Native Thai Speakers’ Acquisition of English Word Stress Patterns

The influence of syllabic structure, lexical class and stress patterns of known words on the acquisition of the English stress system was investigated in ten native Thai speakers. All participants were adult learners of English with an average length of residence in the US of 1.4 years. They were asked to produce and give perceptual judgments on 40 English non-words of varying syllabic structures in noun and verb sentence frames. Results of the production data suggested that syllables with a long vowel attracted stress more often than syllables containing a short vowel and nouns received initial stress more often than verbs. Additionally, regression analyses with the three factors as predictors suggested that Thai participants’ pattern of stress assignment on non-words was significantly influenced by the stress patterns of phonologically similar real words. These results were compared and contrasted to those found in previous work with Spanish–English and Korean–English bilinguals.     

Interrogation,Interpretation and Integration of Spirituality: Insights from Sri Aurobindo for “Care for Creation”

This paper brings together three strands of enquiry – interrogation of spirituality, interpretation of spirituality and Sri Aurobindo's integrative spirituality – which form the three natural parts of the paper. In the first part I interrogate the idea and category “spirituality” and argue that this term came to be understood in opposition to the “material” only in medieval times, and thus the common notion of spirituality as opposed to materiality is misplaced. In the second part, in light of George Lindbeck's work, I will explore the question – is it possible for different traditions that interpret spirituality differently to hold a common unifying position? I will argue that if we are to arrive at an understanding of spirituality that will be acceptable to different traditions, then the very conception of spirituality must be informed by all. In the final part, I will argue that Sri Aurobindo's integrative spirituality offers a sufficient rationale for creation‐care by proposing a view of spirituality which, on the one hand, overcomes the spiritual‐material dichotomy, while on the other, contains an implicit guard against imposing its view of spirituality on other traditions. Finally, by bringing Sri Aurobindo into the dialogue I demonstrate how insights from another tradition can be drawn to enrich our understanding of spirituality.     

组织类型与员工建言行为的关系探索：基于权力的视角

研究目的是探索中国背景下国有企业、民营企业、外资企业、政府机关四类组织中员工建言行为的差异,及员工个人权力感和权力动机的中介作用。采用问卷法对员工和管理者进行配对取样调查,通过对回收的324份有效问卷进行数据分析。结果表明,员工建言行为在四种组织类型中存在显著性差异,而员工个人权力感和权力动机在其中起到中介作用。此外,研究还发现,权力距离倾向在组织类型和个人权力感之间起到调节作用。最后,研究梳理了组织类型与建言行为的关系模型,并对未来研究做了展望。     

Learning without consciously knowing: Evidence from event-related potentials in sequence learning

This paper investigated how implicit and explicit knowledge is reflected in event-related potentials (ERPs) in sequence learning. ERPs were recorded during a serial reaction time task. The results showed that there were greater RT benefits for standard compared with deviant stimuli later than early on, indicating sequence learning. After training, more standard triplets were generated under inclusion than exclusion tests and more standard triplets under exclusion than chance level, indicating that participants acquired both explicit and implicit knowledge. However, deviant targets elicited enhanced N2 and P3 components for targets with explicit knowledge but a larger N2 effect for targets with implicit knowledge, revealing that implicit knowledge expresses itself in relatively early components (N2) and explicit knowledge in additional P3 components. The results help resolve current debate about the neural substrates supporting implicit and explicit learning.     

Too exhausted to remember: Ego depletion undermines subsequent event‐based prospective memory

Past research has consistently found that people are likely to do worse on high‐level cognitive tasks after exerting self‐control on previous actions. However, little has been unraveled about to what extent ego depletion affects subsequent prospective memory. Drawing upon the self‐control strength model and the relationship between self‐control resources and executive control, this study proposes that the initial actions of self‐control may undermine subsequent event‐based prospective memory (EBPM). Ego depletion was manipulated through watching a video requiring visual attention (Experiment 1) or completing an incongruent Stroop task (Experiment 2). Participants were then tested on EBPM embedded in an ongoing task. As predicted, the results showed that after ruling out possible intervening variables (e.g. mood, focal and nonfocal cues, and characteristics of ongoing task and ego depletion task), participants in the high‐depletion condition performed significantly worse on EBPM than those in the low‐depletion condition. The results suggested that the effect of ego depletion on EBPM was mainly due to an impaired prospective component rather than to a retrospective component.     

Do knee concentric and eccentric strength and sagittal-plane knee joint biomechanics differ between jumpers and non-jumpers in landing?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of knee concentric and eccentric strength and impact related knee biomechanics between jumpers and non-jumpers during step-off landing tasks. Ten male college swimming athletes (non-jumpers) and 10 track and volleyball athletes (jumpers) were recruited to participate in two test sessions: a muscle strength testing session of concentric and eccentric extension for dominant knee joint at 60 °/s and 180 °/s and a landing testing session. The participants performed five trials of step-off landing in each of four conditions: soft and stiff landing from 0.4 m and 0.6 m landing heights. The three-dimensional kinematics and ground reaction force were recorded simultaneously during step-off landing conditions. The results showed that the jumpers had significantly greater peak knee eccentric extension and concentric flexion torques compared to the non-jumpers. No significant group effects were found for peak vertical ground reaction force and knee range of motion during landing. The jumpers had significantly greater knee contact flexion angle, maximum knee flexion angle and initial knee extension moment compared to the non-jumpers. These results suggest that these athletes adopted a favorable impact attenuation strategy that is related to the greater knee eccentric muscle strength and training.     

Knowledge and economic growth—creativity,learning and knowledge utilization

The purpose of this study is to discuss the dynamic interdependence of knowledge and economic growth. We show that the traditional economics, which treats knowledge as parameters and is mainly developed within linearized, stable and static frameworks can hardly explain the modern economic complexity. We argue that it is necessary to treat creativity, learning and knowledge utilization as endogenous dynamic processes of social and economic evolution. To handle with the complicated dynamic interdependence of wealth and knowledge accumulation, we need to apply genuine nonlinear dynamic theory. In particular, we discuss possible benefits of government's intervention in education and science to the society when the social and economic evolution is characterized of nonlinearity, instability and multi‐equilibria.     

Short‐term cognitive‐behavioral treatment in multicultural primary care of patients with longstanding backache

The efficacy of cognitive‐behavioral therapy in multi‐cultural primary care patients with longstanding backache is not evaluated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcome of a four weekly‐treatment given by primary care physicians regarding pain‐related worry, depression and severe pain and to determine which social, clinical or gender factors were associated with outcome.The study group consisted of 245 patients in consecutive order from 19 countries, 18 to 45 years, entering rehabilitation program because of longstanding backache. Prevalences of pain‐related worry and depression and severe pain was counted and compared before and after. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds (OR; 95% CI) for persistent pain‐related worry and/or persistent depression and severe pain (VAS ≥ 50). The prevalences of pain‐related worry and depression were both significantly lower after treatment (pain‐related worry 83% before vs. 38% after; depression 43% before vs. 31% after). Also the number of patients scoring ≥ 50 VAS was a little, but significantly, fewer (68% vs. 61%). Use of interpreter doubled the risk of having persistent pain‐related worry (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.1–4.1) but the risk was not significant regarding persistent depression (OR 1.8; 0.6‐5.4). The rating of VAS rating ≥ 50 after treatment was twice as high, OR 2.3 (95% CI 1.1–4.6) in the 38–45 year old age group. To conclude, a focus on pain ideas reduced pain‐related worry and depression in these patients with various sociocultural backgrounds and longstanding backache.     

Prospective and retrospective time perception are related to mental time travel: Evidence from Alzheimer’s disease

Unlike prospective time perception paradigms, in which participants are aware that they have to estimate forthcoming time, little is known about retrospective time perception in normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our paper addresses this shortcoming by comparing prospective and retrospective time estimation in younger adults, older adults, and AD patients. In four prospective tasks (lasting 30 s, 60 s, 90 s, or 120 s) participants were asked to read a series of numbers and to provide a verbal estimation of the reading time. In four other retrospective tasks, they were not informed about time judgment until they were asked to provide a verbal estimation of four elapsed time intervals (lasting 30 s, 60 s, 90 s, or 120 s). AD participants gave shorter verbal time estimations than older adults and younger participants did, suggesting that time is perceived to pass quickly in these patients. For all participants, the duration of the retrospective tasks was underestimated as compared to the prospective tasks and both estimations were shorter than the real time interval. Prospective time estimation was further correlated with mental time travel, as measured with the Remember/Know paradigm. Mental time travel was even higher correlated with retrospective time estimation. Our findings shed light on the relationship between time perception and the ability to mentally project oneself into time, two skills contributing to human memory functioning. Finally, time perception deficits, as observed in AD patients, can be interpreted in terms of dramatic changes occurring in frontal lobes and hippocampus.