Memory and age differences in spatial manipulation ability.

Young and old adults were asked, in 3 experiments, to make decisions about the identity of line segment patterns after either adding or subtracting line segments from the original pattern. On some of the trials, the line segments from the initial display were presented again in the second display to minimize the necessity of remembering early information during the processing of later information. Although this manipulation presumably reduced the importance of memory in the tasks, it had little effect on the magnitude of the age differences in any of the experiments. Because the 2 groups were equivalent in accuracy of simple recognition judgments, but older adults were less accurate when the same types of decisions were required in the context of an ongoing task, the results suggested that older adults may be impaired in the ability to retain information while simultaneously processing the same or other information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decision-theoretic planning with generalized first-order decision diagrams

Many tasks in AI require representation and manipulation of complex functions. First-Order Decision Diagrams (FODD) are a compact knowledge representation expressing functions over relational structures. They represent numerical functions that, when constrained to the Boolean range, use only existential quantification. Previous work has developed a set of operations for composition and for removing redundancies in FODDs, thus keeping them compact, and showed how to successfully employ FODDs for solving large-scale stochastic planning problems through the formalism of relational Markov decision processes (RMDP). In this paper, we introduce several new ideas enhancing the applicability of FODDs. More specifically, we first introduce Generalized FODDs (GFODD) and composition operations for them, generalizing FODDs to arbitrary quantification. Second, we develop a novel approach for reducing (G)FODDs using model checking. This yields – for the first time – a reduction that maximally reduces the diagram for the FODD case and provides a sound reduction procedure for GFODDs. Finally we show how GFODDs can be used in principle to solve RMDPs with arbitrary quantification, and develop a complete solution for the case where the reward function is specified using an arbitrary number of existential quantifiers followed by an arbitrary number of universal quantifiers.     

RESTORING SALMON HABITAT FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE

An important question for salmon restoration efforts in the western USA is ‘How should habitat restoration plans be altered to accommodate climate change effects on stream flow and temperature?’ We developed a decision support process for adapting salmon recovery plans that incorporates (1) local habitat factors limiting salmon recovery, (2) scenarios of climate change effects on stream flow and temperature, (3) the ability of restoration actions to ameliorate climate change effects, and (4) the ability of restoration actions to increase habitat diversity and salmon population resilience. To facilitate the use of this decision support framework, we mapped scenarios of future stream flow and temperature in the Pacific Northwest region and reviewed literature on habitat restoration actions to determine whether they ameliorate a climate change effect or increase life history diversity and salmon resilience. Under the climate change scenarios considered here, summer low flows decrease by 35–75% west of the Cascade Mountains, maximum monthly flows increase by 10–60% across most of the region, and stream temperatures increase between 2 and 6°C by 2070–2099. On the basis of our literature review, we found that restoring floodplain connectivity, restoring stream flow regimes, and re‐aggrading incised channels are most likely to ameliorate stream flow and temperature changes and increase habitat diversity and population resilience. By contrast, most restoration actions focused on in‐stream rehabilitation are unlikely to ameliorate climate change effects. Finally, we illustrate how the decision support process can be used to evaluate whether climate change should alter the types or priority of restoration actions in a salmon habitat restoration plan. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of temperature and reaction time prediction of the torrefaction process: case of hard-wood biomass

Direct utilisation of biomass for energy application is less profound due to the problems of low calorific value, high water content, and low grindability of biomass. For this reason, pre-heating treatment, sometimes called torrefaction, is necessary to improve the physical properties of biomass similar to ‘coal-like’ material. Unfortunately, only few comprehensive but simple theoretical models focused on hard-wood biomass were available to describe the torrefaction process. In this discussion, a simple proposed torrefaction model was developed and reported. The model has ability to estimate the yield of product mass and energy after the torrefaction process and determine the optimum conditions.     

The effect of polyethylene crystallinity and polarity on thermal stability and controlled release of essential oils in antimicrobial films

Antimicrobial packaging can preserve and increase shelf life of free preservatives food products. Active materials present in the packaging material can migrate, in a controlled manner, to the food surface, avoiding bacterial and fungal proliferation and keeping the food product edible for longer periods of time. Essential oils (EO) are natural antimicrobial agents that can be released to the headspace with no direct contact between the package and the food. To minimize loses of EO during high heat melt processing, a three stages process was implemented and tested. Antimicrobial films were prepared by melt mixing a variety of polyethylene copolymers in the presence of organo‐modified montmorillonite nano clay (NC) and thymol, an EO present in oregano and thyme. A controlled EO desorption from films can be achieved by changing the polymer crystallinity and polarity. As the crystallinity increased, the thermal stability of the EO during the extrusion process improved. The addition of NC affects the structure and homogeneity of the crystals. The combination of high polymer crystallinity and chemical affinity between EO and NC increased the thermal stability of the EO during film processing, enabling to control the desorption rate. The effect of multilayer structure based on varied densities and polarities was also studied. Increasing the polarity of the outer layers in multilayered film reduced the EO desorption rate as a result of chemical interactions between the polymer and the EO. The final antimicrobial activity of the films was also found to be dependent on the EO partitioning. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40309.     

Creativity and domain specificity: The effect of task type on multiple indexes of creative problem-solving.

This study addresses the issue of domain specificity within creativity by understanding the characteristics of creative tasks and how participants react to the task. Participants (N = 187) were given 1 of 3 realistic everyday problems to solve. The problems differed in terms of complexity, involvement, and problem-based efficacy. Problem solutions were evaluated on several measures of creativity. Results indicate that creativity was influenced by the type of problem solved and the measure of creativity used to evaluate the solution. Furthermore, these results were obtained after controlling for the effect of ability. Results imply that not all real-world problems are equivalent and that researchers need to investigate how reactions to different problems and the creativity index used may influence conclusions regarding creative problem solving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Creative leadership: Skills that drive change.

Reviews the book, Creative leadership: Skills that drive change by Gerard J. Puccio, Mary C. Murdock, and Marie Mance (2007). The introduction and opening chapter provide the overarching theme of the book, which is to connect the constructs of creativity and leadership and to make a case why the two go hand-in-hand. Both constructs involve dealing with change. The main focus of the book is the creative problem solving (CPS) approach to generating optimal problem solutions. Much of the book is spent illustrating the benefits of applying divergent and convergent thinking skills to each of the six process steps in the CPS model. The book is an easy, enjoyable read with plenty of empirical support for many of the propositions and tenets put forth. Puccio, Murdock, and Mance do a good job of pointing out that creative leadership is not just for the chosen few, but rather can be practiced by anyone. Plenty of practical advice is offered with numerous real-world examples. The book is a good choice even for individuals without any formal education in creativity or leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem identification and construction: What do we know, what is the future?

Many cognitive process theories of creativity include an initial process of problem identification, definition, and construction. Previous research suggests that problem identification and construction is related to creativity, and that creative individuals and experts tend to engage in problem identification and construction. Finally, previous research suggests that inducing active engagement in problem identification and construction, through instructions or training, facilitates creativity. The authors offer views regarding important future direction for researchers in this area. Specifically, issues regarding methodology, the relationship between personality and values and how problems are constructed, and problem identification and construction in teams are suggested as important avenues for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)