Altered Video Task: A Promising Alternative for Elicited/deferred Imitation Task in Young Children

in Spink, Andrew; Riedel, Gernot; Zhou, Liting (Eds.) et al Proceedings of Measuring Behavior 2016 (2016, May)

The method presented in this paper is invented to address the problem of episodic memory in participants with highly restricted verbal abilities, 15-month-olds in this case. Here, we refer to episodic ... [more ▼]

The method presented in this paper is invented to address the problem of episodic memory in participants with highly restricted verbal abilities, 15-month-olds in this case. Here, we refer to episodic memory defined as a mind/brain system with three main responsibilities: to encode, to store and to recall individual memories. Episodic memory system requires three additional capacities, which make it uniquely human: a sense of self, a sense of subjective time, and autonoetic awareness [26]. Such approach is currently predominant both in developmental psychology and in cognitive zoology research. With a focus on developmental studies, we introduce a method, which aims to pair a measure of episodic memory and a measure of self-awareness. Episodic recall is measured via presentation of an original and a modified recording of a personal past event after a delay. The participant is expected to watch the unfamiliar video significantly longer than the familiar video, and so evince the differentiation between them. Alongside, the participant takes part in a mirror-mark task (a standard measure of self-recognition) and also in a real-time video task (a possible alternative for the mirror-mark task). Measuring of the recall is based on “what”-“who”-“where” aspects of the past event. Three modified videos are generated from the original one, and the modifications refer to: 1. a toy (“what”), 2. an experimenter (“who”) and 3. a setting (“where”). That is why this method also derives from cognitive zoology studies, where episodic memory is measured via behavioural signs of remembering “what”, “where” and “when” happened [9]. The “who” aspect is a common addition in case of highly social animals [23][24][25]. The most typical method of measuring episodic recall in human children, even as young as 6-month-olds [2, p. 175] is elicited/deferred imitation task. However, it does not involve measuring of any of the “uniquely human” capacities and can be only applied to these organisms, which can readily imitate human experimenter’s actions. Further, we also elaborate on the above-mentioned issues. We also discuss the results and possible improvements of the method implementation, for we actually tested it with a group of 15-month-olds. The results were statistically significant for the “who” and “what” aspects, but remained insignificant for the aspect of “where”. [less ▲]

Hurricane damage risk assessment in the Caribbean: An analysis using synthetic hurricane events and nightlight imagery

in Ecological Economics (2016), 124

History has shown that hurricanes can cause catastrophic destruction and impede economic growth in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, there is essentially as of date no comprehensive quantitative risk and ... [more ▼]

History has shown that hurricanes can cause catastrophic destruction and impede economic growth in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, there is essentially as of date no comprehensive quantitative risk and anticipated loss assessment for the region. In this paper we use synthetic hurricane tracks and local income proxies to estimate expected risk and losses if a climate similar to the last 30 years prevails. We show that on average, the annual fraction of expected property damage and subsequent impacts on income are nonnegligible, with large variations across islands. [less ▲]

A novel meta-heuristic algorithm: dynamic virtual bats algorithm

in Information Sciences (2016), 354

Nature-inspired algorithms are a very important part of meta-heuristics. A novel nature inspired algorithm called the Dynamic Virtual Bats Algorithm (DVBA) is presented in this paper. DVBA is inspired by ... [more ▼]

Nature-inspired algorithms are a very important part of meta-heuristics. A novel nature inspired algorithm called the Dynamic Virtual Bats Algorithm (DVBA) is presented in this paper. DVBA is inspired by a bat’s ability to manipulate frequency and wavelength of the emitted sound waves when hunting. A role based search has been developed to improve the diversification and intensification capability of Bat Algorithm. In the DVBA, there are only two bats: explorer and exploiter bat. While the explorer bat explores the search space, the exploiter bat makes an intensive search of the local with the highest probability of locating the desired target. Depending on their location, bats exchange the roles dynamically. The performance of the DVBA is extensively evaluated on a suite of 30 bound-constrained optimization problems from CEC 2014 and compared favorably with other well-known meta-heuristics algorithms. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed DVBA outperform, or is comparable to, its competitors in terms of the quality of final solution and its convergence rates. [less ▲]

Des havres de tolérance ? « Mythes et réalités de la coexistence interreligieuse aux Pays-Bas et en Angleterre à l’époque moderne

Speeches/Talks (2016)

Transform-limited-pulse representation of excitation with natural incoherent light

in Journal of Chemical Physics (2016)

Rewolucja cyfrowa muzyki : Filozofia muzyki

Book published by Bęc Zmiana (2016)

Philosophy of music, like philosophy of art in general, is not a firmly established academic discipline. It appears sporadically when there are drastic changes in musical practice, and it becomes ... [more ▼]

Philosophy of music, like philosophy of art in general, is not a firmly established academic discipline. It appears sporadically when there are drastic changes in musical practice, and it becomes necessary to redefine the term music. This was the case when the symphony established itself as a formative musical genre just over two hundred years ago, and it happened when tonality was abandoned just over one hundred years ago. The event that directs philosophical interest in music today is the digital revolution. It calls into question the idea of New Music and its genuine claim to art. [less ▲]

DIY Digitization: The informal uses of digital photography in special collections

Presentation (2016, January 08)

Lies A Schreif Dech Fräi!

in Eng Dier an d'Welt. 20 Joer Initiativ Freed um Liesen (2016)

Die (Psycho-)Macht des Therapeutischen und die Optionalisierung des Handelns

in Anhom, Roland; Balzereit, Markus (Eds.) Handbuch Soziale Arbeit und Therapeutisierung (2016)

Kollektiver Eigensinn oder Selbstbehinderung? Das umstrittene Körperwissen der Anorexie

in Keller, Reiner; Meuser, Michael (Eds.) Vergängliche Körper (2016)