Temporal Vacua

I show to be unsuccessful several attempts to demonstrate the possibility of time without change. Consideration of the most prominent of these arguments (by Sydney Shoemaker) then leads to the formulation of a general argument: evidence which justifies a claim that a certain amount of time has elapsed also justifies a claim that continuous change has occurred during the period. Hence there is a sound basis for the relationist claim that there is no time without events.     

Examining the components of children's peer liking as antecedents of school adjustment

Children's social interactions with their peers influence their psychosocial adjustment; consequently, the relationship between class‐wide peer liking, same‐gender peer liking, and school adjustment was explored in two age groups. Peer liking was analysed using the social relations model (SRM). In Study 1, 205 children (103 female and 102 male, M_age= 7.15, SD= 7 months) completed measures of peer liking and school adjustment, and teachers completed the Short‐Form Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment (Short‐Form TRSSA). In Study 2, 197 children (98 female and 90 male, M_age= 9.87, SD= 5.9 months) completed measures of peer liking and school adjustment. Both studies yielded evidence of reciprocal liking and individual differences in the ratings of liking awarded to, and elicited from, both peer groups. Multigroup path analysis, with groups created according to gender, revealed that elements of liking predicted different aspects of school adjustment with some variation according to age and gender. Together, these findings suggest that the SRM can be used to examine peer liking and underscore the importance of children's peers for school adjustment.     

An Examination of Homologous Reproduction in the Representation of Assistant Coaches of Women’s Teams

Researchers (e.g., Stangl & Kane Sociology of Sport Journal, 8: 47–60, 1991) have been successful in using homologous reproduction theory to explain the decline of women in coaching roles. In this investigation, we aimed to extend previous research by exploring the practice in (a) employment patterns of assistant coaches, and (b) environments in which women are actually the dominant gender doing the hiring. Data from the 2002–2003 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) was used to determine if a head coach’s gender impacted the gender composition of assistant coaches on a staff in four different women’s teams sports in NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions (n?=?2,964). The results indicate that the gender of a head coach does impact the gender composition of the assistant coaches on a staff, irrespective of sport. This relationship was most notable when the head coach was female, as female head coaches were much more likely to hire female assistants than male head coaches were to hire male assistant coaches.     

The role of priming in conjunctive visual search

To assess the role of priming in conjunctive visual search tasks, we systematically varied the consistency of the target and distractor identity between different conditions. Search was fastest in the standard conjunctive search paradigm where identities remained constant. Search was slowest when potential target identity varied predictably for each successive trial (the 'switch' condition). The role of priming was also demonstrated on a trial-by-trial basis in a 'streak' condition where target and distractor identity was unpredictable yet was consistent within streaks. When the target to be found was the same for a few trials in a row, search performance became similar to that when the potential target was the same on all trials. A similar pattern was found for the target absent trials, suggesting that priming is based on the whole search array rather than just the target in each case. Further analysis indicated that the effects of priming are sufficiently strong to account for the advantage seen for the conjunctive search task. We conclude that the role of priming in visual search is underestimated in current theories of visual search and that differences in search times often attributed to top-down guidance may instead reflect the benefits of priming.     

Spatial generalization and peak shift in humans

Using a computer betting game, five experiments tested university students on spatial generalization and peak shift. On each trial, one location was marked and the subject was invited to bet 0-4 points. At the winning location (S+), bets won four times the points betted. At nearby losing locations (S−s), points betted were lost. Generalization gradients were exponential in shape, supporting Shepard's (1987), law (Experiment 1). With peak shift manipulations, three kinds of peak shift or area shift were found. (1) Subjects betted more on the S+ side than on the S− side (Experiments 2-4). (2) When asked if a location was the winning location, subjects responded “yes” more often to locations on the S+ side than to locations on the S− side (Experiments 3-5). (3) When asked to point to the winning location on the screen, subjects' errors indicated peak shift (Experiment 5).     

Sample Size Planning for the Squared Multiple Correlation Coefficient: Accuracy in Parameter Estimation via Narrow Confidence Intervals

Methods of sample size planning are developed from the accuracy in parameter approach in the multiple regression context in order to obtain a sufficiently narrow confidence interval for the population squared multiple correlation coefficient when regressors are random. Approximate and exact methods are developed that provide necessary sample size so that the expected width of the confidence interval will be sufficiently narrow. Modifications of these methods are then developed so that necessary sample size will lead to sufficiently narrow confidence intervals with no less than some desired degree of assurance. Computer routines have been developed and are included within the MBESS R package so that the methods discussed in the article can be implemented. The methods and computer routines are demonstrated using an empirical example linking innovation in the health services industry with previous innovation, personality factors, and group climate characteristics.     

Syntactic reconstruction and reanalysis,semantic dead ends,and prefrontal cortex

The left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) is crucially has been found to be involved in syntactic processing of various kinds. This study investigates the cortical effects of two types of syntactic processes: (i) Reconstruction in ellipsis (recovery of left-out material given by context, More people have been to Paris than […] to Oslo), using pseudo-elliptical structures (‘dead ends’) as control (More people have been to Paris than I have). (ii) Reanalysis in the face of structural ambiguity in syntactic ‘garden paths’, where the parser initially assigns an incorrect structure and is forced to reanalyze. Reanalysis and reconstruction require additional syntactic processing and were predicted to increase activation in areas otherwise involved in structural computation: LIFG (BA 44, 45), premotor BA 6, and posterior temporal BA 21, 22. This was borne out. The results showed an interaction effect of the types of construction in all three areas reflecting syntactic processing.     

The homogeneity effect on figure/ground perception in infancy

We examined whether the homogeneity of the two profiles of Rubin's goblet affects figure/ground perception in infants. We modified the two profiles of Rubin's goblet in order to compare figure/ground perception under four test patterns: (1) two profiles painted with horizontal lines (horizontal-line condition), (2) two profiles painted middle gray (uni-color condition), (3) one profile painted light gray and the other dark gray (two-color condition), and (4) a goblet painted with concentric circles (concentric-circles condition). In the horizontal-line condition the homogeneity of the profile was strengthened, and in the two-color condition the homogeneity of the profile was weakened compared to the uni-color condition, which was an original Rubin's goblet. In the concentric-circles condition the homogeneity of the reversed areas of the horizontal-line were strengthened.