SimLex-999: Evaluating Semantic Models with (Genuine) Similarity Estimation

We present SimLex-999, a gold standard resource for evaluating distributional semantic models that improves on existing resources in several important ways. First, in contrast to gold standards such as WordSim-353 and MEN, it explicitly quantifies similarity rather than association or relatedness, so that pairs of entities that are associated but not actually similar [Freud, psychology] have a low rating. We show that, via this focus on similarity, SimLex-999 incentivizes the development of models with a different, and arguably wider range of applications than those which reflect conceptual association. Second, SimLex-999 contains a range of concrete and abstract adjective, noun and verb pairs, together with an independent rating of concreteness and (free) association strength for each pair. This diversity enables fine-grained analyses of the performance of models on concepts of different types, and consequently greater insight into how architectures can be improved. Further, unlike existing gold standard evaluations, for which automatic approaches have reached or surpassed the inter-annotator agreement ceiling, state-of-the-art models perform well below this ceiling on SimLex-999. There is therefore plenty of scope for SimLex-999 to quantify future improvements to distributional semantic models, guiding the development of the next generation of representation-learning architectures

A cross-syndrome comparison of sleep-dependent learning on a cognitive procedural task

Sleep plays a key role in the consolidation of newly acquired information and skills into long term memory. Children with Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) frequently experience sleep problems, abnormal sleep architecture and difficulties with learning; thus, we predicted that children from these clinical populations would demonstrate impairments in sleep-dependent memory consolidation relative to children with typical development (TD) on a cognitive procedural task: The Tower of Hanoi. Children with DS (n = 17), WS (n = 22) and TD (n = 34) completed the Tower of Hanoi task. They were trained on the task either in the morning or evening, then completed it again following counterbalanced retention intervals of daytime wake and night time sleep. Children with TD and with WS benefitted from sleep for enhanced memory consolidation and improved their performance on the task by reducing the number of moves taken to completion, and by making fewer rule violations. We did not find any large effects of sleep on learning in children with DS, suggesting that these children are not only delayed, but atypical in their learning strategies. Importantly, our findings have implications for educational strategies for all children, specifically considering circadian influences on new learning and the role of children’s night time sleep as an aid to learning.<br/

Linking fragmentation with the evolutionary stage: grain growth and astrochemistry in the Infrared Dark Cloud G14.225-0.506

Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2023, Tutora: Gemma Busquet RicoWe present Submillimeter Array observations of the 1 mm dust continuum emission and a molecular line survey towards hub-S of the Infrared Dark Cloud G14.225-0.506. We aim to probe grain growth and chemical composition of the dense cores to determine their evolutionary stage. We detected 7 cores and estimated their dust emissivity index using the Rayleigh Jeans approximation and assuming optically thin emission, finding values from 0 to 1.5, lower than the typical value of the interstellar medium (∼1.6), indicating the presence of large grains (millimeter-sized). We underline the presence of deuterated species and interstellar complex organic molecules, mainly methanol, in some cores. All cores exhibit carbon monoxide and other simple molecules. The results suggest that cores MM1a, MM3a and MM5b are in an advanced evolutionary stage within the protostellar phase, whereas MM4, MM5a and MM7a may be less evolved young stellar object

A Study of Georgia Elementary Teachers\u27 Beliefs and Practices Concerning Grade Level Retention

The purpose of this study was to identify Georgia elementary teachers\u27 beliefs and practices of student grade-level retention. Overall, elementary teachers consider grade level retention to be an acceptable school practice to improve a student\u27s academic success and that grade level retention also provides for long-term academic success. Georgia elementary teachers with master\u27s degrees and above, teachers in suburban communities, teachers with more experience, and fourth grade teachers believe more strongly than elementary teachers with bachelor\u27s degrees, teachers in rural and urban areas, and third and fifth grade elementary teachers, that students who do not meet academic standards should be retained. Georgia elementary teachers in suburban communities and teachers\u27 with more school experience felt grade level retention was an acceptable school practice for improving student achievement, even more so than teachers in rural communities and teachers with bachelor\u27s degrees. Teachers with more experience felt grade level retention provided for long term academic success. Georgia elementary teachers also believed grade level retention can cause some students to have emotional issues after being retained. Georgia elementary teachers thought that retaining a student who had met state test score standards could be acceptable based on the student\u27s lack of preparation for the next grade, lack of social maturity, or age. These same teachers would also consider retaining a student whose scores on state-mandated tests were barely passing. Also, most Georgia elementary teachers were either neutral or disagreed that their views were consistent with the Georgia state-mandated grade level retention policy based on the No Child Left Behind initiative

Adolescent Self Esteem and Instagram: An Examination of Posting Behavior

Social media is a way that people can communicate and share parts of their lives through the internet ( Social Media , n.d.). Being that the media tends to have an influence on the general public, it has an influence on adolescents as well. Sometimes this influence can be quite negative (Sanders, 2015). Because of this, exploring their connection would be insightful. This study explores how a specific social media site, Instagram, may affect adolescent girls and their self-esteem. The researchers issued a self-esteem questionnaire to a gorup of girls on their self-esteem and compared it to their Instagram profiles. In this study, the researchers found that the participant with average self-esteem posted the most provacative photos on Instagram, while the participants with high self-esteem along with borderline-low self-esteem posted more goofy and filtered photos

Movement difficulties in children

The development of adequate motor control and coordination is an important part of general development, allowing an infant to interact with and learn about the world around them and making possible so many everyday activities for children - at home, at school and at play. We know that severe neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy can have devastating effects on movement. Bugt the effects of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are perhaps less well known. What is our current understanding of the nature and impact of this condition? And how might psychologists help