Information in a message can either be fully expressed (explicitly) or indirectly stated (implied) and understood by inference or association. Previous research suggested an age-related decline in performance of implicit compared to explicit information and that this relationship is moderated by prior knowledge. Whereas previous studies mainly obtained quantitative data of inferencing performance, the current study employed both quantitative and qualitative techniques to understand age-related differences in inferencing. Twenty younger and older participants evaluated whether a series of one-sentence statements were true or false based on specific two-sentence text passages. Text passages either resembled real warnings (taken from actual products) or were novel (the opposite of a warning found on an actual product). Statements either explicitly stated information from the text passage or required participants to go beyond information given in the text. Quantitative analysis showed that older adults accuracy compared to that of younger adults when evaluating real text passages, with explicit items being evaluated more accurately than implicit items. For novel text passages (generally lower accuracy scores), younger adults showed the same pattern as for real text passages, whereas older adults accuracy was low for both explicit and implicit statements. Qualitative analyses supported that participants correct answers generally reflected that the intended inference was drawn and that for incorrect answers the inference was not mentioned. The data also suggested that accuracy scores may underestimate the actual ability to infer. Both age groups mentioned most often that text-related factors (e.g., clarity) influenced their decision and brought outside information (e.g., education, experience, expectations) to the task regardless of text passage or statement type. Older adults more often referred to outside information than younger adults, particularly when evaluating novel text passages and their answer was wrong. This study substantiated that age-related differences in a task requiring inferencing may be explained by a combination of the factors of working memory (time and availability of information) and prior knowledge as well as a possible decline in inferencing ability. Prior knowledge is important for both age groups and especially so for older adults. Important implications for designers are to make information available and explicit.

No description available.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é estender a aplicação do Método Analítico de avaliação de interferências envolvendo redes de satélites não geoestacionários a situações onde as parcelas de interferência dos diversos satélites de uma dada constelação são modeladas como variáveis aleatórias estatisticamente independentes. A análise deste tipo de situação requer o cálculo de um número muito grande de convoluções. Depois de mostrar que o cálculo direto da convolução é computacionalmente viável e que o uso de simulação de Monte Carlo requer um tempo de computação proibitivo para garantir a precisão necessária, o estudo identifica duas alternativas: utilização indireta do teorema do limite central, e integração numérica utilizando a Regra de Quadratura de Gauss. Por último, o presente trabalho apresenta dois exemplos numéricos de aplicação do Método Analítico, onde é possível observar melhorias na precisão dos resultados obtidos, em relação aos obtidos com outros métodos. / [en] The objective of this work is to extend the use of the Analytical Method for assessing the interference involving non-geostationary satellite networks to situations where the interference entries from the various satellites in a given Constellations are modeled as statistically independent random variables. The analysis of this type of situation requires a large number of convolution computations. After showing that the direct approach to numerically compute convolutions is not feasible and that the use of Monte Carlo simulation techniques require a prohibitive computer time to guarantee the necessary accuracy, the study identifies two alternatives: the indirect use of the Central Limit theorem, and numerical integration using Gauss Quadrature Rules. Finally, the present work presents two numerical example applications of the Analytical Method. The obtained results show an accuracy improvement when compared to those obtained using other methods.

No description available.

Yes / Trait inferences occur routinely and rapidly during social interaction, sometimes based on scant or fleeting information. In this research, participants (perceivers) made inferences of targets' big‐five traits after briefly watching or listening to an unfamiliar target (a third party) performing various mundane activities (telling a scripted joke or answering questions about him/herself or reading aloud a paragraph of promotional material). Across three studies, when perceivers judged targets to be either low or high in one or more dimensions of the big‐five traits, they tended to be correct, but they did not tend to be correct when they judged targets as average. Such inferences seemed to vary in effectiveness across different trait dimensions and depending on whether the target's behaviour was presented either in a video with audio, a silent video, or just in an audio track—perceivers generally were less often correct when they judged targets as average in each of the big‐five traits across various information channels (videos with audio, silent videos, and audios). Study 3 replicated these findings in a different culture. We conclude with discussion of the scope and the adaptive value of this trait inferential ability.

The author challenges the terminology «legal presumptions» and «judicial presumptions», and rather refers to presumptions established by rules of presumption and to hominis presumptions. He argues that the best way to differentiate between them is by showing the contrast between «it shall be presumed» (syntagm proper to practical reasoning) and «it is presumable» (syntagm proper to theoretical reasoning). The text clarifies the relationship between the so-called hominis presumptions and the factual inferences or evidential inferences, in general. He answers the question of what the «it is presumed» syntagm (proper to the hominis presumptions) brings with respect to the «it is probable» syntagm (proper of all evidentiary inferences). / El autor cuestiona la terminología «presunciones legales» y «presunciones judiciales» y, más bien, se refiere a las presunciones establecidas por normas de presunción y a las presunciones hominis. Defiende que la mejor manera de diferenciar unas de otras es mostrando la distancia que media entre «debe presumirse» (sintagma propio del razonamiento práctico) y «es presumible» (sintagma propio del razonamiento teórico). El texto aclara las relaciones entre las llamadas presunciones hominis y las inferencias fácticas o inferencias probatorias, en general, respondiendo a la pregunta sobre qué aporta el sintagma «es presumible» (propio de las presunciones hominis) frente al sintagma «es probable» (propio de todas las inferencias probatorias).

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Richard Jackson Harris / In recent years, Baddeley (2010) has added a new component, the episodic buffer, to his Working Memory (WM) model. The episodic buffer binds information from long-term memory (LTM) to the central executive but has been researched very little, especially with respect to its use with a second language. In fact, Juffs and Harrington (2011) stated, “To date there has been no research on the possible role of the episodic buffer in L2 learning and use” (p. 140). One goal of this study was to do just that. Domain knowledge (DK) in baseball (Experiment 1) and English proficiency levels (Experiment 2) were used as proxies for difficulty level to study how inference processing under different conditions of domain knowledge and cognitive load in native (L1) and non-native (L2) English readers contribute to understanding the episodic buffer. In Experiment 1, 67 participants varying in domain knowledge about baseball read stories related to baseball with or without a concurrent cognitive load task of responding to tones while reading; they then answered comprehension questions of varying degrees of inferential difficulty. In Experiment 2, three groups varying in English reading proficiency, split into groups based on their lexical decision task scores (72 native, 40 intermediate, 40 beginner readers) read general stories with or without cognitive load and answered comprehension questions requiring varying degrees of inferential difficulty. Accuracy and Reaction Time (RT) were differentially affected by working memory (OSpan), cognitive load, and inferential complexity. In Experiment 1, greater DK explained variance in effectiveness (accuracy) and efficiency (RT) as inferential complexity increased. In Experiment 2 OSpan was needed even at lower levels of inferential complexity for beginning readers. Surprisingly, for both experiments, participants responded faster under cognitive load conditions, although not at the expense of accuracy. This suggests that the episodic buffer is important for different levels of DK and proficiency, especially as the task becomes more difficult. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Guilt appeals are used to try to influence consumer behavior, with literature defining three kinds – existential, anticipatory, and reactive guilt. Anticipatory and reactive guilt appeals have never been individually studied. The purpose of this study is hence to explain the relationship between anticipatory guilt and reactive guilt, respectively, inferences of manipulative intent, and consumers’ attitude toward a brand. To test this, an online questionnaire was used, followed by linear regression and moderation analyses. The results show a positive relationship between both anticipatory guilt and attitude and between reactive guilt and attitude. Inferences of manipulative intent do not moderate either relationship. Keywords Guilt appeal, anticipatory guilt, reactive guilt, inferences of manipulative intent, consumer brand attitudes

The thesis deals with inferences and their function in text understanding. The theoretical part involve a survey of various definitions of inference, a setting of notions which are related to inferences and at last classification of inferences based on linguistic and psychological literature. The empirical part is based on analysis of cook recipes (and technical instruction partially). We have set five means of language which indicate a necessity of making inference (pronouns, ellipsis, hyponyms-hypernyms relation, pronoun vše and adjectivizated participles) - in all cases these inferences are necessary for comprehension. We confronted these inferences with classification described in the theoretical part. Another inferences we make as the text is read are infereces which are not associated with a concrete means of language: bridging inferences and instrumental inferences. Knowledge of the language, general knowledges and experiences take part in inferencing.

Este trabalho está inserido com contexto da modelagem cartográfica e cartografia de síntese dentro do universo dos sistemas de informações geográficas (SIG). Serão apresentadas três metodologias distintas para obtenção de mapas sínteses através de inferências geográficas, são elas: Operações Pontuais de Soma (OPS), Processo Analitico hierarquico (AHP) e Redes Neurais Artificais (RNA). Aqui serão desenvolvidos e apresentados todos os procedimentos técnicos e metodológicos para a obtenção desses produtos cartográficos através do uso de dois softwares: o SPRING (SIG) e o SNNS (simulador de rede neural artificial). Também será apresentada uma discussão sobre a qualidade dos modelos gerados por essas distintas metodologias e a importância do papel do pesquisador na obtenção desses produtos. / This work is inserted in the context of cartographic modeling and mapping of synthesis within the universe of geographic information systems (GIS). We will present three different methodologies for obtaining maps synthesis by geographic inferences, they are: Operations Locations Sum, Analytic Hierarchy Process and Artificial Neural Network. Here will be developed and presented all the technical and methodological procedures to obtain these cartographic products through the use of two software: SPRING (GIS) and SNNS (artificial neural network simulator). It will also be a discussion of the quality of models generated by these different methodologies and the importance of the researcher in obtaining these products