COMMENTARIES Thinking about the Self from a Social Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective

In this paper Kashima et al. develop an interesting model of self that attempts to simulate several psychological processes critical to an amalgamated James-Mead theoretical conceptualization of self. More specifically, the authors use a connectionist framework to model temporal, cultural and social aspects of self which may give rise to the enculturated stream of consciousness which is seen the essential experience of self in such a model. This approach is important as so much of behavioral research has focused on the self as known, in relatively static form, in contrast to the dynamic aspects of the self that unfold in each moment and as a function of context. Simple associative and declarative models of self-representations are not well equipped to handle these nonlinear dynamics

Online auctions in procurement : the cost/goodwill tradeoff

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 44).Industry is rapidly adopting online auctions. Many of these auctions are occurring in the procurement of component supplies. While there are tremendous expectations for this technology, there is little data or study looking at the implications of the technology. This thesis aims to provide some insight into this topic. Primarily using data collected in a study of auctions in the procurement of automotive components, this thesis looks at the costs and benefits of using online auctions in procurement. The thesis specifically addresses the cost vs. supplier goodwill tradeoff present in procurement auction. After quantifying these variables and answering associated questions, the thesis provides a framework for evaluating the use of online auctions in industry in general. The thesis concludes with a list of suggested further research into this important subject.Tyler J. Rameson.M.Eng

A Study on the Benefits of Transit Oriented Development in Malaysia And Incoporation of Those Benefits in Planning

In Malaysia Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is increasingly becoming a priority for developers and property companies to lead urban planning towards creating a quality, prosperous and sustainable living environment. Malaysia is still relying heavily on traditional planning for its infrastructure development. The objectives of this study are to analyze current planning related to TOD in Malaysia and identify the economic, social and environmental benefits of TOD. A mixed method research approach was used. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaire survey and qualitative data obtained through interviews. The respondents for the questionnaire survey aimed at determining the benefits of TOD consisted of the transit community using the KL Sentral Station. Whilst the investigation on the current planning by the local authority with regards to TOD was undertaken based on data obtained from Johor state local council town planners. The results indicate that from a general perspective social benefits are perceived to be the greatest and from a personal perspective the environmental benefits are greatest. Whilst the current planning regarding TOD in Malaysia is very much at initial planning stages in the case of Johor state and the main emphasis is on reducing the number of people using private transport vehicles on the road. This study provides a reliable transit community perspective regarding the real economic, social and environmental benefits of TODs and provides a timely reflection for local council town planner and key stakeholders to review thier approach to leverage on the wider benefits of TOD

The Neural Correlates of Persuasion: A Common Network Across Cultures and Media

Persuasion is at the root of countless social exchanges in which one person or group is motivated to have another share its beliefs, desires, or behavioral intentions. Here, we report the first three functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to investigate the neurocognitive networks associated with feeling persuaded by an argument. In the first two studies, American and Korean participants, respectively, were exposed to a number of text-based persuasive messages. In both Study 1 and Study 2, feeling persuaded was associated with increased activity in posterior superior temporal sulcus bilaterally, temporal pole bilaterally, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The findings suggest a discrete set of underlying mechanisms in the moment that the persuasion process occurs, and are strengthened by the fact that the results replicated across two diverse linguistic and cultural groups. Additionally, a third study using region-of-interest analyses demonstrated that neural activity in this network was also associated with persuasion when a sample of American participants viewed video-based messages. In sum, across three studies, including two different cultural groups and two types of media, persuasion was associated with a consistent network of regions in the brain. Activity in this network has been associated with social cognition and mentalizing and is consistent with models of persuasion that emphasize the importance of social cognitive processing in determining the efficacy of persuasive communication

Empathy in the field: Towards a taxonomy of empathic communication in information gathering interviews with suspected sex offenders

Research suggests that those suspected of sexual offending might be more willing to reveal informa- tion about their crimes if interviewers display empathic behaviour. However, the literature concerning investigative empathy is in its infancy, and so as yet is not well understood. This study explores empathy in a sample of real-life interviews conducted by police officers in England with suspected sex offen- ders. Using qualitative methodology, the presence and type of empathic verbal behaviours displayed was examined. Resulting categories were quantitatively analysed to investigate their occurrence overall, and across interviewer gender. We identified four distinct types of empathy, some of which were used sig- nificantly more often than others. Female interviewers displayed more empathic behaviour per se by a considerable margin

The relationships between health information behavior and neural processing in african americans with prehypertension

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150533/1/asi24098_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150533/2/asi24098.pd

Anterior Medial Prefrontal Cortex Exhibits Activation during Task Preparation but Deactivation during Task Execution

BACKGROUND: The anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC) exhibits activation during some cognitive tasks, including episodic memory, reasoning, attention, multitasking, task sets, decision making, mentalizing, and processing of self-referenced information. However, the medial part of anterior PFC is part of the default mode network (DMN), which shows deactivation during various goal-directed cognitive tasks compared to a resting baseline. One possible factor for this pattern is that activity in the anterior medial PFC (MPFC) is affected by dynamic allocation of attentional resources depending on task demands. We investigated this possibility using an event related fMRI with a face working memory task. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sixteen students participated in a single fMRI session. They were asked to form a task set to remember the faces (Face memory condition) or to ignore them (No face memory condition), then they were given 6 seconds of preparation period before the onset of the face stimuli. During this 6-second period, four single digits were presented one at a time at the center of the display, and participants were asked to add them and to remember the final answer. When participants formed a task set to remember faces, the anterior MPFC exhibited activation during a task preparation period but deactivation during a task execution period within a single trial. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results suggest that the anterior MPFC plays a role in task set formation but is not involved in execution of the face working memory task. Therefore, when attentional resources are allocated to other brain regions during task execution, the anterior MPFC shows deactivation. The results suggest that activation and deactivation in the anterior MPFC are affected by dynamic allocation of processing resources across different phases of processing

Self-awareness Part 1: Definition, measures, effects, functions, and antecedents

Self-awareness represents the capacity of becoming the object of one’s own attention. In this state one actively identifies, processes, and stores information about the self. This paper surveys the self-awareness literature by emphasizing definition issues, measurement techniques, effects and functions of self-attention, and antecedents of self-awareness. Key self-related concepts (e.g., minimal, reflective consciousness) are distinguished from the central notion of self-awareness. Reviewed measures include questionnaires, implicit tasks, and self-recognition. Main effects and functions of self-attention consist in self-evaluation, escape from the self, amplification of one’s subjective experience, increased self-knowledge, self-regulation, and inferences about others’ mental states (Theory-of-Mind). A neurocognitive and socioecological model of self-awareness is described in which the role of face-to-face interactions, reflected appraisals, mirrors, media, inner speech, imagery, autobiographical knowledge, and neurological structures is underlin