The development of a microprocessor-based system on a limited budget

This paper describes the design and implementation of a microprocessor-based front-end processor built to increase the throughput of a NOVA minicomputer used for stimulus preparation tasks. The problems encountered during the various stages of the project are discussed, and the various hardware and software development aids are described. The paper concludes with an assessment of the relative merits of in-house development of microprocessor-based systems and the purchase of ready-made equipment.     

Some properties of auditory memory for rapid formant transitions

In the three experiments reported here, subjects indicate whether two sequentially presented syllables, differing in the place of articulation of an initial stop consonant, are phonernically the same or not. The first experiment finds faster |ldsame” responses to acoustically identical pairs than to pairs that are phonemically identical but acoustically distinct. provided that the second syllable is presented within 400 msec of the first. This is interpreted as indicating the persistence of a memory which preserves auditory information about within-category distinctions. The third experiment shows that this advantage remains when a tone is interposed between the two syllables, but is removed when a brief vowel is similarly interposed. The second experiment presents the second syllable of each pair dichotically with a noise burst, and shows that the size of the right-ear advantage for this reaction time task is reduced when the result of comparisons based on this auditory memory is compatible with the required phonemic decision, but that the right-ear advantage is increased when auditory comparisons would contradict the phonemic relationship.     

ANTITHEISM: A REFLECTION

Why is there no sustained tradition of argument concerning the existence of a supreme (omniscient and omnipotent) being who is perfectly evil, as there is about one who is perfectly good? Arguments which are reflections of the ontological, cosmological and teleological arguments, and arguments based on personal experience or the occurrence of antimiracles (harmful events not explicable by science) could have provided at least as good grounds for belief in such a being (ie for antitheism) as their originals in fact provide for theism. An imaginary encyclopedia entry, in which fictional antitheistic arguments and thinkers are presented, illustrates this point. The reason for the nonexistence of a tradition of antitheism seems therefore to be that it is merely emotionally, not that it is rationally, less inviting than theism.     

Counselor Sex Role Orientation,Flexibility, and Working Alliance Formation

The authors examined the hypothesized relationship among counselor androgyny, counselor flexibility, and the establishment of client-rated working alliances. In Study 1, 41 counseling students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1981a) and the Counselor Behavior Analysis Inventory (Gabbard, Howard, & Dunfee, 1986). Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no relationship between androgyny and counseling flexibility. In Study 2, 42 counseling students completed the BSRI and videotaped counseling sessions with a recruited client. Analyses revealed a significant relationship between counselor flexibility and client ratings of working alliance, but no relationship between counselor androgyny and counselor flexibility. Research and clinical implications are discussed.     

A theory of argumentative understanding: Relationships among position preference,judgments of goodness,memory and reasoning

Data are presented that focus on the nature and development of argumentative reasoning. In particular our study describes how support for or against an issue affects memory for critical parts of an argumentative interaction, judgments of argument goodness, and the content of the reasons given in support of one view versus another. Two other factors were examined: developmental differences in argumentation skill and the conditional nature of supporting one side of an argument across varying contexts. Our results show that even seven year old children can recognize, identify, and use the basic components of an argument to provide evidence for and make judgements about their favored position. Moreover, if position support is held constant across all age groups of students, seven year old children were found to give reasons and explanations that were highly similar in content and principle to college students. The same similarities held across age with respect to biases in memory and judgements of argument goodness. The primary difference between children's and college students' argument behavior lay in the side of an argument the students chose to support. Seven year old children and some eleven yearold children supported positions that impute more value to friendship and social consequences than to the maintenance and advancement of individual rights, as specified in a contract agreement. The similarities and differences across development are discussed with respect to a theory of argumentation that speaks to the importance of understanding the nature of goal conflict and a theory of intentionality in predicting how arguments will be represented and resolved.     

Changing assumptions and contingent solutions: The costs and benefits of women working full- and part-time

Women in occupations traditionally dominated by males are seeking part-time work schedules and they are sometimes regarded as being on the mommy track. A survey was conducted of 315 predominantly white women working part- or full-time in male-dominated professions (law, executives), female-dominated professions (nursing, elementary education), and nonprofessional jobs (clerical, retail sales). Part-time working women reported exclusion from organizational, interpersonal, and skill enhancement opportunities and part-time professionals reported a greater risk of layoff than full-time colleagues. However, they also reported greater happiness at home and work, greater satisfaction with their jobs and children, and comparable marriage satisfaction and personal satisfaction with work compared with full-time working women. Women working part-time did not report lower role conflict and role overload than full-time working women. Consideration is given to the benefits, limits, and consequences of part-time work for women, including questions concerning the ability to get back on track.Thanks are due to Alden Wessman, Florence Denmark, Gary Holden, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on early drafts.     

Sexual harassment,male dominated organizations and the role of counselling psychology: The case of medical school

This paper presents evidence of sexual harassment in medical school based on a survey of students (n = 186) and lecturers (n = 100); but while 85.5% of students believe that medical educators should combat this behaviour, only 67.7% of the lecturers do so. it is argued here, that ambivalence towards sexual harassment is a psychological symptom of a male dominated culture, with long term implications for victims, perpetrators and witnesses. It is an issue which needs to be addressed both interpersonally and at an organizational level.     

Alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes in people with a mild learning disability – the effects of a ‘sensible drinking’ group

Alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes in people with a mild learning disability, who were either living, or being prepared to live, in relatively independent conditions in the community, were assessed through a structured interview format. Compared with non-learning-disabled teenagers, adults and a hospitalized patient sample, alcohol-related knowledge in the people with a learning disability was found to be significantly poorer, alcohol was reported as having particularly negative effects and susceptibility to social pressure to drink alcohol was greater. A ‘sensible drinking’ group, taking a social skills and influences approach to alcohol education, was conducted with a subgroup of the individuals with a learning disability. The group format and methods, including in vivo sessions in a public house, are described. Follow-up evaluations suggested some significant positive changes in knowledge, attitudes and sensible drinking skills. It is concluded that this population, which is increasingly living, or being moved into, independent conditions in the community, is at least as vulnerable to social influences on alcohol use and abuse as are young people. As with young people, the usefulness of making available such alcohol-education programmes as described in this study, is discussed.     

Influences of closure,occlusion, and size on the perception of fragmented pictures

Two experiments examined the ability to recognize a repeated figure in stimuli where only fragments of the figures were presented. Fragments were either closed or open regions presented either with or without an occluder that filled the spaces between the fragments (Experiment 1). Recognition performance was significantly better for open fragments, with or without an occluder, contrary to previous assertions that the occluder is the important factor for recognition. When stimulus size was varied, an occluder hindered recognition performance in the smallest size condition relative to unoccluded stimuli, which were equally easy to recognize across all size conditions (Experiment 2). The size results support the idea of size invariance in object naming. The difficulty in the smallest occluded condition is discussed in terms of differences in global and local processing depending on visual angle and sparsity