Neurocognitive Informatics Manifesto.

Informatics studies all aspects of the structure of natural and artificial information systems. Theoretical and abstract approaches to information have made great advances, but human information processing is still unmatched in many areas, including information management, representation and understanding. Neurocognitive informatics is a new, emerging field that should help to improve the matching of artificial and natural systems, and inspire better computational algorithms to solve problems that are still beyond the reach of machines. In this position paper examples of neurocognitive inspirations and promising directions in this area are given

Essays on Productivity and Innovation

Productivity and innovation are essential components for economic growth. This dissertation studies the determinants of productivity and innovation from various perspectives. The first chapter investigates the historical role taken by mass media in increasing agricultural productivity. I use the early twentieth-century establishment of commercial radio in the United States to quantify the impact of locally relevant farm programming on productivity growth. Using variation in exposure to radio due to topography, my analysis shows that the broadcasting of local farm programming led to an increase in the productivity of land used in agriculture that persisted for at least two decades. This positive effect was not limited to a certain region, and was felt in a variety of important crops grown across the country. Consistent with radio reducing information barriers, the productivity gains were more pronounced for farmers in areas with lower literacy rates and economic status, lower media saturation, and reduced transport connectivity via railroads. While the first chapter is about productivity growth in the scale of a country, the second chapter zooms into the productivity of an individual high-skilled worker. I provide evidence that Asian dust storms affect the cognitive performance of high-skilled individuals as they make complex decisions in the strategy board game Go. I develop a novel data set linking historical records of high-level Go games with localized measurements of dust storm activity. Using a powerful artificial intelligence as an expert evaluator of over 400,000 game moves, I examine how quasi-random variation in exposure to Asian dust events affect player performance. I document that dust storms lead to a short-lived but sharp increase of on average 75/3 in 10. My main results show players exposed to Asian dust on the game day remain able to find the best moves in a position, but also become more susceptible to human error, making 8.3% more inaccurate moves. I subsequently establish that these adverse effects on human error are mostly driven by older individuals while players younger than 30 years old are not significantly affected by the deteriorated air quality. My findings reveal a hidden cost of air quality for mature workers performing tasks that require mental acuity and involve critical thinking, satisficing, and other problem-solving concepts demanded in various modern professional occupations. The final chapter studies, in the context of energy storage, the interplay between market size, policy, and innovation. I utilize geolocated data on energy storage projects in the United States to show that the arrival of a new project in a county causes an immediate increase in local patenting activity on storage-related technologies. This effect is short-lived, contrary to what might be expected if the project results in local knowledge spillovers that culminate in follow-on innovation. I additionally examine a policy change that increases the potential market size for energy storage solutions by compensating frequency regulation resources for increasing regulation capacity, accuracy, and speed. This policy led to a significant increase in the national output of energy storage-related patents. These findings suggest that incentivizing the expansion of energy storage projects can indirectly help promote innovation, eventually allowing energy storage to realize its full potential in supporting the transition to clean energy generation

Using features for automated problem solving

We motivate and present an architecture for problem solving where an abstraction layer of "features" plays the key role in determining methods to apply. The system is presented in the context of theorem proving with Isabelle, and we demonstrate how this approach to encoding control knowledge is expressively different to other common techniques. We look closely at two areas where the feature layer may offer benefits to theorem proving — semi-automation and learning — and find strong evidence that in these particular domains, the approach shows compelling promise. The system includes a graphical theorem-proving user interface for Eclipse ProofGeneral and is available from the project web page, http://feasch.heneveld.org

Wheels within wheels: an examination of the nature of psychological explanation via a theoretically oriented history of some mechanical models

The aim of this thesis is to ask, and attempt to answer, some pertinent questions about that type of psychological explanation which proceeds by simulation, or model building. The method chosen is a detailed examination of some models, mostly 18th and 19th century mechanical ones, together with a theoretically motivated discussion of the relations between these models and the development of psychological theories contemporary with them. Two types of model, formal and intimate, are distinguished, both by their aetiology and by the way they are used by working scientists, and several examples of each type are subjected to scrutiny, as are the intentions of their modellers in building or adopting them. Four main foci of interest emerge: the history of experimental psychology (the myth that experimental psychology was born circa 1870 is exploded); the sociology of science (the impact of developing technology on psychological theory, via the proffering of models, is clearly demonstrated); the philosophy of psychology (issues such as the nature of explanation and the problem of representation are dis¬ cussed); and, last but not least, theoretical psychology (the value of work in cognitive simulation, and of some work in Artificial Intelligence, is stressed and, partly, explained)

Play Makes Perfect: An Exploration of Game and Play Elements in Composition and Performance

This dissertation aims to explore the intersection of play and games in Western classical music and define a new category of pieces, “ludic pieces,” which contain play structures and game mechanics within their composition. Starting with surveying perspectives in ludology and ludomusicology, including those by Roger Caillois, Johan Huizinga, Jesper Juul, Katie Salen, and Eric Zimmerman, I will examine various definitions of a “game” and what its qualifying aspects are. I will then turn to music and consider pieces that interact with play and games without containing game structures, including examples of musical humor and pieces which evoke the imagery and activity of games and sports. What follows is a definition and taxonomy of ludic pieces, which I hope will serve as a foundation for understanding and classifying various play interactions, including paidia, structured play, and ludus, competitive games. The pieces discussed range from ruled group improvisation to single-player games versus computer and showcase the range of possibility at this crossroads. I will also acknowledge considerations and issues regarding the rehearsal and performance of ludic pieces from both sides of the stage, reimagining the composer as game designer, performer as player, and audience as spectator. The dissertation will close with three case studies which will examine in depth the play and game potential within musical works

Special Libraries, January 1965

Volume 56, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1965/1000/thumbnail.jp