Long latency auditory evoked potentials

Experiment 1 elicited the P1, N1, P2, and N2 components of the long latency auditory evoked potential (AEP) using a 1000 Hz tone presented at 30, 50, or 70 dB SPL and 1-, 3-, or 5- second inter-stimulus intervals to assess the relative effects of the combination of these variables on component amplitude and latency. Four blocks of 16 tone presentations each were recorded from each subject to determine if changes in the AEP would occur because of short-term habituation. Both stimulus factors interacted significantly in a systematic fashion for the amplitude measures, with increases in latency also associated with increases in intensity and inter-stimulus interval. Only minor changes across the four trial blocks for either the amplitude or latency measures were observed over the various stimulus presentation conditions. Experiment 2 employed the same tone stimulus presented at 50 dB SPL and a 3-second inter-stimulus interval. Eight blocks of 64 trials were recorded from each subject on each day for four days to investigate long-term habituation effects. No substantial changes in any of the component amplitudes or latencies were obtained across the 32 trial blocks. It was concluded that intensity and inter-stimulus interval interact to determine AEP amplitude as well as latency values and that the constituent components do not change appreciably with repeated stimulus presentations, even after several days.     

Parenting behaviors and learning of Singapore students: The mediational role of achievement goals

This study examined the mediational role of achievement goals between parental behaviors and learning outcomes. A sample of 1667 Singapore Secondary 3 students took the measures of parental involvement in learning, parental control, mastery approach and avoidance goals, performance approach and avoidance goals, as well as seven learning outcome variables in their math study. We conducted complex structural equation modeling analysis to take into account the hierarchical structure of the data and found a good fit for the hypothesized partial mediation model. More specifically, parental involvement in learning was associated with an adaptive learning profile (i.e., self-regulated engagement in learning activities, low anxiety, high perceived competence, and high achievement), partially or mainly through its positive relationship with mastery approach goals. Parental control predicted a maladaptive coping orientation (i.e., low persistence and high anxiety) and low achievement partially through its positive relationship with mastery and performance avoidance goals. The findings are discussed in the academic context of Singapore.     

Women in the National Guard: Experiences with children during deployment

More women of the National Guard and Reserves have deployed to combat zones overseas than ever before. Upon reintegration, these soldiers often face a number of stressors related to their combat zone experiences and readjustment to civilian life. One of these stressors is the reintegration with family, partners, and children. This qualitative study involved interviews with 30 women from the National Guard regarding their reintegration experiences with their children. Four categories were revealed from the data: (a) Concerns for Children’s Well-being, (b) Sense of Loss (c) Reintegration: Personal Challenges, and (d) Reintegration: Children’s Reactions. Implications for clinical work with returning soldiers and further research are discussed.     

Epistemic Possibility and the Necessity of Origin

The necessity of origin suggests that a person’s identity is determined by the particular pair of gametes from which the person originated. An implication is that speculative scenarios concerning how we might otherwise have been had our gametic origins been different are dismissed as being metaphysically impossible. Given, however, that many of these speculations are intelligible and commonplace in the discourses of competent speakers, it is overhasty to dismiss them as mistakes. This paper offers a way of understanding these speculations that does not commit them to incoherence but aims to make the best sense of what they are expressing. Using the philosophical framework of two-dimensional semantics, it proposes that the speculative scenarios are best analysed as epistemic possibilities, rather than as metaphysical possibilities. It then explores some implications of this analysis for the ethical challenges associated with the non-identity problem.