Different forms of causation in dynamical systems: Determinism,pattern generation,and information

The standpoint that three fundamentally inequivalent classes of system behavior exist, which deserve separate tools for their characterization, is developed. These classes are: determinism, pattern generation, and information. A simple explanation for the origin of these classes is given. The three classes are shown to correspond to the different possible ways in which the properties of the components of a system unfold in the course of the system's processes. Determinism will be defined as a form of causation in which the properties causing the behavior are factually the same as the ones which for the observer specify the current conditions of the system. As a consequence, deterministic systems can be characterized by state equations that describe how the observable properties change. Pattern generation is characterized here as a form of causation in which the observable properties and the behavior‐generating properties correspond to each other as one to the many. Consequently, we experience in terms of the observable properties a branching behavior which is characterized by a pattern of selections at the branching points, a pattern that stands in close correspondence with the visually perceivable patterns and forms, generated by the system's dynamics. Information will be understood as a name for a process and an instance of causation where properties that cause behavior differ from those which we directly observe. The behavior of the system appears to be a consequence of the content of information hidden in the components. This information is, in turn, epistemologically equivalent to the very causal process in which it is unfolded.     

The impact of smart driving aids on driving performance and driver distraction

In-vehicle information systems (IVIS) have been shown to increase driver workload and cause distraction, both of which are causal factors for accidents. This simulator study evaluates the impact that two prototype ergonomic designs for a smart driving aid have on workload, distraction and driving performance. Scenario complexity was also manipulated as an independent variable. Results showed that real-time delivery of smart driving information did not increase driver workload or adversely affect driver distraction, while also having the positive effect of decreasing mean driving speed in both the simple and complex driving scenarios. Subjective workload was shown to increase with task difficulty, as well as revealing important differences between the two interface designs. The findings are relevant to the development and implementation of smart driving interface designs in the future.     

多属性决策任务中焦虑型个体的信息加工特点研究

该研究以多属性职业选项为材料,采用计算机化的信息板技术初步考察了焦虑型个体在多属性决策过程中的信息加工特点,结果表明焦虑型个体与非焦虑个体的决策过程有所不同。主要表现在与非焦虑型的决策者相比,焦虑型的被试在决策过程中对职业属性的加工时间更长,加工的信息也更多;在决策前后他们对完成决策任务的信心水平评估都很低,但是在搜索模式上焦虑型的决策者与非焦虑型的决策者没有差别。在研究的讨论部分对焦虑型个体决策过程中信息加工特点的原因进行了分析。     

Maximum Likelihood Methods in Treating Outliers and Symmetrically Heavy-Tailed Distributions for Nonlinear Structural Equation Models with Missing Data

By means of more than a dozen user friendly packages, structural equation models (SEMs) are widely used in behavioral, education, social, and psychological research. As the underlying theory and methods in these packages are vulnerable to outliers and distributions with longer-than-normal tails, a fundamental problem in the field is the development of robust methods to reduce the influence of outliers and the distributional deviation in the analysis. In this paper we develop a maximum likelihood (ML) approach that is robust to outliers and symmetrically heavy-tailed distributions for analyzing nonlinear SEMs with ignorable missing data. The analytic strategy is to incorporate a general class of distributions into the latent variables and the error measurements in the measurement and structural equations. A Monte Carlo EM (MCEM) algorithm is constructed to obtain the ML estimates, and a path sampling procedure is implemented to compute the observed-data log-likelihood and then the Bayesian information criterion for model comparison. The proposed methodologies are illustrated with simulation studies and an example. The research described herein was fully supported by a grant (CUHK 4243/03H) from the Rearch Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region. The authors are thankful to the Editor, the Associate Editor, and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments which improve the paper significantly, and are grateful to ICPSR and the relevant funding agency for allowing the use of their data. Requests for reprints should be sent to S. Y. Lee, Department of Statistics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N. T., Hong Kong.     

临床医生如何应对社会发展对医疗的影响

目前我国的网络及教育均有了长足的进步,信息量迅速增加,信息技术得到了充分的发展,人们获取信息的手段更加便捷,信息不对称较以前有了很大的变化,这些都对医学产生了重大的影响。临床医生必须及时认识到这种变化及发展,及时改变自己的学习、思维及医疗行为模式,这样才能根据不同情况做出最适合的医疗决策,才能更好地履行自己的职责。     

A Computer Scientist's Perspective on Chaos and Mystery

James E. Huchingson's Pandemonium Tremendum draws on a surprisingly fruitful analogy between metaphysics and thermodynamics, with the latter motivated through the more accessible language of communication theory. In Huchingson's model, God nurtures creation by the selective communication of bits of order that arise spontaneously in chaos.     

Television Advertising Disclosures: An Empirical Assessment

Televised advertising disclosures are supposedly designed to supply consumers with important information for decision-making. From the perspective of models of information processing, however, these disclosures may well be improperly conceived and executed. Disclaimers presented in other media are also challenged, though television represents a special case because of consumers' inability to control the processing situation (e.g., to study the disclaimer at length if desired) and because of the extensive use of disclaimers in this medium. In this study, televised advertising disclosures are examined experimentally and found generally to be ineffective. Resultant suggestions for researchers and policy-makers are developed.     

短期学习对陌生面孔认知绩效的影响

本文研究了不同的短期学习时间对陌生面孔的绝对辩认绩效的影响。结果表明：(1)0．5分、1分、5分这三种不同的短期学习时间对陌生面孔的绝对辩认绩效没有明显的影响。(2)人们对人脸结构信息的改变非常敏感,当结构信息变动4．88个象素(或9．13’)时,被试对陌生面孔的平均正确绝对辩认率可达到75％以上。(3)在对陌生人脸的绝对辩认中,被试的正确辩认率随着结构信息变化量的增加而提高,趋势分为快速增长区和迟滞增长区两个区域。     

论网络环境下医学文献信息资源的共建共享

分析网络环境下实现医学文献信息资源共享必须具备的条件以及实现医学文献信息资源共享必须解决的问题,并提出相应的解决办法.