Children typically learn basic numerical and arithmetic principles using finger-based representations. However, whether or not reliance on finger-based representations is beneficial or detrimental is the subject of an ongoing debate between researchers in neurocognition and mathematics education. From the neurocognitive perspective, finger counting provides multisensory input, which conveys both cardinal and ordinal aspects of numbers. Recent data indicate that children with good finger-based numerical representations show better arithmetic skills and that training finger gnosis, or “finger sense,” enhances mathematical skills. Therefore neurocognitive researchers conclude that elaborate finger-based numerical representations are beneficial for later numerical development. However, research in mathematics education recommends fostering mentally based numerical representations so as to induce children to abandon finger counting. More precisely, mathematics education recommends first using finger counting, then concrete structured representations and, finally, mental representations of numbers to perform numerical operations. Taken together, these results reveal an important debate between neurocognitive and mathematics education research concerning the benefits and detriments of finger-based strategies for numerical development. In the present review, the rationale of both lines of evidence will be discussed.

The 'Emerging Perspectives' offers answers by a top group of experts to the question, 'Where is judgment and decision research heading as we forge into the 21st century?' The chapters represent perspectives developed by some of the most innovative thinkers in the field. The book is organized around five themes: Fortifying traditional models of decision making - looking at traditional topics in new ways; Elaborating cognitive processes in decision making - exploring the interplay between decision research and cognitive psychology; Integrating affect and motivation in decision making - relating how affect/motivation interact with decision making; Understanding social and cultural influences on decision making - recognizing the importance of social and cultural context on decisions; Facing the challenge of real-world complexity in decision research - seeing the challenges, and rewards, of research outside the laboratory. The book concludes with a Commentary based on an analysis and synthesis of the new ideas presented here.

Today, diagnostic reasoning combines common and specialized knowledge, elements of numeracy, some facility with the basics of probability theory and, last but not least, ease in interactions with AI tools. We present procedures and tools for constructing trees that lead to understandable, transparent, simple, and robust classifications and decisions. These tools are more heuristic than optimal models, inspired by the perspective of Bounded Rationality. We describe how the tenets of Bounded Rationality provide a framework for the human-machine interaction this paper is devoted to. We claim that, because of this rationality, our proposed tools facilitate machine-aided decision making that is smooth, transparent and successful.

Zusammenfassung: Demokratie lebt von Argumenten, die auf nachweisbaren Fakten basieren. Lebendige Demokratien brauchen gut informierte Bürger, die relevante gesellschaftliche Fragen verstehen, diskutieren und sich in öffentliche Entscheidungsprozesse einbringen können. Dieser Aufsatz stellt in Erweiterung von Statistical Literacy eine Teildisziplin vor, die wir Zivilstatistik nennen. Zivilstatistik konzentriert sich auf das Verstehen statistischer Informationen über die Gesellschaft, wie sie von den Medien, Statistikämtern und anderen Statistikanbietern bereitgestellt werden. Die Herausforderung, Menschen zu befähigen, Sinn aus diesen Daten zu erschließen, richtet sich gleichermaßen an Bildungseinrichtungen (Schulen und Hochschulen) wie auch an Medien und Statistikanbieter. Im vorliegenden Aufsatz beschreiben wir die spezifischen Charakteristika von Zivilstatistik und begründen die Notwendigkeit dieser Teildisziplin, die im Schnittfeld von Statistik, Gesellschaftswissenschaften und – wegen ihres Bildungsauftrages – Erziehungswissenschaften liegt. Wir beschreiben ein Rahmenkonzept für Kompetenzen im Bereich Zivilstatistik und weisen auf reichhaltiges, frei verfügbares Lehr- und Lernmaterial hin, das im Rahmen einer europäischen Zusammenarbeit von sechs Hochschulen im Projekt ProCivicStat erarbeitet wurde. Aus unseren Analysen ergeben sich curriculare und bildungspolitische Empfehlungen, die diesen Aufsatz abschließen.

After a brief description of the four components of risk literacy and the tools for analyzing risky situations, decision strategies are introduced, These rules, which satisfy tenets of Bounded Rationality, are called fast and frugal trees. Fast and frugal trees serve as efficient heuristics for decision under risk. We describe the construction of fast and frugal trees and compare their robustness for prediction under risk with that of Bayesian networks. In particular, we analyze situations of risky decisions in the medical domain. We show that the performance of fast and frugal trees does not fall too far behind that of the more complex Bayesian networks.