The effects of acoustic similarity on memory in children: A comparison between visual and auditory presentation

Children from 4 to 10 years old were presented with a serial recall task with pictures of common objects which had acoustically similar or dissimilar names, or with the spoken names of the pictures. Children of all ages showed consistently better recall of the pictures with dissimilar names. It is concluded, in contrast to some earlier studies, that children as young as 4 years are able to utilize a speech code as a means of memorizing pictures. With auditory presentation as in previous studies acoustic similarity had progressively more effect on recall with increasing age. The implications of these finding for current theories of short-term memory and its development are discussed.     

Counseling in Malaysia: An Emerging Profession

The emergence of counseling in Malaysia illustrates the importance of a strong professional association and counseling training programs at the university level.     

Automatic detection of transient potentials in the EEG

A classifier based on the linear regression model was developed to automatically detect sharp transients in EEG, matching the definition of spikes and sharp waves accepted by IFSECN. Practical applications proved the accuracy of the method which succeeded in detecting 84% of sharp transients previously found by an experienced electronencephalographer. Computerized search for sharp transients in EEG records will be particularly useful in long term EEG records obtained from epileptic patients.     

Diagnostic value of myelography as an expanded clinical study method

The paper investigates 54 myelograms and their influence on diagnostic thinking efficacy, on patient management efficacy, and on ultimate outcome efficacy, using statistical methods. Conventional myelography contributes to diagnostic thinking efficacy having a LLR- value of approximately 0.9. With an accuracy value of 0.95 it can be regarded as a reliable method of diagnosis. It alters diagnostic thinking efficacy in no less than 83% (94%) of the cases and patients management efficacy in 89%. Thus, by definition, myelography may be said to affect the state of health of the myelographed patients in 94.4%.     

Psychopathology of progressive paralysis. Remarks on some personal cases

Four of our own cases that presented a clinical picture of dementia are discussed. A study of the relative literature has failed to reveal any "swing" in the pattern of the clinical condition: Just as it did ninety years age, paralytic dementia accounts today for well over 60% of all cases, those clinical pictures erroneously regarded as "typical" "classic", accounting for a mere 10%-15% of cases. The need for routine lues serology is pointed out.     

Flicker contrast sensitivity in normal and specifically disabled readers

Temporal contrast sensitivity for counterphase flicker was determined for specifically disabled and normal readers to investigate whether the two groups differ in the functioning of their transient systems. In experiment 1, temporal contrast sensitivity was measured over a range of temporal frequencies with a spatial frequency of 2 cycles deg-1. Disabled readers were less sensitive than the control subjects at all temporal frequencies. In experiment 2, temporal contrast sensitivity was measured at a temporal frequency of 20 Hz over a range of spatial frequencies. Disabled readers were less sensitive than the controls at all spatial frequencies, with the differences between the groups increasing as spatial frequency increased. Both these findings are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis of a transient-system deficit in the visual systems of disabled readers.     

The influence of individual and family characteristics upon career aspirations of girls during childhood and adolescence

The term pioneer is used for girls aspiring to male-dominated careers. This longitudinal study assesses the career choices of 68 middle-class girls during childhood (8–13 years, Phase I) and again during adolescence (13–18 years, Phase II), and investigates the relation between pioneering career choice and personal and family characteristics. Subjects were originally selected for exposure vs nonexposure to exogenous hormones during pregnancy. In childhood, pioneers were somewhat older, were more often persistent tomboys, had higher IQs, and had parents with higher educational attainment. In adolescence, paternal education was the only variable that showed the same relation to career choice. Adolescent girls who had wanted to get married at the time of the childhood assessment were now less likely to choose pioneering careers. Adolescent pioneers also had higher educational aspirations than nonpioneers and less likely anticipated being married within ten years than nonpioneers. A number of statistically borderline relationships were also observed: pioneers had somewhat fewer older brothers than nonpioneers, less often came from homes in which traditional femininity was stressed, and more frequently had mothers who had worked outside the home throughout their daughters' school years than mothers of nonpioneers. Prenatal exposure to exogenous sex hormones was not related to career choice during either childhood or adolescence.