A simple decoder arrays to a for linking photocell microcomputer

Inputs from photocell arrays (such as those incorporated in mazes) to a microcomputer must be decoded. For up to 31 channels, this can be conveniently done by using cascaded 8-to-3 line priority encoders (74LS148) and five lines on a parallel data bus. The arrangement is expandable. It is currently used in an automatized Y-maze for vibrisso-tactile discrimination learning in mice.     

Changing commuters’ behavior using rewards: A study of rush-hour avoidance

In a 13-week field study conducted in The Netherlands, participants were provided with daily rewards – monetary and in-kind, in order to encourage them to avoid driving during the morning rush-hour. Participants could earn a reward (money or credits to keep a Smartphone handset), by driving to work earlier or later, by switching to another mode or by teleworking. The collected data, complemented with pre and post measurement surveys, were analyzed using longitudinal techniques and mixed logistic regression. The results assert that the reward is the main extrinsic motivation for discouraging rush-hour driving. The monetary reward exhibits diminishing sensitivity, whereas the Smartphone has endowment qualities. Although the reward influences the motivation to avoid the rush-hour, the choice how to change behavior is influenced by additional factors including education, scheduling, habitual behavior, attitudes, and travel information availability.     

Robustness of the maximum-likelihood estimation procedure in factor analysis

In order to determine the robustness of the maximum-likelihood estimation procedure, random variates from six distributions were generated independently on a high speed computer and then used to represent the common and specific factors in a factor analysis model in which the coefficients of these factors had been specified. Using Lawley's approximatex ² statistic in evaluating the estimates obtained, the estimation procedure is found to be insensitive to changes in the distributions considered.This study was conducted while the authors were members of the Statistical Laboratory at Iowa State University. All computations were done at Iowa State on an IBM 7074.     

Attention alters the appearance of motion coherence

Selective attention enhances visual information processing, as measured by behavioral performance and neural activity. However, little is known about its effects on subjective experience. Here, we investigated the effect of transient (exogenous) attention on the appearance of visual motion, using a psychophysical procedure that directly measures appearance and controls for response bias. Observers viewed pairs of moving dot patterns and reported the motion direction of the more coherent pattern. Directing attention (via a peripheral precue) to a stimulus location increased its perceived coherence level and improved performance on a direction discrimination task. In a control experiment, we ruled out response bias by lengthening the time interval between the cue and the stimuli, so that the effect of transient attention could no longer be exerted. Our results are consistent with those of neurophysiological studies showing that attention modulates motion processing and provide evidence of a subjective perceptual correlate of attention, with a concomitant effect on performance.     

Substance use, suicidal ideation and attempts in children and adolescents

Using data from a community sample of youth ( N = 1,458; ages 9-17), this study assessed the association between adolescent substance use/abuse and suicidal behaviors. Suicide attempts were strongly associated with alcohol abuse and dependence, followed by frequent cigarette smoking. The associations remained significant even after controlling for depression. The associations between substance use/abuse and suicidal ideation were no longer significant after controlling for depression. These findings highlight the important role that substance use plays in adolescent suicidal behaviors.     

“If I didn’t write it,why would I remember it?” Effects of encoding,attention, and practice on accurate and false memory

In two experiments involving recall and recognition, we manipulated encoding strategies, attention, and practice in the Deese, Roediger, and McDermott false memory procedure. During the study of auditory word lists, participants listened to the words, wrote the words, wrote the second letter of the words, or counted backward by threes and wrote numbers in time with the words. The results from both experiments showed that, relative to the full-attention hear word condition, the divided-attention write number condition impaired accurate memory, but not false memory. In contrast, the focused-attention write word and write second letter conditions were comparable to the hear word condition in producing accurate memory, yet they were better at reducing false memory. But even after multiple study-test trials, people still falsely recalled or recognized words that they had never written during study. These results are consistent with predictions generated from fuzzy trace theory and the activation/monitoring framework.     

Congruence in Preferences and Expectations of Work-Family Role Management: Operationalization and the Relation with Work-Family Balance and Spousal Support

Sex Roles - Employees with children differ in how they want to manage their work and family roles. By integrating the literature on boundary management and role prioritization, we develop a visual...