Musical minds

Comments on the idea that music might be a process of communication between composer and listener

They Come to Play: Supply Effects in an Economic Experiment

Our experiment challenges the standard, social preference, interpretation of choices in the double blind dictator game. In our bilateral treatment both groups are endowed with $20, any fraction of which can be passed to a randomly determined player in the other group. Because both groups have$20 to start, neither inequality aversion nor altruism should motivate people to give. Despite this, the allocations in this treatment are identical to our replication of the standard double blind game implying that altruism might be the wrong interpretation of giving. Instead, we hypothesize that giving might be driven by participants coming to the lab ready “to play.” The fact that there is a strong correlation between participant responses to an attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder questionnaire and both the rate and level of giving provides direct support for this hypothesis. We also show that having players earn their endowments attenuates the bias.experiment, social preference, altruism, dictator game, impulsivity, demand effect

SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOM

This study uses discourse analysis to examine how scientific concepts (Vygotsky, 1997) develop in an English Language Arts class over the course of one curricular unit. The study focuses on how two students in one 12th grade English Language Arts classroom develop towards the scientific concept of summary. The study examines the teacher's classroom discussion of the concept of summary, and the students' development of the concept of summary. The development is investigated using Systemic Functional Linguistics to analyze the classroom and interview talk from both teacher and students. The use of concept mapping and SFL analysis (Halliday, 1994) focus on transitivity, interpersonal metaphor, and clause linking devices to enhance, elaborate, or expand the concept's web of relations. Understanding the initial developmental level of the concept helped to examine how the teacher's discourse surrounding the concept mediated the concept of summary. Language and schooling as a part of the teaching and learning context and pedagogical issues are discussed

What can music tell us about the nature of the mind? A Platonic Model

We present an account of the phenomenon of music based upon the hypothesis that there is a close parallel between the mechanics of life and the mechanics of mind, a key factor in the correspondence proposed being the existence of close parallels between the concepts of gene and musical idea. The hypothesis accounts for the specificity, complexity, functionality and apparent arbitrariness of musical structures. An implication of the model is that music should be seen as a phenomenon of transcendental character, involving aspects of mind as yet unstudied by conventional science

IMPROVING INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND INTERN RETENTION AT NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER PORT HUENEME DIVISION CONTRACTING OFFICE

Entry-level employees (ELEs) play a vital role in the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) Contracting Office, as they enable the office to complete contract requirements for current and future missions. More specifically, ELEs are responsible for procurement planning, preparing documents, conducting negotiations, and ensuring compliance with regulations and policies. NSWC PHD spends between $100,000 and$250,000 annually to recruit, onboard, and train each ELE with the expectation that ELEs will transition into full-time employees after graduation. With one to three ELEs hired annually, the total annual cost of recruiting, onboarding, and training ELEs ranges from $300,000 to$750,000. Despite recent improvement in the retention rate of ELEs, only 58.3% of ELEs over the past five years chose to maintain full-time employment with NSWC PHD upon completion of their internships, meaning over 40% of funds spent on the internships fail to produce the desired results. This shortfall translates into reduced numbers of staff devoted to managing contracts. In turn, this shortfall causes delays in contract completion, overworks existing employees, and lowers office morale. This study will gather data on ELEs’ perceptions of the program and how these perceptions inform their decisions whether to seek full-time employment with NSWC PHD. The intention is to provide information and insight to managers charged with overseeing the internship experience.Civilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Diagnostic accuracy of the Ottawa 3DY and Short Blessed Test to detect cognitive dysfunction in geriatric patients presenting to the emergency department

ObjectivesCognitive dysfunction (CD) is a common finding in geriatric patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Our primary objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Ottawa 3DY (O3DY) and Short Blessed Test (SBT) as screening tools for the detection of CD in the ED. Our secondary objective was to estimate the inter-rater reliability of these instruments.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cross-sectional comparative study at an inner-city academic medical centre (annual ED visit census 86 000). Patients aged 75 years or greater were evaluated for inclusion, 163 were screened, 150 were deemed eligible and 117 were enrolled. The research team completed the O3DY, SBT and Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) for each participant. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Sensitivity and specificity of the O3DY and SBT were calculated in STATA V.11.2 using the MMSE as our criterion standard.ResultsWe enrolled 117 patients from June to November 2016. The median ED length of stay at the time of completion of all tests was 1:40 (IQR 1:34–1:46). The sensitivity of the O3DY was 71.4% (95% CI 47.8 to 95.1), and specificity was 56.3% (46.7–65.9). Sensitivity of the SBT was 85.7% (67.4–99.9) and specificity was 58.3% (48.7–67.8). The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve was calculated for the O3DY (0.51; 95% CI 0.42 to 0.61) and SBT (0.52; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.61) relative to the MMSE. Inter-rater reliability for the O3DY (k=0.64) and SBT (k=0.63) were good.ConclusionIn a cohort of geriatric patients presenting to an inner-city academic ED, the O3DY and SBT tools demonstrate moderate sensitivity and specificity for the detection of CD. Inter-rater reliability for the O3DY and SBT were good. Future research on this topic should attempt to derive and validate ED-specific screening tools, which will hopefully result in more robust likelihood ratios for the screening of CD in ED geriatric patients.</jats:sec

Toward The Goal Of Teaching Excellence In Accounting: Reexamining The Role Of Neutrality And Conservatism In The Development Of Pension Accounting Standards

Pension accounting is replete with complexities that present difficulties to even the most seasoned accounting practitioners.&nbsp; It thus represents one of the more problematic areas of the accounting curriculum for accounting students and instructors alike.&nbsp; Traditional approaches toward the teaching of pension accounting rely heavily on memorization techniques that tend to serve students&rsquo; needs on a short-term basis.&nbsp; The authors present an alternative approach to instruction in which students assume the role of accounting standard setters and seek to develop pension accounting rules that favor corporate interests.&nbsp; This approach allows students to recognize the economic consequences that standard setters sometimes consider in their promulgation of accounting and financial reporting rules.&nbsp; The result is that students acquire a greater depth and breadth of understanding of pension accounting rules and why those rules exist as they do.&nbsp; They also acquire a keener understanding of the broader standard setting process.&nbsp; This logic-based approach is likely to better serve the long-term needs of our future accounting professionals

Accounting For Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Is FASB Finally Fulfilling Its 25 Year Old Promise?

With the September 2006 release of Statement No. 158, &ldquo;Employers&rsquo; Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans,&rdquo; the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has completed the first phase of its ongoing pension accounting project.&nbsp; The new standard improves the accounting for defined benefit pensions by requiring employers to report the over(under)funded status of their plans as an asset(liability) within the main body of their balance sheet. This requirement represents a significant change from previously-existing pension accounting standards, and represents a major step forward toward the goal of increased transparency in financial reporting.&nbsp; This article provides a discussion of the very lengthy and controversial history of employer pension accounting, and examines the improvements that have finally resulted from Statement No. 158. Also provided is a discussion of the potential outcome of the second and final phase of the FASB&rsquo;s pension accounting projec

Expanding The Accounting Education Horizon: Sensitizing Students To The Professions Societal Obligations

This paper presents an alternative teaching pedagogy that goes beyond the learning of complex rules to provide accounting students with a better appreciation for their profession’s societal obligations.  The proposed pedagogy presents students with the evolution of accounting standards in a given topical area, and challenges them to evaluate the extent to which the different stages of evolution succeeded in meeting the profession’s obligations to society.  These obligations are defined in terms of the financial reporting objectives set forth in the Concepts Statements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.  The proposed pedagogy is offered as a means of addressing problems with respect to the more conventional “memorize these rules” method of accounting instruction.  Our aim is to develop students who take a greater interest in the standard setting process and in fulfilling its promise of meeting the financial reporting needs of society