Showing papers on "Cognitive map published in 2012"
TL;DR: Novel findings from recent developments in memory research on the similarity of imaging and memory and on the role of both prefrontal cortex and sensory cortex in declarative memory and working memory are predicted by the theory and provide striking support for it.
173 citations
TL;DR: The fitness value of cognitive maps and the selective exploitation of spatial information support a general theory of animal space use, which explains why mammals have home ranges and how they use them.
Abstract: Animals concentrate their activities within areas we call home ranges because information about places increases fitness. Most animals, and certainly all mammals, store information about places in cognitive maps—or neurally encoded representations of the geometric relations among places—and learn to associate objects or events with places on their map. I define the value of information as a time-dependent increment it adds to any appropriate currency of fitness for an informed versus an uninformed forager, and integrate it into simple conceptual models that help explain movements of animals that learn, forget, and use information. Unlike other space-use models, these recognize that movement decisions are based on an individual's imperfect and ever-changing expectancies about the environment—rather than omniscience or ignorance. Using simple, deterministic models, I demonstrate how the use of such dynamic information explains why animals use home ranges, and can help explain diverse movement patterns, including systematic patrolling or “traplining,” shifting activity or focal areas, extra-home-range exploration, and seemingly random (although goal-directed and spatially contagious) movements. These models also provide insights about interindividual spacing patterns, from exclusive home ranges (whether defended as territories or not) to broadly overlapping or shared ranges. Incorporating this dynamic view of animal expectancies and information value into more-complex and realistic movement models, such as random-walk, Bayesian foraging, and multi-individual movement models, should facilitate a more comprehensive and empirical understanding of animal space-use phenomena. The fitness value of cognitive maps and the selective exploitation of spatial information support a general theory of animal space use, which explains why mammals have home ranges and how they use them.
140 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that memory for associations between objects and their spatial locations is slower to develop than memory for objects alone, consistent with previous reports suggesting that adult like spatial representations have a protracted development in rats and also suggests that the systems involved in processing non-spatial stimuli come online earlier.
Abstract: Spatial memory is a well-characterized psychological function in both humans and rodents. The combined computations of a network of systems including place cells in the hippocampus, grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex and head direction cells found in numerous structures in the brain have been suggested to form the neural instantiation of the cognitive map as first described by Tolman in 1948. However, while our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying spatial representations in adults is relatively sophisticated, we know substantially less about how this network develops in young animals. In this article we briefly review studies examining the developmental timescale that these systems follow. Electrophysiological recordings from very young rats show that directional information is at adult levels at the outset of navigational experience. The systems supporting allocentric memory, however, take longer to mature. This is consistent with behavioral studies of young rats which show that spatial memory based on head direction develops very early but that allocentric spatial memory takes longer to mature. We go on to report new data demonstrating that memory for associations between objects and their spatial locations is slower to develop than memory for objects alone. This is again consistent with previous reports suggesting that adult like spatial representations have a protracted development in rats and also suggests that the systems involved in processing non-spatial stimuli come online earlier.
105 citations
TL;DR: The experiments described in this article combine response time measurements and eye movement data to gain insight into the users' cognitive processes while working with dynamic and interactive maps to show that experts were significantly faster in finding the names in the map image.
Abstract: The experiments described in this article combine response time measurements and eye movement data to gain insight into the users' cognitive processes while working with dynamic and interactive maps. Experts and novices participated in a user study with a ‘between user’ design. Twenty screen maps were presented in a random order to each participant, on which he had to execute a visual search. The combined information of the button actions and eye tracker reveals that both user groups showed a similar pattern in the time intervals needed to locate the subsequent names. From this pattern, information about the users' cognitive load could be derived: use of working memory, learning effect and so on. Moreover, the response times also showed that experts were significantly faster in finding the names in the map image. This is further explained by the eye movement metrics: experts had significantly shorter fixations and more fixations per second meaning that they could interpret a larger part of the map in the same amount of time. As a consequence, they could locate objects in the map image more efficiently and thus faster.
81 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that key neural correlates of spatial navigation in darkness cannot be explained if the path integration system acted independently of boundary (landmark) information, and it is proved that featureless boundaries alone cannot be used to improve localization above chance level.
Abstract: Spatial navigation requires the processing of complex, disparate and often ambiguous sensory data. The neurocomputations underpinning this vital ability remain poorly understood. Controversy remains as to whether multimodal sensory information must be combined into a unified representation, consistent with Tolman's "cognitive map", or whether differential activation of independent navigation modules suffice to explain observed navigation behaviour. Here we demonstrate that key neural correlates of spatial navigation in darkness cannot be explained if the path integration system acted independently of boundary (landmark) information. In vivo recordings demonstrate that the rodent head direction (HD) system becomes unstable within three minutes without vision. In contrast, rodents maintain stable place fields and grid fields for over half an hour without vision. Using a simple HD error model, we show analytically that idiothetic path integration (iPI) alone cannot be used to maintain any stable place representation beyond two to three minutes. We then use a measure of place stability based on information theoretic principles to prove that featureless boundaries alone cannot be used to improve localization above chance level. Having shown that neither iPI nor boundaries alone are sufficient, we then address the question of whether their combination is sufficient and - we conjecture - necessary to maintain place stability for prolonged periods without vision. We addressed this question in simulations and robot experiments using a navigation model comprising of a particle filter and boundary map. The model replicates published experimental results on place field and grid field stability without vision, and makes testable predictions including place field splitting and grid field rescaling if the true arena geometry differs from the acquired boundary map. We discuss our findings in light of current theories of animal navigation and neuronal computation, and elaborate on their implications and significance for the design, analysis and interpretation of experiments.
51 citations
TL;DR: The configuration error paradigm proposed by Wang and Spelke is used to examine the nature of the spatial representations underlying object localization during self-movement, and three basic models of spatial memory and spatial updating are discussed.
Abstract: The issue of reference frame is central to theories of spatial representations. Various classifications have been made for different types of reference frames, along with prototypical research paradigms to distinguish between them. This article focuses on the configuration error paradigm proposed by Wang and Spelke (Cognition 77:215-250, 2000) that has been used to examine the nature of the spatial representations underlying object localization during self-movement. Three basic models of spatial memory and spatial updating are discussed, as well as the assumptions behind the configuration error paradigm, to distinguish between static representations, such as the traditional allocentric cognitive map and the egocentric snapshots, and dynamic representations, such as the egocentric updating system. Recent experimental findings are reexamined and shown to be consistent with multiple models, among which the egocentric-updating-and-reload model with an enduring egocentric component provides the simplest interpretations.
45 citations
TL;DR: The developed model is able to represent the robot’s dynamic behavior in presence of environment changes by adapting the FCM relationships among concepts and a reinforcement learning algorithm is also used to finely adjust the robot behavior.
Abstract: This study developed an autonomous navigation system using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM). Fuzzy Cognitive Map is a tool that can model qualitative knowledge in a structured way through concepts and causal relationships. Its mathematical representation is based on graph theory. A new variant of FCM, named Event Driven-Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (ED-FCM), is proposed to model decision tasks and/or make inferences in autonomous navigation. The FCM's arcs are updated from the occurrence of special events as dynamic obstacle detection. As a result, the developed model is able to represent the robot's dynamic behavior in presence of environment changes. This model skill is achieved by adapting the FCM relationships among concepts. A reinforcement learning algorithm is also used to finely adjust the robot behavior. Some simulation results are discussed highlighting the ability of the autonomous robot to navigate among obstacles (navigation at unknown environment). A fuzzy based navigation system is used as a reference to evaluate the proposed autonomous navigation system performance.
34 citations
TL;DR: The results of this study show that the efficiency of label placement algorithms can be improved without disturbing the user’s cognitive map and created a more efficient map without affecting its effectiveness towards the user.
Abstract: This paper focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of dynamic and interactive maps in relation to the user. A label placement method with an improved algorithmic efficiency is presented. Since this algorithm has an influence on the actual placement of the name labels on the map, it is tested if this efficient algorithms also creates more effective maps: how well is the information processed by the user. We tested 30 participants while they were working on a dynamic and interactive map display. Their task was to locate geographical names on each of the presented maps. Their eye movements were registered together with the time at which a given label was found. The gathered data reveal no difference in the user’s response times, neither in the number and the duration of the fixations between both map designs. The results of this study show that the efficiency of label placement algorithms can be improved without disturbing the user’s cognitive map. Consequently, we created a more efficient map without affecting its effectiveness towards the user.
32 citations
TL;DR: A neural network model of sentence generation that rehearses a sequence of semantic signals, and learns to generate words from selected signals to incorporate certain Chomskyan ideas about innate syntactic knowledge and parameter-setting, as well as a more empiricist account of the acquisition of idiomatic syntactic constructions.
31 citations
TL;DR: It is deduced that implementing the BSC strategy map help to reduce managers’ causal ambiguity with regard to the objectives they need to pursue in order to improve a firm's competitive position.
Abstract: This study examines the alignment of managers’ mental models with the strategy map provided by the balanced scorecard (BSC). By applying the cognitive maps technique to the managers of a printing firm, this work uses the distance ratio method to analyse managers’ different perceptions of the firm's resources and capabilities, as defined in the BSC. The results show a high degree of alignment between the individual manager’s mental models and of these mental models with the strategy map. The results also suggest that the strategy map act as a reference point for the convergence of mental models, highlighting the role of alignment. In conclusion, we can deduce that implementing the BSC strategy map help to reduce managers’ causal ambiguity with regard to the objectives they need to pursue in order to improve a firm's competitive position.
30 citations
28 Nov 2012
TL;DR: This study augments fuzzy cognitive maps by introducing their generalization coming in the form of granular FCMs, and shows that information granularity emerges as an important design asset in the context of system modeling.
Abstract: In this study, we introduce a concept of a granular fuzzy cognitive map. The generic maps are regarded as graph-oriented models describing relationships among a collection of concepts (represented by nodes of the graph). The generalization of the map comes in the form of its granular connections whose design dwells upon a principle of Granular Computing such as an optimal allocation (distribution) of information granularity being viewed as an essential modeling asset. Some underlying ideas of Granular Computing are briefly revisited.
TL;DR: The empirical results show that taking propositional and analogue spatial information from navigation systems leads to much weaker effects on cognitive mapping.
Abstract: Navigation systems are increasingly taking on the role of classic print maps for orientation in traffic. These electronic aids help to find the right route, but they hardly seem to contribute to spatial learning and thus the formation of long-term orientation knowledge. A practice-oriented efficiency comparison of a print map in form of a conventional city map and a navigation device provides first insights. The empirical results show that taking propositional and analogue spatial information from navigation systems leads to much weaker effects on cognitive mapping.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make an attempt to describe cognitive maps and the individual differences between people's map-like spatial knowledge, and find that our spatial knowledge is "map-like" rather than, say, a sequence of instructions for various routes.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on cognitive and psychological approaches of urban space which have a great importance in urban design, and found out the undergraduate students' perceptions and images related to Campus Area in which the students gain experiences every day and in accordance with the results to obtain design clues for Selcuk University Campus Area.
07 Nov 2012
TL;DR: This work enrichs the cognitive map formalism regarding the influence relation and proposes to built a Bayesian causal map (BCM) from the constructed cognitive map in order to lead reasoning on the problem.
Abstract: Cognitive maps are powerful graphical models for knowledge representation. They offer an easy means to express individual's judgments, thinking or beliefs about a given problem. However, drawing inferences in cognitive maps, especially when the problem is complex, may not be an easy task. The main reason of this limitation in cognitive maps is that they do not model uncertainty with the variables. Our contribution in this paper is twofold : we firstly enrich the cognitive map formalism regarding the influence relation and then we propose to built a Bayesian causal map (BCM) from the constructed cognitive map in order to lead reasoning on the problem. A simple application on a real problem is given, it concerns fishing activities.
TL;DR: The authors explored one of the authors' observations during a voyage with a demonstrably accomplished navigator from the Solomon Islands' Temotu Province who, nonetheless, appeared to provide inconsistent and self-contradictory accounts of his surroundings and performance.
Abstract: Investigators have tended to view navigation either through the lens of cognition or of experience and embodiment. The cognitive approach assumes that perceptually salient aspects of the environment are mapped and retrieved in the mind (so-called cognitive mapping). The alternative is that navigators “feel” their way by ongoing sensations of movement, assessing their position through the sequential, temporal order in which salient environmental information is perceived. Recently, others have challenged models of knowledge that analytically separate cognitive and experiential modalities of knowing, suggesting that the navigator combines cognitive with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic information into an integrated whole. Such a holistic approach to spatial orientation and way-finding raises an important methodological challenge to cognitive anthropology, as certain forms of knowledge are not easily expressed in words. This is particularly true of kinesthetic knowledge of a canoe's motion, which provides navigators with an indirect assessment of wave patterns. Here, we explore one of the authors’ observations during a voyage with a demonstrably accomplished navigator from the Solomon Islands’ Temotu Province who, nonetheless, appeared to provide inconsistent and self-contradictory accounts of his surroundings and performance. [Polynesia, navigation, spatial orientation, cognition]
TL;DR: Patients with imagery neglect (RI+) patients showed no specific deficit in creating or using a cognitive map, but failed to transform an egocentric representation of the environment into an allocentric one and vice versa, as predicted by the BBB model.
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The impact of violent video-games playing among children in Chennai is analyzed and its solution using Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps, which is the generalization of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps defined by W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy and Florentine Smarandache is found.
Abstract: In this paper we analyzed, the impact of violent video-games playing among children in Chennai and find out its solution using Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps(NCMs), which is the generalization of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps(FCMs) defined by W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy and Florentine Smarandache. This paper has a five section. First section gives the information about development of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and Neutrosophic Cognitive Map. Second section gives the preliminaries of FCMs and NCMs. In section three, we give the description of the problem. Final section gives the conclusion based on our study.
TL;DR: An ontology-based knowledge management systems (KMS) which is capable of annotating cognitive maps is designed and an OntoCM (ontological cognitive map) framework is proposed to collaboratively share the annotated cognitive maps between businesses by using anOntoCM Repository.
Abstract: A cognitive map has been regarded as one of the most efficient ways to solve problems like lack and uncertainty of knowledge in many different domains. In this paper, we have designed an ontology-based knowledge management systems (KMS) which is capable of annotating cognitive maps. Then, an OntoCM (ontological cognitive map) framework is proposed to collaboratively share the annotated cognitive maps between businesses by using an OntoCM Repository. Thereby, in order to manipulate the annotated cognitive maps, we have defined OntoCM operations such as expansion, contradiction, augmentation, and screener. By employing several concept hierarchies as ontologies and simulating synthesis patterns on OntoCM, we have extracted potential relationships between the existing concepts, and expected that the relationships between the cognitive maps can help the businesses to improve understandability.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The authors explored the role of auditory cues in the spatial knowledge of blind individuals by examining the relation between the perceived auditory cues and the landscape of a given area and by investigating how blind individuals use auditory cues to create cognitive maps.
Abstract: The study presented here sought to explore the role of auditory cues in the spatial knowledge of blind individuals by examining the relation between the perceived auditory cues and the landscape of a given area and by investigating how blind individuals use auditory cues to create cognitive maps. The findings reveal that several auditory cues characterize the study area and are linked to a number of its spatial features. Moreover, the results indicate that, through their sense of hearing, individuals with visual impairments create cognitive maps which include information about spatial relationships of environmental objects/attributes.
24 Dec 2012
TL;DR: The results of the current study could contribute to the development of bio-inspired model for cognitive map building which enables the mobile robot to localize itself and build a cognitive representation of its environment simultaneously like primates and humans.
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of building a visual memory for robotics spatial cognition without saving visual information. The proposed approach captures some properties of primate brain and especially the view cells. Our bio-inspired visual memory for cognitive map building consists of two main parts. One part is visual information extraction and the other part is the visual memory building using the Fuzzy Art architecture. The results of the current study could contribute to the development of bio-inspired model for cognitive map building which enables the mobile robot to localize itself and build a cognitive representation of its environment simultaneously like primates and humans.
TL;DR: A framework of image parameters that characterize the acquisition of spatial knowledge from geospatial images: vantage point, number of visible vertical features, and visual realism is presented.
Abstract: Geospatial images, such as maps and aerial photographs, are important sources of spatial knowledge that people use for wayfinding. The rapid development of geodata acquisition and digital graphics has recently led to rather complete geographic coverage of both traditional and novel types of geospatial images. Divergent types of geospatial images vary in their support of human acquisition of spatial knowledge. However, evaluative studies about the acquisition of spatial knowledge from the diversity of geospatial images have been rare. In this article, we review a variety of literature about the acquisition of spatial knowledge while paying particular attention to the role of geospatial images. Based on the literature, we present a framework of image parameters that characterize the acquisition of spatial knowledge from geospatial images: vantage point, number of visible vertical features, and visual realism. With the help of the framework, we evaluate commonly used geospatial images. In concordance with the previous experiments, our evaluation shows that the different types of geospatial images have large differences in the types of spatial knowledge they support and to what extent. However, further experimentation is needed in order to better understand the human cognitive needs for geospatial images and to develop more useful geospatial images for wayfinding.
TL;DR: In three experiments, it was found that spatial memory for objects at navigationally relevant locations was more consistent across tested viewpoints, particularly when participants had more limited experience of the environment.
Abstract: We investigated how objects come to serve as landmarks in spatial memory, and more specifically how they form part of an allocentric cognitive map. Participants performing a virtual driving task incidentally learned the layout of a virtual town and locations of objects in that town. They were subsequently tested on their spatial and recognition memory for the objects. To assess whether the objects were encoded allocentrically we examined pointing consistency across tested viewpoints. In three experiments, we found that spatial memory for objects at navigationally relevant locations was more consistent across tested viewpoints, particularly when participants had more limited experience of the environment. When participants' attention was focused on the appearance of objects, the navigational relevance effect was eliminated, whereas when their attention was focused on objects' locations, this effect was enhanced, supporting the hypothesis that when objects are processed in the service of navigation, rather than merely being viewed as objects, they engage qualitatively distinct attentional systems and are incorporated into an allocentric spatial representation. The results are consistent with evidence from the neuroimaging literature that when objects are relevant to navigation, they not only engage the ventral "object processing stream", but also the dorsal stream and medial temporal lobe memory system classically associated with allocentric spatial memory.
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of transition points is proposed to integrate multi-level cognitive maps based on a concept of a "transition point", a term used to rep- resent the abstract point that connects different levels of the building.
Abstract: Several studies have verified that multi-level floors are an obstacle for indoor wayfinding (e.g., navigators show greater angular error when making inter-level pointing judgments and experience more disorientation when way- finding between floors). Previous literature has also suggested that a multi-level cognitive map could be a set of vertically super-imposed 2D cognitive maps and each level could be viewed as a region. However, little research has studied how one mentally connects / integrates the different levels of the 3D cognitive map. This paper provides new insight into how people may integrate multi-level cognitive maps based on the concept of a "transition point", a term used to rep- resent the abstract point that connects different levels of the building. Based on transition points, we proposed the concept of simulated global indoor land- marks which are displayed on mobile devices. We predict that users can de- velop multi-level cognitive maps more efficiently when assisted by these global indoor landmarks. An ongoing behavioral experiment is briefly described aimed at providing empirical verification for these predictions.
01 Nov 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the impact of the cognitive map's adaptation in the context of multi-robot system and show that adding a simple imitation and deposit behavior allows the cognitive robots to adapt themselves in unknown environment to solve different navigation tasks.
Abstract: In this paper, we study the impact of the cognitive map's adaptation in the context of multi-robot system. This map governs the emergence of non-trivial behaviors and structures at both individual and social levels. In particular, we show that adding a simple imitation and deposit behavior allows the cognitive robots to adapt themselves in unknown environment to solve different navigation tasks. We show that in our architecture the individual discoveries in each robot (i.e., goals) can have an effect at the population level, which induce then a new learning at the individual level and reciprocally, from the individual to the population level. We performed a series of experimentations with robots and simulated agents to validate our system.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe using performance and mental effort data on review items given regularly in lecture with clickers in order to train the students to use the study reports and the mental effort rating system.
Abstract: Personal response systems (“clickers”) have become an important means for instructors to gauge student learning in large lecture classes. In addition to measuring students’ performance on a particular question, requesting a measure of mental effort from students allows for richer data concerning student learning. This information can be provided to an individual student for a better gauge of his or her understanding of specific content, allowing that student to target his or her studies for subsequent assessments. Mental effort information also provides instructors with an opportunity to consider instructional interventions based on more than just performance. Lastly, using measures of both performance and reported mental effort can provide a better understanding of the learning progression. This paper describes using performance and mental effort data on review items given regularly in lecture with clickers in order to train the students to use the study reports and the mental effort rating system. The combination of high or low clicker performance and high or low mental effort was examined with exam performance and final grade as well as performance within specific content areas. A progression of high–low clicker performance and high–low mental effort and performance on assessments or in the course is discussed.
TL;DR: A method to detect for which links in the map the cognitive differences between individuals contribute most to their differences in attitudes towards the means, in the sense that agreement on these links would decrease the variance in the attitudes most.
Abstract: The reasoning underlying the attitude of stakeholders towards the implementation of a means can be captured in causal cognitive maps about the effects of the means on relevant goals. For acyclic cognitive maps with weighted-directed signed links we propose quantitative measures for the weight of the paths between means and goals and a measure for the total result of the means on all goals. In data concerning the cognitive maps of 94 employees about their perceived consequences of a merger, the latter measure correlates strongly with their attitude towards the merger. Finally we propose a method to detect for which links in the map the cognitive differences between individuals contribute most to their differences in attitudes towards the means, in the sense that agreement on these links would decrease the variance in the attitudes most.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the mental models of actors in Tunisian firms with respect to the behavioral approach to corporate governance and use a cognitive map to observe these mental diagrams and to visualize ways to conceptualize the behavioural approach.
Abstract: Psychological biases represent new paradigms that complement traditional behavioral finance theory while introducing “behaviorist” aspects to the decision-making process The aim of this paper is to examine the mental models of actors in Tunisian firms with respect to the behavioral approach to corporate governance We use a cognitive map to observe these mental diagrams and to visualize ways to conceptualize the behavioral approach The objective of this study is to understand the concept of “mental models” through the presentation and analysis of the cognitive maps of the actors in Tunisian firms The paper uses a corporate governance perspective to examine the mental models Each actor’s systematic exploration grid shows a balance of concepts that expresses their cognitive orientation Thus, we visualize the concepts (variables) that structure the cognitive universe of the actors, which is projected in terms of influences and dependencies We can distinguish four major categories of variables through the distribution of the scatter plot variables in the grids, particularly in relation to different quadrants
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The difference between high and low performing navigators showed up in the speed they completed their task and also in the way they use maps, suggesting that when people are given a task that does not match their cognitive style they try to transform the task to better suit their cognitive abilities and cognitive style.
TL;DR: A new version of the TAM model is provided, strengthened in three ways, that relates the model to explicit ideas of executability and desirability and shows how temporal difference learning elegantly supplies “spatial difference learning” to resolve the debate between the local hypothesis and the non-local hypothesis for node selection in the original WG model.
Abstract: It is often suggested that the place cells of the hippocampus (and more recently, the grid cells of the entorhinal cortex) furnish a cognitive map. However, this can only be part of the story: (1) the âhippocampal chartâ provided by place cells and grid cells differs radically when a rat is placed in different environments and so a higher level organization is needed to link these charts into an overall cognitive map of the rat's world; and (2) even without a hippocampus a rat can exploit much of the spatial structure of its world. The World Graph (WG) model addressed the former problem, whereas the Taxon Affordance Model (TAM) was developed to address the latter, with the two models being integrated to form the TAM-WG model. Here we provide a new version strengthened in three ways: (1) we relate the TAM model to explicit ideas of executability and desirability; (2) we show how temporal difference learning elegantly supplies âspatial difference learningâ to resolve the debate between the local hypothesis and the non-local hypothesis for node selection in the original WG model; and (3) we analyze an explicit example of how the âlocometric mapâ provided by grid cells and place cells can complement the high-level cognitive map given by the WG, demonstrating the importance of navigation algorithms that integrate across multiple levels of spatial organization.