TEST:a tropic, embodied, and situated theory of cognition

TEST is a novel taxonomy of knowledge representations based on three distinct hierarchically organized representational features: Tropism, Embodiment, and Situatedness. Tropic representational features reflect constraints of the physical world on the agent's ability to form, reactivate, and enrich embodied (i.e., resulting from the agent's bodily constraints) conceptual representations embedded in situated contexts. The proposed hierarchy entails that representations can, in principle, have tropic features without necessarily having situated and/or embodied features. On the other hand, representations that are situated and/or embodied are likely to be simultaneously tropic. Hence, although we propose tropism as the most general term, the hierarchical relationship between embodiment and situatedness is more on a par, such that the dominance of one component over the other relies on the distinction between offline storage versus online generation as well as on representation-specific properties. © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Advancing theory and research and the British journal of management

In an ecosystem of management journals dominated by US heavyweights, the British Journal of Management (BJM) assumes a unique role. There is no other European business and management journal of the standing and stature of this journal that seeks both to be multidisciplinary and to appeal to a general readership of business and management scholars. This is a tribute to the efforts of previous editorial teams. At the same time, the journal faces the challenge of remaining relevant both to the immediate British Academy of Management community and to the wider scholarly one, while raising its own game in pioneering and leading debates, and in global esteem. © 2014 British Academy of Management.

What do people think about when they answer theory of planned behaviour questionnaires? A 'think aloud' study

Two studies aiming to identify the nature and extent of problems that people have when completing theory of planned behaviour (TPB) questionnaires, using a cognitive interviewing approach are reported. Both studies required participants to 'think aloud' as they completed TPB questionnaires about: (a) increasing physical activity (six general public participants); and (b) binge drinking (13 students). Most people had no identifiable problems with the majority of questions. However, there were problems common to both studies, relating to information retrieval and to participants answering different questions from those intended by researchers. Questions about normative influence were particularly problematic. The standard procedure for developing TPB questionnaires may systematically produce problematic questions. Suggestions are made for improving this procedure. Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications.

Typical performance of regular low-density parity-check codes over general symmetric channels

Typical performance of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes over a general binary-input output-symmetric memoryless channel is investigated using methods of statistical mechanics. Relationship between the free energy in statistical-mechanics approach and the mutual information used in the information-theory literature is established within a general framework; Gallager and MacKay-Neal codes are studied as specific examples of LDPC codes. It is shown that basic properties of these codes known for particular channels, including their potential to saturate Shannon's bound, hold for general symmetric channels. The binary-input additive-white-Gaussian-noise channel and the binary-input Laplace channel are considered as specific channel models.

Theory of optimal power budget in quasi-linear dispersion-managed fibre links

A theory of an optimal distribution of the gain of in-line amplifiers in dispersion-managed transmission systems is developed. As an example of the application of the general method, a design of the line with periodically imbalanced in-line amplification is proposed.

A mixed methods investigation of parental factors in non-attendance at general paediatric hospital outpatient appointments

Non-attendance at paediatric outpatient appointments results in delayed diagnosis and treatment, putting children at risk of avoidable ill health, and incurring considerable health service costs. Links between missed appointments and clinical, socio-demographic, and access-related factors have been indicated, but parental cognitions associated with non-attendance have yet to be investigated. The aims of this project were to evaluate the effectiveness and theoretical bases of existing interventions designed to reduce non-attendance; to consider the ways in which missed appointments are managed by healthcare providers; to explore parents’ beliefs and experiences of attending and missing appointments; and to investigate the factors underlying these beliefs. A systematic literature review focusing on non-attendance interventions was conducted Within a mixed methods framework, interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals, subsequent interviews were conducted with parents who had attended or missed a General Paediatric outpatient appointment, and a cross-sectional questionnaire study of parents’ beliefs was implemented. The systematic review revealed that text message appointment reminders are effective at reducing non-attendance rates, but that no interventions have thus far been developed using theories of behaviour. Healthcare professionals recognised both barriers and parents’ beliefs as influences on attendance, but also believed there were ‘types’ of families who miss appointments. Healthcare professionals disagreed somewhat about how non-attendance should best be managed. The parent interview study found six themes. The findings reflect parents’ perceptions about the importance of attending and of their ability to attend. The results of the questionnaire study corroborate this structure of beliefs as the analysis produced two factors, the perceived ‘worth’ of attending and anticipated ‘worry’ when attending. This thesis demonstrates an original approach to investigating non-attendance at children’s outpatient appointments, using mixed methods and adopting a psychological rather than service-use perspective. The findings contribute to Health Psychology theory and offer recommendations for healthcare providers.

Making hiring decisions:a grounded theory approach to a practise-based study of filtering in selection

This thesis objective is to discover “How are informal decisions reached by screeners when filtering out undesirable job applications?” Grounded theory techniques were employed in the field to observe and analyse informal decisions at the source by screeners in three distinct empirical studies. Whilst grounded theory provided the method for case and cross-case analysis, literature from academic and non-academic sources was evaluated and integrated to strengthen this research and create a foundation for understanding informal decisions. As informal decisions in early hiring processes have been under researched, this thesis contributes to current knowledge in several ways. First, it locates the Cycle of Employment which enhances Robertson and Smith’s (1993) Selection Paradigm through the integration of stages that individuals occupy whilst seeking employment. Secondly, a general depiction of the Workflow of General Hiring Processes provides a template for practitioners to map and further develop their organisational processes. Finally, it highlights the emergence of the Locality Effect, which is a geographically driven heuristic and bias that can significantly impact recruitment and informal decisions. Although screeners make informal decisions using multiple variables, informal decisions are made in stages as evidence in the Cycle of Employment. Moreover, informal decisions can be erroneous as a result of a majority and minority influence, the weighting of information, the injection of inappropriate information and criteria, and the influence of an assessor. This thesis considers these faults and develops a basic framework of understanding informal decisions to which future research can be launched.

Representation, control, or reasoning? Distinct functions for theory of mind within the medial prefrontal cortex

The medial pFC (mPFC) is frequently reported to play a central role in Theory of Mind (ToM). However, the contribution of this large cortical region in ToM is not well understood. Combining a novel behavioral task with fMRI, we sought to demonstrate functional divisions between dorsal and rostral mPFC. All conditions of the task required the representation of mental states (beliefs and desires). The level of demands on cognitive control (high vs. low) and the nature of the demands on reasoning (deductive vs. abductive) were varied orthogonally between conditions. Activation in dorsal mPFC was modulated by the need for control, whereas rostral mPFC was modulated by reasoning demands. These findings fit with previously suggested domain-general functions for different parts of mPFC and suggest that these functions are recruited selectively in the service of ToM.