The Influence of German-Speaking Émigrés on the Emergence of Cognitive Science as a New Interdisciplinary Field

During the 1950s, the scientific world experienced a shift in the study of the mind in what is now called the cognitive revolution. While common belief claims a rise of novel approaches, this is only partially true. A number of notions which built the foundation for cognitive studies were already present in the prior century in German schools. Research of developments of these traditions and concepts leading up to the cognitive revolution also showed that certain key figures in psychology and mathematics taught in Germany and by means of often forced emigration carried over the ideas that sparked in early German research centres. This article gives an overview of the development leading up to the cognitive revolution and the émigrés involved

The ingenuity of common workmen: and the invention of the computer

Since World War II, state support for scientific research has been assumed crucial to technological and economic progress. Governments accordingly spent tremendous sums to that end. Nothing epitomizes the alleged fruits of that involvement better than the electronic digital computer. The first such computer has been widely reputed to be the ENIAC, financed by the U.S. Army for the war but finished afterwards. Vastly improved computers followed, initially paid for in good share by the Federal Government of the United States, but with the private sector then dominating, both in development and use, and computers are of major significance.;Despite the supposed success of public-supported science, evidence is that computers would have evolved much the same without it but at less expense. Indeed, the foundations of modern computer theory and technology were articulated before World War II, both as a tool of applied mathematics and for information processing, and the computer was itself on the cusp of reality. Contrary to popular understanding, the ENIAC actually represented a movement backwards and a dead end.;Rather, modern computation derived more directly, for example, from the prewar work of John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry, a physics professor and graduate student, respectively, at Iowa State College (now University) in Ames, Iowa. They built the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC), which, although special purpose and inexpensive, heralded the efficient and elegant design of modern computers. Moreover, while no one foresaw commercialization of computers based on the ungainly and costly ENIAC, the commercial possibilities of the ABC were immediately evident, although unrealized due to war. Evidence indicates, furthermore, that the private sector was willing and able to develop computers beyond the ABC and could have done so more effectively than government, to the most sophisticated machines.;A full and inclusive history of computers suggests that Adam Smith, the eighteenth century Scottish philosopher, had it right. He believed that minimal and aloof government best served society, and that the inherent genius of citizens was itself enough to ensure the general prosperity

The Silent Arms Race: The Role of the Supercomputer During the Cold War, 1947-1963

One of the central features of the Cold War is the Arms Race. The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist republics vied for supremacy over the globe for a fifty-year period in which there were several arms races; atomic weapons, thermonuclear weapons and various kinds of conventional weapons. However, there is another arms race that goes unsung during this period of history and that is in the area of supercomputing. The other types of arms races are taken for granted by historians and others, but the technological competition between the superpowers would have been impossible without the historically silent arms race in the area of supercomputers. The construction of missiles, jets as well as the testing of nuclear weapons had serious implications for international relations. Often perception is more important than fact. Perceived power maintained a deterrent effect on the two superpowers. If one superpower suspected that they, in fact, had an advantage over the other then the balance of power would be upset and more aggressive measures might have been taken in various fronts of the conflict, perhaps leading to war. Due to this, it was necessary to maintain a balance of power not only in weapons but in supercomputing as well. Considering the role that the computers played, it is time for closer historical scrutiny

ARE ECUADORIAN MILLENNIALS PREPARED AGAINST A CYBERATTACK?

A cyberattack is an attempt to get unauthorized access, expose, alter, disable, steal or make unauthorized use of information. Over the years, cyberattacks are becoming more frequent, considering that Ecuadorian authorities claimed they had received over 40 million cyberattacks such as denial-of-service (DOS) during a week, in April 2019. The objective of this research work is to assess to what extent Ecuadorians are prepared for a cyberattack focused on Millennials, who attend private universities and maintain a high socioeconomic status, due to they are more likely to be targeted by hackers. This study shows the level of importance that Millennial university students give to their private information. A quantitative study was applied to measure the objective mentioned before and was aimed at 103 university students in Samborondón, Ecuador. The obtained results showed that although the sample population takes some security measures to protect their information, there exist vulnerable aspects that can be used by hackers to obtain unauthorized access. Un ataque cibernético es un intento de obtener acceso no autorizado, exponer, alterar, deshabilitar, robar o hacer un uso no autorizado de información. En los últimos años, los ataques cibernéticos han sido más frecuentes, considerando que las autoridades ecuatorianas afirmaron que habían recibido más de 40 millones de ciberataques, como DOS, en el lapso de una semana, en abril de 2019. El objetivo de este trabajo de investigación es tener un estudio objetivo sobre hasta qué punto los ecuatorianos están preparados para un ciberataque con un enfoque en los millennials que asisten a universidades privadas y tienen un alto nivel socioeconómico debido a que son más propensos a ser atacados por hackers. Este estudio muestra el nivel de importancia que los estudiantes universitarios Millennials otorgan a la seguridad de su información privada. Se aplicó un estudio cuantitativo para medir el objetivo mencionado, aplicada a 103 estudiantes universitarios en Samborondón, Ecuador. El resultado obtenido evidenció que, si bien la población estudiada, toma algunas medidas de seguridad para proteger sus datos, todavía hay grietas, que pueden ser utilizadas por los piratas informáticos para obtener acceso no autorizado

News flows in Singapore

Thema dieser Dissertation ist die Entwicklung der Nachrichtenflüsse in Singapur zwischen 1965 und 2000 im Kontext der Diskusionen über die "Neue Weltinformationsordnung". Zwei der Leitfragen sind, wie sich die Nachrichtenflüsse in Singapur entwickelt haben und ob die Idee einer "Neuen Weltinformationsordnung" immer noch taugt, die Nachrichtenflüsse dort "ausgewogener und effizienter" zu machen. Die These ist, dass die Nachrichtenflüsse in Singapur in den vergangenen Dekaden zwar effizienter, aber nicht ausgewogener wurden. Die Dissertation schließt damit, dass es sich nach wie vor lohnt, über die Unausgewogenheit in den Nachrichtenflüssen dort zu diskutieren, wenngleich die Idee einer "Neuen Weltinformationsordnung" an sich unrealistisch und inzwischen veraltet ist.The subject of this dissertation is the development of news flows in Singapore between 1965 and 2000 in context with the discussions regarding the "New World Information Order". Two of the main questions are how the news flows have developed in Singapore and whether the idea of a "New World Information Order" is still useful to make the news flows there "more just and more efficient". The thesis is that the news flows in Singapore have become more efficient, but not more just in the past several decades. The dissertation concludes that it is still worth discussing the imbalances in the news flows there, even though the idea of the "New World Information Order" itself is unrealistic and outdated now