A Neuro-computational Account of Arbitration between Choice Imitation and Goal Emulation during Human Observational Learning

When individuals learn from observing the behavior of others, they deploy at least two distinct strategies. Choice imitation involves repeating other agents’ previous actions, whereas emulation proceeds from inferring their goals and intentions. Despite the prevalence of observational learning in humans and other social animals, a fundamental question remains unaddressed: how does the brain decide which strategy to use in a given situation? In two fMRI studies (the second a pre-registered replication of the first), we identify a neuro-computational mechanism underlying arbitration between choice imitation and goal emulation. Computational modeling, combined with a behavioral task that dissociated the two strategies, revealed that control over behavior was adaptively and dynamically weighted toward the most reliable strategy. Emulation reliability, the model’s arbitration signal, was represented in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and rostral cingulate cortex. Our replicated findings illuminate the computations by which the brain decides to imitate or emulate others

Valuation of knowledge and ignorance in mesolimbic reward circuitry

The pursuit of knowledge is a basic feature of human nature. However, in domains ranging from health to finance people sometimes choose to remain ignorant. Here, we show that valence is central to the process by which the human brain evaluates the opportunity to gain information, explaining why knowledge may not always be preferred. We reveal that the mesolimbic reward circuitry selectively treats the opportunity to gain knowledge about future favorable outcomes, but not unfavorable outcomes, as if it has positive utility. This neural coding predicts participants’ tendency to choose knowledge about future desirable outcomes more often than undesirable ones, and to choose ignorance about future undesirable outcomes more often than desirable ones. Strikingly, participants are willing to pay both for knowledge and ignorance as a function of the expected valence of knowledge. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), however, responds to the opportunity to receive knowledge over ignorance regardless of the valence of the information. Connectivity between the OFC and mesolimbic circuitry could contribute to a general preference for knowledge that is also modulated by valence. Our findings characterize the importance of valence in information seeking and its underlying neural computation. This mechanism could lead to suboptimal behavior, such as when people reject medical screenings or monitor investments more during bull than bear markets

F-35 and military spending

How does the F-35 Lightning II multirole fighter compare to current military airplanes in terms of costs and capabilities? This is a comparison study based around the F-35 and five other planes. The F-35 is chosen because of its status as an ongoing project and due to its controversy as a plane. This study looks at all values. It is completely numeric based allowing for objective analysis. These planes chosen for study are the F-16 C/D, F/A-18 E/F, F-22A, AV-8B Harrier II, and A-10C. These planes are chosen because the F-35 is meant to replace them in the case of all the planes except the F-22A.In the case of the F-22A, it is the same generation as the F-35 and developed a bit earlier. In conducting the research on the F-35 it is found that while comparing cost data to capabilities the F-35 is not worth the money spent when compared to modern platforms

Faculty and Administrators Working Together in a Community College: A Retrospective Case Study

Community colleges are facing many large-scale problems, such as increased accountability, in a time of shrinking budgets and students who are often unprepared for college level work. The implications of these problems to institutions that are striving to maintain access to higher education for vulnerable populations are grave. These problems, and others, require creative solutions that involve numerous individuals and groups across the institution. The purpose of this retrospective case study was to learn how faculty and administrators experienced collaboration in the context of a community college. The study was carried out at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) in South Portland, Maine by studying a two-year long attempt at collaboration between faculty and administrators. Data were collected through a combination of interviews with six participants, followed by a focus group of five of these participants, document collection, and participant observation. Through an iterative process (Miles & Huberman, 1994), data were subjected to open coding and then focused coding with codes drawn from the literature using the program HyperResearch. Analysis was undertaken utilizing matrices and concept maps to uncover patterns and significant instances. Collaboration and its relationship to cooperation played an important role in the study. Clearly defining collaboration and cooperation lead to identification of two distinct groups within the participants. The implications for future practice in this study were found in three specific areas: (1) collaborative capacity in a community college setting; (2) topics appropriate for collaborative methods; and (3) viewing collaboration as a dance between collaborators and cooperators. To build collaborative capacity requires a foundation of trust that is, in part, built and maintained through successive collaborative endeavors. Every attempt at collaboration is an opportunity to build trust and create connections between groups and individuals that can be used to aid future collaborations. The topic of the attempted collaboration should be one that promotes interaction among participants -- preferably a topic with which many in the community are already concerned. Envisioning intra-organizational collaboration as a dance between collaborators and cooperators helps to make the needs of both groups explicit

A Review of Energy Models. No. 3 (Special Issue on Soviet Models)

The experience of the USSR in the field of energy systems development modeling reveals certain patterns and principles that influence the structure and use of energy models, principally: -- The need to use mainly optimization models since, for planning purposes, optimal solutions must be found; -- The need to coordinate individual models in order to obtain the country's objectives; -- The existing organizational structure of planning which must be taken into account; -- The dependence of models on time aspects of planning (annual, 5-year, 15-year); -- The elaboration of corresponding methods for providing necessary input data. This has required the development of a special concept for optimizing energy systems development with the use of mathematical models. It is based on consideration of the energy industries of the country as complex with a hierarchical structure of energy systems of various territorial and branch levels. At the same time, the differentiation of aims at different times during the planning period have been taken into account. This concept is given here in its existing state (it is continuously developed and perfected) for better understanding of the energy models described. In particular, we show the role of the system of models for optimization of the energy supply system as a whole, and that of more detailed branch models (oil, gas, coal, electricity production systems). For optimal energy strategy evaluation, the most important models are those used on the highest levels of the energy systems hierarchy, i.e. the general (aggregate) energy systems of the country and of economic regions, and branch energy systems. Only these models are described here; models used on lower levels for solving some technical problems are far more diverse and numerous, and it is impossible to consider them all in a single review

A Review of Energy Models No.4 - July 1978

This review is the fourth in the IIASA series A REVIEW OF ENERGY MODELS (RR-74-10, No. 1 of May 1974 as revised in September 1976; RR-75-30, No. 2 of July 1975; and RR-77-13, No. 3, Special Issue of Soviet Models), which aims at wider diffusion of energy modeling work in progress at other institutions. Fourteen models are described in this issue and again classified in terms of substance and geographical applicability with further subdivision into groups corresponding to model user requirements: the majority of the models focus on the energy problem; they are mostly national ones involving either one or several kinds of fuel; six other models, both international and national, combine energy and overall economic aspects; they may be of particular interest for a more global consideration of energy problems

Study of Ironless Permanent Magnet Devices Being Both a Coupling and an Axial Bearing for Naval Propulsion

This paper describes the study of an original permanent magnet device. This device works as both a coupling and as axial bearing. It can be particularly useful in naval propulsion application to transmit the torque without any contact between a motor axis and the propeller and to maintain the propeller in its axial position, compensating the axial force related to thrust. Two kinds of devices are studied for this type of specification. The first corresponds to the classical structure of cylindrical air-gap coupling. The second is an original structure where pairs of rings of axially magnetized magnets are stacked on each rotor. The computation of the behavior of the device (torque and axial force) is done using a semi-analytical method based on magnetic charge theory. This method allows a very fast calculation of the performances of the devices. This study shows the interest of the stacked structure this type of application