Hasil untuk "Information theory"

Peng Liu, Changzheng Yang, Jin Gao

IntroductionIn the contemporary digital communication environment, online emergencies often trigger cognitive biases among audiences, affecting the health of public opinion ecosystems and potentially threatening social stability. While existing research has largely focused on the manifestations and consequences of cognitive biases, the formation mechanisms, particularly the role of contextual factors in the online environment, remain understudied. This study examines how field situational heuristics influence cognitive biases in online emergencies through the mediating pathways of adaptive expectations and implicit attributions.MethodsThis research integrates field theory and heuristic information processing theory to construct a theoretical framework. Using anchoring heuristics, representativeness heuristics, and availability heuristics as independent variables, cognitive bias as the dependent variable, and adaptive expectations and implicit attributions as mediating variables, data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using structural equation modeling with AMOS 22.0 statistical software.ResultsThe findings reveal that: (1) in online emergencies, anchoring heuristics, representativeness heuristics, and availability heuristics exert a significantly positive influence on cognitive biases, mediated by adaptive expectations and implicit attributions; (2) representativeness heuristics have the greatest impact on cognitive biases, followed by availability heuristics, and finally anchoring heuristics; (3) the effect of contextual heuristics on cognitive biases exhibits significant demographic differences both between and within groups.DiscussionThe findings provide theoretical insights for improving online public opinion governance and enhancing audience media literacy. The study highlights the importance of understanding how situational heuristics shape cognitive outcomes in digital communication environments and offers practical implications for managing information dissemination during online emergencies.

Yue Shen, Feng Yang, Jianbang Wu et al.

The global transition toward sustainable and intelligent farming has positioned Electrified Agricultural Machinery (EAM) as a central focus in modern equipment development. By integrating advanced electrical subsystems, high-efficiency powertrains, and intelligent Energy Management Strategies (EMSs), EAM offers considerable potential to enhance operational efficiency, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and improve adaptability across diverse agricultural environments. Nevertheless, widespread deployment remains constrained by harsh operating conditions, complex duty cycles, and limitations in maintenance capacity and economic feasibility. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of enabling technologies and application trends in EAM. Performance requirements of electrical subsystems are examined with emphasis on advances in power supply, electric drive, and control systems. The technical characteristics and application scenarios of battery, series hybrid, parallel hybrid, and power-split powertrains are compared. Common EMS approaches (rule-based, optimization-based, and learning-based) are evaluated in terms of design complexity, energy efficiency, adaptability, and computational demand. Representative applications across tillage, seeding, crop management, and harvesting are discussed, underscoring the transformative role of electrification in agricultural production. This review identifies the series hybrid electronic powertrain system and rule-based EMSs as the most mature technologies for practical application in EAM. However, challenges remain concerning operational reliability in harsh agricultural environments and the integration of intelligent control systems for adaptive, real-time operations. The review also highlights key technical bottlenecks and emerging development trends, offering insights to guide future research and support the wider adoption of EAM.

Beatrice Cairo, Riccardo Pernice, Nikola N. Radovanović et al.

The complex interplay between the cardiac and the respiratory systems, termed cardiorespiratory coupling (CRC), is a bidirectional phenomenon that can be affected by pathologies such as heart failure (HF). In the present work, the potential changes in strength of directional CRC were assessed in HF patients classified according to their cardiac rhythm via two measures of coupling based on k-nearest neighbor (KNN) estimation approaches, cross-entropy (CrossEn) and state space correspondence (SSC), applied on the heart period (HP) and respiratory (RESP) variability series, while also accounting for the complexity of the cardiac and respiratory rhythms. We tested the measures on 25 HF patients with sinus rhythm (SR, age: 58.9 ± 9.7 years; 23 males) and 41 HF patients with ventricular arrhythmia (VA, age 62.2 ± 11.0 years; 30 males). A predominant directionality of interaction from the cardiac to the respiratory rhythm was observed in both cohorts and using both methodologies, with similar statistical power, while a lower complexity for the RESP series compared to HP series was observed in the SR cohort. We conclude that CrossEn and SSC can be considered strictly related to each other when using a KNN technique for the estimation of the cross-predictability markers.

Fenny Ong, Geert Molenberghs, Andrea Callegaro et al.

Introduction: Identifying hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titers as a key immune correlate of protection (CoP) is crucial for developing, licensing, and monitoring the ongoing effectiveness of new influenza vaccines. Using a new statistical methodology, we explored the link between an inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine’s impact on HI antibody titers and its effectiveness against A/H1N1-associated influenza illness. Methods: We utilized data from a phase 3, observer-blind, randomized, controlled trial in children aged 6–35 months to assess HI antibody titers as an immune CoP. The assessment used a statistical method developed within a causal inference framework and a new information-theoretic metric of surrogacy, the so-called individual causal association (ICA). Results: The 75% and 85% uncertainty intervals of the ICA are 0.5511–0.8282 and 0.3632–0.8684, respectively, indicating a substantial reduction in the uncertainty about the vaccine’s effect on the absence of infection when its impact on the HI antibody titers is known. Conclusions: The evaluation yielded evidence supporting the validity of HI antibody titers as a CoP for influenza infection.

Eshagh Moradi

Dear Editor-in-Chief The complex process of learning, with all its principles, theories, actions, and reactions, is a continuous, necessary, and unavoidable phenomenon, not only for an educational system but also for human life. Learning is a process that, although many factors are involved in it (1), and some of these factors are known to us, the way information processing leads to learning, and, as a result, the way of learning itself is still not completely known. One of the debatable components related to learning is the generalization process. Generalization is a process that causes learning, and according to the opinion of behavioral psychologists, the learner desires to respond to related and similar stimuli; therefore, it is a factor that can cause learning in humans (2). The process of generalization occurs abundantly throughout human life, and although this generalization is not always positive and can be misplaced, it also has a significant role in learning. The fact is that generalization will happen (3), and the teacher must organize and design the teaching process in such a way that positive generalization leading to optimal learning occurs in the learner's mind and behavior. It seems that generalization also plays a significant role in creating mental schemas. Schemata are cognitive frameworks for organizing information (4) that help us save information for learning. The importance of its generalization becomes more apparent when we know that the majority of learning processes contribute, albeit a small one, to generalization. In other words, ultimately, it is the generalization that causes learning. With a broader view and expansion of the subject, we realize that what Ausubel stated in his meaningful learning theory (5) results from generalization. In other words, meaningful learning occurs when the learner can combine the new learning with the old learning and create a result or concept or new principles from it (5), which is possible without generalizing these events and learning. Therefore, it seems that learning about any subject in any way has streaks of generalization in it. The problem can arise when the educational system and subsequently the teacher ignore the generalization process in students' learning. It is suggested that teachers in their specialized fields, during or before the instructional design, compile some of the content of the courses that include various generalizations in that field and use it in their teaching so that a sequence and pattern of generalizations are formed in the student’s mind. The student can form the rest of the sequences in his mind according to what he/she has learned. As an example, the learner, by knowing how the splint works, in situations where a standard splint is not available, uses cardboard as a splint, and his generalization can include other cases as well. By being in a managerial structure, a person enters any other administrative structure, and he can learn about the administrative procedures and processes by making generalizations. By raising and educating one child, parents generalize from its sequence and educate their other children more easily and correctly. Also, parents’ anxiety and fear caused by care are eliminated or reduced. It becomes easy for a student to understand the subjects of medical physics when he has completed the physics course. Knowing a drug’s mechanism enables the pharmacy student to make generalizations and learn the mechanisms of all drugs belonging to that drug family more easily. Even the competency and skill acquired by a medical student from practicing on a simulator or mockup in clinical training and transferring it to the real environment and on the patient's bed, in the first place, requires the occurrence of a generalization process. For policymakers and managers of the health system, generalization can help them apply the changes or events that they have experienced in a past situation in new situations that are created for them, in other words, to learn from it. One of the cases worth mentioning is the use of generalization at the beginning of programs or training courses or the beginning of academic courses so that if the educational course is not held in a standard, attractive, and effective way, or if unpleasant events occur, the audience and learners of this course make incorrect generalizations and generalize these events to the entire course, teachers, and participants of the course. Of course, the reverse is also true. These are just some examples of generalization in medical sciences. Medical teachers must explain this fact to their students and learners and explain its logic and scientific reason. From this point of view, it is clear why students should study gradually and continuously throughout the course and not postpone it to the days, nights, or final weeks of the semester. This important matter should be taken into consideration in educational courses and faculty development programs for the empowerment of faculty members in universities of medical sciences (6). It can be stated that making and constructing more generalizations in lessons by the learner, in addition to facilitating his learning, can also reduce his anxiety and stress. From this point of view, the anxiety of studying on the night of the exam can be justified, and one of its causes is the student's reduced generalization during the course. With these words, six basic and effective roles for generalization in medical education processes can be listed, including the role of generalization in: 1. Creating positive cognitive schemata 2. Creating new and meaningful learning (in basic sciences and clinical education) 3. Facilitating and strengthening hidden learning and making it explicit 4. Reducing the exam anxiety and stress of learners 5. Normal processes of human life (students and faculty members of medical sciences) 6. Beginning of programs, educational courses, or training courses in medical sciences Finally, it can be concluded that although generalization is not all learning and various components are involved, we can see the shadow of generalization over the majority of learning processes, especially in medical education during learners’ learning. This serious issue should be considered by decision-makers in the educational system, faculty members, and students. Although these generalizations may occur unconsciously, the knowledge and understanding of teachers and students about the generalization process and its examples can increase the level of awareness and, subsequently, apply and consider it to facilitate learning.

K. Ebru, T. Suleymanov

Purpose of this study is to study the activities of modern Islamic financial institutions in Turkey.Results. The prospects for the development of Islamic banking in Turkey as one of the priority areas of state strategy are considered. The main characteristics and features of Islamic banking in Turkey, the history of creation and the development process are revealed. The main obstacles to the functioning of Islamic banks in the legal field are considered.Conclusions. Islamic banking in Turkey has advanced significantly in its development since its first formation.

Ievgen Gnitetskyi, Liudmyla Shulhina, Оlena Lymar

The article considers the difference between national cultures and contains a historical overview of the emergence of these differences. The analysis of several historical, natural, social and other factors influencing the behavior of people living in the territory of a certain geographical region has been carried out. A multilevel model of "tightness" and "looseness", which illustrates the connection between factors and parallel processes that arise in society is considered. The core features of each type of cultures are revealed. The relationship between theories of intercultural behavior is revealed, examples of differences among countries are given. An overview of the application of the theory in advertising is given, the perception of deviant behavior in the two types of cultures is explained. The influence of "tightness" and "looseness" on consumers' preferences is analyzed. The specific examples of advertisement of well-known brands are given. Based on the analyzed information, recommendations on the application of the theory in the process of creating advertising messages were developed.

Muhammad Alfarizi, Rafialdo Arifian

Purpose − Analyze the psychology of patients related to halal healthcare tools that impact their loyalty intentions to Sharia hospitals in Indonesia for health visits and the implications of word of mouth on the community. Methodology − The research employed quantitative techniques by utilizing cross-sectional survey information gathered from Sharia hospital patients in Indonesia, selected through convenience sampling methods. The study analyzed a total of 229 patient responses through the application of structural equation modeling. Findings − Sharia facilities, doctor-nurse services, medical expertise and administrative conduct as indicators of halal health services affect patient satisfaction in sharia hospitals. However, there is resistance to the influence of the medical facility atmosphere on satisfaction caused by the concentration of patients in medical services and solving health problems. Patient satisfaction affects loyalty which in turn gives a positive word of mouth effect. Implications − Islamic hospitals should prioritize patient assessment and satisfaction by reviewing their physical facilities, cleanliness, comfort, and spiritual needs. Medical personnel should enhance communication and sharia-compliant practices. Digitalization and improved service standards are essential, requiring adaptability and technology integration. Regular evaluations and external monitoring are vital. The government should collaborate with relevant ministries and organizations to intensively monitor and improve the quality of sharia hospitals. Originality − This study develops new knowledge on indicators of special services for sharia hospitals according to halal standards by integrating the outputs of satisfaction, loyalty and Word of Mouth (WoM) outputs which have been separated so far but have a chronological sequence in line with existing marketing theory.

Jiahao Wu, Wei Han, Jia Chen et al.

High-quality geological remote sensing interpretation (GRSI) products play a vital role in a wide range of fields, including the military, meteorology, agriculture, the environment, mapping, etc. Due to the importance of GRSI products, this research aimed to improve their accuracy. Although deep-learning (DL)-based GRSI has reduced dependence on manual interpretation, the limited accuracy of multiple geological element interpretation still poses a challenge. This issue can be attributed to small inter-class differences, the uneven distribution of geological elements, sensor limitations, and the complexity of the environment. Therefore, this paper proposes a point–surface data optimal fusion method (PSDOF) to improve the accuracy of GRSI products based on optimal transport (OT) theory. PSDOF combines geological survey data (which has spatial location and geological element information called point data) with a geological remote sensing DL interpretation product (which has limited accuracy and is called surface data) to improve the quality of the resulting output. The method performs several steps to enhance accuracy. First, it calculates the gray-scale correlation feature information for the pixels adjacent to the geological survey points. Next, it determines the distribution of the feature information for geological elements in the vicinity of the point data. Finally, it incorporates complementary information from the survey points into the geological elements’ interpretation boundary, as well as calculates the optimal energy loss for point–surface fusion, thus resulting in an optimal boundary. The experiments conducted in this study demonstrated the superiority of the proposed model in addressing the problem of the limited accuracy of GRSI products.

Stetcu Ionel, Bulgac Aurel, Jin Shi et al.

Recent developments, both in theoretical modeling and computational power, have allowed us to make progress on a goal not fully achieved yet in nuclear theory: a microscopic theory of nuclear fission. Even if the complete microscopic description remains a computationally demanding task, the information that can be provided by current calculations can be extremely useful to guide and constrain more phenomenological approaches, which are simpler to implement. First, a microscopic model that describes the real-time dynamics of the fissioning system can justify or rule out some of the approximations. Second, the microscopic approach can be used to obtain trends, e.g., with increasing excitation energy of the fissioning system, or even to compute observables that cannot be otherwise calculated in phenomenological approaches or that can be hindered by the limitations of the method. We briefly present in this contribution the time-dependent superfluid local density approximation (TDSLDA) approach to nuclear fission, approach that has become a very successful theoretical model in many areas of many-body research. The TDSLDA incorporates the effects of the continuum, the dynamics of the pairing field, and the numerical solution is implemented with controlled approximations and negligible numerical errors. The main part of the current contribution will be dedicated to discussing the method, and recent results concerning the fission dynamics. In addition, we present results on the excitation energy sharing between the fragments, which are in agreement with a qualitative conclusions extracted from a limited number of experimental measurements of properties of prompt neutrons.

Ihor Butko

У статті запропоновано модель та метод прийняття управлінських рішень на основі аналізу геопросторової інформації. Метою статті є удосконалення моделі та методу прийняття управлінських рішень на основі аналізу геопросторової інформації. Результати: запропоновано алгоритм процесу прийняття управлінського рішення, який складається з ситуаційної та концептуальної частини; запропоновано алгоритм дій керівника організації на основі розробленої моделі прийняття управлінського рішення; розглянута ситуація, коли якість рішення залежить від зовнішніх факторів, на які орган прийняття рішення не впливає; наведена загальна схема методу прийняття управлінських рішень на основі аналізу геопросторової інформації. Використовуваними методами є: методи системного аналізу, теорії прийняття рішень, обробки інформації, оптимальних рішень, теорії ймовірності. Висновки. Удосконалено модель прийняття управлінських рішень, яка, на відміну від відомих, є динамічною і базується на відборі рішень, що є оптимальними за комбінованим критерієм, при цьому використовується прогнозні значення імовірностей станів середовища, що забезпечує обґрунтованість управлінських рішень. Отримав подальший розвиток метод прийняття управлінських рішень на основі аналізу геопросторової інформації, який базується на моделях прогнозування даних та прийняття управлінських рішень і використовує метод семантичної сегментації видових зображень для оцінки апріорних імовірностей станів середовища, що забезпечує можливість прийняття рішення в умовах ризику та невизначенності. Напрямком подальших досліджень є розробка інформаційної технології прийняття управлінських рішень на основі аналізу геопросторової інформації.

Ehsan Vaziri Goudarzi, Mahmoud Houshmand, Omid Fatahi Valilai et al.

Industry 4.0 is the digitalization of the manufacturing systems based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for developing a manufacturing system to gain efficiency and improve productivity. Cloud Manufacturing (CM) is a paradigm of Industry 4.0. Cloud Manufacturing System (CMS) considers anything as a service. The end product is developed based on the service composition in the CMS according to consumers’ needs. Also, composite services are developed based on the interaction of MCS providers from different geographical locations. Therefore, the appropriate Manufacturing Cloud Service (MCS) composition is an important problem based on the real-world conditions in CMS. The game theory studies the mathematical model development based on interactions between MCS providers according to real-world conditions. This research develops an Equilibrial Service Composition Model in Cloud Manufacturing (ESCM) based on game theory. MCS providers and consumers get benefits mutually based on ESCM. MCS providers are players in the game. The payoff function is developed based on a profit function. Also, the game strategies are the levels of Quality of Service (QoS) based on consumers’ needs in ESCM. Firstly, the article develops a composite service based on a non-cooperative game. The Nash equilibrium point demonstrates the QoS value of composite service and the payoff value for the players. Secondly, the article develops a composite service based on a cooperative game. The players participate in coalitions to develop the composite service based on formal cooperation. The grand coalition demonstrates the QoS value of composite service and the payoff value for the players in the cooperative game. The research has compared the games’ results. The players’ payoff and the QoS value are better in the cooperative game than in the non-cooperative game. Therefore, the MCS providers and consumers are satisfied mutually in the cooperative game based on ESCM. Finally, the article has applied ESCM in a Healthcare Service to equip 24 hospitals in the best time.

Zongqiang Liu, Wei Zheng, Fan Wu et al.

High spatial resolution Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) sea surface altimetry is of great significance for extracting precise information from sea surface topography. The nadir antenna is one of the key payloads for the GNSS-R altimetry satellite to capture and track the sea surface GNSS reflected signal. The observation capability of the nadir antenna directly determines the number of received reflected signals, which, in turn, affects the spatial resolution of the GNSS-R altimetry. The parameters affecting the ability of the nadir antenna to receive the reflected signal mainly include antenna gain, half-power beam width (HPBW), and pointing angle. Thus far, there are rarely studies on the observation capability of GNSS-R satellite nadir antenna. The design of operational satellite antenna does not fully combine the above three parameters to optimize the design of GNSS-R nadir antenna. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a GNSS-R spaceborne nadir antenna observation capability optimization method. This is the key to improving the number of sea surface reflected signals received by the GNSS-R altimeter satellites, thereby increasing the spatial resolution of the altimetry. This paper has carried out the following research on this. Firstly, based on the GNSS-R geometric relationship and signal processing theory, the nadir antenna signal-to-noise ratio model (NASNRM) with the gain and the elevation angle at the specular point (SP) as the main parameters is established. The accuracy of the model was verified using TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) observations. Secondly, based on the theory of electromagnetic scattering, considering the influence of HPBW and pointing angle on the antenna footprint size, a specular point filtering algorithm (SPFA) is proposed. Combined with the results obtained by NASNRM, the number of available specular points (SPs) is counted. The results show that as the antenna gain and the nadir-pointing angle increase, the number of SPs can reach a peak and then gradually decrease. Thirdly, combined with NASNRM and SPSA, a nadir antenna observation capability optimization method (NAOCOM) is proposed. The nadir antenna observation capability is characterized through the reflected signal utilization, and the results obtained by the method are used to optimize the combination of nadir antenna parameters. The research shows that when the orbital height of the GNSS-R satellite is 635 km, the optimal combination of nadir antenna parameters is 20.94 dBi for the gain and 32.82 degrees for the nadir-pointing angle, which can increase the observation capability of the TDS-1 satellite nadir antenna by up to 5.38 times.

فریده کعب عمیر, غلامرضا حیدری

هدف: هر حرفه یا شغل، جایگاه اجتماعی خاصی در جامعه دارد و سنجش آن، بقا و تداوم حرفه یا شغل را تضمین می­کند. بنابراین، هدف اصلی این پژوهش، ساخت و اعتباریابی پرسشنامه ه­ای جهت سنجش جایگاه اجتماعی حرفه­ علم اطلاعات و دانش­شناسی است. روش­ شناسی: روش پژوهش حاضر، پیمایشی و از نوع مطالعه­ کاربردی است. از روایی صوری و روایی سازه جهت اعتباریابی پرسشنامه استفاده شد. پایایی پرسشنامه با استفاده از روش همسانی درونی سنجیده شد. جامعه­ پژوهش حاضر، کل کتابداران شاغل در کتابخانه­های شهر اهواز (کتابخانه­های دانشگاهی، تخصصی، و عمومی)، به صورت سرشماری (250 نفر) است.  یافته ­ها: نتایج حاصل از تحلیل عاملی داده­ها نشان داد که از 55 گویه­ اثرگذار بر جایگاه اجتماعی، 42 گویه با کل آزمون همبستگی داشته که منجر به ایجاد 9 عامل اثرگذار بر جایگاه اجتماعی شد. شدت اثرگذاری آن­ها به ترتیب، از زیاد به کم عبارتند از: عامل اقتصادی، عامل استاندارد، عامل تخصصی، عامل فردی، عامل آموزشی، عامل فناوری اطلاعات، عامل تعامل، عامل فرهنگی، و عامل سازمانی. نتایج پایایی پرسشنامه با استفاده از روش همسانی درونی نشان داد که پرسشنامه از پایایی مناسبی برخوردار است. نتیجه ­گیری: این مطالعه نشان می­دهد که پرسشنامه جایگاه اجتماعی با ضرایب روایی و پایایی رضایت­بخش، ابزاری مناسب برای سنجش جایگاه اجتماعی در پژوهش­های بعدی است.   ضرورت و نوآوری: در این پژوهش، ساخت و اعتباریابی پرسشنامه­ جایگاه اجتماعی با نگاه جامع نسبت به متغیرهای اثرگذار بر جایگاه اجتماعی در متون معتبر صورت گرفته است.

In this study the role ofcognitive and social factors in utilization of information sysyems (IS) andperformance outcomes are examined. Unlike common studies in informationsystems' acceptance which are based on one of cognitive factors or social ones,in this study both of these groups of factors are merged. The research model ofthis study is based on Task- Technology Fit (TTF) theory and Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) whichcan be considered as a socio-technical model. This is a descriptive correlationresearch based on Structural Equation Model (SEM). The data are gathered from186 users of information systems from 16 companies working in Iran automobileindustry. Also, the sampling method is stratified random.Theresults of this study indicate the goodness of fit for the model of researchand both groups of social and cognitive factors have direct impact oninformation systems' utilization and users' performance. Social factors havegreater impact in comparison to cognitive factors. Moreover, informationsystems' utilization is known to have positive effect on individual performanceand learning of employees.

Primavera De Filippi

Cloud computing technologies are commonly used for delivering content or information to users who no longer need to store this data onto their own devices. This is likely to have an important impact on the effectivity of copyright law in the context of online applications, insofar as the underlying infrastructure of the cloud is such that is allows cloud operators to control the manner in which and the extent to which users can exploit such content - regardless of whether it is protected by copyright law or it has already fallen in the public domain. This article analyses the extent to which the provisions of copyright law can potentially be bypassed by cloud computing applications whose interface is designed to regulate the access, use and reuse of online content, and how these online applications can be used to establish private regimes of regulation that often go beyond the scope of the traditional copyright regime.

Zuo-peng LI, Jing ZHANG, Shao-bin CAI et al.

Bio-inspired molecular communication (MC) is a kind of communication technology using biochemical mole-cules as the information carrier and applied to interconnect nano-machines to constitute the distributed nano-networks.The definition and properties of MC,applications of nano-networks based on MC,important research activities and pro-jects of MC were generalized.With particularly concerning the propagating mechanism of information molecules,the architecture of MC system was introduced.From the aspects of the design and implementation of system,theory research and nano-networks based on MC,the status of current research and development of MC was summarized and analyzed,in addition,future research trends was prospected.

Neven Vrček

Here you can download journal cover pages.

Tilburt Jon C, James Katherine M, Sinicrope Pamela S et al.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients at higher than average risk of heritable cancer may process risk information differently than the general population. However, little is known about clinical, demographic, or psychosocial predictors that may impact risk perception in these groups. The objective of this study was to characterize factors associated with perceived risk of developing cancer in groups at high risk for cancer based on genetics or family history.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycInfo, and Scopus from inception through April 2009 for English-language, original investigations in humans using core concepts of "risk" and "cancer." We abstracted key information and then further restricted articles dealing with perceived risk of developing cancer due to inherited risk.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 1028 titles identified, 53 articles met our criteria. Most (92%) used an observational design and focused on women (70%) with a family history of or contemplating genetic testing for breast cancer. Of the 53 studies, 36 focused on patients who had not had genetic testing for cancer risk, 17 included studies of patients who had undergone genetic testing for cancer risk. Family history of cancer, previous prophylactic tests and treatments, and younger age were associated with cancer risk perception. In addition, beliefs about the preventability and severity of cancer, personality factors such as "monitoring" personality, the ability to process numerical information, as well as distress/worry also were associated with cancer risk perception. Few studies addressed non-breast cancer or risk perception in specific demographic groups (e.g. elderly or minority groups) and few employed theory-driven analytic strategies to decipher interrelationships of factors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Several factors influence cancer risk perception in patients at elevated risk for cancer. The science of characterizing and improving risk perception in cancer for high risk groups, although evolving, is still relatively undeveloped in several key topic areas including cancers other than breast and in specific populations. Future rigorous risk perception research using experimental designs and focused on cancers other than breast would advance the field.</p>

Marius P. P. Šaulauskas

Straipsnis skirtas informacijos visuomenės sampratos pamatinių metodologinių-aksiologinių charakteristikų atodangai. Jame parodoma, pirma, kad labiausiai paplitusi informacijos visuomenės samprata yra grindžiama egzistencine informacijos visuomenės kaip realaus fenomeno ir jo nelygstamos svarbos prielaida ir, antra, kad tokia egzistencinė-aksiologinė prielaida yra artikuliuojama įprastinio, liberalaussocialdemokratinio, moderniojo ideologinio diskurso terminais. Straipsnyje kritiškai aptariama ir viešoji informacijos visuomenės sampratos vartosena nūdienėje Lietuvoje. Prasminiai žodžiai: informacijos visuomenė, ideologija, infopesimizmas, infooptimizmas, racionalaus pasirinkimo teorija, egzistencinė-aksiologinė prielaida. CONCEPTION OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY: IN THE GRIP OF THE OLD WINESKINS Marius P. Šaulauskas Summary The article deals with fundamental methodological and axiological characteristics of the information society?s concept. It argues, first, that the most widespread understanding of the information society dwells on the existential presupposition, which sensu stricto implausibly posits information society, tentatively endowed with an utmost societal importance, as an already real phenomenon in status nascendi. Second, that such an The article deals with fundamental methodological and axiological characteristics of the information society?s concept. It argues, first, that the most widespread understanding of the information society dwells on the existential presupposition, which sensu stricto implausibly posits information society, tentatively endowed with an utmost societal importance, as an already real phenomenon in status nascendi. Second, that such an existential-axiological assumption is articulated along the lines of modern ideological discourse, i.e. in terms of mainstream liberal-socialdemocratic controversies. An article also puts under critical comparative scrutiny the usage of information society's concept in the public sphere of nowadays Lithuania. Keywords: information society, ideology, info-pesimism, info-optimism, rational choice theory, existential-axiological assumption.