The Analysis of Pragmatic Argumentation in British Lawmaking Debates: The second reading

The paper outlines some institutional characteristics of Second Reading debates on public bills in the British House of Commons that can assist in the analysis of MP’s pragmatic argumentation. Special attention is paid to the institutional preconditions for the application of the pragmatic argument scheme. The theoretical starting point is the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation. Claims are illustrated with examples from the Second Reading debate on the British Terrorism Bill (2005)

The Attentional Control of Reading: Insights from Behavior, Imaging and Development

The process by which the initially attention-requiring task of transforming scribbles into meaningful concepts eventually becomes facile remains a central riddle of cognitive neuroscience. This body of work represents an effort to provide forward movement in answering the question of how attentional control mediates the process of reading, both by considering different stages of reading competence (development) and by seeking convergence between types of evidence (behavior and imaging). Inspired by a study published by Balota and colleagues in 2000, the paradigm used throughout this work involves comparing a simple speeded reading task vs. a regularize ( sound out ) task (Balota et al. 2000). In the first data chapter, I replicate the essential findings of the Balota et al. study in 2 young adult cohorts, confirming that stimulus characteristics, including lexicality and frequency, influence reading task performance in a manner that is modulated by top-down attentional control. I furthermore argue that the reaction time (RT) patterns are consistent with 2 distinct mechanisms by which top-down attentional control interacts with reading processes, pathway control and response checking. I then present evidence, motivated by the 2-mechanism hypothesis, that 2 sets of brain regions, including members of previously defined attentional control networks, show separable activity patterns that map nicely onto roles reflecting pathway control and response checking. In the second data chapter, I show that 8-10 year old children, like young adults, can perform the regularize task. Unexpectedly, the early readers are faster than the experienced readers to regularize, and this speed advantage for children holds for both words and pseudowords. Because children are slower than adults across a range of cognitive tasks (e.g., Kail 1991) - with children showing particular immaturity with regard to inhibiting prepotent responses (e.g., Davidson et al. 2006) - the developmental observation is remarkable in and of itself. Complemented by a cadre of post hoc analyses, the age groups differences can also be interpreted as additional support for the 2-mechanism interaction of attention and reading. Together, these results suggest that dissociable subcomponents of attentional control interact with subcomponents of reading processing, and that these interactions are dynamic across skill development and across task demands

lmproving Education Through Brain Research

Educational practices are improved because of brain research. Cognitive and behavior sciences have provided important concepts for educational practice. Within recent decades, neuroscience has also contributed to the field of brain research, thus enhancing our understanding oflearning. Three main concepts from neuroscience are explored: synaptogenesis, critical periods, and enriched environments. When the entire body of knowledge from all disciplines of brain research is viewed together, then fmdings can be applied to educational practices

Cost functions in relation to farm size and machinery technology in southern Iowa

This study was designed to (a) estimate the relationship between farm size and per-unit crop production costs for selected machinery combinations and farm situations in a southern Iowa area and (b) compare certain of the empirical results of this study with the agricultural structure of the study area. Budgeting techniques were used to estimate the relationship between crop acreage and crop production costs. Estimates of average costs per dollar of crop product were made for five machinery combinations and for crop acreages varying from 40 to 640 acres on three different soil mixtures in the Shelby- Grundy- Haig soil association area. These three soil mixtures are referred to as hilly, average and upland farms. Cropland, as a proportion of total land, increases from approximately 30 percent on the hilly farm to 70 percent on the upland farm. Two budgeting models were considered. In model I, only cropland was considered. In model II. pasture production marketed through a beef- cow enterprise was considered along with cropland. Changing from model I to model II had relatively little effect upon the basic budgeting results or cost relationships

What Farm Adjustments in Southern Iowa?

Farm sizes and numbers have been changing more rapidly in southern Iowa than elsewhere in the state, and the rate of change has been increasing. Will the rate slow down, increase or stop? When? This analysis provides some clues

Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography in the Diagnosis and Management of Vitreoretinal Interface Pathologies

The introduction of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) has enhanced Vitreoretinal Interface (VRI) imaging considerably and facilitated the diagnosis, followup, prognosis determination, and management of VRI-associated pathologies. HR-OCT became a common practical tool seen in almost every ophthalmology practice. Knowledge of SD-OCT image interpretation and recognition of pathologies are required for all ophthalmologists. This paper methodically reviews the normal aging process of the VRI and discusses several commonly encountered VRI pathologies. The role of SD-OCT imaging in VRI-associated disorders such as posterior vitreous detachment, vitreomacular traction syndrome, idiopathic epiretinal membranes, lamellar holes, pseudoholes, and full thickness macular holes is portrayed. Future perspectives of new OCT technologies based on SD-OCT are discussed

Why the Rapid Farm Adjustments in Southern Iowa?

A study of the relative crop production costs for different machinery and land combinations illustrates the kinds of pressuures that are at work in the area as farm operators attempt to acheive the cost economies possible

Rising Land Prices: Are They Always Good?

Landowners like the idea of rising land prices. Yet higher land costs can reduce the net income of the farm operator. For the greater the return to the land, the less remains as pay for labor and management