2007-04-24

New Homepage

What I totally forgot to mention: I have a new homepage! Yeah I know, what a lime thing to have in times of blogs,but its still the best way to bloat with your publication list. So there it goes. I created it with iWeb on my new MacBook and it was real easy. Making things that look nice involves really very little effort on a Mac. Its probabely not as cool as handcoding it in HTML and CSS line by line, but it just takes up less time. So if you read this, check it out and tell me what you think. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

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2007-04-21

Implicit knowledge in complex system control

What does it take to be a successful manager or politician? In Psychology, tasks that these groups face on an everyday basis are called complex problems. Complex problems are characterized by their dynamics (the system that is being altered during problem solving is constantly changing on its own), by the fact that multiple goals have to be achieved at the same time and by their network structure: changes to one variable usually lead to changes of other variables as well.
Experimental Psychology simulates complex problems with computer-simulated dynamic scenarios, also referred to as microworlds; computer games that place the subject into the role of a manager of a factory or a mayor of a small city. Over a simulated period of time, the subject has to improve some target value (e.g. factory profit or item sales) and has a variety of variables that he can change for influencing the system (e.g. number of machines, number of employees, wages, welfare, advertising budget etc).
The current state of research argues that it does not require a special skill for complex problem solving, but that complex problem solving ability is determined by a person's intelligence, especially his/her ability to process information, and by a person's knowledge of the problem domain, i.e. structure of the system. However, research has also shown that with longer experience of system control, subjects tend to show better problem solving abilities without showing an increase in verbalizable knowledge. The question whether this was a sign for implicit knowledge or just some artifact has been heavily debated.
In my experiment, I devided my subjects in two groups. One group learned how to control a complex scenario from texts, the other group also and learned from texts and was able to try out the scenario during the learning period. Both groups scored equal in a post-learning test for verbalizable system knowledge, but the group that had experience with the szenario performed better during actual scenario control. This dissociation between verbalizable knowledge and increased scenario performance is a clear indication for the development of implicit knowledge.
On top of that, the group with experience learning showed a higher density in knowledge organization in my Association Structure Test (AST). This supports my theory that implicit knowledge correlates with a higher density in knowledge organization (which can be found here).

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2007-04-18

A few thoughts on the VirginiaTech shooting in Blacksburg, VA

What a horrible tragedy. My thoughts are with the friends and families of the victims. Unimaginable. If someone close to me would get shot dead at the university by some maniac... I wouldn't know what to do.
Contrary to some people's views, I think it is reasonable to contemplate the reasons and background of this horrible incident. I cannot understand the laws of gun control in the USA and I especially cannot understad those who argue for more guns after the tragedy, claiming that it would have taken only one armed student to stop the shooting. If the shooter had not been able to get a gun in the first place, no one would have had the necessity to stop him.
Gun control does not prevent all of such incidents - the shooting in Erfurt is a sad example. But it drastically reduces the risk of such things happening. My problem is: I cannot understand why the rights to bear and possess arms is so important for many Americans. I know it is a constitutional right, but just why is it so important? Why do so many people in the states want to own a gun? Comments are really appreciated.

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2007-04-16

BBB - BitchyButchBrussels

Last weekend, I had the great pleasure to DJ at the BitchyButch Party in Brussels. One of BitchyButch's organizers, Michelange, is friends with the organizers of PopPourri (Hans and Seba), where I sometimes play. Michelange asked the two whether they would like to do an evening in Brussels, and Hans asked me to play. So on Saturday, after very few hours of sleep (I played at PopPourri the night before), Seba, Hans and me took a plane from Tempelhof to Brussels. Hans had warned me that he had no idea what to expect, and my worse-case scenario was a tiny bar with a few bear-type gays. It turned out very different: Bitchybutch was a great party, mixed crowd, packed dancefloor, beautiful club. We had a great night with loads of rock, indie, elektro and pop. It turned out to be a fun weekend with my first international appearance. :-) Thank you, Michelange, Hans & Seba!

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