Prima facie obligation

This paper presents a nonmonotonic deontic logic based on commonsense entailment. It establishes criteria a successful account of obligation should satisfy, and develops a theory that satisfies them. The theory includes two conditional notions of prima facie obligation. One is constitutive; the other is epistemic, and follows nonmonotonically from the constitutive notion. The paper defines unconditional notions of prima facie obligation in terms of the conditional notions.     

Prosodic influences on the resolution of temporary ambiguity during on-line sentence processing

We present three experiments designed to investigate the role of prosody during sentence processing. The first investigated the question of whether an utterance's prosodic contour influences its comprehension on-line. We spliced the beginning and end portions of direct object and embedded clause sentences and observed the consequent effects on comprehension using a dual-task procedure to measure processing load. Our second experiment sought to determine-whether the constituent structure of these sentences could be reliably predicted using prosodic information. We found that the duration and F₀ contour associated with the main-clause verb and the following NP reliably distinguished between the direct object and embedded clause constructions. In the final experiment, we manipulated the duration of the main-clause verb and found that subjects used this information to guide their initial parse during on-line sentence comprehension. The need for a model of sentence processing that addresses the use of prosodic information is discussed.The work reported in this paper was supported in part by NTH grant DC00494.     

Is cluttering a motor disorder?

A 15-year-old-boy was referred on account of a fluency disorder that was not thought to be stuttering. The problems of the lack of an adequate definition of cluttering are discussed along with the inherent problems of providing a wide-based assessment of this client group. Assessments were conducted on the motoric, linguistic, and intellectual abilities of this client, and the findings are discussed.     

Gifted Achievers and Underachievers: A Comparison of Patterns Found in School Files

Underachievement in gifted students has perplexed educators and parents for decades. Researchers are continually looking for information about the nature and patterns of gifted underachievers that will enlighten those concerned. Counselors are particularly involved, because they often are asked to provide illumination and interventions. This study demonstrates how information in the cumulative school file, accessible to the school counselor, is a rich resource for understanding the patterns of achievement and underachievement among students identified as gifted and for use in planning interventions for students at risk for underachievement. Participants were gifted students (N = 153) who were determined to be either achievers or under-achievers, based on their grade point average at graduation. High and moderate achievers and moderate and extreme underachievers were compared on information found in the school file, such as attendance, tardiness, course selection, and onset and duration of underachievement. Results indicate that there are differences between achievers and underachievers on a number of variables found in the school files. Profiles of these groups are presented with suggestions for actions by counselors.     

Unilateral agraphia after section of the posterior half of the truncus of the corpus callosum

Children ranging in age from 3 to 12 tapped on a morse key with their index finger as fast as possible. After a control test, they concurrently tapped and recited a nursery rhyme, recited animal names, and memorized shapes. Previous results suggested that more interference in a motor task results from attempting at the same time to perform another task controlled by the same, than by a different, hemisphere. Right-handed tapping and talking both used left hemisphere space; left-handed tapping and talking were controlled by different hemispheres. Relative to silent tapping concurrent talking caused a greater drop in right-hand tapping rate than in left-hand tapping rate in both the rhyme and animal conditions. Interference by shape memorizing was equal across hands. The differential effect of speaking on right-hand preference indicates the left lateralization of speech output control. The size of this effect did not vary with increasing grade level. The findings support the view that speech output control is fully lateralized at least by age 3 years.     

Factor structure of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale for an institutionalized, disabled population

Separate factor analyses of responses to the Tennessee Self-concept Scale using item and scale data are reported for a sample of 255 disabled veterans. A global self-satisfaction factor and several subsidiary factors roughly approximate the external dimension of the scale. The internal dimension interacts with the external one in defining several factors but does not emerge as an independent dimension. Scale data yield a self-esteem factor incorporating both external and internal scales and a self-concept conflict-integration factor. The evidence supports the external dimension more than the internal dimension. The findings are consistent with previous studies that have not validated the two-dimensional design of the scale.     

Putting personal growth into an occupational psychology curriculum

This paper outlines an alternative approach to curriculum design in higher education focusing in particular on the introduction of personal growth into the programme, and on facilitating the selection by students of the optimal choice of options. It is argued that models of curriculum design need to take cognizance of at least four interested parties; and that in the resolutions of their divergent interests, curriculum designers must make clear their most potent values, as well as their theories and assumptions about the nature of learning. A brief outline follows of two courses based upon these propositions. Finally, evaluations by both trainers and students involved in these courses are presented.     

Conceptualizing Self-determination from a Behavioral Perspective: The Role of Choice,Self-control,and Self-management

The goal of education can be defined in many ways; but in searching the literature, we found that in most cases, people consider the goal of education to be developing a self-determined individual. Self-determination is an abstract term. Behavior analysts may find this term difficult to define. Therefore, it may be difficult to observe and measure whether “self-determined behaviors” have developed. Many other service providers use this term frequently; thus, behavior analysts working with these service providers must come to terms with this concept in order to better collaborate. We argue that self-determination can be operationally defined with the concepts of choice, self-control, and self-management. By using the measurable behaviors included in these concepts, we believe that services can be developed to teach self-determination skills. This paper explores these concepts and how they can contribute to an operational definition of self-determination, and ultimately, help behavior analysts work with other providers to effectively teach self-determination to individuals with developmental disabilities.