Love is . . . an abstract word: the influence of phonological and semantic factors on verbal short-term memory in Williams syndrome

It has been claimed that verbal short-term memory in Williams syndrome is characterised by an over-use of phonological coding alongside a reduced contribution of lexical semantics. We critically examine this hypothesis and present results from a memory span task comparing performance on concrete and abstract words, together with a replication of a span task using phonologically similar and phonologically dissimilar words. Fourteen participants with Williams syndrome were individually matched to two groups of typically developing children. The first control group was matched on digit span and the second on vocabulary level. Significant effects were found for both the semantic and the phonological variables in the WS group as well as in the control groups, with no interaction between experimental variable and group in either experiment. The results demonstrate that, despite claims to the contrary, children and adults with WS are able to access and make use of lexical semantics in a verbal short-term memory task in a manner comparable to typically developing individuals

Multiple Authorisation: the Legal Complexity of Desentralisasi in Indonesia and the Potential Contribution of IIAs in Reducing Confusion

Decentralisation system in Indonesia was introduced after the fall of the former President Soeharto with the objective of ensuring good governance and equitable development across all regions in the country. Unfortunately, the implementation of desentralisasi has been complicated. Some scholars have suggested that the model was flawed as it did not consider Indonesia's context of less developed administrative institutions in the regions. Not only did desentralisasi cause headaches for the government, it also created confusion for foreign investors. Consequently, it affects the investment climate in the country and undermines the perception of Indonesia as an attractive place to invest in. In certain cases, desentralisasi has also led to claims by foreign investors for investor-State arbitration under Indonesia's International investment agreements (IIAs). This paper analyses the problems of desentralisasi in Indonesia, its effects to foreign investors and suggests ways to alleviate the problems by modifying and using Indonesia's IIAs effectively

Regulation of motor vehicle advertising: toward a framework for compliance research

There is concern that certain content within some motor vehicle television advertising may negatively influence the driving attitudes and behaviours of viewers, particularly young people, and hence have a negative impact on road safety. In recognition of this concern, many developed countries have adopted a self-regulatory approach to motor vehicle advertising. The basic elements of self-regulation are a code of practice or guiding principles governing advertising content and the establishment of a process for hearing and adjudicating complaints about alleged breaches of that code. However, as in other areas, the effectiveness of self-regulation is being questioned in that many motor vehicle advertisements in Australia and elsewhere appear non-compliant with self-regulatory codes. Applying lessons from studies of alcohol advertising, this paper first reviews the research assessing the content of motor vehicle advertising. A suggested research framework is then proposed to inform the development of motor vehicle advertising regulatory codes where they do not exist, and to better monitor compliance with codes where they do exist. The research framework suggested includes expert content analysis of ads, the impact of advertising on risk-taking cognitions and decisions in computer-simulated traffic situations, and assessing audience perceptions of, and reactions to, messages in advertisements mapped against regulatory code content. An example of audience reaction research is also presented

ADOPT: a tool for predicting adoption of agricultural innovations

A wealth of evidence exists about the adoption of new practices and technologies in agriculture but there does not appear to have been any attempt to simplify this vast body of research knowledge into a model to make quantitative predictions across a broad range of contexts. This is despite increasing demand from research, development and extension agencies for estimates of likely extent of adoption and the likely timeframes for project impacts. This paper reports on the reasoning underpinning the development of ADOPT (Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool). The tool has been designed to: 1) predict an innovation‘s likely peak extent of adoption and likely time for reaching that peak; 2) encourage users to consider the influence of a structured set of factors affecting adoption; and 3) engage R, D & E managers and practitioners by making adoptability knowledge and considerations more transparent and understandable. The tool is structured around four aspects of adoption: 1) characteristics of the innovation, 2) characteristics of the population, 3) actual advantage of using the innovation, and 4) learning of the actual advantage of the innovation. The conceptual framework used for developing ADOPT is described.Adoption, Diffusion, Prediction, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Success rates of re-excision after positive margins for invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast.

Rates of positive margins after surgical resection of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) are high (ranging from 18 to 60%), yet the efficacy of re-excision lumpReceptor subtypeectomy for clearing positive margins is unknown. Concerns about the diffuse nature of ILC may drive increased rates of completion mastectomy to treat positive margins, thus lowering breast conservation rates. We therefore determined the success rate of re-excision lumpectomy in women with ILC and positive margins after surgical resection. We identified 314 cases of stage I-III ILC treated with breast conserving surgery (BCS) at the University of California, San Francisco. Surgical procedures, pathology reports, and outcomes were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistics and Cox-proportional hazards models. We evaluated outcomes before and after the year 2014, when new margin management consensus guidelines were published. Positive initial margins occurred in 118 (37.6%) cases. Of these, 62 (52.5%) underwent re-excision lumpectomy, which cleared the margin in 74.2%. On multivariate analysis, node negativity was significantly associated with successful re-excision (odds ratio [OR] 3.99, 95% CI 1.15-13.81, p = 0.029). After 2014, we saw fewer initial positive margins (42.7% versus 25.5%, p = 0.009), second surgeries (54.6% versus 20.2%, p < 0.001), and completion mastectomies (27.7% versus 4.5%, p < 0.001). In this large cohort of women with ILC, re-excision lumpectomy was highly successful at clearing positive margins. Additionally, positive margins and completion mastectomy rates significantly decreased over time. These findings highlight improvements in management of ILC, and suggest that completion mastectomy may not be required for those with positive margins after initial BCS