On the Meaning of Words and Dinosaur Bones: Lexical Knowledge Without a Lexicon

Although for many years a sharp distinction has been made in language research between rules and words—with primary interest on rules—this distinction is now blurred in many theories. If anything, the focus of attention has shifted in recent years in favor of words. Results from many different areas of language research suggest that the lexicon is representationally rich, that it is the source of much productive behavior, and that lexically specific information plays a critical and early role in the interpretation of grammatical structure. But how much information can or should be placed in the lexicon? This is the question I address here. I review a set of studies whose results indicate that event knowledge plays a significant role in early stages of sentence processing and structural analysis. This poses a conundrum for traditional views of the lexicon. Either the lexicon must be expanded to include factors that do not plausibly seem to belong there; or else virtually all information about word meaning is removed, leaving the lexicon impoverished. I suggest a third alternative, which provides a way to account for lexical knowledge without a mental lexicon.     

Driver performance due to small unmanned aerial system applications in the vicinity of roadways

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), or drones, have become increasingly utilized for a myriad of applications in the vicinity of roadways and can offer a low-cost alternative to many labor-intensive data collection techniques, including infrastructure inspection, roadway marking data collection, and more. To collect much of this data with a desired degree of accuracy, sUAS must be flown near moving vehicles, pedestrians, and/or bicyclists. However, sUAS, and their operators, have the potential to be a distraction to drivers. Through a full-immersion driver simulator study and post-experiment questionnaire, this study furthered the current state-of-the-literature and investigated the potential for sUAS to be flown in the vicinity of roadways in the future as well as potential safety implications of those circumstances. Specifically, driver performance due to drone height and the presence of drone operators was evaluated. The results of the driving simulation study revealed that participants were more visually distracted in situations where the operators and drone were both present compared to the drone only scenarios. Furthermore, in 11% of all analyzed situations, drivers were critically visually-distracted as shown by a continuous glance of two seconds or more at the drone or operators. The post-experiment questionnaire revealed that approximately 30% of participants had seen a drone in flight near a roadway prior to this study. Ultimately, this research provides recommendations to policymakers for creating regulations on the use of sUAS in the vicinity of roadways.     

Representing decision-makers using styles of behavior: An approach designed for group decision support systems

Supporting decision-making processes when the elements of a group are geographically dispersed and on a tight schedule is a complex task. Aiming to support decision-makers anytime and anywhere, Web-based group decision support systems have been studied. However, the limitations in the decision-makers’ interactions associated to this scenario bring new challenges. In this work, we propose a set of behavioral styles from which decision-makers’ intentions can be modelled into agents. The goal is that, besides having agents represent typical preferences of the decision-makers (towards alternatives and criteria), they can also represent their intentions. To do so, we conducted a survey with 64 participants in order to find homogeneous operating values so as to numerically define the proposed behavioral styles in four dimensions. In addition, we also propose a communication model that simulates the dialogues made by decision-makers in face-to-face meetings. We developed a prototype to simulate decision scenarios and found that agents are capable of acting according to the decision-makers’ intentions and fundamentally benefit from different possible behavioral styles, just as a face-to-face meeting benefits from the heterogeneity of its participants.     

The Impact of Cognitive Diversity on Crisis Negotiations

This paper reports on a series of experiments designed to assess the impact of grouping decision makers by level of cognitive complexity on the outcomes they attain in crisis negotiations. The participants—University of Maryland undergraduates who took roles in a simulated international hostage crisis—used a computer decision support system and a controlled network environment for communications. The goal of the experiments was to better understand the dynamics that lead certain types of groupings to have greater success in negotiations, and that lead certain groups of adversaries to achieve more mutually beneficial outcomes such as compromise and agreement. The findings point to a positive relationship between the level of homogeneity in cognitive complexity among decision makers and the achievement of positive outcomes in crisis negotiations.     

Confucian Order at the Edge of Chaos: The Science of Complexity and Ancient Wisdom

Many academics extol chaos theory and the science of complexity as significant scientific advances with application in such diverse fields as biology, anthropology, economics, and history. In this paper we focus our attention on structure-within-chaos and the dynamic self-organization of complex systems in the context of social philosophy. Although the modern formulation of the science of complexity has developed out of late-twentieth-century physics and computational mathematics, its roots may extend much deeper into classical thinking. We argue here that the essential ideas and predictions of the science of complexity are found within the social ordering principle of li (the rites) in Confucius's Analects .     

Sociobiology and Moral Discourse

In the intellectual lineage of sociobiology (understood as evolutionary social science), this article considers the place of moral discourse in the evolution of emergent systems for mediating behavior. Given that humans share molecular systems, reflex systems, drive systems, emotional systems, and cognitive systems with chimpanzees, why is it that human behavior is so radically different from chimpanzee behavior? The answer is that, unlike chimps, humans possess symbolic systems, empowering them to override chimplike default morality in favor of symbolically mediated moral codes. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the power of religious symbols to influence moral behavior by reprogramming emotional systems.     

Algorithmic Proof Methods and Cut Elimination for Implicational Logics Part I: Modal Implication

In this work we develop goal-directed deduction methods for the implicational fragment of several modal logics. We give sound and complete procedures for strict implication of K, T, K4, S4, K5, K45, KB, KTB, S5, G and for some intuitionistic variants. In order to achieve a uniform and concise presentation, we first develop our methods in the framework of Labelled Deductive Systems [Gabbay 96]. The proof systems we present are strongly analytical and satisfy a basic property of cut admissibility. We then show that for most of the systems under consideration the labelling mechanism can be avoided by choosing an appropriate way of structuring theories. One peculiar feature of our proof systems is the use of restart rules which allow to re-ask the original goal of a deduction. In case of K, K4, S4 and G, we can eliminate such a rule, without loosing completeness. In all the other cases, by dropping such a rule, we get an intuitionistic variant of each system. The present results are part of a larger project of a goal directed proof theory for non-classical logics; the purpose of this project is to show that most implicational logics stem from slight variations of a unique deduction method, and from different ways of structuring theories. Moreover, the proof systems we present follow the logic programming style of deduction and seem promising for proof search [Gabbay and Reyle 84, Miller et al. 91].     

Psychometric Properties of the Family Support Scale with Head Start Families

Social support systems can have either a beneficial or adverse effect when a family faces stress. Hence, support perceived by family members is an important construct. We studied the psychometric properties of the Family Support Scale (FSS) with a sample of 244 low-income families of children in a Head Start program, and we conducted an exploratory factor analysis with the scale. We obtained a 5-factor solution for the FSS when assessing the family support of low-income families. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were moderately high for the 5 proposed subscales. The factor structure obtained may prove more valid for Head Start families than structures from previous studies, although there is still a need for further psychometric study of the FSS.     

Le momentum psychologique en sport : vers une perspective complexe et dynamique

Psychological momentum (PM) is a social phenomenon that has triggered the curiosity of sport psychologists since the early 1980s. From early to recent conceptualizations, PM has been considered as a complex construct, inherently related to variations in sport performance. Over the past 30 years, several models have been proposed to untangle how PM is triggered, which psychological changes are involved in PM experiences, and how PM relates to performance. While linear (causal) models have dominated past research on PM, researchers have recently found that PM can change nonlinearly, depending on the performance history of the competition. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of different PM models that have been proposed in the past to increase insights into the complexity of PM, including the transition from linear causal models to nonlinear dynamical models. Moreover, based on the current state of affairs, perspectives for future research are provided.     

L’effet du contrôle comportemental,l’auto-efficacité et la charge subjective de travail sur l’intention d’usage d’un progiciel de gestion intégré

The aim of this paper is to explain the variance of intent for adopting enterprise resource planning systems (ERP). Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM, Davis, 1989), we studied the impact of self-efficacy and two regulatory elements effectiveness: behavioral control and subjective workload that may influence the usefulness, usability and the intention to use an ERP system. The results of this quantitative study develop a revised TAM highlighting the synergy between the variables mentioned and dimensions of subjective workload in a Tunisian airline enterprise.