Errors In Judgment Research Articles

Pilot testing of experimental procedures to measure user's judgment errors in simulated social engineering attacks

Distracted users appear to have difficulties correctly distinguishing between legitimate and malicious emails or search engine results. Additionally, mobile phone users appear to have a more challenging time identifying malicious content due to the smaller screen size and the limited security features in mobile phone applications. Thus, the goal of this research study was to conduct a pilot test and validate a set of field experiments based on Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) feedback to assess users’ judgment when exposed to two types of simulated social engineering attacks: phishing and Potentially Malicious Search Engine Results (PMSER), based on the interaction of the environment (distracting vs. non-distracting) and type of device used (mobile vs. computer). This paper provides the results from the pilot test we conducted using recruited volunteers consisting of 10 participants out of 20 volunteers invited. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all interactions in this pilot testing were conducted remotely. These restrictions somewhat limited our ability to control the testing environment to ensure a completely non-distractive environment during these parts of the study; however, a significant attempt was made to ensure such a non-distractive environment was genuinely adhered to during that part of the study. Our initial pilot testing results indicate that the findings were counterintuitive for the Phishing Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests. In contrast, results of the PMSER were intuitive with improved detection on a computer compared to mobile. We conclude with a discussion on the study limitations and further research.

A Method for the Study of Cerebellar Cognitive Function-Re-Cognition and Validation of Error-Related Potentials.

The cerebellar region has four times as many brain cells as the brain, but whether the cerebellum functions in cognition, and how it does so, remain unexplored. In order to verify whether the cerebellum is involved in cognition, we chose to investigate whether the cerebellum is involved in the process of error judgment. We designed an experiment in which we could activate the subject’s error-related potentials (ErrP). We recruited 26 subjects and asked them to wear EEG caps with cerebellar regions designed by us to participate in the experiment so that we could record their EEG activity throughout the experiment. We successfully mitigated the majority of noise interference after a series of pre-processing of the data collected from each subject. Our analysis of the preprocessed data revealed that our experiment successfully activated ErrP, and that the EEG signals, including the cerebellum, were significantly different when subjects made errors compared to when they made correct judgments. We designed a feature extraction method that requires selecting channels with large differences under different classifications, firstly by extracting the time-frequency features of these channels, and then screening these features with sequence backward feature (SBS) selection. We use the extracted features as the input and different event types in EEG data as the labels for multiple classifiers to classify the data in the executive and feedback segments, where the average accuracy for two-class classification of executive segments can reach 80.5%. The major contribution of our study is the discovery of the presence of ErrP in cerebellar regions and the extraction of an effective feature extraction method for EEG data.

Impact of system approach and personal performance on preventable morbidity and mortality events in neurosurgery patients.

Adverse events in neurosurgery are a serious problem. The approach for seeking solutions for adverse events has shifted from a personal approach to a systemic approach. However, to some extent, preventable morbidity events could be related to personal performance. This study aimed to clarify the impact of personal performance and systematic failure on the occurrence of morbidity and mortality events in neurosurgery patients. All morbidity and mortality conference data stored within our department over a 9-year period were analyzed. There were 4580 admitted patients and 3262 surgical procedures performed. We performed a three-step classification of morbidity and mortality events based on the possibility of prevention, root of the event, and personal or systemic issues. As a result of the first step, 214 preventable and 278 unpreventable events were identified. Of the preventable events, two mortality and 212 morbidity events were analyzed. In the second step, 155 (72.4%), 34 (15.9%), 13 (6.1%), and 12 (5.6%) events were categorized as technical complications, critical events, judgment errors, and human factors, respectively. There were 179 events (83.6%) classified as personal performance issues and 35 events (16.4%) as systemic issues. The ratio of personal performance to systemic issues varied widely, with significant differences among the four categories (P < 0.01). Among neurosurgery patients who have preventable morbidity, issues related to personal performance were more frequent than systemic issues. Efforts to improve systems should be unwavering. However, the personal responsibility of neurosurgeons to avoid preventable complications should not be ignored.

Multisensory visual-vestibular training improves visual heading estimation in younger and older adults.

Self-motion perception (e.g., when walking/driving) relies on the integration of multiple sensory cues including visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive signals. Changes in the efficacy of multisensory integration have been observed in older adults (OA), which can sometimes lead to errors in perceptual judgments and have been associated with functional declines such as increased falls risk. The objectives of this study were to determine whether passive, visual-vestibular self-motion heading perception could be improved by providing feedback during multisensory training, and whether training-related effects might be more apparent in OAs vs. younger adults (YA). We also investigated the extent to which training might transfer to improved standing-balance. OAs and YAs were passively translated and asked to judge their direction of heading relative to straight-ahead (left/right). Each participant completed three conditions: (1) vestibular-only (passive physical motion in the dark), (2) visual-only (cloud-of-dots display), and (3) bimodal (congruent vestibular and visual stimulation). Measures of heading precision and bias were obtained for each condition. Over the course of 3 days, participants were asked to make bimodal heading judgments and were provided with feedback (“correct”/“incorrect”) on 900 training trials. Post-training, participants’ biases, and precision in all three sensory conditions (vestibular, visual, bimodal), and their standing-balance performance, were assessed. Results demonstrated improved overall precision (i.e., reduced JNDs) in heading perception after training. Pre- vs. post-training difference scores showed that improvements in JNDs were only found in the visual-only condition. Particularly notable is that 27% of OAs initially could not discriminate their heading at all in the visual-only condition pre-training, but subsequently obtained thresholds in the visual-only condition post-training that were similar to those of the other participants. While OAs seemed to show optimal integration pre- and post-training (i.e., did not show significant differences between predicted and observed JNDs), YAs only showed optimal integration post-training. There were no significant effects of training for bimodal or vestibular-only heading estimates, nor standing-balance performance. These results indicate that it may be possible to improve unimodal (visual) heading perception using a multisensory (visual-vestibular) training paradigm. The results may also help to inform interventions targeting tasks for which effective self-motion perception is important.

“[S]ome vicious mole of nature”: Hamlet’s Erratic Behaviour and Brain Neurotransmitter Imbalance

The aim of this paper is to investigate, from a neuroscientific perspective, the complex but still unravelled mystery of Hamlet’s inconsistent conduct in Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. Adopting the ‘medical diagnosis’ method, the paper contends that such manifestations of Hamlet’s eccentric comportment as depression, social isolation, impulsiveness, sleep disorder, aversion to women, and procrastination, are all salient symptoms of low levels of dopamine, a vital brain neurotransmitter responsible for reward and motivation. The paper concludes that ‘dopamine deficiency’ in Hamlet’s brain has a devastating impact on his mood and outlook on life. It aggravates his depression, adversely affects his disposition, focus, cognition, and motivation and subsequently deprives him of the incentive to act. The significance of this study is that it identifies the reason for Hamlet’s hesitation, enhances understanding of the play and enriches representations of the leading role in the play on stage. Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as severely afflicted with such an intricate neural illness (not identified in Elizabethan England then), expertly dramatizing the devastating impact on his protagonist of the acute clash between will and inability. Hamlet’s hamartia is, consequently, not a fault of his making, not a commonplace Aristotelian tragic error of judgment, or a psychological personality flaw, but – as Hamlet intuitively prophesies – a birth defect, the result of ‘some vicious mole of nature

Equivalence Procedures for Culture-Specific Words and Their Application in the Arabic-English Dictionary

Despite the extensive research carried out on the definition, classification and translation procedures of culture-specific words (CSWs) in text translation, little attention has been given to these procedures in the creation of equivalence in the bilingual dictionary. This paper examines the nature and adequacy of the major CSWs translation procedures as well as their application in two Arabic-English dictionaries: Wehr’s Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic and Munir Baalbaki’s Al-Mawrid: A Modern Arabic-English Dictionary. The analysis will show that, statistically, the most commonly used procedure is borrowing, followed by explanation, explanatory equivalence and a combination of these three procedures. Other procedures, namely cultural equivalence, functional equivalence and synonymy, are less frequently used and produce, for the most part, inadequate and/ or inaccurate equivalents as evidenced by examples in sections B., C. and E. It will further demonstrate that the two dictionaries show inconsistencies, errors of judgment and occasional failure to employ procedures that best capture the exact meaning of the word in the target language. It will be concluded that if the dictionary intends to provide accurate and unambiguous interlingual equivalents, the compiler will have to resort to procedures capable of accomplishing this task.

Errors in Surgery: A Case Control Study.

While errors can harm patients they remain poorly studied. This study characterized errors in the care of surgical patients and examined the association of errors with morbidity and mortality. Errors have been reported to cause <10% or >60% of adverse events. Such discordant results underscore the need for further exploration of the relationship between error and adverse events. Patients with operations performed at a single institution and abstracted into the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018 were examined. This matched case control study comprised cases who experienced a postoperative morbidity or mortality. Controls included patients without morbidity or mortality, matched 2:1 using age (±10 years), sex, and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) group. Two faculty surgeons independently reviewed records for each case and control patient to identify diagnostic, technical, judgment, medication, system, or omission errors. A conditional multivariable logistic regression model examined the association between error and morbidity. Of 1899 patients, 170 were defined as cases who experienced a morbidity or mortality. The majority of cases (n=93; 55%) had at least 1 error; of the 329 matched control patients, 112 had at least 1 error (34%). Technical errors occurred most often among both cases (40%) and controls (23%). Logistic regression demonstrated a strong independent relationship between error and morbidity (odds ratio=2.67, 95% confidence interval: 1.64-4.35, P <0.001). Errors in surgical care were associated with postoperative morbidity. Reducing errors requires measurement of errors.

Deconstruction of physical fitness assessment system and medical rehabilitation countermeasures for physically disabled teenagers with natural language processing technology.

Disability is a component of social relations and the existence of social reality. An effective solution to the problem of persons with disabilities is a measure of human civilization and social progress. The strength of the implementation of disability policy is the key to the realization of the original intention of “effectively solving the problem of disabled persons and promoting their development”. The purpose of this paper is to study the physical fitness evaluation system and medical rehabilitation strategies of physically handicapped adolescents with natural language processing technology. It mainly adopts literature research, interview and comparative analysis. Taking the rehabilitation policy for the disabled as the research starting point, the current situation of mental health of physically disabled adolescents will be examined, and the influence of physical exercise attitude and exercise level on mental health will be explored. And by comparing the difference in physical exercise level and mental health of physically handicapped youth and able-bodied youth, the effect of physical exercise on mental health of physically handicapped youth is further explained. This paper selects a total of 760 physically disabled students and able-bodied students from a secondary school as subjects, and uses research methods such as questionnaire survey and computer test to investigate the current situation of mental health of physically disabled adolescents and the relationship between physical exercise and mental health. The experimental results show that the spatiotemporal judgment experiment uses pixel difference as an indicator, and the judgment error of limb residual limbs is significantly larger than that of healthy limbs (p < 0.01). In the span of spatial location memory, the grades of the limb-restrained students were significantly lower than that of the able-bodied students (p < 0.05).

Validation of an artificial intelligence platform for the guidance of safe laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Many surgical adverse events, such as bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), occur due to errors in visual perception and judgment. Artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially improve the quality and safety of surgery, such as through real-time intraoperative decision support. GoNoGoNet is a novel AI model capable of identifying safe ("Go") and dangerous ("No-Go") zones of dissection on surgical videos of LC. Yet, it is unknown how GoNoGoNet performs in comparison to expert surgeons. This study aims to evaluate the GoNoGoNet's ability to identify Go and No-Go zones compared to an external panel of expert surgeons. A panel of high-volume surgeons from the SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Task Force was recruited to draw free-hand annotations on frames of prospectively collected videos of LC to identify the Go and No-Go zones. Expert consensus on the location of Go and No-Go zones was established using Visual Concordance Test pixel agreement. Identification of Go and No-Go zones by GoNoGoNet was compared to expert-derived consensus using mean F1 Dice Score, and pixel accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV). A total of 47 frames from 25 LC videos, procured from 3 countries and 9 surgeons, were annotated simultaneously by an expert panel of 6 surgeons and GoNoGoNet. Mean (± standard deviation) F1 Dice score were 0.58 (0.22) and 0.80 (0.12) for Go and No-Go zones, respectively. Mean (± standard deviation) accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for the Go zones were 0.92 (0.05), 0.52 (0.24), 0.97 (0.03), 0.70 (0.21), and 0.94 (0.04) respectively. For No-Go zones, these metrics were 0.92 (0.05), 0.80 (0.17), 0.95 (0.04), 0.84 (0.13) and 0.95 (0.05), respectively. AI can be used to identify safe and dangerous zones of dissection within the surgical field, with high specificity/PPV for Go zones and high sensitivity/NPV for No-Go zones. Overall, model prediction was better for No-Go zones compared to Go zones. This technology may eventually be used to provide real-time guidance and minimize the risk of adverse events.

THE BUSINESS JUDGMENT RULE (PART 1)

The office of director, by its very nature, imposes duties and responsibilities on its bearer. Taking into account the characteristics and nature of companies, it is inevitable that the scope of directors’ activities varies from company to company. A director, irrespective of the individual personality of the company, owes the company the duty of care and skill. Coupled with the duty of care and skill much emphasis, particularly in the 21st century, has been placed on the concept of corporate governance. It is within this context that the personal liability of company directors for mere errors of judgment must be considered. The object of part one of this article is to examine the characteristics of the American business judgment rule. Part 1 explores the origin of the rule and takes into account the various purposes that the rule fulfills in American law. The law relating to director liability in America is examined and the place of the business judgment rule in an American context is considered. Attention is paid to the rule’s basic requirements, the application of the rule and the subsequent consequences of the application thereof. Where possible, the requirements of the rule are illustrated through a discussion of case law. In part 2 the South African position relating to the director’s common-law duty of care and skill is considered. The Companies Act, recommendations of the King Committee, and the Department of Trade and Industry’s report on corporate lawreform are taken into account. The efficiency of the current law in South Africa is evaluated in light of the advantages and disadvantages of the importation of a foreign legal rule into South African law. In the conclusion an assessment is made of whether it is indeed desirable or necessary to import the business judgment rule into South African law.

RBI-IOWs integrated approach to risk assessment: Methodological framework and application

The planning of inspection and maintenance activities is a challenge that researches are largely addressed in petrochemical plants. The Risk-Based-Inspection (RBI) methodology, defined by the API 580 and API 581 Recommended Practices, is the main tool widely used for planning inspection and maintenance activities. However, the validity of the RBI results is closely related to the operating conditions that are supposed to remain constant throughout the inspection period. Significant efforts were made to improve the basic RBI approach. Uncertainty in forecasting models, accuracy in the assumptions of degradation-based approaches, subjective judgment and human error in risk assessment, lack of compliance with industry codes and standards, need to improve maintenance planning and inspection interval optimization, remain the key challenges to be addressed.A tool that can allow a dynamic approach to updating the inspection plan, by a real-time readjustment of the variation in the equipment's risk levels, in compliance with the oil and gas reference standards, is the API 584 Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs) methodology, through which critical windows are defined for the parameters considered to have the greatest impact on the equipment integrity. The adoption of this methodology is capable of overcoming the aforementioned limitations of the RBI, because the inspection plans can be directly modulated by monitored variations in the critical process parameters of the system under analysis.With these premises, the aim of the present study is to outline a fully integrated dynamic risk-based methodological framework to enhance the basic RBI approach by using IOWs analysis, which provides the basis for the development of a procedural model to be implemented in the inspection planning practice. Inspection and maintenance departments are the main beneficiaries, being aware of changes or upset during an operation running, which could give significant advantage in the identification of a not expected accelerated damage mechanism, and its critical effects.To show its application in improving the monitoring of critical plant parameters, which could limit the reliability of pressure equipment during their life cycle, reference is made to the PACOL-HF plant section of the SASOL factory located in Augusta (Italy). As a main result, the proposed approach and its procedural model prove effective in preventing the occurrence of undesired events, through both a real-time monitoring of the process variables, and the resulting mitigation actions that can avoid the failure of the equipment.

Story stimuli for instantiating true and false beliefs about the world.

We offer short story (“vignette”) materials that have been developed and tested with the intention of influencing people’s true and false beliefs about the world. First, we present norming data on the baseline rates at which participants from both U.S.-census matched and general U.S. online samples were correctly able to classify a selected set of accurate (e.g., aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and lungs) and inaccurate (e.g., aerobic exercise weakens your heart and lungs) assertions as “True” or “False.” Next, we present data which validate that reading vignettes in which people discuss these accurate and inaccurate assertions influences participants’ subsequent judgments of the validity of the asserted claims. These vignettes are brief, easy-to-read, allow for flexible and accountable online data collection, and reflect realistic accurate and inaccurate claims that people routinely encounter (e.g., preventative health behaviors, use of alternative medicines and therapies, etc.). As intended, vignettes containing inaccurate assertions increased participants’ subsequent judgment errors, while vignettes containing accurate assertions decreased participants’ subsequent judgment errors, both relative to participants’ judgments after not reading related information. In an additional experiment, we used the vignette materials to replicate findings from Salovich et al. (2021), wherein participants reported lower confidence in correct judgments and higher confidence in incorrect judgments after having read inaccurate assertions. Overall, these materials are well suited for investigations on the consequences of exposures to accurate and inaccurate information, address limitations in currently available stimuli, and align with trends in research practice (e.g., online sampling) within psychological science.

Belief Distortions and Macroeconomic Fluctuations

This paper combines a data-rich environment with a machine learning algorithm to provide new estimates of time-varying systematic expectational errors (“belief distortions”) embedded in survey responses. We find sizable distortions even for professional forecasters, with all respondent-types overweighting the implicit judgmental component of their forecasts relative to what can be learned from publicly available information. Forecasts of inflation and GDP growth oscillate between optimism and pessimism by large margins, with belief distortions evolving dynamically in response to cyclical shocks. The results suggest that artificial intelligence algorithms can be productively deployed to correct errors in human judgment and improve predictive accuracy. (JEL C45, D83, E23, E27, E31, E32, E37)

IRAQ in 13th Hijri (An objective studying)

Namely, the Republic of Iraq, with its capital in the city of Baghdad, Iraq is located in the western part of the continent of Asia, and it overlooks the Arabian Gulf. It is a federal parliamentary state, and it joins the membership of the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and OPEC. In the past, Iraq was called Mesopotamia. It is well-known that Iraq is the birthplace of many prophets, including Ibrahim Al-Khalil, Adam, Noah, Hood, Salih, Solomon, Dhul-Kifl, and Ayoub, peace be upon them all. It is also considered a shrine for many imams; Such as Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, Imam AlHussein, Imam Al-Abbas, Al-Kazimeen Imams, Imam Abu Hanifa Al-Numan and others. The republic consists of 18 officially recognized governorates, and an unofficial governorate in addition to the Halabja governorate in the Kurdistan region. These governorates have a population of approximately 37,056,169 people, according to 2015 statistics; Where the Arab sects constitute 80% of the total population, the Kurds constitute 15%, and the rest of the percentages are distributed among Assyrians, Turkmen, Armenians and other minorities. It is not easy to write about creativity in Iraq for a whole century within a few papers, for it is necessary to be patient, deliberate, and cautious before rooting the saying in evaluation and judgment in order to avoid falling into error in judgments, and to achieve a greater degree of objectivity. The stage is long, the poets are many, the stations at which one should stand are many, and the articulated poems that stirred the water of the blessing, and constituted a contribution to the modernization movement, starting from the stage of revival, and until the stage of open texts at the end of the last century differed, which made most critics’ opinions focus on the eras. Which rose to the level of transformations, and included between its wings generations of creators, so the talk about generations was more systematic than others, so I referred to their combined achievements, while acknowledging some individual efforts timidly

The role of cognitive heuristic-driven biases in investment management activities and market efficiency: a research synthesis

PurposeThis article aims to systematically review the literature published in recognized journals focused on cognitive heuristic-driven biases and their effect on investment management activities and market efficiency. It also includes some of the research work on the origins and foundations of behavioral finance, and how this has grown substantially to become an established and particular subject of study in its own right. The study also aims to provide future direction to the researchers working in this field.Design/methodology/approachFor doing research synthesis, a systematic literature review (SLR) approach was applied considering research studies published within the time period, i.e. 1970–2021. This study attempted to accomplish a critical review of 176 studies out of 256 studies identified, which were published in reputable journals to synthesize the existing literature in the behavioral finance domain-related explicitly to cognitive heuristic-driven biases and their effect on investment management activities and market efficiency as well as on the origins and foundations of behavioral finance.FindingsThis review reveals that investors often use cognitive heuristics to reduce the risk of losses in uncertain situations, but that leads to errors in judgment; as a result, investors make irrational decisions, which may cause the market to overreact or underreact – in both situations, the market becomes inefficient. Overall, the literature demonstrates that there is currently no consensus on the usefulness of cognitive heuristics in the context of investment management activities and market efficiency. Therefore, a lack of consensus about this topic suggests that further studies may bring relevant contributions to the literature. Based on the gaps analysis, three major categories of gaps, namely theoretical and methodological gaps, and contextual gaps, are found, where research is needed.Practical implicationsThe skillful understanding and knowledge of the cognitive heuristic-driven biases will help the investors, financial institutions and policymakers to overcome the adverse effect of these behavioral biases in the stock market. This article provides a detailed explanation of cognitive heuristic-driven biases and their influence on investment management activities and market efficiency, which could be very useful for finance practitioners, such as an investor who plays at the stock exchange, a portfolio manager, a financial strategist/advisor in an investment firm, a financial planner, an investment banker, a trader/broker at the stock exchange or a financial analyst. But most importantly, the term also includes all those persons who manage corporate entities and are responsible for making their financial management strategies.Originality/valueCurrently, no recent study exists, which reviews and evaluates the empirical research on cognitive heuristic-driven biases displayed by investors. The current study is original in discussing the role of cognitive heuristic-driven biases in investment management activities and market efficiency as well as the history and foundations of behavioral finance by means of research synthesis. This paper is useful to researchers, academicians, policymakers and those working in the area of behavioral finance in understanding the role that cognitive heuristic plays in investment management activities and market efficiency.

College English Teaching Evaluation with Neural Network

The notion of abilities in colleges and universities is undergoing a substantial transition, and the accompanying curricular view is also evolving in response to the demands of social and economic development. Students who are not English majors in college or university play a critical role in growing their knowledge of foreign languages, improving the quality of foreign languages, and fostering their capacity to use the language in real-world situations. As a result, one of the most important methods to assess the quality of a college's curriculum is to look at how well it teaches English. Consequently, how to evaluate collegiate English instruction has become a major concern. This research offers a neural network (NNs) for evaluating collegiate English education based on the BP network’s application principle. The main work is as follows: (1) based on the peculiarities of college English teaching assessment, the weights and thresholds of the BP network are tuned using the global optimization ability of the ant colony algorithm. (2) To improve optimization ability of ACO, an update of pheromone is realized by combining global as well as local methods. In formula of the global update pheromone, a function is added to adjust the information residual coefficient according to the distribution of the solution. The residual coefficient of the local pheromone is adjusted according to the way of the minimum error judgment. (3) Optimize the BP algorithm with the improved ant colony optimization (IACO), build the IACO-BP network, and comprehend the optimal selection of weights and thresholds. Optimized BP algorithm is applied to the English teaching evaluation.

Multi-Feature Intelligent Oral English Error Correction Based on Few-Shot Learning Technology.

The computer-aided language teaching system is maturing thanks to the advancement of few-shot learning technologies. In order to support teachers and increase students' learning efficiency, more computer-aided language teaching systems are being used in teaching and examinations. This study focuses on a multifeature fusion-based evaluation method for oral English learning, completely evaluating specific grammar, and assisting oral learners in improving their oral pronunciation skills. This study proposes an improved method based on HMM a posteriori probability scoring, in which the only standard reference model is no longer used as the basis for scoring and error determination, and instead, the average level of standard pronunciation in the entire corpus is introduced as another judgment basis, based on a preliminary study of speech recognition technology, scoring methods, and relevant theoretical knowledge of information feedback. This strategy can reduce the score limitation caused by standard pronunciation personal differences, lower the system's misjudgment rate in detecting pronunciation errors, and improve the usefulness of error correction information. An expert opinion database has been created based on the most prevalent forms of spoken pronunciation problems, which can successfully assist learners improve their spoken English level by combining the database's corrected information. Finally, this study proposes an artificial scoring system for spoken English that performs activities such as identification, scoring, error judgment, and correction opinion feedback, among others. Finally, it has been demonstrated through trials and tests that adding the average pronunciation level to the system improves the system's scoring performance and has a certain effect on increasing users' oral pronunciation level.

Separatist Presbyterianism in 20th Century Scotland

This essay aims to give an account of separatist Presbyterian denominations in the context of Christianity in Scotland in the 20th century. After a brief introduction, attention is first given to the circumstances in which the denominations concerned were birthed. A second section looks at their current place within the wider Scottish context. In the third section, further attention is paid to the two most recent, late 20th century, divisions, those of 1989 and 2000. Concluding reflections seek to view the scene, thus sketched, through a wider lens and to look to the future with a degree of hope for reconciliation and healing. This paper is indebted to the invaluable insights, particularly in regard to the content of its third section, of the Revd Archie McPhail. Sincere thanks are also due to the Revd Martin Keane, Principal Clerk of the United Free Church, and the Revd David Meredith, Mission Director of the Free Church of Scotland, for their gracious and helpful responses to specific queries about their respective denominations. Any errors of fact or judgement are of course those of the author. In writing on a subject as difficult—and painful—as this, one inevitably brings personal perspectives to bear. Those of this writer have inevitably been formed, at least in part, in the context of an unusual ecclesiastical journey within the territory of three denominations—the Free Presbyterian Church, the Associated Presbyterian Churches and the Church of Scotland. Personal involvement in the history and denominational transfers of recent decades, together with long service as a parish minister and experience as a former Moderator, lend to the paper its distinctive angle of approach.

Extracting the Wisdom of a Smaller Crowd from Dependent Quantile Judgments

The task of this paper is to harness the wisdom of a crowd without calibration. We assume each expert to form predictions by linearly combining various information cues inspired by the lens model, and use Gaussian process to account for sampling and judgmental errors in quantile judgments. Without knowing the experts’ observed information cues, we develop a three-step estimation algorithm to factor quantile judgments into “variable profiles” (latent cues underlying each variable of interest) and “expert profiles” (each expert’s weights over these cues). We can inquire about expert similarity using their weights of the latent cues, which preserve the same clustering results as the actual weights of the observed cues up to a full-rank linear transform. We can then depict the diversity and dependency among experts explicitly and retain a subcrowd by picking delegates from each subgroup of experts based on the estimated weights. Simulation and case studies demonstrate that a subcrowd selected this way can represent the entire expert panel well.

Mediating Role of Optimism Bias and Risk Perception Between Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making: A Serial Mediation Model.

The commodity market plays a vital role in boosting the economy. Investors make decisions based on market knowledge and ignore cognitive biases. These cognitive biases or judgment errors have a significant effect on investment decisions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence on decision-making. In addition, optimism bias and risk perception are the intervening variables between emotional intelligence and decision-making. So, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by examining the mediating role of optimism bias and risk perception. The data were collected from the respondents of the commodity market and the 370 questionnaires were distributed among the investors, of which 337 respondents gave their feedback. The convenience base sampling technique is used due to the easy access of respondents, time factor, and cost factor. Data entered into the SPSS Statistics Version 26 and PROCESS macro model 6 were used for serial mediation. AMOS was used for the validity and model-fit analysis. The results of this study aligned with the literature that there is a significant effect of emotional intelligence on decision-making. It also observed that optimism bias has a positive effect on decision-making. The finding of this study will be helpful for the brokers, the government, and especially the investors. This study also proposed that future studies on the stock exchange and real estate market comparative analysis can be conducted.