An information processing view of fringe consciousness

Commentary on: Mangan, B. (2001) Sensation's ghost: the non-sensory "fringe" of consciousness. Psyche, 7(18), October 2001 http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v7/psyche-7-18-mangan.html In posing the sense of 'Rightness' as a quality-of-processing measure, Mangan runs the risk of a homuncular argument, since some process needs to observe Rightness, as well as the sensory qualia. Interacting Cognitive Subsystems (ICS) is an information processing account of cognitive activity that is concordant with Mangan's arguments, but which avoids the need for any supervisory system or central executive. The approach models thought as the flow of information between nine different levels of mental representation, and includes a distinction between an unselective diffuse awareness of all active levels of representation, and a selective focal awareness of a single topic of processing. A distinction is introduced between two non-sensory representations: propositional and implicational meaning. While the propositional representations can be easily verbalised, the sensory and implicational representations can only be verbalised via propositional representations. All representations are accessible, although implications and sensory representations are harder to express verbally. As a principled model, ICS can be mapped into anatomical and neural models, supporting argumentation about physical pathways in the brain and functional pathways in the mind

The Functionality, Interface and Uptake of an energy saving application for mobile devices

Four focus groups involving 18 participants took part in a structured elicitation session in which they gave their views and opinions on the functionality and interface design of a possible energy saving application for mobile devices. A qualitative topical analysis of their discussions indicated a distinct expectation that the application would enable them to save money, and a preference for displaying information in a financial or cost-based format rather than in physical units. Summarising this by time period (especially day), rooms and even devices would be welcomed, as would relating consumption to a personally tailored target or baseline amount, and to normative comparisons (e.g., a typical person / household like you). Comparison of the tariffs of different energy suppliers would be a useful feature to promote initial acquisition of the app. Data entry on first use followed by use of the camera to scan codes would be acceptable. While seen as useful when mentioned, integrating meter-reading functionality into the app was not seen as a key attraction. Provision of basic energy related information for the specific devices owned would be expected by users. Technology permitting, the ability to monitor each device’s usage and to remotely control them would be welcomed – even the ability to turn on a device remotely would allow people to leave it off when away from the home. Alerts should be used with caution: where they are specifically informative and directly help the person reach goals that they recognise as beneficial, they will be acceptable, but they do run the real risk of annoying users. Games might play a useful function for users with children, who might prevent users from deleting the app if the game is attractive to them, but they seem unlikely to be a key attraction. Social networking was seen more as a way of virally spreading uptake of the app and maintaining its use within a community of users than as a way of motivating people to change behaviour. As with use of alerts, the ability to post to networking sites on behalf of users should be treated very cautiously, but allowing people to provide (or pass on) tips to each other might enhance the impact of advice suggested by the app. Any graphical representations should be simple, with complexity presented on demand by the user (‘drilling-down’). There was no consensus on bar or line charts, although dial and rainbow metaphors were well received: optionality would seem to be required here, with users able to select their preferred format. Any use of emoticons should be seen as additional to the main display of information, rather than as the central approach. Physical units such as kWh or joules should be avoided, and consumption expressed in financial terms wherever possible. There was clear awareness of the nature of thermographic images, which suggests that they could play a useful part in communicating consumption, even in simulations. Short-term financial consequences dominated the discussion in all of the groups, but there was a realisation that for some the longer-term environmental benefits of behaviour change might be worth presenting. A jaded awareness of fear-appeal visualisations (e.g., polar bears on melting icebergs) suggests that such negative approaches to the consequences of energy use would have limited effect. Positive consequences were not mentioned often (e.g., ‘saved a child in Tibet’) and might thus have more impact, through being novel and unexpected

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

The impact of facilities management on patient outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which practicing National Health Service (NHS) facilities managers thought that the contribution of facilities management (FM) could be measured in terms of health outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was distributed to NHS facilities or estate managers from the majority of NHS trusts in England and Wales. Findings – In general, there is little or no evidence from pre-existing research to prove the contribution of FM in terms of health outcomes. However, in spite of this, 59 per cent of facilities managers in the NHS believe that the contribution of FM could be measured yet only a relatively small number of Trusts (16 per cent) have attempted to measure the contribution of FM. The analysis of the secondary data does not show any conclusive evidence of a correlation between FM and health outcomes. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the study did not extend to collecting empirical evidence to prove the contribution of FM to health outcomes – it was only focusing on whether facilities managers thought it was possible, and if so how they would measure the contribution. However, as part of the project some secondary data were tested for a relationship between FM services and health outcomes. Originality/value – This is the first time any study has gathered opinion from facilities managers as to whether they believe their contribution can be measured in terms of organisational outcomes, in this case patient care or health outcomes. It provides a useful starting point in order to develop a future study to prove the contribution from FM to health outcomes.</p

Tests of the elaborated intrusion theory of craving and desire: Features of alcohol craving during treatment for an alcohol disorder

PubMed ID: 1936444

Negative intrusive thoughts and dissociation as risk factors for self-harm.

Relationships between self-harm and vulnerability factors were studied in a general population of 432 participants, of whom 30% reported some experience of self-harm. This group scored higher on dissociation and childhood trauma, had lower self-worth, and reported more negative intrusive thoughts. Among the non-harming group, 10% scored similarly to the self-harmers on the dissociation and self-worth scales, and engaged in potentially maladaptive behaviors that are not defined as indicating clinical self-harm, but experienced fewer negative intrusive thoughts. This group may be at risk of future self-harm if they begin to experience negative intrusive thoughts. If negative intrusive thoughts are playing a causal role, then therapeutic approaches tackling them may help those who are currently self-harming