Changing environmental context does not reliably affect memory

[EN]Most current theories of human memory propose that context, defined here as the time and place at which an event was experienced, forms an integral feature ofthe mnemonic representa tion of events. One way of investigating context is by manipulating the environmental context (which typically means the room in which the experiment takes place). The predominant result ofthis manipulation reported in the literature has been consistent with theory: Memory perfor mance is better when the learning and testing environments are the same than when they differ. This article reports eight experiments that in aggregate challenge the reliability of this same context advantage. Experiment 1 reported a failure to obtain a same-context advantage. Experi ments 2-7 investigated various features of the design that might have reduced the effect. None of these experiments produced a reliable same-context advantage, Experiment 8 repeated the methodology of a published report of a same-context advantage with more than double the num ber of subjects, but failed to replicate the effect. An analysis of features of the experiments led to two suggestions for future investigations of the effects of changes in environmental context on memory

Evidence for auditory temporal distinctiveness: Modality effects in order and frequency judgments.

[EN]Two new, long-lasting phenomena involving modality of stimulus presentation are documented. In one series of experiments we investigated effects of modality of presentation on order judgments. Order judgments for auditory words were more accurate than order judgments for visual words at both the beginning and the end of lists, and the auditory advantage increased with the temporal separation of the successive items. A second series of experiments investigated effects of modality on estimates of presentation frequency. Frequency estimates of repeated auditory words exceeded frequency estimates of repeated visual words. The auditory advantage increased with frequency of presentation, and this advantage was not affected by the retention interval. These various effects were taken as support for a temporal coding assumption, that auditory presentation produces a more accurate encoding of time of presentation than does visual presentation.National Science Foundation Grant BNS 84-1630

Comparison of different lattice definitions of the topological charge

We present a comparison of different definitions of the topological charge on the lattice, using a small-volume ensemble with 2 flavours of dynamical twisted mass fermions. The investigated definitions are: index of the overlap Dirac operator, spectral projectors, spectral flow of the Hermitian Wilson-Dirac operator and field theoretic with different kinds of smoothing of gauge fields (HYP and APE smearings, gradient flow, cooling). We also show some results on the topological susceptibility.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, presented at the 32nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2014), 23-28 June 2014, Columbia University, New York, NY, US

The Falsification of Four Popular Hypotheses about International Financial Behavior during the Asian Crisis

Various claims have been made about the causes of the Asian crisis and its spread. Here, we use data on the behavior of capital flows during the crisis to test the strong forms of four such hypotheses, including the dominant role of portfolio investors and hedge funds in initiating and spreading the crisis; moral hazard; and, finally, the role of Japanese banks in spreading the trouble to countries in which they were the largest source of funds. All are falsified as monocausal explanations. For example, portfolio investments that could not have been subject to substantial moral hazard continued to flow into Asia until very shortly before the crisis. Likewise, contrary to common expectations banks were a much larger source of capital outflows during the crisis than were portfolio investors. While falsified in their strongest forms, several of these hypotheses in less strong form should play a role in a more nuanced analysis. It is time to move past simple single-factor approaches in order to produce a more complete, synthetic explanation of this episode.

As culturas negras no novo mundo: o negro brasileiro - III

Este livro é o primeiro volume da série de ensaios que contempla ainda "O negro brasileiro" e "Folk-lore negro no Brasil".2. ed. ampl.FINEPUFRJFUJBIBEPFAPERJME