The Relationship between Working Memory and Cognitive Functioning in Children

One-hundred and forty-four Year 1 children (51% boys and 49% girls, mean age 6) from Queensland State primary schools participated in a study to investigate the relationship between working memory and cognitive functioning. Children were given two tests of cognitive functioning (the School-Years Screening Test for the Evaluation of Mental Status (SYSTEMS) and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT)) and six subtests of working memory from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C) (Backward Digit Recall, Listening Recall, Digit Recall, Word List Matching, Word List Recall and Non-word List Recall). The two cognitive tests correlated at r = .50. Results showed a high correlation between SYSTEMS and the Phonological Loop (PL) component of working memory. The K-BIT also correlated highly with PL component. The SYSTEMS and K-BIT showed various levels of correlation with the working memory sub-tests. A measurement model utilising Confirmatory Factor Analysis method showed a strong relationship between working memory and cognitive functioning, the degree of fit for the model was very high at GFI = .996

Credit Market Imperfections, Financial Crisis and the Transmission of Monetary Policy

This paper uses U.S. macroeconomic data drawn from 2001 to 2010 in order to test for the operation of a credit channel of monetary transmission. Using a combination of a VAR and ADL time series frameworks, evidence is found for the impairment of the credit channel during the crisis period relative to the period which preceded it. Evidence is also found against the presence of a credit crunch during the crisis, and supporting evidence is found for the existence of a credit trap. This analysis indicates a significant role for credit market imperfections in the transmission of monetary policy, and holds policy implications for the potential impact of future monetary expansions conducted in the setting of a financial crisis

“Casey Saw It Through”: Guy “Machine Gun” Molony and the Creation of a Rugged Individual

Abstract This thesis explores the influence of masculinity in twentieth century American foreign policy through examining the career of Guy “Machine Gun” Molony. Molony was an Irish American mercenary from New Orleans, whose career saw the transformation of Honduras from a banana republic to a recipient of dollar diplomacy. Unlike the majority of mercenaries who did not use their experience to build successful careers, Molony made a name for himself in American newspapers, becoming respected and even feared by policemen and politicians. His life tells a fascinating tale of the individual male in American foreign policy, where rebellious youth used war and instability to create heroic images of themselves. This thesis argues that the U.S. State Department borrowed from the independent mercenary model, building on a foundation laid out by men like Molony to implement dollar diplomacy. Guy Molony’s career is a telling example of how perceived ideas of manhood carried imperial intentions during the era of manifest destiny and the Monroe Doctrine. Although scholars tend to focus on Western expansion when examining the ideology of manifest destiny, this thesis explores how mercenaries like Guy Molony, followed by the U.S. State Department, continued to look southward to Central America as a means for American expansion

The Realities of Relevance: A Survey of Librarians\u27 Use of Library and Information Science Research

This article grew out the authors\u27 desire to explore the widely held notion that librarians disregard LIS research because they consider it irrelevant. For example, in the early stages of this project one colleague commented that librarianship is all practice and that LIS research has had no effect upon his own work. Editors of many LIS journals also question whether research exerts influence on practice. Peter Hernon and Candy Schwartz, editors of Library and Information Science Research, lament that “research has not penetrated the soul” of the library profession, and William Katz, former editor of Research Quarterly, notes that many authors have failed to show the implications of their research for practice. A survey of LIS scholars revealed that many researchers themselves doubt whether their findings affect practice. While many authors within the profession have thus agreed upon the existence of a research-practice gap in librarianship, they differ in regards to the gap\u27s causes. Some authors blame researchers; some blame practitioners; and some attribute the breakdown to deficiencies in LIS education or dissemination channels. This article examines the research-practice gap by discussing the results of a recent survey that measured the use of LIS research among Alabama’s academic reference librarians

iPad Innovations in Public Services: A Survey of the Use of Mobile Devices in ASERL Reference Departments

The availability of iPads and other mobile devices has provided new opportunities for communication, creativity, gaming, shopping, customer service, and more. With mobile devices surging in popularity among patrons, library innovators have started experimenting with these technologies in their services. Given the recent debut of these devices, the professional literature offers only a few studies about academic libraries that have harnessed mobile devices for reference, instruction, and outreach. In helping to expand this research, this paper presents the results of a survey of Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) reference departments about their use of mobile devices

Effect of Time-of-Flight and Regularized Reconstructions on Quantitative Measurements and Qualitative Assessments in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer With 18F-Fluorocholine Dual Time Point PET/MRI.

Recent technical advances in positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) technology allow much improved time-of-flight (TOF) and regularized iterative PET reconstruction regularized iterative reconstruction (RIR) algorithms. We evaluated the effect of TOF and RIR on standardized uptake values (maximum and peak SUV [SUVmax and SUVpeak]) and their metabolic tumor volume dependencies and visual image quality for 18F-fluorocholine PET/MRI in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. Fourteen patients were administered with 3 MBq/kg of 18F-fluorocholine and scanned dynamically for 30 minutes. Positron emission tomography images were divided to early and late time points (1-6 minutes summed and 7-30 minutes summed). The values of the different SUVs were documented for dominant PET-avid lesions, and metabolic tumor volume was estimated using a 50% isocontour and SUV threshold of 2.5. Image quality was assessed via visual acuity scoring (VAS). We found that incorporation of TOF or RIR increased lesion SUVs. The lesion to background ratio was not improved by TOF reconstruction, while RIR improved the lesion to background ratio significantly ( P < .05). The values of the different VAS were all significantly higher ( P < .05) for RIR images over TOF, RIR over non-TOF, and TOF over non-TOF. In conclusion, our data indicate that TOF or RIR should be incorporated into current protocols when available