Fantasy proneness and counterfactual thinking

Counterfactual thinking (CFT; mentally simulating alternatives to reality) is central to learning and motivation. Two studies explored the relationship between CFT and fantasy proneness, a personality trait typified by excessive fantasies hard to distinguish from reality. In study1, participants completed a fictional diary entry which was used to measure spontaneous CFT and the Creative Experiences Questionnaire measure of fantasy proneness. Fantasy proneness was significantly correlated with the generation of counterfactual thoughts. Both CFT and fantasy proneness have been independently associated with low mood and study2 included a measure of negative emotional state (the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale) in addition to the CEQ and CFT. Fantasy proneness and negative emotion both predicted CFT, but no interaction between them was observed. The results suggest that individuals high in fantasy proneness have a general tendency to think counterfactually. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd

When Waiting is not an Option : Learning Options with a Deliberation Cost

Recent work has shown that temporally extended actions (options) can be learned fully end-to-end as opposed to being specified in advance. While the problem of "how" to learn options is increasingly well understood, the question of "what" good options should be has remained elusive. We formulate our answer to what "good" options should be in the bounded rationality framework (Simon, 1957) through the notion of deliberation cost. We then derive practical gradient-based learning algorithms to implement this objective. Our results in the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE) show increased performance and interpretability

Electrical processes in planetary atmospheres

Lightning is common throughout the Solar System, and charging of particles occurs in all atmospheres due to ionization from galactic cosmic rays. Here, some electrical processes relevant to the atmosphere of Venus are outlined and discussed in a comparative planetology context.Comment: Proceedings of the Electrostatics Society of America Conference, Ottawa, June 201

Lieu de contrôle, représentations sociales et modèles d’intervention éducative dans une perspective interdisciplinaire : une étude exploratoire auprès d’enseignantes et d’enseignants du primaire au Québec

L'article présente des résultats préliminaires et partiels d'une recherche portant sur les représentations sociales de l'interdisciplinarité scolaire chez des ensei- gnantes et des enseignants du primaire au Québec. Après avoir souligné l'ambiguïté dans laquelle baignent les concepts d'interdisciplinarité et d'intégration des matières dans le monde de l'éducation, les auteurs esquissent un modèle d'intervention éducative et présentent les concepts qui sous-tendent la recherche exploratoire. Les résultats tendent à montrer un lien positif entre une représentation non hiérarchisée des matières scolaires et un modèle d'intervention éducative favorisant une pratique interdisciplinaire.This article presents preliminary and partial results of a research of Québec primary level teachers' social representations of an interdisciplinary curriculum. Following a discussion of the ambiguities that surround the concepts of interdisciplinarity and subject integration, the authors propose an intervention model and present the concepts underlying an exploratory research project. The results seem to show a positive relationship between a non-hierarchical representation of school subjects and a intervention model supporting an interdisciplinary-approach.El articulo présenta resultados preliminares y parciales de una investigation sobre las representaciones sociales de la interdisciplinaridad escolar entre las maestras y los maestros del primario en Québec. Después de haber subrayado la ambigtiedad que habita los conceptos de interdisciplinaridad y de integration de materias en el mundo de la educaciôn, los autores esquizan un modelo de intervencion educativay presentan los conceptos que apoyan el estudio exploratorio. Los resultados tienden a mostrar una relation positiva entre una represen- tation no jerarquizada de las materias escolares y un modelo de intervencion educativa que favorece una pràctica interdisciplinaria.Dieser Artikel legt vorlâufige Teilergebnisse einer Untersuchung vor, die sich mit den sozialen Vorstellungen der schulischen Interdisziplinaritât unter den Québecker Volkschullehrkràften befasst. Nachem sie die Unklarheit hervorgehoben haben, in der sich die Begriffe der Interdisziplinaritât und der Fâcherintegration im Erziehungswesen befinden, skizzieren sic ein Modell des pâdagogischen Vorgehens und legen die Begriffe dar, die dieser vorlàufigen Studie zugrundeliegen. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf ein positives Verhâltnis zwischen einer nicht hierarchisierten Vorstellung der Schulfàcher und einem pâdagogischen Modell, das eine interdisziplinâre Praxis begiïnstigt

The M 31 double nucleus probed with OASIS and HST. A natural m=1 mode?

We present observations with the adaptive optics assisted integral field spectrograph OASIS of the M 31 double nucleus at a spatial resolution better than 0.5 arcsec FWHM. These data are used to derive the two-dimensional stellar kinematics within the central 2 arcsec. Archival WFPC2/HST images are revisited to perform a photometric decomposition of the nuclear region. We also present STIS/HST kinematics obtained from the archive. The luminosity distribution of the central region is well separated into the respective contributions of the bulge, the nucleus including P1 and P2, and the so-called UV peak. We then show that the axis joining P1 and P2, the two local surface brightness maxima, does not coincide with the kinematic major-axis, which is also the major-axis of the nuclear isophotes (excluding P1). We also confirm that the velocity dispersion peak is offset by ~ 0.2 arcsec from the UV peak, assumed to mark the location of the supermassive black hole. The newly reduced STIS/HST velocity and dispersion profiles are then compared to OASIS and other published kinematics. We find significant offsets with previously published data. Simple parametric models are then built to successfully reconcile all the available kinematics. We finally interpret the observations using new N-body simulations. The nearly keplerian nuclear disk of M31 is subject to a natural m=1 mode, with a very slow pattern speed (3 km/s/pc for M_BH = 7 10^7~\Msun), that can be maintained during more than a thousand dynamical times. The resulting morphology and kinematics of the mode can reproduce the M~31 nuclear-disk photometry and mean stellar velocity, including the observed asymmetries. It requires a central mass concentration and a cold disk system representing between 20 and 40% of its mass. Abridged..Comment: 21 pages. accepted for publication in A&

Morphology and kinematics of the ionised gas in early-type galaxies

We present results of our ongoing study of the morphology and kinematics of the ionised gas in 48 representative nearby elliptical and lenticular galaxies using the SAURON integral-field spectrograph on the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. Making use of a recently developed technique, emission is detected in 75% of the galaxies. The ionised-gas distributions display varied morphologies, ranging from regular gas disks to filamentary structures. Additionally, the emission-line kinematic maps show, in general, regular motions with smooth variations in kinematic position angle. In most of the galaxies, the ionised-gas kinematics is decoupled from the stellar counterpart, but only some of them present signatures of recent accretion of gaseous material. The presence of dust is very common in our sample and is usually accompanied by gas emission. Our analysis of the [OIII]/Hbeta emission-line ratios, both across the whole sample as well as within the individual galaxies, suggests that there is no unique mechanism triggering the ionisation of the gas.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to "Adaptive Optics-Assisted Integral-Field Spectroscopy", Rutten R.G.M., Benn C.R., Mendez J., eds., May 2005, La Palma (Spain), New Astr. Rev. For full resolution PS, see http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~jfalcon/JFB_AOmeeting_color_hires.ps.g

Probing the stellar populations of early-type galaxies: the SAURON survey

The SAURON project will deliver two-dimensional spectroscopic data of a sample of nearby early-type galaxies with unprecedented quality. In this paper, we focus on the mapping of their stellar populations using the SAURON data, and present some preliminary results on a few prototypical cases.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. ASP Conference, Galaxies: the Third Dimension, Cozumel. Version with higher resolution figures available at http://www-obs.univ-lyon1.fr/eric.emsellem/papers/cozumel_emsellem.ps.g