Close Encounters With the Midwest: Forming Identity in a Bicultural Context

This study uses semi-structured interviews to examine how 16 people of Latvian heritage negotiated their cultural identities in high school (retrospectively) and at midlife (concurrently). Participants' high school and midlife cultural identity patterns were coded as marginalized, separated, assimilated, alternating integrated, or blended integrated. Although eleven participants were found to have had marginalized, separated, or alternating integrated patterns in high school, all 16 had either assimilated or blended integrated patterns at midlife. Further, there is evidence that the contexts in which identity negotiation occurred—specifically, the rigidity of the participants' Latvian and American contexts in high school and their relative openness at midlife—influenced these changes in pattern. The findings also underscore the importance of taking into account within-group differences when studying how people negotiate their cultural identities.     

主题信息合理性、语境意义偏向性对汉语歧义句意义建构的影响

两个实验以合理型主题信息条件下的句子为对照材料．其它型主题信息条件下的句子为实验材料,考察合理型和非合理型主题信息条件下汉语歧义句意义建构的时间进程和特点。结果表明：(1)合理型主题信息可以顺利地建构一个稳定的基础心理表征;不合理型主题信息则没有这种效应;矛盾型主题信息则引导读者重构一个新的心理表征。(2)在合理型主题信息条件下,语境主要起到证实主题信息区和歧义区所建构的基础表征的作用;而在不合理型、矛盾型主题信息的条件下,语境的作用首先是验证所建构的基础心理表征和歧义句的意义频率,然后有效建构歧义句的意义。     

Reward allocation decisions of Chinese managers: Influence of employee categorization and allocation context

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between employee categorization criteria and Chinese managers' allocation behaviors. Using a vignette approach and a four-factor within-subjects design, the effects of relationship (guanxi), loyalty, and competence, as well as their interactions with allocation context (private vs public) were examined. Results showed that subordinates who had a close relationship with the allocator, high loyalty, or high competence were rewarded more. Significant two-way interaction effects indicated that relationship, loyalty and competence interactively affected Chinese managers' reward allocation decisions. In addition, the moderating effects of allocation context on these three criteria were also significant. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research were discussed.     

Terrorism and Innocence

This paper begins with a discussion of different definitions of “terrorism” and endorses one version of a tactical definition, so-called because it treats terrorism as involving the use of a quite specific tactic in the pursuit of political ends, namely, violent attacks upon the innocent. This contrasts with a political status definition in which “terrorism” is defined as any form of sub-state political violence against the state. Some consequences of the tactical definition are explored, notably the fact that (unlike the political status definition) it allows for the possibility of state terrorism against individuals, sub-state groups and other states. But a major problem for the tactical definition is the account to be given of “the innocent.” In line with justwar thinking, the idea of “the innocent” is unpacked in terms of the concept of non-combatants and this in turn is treated as the category of those who are not prosecuting the harm that allows for a legitimate violent response. Problems with this approach are explored, with particular reference to criticisms made by Gregory Kavka. The recent drive to expand the class of those who may be legitimately attacked is subjected to scrutiny. Particular attention is paid to the role of “collective responsibility” and “deserving your government” in these arguments. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genocidalism

This is an attempt to develop a more complete understanding of ``genocidalism of commission,' or the genocidal use of ``genocide,' defined stipulatively as ``the energetic attributions of ``genocide' in less than clear cases without considering available and convincing opposing evidence and argumentation.' Genocidalism is a widespread phenomenon regarding the discourse on international affairs in the advanced, liberal societies of the West, embedding a ``normative divide' between the ways of attending to domestic (national) concerns and ways of attending to international issues. I argue that genocidalism is morally wrong, explore its likely causes, and suggest possible ways of getting rid of this hateful practice. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

文化心理学的基本内涵辨析

由于文化心理学刚刚兴起,概念尚未十分清晰,不同的学者对之有不同的看法。不过,不同学者看法中也有一些共同之处。他们基本上都认为文化心理学研究的是意义;心理与文化相互建构;文化心理学的研究方法与主流心理学不同,主要采用客位研究策略。综合各家之言和文化心理学的基本特点,可以把文化心理学界定为研究文化心理或文化行为的具有边缘或交叉性质的独立学科。     

预期推理在长时记忆中的表征形式

该研究采用移动窗口技术,通过两个实验研究探讨在高低不同竞争条件下预期推理结果在长时记忆中的表征形式。实验结果表明,预期推理在长时记忆中的表征形式依赖于文本中预期推理的引发语境,在不同竞争强度的预期语境中,预期推理的结果在长时记忆会以不同的形式进行表征。在低竞争条件下,预期推理的结果以确定的形式表征;只有在高竞争条件下,预期推理的结果才会以假定的形式进行表征。     

Determining Decision Values of Context Awareness in Ubiquitous Computing Environments

Research on context‐aware computing has been focusing on the technology aspect of context acquisition and interpretation of users' surrounding environment or physical context. There is no operational mechanism for integrating context awareness that is driven by user context such as users' ongoing activities and tasks. Although the necessity of integration of sensed context data with users' intent of conduct has been recognized by many researchers, it has never been empirically investigated. Using Analytic Hierarchy Process, we propose an integrated and comprehensive approach that takes into consideration both user and physical context in defining overall context awareness value. The approach is tested using secondary data of user activities in various situations and surrounding environment scenarios. The results suggest several preliminary guidelines for determining representative measures of user and physical context approaches in the design and evaluation of context‐aware systems. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Squeezing, striking, and vocalizing: Is number representation fundamentally spatial?

Numbers are fundamental entities in mathematics, but their cognitive bases are unclear. Abundant research points to linear space as a natural grounding for number representation. But, is number representation fundamentally spatial? We disentangle number representation from standard number-to-line reporting methods, and compare numerical estimations in educated participants using line-reporting with three nonspatial reporting conditions (squeezing, bell-striking, and vocalizing). All three cases of nonspatial-reporting consistently reproduced well-established results obtained with number-line methods. Furthermore, unlike line-reporting—and congruent with the psychophysical Weber–Fechner law—nonspatial reporting systematically produced logarithmic mappings for all nonsymbolic stimuli. Strikingly, linear mappings were obtained exclusively in conditions with culturally mediated elements (e.g., words). These results suggest that number representation is not fundamentally spatial, but builds on a deeper magnitude sense that manifests spatially and nonspatially mediated by magnitude, stimulus modality, and reporting condition. Number-to-space mappings—although ubiquitous in the modern world—do not seem to be rooted directly in brain evolution but have been culturally privileged and enhanced.