A new multivariate empirical mode decomposition method for improving the performance of SSVEP-based brain-computer interface

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Chen, Yi-Feng; Atal, Kiran; Xie, Sheng-Quan; Liu, Quan

2017-08-01

Objective. Accurate and efficient detection of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) in electroencephalogram (EEG) is essential for the related brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. Approach. Although the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) has been applied extensively and successfully to SSVEP recognition, the spontaneous EEG activities and artifacts that often occur during data recording can deteriorate the recognition performance. Therefore, it is meaningful to extract a few frequency sub-bands of interest to avoid or reduce the influence of unrelated brain activity and artifacts. This paper presents an improved method to detect the frequency component associated with SSVEP using multivariate empirical mode decomposition (MEMD) and CCA (MEMD-CCA). EEG signals from nine healthy volunteers were recorded to evaluate the performance of the proposed method for SSVEP recognition. Main results. We compared our method with CCA and temporally local multivariate synchronization index (TMSI). The results suggest that the MEMD-CCA achieved significantly higher accuracy in contrast to standard CCA and TMSI. It gave the improvements of 1.34%, 3.11%, 3.33%, 10.45%, 15.78%, 18.45%, 15.00% and 14.22% on average over CCA at time windows from 0.5 s to 5 s and 0.55%, 1.56%, 7.78%, 14.67%, 13.67%, 7.33% and 7.78% over TMSI from 0.75 s to 5 s. The method outperformed the filter-based decomposition (FB), empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and wavelet decomposition (WT) based CCA for SSVEP recognition. Significance. The results demonstrate the ability of our proposed MEMD-CCA to improve the performance of SSVEP-based BCI.

Filter bank canonical correlation analysis for implementing a high-speed SSVEP-based brain-computer interface

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Chen, Xiaogang; Wang, Yijun; Gao, Shangkai; Jung, Tzyy-Ping; Gao, Xiaorong

2015-08-01

Objective. Recently, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) has been widely used in steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) due to its high efficiency, robustness, and simple implementation. However, a method with which to make use of harmonic SSVEP components to enhance the CCA-based frequency detection has not been well established. Approach. This study proposed a filter bank canonical correlation analysis (FBCCA) method to incorporate fundamental and harmonic frequency components to improve the detection of SSVEPs. A 40-target BCI speller based on frequency coding (frequency range: 8-15.8 Hz, frequency interval: 0.2 Hz) was used for performance evaluation. To optimize the filter bank design, three methods (M1: sub-bands with equally spaced bandwidths; M2: sub-bands corresponding to individual harmonic frequency bands; M3: sub-bands covering multiple harmonic frequency bands) were proposed for comparison. Classification accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR) of the three FBCCA methods and the standard CCA method were estimated using an offline dataset from 12 subjects. Furthermore, an online BCI speller adopting the optimal FBCCA method was tested with a group of 10 subjects. Main results. The FBCCA methods significantly outperformed the standard CCA method. The method M3 achieved the highest classification performance. At a spelling rate of ˜33.3 characters/min, the online BCI speller obtained an average ITR of 151.18 ± 20.34 bits min-1. Significance. By incorporating the fundamental and harmonic SSVEP components in target identification, the proposed FBCCA method significantly improves the performance of the SSVEP-based BCI, and thereby facilitates its practical applications such as high-speed spelling.

An emergency call system for patients in locked-in state using an SSVEP-based brain switch.

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Lim, Jeong-Hwan; Kim, Yong-Wook; Lee, Jun-Hak; An, Kwang-Ok; Hwang, Han-Jeong; Cha, Ho-Seung; Han, Chang-Hee; Im, Chang-Hwan

2017-11-01

Patients in a locked-in state (LIS) due to severe neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) require seamless emergency care by their caregivers or guardians. However, it is a difficult job for the guardians to continuously monitor the patients' state, especially when direct communication is not possible. In the present study, we developed an emergency call system for such patients using a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain switch. Although there have been previous studies to implement SSVEP-based brain switch system, they have not been applied to patients in LIS, and thus their clinical value has not been validated. In this study, we verified whether the SSVEP-based brain switch system can be practically used as an emergency call system for patients in LIS. The brain switch used for our system adopted a chromatic visual stimulus, which proved to be visually less stimulating than conventional checkerboard-type stimuli but could generate SSVEP responses strong enough to be used for brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. To verify the feasibility of our emergency call system, 14 healthy participants and 3 patients with severe ALS took part in online experiments. All three ALS patients successfully called their guardians to their bedsides in about 6.56 seconds. Furthermore, additional experiments with one of these patients demonstrated that our emergency call system maintains fairly good performance even up to 4 weeks after the first experiment without renewing initial calibration data. Our results suggest that our SSVEP-based emergency call system might be successfully used in practical scenarios. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

A comparison of two spelling Brain-Computer Interfaces based on visual P3 and SSVEP in Locked-In Syndrome.

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Adrien Combaz

Full Text Available We study the applicability of a visual P3-based and a Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials (SSVEP-based Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs for mental text spelling on a cohort of patients with incomplete Locked-In Syndrome (LIS.Seven patients performed repeated sessions with each BCI. We assessed BCI performance, mental workload and overall satisfaction for both systems. We also investigated the effect of the quality of life and level of motor impairment on the performance.All seven patients were able to achieve an accuracy of 70% or more with the SSVEP-based BCI, compared to 3 patients with the P3-based BCI, showing a better performance with the SSVEP BCI than with the P3 BCI in the studied cohort. Moreover, the better performance of the SSVEP-based BCI was accompanied by a lower mental workload and a higher overall satisfaction. No relationship was found between BCI performance and level of motor impairment or quality of life.Our results show a better usability of the SSVEP-based BCI than the P3-based one for the sessions performed by the tested population of locked-in patients with respect to all the criteria considered. The study shows the advantage of developing alternative BCIs with respect to the traditional matrix-based P3 speller using different designs and signal modalities such as SSVEPs to build a faster, more accurate, less mentally demanding and more satisfying BCI by testing both types of BCIs on a convenience sample of LIS patients.

An approach for brain-controlled prostheses based on Scene Graph Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials.

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Li, Rui; Zhang, Xiaodong; Li, Hanzhe; Zhang, Liming; Lu, Zhufeng; Chen, Jiangcheng

2018-08-01

Brain control technology can restore communication between the brain and a prosthesis, and choosing a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) paradigm to evoke electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is an essential step for developing this technology. In this paper, the Scene Graph paradigm used for controlling prostheses was proposed; this paradigm is based on Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) regarding the Scene Graph of a subject's intention. A mathematic model was built to predict SSVEPs evoked by the proposed paradigm and a sinusoidal stimulation method was used to present the Scene Graph stimulus to elicit SSVEPs from subjects. Then, a 2-degree of freedom (2-DOF) brain-controlled prosthesis system was constructed to validate the performance of the Scene Graph-SSVEP (SG-SSVEP)-based BCI. The classification of SG-SSVEPs was detected via the Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) approach. To assess the efficiency of proposed BCI system, the performances of traditional SSVEP-BCI system were compared. Experimental results from six subjects suggested that the proposed system effectively enhanced the SSVEP responses, decreased the degradation of SSVEP strength and reduced the visual fatigue in comparison with the traditional SSVEP-BCI system. The average signal to noise ratio (SNR) of SG-SSVEP was 6.31 ± 2.64 dB, versus 3.38 ± 0.78 dB of traditional-SSVEP. In addition, the proposed system achieved good performances in prosthesis control. The average accuracy was 94.58% ± 7.05%, and the corresponding high information transfer rate (IRT) was 19.55 ± 3.07 bit/min. The experimental results revealed that the SG-SSVEP based BCI system achieves the good performance and improved the stability relative to the conventional approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Feasibility Study of SSVEP-Based Passive Training on an Ankle Rehabilitation Robot

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Xiangfeng Zeng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. This study aims to establish a steady-state visual evoked potential- (SSVEP- based passive training protocol on an ankle rehabilitation robot and validate its feasibility. Method. This paper combines SSVEP signals and the virtual reality circumstance through constructing information transmission loops between brains and ankle robots. The robot can judge motion intentions of subjects and trigger the training when subjects pay their attention on one of the four flickering circles. The virtual reality training circumstance provides real-time visual feedback of ankle rotation. Result. All five subjects succeeded in conducting ankle training based on the SSVEP-triggered training strategy following their motion intentions. The lowest success rate is 80%, and the highest one is 100%. The lowest information transfer rate (ITR is 11.5 bits/min when the biggest one of the robots for this proposed training is set as 24 bits/min. Conclusion. The proposed training strategy is feasible and promising to be combined with a robot for ankle rehabilitation. Future work will focus on adopting more advanced data process techniques to improve the reliability of intention detection and investigating how patients respond to such a training strategy.

The PAD Class: a new paradigm for university classroom teaching

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Zhang, Xuexin

2017-08-01

The PAD Class (Presentation-Assimilation-Discussion) is a new paradigm for classroom teaching combining strengths of lecture and discussion. With half class time allocated for teacher's presentation and the other half for students' discussion, an assimilation stage was inserted between presentation and discussion for independent and individualized learning. Since its first success in 2014, the PAD method has gained national popularity in China and been successfully put into practice by thousands of college teachers in nearly all subjects, e.g., science, engineering, medical sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts. This paper analyzed the psychological and pedagogical rationales underlying the PAD Class to explicate its effectiveness in enhancing active learning.

High-frequency combination coding-based steady-state visual evoked potential for brain computer interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Xin; Xie, Jun; Li, Yeping; Han, Chengcheng; Lili, Li; Wang, Jing [School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Xu, Guang-Hua [School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710054 (China)

2015-03-10

This study presents a new steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm for brain computer interface (BCI) systems. The goal of this study is to increase the number of targets using fewer stimulation high frequencies, with diminishing subject’s fatigue and reducing the risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures. The new paradigm is High-Frequency Combination Coding-Based High-Frequency Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (HFCC-SSVEP).Firstly, we studied SSVEP high frequency(beyond 25 Hz)response of SSVEP, whose paradigm is presented on the LED. The SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of high frequency(beyond 40 Hz) response is very low, which is been unable to be distinguished through the traditional analysis method; Secondly we investigated the HFCC-SSVEP response (beyond 25 Hz) for 3 frequencies (25Hz, 33.33Hz, and 40Hz), HFCC-SSVEP produces n{sup n} with n high stimulation frequencies through Frequence Combination Code. Further, Animproved Hilbert-huang transform (IHHT)-based variable frequency EEG feature extraction method and a local spectrum extreme target identification algorithmare adopted to extract time-frequency feature of the proposed HFCC-SSVEP response.Linear predictions and fixed sifting (iterating) 10 time is used to overcome the shortage of end effect and stopping criterion,generalized zero-crossing (GZC) is used to compute the instantaneous frequency of the proposed SSVEP respondent signals, the improved HHT-based feature extraction method for the proposed SSVEP paradigm in this study increases recognition efficiency, so as to improve ITR and to increase the stability of the BCI system. what is more, SSVEPs evoked by high-frequency stimuli (beyond 25Hz) minimally diminish subject’s fatigue and prevent safety hazards linked to photo-induced epileptic seizures, So as to ensure the system efficiency and undamaging.This study tests three subjects in order to verify the feasibility of the proposed method.

High-frequency combination coding-based steady-state visual evoked potential for brain computer interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Xin; Xie, Jun; Li, Yeping; Han, Chengcheng; Lili, Li; Wang, Jing; Xu, Guang-Hua

2015-01-01

This study presents a new steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm for brain computer interface (BCI) systems. The goal of this study is to increase the number of targets using fewer stimulation high frequencies, with diminishing subject’s fatigue and reducing the risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures. The new paradigm is High-Frequency Combination Coding-Based High-Frequency Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (HFCC-SSVEP).Firstly, we studied SSVEP high frequency(beyond 25 Hz)response of SSVEP, whose paradigm is presented on the LED. The SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of high frequency(beyond 40 Hz) response is very low, which is been unable to be distinguished through the traditional analysis method; Secondly we investigated the HFCC-SSVEP response (beyond 25 Hz) for 3 frequencies (25Hz, 33.33Hz, and 40Hz), HFCC-SSVEP produces n n with n high stimulation frequencies through Frequence Combination Code. Further, Animproved Hilbert-huang transform (IHHT)-based variable frequency EEG feature extraction method and a local spectrum extreme target identification algorithmare adopted to extract time-frequency feature of the proposed HFCC-SSVEP response.Linear predictions and fixed sifting (iterating) 10 time is used to overcome the shortage of end effect and stopping criterion,generalized zero-crossing (GZC) is used to compute the instantaneous frequency of the proposed SSVEP respondent signals, the improved HHT-based feature extraction method for the proposed SSVEP paradigm in this study increases recognition efficiency, so as to improve ITR and to increase the stability of the BCI system. what is more, SSVEPs evoked by high-frequency stimuli (beyond 25Hz) minimally diminish subject’s fatigue and prevent safety hazards linked to photo-induced epileptic seizures, So as to ensure the system efficiency and undamaging.This study tests three subjects in order to verify the feasibility of the proposed method

Semi-supervised adaptation in ssvep-based brain-computer interface using tri-training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bender, Thomas; Kjaer, Troels W.; Thomsen, Carsten E.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a novel and computationally simple tri-training based semi-supervised steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI). It is implemented with autocorrelation-based features and a Naïve-Bayes classifier (NBC). The system uses nine characters...

D3.1 BRAIN - Initial prototype of advanced SSVEP signal processing tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mihajlovic, V.; Garcia Molina, G.

2009-01-01

This document describes the High Frequency (HF) Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) developed at Philips Research Europe (PRE). The interface is based on the fact that the oscillatory visual stimuli can elicit oscillatory brain activity at the same

An Idle-State Detection Algorithm for SSVEP-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces Using a Maximum Evoked Response Spatial Filter.

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Zhang, Dan; Huang, Bisheng; Wu, Wei; Li, Siliang

2015-11-01

Although accurate recognition of the idle state is essential for the application of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in real-world situations, it remains a challenging task due to the variability of the idle state. In this study, a novel algorithm was proposed for the idle state detection in a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI. The proposed algorithm aims to solve the idle state detection problem by constructing a better model of the control states. For feature extraction, a maximum evoked response (MER) spatial filter was developed to extract neurophysiologically plausible SSVEP responses, by finding the combination of multi-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) signals that maximized the evoked responses while suppressing the unrelated background EEGs. The extracted SSVEP responses at the frequencies of both the attended and the unattended stimuli were then used to form feature vectors and a series of binary classifiers for recognition of each control state and the idle state were constructed. EEG data from nine subjects in a three-target SSVEP BCI experiment with a variety of idle state conditions were used to evaluate the proposed algorithm. Compared to the most popular canonical correlation analysis-based algorithm and the conventional power spectrum-based algorithm, the proposed algorithm outperformed them by achieving an offline control state classification accuracy of 88.0 ± 11.1% and idle state false positive rates (FPRs) ranging from 7.4 ± 5.6% to 14.2 ± 10.1%, depending on the specific idle state conditions. Moreover, the online simulation reported BCI performance close to practical use: 22.0 ± 2.9 out of the 24 control commands were correctly recognized and the FPRs achieved as low as approximately 0.5 event/min in the idle state conditions with eye open and 0.05 event/min in the idle state condition with eye closed. These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed algorithm for implementing practical SSVEP BCI systems.

Utilizing Retinotopic Mapping for a Multi-Target SSVEP BCI With a Single Flicker Frequency.

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Maye, Alexander; Zhang, Dan; Engel, Andreas K

2017-07-01

In brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that use the steady-state visual evoked response (SSVEP), the user selects a control command by directing attention overtly or covertly to one out of several flicker stimuli. The different control channels are encoded in the frequency, phase, or time domain of the flicker signals. Here, we present a new type of SSVEP BCI, which uses only a single flicker stimulus and yet affords controlling multiple channels. The approach rests on the observation that the relative position between the stimulus and the foci of overt attention result in distinct topographies of the SSVEP response on the scalp. By classifying these topographies, the computer can determine at which position the user is gazing. Offline data analysis in a study on 12 healthy volunteers revealed that 9 targets can be recognized with about 95±3% accuracy, corresponding to an information transfer rate (ITR) of 40.8 ± 3.3 b/min on average. We explored how the classification accuracy is affected by the number of control channels, the trial length, and the number of EEG channels. Our findings suggest that the EEG data from five channels over parieto-occipital brain areas are sufficient for reliably classifying the topographies and that there is a large potential to improve the ITR by optimizing the trial length. The robust performance and the simple stimulation setup suggest that this approach is a prime candidate for applications on desktop and tablet computers.

A Novel Multilayer Correlation Maximization Model for Improving CCA-Based Frequency Recognition in SSVEP Brain-Computer Interface.

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Jiao, Yong; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Yu; Wang, Bei; Jin, Jing; Wang, Xingyu

2018-05-01

Multiset canonical correlation analysis (MsetCCA) has been successfully applied to optimize the reference signals by extracting common features from multiple sets of electroencephalogram (EEG) for steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) recognition in brain-computer interface application. To avoid extracting the possible noise components as common features, this study proposes a sophisticated extension of MsetCCA, called multilayer correlation maximization (MCM) model for further improving SSVEP recognition accuracy. MCM combines advantages of both CCA and MsetCCA by carrying out three layers of correlation maximization processes. The first layer is to extract the stimulus frequency-related information in using CCA between EEG samples and sine-cosine reference signals. The second layer is to learn reference signals by extracting the common features with MsetCCA. The third layer is to re-optimize the reference signals set in using CCA with sine-cosine reference signals again. Experimental study is implemented to validate effectiveness of the proposed MCM model in comparison with the standard CCA and MsetCCA algorithms. Superior performance of MCM demonstrates its promising potential for the development of an improved SSVEP-based brain-computer interface.

Simple communication using a SSVEP-based BCI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, Guillermo; Diez, Pablo F; Avila, Enrique; Laciar Leber, Eric

2011-01-01

Majority of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) for communication purposes are speller, i.e., the user has to select letter by letter. In this work, is proposed a different approach where the user can select words from a word set designed in order to answer a wide range of questions. The word selection process is commanded by a Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) based-BCI that allows selecting a word in an average time of 26 s with accuracies of 92% on average. This BCI is focus in the first stages on rehabilitation or even in first moments of some diseases (such as stroke), when the person is eager to communicate with family and doctors.

Simple communication using a SSVEP-based BCI

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Guillermo; Diez, Pablo F.; Avila, Enrique; Laciar Leber, Eric

2011-12-01

Majority of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) for communication purposes are speller, i.e., the user has to select letter by letter. In this work, is proposed a different approach where the user can select words from a word set designed in order to answer a wide range of questions. The word selection process is commanded by a Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) based-BCI that allows selecting a word in an average time of 26 s with accuracies of 92% on average. This BCI is focus in the first stages on rehabilitation or even in first moments of some diseases (such as stroke), when the person is eager to communicate with family and doctors.

A user-friendly SSVEP-based brain-computer interface using a time-domain classifier.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, An; Sullivan, Thomas J

2010-04-01

We introduce a user-friendly steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) system. Single-channel EEG is recorded using a low-noise dry electrode. Compared to traditional gel-based multi-sensor EEG systems, a dry sensor proves to be more convenient, comfortable and cost effective. A hardware system was built that displays four LED light panels flashing at different frequencies and synchronizes with EEG acquisition. The visual stimuli have been carefully designed such that potential risk to photosensitive people is minimized. We describe a novel stimulus-locked inter-trace correlation (SLIC) method for SSVEP classification using EEG time-locked to stimulus onsets. We studied how the performance of the algorithm is affected by different selection of parameters. Using the SLIC method, the average light detection rate is 75.8% with very low error rates (an 8.4% false positive rate and a 1.3% misclassification rate). Compared to a traditional frequency-domain-based method, the SLIC method is more robust (resulting in less annoyance to the users) and is also suitable for irregular stimulus patterns.

Use of Sine Shaped High-Frequency Rhythmic Visual Stimuli Patterns for SSVEP Response Analysis and Fatigue Rate Evaluation in Normal Subjects

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Ahmadreza Keihani

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Recent EEG-SSVEP signal based BCI studies have used high frequency square pulse visual stimuli to reduce subjective fatigue. However, the effect of total harmonic distortion (THD has not been considered. Compared to CRT and LCD monitors, LED screen displays high-frequency wave with better refresh rate. In this study, we present high frequency sine wave simple and rhythmic patterns with low THD rate by LED to analyze SSVEP responses and evaluate subjective fatigue in normal subjects.Materials and Methods: We used patterns of 3-sequence high-frequency sine waves (25, 30, and 35 Hz to design our visual stimuli. Nine stimuli patterns, 3 simple (repetition of each of above 3 frequencies e.g., P25-25-25 and 6 rhythmic (all of the frequencies in 6 different sequences e.g., P25-30-35 were chosen. A hardware setup with low THD rate (<0.1% was designed to present these patterns on LED. Twenty two normal subjects (aged 23–30 (25 ± 2.1 yrs were enrolled. Visual analog scale (VAS was used for subjective fatigue evaluation after presentation of each stimulus pattern. PSD, CCA, and LASSO methods were employed to analyze SSVEP responses. The data including SSVEP features and fatigue rate for different visual stimuli patterns were statistically evaluated.Results: All 9 visual stimuli patterns elicited SSVEP responses. Overall, obtained accuracy rates were 88.35% for PSD and > 90% for CCA and LASSO (for TWs > 1 s. High frequency rhythmic patterns group with low THD rate showed higher accuracy rate (99.24% than simple patterns group (98.48%. Repeated measure ANOVA showed significant difference between rhythmic pattern features (P < 0.0005. Overall, there was no significant difference between the VAS of rhythmic [3.85 ± 2.13] compared to the simple patterns group [3.96 ± 2.21], (P = 0.63. Rhythmic group had lower within group VAS variation (min = P25-30-35 [2.90 ± 2.45], max = P35-25-30 [4.81 ± 2.65] as well as least individual pattern VAS (P25

A novel 9-class auditory ERP paradigm driving a predictive text entry system

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Johannes eHöhne

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs based on Event Related Potentials (ERPs strive for offering communication pathways which are independent of muscle activity. While most visual ERP-based BCI paradigms require good control of the user's gaze direction, auditory BCI paradigms overcome this restriction. The present work proposes a novel approach using Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP for the example of a multiclass text spelling application. To control the ERP speller, BCI users focus their attention to two-dimensional auditory stimuli that vary in both, pitch (high/medium/low and direction (left/middle/right and that are presented via headphones. The resulting nine different control signals are exploited to drive a predictive text entry system. It enables the user to spell a letter by a single 9-class decision plus two additional decisions to confirm a spelled word.This paradigm - called PASS2D - was investigated in an online study with twelve healthy participants. Users spelled with more than 0.8 characters per minute on average (3.4 bits per minute which makes PASS2D a competitive method. It could enrich the toolbox of existing ERP paradigms for BCI end users like late-stage ALS patients.

Simultaneous detection of P300 and steady-state visually evoked potentials for hybrid brain-computer interface.

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Combaz, Adrien; Van Hulle, Marc M

2015-01-01

We study the feasibility of a hybrid Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) combining simultaneous visual oddball and Steady-State Visually Evoked Potential (SSVEP) paradigms, where both types of stimuli are superimposed on a computer screen. Potentially, such a combination could result in a system being able to operate faster than a purely P300-based BCI and encode more targets than a purely SSVEP-based BCI. We analyse the interactions between the brain responses of the two paradigms, and assess the possibility to detect simultaneously the brain activity evoked by both paradigms, in a series of 3 experiments where EEG data are analysed offline. Despite differences in the shape of the P300 response between pure oddball and hybrid condition, we observe that the classification accuracy of this P300 response is not affected by the SSVEP stimulation. We do not observe either any effect of the oddball stimulation on the power of the SSVEP response in the frequency of stimulation. Finally results from the last experiment show the possibility of detecting both types of brain responses simultaneously and suggest not only the feasibility of such hybrid BCI but also a gain over pure oddball- and pure SSVEP-based BCIs in terms of communication rate.

A study on dynamic model of steady-state visual evoked potentials.

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Zhang, Shangen; Han, Xu; Chen, Xiaogang; Wang, Yijun; Gao, Shangkai; Gao, Xiaorong

2018-04-04

Significant progress has been made in the past two decades to considerably improve the performance of steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI). However, there are still some unsolved problems that may help us to improve BCI performance, one of which is that our understanding of the dynamic process of SSVEP is still superficial, especially for the transient-state response. This study introduced an antiphase stimulation method (antiphase: phase 0/π), which can simultaneously separate and extract SSVEP and event-related potential (ERP) signals from EEG, and eliminate the interference of ERP to SSVEP. Based on the SSVEP signals obtained by the antiphase stimulation method, the envelope of SSVEP was extracted by the Hilbert transform, and the dynamic model of SSVEP was quantitatively studied by mathematical modeling. The step response of a second-order linear system was used to fit the envelope of SSVEP, and its characteristics were represented by four parameters with physical and physiological meanings: one was amplitude related, one was latency related and two were frequency related. This study attempted to use pre-stimulation paradigms to modulate the dynamic model parameters, and quantitatively analyze the results by applying the dynamic model to further explore the pre-stimulation methods that had the potential to improve BCI performance. The results showed that the dynamic model had good fitting effect with SSVEP under three pre-stimulation paradigms. The test results revealed that the parameters of SSVEP dynamic models could be modulated by the pre-stimulation baseline luminance, and the gray baseline luminance pre-stimulation obtained the highest performance. This study proposed a dynamic model which was helpful to understand and utilize the transient characteristics of SSVEP. This study also found that pre-stimulation could be used to adjust the parameters of SSVEP model, and had the potential to improve the performance

DTU BCI speller: An SSVEP-based spelling system with dictionary support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vilic, Adnan; Kjaer, Troels W.; Thomsen, Carsten E.

2013-01-01

In this paper, a new brain computer interface (BCI) speller, named DTU BCI speller, is introduced. It is based on the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) and features dictionary support. The system focuses on simplicity and user friendliness by using a single electrode for the signal......) is 4.90 ± 3.84 with a best case of 8.74 CPM. All subjects reported systematically on different user friendliness measures, and the overall results indicated the potentials of the DTU BCI Speller system. For subjects with high classification accuracies, the introduced dictionary approach greatly reduced...

Affective SSVEP BCI to effectively control 3D objects by using a prism array-based display

Science.gov (United States)

Mun, Sungchul; Park, Min-Chul

2014-06-01

3D objects with depth information can provide many benefits to users in education, surgery, and interactions. In particular, many studies have been done to enhance sense of reality in 3D interaction. Viewing and controlling stereoscopic 3D objects with crossed or uncrossed disparities, however, can cause visual fatigue due to the vergenceaccommodation conflict generally accepted in 3D research fields. In order to avoid the vergence-accommodation mismatch and provide a strong sense of presence to users, we apply a prism array-based display to presenting 3D objects. Emotional pictures were used as visual stimuli in control panels to increase information transfer rate and reduce false positives in controlling 3D objects. Involuntarily motivated selective attention by affective mechanism can enhance steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) amplitude and lead to increased interaction efficiency. More attentional resources are allocated to affective pictures with high valence and arousal levels than to normal visual stimuli such as white-and-black oscillating squares and checkerboards. Among representative BCI control components (i.e., eventrelated potentials (ERP), event-related (de)synchronization (ERD/ERS), and SSVEP), SSVEP-based BCI was chosen in the following reasons. It shows high information transfer rates and takes a few minutes for users to control BCI system while few electrodes are required for obtaining reliable brainwave signals enough to capture users' intention. The proposed BCI methods are expected to enhance sense of reality in 3D space without causing critical visual fatigue to occur. In addition, people who are very susceptible to (auto) stereoscopic 3D may be able to use the affective BCI.

A Prototype SSVEP Based Real Time BCI Gaming System.

Science.gov (United States)

Martišius, Ignas; Damaševičius, Robertas

2016-01-01

Although brain-computer interface technology is mainly designed with disabled people in mind, it can also be beneficial to healthy subjects, for example, in gaming or virtual reality systems. In this paper we discuss the typical architecture, paradigms, requirements, and limitations of electroencephalogram-based gaming systems. We have developed a prototype three-class brain-computer interface system, based on the steady state visually evoked potentials paradigm and the Emotiv EPOC headset. An online target shooting game, implemented in the OpenViBE environment, has been used for user feedback. The system utilizes wave atom transform for feature extraction, achieving an average accuracy of 78.2% using linear discriminant analysis classifier, 79.3% using support vector machine classifier with a linear kernel, and 80.5% using a support vector machine classifier with a radial basis function kernel.

A Prototype SSVEP Based Real Time BCI Gaming System

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Ignas Martišius

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Although brain-computer interface technology is mainly designed with disabled people in mind, it can also be beneficial to healthy subjects, for example, in gaming or virtual reality systems. In this paper we discuss the typical architecture, paradigms, requirements, and limitations of electroencephalogram-based gaming systems. We have developed a prototype three-class brain-computer interface system, based on the steady state visually evoked potentials paradigm and the Emotiv EPOC headset. An online target shooting game, implemented in the OpenViBE environment, has been used for user feedback. The system utilizes wave atom transform for feature extraction, achieving an average accuracy of 78.2% using linear discriminant analysis classifier, 79.3% using support vector machine classifier with a linear kernel, and 80.5% using a support vector machine classifier with a radial basis function kernel.

Clinical feasibility of brain-computer interface based on steady-state visual evoked potential in patients with locked-in syndrome: Case studies.

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Hwang, Han-Jeong; Han, Chang-Hee; Lim, Jeong-Hwan; Kim, Yong-Wook; Choi, Soo-In; An, Kwang-Ok; Lee, Jun-Hak; Cha, Ho-Seung; Hyun Kim, Seung; Im, Chang-Hwan

2017-03-01

Although the feasibility of brain-computer interface (BCI) systems based on steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) has been extensively investigated, only a few studies have evaluated its clinical feasibility in patients with locked-in syndrome (LIS), who are the main targets of BCI technology. The main objective of this case report was to share our experiences of SSVEP-based BCI experiments involving five patients with LIS, thereby providing researchers with useful information that can potentially help them to design BCI experiments for patients with LIS. In our experiments, a four-class online SSVEP-based BCI system was implemented and applied to four of five patients repeatedly on multiple days to investigate its test-retest reliability. In the last experiments with two of the four patients, the practical usability of our BCI system was tested using a questionnaire survey. All five patients showed clear and distinct SSVEP responses at all four fundamental stimulation frequencies (6, 6.66, 7.5, 10 Hz), and responses at harmonic frequencies were also observed in three patients. Mean classification accuracy was 76.99% (chance level = 25%). The test-retest reliability experiments demonstrated stable performance of our BCI system over different days even when the initial experimental settings (e.g., electrode configuration, fixation time, visual angle) used in the first experiment were used without significant modifications. Our results suggest that SSVEP-based BCI paradigms might be successfully used to implement clinically feasible BCI systems for severely paralyzed patients. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Towards SSVEP-based, portable, responsive Brain-Computer Interface.

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Kaczmarek, Piotr; Salomon, Pawel

2015-08-01

A Brain-Computer Interface in motion control application requires high system responsiveness and accuracy. SSVEP interface consisted of 2-8 stimuli and 2 channel EEG amplifier was presented in this paper. The observed stimulus is recognized based on a canonical correlation calculated in 1 second window, ensuring high interface responsiveness. A threshold classifier with hysteresis (T-H) was proposed for recognition purposes. Obtained results suggest that T-H classifier enables to significantly increase classifier performance (resulting in accuracy of 76%, while maintaining average false positive detection rate of stimulus different then observed one between 2-13%, depending on stimulus frequency). It was shown that the parameters of T-H classifier, maximizing true positive rate, can be estimated by gradient-based search since the single maximum was observed. Moreover the preliminary results, performed on a test group (N=4), suggest that for T-H classifier exists a certain set of parameters for which the system accuracy is similar to accuracy obtained for user-trained classifier.

Use of Sine Shaped High-Frequency Rhythmic Visual Stimuli Patterns for SSVEP Response Analysis and Fatigue Rate Evaluation in Normal Subjects.

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Keihani, Ahmadreza; Shirzhiyan, Zahra; Farahi, Morteza; Shamsi, Elham; Mahnam, Amin; Makkiabadi, Bahador; Haidari, Mohsen R; Jafari, Amir H

2018-01-01

Background: Recent EEG-SSVEP signal based BCI studies have used high frequency square pulse visual stimuli to reduce subjective fatigue. However, the effect of total harmonic distortion (THD) has not been considered. Compared to CRT and LCD monitors, LED screen displays high-frequency wave with better refresh rate. In this study, we present high frequency sine wave simple and rhythmic patterns with low THD rate by LED to analyze SSVEP responses and evaluate subjective fatigue in normal subjects. Materials and Methods: We used patterns of 3-sequence high-frequency sine waves (25, 30, and 35 Hz) to design our visual stimuli. Nine stimuli patterns, 3 simple (repetition of each of above 3 frequencies e.g., P25-25-25) and 6 rhythmic (all of the frequencies in 6 different sequences e.g., P25-30-35) were chosen. A hardware setup with low THD rate ( 90% for CCA and LASSO (for TWs > 1 s). High frequency rhythmic patterns group with low THD rate showed higher accuracy rate (99.24%) than simple patterns group (98.48%). Repeated measure ANOVA showed significant difference between rhythmic pattern features ( P rhythmic [3.85 ± 2.13] compared to the simple patterns group [3.96 ± 2.21], ( P = 0.63). Rhythmic group had lower within group VAS variation (min = P25-30-35 [2.90 ± 2.45], max = P35-25-30 [4.81 ± 2.65]) as well as least individual pattern VAS (P25-30-35). Discussion and Conclusion: Overall, rhythmic and simple pattern groups had higher and similar accuracy rates. Rhythmic stimuli patterns showed insignificantly lower fatigue rate than simple patterns. We conclude that both rhythmic and simple visual high frequency sine wave stimuli require further research for human subject SSVEP-BCI studies.

Tensions between genders among the working class: a debate with the holistic paradigm

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Tania Salem

Full Text Available This article questions one of the main hierarchical paradigm assumptions, the reciprocity principle configuring working class men and women relationships. In contrast, it suggests that structural tension pervades their relationship synthetically denoted as an opposition: female bonding vs. male circulation. Proposing that these disparate symbolic dispositions are inherent to each gender construction within this particular moral context, it implies ingrained system tension. Using Bateson's complementary schismogenesis concept, the article unveils potential escalating dynamics of this tension and speculates on internal/external factors in the conjugal arena maintaining it in a contained equilibrium state. Special attention is conferred upon mother/her adult son dyad to illustrate the ability of other family pacts, alternative to the conjugal to elucidate persistence of the value allocated to family/men in contexts where male impermanence repeatedly infringes the gender reciprocity principle. The article equally considers possible impacts the strength of the mother-son relationship on the sons' conjugal relationships.

A heretic's view of the object-oriented paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galle, Per

1998-01-01

A basic assumption of the object-oriented paradigm of computer programming and database thinking is that objects (including classes) are dynamic: classes have objects as instances which can be created, modified, and deleted. I argue that this leads to unnecessary conceptual difficulties, and sugg......A basic assumption of the object-oriented paradigm of computer programming and database thinking is that objects (including classes) are dynamic: classes have objects as instances which can be created, modified, and deleted. I argue that this leads to unnecessary conceptual difficulties......, and suggest that although real world entities are undeniably dynamic and perishable, much may be gained by assuming that the objects we use for thinking about them are static. This, it is submitted, may prove to facilitate both practical system development and theoretical pursuits of a mathematically sound...... object-oriented data model....

PARADIGM OF EDUCATION FOR THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

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Yuriy M. Bogachkov

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Considering total crisis in education in Informational Age, we suggest that to overcome the crisis, it is necessary to promote pedagogical science up from "pre-paradigm stage” to the "paradigm stage". For this purpose it is necessary to separate the "educational science" from "education." “Educational paradigm” in such study will be the subject of the science. The key concepts for the "pedagogical paradigm" should be the concepts of "educational practice", "class of problems" and "educational text". We offer some axioms around these concepts.

A Case-Conference Exercise to Facilitate Understanding of Paradigms in Abnormal Psychology

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Lafosse, Jose M.; Zinser, Michael C.

2002-01-01

In this article we describe an in-class case-conference exercise designed to enhance the teaching of paradigms in abnormal psychology courses. The primary pedagogical goals are to increase awareness of how paradigms are applied in real-life settings; better distinguish between paradigms; and recognize how paradigms influence understanding of…

A 3D Learning Playground for Potential Attention Training in ADHD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ali, Abdulla; Puthusserypady, Sadasivan

2015-01-01

This paper presents a novel brain-computerinterface (BCI) system that could potentially be used for enhancing the attention ability of subjects with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It employs the steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm. The developed system consists...

An independent brain-computer interface using covert non-spatial visual selective attention

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Zhang, Dan; Maye, Alexander; Gao, Xiaorong; Hong, Bo; Engel, Andreas K.; Gao, Shangkai

2010-02-01

In this paper, a novel independent brain-computer interface (BCI) system based on covert non-spatial visual selective attention of two superimposed illusory surfaces is described. Perception of two superimposed surfaces was induced by two sets of dots with different colors rotating in opposite directions. The surfaces flickered at different frequencies and elicited distinguishable steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) over parietal and occipital areas of the brain. By selectively attending to one of the two surfaces, the SSVEP amplitude at the corresponding frequency was enhanced. An online BCI system utilizing the attentional modulation of SSVEP was implemented and a 3-day online training program with healthy subjects was carried out. The study was conducted with Chinese subjects at Tsinghua University, and German subjects at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) using identical stimulation software and equivalent technical setup. A general improvement of control accuracy with training was observed in 8 out of 18 subjects. An averaged online classification accuracy of 72.6 ± 16.1% was achieved on the last training day. The system renders SSVEP-based BCI paradigms possible for paralyzed patients with substantial head or ocular motor impairments by employing covert attention shifts instead of changing gaze direction.

SSVEP and ANN based optimal speller design for Brain Computer Interface

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Irshad Ahmad Ansari

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This work put forwards an optimal BCI (Brain Computer Interface speller design based on Steady State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEP and Artificial Neural Network (ANN in order to help the people with severe motor impairments. This work is carried out to enhance the accuracy and communication rate of  BCI system. To optimize the BCI system, the work has been divided into two steps: First, designing of an encoding technique to choose characters from the speller interface and the second is the development and implementation of feature extraction algorithm to acquire optimal features, which is used to train the BCI system for classification using neural network. Optimization of speller interface is focused on representation of character matrix and its designing parameters. Then again, a lot of deliberations made in order to optimize selection of features and user’s time window. Optimized system works nearly the same with the new user and gives character per minute (CPM of 13 ± 2 with an average accuracy of 94.5% by choosing first two harmonics of power spectral density as the feature vectors and using the 2 second time window for each selection. Optimized BCI performs better with experienced users with an average accuracy of 95.1%. Such a good accuracy has not been reported before in account of fair enough CPM.DOI: 10.15181/csat.v2i2.1059

The peopleware paradigm.

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Andrew, C G

1996-08-01

Manufacturing managements and practitioners alike are at long last realizing that the heartbeat of competitive advantage springs from peopleware, not hardware and software. But despite this heightened awareness the problem persists even among manufacturing professionals--they may talk a good game about priortizing people and quality, but all too many have precious little idea of how to go about it with constancy of purpose. This article bridges the gap and addresses the key issues in adopting the powerful new peopleware paradigm that provides the positive motivational climate for the improvement-change journey toward world-class performance through teamwork, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Age-Specific Mechanisms in an SSVEP-Based BCI Scenario: Evidences from Spontaneous Rhythms and Neuronal Oscillators

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Jan Ehlers

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Utilizing changes in steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs is an established approach to operate a brain-computer interface (BCI. The present study elucidates to what extent development-specific changes in the background EEG influence the ability to proper handle a stimulus-driven BCI. Therefore we investigated the effects of a wide range of photic driving on children between six and ten years in comparison to an adult control group. The results show differences in the driving profiles apparently in close communication with the specific type of intermittent stimulation. The factor age gains influence with decreasing stimulation frequency, whereby the superior performance of the adults seems to be determined to a great extent by elaborated driving responses at 10 and 11 Hz, matching the dominant resonance frequency of the respective background EEG. This functional interplay was only partially obtained in higher frequency ranges and absent in the induced driving between 30 and 40 Hz, indicating distinctions in the operating principles and developmental changes of the underlying neuronal oscillators.

Understanding Class in Contemporary Societies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harrits, Gitte Sommer

2007-01-01

In this paper, I argue that claims about the death of class and the coming of the classless society are premature. Such claims are seldom genuinely empirical, and the theoretical argument often refers to a simple and therefore easily dismissible concept of class. By rejecting the concept of class...... altogether, sociological theory runs the risk of loosing the capacity for analysing stratification and vertical differentiation of power and freedom, which in late modernity seem to be a of continuing importance. Hence, I argue that although class analysis faces a number of serious challenges, it is possible...... to reinvent class analysis. The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu in many ways introduces an appropriate paradigm, and the paper therefore critically discusses Bourdieu's concept of class. Since the "Bourdieuan" class concept is primarily epistemological, i.e. a research strategy more than a theory, empirical...

Enhancing Performance and Bit Rates in a Brain-Computer Interface System With Phase-to-Amplitude Cross-Frequency Coupling: Evidences From Traditional c-VEP, Fast c-VEP, and SSVEP Designs.

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Dimitriadis, Stavros I; Marimpis, Avraam D

2018-01-01

A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a channel of communication that transforms brain activity into specific commands for manipulating a personal computer or other home or electrical devices. In other words, a BCI is an alternative way of interacting with the environment by using brain activity instead of muscles and nerves. For that reason, BCI systems are of high clinical value for targeted populations suffering from neurological disorders. In this paper, we present a new processing approach in three publicly available BCI data sets: (a) a well-known multi-class ( N = 6) coded-modulated Visual Evoked potential (c-VEP)-based BCI system for able-bodied and disabled subjects; (b) a multi-class ( N = 32) c-VEP with slow and fast stimulus representation; and (c) a steady-state Visual Evoked potential (SSVEP) multi-class ( N = 5) flickering BCI system. Estimating cross-frequency coupling (CFC) and namely δ-θ [δ: (0.5-4 Hz), θ: (4-8 Hz)] phase-to-amplitude coupling (PAC) within sensor and across experimental time, we succeeded in achieving high classification accuracy and Information Transfer Rates (ITR) in the three data sets. Our approach outperformed the originally presented ITR on the three data sets. The bit rates obtained for both the disabled and able-bodied subjects reached the fastest reported level of 324 bits/min with the PAC estimator. Additionally, our approach outperformed alternative signal features such as the relative power (29.73 bits/min) and raw time series analysis (24.93 bits/min) and also the original reported bit rates of 10-25 bits/min . In the second data set, we succeeded in achieving an average ITR of 124.40 ± 11.68 for the slow 60 Hz and an average ITR of 233.99 ± 15.75 for the fast 120 Hz. In the third data set, we succeeded in achieving an average ITR of 106.44 ± 8.94. Current methodology outperforms any previous methodologies applied to each of the three free available BCI datasets.

The effect of a single dose of multivitamin and mineral combinations with and without guaraná on functional brain activity during a continuous performance task.

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White, David J; Camfield, David A; Maggini, Silvia; Pipingas, Andrew; Silberstein, Richard; Stough, Con; Scholey, Andrew

2017-01-01

Relatively few studies have explored the possibility of acute cognitive effects of multivitamin ingestion. This report explores the acute brain electrophysiological changes associated with multivitamin and mineral supplementation, with and without guaraná, using the steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP). Based on the known SSVEP correlates of A-X continuous performance task (CPT) performance, and sensitivity to acute psychopharmacological manipulations, the A-X CPT was adopted as a task paradigm to explore treatment-related neurophysiological changes in attentional processing. Twenty healthy non-smoking adults aged 21-39 years (mean age = 28.35 years, SD = 5.52) took part in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, balanced crossover design study. The study demonstrated both transient and tonic changes in the SSVEP response during completion of the A-X CPT following multivitamin and mineral treatment both with and without guaraná. Transient changes in SSVEP response in prefrontal regions were observed after a single dose of a multivitamin and mineral preparation indicative of enhanced activity within brain regions engaged by the attentional demands of the task. This pattern of change in frontal regions was correlated with improved behavioural performance after treatment with the multivitamin and mineral combination. Where tonic shifts in SSVEP response were investigated, multivitamin and mineral treatment was associated with a pattern of increased inhibition across posterior regions, with enhanced excitatory processing in prefrontal regions. In contrast, multivitamin and mineral treatment with additional guaraná showed a tonic shift towards greater excitatory processes after a single treatment, consistent with the caffeine content of this treatment. While preliminary in nature, these findings suggest a single multivitamin/mineral dose is sufficient to impact on functional brain activity in task-related brain regions.

Cheetah paradigm revisited: MHC diversity in the world's largest free-ranging population.

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Castro-Prieto, Aines; Wachter, Bettina; Sommer, Simone

2011-04-01

For more than two decades, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) has been considered a paradigm of disease vulnerability associated with low genetic diversity, particularly at the immune genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Cheetahs have been used as a classic example in numerous conservation genetics textbooks as well as in many related scientific publications. However, earlier studies used methods with low resolution to quantify MHC diversity and/or small sample sizes. Furthermore, high disease susceptibility was reported only for captive cheetahs, whereas free-ranging cheetahs show no signs of infectious diseases and a good general health status. We examined whether the diversity at MHC class I and class II-DRB loci in 149 Namibian cheetahs was higher than previously reported using single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis, cloning, and sequencing. MHC genes were examined at the genomic and transcriptomic levels. We detected ten MHC class I and four class II-DRB alleles, of which nine MHC class I and all class II-DRB alleles were expressed. Phylogenetic analyses and individual genotypes suggested that the alleles belong to four MHC class I and three class II-DRB putative loci. Evidence of positive selection was detected in both MHC loci. Our study indicated that the low number of MHC class I alleles previously observed in cheetahs was due to a smaller sample size examined. On the other hand, the low number of MHC class II-DRB alleles previously observed in cheetahs was further confirmed. Compared with other mammalian species including felids, cheetahs showed low levels of MHC diversity, but this does not seem to influence the immunocompetence of free-ranging cheetahs in Namibia and contradicts the previous conclusion that the cheetah is a paradigm species of disease vulnerability.

The structural dynamics of social class.

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Kraus, Michael W; Park, Jun Won

2017-12-01

Individual agency accounts of social class persist in society and even in psychological science despite clear evidence for the role of social structures. This article argues that social class is defined by the structural dynamics of society. Specifically, access to powerful networks, groups, and institutions, and inequalities in wealth and other economic resources shape proximal social environments that influence how individuals express their internal states and motivations. An account of social class that highlights the means by which structures shape and are shaped by individuals guides our understanding of how people move up or down in the social class hierarchy, and provides a framework for interpreting neuroscience studies, experimental paradigms, and approaches that attempt to intervene on social class disparities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Portable Brain-Computer Interface for the Intensive Care Unit Patient Communication Using Subject-Dependent SSVEP Identification.

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Dehzangi, Omid; Farooq, Muhamed

2018-01-01

A major predicament for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients is inconsistent and ineffective communication means. Patients rated most communication sessions as difficult and unsuccessful. This, in turn, can cause distress, unrecognized pain, anxiety, and fear. As such, we designed a portable BCI system for ICU communications (BCI4ICU) optimized to operate effectively in an ICU environment. The system utilizes a wearable EEG cap coupled with an Android app designed on a mobile device that serves as visual stimuli and data processing module. Furthermore, to overcome the challenges that BCI systems face today in real-world scenarios, we propose a novel subject-specific Gaussian Mixture Model- (GMM-) based training and adaptation algorithm. First, we incorporate subject-specific information in the training phase of the SSVEP identification model using GMM-based training and adaptation. We evaluate subject-specific models against other subjects. Subsequently, from the GMM discriminative scores, we generate the transformed vectors, which are passed to our predictive model. Finally, the adapted mixture mean scores of the subject-specific GMMs are utilized to generate the high-dimensional supervectors. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system achieved 98.7% average identification accuracy, which is promising in order to provide effective and consistent communication for patients in the intensive care.

Patient-adapted reconstruction and acquisition dynamic imaging method (PARADIGM) for MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aggarwal, Nitin; Bresler, Yoram

2008-01-01

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a challenging problem because the MR data acquisition is often not fast enough to meet the combined spatial and temporal Nyquist sampling rate requirements. Current approaches to this problem include hardware-based acceleration of the acquisition, and model-based image reconstruction techniques. In this paper we propose an alternative approach, called PARADIGM, which adapts both the acquisition and reconstruction to the spatio-temporal characteristics of the imaged object. The approach is based on time-sequential sampling theory, addressing the problem of acquiring a spatio-temporal signal under the constraint that only a limited amount of data can be acquired at a time instant. PARADIGM identifies a model class for the particular imaged object using a scout MR scan or auxiliary data. This object-adapted model is then used to optimize MR data acquisition, such that the imaging constraints are met, acquisition speed requirements are minimized, essentially perfect reconstruction of any object in the model class is guaranteed, and the inverse problem of reconstructing the dynamic object has a condition number of one. We describe spatio-temporal object models for various dynamic imaging applications including cardiac imaging. We present the theory underlying PARADIGM and analyze its performance theoretically and numerically. We also propose a practical MR imaging scheme for 2D dynamic cardiac imaging based on the theory. For this application, PARADIGM is predicted to provide a 10–25 × acceleration compared to the optimal non-adaptive scheme. Finally we present generalized optimality criteria and extend the scheme to dynamic imaging with three spatial dimensions

From use cases to UML class diagrams using logic grammars and constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Henning; Have, Christian Theil; Tveitane, Knut

2007-01-01

We investigate the possibilities for automated transition from Use Cases in a restricted natural language syntax into UML class diagrams, by trying to capture the semantics of the natural language and map it into building blocks of the object oriented programming paradigm (classes, objects, methods...

PARADIGMS IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

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Sabrina Oktoria Sihombing

2011-05-01

Full Text Available A paradigm influences what we see and conceive about certain facts. Paradigm can also influence what we accept as a truth. Yet, the debate over which paradigm and methodology is best suit for marketing and consumer behavior has begun since 1980s. Many researchers criticized the domination of logical empiricism paradigm and offered alternative paradigm to understand marketing and consumer behavior. This article discusses several paradigms and methodology, which are part of qualitative paradigm, and compares them with positivism paradigm. This article will also point to the importance of reconciliation between qualitative and quantitative paradigm in order to improve marketing and consumer behavior studies.

PARADIGMS IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

OpenAIRE

Sabrina Oktoria Sihombing

2011-01-01

A paradigm influences what we see and conceive about certain facts. Paradigm can also influence what we accept as a truth. Yet, the debate over which paradigm and methodology is best suit for marketing and consumer behavior has begun since 1980s. Many researchers criticized the domination of logical empiricism paradigm and offered alternative paradigm to understand marketing and consumer behavior. This article discusses several paradigms and methodology, which are part of qualitative paradigm...

Towards an optimal paradigm for simultaneously recording cortical and brainstem auditory evoked potentials.

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Bidelman, Gavin M

2015-02-15

Simultaneous recording of brainstem and cortical event-related brain potentials (ERPs) may offer a valuable tool for understanding the early neural transcription of behaviorally relevant sounds and the hierarchy of signal processing operating at multiple levels of the auditory system. To date, dual recordings have been challenged by technological and physiological limitations including different optimal parameters necessary to elicit each class of ERP (e.g., differential adaptation/habitation effects and number of trials to obtain adequate response signal-to-noise ratio). We investigated a new stimulus paradigm for concurrent recording of the auditory brainstem frequency-following response (FFR) and cortical ERPs. The paradigm is "optimal" in that it uses a clustered stimulus presentation and variable interstimulus interval (ISI) to (i) achieve the most ideal acquisition parameters for eliciting subcortical and cortical responses, (ii) obtain an adequate number of trials to detect each class of response, and (iii) minimize neural adaptation/habituation effects. Comparison between clustered and traditional (fixed, slow ISI) stimulus paradigms revealed minimal change in amplitude or latencies of either the brainstem FFR or cortical ERP. The clustered paradigm offered over a 3× increase in recording efficiency compared to conventional (fixed ISI presentation) and thus, a more rapid protocol for obtaining dual brainstem-cortical recordings in individual listeners. We infer that faster recording of subcortical and cortical potentials might allow more complete and sensitive testing of neurophysiological function and aid in the differential assessment of auditory function. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A unifying paradigm for naphthoquinone-based meroterpenoid (bio)synthesis

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Miles, Zachary D.; Diethelm, Stefan; Pepper, Henry P.; Huang, David M.; George, Jonathan H.; Moore, Bradley S.

2017-12-01

Bacterial meroterpenoids constitute an important class of natural products with diverse biological properties and therapeutic potential. The biosynthetic logic for their production is unknown and defies explanation via classical biochemical paradigms. A large subgroup of naphthoquinone-based meroterpenoids exhibits a substitution pattern of the polyketide-derived aromatic core that seemingly contradicts the established reactivity pattern of polyketide phenol nucleophiles and terpene diphosphate electrophiles. We report the discovery of a hitherto unprecedented enzyme-promoted α-hydroxyketone rearrangement catalysed by vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases to account for these discrepancies in the merochlorin and napyradiomycin class of meroterpenoid antibiotics, and we demonstrate that the α-hydroxyketone rearrangement is potentially a conserved biosynthetic reaction in this molecular class. The biosynthetic α-hydroxyketone rearrangement was applied in a concise total synthesis of naphthomevalin, a prominent member of the napyradiomycin meroterpenes, and sheds further light on the mechanism of this unifying enzymatic transformation.

An online hybrid brain-computer interface combining multiple physiological signals for webpage browse.

Science.gov (United States)

Long Chen; Zhongpeng Wang; Feng He; Jiajia Yang; Hongzhi Qi; Peng Zhou; Baikun Wan; Dong Ming

2015-08-01

The hybrid brain computer interface (hBCI) could provide higher information transfer rate than did the classical BCIs. It included more than one brain-computer or human-machine interact paradigms, such as the combination of the P300 and SSVEP paradigms. Research firstly constructed independent subsystems of three different paradigms and tested each of them with online experiments. Then we constructed a serial hybrid BCI system which combined these paradigms to achieve the functions of typing letters, moving and clicking cursor, and switching among them for the purpose of browsing webpages. Five subjects were involved in this study. They all successfully realized these functions in the online tests. The subjects could achieve an accuracy above 90% after training, which met the requirement in operating the system efficiently. The results demonstrated that it was an efficient system capable of robustness, which provided an approach for the clinic application.

Electric field encephalography for brain activity monitoring.

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Versek, Craig William; Frasca, Tyler; Zhou, Jianlin; Chowdhury, Kaushik; Sridhar, Srinivas

2018-05-11

sensitive to inter-subject variations and choice of scalp locations, so require further investigation. Significance - Enhancement of ssVEP SNR using EFEG has the potential to improve visually based BCIs and diagnostic paradigms. The time domain analysis of tVEPF signals shows robust features in the electric field components that might have clinical relevance beyond classical VEP approaches. . © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

A epidemiologia, os valores e o significado de paradigma Epidemiology, values, and the meaning of paradigm

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Djalma Agripino de Melo Filho

1997-10-01

Full Text Available Recentemente, o emprego do termo paradigma chegou ao âmbito epidemiológico. Este texto analisou criticamente uma classificação de 'paradigmas epidemiológicos', proposta por Almeida-Filho. Inicialmente constatou-se que os valores não foram considerados como elementos fundamentais para a construção dos paradigmas, distanciando-se, assim, da matriz kuhniana. Uma vez que a sistematização procurou unir tendências antitéticas, ela pareceu estar mais próxima da epistéme foucaultiana. Finalmente, considerou-se mais apropriada a utilização do termo hegemonia, em vez de paradigma, para sistematizar períodos epidemiológicos, pois os valores das vertentes estão comprometidos com a particularidade (principalmente classe social.Use of the term paradigm has recently reached the epidemiological milieu. This article provides a critical analysis of a classification of "epidemiological paradigms" as proposed by Almeida-Filho. It was initially ascertained that values were not considered fundamental elements for the construction of paradigms, and that they therefore distanced themselves from the Kuhnian matrix. Systematization sought to unite antithetical tendencies and thus seemed closer to the Foucaltian epistéme. Finally, hegemony was considered a more appropriate term than paradigm for systematizing epidemiological periods, since the values of the different watersheds are committed to particularity (principally social class.

The Next Paradigm

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Bernardo Kastrup

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In order to perceive the world, we need more than just raw sensory input: a subliminal paradigm of thought is required to interpret raw sensory data and, thereby, create the objects and events we perceive around ourselves. As such, the world we see reflects our own unexamined, culture-bound assumptions and expectations, which explains why every generation in history has believed that it more or less understood the world. Today, we perceive a world of objects and events outside and independent of mind, which merely reflects our current paradigm of thought. Anomalies that contradict this paradigm have been accumulated by physicists over the past couple of decades, which will eventually force our culture to move to a new paradigm. Under this new paradigm, a form of universal mind will be viewed as nature’s sole fundamental entity. In this paper, I offer a sketch of what the new paradigm may look like.

New energy paradigm?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldoni, Giovanni

2007-01-01

The rise of oil prices, the difficulties in markets liberalization, and the poor results of competition have convinced many that a new energy paradigm is necessary. Taking the original definition of scientific paradigm, it doesn't seem that a practical solution could be found outside the present paradigm of energy policy, made of privatisation, liberalisation and competition [it

SCHOOL ECONOMY IN THE INVENTING EDUCATION PARADIGM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anatoliy Alexandrovich Lepeshev

2018-01-01

paradigm formation; – giving recommendations concerning the economic effectiveness enhancement of the implementation of inventive education paradigm. Methodology – analytical method: in the article practical results of the inventive education elements approbation are analyzed; – dialectic method: the article defines the system and dialectic kernel of TRIZ, which is the basis of inventive education paradigm. Results: the possibility is confirmed and the ways of improving economic indicators in school and additional education system are shown. Practical implications: it is expedient to apply the obtained results at schools, lyceums, gymnasiums, institutions of additional education at which engineering and technological or physical and mathematical classes, engineering classes, scientific and technical workshops and author’s methods of the knowledge invention and innovative projects are applied: both for improvement of Federal educational standards implementation quality, and for improvement of economic indicators.

Fully Online Multicommand Brain-Computer Interface with Visual Neurofeedback Using SSVEP Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Martinez

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a new multistage procedure for a real-time brain-machine/computer interface (BCI. The developed system allows a BCI user to navigate a small car (or any other object on the computer screen in real time, in any of the four directions, and to stop it if necessary. Extensive experiments with five young healthy subjects confirmed the high performance of the proposed online BCI system. The modular structure, high speed, and the optimal frequency band characteristics of the BCI platform are features which allow an extension to a substantially higher number of commands in the near future.

Modes of salmonid MHC class I and II evolution differ from the primate paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shum, B.P.; Guethlein, L.; Flodin, L.R.; Adkison, M.A.; Hedrick, R.P.; Nehring, R.B.; Stet, R.J.M.; Secombes, C.; Parham, P.

2001-01-01

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) represent two salmonid genera separated for 15-20 million years. cDNA sequences were determined for the classical MHC class I heavy chain gene UBA and the MHC class II β-chain gene DAB from 15 rainbow and 10 brown trout. Both genes

Examining our privileges and oppressions: incorporating an intersectionality paradigm into nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Herk, Kimberley A; Smith, Dawn; Andrew, Caroline

2011-03-01

An intersectionality paradigm is a means by which nurses can attend to issues of oppression and privilege within their practice and profession. Intersectionality is introduced as an essential theory to help debunk the hegemony of the 'white, middle class' perspective that often directs nursing research, practice, and education. The values and benefits of using an intersectionality paradigm in nursing are shown through recent research done with Aboriginal women. These findings contribute to an increased understanding of the importance and necessity of attending to the power relations that dominate nursing care encounters and influence the way nurses provide care. By acknowledging and responding to the presence of privilege and oppression and the associated power dynamics within the therapeutic encounter, nursing can strive further in helping to alleviate social injustices and health disparities that arise from unequal power relations. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Didaktiske paradigmer og refleksion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Torben Spanget

2014-01-01

analysis of subject didactics by Sigmund Ongstad. The two positions offer fundamentally different insights into didactics. Nielsen’s position establishes didactics as a knowledge domain and Ongstad’s position points to the dynamics of subject didactics by analyzing communication as a basic aspect. Krogh...... this article. A possible utilitarian didactical paradigm, already indicated by Krogh as a historical paradigm prominent in our time, is also discussed. It is suggested that reflection could be seen as a normative response to the utilitarian paradigm, and not as a paradigm in its own right. It is concluded...

Winnicott's paradigm outlined

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Zeljko Loparic

Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to present a unified view of Winnicott’s contribution to psychoanalysis. Part I (Sections 1-4 starts off by recalling that, according to some important commentators, Winnicott introduced a change in paradigms in psychoanalysis. In order to show that this change can be viewed as an overall “switch in paradigms”, in the sense given by T. S. Kuhn, this paper presents an account of the Kuhn’s view of science and offers a reconstruction of Freud’s Oedipal, Triangular or “Toddler-in-the-Mother’s-Bed” Paradigm. Part II (Sections 5-13 shows that as early as the 1920’s Winnicott encountered insurmountable anomalies in the Oedipal paradigm and, for that reason, started what can be called revolutionary research for a new framework of psychoanalysis. This research led Winnicott, especially during the last period of his life, to produce an alternative dual or “Baby-on-the-Mother’s-Lap” Paradigm. This new paradigm is described in some detail, especially the paradigmatic dual mother-baby relation and Winnicott’s dominant theory of maturation. Final remarks are made regarding Winnicott’s heritage and the future of psychoanalysis.

A New Control Paradigm for Stochastic Differential Equations

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, Matthias J. A.

This study presents a novel comprehensive approach to the control of dynamic systems under uncertainty governed by stochastic differential equations (SDEs). Large Deviations (LD) techniques are employed to arrive at a control law for a large class of nonlinear systems minimizing sample path deviations. Thereby, a paradigm shift is suggested from point-in-time to sample path statistics on function spaces. A suitable formal control framework which leverages embedded Freidlin-Wentzell theory is proposed and described in detail. This includes the precise definition of the control objective and comprises an accurate discussion of the adaptation of the Freidlin-Wentzell theorem to the particular situation. The new control design is enabled by the transformation of an ill-posed control objective into a well-conditioned sequential optimization problem. A direct numerical solution process is presented using quadratic programming, but the emphasis is on the development of a closed-form expression reflecting the asymptotic deviation probability of a particular nominal path. This is identified as the key factor in the success of the new paradigm. An approach employing the second variation and the differential curvature of the effective action is suggested for small deviation channels leading to the Jacobi field of the rate function and the subsequently introduced Jacobi field performance measure. This closed-form solution is utilized in combination with the supplied parametrization of the objective space. For the first time, this allows for an LD based control design applicable to a large class of nonlinear systems. Thus, Minimum Large Deviations (MLD) control is effectively established in a comprehensive structured framework. The construction of the new paradigm is completed by an optimality proof for the Jacobi field performance measure, an interpretive discussion, and a suggestion for efficient implementation. The potential of the new approach is exhibited by its extension

EEG-based characterization of flicker perception

OpenAIRE

Lazo, M.; Tsoneva, T.; Garcia Molina, G.

2013-01-01

Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) is an oscillatory electrical response appearing in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in response to flicker stimulation. The SSVEP manifests more prominently in electrodes located near the visual cortex and has oscillatory components at the stimulation frequency and/or harmonics. The phase and amplitude of the SSVEP are sensitive to stimulus parameters such as frequency, modu-lation depth, and spatial frequency. Research related to SSVEP and the human...

Using frequency tagging to quantify attentional deployment in a visual divided attention task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toffanin, Paolo; de Jong, Ritske; Johnson, Addie; Martens, Sander

Frequency tagging is an EEG method based on the quantification of the steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) elicited from stimuli which flicker with a distinctive frequency. Because the amplitude of the SSVEP is modulated by attention such that attended stimuli elicit higher SSVEP amplitudes

An Integrative Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Hammack, Phillip L.

2005-01-01

Through the application of life course theory to the study of sexual orientation, this paper specifies a new paradigm for research on human sexual orientation that seeks to reconcile divisions among biological, social science, and humanistic paradigms. Recognizing the historical, social, and cultural relativity of human development, this paradigm…

The resilience of paradigm mixes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daugbjerg, Carsten; Farsund, Arild Aurvåg; Langhelle, Oluf

2017-01-01

This paper argues that a policy regime based on a paradigm mix may be resilient when challenged by changing power balances and new agendas. Controversies between the actors can be contained within the paradigm mix as it enables them to legitimize different ideational positions. Rather than engaging...... context changed. The paradigm mix proved sufficiently flexible to accommodate food security concerns and at the same time continue to take steps toward further liberalization. Indeed, the main players have not challenged the paradigm mix....

Parametri, Variabili e altro: Un ripensamento su come questi concetti sono presentati in classe (Variable Parameters and Other Issues: A Review of How These Concepts Are Presented in Class).

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarugi, Ivana; And Others

1995-01-01

This paper considers the problem of variables, in particular parameters, analyzes how these concepts are presented in textbooks, comments on paradigms of exercises in which parameters intervene, and points out difficulties encountered by students. Discusses results of teacher interviews concerning their dealing with parameters in class.…

Of Paradigms and Power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carstensen, Martin B.; Matthijs, Matthias

in the study of policy paradigms. To demonstrate the general applicability of our framework, the paper examines the evolution of British macroeconomic policy making since 1990. We show that various Prime Ministers and their Chancellors were able to reinterpret and redefine the dominant neoliberal understanding......? Despite the profound impact of Peter Hall’s approach to policy paradigms and social learning, there is a burgeoning consensus that transposing a rudimentary ‘Kuhnian’ understanding of paradigms into the context of public policy making leads to a notion of punctuated equilibrium style shifts as the only...

Using frequency tagging to quantify attentional deployment in a visual divided attention task.

Science.gov (United States)

Toffanin, Paolo; de Jong, Ritske; Johnson, Addie; Martens, Sander

2009-06-01

Frequency tagging is an EEG method based on the quantification of the steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) elicited from stimuli which flicker with a distinctive frequency. Because the amplitude of the SSVEP is modulated by attention such that attended stimuli elicit higher SSVEP amplitudes than do ignored stimuli, the method has been used to investigate the neural mechanisms of spatial attention. However, up to now it has not been shown whether the amplitude of the SSVEP is sensitive to gradations of attention and there has been debate about whether attention effects on the SSVEP are dependent on the tagging frequency used. We thus compared attention effects on SSVEP across three attention conditions-focused, divided, and ignored-with six different tagging frequencies. Participants performed a visual detection task (respond to the digit 5 embedded in a stream of characters). Two stimulus streams, one to the left and one to the right of fixation, were displayed simultaneously, each with a background grey square whose hue was sine-modulated with one of the six tagging frequencies. At the beginning of each trial a cue indicated whether targets on the left, right, or both sides should be responded to. Accuracy was higher in the focused- than in the divided-attention condition. SSVEP amplitudes were greatest in the focused-attention condition, intermediate in the divided-attention condition, and smallest in the ignored-attention condition. The effect of attention on SSVEP amplitude did not depend on the tagging frequency used. Frequency tagging appears to be a flexible technique for studying attention.

Training Class Inclusion Responding in Typically Developing Children and Individuals with Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Ming, Siri; Mulhern, Teresa; Stewart, Ian; Moran, Laura; Bynum, Kellie

2018-01-01

In a "class inclusion" task, a child must respond to stimuli as being involved in two different though hierarchically related categories. This study used a Relational Frame Theory (RFT) paradigm to assess and train this ability in three typically developing preschoolers and three individuals with autism spectrum disorder, all of whom had…

Understanding paradigms used for nursing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Kathryn; Olson, Joanne K

2006-02-01

The aims of this paper are to add clarity to the discussion about paradigms for nursing research and to consider integrative strategies for the development of nursing knowledge. Paradigms are sets of beliefs and practices, shared by communities of researchers, which regulate inquiry within disciplines. The various paradigms are characterized by ontological, epistemological and methodological differences in their approaches to conceptualizing and conducting research, and in their contribution towards disciplinary knowledge construction. Researchers may consider these differences so vast that one paradigm is incommensurable with another. Alternatively, researchers may ignore these differences and either unknowingly combine paradigms inappropriately or neglect to conduct needed research. To accomplish the task of developing nursing knowledge for use in practice, there is a need for a critical, integrated understanding of the paradigms used for nursing inquiry. We describe the evolution and influence of positivist, postpositivist, interpretive and critical theory research paradigms. Using integrative review, we compare and contrast the paradigms in terms of their philosophical underpinnings and scientific contribution. A pragmatic approach to theory development through synthesis of cumulative knowledge relevant to nursing practice is suggested. This requires that inquiry start with assessment of existing knowledge from disparate studies to identify key substantive content and gaps. Knowledge development in under-researched areas could be accomplished through integrative strategies that preserve theoretical integrity and strengthen research approaches associated with various philosophical perspectives. These strategies may include parallel studies within the same substantive domain using different paradigms; theoretical triangulation to combine findings from paradigmatically diverse studies; integrative reviews; and mixed method studies. Nurse scholars are urged to

Dynamic paradigm of turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukhamedov, Alfred M.

2006-01-01

In this paper a dynamic paradigm of turbulence is proposed. The basic idea consists in the novel definition of chaotic structure given with the help of Pfaff system of PDE associated with the turbulent dynamics. A methodological analysis of the new and the former paradigm is produced

The role of derivational paradigms with adjectival base in Old English word-formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Novo Urraca

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to identify the primary adjectives of Old English as well as to gather the derivational paradigms that revolve around them. All in all, 459 primary adjectives are identified, which function as base of 6,587 derivatives. Two conclusions are drawn from the analysis. In the first place, the concept of derivational paradigm contributes to the explanation of the overall organization of the lexicon, while allowing for the discussion of questions that are at the core of current morphological theory, such as recursivity and productivity. The conclusion is drawn that primary adjectives play a significant role in Old English derivation. Even though they are not as productive as strong verbs, primary adjectives function as base of derivation of a significant number of non-basic terms, which, moreover, belong to all lexical categories and nearly all grammatical classes.

Beyond maximum speed—a novel two-stimulus paradigm for brain-computer interfaces based on event-related potentials (P300-BCI)

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufmann, Tobias; Kübler, Andrea

2014-10-01

Objective. The speed of brain-computer interfaces (BCI), based on event-related potentials (ERP), is inherently limited by the commonly used one-stimulus paradigm. In this paper, we introduce a novel paradigm that can increase the spelling speed by a factor of 2, thereby extending the one-stimulus paradigm to a two-stimulus paradigm. Two different stimuli (a face and a symbol) are presented at the same time, superimposed on different characters and ERPs are classified using a multi-class classifier. Here, we present the proof-of-principle that is achieved with healthy participants. Approach. Eight participants were confronted with the novel two-stimulus paradigm and, for comparison, with two one-stimulus paradigms that used either one of the stimuli. Classification accuracies (percentage of correctly predicted letters) and elicited ERPs from the three paradigms were compared in a comprehensive offline analysis. Main results. The accuracies slightly decreased with the novel system compared to the established one-stimulus face paradigm. However, the use of two stimuli allowed for spelling at twice the maximum speed of the one-stimulus paradigms, and participants still achieved an average accuracy of 81.25%. This study introduced an alternative way of increasing the spelling speed in ERP-BCIs and illustrated that ERP-BCIs may not yet have reached their speed limit. Future research is needed in order to improve the reliability of the novel approach, as some participants displayed reduced accuracies. Furthermore, a comparison to the most recent BCI systems with individually adjusted, rapid stimulus timing is needed to draw conclusions about the practical relevance of the proposed paradigm. Significance. We introduced a novel two-stimulus paradigm that might be of high value for users who have reached the speed limit with the current one-stimulus ERP-BCI systems.

The detour paradigm in animal cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabadayi, Can; Bobrowicz, Katarzyna; Osvath, Mathias

2018-01-01

In this paper, we review one of the oldest paradigms used in animal cognition: the detour paradigm. The paradigm presents the subject with a situation where a direct route to the goal is blocked and a detour must be made to reach it. Often being an ecologically valid and a versatile tool, the detour paradigm has been used to study diverse cognitive skills like insight, social learning, inhibitory control and route planning. Due to the relative ease of administrating detour tasks, the paradigm has lately been used in large-scale comparative studies in order to investigate the evolution of inhibitory control. Here we review the detour paradigm and some of its cognitive requirements, we identify various ecological and contextual factors that might affect detour performance, we also discuss developmental and neurological underpinnings of detour behaviors, and we suggest some methodological approaches to make species comparisons more robust.

Neural architecture underlying classification of face perception paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Laird, Angela R; Riedel, Michael C; Sutherland, Matthew T; Eickhoff, Simon B; Ray, Kimberly L; Uecker, Angela M; Fox, P Mickle; Turner, Jessica A; Fox, Peter T

2015-10-01

We present a novel strategy for deriving a classification system of functional neuroimaging paradigms that relies on hierarchical clustering of experiments archived in the BrainMap database. The goal of our proof-of-concept application was to examine the underlying neural architecture of the face perception literature from a meta-analytic perspective, as these studies include a wide range of tasks. Task-based results exhibiting similar activation patterns were grouped as similar, while tasks activating different brain networks were classified as functionally distinct. We identified four sub-classes of face tasks: (1) Visuospatial Attention and Visuomotor Coordination to Faces, (2) Perception and Recognition of Faces, (3) Social Processing and Episodic Recall of Faces, and (4) Face Naming and Lexical Retrieval. Interpretation of these sub-classes supports an extension of a well-known model of face perception to include a core system for visual analysis and extended systems for personal information, emotion, and salience processing. Overall, these results demonstrate that a large-scale data mining approach can inform the evolution of theoretical cognitive models by probing the range of behavioral manipulations across experimental tasks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Ordering Strategies and Programming Paradigms on Sparse Matrix Computations

Science.gov (United States)

Oliker, Leonid; Li, Xiaoye; Husbands, Parry; Biswas, Rupak; Biegel, Bryan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithm is perhaps the best-known iterative technique to solve sparse linear systems that are symmetric and positive definite. For systems that are ill-conditioned, it is often necessary to use a preconditioning technique. In this paper, we investigate the effects of various ordering and partitioning strategies on the performance of parallel CG and ILU(O) preconditioned CG (PCG) using different programming paradigms and architectures. Results show that for this class of applications: ordering significantly improves overall performance on both distributed and distributed shared-memory systems, that cache reuse may be more important than reducing communication, that it is possible to achieve message-passing performance using shared-memory constructs through careful data ordering and distribution, and that a hybrid MPI+OpenMP paradigm increases programming complexity with little performance gains. A implementation of CG on the Cray MTA does not require special ordering or partitioning to obtain high efficiency and scalability, giving it a distinct advantage for adaptive applications; however, it shows limited scalability for PCG due to a lack of thread level parallelism.

The WIMP Paradigm: Current Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Jonathan

2011-01-01

The WIMP paradigm is the glue that joins together much of the high energy and cosmic frontiers. It postulates that most of the matter in the Universe is made of weakly-interacting massive particles, with implications for a broad range of experiments and observations. I will review the WIMP paradigm's underlying motivations, its current status in view of rapid experimental progress on several fronts, and recent theoretical variations on the WIMP paradigm theme.

Linking aims, paradigm and method in nursing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Houghton, Catherine; Hunter, Andrew; Meskell, Pauline

2012-01-01

To explore the use of paradigms as ontological and philosophical guides for conducting PhD research. A paradigm can help to bridge the aims of a study and the methods to achieve them. However, choosing a paradigm can be challenging for doctoral researchers: there can be ambiguity about which paradigm is suitable for a particular research question and there is a lack of guidance on how to shape the research process for a chosen paradigm. The authors discuss three paradigms used in PhD nursing research: post-positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. They compare each paradigm in relation to its ontology, epistemology and methodology, and present three examples of PhD nursing research studies to illustrate how research can be conducted using these paradigms in the context of the research aims and methods. The commonalities and differences between the paradigms and their uses are highlighted. Creativity and flexibility are important when deciding on a paradigm. However, consistency and transparency are also needed to ensure the quality and rigour necessary for conducting nursing research. When choosing a suitable paradigm, the researcher should ensure that the ontology, epistemology and methodology of the paradigm are manifest in the methods and research strategies employed.

Post-stimulus endogenous and exogenous oscillations are differentially modulated by task difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yun; Lou, Bin; Gao, Xiaorong; Sajda, Paul

2013-01-01

We investigate the modulation of post-stimulus endogenous and exogenous oscillations when a visual discrimination is made more difficult. We use exogenous frequency tagging to induce steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP) while subjects perform a face-car discrimination task, the difficulty of which varies on a trial-to-trial basis by varying the noise (phase coherence) in the image. We simultaneously analyze amplitude modulations of the SSVEP and endogenous alpha activity as a function of task difficulty. SSVEP modulation can be viewed as a neural marker of attention toward/away from the primary task, while modulation of post-stimulus alpha is closely related to cortical information processing. We find that as the task becomes more difficult, the amplitude of SSVEP decreases significantly, approximately 250-450 ms post-stimulus. Significant changes in endogenous alpha amplitude follow SSVEP modulation, occurring at approximately 400-700 ms post-stimulus and, unlike the SSVEP, the alpha amplitude is increasingly suppressed as the task becomes less difficult. Our results demonstrate simultaneous measurement of endogenous and exogenous oscillations that are modulated by task difficulty, and that the specific timing of these modulations likely reflects underlying information processing flow during perceptual decision-making.

Assessing the paradigm of mutually exclusive erosion and deposition of mud, with examples from upper Chesapeake Bay

Science.gov (United States)

Sanford, L.P.; Halka, J.P.

1993-01-01

A paradigm of cohesive sediment transport research is that erosion and deposition are mutually exclusive. Many laboratory studies have shown that there is a velocity/stress threshold below which erosion does not occur and a lower threshold above which deposition does not occur. In contrast, a deposition threshold is not included in standard noncohesive sediment transport models, allowing erosion and deposition to occur simultaneously. Several researchers have also modeled erosion and deposition of mud without a deposition threshold. This distinction can have important implications for suspended sediment transport predictions and for data interpretation. Model-data comparisons based on observations of in situ erosion and deposition of upper Chesapeake Bay mud indicate poor agreement when the sediments are modeled as a single resuspended particle class and mutually exclusive erosion and deposition is assumed. The total resuspended sediment load increases in conjunction with increasing bottom shear stress as anticipated, but deposition is initiated soon after the shear stress begins to decrease and long before the stress falls below the value at which erosion had previously begun. Models assuming no critical stress for deposition, with continuous deposition proportional to the near bottom resuspended sediment concentration, describe the data better. Empirical parameter values estimated from these model fits are similar to other published values for estuarine cohesive sediments, indicating significantly greater erodability for higher water content surface sediments and settling velocities appropriate for large estuarine flocs. The apparent failure of the cohesive paradigm when applied to in situ data does not mean that the concept of a critical stress for deposition is wrong. Two possibilities for explaining the observed discrepancies are that certain aspects of in situ conditions have not been replicated in the laboratory experiments underlying the cohesive paradigm

The effect of subjective and objective social class on health-related quality of life: new paradigm using longitudinal analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Young; Kim, Jae-Hyun; Park, Eun-Cheol

2015-08-08

To investigate the impact of the gap between subjective and objective social status on health-related quality of life. We analyzed data from 12,350 participants aged ≥ 18 years in the Korean Health Panel Survey. Health-related quality of life was measured by EuroQol-Visual analogue scale. Objective (income and education) and subjective social class (measured by MacArthur scale) was classified into three groups (High, Middle, Low). In terms of a gap between objective and subjective social class, social class was grouped into nine categories ranging from High-High to Low-Low. A linear mixed model was used to investigate the association between the combined social class and health-related quality of life. The impact of the gap between objective and subjective status on Health-related quality of life varied according to the type of gap. Namely, at any given subjective social class, an individual's quality of life declined with a decrease in the objective social class. At any given objective social class (e.g., HH, HM, HL; in terms of both education and income), an individual's quality of life declined with a one-level decrease in subjective social class. Our results suggest that studies of the relationship between social class and health outcomes may consider the multidimensional nature of social status.

Clinical fMRI of language function in aphasic patients: Reading paradigm successful, while word generation paradigm fails

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engstroem, Maria; Landtblom, Anne-Marie; Ragnehed, Mattias; Lundberg, Peter; Karlsson, Marie; Crone, Marie; Antepohl, Wolfram

2010-01-01

Background: In fMRI examinations, it is very important to select appropriate paradigms assessing the brain function of interest. In addition, the patients' ability to perform the required cognitive tasks during fMRI must be taken into account. Purpose: To evaluate two language paradigms, word generation and sentence reading for their usefulness in examinations of aphasic patients and to make suggestions for improvements of clinical fMRI. Material and Methods: Five patients with aphasia after stroke or trauma sequelae were examined by fMRI. The patients' language ability was screened by neurolinguistic tests and elementary pre-fMRI language tests. Results: The sentence-reading paradigm succeeded to elicit adequate language-related activation in perilesional areas whereas the word generation paradigm failed. These findings were consistent with results on the behavioral tests in that all patients showed very poor performance in phonemic fluency, but scored well above mean at a reading comprehension task. Conclusion: The sentence-reading paradigm is appropriate to assess language function in this patient group, while the word-generation paradigm seems to be inadequate. In addition, it is crucial to use elementary pre-fMRI language tests to guide the fMRI paradigm decision.

Clinical fMRI of language function in aphasic patients: Reading paradigm successful, while word generation paradigm fails

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engstroem, Maria; Landtblom, Anne-Marie; Ragnehed, Mattias; Lundberg, Peter (Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), Linkoeping Univ., Linkoeping (Sweden)), e-mail: maria.engstrom@liu.se; Karlsson, Marie; Crone, Marie (Dept. of Clinical and Experimental Medicine/Logopedics, Linkoeping Univ., Linkoeping (Sweden)); Antepohl, Wolfram (Dept. of Clinical and Experimental Medicine/Rehabilitation, Linkoeping Univ., Linkoeping (Sweden))

2010-07-15

Background: In fMRI examinations, it is very important to select appropriate paradigms assessing the brain function of interest. In addition, the patients' ability to perform the required cognitive tasks during fMRI must be taken into account. Purpose: To evaluate two language paradigms, word generation and sentence reading for their usefulness in examinations of aphasic patients and to make suggestions for improvements of clinical fMRI. Material and Methods: Five patients with aphasia after stroke or trauma sequelae were examined by fMRI. The patients' language ability was screened by neurolinguistic tests and elementary pre-fMRI language tests. Results: The sentence-reading paradigm succeeded to elicit adequate language-related activation in perilesional areas whereas the word generation paradigm failed. These findings were consistent with results on the behavioral tests in that all patients showed very poor performance in phonemic fluency, but scored well above mean at a reading comprehension task. Conclusion: The sentence-reading paradigm is appropriate to assess language function in this patient group, while the word-generation paradigm seems to be inadequate. In addition, it is crucial to use elementary pre-fMRI language tests to guide the fMRI paradigm decision.

Evolution of the radiological protection paradigms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sordi, Gian Maria A.A.

2009-01-01

We consider as initial radiological protection paradigms those in vigour after the release of the atomic energy for pacific usages in 1955. In that occasion, only one paradigm was introduced, presently named dose limitation system. After arguing about the basis that raised the paradigm, we introduced the guidance, that is, the measurements to be implemented to comply with the paradigm. In that occasion, they were two, i.e., the radiation dose monitoring and the workplace classification. Afterwards, the reasons that caused the radiological protection paradigms changes in force until 1995 are discussed. The initial paradigm was modified introducing the justification and the optimization principles, adding that the radiological protection should be economical and effective. The guidance also increased to four: personal monitoring, workplace classification, reference level and workers classification. Afterwards, we give the main justifications for the present paradigms that besides the formers were added the dose constraints, the potential exposure and the annual risk limits. Due to these modifications, the workers classifications were eliminated from the guidance, but the potential exposure and the search for the dose constraints were added. Eventually, we discuss the tendencies for the next future and the main changes introduced by the ICRP in the Publication 103, 2007. (author)

The dynamic allocation of attention to emotion: simultaneous and independent evidence from the late positive potential and steady state visual evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajcak, Greg; MacNamara, Annmarie; Foti, Dan; Ferri, Jamie; Keil, Andreas

2013-03-01

Emotional stimuli capture and hold attention without explicit instruction. The late positive potential (LPP) component of the event related potential can be used to track motivated attention toward emotional stimuli, and is larger for emotional compared to neutral pictures. In the frequency domain, the steady state visual evoked potential (ssVEP) has also been used to track attention to stimuli flickering at a particular frequency. Like the LPP, the ssVEP is also larger for emotional compared to neutral pictures. Prior work suggests that both the LPP and ssVEP are sensitive to "top-down" manipulations of attention, however the LPP and ssVEP have not previously been examined using the same attentional manipulation in the same participants. In the present study, LPP and ssVEP amplitudes were simultaneously elicited by unpleasant and neutral pictures. Partway through picture presentation, participants' attention was directed toward an arousing or non-arousing region of unpleasant pictures. In line with prior work, the LPP was reduced when attention was directed toward non-arousing compared to arousing regions of unpleasant pictures; similar results were observed for the ssVEP. Thus, both electrocortical measures index affective salience and are sensitive to directed (here: spatial) attention. Variation in the LPP and ssVEP was unrelated, suggesting that these measures are not redundant with each other and may capture different neurophysiological aspects of affective stimulus processing and attention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Three paradigms of horror

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dejan Ognjanović

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Starting with the definition of horror as a literary genre the core story of which is based on a meeting with threatening Otherness whose influx into consensual reality and it’s tacit normality creates unrest and awakens fear in the protagonists and the audience, this paper defines the three key paradigms of the horror genre, based on the causes of fear, or rather the “monstrous” Otherness in them. Paradigm 1 concerns the “fear of one’s own self”: the root of the fear is inside, in the individual psyche, in the split, deceived, or in some other way unreliable self which is, consciously or unconsciously, harmful to others, and ultimately to itself. Paradigm 2 deals with the “Fear of others”: the root of fear is outside and is concerned with other people and other creatures which have an urge to occupy a certain human microcosm. Paradigm 3 is concerned with the “Fear of the numinous”: the root of the fear is mostly situated on the outside; however its shape is amorphous, ambivalent and unknowable. The “monster” is faceless; it touches on primary forces of the divine/demonic, and as such is situated on the very border between inside/outside. All three paradigms, with their main approaches and constitutive elements, are modulated through two basic possible treatments: the conservative and the progressive (liberal, which affords a total of six basic variations of horror. Starting from definitions given by John Carpenter, Robin Wood and his own, the author analyzes representative examples from horror literature and film for each paradigm and its variation, with a special accent on the image of Otherness and its connection to the norm, its intrusion into the status quo, anthropocentrism and the presence or absence of a happy ending. The paper demonstrates the richness of connotative potential within the horror genre and provides a basis for its taxonomy.

Research on steady-state visual evoked potentials in 3D displays

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Yu-Yi; Lee, Chia-Ying; Lin, Fang-Cheng; Huang, Yi-Pai; Ko, Li-Wei; Shieh, Han-Ping D.

2015-05-01

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are intuitive systems for users to communicate with outer electronic devices. Steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) is one of the common inputs for BCI systems due to its easy detection and high information transfer rates. An advanced interactive platform integrated with liquid crystal displays is leading a trend to provide an alternative option not only for the handicapped but also for the public to make our lives more convenient. Many SSVEP-based BCI systems have been studied in a 2D environment; however there is only little literature about SSVEP-based BCI systems using 3D stimuli. 3D displays have potentials in SSVEP-based BCI systems because they can offer vivid images, good quality in presentation, various stimuli and more entertainment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two important 3D factors (disparity and crosstalk) on SSVEPs. Twelve participants participated in the experiment with a patterned retarder 3D display. The results show that there is a significant difference (p-value<0.05) between large and small disparity angle, and the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of small disparity angles is higher than those of large disparity angles. The 3D stimuli with smaller disparity and lower crosstalk are more suitable for applications based on the results of 3D perception and SSVEP responses (SNR). Furthermore, we can infer the 3D perception of users by SSVEP responses, and modify the proper disparity of 3D images automatically in the future.

Competitive interactions of attentional resources in early visual cortex during sustained visuospatial attention within or between visual hemifields: evidence for the different-hemifield advantage.

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Sabrina; Quigley, Cliodhna; Mueller, Matthias M

2014-05-01

Performing a task across the left and right visual hemifields results in better performance than in a within-hemifield version of the task, termed the different-hemifield advantage. Although recent studies used transient stimuli that were presented with long ISIs, here we used a continuous objective electrophysiological (EEG) measure of competitive interactions for attentional processing resources in early visual cortex, the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP). We frequency-tagged locations in each visual quadrant and at central fixation by flickering light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at different frequencies to elicit distinguishable SSVEPs. Stimuli were presented for several seconds, and participants were cued to attend to two LEDs either in one (Within) or distributed across left and right visual hemifields (Across). In addition, we introduced two reference measures: one for suppressive interactions between the peripheral LEDs by using a task at fixation where attention was withdrawn from the periphery and another estimating the upper bound of SSVEP amplitude by cueing participants to attend to only one of the peripheral LEDs. We found significantly greater SSVEP amplitude modulations in Across compared with Within hemifield conditions. No differences were found between SSVEP amplitudes elicited by the peripheral LEDs when participants attended to the centrally located LEDs compared with when peripheral LEDs had to be ignored in Across and Within trials. Attending to only one LED elicited the same SSVEP amplitude as Across conditions. Although behavioral data displayed a more complex pattern, SSVEP amplitudes were well in line with the predictions of the different-hemifield advantage account during sustained visuospatial attention.

The Cognitive Paradigm Ontology: Design and Application

Science.gov (United States)

Laird, Angela R.

2013-01-01

We present the basic structure of the Cognitive Paradigm Ontology (CogPO) for human behavioral experiments. While the experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience literature may refer to certain behavioral tasks by name (e.g., the Stroop paradigm or the Sternberg paradigm) or by function (a working memory task, a visual attention task), these paradigms can vary tremendously in the stimuli that are presented to the subject, the response expected from the subject, and the instructions given to the subject. Drawing from the taxonomy developed and used by the BrainMap project (www.brainmap.org) for almost two decades to describe key components of published functional imaging results, we have developed an ontology capable of representing certain characteristics of the cognitive paradigms used in the fMRI and PET literature. The Cognitive Paradigm Ontology is being developed to be compliant with the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), and to harmonize where possible with larger ontologies such as RadLex, NeuroLex, or the Ontology of Biomedical Investigations (OBI). The key components of CogPO include the representation of experimental conditions focused on the stimuli presented, the instructions given, and the responses requested. The use of alternate and even competitive terminologies can often impede scientific discoveries. Categorization of paradigms according to stimulus, response, and instruction has been shown to allow advanced data retrieval techniques by searching for similarities and contrasts across multiple paradigm levels. The goal of CogPO is to develop, evaluate, and distribute a domain ontology of cognitive paradigms for application and use in the functional neuroimaging community. PMID:21643732

Immunity induced by a broad class of inorganic crystalline materials is directly controlled by their chemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

G.R. Williams (Gareth); K. Fierens (Kaat); S.G. Preston (Stephen); A.C. Lunn; O. Rysnik (Oliwia); S. de Prijck (Sofie); M. Kool (Mirjam); H.C. Buckley (Hannah); B.N.M. Lambrecht (Bart); D. O'Hare (Dermot); J.M. Austyn (Jonathan)

2014-01-01

textabstractThere is currently no paradigm in immunology that enables an accurate prediction of how the immune system will respond to any given agent. Here we show that the immunological responses induced by members of a broad class of inorganic crystalline materials are controlled purely by their

Simultaneous EEG/fMRI analysis of the resonance phenomena in steady-state visual evoked responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayram, Ali; Bayraktaroglu, Zubeyir; Karahan, Esin; Erdogan, Basri; Bilgic, Basar; Ozker, Muge; Kasikci, Itir; Duru, Adil D; Ademoglu, Ahmet; Oztürk, Cengizhan; Arikan, Kemal; Tarhan, Nevzat; Demiralp, Tamer

2011-04-01

The stability of the steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) across trials and subjects makes them a suitable tool for the investigation of the visual system. The reproducible pattern of the frequency characteristics of SSVEPs shows a global amplitude maximum around 10 Hz and additional local maxima around 20 and 40 Hz, which have been argued to represent resonant behavior of damped neuronal oscillators. Simultaneous electroencephalogram/functional magnetic resonance imaging (EEG/fMRI) measurement allows testing of the resonance hypothesis about the frequency-selective increases in SSVEP amplitudes in human subjects, because the total synaptic activity that is represented in the fMRI-Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (fMRI-BOLD) response would not increase but get synchronized at the resonance frequency. For this purpose, 40 healthy volunteers were visually stimulated with flickering light at systematically varying frequencies between 6 and 46 Hz, and the correlations between SSVEP amplitudes and the BOLD responses were computed. The SSVEP frequency characteristics of all subjects showed 3 frequency ranges with an amplitude maximum in each of them, which roughly correspond to alpha, beta and gamma bands of the EEG. The correlation maps between BOLD responses and SSVEP amplitude changes across the different stimulation frequencies within each frequency band showed no significant correlation in the alpha range, while significant correlations were obtained in the primary visual area for the beta and gamma bands. This non-linear relationship between the surface recorded SSVEP amplitudes and the BOLD responses of the visual cortex at stimulation frequencies around the alpha band supports the view that a resonance at the tuning frequency of the thalamo-cortical alpha oscillator in the visual system is responsible for the global amplitude maximum of the SSVEP around 10 Hz. Information gained from the SSVEP/fMRI analyses in the present study might be extrapolated to the

A new learning paradigm: learning using privileged information.

Science.gov (United States)

Vapnik, Vladimir; Vashist, Akshay

2009-01-01

In the Afterword to the second edition of the book "Estimation of Dependences Based on Empirical Data" by V. Vapnik, an advanced learning paradigm called Learning Using Hidden Information (LUHI) was introduced. This Afterword also suggested an extension of the SVM method (the so called SVM(gamma)+ method) to implement algorithms which address the LUHI paradigm (Vapnik, 1982-2006, Sections 2.4.2 and 2.5.3 of the Afterword). See also (Vapnik, Vashist, & Pavlovitch, 2008, 2009) for further development of the algorithms. In contrast to the existing machine learning paradigm where a teacher does not play an important role, the advanced learning paradigm considers some elements of human teaching. In the new paradigm along with examples, a teacher can provide students with hidden information that exists in explanations, comments, comparisons, and so on. This paper discusses details of the new paradigm and corresponding algorithms, introduces some new algorithms, considers several specific forms of privileged information, demonstrates superiority of the new learning paradigm over the classical learning paradigm when solving practical problems, and discusses general questions related to the new ideas.

Internet messenger based smart virtual class learning using ubiquitous computing

Science.gov (United States)

Umam, K.; Mardi, S. N. S.; Hariadi, M.

2017-06-01

Internet messenger (IM) has become an important educational technology component in college education, IM makes it possible for students to engage in learning and collaborating at smart virtual class learning (SVCL) using ubiquitous computing. However, the model of IM-based smart virtual class learning using ubiquitous computing and empirical evidence that would favor a broad application to improve engagement and behavior are still limited. In addition, the expectation that IM based SVCL using ubiquitous computing could improve engagement and behavior on smart class cannot be confirmed because the majority of the reviewed studies followed instructions paradigms. This article aims to present the model of IM-based SVCL using ubiquitous computing and showing learners’ experiences in improved engagement and behavior for learner-learner and learner-lecturer interactions. The method applied in this paper includes design process and quantitative analysis techniques, with the purpose of identifying scenarios of ubiquitous computing and realize the impressions of learners and lecturers about engagement and behavior aspect and its contribution to learning

The search for understanding: the role of paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Marcella; Dowling, Maura; Millar, Michelle

2018-03-16

Kuhn's ( 1962 ) acknowledgement of a paradigm as a way that scientists make sense of their world and its reality gave recognition to the idea of 'paradigm shift'. This shift exposes the transience of paradigm development shaped by societal and scientific evolution. This ongoing evolutionary development provides the researcher with many paradigms to consider regarding how research is undertaken and the search for understanding achieved. An understanding of paradigm development is necessary when planning a study and can shape the search for understanding. It is hoped that the discussion presented here will assist novice and experienced researchers in articulating the rationales for their paradigm choices. An overview of the dominant paradigms is presented, reflecting ongoing paradigm development shaped by ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives. Potential paradigm choices that shape research aims, objectives and focus in the search for understanding are considered. The inherent debates about paradigm shift, division, war and synthesis leave the researcher many perspectives to consider. Articulating the world views underpinning constructivism, interpretivism and pragmatism is particularly challenging because of the blurring of boundaries between them. The evolutionary nature of paradigmatic development has provided nurse researchers with the opportunity for methodological openness to the myriad research approaches, methods and designs that they may choose to answer their research question. However, it is imperative that researchers consider their ontological stances and the nature of their research questions. This is challenging in constructivism, interpretivism and pragmatism, where there is often an overlap of paradigm world views. ©2018 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Ostracism Online: A social media ostracism paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Wouter; Levordashka, Ana; Ruff, Johanna R; Kraaijeveld, Steven; Lueckmann, Jan-Matthis; Williams, Kipling D

2015-06-01

We describe Ostracism Online, a novel, social media-based ostracism paradigm designed to (1) keep social interaction experimentally controlled, (2) provide researchers with the flexibility to manipulate the properties of the social situation to fit their research purposes, (3) be suitable for online data collection, (4) be convenient for studying subsequent within-group behavior, and (5) be ecologically valid. After collecting data online, we compared the Ostracism Online paradigm with the Cyberball paradigm (Williams & Jarvis Behavior Research Methods, 38, 174-180, 2006) on need-threat and mood questionnaire scores (van Beest & Williams Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91, 918-928, 2006). We also examined whether ostracized targets of either paradigm would be more likely to conform to their group members than if they had been included. Using a Bayesian analysis of variance to examine the individual effects of the different paradigms and to compare these effects across paradigms, we found analogous effects on need-threat and mood. Perhaps because we examined conformity to the ostracizers (rather than neutral sources), neither paradigm showed effects of ostracism on conformity. We conclude that Ostracism Online is a cost-effective, easy to use, and ecologically valid research tool for studying the psychological and behavioral effects of ostracism.

Policy paradigms, transnationalism, and domestic politics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Skogstad, Grace Darlene

2011-01-01

Policy Paradigms, Transnationalism, and Domestic Politics offers a variety of perspectives on the development of policy paradigms -- the ideas that structure thinking about what can and should be done in a policy domain...

Paradigm Shifts in Ophthalmic Diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebag, J; Sadun, Alfredo A; Pierce, Eric A

2016-08-01

Future advances in ophthalmology will see a paradigm shift in diagnostics from a focus on dysfunction and disease to better measures of psychophysical function and health. Practical methods to define genotypes will be increasingly important and non-invasive nanotechnologies are needed to detect molecular changes that predate histopathology. This is not a review nor meant to be comprehensive. Specific topics have been selected to illustrate the principles of important paradigm shifts that will influence the future of ophthalmic diagnostics. It is our impression that future evaluation of vision will go beyond visual acuity to assess ocular health in terms of psychophysical function. The definition of disease will incorporate genotype into what has historically been a phenotype-centric discipline. Non-invasive nanotechnologies will enable a paradigm shift from disease detection on a cellular level to a sub-cellular molecular level. Vision can be evaluated beyond visual acuity by measuring contrast sensitivity, color vision, and macular function, as these provide better insights into the impact of aging and disease. Distortions can be quantified and the psychophysical basis of vision can be better evaluated than in the past by designing tests that assess particular macular cell function(s). Advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of eye diseases will enable better characterization of ocular health and disease. Non-invasive nanotechnologies can assess molecular changes in the lens, vitreous, and macula that predate visible pathology. Oxygen metabolism and circulatory physiology are measurable indices of ocular health that can detect variations of physiology and early disease. This overview of paradigm shifts in ophthalmology suggests that the future will see significant improvements in ophthalmic diagnostics. The selected topics illustrate the principles of these paradigm shifts and should serve as a guide to further research and development. Indeed

Membrane paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, R.H.; Thorne, K.S.

1986-01-01

The membrane paradigm is a modified frozen star approach to modeling black holes, with particles and fields assuming a complex, static, boundary-layer type structure (membrane) near the event horizon. The membrane has no effects on the present or future evolution of particles and fields above itself. The mathematical representation is a combination of a formalism containing terms for the shear and bulk viscosity, surface pressure, momentum, temperature, entropy, etc., of the horizon and the 3+1 formalism. The latter model considers a family of three-dimensional spacelike hypersurfaces in one-dimensional time. The membrane model considers a magnetic field threading the hole and undergoing torque from the hole rotation. The field is cleaned by the horizon and distributed over the horizon so that ohmic dissipation is minimized. The membrane paradigm is invalid inside the horizon, but is useful for theoretically probing the properties of slowly evolving black holes

Information processing as a paradigm for decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Oppenheimer, Daniel M; Kelso, Evan

2015-01-03

For decades, the dominant paradigm for studying decision making--the expected utility framework--has been burdened by an increasing number of empirical findings that question its validity as a model of human cognition and behavior. However, as Kuhn (1962) argued in his seminal discussion of paradigm shifts, an old paradigm cannot be abandoned until a new paradigm emerges to replace it. In this article, we argue that the recent shift in researcher attention toward basic cognitive processes that give rise to decision phenomena constitutes the beginning of that replacement paradigm. Models grounded in basic perceptual, attentional, memory, and aggregation processes have begun to proliferate. The development of this new approach closely aligns with Kuhn's notion of paradigm shift, suggesting that this is a particularly generative and revolutionary time to be studying decision science.

Quantum chaos for nonstandard symmetry classes in the Feingold-Peres model of coupled tops.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Yiyun; Gnutzmann, Sven; Liang, Yuqi

2017-12-01

We consider two coupled quantum tops with angular momentum vectors L and M. The coupling Hamiltonian defines the Feingold-Peres model, which is a known paradigm of quantum chaos. We show that this model has a nonstandard symmetry with respect to the Altland-Zirnbauer tenfold symmetry classification of quantum systems, which extends the well-known threefold way of Wigner and Dyson (referred to as "standard" symmetry classes here). We identify the nonstandard symmetry classes BDI_{0} (chiral orthogonal class with no zero modes), BDI_{1} (chiral orthogonal class with one zero mode), and CI (antichiral orthogonal class) as well as the standard symmetry class AI (orthogonal class). We numerically analyze the specific spectral quantum signatures of chaos related to the nonstandard symmetries. In the microscopic density of states and in the distribution of the lowest positive energy eigenvalue, we show that the Feingold-Peres model follows the predictions of the Gaussian ensembles of random-matrix theory in the appropriate symmetry class if the corresponding classical dynamics is chaotic. In a crossover to mixed and near-integrable classical dynamics, we show that these signatures disappear or strongly change.

Class D audio amplifiers for high voltage capacitive transducers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Dennis

of high volume, weight, and cost. High efficient class D amplifiers are now widely available offering power densities, that their linear counterparts can not match. Unlike the technology of audio amplifiers, the loudspeaker is still based on the traditional electrodynamic transducer invented by C.W. Rice......Audio reproduction systems contains two key components, the amplifier and the loudspeaker. In the last 20 – 30 years the technology of audio amplifiers have performed a fundamental shift of paradigm. Class D audio amplifiers have replaced the linear amplifiers, suffering from the well-known issues...... with the low level of acoustical output power and complex amplifier requirements, have limited the commercial success of the technology. Horn or compression drivers are typically favoured, when high acoustic output power is required, this is however at the expense of significant distortion combined...

Effort-Based Decision-Making Paradigms for Clinical Trials in Schizophrenia: Part 1—Psychometric Characteristics of 5 Paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, L Felice; Horan, William P; Barch, Deanna M; Buchanan, Robert W; Dunayevich, Eduardo; Gold, James M; Lyons, Naomi; Marder, Stephen R; Treadway, Michael T; Wynn, Jonathan K; Young, Jared W; Green, Michael F

2015-09-01

Impairments in willingness to exert effort contribute to the motivational deficits characteristic of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of 5 new or adapted paradigms to determine their suitability for use in clinical trials of schizophrenia. This study included 94 clinically stable participants with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls. The effort-based decision-making battery was administered twice to the schizophrenia group (baseline, 4-week retest) and once to the control group. The 5 paradigms included 1 that assesses cognitive effort, 1 perceptual effort, and 3 that assess physical effort. Each paradigm was evaluated on (1) patient vs healthy control group differences, (2) test-retest reliability, (3) utility as a repeated measure (ie, practice effects), and (4) tolerability. The 5 paradigms showed varying psychometric strengths and weaknesses. The Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task showed the best reliability and utility as a repeated measure, while the Grip Effort Task had significant patient-control group differences, and superior tolerability and administration duration. The other paradigms showed weaker psychometric characteristics in their current forms. These findings highlight challenges in adapting effort and motivation paradigms for use in clinical trials. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center 2015.

P300 brain computer interface: current challenges and emerging trends

Science.gov (United States)

Fazel-Rezai, Reza; Allison, Brendan Z.; Guger, Christoph; Sellers, Eric W.; Kleih, Sonja C.; Kübler, Andrea

2012-01-01

A brain-computer interface (BCI) enables communication without movement based on brain signals measured with electroencephalography (EEG). BCIs usually rely on one of three types of signals: the P300 and other components of the event-related potential (ERP), steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), or event related desynchronization (ERD). Although P300 BCIs were introduced over twenty years ago, the past few years have seen a strong increase in P300 BCI research. This closed-loop BCI approach relies on the P300 and other components of the ERP, based on an oddball paradigm presented to the subject. In this paper, we overview the current status of P300 BCI technology, and then discuss new directions: paradigms for eliciting P300s; signal processing methods; applications; and hybrid BCIs. We conclude that P300 BCIs are quite promising, as several emerging directions have not yet been fully explored and could lead to improvements in bit rate, reliability, usability, and flexibility. PMID:22822397

Thought Suppression Research Methods: Paradigms, Theories, Methodological Concerns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niczyporuk Aneta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available It is hard to provide an unequivocal answer to the question of whether or not thought suppression is effective. Two thought suppression paradigms - the “white bear” paradigm and the think/no-think paradigm - give mixed results. Generally, “white bear” experiments indicate that thought suppression is counterproductive, while experiments in the think/no-think paradigm suggest that it is possible to effectively suppress a thought. There are also alternative methods used to study thought suppression, for instance the directed forgetting paradigm or the Stroop task. In the article, I describe the research methods used to explore thought suppression efficacy. I focus on the “white bear” and the think/no-think paradigms and discuss theories proposed to explain the results obtained. I also consider the internal and external validity of the methods used.

Three paradigms of horror

OpenAIRE

Dejan Ognjanović

2016-01-01

Starting with the definition of horror as a literary genre the core story of which is based on a meeting with threatening Otherness whose influx into consensual reality and it’s tacit normality creates unrest and awakens fear in the protagonists and the audience, this paper defines the three key paradigms of the horror genre, based on the causes of fear, or rather the “monstrous” Otherness in them. Paradigm 1 concerns the “fear of one’s own self”: the root of the fear is inside, in the indivi...

ENVIRONMENTALISM AND CLASSIC PARADIGMS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

OpenAIRE

D. D. Miniaeva

2014-01-01

This article examines an environmentalism integration process into Three classical paradigms of international relations theory (Liberalism, Realism and Marxism) into Three classical paradigms of international relations theory (Liberalism, Realism and Marxism). The main purpose of this study is to reveal the result of this integration. Methods used in this article include analysis and comparison of "ecological" paradigms on selected parameters (the nature of international relations, actors, ta...

Steady-state VEP responses to uncomfortable stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Hare, Louise

2017-02-01

Periodic stimuli, such as op-art, can evoke a range of aversive sensations included in the term visual discomfort. Illusory motion effects are elicited by fixational eye movements, but the cortex might also contribute to effects of discomfort. To investigate this possibility, steady-state visually evoked responses (SSVEPs) to contrast-matched op-art-based stimuli were measured at the same time as discomfort judgements. On average, discomfort reduced with increasing spatial frequency of the pattern. In contrast, the peak amplitude of the SSVEP response was around the midrange spatial frequencies. Like the discomfort judgements, SSVEP responses to the highest spatial frequencies were lowest amplitude, but the relationship breaks down between discomfort and SSVEP for the lower spatial frequency stimuli. This was not explicable by gross eye movements as measured using the facial electrodes. There was a weak relationship between the peak SSVEP responses and discomfort judgements for some stimuli, suggesting that discomfort can be explained in part by electrophysiological responses measured at the level of the cortex. However, there is a breakdown of this relationship in the case of lower spatial frequency stimuli, which remains unexplained. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of Distracting Task with Different Mental Workload on Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential Based Brain Computer Interfaces—an Offline Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yawei Zhao

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs, independent of the brain's normal output pathways, are attracting an increasing amount of attention as devices that extract neural information. As a typical type of BCI system, the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP-based BCIs possess a high signal-to-noise ratio and information transfer rate. However, the current high speed SSVEP-BCIs were implemented with subjects concentrating on stimuli, and intentionally avoided additional tasks as distractors. This paper aimed to investigate how a distracting simultaneous task, a verbal n-back task with different mental workload, would affect the performance of SSVEP-BCI. The results from fifteen subjects revealed that the recognition accuracy of SSVEP-BCI was significantly impaired by the distracting task, especially under a high mental workload. The average classification accuracy across all subjects dropped by 8.67% at most from 1- to 4-back, and there was a significant negative correlation (maximum r = −0.48, p < 0.001 between accuracy and subjective mental workload evaluation of the distracting task. This study suggests a potential hindrance for the SSVEP-BCI daily use, and then improvements should be investigated in the future studies.

The safety implications of emerging software paradigms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suski, G.J.; Persons, W.L.; Johnson, G.L.

1994-10-01

This paper addresses some of the emerging software paradigms that may be used in developing safety-critical software applications. Paradigms considered in this paper include knowledge-based systems, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and fuzzy systems. It presents one view of the software verification and validation activities that should be associated with each paradigm. The paper begins with a discussion of the historical evolution of software verification and validation. Next, a comparison is made between the verification and validation processes used for conventional and emerging software systems. Several verification and validation issues for the emerging paradigms are discussed and some specific research topics are identified. This work is relevant for monitoring and control at nuclear power plants

Morally-Relevant Similarities and Differences Between Assisted Dying Practices in Paradigm and Non-Paradigm Circumstances: Could They Inform Regulatory Decisions?

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, Jeffrey

2017-12-01

There has been contentious debate over the years about whether there are morally relevant similarities and differences between the three practices of continuous deep sedation until death, physician-assisted suicide, and voluntary euthanasia. Surprisingly little academic attention has been paid to a comparison of the uses of these practices in the two types of circumstances in which they are typically performed. A comparative domains of ethics analysis methodological approach is used in the paper to compare 1) the use of the three practices in paradigm circumstances, and 2) the use of the practices in paradigm circumstances to their use in non-paradigm circumstances. The analytical outcomes suggest that a bright moral line cannot be demonstrated between any two of the practices in paradigm circumstances, and that there are significant, morally-relevant distinctions between their use in paradigm and non-paradigm circumstances. A thought experiment is employed to illustrate how these outcomes could possibly inform the decisions of hypothetical deliberators who are engaged in the collaborative development of assisted dying regulatory frameworks.

Project management: a new service delivery paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. van der Walt

2007-07-01

Full Text Available In line with international trends in governance, the South African Government’s initial focus on the development of policy frameworks, structures and systems in order to give effect to the values and principles of the Constitution, shifted to the most critical issue, namely service delivery. The Government became increasingly aware that a significant expansion in the scope and quality of service provision was not possible with traditional delivery settings and approaches. There is growing evidence that there is a need for a significant departure from conventional approaches and that a leap into a new service delivery paradigm is necessary. Increasingly this new paradigm highlights the need to further develop the government’s project management skills and applications with a view to achieving improved delivery capability. In this article the focus will be placed on the changing service delivery paradigm – from an “old” traditional model through the transition to a “new” paradigm. This paradigm is shaped by international and national trends and events in government. The contribution and advantages of project management applications for effective governance are highlighted and the article concludes with an explanation of project management organisational arrangements necessary to support the new paradigm.

Testing the membrane paradigm with holography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, J.; Heller, M.P.; Pinzani-Fokeeva, N.

2015-01-01

One version of the membrane paradigm states that, as far as outside observers are concerned, black holes can be replaced by a dissipative membrane with simple physical properties located at the stretched horizon. We demonstrate that such a membrane paradigm is incomplete in several aspects. We argue

The Consumption Paradigm in Marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eka Ardianto

2003-08-01

Full Text Available This article elaborates consumption paradigm in marketing. In background, this paper reviews different perspectives of consumption: economic perspective and marketing perspective. In ontology, this work describes various issues regarding consumption view. In epistemology, this article demonstrates how marketers especially researches explore the consumption phenomena. In methodology, the article describes experiential marketing –one of applied consumption paradigm in marketing, which could be an alternative choice of marketing practices.

EEG-based characterization of flicker perception

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lazo, M.; Tsoneva, T.; Garcia Molina, G.

2013-01-01

Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) is an oscillatory electrical response appearing in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in response to flicker stimulation. The SSVEP manifests more prominently in electrodes located near the visual cortex and has oscillatory components at the stimulation

Composite paradigms in medicine: analysing Gillies' claim of reclassification of disease without paradigm shift in the case of Helicobacter pylori.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutton, Joseph

2012-09-01

Since the publication of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962, the notion of paradigms has shaped the way that philosophy views scientific discovery and how changes in what is regarded as empirical fact occur. This drew heavily on examples from the history of the natural sciences to support Kuhn's hypothesis. However, some argue that medicine is different from the natural sciences. Gillies has proposed another theory of how paradigms apply to medicine; that of composite paradigms. In doing so, Gillies uses the example of Helicobacter pylori and the shift from the excess-acid theory to the current bacterial-infection theory of gastric ulcers to illustrate these fundamental differences between medicine and the natural sciences. Upon analysis of Gillies' claim, it is evident that traditional Kuhnian paradigms are also composite and that the manner in which Gillies proposes disease is classified is insufficient in describing medicine. Furthermore, new local paradigms are demonstrably introduced and the change was accompanied by many of the markers of paradigmatic change including changes in worldview, resistance, incommensurability and the introduction of new questions that could not have existed under the previous paradigm. Whilst this change may not be on the scale of the Chemical revolution, it can still be considered paradigm shift. Thagard also proposes an alternate view of discovery using the case of H. pylori. This has much in common with Kuhnian paradigms but Thagard's theory offers further elucidation and refinement. This allows it to better characterise all of the associated features of discovery relevant in the case of H. pylori, thus provides a preferable tool for examination of this important recent discovery. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Innovative technological paradigm-based approach towards biofuel feedstock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Jiuping; Li, Meihui

2017-01-01

Highlights: • DAS was developed through an innovative approach towards literature mining and technological paradigm theory. • A novel concept of biofuel feedstock development paradigm (BFDP) is proposed. • The biofuel production diffusion velocity model gives predictions for the future. • Soft path appears to be the driving force for the new paradigm shift. • An integrated biofuel production feedstock system is expected to play a significant role in a low-carbon sustainable future. - Abstract: Biofuels produced from renewable energy biomass are playing a more significant role because of the environmental problems resulting from the use of fossil fuels. However, a major problem with biofuel production is that despite the range of feedstock that can be used, raw material availability varies considerably. By combining a series of theories and methods, the research objective of this study is to determine the current developments and the future trends in biofuel feedstock. By combining technological paradigm theory with literature mining, it was found that biofuel feedstock production development followed a three-stage trajectory, which was in accordance with the traditional technological paradigm – the S-curve. This new curve can be divided into BFDP (biofuel feedstock development paradigm) competition, BFDP diffusion, and BFDP shift. The biofuel production diffusion velocity model showed that there has been constant growth from 2000, with the growth rate reaching a peak in 2008, after which time it began to drop. Biofuel production worldwide is expected to remain unchanged until 2030 when a paradigm shift is expected. This study also illustrates the results of our innovative procedure – a combination of the data analysis system and the technological paradigm theory – for the present biofuel feedstock soft path that will lead to this paradigm shift, with integrated biofuel production feedstock systems expected to be a significant new trend.

The Underlying Social Dynamics of Paradigm Shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Sickert, Carlos; Cosmelli, Diego; Claro, Francisco; Fuentes, Miguel Angel

2015-01-01

We develop here a multi-agent model of the creation of knowledge (scientific progress or technological evolution) within a community of researchers devoted to such endeavors. In the proposed model, agents learn in a physical-technological landscape, and weight is attached to both individual search and social influence. We find that the combination of these two forces together with random experimentation can account for both i) marginal change, that is, periods of normal science or refinements on the performance of a given technology (and in which the community stays in the neighborhood of the current paradigm); and ii) radical change, which takes the form of scientific paradigm shifts (or discontinuities in the structure of performance of a technology) that is observed as a swift migration of the knowledge community towards the new and superior paradigm. The efficiency of the search process is heavily dependent on the weight that agents posit on social influence. The occurrence of a paradigm shift becomes more likely when each member of the community attaches a small but positive weight to the experience of his/her peers. For this parameter region, nevertheless, a conservative force is exerted by the representatives of the current paradigm. However, social influence is not strong enough to seriously hamper individual discovery, and can act so as to empower successful individual pioneers who have conquered the new and superior paradigm.

The string-pulling paradigm in comparative psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Ivo F; Osvath, Mathias

2015-05-01

String pulling is one of the most widely used paradigms in comparative psychology. First documented 2 millennia ago, it has been a well-established scientific paradigm for a century. More than 160 bird and mammal species have been tested in over 200 studies with countless methodological variations. The paradigm can be used to address a wide variety of issues on animal cognition; for example, what animals understand about contact and connection as well as whether they rely on perceptual feedback, grasp the functionality of strings, generalize across conditions, apply their knowledge flexibly, and possess insight. Mammals are typically tested on a horizontal configuration, birds on a vertical one, making the studies difficult to compare; in particular, pulling a string vertically requires better coordination and attention. A species' performance on the paradigm is often influenced by its ecology, especially concerning whether limbs are used for foraging. Many other factors can be of importance and should be considered. The string-pulling paradigm is easy to administer, vary, and apply to investigate a wide array of cognitive abilities. Although it can be and has been used to compare species, divergent methods and unclear reporting have limited its comparative utility. With increasing research standards, the paradigm is expected to become an even more fundamental tool in comparative psychology. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The Underlying Social Dynamics of Paradigm Shifts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Rodriguez-Sickert

Full Text Available We develop here a multi-agent model of the creation of knowledge (scientific progress or technological evolution within a community of researchers devoted to such endeavors. In the proposed model, agents learn in a physical-technological landscape, and weight is attached to both individual search and social influence. We find that the combination of these two forces together with random experimentation can account for both i marginal change, that is, periods of normal science or refinements on the performance of a given technology (and in which the community stays in the neighborhood of the current paradigm; and ii radical change, which takes the form of scientific paradigm shifts (or discontinuities in the structure of performance of a technology that is observed as a swift migration of the knowledge community towards the new and superior paradigm. The efficiency of the search process is heavily dependent on the weight that agents posit on social influence. The occurrence of a paradigm shift becomes more likely when each member of the community attaches a small but positive weight to the experience of his/her peers. For this parameter region, nevertheless, a conservative force is exerted by the representatives of the current paradigm. However, social influence is not strong enough to seriously hamper individual discovery, and can act so as to empower successful individual pioneers who have conquered the new and superior paradigm.

A knowledge-centered paradigm for operations and design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perin, C.

2005-01-01

A paradigm premised on the reactor design basis and on its systems, structures, and components also governs nuclear power plant operations. This machine-centered paradigm emphasizes a functional and discipline-based division of responsibilities, which can create hierarchical 'silos' and 'stovepipes' inhibiting the development and lateral exchange of knowledge about safety-critical system interactions. A knowledge-centered paradigm instead encourages the timely development, analysis, and exchange of information about system conditions and their likely consequences. This new paradigm puts operational focus on the importance of operating experience, informative root cause analyses, effective corrective actions, and cross-discipline exchange and cooperation. Although the knowledge-centered paradigm is already central to three main strategies of risk reduction, it is less likely to be recognized as such in terms of priorities, resources, and training: configuration control, control room operations, and root cause analysis. To maintain the capacity for safe shutdown and to preserve public trust, the knowledge-centered paradigm places as high a priority on interactions of safety-critical knowledge as it does on interactions of safety-critical systems, structures, and components. (author)

Truck shipment risks for assessing hazardous materials - a new paradigm incorporating safety and security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greenberg, A.; McSweeney, T.; Allen, J.; Lepofsky, M. [Battelle Memorial Inst., Columbus, OH (United States); Abkowitz, M. [Dept. of Civil Engineering, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)

2004-07-01

Recent terrorist events, most notably September 11, 2001, have taught us that transportation risk management must be performed with a different lens to accommodate terrorism scenarios that would have previously been considered unlikely to warrant serious attention. Given these circumstances, a new paradigm is needed for managing the risks associated with highway transport of hazardous materials. In particular, this paradigm must: 1) more explicitly consider security threat and vulnerability, and 2) integrate security considerations into an overall framework for addressing natural and man-made disasters, be they accidental or planned. This paper summarizes the results of a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for the purpose of exploring how a paradigm might evolve in which both safety and security risks can be evaluated as a systematic, integrated process. The work was directed at developing a methodology for assessing the impacts of hazardous materials safety and security incident consequences when transported by highway. This included consideration of the manner in which these materials could be involved in initiating events as well as potential outcomes under a variety of release conditions. The methodology is subsequently applied to various classes of hazardous materials to establish an economic profile of the impacts that might be expected if a major release were to occur. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications associated with this effort.

Truck shipment risks for assessing hazardous materials - a new paradigm incorporating safety and security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, A.; McSweeney, T.; Allen, J.; Lepofsky, M.; Abkowitz, M.

2004-01-01

Recent terrorist events, most notably September 11, 2001, have taught us that transportation risk management must be performed with a different lens to accommodate terrorism scenarios that would have previously been considered unlikely to warrant serious attention. Given these circumstances, a new paradigm is needed for managing the risks associated with highway transport of hazardous materials. In particular, this paradigm must: 1) more explicitly consider security threat and vulnerability, and 2) integrate security considerations into an overall framework for addressing natural and man-made disasters, be they accidental or planned. This paper summarizes the results of a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for the purpose of exploring how a paradigm might evolve in which both safety and security risks can be evaluated as a systematic, integrated process. The work was directed at developing a methodology for assessing the impacts of hazardous materials safety and security incident consequences when transported by highway. This included consideration of the manner in which these materials could be involved in initiating events as well as potential outcomes under a variety of release conditions. The methodology is subsequently applied to various classes of hazardous materials to establish an economic profile of the impacts that might be expected if a major release were to occur. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications associated with this effort

Active training paradigm for motor imagery BCI.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junhua; Zhang, Liqing

2012-06-01

Brain-computer interface (BCI) allows the use of brain activities for people to directly communicate with the external world or to control external devices without participation of any peripheral nerves and muscles. Motor imagery is one of the most popular modes in the research field of brain-computer interface. Although motor imagery BCI has some advantages compared with other modes of BCI, such as asynchronization, it is necessary to require training sessions before using it. The performance of trained BCI system depends on the quality of training samples or the subject engagement. In order to improve training effect and decrease training time, we proposed a new paradigm where subjects participated in training more actively than in the traditional paradigm. In the traditional paradigm, a cue (to indicate what kind of motor imagery should be imagined during the current trial) is given to the subject at the beginning of a trial or during a trial, and this cue is also used as a label for this trial. It is usually assumed that labels for trials are accurate in the traditional paradigm, although subjects may not have performed the required or correct kind of motor imagery, and trials may thus be mislabeled. And then those mislabeled trials give rise to interference during model training. In our proposed paradigm, the subject is required to reconfirm the label and can correct the label when necessary. This active training paradigm may generate better training samples with fewer inconsistent labels because it overcomes mistakes when subject's motor imagination does not match the given cues. The experiments confirm that our proposed paradigm achieves better performance; the improvement is significant according to statistical analysis.

Paradigm Shift in Language Teaching and Language Teacher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaine Ferreira do Vale Borges

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In this article, I intend to conduct a short literature review and discussion about paradigm shift in language teaching and language teacher education from Cartesian to the complexity paradigm. For that, I use the Kuhnian notion of scientific revolution to present a short compilation of works related to paradigm shift in different sciences, including psychology, linguistics and, more emphatically, applied linguistics. The main proposal is to show the evolutions of paradigm shift in language and social sciences and its impact on the emergence of the complexity paradigm in language teaching and language teacher education fields.

Quantitative analysis of distributed control paradigms of robot swarms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ngo, Trung Dung

2010-01-01

describe the physical and simulated robots, experiment scenario, and experiment setup. Third, we present our robot controllers based on behaviour based and neural network based paradigms. Fourth, we graphically show their experiment results and quantitatively analyse the results in comparison of the two......Given a task of designing controller for mobile robots in swarms, one might wonder which distributed control paradigms should be selected. Until now, paradigms of robot controllers have been within either behaviour based control or neural network based control, which have been recognized as two...... mainstreams of controller design for mobile robots. However, in swarm robotics, it is not clear how to determine control paradigms. In this paper we study the two control paradigms with various experiments of swarm aggregation. First, we introduce the two control paradigms for mobile robots. Second, we...

About hypotheses and paradigms: exploring the Discreetness-Chance Paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaellis, Eugene

2006-01-01

Hypotheses generally conform to paradigms which, over time, change, usually tardily, after they have become increasingly difficult to sustain under the impact of non-conforming evidence and alternative hypotheses, but more important, when they no longer are comfortably ensconced in the surrounding social-economic-political-cultural milieu. It is asserted that this milieu is the most important factor in shaping scientific theorizing. Some examples are cited: the rejection of the evidence that the world orbits around the sun (suspected by Pythagoras) in favor of centuries-long firm adherence to the Ptolemaic geocentric system; the early acceptance of Natural Selection in spite of its tautological essence and only conjectural supporting evidence, because it justified contemporaneous social-political ideologies as typified by, e.g., Spencer and Malthus. Economic, social, and cultural factors are cited as providing the ground, i.e., ideational substrate, for what is cited as the Discreetness-Chance Paradigm (DCP), that has increasingly dominated physics, biology, and medicine for over a century and which invokes small, discrete packets of energy/matter (quanta, genes, microorganisms, aberrant cells) functioning within an environment of statistical, not determined, causality. There is speculation on a possible paradigmatic shift from the DCP, which has fostered the proliferation, parallel with ("splitting") taxonomy, of alleged individual disease entities, their diagnoses, and, when available, their specific remedies, something particularly prominent in, e.g., psychiatry's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, a codified compendium of alleged mental and behavioral disorders, but evident in any textbook of diagnosis and treatment of physical ailments. This presumed paradigm shift may be reflected in Western medicine, presently increasingly empirical and atomized, towards a growing acceptance of a more generalized, subject-oriented, approach to health and disease, a non

Revisiting System Paradigms from the Viewpoint of Manufacturing Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhuming Bi

2011-08-01

Full Text Available A system paradigm is an abstract representation of system; it includes system architecture used to determine the types and numbers of components and their relations in the system. The design of system paradigm relies on customers’ requirements and the characteristics of the manufacturing environment. Many system paradigms and design guidelines have been proposed for a variety of customers’ needs including functions, cost, quality, personalization, and lead time of products. However, the consideration of sustainability becomes essential to today’s manufacturing systems; a new challenge is how to evolve existing paradigms to accommodate the requirements of sustainability. In contrast to ample research activities on system paradigms in past decades, recent studies on system paradigms have been restricted, partially due to unclear research directions. Limited works can be found on conceiving new manufacturing system paradigms from the perspective of sustainability; most of the related literature concerns the new requirements of sustainability. The objectives of this work are (i to examine the requirements of manufacturing systems in a wider scope; (ii to revisit existing paradigms to clarify their limitations and bottlenecks; and eventually (iii to identify some research directions, which will lead to a solution of sustainable manufacturing. To achieve these objectives, firstly, a brief description of today’s manufacturing environment is provided. Secondly, the requirements of sustainability are discussed, and the relevant researches on system sustainability are surveyed. Thirdly, the reconfigurable system paradigm is focused, and the gaps between a reconfigurable manufacturing system and a sustainable manufacturing system are discussed. Finally, the future endeavors towards to the next-generation manufacturing system paradigms are discussed.

Vascular access surveillance: case study of a false paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulson, William D; Moist, Louise; Lok, Charmaine E

2013-01-01

The hemodialysis vascular access surveillance controversy provides a case study of how enthusiasm for a new test or treatment can lead to adoption of a false paradigm. Paradigms are the beliefs and assumptions shared by those in a field of knowledge, and are commonly included in clinical practice guidelines. The guidelines of the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative recommend that arteriovenous vascular accesses undergo routine surveillance for detection and correction of stenosis. This recommendation is based on the paradigm that surveillance of access blood flow or dialysis venous pressure combined with correction of stenosis improves access outcomes. However, the quality of evidence that supports this paradigm has been widely criticized. We tested the validity of the surveillance paradigm by applying World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for evaluating screening tests to a literature review of published vascular access studies. These criteria include four components: undesired condition, screening test, intervention, and desired outcome. The WHO criteria show that surveillance as currently practiced fails all four components and provides little or no significant benefit, suggesting that surveillance is a false paradigm. Once a paradigm is established, however, challenges to its validity are usually resisted even as new evidence indicates the paradigm is not valid. Thus, it is paramount to apply rigorous criteria when developing guidelines. Regulators may help promote needed changes in paradigms when cost and safety considerations coincide. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A flow paradigm in heavy-ion collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Li

2018-04-01

The success of hydrodynamics in high energy heavy-ion collisions leads to a flow paradigm, to understand the observed features of harmonic flow in terms of the medium collective expansion with respect to initial state geometrical properties. In this review, we present some essential ingredients in the flow paradigm, including the hydrodynamic modeling, the characterization of initial state geometry and the medium response relations. The extension of the flow paradigm to small colliding systems is also discussed. Supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

The Prerequisites for a Degrowth Paradigm Shift

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch-Hansen, Hubert

2018-01-01

What would it take for a degrowth paradigm shift to take place? Drawing on contemporary critical political economy scholarship, this article identifies four prerequisites for socio-economic paradigm shifts: deep crisis, an alternative political project, a comprehensive coalition of social forces...... currently facing humanity. On the other hand, the prospects for a degrowth paradigm shift remain bleak: unlike political projects that became hegemonic in the past, degrowth has neither support from a comprehensive coalition of social forces nor any consent to its agenda among the broader population....

Programming Language Paradigms

OpenAIRE

Felician ALECU

2013-01-01

This paper's goal is to briefly explain the basic theory behind programming languages and their history while taking a close look at different programming paradigms that are used today as well as describing their differences, benefits, and drawbacks

Programming Paradigms in Computer Science Education

OpenAIRE

Bolshakova, Elena

2005-01-01

Main styles, or paradigms of programming – imperative, functional, logic, and object-oriented – are shortly described and compared, and corresponding programming techniques are outlined. Programming languages are classified in accordance with the main style and techniques supported. It is argued that profound education in computer science should include learning base programming techniques of all main programming paradigms.

ENVIRONMENTALISM AND CLASSIC PARADIGMS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. D. Miniaeva

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This article examines an environmentalism integration process into Three classical paradigms of international relations theory (Liberalism, Realism and Marxism into Three classical paradigms of international relations theory (Liberalism, Realism and Marxism. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the result of this integration. Methods used in this article include analysis and comparison of "ecological" paradigms on selected parameters (the nature of international relations, actors, targets, tools, processes. Results of research show that the beginning of the XXI century is distinguished by the development of new types of political concepts that explain interaction of elements in modern international relations in the area of environmental protection. The reason of these changes lies in the phenomena of environmentalism integration into Three paradigms of international relations. However, we cannot say that any of the examined paradigms accumulated all features of environmentalism without their modification. Better to say, it's rather similar to adaptation of environmental ideas. Therefore, to understand modern international relations processes, it is necessary to take into account their environmental element. Purchase on Elibrary.ru > Buy nowDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2070-7568-2014-3-4

Stimulus specificity of a steady-state visual-evoked potential-based brain-computer interface

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Kian B.; Bradley, Andrew P.; Cunnington, Ross

2012-06-01

The mechanisms of neural excitation and inhibition when given a visual stimulus are well studied. It has been established that changing stimulus specificity such as luminance contrast or spatial frequency can alter the neuronal activity and thus modulate the visual-evoked response. In this paper, we study the effect that stimulus specificity has on the classification performance of a steady-state visual-evoked potential-based brain-computer interface (SSVEP-BCI). For example, we investigate how closely two visual stimuli can be placed before they compete for neural representation in the cortex and thus influence BCI classification accuracy. We characterize stimulus specificity using the four stimulus parameters commonly encountered in SSVEP-BCI design: temporal frequency, spatial size, number of simultaneously displayed stimuli and their spatial proximity. By varying these quantities and measuring the SSVEP-BCI classification accuracy, we are able to determine the parameters that provide optimal performance. Our results show that superior SSVEP-BCI accuracy is attained when stimuli are placed spatially more than 5° apart, with size that subtends at least 2° of visual angle, when using a tagging frequency of between high alpha and beta band. These findings may assist in deciding the stimulus parameters for optimal SSVEP-BCI design.

Examining Brain-Cognition Effects of Ginkgo Biloba Extract: Brain Activation in the Left Temporal and Left Prefrontal Cortex in an Object Working Memory Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. B. Silberstein

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Ginkgo Biloba extract (GBE is increasingly used to alleviate symptoms of age related cognitive impairment, with preclinical evidence pointing to a pro-cholinergic effect. While a number of behavioral studies have reported improvements to working memory (WM associated with GBE, electrophysiological studies of GBE have typically been limited to recordings during a resting state. The current study investigated the chronic effects of GBE on steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP topography in nineteen healthy middle-aged (50-61 year old male participants whilst completing an object WM task. A randomized double-blind crossover design was employed in which participants were allocated to receive 14 days GBE and 14 days placebo in random order. For both groups, SSVEP was recorded from 64 scalp electrode sites during the completion of an object WM task both pre- and 14 days post-treatment. GBE was found to improve behavioural performance on the WM task. GBE was also found to increase the SSVEP amplitude at occipital and frontal sites and increase SSVEP latency at left temporal and left frontal sites during the hold component of the WM task. These SSVEP changes associated with GBE may represent more efficient processing during WM task completion.

Steady-state visually evoked potential correlates of human body perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Giabbiconi, Claire-Marie; Jurilj, Verena; Gruber, Thomas; Vocks, Silja

2016-11-01

In cognitive neuroscience, interest in the neuronal basis underlying the processing of human bodies is steadily increasing. Based on functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, it is assumed that the processing of pictures of human bodies is anchored in a network of specialized brain areas comprising the extrastriate and the fusiform body area (EBA, FBA). An alternative to examine the dynamics within these networks is electroencephalography, more specifically so-called steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs). In SSVEP tasks, a visual stimulus is presented repetitively at a predefined flickering rate and typically elicits a continuous oscillatory brain response at this frequency. This brain response is characterized by an excellent signal-to-noise ratio-a major advantage for source reconstructions. The main goal of present study was to demonstrate the feasibility of this method to study human body perception. To that end, we presented pictures of bodies and contrasted the resulting SSVEPs to two control conditions, i.e., non-objects and pictures of everyday objects (chairs). We found specific SSVEPs amplitude differences between bodies and both control conditions. Source reconstructions localized the SSVEP generators to a network of temporal, occipital and parietal areas. Interestingly, only body perception resulted in activity differences in middle temporal and lateral occipitotemporal areas, most likely reflecting the EBA/FBA.

The Antithesis of Inclusion? The Emergence and Functioning of ADHD Special Education Classes in the Swedish School System

Science.gov (United States)

Malmqvist, Johan; Nilholm, Claes

2016-01-01

The neuropsychiatric paradigm has substantial impact on schools. The increase in the number of pupils being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an expression of the medicalisation of deviance. There is also an increase in educational classes specially designed to meet the needs of children with ADHD. This is contrary…

Programming Language Paradigms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartoníček Jan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper's goal is to briefly explain the basic theory behind programming languages and their history while taking a close look at different programming paradigms that are used today as well as describing their differences, benefits, and drawbacks

Random Access Memories: A New Paradigm for Target Detection in High Resolution Aerial Remote Sensing Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Zhengxia; Shi, Zhenwei

2018-03-01

We propose a new paradigm for target detection in high resolution aerial remote sensing images under small target priors. Previous remote sensing target detection methods frame the detection as learning of detection model + inference of class-label and bounding-box coordinates. Instead, we formulate it from a Bayesian view that at inference stage, the detection model is adaptively updated to maximize its posterior that is determined by both training and observation. We call this paradigm "random access memories (RAM)." In this paradigm, "Memories" can be interpreted as any model distribution learned from training data and "random access" means accessing memories and randomly adjusting the model at detection phase to obtain better adaptivity to any unseen distribution of test data. By leveraging some latest detection techniques e.g., deep Convolutional Neural Networks and multi-scale anchors, experimental results on a public remote sensing target detection data set show our method outperforms several other state of the art methods. We also introduce a new data set "LEarning, VIsion and Remote sensing laboratory (LEVIR)", which is one order of magnitude larger than other data sets of this field. LEVIR consists of a large set of Google Earth images, with over 22 k images and 10 k independently labeled targets. RAM gives noticeable upgrade of accuracy (an mean average precision improvement of 1% ~ 4%) of our baseline detectors with acceptable computational overhead.

A nomenclature paradigm for benign midmembranous vocal fold lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Clark A; Gartner-Schmidt, Jackie; Hathaway, Bridget; Simpson, C Blake; Postma, Gregory N; Courey, Mark; Sataloff, Robert T

2012-06-01

There is a significant lack of uniform agreement regarding nomenclature for benign vocal fold lesions (BVFLs). This confusion results in difficulty for clinicians communicating with their patients and with each other. In addition, BVFL research and comparison of treatment methods are hampered by the lack of a detailed and uniform BVFL nomenclature. Clinical consensus conferences were held to develop an initial BVFL nomenclature paradigm. Perceptual video analysis was performed to validate the stroboscopy component of the paradigm. The culmination of the consensus conferences and the video-perceptual analysis was used to evaluate the BVFL nomenclature paradigm using a retrospective review of patients with BVFL. An initial BVFL nomenclature paradigm was proposed utilizing detailed definitions relating to vocal fold lesion morphology, stroboscopy, response to voice therapy and intraoperative findings. Video-perceptual analysis of stroboscopy demonstrated that the proposed binary stroboscopy system used in the BVFL nomenclature paradigm was valid and widely applicable. Retrospective review of 45 patients with BVFL followed to the conclusion of treatment demonstrated that slight modifications of the initial BVFL nomenclature paradigm were required. With the modified BVFL nomenclature paradigm, 96% of the patients fit into the predicted pattern and definitions of the BVFL nomenclature system. This study has validated a multidimensional BVFL nomenclature paradigm. This vocal fold nomenclature paradigm includes nine distinct vocal fold lesions: vocal fold nodules, vocal fold polyp, pseudocyst, vocal fold cyst (subepithelial or ligament), nonspecific vocal fold lesion, vocal fold fibrous mass (subepithelial or ligament), and reactive lesion. Copyright © 2011 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

Cancer research in need of a scientific revolution: Using `paradigm ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

It has been proposed that science proceeds not only by accumulating data but also through paradigm shifts. Here, we propose to use the concept of `paradigm shift' as a method of investigation when dominant paradigms fail to achieve their promises. The first step in using the `paradigm shift' method in cancer research ...

Transmission pricing: paradigms and methodologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shirmohammadi, Dariush [Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Francisco, CA (United States); Vieira Filho, Xisto; Gorenstin, Boris [Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Eletrica (CEPEL), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Pereira, Mario V.P. [Power System Research, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

1994-12-31

In this paper we describe the principles of several paradigms and methodologies for pricing transmission services. The paper outlines some of the main characteristics of these paradigms and methodologies such as where they may be used for best results. Due to their popularity, power flow based MW-mile and short run marginal cost pricing methodologies will be covered in some detail. We conclude the paper with examples of the application of these two pricing methodologies for pricing transmission services in Brazil. (author) 25 refs., 2 tabs.

Paradigm for new scientific technology; Shinkagaku gijutsu paradigm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shindo, Y [National Chemical Lab. for Industry, Tokyo (Japan)

1995-01-05

This paper reviews the current status from the standpoint of chemical engineers facing the coming of the 21st century, and surveys the paradigm for new scientific technologies. The criticism is mixed with unique opinions everywhere, such as `departure of students from scientific and engineering faculties is none other than the result of a market principle`, `national burden of trillions of yens should not be spent only under a justice of advancement of the science`, and `the global civilization itself has no other way but to change from the conventional expansive development type of the western country style to the internal development type of the oriental country style`. Values that define the paradigm for new scientific technologies may include such keywords as saturation in technology, baseless expansion of research projects, criticism on science, market principle, and centering human being. It should be looked at seriously that profit from research and development should exceed the cast invested therein in the future, and scientific technologies that serve truly the society should be aimed at. These efforts will result in one of the large pillars that support the future in which creation of new functions is aimed at as a result of structuring the new systems. Trying to overcome the environmental problems is one of them.

Reexamining unconscious response priming: A liminal-prime paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Avneon, Maayan; Lamy, Dominique

2018-03-01

Research on the limits of unconscious processing typically relies on the subliminal-prime paradigm. However, this paradigm is limited in the issues it can address. Here, we examined the implications of using the liminal-prime paradigm, which allows comparing unconscious and conscious priming with constant stimulation. We adapted an iconic demonstration of unconscious response priming to the liminal-prime paradigm. On the one hand, temporal attention allocated to the prime and its relevance to the task increased the magnitude of response priming. On the other hand, the longer RTs associated with the dual task inherent to the paradigm resulted in response priming being underestimated, because unconscious priming effects were shorter-lived than conscious-priming effects. Nevertheless, when the impact of long RTs was alleviated by considering the fastest trials or by imposing a response deadline, conscious response priming remained considerably larger than unconscious response priming. These findings suggest that conscious perception strongly modulates response priming. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Paradigms and pragmatism: approaches to medical statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, M J

2000-01-01

Until recently, the dominant philosophy of science was that due to Karl Popper, with its doctrine that the proper task of science was the formulation of hypotheses followed by attempts at refuting them. In spite of the close analogy with significance testing, these ideas do not fit well with the practice of medical statistics. The same can be said of the later philosophy of Thomas Kuhn, who maintains that science proceeds by way of revolutionary upheavals separated by periods of relatively pedestrian research which are governed by what Kuhn refers to as paradigms. Through there have been paradigm shifts in the history of statistics, a degree of continuity can also be discerned. A current paradigm shift is embodied in the spread of Bayesian ideas. It may be that a future paradigm will emphasise the pragmatic approach to statistics that is associated with the name of Daniel Schwartz.

Paradigm shift in psychiatry: what may it involve?

Science.gov (United States)

Valent, Paul

2018-02-01

This study aims to examine the potential nature of an ongoing paradigm shift in psychiatry that has been suggested to be occurring. New findings in traumatology and neuroscience do form a potential platform for a paradigm shift. Prior conflicting paradigms are suggested to be due to biases arising from mental structures themselves. A new wholist perspective is proposed, which makes sense of and incorporates previous paradigms, and coheres recent understanding of right- and left-brain functioning and biopsychosocial traumatic processes and their ramifications. The perspective makes sense of the great variety of post-traumatic manifestations ranging from somatic to meaning-making dysfunctions. The wholist perspective may well be an important step in solidifying a fresh paradigmatic perspective in psychiatry.

Paradigm Adherence and Personality Correlates across Mental Health Professions

Science.gov (United States)

Rauscher, Laura Anne

2012-01-01

Paradigm adherence has been developed as a meta-theoretical approach to organize and to classify the multitude of different theories of counseling and psychotherapy. Four paradigms have been identified in the literature: The Organic-Medical, The Psychological, The Systemic-Relational, and the Social Constructivist paradigms. Only one other study…

New radiobiological, radiation risk and radiation protection paradigms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodhead, Dudley T.

2010-01-01

The long-standing conventional paradigm for radiobiology has formed a logical basis for the standard paradigm for radiation risk of cancer and heritable effects and, from these paradigms, has developed the internationally applied system for radiation protection, but with many simplifications, assumptions and generalizations. A variety of additional radiobiological phenomena that do not conform to the standard paradigm for radiobiology may have potential implications for radiation risk and radiation protection. It is suggested, however, that the current state of knowledge is still insufficient for these phenomena, individually or collectively, to be formulated systematically into a new paradigm for radiobiology. Additionally, there is at present lack of direct evidence of their relevance to risk for human health, despite attractive hypotheses as to how they might be involved. Finally, it remains to be shown how incorporation of such phenomena into the paradigm for radiation protection would provide sufficient added value to offset disruption to the present widely applied system. Further research should aim for better mechanistic understanding of processes such as radiation-induced genomic instability (for all radiation types) and bystander effects (particularly for low-fluence high-LET particles) and also priority should be given to confirmation, or negation, of the relevance of the processes to human health risks from radiation.

Degrees of Intersectionality: Male Rap Artists in Sweden Negotiating Class, Race and Gender

OpenAIRE

Kalle Berggren

2013-01-01

“Intersectionality” has become a highly influential concept in gender research over the last 25 years. Debates have focused on differences and power asymmetries between women, in terms of race but also addressing class, age, sexuality, ability and nation. However, intersectional paradigms have been used to a much lesser extent in gender studies on men. This article seeks to contribute to an emerging discussion about intersectionality and masculinity by analyzing rap lyrics in Swe-dish songs. ...

The synthesis paradigm in genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, William R

2014-02-01

Experimental genetics with model organisms and mathematically explicit genetic theory are generally considered to be the major paradigms by which progress in genetics is achieved. Here I argue that this view is incomplete and that pivotal advances in genetics--and other fields of biology--are also made by synthesizing disparate threads of extant information rather than generating new information from experiments or formal theory. Because of the explosive expansion of information in numerous "-omics" data banks, and the fragmentation of genetics into numerous subdisciplines, the importance of the synthesis paradigm will likely expand with time.

CNN a paradigm for complexity

CERN Document Server

Chua, Leon O

1998-01-01

Revolutionary and original, this treatise presents a new paradigm of EMERGENCE and COMPLEXITY, with applications drawn from numerous disciplines, including artificial life, biology, chemistry, computation, physics, image processing, information science, etc.CNN is an acronym for Cellular Neural Networks when used in the context of brain science, or Cellular Nonlinear Networks, when used in the context of emergence and complexity. A CNN is modeled by cells and interactions: cells are defined as dynamical systems and interactions are defined via coupling laws. The CNN paradigm is a universal Tur

Understanding Mixed Emotions: Paradigms and Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Kreibig, Sylvia D.; Gross, James J.

2017-01-01

In this review, we examine the paradigms and measures available for experimentally studying mixed emotions in the laboratory. For eliciting mixed emotions, we describe a mixed emotions film library that allows for the repeated elicitation of a specific homogeneous mixed emotional state and appropriately matched pure positive, pure negative, and neutral emotional states. For assessing mixed emotions, we consider subjective and objective measures that fall into univariate, bivariate, and multivariate measurement categories. As paradigms and measures for objectively studying mixed emotions are still in their early stages, we conclude by outlining future directions that focus on the reliability, temporal dynamics, and response coherence of mixed emotions paradigms and measures. This research will build a strong foundation for future studies and significantly advance our understanding of mixed emotions. PMID:28804752

Towards a New Paradigm of Moral Personhood

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Frimer, Jeremy A.; Walker, Lawrence J.

2008-01-01

Moral psychology is between paradigms. Kohlberg's model of moral rationality has proved inadequate in explaining action; yet its augmentation--moral personality--awaits empirical embodiment. This article addresses some critical issues in developing a comprehensive empirical paradigm of moral personhood. Is a first-person or a third-person…

Influenza Vaccination in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure: The PARADIGM-HF Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Vardeny, Orly; Claggett, Brian; Udell, Jacob A; Packer, Milton; Zile, Michael; Rouleau, Jean; Swedberg, Karl; Desai, Akshay S; Lefkowitz, Martin; Shi, Victor; McMurray, John J V; Solomon, Scott D

2016-02-01

This study sought to examine the prevalence and predictors of influenza vaccination among participants in the PARADIGM-HF (Prospective Comparison of ARNI with ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure) study and investigate associations between receiving influenza vaccine and cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalizations, all-cause hospitalizations, and cardiopulmonary or influenza-related hospitalizations. Influenza is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular events in patients with heart failure. We used data from the PARADIGM-HF trial in which patients with heart failure were randomized to the angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696 (sacubitril/valsartan) or enalapril. We assessed predictors of receiving influenza vaccination, and examined the relationship between influenza vaccination and outcomes in a propensity-adjusted model. Of 8,099 study participants, 1,769 (21%) received influenza vaccination. We observed significant regional variation in vaccination rates, with highest rates in the Netherlands (77.5%), Great Britain (77.2%), and Belgium (67.5%), and lowest rates in Asia (2.6%), with intermediate rates in North America (52.8%). Top predictors of vaccination included enrolling country, white race, implanted defibrillator, older age, lower New York Heart Association functional class, lower heart rate, and a history of diabetes mellitus. Influenza vaccination was associated with a reduced risk for all-cause mortality in propensity-adjusted (hazard ratio: 0.81; 95% confidence interval: 0.67 to 0.97; p = 0.015) models. Influenza vaccination rates varied widely in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction enrolled in the PARADIGM-HF trial, and vaccination was associated with reduced risk for death, although whether this association was causal cannot be determined. Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Cultural Paradigm--Learning by Observing and Pitching In.

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Rogoff, Barbara; Mejía-Arauz, Rebeca; Correa-Chávez, Maricela

2015-01-01

We discuss Learning by Observing and Pitching In (LOPI) as a cultural paradigm that provides an interesting alternative to Assembly-Line Instruction for supporting children's learning. Although LOPI may occur in all communities, it appears to be especially prevalent in many Indigenous and Indigenous-heritage communities of the Americas. We explain key features of this paradigm, previewing the chapters of this volume, which examine LOPI as it occurs in the lives of families and communities. In this introductory chapter, we focus especially on one feature of the paradigm that plays an important role in its uptake and maintenance in families, institutions, and communities-the nature of assessment. We consider the power of the dominant paradigm and the challenges in making paradigm shifts. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An engineering paradigm in the biomedical sciences: Knowledge as epistemic tool.

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Boon, Mieke

2017-10-01

In order to deal with the complexity of biological systems and attempts to generate applicable results, current biomedical sciences are adopting concepts and methods from the engineering sciences. Philosophers of science have interpreted this as the emergence of an engineering paradigm, in particular in systems biology and synthetic biology. This article aims at the articulation of the supposed engineering paradigm by contrast with the physics paradigm that supported the rise of biochemistry and molecular biology. This articulation starts from Kuhn's notion of a disciplinary matrix, which indicates what constitutes a paradigm. It is argued that the core of the physics paradigm is its metaphysical and ontological presuppositions, whereas the core of the engineering paradigm is the epistemic aim of producing useful knowledge for solving problems external to the scientific practice. Therefore, the two paradigms involve distinct notions of knowledge. Whereas the physics paradigm entails a representational notion of knowledge, the engineering paradigm involves the notion of 'knowledge as epistemic tool'. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term reliability of the visual EEG Poffenberger paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, Patrick; Ocklenburg, Sebastian; Mochalski, Lisa; Schlüter, Caroline; Güntürkün, Onur; Genc, Erhan

2017-07-14

The Poffenberger paradigm is a simple perception task that is used to estimate the speed of information transfer between the two hemispheres, the so-called interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT). Although the original paradigm is a behavioral task, it can be combined with electroencephalography (EEG) to assess the underlying neurophysiological processes during task execution. While older studies have supported the validity of both paradigms for investigating interhemispheric interactions, their long-term reliability has not been assessed systematically before. The present study aims to fill this gap by determining both internal consistency and long-term test-retest reliability of IHTTs produced by using the two different versions of the Poffenberger paradigm in a sample of 26 healthy subjects. The results show high reliability for the EEG Poffenberger paradigm. In contrast, reliability measures for the behavioral Poffenberger paradigm were low. Hence, our results indicate that electrophysiological measures of interhemispheric transfer are more reliable than behavioral measures; the later should be used with caution in research investigating inter-individual differences of neurocognitive measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

e-Science Paradigm for Astroparticle Physics at KISTI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kihyeon Cho

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI has been studying the e-Science paradigm. With its successful application to particle physics, we consider the application of the paradigm to astroparticle physics. The Standard Model of particle physics is still not considered perfect even though the Higgs boson has recently been discovered. Astrophysical evidence shows that dark matter exists in the universe, hinting at new physics beyond the Standard Model. Therefore, there are efforts to search for dark matter candidates using direct detection, indirect detection, and collider detection. There are also efforts to build theoretical models for dark matter. Current astroparticle physics involves big investments in theories and computing along with experiments. The complexity of such an area of research is explained within the framework of the e-Science paradigm. The idea of the e-Science paradigm is to unify experiment, theory, and computing. The purpose is to study astroparticle physics anytime and anywhere. In this paper, an example of the application of the paradigm to astrophysics is presented.

Is This the Paradigm Shift We Need?

Science.gov (United States)

Mirvis, Jonathan

2012-01-01

Dr. Woocher's essay, states Mirvis, is seminal in the field of Jewish education. It proposes a new paradigm for Jewish education in North America. This proposed paradigm is supported by a comprehensive multi-disciplinary research drawing on literature from education, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and economics. The essay reflects a…

A New Paradigm for Chemical Engineering?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gani, Rafiqul

evidence of this change comes from the jobs taken by graduating chemical engineering professionals in North America, Europe, and some of the Asian countries. In terms of where the graduating chemical engineers are going to work, a clear shift from the commodity chemical industry to the product oriented...... businesses has been observed. There is an increasing trend within the chemical industry to focus on products and the sustainable processes that can make them. Do these changes point to a paradigm shift in chemical engineering as a discipline? Historically, two previous paradigm shifts in chemical engineering...... corresponded to major shifts in chemical engineering as a discipline, which affected not only the education of chemical engineers, but also the development of chemical engineering as a discipline. Has the time come for a new paradigm shift that will prepare the current and future chemical engineering graduates...

Exploring the temporal dynamics of sustained and transient spatial attention using steady-state visual evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dan; Hong, Bo; Gao, Shangkai; Röder, Brigitte

2017-05-01

While the behavioral dynamics as well as the functional network of sustained and transient attention have extensively been studied, their underlying neural mechanisms have most often been investigated in separate experiments. In the present study, participants were instructed to perform an audio-visual spatial attention task. They were asked to attend to either the left or the right hemifield and to respond to deviant transient either auditory or visual stimuli. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) elicited by two task irrelevant pattern reversing checkerboards flickering at 10 and 15 Hz in the left and the right hemifields, respectively, were used to continuously monitor the locus of spatial attention. The amplitude and phase of the SSVEPs were extracted for single trials and were separately analyzed. Sustained attention to one hemifield (spatial attention) as well as to the auditory modality (intermodal attention) increased the inter-trial phase locking of the SSVEP responses, whereas briefly presented visual and auditory stimuli decreased the single-trial SSVEP amplitude between 200 and 500 ms post-stimulus. This transient change of the single-trial amplitude was restricted to the SSVEPs elicited by the reversing checkerboard in the spatially attended hemifield and thus might reflect a transient re-orienting of attention towards the brief stimuli. Thus, the present results demonstrate independent, but interacting neural mechanisms of sustained and transient attentional orienting.

Sequence detection analysis based on canonical correlation for steady-state visual evoked potential brain computer interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Lei; Ju, Zhengyu; Li, Jie; Jian, Rongjun; Jiang, Changjun

2015-09-30

Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) has been widely applied to develop brain computer interface (BCI) systems. The essence of SSVEP recognition is to recognize the frequency component of target stimulus focused by a subject significantly present in EEG spectrum. In this paper, a novel statistical approach based on sequence detection (SD) is proposed for improving the performance of SSVEP recognition. This method uses canonical correlation analysis (CCA) coefficients to observe SSVEP signal sequence. And then, a threshold strategy is utilized for SSVEP recognition. The result showed the classification performance with the longer duration of time window achieved the higher accuracy for most subjects. And the average time costing per trial was lower than the predefined recognition time. It was implicated that our approach could improve the speed of BCI system in contrast to other methods. Comparison with existing method(s): In comparison with other resultful algorithms, experimental accuracy of SD approach was better than those using a widely used CCA-based method and two newly proposed algorithms, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) recognition model as well as multivariate synchronization index (MSI) method. Furthermore, the information transfer rate (ITR) obtained by SD approach was higher than those using other three methods for most participants. These conclusions demonstrated that our proposed method was promising for a high-speed online BCI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Nursing knowledge: the evolution of scientific philosophies and paradigm trends].

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Hsuan-Man; Wang, Hui-Ling; Chang, Yun-Hsuan; Chen, Chung-Hey

2010-02-01

Different aspects of philosophy are derived from different paradigms that contain various main points, some of which are repeated or overlap. Belief and practice are two components of a paradigm that provide perspective and framework and lead to nursing research. Changes in healthcare have popularized empirical and evidence-based research in the field of nursing research. However, the evidence-base study approach has given rise to a certain level of debate. Until now, no standard paradigm has been established for the nursing field, as different professionals use different paradigms in their studies. Such provides certain limitations as well as advantages. The quantitative aspects of a nursing paradigm were developed by Peplau and Henderson (1950) and Orem (1980). Such remained the standard until 1990, when Guba and Parse proposed qualitative viewpoints in contextual features. Therefore, the nursing paradigm has made great contributions to the development of knowledge in nursing care, although debate continues due to incomplete knowledge attributable to the presentation of knowledge and insight within individually developed paradigms. It is better to apply multiple paradigms to different research questions. It is suggested that better communication amongst experts regarding their individual points of view would help nursing members to integrate findings within the global pool of knowledge and allow replication over multiple studies.

The visual mismatch negativity (vMMN): toward the optimal paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Xiaosen; Liu, Yi; Xiao, Bing; Gao, Li; Li, Songlin; Dang, Lijie; Si, Cuiping; Zhao, Lun

2014-09-01

In the present article, we tested an optimal vMMN paradigm allowing one to obtain vMMNs for several visual attributes in a short time. vMMN responses to changes in color, duration, orientation, shape, and size were compared between the traditional 'oddball' paradigm (a single type of visual change in each sequence) and the optimal paradigm in which all the 5 types of changes appeared within the same sequence. The vMMNs obtained in the optimal paradigm were equal or larger in amplitude to those in the traditional vMMN paradigm. The optimal paradigm can provide 5 different vMMNs in the same time in which usually only one MMN is obtained. This short objective measure could putatively be used as an index for visual cognition function especially in clinical research. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Towards User-Friendly Spelling with an Auditory Brain-Computer Interface: The CharStreamer Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Höhne, Johannes; Tangermann, Michael

2014-01-01

Realizing the decoding of brain signals into control commands, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) aim to establish an alternative communication pathway for locked-in patients. In contrast to most visual BCI approaches which use event-related potentials (ERP) of the electroencephalogram, auditory BCI systems are challenged with ERP responses, which are less class-discriminant between attended and unattended stimuli. Furthermore, these auditory approaches have more complex interfaces which imposes a substantial workload on their users. Aiming for a maximally user-friendly spelling interface, this study introduces a novel auditory paradigm: “CharStreamer”. The speller can be used with an instruction as simple as “please attend to what you want to spell”. The stimuli of CharStreamer comprise 30 spoken sounds of letters and actions. As each of them is represented by the sound of itself and not by an artificial substitute, it can be selected in a one-step procedure. The mental mapping effort (sound stimuli to actions) is thus minimized. Usability is further accounted for by an alphabetical stimulus presentation: contrary to random presentation orders, the user can foresee the presentation time of the target letter sound. Healthy, normal hearing users (n = 10) of the CharStreamer paradigm displayed ERP responses that systematically differed between target and non-target sounds. Class-discriminant features, however, varied individually from the typical N1-P2 complex and P3 ERP components found in control conditions with random sequences. To fully exploit the sequential presentation structure of CharStreamer, novel data analysis approaches and classification methods were introduced. The results of online spelling tests showed that a competitive spelling speed can be achieved with CharStreamer. With respect to user rating, it clearly outperforms a control setup with random presentation sequences. PMID:24886978

Multi-level programming paradigm for extreme computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petiton, S.; Sato, M.; Emad, N.; Calvin, C.; Tsuji, M.; Dandouna, M.

2013-01-01

In order to propose a framework and programming paradigms for post peta-scale computing, on the road to exa-scale computing and beyond, we introduced new languages, associated with a hierarchical multi-level programming paradigm, allowing scientific end-users and developers to program highly hierarchical architectures designed for extreme computing. In this paper, we explain the interest of such hierarchical multi-level programming paradigm for extreme computing and its well adaptation to several large computational science applications, such as for linear algebra solvers used for reactor core physic. We describe the YML language and framework allowing describing graphs of parallel components, which may be developed using PGAS-like language such as XMP, scheduled and computed on supercomputers. Then, we propose experimentations on supercomputers (such as the 'K' and 'Hooper' ones) of the hybrid method MERAM (Multiple Explicitly Restarted Arnoldi Method) as a case study for iterative methods manipulating sparse matrices, and the block Gauss-Jordan method as a case study for direct method manipulating dense matrices. We conclude proposing evolutions for this programming paradigm. (authors)

Paradigms of Interaction Between Culture and Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morteza Bahrani

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Political thought as a normative knowledge seeks a good society and the means for its realization. Accordingly, every intellectual paradigm introduces us a social and individual situation which is the best. This model, itself requires a dramatic change in the culture and flourishes it. In another words, there is a necessary relationship between the elements of political thought and the culture in every society. This relationship is twofold, so it is impossible to indicate whether which aspect is the first. So every paradigm feeds some special elements into the current culture of society, while there is it feedback. It is important that political thought goes in search of condition for cultural flourishing which is according whit the criteria of good society. This paper focuses on most important paradigm in political thought history and shows the trend in which indicates the relationships between political thought and culture. This trend looks at human beings as "citizen", then "the individual"; and in the modem era, paradigms of "critical modem", "postmodern", and "communitarian" has a key role in prospering the realm of culture.

The Membrane Paradigm and black-hole thermodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorne, K.S.

1986-01-01

A brief overview is given of the theoretical underpinnings of the Membrane Paradigm for black-hole physics. Then those underpinnings are used to elucidate the Paradigm's view that the laws of black-hole thermodynamics (including the statistical origin of black-hole entropy) are just a special case of the laws of thermodynamics for an ordinary, rotating, thermal reservoir

Assessing the Quality of Steady-state Visual-evoked Potentials for Moving Humans Using a Mobile Electroencephalogram Headset

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan-Pin eLin

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in mobile electroencephalogram (EEG systems, featuring non-prep dry electrodes and wireless telemetry, have urged the needs of mobile brain-computer interfaces (BCIs for applications in our daily life. Since the brain may behave differently while people are actively situated in ecologically-valid environments versus highly-controlled laboratory environments, it remains unclear how well the current laboratory-oriented BCI demonstrations can be translated into operational BCIs for users with naturalistic movements. Understanding inherent links between natural human behaviors and brain activities is the key to ensuring the applicability and stability of mobile BCIs. This study aims to assess the quality of steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEPs, which is one of promising channels for functioning BCI systems, recorded using a mobile EEG system under challenging recording conditions, e.g., walking. To systemati-cally explore the effects of walking locomotion on the SSVEPs, this study instructed subjects to stand or walk on a treadmill running at speeds of 1, 2, and 3 mile (s per hour (MPH while con-currently perceiving visual flickers (11 and 12 Hz. Empirical results of this study showed that the SSVEP amplitude tended to deteriorate when subjects switched from standing to walking. Such SSVEP suppression could be attributed to the walking locomotion, leading to distinctly deteriorated SSVEP detectability from standing (84.87±13.55% to walking (1 MPH: 83.03±13.24%, 2 MPH: 79.47±13.53%, and 3 MPH: 75.26±17.89%. These findings not only demonstrated the applicability and limitations of SSVEPs recorded from freely behaving humans in realistic environments, but also provide useful methods and techniques for boosting the translation of the BCI technology from laboratory demonstrations to practical applications.

The Imperative Paradigm of Korowai, a language of West Papua

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, Lourens; Aikhenvald, Alexandra; Dixon, R.M.W

2017-01-01

The imperative paradigm of Korowai, a Papuan language of West Papua, is the richest independent verb paradigm of Korowai: it makes more tense, aspect, mood, person and number distinctions than all other verb paradigms. This formal richness is matched by functional richness: imperatives are used in a

A Viable Paradigm for Quantum Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Jagdish

2010-10-01

After a brief discussion of the EPR paradox, Bell's inequality, and Aspect's experiment, arguments will be presented in favor of the following statements: ``As it stands, Quantum mechanics is incomplete. There is further hidden structure, which would involve variables. No influence can move faster than light. The wave function is one whole thing and any change in its structure instantly influences its outcomes. Bell's theorem has not been applied correctly. There is a better paradigm.'' The said paradigm will be presented.

International business and the eclectic paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The eclectic paradigm has become the dominant theoretical basis in the study of international business, multinational corporations and internationalization since 1980. However, developments such as economic globalization and the subsequent growth of global and alliance capitalism have fundamentally......, finance, evolutionary economics, resource-based theory or strategic management? Can it be utilized to explain new developments in international business and economics? Do these require new ideas and concepts to be integrated within the eclectic paradigm? What are the new challenges to which international...

Affective Computing used in an imaging interaction paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Nette

2003-01-01

This paper combines affective computing with an imaging interaction paradigm. An imaging interaction paradigm means that human and computer communicates primarily by images. Images evoke emotions in humans, so the computer must be able to behave emotionally intelligent. An affective image selection...

Formal Epistemology and New Paradigm Psychology of Reasoning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pfeifer, Niki; Douven, Igor

This position paper advocates combining formal epistemology and the new paradigm psychology of reasoning in the studies of conditionals and reasoning with uncertainty. The new paradigm psychology of reasoning is characterized by the use of probability theory as a rationality framework instead of

A Practical Examination of Two Diverse Research Paradigms

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Robert A.

2007-01-01

This manuscript examines the practical differences between quantitative and qualitative inquiry by comparing the differences between one article from each paradigm. Quantitative research differs greatly from qualitative inquiry in purpose, assumptions, methodology, and representation. While quantitative research has been the dominant paradigm for…

Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis - Towards a new paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaschke, Thomas; Hay, Geoffrey J; Kelly, Maggi; Lang, Stefan; Hofmann, Peter; Addink, Elisabeth; Queiroz Feitosa, Raul; van der Meer, Freek; van der Werff, Harald; van Coillie, Frieke; Tiede, Dirk

2014-01-01

The amount of scientific literature on (Geographic) Object-based Image Analysis - GEOBIA has been and still is sharply increasing. These approaches to analysing imagery have antecedents in earlier research on image segmentation and use GIS-like spatial analysis within classification and feature extraction approaches. This article investigates these development and its implications and asks whether or not this is a new paradigm in remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIScience). We first discuss several limitations of prevailing per-pixel methods when applied to high resolution images. Then we explore the paradigm concept developed by Kuhn (1962) and discuss whether GEOBIA can be regarded as a paradigm according to this definition. We crystallize core concepts of GEOBIA, including the role of objects, of ontologies and the multiplicity of scales and we discuss how these conceptual developments support important methods in remote sensing such as change detection and accuracy assessment. The ramifications of the different theoretical foundations between the ' per-pixel paradigm ' and GEOBIA are analysed, as are some of the challenges along this path from pixels, to objects, to geo-intelligence. Based on several paradigm indications as defined by Kuhn and based on an analysis of peer-reviewed scientific literature we conclude that GEOBIA is a new and evolving paradigm.

Shifting the paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiss, Katalin; Brozik, Anna; Kucsma, Nora

2012-01-01

ABCB6, a member of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family, has been proposed to be responsible for the mitochondrial uptake of porphyrins. Here we show that ABCB6 is a glycoprotein present in the membrane of mature erythrocytes and in exosomes released from reticuloc...... paradigm linking the expression and function of ABCB6 to mitochondria....

The movement from the paradigm of production to the paradigm of language in Habermas’s critical theory of society. [Spanish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Roberto Suárez González

2010-01-01

Full Text Available My aim in this paper is first to develop the question raised by Habermas concerning the possibilities of a history of philosophy oriented to praxis. This line of analysis will let see the internal connection between theory and praxis within the framework of a materialistic understanding of philosophy. Secondly, I will show how this question becomes a reconstruction of historical materialism in the context of an analysis of the processes which characterise social transformations. With this background Habermas moves from the paradigm of production to that of language seeking a foundation Theory of Communicative Action. Reconstruction, historical materialism,systemic interaction, social interaction, production paradigm, language paradigm.

Motor imagery enhancement paradigm using moving rubber hand illusion system.

Science.gov (United States)

Minsu Song; Jonghyun Kim

2017-07-01

Motor imagery (MI) has been widely used in neurorehabilitation and brain computer interface. The size of event-related desynchronization (ERD) is a key parameter for successful motor imaginary rehabilitation and BCI adaptation. Many studies have used visual guidance for enhancement/ amplification of motor imagery ERD amplitude, but their enhancements were not significant. We propose a novel ERD enhancing paradigm using body-ownership illusion, or also known as rubber hand illusion (RHI). The system was made by motorized, moving rubber hand which can simulate wrist extension. The amplifying effects of the proposed RHI paradigm were evaluated by comparing ERD sizes of the proposed paradigm with motor imagery and actual motor execution paradigms. The comparison result shows that the improvement of ERD size due to the proposed paradigm was statistically significant (pparadigms.

Temporal dynamics of divided spatial attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Itthipuripat, Sirawaj; Garcia, Javier O; Serences, John T

2013-05-01

In naturalistic settings, observers often have to monitor multiple objects dispersed throughout the visual scene. However, the degree to which spatial attention can be divided across spatially noncontiguous objects has long been debated, particularly when those objects are in close proximity. Moreover, the temporal dynamics of divided attention are unclear: is the process of dividing spatial attention gradual and continuous, or does it onset in a discrete manner? To address these issues, we recorded steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) as subjects covertly monitored two flickering targets while ignoring an intervening distractor that flickered at a different frequency. All three stimuli were clustered within either the lower left or the lower right quadrant, and our dependent measure was SSVEP power at the target and distractor frequencies measured over time. In two experiments, we observed a temporally discrete increase in power for target- vs. distractor-evoked SSVEPs extending from ∼350 to 150 ms prior to correct (but not incorrect) responses. The divergence in SSVEP power immediately prior to a correct response suggests that spatial attention can be divided across noncontiguous locations, even when the targets are closely spaced within a single quadrant. In addition, the division of spatial attention appears to be relatively discrete, as opposed to slow and continuous. Finally, the predictive relationship between SSVEP power and behavior demonstrates that these neurophysiological measures of divided attention are meaningfully related to cognitive function.

Underlying Paradigms in Student Affairs Research and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Guido, Florence M.; Chavez, Alicia Fedelina; Lincoln, Yvonna S.

2010-01-01

Student affairs professionals benefit from understanding paradigms, worldviews, and ways of being among diverse faculty, staff, and students. It is challenging to understand core differences of paradigms, design student affairs practice and research in congruence with or across specific philosophies, and work effectively with individuals operating…

The prevalence of disability among children: paradigms and estimates.

Science.gov (United States)

Mudrick, Nancy R

2002-11-01

Every examination of disability among children must first grapple with definition of disability. The challenges to identifying disability among children involve not only determining the appropriate paradigm for defining disability, but also applying that paradigm to children in a meaningful way. This discussion of the prevalence of disability among children starts by examining the various paradigms utilized to identify disability and how they are interpreted when applied to children. Estimates of the prevalence of childhood disability, under different definitions of disability are presented. The goal of the discussion is to illustrate the sensitivity of the estimates of disability prevalence to the particular definition and data set used. Finally, the potential influence of the choice of paradigm on further measurement and service delivery is outlined.

Scaling, Similarity, and the Fourth Paradigm for Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Clark, Martyn; Samaniego, Luis; Verhoest, Niko E. C.; van Emmerik, Tim; Uijlenhoet, Remko; Achieng, Kevin; Franz, Trenton E.; Woods, Ross

2017-01-01

In this synthesis paper addressing hydrologic scaling and similarity, we posit that roadblocks in the search for universal laws of hydrology are hindered by our focus on computational simulation (the third paradigm), and assert that it is time for hydrology to embrace a fourth paradigm of data-intensive science. Advances in information-based hydrologic science, coupled with an explosion of hydrologic data and advances in parameter estimation and modelling, have laid the foundation for a data-driven framework for scrutinizing hydrological scaling and similarity hypotheses. We summarize important scaling and similarity concepts (hypotheses) that require testing, describe a mutual information framework for testing these hypotheses, describe boundary condition, state flux, and parameter data requirements across scales to support testing these hypotheses, and discuss some challenges to overcome while pursuing the fourth hydrological paradigm. We call upon the hydrologic sciences community to develop a focused effort towards adopting the fourth paradigm and apply this to outstanding challenges in scaling and similarity.

Health Paradigm Shifts in the 20th Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Miguel DeAngulo

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The application of systems theory and the study of complexity to medicine and human health allows for a more comprehensive understanding and a more holistic view of what it means to be human. Such application overcomes the limitations of the traditional, fragmented understanding of phenomena and problems based on the mechanistic or Newtonian worldview. It recognizes that phenomena are interrelated, and that individual parts cannot be understood by only focusing on the analysis of their individual qualities. Rather, the individual parts can only be understood in relation to the whole and by being analyzed in the context of their interaction with the whole. The door is opened to previously unimagined models of thinking.In the 20th Century there have been shifts in the paradigms that have governed medicine and human health in the modern western world. There has been a shift from the focus on specific biological analysis and pathological diagnostics to complex human interactions with the environment and with sociopolitical and economic processes. There are complex models of systems in immunology, in neuroscience, and in genetics, as well as complex ways of understanding interactions as in epidemic modeling, in social media technologies, socioeconomic factors, and artificial intelligence.In this paper we describe three paradigms of the health-disease process that in some degree correspond to the historical development of modern medicine and healthcare over the previous century. The oldest paradigm focused on specific disease mechanisms and treatment. This gave way to paradigms that historically were broader and more inclusive, such as “international health”. The international health paradigm focused primarily on the control of epidemics across national borders and considered government as the only health actor. However, this perspective has come to be seen as excessively reductionist and excluded many critical components essential to a robust

Black hole evaporation: a paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashtekar, Abhay; Bojowald, Martin

2005-01-01

A paradigm describing black hole evaporation in non-perturbative quantum gravity is developed by combining two sets of detailed results: (i) resolution of the Schwarzschild singularity using quantum geometry methods and (ii) time evolution of black holes in the trapping and dynamical horizon frameworks. Quantum geometry effects introduce a major modification in the traditional spacetime diagram of black hole evaporation, providing a possible mechanism for recovery of information that is classically lost in the process of black hole formation. The paradigm is developed directly in the Lorentzian regime and necessary conditions for its viability are discussed. If these conditions are met, much of the tension between expectations based on spacetime geometry and structure of quantum theory would be resolved

Exponential time paradigms through the polynomial time lens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drucker, A.; Nederlof, J.; Santhanam, R.; Sankowski, P.; Zaroliagis, C.

2016-01-01

We propose a general approach to modelling algorithmic paradigms for the exact solution of NP-hard problems. Our approach is based on polynomial time reductions to succinct versions of problems solvable in polynomial time. We use this viewpoint to explore and compare the power of paradigms such as

Health impact assessment research and practice: A place for paradigm positioning?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haigh, Fiona; Harris, Patrick; Haigh, Neil

2012-01-01

In this article, we provide a critical review of the place of paradigm in health impact assessment (HIA) research and practice. We contend that most HIA practitioners have given insufficient attention to paradigm positioning when developing and applying HIA methodologies and that some concerns about current HIA practice can be attributed to this. We review HIA literature to assess the extent and nature of attention given to paradigm positioning and these related concerns. We then respond to our critique by exploring the implications, opportunities and challenges of adopting a critical realist paradigm, which we believe has the potential to help HIA practitioners to develop HIA methodology in a way that addresses these issues. - Highlights: ► We provide a critical review of the place of paradigm in HIA. ► We demonstrate that HIA practitioners give insufficient attention to paradigm. ► The implications, opportunities and challenges of adopting a critical realist paradigm are explored. ► This is the first paper, to our knowledge, that discusses a critical realist approach to HIA.

Bayesian evidence and predictivity of the inflationary paradigm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gubitosi, Giulia; Lagos, Macarena; Magueijo, João [Theoretical Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London, SW7 2BZ (United Kingdom); Allison, Rupert, E-mail: g.gubitosi@imperial.ac.uk, E-mail: m.lagos13@imperial.ac.uk, E-mail: j.magueijo@imperial.ac.uk, E-mail: rupert.allison@astro.ox.ac.uk [Astrophysics, University of Oxford, DWB, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)

2016-06-01

In this paper we consider the issue of paradigm evaluation by applying Bayes' theorem along the following nested hierarchy of progressively more complex structures: i) parameter estimation (within a model), ii) model selection and comparison (within a paradigm), iii) paradigm evaluation. In such a hierarchy the Bayesian evidence works both as the posterior's normalization at a given level and as the likelihood function at the next level up. Whilst raising no objections to the standard application of the procedure at the two lowest levels, we argue that it should receive a considerable modification when evaluating paradigms, when testability and fitting data are equally important. By considering toy models we illustrate how models and paradigms that are difficult to falsify are always favoured by the Bayes factor. We argue that the evidence for a paradigm should not only be high for a given dataset, but exceptional with respect to what it would have been, had the data been different. With this motivation we propose a measure which we term predictivity , as well as a prior to be incorporated into the Bayesian framework, penalising unpredictivity as much as not fitting data. We apply this measure to inflation seen as a whole, and to a scenario where a specific inflationary model is hypothetically deemed as the only one viable as a result of information alien to cosmology (e.g. Solar System gravity experiments, or particle physics input). We conclude that cosmic inflation is currently hard to falsify, but that this could change were external/additional information to cosmology to select one of its many models. We also compare this state of affairs to bimetric varying speed of light cosmology.

The Risk-Benefit Paradigm vs the Causal Exposure Paradigm: LDL as a primary cause of vascular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Toth, Peter P; Thanassoulis, George; Williams, Ken; Furberg, Curt D; Sniderman, Allan

2014-01-01

All current guidelines use the 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event to select subjects for statin primary preventive therapy. Benefit from therapy is stated to be determined by risk with the result that statin primary preventive therapy is initiated only when the risk of a cardiovascular event over the next decade exceeds a specified level. Thus all current guidelines are based primarily on the Risk-Benefit paradigm of primary prevention. The recent American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines differ from others in basing selection for statin therapy virtually exclusively on risk except for those few subjects with markedly elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The Causal Exposure paradigm differs from the Risk-Benefit paradigm in that the objective of therapy is to prevent the anatomic disease within arterial walls that produces cardiovascular risk. Moreover, the anatomic disease and, therefore, the cardiovascular risk, is a function of the injurious action of the causal factors of vascular disease, such as blood pressure and LDL, on the arterial wall over long periods. In this article, we explain the strengths and weaknesses of both paradigms to provide a more secure framework to compare the strengths and weaknesses in the different cholesterol guidelines with particular emphasis on the evidence that the cardiovascular risk and the benefit from statin therapy is related to the level of LDL. Copyright © 2014 National Lipid Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parallel Conjugate Gradient: Effects of Ordering Strategies, Programming Paradigms, and Architectural Platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Oliker, Leonid; Heber, Gerd; Biswas, Rupak

2000-01-01

The Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithm is perhaps the best-known iterative technique to solve sparse linear systems that are symmetric and positive definite. A sparse matrix-vector multiply (SPMV) usually accounts for most of the floating-point operations within a CG iteration. In this paper, we investigate the effects of various ordering and partitioning strategies on the performance of parallel CG and SPMV using different programming paradigms and architectures. Results show that for this class of applications, ordering significantly improves overall performance, that cache reuse may be more important than reducing communication, and that it is possible to achieve message passing performance using shared memory constructs through careful data ordering and distribution. However, a multi-threaded implementation of CG on the Tera MTA does not require special ordering or partitioning to obtain high efficiency and scalability.

Behavioral Assessment of Listening Effort Using a Dual-Task Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Pierre Gagné

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Published investigations (n = 29 in which a dual-task experimental paradigm was employed to measure listening effort during speech understanding in younger and older adults were reviewed. A summary of the main findings reported in the articles is provided with respect to the participants’ age-group and hearing status. Effects of different signal characteristics, such as the test modality, on dual-task outcomes are evaluated, and associations with cognitive abilities and self-report measures of listening effort are described. Then, several procedural issues associated with the use of dual-task experiment paradigms are discussed. Finally, some issues that warrant future research are addressed. The review revealed large variability in the dual-task experimental paradigms that have been used to measure the listening effort expended during speech understanding. The differences in experimental procedures used across studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusions concerning the optimal choice of dual-task paradigm or the sensitivity of specific paradigms to different types of experimental manipulations. In general, the analysis confirmed that dual-task paradigms have been used successfully to measure differences in effort under different experimental conditions, in both younger and older adults. Several research questions that warrant further investigation in order to better understand and characterize the intricacies of dual-task paradigms were identified.

Modularity beyond Perception: Evidence from the PRP Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Magen, Hagit; Cohen, Asher

2010-01-01

The Dimension Action (DA) model asserts that the visual system is modular, and that each task involves multiple-response mechanisms rather than a unitary-response selection mechanism. The model has been supported by evidence from single-task interference paradigms. We use the psychological refractory period paradigm and show that dual-task…

A LEGO paradigm for virtual accelerator concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrianov, S.; Ivanov, A.; Podzyvalov, E.

2012-01-01

The paper considers basic features of a Virtual Accelerator concept based on LEGO paradigm. This concept involves three types of components: different mathematical models for accelerator design problems, integrated beam simulation packages (i. e. COSY, MAD, OptiM and others), and a special class of virtual feedback instruments similar to real control systems (EPICS). All of these components should inter-operate for more complete analysis of control systems and increased fault tolerance. The Virtual Accelerator is an information and computing environment which provides a framework for analysis based on these components that can be combined in different ways. Corresponding distributed computing services establish interaction between mathematical models and low level control system. The general idea of the software implementation is based on the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) that allows using cloud computing technology and enables remote access to the information and computing resources. The Virtual Accelerator allows a designer to combine powerful instruments for modeling beam dynamics in a friendly way including both self-developed and well-known packages. In the scope of this concept the following is also proposed: the control system identification, analysis and result verification, visualization as well as virtual feedback for beam line operation. The architecture of the Virtual Accelerator system itself and results of beam dynamics studies are presented. (authors)

Cosmological horizons as new examples of the membrane paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Tower

2015-01-01

In this paper we aim to provide new examples of the application and the generality of the membrane paradigm. The membrane paradigm is a formalism for studying the event horizon of black holes. After analyzing it with some technical details and realizing it in the Reissner–Nordström black hole, we apply the paradigm to cosmological horizons, first to the pure de Sitter horizon, and then to the trapping horizon of the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker Universe. In the latter case, the cosmological stretched horizon is oblique, thus the running of the renormalization parameter is nonzero in the timelike direction and gives a correction to the membrane pressure. In this paradigm, the cosmological equations come from continuity equations of the membrane fluid and the bulk fluid respectively. (paper)

Negative pressure darwinism: survival of the fittest paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Michael; Bybordi, Farhad

2009-07-01

The use of negative pressure for wound healing has been based on a set of parameters and devices that until recently were combined into a single paradigm. Despite historical and more recent evidence providing viable alternative considerations, it is only recently that this paradigm and its tenets have come into question. As the understanding of the limits of the current paradigm and specific instances of its benefits and drawbacks are identified, shifts in the paradigm must take place if the therapy is to evolve, develop, and continue to be efficacious. The pertinence of the concept of survival of the fittest is used to explore the need for a paradigm shift in negative pressure wound therapy.

Planning under uncertainties paradigm - application to electric power distribution systems planning; Paradigma de planejamento sob incertezas - aplicacao ao planejamento dos sistemas de distribuicao de energia eletrica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bianchi Junior, Alberto

1996-12-31

In this work it is presented an original methodology of multistage planning, with conflictive objectives and restrictions, incorporating the concept of uncertainties. To do so, the proposed paradigm is based on the Dynamic Programming which comprehends the multistage subject to conflictive restrictions; on the Fuzzy Sets Theory, through the decisions and fuzzy numbers, which model the uncertainties and ambiguous decisions referent to qualitative variables; and on the consideration of evolutional rules associated to network flow algorithm. In its conceptual elaboration, the paradigm is developed in a very ample way, of generalized application to a well defined class of planning problems Particularly, the model fits in the flexible planning, which has been very discussed in the recent literature. Flexible planning must be understood as the one which allows to the planner, under well-defined limits, the evaluation of the planning policy composed by strips of options (discreet or continuous), associated to uncertainty levels related to the real world. In order to validate and consolidate the theoretic concepts, it was elaborated an algorithm turned to the aggregated planning of the distribution of electric energy, that presents intrinsic characteristics which are perfectly fitted in the paradigm`s applicability. (author) 41 refs., 26 figs., 36 tabs.

Planning under uncertainties paradigm - application to electric power distribution systems planning; Paradigma de planejamento sob incertezas - aplicacao ao planejamento dos sistemas de distribuicao de energia eletrica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bianchi, Junior, Alberto

1997-12-31

In this work it is presented an original methodology of multistage planning, with conflictive objectives and restrictions, incorporating the concept of uncertainties. To do so, the proposed paradigm is based on the Dynamic Programming which comprehends the multistage subject to conflictive restrictions; on the Fuzzy Sets Theory, through the decisions and fuzzy numbers, which model the uncertainties and ambiguous decisions referent to qualitative variables; and on the consideration of evolutional rules associated to network flow algorithm. In its conceptual elaboration, the paradigm is developed in a very ample way, of generalized application to a well defined class of planning problems Particularly, the model fits in the flexible planning, which has been very discussed in the recent literature. Flexible planning must be understood as the one which allows to the planner, under well-defined limits, the evaluation of the planning policy composed by strips of options (discreet or continuous), associated to uncertainty levels related to the real world. In order to validate and consolidate the theoretic concepts, it was elaborated an algorithm turned to the aggregated planning of the distribution of electric energy, that presents intrinsic characteristics which are perfectly fitted in the paradigm`s applicability. (author) 41 refs., 26 figs., 36 tabs.

Deferred imitation in 18-month-olds from two cultural contexts: the case of Cameroonian Nso farmer and German-middle class infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Borchert, Sonja; Lamm, Bettina; Graf, Frauke; Knopf, Monika

2013-12-01

Imitative learning has been described in naturalistic studies for different cultures, but lab-based research studying imitative learning across different cultural contexts is almost missing. Therefore, imitative learning was assessed with 18-month-old German middle-class and Cameroonian Nso farmer infants - representing two highly different eco-cultural contexts associated with different cultural models, the psychological autonomy and the hierarchical relatedness - by using the deferred imitation paradigm. Study 1 revealed that the infants from both cultural contexts performed a higher number of target actions in the deferred imitation than in the baseline phase. Moreover, it was found that German middle-class infants showed a higher mean imitation rate as they performed more target actions in the deferred imitation phase compared with Cameroonian Nso farmer infants. It was speculated that the opportunity to manipulate the test objects directly after the demonstration of the target actions could enhance the mean deferred imitation rate of the Cameroonian Nso farmer infants which was confirmed in Study 2. Possible explanations for the differences in the amount of imitated target actions of German middle-class and Cameroonian Nso farmer infants are discussed considering the object-related, dyadic setting of the imitation paradigm with respect to the different learning contexts underlying the different cultural models of learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extracting UML Class Diagrams from Object-Oriented Fortran: ForUML

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aziz Nanthaamornphong

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Many scientists who implement computational science and engineering software have adopted the object-oriented (OO Fortran paradigm. One of the challenges faced by OO Fortran developers is the inability to obtain high level software design descriptions of existing applications. Knowledge of the overall software design is not only valuable in the absence of documentation, it can also serve to assist developers with accomplishing different tasks during the software development process, especially maintenance and refactoring. The software engineering community commonly uses reverse engineering techniques to deal with this challenge. A number of reverse engineering-based tools have been proposed, but few of them can be applied to OO Fortran applications. In this paper, we propose a software tool to extract unified modeling language (UML class diagrams from Fortran code. The UML class diagram facilitates the developers' ability to examine the entities and their relationships in the software system. The extracted diagrams enhance software maintenance and evolution. The experiments carried out to evaluate the proposed tool show its accuracy and a few of the limitations.

A lower limb exoskeleton control system based on steady state visual evoked potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, No-Sang; Müller, Klaus-Robert; Lee, Seong-Whan

2015-10-01

Objective. We have developed an asynchronous brain-machine interface (BMI)-based lower limb exoskeleton control system based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs). Approach. By decoding electroencephalography signals in real-time, users are able to walk forward, turn right, turn left, sit, and stand while wearing the exoskeleton. SSVEP stimulation is implemented with a visual stimulation unit, consisting of five light emitting diodes fixed to the exoskeleton. A canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method for the extraction of frequency information associated with the SSVEP was used in combination with k-nearest neighbors. Main results. Overall, 11 healthy subjects participated in the experiment to evaluate performance. To achieve the best classification, CCA was first calibrated in an offline experiment. In the subsequent online experiment, our results exhibit accuracies of 91.3 ± 5.73%, a response time of 3.28 ± 1.82 s, an information transfer rate of 32.9 ± 9.13 bits/min, and a completion time of 1100 ± 154.92 s for the experimental parcour studied. Significance. The ability to achieve such high quality BMI control indicates that an SSVEP-based lower limb exoskeleton for gait assistance is becoming feasible.

Neural correlates of olfactory learning paradigms in an identified neuron in the honeybee brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Mauelshagen, J

1993-02-01

1. Sensitization and classical odor conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex were functionally analyzed by repeated intracellular recordings from a single identified neuron (PE1-neuron) in the central bee brain. This neuron belongs to the class of "extrinsic cells" arising from the pedunculus of the mushroom bodies and has extensive arborizations in the median and lateral protocerebrum. The recordings were performed on isolated bee heads. 2. Two different series of physiological experiments were carried out with the use of a similar temporal succession of stimuli as in previous behavioral experiments. In the first series, one group of animals was used for a single conditioning trial [conditioned stimulus (CS), carnation; unconditioned stimulus (US), sucrose solution to the antennae and proboscis), a second group was used for sensitization (sensitizing stimulus, sucrose solution to the antennae and/or proboscis), and the third group served as control (no sucrose stimulation). In the second series, a differential conditioning paradigm (paired odor CS+, carnation; unpaired odor CS-, orange blossom) was applied to test the associative nature of the conditioning effect. 3. The PE1-neuron showed a characteristic burstlike odor response before the training procedures. The treatments resulted in different spike-frequency modulations of this response, which were specific for the nonassociative and associative stimulus paradigms applied. During differential conditioning, there are dynamic up and down modulations of spike frequencies and of the DC potentials underlying the responses to the CS+. Overall, only transient changes in the minute range were observed. 4. The results of the sensitization procedures suggest two qualitatively different US pathways. The comparison between sensitization and one-trial conditioning shows differential effects of nonassociative and associative stimulus paradigms on the response behavior of the PE1-neuron. The results of the differential

The World Religions Paradigm Time for a Change

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, Suzanne

2011-01-01

The teaching of religions has long relied on the World Religions paradigm to guide curricula throughout education, which has led to a widening gap, on the one hand, between what is taught in schools and in universities and, on the other, between research and teaching. While the World Religions paradigm has allowed the inclusion of non-Christian…

Deconstructing Research: Paradigms Lost

Science.gov (United States)

Trifonas, Peter Pericles

2009-01-01

In recent decades, proponents of naturalistic and/or critical modes of inquiry advocating the use of ethnographic techniques for the narrative-based study of phenomena within pedagogical contexts have challenged the central methodological paradigm of educational research: that is, the tendency among its practitioners to adhere to quantitative…

Language-learning disabilities: Paradigms for the nineties.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiig, E H

1991-01-01

We are beginning a decade, during which many traditional paradigms in education, special education, and speech-language pathology will undergo change. Among paradigms considered promising for speech-language pathology in the schools are collaborative language intervention and strategy training for language and communication. This presentation introduces management models for developing a collaborative language intervention process, among them the Deming Management Method for Total Quality (TQ) (Deming 1986). Implementation models for language assessment and IEP planning and multicultural issues are also introduced (Damico and Nye 1990; Secord and Wiig in press). While attention to processes involved in developing and implementing collaborative language intervention is paramount, content should not be neglected. To this end, strategy training for language and communication is introduced as a viable paradigm. Macro- and micro-level process models for strategy training are featured and general issues are discussed (Ellis, Deshler, and Schumaker 1989; Swanson 1989; Wiig 1989).

Optimized Motor Imagery Paradigm Based on Imagining Chinese Characters Writing Movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Zhaoyang; Allison, Brendan Z; Jin, Jing; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xingyu; Li, Wei; Cichocki, Andrzej

2017-07-01

motor imagery (MI) is a mental representation of motor behavior. The MI-based brain computer interfaces (BCIs) can provide communication for the physically impaired. The performance of MI-based BCI mainly depends on the subject's ability to self-modulate electroencephalogram signals. Proper training can help naive subjects learn to modulate brain activity proficiently. However, training subjects typically involve abstract motor tasks and are time-consuming. to improve the performance of naive subjects during motor imagery, a novel paradigm was presented that would guide naive subjects to modulate brain activity effectively. In this new paradigm, pictures of the left or right hand were used as cues for subjects to finish the motor imagery task. Fourteen healthy subjects (11 male, aged 22-25 years, and mean 23.6±1.16) participated in this study. The task was to imagine writing a Chinese character. Specifically, subjects could imagine hand movements corresponding to the sequence of writing strokes in the Chinese character. This paradigm was meant to find an effective and familiar action for most Chinese people, to provide them with a specific, extensively practiced task and help them modulate brain activity. results showed that the writing task paradigm yielded significantly better performance than the traditional arrow paradigm (p paradigm was easier. the proposed new motor imagery paradigm could guide subjects to help them modulate brain activity effectively. Results showed that there were significant improvements using new paradigm, both in classification accuracy and usability.

Reinforcing Property by Strengthening the Commons: A New Media Policy Paradigm?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Jakobsson

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In much scholarly writing and in many leftist and activist accounts the enclosures of the cultural commons have been fiercely critiqued. However, during the last years, new media business models, that challenge the notion of the cultural industries as “copyright industries”, has been taking shape. A new class of entrepreneurs is instead working to expand the commons as part of their businesses. Accordingly, representatives from these new media industries, policy makers, and politicians have joined the academic and political critique of the “enclosures of the cultural common”. The paper argues that this is a shift within the dominant media policy paradigm and an attempt to integrate existing practices on the Internet, based on cooperation and sharing, into the market. By relocating the struggle from “intellectual property” to “platform economics”, the media industry can exploit the productivity of the commons while holding on to the power that comes with ownership and property.

Critical evaluation of paradigms for modelling integrated supply chains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Dam, K.H.; Adhitya, A.; Srinivasan, R.; Lukszo, Z.

2009-01-01

Contemporary problems in process systems engineering often require model-based decision support tool. Among the various modelling paradigms, equation-based models and agent-based models are widely used to develop dynamic models of systems. Which is the most appropriate modelling paradigm for a

A Comparison of Two Paradigms for Distributed Shared Memory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Levelt, W.G.; Kaashoek, M.F.; Bal, H.E.; Tanenbaum, A.S.

1992-01-01

Two paradigms for distributed shared memory on loosely‐coupled computing systems are compared: the shared data‐object model as used in Orca, a programming language specially designed for loosely‐coupled computing systems, and the shared virtual memory model. For both paradigms two systems are

Effort-Based Decision-Making Paradigms for Clinical Trials in Schizophrenia: Part 2—External Validity and Correlates.

Science.gov (United States)

Horan, William P; Reddy, L Felice; Barch, Deanna M; Buchanan, Robert W; Dunayevich, Eduardo; Gold, James M; Marder, Steven R; Wynn, Jonathan K; Young, Jared W; Green, Michael F

2015-09-01

Effort-based decision making has strong conceptual links to the motivational disturbances that define a key subdomain of negative symptoms. However, the extent to which effort-based decision-making performance relates to negative symptoms, and other clinical and functionally important variables has yet to be systematically investigated. In 94 clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia, we examined the external validity of 5 effort-based paradigms, including the Effort Expenditure for Rewards, Balloon Effort, Grip Strength Effort, Deck Choice Effort, and Perceptual Effort tasks. These tasks covered 3 types of effort: physical, cognitive, and perceptual. Correlations between effort related performance and 6 classes of variables were examined, including: (1) negative symptoms, (2) clinically rated motivation and community role functioning, (3) self-reported motivational traits, (4) neurocognition, (5) other psychiatric symptoms and clinical/demographic characteristics, and (6) subjective valuation of monetary rewards. Effort paradigms showed small to medium relationships to clinical ratings of negative symptoms, motivation, and functioning, with the pattern more consistent for some measures than others. They also showed small to medium relations with neurocognitive functioning, but were generally unrelated to other psychiatric symptoms, self-reported traits, antipsychotic medications, side effects, and subjective valuation of money. There were relatively strong interrelationships among the effort measures. In conjunction with findings from a companion psychometric article, all the paradigms warrant further consideration and development, and 2 show the strongest potential for clinical trial use at this juncture. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Marketing communications: Qualitative and quantitative paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uzelac Nikola

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on key issues in relation to the choice of basic language of communication of marketing as a practical and academic field. Principally, marketing managers prefer descriptive way of expression, but they should use the advantages of language of numbers much more. By doing so, they will advance decision-making process - and the communication with finance and top management. In this regard, models offered by academic community could be helpful. This especially pertains to those positive or normative verbal approaches and models in which mathematics and statistical solutions have been embedded, as well as to those which emphasize financial criteria in decision-making. Concerning the process of creation and verification of scientific knowledge, the choice between languages of words and numbers is the part of much wider dimension, because it is inseparable from the decision on basic research orientation. Quantitative paradigm is more appropriate for hypotheses testing, while qualitative paradigm gives greater contribution in their generation. Competition factor could become the key driver of changes by which existing "parallel worlds" of main paradigms would be integrating, for the sake of disciplinary knowledge advancement.

Contemporary paradigms for research related to women's mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Doucet, Shelley Anne; Letourneau, Nicole Lyn; Stoppard, Janet M

2010-04-01

Mental health problems are serious health concerns that affect women across diverse settings internationally. Knowledge of this population historically has been informed by research using a positivist approach. This article is a critical examination of contemporary paradigms for research related to women's mental health. We begin the article with an introduction to women's mental health, followed by an overview of the postpositivist, critical theory, and constructivist paradigms. We then present a critical examination of the benefits and limitations of these paradigms in relation to the study of women's mental health. We conclude with implications for research and practice.

Brain regional networks active during the mismatch negativity vary with paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLean, Shannon E; Blundon, Elizabeth G; Ward, Lawrence M

2015-08-01

We used independent component analysis (ICA) of high-density EEG recordings coupled with single dipole fitting to identify the dominant brain regions active during the MMN in two different versions of a passive oddball paradigm: a simple, monotic, frequency-deviant paradigm and a more complex, dichotic, frequency-deviant paradigm with deviants occurring in either ear alone or in both ears at the same time. In both paradigms we found brain regional sources in the temporal and frontal cortices active during the MMN period, consistent with some previous studies. In the simpler paradigm, the scalp-potential variance during the earlier (70-120 ms) MMN was mostly accounted for by a wide array of temporal, frontal, and parietal sources. In the more complex paradigm, however, a generator in the prefrontal cortex accounted for a substantial amount of the variance of the scalp potential during the somewhat later MMN period (120-200 ms). These findings are consistent with a more nuanced view of the MMN and its generators than has been held in the past. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Semantic Analysis of Virtual Classes and Nested Classes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Ole Lehrmann

1999-01-01

Virtual classes and nested classes are distinguishing features of BETA. Nested classes originated from Simula, but until recently they have not been part of main stream object- oriented languages. C++ has a restricted form of nested classes and they were included in Java 1.1. Virtual classes...... classes and parameterized classes have been made. Although virtual classes and nested classes have been used in BETA for more than a decade, their implementation has not been published. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of virtual classes and nested classes by presenting...

[Reconstituting evaluation methods based on both qualitative and quantitative paradigms].

Science.gov (United States)

Miyata, Hiroaki; Okubo, Suguru; Yoshie, Satoru; Kai, Ichiro

2011-01-01

Debate about the relationship between quantitative and qualitative paradigms is often muddled and confusing and the clutter of terms and arguments has resulted in the concepts becoming obscure and unrecognizable. In this study we conducted content analysis regarding evaluation methods of qualitative healthcare research. We extracted descriptions on four types of evaluation paradigm (validity/credibility, reliability/credibility, objectivity/confirmability, and generalizability/transferability), and classified them into subcategories. In quantitative research, there has been many evaluation methods based on qualitative paradigms, and vice versa. Thus, it might not be useful to consider evaluation methods of qualitative paradigm are isolated from those of quantitative methods. Choosing practical evaluation methods based on the situation and prior conditions of each study is an important approach for researchers.

A nonmusical paradigm for identifying absolute pitch possessors

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, David A.; Olson, Ingrid R.; Marks, Lawrence E.; Gore, John C.

2004-09-01

The ability to identify and reproduce sounds of specific frequencies is remarkable and uncommon. The etiology and defining characteristics of this skill, absolute pitch (AP), have been very controversial. One theory suggests that AP requires a specific type of early musical training and that the ability to encode and remember tones depends on these learned musical associations. An alternate theory argues that AP may be strongly dependent on hereditary factors and relatively independent of musical experience. To date, it has been difficult to test these hypotheses because all previous paradigms for identifying AP have required subjects to employ knowledge of musical nomenclature. As such, these tests are insensitive to the possibility of discovering AP in either nonmusicians or musicians of non-Western training. Based on previous literature in pitch memory, a paradigm is presented that is intended to distinguish between AP possessors and nonpossessors independent of the subjects' musical experience. The efficacy of this method is then tested with 20 classically defined AP possessors and 22 nonpossessors. Data from these groups strongly support the validity of the paradigm. The use of a nonmusical paradigm to identify AP may facilitate research into many aspects of this phenomenon.

Naloxegol in opioid-induced constipation: a new paradigm in the treatment of a common problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Stephanie C; Bruner, Heather C

2017-01-01

Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) imposes a significant burden for patients taking pain medications, often resulting in decreased quality of life. Treatment of OIC with traditional medications for functional constipation can be incompletely effective, leading to nonadherence with opioid treatment and undertreated pain. An emerging class of medications that counteract the adverse effects of opioids in the gastrointestinal tract while preserving central nervous system-based pain relief may represent a paradigm shift in the prevention and treatment of OIC. One of these medications, naloxegol, is a once-daily, oral opioid antagonist that is effective, well-tolerated, and approved for treatment of OIC in patients with noncancer pain. More studies are needed to demonstrate this same utility in patients with cancer-related pain.

Exploring paradigms in postpartum depression research: the need for feminist pragmatism.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollard, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Postpartum depression (PPD) is an important area of women's health research internationally and across disciplines. There is no guiding paradigm, however, to ensure that PPD research results translate to women on a global level. This commentary builds on the work of Doucet, Letourneau, and Stoppard ( 2010 ) to determine a "best fit" paradigm with which to guide PPD research. Postpositivism, critical theory, constructivism, and pragmatism are combined with a feminist ideology and critiqued as potential guiding paradigms for PPD research. After thorough examination, I conclude the need for further use of a feminist pragmatist paradigm in PPD research.

Operations Strategy under Chaos –Lessons to be learned from a new Paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Christian

2004-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new paradigm being able to conceptualize content and process aspects of Operations Strategy. Based on a critical reading of literature; two opposing paradigms of Operations Strategy are identified and described. The first focuses on content issues...... of Operations Strategy and relies on a normative orientation and the second focuses on process issues of Operations Strategy and relies on a descriptive orientation. To compare and evaluate the two paradigms; the results of a longitudinal case-study of Operations Strategy formulation and implementation...... in practice are shown. These results promote the need for a new or third paradigm to integrate and balance the two former paradigms. The new paradigm is labeled as a moderate constructivist paradigm using the metaphor of chaos and seems suitable for conceptualizing Operations Strategy as it is in practice...

Paradigms: How Far Does Research in Distributed Leadership "Stretch"?

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, David

2010-01-01

Burrell and Morgan's widely-cited "Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis" is applied here to research on distributed leadership in education. Nearly all of the extant research is regulatory, not radical; and the evidence which it has generated falls broadly within the paradigm of interpretivism. Few studies have generated the…

Interface between problem-based learning and a learner-centered paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karimi R

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Reza KarimiPacific University School of Pharmacy, Hillsboro, OR, USABackground: Problem-based learning (PBL has made a major shift in support of student learning for many medical school curricula around the world. Since curricular development of PBL in the early 1970s and its growth in the 1980s and 1990s, there have been growing numbers of publications providing positive and negative data in regard to the curricular effectiveness of PBL. The purpose of this study was to explore supportive data for the four core objectives of PBL and to identify an interface between the objectives of PBL and a learner-centered paradigm.Methods: The four core PBL objectives, ie, structuring of knowledge and clinical context, clinical reasoning, self-directed learning, and intrinsic motivation, were used to search MEDLINE, the Education Resources Information Center, the Educator’s Reference Complete, and PsycINFO from January 1969 to January 2011. The literature search was facilitated and narrowed if the published study included the following terms: “problem-based learning”, “medical education”, “traditional curriculum”, and one of the above four PBL objectives.Results: Through a comprehensive search analysis, one can find supportive data for the effectiveness of a PBL curriculum in achieving the four core objectives of PBL. A further analysis of these four objectives suggests that there is an interface between PBL objectives and criteria from a learner-centered paradigm. In addition, this review indicates that promotion of teamwork among students is another interface that exists between PBL and a learner-centered paradigm.Conclusion: The desire of medical schools to enhance student learning and a need to provide an environment where students construct knowledge rather than receive knowledge have encouraged many medical schools to move into a learner-centered paradigm. Implementation of a PBL curriculum can be used as a prevailing starting point to

Efficacy and safety of LCZ696 (sacubitril-valsartan) according to age: insights from PARADIGM-HF

Science.gov (United States)

Jhund, Pardeep S.; Fu, Michael; Bayram, Edmundo; Chen, Chen-Huan; Negrusz-Kawecka, Marta; Rosenthal, Arvo; Desai, Akshay S.; Lefkowitz, Martin P.; Rizkala, Adel R.; Rouleau, Jean L.; Shi, Victor C.; Solomon, Scott D.; Swedberg, Karl; Zile, Michael R.; McMurray, John J.V.; Packer, Milton

2015-01-01

Background The age at which heart failure develops varies widely between countries and drug tolerance and outcomes also vary by age. We have examined the efficacy and safety of LCZ696 according to age in the Prospective comparison of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure trial (PARADIGM-HF). Methods In PARADIGM-HF, 8399 patients aged 18–96 years and in New York Heart Association functional class II–IV with an LVEF ≤40% were randomized to either enalapril or LCZ696. We examined the pre-specified efficacy and safety outcomes according to age category (years): <55 (n = 1624), 55–64 (n = 2655), 65–74 (n = 2557), and ≥75 (n = 1563). Findings The rate (per 100 patient-years) of the primary outcome of cardiovascular (CV) death or heart failure hospitalization (HFH) increased from 13.4 to 14.8 across the age categories. The LCZ696:enalapril hazard ratio (HR) was <1.0 in all categories (P for interaction between age category and treatment = 0.94) with an overall HR of 0.80 (0.73, 0.87), P < 0.001. The findings for HFH were similar for CV and all-cause mortality and the age category by treatment interactions were not significant. The pre-specified safety outcomes of hypotension, renal impairment and hyperkalaemia increased in both treatment groups with age, although the differences between treatment (more hypotension but less renal impairment and hyperkalaemia with LCZ696) were consistent across age categories. Interpretation LCZ696 was more beneficial than enalapril across the spectrum of age in PARADIGM-HF with a favourable benefit–risk profile in all age groups. PMID:26231885

A dual-task paradigm for behavioral and neurobiological studies in nonhuman primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Kei; Funahashi, Shintaro

2015-05-15

The dual-task paradigm is a procedure in which subjects are asked to perform two behavioral tasks concurrently, each of which involves a distinct goal with a unique stimulus-response association. Due to the heavy demand on subject's cognitive abilities, human studies using this paradigm have provided detailed insights regarding how the components of cognitive systems are functionally organized and implemented. Although dual-task paradigms are widely used in human studies, they are seldom used in nonhuman animal studies. We propose a novel dual-task paradigm for monkeys that requires the simultaneous performance of two cognitively demanding component tasks, each of which uses an independent effector for behavioral responses (hand and eyes). We provide a detailed description of an optimal training protocol for this paradigm, which has been lacking in the existing literature. An analysis of behavioral performance showed that the proposed dual-task paradigm (1) was quickly learned by monkeys (less than 40 sessions) with step-by-step training protocols, (2) produced specific behavioral effects, known as dual-task interference in human studies, and (3) achieved rigid and independent control of the effectors for behavioral responses throughout the trial. The proposed dual-task paradigm has a scalable task structure, in that each of the two component tasks can be easily replaced by other tasks, while preserving the overall structure of the paradigm. This paradigm should be useful for investigating executive control that underlies dual-task performance at both the behavioral and neuronal levels. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hybrid Brain–Computer Interface Techniques for Improved Classification Accuracy and Increased Number of Commands: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Keum-Shik; Khan, Muhammad Jawad

2017-01-01

In this article, non-invasive hybrid brain–computer interface (hBCI) technologies for improving classification accuracy and increasing the number of commands are reviewed. Hybridization combining more than two modalities is a new trend in brain imaging and prosthesis control. Electroencephalography (EEG), due to its easy use and fast temporal resolution, is most widely utilized in combination with other brain/non-brain signal acquisition modalities, for instance, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electromyography (EMG), electrooculography (EOG), and eye tracker. Three main purposes of hybridization are to increase the number of control commands, improve classification accuracy and reduce the signal detection time. Currently, such combinations of EEG + fNIRS and EEG + EOG are most commonly employed. Four principal components (i.e., hardware, paradigm, classifiers, and features) relevant to accuracy improvement are discussed. In the case of brain signals, motor imagination/movement tasks are combined with cognitive tasks to increase active brain–computer interface (BCI) accuracy. Active and reactive tasks sometimes are combined: motor imagination with steady-state evoked visual potentials (SSVEP) and motor imagination with P300. In the case of reactive tasks, SSVEP is most widely combined with P300 to increase the number of commands. Passive BCIs, however, are rare. After discussing the hardware and strategies involved in the development of hBCI, the second part examines the approaches used to increase the number of control commands and to enhance classification accuracy. The future prospects and the extension of hBCI in real-time applications for daily life scenarios are provided. PMID:28790910

Hybrid Brain-Computer Interface Techniques for Improved Classification Accuracy and Increased Number of Commands: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Keum-Shik; Khan, Muhammad Jawad

2017-01-01

In this article, non-invasive hybrid brain-computer interface (hBCI) technologies for improving classification accuracy and increasing the number of commands are reviewed. Hybridization combining more than two modalities is a new trend in brain imaging and prosthesis control. Electroencephalography (EEG), due to its easy use and fast temporal resolution, is most widely utilized in combination with other brain/non-brain signal acquisition modalities, for instance, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electromyography (EMG), electrooculography (EOG), and eye tracker. Three main purposes of hybridization are to increase the number of control commands, improve classification accuracy and reduce the signal detection time. Currently, such combinations of EEG + fNIRS and EEG + EOG are most commonly employed. Four principal components (i.e., hardware, paradigm, classifiers, and features) relevant to accuracy improvement are discussed. In the case of brain signals, motor imagination/movement tasks are combined with cognitive tasks to increase active brain-computer interface (BCI) accuracy. Active and reactive tasks sometimes are combined: motor imagination with steady-state evoked visual potentials (SSVEP) and motor imagination with P300. In the case of reactive tasks, SSVEP is most widely combined with P300 to increase the number of commands. Passive BCIs, however, are rare. After discussing the hardware and strategies involved in the development of hBCI, the second part examines the approaches used to increase the number of control commands and to enhance classification accuracy. The future prospects and the extension of hBCI in real-time applications for daily life scenarios are provided.

Hybrid Brain–Computer Interface Techniques for Improved Classification Accuracy and Increased Number of Commands: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keum-Shik Hong

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this article, non-invasive hybrid brain–computer interface (hBCI technologies for improving classification accuracy and increasing the number of commands are reviewed. Hybridization combining more than two modalities is a new trend in brain imaging and prosthesis control. Electroencephalography (EEG, due to its easy use and fast temporal resolution, is most widely utilized in combination with other brain/non-brain signal acquisition modalities, for instance, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS, electromyography (EMG, electrooculography (EOG, and eye tracker. Three main purposes of hybridization are to increase the number of control commands, improve classification accuracy and reduce the signal detection time. Currently, such combinations of EEG + fNIRS and EEG + EOG are most commonly employed. Four principal components (i.e., hardware, paradigm, classifiers, and features relevant to accuracy improvement are discussed. In the case of brain signals, motor imagination/movement tasks are combined with cognitive tasks to increase active brain–computer interface (BCI accuracy. Active and reactive tasks sometimes are combined: motor imagination with steady-state evoked visual potentials (SSVEP and motor imagination with P300. In the case of reactive tasks, SSVEP is most widely combined with P300 to increase the number of commands. Passive BCIs, however, are rare. After discussing the hardware and strategies involved in the development of hBCI, the second part examines the approaches used to increase the number of control commands and to enhance classification accuracy. The future prospects and the extension of hBCI in real-time applications for daily life scenarios are provided.

Different Research Paradigms Concerning Giftedness and Gifted Education: Shall Ever They Meet?

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, Kurt A.

2012-01-01

Knowledge regarding giftedness and gifted education is supplied by different sources of information and different research paradigms. Particularly relevant approaches are here the psychometric paradigm, the expert-novice paradigm, and the explanatory approaches from cognitive sciences, also the quasi-experimental social and developmental studies…

Interaction between Social Categories in the Composite Face Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wenfeng; Ren, Naixin; Young, Andrew W.; Liu, Chang Hong

2018-01-01

The composite face paradigm (Young, Hellawell, & Hay, 1987) is widely used to demonstrate holistic perception of faces (Rossion, 2013). In the paradigm, parts from different faces (usually the top and bottom halves) are recombined. The principal criterion for holistic perception is that responses involving the component parts of composites in…

Golkar Party's Political Communications the New Paradigm Bakrie Leadership 2009-2013

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Khoiruddin Muchtar

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This study base on the efforts of the Golkar Party's to the process of interpretation, socialization, and implementation of the new paradigm, the paradigm guide to reformations Golkar Party's become to democratic, independent, solid, strong, foundamental, and responsive. How Golkar party's political communication about socialization and implementation of a new paradigm of Golkar Party's leadership Aburizal Bakrie-year period from 2009 to 2012.The aim of this research is to study and overview of the process of socialization and implementation new paradigm Golkar Party's of the Aburizal Bakrie’s leadership. This contect described to using constructivist paradigm through the theory of Performance of Communication and Structuration. Research using the case study method. Data obtained by participation observer, unstructured interviews, and documentary study. The data also collected from informants. The results of this research show: 1 The Golkar Party's has a very significant infrastructure, so the making easier to socialization new paradigm to internal party, but Golkar Party's can not erase stigma society as the New Order party. Socializing new paradigm Golkar Party's to be done in integrated, systematic and continuous addressed to all cadres of various levels from the center to the village. 2 the new paradigm Golkar Party's ideals as the basis and foundation values stand for the Golkar Party's, the implementation is faced with the reality of the condition of the various political considerations and the interests of power, so it can not shown the Golkar Party's political communication with the direction of the reality, Golkar Party's must be have to political communication with the role of multi faces.

Are leader stereotypes masculine? A meta-analysis of three research paradigms.

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Koenig, Anne M; Eagly, Alice H; Mitchell, Abigail A; Ristikari, Tiina

2011-07-01

This meta-analysis examined the extent to which stereotypes of leaders are culturally masculine. The primary studies fit into 1 of 3 paradigms: (a) In Schein's (1973) think manager-think male paradigm, 40 studies with 51 effect sizes compared the similarity of male and leader stereotypes and the similarity of female and leader stereotypes; (b) in Powell and Butterfield's (1979) agency-communion paradigm, 22 studies with 47 effect sizes compared stereotypes of leaders' agency and communion; and (c) in Shinar's (1975) masculinity-femininity paradigm, 7 studies with 101 effect sizes represented stereotypes of leadership-related occupations on a single masculinity-femininity dimension. Analyses implemented appropriate random and mixed effects models. All 3 paradigms demonstrated overall masculinity of leader stereotypes: (a) In the think manager-think male paradigm, intraclass correlation = .25 for the women-leaders similarity and intraclass correlation = .62 for the men-leaders similarity; (b) in the agency-communion paradigm, g = 1.55, indicating greater agency than communion; and (c) in the masculinity-femininity paradigm, g = 0.92, indicating greater masculinity than the androgynous scale midpoint. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses indicated that this masculine construal of leadership has decreased over time and was greater for male than female research participants. In addition, stereotypes portrayed leaders as less masculine in educational organizations than in other domains and in moderate- than in high-status leader roles. This article considers the relation of these findings to Eagly and Karau's (2002) role congruity theory, which proposed contextual influences on the incongruity between stereotypes of women and leaders. The implications for prejudice against women leaders are also considered.

A Novel Design of 4-Class BCI Using Two Binary Classifiers and Parallel Mental Tasks

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Tao Geng

2008-01-01

Full Text Available A novel 4-class single-trial brain computer interface (BCI based on two (rather than four or more binary linear discriminant analysis (LDA classifiers is proposed, which is called a “parallel BCI.” Unlike other BCIs where mental tasks are executed and classified in a serial way one after another, the parallel BCI uses properly designed parallel mental tasks that are executed on both sides of the subject body simultaneously, which is the main novelty of the BCI paradigm used in our experiments. Each of the two binary classifiers only classifies the mental tasks executed on one side of the subject body, and the results of the two binary classifiers are combined to give the result of the 4-class BCI. Data was recorded in experiments with both real movement and motor imagery in 3 able-bodied subjects. Artifacts were not detected or removed. Offline analysis has shown that, in some subjects, the parallel BCI can generate a higher accuracy than a conventional 4-class BCI, although both of them have used the same feature selection and classification algorithms.

Universities in the global knowledge economy: the eclectic paradigm

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Denys Ilnytskyy

2015-06-01

Full Text Available As institutions of knowledge generation and diffusion, in the course of their activities universities should take into account not only the level of an organization or a country but also that of individual knowledge transformation, whereby creating favorable conditions for developing creativity of both graduates and academic staff who form the basis of the intellectual capital of the university and the country. While functioning in the global competitive climate, the national intellectual capital is a factor of socio-economic development and international competitive status of individual countries. During decades the concept of university has been evolving toward determining the operation mode of a university as that of an institution providing mass education, carrying out fundamental and applied researches as well as largely participating in local, national and global development. However, the university operation paradigm remains eclectic. Equal relationships between universities, government and industry in a knowledge-based society are well-defined by the concept of triple helix innovation systems engaging NGOs. World-class universities tend ever more to incorporate the feature of an entrepreneurial university actively competing in the global academic domain.

Paradigms in object recognition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutihac, R.; Mutihac, R.C.

1999-09-01

A broad range of approaches has been proposed and applied for the complex and rather difficult task of object recognition that involves the determination of object characteristics and object classification into one of many a priori object types. Our paper revises briefly the three main different paradigms in pattern recognition, namely Bayesian statistics, neural networks, and expert systems. (author)

Innovative character of marketing paradigm of education governance

OpenAIRE

E. G. Sytnychenko

2014-01-01

The most common methodological basis for creating marketing paradigm of public education management is the allocation of general forms of marketing to management activities. Immediate methodological basis for the formation of the said paradigm was synthesis of marketing concepts and management activities. Educational marketing is a cognitive foundation of values reorientation of all forms of regulation to meet the social and educational needs of the individual. In this sense, marketing manage...

Historical ESWT Paradigms Are Overcome: A Narrative Review

OpenAIRE

Lohrer, Heinz; Nauck, Tanja; Korakakis, Vasileios; Malliaropoulos, Nikos

2016-01-01

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) is a conservative treatment modality with still growing interest in musculoskeletal disorders. This narrative review aims to present an overview covering 20-year development in the field of musculoskeletal ESWT. Eight historical paradigms have been identified and put under question from a current perspective: energy intensity, focus size, anesthesia, imaging, growth plates, acuteness, calcifications, and number of sessions. All paradigms as set in a hi...

Paradigm shift from cartography to geo-communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brodersen, Lars

2007-01-01

This paper argues that the domain of GIS, cartography, geo-information etc. is facing a paradigm shift. The implication of a paradigm shift is a complete and necessary re-definition of e.g. the philosophical foundation of the system, as well as with a major upgrade and readjustment of procedures......-information is actually not possible at all without having a usage (a project identity and a purpose) in mind. Objective and neutral geo-information does not exist. Therefore the overall philosophy of the geo-domain will be that it is a communication discipline....

Understanding the land management paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enemark, Stig

2006-01-01

There is a worldwide need to build understanding of the land management paradigm and for institutional development to establish sustainable national concepts. This includes creation and adoption of a policy on land development, and an approach that combines the land administration...

Disability Is Not Measles: New Research Paradigms in Disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Rioux, Marcia H., Ed.; Bach, Michael, Ed.

This book is the product of a forum titled New Research Directions and Paradigms, held at the Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency in Australia in August 1992. The book presents 13 chapters, all written within a critical paradigm for disability research which critiques the reification of…

Cloud Manufacturing Service Paradigm for Group Manufacturing Companies

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Jingtao Zhou

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The continuous refinement of specialization requires that the group manufacturing company must be constantly focused on how to concentrate its core resources in special sphere to form its core competitive advantage. However, the resources in enterprise group are usually distributed in different subsidiary companies, which means they cannot be fully used, constraining the competition and development of the enterprise. Conducted as a response to a need for cloud manufacturing studies, systematic and detailed studies on cloud manufacturing schema for group companies are carried out in this paper. A new hybrid private clouds paradigm is proposed to meet the requirements of aggregation and centralized use of heterogeneous resources and business units distributed in different subsidiary companies. After the introduction of the cloud manufacturing paradigm for enterprise group and its architecture, this paper presents a derivation from the abstraction of paradigm and framework to the application of a practical evaluative working mechanism. In short, the paradigm establishes an effective working mechanism to translate collaborative business process composed by the activities into cloud manufacturing process composed by services so as to create a foundation resulting in mature traditional project monitoring and scheduling technologies being able to be used in cloud manufacturing project management.

Cryptocurrency Networks: A New P2P Paradigm

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Sergi Delgado-Segura

2018-01-01

Full Text Available P2P networks are the mechanism used by cryptocurrencies to disseminate system information while keeping the whole system as much decentralized as possible. Cryptocurrency P2P networks have new characteristics that propose new challenges and avoid some problems of existing P2P networks. By characterizing the most relevant cryptocurrency network, Bitcoin, we provide details on different properties of cryptocurrency networks and their similarities and differences with standard P2P network paradigms. Our study allows us to conclude that cryptocurrency networks present a new paradigm of P2P networks due to the mechanisms they use to achieve high resilience and security. With this new paradigm, interesting research lines can be further developed, both in the focused field of P2P cryptocurrency networks and also when such networks are combined with other distributed scenarios.

Attention-level transitory response: a novel hybrid BCI approach

Science.gov (United States)

Diez, Pablo F.; Garcés Correa, Agustina; Orosco, Lorena; Laciar, Eric; Mut, Vicente

2015-10-01

Objective. People with disabilities may control devices such as a computer or a wheelchair by means of a brain-computer interface (BCI). BCI based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) requires visual stimulation of the user. However, this SSVEP-based BCI suffers from the ‘Midas touch effect’, i.e., the BCI can detect an SSVEP even when the user is not gazing at the stimulus. Then, these incorrect detections deteriorate the performance of the system, especially in asynchronous BCI because ongoing EEG is classified. In this paper, a novel transitory response of the attention-level of the user is reported. It was used to develop a hybrid BCI (hBCI). Approach. Three methods are proposed to detect the attention-level of the user. They are based on the alpha rhythm and theta/beta rate. The proposed hBCI scheme is presented along with these methods. Hence, the hBCI sends a command only when the user is at a high-level of attention, or in other words, when the user is really focused on the task being performed. The hBCI was tested over two different EEG datasets. Main results. The performance of the hybrid approach is superior to the standard one. Improvements of 20% in accuracy and 10 bits min-1 are reported. Moreover, the attention-level is extracted from the same EEG channels used in SSVEP detection and this way, no extra hardware is needed. Significance. A transitory response of EEG signal is used to develop the attention-SSVEP hBCI which is capable of reducing the Midas touch effect.

The "extended mind" approach for a new paradigm of psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kono, Tetsuya

2010-12-01

In this paper, I would like to propose the idea of "extended mind" for a new paradigm of psychology. Kohler (Integrative Psychology & Behavioral Science 44:39-57, 2010) correctly pointed out the serious problems of the machine paradigm, and proposed the "organic" view as a new paradigm. But the term "organic" signifying the processes inside the body, is inadequate to express the characteristic of human mind. The recent philosophy of mind suggests that the mind is realized neither only in the brain nor only in the body, but in the whole system of brain-body-environment, namely, in the "extended mind". The characteristic of human mind resides in the interaction with the mediating tools, artifacts, and the humanized environment. We should propose an "extended mind approach" or an "ecological approach to humanized environment" as a new paradigm for a psychology.

Researching Style: Epistemology, Paradigm Shifts and Research Interest Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Rayner, Stephen

2011-01-01

This paper identifies the need for a deliberate approach to theory building in the context of researching cognitive and learning style differences in human performance. A case for paradigm shift and a focus upon research epistemology is presented, building upon a recent critique of style research. A proposal for creating paradigm shift is made,…

A Critical Evaluation of the Paradigm Approach in Sepedi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

Abstract: This article gives a critical evaluation of the paradigm approach of the Groot Noord-. Sotho Woordeboek to the lemmatisation of verbs and nouns derived from verbs. The verb stem -roba. 'break' with its complicated system of derivations will be taken as a case in point. The paradigm presented for -roba will be ...

Comunication: the Paradigms of symmetry, antisymmetry anda asymmetry

OpenAIRE

Winfried Nöth

2011-01-01

The paper examines how the process of communication is represented (a) in the etymology of the conceptof communication, (b) in everyday metaphors of communication, and (c) in 20th century theories andmodels of communication. These reflect this paradox in three different scenarios: the paradigms ofsymmetry, antisymmetry and asymmetry. The dead end into which communication theory is led by theproponents of the latter paradigm is contrasted with some solutions offered by Charles S. Peirce’scommu...

Black hole mass formula in the membrane paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Lemos, José P. S.; Zaslavskii, Oleg B.

2018-03-01

The membrane paradigm approach adopts a timelike surface, stretched out off the null event horizon, to study several important black hole properties. We use this powerful tool to give a direct derivation of the black hole mass formula in the static and stationary cases without and with electric field. Since here the membrane is a self-gravitating material system, we go beyond the usual applicability on test particles and test fields of the paradigm.

Sustainable intensification: A new paradigm for African agriculture

OpenAIRE

The Montpellier Panel

2013-01-01

Sub-Saharan Africa faces a rapid population growth that drives food demand and scarcity together with scarcity in natural resources such as land, water, and soil fertility. This Montpellier Panel report identifies the paradigm of sustainable intensification as a framework to address both of these issues. It provides a comprehensive overview of the sustainable intensification paradigm, which seeks to utilize existing land to maximize yields, incomes, and nutrition while minimizing negative ext...

Toward a Metatheoretical Integration of Developmental Paradigms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark W. Antley

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This paper shows how a partial consilience might be achieved in the field of human development by means of principles from general systems theory. The author concurs with Sameroff (1989 that it is possible to interpret the mechanistic, organisimic, and contextualist paradigms/worldviews (Goldhaber, 2000; Pepper, 1970 in terms of general systems theory. The author selects a major developmentalist from each paradigm and interprets that scholar’s work in terms of systems principles. The following developmentalists were selected: Arnold Sameroff (contextualism, Erik Erickson (organicism, and Albert Bandura (mechanism. The systems principles employed are wholeness and order, self-stabilization, self-reorganization, hierarchical interaction, and dialectical contradiction (Sameroff, 1989. The author addresses the conflicting presuppositions of the major paradigms in order to provide for their theoretical subsuming under systems theory. Finally, the author notes areas of inconsistency that will need to be resolved in the future and calls for further scholarship to translate developmental theory in terms of general systems theory for the benefit of students, scholars, consultants and other practitioners familiar with systems theory.

Three Paradigms of Social Assistance

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Pierre-Marc Daigneault

2014-11-01

Full Text Available “Ideas,” which are defined as the normative and cognitive beliefs of actors, are fundamental to a full understanding of the welfare state and, in particular, of social assistance. However, policy ideas have been neglected in most typologies of social assistance regimes. Based on a selective review of the literature, this article proposes a brief but systematic analysis of policy paradigms in the field of social assistance. Three ideal types that emphasize the ideational dimension of social assistance are analyzed, namely, the entitlement, workfare, and activation paradigms. The value of the typology lies in its utility for characterizing the ideational orientation of social assistance regimes. Specifically, the typology provides a yardstick for measuring the ideas of policy actors with respect to social assistance and can facilitate the conduct of case studies, comparative research, and causal analyses on this policy sector.

Electrophysiological dynamics of covert and overt visual attention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ordikhani-Seyedlar, Mehdi

Attention is a key neural function for choosing certain information to receive more processing than others. Attention is allocated either by directly looking at the target (overt) or without eye movement towards the target (covert). The current study was designed to extract relevant features...... by using steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) task. SSVEP task was presented to subjects at the same time that the electroencephalography (EEG) signals were recorded by the scalp electrodes. Subjects were instructed to respond to a certain stimulus by pressing a button. This way attention...... was measure in continuous manner. Results showed that the amplitude of SSVEP frequencies is higher in overt than covert attention. This indicates that by overt attention events are registered with larger power. However, exploring the harmonics of frequencies showed that covert attention generates larger 2nd...

Cloud Computing and Multi Agent System to improve Learning Object Paradigm

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Ana B. Gil

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The paradigm of Learning Object provides Educators and Learners with the ability to access an extensive number of learning resources. To do so, this paradigm provides different technologies and tools, such as federated search platforms and storage repositories, in order to obtain information ubiquitously and on demand. However, the vast amount and variety of educational content, which is distributed among several repositories, and the existence of various and incompatible standards, technologies and interoperability layers among repositories, constitutes a real problem for the expansion of this paradigm. This study presents an agent-based architecture that uses the advantages provided by Cloud Computing platforms to deal with the open issues on the Learning Object paradigm.

Industry 4.0 and the New Simulation Modelling Paradigm

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Rodič Blaž

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present the influence of Industry 4.0 on the development of the new simulation modelling paradigm, embodied by the Digital Twin concept, and examine the adoption of the new paradigm via a multiple case study involving real-life R&D cases involving academia and industry.

Evolution of the radiological protection paradigms; Evolucao dos paradigmas de protecao radiologica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sordi, Gian Maria A.A. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Tecnologia Nuclear], E-mail: gmsordi@ipen.br

2009-10-15

We consider as initial radiological protection paradigms those in vigour after the release of the atomic energy for pacific usages in 1955. In that occasion, only one paradigm was introduced, presently named dose limitation system. After arguing about the basis that raised the paradigm, we introduced the guidance, that is, the measurements to be implemented to comply with the paradigm. In that occasion, they were two, i.e., the radiation dose monitoring and the workplace classification. Afterwards, the reasons that caused the radiological protection paradigms changes in force until 1995 are discussed. The initial paradigm was modified introducing the justification and the optimization principles, adding that the radiological protection should be economical and effective. The guidance also increased to four: personal monitoring, workplace classification, reference level and workers classification. Afterwards, we give the main justifications for the present paradigms that besides the formers were added the dose constraints, the potential exposure and the annual risk limits. Due to these modifications, the workers classifications were eliminated from the guidance, but the potential exposure and the search for the dose constraints were added. Eventually, we discuss the tendencies for the next future and the main changes introduced by the ICRP in the Publication 103, 2007. (author)

Challenging paradigms in estuarine ecology and management

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, M.; Whitfield, A. K.

2011-10-01

For many years, estuarine science has been the 'poor relation' in aquatic research - freshwater scientists ignored estuaries as they tended to get confused by salt and tides, and marine scientists were more preoccupied by large open systems. Estuaries were merely regarded by each group as either river mouths or sea inlets respectively. For the past four decades, however, estuaries (and other transitional waters) have been regarded as being ecosystems in their own right. Although often not termed as such, this has led to paradigms being generated to summarise estuarine structure and functioning and which relate to both the natural science and management of these systems. This paper defines, details and affirms these paradigms that can be grouped into those covering firstly the science (definitions, scales, linkages, productivity, tolerances and variability) and secondly the management (pressures, valuation, health and services) of estuaries. The more 'science' orientated paradigms incorporate the development and types of ecotones, the nature of stressed and variable systems (with specific reference to resilience and redundancy), the relationship between generalists and specialists produced by environmental tolerance, the relevance of scale in relation to functioning and connectivity, the sources of production and degree of productivity, the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning and the stress-subsidy debates. The more 'management' targeted paradigms include the development and effects of exogenic unmanaged pressures and endogenic managed pressures, the perception of health and the ability to manage estuaries (related to internal and external influences), and the influence of all of these on the production of ecosystem services and societal benefits.

Acquistion of High Resolution Electroencephalogram Systems for Advancing Brain-Machine Interaction Research

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-21

Entrepreneurship competation, April, 2015 3rd Place, EE Technology Symposium, UTSA, April, 2015 PERCENT_SUPPORTEDNAME FTE Equivalent: Total Number...experiments and can adapt to the changes of subjects and experiments need to be developed. Moreover, it would be of significant practical interest to...suggested by the SSVEP theory . An example of a 10Hz and 15Hz frequency response for a single trial can be seen in Fig. 6. 3.2.4 Detection of SSVEP

Complexity: a potential paradigm for a health promotion discipline.

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Marie-Claude; Richard, Lucie

2014-06-01

Health promotion underpins a distancing from narrow, simplifying health approaches associated with the biomedical model. However, it has not yet succeeded in formally establishing its theoretical, epistemological and methodological foundations on a single paradigm. The complexity paradigm, which it has yet to broach head-on, might provide it with a disciplinary matrix in line with its implicit stances and basic values. This article seeks to establish complexity's relevance as a paradigm that can contribute to the development of a health promotion discipline. The relevance of complexity is justified primarily by its matching with several implicit epistemological and methodological/theoretical stances found in the cardinal concepts and principles of health promotion. The transcendence of ontological realism and determinism as well as receptiveness in respect of the reflexivity that complexity encompasses are congruent with the values of social justice, participation, empowerment and the concept of positive health that the field promotes. Moreover, from a methodological and theoretical standpoint, complexity assumes a holistic, contextual and transdisciplinary approach, toward which health promotion is tending through its emphasis on ecology and interdisciplinary action. In a quest to illustrate our position, developmental evaluation is presented as an example of practice stemming from a complexity paradigm that can be useful in the evaluation of health promotion initiatives. In short, we argue that it would be advantageous for health promotion to integrate this paradigm, which would provide it with a formal framework appropriate to its purposes and concerns.

Class prediction for high-dimensional class-imbalanced data

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Lusa Lara

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The goal of class prediction studies is to develop rules to accurately predict the class membership of new samples. The rules are derived using the values of the variables available for each subject: the main characteristic of high-dimensional data is that the number of variables greatly exceeds the number of samples. Frequently the classifiers are developed using class-imbalanced data, i.e., data sets where the number of samples in each class is not equal. Standard classification methods used on class-imbalanced data often produce classifiers that do not accurately predict the minority class; the prediction is biased towards the majority class. In this paper we investigate if the high-dimensionality poses additional challenges when dealing with class-imbalanced prediction. We evaluate the performance of six types of classifiers on class-imbalanced data, using simulated data and a publicly available data set from a breast cancer gene-expression microarray study. We also investigate the effectiveness of some strategies that are available to overcome the effect of class imbalance. Results Our results show that the evaluated classifiers are highly sensitive to class imbalance and that variable selection introduces an additional bias towards classification into the majority class. Most new samples are assigned to the majority class from the training set, unless the difference between the classes is very large. As a consequence, the class-specific predictive accuracies differ considerably. When the class imbalance is not too severe, down-sizing and asymmetric bagging embedding variable selection work well, while over-sampling does not. Variable normalization can further worsen the performance of the classifiers. Conclusions Our results show that matching the prevalence of the classes in training and test set does not guarantee good performance of classifiers and that the problems related to classification with class

Guiding New Teacher Training towards the Acquisition of a Systemic Paradigm

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Luis Guillermo Barrantes-Montero

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper distinguishes between positivist disciplinary paradigm, which classifies human knowledge into isolated disciplines, and systemic paradigm, which aims at integrating knowledge and an inter-and trans-disciplinarity approach. The need and convenience of preparing new professionals in the latter is discussed. An example on how to develop a training experience based on the systemic paradigm in an advanced English reading course, in a teacher-training career is also described.

E-learning paradigmer og e-learning strategiudvikling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duus, Henrik Johannsen

2003-01-01

E-learning området er meget varieret hvad angår produkter, holdninger ogmeninger, og indeholder også en del 'støj' og mytedannelser, som afspejles i såvel denakademisk-videnskabelige som den journalistisk-offentlige debat om området. Dennevariation i såvel produkter som udtrykte meninger søges...... systematiseret og ordnet i fireidealtypiske paradigmer. Det vises, hvorledes disse fire paradigmer har hver sinebestemte karakteristika og udviklingsgrænser. Dette har afgørende strategisk betydningfor virksomheders og læreanstalters udvikling af e-learning, idet forkerte paradigmevalgvil hæmme udviklingen....

Radiation a new paradigm... Societal impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutcliffe, Jill

2010-01-01

Latency is associated with the time lag it takes for the health effects resulting from exposure to ionising radiation to show up. However, the term latency can also be applied to the time it takes for a policy to be implemented. This length of time has been suggested as broadly 40-year process. Given that radioactivity was identified and named in 1896, three paradigms are identified and examined from 1896 to 2016 and the criteria for a 4th paradigm suggested for the period 2017-2056. The review examines the changes that have taken place in scientific understanding and in public trust, a few key developments and the associated establishment of the related organisational infrastructure designed to collate and assess the evidence.

Major Development Communication Paradigms and Practices ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

info

major paradigms of development and communication practices on graphic ... mobilize, educate and persuade target audience to support human development ... facilitates the understanding of the themes, issues and facts of a campaign.

Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis – Towards a new paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Blaschke, Thomas; Hay, Geoffrey J.; Kelly, Maggi; Lang, Stefan; Hofmann, Peter; Addink, Elisabeth; Queiroz Feitosa, Raul; van der Meer, Freek; van der Werff, Harald; van Coillie, Frieke; Tiede, Dirk

2014-01-01

The amount of scientific literature on (Geographic) Object-based Image Analysis – GEOBIA has been and still is sharply increasing. These approaches to analysing imagery have antecedents in earlier research on image segmentation and use GIS-like spatial analysis within classification and feature extraction approaches. This article investigates these development and its implications and asks whether or not this is a new paradigm in remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIScience). We first discuss several limitations of prevailing per-pixel methods when applied to high resolution images. Then we explore the paradigm concept developed by Kuhn (1962) and discuss whether GEOBIA can be regarded as a paradigm according to this definition. We crystallize core concepts of GEOBIA, including the role of objects, of ontologies and the multiplicity of scales and we discuss how these conceptual developments support important methods in remote sensing such as change detection and accuracy assessment. The ramifications of the different theoretical foundations between the ‘per-pixel paradigm’ and GEOBIA are analysed, as are some of the challenges along this path from pixels, to objects, to geo-intelligence. Based on several paradigm indications as defined by Kuhn and based on an analysis of peer-reviewed scientific literature we conclude that GEOBIA is a new and evolving paradigm. PMID:24623958

Connecting traditional sciences with the OLAP and data mining paradigms

Science.gov (United States)

Guergachi, Aziz A.

2003-03-01

The paradigms of OLAP, multidimensional modeling and data mining have first emerged in the areas of market analysis and finance to address various needs of people working in these areas. Does this mean that they are useful and applicable in these areas only? Or, can they also be applicable in the other more traditional areas of science and engineering? What characterize the systems for which these paradigms are suitable? What are the goals of these paradigms? How do they relate to the traditional body of knowledge that has been developed throughout the centuries in the areas of mathematics, statistics, systems science and engineering? Where, how and to what extent can we leverage the conventional wisdom that has been accumulated in the aforementioned disciplines to develop a foundational basis for the above paradigms? The goal of this paper is to address these questions at the foundational level. We argue that the paradigms of OLAP, multidimensional modeling and data mining can also be applied successfully to complex engineering systems, such as membrane-based water/wastewater treatment plants, for example. We develop mathematically-based axiomatic definition of the concepts of 'dimension,' 'dimension level,' 'dimension hierarchy' and 'measure' using set theory and equivalence relations.

The Paradigm of Critical Realism: Approach to an Interdisciplinary Methodology

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M. A. Tavana

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The debate of method of recognition in humanities, social and nature science is one of the apprehensions of Scientists in Wisdom Domain –especially in the modern world. This apprehension, before all things was of appearing in the paradigm of methodoligical between the advocates of the paradigms of positivism with having a share of the natural science. They used to values of naturalism in social and human studies. Additionally, testing and observation and repetition are present as the main terms of recognition. In front, the difference between human studies and natural science is important for the advocates of hermeneutic paradigm. Also, they speak about the methodology of interpretation (understanding of human and social phenomenon. But, in the second half of 20th century another paradigms was established as the Critical realism. This paradigm is tried to parther from the methodoloigcal binary and has a share from the recognition of ontological positivism and epistemological hermeneutics attain to a procedure of interdisciplinary about recognition. So, on the basis of this subject, this article mentioned this question that: would the critical realism receive as the methodology in interdisciplinary? Method of the Article is postulate. This article reasoned that multilayer ontology and epistemology redounded to multilayer methodology that could build up the knowledge of interdisciplinary.

Conjugal conflict and violence: a review and theoretical paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Smilkstein, G; Aspy, C B; Quiggins, P A

1994-02-01

Conjugal violence has been described as having multiple etiologies. The variables are so numerous that intervention and research protocols are difficult to effect. This paper proposes a paradigm that establishes conjugal conflict and violence as separate entities. According to the paradigm, conjugal conflict is viewed as "an inevitable part of human association," whereas conjugal violence is determined to be a learned behavioral tactic that is employed as a coping strategy when an individual's conflict threshold potential is exceeded. Evidence will be offered that violence is learned from family of origin and from observing what is common or accepted practice in the community. Use of this paradigm would give primacy to community education programs that advance the concept of conflict resolution through rational discourse.

Neural dynamics during repetitive visual stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Tsoneva, Tsvetomira; Garcia-Molina, Gary; Desain, Peter

2015-12-01

Objective. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), the brain responses to repetitive visual stimulation (RVS), are widely utilized in neuroscience. Their high signal-to-noise ratio and ability to entrain oscillatory brain activity are beneficial for their applications in brain-computer interfaces, investigation of neural processes underlying brain rhythmic activity (steady-state topography) and probing the causal role of brain rhythms in cognition and emotion. This paper aims at analyzing the space and time EEG dynamics in response to RVS at the frequency of stimulation and ongoing rhythms in the delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands. Approach.We used electroencephalography (EEG) to study the oscillatory brain dynamics during RVS at 10 frequencies in the gamma band (40-60 Hz). We collected an extensive EEG data set from 32 participants and analyzed the RVS evoked and induced responses in the time-frequency domain. Main results. Stable SSVEP over parieto-occipital sites was observed at each of the fundamental frequencies and their harmonics and sub-harmonics. Both the strength and the spatial propagation of the SSVEP response seem sensitive to stimulus frequency. The SSVEP was more localized around the parieto-occipital sites for higher frequencies (>54 Hz) and spread to fronto-central locations for lower frequencies. We observed a strong negative correlation between stimulation frequency and relative power change at that frequency, the first harmonic and the sub-harmonic components over occipital sites. Interestingly, over parietal sites for sub-harmonics a positive correlation of relative power change and stimulation frequency was found. A number of distinct patterns in delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (15-30 Hz) bands were also observed. The transient response, from 0 to about 300 ms after stimulation onset, was accompanied by increase in delta and theta power over fronto-central and occipital sites, which returned to baseline

A P300 brain-computer interface based on a modification of the mismatch negativity paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Jing; Sellers, Eric W; Zhou, Sijie; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej

2015-05-01

The P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) is an extension of the oddball paradigm, and can facilitate communication for people with severe neuromuscular disorders. It has been shown that, in addition to the P300, other event-related potential (ERP) components have been shown to contribute to successful operation of the P300 BCI. Incorporating these components into the classification algorithm can improve the classification accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR). In this paper, a single character presentation paradigm was compared to a presentation paradigm that is based on the visual mismatch negativity. The mismatch negativity paradigm showed significantly higher classification accuracy and ITRs than a single character presentation paradigm. In addition, the mismatch paradigm elicited larger N200 and N400 components than the single character paradigm. The components elicited by the presentation method were consistent with what would be expected from a mismatch paradigm and a typical P300 was also observed. The results show that increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by increasing the amplitude of ERP components can significantly improve BCI speed and accuracy. The mismatch presentation paradigm may be considered a viable option to the traditional P300 BCI paradigm.

Software engineering frameworks for the cloud computing paradigm

CERN Document Server

Mahmood, Zaigham

2013-01-01

This book presents the latest research on Software Engineering Frameworks for the Cloud Computing Paradigm, drawn from an international selection of researchers and practitioners. The book offers both a discussion of relevant software engineering approaches and practical guidance on enterprise-wide software deployment in the cloud environment, together with real-world case studies. Features: presents the state of the art in software engineering approaches for developing cloud-suitable applications; discusses the impact of the cloud computing paradigm on software engineering; offers guidance an

[New Paradigms? Current Trends within National and International Psychotherapy Research].

Science.gov (United States)

Strauß, Bernhard

2015-09-01

This article is devoted to the question which paradigms currently determine psychotherapy and psychotherapy research, and if there are indicators of paradigm changes in this field. The question of the efficacy and effectiveness (including the effectiveness of a transfer of psychotherapeutic knowledge to service) is specifically focussed as well as the question of the central therapeutic factors and the significance of the person of the therapist. It is argued that there are really some signals of a paradigm switch, with a turn away from controlled outcome research, representing only a minor part of patients in need of psychotherapy, towards a more specific process oriented research, also considering differential effects of the therapist. The most prominent indicator of a paradigm change is reflected by an increasing influence of patient oriented psychotherapy research which - consequently - should also be supported by the insurances as well as the funding organisations. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Models for predicting the inflectional paradigm of Croatian words

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Jan Šnajder

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Morphological analysis is a prerequisite for many natural language processing tasks. For inflectionally rich languages such as Croatian, morphological analysis typically relies on a morphological lexicon, which lists the lemmas and their paradigms. However, a real-life morphological analyzer must also be able to handle properly the out-of-vocabulary words. We address the task of predicting the correct inflectional paradigm of unknown Croatian words. We frame this as a supervised machine learning problem: we train a classifier to predict whether a candidate lemma-paradigm pair is correct based on a number of string- and corpus-based features. The candidate lemma-paradigm pairs are generated using a handcrafted morphology grammar. Our aim is to examine the machine learning aspect of the problem: we test a comprehensive set of features and evaluate the classification accuracy using different feature subsets. We show that satisfactory classification accuracy (92% can be achieved with SVM using a combination of string- and corpus-based features. On a per word basis, the F1-score is 53% and accuracy is 70%, which outperforms a frequency-based baseline by a wide margin. We discuss a number of possible directions for future research.

Quantum ergonomics: shifting the paradigm of the systems agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Guy H; Salmon, Paul M; Bedinger, Melissa; Stanton, Neville A

2017-02-01

A paradigm is an accepted world view. If we do not continually question our paradigm then wider trends and movements will overtake the discipline leaving it ill adapted to future challenges. This Special Issue is an opportunity to keep systems thinking at the forefront of ergonomics theory and practice. Systems thinking prompts us to ask whether ergonomics, as a discipline, has been too timid? Too preoccupied with the resolution of immediate problems with industrial-age methods when, approaching fast, are developments which could render these operating assumptions an irrelevance. Practical case studies are presented to show how abstract systems problems can be tackled head-on to deliver highly innovative and cost-effective insights. The strategic direction of the discipline foregrounds high-quality systems problems. These are something the discipline is well able to respond to provided that the appropriate operating paradigms are selected. Practitioner Summary: High-quality systems problems are the future of the discipline. How do we convert obtuse sounding systems concepts into practical interventions? In this paper, the essence of systems thinking is distilled and practical case studies used to demonstrate the benefits of this new paradigm.

New wine in old bottles: the historiography of a paradigm change

Science.gov (United States)

Sack, Dorothy

1992-08-01

This paper historiographically analyzes the enunciation of the American, systemic-process geomorphology paradigm in the mid-20th century, with particular focus on notions concerning Gilbert and systems. Selected contributions by Strahler, Hack, and Chorley are emphasized because of their influential roles in pronouncing and elaborating process geomorphology. Articulation of the emerging paradigm contributed to the installation of Gilbert as its figurehead and established systems analysis as a fundamental tool. Gilbert was an appropriate figurehead for the new paradigm because he had worked outside of the Davisian paradigm during the Davisian era, had done process geomorphology, had applied the method of systems analysis, and was very well respected. Identifying Gilbert as the archetypal process geomorphologist helped sanction the process paradigm, distance it from Davisian geomorphology, and ease the paradigm change. Strahler's portrayal of Gilbert, however, incorrectly implies that Gilbert had actively advocated process geomorphology in a competition with Davis and the Davisian geographical cycle. Gilbert, Strahler, and Hack each applied the thermodynamically based method of systems analysis to process geomorphology, but Chorley advocated von Bertalanffy's philosophically based general system theory instead. Gilbert, Strahler, and Hack did not apply general system theory to geomorphology, as Chorley suggested they had. Recognizing these and other notions as revisionist aids in recovering a truer understanding of the actual contributions of people important in the history of geomorphology.

Interface between problem-based learning and a learner-centered paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, Reza

2011-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) has made a major shift in support of student learning for many medical school curricula around the world. Since curricular development of PBL in the early 1970s and its growth in the 1980s and 1990s, there have been growing numbers of publications providing positive and negative data in regard to the curricular effectiveness of PBL. The purpose of this study was to explore supportive data for the four core objectives of PBL and to identify an interface between the objectives of PBL and a learner-centered paradigm. The four core PBL objectives, ie, structuring of knowledge and clinical context, clinical reasoning, self-directed learning, and intrinsic motivation, were used to search MEDLINE, the Education Resources Information Center, the Educator's Reference Complete, and PsycINFO from January 1969 to January 2011. The literature search was facilitated and narrowed if the published study included the following terms: "problem-based learning", "medical education", "traditional curriculum", and one of the above four PBL objectives. Through a comprehensive search analysis, one can find supportive data for the effectiveness of a PBL curriculum in achieving the four core objectives of PBL. A further analysis of these four objectives suggests that there is an interface between PBL objectives and criteria from a learner-centered paradigm. In addition, this review indicates that promotion of teamwork among students is another interface that exists between PBL and a learner-centered paradigm. The desire of medical schools to enhance student learning and a need to provide an environment where students construct knowledge rather than receive knowledge have encouraged many medical schools to move into a learner-centered paradigm. Implementation of a PBL curriculum can be used as a prevailing starting point to develop not only a learner-centered paradigm, but also to facilitate a smooth curricular transition from a teacher-centered paradigm to a

The Knowledge Society: A Sustainability Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naim Hamdija Afgan

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This paper defines the knowledge society as a human structured organisation based on contemporary developed knowledge and representing new quality of life support systems. It implies the need for a full understanding of distribution of knowledge, access to information and the capability to transfer information into a knowledge. The understanding of knowledge is the central challenge when defining a knowledge society. From our present perception of knowledge society, it is of interest to emphasize the role of the knowledge society in future development of human society. The life support systems are essential pillars of human society development. In this respect knowledge society represents a new paradigm for future development and it is strongly correlated to sustainable development. For this reason the sustainability paradigm of knowledge society is a potential frame for human society development leading to social cohesion, economic competitiveness and stability, use of resources and economic development, safeguarding biodiversity and the ecosystem.In order to verify the mutual relation between knowledge society and sustainability, we have to introduce the difference between these two terms. The knowledge society is based on the agglomeration of eco-knowledge, env-knowledge and soc-knowledge, it may be evaluated as the complex knowledge of quality of life support systems. We have to introduce metrics which will allow us to present knowledge as the paradigm of the number of indicators for verifying progress made.Sustainability metrics are designed to consolidate measures of economic, environmental and social performance of any system. It can be understood as a pattern for evaluation of the available knowledge about systems and their performance. In particular the decision-making process for the selection of the system under consideration must be based on the available knowledge. The link between knowledge and sustainability makes it possible for

Toward a patient-based paradigm for blood transfusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrugia, Albert; Vamvakas, Eleftherios

2014-01-01

The current "manufacturing paradigm" of transfusion practice has detached transfusion from the clinical environment. As an example, fresh whole blood in large-volume hemorrhage may be superior to whole blood reconstituted from multiple components. Multicomponent apheresis can overcome logistical difficulties in matching patient needs with fresh component availability and can deliver the benefits of fresh whole blood. Because of the different transfusion needs of patients in emerging economies and the vulnerability of these blood systems to emerging infections, fresh whole blood and multicomponent apheresis can better meet patient needs when compared with transplants of the "manufacturing paradigm". We propose that patient blood management, along with panels of repeat, paid, accredited apheresis and fresh whole-blood donors can be used in emerging economies to support decentralized blood services. This alternative transfusion-medicine paradigm could eventually also be adopted by established economies to focus transfusion medicine on local patient needs and to alleviate the problem of the aging volunteer donor base.

Dependent Classes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gasiunas, Vaidas; Mezini, Mira; Ostermann, Klaus

2007-01-01

of dependent classes and a machine-checked type soundness proof in Isabelle/HOL [29], the first of this kind for a language with virtual classes and path-dependent types. [29] T.Nipkow, L.C. Poulson, and M. Wenzel. Isabelle/HOL -- A Proof Assistant for Higher-Order Logic, volume 2283 of LNCS, Springer, 2002......Virtual classes allow nested classes to be refined in subclasses. In this way nested classes can be seen as dependent abstractions of the objects of the enclosing classes. Expressing dependency via nesting, however, has two limitations: Abstractions that depend on more than one object cannot...... be modeled and a class must know all classes that depend on its objects. This paper presents dependent classes, a generalization of virtual classes that expresses similar semantics by parameterization rather than by nesting. This increases expressivity of class variations as well as the flexibility...

Information processing psychology: A promising paradigm for research in science teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, James H.; Atkin, Julia A.

Three research paradigms, those of Ausubel, Gagné and Piaget, have received a great deal of attention in the literature of science education. In this article a fourth paradigm is presented - an information processing psychology paradigm. The article is composed of two sections. The first section describes a model of memory developed by information processing psychologists. The second section describes how such a model could be used to guide science education research on learning and problem solving.Received: 19 October 1981

What Do Ecological Paradigms Offer to Conservation?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ale, S.B.; Howe, H.F.; Ale, S.B.; Howe, H.F.

2010-01-01

Ecological theory provides applications to biodiversity management but often falls short of expectations. One possibility is that heuristic theories of a young science are too immature. Logistic growth predicts a carrying capacity, but fisheries managed with the Lotka-Volterra paradigm continue to collapse. A second issue is that general predictions may not be useful. The theory of island biogeography predicts species richness but does not predict community composition. A third possibility is that the theory itself may not have much to do with nature, or that empirical parameterization is too difficult to know. The meta population paradigm is relevant to conservation, but meta populations might not be common in nature. For instance, empirical parameterization within the meta population paradigm is usually infeasible. A challenge is to determine why ecology fails to match needs of managers sometimes but helps at other. Managers may expect too much of paradigmatic blueprints, while ecologists believe them too much. Those who implement biodiversity conservation plans need simple, pragmatic guidelines based on science. Is this possible. What is possible An eclectic review of theory and practice demonstrate the power and weaknesses of the ideas that guide conservation and attempt to identify reasons for prevailing disappointment.

From Teaching to Learning--a New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, Robert B.; Tagg, John

1995-01-01

Two alternative paradigms for undergraduate education are compared; one holds teaching as its purpose, the other learning. The natures of the two paradigms are examined on the following dimensions: mission and purposes, criteria for success, teaching and learning structures, underlying learning theory, concepts of productivity and methods of…

Paradigms in the Recovery of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems

OpenAIRE

Duarte, Carlos M.; Borja, Ángel; Carstensen, Jacob; Elliott, Michael S.; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Marbà, Núria

2015-01-01

© 2013, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation. Following widespread deterioration of coastal ecosystems since the 1960s, current environmental policies demand ecosystem recovery and restoration. However, vague definitions of recovery and untested recovery paradigms complicate efficient stewardship of coastal ecosystems. We critically examine definitions of recovery and identify and test the implicit paradigms against well-documented cases studies based on a literature review. The study hi...

Degrees of Intersectionality: Male Rap Artists in Sweden Negotiating Class, Race and Gender

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalle Berggren

2013-06-01

Full Text Available “Intersectionality” has become a highly influential concept in gender research over the last 25 years. Debates have focused on differences and power asymmetries between women, in terms of race but also addressing class, age, sexuality, ability and nation. However, intersectional paradigms have been used to a much lesser extent in gender studies on men. This article seeks to contribute to an emerging discussion about intersectionality and masculinity by analyzing rap lyrics in Swe-dish songs. The data consists of a broad sample of rap lyrics by male artists 1991-2011, which is analyzed through poststructuralist discourse analysis and queer phenomenology. The analysis shows how classed discourses can be described in terms of orientation and flow, how racialization is articulated in terms of place, and the role of normative notions of gender and sexuality in anti-racist discourses. It is argued that this interconnectedness – class being related to race, which in turn is profoundly gendered – is neither well captured by the prevailing notion of “masculinities” in gender studies on men, nor by the “constitution” vs. “addition” dichotomy in intersectionality debates. Instead, it is suggested that degrees of in-tersectionality might be a more fruitful way of theorizing intersectionality in rela-tion to men.

Convergent paradigms for visual neuroscience and dissociative identity disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, Mark L; Manning, Rana L

2009-01-01

Although dissociative identity disorder, a condition in which multiple individuals appear to inhabit a single body, is a recognized psychiatric disorder, patients may yet encounter health professionals who declare that they simply "do not believe in multiple personalities." This article explores the proposal that resistance to the disorder represents a failure to apply an appropriate paradigm from which the disorder should be interpreted. Trauma and sociocognitive explanations of dissociative identity disorder are contrasted. The trauma hypothesis is further differentiated into paradigms in which trauma affects a defense mechanism, and one in which trauma serves to inhibit the normal integration sequence of parallel processes of the self in childhood. This latter paradigm is shown to be broadly consistent with current models of cortical processing in another system, the cortical visual system.

Innovation Policy Development and the Emergence of New Innovation Paradigms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tanev, Stoyan; Knudsen, Mette Præst; Bisgaard, Tanja

2011-01-01

The objective of the present article is to discuss innovation policy issues related to three emerging innovation paradigms: user-driven innovation, open innovation, and value cocreation. It provides a summary of insights based on innovation policy practices and challenges in Denmark. The choice...... of Danish innovation policy practices is not accidental. In 2008 Denmark implemented 40 different national innovation programs by allocating about 400 million euros. Since the three emerging paradigms have become globally relevant, the discussion of Danish policy development challenges and practices...... is expected to be insightful for innovation experts from other developed countries that are currently dealing with the adoption of these paradigms....

Special Feature: Epistemological Paradigms in Evaluation: Implications for Practice. Section 3: "Paradigm Complementarity" Case Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamis-Gould, Edna; And Others

1991-01-01

Three studies are presented, which illustrate situations in which researchers and funders agreed on the primacy of either the experimental or pragmatic paradigms but acknowledged a role for the other. The studies involved evaluations of mental health care, information systems, and a curriculum for behavioral and academic dysfunction. (SLD)

Brain-computer interface based on intermodulation frequency

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaogang; Chen, Zhikai; Gao, Shangkai; Gao, Xiaorong

2013-12-01

Objective. Most recent steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems have used a single frequency for each target, so that a large number of targets require a large number of stimulus frequencies and therefore a wider frequency band. However, human beings show good SSVEP responses only in a limited range of frequencies. Furthermore, this issue is especially problematic if the SSVEP-based BCI takes a PC monitor as a stimulator, which is only capable of generating a limited range of frequencies. To mitigate this issue, this study presents an innovative coding method for SSVEP-based BCI by means of intermodulation frequencies. Approach. Simultaneous modulations of stimulus luminance and color at different frequencies were utilized to induce intermodulation frequencies. Luminance flickered at relatively large frequency (10, 12, 15 Hz), while color alternated at low frequency (0.5, 1 Hz). An attractive feature of the proposed method was that it would substantially increase the number of targets at a single flickering frequency by altering color modulated frequencies. Based on this method, the BCI system presented in this study realized eight targets merely using three flickering frequencies. Main results. The online results obtained from 15 subjects (14 healthy and 1 with stroke) revealed that an average classification accuracy of 93.83% and information transfer rate (ITR) of 33.80 bit min-1 were achieved using our proposed SSVEP-based BCI system. Specifically, 5 out of the 15 subjects exhibited an ITR of 40.00 bit min-1 with a classification accuracy of 100%. Significance. These results suggested that intermodulation frequencies could be adopted as steady responses in BCI, for which our system could be used as a practical BCI system.

The Question of Work: Adolescent Literature and the Eriksonian Paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Burgan, Mary

1988-01-01

Suggests that focusing on paradigms of work--the way it is described, together with the thematic implications it embodies--can be useful in teaching literature to young adults. Examines how examples from literature illustrate Erik H. Erikson's paradigm of the psychosocial stages of development in late childhood and adolescence. (MM)

Sexual Violence through a Social Justice Paradigm: Framing and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Luoluo; Marine, Susan B.

2018-01-01

In this chapter, we explore the factors that support the occurrence of sexual violence, including the role of interlocking systems of oppression. Traditional conceptions of "prevention" are deconstructed, a social justice paradigm for addressing sexual violence is advanced, and examples of how the paradigm can be applied to practice are…

Use of a Green Familiar Faces Paradigm Improves P300-Speller Brain-Computer Interface Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qi; Liu, Shuai; Li, Jian; Bai, Ou

2015-01-01

A recent study showed improved performance of the P300-speller when the flashing row or column was overlaid with translucent pictures of familiar faces (FF spelling paradigm). However, the performance of the P300-speller is not yet satisfactory due to its low classification accuracy and information transfer rate. To investigate whether P300-speller performance is further improved when the chromatic property and the FF spelling paradigm are combined. We proposed a new spelling paradigm in which the flashing row or column is overlaid with translucent green pictures of familiar faces (GFF spelling paradigm). We analyzed the ERP waveforms elicited by the FF and proposed GFF spelling paradigms and compared P300-speller performance between the two paradigms. Significant differences in the amplitudes of four ERP components (N170, VPP, P300, and P600f) were observed between both spelling paradigms. Compared to the FF spelling paradigm, the GFF spelling paradigm elicited ERP waveforms of higher amplitudes and resulted in improved P300-speller performance. Combining the chromatic property (green color) and the FF spelling paradigm led to better classification accuracy and an increased information transfer rate. These findings demonstrate a promising new approach for improving the performance of the P300-speller.

Stroke mimics under the drip-and-ship paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Sonal; Vora, Nirav; Edgell, Randall C; Allam, Hesham; Alawi, Aws; Koehne, Jennifer; Kumar, Abhay; Feen, Eliahu; Cruz-Flores, Salvador; Alshekhlee, Amer

2014-01-01

Recent reports suggested better outcomes associated with the drip-and-ship paradigm for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treated with thrombolysis. We hypothesized that a higher rate of stroke mimics (SM) among AIS treated in nonspecialized stroke centers that are transferred to comprehensive centers is responsible for such outcomes. Consecutive patients treated with thrombolysis according to the admission criteria were reviewed in a single comprehensive stroke center over 1 academic year (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012). Information on the basic demographic, hospital complications, psychiatric diagnoses, and discharge disposition was collected. We identified those patients who were treated at a facility and then transferred to the tertiary center (ie, drip-and-ship paradigm). In addition to comparative and adjusted analysis to identify predictors for SM, a stratified analysis by the drip-and-ship status was performed. One hundred twenty patients were treated with thrombolysis for AIS included in this analysis; 20 (16.7%) were discharged with the final diagnosis of SM; 14 of those had conversion syndrome and 6 patients had other syndromes (seizures, migraine, and hypoglycemia). Patients with SM were younger (55.6 ± 15.0 versus 69.4 ± 14.9, P = .0003) and more likely to harbor psychiatric diagnoses (45% versus 9%; P ≤ .0001). Eighteen of 20 SM patients (90%) had the drip-and-ship treatment paradigm compared with 65% of those with AIS (P = .02). None of the SM had hemorrhagic complications, and all were discharged to home. Predictors of SM on adjusted analysis included the drip-and-ship paradigm (odds ratio [OR] 12.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.78, 92.1) and history of any psychiatric illness (OR 12.08; 95% CI 3.14, 46.4). Eighteen of 83 drip-and-ship patients (21.7%) were diagnosed with SM compared with 2 of 37 patients (5.4%) presented directly to the hub hospital (P = .02). The drip-and-ship paradigm and any psychiatric history predict the diagnosis of

Social Movements Facing the Processes of Globalization: Beyond the Paradigms of Class and Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verónica Alfaro

2004-08-01

Full Text Available This essay focuses on a particular expression of globalization and regionalization that entails social, political, cultural and economic dimensions: social movements. I argue that current social movements are not necessarily articulated only in terms of class struggle-as the major labor movements were for the last two centuries. Neither do they articulate their protests only in terms of identity and recognition-such as women's movements did in the 1960s. Social movements are now most commonly organized around a discourse that combines those two dimensions. Contemporary social movements are expanding from the structural economic and industrial system (and thus abandoning the form of traditional class struggles to cultural and identity grounds. New social movements are now seen more and more as symbolic challengers, because power-that affects everyday life and tries to manipulate and give social meaning to things-is being contested by individuals in both the public and private spheres. Thus movements have a more symbolic function: they are a new kind of media, fighting for symbolic and cultural stakes, and for a different meaning and orientation of social action. However, constructing a collective identity within a social movement is not definitive. A movement's identity is constructed on an everyday basis, and within the process of globalization, the contact and social interaction with others -with the other, which allows the definition of one's own identity-is not only possible but also necessary. This paper considers the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas as an empirical approach to social movements expanding from regional, local mobilizations and discourse, to more global oriented contentious activities. I argue that the Zapatista movement's identity in 1994 was quite different from the one it has now: the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN, or Zapatista National Liberation Army discourse has been transformed, from having an ethnic

Performance analysis of commercial MOSFET packages in Class E converter operating at 2.56 MHz

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nair, Unnikrishnan Raveendran; Munk-Nielsen, Stig; Jørgensen, Asger Bjørn

2017-01-01

resistance and high temperature operation over Si devices have aided in the paradigm shift towards wide bandgap devices. The low gate charge requirements of SiC MOSFETs enables use of these devices in radio frequency (RF) converters using resonant topologies operating at MHz frequency range. The RF...... are not commercially available and power modules have to be custom designed for these applications. This work demonstrates performance of various commercial MOSFET packages at frequency of 2.56 MHz. Commercial SiC MOSFETs in TO-247 and D2Pak packs are tested in Class E resonant converter operating at 2.56 MHz...

Towards a Paradigm Shift in Educational Research: A Case of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The postcolonial theory paradigm guided the study. The article reviews literature on the postcolonial theory with the objective of illustrating how this research paradigm may be employed in the field of education in a postcolonial context. The origin, purpose and relevance of the postcolonial theory are brought to the fore as ...

A novel hybrid ensemble learning paradigm for nuclear energy consumption forecasting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Ling; Yu, Lean; Wang, Shuai; Li, Jianping; Wang, Shouyang

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A hybrid ensemble learning paradigm integrating EEMD and LSSVR is proposed. ► The hybrid ensemble method is useful to predict time series with high volatility. ► The ensemble method can be used for both one-step and multi-step ahead forecasting. - Abstract: In this paper, a novel hybrid ensemble learning paradigm integrating ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and least squares support vector regression (LSSVR) is proposed for nuclear energy consumption forecasting, based on the principle of “decomposition and ensemble”. This hybrid ensemble learning paradigm is formulated specifically to address difficulties in modeling nuclear energy consumption, which has inherently high volatility, complexity and irregularity. In the proposed hybrid ensemble learning paradigm, EEMD, as a competitive decomposition method, is first applied to decompose original data of nuclear energy consumption (i.e. a difficult task) into a number of independent intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) of original data (i.e. some relatively easy subtasks). Then LSSVR, as a powerful forecasting tool, is implemented to predict all extracted IMFs independently. Finally, these predicted IMFs are aggregated into an ensemble result as final prediction, using another LSSVR. For illustration and verification purposes, the proposed learning paradigm is used to predict nuclear energy consumption in China. Empirical results demonstrate that the novel hybrid ensemble learning paradigm can outperform some other popular forecasting models in both level prediction and directional forecasting, indicating that it is a promising tool to predict complex time series with high volatility and irregularity.

Disease-modifying treatments for early and advanced multiple sclerosis: a new treatment paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Giovannoni, Gavin

2018-06-01

The treatment of multiple sclerosis is evolving rapidly with 11 classes of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). This article provides an overview of a new classification system for DMTs and treatment paradigm for using these DMTs effectively and safely. A summary of research into the use of more active approaches to early and effective treatment of multiple sclerosis with defined treatment targets of no evident disease activity (NEDA). New insights are discussed that is allowing the field to begin to tackle more advanced multiple sclerosis, including people with multiple sclerosis using wheelchairs. However, the need to modify expectations of what can be achieved in more advanced multiple sclerosis are discussed; in particular, the focus on neuronal systems with reserve capacity, for example, upper limb, bulbar and visual function. The review describes a new more active way of managing multiple sclerosis and concludes with a call to action in solving the problem of slow adoption of innovations and the global problem of untreated, or undertreated, multiple sclerosis.

Applied ELT: A Paradigm Justifying Complex Adaptive System of Language Teaching?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Mahmoodzadeh

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In an endeavor to reflect on the advent of Applied ELT paradigm pioneered by Pishghadam (2011 in the area of second language education, this article delves into the unexplored nature of this emerging paradigm via a contemporary complexity-driven voice. The crux of the argument addressed in this article suggests that Applied ELT is a pragmatic manifestation of complex adaptive system of language teaching. To set the grounds expressly for such enquiry, firstly it draws on both premises and axioms associated with complexity theory and its existing literature in the circle of second language research. It then tracks down the evolutionary course of the new developed paradigm of Applied ELT within the realm of second language education and also elaborates the cornerstone and manifold tenets of this paradigm sufficiently. Finally, the article attempts to critically elucidate and rationalize the recent emergence of Applied ELT paradigm through the lens of complexity theory. To broaden our thinking and understanding about the potential and multi-directional influence of ELT field, the article ends by calling for a reshaped educational direction for ELT position in second language education.

Superior refining performance beyond 2000 -- Breaking traditional paradigms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tassel, B. van

1995-01-01

Over the last 5 years, refining companies have not performed well financially, generating returns below the cost of capital. Environmental regulations have caused the industry to invest significant amounts of capital, and while new regulations will cause the shutdown of between 500 thousand and 1.2 million barrels per day of capacity, the industry structure will remain poor and financial returns for the average player will likely be volatile, cyclical, and below the cost of capital. Based on this industry outlook, refining companies seeking superior performance will have to break the traditional paradigms and adopt world-class practices used in other industries. Changes required to significantly improve financial returns will include shifts in business strategy to accommodate growth, and development of nontraditional services, as well as initiates to dramatically reshape cost structure and improve profitability. Making the changes to become a superior performer in the refining business will require a clear vision and strong leadership at multiple levels in the organization. The transformation will also require changes in company culture and incentive plans that encourage managers to act as owners. In addition, superior performers will push accountability for results to low levels in the organization. Given the herd mentality of the oil industry, superior performers must take decisive, preemptive action to generate a substantial, competitive advantage

Superior refining performance beyond 2000 -- Breaking traditional paradigms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tassel, B. van [McKinsey and Co., Inc., Houston, TX (United States)

1995-09-01

Over the last 5 years, refining companies have not performed well financially, generating returns below the cost of capital. Environmental regulations have caused the industry to invest significant amounts of capital, and while new regulations will cause the shutdown of between 500 thousand and 1.2 million barrels per day of capacity, the industry structure will remain poor and financial returns for the average player will likely be volatile, cyclical, and below the cost of capital. Based on this industry outlook, refining companies seeking superior performance will have to break the traditional paradigms and adopt world-class practices used in other industries. Changes required to significantly improve financial returns will include shifts in business strategy to accommodate growth, and development of nontraditional services, as well as initiates to dramatically reshape cost structure and improve profitability. Making the changes to become a superior performer in the refining business will require a clear vision and strong leadership at multiple levels in the organization. The transformation will also require changes in company culture and incentive plans that encourage managers to act as owners. In addition, superior performers will push accountability for results to low levels in the organization. Given the herd mentality of the oil industry, superior performers must take decisive, preemptive action to generate a substantial, competitive advantage.

Complex sparse spatial filter for decoding mixed frequency and phase coded steady-state visually evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Morikawa, Naoki; Tanaka, Toshihisa; Islam, Md Rabiul

2018-07-01

Mixed frequency and phase coding (FPC) can achieve the significant increase of the number of commands in steady-state visual evoked potential-based brain-computer interface (SSVEP-BCI). However, the inconsistent phases of the SSVEP over channels in a trial and the existence of non-contributing channels due to noise effects can decrease accurate detection of stimulus frequency. We propose a novel command detection method based on a complex sparse spatial filter (CSSF) by solving ℓ 1 - and ℓ 2,1 -regularization problems for a mixed-coded SSVEP-BCI. In particular, ℓ 2,1 -regularization (aka group sparsification) can lead to the rejection of electrodes that are not contributing to the SSVEP detection. A calibration data based canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and CSSF with ℓ 1 - and ℓ 2,1 -regularization cases were demonstrated for a 16-target stimuli with eleven subjects. The results of statistical test suggest that the proposed method with ℓ 1 - and ℓ 2,1 -regularization significantly achieved the highest ITR. The proposed approaches do not need any reference signals, automatically select prominent channels, and reduce the computational cost compared to the other mixed frequency-phase coding (FPC)-based BCIs. The experimental results suggested that the proposed method can be usable implementing BCI effectively with reduce visual fatigue. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Paradigm for Learning in a World of Continuous Change

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Scott

2014-01-01

Through ongoing rapid-fire changes in the nature of communications, the social, professional, and political landscapes of our time are rapidly transforming. But the prevailing paradigm in most schools and school systems is a relic of the industrial revolution. Schools and school systems must adopt a new paradigm for learning if they are to remain…

Changing the Dominant Paradigm in Economics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria de Lourdes Mollo

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the discussion proposed by the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS about the need to build a new paradigm to confront the challenges of the global society and to move across to a New Society discussing specific problems related to economic globalization and proposing changes. The ways in which economic orthodoxy and heterodoxy analyze the role of the State and the question of sustainability of development and the problems of environmental sustainability depend on their different views or theoretical arguments about the role of the market. The article contrasts the mainstream economics arguments to support the free market context of globalization with Post-Keynesian and Marxist’s skeptical or critical views. Finally, it proposes some strategies to face the critical aspects analyzed making suggestions to move to another dominant economic paradigm.

Inhabiting compassion: A pastoral theological paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phil C. Zylla

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Inspired by the vision of care in Vincent van Gogh’s depiction of the parable of the Good Samaritan, this article offers a paradigm for inhabiting compassion. Compassion is understood in this article as a moral emotion that is also a pathocentric virtue. This definition creates a dynamic view of compassion as a desire to alleviate the suffering of others, the capacity to act on behalf of others and a commitment to sustain engagement with the suffering other. To weave this vision of compassion as a habitus rather than a theoretical construct, the article develops three phases of compassion: seeing, companioning and sighing. This framework deepens and augments a pastoral theological paradigm of compassion with the aim of inculcating an inhabited compassion in caregivers and the communities in which they participate.

Think globally, research locally: paradigms and place in agroecological research.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Heather L; Smith, Alex A; Farmer, James R

2014-10-01

Conducting science for practical ends implicates scientists, whether they wish it or not, as agents in social-ecological systems, raising ethical, economic, environmental, and political issues. Considering these issues helps scientists to increase the relevance and sustainability of research outcomes. As we rise to the worthy call to connect basic research with food production, scientists have the opportunity to evaluate alternative food production paradigms and consider how our research funds and efforts are best employed. In this contribution, we review some of the problems produced by science conducted in service of industrial agriculture and its associated economic growth paradigm. We discuss whether the new concept of "ecological intensification" can rescue the industrial agriculture/growth paradigm and present an emerging alternative paradigm of decentralized, localized, biodiversity-promoting agriculture for a steady-state economy. This "custom fit" agriculture engages constructively with complex and highly localized ecosystems, and we draw from examples of published work to demonstrate how ecologists can contribute by using approaches that acknowledge local agricultural practices and draw on community participation. © 2014 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Embracing the new paradigm of assessment in residency training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ringsted, C; Østergaard, D; Scherpbier, A

2003-01-01

Assessment of clinical competence is facing a paradigm shift in more than one sense. The shift relates to test content, which increasingly covers a broader spectrum of competences than mere medical expertise, and to test methods, with an increasing focus on testing performance in realistic settings....... Also there is a shift in the concept of assessment in that instruction and assessment are no longer seen as being separate in time and purpose, but as integral parts of the learning process. The nature of the new paradigm for assessment is well described but the challenge to programme directors...... is to specify the evaluation situations and develop appropriate methods. This paper describes the intrinsic rational validation process in outlining an assessment programme for first-year anaesthesiology residency training according to the new paradigm. The applicability to other residency programmes and higher...

Choice-Induced Preference Change in the Free-Choice Paradigm: A Critical Methodological Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keise eIzuma

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Choices not only reflect our preference, but they also affect our behavior. The phenomenon of choice-induced preference change has been of interest to cognitive dissonance researchers in social psychology, and more recently, it has attracted the attention of researchers in economics and neuroscience. Preference modulation after the mere act of making a choice has been repeatedly demonstrated over the last 50 years by an experimental paradigm called the free-choice paradigm. However, in 2010, Chen and Risen pointed out a serious methodological flaw in this paradigm, arguing that evidence for choice-induced preference change is still insufficient. Despite the flaw, studies using the traditional free-choice paradigm continue to be published without addressing the criticism. Here, aiming to draw more attention to this issue, we briefly explain the methodological problem, and then describe simple simulation studies that illustrate how the free-choice paradigm produces a systematic pattern of preference change consistent with cognitive dissonance, even without any change in true preference. Our stimulation also shows how a different level of noise in each phase of the free-choice paradigm independently contributes to the magnitude of artificial preference change. Furthermore, we review ways of addressing the critique and provide a meta-analysis to show the effect size of choice-induced preference change after addressing the critique. Finally, we review and discuss, based on the results of the stimulation studies, how the criticism affects our interpretation of past findings generated from the free-choice paradigm. We conclude that the use of the conventional free-choice paradigm should be avoided in future research and the validity of past findings from studies using this paradigm should be empirically re-established.

Class size versus class composition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jones, Sam

Raising schooling quality in low-income countries is a pressing challenge. Substantial research has considered the impact of cutting class sizes on skills acquisition. Considerably less attention has been given to the extent to which peer effects, which refer to class composition, also may affect...... bias from omitted variables, the preferred IV results indicate considerable negative effects due to larger class sizes and larger numbers of overage-for-grade peers. The latter, driven by the highly prevalent practices of grade repetition and academic redshirting, should be considered an important...

Paradigms in the Gerontology Classroom: Connections and Challenges to Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Leslie

2012-01-01

The article explores paradigms for approaching course content to be studied in the classroom. These paradigms, or global views about what is of interest or importance and ways of knowing, relate to key questions in gerontology, such as what is the relevant domain/content to be studied, what is the central level of analysis or action, what are…

Cephalometric assessment of lips in skeletal class ii patients by steiner's line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bokhari, F.; Amin, F.; Asad, S.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Steiner's (S) Line has been used as reference line to assess anteroposterior position of lips cephalometrically and has been an effective diagnostic aid in this era of soft tissue paradigm. Norms for Sline has been established for different populations and it has been used widely to assess treatment outcomes in Skeletal Class II malocclusion, however anteroposterior position of lips and determinants of lip position in Skeletal Class II has not been explored. Study Design: This Prospective study was aimed to find out the anteroposterior position of lips on cephalograph using S-line in patients with retrognathic pro-file and to establish correlation between determinants of lip prominence. Data was collected using nonprobability convenience sampling technique following the selection criteria. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 65 subjects, with retrognathic profile as judged by orthodontists in consensus and confirmed by lateral cephalogram (ANB > 4 degree). S-Line was drawn on lateral cephalograph to assess the prominence of upper Lip and lower lip. SPSS 17.0 was used for statistical evaluation. Results: Antero-posterior position of upper and lower lip in patients with retrognathic profile with reference to S-line was 1.96 +- 2.6 mm and 3.09 +- 3.16 mm respectively. Moreover it was found that statistically significant correlation existed between lower lip prominence as assessed by S-line and upper lip prominence using the same reference line (r = 0.411), Lower incisor inclination (r = 0.535) and Skeletal Class II as assessed by ANB angle (r = 0.27). Upper lip prominence as assessed S-line was found to be statistically significantly correlated with lower incisor inclination and lower lip prominence. Discussion: Results were compliant with the previous studies.Conclusion: In the present study both upper and lower lips were more prominent in Skeletal Class II patients as compared to Steiner's norms for skeletal class I. (author)

Social Class Dialogues and the Fostering of Class Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, Meredith

2015-01-01

How do critical pedagogies promote undergraduate students' awareness of social class, social class identity, and social class inequalities in education? How do undergraduate students experience class consciousness-raising in the intergroup dialogue classroom? This qualitative study explores undergraduate students' class consciousness-raising in an…

A hybrid three-class brain-computer interface system utilizing SSSEPs and transient ERPs

Science.gov (United States)

Breitwieser, Christian; Pokorny, Christoph; Müller-Putz, Gernot R.

2016-12-01

Objective. This paper investigates the fusion of steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials (SSSEPs) and transient event-related potentials (tERPs), evoked through tactile simulation on the left and right-hand fingertips, in a three-class EEG based hybrid brain-computer interface. It was hypothesized, that fusing the input signals leads to higher classification rates than classifying tERP and SSSEP individually. Approach. Fourteen subjects participated in the studies, consisting of a screening paradigm to determine person dependent resonance-like frequencies and a subsequent online paradigm. The whole setup of the BCI system was based on open interfaces, following suggestions for a common implementation platform. During the online experiment, subjects were instructed to focus their attention on the stimulated fingertips as indicated by a visual cue. The recorded data were classified during runtime using a multi-class shrinkage LDA classifier and the outputs were fused together applying a posterior probability based fusion. Data were further analyzed offline, involving a combined classification of SSSEP and tERP features as a second fusion principle. The final results were tested for statistical significance applying a repeated measures ANOVA. Main results. A significant classification increase was achieved when fusing the results with a combined classification compared to performing an individual classification. Furthermore, the SSSEP classifier was significantly better in detecting a non-control state, whereas the tERP classifier was significantly better in detecting control states. Subjects who had a higher relative band power increase during the screening session also achieved significantly higher classification results than subjects with lower relative band power increase. Significance. It could be shown that utilizing SSSEP and tERP for hBCIs increases the classification accuracy and also that tERP and SSSEP are not classifying control- and non

Experimental psychopathology paradigms for alcohol use disorders: Applications for translational research.

Science.gov (United States)

Bujarski, Spencer; Ray, Lara A

2016-11-01

In spite of high prevalence and disease burden, scientific consensus on the etiology and treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has yet to be reached. The development and utilization of experimental psychopathology paradigms in the human laboratory represents a cornerstone of AUD research. In this review, we describe and critically evaluate the major experimental psychopathology paradigms developed for AUD, with an emphasis on their implications, strengths, weaknesses, and methodological considerations. Specifically we review alcohol administration, self-administration, cue-reactivity, and stress-reactivity paradigms. We also provide an introduction to the application of experimental psychopathology methods to translational research including genetics, neuroimaging, pharmacological and behavioral treatment development, and translational science. Through refining and manipulating key phenotypes of interest, these experimental paradigms have the potential to elucidate AUD etiological factors, improve the efficiency of treatment developments, and refine treatment targets thus advancing precision medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Programming Language: Concepts and Paradigms

OpenAIRE

Ruiz Lizama, Edgar

2014-01-01

The article presents the concepts that govern around the programming languages and the paradigms of the programming and the influence in the development of the software. El artículo presenta los conceptos que rigen a los lenguajes de programación y los paradigmas de la programación y como estos influyen en el desarrollo del software.

Artificial life, the new paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez Paez, Jose Jesus

1998-01-01

A chronological synthesis of the most important facts is presented in the theoretical development and computational simulation that they have taken to the formation of a new paradigm that is known as artificial life; their characteristics and their main investigation lines are analyzed. Finally, a description of its work is made in the National University of Colombia

Describing three-class task performance: three-class linear discriminant analysis and three-class ROC analysis

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xin; Frey, Eric C.

2007-03-01

Binary ROC analysis has solid decision-theoretic foundations and a close relationship to linear discriminant analysis (LDA). In particular, for the case of Gaussian equal covariance input data, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value has a direct relationship to the Hotelling trace. Many attempts have been made to extend binary classification methods to multi-class. For example, Fukunaga extended binary LDA to obtain multi-class LDA, which uses the multi-class Hotelling trace as a figure-of-merit, and we have previously developed a three-class ROC analysis method. This work explores the relationship between conventional multi-class LDA and three-class ROC analysis. First, we developed a linear observer, the three-class Hotelling observer (3-HO). For Gaussian equal covariance data, the 3- HO provides equivalent performance to the three-class ideal observer and, under less strict conditions, maximizes the signal to noise ratio for classification of all pairs of the three classes simultaneously. The 3-HO templates are not the eigenvectors obtained from multi-class LDA. Second, we show that the three-class Hotelling trace, which is the figureof- merit in the conventional three-class extension of LDA, has significant limitations. Third, we demonstrate that, under certain conditions, there is a linear relationship between the eigenvectors obtained from multi-class LDA and 3-HO templates. We conclude that the 3-HO based on decision theory has advantages both in its decision theoretic background and in the usefulness of its figure-of-merit. Additionally, there exists the possibility of interpreting the two linear features extracted by the conventional extension of LDA from a decision theoretic point of view.

The Predictive Processing Paradigm Has Roots in Kant.

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, Link R

2016-01-01

Predictive processing (PP) is a paradigm in computational and cognitive neuroscience that has recently attracted significant attention across domains, including psychology, robotics, artificial intelligence and philosophy. It is often regarded as a fresh and possibly revolutionary paradigm shift, yet a handful of authors have remarked that aspects of PP seem reminiscent of the work of 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant. To date there have not been any substantive discussions of how exactly PP links back to Kant. In this article, I argue that several core aspects of PP were anticipated by Kant (1996/1787) in his works on perception and cognition. Themes from Kant active in PP include: (1) the emphasis on "top-down" generation of percepts; (2) the role of "hyperpriors"; (3) the general function of "generative models"; (4) the process of "analysis-by-synthesis"; and (5) the crucial role of imagination in perception. In addition to these, I also point out that PP echoes Kant's general project in that it aims to explain how minds track causal structure in the world using only sensory data, and that it uses a reverse-engineer or "top-down" method of analysis. I then locate a possible source of Kant's influence on PP by tracing the paradigm back to Hermann von Helmholtz, who saw himself as providing a scientific implementation of Kant's conclusions. I conclude by arguing that PP should not be regarded as a new paradigm, but is more appropriately understood as the latest incarnation of an approach to perception and cognition initiated by Kant and refined by Helmholtz.

Comparison of fMRI paradigms assessing visuospatial processing: Robustness and reproducibility.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verena Schuster

Full Text Available The development of brain imaging techniques, in particular functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, made it possible to non-invasively study the hemispheric lateralization of cognitive brain functions in large cohorts. Comprehensive models of hemispheric lateralization are, however, still missing and should not only account for the hemispheric specialization of individual brain functions, but also for the interactions among different lateralized cognitive processes (e.g., language and visuospatial processing. This calls for robust and reliable paradigms to study hemispheric lateralization for various cognitive functions. While numerous reliable imaging paradigms have been developed for language, which represents the most prominent left-lateralized brain function, the reliability of imaging paradigms investigating typically right-lateralized brain functions, such as visuospatial processing, has received comparatively less attention. In the present study, we aimed to establish an fMRI paradigm that robustly and reliably identifies right-hemispheric activation evoked by visuospatial processing in individual subjects. In a first study, we therefore compared three frequently used paradigms for assessing visuospatial processing and evaluated their utility to robustly detect right-lateralized brain activity on a single-subject level. In a second study, we then assessed the test-retest reliability of the so-called Landmark task-the paradigm that yielded the most robust results in study 1. At the single-voxel level, we found poor reliability of the brain activation underlying visuospatial attention. This suggests that poor signal-to-noise ratios can become a limiting factor for test-retest reliability. This represents a common detriment of fMRI paradigms investigating visuospatial attention in general and therefore highlights the need for careful considerations of both the possibilities and limitations of the respective fMRI paradigm-in particular

06472 Abstracts Collection - XQuery Implementation Paradigms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boncz, Peter A.; Grust, Torsten; Siméon, Jerome; Boncz, P.A.; Grust, T.; Siméon, J.; van Keulen, Maurice

From 19.11.2006 to 22.11.2006, the Dagstuhl Seminar 06472 ``XQuery Implementation Paradigms'' was held in the International Conference and Research Center (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were

THE NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PARADIGM DIRECTIONS

OpenAIRE

CHERVYAKOVA OLHA VOLODYMYRIVNA

2017-01-01

This article presents aspects of public administration paradigm of using disciplinary matrix, a public management model based on a feedback mechanism in the subject-subject interaction, which is the basis of theoretical and methodological establishment in public administration science (Public administration) in Ukraine.

Social affiliation in same-class and cross-class interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Côté, Stéphane; Kraus, Michael W; Carpenter, Nichelle C; Piff, Paul K; Beermann, Ursula; Keltner, Dacher

2017-02-01

Historically high levels of economic inequality likely have important consequences for relationships between people of the same and different social class backgrounds. Here, we test the prediction that social affiliation among same-class partners is stronger at the extremes of the class spectrum, given that these groups are highly distinctive and most separated from others by institutional and economic forces. An internal meta-analysis of 4 studies (N = 723) provided support for this hypothesis. Participant and partner social class were interactively, rather than additively, associated with social affiliation, indexed by affiliative behaviors and emotions during structured laboratory interactions and in daily life. Further, response surface analyses revealed that paired upper or lower class partners generally affiliated more than average-class pairs. Analyses with separate class indices suggested that these patterns are driven more by parental income and subjective social class than by parental education. The findings illuminate the dynamics of same- and cross-class interactions, revealing that not all same-class interactions feature the same degree of affiliation. They also reveal the importance of studying social class from an intergroup perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Animal to human translational paradigms relevant for approach avoidance conflict decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirlic, Namik; Young, Jared; Aupperle, Robin L

2017-09-01

Avoidance behavior in clinical anxiety disorders is often a decision made in response to approach-avoidance conflict, resulting in a sacrifice of potential rewards to avoid potential negative affective consequences. Animal research has a long history of relying on paradigms related to approach-avoidance conflict to model anxiety-relevant behavior. This approach includes punishment-based conflict, exploratory, and social interaction tasks. There has been a recent surge of interest in the translation of paradigms from animal to human, in efforts to increase generalization of findings and support the development of more effective mental health treatments. This article briefly reviews animal tests related to approach-avoidance conflict and results from lesion and pharmacologic studies utilizing these tests. We then provide a description of translational human paradigms that have been developed to tap into related constructs, summarizing behavioral and neuroimaging findings. Similarities and differences in findings from analogous animal and human paradigms are discussed. Lastly, we highlight opportunities for future research and paradigm development that will support the clinical utility of this translational work. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) Paradigm Versus the Realities of Lunar Anorthosites

Science.gov (United States)

Treiman, A. H.; Gross, J.

2018-05-01

The paradigm of the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) is inconsistent with much chemical and compositional data on lunar anorthosites. The paradigm of serial anorthosite diapirism is more consistent, though not a panacea.

BMS invariance and the membrane paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penna, Robert F.

2016-01-01

The Bondi-van der Burg-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) group is the asymptotic symmetry group of asymptotically flat spacetime. It is infinite dimensional and entails an infinite number of conservation laws. According to the black hole membrane paradigm, null infinity (in asymptotically flat spacetime) and black hole event horizons behave like fluid membranes. The fluid dynamics of the membrane is governed by an infinite set of symmetries and conservation laws. Our main result is to point out that the infinite set of symmetries and conserved charges of the BMS group and the membrane paradigm are the same. This relationship has several consequences. First, it sheds light on the physical interpretation of BMS conservation laws. Second, it generalizes the BMS conservation laws to arbitrary subregions of arbitrary null surfaces. Third, it clarifies the identification of the superrotation subgroup of the BMS group. We briefly comment on the black hole information problem.

Comparing instrumental and deliberative paradigms underpinning the assessment of social values for cultural ecosystem services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raymond, Christopher M.; Kenter, Jasper O.; Plieninger, Tobias

2014-01-01

Despite rapid advancements in the development of non-monetary techniques for the assessment of social values for ecosystem services, little research attention has been devoted to the evaluation of their underpinning paradigms. This study evaluates two contrasting paradigms for the assessment...... of social values in non-monetary terms: an instrumental paradigm involving an objective assessment of the distribution, type and/or intensity of values that individuals assign to the current state of ecosystems and a deliberative paradigm involving the exploration of desired end states through group...... discussion. We present and then justify through case examples two approaches for assessing social values for ecosystem services using the instrumental paradigm and two approaches using the deliberative paradigm. Each approach makes different assumptions about: the underlying rationale for values assessment...

Pins and posters: Paradigms for content publication on situated displays.

Science.gov (United States)

José, Rui; Pinto, Hélder; Silva, Bruno; Melro, Ana

2013-01-01

Public-display systems are still far from being a medium for meeting people's diverse communication goals. Moving toward open displays will require publication paradigms that can overcome the challenges of meaningful engagement and enable users to fully understand and control the publication process. The metaphors of pins and posters have inspired two complementary paradigms for public displays. Researchers implemented these paradigms in the Instant Places system, which they deployed on 10 displays in diverse urban locations for six months. They collected user and system data regarding the users' practices. The findings improve the understanding of what might drive user-generated content in networks of urban displays. Such knowledge can inform the design of tools and procedures for situated publication in public displays.

An adaptive semantic matching paradigm for reliable and valid language mapping in individuals with aphasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Stephen M; Yen, Melodie; Eriksson, Dana K

2018-04-17

Research on neuroplasticity in recovery from aphasia depends on the ability to identify language areas of the brain in individuals with aphasia. However, tasks commonly used to engage language processing in people with aphasia, such as narrative comprehension and picture naming, are limited in terms of reliability (test-retest reproducibility) and validity (identification of language regions, and not other regions). On the other hand, paradigms such as semantic decision that are effective in identifying language regions in people without aphasia can be prohibitively challenging for people with aphasia. This paper describes a new semantic matching paradigm that uses an adaptive staircase procedure to present individuals with stimuli that are challenging yet within their competence, so that language processing can be fully engaged in people with and without language impairments. The feasibility, reliability and validity of the adaptive semantic matching paradigm were investigated in sixteen individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia and fourteen neurologically normal participants, in comparison to narrative comprehension and picture naming paradigms. All participants succeeded in learning and performing the semantic paradigm. Test-retest reproducibility of the semantic paradigm in people with aphasia was good (Dice coefficient = 0.66), and was superior to the other two paradigms. The semantic paradigm revealed known features of typical language organization (lateralization; frontal and temporal regions) more consistently in neurologically normal individuals than the other two paradigms, constituting evidence for validity. In sum, the adaptive semantic matching paradigm is a feasible, reliable and valid method for mapping language regions in people with aphasia. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Longitudinal analysis of the Porterian paradigm utilization in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Sehnem

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to investigate to what extent Michael Porter's ideas keep attracting the interest of Brazilian researchers vis-à-vis other possibilities. In this research, we conceptualize Porter's paradigm by the the following elements: strategic groups, generic strategies, model of the five forces and value chain. Weanalyzed conferece communications to EnANPAD¿s, from 1998 to 2008, and to 3Es, from 2003to 2007. The results indicate a decline in the use of the porterian paradigm as the main axis of research in strategy. The generic strategies and the model of five forces are the elements of Porter's paradigm most employed, while the concepts of strategic groups and value chain are the ones that received less attention by researchers. The analysis of methodology and purpose of comunications indicates that the "porterian life" in Brazil was characterized by the acritical use of its concepts in order to describe the reality of the strategy in Brazil. There are no evidences of consistent and systematic attempts to test or adapt the porterian paradigm for the Brazilian context. And results indicate no evidences that this trend will be reversed.

EPISTEMOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MODERN BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONAL PARADIGM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

О. S. Tokovenko

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the work is finding the reasonability of using bio-evolutionary paradigm for researching ratio morphic cognitive activity. Methodology. Methodological grounds consist of the original principles and conceptual apparatus of evolutionary epistemology. Scientific novelty. The article identifies opportunities for using of biological and evolutionary paradigm to study the peculiarities of ratiomorphic cognitive backgrounds and their influence on the formation and development of human knowledge. Conclusions. The article concludes that together with the idea of hyper cycles (feedback loop with mutual transmission of information in cognitive process the concept of ratiomorphic cognitive backgrounds, as well as attempts to examine cognitive processes based on the scientific criteria (empirical verification, explanatory power and ability to predict should be certainly considered as a positive contribution to the development of evolutionary epistemology into modern epistemological research. However, it is also indicated the fact of narrowing the heuristic possibilities of this epistemological direction because of excessive metaphor of bio-evolutionary paradigm. Further development of evolutionary epistemological research is considered in shifting the emphasis from biological and evolutionary towards cultural and evolutionary paradigm.

The maturing of the quality improvement paradigm in the SEL

Science.gov (United States)

Basili, Victor R.

1993-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory uses a paradigm for improving the software process and product, called the quality improvement paradigm. This paradigm has evolved over the past 18 years, along with our software development processes and product. Since 1976, when we first began the SEL, we have learned a great deal about improving the software process and product, making a great many mistakes along the way. Quality improvement paradigm, as it is currently defined, can be broken up into six steps: characterize the current project and its environment with respect to the appropriate models and metrics; set the quantifiable goals for successful project performance and improvement; choose the appropriate process model and supporting methods and tools for this project; execute the processes, construct the products, and collect, validate, and analyze the data to provide real-time feedback for corrective action; analyze the data to evaluate the current practices, determine problems, record findings, and make recommendations for future project improvements; and package the experience gained in the form of updated and refined models and other forms of structured knowledge gained from this and prior projects and save it in an experience base to be reused on future projects.

SU5. Investigation of the Visual Steady-State Response in Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective, Psychotic, and Nonpsychotic Bipolar Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Zoe; Parker, David; Kittle, Frances; McDowell, Jennifer; Buckley, Peter; Keedy, Sarah; Gershon, Elliot; Sweeney, John; Keshavan, Matcheri; Pearlson, Godfrey; Tamminga, Carol; Clementz, Brett

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Electroencephalographic (EEG) studies of the visual steady-state response (ssVEP) probe the oscillatory capacity and synchronization in the primary visual cortex. Previous ssVEP studies have demonstrated early visual processing deficits in schizophrenia (SZ). However, few studies have examined the ssVEP across diagnostic categories and included the full spectrum of psychotic subgroups (schizophrenia: SZ, schizoaffective disorder: SAD, bipolar disorder with psychosis: BDP, and bipolar disorder without psychosis: BD-NP). This is a critical step in order to investigate its potential as a biomarker and to examine specific neural deficits that are unique to each disorder. In this study visual steady-state stimuli in the central, bilateral, left, and right hemisphere were administered to a large sample of well characterized participants diagnosed with SZ, SAD, BDP, or BD-NP. Methods: Four hundred and seven individuals (HC = 153, SZ = 64, SAD = 79, BDP = 65, BD-NP = 46) completed the ssVEP EEG task at the 5 BSNIP sites. A black and white square oscillating at 18.75 Hz was placed in the subject’s central, bilateral, left, and right visual field for 2000 ms. Inter-trial phase coherence (ITC) was calculated for each subject, sensor, and task. The resulting time-frequency values ranged from 4 to 53 Hz and −500 to 2000 ms poststimulus. The 7 peak sensors from the grand average for each task were selected and used to average over the 0–2000 ms ssVEP period for each subject. One-way ANOVA’s and Welch’s t tests were conducted to determine group differences for each task. Results: SAD had significantly reduced ITC in comparison to HC during the bilateral ssVEP task. SZ and SAD both had significantly reduced ITC in comparison to HC and BD-NP during the center visual field trials. There were no significant group differences in either left or right visual field trials for any of the groups. BDP and BD-NP did not differ from HC in any of

Dynamics of systems and change in the accounting paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Luis Juliao Rossi

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The objective of this document is to demonstrate the potential of the dynamics of systems as a thinking trend which may help in the understanding process and the construction of an accounting paradigm change. This objective is framed inside a wider purpose: to propase interdisciplinary encounters that contribute to the necessary paradigm change. The described problem is studied from the «System Thinking», which is an approach with theoretical framework and representation and simulation tools related to the tapie.

CHANGE OF ENERGY PARADIGM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ionut PURICA

2013-05-01

Full Text Available We are at the beginning of a change of paradigm in the energy systems of the whole World. Both new resources being found and exploited and the new technologies for energy conversion, transport and distribution, along with the associated artificial intelligence systems, are starting to create new futures, with different living values, for the greatest machine created by men: the energy system. Some relevant elements are presented in the paper along with the position and the perspectives of Romania.

Too Hard, Too Soft or Just about Right: Paradigms in Music Teachers' Action Research

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Tim

2012-01-01

This article considers some paradigms of educational research, and their relation to teachers' action research in their classrooms or studios. The positivist/scientific paradigm and the interpretive/naturalist paradigm are examined, with reference to two cases of music teachers' action research studies. These studies are found to be flawed because…

Charting Relations between Intersectionality Theory and the Neurodiversity Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lauren Rose Strand

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This essay explores central elements and applications of intersectionality theory and the neurodiversity paradigm. First, the histories and tenets of intersectionality theory and neurodiversity paradigm are provided. Then, areas are explored where each of the two approaches might further engage with the principles of the other. Finally, the essay concludes by broadly considering the efforts made by the Black Lives Matter movement and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to bring attention to and end police violence as both networks employ and attend to elements of intersectionality and neurodiversity. The way these two networks draw on both intersectionality and neurodiversity to further their mission could be a possible site for scholars to consider in the interest of advancing dialogues between intersectionality theory and the neurodiversity paradigm. Ultimately, the essay calls for a continued exploration of the potentials for intersectionality and neurodiversity to complement and complicate one another, both in terms of theoretical development and coalition building.

Observers can reliably identify illusory flashes in the illusory flash paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erp, J.B.F. van; Philippi, T.G.; Werkhoven, P.

2013-01-01

In the illusory flash paradigm, a single flash may be experienced as two flashes when accompanied by two beeps or taps, and two flashes may be experienced as a single flash when accompanied by one beep or tap. The classic paradigm restricts responses to '1' and '2' (2-AFC), ignoring possible

Bonds or Bargains: Relationship Paradigms and Their Significance for Marital Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Sue

1986-01-01

Discusses contrasting conceptual paradigms describing the nature of intimate relationships. Relationships may be viewed in terms of a rational bargain or as an emotional bond. The implications of each paradigm for the process of marital therapy and the role of bonding and attachment in adult intimacy are prescribed. Implications for marital…

Competing Paradigms: The Dilemmas and Insights of an ELT Teacher Educator

Science.gov (United States)

Yavuz, Aysun

2012-01-01

In this paper, the writer discusses the philosophical underpinnings of the two dominant research methods in social sciences; quantitative and qualitative paradigms. The natures of two paradigms are quite different so this leads many researchers to discuss these issues in a comparative way. This paper tackles the knowledge and understanding of…

Exploring social class: voices of inter-class couples.

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, Teresa; Melendez-Rhodes, Tatiana; Althusius, Erin; Hergic, Sara; Sleeman, Gillian; Ton, Nicky Kieu My; Zimpfer-Bak, A J

2013-01-01

Social class is not often discussed or examined in-depth in couple and family therapy research and literature even though social class shapes familial relationships and is considered an important variable in marital satisfaction. In this qualitative study, we explored the perceptions of eight couples who made lasting commitments across class lines by asking them about the impact of their social class backgrounds on their relationships. Three categories of themes emerged including: (a) differences and similarities in values and attitudes toward education, work, money, and class awareness/classism, (b) relationship issues involving families of origin, friends, and class-based couple conflict, and (c) differences in economic resources, social capital and privileges/opportunities. Implications for assessment and treatment of couples are included. © 2012 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Cancer research in need of a scientific revolution: Using 'paradigm shift' as a method of investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wion, Didier; Appaix, Florence; Burruss, Meriwether; Berger, Francois; van der Sanden, Boudewijn

2015-09-01

Despite important human and financial resources and considerable accumulation of scientific publications, patents, and clinical trials, cancer research has been slow in achieving a therapeutic revolution similar to the one that occurred in the last century for infectious diseases. It has been proposed that science proceeds not only by accumulating data but also through paradigm shifts. Here, we propose to use the concept of 'paradigm shift' as a method of investigation when dominant paradigms fail to achieve their promises. The first step in using the 'paradigm shift' method in cancer research requires identifying its founding paradigms. In this review, two of these founding paradigms will be discussed: (i) the reification of cancer as a tumour mass and (ii) the translation of the concepts issued from infectious disease in cancer research. We show how these founding paradigms can generate biases that lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment and also hamper the development of curative cancer therapies. We apply the 'paradigm shift' method to produce perspective reversals consistent with current experimental evidence. The 'paradigm shift' method enlightens the existence of a tumour physiologic-prophylactic-pathologic continuum. It integrates the target/antitarget concept and that cancer is also an extracellular disease. The 'paradigm shift' method has immediate implications for cancer prevention and therapy. It could be a general method of investigation for other diseases awaiting therapy.

Measuring listening effort: driving simulator versus simple dual-task paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yu-Hsiang; Aksan, Nazan; Rizzo, Matthew; Stangl, Elizabeth; Zhang, Xuyang; Bentler, Ruth

2014-01-01

The dual-task paradigm has been widely used to measure listening effort. The primary objectives of the study were to (1) investigate the effect of hearing aid amplification and a hearing aid directional technology on listening effort measured by a complicated, more real world dual-task paradigm and (2) compare the results obtained with this paradigm to a simpler laboratory-style dual-task paradigm. The listening effort of adults with hearing impairment was measured using two dual-task paradigms, wherein participants performed a speech recognition task simultaneously with either a driving task in a simulator or a visual reaction-time task in a sound-treated booth. The speech materials and road noises for the speech recognition task were recorded in a van traveling on the highway in three hearing aid conditions: unaided, aided with omnidirectional processing (OMNI), and aided with directional processing (DIR). The change in the driving task or the visual reaction-time task performance across the conditions quantified the change in listening effort. Compared to the driving-only condition, driving performance declined significantly with the addition of the speech recognition task. Although the speech recognition score was higher in the OMNI and DIR conditions than in the unaided condition, driving performance was similar across these three conditions, suggesting that listening effort was not affected by amplification and directional processing. Results from the simple dual-task paradigm showed a similar trend: hearing aid technologies improved speech recognition performance, but did not affect performance in the visual reaction-time task (i.e., reduce listening effort). The correlation between listening effort measured using the driving paradigm and the visual reaction-time task paradigm was significant. The finding showing that our older (56 to 85 years old) participants' better speech recognition performance did not result in reduced listening effort was not

Attention shifts the language network reflecting paradigm presentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathrin eKollndorfer

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI is a reliable and non-invasive method with which to localize language function in pre-surgical planning. In clinical practice, visual stimulus presentation is often difficult or impossible, due to the patient’s restricted language or attention abilities. Therefore, our aim was to investigate modality-specific differences in visual and auditory stimulus presentation.Methods: Ten healthy subjects participated in an fMRI study comprising two experiments with visual and auditory stimulus presentation. In both experiments, two language paradigms (one for language comprehension and one for language production used in clinical practice were investigated. In addition to standard data analysis by the means of the general linear model (GLM, independent component analysis (ICA was performed to achieve more detailed information on language processing networks.Results: GLM analysis revealed modality-specific brain activation for both language paradigms for the contrast visual > auditory in the area of the intraparietal sulcus and the hippocampus, two areas related to attention and working memory. Using group ICA, a language network was detected for both paradigms independent of stimulus presentation modality. The investigation of language lateralization revealed no significant variations. Visually presented stimuli further activated an attention-shift network, which could not be identified for the auditory presented language.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the visually presented language stimuli additionally activate an attention-shift network. These findings will provide important information for pre-surgical planning in order to preserve reading abilities after brain surgery, significantly improving surgical outcomes. Our findings suggest that the presentation modality for language paradigms should be adapted on behalf of individual indication.

The Predictive Processing Paradigm Has Roots in Kant

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, Link R.

2016-01-01

Predictive processing (PP) is a paradigm in computational and cognitive neuroscience that has recently attracted significant attention across domains, including psychology, robotics, artificial intelligence and philosophy. It is often regarded as a fresh and possibly revolutionary paradigm shift, yet a handful of authors have remarked that aspects of PP seem reminiscent of the work of 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant. To date there have not been any substantive discussions of how exactly PP links back to Kant. In this article, I argue that several core aspects of PP were anticipated by Kant (1996/1787) in his works on perception and cognition. Themes from Kant active in PP include: (1) the emphasis on “top-down” generation of percepts; (2) the role of “hyperpriors”; (3) the general function of “generative models”; (4) the process of “analysis-by-synthesis”; and (5) the crucial role of imagination in perception. In addition to these, I also point out that PP echoes Kant’s general project in that it aims to explain how minds track causal structure in the world using only sensory data, and that it uses a reverse-engineer or “top-down” method of analysis. I then locate a possible source of Kant’s influence on PP by tracing the paradigm back to Hermann von Helmholtz, who saw himself as providing a scientific implementation of Kant’s conclusions. I conclude by arguing that PP should not be regarded as a new paradigm, but is more appropriately understood as the latest incarnation of an approach to perception and cognition initiated by Kant and refined by Helmholtz. PMID:27777555

The membrane paradigm for black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, R.H.; Thorne, K.S.

1988-01-01

It is now widely accepted that black holes exist and have an astrophysical role, in particular as the likely power source of quasars. To understand this role with ease, the authors and their colleagues have developed a new paradigm for black holes - a new way to picture, think about and describe them. As far as possible it treats black holes as ordinary astrophysical objects, made of real material. A black hole in this description is a spherical or oblate surface made of a thin, electrically conducting membrane. It was the author's quest to understand the Blandford-Znajek process intuitively that led them to create the membrane paradigm. Their strategy was to translate the general-relativistic mathematics of black holes into the same language of three-dimensional space that is used for magnetized plasmas and to create a new set of black-hole diagrams and pictures to go along with the language. 9 figs

Are Leader Stereotypes Masculine? A Meta-Analysis of Three Research Paradigms

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Anne M.; Eagly, Alice H.; Mitchell, Abigail A.; Ristikari, Tiina

2011-01-01

This meta-analysis examined the extent to which stereotypes of leaders are culturally masculine. The primary studies fit into 1 of 3 paradigms: (a) In Schein's (1973) "think manager-think male paradigm", 40 studies with 51 effect sizes compared the similarity of male and leader stereotypes and the similarity of female and leader…

Are Nurse Leaders Prepared to Lead Across the Continuum of Care in the New Paradigm?

Science.gov (United States)

Reitz, O Ed; Malin, Shelly

2017-05-01

The movement toward linking reimbursement with outcomes necessitates providing care across a continuum of settings, leading to the need for a new healthcare paradigm. Issues related to shifting to this new paradigm include disagreement about what this paradigm encompasses, the fragmentation of the healthcare system, and overreliance on the medical model as a framework for driving health policy decisions. We advocate for nurse leaders to guide the development of this new paradigm.

From Domination to a Caring Ecology: Healing Paradigms and Creative Practices for the Apprenticene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonee Kulman Brigham

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article explores, in four main sections, the idea of designing and applying human-environment paradigms. First, Caring Ecology criteria for human-environment paradigms are proposed that combine the principles of caring in Partnership Studies, with compatible ecological conceptions of humans’ dependent and integrated relationship within Earth systems. Next, these criteria are used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of five environmental paradigms which sets the stage for the following section critiquing the current “Anthropocene” paradigm and proposing a counter-paradigm: the “Apprenticene.” Paradigms suggest roles and actions and “Apprenticene Practices” are proposed, calling for humans to see our dependence on Earth systems, heal our story as we accept past failures, and learn by apprenticing ourselves to the Earth system. Finally, these Apprenticene Practices are illustrated in an example of a creative practice called Earth Systems Journey that engages youth with an integrated experience of their human-natural environment. The paper concludes with reflections on how Partnership Studies and ecological principles can work together to support a thriving future for humans and the rest of nature.

Den postmoderna stadens två paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Tom

2005-01-01

the attention of politicians, planners and architects today is focused on the individual, not the collective. But the policy of the third way has no counterpart in an urbanism torn between two paradigms. Tom Nielsen paints the picture of what has to urban development since the welfare state...

Paradigms of modern radio-biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grodzins'kij, D.M.

2005-01-01

The basic paradigms of modern radio-biology are considered as models of pictures of essence of radio-biology problems and methods of their decision. It is marked on absolute heuristics of these ascending conceptual assertions and their assistance to subsequent development of experimental science. That has the concrete display in the decision of actual tasks of protection of people from action of ionizing radiation

Probabilities, beliefs, and dual processing: The paradigm shift in the psychology of reasoning

OpenAIRE

Elqayam, Shira; Over, D. E

2012-01-01

In recent years, the psychology of reasoning has been undergoing a paradigm shift, with general Bayesian, probabilistic approaches replacing the older, much more restricted binary logic paradigm. At the same time, dual processing theories have been gaining influence. We argue that these developments should be integrated and moreover that such integration is already underway. The new reasoning paradigm should be grounded in dual processing for its algorithmic level of analysis just as it uses ...

Conventionality of the quality of studies : context of the expression of educational paradigm

OpenAIRE

Jucevičienė, Palmira; Valuckienė, Jūratė

2008-01-01

The article addresses the following research questions: what influences the conception of the quality of studies as well as assessment in the context of educational paradigm? What are the main quality assessment criteria for studies, based on different educational paradigm? How is the educational paradigm, substantiating the study programme, envisaged in the expression of attitude of students when assessing the quality of process of studies? The aim of the article is to reveal the conventiona...

Communities of Practice: A Research Paradigm for the Mixed Methods Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Denscombe, Martyn

2008-01-01

The mixed methods approach has emerged as a "third paradigm" for social research. It has developed a platform of ideas and practices that are credible and distinctive and that mark the approach out as a viable alternative to quantitative and qualitative paradigms. However, there are also a number of variations and inconsistencies within the mixed…

Class impressions : Higher social class elicits lower prosociality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Doesum, Niels J.; Tybur, Joshua M.; Van Lange, Paul A.M.

2017-01-01

Social class predicts numerous important life outcomes and social orientations. To date, literature has mainly examined how an individual's own class shapes interactions with others. But how prosocially do people treat others they perceive as coming from lower, middle, or higher social classes?

Equilibrium paradigm for field-reversed configurations and application to experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinhauer, Loren C.; Intrator, T. P.

2009-01-01

Fresh insights on field-reversed configurations (FRCs) are incorporated in a new paradigm for equilibria. In particular four new or unappreciated properties are accounted for: an empirically based scrape-off layer thickness; a new, more accurate axial force balance relation; viscous force regularity at the O-point; and the broken-surface effect. The new paradigm corrects glaring defects of previous models (rigid rotor, Hill's vortex). Further, the new paradigm is simple enough to be easily used as an interpretive tool despite the limited data suite in most experiments. It is applied to the newly enhanced FRC data compendium, a database of 69 records from 15 facilities. Several important observations and corrections on the previous understanding of FRCs follow, three of which stand out. (1) The traditional axial force balance ('average-β' relation) gives an inaccurate scaling with the separatrix-to-wall radius ratio. (2) The improved equilibrium paradigm yields separatrix particle transport rates of 3-5 m 2 /s for 'best confinement' examples; this is a factor of three lower than crude 'bulk' estimates commonly used. (3) The transport compared to the Bohm rate shows a great deal of scatter (40% scatter/mean ratio), i.e., 'Bohm' is not a useful representation for transport scaling.

Changing environments or shifting paradigms? Strategic decision making toward water protection in Helsinki, 1850-2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Laakkonen, Simo; Laurila, Sari

2007-04-01

The study examines the history of strategic decision-making concerning water protection in Helsinki, 1850-2000. We identified five major strategic decisions that occurred during the study period. The results indicate that strategic decision-making evolves in long-term policy cycles that last on average 20-30 years. New policy cycles are caused by paradigm shifts. Paradigms are shared and predominant ways of understanding reality that help when groups must act to solve common and complex environmental problems. However the internal structure and external dynamics of paradigms are contradictory. Although paradigms serve initially as means to redefine problems and find creative solutions, as time goes by each paradigm seems to become also a barrier that restricts the introduction of new ways of thinking and acting. The power of paradigms lies in the fact that they can be defined as scientific but also social, political, or cultural agreements depending on the context.

Toward an Afro-Centric indigenous HCI paradigm

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Winschiers-Theophilus, H

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Current human–computer interaction (HCI) paradigms are deeply rooted in a Western epistemology that attests its partiality and bias of its embedded assumptions, values, definitions, techniques, and derived frameworks and models. Thus tensions...

Land and water management paradigms in Iran: technical, social and ethical aspects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balali, M.R.; Keulartz, F.W.J.; Korthals, M.J.J.A.A.

2007-01-01

With respect to land and water management in Iran, three paradigms can be distinguished. The pre-modern paradigm can be characterised by its key technical system (the `qanat¿ underground irrigation system), its main social institution (the `buneh¿ cooperative organisation of agricultural

Diet and Cancer: The Fourth Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH, an international expert in diet and nutrition, with posts as a Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health and as Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, presented "Diet and Cancer: The Fourth Paradigm".

ACCOUNTING PARADIGMS WHICH FAVOR HISTORICAL COST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentin Gabriel CRISTEA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Henning Kirkegaard shows that the evolution of accounting is to shift from one paradigm to another . Business continuity perspective should guide the company into the future , without confine it exclusively in the past. Accounting in its classical form , however, can not be dissociated from the historical cost evaluation .

Pins and posters: paradigms for content publication on situated displays

OpenAIRE

José, Rui; Pinto, Helder; Siva, Bruno; Melro, Ana

2013-01-01

Public display systems are still far from being a communication medium that people can appropriate to serve diverse communication goals. Moving towards open displays will require new publication paradigms that can overcome the challenges of meaningful engagement and enable users to fully understand and control the entire publication process. In this paper, we report on the study of two novel and complimentary communication paradigms for public displays inspired by the metaphors of pin badges ...

How does a Collaborative Community Affect Diverse Students' Engagement with an Open Source Software Project: A Pedagogical Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Becka S.

continue, as reported by students, was measured to determine the potential contribution to the OSS community overall. This research was designed to use collaboration to support the formation of a CoP within the groups formed between students based on common interests in the OSS project. Additionally students were provided with a mentor from the community to assist in finding paths to contribute. The Ubuntu project was chosen for its commitment to diversity and its reputation for being a welcoming environment to newcomers, reducing the risk of negative community interactions for students. Written reflections were gathered at mid and end of term and used in conjunction with transcripts or reports of group meetings as well as emails between mentors and mentees. Additionally self-efficacy was measured at the beginning and end of the term. The results of this study show that this pedagogical paradigm supports student contribution. Contribution levels were found to be associated with the level of the formation of a CoP within each group and the use of mentors, as well as attending a live, hands-on bug triage demo and the Global Jam, to gather resources. It was also evident that students intend to continue participating at a rate higher than the average rate for newcomers trying to contribute without the type of support offered by this class. Further research into the examination of the use of reflective dialogue with mentors is recommended. It is also recommended that the results from the operationalization of the indicators of the formation of a CoP be used to assist in a more consistent formation of this important resource across more groups within the class. The results of this research point to the effectiveness of this paradigm to promote contributions to an OSS community. These contributions provide the skills students need to improve their attractiveness to future employers. This class also produced a number of students who intend to continue participating in OSS

Assessing medical technologies in development; a new paradigm of medical technology assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hummel, J. Marjan; van Rossum, Wouter; Verkerke, Gijsbertus Jacob; Rakhorst, Gerhard

2000-01-01

Objective: Our study aims to provide a practical contribution to the field of medical technology assessment within a new paradigm. This paradigm indicates the need for more comprehensive technology assessments in the development stage of a new technology. - Method: We introduce a method, based on

Assessing medical technologies in development - A new paradigm of medical technology assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hummel, MJM; van Rossum, W; Verkerke, GJ; Rakhorst, G

2000-01-01

Objective: Our study aims to provide a practical contribution to the field of medical technology assessment within a new paradigm. This paradigm indicates the need for more comprehensive technology assessments in the development stage of a new technology. Method: We introduce a method, based on

Paradigm of planning under uncertainties - application to the planning of the electric energy distribution system; Paradigma de planejamento sob incertezas - aplicacao ao planejamento dos sistemas de distribuicao de energia eletrica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bianchi Junior, Alberto; Reis, Lineu Belico dos

1996-07-01

In this work it is presented an original methodology of multistage planning, with conflictive objectives and restrictions, incorporating the concept of uncertainties. To do so, the proposed paradigm is based on the dynamic programming, which comprehends the multistage processes subjected to conflictive restrictions; on the Fuzzy Sets Theory, through the decisions and Fuzzy numbers, which model the uncertainties and ambiguous decisions relative to qualitative variables; and on the consideration of 'evolutional rules' associated to 'network flow' algorithm. In its conceptual elaboration, the paradigm is developed in a very ample way, of generalized application to a well defined class of planning problems. Particularly, the model fits in the ambit of the flexible planning, which has been very discussed in the recent literature. Flexible planning must be understood as the one which allows to the planner, under well-defined limits, the evaluation of the planning policy composed by 'strips' of actions (discrete or continuous), associated to uncertainty levels related to the 'real world'. In order to validate and consolidate the theoretic concepts, it was elaborated an algorithm turned to the aggregated planning of the distribution of electric power, that presents intrinsic characteristics which are perfectly fitted in the paradigm's applicability. Through comparisons effectuated with and pre-validated algorithm, evaluations related to the potentialities and to the coherence of the paradigm's applicability were made. (author)

Attentional Selection of Feature Conjunctions Is Accomplished by Parallel and Independent Selection of Single Features.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Søren K; Müller, Matthias M; Hillyard, Steven A

2015-07-08

Experiments that study feature-based attention have often examined situations in which selection is based on a single feature (e.g., the color red). However, in more complex situations relevant stimuli may not be set apart from other stimuli by a single defining property but by a specific combination of features. Here, we examined sustained attentional selection of stimuli defined by conjunctions of color and orientation. Human observers attended to one out of four concurrently presented superimposed fields of randomly moving horizontal or vertical bars of red or blue color to detect brief intervals of coherent motion. Selective stimulus processing in early visual cortex was assessed by recordings of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) elicited by each of the flickering fields of stimuli. We directly contrasted attentional selection of single features and feature conjunctions and found that SSVEP amplitudes on conditions in which selection was based on a single feature only (color or orientation) exactly predicted the magnitude of attentional enhancement of SSVEPs when attending to a conjunction of both features. Furthermore, enhanced SSVEP amplitudes elicited by attended stimuli were accompanied by equivalent reductions of SSVEP amplitudes elicited by unattended stimuli in all cases. We conclude that attentional selection of a feature-conjunction stimulus is accomplished by the parallel and independent facilitation of its constituent feature dimensions in early visual cortex. The ability to perceive the world is limited by the brain's processing capacity. Attention affords adaptive behavior by selectively prioritizing processing of relevant stimuli based on their features (location, color, orientation, etc.). We found that attentional mechanisms for selection of different features belonging to the same object operate independently and in parallel: concurrent attentional selection of two stimulus features is simply the sum of attending to each of those

fMRI paradigm designing and post-processing tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, Jija S; Rajesh, PG; Chandran, Anuvitha VS; Kesavadas, Chandrasekharan

2014-01-01

In this article, we first review some aspects of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm designing for major cognitive functions by using stimulus delivery systems like Cogent, E-Prime, Presentation, etc., along with their technical aspects. We also review the stimulus presentation possibilities (block, event-related) for visual or auditory paradigms and their advantage in both clinical and research setting. The second part mainly focus on various fMRI data post-processing tools such as Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and Brain Voyager, and discuss the particulars of various preprocessing steps involved (realignment, co-registration, normalization, smoothing) in these software and also the statistical analysis principles of General Linear Modeling for final interpretation of a functional activation result

Evolving conservation paradigms for the Anthropocene

Science.gov (United States)

Ariel E. Lugo

2014-01-01

The Anthropocene will have fundamental effects on the species composition, function, and structure of the ecosystems of the world. Land management agencies such as the USDA Forest Service will need to adapt their policies and conservation activities to avoid engaging in continuous conflict with natural processes and unfamiliar biotic assemblages. Conservation paradigms...

A Reinforcement-Based Learning Paradigm Increases Anatomical Learning and Retention-A Neuroeducation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Sarah J; Hecker, Kent G; Krigolson, Olave E; Jamniczky, Heather A

2018-01-01

In anatomy education, a key hurdle to engaging in higher-level discussion in the classroom is recognizing and understanding the extensive terminology used to identify and describe anatomical structures. Given the time-limited classroom environment, seeking methods to impart this foundational knowledge to students in an efficient manner is essential. Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) methods incorporate pre-class exercises (typically online) meant to establish foundational knowledge in novice learners so subsequent instructor-led sessions can focus on deeper, more complex concepts. Determining how best do we design and assess pre-class exercises requires a detailed examination of learning and retention in an applied educational context. Here we used electroencephalography (EEG) as a quantitative dependent variable to track learning and examine the efficacy of JiTT activities to teach anatomy. Specifically, we examined changes in the amplitude of the N250 and reward positivity event-related brain potential (ERP) components alongside behavioral performance as novice students participated in a series of computerized reinforcement-based learning modules to teach neuroanatomical structures. We found that as students learned to identify anatomical structures, the amplitude of the N250 increased and reward positivity amplitude decreased in response to positive feedback. Both on a retention and transfer exercise when learners successfully remembered and translated their knowledge to novel images, the amplitude of the reward positivity remained decreased compared to early learning. Our findings suggest ERPs can be used as a tool to track learning, retention, and transfer of knowledge and that employing the reinforcement learning paradigm is an effective educational approach for developing anatomical expertise.

The gap-startle paradigm to assess auditory temporal processing: Bridging animal and human research.

Science.gov (United States)

Fournier, Philippe; Hébert, Sylvie

2016-05-01

The gap-prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle (GPIAS) paradigm is the primary test used in animal research to identify gap detection thresholds and impairment. When a silent gap is presented shortly before a loud startling stimulus, the startle reflex is inhibited and the extent of inhibition is assumed to reflect detection. Here, we applied the same paradigm in humans. One hundred and fifty-seven normal-hearing participants were tested using one of five gap durations (5, 25, 50, 100, 200 ms) in one of the following two paradigms-gap-embedded in or gap-following-the continuous background noise. The duration-inhibition relationship was observable for both conditions but followed different patterns. In the gap-embedded paradigm, GPIAS increased significantly with gap duration up to 50 ms and then more slowly up to 200 ms (trend only). In contrast, in the gap-following paradigm, significant inhibition-different from 0--was observable only at gap durations from 50 to 200 ms. The finding that different patterns are found depending on gap position within the background noise is compatible with distinct mechanisms underlying each of the two paradigms. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

RxClass

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The RxClass Browser is a web application for exploring and navigating through the class hierarchies to find the RxNorm drug members associated with each class....

Beyond desertification: New paradigms for dryland landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

The dryland desertification paradigm focuses on losses of ecosystem services accompanying transitions from grasslands to systems dominated by bare ground or woody plants unpalatable for domestic livestock. However, recent studies reveal complex transitions across a range of environmental conditions ...

It's time to re-think the radiation paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagan, L.A.

1992-01-01

Several observers have noted a striking difference in views of the public and the scientific community regarding risks to health from exposures to low dose ionizing radiation. While the scientific community considers risks to be small, the public generally finds almost any degree of exposure unacceptable. For example, the siting of a repository for low level waste in the United States has been nearly impossible, in spite of reassurances of scientific authorities. Besides a variety of explanations such as the role of the media, grotesque movies and comics, and the thought of atomic weapons, there is another one, which has not received much attention; the scientific community itself in creating exaggerated risks of radiation, particularly to low doses of irradiation. This occurs as result of the use by the scientific community, of a risk paradigm that assumes a convenient but unproven absence of a threshold for radiation health effects. Two reasons for this paradigm are discussed: -the practice, common in science, of adopting a model, which through usage become an article of faith, to the exclusion of other competing models, and -the implicit influence of personal and community values in the construction and maintenance of those paradigms. (author). 12 refs

More than Method?: A Discussion of Paradigm Differences within Mixed Methods Research

Science.gov (United States)

Harrits, Gitte Sommer

2011-01-01

This article challenges the idea that mixed methods research (MMR) constitutes a coherent research paradigm and explores how different research paradigms exist within MMR. Tracing paradigmatic differences at the level of methods, ontology, and epistemology, two MMR strategies are discussed: nested analysis, recently presented by the American…

Two-Language, Two-Paradigm Introductory Computing Curriculum Model and its Implementation

OpenAIRE

Zanev, Vladimir; Radenski, Atanas

2011-01-01

This paper analyzes difficulties with the introduction of object-oriented concepts in introductory computing education and then proposes a two-language, two-paradigm curriculum model that alleviates such difficulties. Our two-language, two-paradigm curriculum model begins with teaching imperative programming using Python programming language, continues with teaching object-oriented computing using Java, and concludes with teaching object-oriented data structures with Java.

Management of Educational Paradigms within the Framework of Contemporary Educational Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduard IONESCU

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Each major pedagogical orientation brings with it a set of certain potential actions, a potential that becomes reality at the level of invariably at the level of educational reality. Assuming a certain pedagogical educational paradigm is thus equivalent to the transposition into practice of a certain type of experimental research and promoting a particular way of conceiving and modeling of human nature. In a world characterized by contradicting realities, by turmoil, fast developing technologies, discussing and deciding on the most appropriate educational paradigms should be a core process in the attempt of conceiving the educational vision and objectives of tomorrow. The present paper aims at discussing the role of educational paradigms within the framework of contemporary educational strategies.

Rivaling paradigms in psychiatric neurosurgery: adjustability versus quick fix versus minimal-invasiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Sabine; Riedmüller, Rita; van Oosterhout, Ansel

2015-01-01

In the wake of deep brain stimulation (DBS) development, ablative neurosurgical procedures are seeing a comeback, although they had been discredited and nearly completely abandoned in the 1970s because of their unethical practice. Modern stereotactic ablative procedures as thermal or radiofrequency ablation, and particularly radiosurgery (e.g., Gamma Knife) are much safer than the historical procedures, so that a re-evaluation of this technique is required. The different approaches of modern psychiatric neurosurgery refer to different paradigms: microsurgical ablative procedures is based on the paradigm 'quick fix,' radiosurgery on the paradigm 'minimal-invasiveness,' and DBS on the paradigm 'adjustability.' From a mere medical perspective, none of the procedures is absolutely superior; rather, they have different profiles of advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, individual factors are crucial in decision-making, particularly the patients' social situation, individual preferences, and individual attitudes. The different approaches are not only rivals, but also enriching mutually. DBS is preferable for exploring new targets, which may become candidates for ablative microsurgery or radiosurgery.

Evolution of the marketing paradigm: a new vision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina V. ASTRATOVA

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objective to confirm the feasibility of using the disciplinary matrix by Th. Kuhn in relation to the marketing theory. Methods paradigmatic and systemic methods of analysis of marketing phenomena. Results to date the paradigm as a specific tool of scientific research is poorly studied in the marketing methodology in contrast to other branches of knowledge. An analysis of available literature revealed no sources that use the famous disciplinary matrix by Th. Kuhn and its components symbolic generalizations metaphysical parts values and conventional samples ndash in relation to marketing. The content of the marketing paradigm is described as the disciplinary matrix by Th. Kuhn which was composed of the four abovementioned elements 1 symbolic generalizations are the expressions that are used by members of the scientific community without disagreements and doubts and can be easily formalized or verbalized e.g. definition of marketing 2 metaphysical parts of modern marketing are a set of the existing concepts and theories e.g. theory of stages of marketing evolution 3 values in the context of the marketing paradigms are considered by the authors through emphasis on three research objects a goods service ndash creation of new goods andor formation of a set of qualities inherent in the goods service perceived by the consumer as a combination of rational and emotional values of the product b customer ndash development of quotvalue proposition for the consumerquot c sellermanufacturer ndash basing on the concept of quotvalue chainquot that builds strategic management of the company 4 conventional samples of the marketing paradigm include standards or algorithms models and methods of solving specific problems of marketing research for example a diagram of the stages of the marketing research process and industrial standards of their conduct. Scientific novelty the appropriateness of the disciplinary matrix by Th. Kuhn in relation to the marketing theory

Degrading emotional memories induced by a virtual reality paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuperus, Anne A; Laken, Maarten; van den Hout, Marcel A; Engelhard, Iris M

2016-09-01

In Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, a dual-task approach is used: patients make horizontal eye movements while they recall aversive memories. Studies showed that this reduces memory vividness and/or emotionality. A strong explanation is provided by working memory theory, which suggests that other taxing dual-tasks are also effective. Experiment 1 tested whether a visuospatial task which was carried out while participants were blindfolded taxes working memory. Experiment 2 tested whether this task degrades negative memories induced by a virtual reality (VR) paradigm. In experiment 1, participants responded to auditory cues with or without simultaneously carrying out the visuospatial task. In experiment 2, participants recalled negative memories induced by a VR paradigm. The experimental group simultaneously carried out the visuospatial task, and a control group merely recalled the memories. Changes in self-rated memory vividness and emotionality were measured. The slowing down of reaction times due to the visuospatial task indicated that its cognitive load was greater than the load of the eye movements task in previous studies. The task also led to reductions in emotionality (but not vividness) of memories induced by the VR paradigm. Weaknesses are that only males were tested in experiment 1, and the effectiveness of the VR fear/trauma induction was not assessed with ratings of mood or intrusions in experiment 2. The results suggest that the visuospatial task may be applicable in clinical settings, and the VR paradigm may provide a useful method of inducing negative memories. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A movement ecology paradigm for unifying organismal movement research.

Science.gov (United States)

Nathan, Ran; Getz, Wayne M; Revilla, Eloy; Holyoak, Marcel; Kadmon, Ronen; Saltz, David; Smouse, Peter E

2008-12-09

Movement of individual organisms is fundamental to life, quilting our planet in a rich tapestry of phenomena with diverse implications for ecosystems and humans. Movement research is both plentiful and insightful, and recent methodological advances facilitate obtaining a detailed view of individual movement. Yet, we lack a general unifying paradigm, derived from first principles, which can place movement studies within a common context and advance the development of a mature scientific discipline. This introductory article to the Movement Ecology Special Feature proposes a paradigm that integrates conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical frameworks for studying movement of all organisms, from microbes to trees to elephants. We introduce a conceptual framework depicting the interplay among four basic mechanistic components of organismal movement: the internal state (why move?), motion (how to move?), and navigation (when and where to move?) capacities of the individual and the external factors affecting movement. We demonstrate how the proposed framework aids the study of various taxa and movement types; promotes the formulation of hypotheses about movement; and complements existing biomechanical, cognitive, random, and optimality paradigms of movement. The proposed framework integrates eclectic research on movement into a structured paradigm and aims at providing a basis for hypothesis generation and a vehicle facilitating the understanding of the causes, mechanisms, and spatiotemporal patterns of movement and their role in various ecological and evolutionary processes. "Now we must consider in general the common reason for moving with any movement whatever." (Aristotle, De Motu Animalium, 4th century B.C.).

Moral Developmental Science between Changing Paradigms

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Monika

2012-01-01

This review encompasses a time-span of about 50 years of research on morality and moral development. It discusses Kohlberg's (1984) work as a milestone that constituted the cognitive developmental viewpoint of morality and that dominated research for about three decades. In this paradigm the role of reasoning and deliberation was emphasized as the…

Type Families with Class, Type Classes with Family

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Serrano, Alejandro; Hage, Jurriaan; Bahr, Patrick

2015-01-01

Type classes and type families are key ingredients in Haskell programming. Type classes were introduced to deal with ad-hoc polymorphism, although with the introduction of functional dependencies, their use expanded to type-level programming. Type families also allow encoding type-level functions......, now as rewrite rules. This paper looks at the interplay of type classes and type families, and how to deal with shortcomings in both of them. Furthermore, we show how to use families to simulate classes at the type level. However, type families alone are not enough for simulating a central feature...... of type classes: elaboration, that is, generating code from the derivation of a rewriting. We look at ways to solve this problem in current Haskell, and propose an extension to allow elaboration during the rewriting phase....

Entre o realismo e o ficcional: representações sobre "raça", sexualidade e classe em dois romances paradigmáticos de Jorge Amado Between realism and fiction: representations of race, sexuality, and class in two paradigmatic novels by Jorge Amado

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Moutinho

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Neste artigo é apresentada e discutida a forma como as concepções e representações sobre "raça", miscigenação, sexualidade, gênero, erotismo e casamento são operadas em duas obras paradigmáticas representativas de dois importantes períodos da trajetória de Jorge Amado: Jubiabá, da fase nomeada de "romance proletário", e Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, tido como o livro que representa uma virada na carreira do autor, inaugurando o período do chamado "romance dialógico". Esses dois romances são protagonizados por casais inter-raciais que funcionam como o suporte a partir do qual Jorge Amado veicula algumas representações correntes na sociedade (e na ciência da época, não somente sobre a relação entre negros e brancos, como, igualmente, de uma nação que em um nível se percebe como mestiça e em outro enfrentava (e enfrenta o dilema da diferenciação racial. Como será visto, desejo proibido e luta de classes vividos pelo par homem negro / mulher branca (Jubiabá, uma vez contrastados com erotismo, casamento e progresso em foco na relação homem (quase branco / mulher mestiça, lançam luzes sobre algumas das representações de nação presentes e veiculadas na sociedade brasileira por suas mais variadas instituições.This article presents and discusses how concepts and representations of "race", miscegenation, sexuality, gender, erotism, and marriage are operated in two paradigmatic novels by Jorge Amado which represent two important periods in the author's trajectory: Jubiabá, from the period called "proletarian novel", and Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, which marked a twist in Amado's career, beginning of the phase called "dialogical novel". The protagonists in both novels are inter-racial couples who help the author transmit some current social representations (and on science in that time, not only of the relations between blacks and whites, but as well of a nation that, on the one hand, perceives itself as having mixed

Research Paradigms and Their Use and Importance in Theological Inquiry and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Mittwede, Steven K.

2012-01-01

A survey and analysis of four major research paradigms--positivism, postpositivism, critical theory and constructivism--reveal that all have been applied effectively in recent theological inquiry. Although these paradigms might resemble worldviews to some extent, they are not so all-encompassing. Rather, they are essentially matrices of deeply…

Place of great extinctions in the new ecological paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

О. Я. Кипоренко

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The paper demonstrates importance of the knowledge of the causes and consequences of the Great extinctions that occurred before the origin of man, in the formation of a new environmental paradigm. Were described methodological foundations of paleoecological studies. Were analyzed the fossilized remains found directly by the authors on the territory of Ukraine. In the development of new environmental paradigm is necessary to consider knowledge of the great extinction (the knowledge of the past, because it is an event, that can be used not only to study past, as well as predicting the same events in the future

Critical examination of RHIC paradigms - mostly high pT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tannenbaum, M.I.

2009-01-01

A critical examination of RHIC paradigms is presented. Topics include: search for a critical point with a low energy scan; the lack of understanding of radiative processes in a medium in QCD compared in detail to examples from QED; the reason why some physicists started to measure particles at large p T in the 1960's; a review of the discovery of hard-scattering in p-p collisions in the 1970's via single-inclusive and two-particle correlations and application of these techniques at RHIC. Several paradigms in both soft and hard physics which are popular at RHIC are discussed and challenged.

Perspectives on Emerging/Novel Computing Paradigms and Future Aerospace Workforce Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Noor, Ahmed K.

2003-01-01

The accelerating pace of the computing technology development shows no signs of abating. Computing power reaching 100 Tflop/s is likely to be reached by 2004 and Pflop/s (10(exp 15) Flop/s) by 2007. The fundamental physical limits of computation, including information storage limits, communication limits and computation rate limits will likely be reached by the middle of the present millennium. To overcome these limits, novel technologies and new computing paradigms will be developed. An attempt is made in this overview to put the diverse activities related to new computing-paradigms in perspective and to set the stage for the succeeding presentations. The presentation is divided into five parts. In the first part, a brief historical account is given of development of computer and networking technologies. The second part provides brief overviews of the three emerging computing paradigms grid, ubiquitous and autonomic computing. The third part lists future computing alternatives and the characteristics of future computing environment. The fourth part describes future aerospace workforce research, learning and design environments. The fifth part lists the objectives of the workshop and some of the sources of information on future computing paradigms.

Corporate social capital and strategic management paradigm : a contingency view on organizational performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leenders, Roger Th.A.J.; Gabbay, Shaul M.; Fiegenbaum, Avi

2001-01-01

The strategic management paradigm explains organizational performance through the alignment between environment, strategy, and reference points. We extend this paradigm by incorporating the role of interorganizational networks on firm performance, thus integrating strategic management and corporate

A new paradigm of knowledge management: Crowdsourcing as ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A new paradigm of knowledge management: Crowdsourcing as emergent research and development. ... Southern African Business Review ... Drawing from knowledge management theory, this paper argues that the knowledge aggregation ...

Exploring Paradigms of Crime Reduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soothill, Keith; Christoffersen, Mogens N.; Hussain, Azhar

2010-01-01

Using Danish registers for a 1980 birth cohort of 29,944 males with parental information and following up these cases for 25 years, the study considers four paradigms of crime reduction (parental child rearing, structural factors around adolescence, locality and individual resources). Focusing on...... have more widespread benefits, but the assumed causal links need to be further explored. The use of population registers, under controlled conditions, provides an important window on criminal careers....

Mandarin functional MRI Language paradigms

OpenAIRE

Ci, He; van Graan, Andre; Gonz?lvez, Gloria; Thompson, Pamela; Hill, Andrea; Duncan, John S.

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to implement convenient, fast, and accurate Mandarin task paradigms for functional MRI, and to locate the Chinese language functional areas in frontal and temporal lobes. Materials and Methods Nineteen healthy Chinese volunteers participated in this study, which utilized a block design with four language tasks: auditory naming (AN), picture naming (PN), verbal fluency?character (VFC), and verbal fluency?letter (VFL). All functional images wer...

Cue competition affects temporal dynamics of edge-assignment in human visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Joseph L; Palmer, Stephen E

2011-03-01

Edge-assignment determines the perception of relative depth across an edge and the shape of the closer side. Many cues determine edge-assignment, but relatively little is known about the neural mechanisms involved in combining these cues. Here, we manipulated extremal edge and attention cues to bias edge-assignment such that these two cues either cooperated or competed. To index their neural representations, we flickered figure and ground regions at different frequencies and measured the corresponding steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEPs). Figural regions had stronger SSVEP responses than ground regions, independent of whether they were attended or unattended. In addition, competition and cooperation between the two edge-assignment cues significantly affected the temporal dynamics of edge-assignment processes. The figural SSVEP response peaked earlier when the cues causing it cooperated than when they competed, but sustained edge-assignment effects were equivalent for cooperating and competing cues, consistent with a winner-take-all outcome. These results provide physiological evidence that figure-ground organization involves competitive processes that can affect the latency of figural assignment.

Three paradigms for the analysis of corruption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Vannucci

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In the last decades a growing awareness emerged of the relevance of corruption as an hidden factor which may negatively affect political and economic decision-making processes. In spite of a lively scientific debate there is no general consensus on a commonly accepted definition of what corruption is.The A. distinguishes three main paradigms, focusing on different (though not irreconcilable variables.The first is the economic paradigm, which usually takes the principal-agent model of corruption as its founding pillar. In this paradigm corruption is considered the outcome of rational individual choices, and its spread within a certain organization is influenced by the factors defining the structure of expected costs and rewards.A second approach – the cultural paradigm – looks at the differences in cultural traditions, social norms and interiorized values which shape individuals’ moral preferences and consideration of his social and institutional role. These are a leading forces that can push a corrupt public or private agent (not to violate legal norms.A third neo-institutional approach considers also mechanisms which allow the internal regulation of social interactions within corrupt networks, and their effects on individuals’ beliefs and preferences. Though the corrupt agreements cannot be enforced with legal sanctions, several informal, non-written rules, contractual provisos and conventions may regulate the corrupt exchange between agent and corruptor.The A. underlines that corruption is the outcome of a multitude of individual and collective choices which change public opinion towards corruption and its diffusion throughout the state, markets and civil society. There is no univocal recipe to deal with anti-bribery measures, since corruption is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon.Reforms aimed at dismantling systemic corruption have to be finely tuned against its hidden governance structures, i.e. its internal regulation of

E-health beyond technology: analyzing the paradigm shift that lies beneath.

Science.gov (United States)

Moerenhout, Tania; Devisch, Ignaas; Cornelis, Gustaaf C

2018-03-01

Information and computer technology has come to play an increasingly important role in medicine, to the extent that e-health has been described as a disruptive innovation or revolution in healthcare. The attention is very much focused on the technology itself, and advances that have been made in genetics and biology. This leads to the question: What is changing in medicine today concerning e-health? To what degree could these changes be characterized as a 'revolution'? We will apply the work of Thomas Kuhn, Larry Laudan, Michel Foucault and other philosophers-which offers an alternative understanding of progress and revolution in medicine to the classic discovery-oriented approach-to our analysis. Nowadays, the long-standing curative or reactive paradigm in medicine is facing a crisis due to an aging population, a significant increase in chronic diseases and the development of more expensive diagnostic tools and therapies. This promotes the evolution towards a new paradigm with an emphasis on preventive medicine. E-health constitutes an essential part of this new paradigm that seeks to solve the challenges presented by an aging population, skyrocketing costs and so forth. Our approach changes the focus from the technology itself toward the underlying paradigm shift in medicine. We will discuss the relevance of this approach by applying it to the surge in digital self-tracking through health apps and wearables: the recognition of the underlying paradigm shift leads to a more comprehensive understanding of self-tracking than a solely discovery-oriented or technology-focused view can provide.

Fourth Generation War: Paradigm for Change

Science.gov (United States)

2005-06-01

PARADIGM FOR CHANGE by Ghanshyam Singh Katoch June 2005 Thesis Advisor : Kalev Sepp Second Reader...Approved by: Kalev Sepp Thesis Advisor Douglas Borer Second Reader Gordon McCormick Chairman, Department of Defense...combination of all the resources of the government, not just the army. d. Economy of Effort A Robo -Soldier is a small, tracked, electrically powered vehicle

Treatment of Children with Speech Oral Placement Disorders (OPDs): A Paradigm Emerges

Science.gov (United States)

Bahr, Diane; Rosenfeld-Johnson, Sara

2010-01-01

Epidemiological research was used to develop the Speech Disorders Classification System (SDCS). The SDCS is an important speech diagnostic paradigm in the field of speech-language pathology. This paradigm could be expanded and refined to also address treatment while meeting the standards of evidence-based practice. The article assists that process…

Trace elements as paradigms of developmental neurotoxicants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grandjean, Philippe; Herz, Katherine T

2015-01-01

Trace elements have contributed unique insights into developmental neurotoxicity and serve as paradigms for such adverse effects. Many trace elements are retained in the body for long periods and can be easily measured to assess exposure by inexpensive analytical methods that became available...

[Assistance to the climacteric woman: new paradigms].

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzi, Dino Roberto Soares De; Catan, Lenita Binelli; Moreira, Karen; Artico, Graziela Rech

2009-01-01

Population aging is a demographic reality for Brazil. Consequently, in the next years it is expected a progressive increase in seeking health care services in the country by women with complaints related to climacterium. Parallel to it, assistance at this part of woman's life has been going through a paradigm shift which has imposed to health professionals a change of attitude in relation to this stage of woman's life. Today it is acknowledged that the climacterium is influenced by biological, psychosocial and cultural factors, whose knowledge is fundamental for planning a more qualified and humanized care. This article proposes a reflection on the paradigm shifts in assistance at climacterium, highlighting important aspects as multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, so as to serve better this portion of population, and provide it with more integrated and individualized care, bringing together knowledge and sensitivity, and always aiming at a better quality of life.

Moving alcohol prevention research forward-Part I: introducing a complex systems paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Apostolopoulos, Yorghos; Lemke, Michael K; Barry, Adam E; Lich, Kristen Hassmiller

2018-02-01

The drinking environment is a complex system consisting of a number of heterogeneous, evolving and interacting components, which exhibit circular causality and emergent properties. These characteristics reduce the efficacy of commonly used research approaches, which typically do not account for the underlying dynamic complexity of alcohol consumption and the interdependent nature of diverse factors influencing misuse over time. We use alcohol misuse among college students in the United States as an example for framing our argument for a complex systems paradigm. A complex systems paradigm, grounded in socio-ecological and complex systems theories and computational modeling and simulation, is introduced. Theoretical, conceptual, methodological and analytical underpinnings of this paradigm are described in the context of college drinking prevention research. The proposed complex systems paradigm can transcend limitations of traditional approaches, thereby fostering new directions in alcohol prevention research. By conceptualizing student alcohol misuse as a complex adaptive system, computational modeling and simulation methodologies and analytical techniques can be used. Moreover, use of participatory model-building approaches to generate simulation models can further increase stakeholder buy-in, understanding and policymaking. A complex systems paradigm for research into alcohol misuse can provide a holistic understanding of the underlying drinking environment and its long-term trajectory, which can elucidate high-leverage preventive interventions. © 2017 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Paradigm Shift in Distance Education in the 21st Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet FIRAT

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Information and communication technologies have been one of a driving force which enables higher education expansion and gives a dynamic structure to the science in the twenty-first century. One of the most effective users of this driving force in higher education is distance education. Previously, distance education was considered to be as a method to ensure equality of opportunity in education, and partly to meet the educational needs of citizens in limited circumstances; today it has undergone an incontrovertible paradigm shift by transforming into an interdisciplinary science field with its functional flexibility, strong technology infrastructure, diversity of programs, innovative teaching approaches and rapidly increasing student numbers. In this study, it is aimed to reveal this paradigm shift with a historical point of view, and the information technology supported rise and paradigm shift of distance education is evaluated by a holistic perspective from different point of views of different perspectives from the studies in literature to the current research topics.

Comparison of the influence of stimuli color on Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Junior Manuel Godinez Tello

Full Text Available IntroductionThe main idea of a traditional Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials (SSVEP-BCI is the activation of commands through gaze control. For this purpose, the retina of the eye is excited by a stimulus at a certain frequency. Several studies have shown effects related to different kind of stimuli, frequencies, window lengths, techniques of feature extraction and even classification. So far, none of the previous studies has performed a comparison of performance of stimuli colors through LED technology. This study addresses precisely this important aspect and would be a great contribution to the topic of SSVEP-BCIs. Additionally, the performance of different colors at different frequencies and the visual comfort were evaluated in each case.MethodsLEDs of four different colors (red, green, blue and yellow flickering at four distinct frequencies (8, 11, 13 and 15 Hz were used. Twenty subjects were distributed in two groups performing different protocols. Multivariate Synchronization Index (MSI was the technique adopted as feature extractor.ResultsThe accuracy was gradually enhanced with the increase of the time window. From our observations, the red color provides, in most frequencies, both highest rates of accuracy and Information Transfer Rate (ITR for detection of SSVEP.ConclusionAlthough the red color has presented higher ITR, this color was turned in the less comfortable one and can even elicit epileptic responses according to the literature. For this reason, the green color is suggested as the best choice according to the proposed rules. In addition, this color has shown to be safe and accurate for an SSVEP-BCI.

47 CFR 73.6017 - Digital Class A TV station protection of Class A TV and digital Class A TV stations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Digital Class A TV station protection of Class A TV and digital Class A TV stations. 73.6017 Section 73.6017 Telecommunication FEDERAL... Broadcast Stations § 73.6017 Digital Class A TV station protection of Class A TV and digital Class A TV...

Middle latency response correlates of single and double deviant stimuli in a multi-feature paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Althen, H; Huotilainen, M; Grimm, S; Escera, C

2016-01-01

This study aimed to test single and double deviance-related modulations of the middle latency response (MLR) and the applicability of the optimum-2 multi-feature paradigm. The MLR and the MMN to frequency, intensity and double-feature deviants of an optimum-2 multi-feature paradigm and the MMN to double-feature deviants of an oddball paradigm were recorded in young adults. Double deviants elicited significant enhancements of the Nb and Pb MLR waves compared with the waves elicited by standard stimuli. These enhancements equalled approximately the sum of the numerical amplitude differences elicited by the single deviants. In contrast, the MMN to double deviants did not show such additivity. MMNs elicited by double deviants of the multi-feature and the oddball paradigm showed no significant difference in amplitude or latency. The optimum-2 multi-feature paradigm is suitable for recording double deviance-related modulations of the MLR. Interspersed intensity and frequency deviants in the standard trace of the optimum-2 condition multi-feature paradigm did not weaken the double MMN. The optimum-2 multi-feature paradigm could be especially beneficial for clinical studies on early deviance-related modulations in the MLR, due to its optimized utilization of the recording time. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Narrative research on mental health recovery: two sister paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Spector-Mersel, Gabriela; Knaifel, Evgeny

2017-06-24

Despite the breadth of narrative studies on individuals with severe mental illness, the suitability of narrative inquiry to exploring mental health recovery (MHR) has not been examined. (1) Examining the appropriateness of narrative inquiry to studying MHR; (2) assessing the extent to which narrative studies on MHR conform to the unique features of narrative research, as a distinctive form of qualitative inquiry. Review of empirical, theoretical and methodological literature on recovery and narrative inquiry. Considering the perspectives of recovery and narrative as paradigms, the similarity between their ontology and epistemology is shown, evident in 10 common emphases: meaning, identity, change and development, agency, holism, culture, uniqueness, context, language and giving voice. The resemblance between these "sister" paradigms makes narrative methodology especially fruitful for accessing the experiences of individuals in recovery. Reviewing narrative studies on MHR suggests that, currently, narrative research's uniqueness, centered on the holistic principle, is blurred on the philosophical, methodological and textual levels. Well-established narrative research has major implications for practice and policy in recovery-oriented mental health care. The narrative inquiry paradigm offers a possible path to enhancing the distinctive virtues of this research, realizing its potential in understanding and promoting MHR.

Toward a patient-based paradigm for blood transfusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farrugia A

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Albert Farrugia,1,2 Eleftherios Vamvakas31College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia; 2Centre for Orthopaedic Research, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia; 3Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USAAbstract: The current "manufacturing paradigm" of transfusion practice has detached transfusion from the clinical environment. As an example, fresh whole blood in large-volume hemorrhage may be superior to whole blood reconstituted from multiple components. Multicomponent apheresis can overcome logistical difficulties in matching patient needs with fresh component availability and can deliver the benefits of fresh whole blood. Because of the different transfusion needs of patients in emerging economies and the vulnerability of these blood systems to emerging infections, fresh whole blood and multicomponent apheresis can better meet patient needs when compared with transplants of the "manufacturing paradigm". We propose that patient blood management, along with panels of repeat, paid, accredited apheresis and fresh whole-blood donors can be used in emerging economies to support decentralized blood services. This alternative transfusion–medicine paradigm could eventually also be adopted by established economies to focus transfusion medicine on local patient needs and to alleviate the problem of the aging volunteer donor base.Keywords: indications, emerging countries, patient blood management

Emergence of life: Physical chemistry changes the paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Spitzer, Jan; Pielak, Gary J; Poolman, Bert

2015-06-10

Origin of life research has been slow to advance not only because of its complex evolutionary nature (Franklin Harold: In Search of Cell History, 2014) but also because of the lack of agreement on fundamental concepts, including the question of 'what is life?'. To re-energize the research and define a new experimental paradigm, we advance four premises to better understand the physicochemical complexities of life's emergence: (1) Chemical and Darwinian (biological) evolutions are distinct, but become continuous with the appearance of heredity. (2) Earth's chemical evolution is driven by energies of cycling (diurnal) disequilibria and by energies of hydrothermal vents. (3) Earth's overall chemical complexity must be high at the origin of life for a subset of (complex) chemicals to phase separate and evolve into living states. (4) Macromolecular crowding in aqueous electrolytes under confined conditions enables evolution of molecular recognition and cellular self-organization. We discuss these premises in relation to current 'constructive' (non-evolutionary) paradigm of origins research - the process of complexification of chemical matter 'from the simple to the complex'. This paradigm artificially avoids planetary chemical complexity and the natural tendency of molecular compositions toward maximum disorder embodied in the second law of thermodynamics. Our four premises suggest an empirical program of experiments involving complex chemical compositions under cycling gradients of temperature, water activity and electromagnetic radiation.

Hydropower development trends from a technological paradigm perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Jiuping; Ni, Ting; Zheng, Bobo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a novel concept of hydropower development technological paradigm. • We create a data analysis system to visualize the keyword foci. • Future trajectories include hybrid power systems and resources from seawater. • The HDTP consists of a three-stage evolution and a policy framework. • The HDTP provides a how-to-do solution for the soft path. - Abstract: Hydropower has long been considered the backbone of the power generation sector in low-carbon and sustainable energy systems. Yet, as reliance on hydropower has been generally declining, the world is awakening to the need to fundamentally rethink the way hydropower is developed and managed. The paper proposes a systematic methodology to research the development trends and find a more sustainable hydropower path. Literature mining using the data analysis system and the technological paradigm theory were adopted to conduct the research. The keyword visualization results were found to meet the laws for the three phases of the technological paradigm. Specific key areas, such as small hydropower plants, hybrid power systems, and hydropower from seawater were identified as past, present and near future trajectories. To further accelerate hydropower development, specific subsidies and incentives need to be provided in areas such as capital costs and technological support. The study paves the way for a soft path solution which complements the hard path in hydropower field

Rivaling Paradigms in Psychiatric Neurosurgery: Adjustability versus Quick Fix versus Minimal-Invasiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Müller eSabine

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In the wake of deep brain stimulation (DBS development, ablative neurosurgical procedures are seeing a comeback, although they had been discredited and nearly completely abandoned in the 1970ies because of their unethical practice. Modern stereotactic ablative procedures as thermal or radiofrequency ablation, and particularly radiosurgery (e.g., Gamma Knife are much safer than the historical procedures, so that a re-evaluation of this technique is required. The different approaches of modern psychiatric neurosurgery refer to different paradigms: Microsurgical ablative procedures is based on the paradigm ‘quick fix’, radiosurgery on the paradigm ‘minimal-invasiveness’, and DBS on the paradigm ‘adjustability’.From a mere medical perspective, none of the procedures is absolutely superior; rather, they have different profiles of advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, individual factors are crucial in decision-making, particularly the patients’ social situation, individual preferences, and individual attitudes.The different approaches are not only rivals, but also enriching mutually. DBS is preferable for exploring new targets, which may become candidates for ablative microsurgery or radiosurgery.

Paradigms of public policies for licit and illicit drugs in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Gigliotti, Analice; Ribeiro, Marcelo; Tapia Aguilera, Amarílis; Rezende, Elton; Ogata Perrenoud, Luciane

2014-01-01

Brazil is a country of continental dimensions that, over the last 3 decades, has been making increased efforts to develop effective public policies for controlling the use of both licit and illicit psychoactive substances. In the case of licit drugs, Brazil was a pioneer in following the guidance of the World Health Organization for tobacco control and has witnessed surprising results relating to reduction of smoking prevalence and correlated morbidity and mortality. Today, Brazil has a national structure for organizing, applying, and monitoring laws relating to tobacco. However, in the field of illicit drugs, with crack consumption as a paradigm, the situation is the opposite: its use has been increasing year by year and is being consumed at increasingly young ages and by all social classes. Thus, it is becoming an enormous challenge for public policies relating to prevention and treatment. In this context, the aim of this article is to present a review of the epidemiological data relating to tobacco and crack use in Brazil, with an analysis on the impact of public policies for controlling consumption over recent years. Despite the efforts made over the last 3 decades, Brazil still has a long way to go in order to construct a consistent and effective national drugs policy.

Class and ideological orientations revisited: an exploration of class-based mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Bengtsson, Mattias; Berglund, Tomas; Oskarson, Maria

2013-12-01

Studies of the relationship between class position and political outlooks still only have a limited understanding of the class-related mechanisms that matter for ideological orientations. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms that link class position and left/right and authoritarian/libertarian orientations. Besides main factors such as income, career prospects, job security, education, class origin and class identification, the significance of work-related factors such as work autonomy, working in a team, a physically demanding job and a mentally demanding job is studied. The findings are based on a survey specifically designed for this purpose and collected in Sweden in 2008/2009. A great deal of the association between class position and left/right orientations is explained by socio-economic conditions; different classes sympathize with policies that will benefit them economically. Another important factor is class identification. Work-related factors also have relevance, but the effect of class position on left/right orientations works mainly through the remuneration system. Class position is also related to authoritarian/libertarian orientations. However, this relationship is less explained by socio-economic position per se, but is rather an effect of the educational system and its allocation of the workforce into different class positions. It also turns out that work-related factors do not explain the class effects; however, a physically demanding job shows a unique effect. Overall, our findings suggest that besides factors such as class position, income, education and class identification, we need to consider work-related aspects to derive a more complete understanding of the distribution of ideological orientations in Western societies. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

What Is Middle Class about the Middle Classes around the World?

OpenAIRE

Abhijit V. Banerjee; Esther Duflo

2008-01-01

We expect a lot from the middle classes. At least three distinct arguments about the special economic role of the middle class are traditionally made. In one, new entrepreneurs armed with a capacity and a tolerance for delayed gratification emerge from the middle class and create employment and productivity growth for the rest of society. In a second, perhaps more conventional view, the middle class is primarily a source of vital inputs for the entrepreneurial class: it is their "middle class...

Cost per quality-adjusted life year and disability-adjusted life years: the need for a new paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevan, Gwyn; Hollinghurst, Sandra

2003-08-01

Two different paradigms have been proposed for setting priorities for access to healthcare: cost per quality-adjusted life year based on interventions, and disability-adjusted life years based on the burden of disease in a population. These formal paradigms make explicit the assumptions made implicitly every day in delivering and hence rationing access to healthcare. This paper outlines each paradigm's methodological problems and argues that each paradigm is incomplete in terms of providing the information necessary for making budgetary decisions on healthcare. It argues that a scientific revolution is required to create a new paradigm by combining the strengths of each.

On the solitary wave paradigm for tsunamis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Per A.; Fuhrman, David R.; Schäffer, Hemming Andreas

2008-01-01

Since the 1970s, solitary waves have commonly been used to model tsunamis especially in experimental and mathematical studies. Unfortunately, the link to geophysical scales is not well established, and in this work we question the geophysical relevance of this paradigm. In part 1, we simulate...

A Virtual Class Calculus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernst, Erik; Ostermann, Klaus; Cook, William Randall

2006-01-01

Virtual classes are class-valued attributes of objects. Like virtual methods, virtual classes are defined in an object's class and may be redefined within subclasses. They resemble inner classes, which are also defined within a class, but virtual classes are accessed through object instances...... model for virtual classes has been a long-standing open question. This paper presents a virtual class calculus, vc, that captures the essence of virtual classes in these full-fledged programming languages. The key contributions of the paper are a formalization of the dynamic and static semantics of vc...

Affordability and Paradigms in Agent-Based Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boldur E. Barbat

2007-07-01

Full Text Available The paper aims at substantiating that in universities with scarce resources, applied Information Technologies (IT research is affordable, even in most advanced and dynamic sub-domains. This target is split into four specific objectives: a to set up a framework for IT research affordability in universities representative for current East-European circumstances; b to outline a workable approach based on synergistic leverage and to assess the paradigms prevalent in modern artificial intelligence through this ``affordability filter''; c to describe the evolution and the current stages of two undertakings exploiting paradigms founded on emergence (the sub-domains are stigmergic coordination and agent self-awareness; d to summarise for both sub domains the mechanisms and the architectonics (the focus is on computer science aspects; implementation details will be given in future papers. The results in both directions appear as promising and reveal significant potential for transdisciplinarity. From this perspective, the paper is a call to improved cooperation.

Blended learning as an effective pedagogical paradigm for biomedical science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perry Hartfield

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Blended learning combines face-to-face class based and online teaching and learning delivery in order to increase flexibility in how, when, and where students study and learn. The development, integration, and promotion of blended learning in frameworks of curriculum design can optimize the opportunities afforded by information and communication technologies and, concomitantly, accommodate a broad range of student learning styles. This study critically reviews the potential benefits of blended learning as a progressive educative paradigm for the teaching of biomedical science and evaluates the opportunities that blended learning offers for the delivery of accessible, flexible and sustainable teaching and learning experiences. A central tenet of biomedical science education at the tertiary level is the development of comprehensive hands-on practical competencies and technical skills (many of which require laboratory-based learning environments, and it is advanced that a blended learning model, which combines face-to-face synchronous teaching and learning activities with asynchronous online teaching and learning activities, effectively creates an authentic, enriching, and student-centred learning environment for biomedical science. Lastly, a blending learning design for introductory biochemistry will be described as an effective example of integrating face-to-face and online teaching, learning and assessment activities within the teaching domain of biomedical science.   DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i4.169

Converging technologies in higher education: paradigm for the "new" liberal arts?

Science.gov (United States)

Balmer, Robert T

2006-12-01

This article discusses the historic relationship between the practical arts (technology) and the mental (liberal) arts, suggesting that Converging Technologies is a new higher education paradigm that integrates the arts, humanities, and sciences with modern technology. It explains that the paradigm really includes all fields in higher education from philosophy to art to music to modern languages and beyond. To implement a transformation of this magnitude, it is necessary to understand the psychology of change in academia. Union College in Schenectady, New York, implemented a Converging Technologies Educational Paradigm in five steps: (1) create a compelling vision, (2) communicate the vision, (3) empower the faculty, (4) create short-term successes, and (5) institutionalize the results. This case study of Union College demonstrates it is possible to build a pillar of educational excellence based on Converging Technologies.

The single lineup paradigm: A new way to manipulate target presence in eyewitness identification experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Oriet, Chris; Fitzgerald, Ryan J

2018-02-01

The suspect in eyewitness lineups may be guilty or innocent. These possibilities are traditionally simulated in eyewitness identification studies using a dual-lineup paradigm: All witnesses observe the same perpetrator and then receive one of two lineups. In this paradigm, the suspect's guilt is manipulated by including the perpetrator in one lineup and an innocent suspect in the other. The lineup is then filled with people matched to either the suspect (resulting in different fillers in perpetrator-present and perpetrator-absent lineups) or to the perpetrator (resulting in the same fillers in each lineup). An inescapable feature of the dual-lineup paradigm is that the perpetrator-present and perpetrator-absent lineups differ not only in the suspect's guilt, but also in their composition. Here, we describe a single-lineup paradigm: Subjects observe one of two perpetrators and then all subjects receive the same lineup containing one of the perpetrators. This alternative paradigm allows manipulation of the suspect's guilt without changing the lineup's composition. In three experiments, we applied the single-lineup paradigm to explore suspect-filler similarity and consistently found that increasing similarity reduced perpetrator identifications but did little to prevent innocent suspect misidentifications. Conversely, when fillers were matched to the perpetrator using a dual-lineup paradigm, increasing similarity reduced identification of perpetrators and innocent suspects. This finding suggests that the effect of filler similarity may depend on the person to whom the fillers are matched. We suggest that the single-lineup paradigm is a more ecologically valid and better controlled approach to creating suspect-matched lineups in laboratory investigations of eyewitness memory than existing procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Navon's classical paradigm concerning local and global processing relates systematically to visual object classification performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlach, Christian; Poirel, Nicolas

2018-01-10

Forty years ago David Navon tried to tackle a central problem in psychology concerning the time course of perceptual processing: Do we first see the details (local level) followed by the overall outlay (global level) or is it rather the other way around? He did this by developing a now classical paradigm involving the presentation of compound stimuli; large letters composed of smaller letters. Despite the usefulness of this paradigm it remains uncertain whether effects found with compound stimuli relate directly to visual object recognition. It does so because compound stimuli are not actual objects but rather formations of elements and because the elements that form the global shape of compound stimuli are not features of the global shape but rather objects in their own right. To examine the relationship between performance on Navon's paradigm and visual object processing we derived two indexes from Navon's paradigm that reflect different aspects of the relationship between global and local processing. We find that individual differences on these indexes can explain a considerable amount of variance in two standard object classification paradigms; object decision and superordinate categorization, suggesting that Navon's paradigm does relate to visual object processing.

Co-"Lab"oration: A New Paradigm for Building a Management Information Systems Course

Science.gov (United States)

Breimer, Eric; Cotler, Jami; Yoder, Robert

2010-01-01

We propose a new paradigm for building a Management Information Systems course that focuses on laboratory activities developed collaboratively using Computer-Mediated Communication and Collaboration tools. A highlight of our paradigm is the "practice what you preach" concept where the computer communication tools and collaboration…

A Self-Control Versus a Counterconditioning Paradigm for Systematic Desensitization: An Experimental Comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Spiegler, Michael D.; And Others

1976-01-01

A comparison was made between the traditional counterconditioning paradigm and a self-control paradigm of systematic desensitization. College students reporting high test anxiety and indicating interest in receiving treatment were assigned to counterconditioning, self-control, or wait-list control conditions. As predicted, self-control procedures…

Why empowerment does not empower: the bankruptcy of current paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Belasco, J A; Gorham, G

1996-03-01

As a result of the rapid changes taking place in health care, nurse leaders are more challenged than ever to assume a new and different kind of leadership. Under the current paradigm, leaders are responsible for the performance of their people. Leaders do things TO the organization and the people in it. That paradigm of leader responsibility for other people's performance, given today's circumstances, guarantees organizational failure. A radical transformation in leadership thinking must take place. The leader's job is to get the people to be responsible for their own performance.

Localization of Broca's Area Using Functional MR Imaging: Quantitative Evaluation of Paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Chi Heon; Kim, Jae-Hun; Chung, Chun Kee; Kim, June Sic; Lee, Jong-Min; Lee, Sang Kun

2009-04-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is frequently used to localize language areas in a non-invasive manner. Various paradigms for presurgical localization of language areas have been developed, but a systematic quantitative evaluation of the efficiency of those paradigms has not been performed. In the present study, the authors analyzed different language paradigms to see which paradigm is most efficient in localizing frontal language areas. Five men and five women with no neurological deficits participated (mean age, 24 years) in this study. All volunteers were right-handed. Each subject performed 4 tasks, including fixation (Fix), sentence reading (SR), pseudoword reading (PR), and word generation (WG). Fixation and pseudoword reading were used as contrasts. The functional area was defined as the area(s) with a t-value of more than 3.92 in fMRI with different tasks. To apply an anatomical constraint, we used a brain atlas mapping system, which is available in AFNI, to define the anatomical frontal language area. The numbers of voxels in overlapped area between anatomical and functional area were individually counted in the frontal expressive language area. Of the various combinations, the word generation task was most effective in delineating the frontal expressive language area when fixation was used as a contrast (plocalizing Broca's area was 81% and specificity was 70%. Word generation versus fixation could effectively and reliably delineate the frontal language area. A customized effective paradigm should be analyzed in order to evaluate various language functions.

Class Action and Class Settlement in a European Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2013-01-01

The article analyses the options for introducing common European rules on class action lawsuits with an opt-out-model in individual cases. An analysis is made of how the risks of misuse of class actions can be prevented. The article considers the Dutch rules on class settlements (the WCAM procedure...

The Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of a Dual-Tasking Paradigm in a Memory Clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Malene Schjnning; Simonsen, Anja Hviid; Siersma, Volkert; Hasselbalch, Steen Gregers; Hoegh, Peter

2018-01-01

Daily living requires the ability to perform dual-tasking. As cognitive skills decrease in dementia, performing a cognitive and motor task simultaneously become increasingly challenging and subtle gait abnormalities may even be present in pre-dementia stages. Therefore, a dual-tasking paradigm, such as the Timed Up and Go-Dual Task (TUG-DT), may be useful in the diagnostic assessment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic ability of a dual-tasking paradigm in patients with MCI or mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to evaluate the association between the dual-tasking paradigm and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers. The study is a prospective cohort study conducted in a clinical setting in two memory clinics. Eighty-six patients were included (28 MCI, 17 AD, 41 healthy controls (HC)). The ability to perform dual-tasking was evaluated by the TUG-DT. Patients underwent a standardized diagnostic assessment and were evaluated to determine progression yearly. ROC curve analysis illustrated a high discriminative ability of the dual-tasking paradigm in separating MCI patients from HC (AUC: 0.78, AUC: 0.82) and a moderate discriminative ability in separating MCI from AD (AUC: 0.73, AUC: 0.55). Performance discriminated clearly between all groups (p paradigm for progression and rate of cognitive decline. A moderately strong correlation between the dual-tasking paradigm and CSF AD biomarkers was observed. In our study, we found that patients with MCI and mild AD have increasing difficulties in dual-tasking compared to healthy elderly. Hence, the dual-tasking paradigm may be a potential complement in the diagnostic assessment in a typical clinical setting.

A Paradigm for Student Learning Outcome Assessment in Information Systems Education: Continuous Improvement or Chasing Rainbows?

Science.gov (United States)

Saulnier, Bruce

2014-01-01

A paradigm is presented for student learning outcome assessment in information systems education. Successful deployment of the paradigm is illustrated using the author's home institution. The paradigm is consistent with both the scholarship of teaching and learning and the scholarship of assessment. It is concluded that the deployment of the…

Colloidal paradigm in supercapattery electrode systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kunfeng; Xue, Dongfeng

2018-01-01

Among decades of development, electrochemical energy storage systems are now sorely in need of a new design paradigm at the nano size and ion level to satisfy the higher energy and power demands. In this review paper, we introduce a new colloidal electrode paradigm for supercapattery that integrates multiple-scale forms of matter, i.e. ion clusters, colloidal ions, and nanosized materials, into one colloid system, coupled with multiple interactions, i.e. electrostatic, van der Waals forces, and chemical bonding, thus leading to the formation of many redox reactive centers. This colloidal electrode not only keeps the original ionic nature in colloidal materials, but also creates a new attribute of high electroactivity. Colloidal supercapattery is a perfect application example of the novel colloidal electrode, leading to higher specific capacitance than traditional electrode materials. The high electroactivity of the colloidal electrode mainly comes from the contribution of exposed reactive centers, owing to the confinement effect of carbon and a binder matrix. Systematic and thorough research on the colloidal system will significantly promote the development of fundamental science and the progress of advanced energy storage technology.

Storytelling, advertising and paradigm fusion

OpenAIRE

Anderson, David

2012-01-01

'The art of storytelling in the modern age is fundamentally important. So, how we create stories for a screen-based culture is vitally important to master' (Hegarty, 2011, p.96-97). This paper explores the potential benefit of fusing aspects of creative writing with the curriculum of the BA Creative Advertising programme (BACAP) at Leeds College of Art (LCA) in order to address Sir John Hegarty's assertion. In particular it will focus on the characteristics of the 'classical paradigms' us...

Answer Set Programming and Other Computing Paradigms

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Yunsong

2013-01-01

Answer Set Programming (ASP) is one of the most prominent and successful knowledge representation paradigms. The success of ASP is due to its expressive non-monotonic modeling language and its efficient computational methods originating from building propositional satisfiability solvers. The wide adoption of ASP has motivated several extensions to…

A Reinforcement-Based Learning Paradigm Increases Anatomical Learning and Retention—A Neuroeducation Study

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Sarah J.; Hecker, Kent G.; Krigolson, Olave E.; Jamniczky, Heather A.

2018-01-01

In anatomy education, a key hurdle to engaging in higher-level discussion in the classroom is recognizing and understanding the extensive terminology used to identify and describe anatomical structures. Given the time-limited classroom environment, seeking methods to impart this foundational knowledge to students in an efficient manner is essential. Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) methods incorporate pre-class exercises (typically online) meant to establish foundational knowledge in novice learners so subsequent instructor-led sessions can focus on deeper, more complex concepts. Determining how best do we design and assess pre-class exercises requires a detailed examination of learning and retention in an applied educational context. Here we used electroencephalography (EEG) as a quantitative dependent variable to track learning and examine the efficacy of JiTT activities to teach anatomy. Specifically, we examined changes in the amplitude of the N250 and reward positivity event-related brain potential (ERP) components alongside behavioral performance as novice students participated in a series of computerized reinforcement-based learning modules to teach neuroanatomical structures. We found that as students learned to identify anatomical structures, the amplitude of the N250 increased and reward positivity amplitude decreased in response to positive feedback. Both on a retention and transfer exercise when learners successfully remembered and translated their knowledge to novel images, the amplitude of the reward positivity remained decreased compared to early learning. Our findings suggest ERPs can be used as a tool to track learning, retention, and transfer of knowledge and that employing the reinforcement learning paradigm is an effective educational approach for developing anatomical expertise. PMID:29467638

A Reinforcement-Based Learning Paradigm Increases Anatomical Learning and Retention—A Neuroeducation Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah J. Anderson

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In anatomy education, a key hurdle to engaging in higher-level discussion in the classroom is recognizing and understanding the extensive terminology used to identify and describe anatomical structures. Given the time-limited classroom environment, seeking methods to impart this foundational knowledge to students in an efficient manner is essential. Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT methods incorporate pre-class exercises (typically online meant to establish foundational knowledge in novice learners so subsequent instructor-led sessions can focus on deeper, more complex concepts. Determining how best do we design and assess pre-class exercises requires a detailed examination of learning and retention in an applied educational context. Here we used electroencephalography (EEG as a quantitative dependent variable to track learning and examine the efficacy of JiTT activities to teach anatomy. Specifically, we examined changes in the amplitude of the N250 and reward positivity event-related brain potential (ERP components alongside behavioral performance as novice students participated in a series of computerized reinforcement-based learning modules to teach neuroanatomical structures. We found that as students learned to identify anatomical structures, the amplitude of the N250 increased and reward positivity amplitude decreased in response to positive feedback. Both on a retention and transfer exercise when learners successfully remembered and translated their knowledge to novel images, the amplitude of the reward positivity remained decreased compared to early learning. Our findings suggest ERPs can be used as a tool to track learning, retention, and transfer of knowledge and that employing the reinforcement learning paradigm is an effective educational approach for developing anatomical expertise.

Factors Related to In-Class Spiritual Experience: Relationship between Pre-Class Scripture Reading, In-Class Note-Taking, and Perceived In-Class Spiritual Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, John, III; Sweat, Anthony R.; Plummer, Kenneth

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student in-class note-taking and pre-class reading with perceived in-class spiritual and religious outcomes. This study surveyed 620 students enrolled in six different sections of an introductory religion course at a private religious university. Full-time religious faculty members…

Technology Push, Demand Pull And The Shaping Of Technological Paradigms - Patterns In The Development Of Computing Technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.C.M. van den Ende (Jan); W.A. Dolfsma (Wilfred)

2002-01-01

textabstractAn assumption generally subscribed in evolutionary economics is that new technological paradigms arise from advances is science and developments in technological knowledge. Demand only influences the selection among competing paradigms, and the course the paradigm after its inception. In

FROM THE BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS TO POST-BEHAVIORALISM: HISTORY OF PARADIGM

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M. I. Bogachev

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Article is devoted to the review of formation and decline of behavioralism paradigm in political science. The author begins the analysis with critical consideration of the scientific concepts preceding emergence of modernist empiricism within which there is a behavioral analysis. Further the researcher traces formation behaviorism in the social disciplines: formation model in psychology, release of the theory out of limits of pure psychology and transferring ideas in sociology and political science. The author analyzes inquiries to the scientific theory by behavioralism. He opens the principles of behavioralism as paradigm in political science. The author presents the conceptual and contextual factors promoting recession of popularity behavioralism in political science and submits methodological restrictions approach. The author states the main claims of critics to this research approach and explains the reasons decline this paradigm. At the same time the methodological reflection of behavioralism which has followed recession of his popularity is reflected in work. The author opens the principles of the new methodological direction – post-behavioralism and the position of modern representatives of the behavioral analysis.

Competitiveness: new economic paradigm?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marlene Peñaloza

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Nowadays competitiveness is made up of “the new” paradigm that allows to prevail in the global World. Thus, it is inevitable to ask, was it required to be competitive to be successful in the international trade arena? Recognizing the discussion about it and its theoretical-conceptual density, the present paper studies this old notion whose meaning, in essence, is always the same one. This applies even though new realities in the present world-wide atmosphere confer to it a distinguishing character and new and old players are forced to organize actions and bring efforts together to obtain the competitive supremacy.

Common Ground of Two Paradigms: Incorporating Critical Theory into Current Art Therapy Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Nolan, Emily

2013-01-01

Clinical art therapy and studio-based community art therapy represent two major paradigms in art therapy practice. This viewpoint explores how critical theory can be incorporated into both paradigms and result in common ground between them. Critical theory encompasses an understanding of oppression in psychological, social, and cultural contexts…

Detection and Characterization of Single-Trial fMRI BOLD Responses : Paradigm Free Mapping

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaudes, Cesar Caballero; Petridou, Natalia; Dryden, Ian L.; Bai, Li; Francis, Susan T.; Gowland, Penny A.

This work presents a novel method of mapping the brain's response to single stimuli in space and time without prior knowledge of the paradigm timing: paradigm free mapping (PFM). This method is based on deconvolution of the hemodynamic response from the voxel time series assuming a linear response

A comparison of functional and object-orientedprogramming paradigms in JavaScript

OpenAIRE

Svensson Sand, Kim; Eliasson, Tord

2017-01-01

There are multiple programming paradigms that have their own set rules forhow code should be written. Programming languages utilize one or multiple ofthese paradigms. In this thesis, we will compare object-oriented programming,that is the most used today with languages such as C++ and Java, and functionalprogramming. Functional programming was introduced in the 1950's butsuered from performance issues, and has not been used much except for in theacademic world. However, for its ability to han...

PULSE cube: Paradigms and theories for creating opportunities and solving problems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Meissner, Richard

2015-05-01

Full Text Available (Governability) 9. Interest group corporatism 10.Interest group pluralism 11.Marxism 12.Modernity 13.Neo-liberalism (Liberal pluralism) 14.Neo-realism (Realism) 15.Normative commensalism 16.Political ecology or Green politics 17.Social constructivism 18... are present in the NWRS2 but to a limited extent only. • Support to municipalities. • Education and awareness. • Participatory paradigm - No paradigm shift, but rather top-down participation towards the NWRS2. - Nevertheless, structuralism strongly...

Bacteria Hunt: Evaluating multi-paradigm BCI interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mühl, C.; Gürkök, Hayrettin; Plass - Oude Bos, D.; Thurlings, Marieke E.; Scherffig, Lasse; Duvinage, Matthieu; Elbakyan, Alexandra A.; Kang, SungWook; Poel, Mannes; Heylen, Dirk K.J.

The multimodal, multi-paradigm brain-computer interfacing (BCI) game Bacteria Hunt was used to evaluate two aspects of BCI interaction in a gaming context. One goal was to examine the effect of feedback on the ability of the user to manipulate his mental state of relaxation. This was done by having

Materialist value orientations as correlates of the new ecological paradigm among university students in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Genying

2015-04-01

The new ecological paradigm is an ecocentric view of the relationship between humanity and nature. This study analyzed the correlates of the new ecological paradigm in China using the responses of 1,148 university students to a questionnaire. The participating students were from Lanzhou University and Liaocheng University in China and ranged in age from 16 to 26 years. This study showed that two materialist value orientations, economic precedence over the environment and trust in technology, were negatively correlated with the new ecological paradigm. The correlates of basic values with the new ecological paradigm were mediated by economic precedence over the environment. Female students were more concerned about the environment than were male students.

Social-Class Differences in Consumer Choices: Working-Class Individuals Are More Sensitive to Choices of Others Than Middle-Class Individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Jinkyung; McDonough, Ian M; Chan, Micaela Y; Park, Denise C

2016-04-01

The present research shows that, when making choices, working-class Americans are more affected by others' opinions than middle-class Americans due to differences in independent versus interdependent self-construal. Experiment 1 revealed that when working-class Americans made decisions to buy products, they were more influenced by the choices of others than middle-class Americans. In contrast, middle-class Americans were more likely to misremember others' choices to be consistent with their own choices. In other words, working-class Americans adjusted their choices to the preference of others, whereas middle-class Americans distorted others' preferences to fit their choices. Supporting our prediction that this social-class effect is closely linked to the independent versus interdependent self-construal, we showed that the differences in self-construal across cultures qualified the social-class effects on choices (Experiment 2). Moreover, when we experimentally manipulated self-construal in Experiment 3, we found that it mediated the corresponding changes in choices regardless of social class. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Comparing the OpenMP, MPI, and Hybrid Programming Paradigm on an SMP Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Jost, Gabriele; Jin, Hao-Qiang; anMey, Dieter; Hatay, Ferhat F.

2003-01-01

Clusters of SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processors) nodes provide support for a wide range of parallel programming paradigms. The shared address space within each node is suitable for OpenMP parallelization. Message passing can be employed within and across the nodes of a cluster. Multiple levels of parallelism can be achieved by combining message passing and OpenMP parallelization. Which programming paradigm is the best will depend on the nature of the given problem, the hardware components of the cluster, the network, and the available software. In this study we compare the performance of different implementations of the same CFD benchmark application, using the same numerical algorithm but employing different programming paradigms.

Ancient Ethical Practices of Dualism and Ethical Implications for Future Paradigms in Nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Milton, Constance L

2016-07-01

Paradigms contain theoretical structures to guide scientific disciplines. Since ancient times, Cartesian dualism has been a prominent philosophy incorporated in the practice of medicine. The discipline of nursing has continued the body-mind emphasis with similar paradigmatic thinking and theories of nursing that separate body and mind. Future trends for paradigm and nursing theory development are harkening to former ways of thinking. In this article the author discusses the origins of Cartesian dualism and implications for its current usage. The author shall illuminate what it potentially means to engage in dualism in nursing and discuss possible ethical implications for future paradigm and theory development in nursing. © The Author(s) 2016.

Agua Para Todos: A New Regionalist Hydraulic Paradigm in Spain

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Elena Lopez-Gunn

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the hydraulic paradigm in Spain and its evolution over the last 100 years to the current decentralisation process of "agua para todos", i.e. where different regional governments vie for control over 'scarce' water resources and defining the concept of hydro-solidarity between regions. Recent events seem to point to a new hydraulic bureaucracy at the sub-national level due to the political devolution currently taking place in Spain, where water has an increased political value in electoral terms. Water has strategic importance in single-issue politics and territorial identity, as compared to traditional left/right ideological politics for both national and regional parties in the Spanish multilevel electoral system. This refers to an important aspect of water politics – openly discussed in Spain but rarely analysed – namely the 'political returns' on water (or 'political rent-seeking'. This also points to spatial dimensions of the definition of state, identity, and access to resources in a semiarid country. This historical process of decentralisation of water is highlighted with particular reference to key events in recent Spanish history, including the Hydraulic Plan of the 1930s, its reappearance in the 1993 National Hydrological Plan, a revised version in the year 2001, and a final change in paradigm in 2005 at the national level. This suggests that the hydraulic paradigm is re-enacted at the regional government level. It is argued that a multi-scalar analysis of Spanish water decentralisation is essential in order to understand change and stasis in public policy paradigms related to water.

The human dynamic clamp as a paradigm for social interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Guillaume; de Guzman, Gonzalo C; Tognoli, Emmanuelle; Kelso, J A Scott

2014-09-02

Social neuroscience has called for new experimental paradigms aimed toward real-time interactions. A distinctive feature of interactions is mutual information exchange: One member of a pair changes in response to the other while simultaneously producing actions that alter the other. Combining mathematical and neurophysiological methods, we introduce a paradigm called the human dynamic clamp (HDC), to directly manipulate the interaction or coupling between a human and a surrogate constructed to behave like a human. Inspired by the dynamic clamp used so productively in cellular neuroscience, the HDC allows a person to interact in real time with a virtual partner itself driven by well-established models of coordination dynamics. People coordinate hand movements with the visually observed movements of a virtual hand, the parameters of which depend on input from the subject's own movements. We demonstrate that HDC can be extended to cover a broad repertoire of human behavior, including rhythmic and discrete movements, adaptation to changes of pacing, and behavioral skill learning as specified by a virtual "teacher." We propose HDC as a general paradigm, best implemented when empirically verified theoretical or mathematical models have been developed in a particular scientific field. The HDC paradigm is powerful because it provides an opportunity to explore parameter ranges and perturbations that are not easily accessible in ordinary human interactions. The HDC not only enables to test the veracity of theoretical models, it also illuminates features that are not always apparent in real-time human social interactions and the brain correlates thereof.

Realizing a new paradigm in radiation therapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziegenhein, Peter

2013-01-01

This thesis investigates the feasibility of a new IMRT planning paradigm called Interactive Dose Shaping (IDS). The IDS paradigm enables the therapist to directly impose local dose features into the therapy plan. In contrast to the conventional IMRT planning approach, IDS does not employ an objective function to drive an iterative optimization procedure. In the first part of this work, the conventional IMRT plan optimization method is investigated. Concepts for a near-optimal implementation of the planning problem are provided. The second part of this work introduces the IDS concept. It is designed to overcome clinical drawbacks of the conventional method on the one hand and to provide interactive planning strategies which exploit the full potential of modern high-performance computer hardware on the other hand. The realization of the IDS concept consists of three main parts. (1)A two-step Dose Variation and Recovery (DVR) strategy which imposes localized plan features and recovers for unintentional plan modifications elsewhere. (2)A new dose calculation method (3)The design of an IDS planning framework which provides a powerful graphical user interface. It could be shown that the IDS paradigm is able to reproduce conventionally optimized therapy plans and that the IDS concepts can be realized in real-time.

Modern Paradigm of Ensuring Competitive Advantages of an Enterprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klymchuk Alyona O.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers evolution of development of the paradigm of ensuring competitive advantages of an enterprise. Foreign and domestic scientists focus on individual directions of development of competitive advantages and pay insufficient attention to new management concepts – development of the information society, knowledge economy and dynamism of integration processes. The goal of the study is formation of the modern paradigm of ensuring competitive advantages of an enterprise with consideration of tendencies of development of the knowledge economy, information society and integration processes. Enterprise competitiveness is a synergetic characteristic, which reflects enterprise capability of dynamic response to changes of the market situation with the aim of keeping predominance over other economic subjects. Management of the future, on the basis of the management 2.0 concept, should take into account interests not only of top management and shareholders but also employees, local communities and territories and meet requirements of the society in general, individual groups of consumers and tendencies of development of managerial and information technologies. The paradigm of the modern theory of ensuring competitive advantages should include models of keeping competitive advantages in the existing markets and models of development of future markets; strategy of development of enterprise competitiveness, human capital development and efficient enterprise management.

The Paradigm of Distributed Creativity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glaveanu, Vlad Petre

This presentation aims to focus on and develop the notion of distributed creativity from a cultural psychological perspective. It will start by outlining the need for a cultural psychological paradigm of creative expression and argue that this perspective is primarily concerned with what can...... be called ‘distributed creativity’. Drawing on related literature on distributed cognition (Hutchins, 2000), I will consider here the three inter-related ways in which creative action is distributed: across people, across people and objects, and across time. This particular understanding of creativity...

Personalized Integrated Educational System: Technology Functions for the Learner- Centered Paradigm of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Reigeluth, Charles M.; Aslan, Sinem; Chen, Zengguan; Dutta, Pratima; Huh, Yeol; Lee, Dabae; Lin, Chun-Yi; Lu, Ya-Huei; Min, Mina; Tan, Verily; Watson, Sunnie Lee; Watson, William R.

2015-01-01

The learner-centered paradigm of instruction differs in such fundamental ways from the teacher-centered paradigm that it requires technology to serve very different functions. In 2006, a research team at Indiana University began to work on identifying those functions and published their results in 2008. Subsequently, the team elaborated and…

Carbon Capture and Storage Development Trends from a Techno-Paradigm Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bobo Zheng

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The world’s energy needs have been continually growing over the past decade, yet fossil fuels are limited. Renewable energies are becoming more prevalent, but are still a long way from being commonplace worldwide. Literature mining is applied to review carbon capture and storage (CCS development trends and to develop and examine a novel carbon capture and storage technological paradigm (CCSTP, which incorporates CCSTP competition, diffusion and shift. This paper first provides an overview of the research and progress in CCS technological development, then applies a techno-paradigm theory to analyze CCSTP development and to provide a guide for future CCS technological trends. CCS could avoid CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Moreover, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS can make a significant contribution to a net removal of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In this study, we compare the different CCSTP developmental paths and the conventional techno-paradigm by examining the S-curves. The analyses in this paper provide a useful guide for scholars seeking new inspiration in their research and for potential investors who are seeking to invest research funds in more mature technologies. We conclude that political barriers and public acceptance are the major distinctions between the CCSTP and the conventional techno-paradigm. It is expected that policy instruments and economic instruments are going to play a pivotal role in the accomplishment of global carbon reduction scenarios.

A paradigm analysis of ecological sustainability: The emerging polycentric climate change publics

Science.gov (United States)

Taminiau, Job B.

Climate change poses significant complications to the development model employed by modern societies. Using paradigm analysis, the dissertation explains why, after 21 years, policy failure haunts the field: a key impediment is the unquestioned assumption that policy must adhere to an economic optimality principle. This results in policy models which fail to uphold sustainability, justice, and equality due to an emphasis on economic growth, technology, and technical and bureaucratic expertise. Unable to build consensus among low- and high-carbon economies, and searching for what one economist has called an oxymoron -- "sustainable growth" (Daly, 1997) -- the policy process has foundered with its only international convention (the Kyoto Protocol) having lost relevance. In the midst of this policy failure, the dissertation offers and defends the premise that alternative strategies have emerged which signal the prospect of a paradigm shift to ecological sustainability -- a paradigm in which social change takes places through commons-based management and community authorship in the form of network governance and where sustainability serves as governor of growth -- something unavailable in an optimality-guided world. Especially, a strategy of polycentricity is discussed in detail in order to elucidate the potential for a paradigm shift. This discussion is followed by an evaluation of two innovative concepts -- the Sustainable Energy Utility and the Solar City -- that might fit the polycentricity strategy and bring forth transformative change. The dissertation finds considerable potential rests in these two concepts and argues the critical importance of further development of innovative approaches to implement the ecological sustainability paradigm.

Fingerprints of primordial universe paradigms as features in density perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xingang

2011-01-01

Experimentally distinguishing different primordial universe paradigms that lead to the Big Bang model is an outstanding challenge in modern cosmology and astrophysics. We show that a generic type of signals that exist in primordial universe models can be used for such purpose. These signals are induced by tiny oscillations of massive fields and manifest as features in primordial density perturbations. They are capable of recording the time-dependence of the scale factor of the primordial universe, and therefore provide direct evidence for specific paradigm. These signals present special opportunities and challenges for experiments and data analyses.

A new paradigm for doing Reformed dogmatics

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G. J. Spykman

1992-06-01

Full Text Available When discussing Reformational Theology: A New Paradigm for Doing Dogmatics some people may call it my opus magnum. Perhaps time 'will tell. The book has only recently - early 1992 - entered the marketplace of theological ideas. How critic readers and reviewers respond will go a long way toward settling the case.

Redesigning Higher Education: Embracing a New Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, William R.; Watson, Sunnie Lee

2014-01-01

Higher education is under enormous pressure to transform itself and embrace a new paradigm. Operating under an outdated model that no longer aligns with the realities of modern society, institutions of higher education are recognizing the need to drastically remake themselves or possibly cease to exist. This article explores the current landscape…

Class categories and the subjective dimension of class: the case of Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrits, Gitte Sommer; Pedersen, Helene Helboe

2018-03-01

Class relations have been proven to affect various aspects of social life, even in modern individualized societies. However, following claims on individualization and the so-called 'death of class' thesis, studying the subjective dimension of class - that is, the way individuals perceive of class relations and their own position within them - has gone out of style. We argue that even in equalized societies, subjective class perceptions may still influence attitudes and behaviour as they evolve to fit modern class relations. To explore the existence as well as structure and content of perceived social classes, this article investigates how people describe society and social groups in focus group discussions. We find that groups in different positions in terms of education and economy all tend to apply hierarchical class categories to describe Danish society, which is normally seen as one of the most equal societies and political systems in the world. In addition, we find that economic resources serve as a baseline for the hierarchical ordering, often supplemented with notions of education, lifestyle and/or occupational profile. Even though people are somewhat uncomfortable with the notion of class, their descriptions of Danish society and classes are surprisingly similar within and across groups. We conclude that not only do class relations matter; people are also highly aware of the existing classes and able to position themselves and others according to their notion of classes. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Subaltern Classes, Class Struggles and Hegemony : a Gramscian Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivete Simionatto

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This article sought to revive the concept of subaltern classes and their relation with other categories, particularly the State, civil society and hegemony in the thinking of Antonio Gramsci, as a support for contemporary class struggles. It also analyzes the relations between subaltern classes, common sense and ideology, as well as the forms of “overcoming” conceptualized by Gramsci, through the culture and philosophy of praxis. The paper revives the discussion of the subaltern classes, based on the original Gramscian formulation in the realm of Marxism, through the dialectic interaction between structure and superstructure, economy and politics. In addition to the conceptual revival, it indicates some elements that can support the discussion of the forms of subalternity found in contemporary reality and the possibilities for strengthening the struggles of these class layers, above all in moments of strong demobilization of popular participation.

Brain-Computer Interface Spellers: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezeika, Aya; Benda, Mihaly; Stawicki, Piotr; Gembler, Felix; Saboor, Abdul; Volosyak, Ivan

2018-03-30

A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) provides a novel non-muscular communication method via brain signals. A BCI-speller can be considered as one of the first published BCI applications and has opened the gate for many advances in the field. Although many BCI-spellers have been developed during the last few decades, to our knowledge, no reviews have described the different spellers proposed and studied in this vital field. The presented speller systems are categorized according to major BCI paradigms: P300, steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), and motor imagery (MI). Different BCI paradigms require specific electroencephalogram (EEG) signal features and lead to the development of appropriate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). The purpose of this review is to consolidate the most successful BCI-spellers published since 2010, while mentioning some other older systems which were built explicitly for spelling purposes. We aim to assist researchers and concerned individuals in the field by illustrating the highlights of different spellers and presenting them in one review. It is almost impossible to carry out an objective comparison between different spellers, as each has its variables, parameters, and conditions. However, the gathered information and the provided taxonomy about different BCI-spellers can be helpful, as it could identify suitable systems for first-hand users, as well as opportunities of development and learning from previous studies for BCI researchers.

Brain–Computer Interface Spellers: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Gembler, Felix; Saboor, Abdul

2018-01-01

A Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) provides a novel non-muscular communication method via brain signals. A BCI-speller can be considered as one of the first published BCI applications and has opened the gate for many advances in the field. Although many BCI-spellers have been developed during the last few decades, to our knowledge, no reviews have described the different spellers proposed and studied in this vital field. The presented speller systems are categorized according to major BCI paradigms: P300, steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), and motor imagery (MI). Different BCI paradigms require specific electroencephalogram (EEG) signal features and lead to the development of appropriate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). The purpose of this review is to consolidate the most successful BCI-spellers published since 2010, while mentioning some other older systems which were built explicitly for spelling purposes. We aim to assist researchers and concerned individuals in the field by illustrating the highlights of different spellers and presenting them in one review. It is almost impossible to carry out an objective comparison between different spellers, as each has its variables, parameters, and conditions. However, the gathered information and the provided taxonomy about different BCI-spellers can be helpful, as it could identify suitable systems for first-hand users, as well as opportunities of development and learning from previous studies for BCI researchers. PMID:29601538

On CSM classes via Chern-Fulton classes of f-schemes

OpenAIRE

Fullwood, James; Wang, Dongxu

2015-01-01

The Chern-Fulton class is a generalization of Chern class to the realm of arbitrary embeddable schemes. While Chern-Fulton classes are sensitive to non-reduced scheme structure, they are not sensitive to possible singularities of the underlying support, thus at first glance are not interesting from a singularity theory viewpoint. However, we introduce a class of formal objects which we think of as `fractional schemes', or f-schemes for short, and then show that when one broadens the domain of...

SCIENTIFIC PARADIGM SHIFT AS THE BACKGROUND OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. D. Tabanakova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Recently, there has been a cardinal restructuring of university preparation. Linguistic education takes up nearly the last position in the new model of the higher school dictated by economic interests. Investments in linguistic projects are considered as unprofitable today. The linguistic component in educational programs of a bachelor degree is reduced to a minimum, and focused on language knowledge promoting as communication technologies.The aim of the work purposes to trace how the scientific and the linguistic paradigm shift have an impact on the domestic linguistic education system, and to show the unrealized potential capacity of linguistic knowledge.Methodology and research methods. The methodology of the offered research is based, on the one hand, upon the domestic periodical press review on the linguistic education problems for the last 15 years, on the other – on the philosophical analysis of science historical forms which change has caused the past, the present and the future of linguistics and linguistic education. The inductive methods to integrate different approaches are also used.Theoretical significance. The author emphasizes the need to consider the problems of higher education in philosophical aspect, through the interaction of a scientific and educational paradigm.Results and scientific novelty. At a time of global changes in domestic higher education the linguistic education is considered to be a display of the convergence process of natural sciences, technology and humanities. The philosophical study of the scientific paradigms – classical, non-classical and post-non-classical has revealed the regularities of the linguistic scientific paradigms – structural, communicative and cognitive. Each of the paradigms was traced in the frame of linguistic education functions alternation and constantly changing academic programs.A new take on the U-turn of a centrifugal vector in science has obviously demonstrated

Effect of higher frequency on the classification of steady-state visual evoked potentials

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Won, Dong-Ok; Hwang, Han-Jeong; Dähne, Sven; Müller, Klaus-Robert; Lee, Seong-Whan

2016-02-01

Objective. Most existing brain-computer interface (BCI) designs based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) primarily use low frequency visual stimuli (e.g., visual fatigue and no stimulus-related seizures. The fundamental objective of this study was to investigate the effect of stimulation frequency and duty-cycle on the usability of an SSVEP-based BCI system. Approach. We developed an SSVEP-based BCI speller using multiple LEDs flickering with low frequencies (6-14.9 Hz) with a duty-cycle of 50%, or higher frequencies (26-34.7 Hz) with duty-cycles of 50%, 60%, and 70%. The four different experimental conditions were tested with 26 subjects in order to investigate the impact of stimulation frequency and duty-cycle on performance and visual fatigue, and evaluated with a questionnaire survey. Resting state alpha powers were utilized to interpret our results from the neurophysiological point of view. Main results. The stimulation method employing higher frequencies not only showed less visual fatigue, but it also showed higher and more stable classification performance compared to that employing relatively lower frequencies. Different duty-cycles in the higher frequency stimulation conditions did not significantly affect visual fatigue, but a duty-cycle of 50% was a better choice with respect to performance. The performance of the higher frequency stimulation method was also less susceptible to resting state alpha powers, while that of the lower frequency stimulation method was negatively correlated with alpha powers. Significance. These results suggest that the use of higher frequency visual stimuli is more beneficial for performance improvement and stability as time passes when developing practical SSVEP-based BCI applications.

A gaze independent hybrid-BCI based on visual spatial attention

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Egan, John M.; Loughnane, Gerard M.; Fletcher, Helen; Meade, Emma; Lalor, Edmund C.

2017-08-01

Objective. Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) use measures of brain activity to convey a user’s intent without the need for muscle movement. Hybrid designs, which use multiple measures of brain activity, have been shown to increase the accuracy of BCIs, including those based on EEG signals reflecting covert attention. Our study examined whether incorporating a measure of the P3 response improved the performance of a previously reported attention-based BCI design that incorporates measures of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) and alpha band modulations. Approach. Subjects viewed stimuli consisting of two bi-laterally located flashing white boxes on a black background. Streams of letters were presented sequentially within the boxes, in random order. Subjects were cued to attend to one of the boxes without moving their eyes, and they were tasked with counting the number of target-letters that appeared within. P3 components evoked by target appearance, SSVEPs evoked by the flashing boxes, and power in the alpha band are modulated by covert attention, and the modulations can be used to classify trials as left-attended or right-attended. Main Results. We showed that classification accuracy was improved by including a P3 feature along with the SSVEP and alpha features (the inclusion of a P3 feature lead to a 9% increase in accuracy compared to the use of SSVEP and Alpha features alone). We also showed that the design improves the robustness of BCI performance to individual subject differences. Significance. These results demonstrate that incorporating multiple neurophysiological indices of covert attention can improve performance in a gaze-independent BCI.

Control of a nursing bed based on a hybrid brain-computer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Nengneng Peng; Rui Zhang; Haihua Zeng; Fei Wang; Kai Li; Yuanqing Li; Xiaobin Zhuang

2016-08-01

In this paper, we propose an intelligent nursing bed system which is controlled by a hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI) involving steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) and P300. Specifically, the hybrid BCI includes an asynchronous brain switch based on SSVEP and P300, and a P300-based BCI. The brain switch is used to turn on/off the control system of the electric nursing bed through idle/control state detection, whereas the P300-based BCI is for operating the nursing bed. At the beginning, the user may focus on one group of flashing buttons in the graphic user interface (GUI) of the brain switch, which can simultaneously evoke SSVEP and P300, to switch on the control system. Here, the combination of SSVEP and P300 is used for improving the performance of the brain switch. Next, the user can control the nursing bed using the P300-based BCI. The GUI of the P300-based BCI includes 10 flashing buttons, which correspond to 10 functional operations, namely, left-side up, left-side down, back up, back down, bedpan open, bedpan close, legs up, legs down, right-side up, and right-side down. For instance, he/she can focus on the flashing button "back up" in the GUI of the P300-based BCI to activate the corresponding control such that the nursing bed is adjusted up. Eight healthy subjects participated in our experiment, and obtained an average accuracy of 93.75% and an average false positive rate (FPR) of 0.15 event/min. The effectiveness of our system was thus demonstrated.

Misrepresenting Religious Education's Past and Present in Looking Forward: Gearon Using Kuhn's Concepts of Paradigm, Paradigm Shift and Incommensurability

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Robert

2015-01-01

In looking to the future, some writers on religious education (RE) have attempted to evaluate current approaches to the subject. Some have characterised any significant change in approach as a "paradigm shift", a term derived from Thomas Kuhn's work in the philosophy of science. This article examines the uses of the terms…

Toward an Ecological Paradigm in Adventure Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Beringer, Almut

2004-01-01

Many forms of adventure therapy, in particular wilderness therapy, rely on challenges in the outdoors to achieve objectives of client change. While nature is drawn on as a medium for therapy and healing, some adventure therapists give nature little if any mention when it comes to explaining therapeutic success. The dominant paradigm in psychology…

Building Bridges across Knowledge Systems: Ubuntu and Participative Research Paradigms in Bantu Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Muwanga-Zake, J. W. F.

2009-01-01

This paper discusses how Ubuntu as a philosophy and a methodology was used among Bantu in South Africa together with participative Western paradigms in evaluating an educational computer game. The paper argues that research among Bantu has to articulate research experiences within Ubuntu paradigms if valid outcomes are to be realised. (Contains 1…

Qualitative Research in Counseling Psychology: A Primer on Research Paradigms and Philosophy of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Ponterotto, Joseph G.

2005-01-01

This article presents an overview of philosophy of science and research paradigms. The philosophy of science parameters of ontology, epistemology, axiology, rhetorical structure, and methodology are discussed across the research paradigms of positivism, postpositivism, constructivism-interpretivism, and the critical-ideological perspective.…

Psychiatry beyond the current paradigm.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Bracken, Pat

2012-12-01

A series of editorials in this Journal have argued that psychiatry is in the midst of a crisis. The various solutions proposed would all involve a strengthening of psychiatry\\'s identity as essentially \\'applied neuroscience\\'. Although not discounting the importance of the brain sciences and psychopharmacology, we argue that psychiatry needs to move beyond the dominance of the current, technological paradigm. This would be more in keeping with the evidence about how positive outcomes are achieved and could also serve to foster more meaningful collaboration with the growing service user movement.

Paradigms for parasite conservation.

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Dougherty, Eric R; Carlson, Colin J; Bueno, Veronica M; Burgio, Kevin R; Cizauskas, Carrie A; Clements, Christopher F; Seidel, Dana P; Harris, Nyeema C

2016-08-01

Parasitic species, which depend directly on host species for their survival, represent a major regulatory force in ecosystems and a significant component of Earth's biodiversity. Yet the negative impacts of parasites observed at the host level have motivated a conservation paradigm of eradication, moving us farther from attainment of taxonomically unbiased conservation goals. Despite a growing body of literature highlighting the importance of parasite-inclusive conservation, most parasite species remain understudied, underfunded, and underappreciated. We argue the protection of parasitic biodiversity requires a paradigm shift in the perception and valuation of their role as consumer species, similar to that of apex predators in the mid-20th century. Beyond recognizing parasites as vital trophic regulators, existing tools available to conservation practitioners should explicitly account for the unique threats facing dependent species. We built upon concepts from epidemiology and economics (e.g., host-density threshold and cost-benefit analysis) to devise novel metrics of margin of error and minimum investment for parasite conservation. We define margin of error as the risk of accidental host extinction from misestimating equilibrium population sizes and predicted oscillations, while minimum investment represents the cost associated with conserving the additional hosts required to maintain viable parasite populations. This framework will aid in the identification of readily conserved parasites that present minimal health risks. To establish parasite conservation, we propose an extension of population viability analysis for host-parasite assemblages to assess extinction risk. In the direst cases, ex situ breeding programs for parasites should be evaluated to maximize success without undermining host protection. Though parasitic species pose a considerable conservation challenge, adaptations to conservation tools will help protect parasite biodiversity in the face of

A new guiding paradigm for waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suter, Peter

2003-01-01

New situations call for a revision of strategies in the waste recycling and recovery sector. The guiding paradigm is that the evaluation and optimization of strategies ought to be integral, i.e. it ought to incorporate all steps from cradle to grave, all cost components and also to take into account all environmental aspects, as well as resource depletion. Furthermore, all variants of a comparison must have the same output and the same boundaries in space and time. Total cost (comprising also environmental damage and resource depletion) is proposed here as the evaluation function; environmental damage can be made operational by the DALY concept (Hofstetter P. Perspectives in life cycle impact assessment. Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1998) ('disability adjusted loss of life years') accounting for the years of life lost due to premature death, to illness or annoyance. The search for optimal strategies in the waste sector evidently requires the solution of a system with an enormous number of parameters; the method of genetic algorithms may represent a suitable solution paradigm, leading to the result in a reasonable computing time

The neurocognitive effects of Hypericum perforatum Special Extract (Ze 117) during smoking cessation.

Science.gov (United States)

Camfield, D A; Scholey, A B; Pipingas, A; Silberstein, R B; Kure, C; Zangara, A; Kras, M; Stough, C

2013-11-01

The efficacy and tolerability of current treatments for smoking cessation are relatively poor. More research is required to address the biological mechanisms underpinning nicotine withdrawal and drug treatments for smoking cessation. We assessed the neurocognitive effects of Remotiv® (Hypericum perforatum Special Extract - Ze 117), Nicabate CQ Nicotine Replacement therapy (NRT) and combined NRT/HP during conditions of smoking abstinence in 20 regular smokers aged between 18 and 60 years over a period of 10 weeks during smoking cessation. A Spatial Working Memory (SWM) task was completed at baseline, 4 weeks prior to quitting, as well as at the completion of the study, following the 10 weeks of treatment. Brain activity was recorded during the completion of the SWM task using Steady-State Probe Topography. Reaction time and accuracy on the SWM task were not found to be significantly different between treatment groups at retest. Differences in SSVEP treatment profiles at retest are discussed, including stronger SSVEP Amplitude increase in posterior-parietal regions for the HP and NRT groups and greater fronto-central SSVEP Phase Advance in the HP group. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Impaired temporal contrast sensitivity in dyslexics is specific to retain-and-compare paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Yehudah, G; Sackett, E; Malchi-Ginzberg, L; Ahissar, M

2001-07-01

Developmental dyslexia is a specific reading disability that affects 5-10% of the population. Recent studies have suggested that dyslexics may experience a deficit in the visual magnocellular pathway. The most extensively studied prediction deriving from this hypothesis is impaired contrast sensitivity to transient, low-luminance stimuli at low spatial frequencies. However, the findings are inconsistent across studies and even seemingly contradictory. In the present study, we administered several different paradigms for assessing temporal contrast sensitivity, and found both impaired and normal contrast sensitivity within the same group of dyslexic participants. Under sequential presentation, in a temporal forced choice paradigm, dyslexics showed impaired sensitivity to both drifting and flickering gratings. However, under simultaneous presentation, with a spatial forced choice paradigm, dyslexics' sensitivity did not differ from that of the controls. Within each paradigm, dyslexics' sensitivity was poorer at higher temporal frequencies, consistent with the magnocellular hypothesis. These results suggest that a basic perceptual impairment in dyslexics may be their limited ability to retain-and-compare perceptual traces across brief intervals.

Authentication of bee pollen grains in bright-field microscopy by combining one-class classification techniques and image processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chica, Manuel

2012-11-01

A novel method for authenticating pollen grains in bright-field microscopic images is presented in this work. The usage of this new method is clear in many application fields such as bee-keeping sector, where laboratory experts need to identify fraudulent bee pollen samples against local known pollen types. Our system is based on image processing and one-class classification to reject unknown pollen grain objects. The latter classification technique allows us to tackle the major difficulty of the problem, the existence of many possible fraudulent pollen types, and the impossibility of modeling all of them. Different one-class classification paradigms are compared to study the most suitable technique for solving the problem. In addition, feature selection algorithms are applied to reduce the complexity and increase the accuracy of the models. For each local pollen type, a one-class classifier is trained and aggregated into a multiclassifier model. This multiclassification scheme combines the output of all the one-class classifiers in a unique final response. The proposed method is validated by authenticating pollen grains belonging to different Spanish bee pollen types. The overall accuracy of the system on classifying fraudulent microscopic pollen grain objects is 92.3%. The system is able to rapidly reject pollen grains, which belong to nonlocal pollen types, reducing the laboratory work and effort. The number of possible applications of this authentication method in the microscopy research field is unlimited. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tourism development and the degrowth paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andriotis Konstantinos

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to look at alternatives to the classic models of development by exploring the paradigm of degrowth in a tourism context. Degrowth touted as an alternative to mainstream paradigms of development, aims to ensure a high quality of life for people in a society where work, production and consumption are reduced. As a weapon to the problems accrued by capitalism, degrowth reorients the current unsustainable and inequitable path through the transition to a smaller economy with less production and consumption. By arguing that natural limits to growth of many destinations have already been surpassed and their carrying capacity levels have been reached, degrowth proposes the abandonment of growth which promotes nothing other than a quest for profits on part of the owners of capital and results in disastrous implications for the environment and the humanity. As a philosophical concept and movement, degrowth is revolutionary and anticapitalist directed to sustainable change which results from an interest in locality and place, small and medium-sized enterprises, employment generation and reduction in working hours, ecology and quality of life, decommodification of tourism activity, carbon reduction in transport, changed pattern of production and consumption, and high priority in the travel experience.

Identity-based marketing : A new balanced marketing paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alsem, K.J.; Kostelijk, E.J.

2008-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose a fundamentally new extension of the marketing paradigm. This is theoretically and practically necessary since in the authors' view there is an insufficient balance between customer and brand thinking. Design/methodology/approach - While the

Towards a Unified Programming Language

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Ole Lehrmann

2000-01-01

style and where more research is needed. In addition to traditional paradigms such as object-oriented-, imperative-functional- and logic programming, we also discuss concurrent programming and prototype-based programming. We discuss language features such as the BETA pattern construct, virtual......The goal of research in programming languages should be to develop languages that integrates the best of concepts and constructs from the various programming paradigms. We do not argue for a multi-paradigm language, where the programmer alternates between the different paradigms/styles. Instead, we...... procedures and classes, higher order classes, methods and functions, part objects, block-structure, and class-less objects....

A historical review of the concept of labor support in technocratic, humanistic and holistic paradigms of childbirth.

Science.gov (United States)

Najafi, Tahereh Fathi; Roudsari, Robab Latifnejad; Ebrahimipour, Hossein

2017-10-01

In the past century, maternal support during childbirth has been changed according to the different approaches suggested by various health care paradigms. The aim of this review was to argue the maternity supportive care paradigms of the past century and to closely analyze each paradigm. This is a historical review, in which published articles were retrieved from databases including Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed and Google Scholar. Sage Journals and Springer's publications were also searched due to the high citation rate of their articles. The keywords entered were "Labor support", "Normal delivery", "Birth attendance", "Supportive approaches", "Health care paradigms", and "Midwifery models of care". They were entered alone or in combinations using "AND". Also, Persian articles were searched in local databases including Irandoc, SID, IranMedex, and Magiran using the above-mentioned keywords in Persian. Sixty articles met inclusion criteria. The review revealed four main themes including the definitions of continuous labor support, the technocratic paradigm, the humanistic paradigm and the naturalistic paradigm as models of labor support. According to the evidence, labor support has changed from technocratic to humanistic and holistic approaches, which in turn, caused some changes in midwifery models of care used by midwives in the practice. Labor support based on the holistic approaches and the naturalistic paradigms could bring about remarkable outcomes, the most important being satisfied with the birth experience, increased mother's self-confidence, enhanced mother's ability in childbirth and better completion of the childbirth process.

The Role of Paradigm Analysis in the Development of Policies for a Resource Efficient Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin Vanner

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Policy makers are often called upon to navigate between scientists’ urgent calls for long-term concerted action to reduce the environmental impacts due to resource use, and the public’s concerns over policies that threaten lifestyles or jobs. Against these political challenges, resource efficiency policy making is often a changeable and even chaotic process, which has fallen short of the political ambitions set by democratically elected governments. This article examines the importance of paradigms in understanding how the public collectively responds to new policy proposals, such as those developed within the project DYNAmic policy MiXes for absolute decoupling of environmental impact of EU resource use from economic growth (DYNAMIX. The resulting proposed approach provides a framework to understand how different concerns and worldviews converge within public discourse, potentially resulting in paradigm change. Thus an alternative perspective on how resource efficiency policy can be development is proposed, which envisages early policies to lay the ground for future far-reaching policies, by altering the underlying paradigm context in which the public receive and respond to policy. The article concludes by arguing that paradigm change is more likely if the policy is conceived, framed, designed, analyzed, presented, and evaluated from the worldview or paradigm pathway that it seeks to create (i.e., the destination paradigm.

Measuring the Interrelations among Multiple Paradigms of Visual Attention: An Individual Differences Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Liqiang; Mo, Lei; Li, Ying

2012-01-01

A large part of the empirical research in the field of visual attention has focused on various concrete paradigms. However, as yet, there has been no clear demonstration of whether or not these paradigms are indeed measuring the same underlying construct. We collected a very large data set (nearly 1.3 million trials) to address this question. We…

Paradigms or Toolkits? Philosophical and Methodological Positions as Heuristics for Mixed Methods Research

Science.gov (United States)

Maxwell, Joseph A.

2011-01-01

In this article, the author challenges the validity and usefulness of the concept of "paradigm," as this term has been used in the social sciences generally, and specifically in the debates over research methods. He emphasizes that in criticizing what he sees as the misuse of the paradigm concept, he is not arguing for dismissing or ignoring…

The Use of Narrative Paradigm Theory in Assessing Audience Value Conflict in Image Advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Stutts, Nancy B.; Barker, Randolph T.

1999-01-01

Presents an analysis of image advertisement developed from Narrative Paradigm Theory. Suggests that the nature of postmodern culture makes image advertising an appropriate external communication strategy for generating stake holder loyalty. Suggests that Narrative Paradigm Theory can identify potential sources of audience conflict by illuminating…

How social interactions affect emotional memory accuracy: Evidence from collaborative retrieval and social contagion paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kensinger, Elizabeth A; Choi, Hae-Yoon; Murray, Brendan D; Rajaram, Suparna

2016-07-01

In daily life, emotional events are often discussed with others. The influence of these social interactions on the veracity of emotional memories has rarely been investigated. The authors (Choi, Kensinger, & Rajaram Memory and Cognition, 41, 403-415, 2013) previously demonstrated that when the categorical relatedness of information is controlled, emotional items are more accurately remembered than neutral items. The present study examined whether emotion would continue to improve the accuracy of memory when individuals discussed the emotional and neutral events with others. Two different paradigms involving social influences were used to investigate this question and compare evidence. In both paradigms, participants studied stimuli that were grouped into conceptual categories of positive (e.g., celebration), negative (e.g., funeral), or neutral (e.g., astronomy) valence. After a 48-hour delay, recognition memory was tested for studied items and categorically related lures. In the first paradigm, recognition accuracy was compared when memory was tested individually or in a collaborative triad. In the second paradigm, recognition accuracy was compared when a prior retrieval session had occurred individually or with a confederate who supplied categorically related lures. In both of these paradigms, emotional stimuli were remembered more accurately than were neutral stimuli, and this pattern was preserved when social interaction occurred. In fact, in the first paradigm, there was a trend for collaboration to increase the beneficial effect of emotion on memory accuracy, and in the second paradigm, emotional lures were significantly less susceptible to the "social contagion" effect. Together, these results demonstrate that emotional memories can be more accurate than nonemotional ones even when events are discussed with others (Experiment 1) and even when that discussion introduces misinformation (Experiment 2).

A postfoundationalist research paradigm of practical theology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung Kyu Park

2010-10-01

This article examines and argues for postfoundationalism – transversal reason, interdisciplinarity and interpreted experience – as a viable theological option against rigid foundationalism and relativistic nonfoundationalism. Also discussed are the process and the interdisciplinary nature of practical theology. It is suggested that narrative research and social constructionism should be part of the research paradigm of postfoundational practical theology.