Articulatory loop explanations of memory span and pronunciation rate correspondences: a cautionary note

In recent years, a number of memory span findings have been attributed to the operation of an articulatory loop (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). These attributions have been made on the basis of finding a correspondence between span differences and pronunciation rate differences. This experiment explored articulatory loop explanations for two material effects in memory span: the word-frequency effect (span for high-frequency words is larger than span for low-frequency words) and the word-class effect (span for function words is smaller than span for either nouns or adjectives). The results indicate that it is possible to obtain span differences without finding corresponding pronunciation rate differences. Moreover, span differences were as pronounced under articulatory suppression conditions as they were under rehearsal conditions. Both of these results limit the generality of articulatory loop explanations of memory span

An item/order tradeoff explanation of word length and generation effects

[Abstract]: The item-order hypothesis suggests that under certain conditions increased item processing can lead to deficits in order processing, and that this produces a dissociation in performance between item and order tasks. The generation effect is one such example. The word length effect is seen as another instance where this tradeoff might be observed. The following experiments compare word length and generation effects under serial recall and single item recognition conditions. Short words are better recalled than long words on the serial recall task but long words were better recognised than short words. The results are consistent with the item-order approach and support a novel explanation for the word length effect

Creating proactive interference in immediate recall: building a dog from a dart, a mop and a fig

[Abstract]: Phonemic codes are accorded a privileged role in most current models of immediate serial recall, although their effects are apparent in short-term proactive interference (PI) effects as well. The current research looks at how assumptions concerning distributed representation and distributed storage involving both semantic and phonemic codes might be operationalized to produce PI in a short-term cued recall task. The four experiments reported here attempted to generate the phonemic characteristics of a non-rhyming, interfering foil from unrelated filler items in the same list. PI was observed when a rhyme of the foil was studied or when the three phonemes of the foil were distributed across three studied filler items. The results suggest that items in short-term memory are stored in terms of feature bundles and that all items are simultaneously available at retrieval

Building pathways to academic success: a practice report

Students attending university for the first time come with a range of expectations, experiences and skills. For many these prior experiences are less than optimal for achieving academic success. This paper evaluates the academic outcomes across three cohorts of a five day enabling program offered to commencing students in the week prior to their formal university orientation program. The demographics of this sample (n=965) are such that over 50% come from low socio-economic backgrounds, about 50% are first in family to attend university, 50% are mature age students and over 50% have university entrance scores in the lower ranges of academic ability. Those who entered university with an OP1 score of 15 or less and completed the program were less likely to fail and achieved higher GPAs at the end of their first semester of studies than those who did not complete the enabling program

Cognitive recovery in acute stroke: Measurement and facilitation of change

Strokes can affect any part of the brain and therefore have a wide range of potential outcomes including an array of cognitive deficits such as memory problems, neglect, problem solving difficulties and decision making errors. From a biological perspective, recovery from stroke can be categorized into two time phases, acute (up until 3 months) and chronic (3+ months), with most changes occurring in the actue phase. In the motor and speech areas, it is recognised that early intervention during the acute phase leads to the best long-term outcomes. The research into recovery of cognitive function is less well developed than in the motor and speech areas, however, there is a literature that explores the prevalence of cognitive impairments and recovery in the chronic phase. Such research is based upon patients with stroke’ performance on batteries of standardised neuropsychological tests. This literature consistently demonstrates only small improvements over time. Training programs aimed at directly facilitating the recovery process, as opposed to developing compensatory behaviours to circumvent the effects of the impairment, have been implemented during the chronic phase. Many of these programs are based upon cognitive theories and employ commonly used cognitive psychology paradigms. These training programs have resulted in substantial improvements in the impaired functions. However, there are no studies that attempt to track changes in behaviour during the acute phase of stroke despite this being consistently demonstrated as a crucial period of recovery. The intent of the current research is to address this gap in the literature by exploring behaviour change in patients with stroke who are in hospital in the early stages of recovery from their first stroke

Customary Title, Heritage Protection, and Property Rights in Australia: Emerging Patterns of Land Use in the Post-\u3ci\u3eMabo\u3c/i\u3e Era

The Mabo decision represented a major doctrinal change in the relationship between Indigenous people and the settler legal system. However, significant legislative developments in land use and management recognizing some Indigenous interests in land had already laid the groundwork for joint land management schemes and concurrent land uses. These developments have formed the basis for ongoing expansion of coexistent land uses with the negotiation of formal and informal agreements for co-management of land. A range of factors influence these agreements, including the existence of enforceable property rights and non-property based heritage protection legislation. These regimes are currently in a state of flux. In an uncertain political environment there are possibilities for further recognition of Indigenous involvement in land management. There are also real possibilities for contraction of the limited rights of Indigenous people over land. Either development will impact the significant involvement of Indigenous people in resource and environmental management

Regional Carbonate Deposition of the Pitkin Limestone (Chesterian): Washington and Crawford Counties, Arkansas

The Pitkin Limestone overlies black shale of the Fayetteville Formation and is the youngest Mississippian unit in the Paleozoic succession of northwest Arkansas. Five major fades have been delineated within the formation by apetrographic examination of samples collected from 17 measured sections: (1) oolith facies, (2) bioclast facies, (3) nodular limestone-shale facies, (4) mudstone facies, and (5) lime mud mound facies. The distribution of these facies in the Pitkin Formation suggests that Fayetteville terrigenous sedimentation was succeeded by the deposition of widespread oolith shoals and skeletal blanket sand bodies across the northern Arkansas structural platform. Sparse accumulations of lime mud formed in quiet protected areas within the coalescing carbonate complex. Increasing water depth and decreasing turbulence as Pitkin sedimentation proceeded allowed the establishment of bryozoan and blue-green algal communities. The entrapment and stabilization of carbonate mud by these organisms promoted mound development and growth. Scattered oolith shoals formed adjacent to the growing mounds in more turbulent water. Mound development was terminated in shallower water by extensive oolith and by the appearance of extensive skeletal sand accumulations in more turbulent water as regression was initiated

Review of Narrative Structures In Burmese Folk Tales. By Soe Marlar Lwin, Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2010. Xvi + 178

This is a review of a book containing a Narrative Analysis of the plots of 27 Burmese folk tales in English translation. As applied here, Narrative Analysis is an insightful set of research methodologies to discover regular features of plot structures; however, it does not include the aspects of Textual Analysis that dig deeply into the structures and features of the original language. In this book, no actual features of the Burmese language are discussed. Both Narrative Analysis and Textual Analysis fall into the same broad set of methodologies and inquiries that are covered by the term Discourse Analysis. This book is valuable in understanding and guiding analysis of narratives following in the tradition of Vladimir Propp and his study of the morphology of Russian fairy tales. The book proposes a clear, imitable method that allows comparison of folk tale structure using form, function and field. It also suggests ways that Narrative Analysts and Folklorists can examine cultural influences reflected in the folktales

Judicial Administration in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The federal court system has experienced substantial growth in case filings during the last decade, and certainly the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is no exception. During the period from 1970 to 1978, the court experienced almost a one hundred percent increase in yearly filings while the number of judgeships remained constant at thirteen. It is thus understandable that each year since 1970, case filings have consistently exceeded case terminations. However, a dramatic change in court membership has taken place in the past eighteen months. As a result of the recent appointments made pursuant to the Omnibus Judgeship Act of 1978, the court has a larger complement of judges to address its ever-increasing caseload. Of the twenty-three active judges now sitting on the court, only ten were serving in September 1979. In addition to the change in court membership, numerous procedural and administrative programs have been undertaken to expedite the flow of cases through the court. This Article will focus in part upon these programs. The next section of this Article provides an outline of the court\u27s organization. The judicial and administrative role of the federal appellate judge is explained and the function of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council is outlined along with the upcoming changes in the composition of the Council. The relatively recent addition of the Circuit Executive\u27s office is described along with the expansion plans for the circuit court library. The expanding role of the Clerk of Court is described with emphasis on the Clerk\u27s case management responsibilities. An overview is also provided of the role of the central legal staff of the court and the important role it plays in improving court productivity. The third section of the Article describes the procedural innovations and new programs that have, in part, enabled the court to increase dramatically its disposition rate and that will enable it, hopefully, to become current within the next year