Intention Seekers: Conspiracist Ideation and Biased Attributions of Intentionality

Conspiracist beliefs are widespread and potentially hazardous. A growing body of research suggests that cognitive biases may play a role in endorsement of conspiracy theories. The current research examines the novel hypothesis that individuals who are biased towards inferring intentional explanations for ambiguous actions are more likely to endorse conspiracy theories, which portray events as the exclusive product of intentional agency. Study 1 replicated a previously observed relationship between conspiracist ideation and individual differences in anthropomorphisation. Studies 2 and 3 report a relationship between conspiracism and inferences of intentionality for imagined ambiguous events. Additionally, Study 3 again found conspiracist ideation to be predicted by individual differences in anthropomorphism. Contrary to expectations, however, the relationship was not mediated by the intentionality bias. The findings are discussed in terms of a domain-general intentionality bias making conspiracy theories appear particularly plausible. Alternative explanations are suggested for the association between conspiracism and anthropomorphism

Late dermal effects of breast cancer radiotherapy

Abstract Radiotherapy is used in the treatment of breast cancer in order to reduce local recurrence rate. However, radiation is known to cause both acute and delayed side-effects on normal tissues. A common late complication of radiotherapy is fibrosis of skin and other organs. Fibrosis has been described as excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components, especially collagens. Collagens are a group of extracellular matrix proteins that provide connective tissues with tensile strength. Type I and III collagens are the major structural proteins in skin. Alterations in collagen synthesis occur in various pathological conditions, during ageing and in association with diverse medical therapies. Collagens are degraded by matrix metalloproteinase enzymes (MMPs). The activity of MMPs is restrained by their specific tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). Elastic fibres constitute about 2–4% of skin dry weight. Despite their low quantity, elastic fibres are responsible for the resilient and elastic properties of skin. Dermal elastic fibres may be affected by intrinsic ageing, by extrinsic reasons such as photodamage and in several connective tissue diseases. The effect of radiotherapy on human skin type I and III collagen synthesis was investigated in a group of women who had been treated for breast cancer surgically and with radiotherapy. The levels of MMP-9, MMP-2/TIMP-2 complex, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in irradiated skin were also analysed. The effect of radiotherapy on elastic fibres was analysed using skin samples. The physio-mechanical properties of radiotherapy-treated skin were studied using ultrasound and elastometer devices, and compared with those of non-treated skin. In addition, skin samples were stained for haematoxylin-eosin, tenascin and mast cells. Factor VIII immunostaining was performed to visualize dermal blood vessels. Wound regeneration in irradiated skin was also studied using suction blister as a model. The synthesis of type I and III collagens was markedly increased as a result of radiotherapy. An increased amount of cross-linked type I collagen was detected in irradiated skin, and collagen turnover was also increased in irradiated skin. No difference in the amount or structure of the elastic fibres could be found between radiotherapy-treated and non-treated skin. A slight increase of skin thickness and stiffness was found in irradiated skin compared to non-treated skin. Increased tenascin expression was found in irradiated skin. The number of dermal blood vessels visualized by FVIII immunostaining was slightly higher in irradiated than in control skin. The amount of mast cells positive for tryptase, Kit receptor and chymase was increased in the upper dermis of irradiated skin. No difference in epidermal regeneration was found between irradiated and non-treated skin. The results of this study suggest that alteration of collagen metabolism contributes to dermal side effects of therapeutic irradiation

Nexus analysis in the study of the changing field of language learning, language pedagogy and language teacher education

Abstract Nexus analysis is becoming increasingly employed in a variety of research fields. It is seen to be particularly suited to exploring complex and changing phenomena. It entails a mediated discourse perspective to social action and interaction. In discourse studies, this involves switching the perspective from language to social semiotic meaning making in its full spectrum not only here and now but at the same time reaching across more distant spatial and temporal orientations. As the tradition of nexus analysis is still young there are no established interpretations of how to conduct research with an interest in such complexities in flux. This paper presents a review of studies in which nexus analysis or mediated discourse analysis has been applied in research related to language pedagogy and language teacher education. The review shows how research in the field is in emergence and the interpretations concerning the theoretical-methodological underpinnings vary to some extent

Application of Micro-Genetic Algorithm for Task Based Computing

International audiencePervasive computing calls for applications which are often composed from independent and distributed components using facilities from the environment. This paradigm has evolved into task based computing where the application composition relies on explicit user task descriptions. The composition of applications has to be performed at run-time as the environment is dynamic and heterogeneous due to e.g., mobility of the user. An algorithm that decides on a component set and allocates it onto hosts accordingly to user task preferences and the platform constraints plays a central role in the application composition process. In this paper we will describe an algorithm for task-based application allocation. The algorithm uses micro-genetic approach and is characterized by a very low computational load and good convergence properties. We will compare the performance and the scalability of our algorithm with a straightforward evolutionary algorithm. Besides, we will outline a system for task-based computing where our algorithm is used

A Revised Mobile KLM for Interaction with Multiple NFC-Tags

Abstract. The Keystroke-Level Model (KLM) is a model for predicting the execution time of routine tasks. Initially, it had been devised for standard keyboard-desktop settings but an extension of this model for interactions with mobile phones has been described by Holleis et al. [10]. We propose a considerable update of this KLM focusing on NFC-based applications and interactions which are continuously gaining interest. Insufficiencies within the previous model regarding operators for Pointing, Mental Acts, and System Response Time are treated. We present the results of several studies conducted in order to update the values of these operators. A specific focus is put on the differences between static (NFC tags behind a printed poster or object) and dynamic interfaces (tagged displays or projections). Finally, we validate our results by modeling two applications with the former and the proposed model. The latter performed consistently better when compared with measurements from real user interaction data. Keywords: Keystroke-level model (KLM), mobile device interaction, Near Field Communication (NFC), static / dynamic multi-tag interaction.