Information Processing and the Study of the Self

As an increasing number of small firms move into export operations, information gathering, analysis, and distribution are critical for successful exporters. These activities are aspects of information processing, a theory that attempts to explain various information elements within organizations. This study examines information processing among small exporters by examining the impact twelve organizational and environmental variables have on three key dimensions of information processing-amount of foreign market information created, horizontal information flow, and vertical information flow. Results suggest that information processing within small firms may not mirror patterns of activities in their larger counterparts.

This study explored whether benzodiazepines selectively affect aspects of attention and/or visual information processing, as they do memory. A cued visual-search paradigm was employed, using normal volunteers and a single dose of triazolam. This paradigm provided for a detailed examination of two aspects of visual attention and information processing: 1) controlled versus automatic attention allocation (via central and peripheral cues), and 2) the extent to which processing an item in a non-cued location affects performance (via cue-validity). Triazolam, compared to placebo, significantly increased response time, and Drug Condition interacted with Cue-Validity but not Cue-Type. Based on these data, we argue that triazolam does not affect attention allocation but does affect attentional disengagement and/or attention switching mechanisms.

Dissociating stimulus information from internal representation—a case study in object recognition

The study of any kind of memory should properly begin with a description of the material that is to be remembered. In the case of autobiographical memory that material consists of events that we have personally experienced – or, to put it another way, of our personal experiences of events. But what is an event? How are events experienced? This chapter is an attempt to open a discussion of those issues and of their implications for the study of memory. I shall focus on the fact that the events defined at one level of analysis may themselves be constituents of other, larger events. This “nested” structure appears not only in the events themselves but also in the way they are experienced and remembered. Because different levels of nesting are specified by different kinds of information, they can be perceived and remembered somewhat independently. Recalling an experienced event is a matter not of reviving a single record but of moving appropriately among nested levels of structure. My own present activity offers a convenient example. What am I doing right now? Obviously, I am writing a chapter for David Rubin's book on autobiographical memory. Just as obviously, I am sitting at my word processor. More concretely, I am sitting on a chair facing a screen that displays what has already been written in small green-on-black letters. I am successively touching the individual keys of the word processor (and looking at them, too, because touch typing is beyond me) in order to produce that display.

Introduction Informing science investigates how to provide clientele with information in a form, format, and schedule that maximizes its effectiveness (Cohen, 1999; 2009). According to its general, cross-disciplinary definition, information is a feature of objects of different nature that describes their structural aspects represented by patterns attributed to their organization (e.g., Stonier, 1997). Consequently, informing could be regarded as spreading structural patterns (patterns in form) among objects of different nature (Gackowski, 2009). In case of complex information systems such as living organisms (including humans), the aim of informing has been defined as expanding their control over environment (Gackowski, 2009) or, in evolutionary terms, enhancing their chances of survival. When informing is considered at the level of human information processing, the structure and characteristics of human cognitive architecture could have significant implications for the informing process. Cognitive aspects of human information processing may critically affect both the informing (informer) and perceiving (client) ends of the informing process. The intersection of cognitive and informing sciences has been related to the area of cognitive informatics (Cohen, 2009). Cognitive load theory as a branch of instructional psychology (see Sweller, 2003; Sweller, Ayres, & Kalyuga, 2011, for recent overviews) has applied cognitive science to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of instructional design. Since the major aim of instructional design is providing instructional formats and procedures that maximize learning, this could be regarded as a specific area of application of general principles of informing science with learners as clientele. Therefore, instructional and informing sciences are inherently connected. Theoretical frameworks and recommendations of informing science should be applied to instructional design, and established principles of cognitive load theory could also be potentially generalized to advance certain aspects of informing science. This paper explores a possibility of extending the established conceptual framework and principles of cognitive load theory to broader and more general situations than those in teaching and learning with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of informing. The paper begins with an overview of major assumptions and principles of cognitive load theory based on a recently proposed evolutionary perspective, describes a corresponding model of human cognitive architecture, followed first by general implications of this architecture to informing science, and then by specific recommendations for improving processes of informing. Human Cognitive Architecture Cognitive load theory describes educational implications of human cognitive architecture (Sweller, 2003, 2004). In its basic assumptions, the theory uses the information processing aspects of biological evolution by natural selection as analogical to basic characteristics of human cognition (Sweller & Sweller, 2006). It considers both biological evolution and human cognition as examples of a broader category of natural information processing systems. It is assumed that such systems function based on the following five fundamental principles (Sweller, 2003; for an overview, see Sweller et al., 2011): * The information store principle: natural information processing systems include large stores of information that govern their activities. In human cognitive architecture, long-term memory provides this function. * The borrowing and reorganizing principle: information in the store is mostly borrowed from other information stores; however, it is reorganized in the process rather than copied exactly. For example, humans imitate other people, listen, and read in order to build long-term memory. * The randomness as genesis principle: all truly novel (not borrowed) information is acquired by a random generate-and-test process. …

Living organisms are distinguished by their information gathering abilities. Much effort has been expended by biologists and other scientists in determining by what means organisms obtain and process information. Recently, scientists interested in the computational aspects of information processing have looked towards these studies in search of clues as to how machines can be made to gather and process information. In this book we focus on an important aspect of sensory information processing, that of fusing separate sources of sensory information.

Over recent years, new light has been shed on aspects of information processing in cells. The quantification of information, as described by Shannon’s information theory, is a basic and powerful tool that can be applied to various fields, such as communication, statistics, and computer science, as well as to information processing within cells. It has also been used to infer the network structure of molecular species. However, the difficulty of obtaining sufficient sample sizes and the computational burden associated with the high-dimensional data often encountered in biology can result in bottlenecks in the application of information theory to systems biology. This article provides an overview of the application of information theory to systems biology, discussing the associated bottlenecks and reviewing recent work.

In order to meet the requirements which include multi-functional measurement, information processing and automatic rotating speed control in the process of vibration experiment, an automated information system for a rotor rig is developed on LabVIEW platform. In measurement and information processing aspects, this system has the multiple functions, such as multi-channel signal acquisition, signal preprocessing, numerical feature extraction of machine faults and fault knowledge protection in database. In control aspect, the rotating speed of the rotor is regulated by a variable-frequency motor and an inverter connected to a computer through a RS232 to RS485 converter. The other motor which provides motive power to the lubrication system is controlled by the control circuit based on a relay which receives control signals from the computer. The implementation results show that the system is very effective for condition monitoring, automatic control and intelligent maintenance of the machine equipments.

In the recent past, computer technology has had a tremendous impact on the industrial sector. Often the computer is simply part of an overall system, either substituting for, or working in cooperation with, people. The key issue is the operation of the entire system, including computers and people and involving important aspects of communication, control and information processing — in other words, cybernetics. The authors discuss how cybernetics has become a vitally important part of successful industrial and business operation. They focus particularly on the benefits for industry when it links with the higher education sector in this field.

The present study investigated attentional dysfunction in patients with recurrent unipolar major depression in a visual search paradigm. The attentional aspects of automatic and effortful information processing were examined. The general hypothesis was that patients with unipolar major depression would have more problems with tasks that require effortful information processing than with tasks that require only automatic information processing. A task requiring effortful processing attracts attention, is more demanding, and is instruction-driven. A task that is automatically processed does not invoke attention, is less demanding, and is stimulus-driven. The results showed that the patient group needed significantly longer reaction times on the tasks requiring more effortful information processing than the control group, but there were no significant differences between groups on tasks requiring automatic information processing. Thus it seems as if the depressed patients show an impaired profile as a function of the degree of effort a task requires.

The conception of real-time control networks taking into account, as an integrating approach, both the specific aspects of information and knowledge processing and the dynamic and energetic particularities of physical processes and of communication networks is representing one of the newest scientific and technological challenges. The new paradigm of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) reflects this tendency and will certainly change the evolution of the technology, with major social and economic impact. This book presents significant results in the field of process control and advanced information and knowledge processing, with applications in the fields of robotics, biotechnology, environment, energy, transportation, et al.. It introduces intelligent control concepts and strategies as well as real-time implementation aspects for complex control approaches. One of the sections is dedicated to the complex problem of designing software systems for distributed information processing networks. Problems as complexity and specific instruments for modeling and control are also presented in a group of papers which identifies a large opening towards the new generation of CPS. The book is structured so as to ensure a good equilibrium between conceptual and applicative aspects.

Career Development of Physician Scientists: A Survey of Leaders in Academic Medicine

Contents: S.B. Klein, J. Loftus, The Mental Representation of Trait and Autobiographical Knowledge About the Self. F.S. Bellezza, Does Perplexing Describe the Self-Reference Effect? Yes! N.R. Brown, Response Times, Retrieval Strategies, and the Investigation of Autobiographical Memory. J.M. Keenan, An Exemplar Model Can Explain Klein and Loftus' Results. J.F. Kihlstrom, What Does the Look Like? C.G. Lord, The Social Self Component of Trait Knowledge About the Self. R.H. Maki, A.K. Carlson, Knowledge of the Self: Is It Special? K. Nelson, Developing Self-Knowledge from Autobiographical Memory. D.J. Schneider, H.L. Roediger, M. Khan, Diverse Ways of Accessing Self-Knowledge: Comment on Klein and Loftus. C. Sedikides, In Defense of Behavioral-Level Accessing and Use of Self-Knowledge. E. Tulving, Self-Knowledge of an Amnesic Individual is Represented Abstractly. J.D. Vorauer, M. Ross, Exploring the Nature and Implications of Functional Independence: Do Mental Representations of the Become Independent of Their Bases? S.B. Klein, J. Loftus, Some Lingering Self-Doubts: Reply to Commentaries.

A 2x4 split plot factorial experiment investigated the effects of person vs. stimulus attribution and response category (i.e., accomplishments, opinions, emotions and actions) on requests for consistency, consensus and distinctiveness informa tion. Requests for all three types of information were signifi cantly affected by both independent variables, alone and in interaction. Person attribution led to more requests for con sistency and distinctiveness information than stimulus attribu tion, while stimulus attribution led to more requests for consensus. Under person attribution, actions and accomplishments produced more consistency requests than emotions and opinions, while accomplishments produced greatest concern with distinc tiveness. Under stimulus attribution, accomplishments led to greatest concern with consensus.

This chapter provides an overview of precursors to the information processing view of learning and cognition and on research aimed at understanding how knowledge is represented and processed in human minds. Classic and the constructivist versions of an information processing view are described. Three major contributions of information processing theories are examined, including cognitive task analysis, the mental representations used to explain knowledge, memory, learning, and thinking, and architectural models of the human information processing system. Major assumptions underlying a contemporary information‐processing model are outlined to exemplify each of these points. Information processing theories of learning and cognition are related to three critical subject matter domains: reading, writing, and mathematics.