Label-checking strategies to adapt behaviour to design

Despite robust quality control procedures, labelling errors on fresh produce are estimated to cost the UK supermarket industry approximately £50million pounds per year in product recalls and wastage. Changing the format of the labels themselves is not a viable option. Instead, the challenge is to change or guide human operatives' behaviour so that label printing errors do not go undetected during quality control procedures. To this end, a simulated label checking task was presented to naïve participants to compare more systematic and strategic methods of label checking. Two conditions in which behaviour was computer-led were compared with a control condition in which checkers adopted their own idiosyncratic checking method. The data indicate that the two computer-led approaches resulted in improved levels of accuracy. Pushing label checkers towards a more systematic approach would appear to be effective in reducing undetected label errors, and could lead potentially to significant financial savings and reduced environmental wastage in the fresh produce industry

Mental Reinstatement of Context: Do individual differences in mental time travel and eyewitness occupation influence eyewitness performance over different delay intervals?

The Cognitive Interview is a memory-enhancing interview protocol designed to optimize the access and retrieval of eyewitness memories. Its Mental Reinstatement of Context (MRC) component requires interviewees to mentally reconstruct the crime event they witnessed. Individual differences in mental time travel (MTT) relate to the extent to which a person mentally re-experiences personal events from his or her past. Individual differences in MTT have been found to predict correct recall of a simulated crime event under immediate MRC recall conditions. To explore the relationship between MTT and performance under MRC conditions further, the present study presented a simulated crime video to 30 police officers and 26 members of the public. Eyewitness recall was tested under MRC conditions either immediately or one week later. Participants’ general MTT and also MTT relating specifically to the crime video itself was measured via self-report. Less correct information and more confabulations were produced after one week but delay had no effect on the amount of incorrect information reported. No difference in recall was found between police officers and members of the public. Better quality MTT relating to the crime video was found to be a positive predictor of the amount of information correctly recalled under immediate conditions but not after one week. General MTT scores did not predict correct recall under either delay condition. Interviewers need to be aware that, due to individual differences, some witnesses may perform better under the MRC component than others

Automaticity and executive abilities in developmental dyslexia: A theoretical review

Cognitive difficulties are well documented in developmental dyslexia but they present a challenge to dyslexia theory. In this paper, the Model of the Control of Action is proposed as a theoretical explanation of how and why deficits in both automaticity and executive abilities are apparent in the cognitive profiles of dyslexia and how these deficits might relate to literacy difficulties. This theoretical perspective is used to consider evidence from different cognitive domains. The neuroanatomical underpinnings of automaticity and executive abilities are then discussed in relation to the understanding of dyslexia. Links between reading, writing, and executive function are considered. The reviewed evidence suggests dyslexia theory should consider an interaction between procedural learned behaviour (automaticity) and higher-order (executive) abilities. The capacity to handle environmental interference, develop and engage adaptive strategies accordingly, and plan actions all require interactions between the cerebellum and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Difficulties in these areas might explain both impairments in the cumulative development of literacy skills in childhood and general task management in everyday life in adulthood. It is suggested that improved measures are required to assess this cerebellar-PFC interaction and to allow early identification of future literacy difficulties, allowing implementation of timely interventions and reasonable adjustments

Visuospatial working memory impairment in current and previous ecstasy/polydrug users

Objective: Previous research suggests that ecstasy users are impaired in processing visuospatial information. However, for the most part, the deficits observed appear to involve the recall and recognition of complex visual and geometric patterns. The present research sought to determine whether ecstasy use was associated with deficits in serial spatial recall and visuospatial working memory (VSWM). Methods: Thirty‐eight current ecstasy/polydrug users, 16 previous ecstasy/polydrug users and 52 non ecstasy users completed serial simple spatial recall and VSWM tasks. Results: Both the current and previous users of ecstasy exhibited deficits on the VSWM task. Following controls for group differences in aspects of cannabis and cocaine use, the overall group effect fell to just below statistical significance. However, the difference contrast comparing users with nonusers continued to demonstrate a statistically significant ecstasy‐related VSWM deficit. Conclusions: Ecstasy users were impaired in processing visuospatial information especially under conditions of high processing demand. The results are consistent with ecstasy‐related impairment either in the short‐term posterior parietal and occipital area store or the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex processes, which augment it under conditions of higher processing demands. Further research is needed to pinpoint the actual source of the ecstasy/polydrug‐related VSWM deficits that have been observed here and elsewhere

Improving chlamydia knowledge should lead to increased chlamydia testing among Australian general practitioners: a cross-sectional study of chlamydia testing uptake in general practice

Female general practitioners (GPs) have higher chlamydia testing rates than male GPs, yet it is unclear whether this is due to lack of knowledge among male GPs or because female GPs consult and test more female patients

Verbal and non-verbal fluency in adults with developmental dyslexia: Phonological processing or executive control problems?

The executive function of fluency describes the ability to generate items according to specific rules. Production of words beginning with a certain letter (phonemic fluency) is impaired in dyslexia, whilst generation of words belonging to a certain semantic category (semantic fluency) is typically unimpaired. However, in dyslexia, verbal fluency has generally been studied only in terms of overall words produced. Furthermore, performance of adults with dyslexia on non-verbal design fluency tasks has not been explored but would indicate whether deficits could be explained by executive control, rather than phonological processing, difficulties. Phonemic, semantic, and design fluency tasks were presented to adults with dyslexia and without dyslexia, using fine-grained performance measures and controlling for IQ. Hierarchical regressions indicated that dyslexia predicted lower phonemic fluency, but not semantic or design fluency. At the fine-grained level, dyslexia predicted a smaller number of switches between subcategories on phonemic fluency, whilst dyslexia did not predict the size of phonemically-related clusters of items. Overall, the results suggested that phonological processing problems were at the root of dyslexia-related fluency deficits; however, executive control difficulties could not be completely ruled out as an alternative explanation. Developments in research methodology, equating executive demands across fluency tasks, may resolve this issue

Lived experiences of everyday memory in adults with dyslexia: A thematic analysis

Dyslexia-related difficulties with memory are well documented under laboratory conditions and via self-report questionnaires. However, the voice of the individual with dyslexia regarding the lived experience of memory across different memory systems and different daily settings is currently lacking. To address this gap in the literature, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 adult female university students with dyslexia. Questions probed different memory systems and experiences across different settings, with interviewees also being asked about their use of technology to support their memory. Two overarching themes were identified in the subsequent thematic analysis. The theme of fallibility of memory had two sub-themes of i) a lack of trust and confidence in memory and ii) factors contributing to memory failure. The second theme, facilitators of memory, also consisted of two sub-themes, relating to i) a preference for traditional tools to support memory and ii) the use of digital tools to support memory: benefits and limitations. The current study gives insights into the rich and complex extended and distributed cognitive systems of adults with dyslexia. The implications of the findings for dyslexia theory, support in educational and work settings, and assistive technology development are considered

Everyday memory in adults with dyslexia

This chapter provides an overview of the cognitive challenges facing adults with dyslexia

A review of prospective memory impairments in developmental dyslexia: Evidence, explanations, and future directions

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Clinical Neuropsychologist on 22 November 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13854046.2017.1369571 Objective: The effects of developmental dyslexia are not restricted solely to the processes involved in reading and spelling. Despite this broader impact on cognition, there has been very little dyslexia-related research on prospective memory (PM; memory for delayed intentions) until very recently. This paper focuses on reviewing a recent program of research which sought to explore this memory system in adults with dyslexia. Method: The review focuses mainly on studies of adults with dyslexia in which PM was compared with that of IQ-matched adults without dyslexia across clinical measures, computerized tests, self-report questionnaire, and more naturalistic tasks. Results: Across the reviewed studies, the adults with dyslexia showed a range of impairments in both laboratory and everyday settings. Dyslexia-related PM impairments occurred predominantly when cues to remembering were time-based rather than being cued by events in the environment, when delays to act upon the intention were prolonged, and when tasks were one-off events rather than being habitual. As well as being less accurate in their PM, the participants with dyslexia were also less likely to remember PM instructions over longer delay periods. Conclusions: PM deficits in dyslexia are considered in terms of the retrospective and prospective components of PM function. Less efficient access to verbal information in long-term memory, problems with time perception, and poorer executive functions are all considered as potential explanations for less accurate PM in dyslexia. The findings from the research program are linked to broader dyslexia theory and research. Means for supporting individuals with dyslexia are considered

The off-prescription use of modafinil: an online survey of perceived risks and benefits

Cognitive enhancing drugs are claimed to improve cognitive functions such as learning and attention. However, little is known presently about the characteristics of off-prescription cognitive enhancing drug users or their perceived everyday experience with these drugs. As modafinil is the most commonly used off-prescription cognitive enhancing drug, the current study aimed to provide a detailed profile of modafinil users and their experiences and perceptions of this drug. To this end, an online survey, targeting cognitive enhancing drug users and students, was advertised on forum sites. Information was obtained regarding demographic data, illicit drug use, psychiatric diagnosis and experience of modafinil. Of the 404 respondents, 219 reported taking modafinil. Of these the majority were male, American or British, university educated and currently employed, with a mean age of 27. Overall, modafinil was perceived by users as being safe. Modafinil users reported higher levels of illicit drug use and psychiatric diagnosis than would be expected from population-based data. More frequent reported modafinil use was associated with higher numbers of perceived benefits whilst reported frequency of use was not associated with the number of perceived risks. There was also a tentative link between the reported use of modafinil and the reported presence of psychiatric disorders, largely depression and anxiety. Respondents who had reported a psychiatric diagnosis declared higher subjective benefits of modafinil. This may suggest further beneficial effects of modafinil or it may reflect insufficient medical treatment for psychiatric disorders in some people. Overall, the findings of the current study should be beneficial in informing clinicians and legislative bodies about the modafinil user profile and how modafinil is perceived