The human sentence processor is able to make rapid predictions about upcoming linguistic input. For example, upon hearing the verb eat, anticipatory eye-movements are launched toward edible objects in a visual scene. However, the cognitive mechanisms that underlie anticipation remain to be elucidated in ecologically valid contexts. Previous research has, in fact, mainly used clip-art scenes and object arrays, raising the possibility that anticipatory eye-movements are limited to displays containing a small number of objects in a visually impoverished context. In (...) Experiment 1, we confirm that anticipation effects occur in real-world scenes and investigate the mechanisms that underlie such anticipation. In particular, we demonstrate that real-world scenes provide contextual information that anticipation can draw on: When the target object is not present in the scene, participants infer and fixate regions that are contextually appropriate. Experiment 2 investigates whether such contextual inference requires the co-presence of the scene, or whether memory representations can be utilized instead. The same real-world scenes as in Experiment 1 are presented to participants, but the scene disappears before the sentence is heard. We find that anticipation occurs even when the screen is blank, including when contextual inference is required. We conclude that anticipatory language processing is able to draw upon global scene representations to make contextual inferences. These findings are compatible with theories assuming contextual guidance, but posit a challenge for theories assuming object-based visual indices. (shrink)

The word processor is a stupid and grossly inefficient tool for preparing text for communication with others. That is the claim I shall defend below. It will probably strike you as bizarre at first sight. If I am against word processors, what do I propose: that we write in longhand, or use a mechanical typewriter? No. While there are things to be said in favor of these modes of text preparation I take it for granted that most readers of (...) this essay will do most of their writing using a computer, as I do. My claim is that there are much better ways of preparing text, using a computer, than the word processor. (shrink)

The goal of this paper is to survey, in a uniform and systematic way, the main results regarding networks of evolutionary processors reported so far. First, we recall the results concerning the computational power of these networks viewed as language generating devices. Then, we briefly present a few NP-complete problems and recall how they were solved in linear time by networks of evolutionary processors with linearly bounded resources (nodes, ruIes, symbols).

We define an easily verifiable notion of an atomic formula having uniformly bounded arrays in a structure M. We prove that if T is a complete L-theory, then T is mutually algebraic if and only if there is some model M of T for which every atomic formula has uniformly bounded arrays. Moreover, an incomplete theory T is mutually algebraic if and only if every atomic formula has uniformly bounded arrays in every model M of T.

A commentary on: Seeing changes: How familiarity alters our perception of change by Tovey, M., and Herdman, C. (2014). Vis. Cogn. 22, 214–238 .

We focus on a particular class of computably enumerable degrees, the array noncomputable degrees defined by Downey, Jockusch, and Stob, to answer questions related to lattice embeddings and definability in the partial ordering of c. e. degrees under Turing reducibility. We demonstrate that the latticeM5 cannot be embedded into the c. e. degrees below every array noncomputable degree, or even below every nonlow array noncomputable degree. As Downey and Shore have proved that M5 can be embedded below (...) every nonlow2 degree, our result is the best possible in terms of array noncomputable degrees and jump classes. Further, this result shows that the array noncomputable degrees are definably different from the nonlow2 degrees. We note also that there are embeddings of M5 in which all five degrees are array noncomputable, and in which the bottom degree is the computable degree 0 but the other four are array noncomputable. (shrink)

Subjects exposed to strings of letters generated by a finite state grammar can later classify grammatical and nongrammatical test strings, even though they cannot adequately say what the rules of the grammar are (e.g., Reber, 1989). The MINERVA 2 (Hintzman, 1986) and Medin and Schaffer (1978) memory‐array models and a number of connectionist outoassociator models are tested against experimental data by deriving mainly parameter‐free predictions from the models of the rank order of classification difficulty of test strings. The importance (...) of different assumptions regarding the coding of features (How should the absence of a feature be coded? Should single letters or digrams be coded?), the learning rule used (Hebb rule vs. delta rule), and the connectivity (Should features be predicted only by previous features in the string, or by all features simultaneously?) is investigated by determining the performance of the models with and without each assumption. Only one class of connectionist model (the simultaneous delta rule) passes all the tests. It is shown that this class of model can be regarded by abstracting a set of representative but incomplete rules of the grammar. (shrink)

Stoffregen & Bardy propose an absolutist transmodal array structure model, intended to displace models of specification in all existing perceptual theories. Absolute specification of world structure in array structures, either unimodal or transmodal, may not be provable, but might be falsifiable. Absolute specification, moreover, may not be a necessary postulate in an ecological approach to understanding perception-action.

In this paper we prove that a degree a is array nonrecursive (ANR) if and only if every degree b ≥ a is r.e. in and strictly above another degree (RRE). This result will answer some questions in [ASDWY]. We also deduce an interesting corollary that every n-REA degree has a strong minimal cover if and only if it is array recursive.

DNA arrays have become the preferred method for large-scale expression measurement. Such data are needed in view of the large amounts of sequence data available: expression levels in a number of different tissues or situations provide a first step toward functional characterisation of new entities revealed by DNA sequencing. Although the basic principle of measurement is in all cases based on hybridisation of a mixed probe derived from tissue RNA to large sets of DNA fragments representing many genes, a number (...) of different forms of implementation of this principle are at hand. They are briefly described and compared, emphasizing the important issue of sensitivity and sample requirements and the accessibility of the methods to academic scientists. When these factors are taken into account, it appears that, contrary to a largely prevalent impression, the “best” approach is not necessarily always provided by the widely advertised glass microarrays or oligonucleotide chips. BioEssays 21:781–790, 1999. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

The array seen when saccading across a point light source blinking in the dark is displaced in the direction of the saccade. This displacement reflects an abrupt shift of spatiotopic coordinates that precedes the actual eye movement. The extraretinal signal mediating this discrete shift appears to be an oculomotor reference signal, specifying intended eye orientation, that changes discretely before saccades.

We discuss issues raised by the commentators, such as specification in single-energy arrays, task-specific pickup of information, general principles of the ecological approach to perception and action, and how specification may be constrained by the facts of physical relativity. While the commentaries raise many important issues we conclude that they do not undermine our argument that specification exists solely in the global array.

A new theory of the mind, the predictive processing model, is ascendant in recent work in cognitive science. According to this theory, all the mind ever fundamentally does is make hypotheses about the environment, generate prediction-errors by comparing its predictions with its sensory data, and use these prediction-errors to update its representation of the world. The theory of motivation and action to which the predictive processing model is committed has been the subject of lively debate in the literature. However, the (...) upshots of the predictive processing model for the theory of practical reason have received relatively scant attention. Here I investigate how proponents of predictive processing should conceive of practical reason. The predictive processing model has it that the practical attitudes – desires and intentions etc. – reduce to certain theoretical attitudes – in particular, to beliefs and predictions. I argue that this psychological reduction precipitates a broader normative reduction, in which practical reasoning reduces to a kind of theoretical reasoning about what you will do, and in which practical normativity turns out to really be a species of epistemic normativity. In other words, that practical reason reduces to theoretical reason. If I am correct, the predictive processing model of the mind is committed to – what I am dubbing – a ‘radical cognitivism about practical reason’. (shrink)

The transmission of a product or idea from one culture or point of origin to another and the maintenance of control outside the new locality has been referred to as the distribution and maintenance of “nothing.” This perspective has been used to describe the global marketplace and the influence of large multinational corporations on the politics and cultures of host countries. This paper uses this concept, but within a much smaller context. Using the sensitizing concept of a “disjoint constitution,” we (...) interviewed health inspectors and apple cider producers in Michigan to determine if the implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) program designed to ensure food safety was characterized by a power differential that would favor the inspectors. In addition, a larger survey of processors and an internet survey of apple cider consumers was conducted to supplement this data. It was found that HACCP had characteristics of both “nothing” and “something” and that better communication is needed between these groups to move it further along toward the something end of the continuum. (shrink)

This article investigates the work of processors who curate and “clean” the data sets that researchers submit to data archives for archiving and further dissemination. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at the data processing unit of a major US social science data archive, I investigate how these data processors work, under which status, and how they contribute to data sharing. This article presents two main results. First, it contributes to the study of invisible technicians in science by showing (...) that the same procedures can make technical work invisible outside and visible inside the archive, to allow peer review and quality control. Second, this article contributes to the social study of scientific data sharing, by showing that the organization of data processing directly stems from the conception that the archive promotes of a valid data set—that is, a data set that must look “pristine” at the end of its processing. After critically interrogating this notion of pristineness, I show how it perpetuates a misleading conception of data as “raw” instead of acknowledging the important contribution of data processors to data sharing and social science. (shrink)

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have emerged as an attractive means of implementing logic circuits, providing instant manufacturing turnaround and negligible prototype costs. They hold the promise of replacing much of the VLSI market now held by mask-programmed gate arrays. FPGAs offer an affordable solution for customized VLSI, over a wide variety of applications, and have also opened up new possibilities in designing reconfigurable digital systems. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays discusses the most important aspects of FPGAs in a textbook manner. It provides (...) the reader with a focused view of the key issues, using a consistent notation and style of presentation. It provides detailed descriptions of commercially available FPGAs and an in-depth treatment of the FPGA architecture and CAD issues that are the subjects of current research. The material presented is of interest to a variety of readers, including those who are not familiar with FPGA technology, but wish to be introduced to it, as well as those who already have an understanding of FPGAs, but who are interested in learning about the research directions that are of current interest. (shrink)

We find Stoffregen & Bardy's argument that the senses are united and that specificity exists within the global array compelling. However, this view is not entirely new and research on the development and the origins of perception in infancy, inspired by Gibson's ecological perspective, also supports their claims. The inclusion of this developmental research will strengthen and challenge some of Stoffregen & Bardy's views.

Level measurements, thickness measurement or remote surface detection using ultrasonic pulse transit method require that the target surface be at 90 O to the incident beam so that reflected beam comes back at 180-degree angle to effectively use this method. This is perfectly true in case of flat, solid surface at right angle to the incident beam. But surface irregularities of a porous, non-smooth, uneven material such as snow cause penetration of incident wave into the surface, absorption of the incident (...) energy, scatter of energy in many directions and further attenuation of reflected signal making it difficult to detect the reflected echo. Such a received reflected echo is very low in amplitude and is heavily noise-ridden. The successful surface detection with excellent repeatability and accuracy without any false measurement in this case requires combination of physical acoustic, mechanical, hardware and software techniques together. In this paper we discuss the suitable physical, mechanical, electronics design to physically implement the theory of Arrayed Ultrasonic transducers to shape up the directional response, beam width and avoid interference to improve the chances of proper and sufficient reflection from the non-smooth, highly porous, uneven, non-planar irregular surface. (shrink)

Food safety has become a major development challenge and a key influence on the strategic behavior of food companies. The study seeks to analyze the effect of perceived institutional pressures on the governance of food safety and the effect this may have on food safety performance in emerging food supply chains. The research develops a conceptual framework that links perceived institutional pressures, degree of food manufacturer-supplier relationships, food safety practices, and food safety output. The hypothesized relationships were tested in the (...) Middle Eastern context, where food safety concerns are rising. Accordingly, a survey was carried out to collect data from food quality/safety managers representing 94 food processors across Lebanon. The study finds that perceived institutional pressures have a direct and strong effect on the degree of integration in the agro-food supply chain, and such an integration, in turn, increases the intensity of food safety practices and food safety performance. However, in the absence of strong manufacturer-supplier relationships, perceived institutional pressures do not lead to improved food safety performance. The study suggests that long-term food manufacturer-supplier relationship is necessary if agro-food chain actors are to respond to established regulatory demands, industry practices, and social norms. (shrink)

A.D. Smith opens his excellent paper, “Space and Sight,” by remarking, One of the most notable features of both philosophy and psychology throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is the almost universal denial that we are immediately aware through sight of objects arrayed in three-dimensional space. This was not merely a denial of Direct Realism, but a denial that truly visual objects are even phenomenally presented in depth (481). Times have changed. As Smith writes, “It is hard to think of (...) a more radical reversal in thinking than the one that separates such an outlook from that which prevails today; for this erstwhile orthodoxy is hardly given even serious consideration in our own times, at least among philosophers” (482). Even so, how could this doctrine come and go? How can there be fashion in phenomenology?1 Let me answer the question indirectly, by considering Locke’s reasons for advancing the doctrine. He writes, “When we set before our Eyes a round Globe, of any uniform colour, v.g. Gold, Alabaster, or Jet, ‘tis certain, that the Idea thereby imprinted in our Mind, is of a flat Circle variously shadow’d, with several degrees of Light and Brightness coming to our Eyes” (2.9.8).2 Adults have acquired ideas of three-dimensional objects (presumably by.. (shrink)

The suggestion of seeking specificity in a higher-order array is attractive, but Stoffregen & Bardy fail to provide a compelling empirical basis to their claim that specificity exists solely in the global array. Using the example of relative motion, the alternate hypotheses that must be considered are presented.

Archival data processing consists of cleaning and formatting data between the moment a dataset is deposited and its publication on the archive’s website. In this article, I approach data processing by combining scholarship on invisible labor in knowledge infrastructures with a Marxian framework and show the relevance of considering data processing as factory labor. Using this perspective to analyze ethnographic data collected during a six-month participatory observation at a U.S. data archive, I generate a taxonomy of the forms of alienation (...) that data processing generates, but also the types of resistance that processors develop, across four categories: routine, speed, skill, and meaning. This synthetic approach demonstrates, first, that data processing reproduces typical forms of factory worker’s alienation: processors are asked to work along a strict standardized pipeline, at a fast pace, without acquiring substantive skills or having a meaningful involvement in their work. It reveals, second, how data processors resist the alienating nature of this workflow by developing multiple tactics along the same four categories. Seen through this dual lens, data processors are therefore not only invisible workers, but also factory workers who follow and subvert a workflow organized as an assembly line. I conclude by proposing a four-step framework to better value the social contribution of data workers beyond the archive. (shrink)

We present some abstract theorems showing how domination properties equivalent to being $\overline{GL}_{2}$ or array nonrecursive can be used to construct sets generic for different notions of forcing. These theorems are then applied to give simple proofs of some known results. We also give a direct uniform proof of a recent result of Ambos-Spies, Ding, Wang, and Yu [2009] that every degree above any in $\overline{GL}_{2}$ is recursively enumerable in a 1-generic degree strictly below it. Our major new result (...) is that every array nonrecursive degree is r.e. in some degree strictly below it. Our analysis of array nonrecursiveness and construction of generic sequences below ANR degrees also reveal a new level of uniformity in these types of results. (shrink)

Prenatal genetic diagnosis with new high-performance technologies such as genomic array adds great complexity to the ethical dilemmas that already exist in current medicine. The main objective of this study was to carry out an analysis and bioethical reflections centred on the outcome associated with the use of the genetic array technique in 185 pregnancies at the Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe (Valencia, Spain). It is an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study during the years 2014 to 2017, (...) inclusive. We analyse the results and the follow-up of the 185 cases in which this prenatal genetic study was carried out by array technique. Of the 185 prenatal genetic studies carried out, 165 showed no copy number variants (normal result) and in the 20 remaining pregnancies (10.81%), a dose change was detected. Abortion was carried out in 11 cases with pathological and/or probably pathological abnormalities. Of the 165 cases in which no dose variant was detected, an abortion was carried out in 49 cases, which represents 29.7%. The introduction of new genomic analysis techniques to invasive prenatal diagnosis highlights the ethical problems that arise above all in the interpretation of genetic variants detected and genetic counselling, while emphasising the need for correct informed consent and it adds, if possible, more controversy to a subject with great bioethical substance such as abortion. (shrink)

The deteriorating living and working conditions suffered by California's farm workers and their families is associated with the escalating proportion of the agricultural labor market (ALM) provisioned by the state's farm labor contractors (FLCs). The increasing use of FLCs is the result of a restructuring strategy undertaken by Californian agribusiness to reduce the cost of labor, as well as responsibility for work place, labor, and immigration laws. The FLCs' rise to prominence as the bulwark between growers and workers within the (...) state's ALM has been ensured by the internal dynamics of contractor firms. During almost three years of binational fieldwork in both California's San Joaquin Valley and rural Mexico I found that FLC management agents cultivate sociocultural practices and provide socioeconomic services that diffuse management-labor conflict within the agricultural sector. However, the existing literature concerning the FLCs focuses upon the firm, not its labor agents; therefore, FLC heterogeneity is emphasized, while ubiquitous management characteristics and practices are overlooked. As a result, recent legislation has had the unintended effect of augmenting the role played by management agents in “processing” an unending flow of new immigrant workers through the “revolving door” ALM, leading to the deterioration of conditions in rural California. (shrink)