The results of the present study hint at considering the plane in which coordination is performed as a mediator of the coalition of egocentric and allocentric constraints that modulates coordinative stability of rhythmic bimanual coordination.     

Roles of personal and environmental factors in the red light running propensity of pedestrian: Case study at the urban crosswalks

Pedestrian is vulnerable to mortality and severe injury in road crashes. Red light running violation of pedestrians is one of the leading causes to the crashes at signalized intersections, at which the crash involvement rates of pedestrians are high. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that affect the propensity of red light running of pedestrian. In this study, effects of both personal factors (pedestrians’ demographics and behavior) and environmental factors (presence and behavior of other pedestrians, signal time, and traffic condition) on the individual decision of red light running violation are examined, using the video observation surveys at the signalized crossings that are prone to pedestrian-vehicle crashes and have moderate pedestrian and vehicular traffic volumes in the urban area. Crossing behaviors of 6320 pedestrians are captured. Results of a random parameter logit model indicate that pedestrian gender, age, number of lanes, presence of a companion, number of pedestrians around, presence of other violators in the same cycle, time to green, red time, traffic volume, and percentage of heavy vehicles all affect the propensity of red light running violation of pedestrians. Also, there are significant interaction effects by pedestrian’s gender and age, presence of other violators, with a companion, and traffic volume on the propensity. Findings are indicative to the development of effective engineering, enforcement and educational initiatives combating the red light running violation behavior of pedestrians. Therefore, pedestrian safety level at the signalized intersections can be enhanced.     

Covenants and reputations

In their classic analyses, Hobbes and Hume argue that offensively violating a covenant is irrational because the offense ruins one’s reputation. This paper explores conditions under which reputation alone can enforce covenants. The members of a community are modeled as interacting in a Covenant Game repeated over time. Folk theorems are presented that give conditions under which the Humean strategy of performing in covenants only with those who have never offensively violated or performed with an offensive violator characterizes an equilibrium of the repeated Covenant Game. These folk theorems establish that for certain ideal settings Hobbes’ and Hume’s arguments against offensively violating covenants are compelling. However, these ideal settings presuppose that the community has certain mechanisms that generate common knowledge of the identities of those with whom one should perform. I analyze the results of computer simulations of the interactions in a community whose members must rely upon private communication alone. The computer simulation data show that in this community, reputation effects cannot effectively deter members from offensively violating covenants. I conclude that Hobbes’ and Hume’s warnings against offensive violation are compelling only on condition that the community is sufficiently structured to generate common knowledge among its members. I also conclude that even in such structured communities, the Humean strategy is not the uniquely “correct” policy.     

Commentary on Coefficient Alpha: A Cautionary Tale

The general use of coefficient alpha to assess reliability should be discouraged on a number of grounds. The assumptions underlying coefficient alpha are unlikely to hold in practice, and violation of these assumptions can result in nontrivial negative or positive bias. Structural equation modeling was discussed as an informative process both to assess the assumptions underlying coefficient alpha and to estimate reliability     

专家记忆优势效应理论的比较

依据专家记忆优势效应三个主要理论 (即模板理论、长时工作记忆理论和限制调节理论 )的不同特点选取变量 ,以中国象棋为实验材料 ,采用 2× 2× 2× 2混合设计 ,对三个理论进行检验比较。研究发现 :(1)被试在记忆棋局条件下的包含测验成绩 ,优于选择着法条件下的 ;(2 )棋局与棋手水平之间不存在显著的交互作用 ;(3)棋局与提取时的意识水平之间存在显著的交互作用 ,对局中的外显效应大于排局中的外显效应 ,而棋局的内隐效应则无显著差异。上述结果表明 ,相对而言 ,长时工作记忆理论能够对专家记忆优势效应作出合理的解释