138 research outputs found
Formal modeling and analysis of cognitive agent behavior
From an external perspective, cognitive agent behavior can be described by specifying (temporal) correlations of a certain
complexity between stimuli (input states) and (re)actions (output states) of the agent. From an internal perspective the agentâs
dynamics can be characterized by direct (causal) temporal relations between internal and mental states of the agent. The latter
type of specifications can be represented in a relatively simple, executable format, which enables different types of analysis
of the agentâs behavior. In particular, simulations of the agentâs behavior under different (environmental) circumstances
can be explored. Furthermore, by applying verification techniques, automated analysis of the consequences of the agentâs behavior
can be carried out. To enable such types of analysis when only given an external behavioral specification, this has to be
transformed first into some type of executable format. An automated procedure for such a transformation is proposed in this
paper. The application of the transformation procedure is demonstrated for a number of cases, showing examples of the types
of analysis as mentioned for different forms of behavior
A near-IR study of the host galaxies of 2Jy radio sources at 0.03 < z < 0.5: I - the data
We present the results of a program of K- and Ks-band imaging of a sample of
2Jy radio galaxies with redshifts 0.03 < z < 0.5, for which the host galaxy
morphologies and structural parameters (effective radius, Sersic index and
unresolved nuclear point source contribution) have been determined using
GALFIT. Two-thirds of our sample are best modelled as being hosted by massive
elliptical galaxies with Sersic indices of n=4-6, with the remainder being
better suited either by a mixture of morphological components (usually a bulge
plus a small, less luminous, disk component) or by more disky galaxy models
with n=1-2. Our measured galaxy sizes are generally in very good agreement with
other imaging programs, both space- and ground-based. We also determine a
slightly higher average nuclear point source contribution than similar
HST-based programs. This is due to our inability to separate the AGN emission
from compact circum-nuclear stellar emission, but does not bias our modelling
of the remainder of the host galaxies and our results remain robust. We also
observe that roughly half of the objects in our sample are either undergoing
major or minor merger activity or are clearly morphologically disturbed.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 31 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables.
Landscape table 4 added as extra included figur
The twilight of the Liberal Social Contract? On the Reception of Rawlsian Political Liberalism
This chapter discusses the Rawlsian project of public reason, or public justification-based 'political' liberalism, and its reception. After a brief philosophical rather than philological reconstruction of the project, the chapter revolves around a distinction between idealist and realist responses to it. Focusing on political liberalismâs critical reception illuminates an overarching question: was Rawlsâs revival of a contractualist approach to liberal legitimacy a fruitful move for liberalism and/or the social contract tradition? The last section contains a largely negative answer to that question. Nonetheless the chapter's conclusion shows that the research programme of political liberalism provided and continues to provide illuminating insights into the limitations of liberal contractualism, especially under conditions of persistent and radical diversity. The programme is, however, less receptive to challenges to do with the relative decline of the power of modern states
Improving the clinical assessment of consciousness with advances in electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques
In clinical neurology, a comprehensive understanding of consciousness has been regarded as an abstract concept - best left to philosophers. However, times are changing and the need to clinically assess consciousness is increasingly becoming a real-world, practical challenge. Current methods for evaluating altered levels of consciousness are highly reliant on either behavioural measures or anatomical imaging. While these methods have some utility, estimates of misdiagnosis are worrisome (as high as 43%) - clearly this is a major clinical problem. The solution must involve objective, physiologically based measures that do not rely on behaviour. This paper reviews recent advances in physiologically based measures that enable better evaluation of consciousness states (coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state, and locked in syndrome). Based on the evidence to-date, electroencephalographic and neuroimaging based assessments of consciousness provide valuable information for evaluation of residual function, formation of differential diagnoses, and estimation of prognosis
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Darwinism, organizational evolution and survival: key challenges for future research
How do social organizations evolve? How do they adapt to environmental pressures? What resources and capabilities determine their survival within dynamic competition? Charles Darwinâs seminal work The Origin of Species (1859) has provided a significant impact on the development of the management and organization theory literatures on organizational evolution. This article introduces the JMG Special Issue focused on Darwinism, organizational evolution and survival. We discuss key themes in the organizational evolution research that have emerged in recent years. These include the increasing adoption of the co-evolutionary approach, with a particular focus on the definition of appropriate units of analysis, such as routines, and related challenges associated with exploring the relationship between co-evolution, re-use of knowledge, adaptation, and exaptation processes. We then introduce the three articles that we have finally accepted in this Special Issue after an extensive, multi-round, triple blind-review process. We briefly outline how each of these articles contributes to understanding among scholars, practitioners and policy makers of the continuous evolutionary processes within and among social organizations and systems
Philosophy of action
The philosophical study of human action begins with Plato and Aristotle. Their influence in late antiquity and the Middle Ages yielded sophisticated theories of action and motivation, notably in the works of Augustine and Aquinas.1 But the ideas that were dominant in 1945 have their roots in the early modern period, when advances in physics and mathematics reshaped philosophy
Feeling anxious? The mechanisms of vocal deception in tufted capuchin monkeys
An ability to deceive conspecifics is thought to have favoured the evolution of large brains in social animals, but evidence that such behaviours require cognitive complexity is lacking. Tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) have been documented to use false alarm calls during feeding in a manner that functions to deceive competitors. However, comparative evidence suggests that the production of vocalizations by nonhuman primates is largely underpinned by emotional mechanisms, calling into question more cognitive interpretations of this behaviour. To determine whether emotional states are plausibly necessary and sufficient to proximately explain deceptive alarm call production, we examined the association between self-directed behaviours (SDBs), as a proxy for anxiety, and the production of spontaneous false alarm calls among tufted capuchins. Specifically, we predicted that if anxiety is necessary for the production of false alarms, then individuals that produce spontaneous false alarms should exhibit more SDBs in those contexts in which they call. If anxiety is also sufficient to explain the false alarm call production, then we predicted that individuals that call more in a given context would show higher rates of SDBs in that context, and that high rates of calling would be temporally associated with high rates of SDBs. Our results support the contention that states of anxiety are necessary for an individual to spontaneously produce false alarms, but that such states are not sufficient to explain patterns of calling. The link between anxiety and deceptive calling thus appears complex, and cognitively based decision-making processes may play some role in call production
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