Towards a Blending-Based Approach to Early Christian Characters: Nicodemus as a Test Case

This article presents a blending-based approach to characters in early Christian narratives. Even cognitive approaches to complex characters (including my previous work) tend to frame character development as a primarily linear unidirectional process. However, the human mind integrates incoming information through processes that are more recursive than linear and more synergistic than summative. I propose that Cognitive Blending Theory, pioneered by Gilles Fauconnier & Mark Turner, provides a heuristic approach that better accounts for the complexity of cognitive information processing. First, I articulate a blending-based approach to ancient characters. Next, I show the validity of such an approach by modeling the blends for each of Nicodemus’s appearances in John’s gospel, focusing on the novel insights only available through blending. As will become apparent, these blends are interrelated, building upon and challenging one another on the path toward a complete characterization of “Nicodemus” across John’s gospel. I conclude with brief reflections on the future prospects of blending-based character studies.

The Journey of Business Opportunity Evaluation: When and Why Does Opportunity Novelty Promote Vs. Inhibit Opportunity Adoption?

As a typical characteristic of entrepreneurial opportunities, novelty is essential for firms to establish and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage under the current complex and dynamic business environment. However, why is it that some entrepreneurs adopt novel opportunities but others do not. Little is known about the precise nature of cognitive evaluation for opportunity novelty. Drawing upon information processing theory and construal level theory (CLT), we propose that the effects of opportunity novelty on adoption decisions depend on entrepreneurs' construal level through which information is processed. We design an experiment and find partial support for our hypotheses. Results indicate that entrepreneurs using a low-level construal perceive more risk for opportunity novelty, which in turn decreases the possibility of opportunity adoption. Meanwhile, opportunity novelty also positively influences entrepreneurs' creativity perception, which in turn increases the possibility of opportunity adoption. But construal level does not play any role in this evaluation path. Taken together, the findings improve our understanding of “how entrepreneurs evaluate an opportunity based on its objective characteristics” by providing empirical insights into the cognitive information processing process from opportunity novelty to adoption. Additionally, we discuss implications for entrepreneurial practice and future research.

Genetically modified food and consumer risk responsibility: The effect of regulatory design and risk type on cognitive information processing

The use of agro-biotechnology has raised consumer concerns about environmental, health, socio-economic and ethical risks. This study examines how regulatory policies regarding genetically modified (GM) food production affect consumers’ cognitive information processing, in terms of perceived risk, self-control, and risk responsibility. There is further analysis of whether the effect of policy design is moderated by risk type. Data was generated in a field experiment (n = 547), including four different policy scenario treatments (banned, research and development, import, and full commercialization). The results reveal that policy scenarios where GM food is available on the market are associated with higher levels of perceived risk and lower levels of self-control compared with policies where GM food is banned. There was no evidence of policy scenarios affecting consumer willingness to assign personal risk responsibility. However, among participants who indicated health risks as their main concern, there was an effect from the policy scenario on self-risk responsibility as mediated through perceived risk and self-control. The results suggest that health-conscious consumers tend to attribute less responsibility to themselves in situations where a genetically modified product was commercialized. These findings indicate a need to clarify guideline recommendations for health-related risks associated with foods derived from biotechnology.

Neural substrates involved in the cognitive information processing in teleost fish

Over the last few decades, it has been shown that fish, comprising the largest group of vertebrates and in many respects one of the least well studied, possess many cognitive abilities comparable to those of birds and mammals. Despite a plethora of behavioural studies assessing cognition abilities and an abundance of neuroanatomical studies, only few studies have aimed to or in fact identified the neural substrates involved in the processing of cognitive information. In this review, an overview of the currently available studies addressing the joint research topics of cognitive behaviour and neuroscience in teleosts (and elasmobranchs wherever possible) is provided, primarily focusing on two fundamentally different but complementary approaches, i.e. ablation studies and Immediate Early Gene (IEG) analyses. More recently, the latter technique has become one of the most promising methods to visualize neuronal populations activated in specific brain areas, both during a variety of cognitive as well as non-cognition-related tasks. While IEG studies may be more elegant and potentially easier to conduct, only lesion studies can help researchers find out what information animals can learn or recall prior to and following ablation of a particular brain area.

A critical assessment of the construct of attitude in sociolinguistics: A socio-psychological insight (Part 2)

The present article constitutes the second part of a brief critical analysis of the research on attitude and attitude-(speech) behaviour relations. Its major aim is to show that the contribution from the socio-psychological paradigm can prove relevant and valuable when applied to sociolinguistic research on attitude and attitude-behaviour relations. The author argues that attitudinal investigations in sociolinguistics, despite their popularity and rich history, frequently suffer from a number of methodological and theoretical flaws. The author advances an argument that a reconceptualization of the construct of attitude and some additional methodological principles can help refine the whole paradigm of language attitude research. Specifically, it is pointed out that a cognitive/information-processing approach to attitude formation, the theory of planned behaviour and other theoretical and methodological insights discussed in this paper can prove immensely rewarding and can give a new impetus for further research.

Human Factors

Human factors are integral to applied academic programs such as interaction design. In this chapter, the authors begin by reviewing precepts of authentic, “real-world” learning. From a human factors and interaction design viewpoint, they then describe an authentic learning project—a mobile application design—that was done by university students in collaboration with a leading global specialty retailer. Specifically, in terms of the project, the chapter reviews the following: 1) benefits and challenges of academic and industry collaborations; 2) human factors and interaction design processes, methods, and principles used throughout the authentic project; 3) anthropometric features of the project prototype and their implications for usability; 4) precepts of cognitive information processing (i.e., human attention, perception, and memory) and their importance for the design and usability of the project's interface; 5) insights and lessons learned about the use of authentic learning experiences in teaching human factors and interaction design.