Bidirectional syntactic priming across cognitive domains: from arithmetic to language and back

Scheepers et al. (2011) showed that the structure of a correctly solved mathematical equation affects how people subsequently complete sentences containing high vs. low relative-clause attachment ambiguities. Here we investigated whether such effects generalise to different structures and tasks, and importantly, whether they also hold in the reverse direction (i.e., from linguistic to mathematical processing). In a questionnaire-based experiment, participants had to solve structurally left- or right-branching equations (e.g., 5 × 2 + 7 versus 5 + 2 × 7) and to provide sensicality ratings for structurally left- or right-branching adjective-noun-noun compounds (e.g., alien monster movie versus lengthy monster movie). In the first version of the experiment, the equations were used as primes and the linguistic expressions as targets (investigating structural priming from maths to language). In the second version, the order was reversed (language-to-maths priming). Both versions of the experiment showed clear structural priming effects, conceptually replicating and extending the findings from Scheepers et al. (2011). Most crucially, the observed bi-directionality of cross-domain structural priming strongly supports the notion of shared syntactic representations (or recursive procedures to generate and parse them) between arithmetic and language

Vortex Studies Relating to Boundary Layer Turbulence and Noise

The present study considers the two-dimensional case of an array of N rectilinear, like-sign vortices above an infinite flat boundary. The method of images can be employed with this configuration to reduce the problem to that of 2N vortices in free space, constrained by 2N symmetry relations. This system is Hamiltonian and therefore certain invariants of the motion are known. Further, from the Hamiltonian constant, the equations of motion are readily derived and may be integrated numerically to determine the vortex trajectories. This knowledge of the time-dependent vortex motion then allows the resulting noise radiation to be computed by standard aeroacoustic techniques

The Relationship between Foreclosure Status and Apartment Price

Empirical studies disclose that foreclosed residential properties sell at a discount from the expected market price for non-foreclosed residences. This investigation shows that prior findings on residential properties can be extended to include income-producing properties. In addition, it employs market rent to control for variation in property quality. An analysis of apartment sales in Phoenix, Arizona, demonstrates that foreclosure-status apartments sell at a 22% discount when compared to non-foreclosure apartment sales. The rationale for accepting discounted process may be atypical seller motivations such as a need to satisfy regulatory capital requirements, to mitigate negative stock price effects, or to protect credit ratings.

Micro-Market Determinants of Neighborhood Center Rental Rate

This investigation expands the limited empirical research on retail rental rates by investigating the determinants of neighborhood shopping center rents. Evidence supports primary trade area and property specific characteristics as the primary determinants of neighborhood center vacancy and rental rates. A positive aggregation effect created by higher order shopping opportunities is also found. Community centers and malls generate positive marginal effects on neighborhood center rental rates. However, the marginal effects diminish greatly after two-tenths mile for community centers and one-half mile for malls. Micro-market factors are important determinants of rental rates and by implication property performance.

Reflections On Contributing To “Big Discoveries” About The Fly Clock: Our Fortunate Paths As Post-Docs With 2017 Nobel Laureates Jeff Hall, Michael Rosbash, And Mike Young

In the early 1980s Jeff Hall and Michael Rosbash at Brandeis University and Mike Young at Rockefeller University set out to isolate the period (per) gene, which was recovered in a revolutionary genetic screen by Ron Konopka and Seymour Benzer for mutants that altered circadian behavioral rhythms. Over the next 15 years the Hall, Rosbash and Young labs made a series of groundbreaking discoveries that defined the molecular timekeeping mechanism and formed the basis for them being awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Here the authors recount their experiences as post-docs in the Hall, Rosbash and Young labs from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and provide a perspective of how basic research conducted on a simple model system during that era profoundly influenced the direction of the clocks field and established novel approaches that are now standard operating procedure for studying complex behavior

Equity REIT Property Acquisitions: Do Apartment REITs Pay a Premium?

Negotiation theory and implied agency costs provide the foundation for the research hypothesis that equity real estate investment trusts (EREITs) may have paid premiums when making real property acquisitions during the 1990s REIT boom. Using a simultaneous equations model and data from the Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle apartment markets, this research finds that apartment EREITs have paid above market prices for property acquisitions. In Atlanta, a 26.1% premium was evident; in Phoenix, a 27.5% premium was evident; while in Seattle, a premium was not evident. At the property level, the returns to EREITs and private sector or non-securitized investors may differ substantially.

Flexible Seating in the Early Childhood Classroom

Flexible seating has become a recent trend in education. As teachers try to reach the different needs of learners, flexible seating is another way to allow students to comfortably be engaged in learning. Flexible seating gives children the power to choose. Giving them the power of choice, gives students ownership over their participation and engagement in the classroom. Flexible seating can include a variety of options including scoop rockers, pillows, disc o’ sits, standing desks, therapy balls, and many more options. Some professionals are beginning to note that students are often more engaged in their learning when flexible seating options are offered within the classroom. This literature review will highlight the benefits that come along with offering flexible seating in a classroom for both special education and general education students. In the future, active research on this topic would be beneficial considering the information gathered in this review

Environmental Determinism: Broken Paradigm or Viable Perspective?.

The research was to examine the issue of environmental determinism. It was an ideology that was prevalent throughout the early decades of the 20th century that held that the natural environment was responsible for virtually all human development. It helped bring the study of geography into the venue of postsecondary education, where it was viewed as a tool for study of human activities. It was a new science inspired by Darwinism that viewed human adaptation to the natural environment as critical to socialization. Relying on historical sources, the purpose of the study was to reveal how environmental determinism became a controversial extension of an ancient belief system. It played a role in religious thought, philosophy, and the rise of the social sciences. It likely dates back to the Neolithic epoch in which cultures explained the mysteries of the natural world in terms of fearsome anthropomorphisized elements. Today, the gods and goddesses have fallen by the wayside, while environmental determinism has not. Eventually, the ideology lost its major supporter and then became a topic of disapproval. However, it was never entirely disproven, but it did fall from grace. And, it is a belief that has persisted for centuries. It was central to Calvinism and some versions of Protestantism that were relocated to North America where it took root. In view of the evidence, it is proposed that environmental determinism be reopened for reassessment and debate. It is manifest that future generations be apprised of the potential problems that it may inspire. To paraphrase Ellen Churchill Semple, the study of humans without consideration of the earth, would be like studying cactus without consideration of the desert

On Curing the Dyslexia of Social Science: A Response to Robert Wolfson

Professor Wolfson\u27s lexicon may promise more than it can deliver