The “wisdom of the crowd” phenomenon refers to the finding that the aggregate of a set of proposed solutions from a group of individuals performs better than the majority of individual solutions. Most often, wisdom of the crowd effects have been investigated for problems that require single numerical estimates. We investigate whether the effect can also be observed for problems where the answer requires the coordination of multiple pieces of information. We focus on combinatorial problems such as the planar Euclidean (...) traveling salesperson problem, minimum spanning tree problem, and a spanning tree memory task. We develop aggregation methods that combine common solution fragments into a global solution and demonstrate that these aggregate solutions outperform the majority of individual solutions. These case studies suggest that the wisdom of the crowd phenomenon might be broadly applicable to problem-solving and decision-making situations that go beyond the estimation of single numbers. (shrink)

In general, stimuli that are familiar and recognizable have an advantage of predominance during binocular rivalry. Recent research has demonstrated that familiar and recognizable stimuli such as upright faces and words in a native language could break interocular suppression faster than their matched controls. In this study, a visible word prime was presented binocularly then replaced by a high-contrast dynamic noise pattern presented to one eye and either a semantically related or unrelated word was introduced to the other eye. We (...) measured how long it took for target words to break from suppression. To investigate word-parts priming, a second experiment also included word pairs that had overlapping subword fragments. Results from both experiments consistently show that semantically related words and words that shared subword fragments were faster to gain dominance compared to unrelated words, suggesting that words, even when interocularly suppressed and invisible, can benefit from semantic and subword priming. (shrink)

The burgeoning of new technologies is increasingly affecting people’s lives. One new technology that is heatedly discussed is artificial intelligence in education. To allow students to understand the impact of emerging technologies on people’s future lives from a young age, some popular science activities are being progressively introduced into elementary school curricula. Popular science activities are informal education programs and practices of universal education. However, two issues need to be discussed in the implementation of these activities. First, because these informal (...) curricula are usually short in duration, the question of whether they only serve to generate motivation or actually enhance learning outcomes requires examination. Second, the role of teacher support in popular science activities and its impact on students’ learning results need to be further investigated. To this end, this study aims to explore the effectiveness of popular AI science activities in informal curricula on students’ AI achievement and the interrelationship between students’ learning outcomes in popular AI science activities with and without teacher support. A 6-h-long AI popular science activity was conducted with 22 fifth- and sixth-grade students in elementary school. This study was conducted using a one-group pretest and posttest design, and the data collection tools included AI achievement pre- and posttests and an artifact scoring rubric. The results showed that with regard to learning outcomes, popular science activities were helpful for cognitive enhancement of AI concepts, but more time was needed for skills to improve. Additionally, this study found that students’ learning performance was different with and without teacher support. Activities with teacher support can enhance students’ learning outcomes, but students become accustomed to relying on their teachers. In contrast, activities without teacher support seem to be more effective in fostering students’ independent computational thinking and problem-solving abilities. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the technical and context-related variables of last strokes in rallies on the point outcomes of both men’s and women’s players in elite singles badminton matches. A total of 100 matches during the 2018 and 2019 seasons were analyzed, and the data of 4,080 men’s rallies and 4,339 women’s rallies were collected. The technical variables including strokes per rally, forehand strokes, overhead strokes, and defensive action, and the context-related variables including (...) game status, result against serve, importance of rally, and importance of set, were modeled with Probit regression modeling as the predictor variables. The binary variables of “winner or not” and “error or not” were considered the response variables. The results showed that defensive actions had the greatest impacts on the winners and errors of both the men’s and women’s singles players, and the forehand and overhead strokes were negatively associated with the winners and errors of the women’s singles players and the winners of the men’s singles players. No significant effects were found for the strokes per rally on the winners and errors of the men’s singles players, while significant effects were found for the women’s singles players. The context-related variables appeared to have positive effects on the winners and negative effects on the errors of both sexes. These findings can provide important insights for coaches and players to evaluate their performances of last strokes in rallies and to improve training interventions and match tactics and strategies. (shrink)

Patients with Wilson’s disease suffer from prospective memory impairment, and some of patients develop cognitive impairment. However, very little is known about how brain structure and function changes effect PM in WD. Here, we employed multimodal neuroimaging data acquired from 22 WD patients and 26 healthy controls who underwent three-dimensional T1-weighted, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated gray matter volumes with voxel-based morphometry, DTI metrics using the fiber tractography method, and RS-fMRI using the seed-based (...) functional connectivity method. Compared with HC, WD patients showed GM volume reductions in the basal ganglia and occipital fusiform gyrus, as well as volume increase in the visual association cortex. Moreover, whiter matter tracks of WD were widely impaired in association and limbic fibers. WM tracks in association fibers are significant related to PM in WD patients. Relative to HC, WD patients showed that the visual association cortex functionally connects to the thalamus and hippocampus, which is associated with global cognitive function in patients with WD. Together, these findings suggested that PM impairment in WD may be modulated by aberrant WM in association fibers, and that GM volume changes in the association cortex has no direct effect on cognitive status, but indirectly affect global cognitive function by its aberrant functional connectivity in patients with WD. Our findings may provide a new window to further study how WD develops into cognitive impairment, and deepen our understanding of the cognitive status and neuropathology of WD. (shrink)

Product counterfeiting, a serious problem throughout the world, is particularly challenging for luxury brands, which often have simple designs and a value that depends largely on buyers' perceptions. This study incorporates the concept of customer value into an investigation of the anticounterfeiting strategies. Both hedonic and utilitarian values positively influence customer loyalty toward luxury brands. As a means to strengthen customer values, legal and product strategies positively influence customers' hedonic value, whereas communication and product strategies positively influence their utilitarian value. (...) The managerial implications of these findings and directions for further research are discussed. (shrink)

BackgroundTo investigate the factors related to approval after review by an Institutional Review Board, the structure equation model was used to analyze the latent variables ‘investigators’, ‘vulnerability’ and ‘review process’ for 221 proposals submitted to our IRB.MethodsThe vulnerability factor included vulnerable cases, and studies that involved drug tests and genetic analyses. The principal investigator factor included the license level of the PI and whether they belonged to our institution. The review factor included administration time, total review time, and revision frequency. (...) The revision frequency and total review time influenced the efficiency of review.ResultsThe latent variable of reviewing was the most important factor mediating the PIs and vulnerability to IRB review approval. The local PIs moderated with genetic study and revision frequency had an impact on the review process and mediated non-approval.ConclusionsBetter guidance of the investigators and reviewers might improve the efficiency with which IRBs function. (shrink)

ObjectiveThe impact of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program on psychological outcomes and quality of life in lung cancer patients remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the MBSR program on psychological states and QoL in lung cancer patients.MethodsEligible studies published before November 2021 were systematically searched from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases. The risk of bias in eligible studies was assessed using the Cochrane tool. Psychological variables and QoL were evaluated (...) as outcomes. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system to grade the levels of evidence. Statistical analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 and STATA 14.0.ResultsA total of 17 studies involving 1,680 patients were included for meta-analysis eventually. MBSR program significantly relieved cancer-related fatigue and negative psychological states, enhanced positive psychological states, and improved quality of sleep. Evidence on MBSR programs' overall treatment effect for QoL revealed a trend toward statistical significance.ConclusionBased on our findings, the MBSR program shows positive effects on psychological states in lung cancer patients. This approach should be recommended as a part of the rehabilitation program for lung cancer patients.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-mwvbq-v1, identifier: 10.17605/OSF.IO/MWVBQ. (shrink)

The relationship between intuition and ethical decision-making has been researched extensively during the past two decades. This study aimed at exploring empirically observable associations between intuition and the moral intensity of ethical decision-making processes. A scenario-based quantitative approach was used to collect data from 157 practising professional spirit mediums. It was found that only collective universal intuition had a significant positive association with the moral intensity of ethical decision-making processes. Personal experience intuition and collective archetype intuition were not significantly associated (...) with moral intensity. This may explain why previous studies were unable to gauge the effects of intuition on ethical decision-making. The results suggest that a pure mind can improve one’s ability to make decisions. Thus, decision-makers would benefit by being more attuned to their sense of morality. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of response inhibition of overweight/obese people, using behavior experiments combine with neural electrophysiological technology and discussing the difference in impulse level between obesity/overweight and normal-weight people through EEG data, questionnaire, and behavior experiment.Method All participants completed the Go/Nogo task; meanwhile, behavior data and 64 channel EEG data were recorded. Participants completed the Stop-Signal task and behavior date was recorded.Results During Go/Nogo task, no significant differences were found in reaction time, omission errors of the Go task between (...) the two groups, while commission errors of the Nogo task of the control group were significantly greater than the overweight/obesity group. About SSRT during the Stop-Signal Task, the interaction of stimulus type and group was significant. No significant differences were found between the two groups in amplitude and latency of N2. About the amplitude of P3, the interaction of task type, electrode point, and groups were significant, the control group P3 amplitude was significantly greater than overweight/obesity group during the Nogo task. Regarding about latency of P3, the interaction of group and electrode point were not significant, but the main effect of task type was significant.Conclusion In terms of behavioral outcomes, overweight–obese subjects had lower dominant response inhibition and response cessation compared to normal-weight subjects. In terms of EEG results, overweight–obese subjects showed no difference in processing speed and level of conflict monitoring for early inhibitory processing compared to normal-weight subjects, but there was a deficit in behavioral control for late inhibitory processing. (shrink)

本书内容包括生死之际, 生与死的本质, 向死而生, 个体生死, 社会生死, 优生优死, 生死歧路, 现代人的生与死等.

本书写了人生的十个局面,分别是:生与死、得与失、利与害、祸与福、贫与富、贵与贱、苦与乐、宠与辱、成与败、男与女。.

本书包括“间性”的凸现——比较诗学与比较文化的多元主义与对话交往、寻找新的问题域——比较文学—比较文化的当代课题、西方与中国:二十世纪的语言论转向、西方当代作者中心论的兴起与衰落、西方当代文本中心论的 兴起与衰落等。.

本书以西方诠释学为参照,以《论语》、《孟子》、《荀子》为个案,对先秦儒家的意义生成问题及其特点与具体表现作出了独特而深入的阐析。.

2020年，新冠肺炎病毒在全球爆發，威脅公眾健康、打亂生活節奏、衝擊社會經濟。病毒沒有種族，也沒有國界，人們在共同面對這一瘟疫大挑戰時，健康價值固然重要，與此同時，倫理道德和人類價值如平等、自由、公正 等同樣不能忽略。 本書收錄二十多篇，由兩岸三地的學者撰寫的重大議題文章，從基礎倫理、防控倫理、法律倫理、醫療倫理、責任倫理、關懷倫理六個角度，探討如何在大疫當前的困境下，建構中國生命倫理學。書中提出多個引人反思道德傳統 、倫理精神和價值取向的問題，如防控措施與個人權利應如何平衡？健康碼的追蹤程序能否保障個人隱私權？醫療資源稀缺情況下限制老人的醫療供給是否合理？如何保障一線醫護人員的基本安全？ 作者期望通過本書補充生命倫理學的「缺如」，並為健全社會防疫意識、完善醫療衛生體系、增強道德研究，以及建構具有中國特色的生命倫理學盡一分力。在此疫情仍然嚴峻的今日，絕對值得一讀。.

本书从生态文艺的基本观念到历史扫描,进而比较宏观地把握中国美学中的生态思想及中国古代艺术中生态性体验的特点,并由此通过对中国古代美学与艺术的生态特点的认识,通过对其理论及审美转换性的把握而引申至现代, 着力挖掘其现代意义及价值。.

《一代直聲百年盡瘁：梁簌溟鄉村建設運動研究》系統梳理了20世紀30年代梁漱溟主持的山東鄉村建設實驗的相關內容，以及不同時期相關實踐者和學者對其鄉村建設實驗進行的各種討論和爭議，試圖全方位挖掘梁漱溟鄉建 思想與實踐的深層學術價值和現實借鑒意義，冀望對今天的農村現代化建設和農村改革，尤其是“三農”問題的解決和優化提供有益的借鑒。.

本书通过比较研究揭示出,在生存主义哲学和道家思想对人之生存结构的理解方面,存在着深层的共识,这是二者之间展开深度对话的"客观基础".本书分为两大部分,第一部分,包括本研究的第一章和第二章,分别对海德格 尔存在与时间和萨特存在与虚无中的生存主义思想加以呈现,诠释,以期读者能够对生存主义哲学的"标本式"理论有所了解,并为后文的比较研究提供一定的理论铺垫.第三到八章,对道家思想与生存主义思想展开多维比较. 主要围绕"无"在生存结构中的地位和作用来展开,并努力揭示出,生存主义哲学和道家思想在人的"带无生存"这一点上,有着极为醒目的相通之处.然而,在此基础上产生的价值导向,却表现出同样醒目的分梳.通过分析道 家与生存主义哲学思想上重叠性与互补性,可能为融合东西方智慧,尤其是吸收中国传统道家智慧的现代生存哲学理论体系的建立提供一定的思想素材和理论参考.