On the history of Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s “General Systemology”, and on its relationship to cybernetics – part III: convergences and divergences

Bertalanffy’s so-called “general system theory” (GST) and cybernetics were and are often confused: this calls for clarification. In this article, Bertalanffy’s conceptions and ideas are compared with those developed in cybernetics in order to investigate the differences and convergences. Bertalanffy was concerned with first order cybernetics. Nonetheless, his perspectivist epistemology is also relevant with regard to developments in second order cybernetics, and the latter is therefore also considered to some extent. W. Ross Ashby’s important role as mediator between GST and cybernetics is analysed. The respective basic epistemological approaches, scientific approaches and inherent world views are discussed. We underline the complementarity of cybernetic and “organismic” trends in systems research within the unitary hermeneutical framework of “general systemology”.     

Exploring the relationship of a file’s history and its fault-proneness: An empirical method and its application to open source programs

ContextThe knowledge about particular characteristics of software that are indicators for defects is very valuable for testers because it helps them to focus the testing effort and to allocate their limited resources appropriately.ObjectiveIn this paper, we explore the relationship between several historical characteristics of files and their defect count.MethodFor this purpose, we propose an empirical approach that uses statistical procedures and visual representations of the data in order to determine indicators for a file’s defect count. We apply this approach to nine open source Java projects across different versions.ResultsOnly 4 of 9 programs show moderate correlations between a file’s defects in previous and in current releases in more than half of the analysed releases. In contrast to our expectations, the oldest files represent the most fault-prone files. Additionally, late changes correlate with a file’s defect count only partly. The number of changes, the number of distinct authors performing changes to a file as well as the file’s age are good indicators for a file’s defect count in all projects.ConclusionOur results show that a software’s history is a good indicator for ist quality. We did not find one indicator that persists across all projects in an equal manner. Nevertheless, there are several indicators that show significant strong correlations in nearly all projects: DA (number of distinct authors) and FC (frequency of change). In practice, for each software, statistical analyses have to be performed in order to evaluate the best indicator(s) for a file’s defect count.     

Understanding online customers’ ties to merchants: the moderating influence of trust on the relationship between switching costs and e-loyalty

Fostering customer loyalty is a key objective for online businesses. Initial transactions with new customers are less profitable than transactions with existing customers, making loyalty an important strategy. Drawing on research examining online customer loyalty (termed e-loyalty), switching costs, and trust, this study provides an empirical test of the relative influence of trust vs switching costs on e-loyalty for e-service providers. We further examine whether trust moderates the relationship between switching costs and e-loyalty. We propose that in the presence of high customer trust, e-service providers should have less need to rely on switching costs as a driver of e-loyalty. We test the hypothesized relationships using data collected from 299 repeat users of online travel services. Our results confirm that trust is a more important predictor of e-loyalty than switching costs. In addition, we find that the impact of switching costs on e-loyalty depends on the level of trust felt by customers. This study extends our understanding of customer loyalty, switching costs, and trust in e-commerce environments and provides practical, theory-driven guidelines to e-businesses seeking to develop customer loyalty programmes.     

Distilling the salient features of natural systems: Commentary on “On the mapping of genotype to phenotype in evolutionary algorithms” by Whigham,Dick and Maclaurin

Here we comment on the article, “On the mapping of genotype to phenotype in evolutionary algorithms”, by Peter A. Whigham, Grant Dick, and James Maclaurin. The authors present a critical view on the use of genotype to phenotype mapping in Evolutionary Algorithms, and how the use of this analogy can be detrimental for problem solving. They examine a grammar-based approach to Genetic Programming (GP), Grammatical Evolution (GE), and highlight properties of GE which are detrimental to effective evolutionary search. Rather than use loose analogies and methaphors, we suggest that a focus should be (and has been in GE and other approaches to GP) on addressing one of the most significant open issues in our field, i.e., What are the sufficient set of features in natural, genetic, evolutionary and developmental systems, which can translate into the most effective computational approaches for program synthesis?     

“I don’t want to miss a thing”: Adolescents’ fear of missing out and its relationship to adolescents’ social needs,Facebook use,and Facebook related stress

This survey study among adolescents (N = 402) investigates an integrative model that examines (1) the mediating role of adolescents’ fear of missing out (FoMO) in the relationships of adolescents’ need to belong and need for popularity with adolescents’ Facebook use and (2) the relationships of adolescents’ FoMO with adolescents’ perceived stress related to the use of Facebook. Structural equation modeling results indicated that an increased need to belong and an increased need for popularity were associated with an increased use of Facebook. These relationships were mediated by FoMO. Increased FoMO was associated with increased stress related to Facebook use. These results emphasize the important role that FoMO plays in adolescents’ media use and well-being.     

A rebuttal to Whigham,Dick, and Maclaurin by one of the inventors of Grammatical Evolution: Commentary on “On the Mapping of Genotype to Phenotype in Evolutionary Algorithms” by Peter A. Whigham,Grant Dick,and James Maclaurin

The authors present a thinly veiled attack on the popular Grammatical Evolution (GE) system, the second in the space of year. The paper presents itself as a philosophical discussion on a framework they present, based on a handful of Sterelny’s guidelines. However, it quickly degenerates into an assault on GE, initially by attributing assumptions to the inventors, and latterly by the use of misleading claims. This rebuttal addresses both of these.     

Probing the axioms of evolutionary algorithm design: Commentary on “On the mapping of genotype to phenotype in evolutionary algorithms” by Peter A. Whigham,Grant Dick,and James Maclaurin

Properties such as continuity, locality, and modularity may seem necessary when designing representations and variation operators for evolutionary algorithms, but a closer look at what happens when evolutionary algorithms perform well reveals counterexamples to such schemes. Moreover, these variational properties can themselves evolve in sufficiently complex open-ended systems. These properties of evolutionary algorithms remain very much open questions.     

Situating the “music of” households and firemen in semi-open spaces: contribution to the analysis of collective activity’s spatio-temporal dynamics

Cognition, Technology & Work - Examining different team dynamics and understanding collective activities in home environments are two important challenges for ergonomics and its related fields....     

“Come on momma,let’s see the drummer”: movement-based interaction and the performance of personal style

Interaction forms are beginning to make more use of the way we move our bodies in the physical and social world. This paper aims to contribute to a new generation of personal computing by showing how the medium of everyday clothing and dress can bring valuable perspectives to the study of human embodiment and movement. The author refers to ideas from fashion theory and clothing design that can contribute to a richer understanding of the many influences that convene emotions of style and identity. In order to indicate the potential of personal style as a social medium with relevance to human computer interaction (HCI), some existing artefacts that entail interaction through movement are referenced, along with research outcomes from biomechanics, dance and performance. In conclusion design strategies are constructed for new movement-based interaction concepts that can have relevance to the changing meanings of identity in twenty-first century mass society.

On the controllability of the parameterized state matrix in “a continuation approach to eigenvalue assignment” by Harris,DeCarlo and Richter

This paper will investigate the controllability properties for systems parameterized as in Harns et al. (1983, Automatica, 19, 551–555). It will be shown that for systems of low dimensions this parameterization must be done carefully to guarantee that the system is controllable over the parameterization. The controllability property is key to the algorithms developed in Lefebvre et al. (1985, Int. J. Control, 41, 1273–1292), Richter and DeCarlo (1984, IEEE Trans. Aut. Control, AC-29), Harris et al. (1983, Automatica, 19, 551–555), Richter et al. (1981, Proc. 1981 Joint Aut. Control Conf.), Harris and DeCarlo (1982, Purdue School of EE, TR-EE 82-11) and Sebok and DeCarlo (1984, Proc. Allerton Conf. Communication, Control and Computing).     

Examining the antecedents of user gratification and its effects on individuals’ social network services usage: the moderating role of habit

User loyalty or continued use is critical to the survival and development of any website. Focusing on the social network services (SNSs) context, this study proposes a research model for investigating individuals’ use motivations and the moderating role of habit with regard to gratification and continuance intention. This research integrates two influential media communication theories, media system dependency (MSD) and uses and gratifications, to examine SNSs-related behaviors. To comprehend online users’ motivations in depth, three motivations derived from MSD (understanding, orientation and play dependency relations) are operationalized as reflective, second-order constructs. The three motivations are theorized to affect parasocial interaction positively, and parasocial interaction is hypothesized to positively affect the gratification that individuals derive from SNSs usage. Furthermore, this study hypothesizes that gratification positively affects individuals’ continuance intention. Finally, we theorize that habit moderates the impact of gratification on continuance intention. Data collected from 657 Facebook users provide strong support for all six hypotheses. The results indicate that individuals’ motivations (i.e., the understanding, orientation and play dependency relations) positively affect parasocial interaction, which in turn has a positive effect on gratification, and subsequently continuance intention. In addition, the results show that habit has a small but negative moderating effect on the relationship between gratification and continuance intention. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.     

Correction to: Probabilistic elderly person’s mood analysis based on its activities of daily living using smart facilities

Pattern Analysis and Applications -     

An old game,new experience: exploring the effect of players’ personal gameplay history on game experience

This experimental study explores how game experience differs between players with different gameplay histories within the same game universe. We are interested in how prolonged engagement with a game series affects the gameplay experience in relation to the most recent game version in the series. A total of 54 participants were divided into four groups depending on their gaming experience, namely non-gamers, new-gamers, old-gamers and core-gamers. They played the mobile version of Super Mario Run, and questionnaire data was collected after the gameplay session. The results of the study showed that not only the players’ personal gameplay history but also the length of experience or degree of familiarity with the game universe affected the experience of playing a new game in the same game universe. Additionally, familiarity with the game universe had a positive impact on the feeling of competence, immersion, emotions and flow.

     

The root and Bell’s disk iteration methods are of the same error propagation characteristics in the simultaneous determination of the zeros of a polynomial,Part II: Round-off error analysis by use of interval arithmetic

In Part I (Ikhile, 2008) [4], it was established that the root and Bell’s disk/point iteration methods with or without correction term are of the same asymptotic error propagation characteristics in the simultaneous determination of the zeros of a polynomial. This concluding part of the investigation is a study in round-offs, its propagation and its effects on convergence employing interval arithmetic means. The purpose is to consequently draw attention on the effects of round-off errors introduced from the point arithmetic part, on the rate of convergence of the generalized root and Bell’s simultaneous interval iteration algorithms and its enhanced modifications introduced in Part I for the numerical inclusion of all the zeros of a polynomial simultaneously. The motivation for studying the effects of round-off error propagation comes from the fact that the readily available computing devices at the moment are limited in precision, more so that accuracy expected from some programming or computing environments or from these numerical methods are or can be machine dependent. In fact, a part of the finding is that round-off propagation effects beyond a certain controllable order induces overwhelmingly delayed or even a severely retarded convergence speed which manifest glaringly as poor accuracy of these interval iteration methods in the computation of the zeros of a polynomial simultaneously. However, in this present consideration and even in the presence of overwhelming influence of round-offs, we give conditions under which convergence is still possible and derive the error/round-off relations along with the order/$R$-order of convergence of these methods with the results extended to similar interval iteration methods for computing the zeros of a polynomial simultaneously, especially to Bell’s interval methods for refinement of zeros that form a cluster. Our findings are instructive and quite revealing and supported by evidence from numerical experiments. The analysis is preferred in circular interval arithmetic.     

The European Union’s contributions to international stability: the role of education and study mobilities

The efforts of the European Union for stabilisation and democratisation in Eastern Europe and the Balkan region covered a range of areas. While the impact of such measures and incentives testify for the progress on the path of regional reconciliation and democratisation, this record remains largely a top-down account, with governments and political leaders acting as principal agents of change and drivers of stability. The long-term efficiency of this type of approach cannot be guaranteed without genuine transformations at all society levels and layers. The role of the European Union’s educational exchange schemes, particularly Erasmus, may prove to be an instilling factor for regional reconciliation and a stability generator. The Erasmus scheme has been extremely successful and key to breaking cultural barriers and working across borders and disciplines. This study seeks to understand student experiences of two postgraduate programmes which deal with issues associated with international stability. The study used a case study research methodology and selected the case studies of the “MITRA” Erasmus Mundus Masters programme on Intercultural Mediation: Identities Mobilities and Conflict and the EM2-STEM (Entrepreneurship and Management Training in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Erasmus Mundus programme. The study specifically investigates the experiences of students in these programmes and their experiences of intercultural interactions. From here an analysis is conducted to explore if European Union-funded study mobilities have shaped or transformed participating students’ views of international stability.     

On the neurocomputer model of the “living state” of matter and its “biological field” (in the light of G. Ling and E. Bauer’s works)

In this paper, an attempt is made on the basis of the works of G. Ling (USA) and E. Bauer (USSR) to describe and analyze from a unified theoretical and experimental position the neurocomputer model of the “living state” of matter, the physical nature and the mechanisms of physiological resting-state and activity. These are considered as a precondition of understanding anticipatory phenomena in biosystems.     

Taking “biology” just seriously enough: Commentary on “On the Mapping of Genotype to Phenotype in Evolutionary Algorithms” by Peter A. Whigham,Grant Dick,and James Maclaurin

“On the Mapping of Genotype to Phenotype in Evolutionary Algorithms,” by Peter A. Whigham, Grant Dick, and James Maclaurin, is a welcome reminder that evolutionary computation practitioners should be wary of taking their biological analogies too seriously. But more importantly, it is a reminder to practitioners to consider carefully their representations and operators, rather than blindly implementing a biological analogy without sufficient attention to the constraints of software engineering. “It works in biology, so it should work in EC” is poor, even lazy, software design. The primary contribution of this paper is exactly what a commentary should be: to (re)ignite discussions about how biological inspiration should inform EC practice.     

Online auction: the effects of transaction probability and listing price on a seller’s decision-making behavior

This study seeks to the answer the question of how an individual would trade off between listing fee (i.e., cost of listing an auction item) and transaction probability (i.e., the chance that a product will be sold). Applying the trade-off decision-making paradigm into the auction context, we examine a seller’s choice of online auction outlet and subsequent starting price strategies when facing the trade-off between transaction probability and listing fee. Results from a set of laboratory experiments suggest that a seller would be willing to incur a high cost in exchange for a higher transaction prospect. Furthermore, if the expected transaction probability is high, a seller is more likely to set a high starting price despite incurring a high listing fee. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.