Many applications of intuitionistic fuzzy sets depend on ranking or comparing intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. This paper presents a novel ranking method for intuitionistic fuzzy numbers based on the preference attitudinal accuracy and score functions. The proposed ranking method considers not only the preference attitude of decision maker, but also all the possible values in feasible domain. Some desirable properties of preference attitudinal accuracy and score functions are verified in detail. A total order on the set of intuitionistic fuzzy numbers is (...) established by using the proposed two functions. The proposed ranking method is also applied to select renewable energy. The advantage and validity of the proposed method are shown by comparing with some representative ranking methods. (shrink)

In response to the rapidly increasing application and abuse of psychological tests in China, the Psychometrics Division of the Chinese Psychological Society published the 2008 revisions of the Chinese Code of Ethical Use of Psychological Tests. We investigated the implementation status of the code 2½ years after its promulgation. Sample included 284 psychological professionals and psychology graduate students. The average accuracy rate for the appropriate use of psychological tests was 67.1% (range = 25.5?97.5%), with 10 items having accuracy rates below (...) 45%. Participants remained uncertain about the clients' rights to information about the purpose, psychometric properties, and scores of the tests. The most frequent violations involved ?using psychological tests without psychometric information for entertainment purposes? and ?using SCL-90 to measure mental health of normal people.? (shrink)

Only problems that cannot be solved without representational changes can be regarded as pure insight problems; others are classified as pseudo-insight problems. Existing studies using neuroimaging...

This paper is concerned with the finite-time projective synchronization problem of fractional-order memristive neural networks with mixed time-varying delays. Firstly, under the frame of fractional-order differential inclusion and the set-valued map, several criteria are derived to ensure finite-time projective synchronization of FMNNs. Meanwhile, three properties are established to deal with different forms of the finite-time fractional differential inequation, which greatly extend some results on estimation of settling time of FMNNs. In addition to the traditional Lyapunov function with 1-norm form in (...) Theorem 1, a more general and flexible Lyapunov function based on p-norm is constructed in Theorem 2 to analyze the finite-time projective synchronization problem, and the estimation of settling time has been verified less conservative than previous results. Finally, numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the derived theoretical results. (shrink)

Stroke and other neurological disorders have an effect on mobility which has a significant impact on independence and quality of life. The core rehabilitation requirements for patients with lower limb motor dysfunction are gait training, restand, and mobility. In this work, we introduce a newly developed multifunctional wheelchair that we call “ReChair” and evaluated its performance preliminarily. ReChair seamlessly integrates the mobility, gait training, and multiposture transformation. ReChair driving and multiposture transformation are done using the voice, button, and mobile terminal (...) control. This work describes the functional requirements, mechanical structure, and control system and the overall evaluation of ReChair including the kinematic simulation of the multiposture transformation and passive lower limb rehabilitation training to quantitatively verify the motion capability of ReChair, the voice control system evaluation that shows how the voice recognition system is suitable for home environment, the sensorless speed detection test results that indicate how the wheel speeds measured by sensorless method are appropriate for travelling control, and the passive and balance training test results that show how the lower limb rehabilitation training in daily life by ReChair is convenient. Finally, the experimental results show that ReChair meets the patients’ requirements and has practical significance. It is cost-effective, easy to use, and supports multiple control modes to adapt to different rehabilitation phases. (shrink)

Editor’sThis essay draws on the suburban sacrifice ritual to explicate in detail how Confucianism became the state religion by reforming the ritual system as a justification of the political system holding the Emperor as the central and highest authority.

User location prediction in location-based social networks can predict the density of people flow well in terms of intelligent transportation, which can make corresponding adjustments in time to make traffic smooth, reduce fuel consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help build a green cycle low-carbon transportation green system. This paper proposes a Markov chain position prediction model based on multidimensional correction. Firstly, extract corresponding information from the user’s historical check-in position sequence as a position-position conversion map. Secondly, the influence of (...) check-in period, space distance, and other factors on the position prediction is linearly weighted and merged with the position prediction of the n-order Markov chain to construct MDC-MCM. Finally, we conduct a comprehensive performance evaluation of MDC-MCM using the dataset collected from Brightkite. Experimental results show that compared with other advanced location prediction technologies, MDC-MCM achieves better location prediction results. (shrink)

This essay considers the way Georges Bataille associates sovereignty with ecstasy through his peculiar emotive reactions to the photographic images of lingchi execution. Aside from the traditional views relating to political authority, I show how Bataille holds an idiosyncratic notion of sovereignty that is firmly connected with ecstasy, which is disclosed and best exemplified in his fascination with the lingchi photos with intolerable imagery of torture and cruelty. I argue that the reasons for Bataille to seek ecstatic experience is to (...) overcome banality and servility derived from the instrumentalization of our culture, so as to allow sovereignty to come into being. Although cruelty is a persistent theme in Bataille’s writings, I point out that what makes the lingchi photos pivotal for him is that it is the mirror of somatic disintegration, extreme physical violence and cruelty that corresponds to the rupture of psychological integrity as the state of ecstatic loss of self in a metaphysical sense, reflecting thus the non-boundary of uncontained sovereign individual. Furthermore, in the experience of ecstatic self-loss, an empathic identity is built up between Bataille and the victim of the lingchi execution, which not only allows the conception of ecstatic sovereignty to be endowed with ethical implication but also makes it an alternative approach to the issue of intercultural communication. (shrink)

Qiongheba is a polymetallic ore concentration area located in the east margin of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Because all three main types of metal deposits in this area are controlled strictly by fault structures and intrusions buried under the Quaternary sediments, the detection of concealed faults and intrusions is of great significance for mineral prospecting. We aim to make clear the faults and intrusions based on the high-precision gravity and magnetic data set. First, multiscale edge detection of (...) gravity and magnetic data is used to distinguish and divide the faults system. Second, 3D recognition of concealed intrusions combining with 3D inversion and multiscale edge detection of gravity and magnetic is carried out to construct the 3D formation of concealed intrusions. Last, seven prospecting targets are proposed based on our research and existed regional geologic and geochemical information, and two of them have been confirmed to be rich in polymetal by drilling. Our research results not only proved the effectiveness of the combination method of 3D inversion and multiscale edge detection of gravity and magnetic data in the prospecting of concealed faults and intrusions, but they also provide abundant information for mineral exploration prediction in the Qiongheba area. (shrink)

The pervasive nature of social media can result in excessive use and addiction, but whether excessive use of social media is good or bad for individuals' creativity is unclear. This study explored the direct and indirect impact of excessive use of WeChat on individuals' creativity in workplace, focusing on how excessive use of WeChat promotes or restrains creativity through knowledge sharing and psychological strain. Based on the person–environment fit model and motivation theory, this study examined the three paths of excessive (...) WeChat use affecting individuals' creativity in workplace. We used the structural equation model to test our research model. A survey of 364 employees revealed that excessive WeChat use directly promotes creativity and indirectly improves creativity via knowledge sharing, but excessive WeChat use does not lead to psychological strain. These findings, obtained by theoretically and empirically investigating the positive outcomes of excessive WeChat use, suggest an upside to excessive WeChat use. The implications and limitations of this study and future research on excessive-use behavior are also discussed. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among homework time, homework frequency, and learning achievements of Taiwanese students. Applying a 2-level hierarchical linear modeling...

Three-term amplitude-variation with offset inversion generally suffers from instability when there is limited prior geologic or petrophysical constraints. Two-term AVO inversion shows higher instability compared with three-term AVO inversion. However, density, which is important in the fluid-type estimation, cannot be recovered from two-term AVO inversion. To reliably predict the P- and S-waves and density, we have developed a robust two-step joint PP- and PS-wave three-term AVO-inversion method. Our inversion workflow consists of two steps. The first step is to estimate the (...) P- and S-wave reflectivities using Stewart’s joint two-term PP- and PS-AVO inversion. The second step is to treat the P-wave reflectivity obtained from the first step as the prior constraint to remove the P-wave velocity related-term from the three-term Aki-Richards PP-wave approximated reflection coefficient equation, and then the reduced PP-wave reflection coefficient equation is combined with the PS-wave reflection coefficient equation to estimate the S-wave and density reflectivities. We determined the effectiveness of our method by first applying it to synthetic models and then to field data. We also analyzed the condition number of the coefficient matrix to illustrate the stability of the proposed method. The estimated results using proposed method are superior to those obtained from three-term AVO inversion. (shrink)

The state is a key driver of corporate social responsibility across developed and developing countries. But the existing research provides comparatively little knowledge about: (1) how companies strategically manage the relationship with the state through corporate social responsibility (CSR); (2) how this strategy takes shape under the influence of political institutions. Understanding these questions captures a realistic picture of how a company applies CSR to interacting with the state, particularly in countries where the state relationship is critical to the business (...) operation. This article draws on political legitimacy as a useful concept to directly address both strategic and politically embedded natures of CSR. This work extends the currently under-specified political implication of the strategic view of CSR and provides fresh insights to the political legitimacy research by specifying a typology of CSR-based legitimacy strategies and its contextual variation. China and Russia are the focal settings. A qualitative analysis of business—state interaction cases is done using a database that contains the majority of CSR reports published in Chinese and Russian as the end of 2009. As a result, this paper identifies four qualitatively different types of CSR-based political legitimacy strategies and reveals how the adoption of these strategies differs across Chinese companies, Russian companies, and multinational corporations. (shrink)