Tables of d’ for detection and localization

A detection and localization (DAL) procedure (Hershman and Lichtenstein, 1967) is one in which at most one of k noisy observation intervals contains a signal. The observer must detect the signal (if present) and locate it in the proper interval. Tables are given for the extraction of d’ values from the percentage of correct responses made in such experiments.     

A BASIC program for computing Cronbach’s accuracy components

Accuracy is a measure of the extent of agreement between a rater’s ratings and the ratings of experts or the responses of ratees. Cronbach (1955) argued that accuracy research should focus on components of accuracy rather than on an overall measure. However, complex calculations are required to compute Cronbach’s accuracy components. A program is presented that provides a convenient way of computing all four components of accuracy (elevation, differential elevation, stereotype accuracy, and differential accuracy), as well as the associated correlation components, on an Apple Macintosh computer. The standard Macintosh interface is used to obtain all necessary information. The program will read data in a standard text file and will run faster on computers with math coprocessors.     

A note on computing Louis’ observed information matrix identity for IRT and cognitive diagnostic models

Using Louis’ formula, it is possible to obtain the observed information matrix and the corresponding large-sample standard error estimates after the expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm has converged. However, Louis’ formula is commonly de-emphasized due to its relatively complex integration representation, particularly when studying latent variable models. This paper provides a holistic overview that demonstrates how Louis’ formula can be applied efficiently to item response theory (IRT) models and other popular latent variable models, such as cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs). After presenting the algebraic components required for Louis’ formula, two real data analyses, with accompanying numerical illustrations, are presented. Next, a Monte Carlo simulation is presented to compare the computational efficiency of Louis’ formula with previously existing methods. Results from these presentations suggest that Louis’ formula should be adopted as a standard method when computing the observed information matrix for IRT models and CDMs fitted with the EM algorithm due to its computational efficiency and flexibility.     

Evaluation of Five Procedures for Classification of Participants’ Fear Levels

The present study evaluated the ability of 5 different fear classification procedures to discriminate between 3 fear levels and to correlate with 6 commonly used dependent measures of fear. A standardized fear assessment procedure was administered on 2 separate trials to 71 women participants. Following the completion of the assessment trials, the participants data were scored and regrouped according to 5 fear classification procedures (behavioral, self-report, skin conductance level, skin response amplitude, and heart rate). This design permitted each procedure to be evaluated to the same target stimulus and at the same point in time. The classifications of participants on the basis of behavior and skin conductance response were found to be most effective selection procedures with self-report, skin conductance level, and heart rate being the least. Reliability of the findings was assessed by a test–retest procedure.     

What is the pronunciation for -ough and the spelling for /u/? A database for computing feedforward and feedback consistency in English

Recent studies suggest that performance attendant on visual word perception is affected not only by feedforward inconsistency (i.e., multiple ways to pronounce a spelling) but also by feedback inconsistency (i.e., multiple ways to spell a pronunciation). In the present study, we provide a statistical analysis of these types of inconsistency for all monosyllabic English words. This database can be used as a tool for controlling, selecting, and constructing stimulus materials for psycholinguistic and neuropsychological research. Such large-scale statistical analyses are necessary devices for developing metrics of inconsistency, for generating hypotheses for psycholinguistic experiments, and for building models of word perception, speech perception, and spelling.     

Are objects required for object-files? Roles of segmentation and spatiotemporal continuity in computing object persistence

Two central tasks of visual processing are (1) to segment undifferentiated retinal images into discrete objects, and (2) to represent those objects as the same persisting individuals over time and motion. Here we explore the interaction of these two types of processing in the context of object files—mid-level visual representations that “stick” to moving objects on the basis of spatiotemporal properties. Object files can be revealed by object-specific preview benefits (OSPBs), wherein a “preview” of information on a moving object speeds the recognition of that information at a later point when it appears again on the same object (compared to when it reappears on a different moving object), beyond display-wide priming. Here we explore the degree of segmentation required to establish object files in the first place. Surprisingly, we find that no explicit segmentation is required until after the previews disappear, when using purely motion-defined objects (consisting of random elements on a random background). Moreover, OSPBs are observed in such displays even after moderate (but not long) delays between the offset of the preview information and the onset of the motion. These effects indicate that object files can be established without initial static segmentation cues, so long as there is spatiotemporal continuity between the previews and the eventual appearance of the objects. We also find that top-down strategies can sometimes mimic OSPBs, but that these strategies can be eliminated by novel manipulations. We discuss how these results alter our understanding of the nature of object files, and also why researchers must take care to distinguish “true OSPBs” from “illusory OSPBs”.     

Thomas and Legge’s matching hypothesis for

Thomas and Legge have proposed amatching hypothesis for two-alternative detection and recognition tasks. Given symmetric payoff, S is supposed to match his unconditional response probabilities to the presentation probabilities. More generally, even when payoff is asymmetric, S is supposed to keep his unconditional response probabilities constant across different discriminability levels. Time series analysis is applied here to the response sequences from two auditory amplitude recognition tasks to test both hypotheses. Experiment I obtains a single sequence from each of 16 Ss. Experiment II obtains two sequences at different discriminability levels from each of 24 Ss. Departures from the matching hypothesis are extremely gross in both cases. In addition, Experiment II shows clear changes in the response probabilities across discriminability conditions, though these are not systematic in direction across Ss.     

Accommodating Closed Material Procedures within Rawls’ Theory of Justice

Res Publica - Closed Material Procedures (CMPs) are widely considered to be unjust. In his influential A Theory of Justice, Rawls sets out that trials must be fair and open, and that such precepts...     

La mémoire d’une pièce d’Euro

An experiment was done to determine how completely and accurrately French people remember the visual details of coins newly introduced in Europe, french Euro coins. The variables manipulated are the age of the subjects (20–29; 30–39; 40–49; 50–59 years old), delay after the introduction of the new coins (1 month, 4 months, 1 year), the type of coin (2 cents, 50 cents, 1 Euro) and the characteristics of the coins (operative versus figurative). Three main results emerged from this experiment. Firstly, performance was poor. Secondly, results are consistent with the idea that the visual details of an object are typically available from memory to the extent that they are useful in everyday life. Thirdly, recall performance does not depend on age, type of coin and delay of introduction of the new coins.     

Can a Lineup Procedure Designed for Child Witnesses Work for Adults? Comparing Simultaneous,Sequential, and Elimination Lineup Procedures

A study (N = 165) was conducted to examine whether the elimination lineup, an identification procedure developed for children to reduce their false‐positive responding, was effective for adult witnesses. Although the sequential lineup is available to help reduce adults’ false‐positive identifications, having different procedures for child and adult witnesses poses difficulty for the police and justice system. One procedure for all witnesses would be ideal. Simultaneous, sequential, and elimination procedures were compared. The elimination procedure produced a comparable correct rejection rate to the sequential procedure. Both the elimination and sequential procedure produced a higher correct rejection rate than did the simultaneous procedure. Correct identification rates were comparable across the 3 lineup procedures.     

Predicate Metric Tense Logic for ‘Now’ and ‘Then’

In a number of publications A.N. Prior considered the use of what he called ‘metric tense logic’. This is a tense logic in which the past and future operators P and F have an index representing a temporal distance, so that Pnα means that α was true n-much ago, and Fnα means that α will be true n-much hence. The paper investigates the use of metric predicate tense logic in formalising phenomena ormally treated by such devices as multiple indexing or quantification over times.     

The Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine

The Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine of the University of Music and Drama in Hannover, Germany, is a unique Institution in Europe whose scope includes teaching the basics of music physiology and musicians' medicine and research into the physiological and neurobiological principles of professional music performance and music perception. Furthermore, the institute conducts research into the causes of occupational injuries in musicians and provides means for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of such injuries.     

Husserl’s motivation and method for phenomenological reconstruction

In this paper I present an account of Husserl’s approach to the phenomenological reconstruction of consciousness’s immemorial past, a problem, I suggest, that is quite pertinent for defenders of Lockean psychological continuity views of personal identity. To begin, I sketch the background of the problem facing the very project of a genetic phenomenology, within which the reconstructive analysis is situated. While the young Husserl took genetic matters to be irrelevant to the main task of phenomenology, he would later come to see their importance and, indeed, centrality as the precursor and subsoil for the rationality of consciousness. I then argue that there is a close connection between reconstruction and genetic phenomenology, such that reconstruction is a necessary component of the program of genetic phenomenology, and I set out Husserl’s argument that compels one to enter into reconstructive territory. With that impetus, I schematically lay out the main contours one finds in Husserl’s practice of reconstructive techniques. We find him taking two distinct approaches, that of the individual viewed egologically (through the abstract lens of a single individual’s consciousness) and as embedded in interpersonal relations. Husserl occasionally calls these the approach “from within” and “from without,” respectively. Ultimately, the two approaches are not only complementary, but require one another. In closing, I argue that these considerations lead to a blurring of lines between the genetic and generative phenomenological registers, which challenges the prevalent view that there is a sharp demarcation of the two.     

Three- and four-year-olds’ perceptual confusions for spoken words

Although infants have the ability to discriminate a variety of speech contrasts, young children cannot always use this ability in the service of spoken-word recognition. The research reported here asked whether the reason young children sometimes fail to discriminate minimal word pairs is that they are less efficient at word recognition than adults, or whether it is that they employ different lexical representations. In particular, the research evaluated the proposal that young children’s lexical representations are more “holistic” than those of adults, and are based on overall acoustic-phonetic properties, as opposed to phonetic segments. Three- and four-year-olds were exposed initially to an invariant target word and were subsequently asked to determine whether a series of auditory stimuli matched or did not match the target. The critical test stimuli were nonwords that varied in their degree of phonetic featural overlap with the target, as well as in terms of the position(s) within the stimuli at which they differed from the target, and whether they differed from the target on one or two segments. Data from four experiments demonstrated that the frequency with which children mistook a nonword stimulus for the target was influenced by extent of featural overlap, but not by word position. The data also showed that, contrary to the predictions of the holistic hypothesis, stimuli differing from the target by two features on a single segment were confused with the target more often than were stimuli differing by a single feature on each of two segments. This finding suggests that children use both phonetic features and segments in accessing their mental lexicons, and that they are therefore much more similar to adults than is suggested by the holistic hypothesis.     

Un cadre psychosocial d’intervention pour accompagner le développement et le déploiement d’une technologie nouvelle

This article presents a psychosocial intervention framework to support the development and deployment of a new technology. This methodology articulates the three phases necessary for the study of the representation of the use and its evolutions (i.e., the usual trajectory): acceptability, acceptance and appropriation. After an argumentative presentation of the methodological choices made, the article continues with the presentation of an example of accompaniment carried out within the framework of the IDViandes project aimed at the development of a traceability device for meat containers Of slaughter within the company SVA Jean-Rozé, subsidiary of the Intermarché group. This example argues in favor of the idea that the use of such a method makes it possible to optimize the successful accompaniment of the development of a technology and thus ensure its future diffusion.     

L’annonce d’un décès en milieu hospitalier

Announcing a death is always a delicate moment for close familial members but also for caregivers. Law gives some precisions about how this information must be delivered. Recently the state council judged that the lack of empathy from caregivers and the late of the death announcement can create a damage. This judgement gives more precisions about how a death announcement must be in a hospital. This topic is pretty similar with the information which must be given to close familial members about organ donation. This latter is definitely more exceptional and the procedure is a way more regulated. There are much rules which explain how this information must be delivered.     

Cultural and communicative memories: contrasting Argentina’s 1976 coup d’état and the 2001 economic-political-social crisis

Studies on collective memory have recently addressed the distinction between cultural and communicative memory as a way to understand how the source of a memory affects its structure or form. When a groups’ memory is mediated by memorials, documentaries or any other cultural artifacts, collective memory is shaped by cultural memory. When it is based mostly in communication with other people, its source is communicative memory. We address this distinction by studying two recent events in Argentinean history: the 2001 economic-political-social crisis (communicative memory) and the 1976 coup (cultural memory). We also examine the political ideology and the type of memory involved in collective memory. The memory of the studied events may occur during the lifetime of the rememberer (Lived Memory) or refer to distant events (Distant Memory). 100 participants responded to a Free Recall task about the events of 2001 in Argentina. Narrative analysis allowed comparing these recalls with our 1976 study. Results show: 1) Cultural memories are more contextualised, more impersonal and less affective. 2) Communicative memories are more personal and affective. Study shows how collective memory form changes when it has a different prevalent source.     

The Internet and Adolescent Girls’ Weight Satisfaction and Drive for Thinness

The primary aim of the study was to examine the relationship between media exposure and body image in adolescent girls, with a particular focus on the ‘new’ and as yet unstudied medium of the Internet. A sample of 156 Australian female high school students (mean age?=?14.9 years) completed questionnaire measures of media consumption and body image. Internet appearance exposure and magazine reading, but not television exposure, were found to be correlated with greater internalization of thin ideals, appearance comparison, weight dissatisfaction, and drive for thinness. Regression analyses indicated that the effects of magazines and Internet exposure were mediated by internalization and appearance comparison. It was concluded that the Internet represents a powerful sociocultural influence on young women’s lives.