Sources of Epidemiological Equivocacy

Mr. Sly discusses five sources of uncertainty and ambiguity in health and medical research that can interfere with decision making

The N2-P3 complex of the evoked potential and human performance

The N2-P3 complex and other endogenous components of human evoked potential provide a set of tools for the investigation of human perceptual and cognitive processes. These multidimensional measures of central nervous system bioelectrical activity respond to a variety of environmental and internal factors which have been experimentally characterized. Their application to the analysis of human performance in naturalistic task environments is just beginning. Converging evidence suggests that the N2-P3 complex reflects processes of stimulus evaluation, perceptual resource allocation, and decision making that proceed in parallel, rather than in series, with response generation. Utilization of these EP components may provide insights into the central nervous system mechanisms modulating task performance unavailable from behavioral measures alone. The sensitivity of the N2-P3 complex to neuropathology, psychopathology, and pharmacological manipulation suggests that these components might provide sensitive markers for the effects of environmental stressors on the human central nervous system

Theoretical Considerations in the Adaptation of Animal Communication Systems

Using concepts drawn from semiotic, the general theory of signs, and from the mathematical theory of communication, a theoretical framework is developed within which the problems relating to communication system adaptation may be defined and models of such adaptation constructed. The relationship between the semiotical notions of qualisign and legisign is used to define a concept of tolerance space that permits the statistical concept of equivocation to take on physical dimensions in the analysis of natural communication systems. For each of three central properties of the communication system (entropy, equivocation and semantic-pragmatic relations) the components of the system that determine the property are identified and the ways in which these components might adapt to environmental changes are discussed

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict, Situational Formality, and Personality as Causes of Interpersonal Equivocation.

This study explores the causes of a widespread and important communication phenomenon, interpersonal equivocation. Literature is reviewed which shows clearly that a sufficient cause of interpersonal equivocation is situational avoidance-avoidance conflict, but also which suggests the possibility of additional situational (formality of social setting) and trait (self-monitoring) precursors of equivocation. Using a questionnaire technique, participants were asked to imagine themselves in three different interpersonal situations, which were manipulated to vary the level of situational formality. In addition, in each situation, they were asked to respond to a question from their hypothetical conversational partner. These questions were designed to manipulate the other key situational variable, presence or absence of avoidance-avoidance conflict. Participants\u27 responses, consisting of how likely they were to use each of several possible answers previously scaled for degree of equivocation, resulted in equivocation scores for each situation and an overall score. Participants also completed the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale. As expected, results supported a strong role for avoidance-avoidance conflict as an influence upon equivocation, and also suggested that formality level and avoidance-avoidance conflict interact to influence the degree of equivocation. However, none of the hypothesized interactions between self-monitoring and the other independent variables were significant, probably due to the intrusive nature of avoidance- avoidance conflict as an element of social situations. A surprising discovery was that higher self-monitoring results in less equivocation, a finding that is explained by the likelihood that higher self-monitors are more aware of the importance of Grice\u27s Cooperative Principle to the smooth functioning of human interactions. In addition, several post hoc findings regarding gender are discussed, especially in terms of future research possibilities. This research has demonstrated that, while avoidance-avoidance conflict is certainly a sufficient cause, there are other situational and dispositional factors that contribute to our understanding of interpersonal equivocation

The Convergence Review and the future of Australian content regulation

This article examines the place of Australian and local content regulation in the new media policy framework proposed by the Convergence Review. It outlines the history of Australian content regulation and the existing policy framework, before going on to detail some of the debates around Australian content during the Review. The final section analyses the relevant recommendations in the Convergence Review Final Report, and highlights some issues and problems that may arise in the new framework

Urban rail infrastructure – the path from comprehensive transport plans to the recent experience

Some 40 to 50 years ago the Australian State and Capital Territory governments produced comprehensive transport plans that began the transport planning processes for their capital cities. The subsequent path has been varied, particularly in regard to public transport. Sydney in particular has a long history of equivocation and deferral of major transport infrastructure construction, despite current and planned urban growth. Expansion of the railway network is now a major planning issue. Urban growth has outstripped that of the public transport system over an extended period and, whether or not policies of consolidation succeed, urban rail system capacity and extent is of concern. The past decade has been particularly problematic, and Sydney in particular has seen rapid swings in transport infrastructure policy and little new construction achieved. The primary purpose of this paper is to document the events of the past decade and how the plans have unfolded. It notes particularly the part played by the print media in raising the profile of transport planning in this process. The paper is based on path dependence theory and seeks to draw out the relationship between decisions taken over time. It will form the historical timeline for the author’s research in examining the cost of equivocation in public transport investment