Intelligence is related to specific processes in visual change detection: Fixed-links modeling of hit rate and reaction time

By means of fixed-links modeling, the present study identified different processes of visual short-term memory (VSTM) functioning and investigated how these processes are related to intelligence. We conducted an experiment where the participants were presented with a color change detection task. Task complexity was manipulated through varying the number of presented stimuli (set size). We collected hit rate and reaction time (RT) as indicators for the amount of information retained in VSTM and speed of VSTM scanning, respectively. Due to the impurity of these measures, however, the variability in hit rate and RT was assumed to consist not only of genuine variance due to individual differences in VSTM retention and VSTM scanning but also of other, non-experimental portions of variance. Therefore, we identified two qualitatively different types of components for both hit rate and RT: (1) non-experimental components representing processes that remained constant irrespective of set size and (2) experimental components reflecting processes that increased as a function of set size. For RT, intelligence was negatively associated with the non-experimental components, but was unrelated to the experimental components assumed to represent variability in VSTM scanning speed. This finding indicates that individual differences in basic processing speed, rather than in speed of VSTM scanning, differentiates between high- and low-intelligent individuals. For hit rate, the experimental component constituting individual differences in VSTM retention was positively related to intelligence. The non-experimental components of hit rate, representing variability in basal processes, however, were not associated with intelligence. By decomposing VSTM functioning into non-experimental and experimental components, significant associations with intelligence were revealed that otherwise might have been obscured.

An updated synthesis of the observed and projected impacts of climate change on the chemical, physical and biological processes in the oceans

The 5th Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states with very high certainty that anthropogenic emissions have caused measurable changes in the physical ocean environment. These changes are summarized with special focus on those that are predicted to have the strongest, most direct effects on ocean biological processes; namely, ocean warming and associated phenomena (including stratification and sea level rise) as well as deoxygenation and ocean acidification. The biological effects of these changes are then discussed for microbes (including phytoplankton), plants, animals, warm and cold-water corals, and ecosystems. The IPCC AR5 highlighted several areas related to both the physical and biological processes that required further research. As a rapidly developing field, there have been many pertinent studies published since the cut off dates for the AR5, which have increased our understanding of the processes at work. This study undertook an extensive review of recently published literature to update the findings of the AR5 and provide a synthesized review on the main issues facing future oceans. The level of detail provided in the AR5 and subsequent work provided a basis for constructing projections of the state of ocean ecosystems in 2100 under two the Representative Concentration Pathways RCP4.5 and 8.5. Finally the review highlights notable additions, clarifications and points of departure from AR5 provided by subsequent studies.

Adherence to a lifestyle physical activity program: Trends over time and associations with processes of change and physical activity

Research on lifestyle physical activity interventions suggests that they help individuals meet the new recommendations for physical activity made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The purpose of this research was to describe the rates of adherence to two lifestyle physical activity intervention arms and to examine the association between adherence and outcome variables, using data from Project PRIME, a lifestyle physical activity intervention based on the transtheoretical model and conducted by the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research, Dallas, Texas. Participants were 250 sedentary healthy adults, aged 35 to 70 years, primarily non-Hispanic White, and in the contemplation and preparation stages of readiness to change. They were randomized to a group (PRIME G) or a mail- and telephone-delivered condition (PRIME C). Adherence measures included attending class (PRIME G), completing a monthly telephone call with a health educator (PRIME C), and completing homework assignments and self-monitoring minutes of moderate- to vigorous physical activity (both groups). In the first results paper, adherence over time and between conditions was examined: Attendance in group, completing the monthly telephone call, and homework completion decreased over time, and participants in PRIME G were more likely to complete homework than those in PRIME C. Paper 2 aimed to determine whether the adherence measures predicted achievement of the CDC/ACSM physical activity guideline. In separate models for the two conditions, a latent variable measuring adherence was found to predict achievement of the guideline. Paper 3 examined the association between adherence measures and the transtheoretical model's processes of change within each condition. For both, participants who completed at least two thirds of the homework assignments improved their use of the processes of change more than those who completed less than that amount. These results suggest that encouraging adherence to a lifestyle physical activity intervention, at least among already motivated volunteers, may increase the likelihood of beneficial changes in the outcomes. ^

Evaluation of a Change Detection Methodology by Means of Binary Thresholding Algorithms and Informational Fusion Processes

Landcover is subject to continuous changes on a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales. Those changes produce significant effects in human and natural activities. Maintaining an updated spatial database with the occurred changes allows a better monitoring of the Earth?s resources and management of the environment. Change detection (CD) techniques using images from different sensors, such as satellite imagery, aerial photographs, etc., have proven to be suitable and secure data sources from which updated information can be extracted efficiently, so that changes can also be inventoried and monitored. In this paper, a multisource CD methodology for multiresolution datasets is applied. First, different change indices are processed, then different thresholding algorithms for change/no_change are applied to these indices in order to better estimate the statistical parameters of these categories, finally the indices are integrated into a change detection multisource fusion process, which allows generating a single CD result from several combination of indices. This methodology has been applied to datasets with different spectral and spatial resolution properties. Then, the obtained results are evaluated by means of a quality control analysis, as well as with complementary graphical representations. The suggested methodology has also been proved efficiently for identifying the change detection index with the higher contribution.

Overcoming resistance to change in business innovation processes

This paper summarizes the experience gained in dealing with resistance to change appeared in the companies when they develop innovative processes related to the adoption of new technologies, tools, equipment, infrastructure and methodologies. Technological innovation is rapidly absorbed by society on a personal level. But at the enterprise level, resistance to innovation can occur at any hierarchical level of the company and may appear with different intensity. Depending on the type of enterprise, the hierarchical level of the employee, the intensity of resistance and other factors, the measures taken are different. In this paper we summarize our experience in the cataloging of the resistance to innovation in terms of impact on workers and showing how technology education and business training can help overcome these resistance forces. This paper describes the experience acquired over 22 projects deployed in the period 2005 to 2011 and that has affected a total of 264 workers of different cultural, technological, business and hierarchical levels.

Processes for identifying regional influences of and responses to increasing atmospheric CO2 and climate change : the MINK project /

"TR052A-H."

Economic impact of the proposed change in the hydrocarbon emission limitation for petrochemical manufacturing processes (R77-3) /

Project no. 10.065.

Managing change and time in dynamic workflow processes

Business environments have become exceedingly dynamic and competitive in recent times. This dynamism is manifested in the form of changing process requirements and time constraints. Workflow technology is currently one of the most promising fields of research in business process automation. However, workflow systems to date do not provide the flexibility necessary to support the dynamic nature of business processes. In this paper we primarily discuss the issues and challenges related to managing change and time in workflows representing dynamic business processes. We also present an analysis of workflow modifications and provide feasibility considerations for the automation of this process.

Antecedents, mechanisms and processes of deinstitutionalization and institutional change:a case study approach to understanding enterprise under duress

Adopting a grounded theory methodology, the study describes how an event and pressure impact upon a process of deinstitutionalization and institutional change. Three case studies were theoretically sampled in relation to each other. They yielded mainly qualitative data from methods that included interviews, observations, participant observations, and document reviews. Each case consisted of a boundaried cluster of small enterprises that were not industry specific and were geographically dispersed. Overall findings describe how an event, i.e. a stimulus, causes disruption, which in turn may cause pressure. Pressure is then translated as a tension within the institutional environment, which is characterized by opposing forces that encourage institutional breakdown and institutional maintenance. Several contributions are made: Deinstitutionalization as a process is inextricable from the formation of institutions – both are needed to make sense of institutional change on a conceptual level but are also inseparable experientially in the field; stimuli are conceptually different to pressures; the historical basis of a stimulus may impact on whether pressure and institutional change occurs; pressure exists in a more dynamic capacity rather than only as a catalyst; institutional breakdown is a non-linear irregular process; ethical and survival pressures as new types were identified; institutional current, as an underpinning mechanism, influences how the tension between institutional breakdown and maintenance plays out.