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Understanding public perception of technology is crucial to aligning research, development, and governance of technology. This article introduces micro scenarios as an integrative method to evaluate mental models and social acceptance across numerous technologies and concepts using a few single-item scales within a single comprehensive survey. This approach contrasts with traditional methods that focus on detailed assessments of as few as one scenario. The data can be interpreted in two ways: Perspective (1): Average evaluations of each participant can be seen as individual differences, providing reflexive measurements across technologies or topics. This helps in understanding how perceptions of technology relate to other personality factors. Perspective (2): Average evaluations of each technology or topic can be interpreted as technology attributions. This makes it possible to position technologies on visuo-spatial maps to simplify identification of critical issues, conduct comparative rankings based on selected criteria, and to analyze the interplay between different attributions. This dual approach enables the modeling of acceptance-relevant factors that shape public opinion. It offers a framework for researchers, technology developers, and policymakers to identify pivotal factors for acceptance at both the individual and technology levels. I illustrate this methodology with examples from my research, provide practical guidelines, and include R code to enable others to conduct similar studies. This paper aims to bridge the gap between technological advancement and societal perception, offering a tool for more informed decision-making in technology development and policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the application of ontological and cognitive modeling in the research of "elastic resilience" of energy and ecological systems. It outlines the processes of ontological and cognitive engineering, provides examples of ontologies and cognitive maps, and suggests a method for integrating ontological, cognitive, and mathematical modeling of the fuel and energy complex (FEC) in the resilience studies of energy systems (ES). It also discusses the results of computational experiments to assess the resilience of energy and ecological systems, including the use of machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncovering how mental representations acquire, recall, and decode spatial information about relative locations and environmental attributes (cognitive map) involves different challenges. This work is geared towards theoretical discussions on the controversial issue of cognitive scalability for understanding cognitive map emergence from place and grid cells at the intersection between neuroscience and artificial intelligence. In our view, different place maps emerge from parallel and hierarchical neural structures supporting a global cognitive map. The mechanisms sustaining these maps do not only process sensory input but also assign the input to a location. Contentious issues are presented around these concepts and provide concrete suggestions for moving the field forward. We recommend approaching the described challenges guided by AI-based theoretical aspects of encoded place instead of based chiefly on technological aspects to study the brain. SIGNIFICANCE: A formal difference exists between the concepts of spatial representations between experimental neuroscientists and computer scientists and engineers in the so-called neural-based autonomous navigation field. From a neuroscience perspective, we consider the position of an organism's body to be entirely determined by translational spatial information (e.g., visited places and velocities). An organism predicts where it is at a specific time using continuous or discrete spatial functions embedded into navigation systems. From these functions, we infer that the concept of place has emerged. However, from an engineering standpoint, we represent structured scaffolds of behavioral processes to determine movements from the organism's current position to some other spatial locations. These scaffolds are certainly affected by the system's designer. Therefore, the coding of place, in this case, is predetermined. The contrast between emergent cognitive map through inputs versus predefined spatial recognition between two fields creates an inconsistency. Clarifying this tension can inform us on how the brain encodes abstract knowledge to represent spatial positions, which hints at a universal theory of cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding public perception of technology is crucial to aligning research, development, and governance of technology. This article introduces micro scenarios as an integrative method to evaluate mental models and social acceptance across numerous technologies and concepts using a few single-item scales within a single comprehensive survey. This approach contrasts with traditional methods that focus on detailed assessments of as few as one scenario. The data can be interpreted in two ways: Perspective (1): Average evaluations of each participant can be seen as individual differences, providing reflexive measurements across technologies or topics. This helps in understanding how perceptions of technology relate to other personality factors. Perspective (2): Average evaluations of each technology or topic can be interpreted as technology attributions. This makes it possible to position technologies on visuo-spatial maps to simplify identification of critical issues, conduct comparative rankings based on selected criteria, and to analyze the interplay between different attributions. This dual approach enables the modeling of acceptance-relevant factors that shape public opinion. It offers a framework for researchers, technology developers, and policymakers to identify pivotal factors for acceptance at both the individual and technology levels. I illustrate this methodology with examples from my research, provide practical guidelines, and include R code to enable others to conduct similar studies. This paper aims to bridge the gap between technological advancement and societal perception, offering a tool for more informed decision-making in technology development and policy-making.

Orientation and mobility apps for visually impaired people are well known to be effective in improving the quality of life for this target group. A mobile application that guides a visually impaired person step-by-step through a physical space is a valuable aid, but it does not provide an overview of a complex environment "at a glance," as a traditional hard-copy tactile map does. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a smartphone GPS map, enriched with haptic and audio hints, can facilitate cognitive mapping for visually impaired users. Encouraged by a preliminary study conducted in co-operation with two visually impaired volunteers, we designed and developed an Android prototype for exploration of an urban area. Our goal was to provide an affordable, portable and versatile solution to help users increase awareness of an environment through the positions of its landmarks and points of interest. Vibro-tactile and audio hints were linked to the coordinates on the map via the GeoJSON data format and were issued exploiting the text-to-speech and vibration features of the mobile device, as they were displayed through the operating system's APIs. Test sessions and interviews with visually impaired users produced encouraging results. Results, to be verified by more extensive testing, overall confirm the validity of our approach and are in line with results found in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing programs in India have rarely engaged with slum communities to understand slum-dwellers' housing needs and preferences as the tools to systematically understand them are lacking. Consequently, the programs are often designed and implemented without the slum community's participation. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of inviting slum residents to understand housing problems from their perspective by using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in two slums of Odisha, India. We compare their priorities with the provisions of slum policies such as the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act 2017 to highlight that housing needs and challenges in slums are diverse, and preferences are often incremental that the current program has failed to recognize. We use problem structuring methods from decision sciences as our analytical framework that treats the slum residents as experts. Such an approach can potentially transform how we design housing programs and policies in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boundaries define space, impacting spatial memory and neural representations. Unlike rodents, impact in humans is often tested using desktop virtual-reality (VR). This lacks self-motion cues, diminishing path-integration input. We replicated a desktop-VR study testing boundary impact on spatial memory for object locations using a physical, desktop-VR, and head-mounted-display-VR environment. Performance was measured by comparing participant responses to seven spatial distribution models using geometric or walking-path metrics. A weighted-linear combination of geometric models and a "place-cell-firing" model performed best, with identical fits across environments. Spatial representation appears differentially influenced by different boundary changes, but similarly across virtual and physical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the concept of structural information is presented. The mathematical foundation of the concept is put forward, and the nature of information encoded in a structure is studied. A method for calculating the amount of structural information is introduced. An application to the analysis of cognitive maps is also presented and discussed.

Prior literature suggests that teaching corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability has led to little development of students' reflexive engagement with the challenges of sustainable development. To shed light on this criticism, we apply sensemaking—as entailing the three stages of scanning for information, interpreting it and identifying alternatives of action—to CSR/sustainability education. Analysing cognitive maps of CSR, drawn by undergraduate finalists from a UK business school, we find that students are able to produce complex cognitive maps in terms of scanning for information; however, cognitive bottlenecks occur at the second and third stages of sensemaking. A key pedagogical challenge is, therefore, to support students in moving beyond scanning towards developing meaning and acting on that basis. By introducing a sensemaking lens, we add to a deeper understanding of the complexities associated with CSR education as it aids (or impedes) critical engagement and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the age increases, the power and ability of the elderly to recognise architectural spaces and related internal or external areas decreases. This initially increases their dependence on others, and in the next stages they may lose the ability to find their way. The purpose of this research is to provide an understanding of the elements that play a role in the mental dimensions of aging. The present article was formed in order to answer these questions: ‘how does the perception and cognition of the elderly take place with a focus on environmental and human approaches’, and ‘what are the influential indicators in the perception and cognition of the elderly’. For this purpose, Kahrizak elderly home was chosen. Using the 'Space Syntax’ method, this article examines the behavioural and cognitive responses of the elderly regarding the spatial characteristics of the elderly home. The research method includes two cognitive and spatial parts. In the cognitive section, after interviewing the elderly and receiving cognitive maps, the findings from the cognitive maps were compiled. Space configuration was evaluated through depth map software and Space Syntax parameters. In this analysis, spatial parameters such as connection value, connectivity, selection, depth of access and resolution have been examined and compared with cognitive maps. The analyses show that the maximum correlation is 7.3 and its average is 3.5, the maximum and average correlation parameters are 20 and 8.6, respectively. The maximum and average selection parameters are equal to 67 and 11.06, respectively. The maximum and average access depth parameters are 257 and 138.7, respectively. The analysis shows that Space Syntax modelling can be effective for understanding the perceptibility of space by the elderly, but for a correct understanding of the same space, other methods such as cognitive maps are needed. The results show that multiple objective and subjective factors are effective in the elderly's perception and their knowledge of space, together and sometimes with priorities over each other.

The formalized description of the symbolic method (complex numbers) is presented, by means of which the complex value is determined in the form of the level of influence of causal factors on the damage caused by accidents and fires. On the example of enterprises of oil and gas complex of Russia the substantiation on use of the symbolic method by means of which there is a possibility to receive adequate results of an estimation is presented. It is proposed to use software developed with the use of the method of hierarchy analysis and pairwise comparisons, as well as the method of Bayesian Belief Network. As an output, the task of determining the complex influence weight coefficient assigned to the report on accidents and fires at the considered enterprises is solved.

The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) provide a global common vision for development that achieves equality and equity. SDG 7 on energy has motivated development actors worldwide to promote universal electricity access through rural electrification projects. However, implementing technological interventions in rural areas can be challenging due to differences in worldviews between implementing agencies and cultural communities in which the beneficiaries are embedded. These differences increase complexity of both technology and knowledge transfer as it involves a negotiation of meaning and an adjustment of norms. This study aims to investigate the influence of long-existing cultural practices on the knowledge transfer process for implementation of a renewable energy rural electricity project on Sumba Island in Indonesia. The development actors' expectations and the beneficiaries' perceptions are compared to explore the extent to which knowledge has been transferred. We employ a semi-quantitative method called fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) to obtain a comparable measurement that is qualitatively explainable. This method enables us to generate a simple statistical analysis based on sixteen key informant interviews. We also generate a belief-based model to predict the electricity access outcomes if the beneficiaries remained on the current level of knowledge. The analysis revealed differences between the providers' expectations and perceptions of the beneficiaries, which helps to explain why predicted electricity access outcomes do not meet expectations. The qualitative analysis also enables us to identify barriers to achieving SDG7 on Sumba Island. We argue that the subsistence nature of beneficiaries' economic practices limits expectations of becoming business entrepreneurs who can pay for electricity tariffs.

Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) have been widely used as standard intelligence tests for human participants. Humans solve RPM problems in a hierarchical manner, perceiving conceptual features at different levels and inferring the latent rules governing the matrix using cognitive maps. Although the latest AI algorithms can surpass human performance, little effort has been made to build a model that solves RPM problems in a human-like hierarchical manner. We built a human-like hierarchical neuro-symbolic model to solve RPM problems. The proposed model consists of a semantic-VAE (sVAE) perceptual module and a cognitive map reasoning back-end (CMRB). The supervised sVAE extracts the hierarchical visual features of RPMs by perceiving the structural organization of RPMs through a convolutional neural network and disentangles objects into semantically understandable features. Based on these semantic features, the CMRB predicts the semantic features of objects in the missing field using cognitive maps generated by supervised learning or manually designed. The answer image was generated by sVAE using the semantic features predicted by CMRB. The proposed model achieved state-of-the-art performance on three benchmarks datasets—RAVEN, I-RAVEN, and RAVEN-fair—generalizes well to RPMs containing objects with untrained feature dimensions, mimics human cognitive processes when solving RPM problems, achieves interpretability of their hierarchical processes, and can also be applied to some real-world situations that require abstract visual reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campus sustainability and climate change reduction have become a significant global concern for university administrators in recent days. Several evaluation systems of universities exist, and UI GreenMetric World University is one of the most used ranking one among them. The goal is to provide an image of current conditions relating to the green campus and sustainability of universities worldwide. The ranking system uses six main criteria and 39 sub-criteria and a numeric scoring system to evaluate universities. Unfortunately, collecting a numeric datum is not always easy for decision-makers. Decision-makers need a system using human judgments. For this aim, we proposed a new fuzzy ranking system based on a multi-stage decision-making model including DEMATEL, Cognitive maps, VIKOR, and Fuzzy inference systems. The proposed model uses 18 different criteria collected from UI GreenMetric World University ranking methodology. It captures the qualitative factors of the ranking system. To show the applicability of the method, we applied the proposed method to determine the universities' green index. The sensitivity analysis is also performed by changing decision-makers' weights. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology is a useful and sensitive tool to calculate the green index of the universities with fuzzy linguistic expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil servants have different levels of work engagement throughout their working lives. These variations are the work engagement cycles, which occur based on available resources and work environment demands. This study describes the work engagement cycles of federal civil servants based on their professional life histories, highlighting the demands and resources of the work environment in their professional trajectory. Using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and the cognitive maps methodology, it was possible to identify a positive cycle of work engagement, a reinforcing cycle (related to opportunities and appreciation), and two disequilibrium cycles, one related to dysfunctional productivity and the other to administrative discontinuity. The analysis of the engagement cycles allowed the identification of work environment resources that interfere in the engagement of public servants in different ways. Finally, the concept of “coping cycle” was used as a subsidy of policies for disengaged servants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Mental images are formed by direct and indirect experiences of space, which refer to the complex acquisition, processing, and interpretation of information in the human mind. Like internal representation, it acts as a cognitive map due to the surrounding space, which directs both the relationships and actions of humans in the space. In this regard, the current research emphasizes identifying the crucial components in forming students' mental images of urban landscape. Methodology: Current research uses quantitative methods as well as graphic questionnaires. The statistical population included students in the 1st semester of urban planning, 25 girls and 25 boys, in 2022. The research model was extracted due to theoretical studies to collect data from mental images. The obtained data will be analyzed based on Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Correlational study via Smart PLS and IBM SPSS 25.0. Findings: According to Confirmatory Factor Analysis, according to the students, "physical structure" with an impact factor (0.930) whose components with factor load include: "geometry" (0.681), "direction and axis" (0.639), "differentiation and similarity" (0.596), "simplicity and diversity" (0.587), "scale and proportion" (0.499) and "visual range sequence" (0.425) are the most determining factors. In the second place, "functional structure" with an impact factor (0.733) And it ranks second with the components of "human activity" (0.815) and "functional species" (0.672). The "sense of time" factor has an impact factor (-0.084) with the components of "historical buildings" (1.000). Based on the correlation results, no significant difference was seen in the gender factor. Conclusion: Urban landscape are formed more by a mixture of functional, physical structures, which have an immediate effect on the imitability of the town. Moreover, physical structures have the most influential role in this process. Additionally, it is revealed that gender factors did not affect this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the interaction between hyper-video navigation tools (buttons, cognitive maps, and hot spots) and cognitive style (independent of cognitive field / dependent according to the cognitive field)' on the learning rate of the students at the Department of Education Technology. An experimental approach was used to compare six experimental groups (3*2). The research sample consisted of sixty sixth-grade students from the Department of Learning Techniques, College of Education, University of Jeddah. An embedded figure test (Embedded Figure Test) was used for elearning technology to determine who is independent of the cognitive field and who is dependent according to the cognitive field. The research sample was divided into six experimental groups, each with ten students. An electronic achievement test was created to measure the learning rate of students. The results showed that the buttons were the appropriate navigation tool for both the independents and the dependents in the cognitive field. That is because the buttons take into account the individual differences between the students, it was concluded that it is the most appropriate tool for roaming through the hyper-video. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial cognition relies on an internal map-like representationof space provided by hippocampal place cells, which in turnare thought to rely on grid cells as a basis. Spatial Seman-tic Pointers (SSP) have been introduced as a way to representcontinuous spaces and positions via the activity of a spikingneural network. In this work, we further develop SSP rep-resentation to replicate the firing patterns of grid cells. Thisadds biological realism to the SSP representation and links bi-ological findings with a larger theoretical framework for rep-resenting concepts. Furthermore, replicating grid cell activitywith SSPs results in greater accuracy when constructing placecells.Improved accuracy is a result of grid cells forming the op-timal basis for decoding positions and place cell output. Ourresults have implications for modelling spatial cognition andmore general cognitive representations over continuous vari-ables.

Abstract Talk of ”mental representations” is ubiquitous in the philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive science. A slogan common to many different approaches says that representations ”stand in for” the things they represent. We argue that this slogan is either false or uninformative. We then offer a new slogan that aims to do better. The new slogan ties the role of representations to the cognitive role played by the deliverances of perception. After clarifying the new slogan and warding off some misunderstandings, we discuss how the new slogan still captures the seed of truth in the old, point to some specific misunderstandings that can be avoided, and then suggest some ways that the new slogan is useful in the project of giving a satisfying philosophical theory of representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociolinguistic is the discipline related with the aspects of the society that influence in the use of the language, as the cultural norms and the context in the speakers' environment. It studies the language like a system of signs in the social context. This paper has as main objective the design of a model for the study of this discipline according to the age of individuals, based on the cognitive fuzzy maps. Fuzzy cognitive maps are tools that allow us to represent the knowledge by means of the relationship of concepts, where for each relationship it is associated a weight in the interval [-1, 1] or [0, 1] that means the degree of each relationship among concepts, and moreover if this it is direct or inverse. The proposed model is an approach to the topic that will allow us carrying out predictions on possible scenarios, besides to spread and to share the results obtained by each one of the investigators interested in the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommender Systems are omnipresent in our digital life. Most notably, various media platforms guide us in selecting videos, but recommender systems are also used for more serious goals, such as news selection, political orientation and work decisions. As argued in this survey and position article, the paradigm of recommendation-based feeds has changed user behaviour from active decision making to rather passively following recommendations and accepting possibly suboptimal choices that are deemed "good enough". We provide a historic overview of media selection, discuss assumptions and goals of recommender systems and identify their shortcomings, based on existing literature. Then, the perspective changes to hypertext as a paradigm for structuring information and active decision making. To illustrate the relevance and importance of active decision making, we present a use case in the field of TV or media selection and (as a proof of concept) carried over to another application domain: maintenance in industry. In the discussion section, we focus on categorising these actions on a spectrum of "system-1" (fast and automated) tasks and "system-2" (critical thinking) tasks. Further, we argue how users can profit from tools that combine active (spatial) structuring and categorising with automatic recommendations, for professional tasks as well as private, leisure activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speaking about crises and their forecasting is always a thankless task. On the one hand, the researcher will receive a lot of criticism from experts in crisis management, economists and analysts. On the other hand, it will find itself in the crossfire of colleagues from related sciences for appropriating and simplifying theories of social and political crises. The processes of digitalization and the emergence of media didactics have led to qualitative changes in the creation and distribution of textbooks, made school knowledge a favorable environment for the formation of future crises associated with contradictions in the interpretation of historical events, the role and place of the individual in history, the construction of conflicting visual images of countries and peoples. In this regard, studies of the monitoring and prognostic function of textbooks as sources of predicting conflicts acquire a new meaning.

Previous findings show that rats in a maze tend to choose the shortest path to reach food. But it is not clear whether this choice is based on path length solely, or some other factors. The aim of this experiment was to investigate which factor dominates the behavior in a maze: path (longer and shorter), time (longer and shorter), or effort (more or less strenuous). The experiment involved 40 mice (4 groups), learning a maze with two paths. Each group went through only one of the situations within which we kept one factor constant on two paths while the remaining two factors were varied. Only in the fourth situation all factors were equalized. The results show that there is a statistically significant difference in the maze path preference between four situations. Preference between the paths is such that mice always choose paths requiring less effort.

The idea of a “cognitive map” was originally developed to ex-plain planning and generalization in spatial domains througha representation of inferred relationships between experiences.Recently, new research has suggested similar principles mayalso govern the representation of more abstract, conceptualknowledge in the brain. We test whether the search for rewardsin conceptual spaces follows similar computational principlesas in spatial environments. Using a within-subject design, par-ticipants searched for both spatially and conceptually corre-lated rewards in multi-armed bandit tasks. We use a GaussianProcess model combining generalization with an optimisticsampling strategy to capture human search decisions and judg-ments in both domains, and to simulate human-level perfor-mance when specified with participant parameter estimates. Inline with the notion of a domain-general generalization mecha-nism, parameter estimates correlate across spatial and concep-tual search, yet some differences also emerged, with partici-pants generalizing less and exploiting more in the conceptualdomain.

While most studies focus on the environmental and physical activity benefits of providing safe and livable streets for children, this paper provides a unique before-and-after experiment using cognitive (or image) mapping exercises employing innovative comparison methods. This work demonstrates how exposure to heavy traffic negatively affects children's perceptions of their environment, and how improving the pedestrian environment (building walkways and improving a crosswalk) can improve those perceptions. This shift may not only encourage more physical activity and strengthen the connection with their communities but also help children in their cognitive development of spatial knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive maps are assumed to be fundamentally spatial and grounded only in perceptual processes, as supported by the discovery of functionally dedicated cell types in the human brain, which tile the environment in a maplike fashion. Challenging this view, we demonstrate that spatial representations—such as large-scale geographical maps—can be as well retrieved with high confidence from natural language through cognitively plausible artificial-intelligence models on the basis of nonspatial associative-learning mechanisms. More critically, we show that linguistic information accounts for the specific distortions observed in tasks when college-age adults have to judge the geographical positions of cities, even when these positions are estimated on real maps. These findings indicate that language experience can encode and reproduce cognitive maps without the need for a dedicated spatial-representation system, thus suggesting that the formation of these maps is the result of a strict interplay between spatial- and nonspatial-learning principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remembering events is crucial to intelligent behavior. Flexible memory retrieval requires a cognitive map and is supported by two key brain systems: hippocampal episodic memory (EM) and prefrontal working memory (WM). Although an understanding of EM is emerging, little is understood of WM beyond simple memory retrieval. We develop a mathematical theory relating the algorithms and representations of EM and WM by unveiling a duality between storing memories in synapses versus neural activity. This results in a formalism of prefrontal WM as structured, controllable neural subspaces (activity slots) representing dynamic cognitive maps without synaptic plasticity. Using neural networks, we elucidate differences, similarities, and trade-offs between the hippocampal and prefrontal algorithms. Lastly, we show that prefrontal representations in tasks from list learning to cue-dependent recall are unified as controllable activity slots. Our results unify frontal and temporal representations of memory and offer a new understanding for dynamic prefrontal representations of WM., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The research endeavors to study and determine the influence of cognitive maps on production of political manifestos discourse. The research has been conducted in the framework of Sociocognitive Discourse Studies. The results show that discourse cognitive structure of British Conservative Party and Australian Liberal Party manifestos is characterized by different sets of cognitive maps on the level of communicative strategies and somewhat similar sets of cognitive schemas on the level of communicative tactics. Applying the method of interpropositional semantic analysis, the communicative strategy and communicative tactic of comparison was identified in Australian Liberal Party manifesto. Despite the close affinity between political discourses of the UK and Australia, there are significant differences in patterns of information organization in online manifestos of the ruling parties to engage the community and enhance persuasion.