Causal Induction from Continuous Event Streams: Evidence for Delay-Induced Attribution Shifts

Contemporary theories of Human Causal Induction assume that causal knowledge is inferred from observable contingencies. While this assumption is well supported by empirical results, it fails to consider an important problem-solving aspect of causal induction in real time: In the absence of well structured learning trials, it is not clear whether the effect of interest occurred because of the cause under investigation, or on its own accord. Attributing the effect to either the cause of interest or alternative background causes is an important precursor to induction. We present a new paradigm based on the presentation of continuous event streams, and use it to test the Attribution-Shift Hypothesis (Shanks & Dickinson, 1987), according to which temporal delays sever the attributional link between cause and effect. Delays generally impaired attribution to the candidate, and increased attribution to the constant background of alternative causes. In line with earlier research (Buehner & May, 2002, 2003, 2004) prior knowledge and experience mediated this effect. Pre-exposure to a causally ineffective background context was found to facilitate the discovery of delayed causal relationships by reducing the tendency for attributional shifts to occur. However, longer exposure to a delayed causal relationship did not improve discovery. This complex pattern of results is problematic for associative learning theories, but supports the Attribution-Shift Hypothesi

Continuity in cognition

Designing for continuous interaction requires designers to consider the way in which human users can perceive and evaluate an artefact’s observable behaviour, in order to make inferences about its state and plan, and execute their own continuous behaviour. Understanding the human point of view in continuous interaction requires an understanding of human causal reasoning, of the way in which humans perceive and structure the world, and of human cognition. We present a framework for representing human cognition, and show briefly how it relates to the analysis of structure in continuous interaction, and the ways in which it may be applied in design

I Warn You Ming, Stay Away from My Friends!”: The Language of Superhero Mythology in Flash Gordon

The Flash Gordon (Stephani, 1936) serial is a profoundly important, indeed seminal superhero film that has not been granted the critical attention that it deserves within modern film scholarship. Its position at the beginning of the genre of the modern screen superhero is examined through its evident thematically mythic implications and its culturally centered historical aspects. The serial Flash Gordon is treated and analyzed as a self-standing text that provides clues to the ontological and genealogical foundation and conventions of the screen superhero that is dominant in the media landscape today. This analysis is conducted through the Freudian – Jungian - Levi-Straussian – Barthes – Campbellian vain, which searches for signs in the text to amass evidence of acculturation. It is argued through this extended analysis that Flash Gordon articulated the richly nuanced language of what it means to be a superhero, and further provides us with cues regarding the modern superhero placement within the 21st century. The textual analysis of Flash Gordon and its findings can then be used as a research template to systematically mark superheroism in American film history

I Warn You Ming, Stay Away from My Friends!”: The Language of Superhero Mythology in Flash Gordon

The Flash Gordon (Stephani, 1936) serial is a profoundly important, indeed seminal superhero film that has not been granted the critical attention that it deserves within modern film scholarship. Its position at the beginning of the genre of the modern screen superhero is examined through its evident thematically mythic implications and its culturally centered historical aspects. The serial Flash Gordon is treated and analyzed as a self-standing text that provides clues to the ontological and genealogical foundation and conventions of the screen superhero that is dominant in the media landscape today. This analysis is conducted through the Freudian – Jungian - Levi-Straussian – Barthes – Campbellian vain, which searches for signs in the text to amass evidence of acculturation. It is argued through this extended analysis that Flash Gordon articulated the richly nuanced language of what it means to be a superhero, and further provides us with cues regarding the modern superhero placement within the 21st century. The textual analysis of Flash Gordon and its findings can then be used as a research template to systematically mark superheroism in American film history

Fostering cultural competence awareness and dispositions to reach thirdness or decentering by engaging in intercultural dialogue

[EN] The goals of this research were twofold. First, to measure changes in cultural awareness levels between two groups of students in their third semester of a Spanish class. The trained group formed by university students from the USA collaborated with another group of university students from Colombia using Skype. The second aim was to identify attitudes of decentering or thirdness in the trained group. This group met seven times during a 13-week semester to discuss a variety of cultural topics such as college life and daily routines. The control group addressed the same issues by examining them among members of the same class and answered a pre-and post-self-awareness questionnaire. Mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed a significant increase in interculturality scores in the trained group. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis of the video recordings, essays, and video chats from the trained group showed dispositions to decentering (thirdness) or to engage in an understanding process of the other (Kramsch, 1993). This group exhibited attitudes of curiosity and openness during the Skype sessions. Their essays were elaborate; the topics were varied, indicating the experience of productive social interactions. This group also avoided the use of essentialist or static cultural representations of the other in their narratives.Villalobos-Buehner, M. (2020). Fostering cultural competence awareness and dispositions to reach thirdness or decentering by engaging in intercultural dialogue. The EuroCALL Review. 28(1):26-39. https://doi.org/10.4995/eurocall.2020.12206OJS2639281Angelova, M., & Zhao, Y. (2014). Using an online collaborative project between American and Chinese students to develop ESL teaching skills, cross-cultural awareness and language skills. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2014.907320Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing and intercultural dimension in language teaching. A practical introduction for teachers. Council of Europe, Strasbourg.Çiftçi, E.Y., & Savaş, P. (2017). The role of telecollaboration in language and intercultural learning: A synthesis of studies published between 2010 and 2015. ReCALL, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344017000313Dugartsyrenova, V.A., & Sardegna, V.G. (2018). Raising intercultural awareness through voicebased telecollaboration: perceptions, uses, and recommendations,Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2018.1533017Gil, G. (2016). Third places and the interactive construction of interculturality in the English as foreign/additional language classroom. Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture, 38(4), 337- 346. https://doi.org/10.4025/actascilangcult.v38i4.28674Helm, F., Guth, S., & Farrag, M. (2012). Promoting dialogue or hegemonic practice? Power issues in telecollaboration. Language Learning & Technology, 16(2), 103-127. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/june2012/helmguthfarrah.pdfKramsch, C. (1993). Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.López-Rocha, S. (2016). Intercultural communicative competence: creating awareness and promoting skills in the language classroom. In C. Goria, O. Speicher, & S. Stollhans (Eds), Innovative language teaching and learning at university: enhancing participation and collaboration (pp. 105-111). Dublin: Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2016.000411O'Dowd, R. (2003). Understanding the "other side": Intercultural learning in a Spanish-English e-mail exchange. Language Learning & Technology, 7(2), 118-144. DOI: 10125/25202O'Rourke, B. (2007). Models of telecollaboration (1): E(tandem). In R. O'Dowd (Ed.), Online intercultural exchange: An introduction for foreign language teachers (pp. 41-62). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Schenker, T. (2012). Intercultural Competence and Cultural Learning through Telecollaboration. Calico, 29(3), 449-470. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/calicojournal.29.3.449Western, Center for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (2017). Cultural competence self-assessment checklist. Retrieved from: http://rapworkers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/cultural-competence-selfassessmentchecklist-1.pd

A meta-analysis of the longitudinal relationship between adolescent depression and academic achievement.

Researchers in the fields of both education and mental health endeavor to develop and implement interventions which will bring children and adolescents greater academic success and optimally address mental health issues. Educators seek to target risk factors which might impede a student’s success in the classroom, while mental health providers seek to reduce issues within a child’s environment which might be risk factors for depression. Evidence for a cross-sectional relationship between adolescent depression and academic achievement is well-supported, with depression and achievement being negatively correlated in adolescents. The longitudinal relationship between these two variables is not fully understood, however. While primary studies provide evidence of a negative longitudinal correlation between depression and achievement among adolescents (Haines, Norris, & Kashy, 1996), to date there has yet to be a state-of-the-art meta-analysis that aggregates and examines the bidirectional relationship between depression and achievement over time. The purpose of this analysis is to fill this gap, with an exploration of the magnitude of the relationship between achievement and depression, as well as consideration of moderators which may impact the relationships between depression and achievement over time. Longitudinal studies (N = 26) that assess both depression scores and achievement at multiple time points were synthesized in order to estimate the overall relationship between the variables, and to elucidate the role of moderator variables which may impact any relationship over time, including biological sex, age, lapse between data waves, and method of measurement of both achievement and depression. The intention of the current study is to enhance the ability to predict scholastic or mental health issues, and to understand whether methodological considerations might better target when and for whom achievement and depressive issues are most correlated. Results indicate a small but statistically significant relationship between achievement and subsequent depression (r = -.0824, p \u3c .0001, 95% CI = -0.1171 to -.0478). The relationship between depression and subsequent achievement was not statistically significant. None of the above mentioned variables examined as potential moderators were statistically significant

Rude assessment and I'm faking it: does witnessing incivility compel people to cheat?

The ease and convenience of personality testing for personnel selection purposes is somewhat marred by concerns that test-takers might fake their responses if they believe it is advantageous to do so. Whether or not a candidate fakes is determined by both the ability as well as the motivation to do so, and both are subject to individual difference as well as contextual factors. Here we report an experiment that demonstrates a powerful contextual link between rudeness and cheating. Participants who witnessed a rude encounter prior to a performance-linked cognitive task, subsequently overstated their performance (i.e. cheated) to a greater extent than participants who witnessed a neutral encounter but had the same opportunity to cheat. We suggest therefore that rudeness increases propensity to cheat. Consequently, to minimize the risk of test-takers providing fake responses, it is of practical importance to ensure a civil atmosphere before and during any testing situation that might afford an opportunity to cheat

Modeling Socially Desirable Responding and Its Effects

The impact of socially desirable responding or faking on noncognitive assessments remains an issue of strong debate. One of the main reasons for the controversy is the lack of a statistical method to model such response sets. This article introduces a new way to model faking based on the assumption that faking occurs due to an interaction between person and situation. The technique combines a control group design with structural equation modeling and allows a separation of trait and faking variance. The model is introduced and tested in an example. The results confirm a causal nfluence of faking on means and covariance structure of a Big 5 questionnaire. Both effects can be reversed by the proposed model. Finally, a real-life criterion was implemented and predicted by both variance sources. In this example, it was the trait but not the faking variance that was predictive. Implications for research and practice are discussed