Case alternation and length effects in lateralized word recognition: studies of English and Hebrew

Effects of CaSe AlTeRnAtIoN were studied in two lateralized visual lexical decision experiments. We manipulated word length and letter case (UPPER, lower and MiXeD) in both English (Exp. 1, N=60) and Hebrew (Exp. 2, N=60). The previously reported visual field and word length interaction was found for upper and lower case presentation, but not for MiXeD CaSe, where both fields were affected by word length. The effects of case alternation are discussed in light of a new lateralized word recognition theory.     

Capgras delusion: a window on face recognition

Capgras delusion is the belief that significant others have been replaced by impostors, robots or aliens. Although it usually occurs within a psychiatric illness, it can also be the result of brain injury or other obviously organic disorder. In contrast to patients with prosopagnosia, who cannot consciously recognize previously familiar faces but display autonomic or covert recognition (measured by skin conductance responses), people with Capgras delusion do not show differential autonomic activity to familiar compared with unknown faces. This challenges traditional models of the way faces are identified and presents some epistemological questions concerning identity. New data also indicate that, contrary to previous evidence, covert recognition can be fractionated into autonomic and behavioural/cognitive types, which is consistent with a recently proposed modification of the modal face recognition model.     

From Sectarian to Secular Control of Education The Case of Newfoundland

On September 2, 1997, Newfoundland transitioned from church to state control over education. Prior to this change, education had been controlled by churches. Recently, on November 9, 2000, an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada by the Roman Catholic Church to declare the change unconstitutional was denied, settling the issue legally, although, perhaps, not politically. This article describes Newfoundland's educational system prior to the public referendum in 1997 that removed church control of education and explores some of the recent issues that have arisen since transition. It calls for further investigation into the effects of the change and the political, social, and economic forces that led to such a fundamental change.     

A standard for test reliability in group research

Many authors adhere to the rule that test reliabilities should be at least .70 or .80 in group research. This article introduces a new standard according to which reliabilities can be evaluated. This standard is based on the costs or time of the experiment and of administering the test. For example, if test administration costs are 7 % of the total experimental costs, the efficient value of the reliability is .93. If the actual reliability of a test is equal to this efficient reliability, the test size maximizes the statistical power of the experiment, given the costs. As a standard in experimental research, it is proposed that the reliability of the dependent variable be close to the efficient reliability. Adhering to this standard will enhance the statistical power and reduce the costs of experiments.