Interruptibility as a constraint on hybrid systems

It is widely mooted that a plausible computational cognitive model should involve both symbolic and connectionist components. However, sound principles for combining these components within a hybrid system are currently lacking; the design of such systems is oftenad hoc. In an attempt to ameliorate this we provide a framework of types of hybrid systems and constraints therein, within which to explore the issues. In particular, we suggest the use of system independent constraints, whose source lies in general considerations about cognitive systems, rather than in particular technological or task-based considerations. We illustrate this through a detailed examination of an interruptibility constraint: handling interruptions is a fundamental facet of cognition in a dynamic world. Aspects of interruptions are delineated, as are their precise expression in symbolic and connectionist systems. We illustrate the interaction of the various constraints from interruptibility in the different types of hybrid systems. The picture that emerges of the relationship between the connectionist and the symbolic within a hybrid system provides for sufficient flexibility and complexity to suggest interesting general implications for cognition, thus vindicating the utility of the framework.     

Use of Graduate Study in Psychology as a data source.

Comments on an article by C. M. Stoup and L. T. Benjamin, Jr. (see record 1983-24200-001), in which they used various editions of Graduate Study in Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA), to report the GPAs and Graduate Record Examination scores of master's and doctoral students across various areas of psychology. It is cautioned that the use of Graduate Study in Psychology as a data source calls for skepticism, as there is sufficient reason to question some of the data that are submitted to the APA by psychology departments. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bayesian recognition of local 3-d shape by approximating image intensity functions with quadric polynomials

The recognition in image data of viewed patches of spheres, cylinders, and planes in the 3-D world is discussed as a first step to complex object recognition or complex object location and orientation estimation. Accordingly, an image is partitioned into small square windows, each of which is a view of a piece of a sphere, or of a cylinder, or of a plane. Windows are processed in parallel for recognition of content. New concepts and techniques include approximations of the image within a window by 2-D quadric polynomials where each approximation is constrained by one of the hypotheses that the 3-D surface shape seen is either planar, cylindrical, or spherical; a recognizer based upon these approximations to determine whether the object patch viewed is a piece of a sphere, or a piece of a cylinder, or a piece of a plane; lowpass filtering of the image by the approximation. The shape recognition is computationally simple, and for large windows is approximately Bayesian minimum-probability-of-error recognition. These classifications are useful for many purposes. One such purpose is to enable a following processor to use an appropriate estimator to estimate shape, and orientation and location parameters for the 3-D surface seen within a window.     

Aromatic Hydrogenation Catalysis: A Review

High aromatic content in diesel fuel has been recognized both to lower the fuel quality and to contribute significantly to the formation of undesired emissions in exhaust gases [1, 2]. Because of the health hazards associated with these emissions, environmental regulations governing the composition of diesel fuels are being tightened in both Europe and the United States, leading to limitations on aromatics [3, 4].     

Complexity and computability of solutions to linear programming systems

Through key examples and constructs, exact and approximate, complexity, computability, and solution of linear programming systems are reexamined in the light of Khachian's new notion of (approximate) solution. Algorithms, basic theorems, and alternate representations are reviewed. It is shown that the Klee-Minty example hasnever been exponential for (exact) adjacent extreme point algorithms and that the Balinski-Gomory (exact) algorithm continues to be polynomial in cases where (approximate) ellipsoidal centered-cutoff algorithms (Levin, Shor, Khachian, Gacs-Lovasz) are exponential. By model approximation, both the Klee-Minty and the new J. Clausen examples are shown to be trivial (explicitly solvable) interval programming problems. A new notion of computable (approximate) solution is proposed together with ana priori regularization for linear programming systems. New polyhedral constraint contraction algorithms are proposed for approximate solution and the relevance of interval programming for good starts or exact solution is brought forth. It is concluded from all this that the imposed problem ignorance of past complexity research is deleterious to research progress on computability or efficiency of computation.This research was partly supported by Project NR047-071, ONR Contract N00014-80-C-0242, and Project NR047-021, ONR Contract N00014-75-C-0569, with the Center for Cybernetic Studies, The University of Texas at Austin.     

The effect of synchronization on the interpretation of flashing lamp displays

The question of whether all the lamps on a display indicating the same state should flash in phase with each other or independently is of interest to display designers. A randomized groups experiment was carried out to answer this question. It was found that a synchronized display was interpreted more quickly and with fewer errors than a display with independently flashing lamps.     

Subjective time experience in an intergenerational sample

The roles chronological age and gender play in subjective time experience were explored in a sample of 294 adult men and women. Subjective time experience (STE: the difference between subjective age and chronological age) was found to vary widely among individuals, with some being "accurate" (SA = CA), and others either "retarded" (SA less than CA) or "advanced" (SA greater than CA). Males were more retarded in STE than females at every point in the lifespan, and patterns of age differences in adulthood differed for the two sexes as well. The results suggest that chronological age may play a key role in transitions in STE, and that chronological age is more significant in the STE of women than in the STE of men.     

The effect of feedback on keying performance

The introduction of new telephone signalling systems and new technologies for telephone keypads has stimulated interest in the effect of providing electronic feedback on keying performance. An experiment using a conventional keypad is reported which shows that electronic auditory feedback had no significant effect on keying speed, accuracy or subject's opinion. A further series of experiments investigating the best type of feedback to improve performance with ‘touch’ keypads is then described. It was found that an electronic tone presented through the telephone earpiece was the best feedback.

Finally, performance with two types of touch keyphones incorporating the optimum form of feedback was compared with performance using a conventional keyphone. It was found that accuracy was significantly greater with the conventional keyphone, although performance with the touch keypads could be improved by electronically removing some of the very short spurious signalling times produced by them.