Sonar gain control in echolocating finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) in an open water (L)

Source levels of echolocating free-ranging Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) were calculated using a range estimated by measuring the time delays of the signals via the surface and bottom reflection paths to the hydrophone, relative to the direct signal. Peak-to-peak source levels for finless porpoise were from 163.7 to 185.6 dB re:1 mu Pa. The source levels are highly range dependent and varied approximately as a function of the one-way transmission loss for signals traveling from the animals to the hydrophone. (c) 2006 Acoustical Society of America.

Seasonal variation in metabolism of cultured Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, in Sanggou Bay, China

Rates of respiration and excretion of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, were measured seasonally from June 2002 to July 2003 under ambient conditions of food, water temperature, pH, and salinity in Sanggou Bay, an important mariculture coast in north China. The aim of this study is to obtain fundamental data for further establishing an energy budget model and assessing the carrying capacity for cultivation of C. gigas in north China. Oysters were collected monthly or bimonthly from the integrated culture areas of bivalve and kelp in the bay. Oxygen consumption and ammonium and phosphorus excretion rates were measured, and ratios of O/N and NIP were calculated. One-way ANOVA was applied to determine differences among these parameters that act as a function of seasonal variation. All the physiological parameters yielded highly significant variations with season (P<0.01) The rate of respiration varied seasonally, with the highest oxygen consumption rate in July and the lowest rate in January, ranging from 0.07 to 2.13 mg O-2 h(-1) g(-1) dry tissue weight (DW). Maximum and minimum ammonium excretion rates were recorded in August and January, respectively, ranging from 0.51 to 5.40 mu mol NH4-N h(-1) g(-1) DW. Rates of phosphorus excretion varied from 0.11 (in January) to 0.64 (in July) mu mol PO4-P h(-1) g(-1) DW. The O/N and N/P ratios changed from 9.2 (in January) to 59.8 (in July) and from 4.6 (in January) to 10.9 (in August), respectively. For each season, the allometric relationship between the physiological response (e.g., rate of oxygen consumption, ammonium and phosphorus excretion) and DW of the animal was estimated using the formula: Y=a x DWb. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

积分偏移的计算几何与并行实现

The Second Round of Oil & Gas Exploration needs more precision imaging method, velocity vs. depth model and geometry description on Complicated Geological Mass. Prestack time migration on inhomogeneous media was the technical basic of velocity analysis, prestack time migration on Rugged surface, angle gather and multi-domain noise suppression. In order to realize this technique, several critical technical problems need to be solved, such as parallel computation, velocity algorithm on ununiform grid and visualization. The key problem is organic combination theories of migration and computational geometry. Based on technical problems of 3-D prestack time migration existing in inhomogeneous media and requirements from nonuniform grid, parallel process and visualization, the thesis was studied systematically on three aspects: Infrastructure of velocity varies laterally Green function traveltime computation on ununiform grid, parallel computational of kirchhoff integral migration and 3D visualization, by combining integral migration theory and Computational Geometry. The results will provide powerful technical support to the implement of prestack time migration and convenient compute infrastructure of wave number domain simulation in inhomogeneous media. The main results were obtained as follows: 1. Symbol of one way wave Lie algebra integral, phase and green function traveltime expressions were analyzed, and simple 2-D expression of Lie algebra integral symbol phase and green function traveltime in time domain were given in inhomogeneous media by using pseudo-differential operators’ exponential map and Lie group algorithm preserving geometry structure. Infrastructure calculation of five parts, including derivative, commutating operator, Lie algebra root tree, exponential map root tree and traveltime coefficients , was brought forward when calculating asymmetry traveltime equation containing lateral differential in 3-D by this method. 2. By studying the infrastructure calculation of asymmetry traveltime in 3-D based on lateral velocity differential and combining computational geometry, a method to build velocity library and interpolate on velocity library using triangulate was obtained, which fit traveltime calculate requirements of parallel time migration and velocity estimate. 3. Combining velocity library triangulate and computational geometry, a structure which was convenient to calculate differential in horizontal, commutating operator and integral in vertical was built. Furthermore, recursive algorithm, for calculating architecture on lie algebra integral and exponential map root tree (Magnus in Math), was build and asymmetry traveltime based on lateral differential algorithm was also realized. 4. Based on graph theory and computational geometry, a minimum cycle method to decompose area into polygon blocks, which can be used as topological representation of migration result was proposed, which provided a practical method to block representation and research to migration interpretation results. 5. Based on MPI library, a process of bringing parallel migration algorithm at arbitrary sequence traces into practical was realized by using asymmetry traveltime based on lateral differential calculation and Kirchhoff integral method. 6. Visualization of geological data and seismic data were studied by the tools of OpenGL and Open Inventor, based on computational geometry theory, and a 3D visualize system on seismic imaging data was designed.

表面相关多次波衰减方法与应用研究

The function of seismic data in prospecting and exploring oil and gas has exceeded ascertaining structural configuration early. In order to determine the advantageous target area more exactly, we need exactly image the subsurface media. So prestack migration imaging especially prestack depth migration has been used increasingly widely. Currently, seismic migration imaging methods are mainly based on primary energy and most of migration methods use one-way wave equation. Multiple will mask primary and sometimes will be regarded as primary and interferes with the imaging of primary, so multiple elimination is still a very important research subject. At present there are three different wavefield prediction and subtraction methods: wavefield extrapolation; feedback loop; and inverse-scattering series. I mainly do research on feedback loop method in this paper. Feedback loop method includs prediction and subtraction.Currently this method has some problems as follows. Firstly, feedback loop method requires the seismic data used to predict multiple is full wavefield data, but usually the original seismic data don’t meet this assumption, so seismic data must be regularized. Secondly, Multiple predicted through feedback loop method usually can’t match the real multiple in seismic data and they are different in amplitude, phase and arrrival time. So we need match the predicted multiple and that in seismic data through estimating filtering factors and subtract multiple from seismic data. It is the key for multiple elimination how to select a correct matching filtering method. There are many matching filtering methods and I put emphasis on Least-square adaptive matching filtering and L1-norm minimizing adaptive matching filtering methods. Least-square adaptive matching filtering method is computationally very fast, but it has two assumptions: the signal has minimum energy and is orthogonal to the noise. When seismic data don’t meet the two assumptions, this method can’t get good matching results and then can’t attenuate multiple correctly. L1-norm adaptive matching filtering methods can avoid these two assumptions and then get good matching results, but this method is computationally a little slow. The results of my research are as follows: 1. Proposed a method that interpolates seismic traces based on F-K migration and demigration. The main advantage of this method is that it can interpolate seismic traces in any offsets. It shows this method is valid through a simple model. 2. Comparing different Least-square adaptive matching filtering methods. The results show that equipose multi-channel adaptive matching filtering methods can get better results of multiple elimination than other matcing methods through three model data and two field data. 3. Proposed equipose multi-channel L1-norm adaptive matching filtering method. Because L1-norm is robust to large amplitude differences, there are no assumption on the signal has minimum energy and orthogonality, this method can get better results of multiple elimination. 4. Research on multiple elimination in inverse data space. The method is a new multiple elimination method and it is different from those methods mentioned above.The advantages of this method is that it is simple in theory and no need for the adaptive subtraction and computationally very fast. The disadvantage of this method is that it is not stabilized in its solution. The results show that equipose multi-channel and equipose pesudo-multi-channel least-square matching filtering and equipose multi-channel and equipose pesudo-multi-channel L1-norm matching filtering methods can get better results of multiple elimination than other matcing methods through three model data and many field data.

全局优化的Fourier有限差分偏移方法研究

Seismic exploration is the main method of seeking oil and gas. With the development of seismic exploration, the target becomes more and more complex, which leads to a higher demand for the accuracy and efficiency in seismic exploration. Fourier finite-difference (FFD) method is one of the most valuable methods in complex structure exploration, which has obtained good effect. However, in complex media with wider angles, the effect of FFD method is not satisfactory. Based on the FFD operator, we extend the two coefficients to be optimized to four coefficients, then optimize them globally using simulated annealing algorithm. Our optimization method select the solution of one-way wave equation as the objective function. Except the velocity contrast, we consider the effects of both frequency and depth interval. The proposed method can improve the angle of FFD method without additional computation time, which can reach 75° in complex media with large lateral velocity contrasts and wider propagation angles. In this thesis, combinating the FFD method and alternative-direction-implicit plus interpolation(ADIPI） method, we obtain 3D FFD with higher accuracy. On the premise of keeping the efficiency of the FFD method, this method not only removes the azimuthal anisotropy but also optimizes the FFD mehod, which is helpful to 3D seismic exploration. We use the multi-parameter global optimization method to optimize the high order term of FFD method. Using lower-order equation to obtain the approximation effect of higher-order equation, not only decreases the computational cost result from higher-order term, but also obviously improves the accuracy of FFD method. We compare the FFD, SAFFD（multi-parameter simulated annealing globally optimized FFD）, PFFD, phase-shift method(PS）, globally optimized FFD （GOFFD）, and higher-order term optimized FFD method. The theoretical analyses and the impulse responses demonstrate that higher-order term optimized FFD method significantly extends the accurate propagation angle of the FFD method, which is useful to complex media with wider propagation angles.

地震波场模拟及叠前深度偏移的李群方法

The processes of seismic wave propagation in phase space and one way wave extrapolation in frequency-space domain, if without dissipation, are essentially transformation under the action of one parameter Lie groups. Consequently, the numerical calculation methods of the propagation ought to be Lie group transformation too, which is known as Lie group method. After a fruitful study on the fast methods in matrix inversion, some of the Lie group methods in seismic numerical modeling and depth migration are presented here. Firstly the Lie group description and method of seismic wave propagation in phase space is proposed, which is, in other words, symplectic group description and method for seismic wave propagation, since symplectic group is a Lie subgroup and symplectic method is a special Lie group method. Under the frame of Hamiltonian, the propagation of seismic wave is a symplectic group transformation with one parameter and consequently, the numerical calculation methods of the propagation ought to be symplectic method. After discrete the wave field in time and phase space, many explicit, implicit and leap-frog symplectic schemes are deduced for numerical modeling. Compared to symplectic schemes, Finite difference (FD) method is an approximate of symplectic method. Consequently, explicit, implicit and leap-frog symplectic schemes and FD method are applied in the same conditions to get a wave field in constant velocity model, a synthetic model and Marmousi model. The result illustrates the potential power of the symplectic methods. As an application, symplectic method is employed to give synthetic seismic record of Qinghai foothills model. Another application is the development of Ray+symplectic reverse-time migration method. To make a reasonable balance between the computational efficiency and accuracy, we combine the multi-valued wave field & Green function algorithm with symplectic reverse time migration and thus develop a new ray+wave equation prestack depth migration method. Marmousi model data and Qinghai foothills model data are processed here. The result shows that our method is a better alternative to ray migration for complex structure imaging. Similarly, the extrapolation of one way wave in frequency-space domain is a Lie group transformation with one parameter Z and consequently, the numerical calculation methods of the extrapolation ought to be Lie group methods. After discrete the wave field in depth and space, the Lie group transformation has the form of matrix exponential and each approximation of it gives a Lie group algorithm. Though Pade symmetrical series approximation of matrix exponential gives a extrapolation method which is traditionally regarded as implicit FD migration, it benefits the theoretic and applying study of seismic imaging for it represent the depth extrapolation and migration method in a entirely different way. While, the technique of coordinates of second kind for the approximation of the matrix exponential begins a new way to develop migration operator. The inversion of matrix plays a vital role in the numerical migration method given by Pade symmetrical series approximation. The matrix has a Toepelitz structure with a helical boundary condition and is easy to inverse with LU decomposition. A efficient LU decomposition method is spectral factorization. That is, after the minimum phase correlative function of each array of matrix had be given by a spectral factorization method, all of the functions are arranged in a position according to its former location to get a lower triangular matrix. The major merit of LU decomposition with spectral factorization (SF Decomposition) is its efficiency in dealing with a large number of matrixes. After the setup of a table of the spectral factorization results of each array of matrix, the SF decomposition can give the lower triangular matrix by reading the table. However, the relationship among arrays is ignored in this method, which brings errors in decomposition method. Especially for numerical calculation in complex model, the errors is fatal. Direct elimination method can give the exact LU decomposition But even it is simplified in our case, the large number of decomposition cost unendurable computer time. A hybrid method is proposed here, which combines spectral factorization with direct elimination. Its decomposition errors is 10 times little than that of spectral factorization, and its decomposition speed is quite faster than that of direct elimination, especially in dealing with a large number of matrix. With the hybrid method, the 3D implicit migration can be expected to apply on real seismic data. Finally, the impulse response of 3D implicit migration operator is presented.

双聚焦偏移速度估计与可分表示叠前弹性反演

In exploration seismology, the geologic target of oil and gas reservoir in complex medium request the high accuracy image of the structure and lithology of the medium. So the study of the prestack image and the elastic inversion of seismic wave in the complex medium come to the leading edge. The seismic response measured at the surface carries two fundamental pieces of information: the propagation effects of the medium and the reflections from the different layer boundaries in the medium. The propagation represent the low-wavenumber component of the medium, it is so-called the trend or macro layering, whereas the reflections represent the high-wavenumber component of the medium, it is called the detailed or fine layering. The result of migration velocity analysis is the resolution of the low-wavenumber component of the medium, but the prestack elastic inversion provided the resolution of the high-wavvenumber component the medium. In the dissertation, the two aspects about the migration velocity estimation and the elastic inversion have been studied.Firstly, any migration velocity analysis methods must include two basic elements: the criterion that tell us how to know whether the model parameters are correct and the updating that tell us how to update the model parameters when they are incorrect, which are effected on the properties and efficiency of the velocity estimation method. In the dissertation, a migration velocity analysis method based on the CFP technology has been presented in which the strategy of the top-down layer stripping approach are adapted to avoid the difficult of the selecting reduce .The proposed method has a advantage that the travel time errors obtained from the DTS panel are defined directly in time which is the difference with the method based on common image gather in which the residual curvature measured in depth should be converted to travel time errors.In the proposed migration velocity analysis method, the four aspects have been improved as follow:? The new parameterization of velocity model is provided in which the boundaries of layers are interpolated with the cubic spline of the control location and the velocity with a layer may change along with lateral position but the value is calculated as a segmented linear function of the velocity of the lateral control points. The proposed parameterization is suitable to updating procedure.? The analytical formulas to represent the travel time errors and the model parameters updates in the t-p domain are derived under local lateral homogeneous. The velocity estimations are iteratively computed as parametric inversion. The zero differential time shift in the DTS panel for each layer show the convergence of the velocity estimation.? The method of building initial model using the priori information is provided to improve the efficiency of velocity analysis. In the proposed method, Picking interesting events in the stacked section to define the boundaries of the layers and the results of conventional velocity analysis are used to define the velocity value of the layers? An interactive integrate software environment with the migration velocity analysis and prestack migration is built.The proposed method is firstly used to the synthetic data. The results of velocity estimation show both properties and efficiency of the velocity estimation are very good.The proposed method is also used to the field data which is the marine data set. In this example, the prestack and poststack depth migration of the data are completed using the different velocity models built with different method. The comparison between them shows that the model from the proposed method is better and improves obviously the quality of migration.In terms of the theoretical method of expressing a multi-variable function by products of single-variable functions which is suggested by Song Jian (2001), the separable expression of one-way wave operator has been studied. A optimization approximation with separable expression of the one-way wave operator is presented which easily deal with the lateral change of velocity in space and wave number domain respectively and has good approach accuracy. A new prestack depth migration algorithm based on the optimization approximation separable expression is developed and used to testing the results of velocity estimation.Secondly, according to the theory of the seismic wave reflection and transmission, the change of the amplitude via the incident angle is related to the elasticity of medium in the subsurface two-side. In the conventional inversion with poststack datum, only the information of the reflection operator at the zero incident angles can be used. If the more robust resolutions are requested, the amplitudes of all incident angles should be used.A natural separable expression of the reflection/transmission operator is represented, which is the sum of the products of two group functions. One group function vary with phase space whereas other group function is related to elastic parameters of the medium and geological structure.By employing the natural separable expression of the reflection/transmission operator, the method of seismic wave modeling with the one-way wave equation is developed to model the primary reflected waves, it is adapt to a certain extent heterogeneous media and confirms the accuracy of AVA of the reflections when the incident angle is less than 45'. The computational efficiency of the scheme is greatly high.The natural separable expression of the reflection/transmission operator is also used to construct prestack elastic inversion algorithm. Being different from the AVO analysis and inversion in which the angle gathers formed during the prstack migration are used, the proposed algorithm construct a linear equations during the prestack migration by the separable expression of the reflection/transmission operator. The unknowns of the linear equations are related to the elasticity of the medium, so the resolutions of them provided the elastic information of the medium.The proposed method of inversion is the same as AVO inversion in , the difference between them is only the method processing the amplitude via the incident angle and computational domain.

Autonomic cardiovascular dysregulation as a potential mechanism underlying depression and coronary artery bypass grafting surgery outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is often used to treat patients with significant coronary heart disease (CHD). To date, multiple longitudinal and cross-sectional studies have examined the association between depression and CABG outcomes. Although this relationship is well established, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, we compared three markers of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function in four groups of patients: 1) Patients with coronary heart disease and depression (CHD/Dep), 2) Patients without CHD but with depression (NonCHD/Dep), 3) Patients with CHD but without depression (CHD/NonDep), and 4) Patients without CHD and depression (NonCHD/NonDep). Second, we investigated the impact of depression and autonomic nervous system activity on CABG outcomes. METHODS: Patients were screened to determine whether they met some of the study's inclusion or exclusion criteria. ANS function (i.e., heart rate, heart rate variability, and plasma norepinephrine levels) were measured. Chi-square and one-way analysis of variance were performed to evaluate group differences across demographic, medical variables, and indicators of ANS function. Logistic regression and multiple regression analyses were used to assess impact of depression and autonomic nervous system activity on CABG outcomes. RESULTS: The results of the study provide some support to suggest that depressed patients with CHD have greater ANS dysregulation compared to those with only CHD or depression. Furthermore, independent predictors of in-hospital length of stay and non-routine discharge included having a diagnosis of depression and CHD, elevated heart rate, and low heart rate variability. CONCLUSIONS: The current study presents evidence to support the hypothesis that ANS dysregulation might be one of the underlying mechanisms that links depression to cardiovascular CABG surgery outcomes. Thus, future studies should focus on developing and testing interventions that targets modifying ANS dysregulation, which may lead to improved patient outcomes.

Structure, function, and phylogeny of the mating locus in the Rhizopus oryzae complex.

The Rhizopus oryzae species complex is a group of zygomycete fungi that are common, cosmopolitan saprotrophs. Some strains are used beneficially for production of Asian fermented foods but they can also act as opportunistic human pathogens. Although R. oryzae reportedly has a heterothallic (+/-) mating system, most strains have not been observed to undergo sexual reproduction and the genetic structure of its mating locus has not been characterized. Here we report on the mating behavior and genetic structure of the mating locus for 54 isolates of the R. oryzae complex. All 54 strains have a mating locus similar in overall organization to Phycomyces blakesleeanus and Mucor circinelloides (Mucoromycotina, Zygomycota). In all of these fungi, the minus (-) allele features the SexM high mobility group (HMG) gene flanked by an RNA helicase gene and a TP transporter gene (TPT). Within the R. oryzae complex, the plus (+) mating allele includes an inserted region that codes for a BTB/POZ domain gene and the SexP HMG gene. Phylogenetic analyses of multiple genes, including the mating loci (HMG, TPT, RNA helicase), ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA, RPB2, and LDH genes, identified two distinct groups of strains. These correspond to previously described sibling species R. oryzae sensu stricto and R. delemar. Within each species, discordant gene phylogenies among multiple loci suggest an outcrossing population structure. The hypothesis of random-mating is also supported by a 50:50 ratio of plus and minus mating types in both cryptic species. When crossed with tester strains of the opposite mating type, most isolates of R. delemar failed to produce zygospores, while isolates of R. oryzae produced sterile zygospores. In spite of the reluctance of most strains to mate in vitro, the conserved sex locus structure and evidence for outcrossing suggest that a normal sexual cycle occurs in both species.

Habitat associations of the red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris and grey squirrel S-carolinensis in Northern Ireland

A survey of red and grey squirrel habitat associations in Northern Ireland was conducted between September 1994 and August 1995. Two hundred and sixty-one sites were visited and a list of habitat characteristics for each site was noted. Multiple discriminant function analysis of the habitat type was employed to group squirrel occurrence, while contingency analysis examined independence of habitat type and squirrel species presence. Habitat associations differed between the two species. One-way ANOVAs of habitat data suggested that sites occupied by red squirrels only were predominantly coniferous, at higher altitude and latitude and much larger in area than sites occupied by grey squirrels only, which were mostly deciduous. When both species were sympatric, sites were more likely to be coniferous and larger in area than sites occupied by either species. Grey squirrels were less frequent than expected in upland plantations and more frequent than expected in parkland and gardens; the opposite was true for red squirrels. The mean distance between sites with only red squirrels and the nearest site with grey squirrels was greater than the mean distance between sites with only grey squirrels and the nearest site with red squirrels. An approach to conserving the red squirrel in view of the continued expansion in the grey squirrel's distribution in Ireland is discussed.

Living is Information Processing: From Molecules to Global Systems

We extend the concept that life is an informational phenomenon, at every level of organisation, from molecules to the global ecological system. According to this thesis: (a) living is information processing, in which memory is maintained by both molecular states and ecological states as well as the more obvious nucleic acid coding; (b) this information processing has one overall function-to perpetuate itself; and (c) the processing method is filtration (cognition) of, and synthesis of, information at lower levels to appear at higher levels in complex systems (emergence). We show how information patterns, are united by the creation of mutual context, generating persistent consequences, to result in 'functional information'. This constructive process forms arbitrarily large complexes of information, the combined effects of which include the functions of life. Molecules and simple organisms have already been measured in terms of functional information content; we show how quantification may be extended to each level of organisation up to the ecological. In terms of a computer analogy, life is both the data and the program and its biochemical structure is the way the information is embodied. This idea supports the seamless integration of life at all scales with the physical universe. The innovation reported here is essentially to integrate these ideas, basing information on the 'general definition' of information, rather than simply the statistics of information, thereby explaining how functional information operates throughout life. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Can the Revised UK Code Direct Practice?

The Nursing and Midwifery Council, the United Kingdom regulator of nursing and midwifery has recently revised its professional code of practice. This paper begins by arguing that a professional code must be capable of sustaining close reading and of action guidance. Using four exemplar clauses it is argued that the new revised code does not met this purpose. First, I show that in setting out requirements for consent and documentation, the meaning of the relevant clause has changed significantly during the editing process so that a literal reading of the final document bears little relation to established professional practice. Second, I argue that the clause concerning the nature of professional relationships has also been altered during the editing process so that it is inconsistent with other professional groups and established accounts of the professional nurse-patient relationship. Third, I argue that the clause concerning disclosure of confidential information, which survived revision and editing with its meaning intact is nevertheless factually incorrect and inconsistent with UK law and authoritative guidance. Finally, fourth, I argue that use of the word ‘inappropriate’ is inappropriate as it amounts to meaningless circularity, discussed in relation to a clause on expressing personal beliefs. Taken together, these examples demonstrate that the Code is seriously flawed and does not fulfil its purpose. One way that simple prescriptive clauses in the Code can be usefully understood is through the provision of detailed guidance. I argue that the NMC has changed its position on its view of the value of guidance and has significantly reduced the amount of written guidance and advice is provides. The paper concludes by arguing that in order to meet its action directing function, further clarifying revision and the provision of detailed guidance is required.

Husserl's approach to transcendental intersubjectivity

It is our intention in the course of the development of this thesis to give an account of how intersubjectivity is "eidetically" constituted by means of the application of the phenomenological reduction to our experience in the context of the thought of Edmund Husserl; contrasted with various representative thinkers in what H. Spiegelberg refers to as "the wider scene" of phenomenology. That is to say, we intend to show those structures of both consciousness and the relation which man has to the world which present themselves as the generic conditions for the possibility of overcoming our "radical sol itude" in order that we may gain access to the mental 1 ife of an Other as other human subject. It is clear that in order for us to give expression to these accounts in a coherent manner, along with their relative merits, it will be necessary to develop the common features of any phenomenological theory of consdousness whatever. Therefore, our preliminary inquiry, subordinate to the larger theme, shall be into some of the epistemological results of the application of the phenomenological method used to develop a transcendental theory of consciousness. Inherent in this will be the deliniation of the exigency for making this an lIintentional ll theory. We will then be able to see how itis possible to overcome transcendentally the Other as an object merely given among other merely given objects, and further, how this other is constituted specifically as other ego. The problem of transcendental intersubjectivity and its constitution in experience can be viewed as one of the most compelling, if not the most polemical of issues in phenomenology. To be sure, right from the beginning we are forced to ask a number of questions regarding Husserl's responses to the problem within the context of the methodological genesis of the Cartesian Meditations, and The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology. This we do in order to set the stage for amplification. First, we ask, has Husserl lived up to his goal, in this connexion, of an apodictic result? We recall that in his Logos article of 1911 he adminished that previous philosophy does not have at its disposal a merely incomplete and, in particular instances, imperfect doctrinal system; it simply has none whatever. Each and every question is herein controverted, each position is a matter of individual conviction, of the interpretation given byaschool, of a "point of view". 1. Moreover in the same article he writes that his goal is a philosophical system of doctrine that, after the gigantic preparatory work. of generations, really be- . gins from the ground up with a foundation free from doubt and rises up like any skilful construction, wherein stone is set upon store, each as solid as the other, in accord with directive insights. 2. Reflecting upon the fact that he foresaw "preparatory work of generations", we perhaps should not expect that he would claim that his was the last word on the matter of intersubjectivity. Indeed, with 2. 'Edmund Husserl, lIPhilosophy as a Rigorous Science" in Phenomenology and theCrisis6fPhilosophy, trans". with an introduction by Quentin Lauer (New York.: Harper & Row, 1965) pp. 74 .. 5. 2Ibid . pp. 75 .. 6. 3. the relatively small amount of published material by Husserl on the subject we can assume that he himself was not entirely satisfied with his solution. The second question we have is that if the transcendental reduction is to yield the generic and apodictic structures of the relationship of consciousness to its various possible objects, how far can we extend this particular constitutive synthetic function to intersubjectivity where the objects must of necessity always remain delitescent? To be sure, the type of 'object' here to be considered is unlike any other which might appear in the perceptual field. What kind of indubitable evidence will convince us that the characteristic which we label "alter-ego" and which we attribute to an object which appears to resemble another body which we have never, and can never see the whole of (namely, our own bodies), is nothing more than a cleverly contrived automaton? What;s the nature of this peculiar intentional function which enables us to say "you think just as I do"? If phenomenology is to take such great pains to reduce the takenfor- granted, lived, everyday world to an immanent world of pure presentation, we must ask the mode of presentation for transcendent sub .. jectivities. And in the end, we must ask if Husserl's argument is not reducible to a case (however special) of reasoning by analogy, and if so, tf this type of reasoning is not so removed from that from whtch the analogy is made that it would render all transcendental intersubjective understandtng impos'sible? 2. HistoticalandEidetic Priority: The Necessity of Abstraction 4. The problem is not a simple one. What is being sought are the conditions for the poss ibili:ty of experi encing other subjects. More precisely, the question of the possibility of intersubjectivity is the question of the essence of intersubjectivity. What we are seeking is the absolute route from one solitude to another. Inherent in this programme is the ultimate discovery of the meaning of community. That this route needs be lIabstract" requires some explanation. It requires little explanation that we agree with Husserl in the aim of fixing the goal of philosophy on apodictic, unquestionable results. This means that we seek a philosophical approach which is, though, not necessarily free from assumptions, one which examines and makes explicit all assumptions in a thorough manner. It would be helpful at this point to distinguish between lIeidetic ll priority, and JlhistoricallJpriority in order to shed some light on the value, in this context, of an abstraction.3 It is true that intersubjectivity is mundanely an accomplished fact, there havi.ng been so many mi.llions of years for humans to beIt eve in the exi s tence of one another I s abili ty to think as they do. But what we seek is not to study how this proceeded historically, but 3Cf• Maurice Natanson;·TheJburne in 'Self, a Stud in Philoso h and Social Role (Santa Cruz, U. of California Press, 1970 . rather the logical, nay, "psychological" conditions under which this is possible at all. It is therefore irrelevant to the exigesis of this monograph whether or not anyone should shrug his shoulders and mumble IIwhy worry about it, it is always already engaged". By way of an explanation of the value of logical priority, we can find an analogy in the case of language. Certainly the language 5. in a spoken or written form predates the formulation of the appropriate grammar. However, this grammar has a logical priority insofar as it lays out the conditions from which that language exhibits coherence. The act of formulating the grammar is a case of abstraction. The abstraction towards the discovery of the conditions for the poss; bi 1 ity of any experiencing whatever, for which intersubjective experience is a definite case, manifests itself as a sort of "grammar". This "grammar" is like the basic grammar of a language in the sense that these "rulesil are the ~ priori conditions for the possibility of that experience. There is, we shall say, an "eidetic priority", or a generic condition which is the logical antecedent to the taken-forgranted object of experience. In the case of intersubjectivity we readily grant that one may mundanely be aware of fellow-men as fellowmen, but in order to discover how that awareness is possible it is necessary to abstract from the mundane, believed-in experience. This process of abstraction is the paramount issue; the first step, in the search for an apodictic basis for social relations. How then is this abstraction to be accomplished? What is the nature of an abstraction which would permit us an Archimedean point, absolutely grounded, from which we may proceed? The answer can be discovered in an examination of Descartes in the light of Husserl's criticism. 3. The Impulse for Scientific Philosophy. The Method to which it Gives Rise. 6. Foremost in our inquiry is the discovery of a method appropriate to the discovery of our grounding point. For the purposes of our investigations, i.e., that of attempting to give a phenomenological view of the problem of intersubjectivity, it would appear to be of cardinal importance to trace the attempt of philosophy predating Husserl, particularly in the philosophy of Descartes, at founding a truly IIscientific ll philosophy. Paramount in this connexion would be the impulse in the Modern period, as the result of more or less recent discoveries in the natural sciences, to found philosophy upon scientific and mathematical principles. This impulse was intended to culminate in an all-encompassing knowledge which might extend to every realm of possible thought, viz., the universal science ot IIMathexis Universalis ll •4 This was a central issue for Descartes, whose conception of a universal science would include all the possible sciences of man. This inclination towards a science upon which all other sciences might be based waS not to be belittled by Husserl, who would appropriate 4This term, according to Jacab Klein, was first used by Barocius, the translator of Proclus into Latin, to designate the highest mathematical discipline. . 7. it himself in hopes of establishing, for the very first time, philosophy as a "rigorous science". It bears emphasizing that this in fact was the drive for the hardening of the foundations of philosophy, the link between the philosophical projects of Husserl and those of the philosophers of the modern period. Indeed, Husserl owes Descartes quite a debt for indicating the starting place from which to attempt a radical, presupositionless, and therefore scientific philosophy, in order not to begin philosophy anew, but rather for the first time.5 The aim of philosophy for Husserl is the search for apodictic, radical certitude. However while he attempted to locate in experience the type of necessity which is found in mathematics, he wished this necessity to be a function of our life in the world, as opposed to the definition and postulation of an axiomatic method as might be found in the unexpurgated attempts to found philosophy in Descartes. Beyond the necessity which is involved in experiencing the world, Husserl was searching for the certainty of roots, of the conditi'ons which underl ie experience and render it pOssible. Descartes believed that hi~ MeditatiOns had uncovered an absolute ground for knowledge, one founded upon the ineluctable givenness of thinking which is present even when one doubts thinking. Husserl, in acknowledging this procedure is certainly Cartesian, but moves, despite this debt to Descartes, far beyond Cartesian philosophy i.n his phenomenology (and in many respects, closer to home). 5Cf. Husserl, Philosophy as a Rigorous Science, pp. 74ff. 8 But wherein lies this Cartesian jumping off point by which we may vivify our theme? Descartes, through inner reflection, saw that all of his convictions and beliefs about the world were coloured in one way or another by prejudice: ... at the end I feel constrained to reply that there is nothing in a all that I formerly believed to be true, of which I cannot in some measure doubt, and that not merely through want of thought or through levity, but for reasons which are very powerful and maturely considered; so that henceforth I ought not the less carefully to refrain from giving credence to these opinions than to that which is manifestly false, if I desire to arrive at any certainty (in the sciences). 6 Doubts arise regardless of the nature of belief - one can never completely believe what one believes. Therefore, in order to establish absolutely grounded knowledge, which may serve as the basis fora "universal Science", one must use a method by which one may purge oneself of all doubts and thereby gain some radically indubitable insight into knowledge. Such a method, gescartes found, was that, as indicated above by hi,s own words, of II radical doubt" which "forbids in advance any judgemental use of (previous convictions and) which forbids taking any position with regard to their val idi'ty. ,,7 This is the method of the "sceptical epoche ll , the method of doubting all which had heretofor 6Descartes,Meditations on First Philosophy, first Med., (Libera 1 Arts Press, New York, 1954) trans. by L. LaFl eur. pp. 10. 7Husserl ,CrisiS of Eliroeari SCiences and Trariscendental Phenomenology, (Northwestern U. Press, Evanston, 1 7 ,p. 76. 9. been considered as belonging to the world, including the world itself. What then is left over? Via the process of a thorough and all-inclusive doubting, Descartes discovers that the ego which performs the epoche, or "reduction", is excluded from these things which can be doubted, and, in principle provides something which is beyond doubt. Consequently this ego provides an absolute and apodictic starting point for founding scientific philosophy. By way of this abstention. of bel ief, Desca'rtes managed to reduce the worl d of everyday 1 ife as bel ieved in, to mere 'phenomena', components of the rescogitans:. Thus:, having discovered his Archimedean point, the existence of the ego without question, he proceeds to deduce the 'rest' of the world with the aid of innate ideas and the veracity of God. In both Husserl and Descartes the compelling problem is that of establ ishing a scientific, apodictic phi'losophy based upon presuppos itionless groundwork .. Husserl, in thi.s regard, levels the charge at Descartes that the engagement of his method was not complete, such that hi.S: starting place was not indeed presupositionless, and that the validity of both causality and deductive methods were not called into question i.'n the performance of theepoche. In this way it is easy for an absolute evidence to make sure of the ego as: a first, "absolute, indubitablyexisting tag~end of the worldll , and it is then only a matter of inferring the absolute subs.tance and the other substances which belon.g to the world, along with my own mental substance, using a logically val i d deductive procedure. 8 8Husserl, E.;' Cartesian 'Meditation;, trans. Dorion Cairns (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1970), p. 24 ff.

Reality status evaluations in mediated experiences /

This paper explores the cognitive functions of the Reality Status Evaluation (RSE) system in our experiences of narrative mediated messages (NMM) (fictional, narrative, audio-visual one-way input and moving picture messages), such as fictional TV programs and films. We regard reality in mediated experiences as a special mental and emotional construction and a multi-dimensional concept. We argue that viewers' reality sense in NMM is influenced by many factors with "real - on" as the default value. Some of these factors function as primary mental processes, including the content realism factors of those messages such as Factuality (F), Social Realism (SR), Life Relevance (LR), and Perceptual Realism - involvement (PR), which would have direct impacts on reality evaluations. Other factors, such as Narrative Meaning (NM), Emotional Responses, and personality trait Absorption (AB), will influence the reality evaluations directly or through the mediations of these main dimensions. I designed a questionnaire to study this theoretical construction. I developed items to form scales and sub-scales measuring viewers' subjective experiences of reality evaluations and these factors. Pertinent statistical techniques, such as internal consistency and factorial analysis, were employed to make revisions and improve the quality of the questionnaire. In the formal experiment, after viewing two short films, which were selected as high or low narrative structure messages from previous experiments, participants were required to answer the questionnaire, Absorption questionnaire, and SAM (Self-Assessment Manikin, measuring immediate emotional responses). Results were analyzed using the EQS, structural equation modeling (SEM), and discussed in terms oflatent relations among these subjective factors in mediated experience. The present results supported most of my theoretical hypotheses. In NMM, three main jactors, or dimensions, could be extracted in viewers' subjective reality evaluations: Social Realism (combining with Factuality), Life Relevance and Perceptual Realism. I designed two ways to assess viewers' understanding of na"ative meanings in mediated messages, questionnaire (NM-Q) and rating (NM-R) measurement, and its significant influences on reality evaluations was supported in the final EQS models. Particularly in high story stnlcture messages, the effect of Narrative Meaning (NM) can rarely be explained by only these dimensions of reality evaluations. Also, Empathy seems to playa more important role in RSE of low story structure messages. Also, I focused on two other factors that were pertinent to RSE in NMM, the personality trait Absorption, and Emotional Responses (including two dimensions: Valence and Intensity). Final model results partly supported my theoretical hypotheses about the relationships among Absorption (AB), Social Realism (SR) and Life Relevance (LR); and the immediate impact of Emotional Responses on Perceptual Realism cPR).

Shrinking restarting automata

Restarting automata are a restricted model of computation that was introduced by Jancar et.al. to model the so-called analysis by reduction. A computation of a restarting automaton consists of a sequence of cycles such that in each cycle the automaton performs exactly one rewrite step, which replaces a small part of the tape content by another, even shorter word. Thus, each language accepted by a restarting automaton belongs to the complexity class $CSL cap NP$. Here we consider a natural generalization of this model, called shrinking restarting automaton, where we do no longer insist on the requirement that each rewrite step decreases the length of the tape content. Instead we require that there exists a weight function such that each rewrite step decreases the weight of the tape content with respect to that function. The language accepted by such an automaton still belongs to the complexity class $CSL cap NP$. While it is still unknown whether the two most general types of one-way restarting automata, the RWW-automaton and the RRWW-automaton, differ in their expressive power, we will see that the classes of languages accepted by the shrinking RWW-automaton and the shrinking RRWW-automaton coincide. As a consequence of our proof, it turns out that there exists a reduction by morphisms from the language class $cL(RRWW)$ to the class $cL(RWW)$. Further, we will see that the shrinking restarting automaton is a rather robust model of computation. Finally, we will relate shrinking RRWW-automata to finite-change automata. This will lead to some new insights into the relationships between the classes of languages characterized by (shrinking) restarting automata and some well-known time and space complexity classes.