An unusual occurrence of ultramafic and mafic rocks north of Mt Bischoff, Tasmania

Plagioclase-bearing harzburgite, plagioclase lherzolite, basalt and dolerite intrude a sequence of mudstone, greywacke, pillowed basalt and chert in the Arthur River valley north of Mt Bischoff. The ultramafic rocks are concordant bodies characterised by absence of internal deformation structures, abundant primary mineral assemblages and cumulate textures. The ultramafics were most probably intruded as magma. Fine- to coarse-grained dolerite were intruded in the same zone, probably as dykes

Sedimentary and structural features of the Bell shale correlate (Early Devonian), Strahan quadrangle, western Tasmania.

The sequence of interbedded mudstone, siltstone and very fine sandstone in the Strahan Quadrangle, correlated with the Bell Shale is at least 500 m thick. Two broad associations can be defined. The ratio of very fine sand to mud in the lower association is between 3:2 and 2:3 whereas in the upper association only occasional thin sandstone beds occur. Sedimentary structures such as lenticular bedding, symmetrical ripple marks and the lack of deep water sedimentary features suggest that deposition took place in shallow water. This is supported by palaeontological evidence. Some scouring and upward fining beds suggest that deposition from waning currents occurred sporadically within this environment. The Bell Shale correlate has been folded during two phases. The first phase produced folds plunging between 300 and 900 NW and the second phase produced folds plunging shallowly WNW or ESE. Cleavage was developed only locally during each phase. Folds of both phases produced a primary axial surface cleavage and the second phase produced crenulation cleavage in some areas. The amplitude of folds produced during the first phase decreases towards the centre of the basin. The locus of strain during the second phase of deformation was along the Firewood Siding Fault. The existence and timing of these deformation events demonstrates the uniformity in orientation of Tabberabberan structures throughout north and western Tasmania

Kinematic Measures of Imitation Fidelity in Primary School Children

We sought to develop a method for measuring imitation accuracy objectively in primary school children. Children imitated a model drawing shapes on the same computer-tablet interface they saw used in video clips, allowing kinematics of model and observers' actions to be directly compared. Imitation accuracy was reported as a correlation reflecting the statistical dependency between values of the model's and participant's sets of actions, or as a mean absolute difference between them. Children showed consistent improvement in imitation accuracy across middle childhood. They appeared to rationalize the demands of the task by remembering duration and size of action, which enabled them to reenact speed through motor-planning mechanisms. Kinematic measures may provide a window into the cognitive mechanisms involved in imitation

The Effects of High- and Low-Anxiety Training on the Anticipation Judgments of Elite Performers

We examined the effects of high- versus low-anxiety conditions during video-based training of anticipation judgments using international-level badminton players facing serves and the transfer to high-anxiety and field-based conditions. Players were assigned to a high-anxiety training (HA), low-anxiety training (LA) or control group (CON) in a pretraining–posttest design. In the pre- and posttest, players anticipated serves from video and on court under high- and low-anxiety conditions. In the video-based high-anxiety pretest, anticipation response accuracy was lower and final fixations shorter when compared with the low-anxiety pretest. In the low-anxiety posttest, HA and LA demonstrated greater accuracy of judgments and longer final fixations compared with pretest and CON. In the high-anxiety posttest, HA maintained accuracy when compared with the low-anxiety posttest, whereas LA had lower accuracy. In the on-court posttest, the training groups demonstrated greater accuracy of judgments compared with the pretest and CON

The role of error processing in the contextual interference effect during the training of perceptual-cognitive skills

The contextual interference (CI) effect refers to the learning benefits that occur from a random compared to blocked practice order. In this paper, the cognitive effort explanation for the CI effect was examined by investigating the role of error processing. In two experiments, a perceptual-cognitive task was used in which participants anticipated three different tennis skills across a pre-test, three practice sessions, and retention test. During practice, the skills were presented in either a random or blocked practice order. In Experiment 1, cognitive effort was examined using a probe reaction time task. In Experiment 2, cognitive effort was manipulated for two groups by inserting a cognitively demanding secondary task into the inter-trial interval. The CI effect was found in both experiments as the random groups displayed superior learning in the retention test compared to the blocked groups. Cognitive effort during practice was greater in random compared to blocked practice groups in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, greater decrements in secondary task performance following an error were reported for the random group when compared to the blocked group. The suggestion is that not only the frequent switching of tasks in randomized orders causes increased cognitive effort and the CI effect, but it is also error processing in combination with task switching. Findings extend the cognitive effort explanation for the CI effect and propose an alternative hypothesis highlighting the role of error processing

The coupling between gaze behavior and opponent kinematics during anticipation of badminton shots

Purpose: We examined links between the kinematics of an opponent’s actions and the visual search behaviors of badminton players responding to those actions. Method: A kinematic analysis of international standard badminton players (n = 4) was undertaken as they completed a range of serves. Video of these players serving was used to create a life-size temporal occlusion test to measure anticipation responses. Expert (n = 8) and novice (n = 8) badminton players anticipated serve location while wearing an eye movement registration system. Results: During the execution phase of the opponent’s movement, the kinematic analysis showed between-shot differences in distance traveled and peak acceleration at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and racket. Experts were more accurate at responding to the serves compared to novice players. Expert players fixated on the kinematic locations that were most discriminating between serve types more frequently and for a longer duration compared to novice players. Moreover, players were generally more accurate at responding to serves when they fixated vision upon the discriminating arm and racket kinematics. Conclusions: Findings extend previous literature by providing empirical evidence that expert athletes’ visual search behaviors

Stratigraphic terminology of low-grade metamorphosed rocks at Bathurst Harbour, S.W. Tasmania

A sequence of low-grade metamorphosed rocks surrounding Bathurst Narrows and Joe Page Bay in southwestern Tasmania crops out between areas of higher-grade metamorphic rocks. The higher-grade rocks have undergone at least two deformation events which did not affect the lower-grade rocks and are inferred to be the older of the two sequences. The lower-grade rocks are divided into five formations with conformable boundaries between them. These formations together form the Clytie Cove Group. A correlate of the Clytie Cove Group occurs ten kilometres to the east of the type section of the Group, which is around Bathurst Narrows and Joe Page Bay. Previously proposed correlations of the Clytie Cove Group with rocks in the Davey River area and on the West Coast Range are invalid, as they were based on an incorrect and incomplete stratigraphic section at Bathurst Narrows

Vacuum phototriodes for the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter endcap

The measurement of scintillation light from the lead tungstate crystals of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) poses a substantial technical challenge, particularly in the endcap regions, where the radiation levels are highest. The photodetectors must be fast, sensitive, radiationhard, and operate with significant internal gain in a magnetic field of 4 Tesla. The measured performance characteristics of the first batches of series production vacuum phototriodes (VPT), developed to satisfy the needs of CMS, will be described

Evaluating and modelling Hanabi-playing agents

Agent modelling involves considering how other agents will behave, in order to influence your own actions. In this paper, we explore the use of agent modelling in the hidden-information, collaborative card game Hanabi. We implement a number of rule-based agents, both from the literature and of our own devising, in addition to an Information Set-Monte Carlo Tree Search (IS-MCTS) agent. We observe poor results from IS-MCTS, so construct a new, predictor version that uses a model of the agents with which it is paired. We observe a significant improvement in game-playing strength from this agent in comparison to IS-MCTS, resulting from its consideration of what the other agents in a game would do. In addition, we create a flawed rule-based agent to highlight the predictor's capabilities with such an agent