From a logical viewpoint, people must reason to as well as from interpretations in deductive reasoning tasks. There are two main interpretative stances (e.g., Stenning & van Lambalgen, 2004, 2005, 2008): credulous, the act of trying to infer the speaker's intended model; and sceptical, an adversarial strategy. A range of contextual factors in uence interpretation, but there are also differences between individuals across situations. Taking an individual differences approach, this thesis focuses on reasoning in relation to milder variants of the autism spectrum condition (ASC) phenotype in a typically developing (TD) population. Earlier work on discourse processing in ASC using the `suppression' task (van Lambalgen & Smid, 2004; Pijnacker et al., In press) shows that some aspects of reasoning to interpretations are different in the ASC population. Given that autistic traits involve impairment, e.g., in pragmatic language, and peaks of ability, e.g., in perceptual tasks, it was hypothesised that autistic traits would predict features of the inferences people in the TD population draw. Data were collected from university students on a range of reasoning tasks making it possible to investigate the extent to which interpretation is consistent across task within individuals. Tasks chosen were: conditional reasoning using the `suppression' task and Wason's selection task; one and two-premise Aristotelian quantifer reasoning; the Linda problem; and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Autistic traits were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), used previously to study autistic traits in TD individuals, and the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (Hurley et al., 2007). Autistic traits predicted patterns of inference in many of the tasks. The earlier suppression task result in ASC was replicated and extended in our TD population. Different dimensions of autistic trait related differentially to features of the inferences drawn. Some of the inferences drawn were recognisably related to the credulous versus sceptical distinction and correlated cross-task whilst others were seemingly related to more general topdown versus bottom-up processing preferences. These results provide further evidence of the existence of qualitative individual differences in deductive reasoning. They also show the importance of seeking cross-task correlates to move beyond studies of individual tasks and study reasoning to and from interpretations in the same individual.

<p>Budući da rezultati u budućnosti, zavise od odluka u sadašnjosti, ispitivanje uticaja sistematskih grešaka u logici odlučivanja je od velikog značaja. Predmet ovog rada je merenje rizika usled uticaja subjektivnih faktora u procesu procena i donošenja odluka u uslovima neizvesnosti. U dokazivanju hipoteza korišćene su metode klasične i fazi logike. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da se kod većine učesnika u proceni indeksa na finansijskim tržištima zemalja u razvoju, uočava uticaj ličnih sklonosti prema preteranom otpimizmu / pesimizmu i preteranom samopouzdanju. Na osnovu rezultata istraživanja predložen je holistički model i alat za buduće procene, koji uzima u obzir koeficijent samopouzdanja kao korektivni faktor u postupku donošenja odluke. Primena modela i alata kao podrška u odlučivanju je moguća kod svih vrsta evaluacija projekata u inženjerskom odlučivanju.</p> / <p>Results in the future depend on decisions in the present. Therefore examination of sistematic errors in logic decision making has high importance. The main objective of this work is risk quantification due to subjective influence in process of evaluation and decison making under uncertainty. The methods which are used are based on classical and fuzzy logic. The research results show that bias toward over opptimism / pessimism and overconfidence in emerging markets stock exchange exist in majority cases. Based on the results of the research are suggested holistic model and tools for future assessment, which take into an account overconfidence coefficient as corective factor in decison making process. The model and tools is possible to use as decision making support for all types of evaluation projects in the engeneering decisions.</p>

This investigation proposes a powerful formalization of common sense knowledge based on function-free normal deduction graphs (NDGs) which form a powerful tool for deriving Horn and non-Horn clauses without functions. Such formalization allows common sense reasoning since it has the ability to handle not only negative but also incomplete information.

Ninety-five studies that addressed the possibility of gender differences in forgiveness literature are reviewed. Gender differences were examined with respect to predictor variables and outcome variables. Participants were 314 couples from the community who had been married less than one year. Participants filled out questionnaires. Males were more forgiving and were more committed to the marriage. However, females were more successful at granting forgiveness. In addition, females were more religious and reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility. Four structural equation models were tested in order to test for gender differences. Structural models including the latent variables of martial satisfaction, marital commitment, marital forgiveness, and mental health fit the data better for males than for females. Results support the conclusion that there are gender differences in forgiveness in recently married couples.

This study examines the effects of reputation threats and anonymous whistle-blowing channels on Chief Audit Executives’ (CAEs) decisions to investigate whistle-blowing allegations. Participants were 94 CAEs and Deputy CAEs from publicly traded companies in the eastern half of the United States. Participants received whistle-blowing reports from either an anonymous or a non-anonymous source. In the high reputation threat condition the whistle-blowing report alleged that the wrongdoing was perpetrated by the exploitation of substantial weaknesses in internal controls that had been previously evaluated by external auditors and the internal audit function. The report in the lower threat condition alleged that the wrongdoing was accomplished by the circumvention of internal controls. Findings show that CAEs found anonymous whistle-blowing reports to be significantly less credible than non-anonymous reports. Although CAEs assessed lower credibility ratings for the reports alleging wrongdoing by the exploitation of substantial weaknesses in internal controls, they perceived greater personal and departmental responsibility in this condition. CAEs did not, however, perceive a significant reputation threat in either the Exploitation or Circumvention condition. Regardless of report source credibility, perceived reputation threat, or felt responsibility, CAEs’ resource allocation decisions consistently demonstrated a determination to thoroughly investigate the allegations of wrongdoing and uncover the truth.

Decision-making is a fundamental process of human thinking and behavior. In engineering design, decision-making is studied from two different points of view: users and designers. User focused design studies tend to investigate ways to better inform the design process through the elicitation of preferences or information. Designer studies are broad in nature, but usually attempt to illustrate and understand some aspect of designer behavior, such as ideation, fixation, or collaboration. Despite their power, both qualitative and quantitative research methods are ultimately limited by the fact that they rely on direct input from the research participants themselves. This can be problematic, as individuals may not be able to accurately represent what they are truly thinking, feeling, or desiring at the time of the decision. A fundamental goal in both user- and designer-focused studies is to understand how the mind works while individuals are making decisions. This dissertation addresses these issues through the use of complementary behavioral and neuroimaging experiments, uncovering insights into how the mind processes design-related decision-making and the implications of those processes. To examine user decision-making, a visual conjoint analysis (preference modeling approach) was utilized for sustainable preference judgments. Here, a novel preference-modeling framework was employed, allowing for the real time calculation of dependent environmental impact metrics during individual choice decisions. However, in difficult moral and emotional decision-making scenarios, such as those involving sustainability, traditional methods of uncovering user preferences have proven to be inconclusive. To overcome these shortcomings, a neuroimaging approach was used. Specifically, study participants completed preference judgments for sustainable products inside of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. Results indicated that theory of mind and moral reasoning processes occur during product evaluations involving sustainability. Designer decision-making was explored using an analogical reasoning and concept development experiment. First, a crowdsourcing method was used to obtain meaningful analogical stimuli, which were validated using a behavioral experiment. Following this, fMRI was used to uncover the neural mechanisms associated with analogical reasoning in design. Results demonstrated that analogies generally benefit designers; particularly after significant time on idea generation has taken place. Neuroimaging data helped to show two distinct brain activation networks based upon reasoning with and without analogies. We term these fixation driven external search and analogically driven internal search.. Fixation driven external search shows designers during impasse, as increased activation in brain regions associated with visual processing causes them to direct attention outward in search of inspiration. Conversely, during analogically driven internal search, significant areas of activation are observed in bilateral temporal and left parietal regions of the brain. These brain regions are significant, as prior research has linked them to semantic word-processing, directing attention to memory retrieval, and insight during problem solving. It is during analogically driven internal search that brain activity shows the most effective periods of ideation by participants.

Accurate situational assessment is key to any decision maker and especially crucial in military command and control, air traffic control, and complex system decision making. Endsley described three dependent levels of situational awareness, (1) perception, (2) understanding, and (3) projection. This research was focused on Endsley's second-level situational awareness (understanding) as it applies to service-oriented information technology environments in the context of the Semantic Web. Specifically, this research addressed the problem of developing accurate situational assessments related to the status or health of information technology (IT) services, especially composite, dynamic IT services, when some of Endsley's first level (perceived) information was inaccurate or incomplete. Research had not adequately addressed the problem of how to work with inaccuracy and situational awareness information in order to produce accurate situational assessments for Semantic Web services. This problem becomes especially important as the current Web moves towards a Semantic Web where information technology is expected to be represented and processed by machines. Costa's probabilistic Web ontology language (PR-OWL), as extended by Carvalho (PR-OWL2), is a framework for storage of and reasoning with uncertainty information as part of the Semantic Web. This study used Costa's PR-OWL framework, as extended by Carvalho, to build an ontology that supports reasoning with service-oriented information in the context of the Semantic Web and then assessed the effectiveness of the developed ontology through the use of competency questions, as described by Gruninger and Fox and verified through the use of an automated reasoner. This research resulted in a Web Ontology Language for Services (OWL-S), PR-OWL2 based ontology, and its associated Multi-Entity Bayesian Network which are flexible and highly effective in calculating situational assessments through the propagation of posterior probabilities using Bayesian logic. Specifically, this research (1) identifies sufficient information required for effective situational awareness reasoning, (2) specifies the predicates and semantics necessary to represent service components and dependencies, (3) applies Multi-Entity Bayesian Network to reason with situational awareness information, (4) ensures the correctness and consistency of the situational awareness ontology, and (5) accurately estimates posterior probabilities consistent with situational awareness information.

Neste trabalho, buscamos propor atividades e relacionar ações que o professor de Matemática pode adotar durante as aulas, com o objetivo de propiciar a melhora do nível de argumentação e prova de seus alunos da Educação Básica. Inicialmente, pesquisamos sobre as definições de prova sob a ótica do ensino de Matemática, em que concluímos que o desenvolvimento de argumentações e provas é fundamental para que os objetivos dos PCN sejam alcançados. Com análise das avaliações do PISA, notamos que, em geral, os estudantes brasileiros possuem baixo desempenho em relação as habilidades que envolvem generalizações e desenvolvimento de provas. Na tentativa de propor melhorias a esse cenário, acreditamos que o desenvolvimento de provas na Educação Básica não deve se restringir as demonstrações aceitas pela comunidade matemática. Para isso, o professor deve conhecer e aceitar os diversos tipos de provas apresentados por seus alunos. Nesse ponto, a formação do professor de Matemática é essencial. Por fim, desenvolvemos atividades e aplicamos em uma sala do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental, o que possibilitou, após as análises, que realizássemos conclusões sobre as características das atividades que propiciam o desenvolvimento de provas e ações que possibilitam a melhora do nível de argumentação de nossos estudantes. / In this study e seek to propose activities and to relate actions that the Mathematics teacher can adopt during the classes, seeking to improve the level of argument and proof of his students of Middle and High School. Initially, we investigated the definitions of proof from the point of view of mathematics teaching, in which we concluded that the development of arguments and proofs is fundamental for the goals of PCN been achieved. With the analysis of the PISA assessments, we noticed that, in general, Brazilian students have poor performance in relation to the skills that involve generalizations and the development of proofs. In an attempt to propose improvements to this scenario, we believe that the development of proofs in Middle and High School should not be restricted to the demonstrations accepted by the mathematical community. About that, the teacher must know and accept the different types of proofs presented by his students. At this point, the courses to the Mathematics teachers, preservice and inservice, are essential. Finally, we developed activities and applied in a class of 9th grade students, which made it possible, after the analysis, to make conclusions about the characteristics of the activities that help to the development of proofs and actions that allow the improvement of argumentations level of our students

Pseudoscience is a collection of nonfiction essays analyzing the origins and methodologies or various pseudoscientific practices against the backdrop of events from the narrator's life that mirror those practices in some way. Pseudoscience is unverifiable. Pseudoscience is unverifiable. / by Mike Shier. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Introdução: O Test de Concordance de Scripts (TCS) é uma ferramenta de avaliação projetada para medir o raciocínio clínico em situações de incerteza. O Test de Concordance de Scripts Human Caring (TCSHC) foi desenvolvido no Canadá com base na teoria de scripts e orientado pelo modelo do Cuidado Humano de Jean Watson. Dispor de um instrumento de avaliação do raciocínio clínico como o Test de Concordance de Scripts Human Caring - versão brasileira será contribuição relevante para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas sobre o raciocínio clínico na enfermagem. Objetivos: Adaptar culturalmente e validar o Test de Concordance de Scripts Human Caring (TCSHC) para o Brasil; estimar as propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira do TCSHC; avaliar o raciocínio clínico de enfermeiros e estudantes de enfermagem; testar associações entre raciocínio clínico e variáveis demográficas, de formação e relacionadas à experiência clínica. Métodos: A adaptação para o português do Brasil foi realizada por tradução e back-translation conforme diretrizes reconhecidas, e a grade de pontuação foi criada com as respostas de 20 especialistas. Respostas de 644 participantes (idade média= 36,9 anos; DP=9,0, 348/54,03% estudantes de enfermagem e 296/45,96% enfermeiros) ao TCSHC versão brasileira foram submetidas a análises de associação, de consistência interna, e fatorial confirmatória e exploratória. Resultados: Os 92 itens e as instruções do TCSHC foram adaptados para o Brasil. Dos 92 itens, foram excluídos 39 por correlação item-total <0,2. O TCSHC versão brasileira ficou constituído por 53 itens, com alfa de Cronbach de 0,87. Análises fatoriais confirmatória e exploratória não identificaram estrutura teórica ou estrutura interpretável para os 53 itens. Os escores médios no TCSHC dos especialistas, enfermeiros e estudantes foram diferentes (F=12,135; p=0,000); especialistas obtiveram melhores escores que os enfermeiros (p=0,021) e que os estudantes (p=0,021) e os enfermeiros melhores escores que os estudantes (p=0,001) evidenciando a validade discriminante do TCSHC versão brasileira. Houve associação entre raciocínio clínico e sexo (mulheres com escores mais altos que os homens; t=-3,33; p=0,001); alunos expostos ao processo de enfermagem apresentaram melhores escores que os não expostos (t=-2,72; p=0,007); entre os enfermeiros houve associação entre o maior grau de formação e raciocínio clínico (F=4,772; p=0,003; doutorado > especialização (p=0,002) e > graduação (p=0,033). Não houve correlação do raciocínio clínico com o tempo de experiência profissional entre os enfermeiros (r=0,158; p=0,006) e nem com a fase da graduação atual dos estudantes (r=0,144; p=0,007). Conclusão: O TCSHC versão brasileira apresentou evidências de confiabilidade satisfatória, com boa medida de validade discriminante. Quanto a validade de construto não foi possível confirmar a estrutura teórica proposta para o instrumento original, tampouco identificar estrutura interpretável. / Introduction: The Script Concordance Test (SCT) is an assessment tool designed to measure clinical reasoning in situations of uncertainty. The Concordance test of Human Caring Scripts (TCSHC) was developed in Canada based on scripts theory and guided by Jean Watson\'s Human Care model. Having such an instrument to evaluate clinical reasoning such as the Concordance Test of Human Caring Scripts - in a Brazilian version will be a relevant contribution for the development of research on clinical reasoning in nursing. Objectives: To culturally adapt and validate the Concordance Test of Human Caring Scripts (TCSHC) for Brazil; to estimate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the TCSHC; to evaluate the clinical reasoning of nurses and nursing students; to test associations between clinical reasoning and demographic, training, and clinical experience variables. Methods: The adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese was performed by translation and back-translation according to recognized guidelines and the score grid was created with the answers of 20 experts. Responses of 644 participants (average age = 36.9 years, SD = 9.0, 348 / 54.03% nursing students and 296 / 45.96% nurses) to TCSHC Brazilian version were analyzed in terms of association between variables, internal consistency index, and confirmatory and exploratory factorial analyses. Results: The 92 items and instructions of the TCSHC were adapted for Brazil. Of the 92 items, 39 were excluded by item-total correlation <0.2. The TCSHC Brazilian version consisted of 53 items, with Cronbach\'s alpha of 0.87. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyzes did not identify theoretical structure or interpretable structure for the 53 items. The mean TCSHC scores of the specialists, nurses and students were different (F = 12.135; p = 0.000); (p = 0.021) and that the students (p = 0.021) and the nurses had better scores (p = 0.001), evidencing the discriminant validity of the TCSHC Brazilian version. There was an association between clinical reasoning and sex (women with higher scores than men; t = -3.33, p = 0.001); Students exposed to the nursing process had better scores than those not exposed (t = -2.72; p = 0.007); Among the nurses, there was significant association between the highest degree of training and clinical reasoning (F = 4,772, p = 0.003, doctorate> specialization (p = 0.002) and> graduation (p = 0.033). Neither there was correlation between clinical reasoning and time of experience among the nurses (r = 0.158, p = 0.006), nor with the students\' current graduation phase among the students (r = 0.144, p = 0.007) Conclusion: The TCSHC Brazilian version presented evidence of satisfactory reliability with a good measure of discriminant validity. As for the construct validity it was not possible to confirm the proposed structure for the original instrument, nor to identify an interpretable structure.