Physarum polycephalum, a unicellular and multiheaded slime mould, can form highly efficient networks connecting separated food sources during the process of foraging. These adaptive networks exhibit a unique characteristic in that they are optimized without the control of a central consciousness. Inspired by this phenomenon, we present an efficient exploration and navigation strategy for a swarm of robots, which exploits cooperation and self-organisation to overcome the limited abilities of the individual robots. The task faced by the robots consists in the (...) exploration of an unknown environment in order to find a path between two distant target areas. For the proposed algorithm, we experimentally present robustness tests and obstacle tests conducted to analyse the performance of our algorithm and compare the proposed algorithm with other swarm robot foraging algorithms that also focus on the path formation task. This work has certain significance for the research of swarm robots and Physarum polycephalum. For the research of swarm robotics, our algorithm not only can lead multirobot as a whole to overcome the limitations of very simple individual agents but also can offer better performance in terms of search efficiency and success rate. For the research of Physarum polycephalum, this work is the first one combining swarm robots and Physarum polycephalum. It also reveals the potential of the Physarum polycephalum foraging principle in multirobot systems. (shrink)

With only two to five slots of visual working memory (VWM), humans are able to quickly solve complex visual problems to near optimal solutions. To explain the paradox between tightly constrained VWM and impressively complex human visual problem‐solving ability, we propose several principles for dynamic VWM allocation. In particular, we propose that complex visual information is represented in a temporal manner using only a few slots of VWM that include global and local visual chunks. We built a model of human (...) traveling salesman problem solving based on these principles of VWM allocation and tested the model with eye‐movement data. Exactly as the model predicted, human eye movements during traveling salesman problem solving have precise quantitative regularities with regard to both the general statistical pattern of attentional fixations and how they vary across individuals with different VWM capacities. Even though VWM capacity is very limited, eye movements dynamically allocate VWM resources to both local and global information, enabling attention to fine details without loss of the big picture. (shrink)

This study aims to explore the promoting effect of the combination of mental health education and ideological and political education for college students on improving their comprehensive psychological quality and ideological and political theoretical level. The research adopts a combination of system analysis methods, experimental methods and clustering algorithms, and conducts course experiments through experimental methods, providing basic data. In the process of the experiment, from the perspective of educational psychology theory, the systematic analysis method is used to distinguish subject (...) and object, and functional analysis is carried out. At the same time, clustering algorithms are used to classify the mental health problems of different students. The research results indicate that in terms of subjectivity, teachers’ psychological communication ability, psychological understanding ability and psychological guidance ability have a significant positive impact on students’ psychological state. The level of ideological and political theory and psychological strain ability also have a significant positive impact on students’ psychological state. Intervention on students’ values and personality psychological issues is also effective. These findings provide an important basis and guidance for further carrying out higher education reform. Contribution: With the development of society, students need to face more and more external concepts during their growth. Students whose mental growth is not mature are likely to have certain psychological problems in this process. This research can be utilised by scholars in the field of youth ministry and religious educational studies. (shrink)

In this paper, dynamic behavior analysis has been discussed for a class of switched complex-valued neural networks with interval parameter uncertainties and impulse disturbance. Sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the existence, uniqueness, and global robust exponential stability of the equilibrium point have been obtained by using the homomorphism mapping theorem, the scalar Lyapunov function method, the average dwell time method, and M-matrix theory. Since there is no result concerning the stability problem of switched neural networks defined in complex number domain, the (...) stability results we describe in this paper generalize the existing ones. The effectiveness of the proposed results is illustrated by a numerical example. (shrink)

In this paper, the stability of switched neural networks with interval parameter uncertainties and time delays is investigated. First, the conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium point of the system are discussed. Second, the average dwell time approach and M-matrix property are employed to obtain conditions to ensure the globally exponential stability of the delayed SNNs under constrained switching. Third, by resorting to inequality technique and the idea of vector Lyapunov function, sufficient condition to ensure the robust (...) exponential stability of the delayed SNNs under arbitrary switching is derived. The form of the constructed Lyapunov functions is simple, which has certain commonality in studying delayed SNNs, and the proposed results not only are explicit but also reveal the relationship between the constrained switching and the arbitrary switching of the SNNs. Finally, two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and less conservativeness of the main results compared with the existing literature. (shrink)

Mutation and lateral transfer are two categories of processes generating genetic diversity in prokaryotic genomes. Their relative importance varies between lineages, yet both are complementary rather than independent, separable evolutionary forces. The replication process inevitably merges together their effects on the genome. We develop the concept of “open lineages” to characterize evolutionary lineages that over time accumulate more changes in their genomes by lateral transfer than by mutation. They contrast with “closed lineages,” in which most of the changes are caused (...) by mutation. Open and closed lineages are interspersed along the branches of any tree of prokaryotes. This patchy distribution conflicts with the basic assumptions of traditional phylogenetic approaches. As a result, a tree representation including both open and closed lineages is a misrepresentation. The evolution of all prokaryotic lineages cannot be studied under a single model unless new phylogenetic approaches that are more pluralistic about lineage evolution are designed. (shrink)

Zhuangzi is one of the great figures in the history of ancient Chinese thought. While Laozi and Zhuangzi are ranked together as the founders of Daoism, it is in fact primarily Zhuangzi who, as the worthy adversary of the Confucian school of Confucius and Mencius, has been the greatest influence in politics, culture, and thought. While this influence has had its negative aspects, its positive side has predominated. How to dialectically and historically evaluate Zhuangzi properly is a very important problem.

The Yogācāra School presents the seventh consciousness as the internal mental faculty of the sixth consciousness. According to the Hīnayāna tradition, the internal faculty is called manas, so the complete compound word referring to the seventh consciousness is manovijñāna. Thus, in the Yogācāra system the seventh and sixth consciousnesses are both named manovijñāna. In order to resolve the confusion of the homonyms, one of them must be adjusted. Based on the Tibetan term, nyon yid rnam par shes pa, some scholars (...) recently claimed that the seventh consciousness could be called kliṣṭamanas. However, in the Cheng Weishi Lun, Xuanzang proposed that the seventh consciousness is also reasonably named akliṣṭamanas when referring to the pure Buddha, and therefore it is better to simply term the seventh consciousness “manas”. On the other hand, some Indian ancient Yogācāra theorists suggested that the word manovijñāna should be used to name the seventh consciousness, while the sixth consciousness would in that case be called dharmavijñāna. However, that solution was rejected by Cheng Weishi Lun. Through contextual analysis, utilizing the method of the Indian Śāstra of Vaiyākaraṇa, this article puts forward an innovative way to solve the difficult problem of homonymity: denoting the seventh consciousness as pradhānamanovijñāna based on the unique meaning of manas advocated by Yogācāra School itself. (shrink)

Based on implicit leadership theory, we examine the congruence effect of leader-follower power distance orientation on follower trust in a supervisor and work engagement, which in turn influences employees’ task performance. Results of Polynomial regressions on 526 dyads supported the congruence effect hypothesis. The results show that (1) the congruence of leader-follower power distance orientation leads to better performance; (2) under the condition of congruence, Subordinate task performance is higher when leader-follower power distance orientation matching in low-low ratings congruence than (...) it is in high-high ratings congruence; (3) under the condition of asymmetrical incongruence, the follower had higher task performance when a leader’s power distance orientation is lower than a follower’s power distance orientation; (4) trust in supervisor and the work engagement mediates the effect of congruence of leader-follower power distance orientation on employees’ task performance; (5) trust in supervisor also mediates the effect of congruence of leader-follower power distance orientation on employees’ work engagement. (shrink)

In the evaluation of teaching quality, aiming at the shortcomings of slow convergence of BP neural network and easy to fall into local optimum, an online teaching quality evaluation model based on analytic hierarchy process and particle swarm optimization BP neural network is proposed. Firstly, an online teaching quality evaluation system was established by using the analytic hierarchy process to determine the weight of each subsystem and each index in the online teaching quality evaluation system and then combined with actual (...) experience, the risk value of each index was constructed according to safety regulations. The regression model is established through BP neural network, and the weight and threshold of the model are optimized by the particle swarm algorithm. Based on the online teaching quality evaluation model of BP neural network, the parameters of the model are constantly adjusted, the appropriate function is selected, and the particle swarm algorithm which is used in the training and learning process of the neural network is optimized. The scientificity of the questionnaire was verified by reliability and validity test. According to the scoring results and combined with the weight coefficient of each indicator in the online course quality evaluation index system, the key factors affecting the quality of online courses were obtained. Based on the survey data, descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient method are used to verify the research hypothesis and obtain valuable empirical results. By comparing the model with the standard BP model, the results show that the accuracy of the PSO-BP model is higher than that of the standard BP model and PSO-BP effectively overcomes the shortcomings of the BP neural network. (shrink)

Angle is an important concept in geometry. Young children have difficulty separating angle size from other dimensions such as the length of angle sides, perhaps due to whole-object bias in word learning. The present study used the pre-test–training–post-test design to investigate the effectiveness of two ways of separating angle from angle size in 3–6-year-old Chinese preschoolers. A total of 228 children were given a pre-test and 219 of them failed the crucial test. 168 of the 219 children were present at (...) school during the training phase and were randomly assigned to three groups: the “toma” group, which received training to call the whole angle figure as “toma” and angle size as angle size; the “angle/angle size” group, which received the training of separating “angle” from “angle size”; and the control group, which used “angle size” alone to represent both the overall angle figure and angle size. Results showed that the “toma” group improved significantly more than the other two groups, the latter of which did not differ from each other. These results suggest that it is insufficient to have two separate words/phrases for children to learn to differentiate angle from angle size, perhaps due to their shared usage of the word angle. Instead, the use of a novel term is necessary and sufficient to improve learning. Implications for preschool education are discussed. (shrink)

本书是我国南北朝时代一部有名的古籍,此书共分为七卷,为家训类著作。全书的语言平易朴实而又不乏文采,与当时盛行的浮华的骈文既有区别,又较先秦两汉的古文更为随意自然,在南北朝文学史上别具一格。.

This study addresses the question whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) matters in Asian Emerging Markets. Based on CSR scores compiled by Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia), we assess the CSR performance of major Asian firms over a period of 3 years, from 2001 to 2004. The results show that there is a positive and significant relation between CSR and market valuation among Asian firms. We further find that CSR is positively related to the market valuation of the subsequent year. More importantly, (...) Asian firms are rewarded by the market for improving their CSR practice. (shrink)

In the contemporary epistemological literature, peer disagreement is often taken to be an instance of a more general phenomenon of “higher-order evidence.” Correspondingly, its epistemic significance is often thought to turn on the epistemic significance of higher-order evidence in general. This chapter attempts to evaluate this claim, and in doing so to clarify some points of unclarity in the current literature – both about what it is for evidence to be “higher-order,” and about the relationship between disagreement and higher-order evidence. (...) We will begin by considering some candidate definitions of “higher-order evidence,” and offering our own definition that attempts to capture the phenomenon of interest. We will then consider, in light of this definition, whether disagreement and its epistemic significance are best-understood as a kind of higher-order evidence. We’ll argue that although peer disagreement can be epistemically significant qua higher-order evidence, this role doesn’t exhaust its significance, and that it can also serve as straightforward first-order evidence. Finally, we’ll suggest that inattention to this latter point has made broadly conciliatory views about peer disagreement seem somewhat easier to resist than they in fact are. (shrink)

Drawing upon a developmental perspective, we investigated the differences in power acquisition between only and non-only children as well as the mediating role of cooperative and competitive orientations and the moderating role of dependency on parents. To test our hypotheses, we conducted two field studies in 155 part-time Master of Business Administration students and 375 senior students. Results showed that: non-only children were more likely to achieve higher rank at work than only children; only children were less likely than non-only (...) children to acquire power in organizations because they scored lower in cooperative orientation; however, the mediating effect of competitive orientation was not significant; the difference in cooperative orientation between only and non-only children was smaller when dependency on parents was high, whereas it became larger when dependency on parents was low. Our research contributes to the understanding of how family structure influences individual power acquisition. (shrink)

The importance imposed on corporate social responsibility is greater in developed economies than in emerging markets. The pressures from various stakeholder groups on the CSR are expected to have substantial spillover impact on companies domiciled in emerging economies that obtain revenues from companies in developed economies. Based on the data from 1,330 listed companies in China, the largest emerging economy in the world, this study provides evidence that the CSR performance of China firms is positively related to the degree of (...) their internationalization, and such a positive association is less pronounced for state-owned enterprises. Our findings support the hypothesis that internationalized companies in emerging economies are motivated to improve their CSR practices to address concerns from their importers or outsourcers in developed economies. (shrink)

A clear account of the principles of fuzzy logic-based design, from a computer/electronics engineering perspective. This pedagogical work incorporates current fuzzy logic techniques, emphasizing hardware/software design for fuzzy systems and fuzzy logic development tools.

本书收集了2002年10月在中国矿业大学举行的“全国政治哲学第二届学术研讨会”的部分论文,全书分为:政治哲学基础理论研究、政治哲学范畴研究、政治哲学史研究、政治哲学与政治学等几部分。.

This paper evaluates the Hong Kong approach to consent regarding the forgoing of life-sustaining treatment for incompetent elderly patients. It analyzes the contextualized approach in the Hong Kong process-based, consensus-building model, in contrast to other role-based models which emphasize the establishment of a system of formal laws and a clear locus of decisional authority.Without embracing relativism, the paper argues that the Hong Kong model offers an instructive example of how strategic ambiguities can both make good sense within particular cultural context (...) and serve important moral goals. (shrink)

Teachers' emotional states such as optimism and commitment have long been approved influential in second/foreign language education. Although many correlational investigations have been conducted on teacher optimism and commitment, their interaction and kinship with teachers' work engagement have been largely ignored in the literature. Considering this situation, the present mini-review aims to present the theoretical underpinnings, definitions, dimensions, and conceptualizations of these three important variables taken from positive psychology. Moreover, the present review can offer a number of practical implications for (...) EFL teachers, teacher educators, program designers, school principals, and L2 researchers, and raise their awareness of the impact of inner emotions on teachers' academic performance. Finally, research gaps and future directions are provided for eager researchers to run similar and complementary studies in EFL contexts. (shrink)

Multiple goals balancing is an important but not yet fully validated dimension of complex problem solving (CPS). The present study used process data to explore how solvers clarify goals, set priorities, and balance conflicting goals. We extracted behavioral indicators of goal pursuit from the log data of 3,201 students on the third subtask of the “Ticket” task in the PISA 2012 CPS test. Cluster analysis was used to identify 10 groups that varied in goal pursuit behavior. Logistics and least-squares regression (...) analysis were used to explore how goal pursuit affected task scores and CPS proficiency. The results showed that competent solvers clarified goals and weighed priorities more effectively. They also made trade-offs between conflicting goals. The importance of theoretically-driven log data analysis and coping strategies in the face of multiple goals conflict scenarios was discussed. (shrink)

Mitos ve Logos kavramları Antik Yunan uygarlığında söz kavramına karşılık gelen sözcükleri karşılamak için kullanılmıştır. Felsefe tarihinin başlangıcı için yapılan tanımlamalarda ise mitos kavramının yerine logos kavramının tercih edilmesi iki kavram arasında bir farklılığı ortaya koymak için yapılmaktadır. Bu ayrımın nedeni ise mitos’un daha çok dinsel içerikle anılması logos’un ise içerisinde bir tür akılsallık barındırması şeklindeki yorumlarda kendini göstermektedir. Ancak söz konusu ayrımın ilk doğa filozofu/ilk felsefeci olarak nitelendirilen Thales için geçerli olup olmadığı geçmişte olduğu gibi günümüzde de halen tartışılmaktadır. (...) Felsefe tarihi yazımlarında ilk sıraya konan Thales’in anılan kavramları gerçekten farklı şekilde yorumlayıp yorumlamadığı bizce de tartışmaya açık bir husustur. Bu açıdan bakıldığında Thales, söz konusu kavramları iki farklı problemler alanı olarak mı görmüştür? Onun düşüncelerinde kendinden önceki mitolojik mirasın izleri bulunabilir mi? O, katışıksız bir rasyonel midir, yoksa henüz felsefenin yeni filizlendiği bir toplumda bir ara basamağı mı temsil etmektedir? Bu makalenin içerisinde tartışacağımız bu sorular, felsefe tarihinin başlangıcına ilişkin kavramsal arka planın ne olduğu hakkında bize katkı sağlayacaktır. (shrink)

Düşünce tarihi, geçmişten gelen birikimin katkısıyla ilerlemektedir. Bu bakımdan, ardıl olan düşünürlerin, geçmişteki filozoflarla olan hesaplaşmalarını incelerken titiz davranmak gerekmektedir. Düşünürlerin öncelleriyle olan bağı dikkatli biçimde irdelendiğinde, aralarında bütünüyle bir uyuşmazlık olmadığı görülecektir. Bu konuya örnek olarak Rousseau ve Nietzsche’nin düşüncelerini gösterebiliriz. Nietzsche’ye baktığımızda, onun bazı eserlerinde Rousseau’nun düşüncelerini sert bir dille eleştirmiş olduğunu görürüz. Bununla birlikte, Nietzsche’nin felsefesi bütünlüklü olarak incelendiğinde, her iki filozofun düşüncelerinin örtüştüğü pek çok nokta bulunmaktadır. Örneğin, Rousseau’nun varsaydığı biçimiyle doğa durumundaki insan, güçlü ve kendi (...) kendine yeterlidir; her türlü kötülük toplumsallıktan, ya da daha yerinde bir ifadeyle, toplumsallığın getirdiği eşitsizlikten doğar. Nietzsche’nin düşüncelerine baktığımızda, yine doğanın olumlandığını görürüz; ancak doğa – ve dolayısıyla doğal haliyle insan- dehşetengiz bir çehreye de sahiptir. Bu konu, her iki filozofun görüşlerinde birbirleriyle olan uyumlarına bir örnek oluşturur. Çalışmamızdaki temel çabamız, söz konusu iki düşünürün insan doğası merkezinde gelişen görüşlerinde özellikle birbirleriyle örtüşen noktalara dikkat çekmektir. Burada, Nietzsche ve Rousseau arasında birtakım bağdaşma noktalarının gösterilmesi, insanın doğası gereği iyicil bir varlık olduğuna ilişkin olumlu çıkarımların naif bulunarak hafife alınmasına yönelik bir karşı çıkış da barındırmaktadır. Çünkü toplumsal yaşamda süregelen adaletsizliklerin sona erdirilmesi için mücadele edilmesinde, insanın kendi türdeşlerini doğası gereği iyi varlıklar olarak kavraması önemli bir etkendir. (shrink)