bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Still building American character: sport and the physical education curriculum
Authors: Rees C. Roger
Published: September 2011

This paper describes a ‘local’ reaction to the global theme that ‘sport builds character’. It shows how the emphasis on winning in sports has led to the growth of a unique system of interscholastic athletics in American schools which provides important socialization experiences for students and acts as entertainment for the community. I suggest that the founders of physical education in America used the popularity of sport to establish their subject as a legitimate component of secondary education, and argue that the current popularity of athletics is now undermining that legitimacy. To support this claim, I give examples of how the system of athletics can compromise the current reform efforts in physical education which use sports as a medium to develop self‐responsibility and raise moral issues.
Policy, practice, and reconversion in Spanish educational reform: teaching and teacher education in physical education
Authors: DEVÍS‐DEVÍS JOSE
Published: September 2011

Since the late 1980s, reform of the Spanish education system has been justified by reformists as a response to the social and economic changes that have occurred in Spanish society since the democratic transition in the 1970s. Consolidation of democracy, development of technology and economic convergence with the advanced nations of Europe have been seen as the major challenges for educational reform. Restructuring and legitimation processes derived from the requirements of the new reform have been conceptualized as a policy of reconversion, the main purpose of which is to maintain, or achieve, a strong competitive position in the international market. In this paper, conceptualizing educational reform as a reconversion process will allow us to link aspects of the new curriculum (content, pedagogy and assessment), school organization, teaching and teacher education in physical education with wider economic, social and cultural influences and explore the tensions and conflicts between policy and practice in PE in schools. The paper will argue that there is a widening gap between the interests of progressive educationalists and the direction of market‐driven education reform.
Physical education and sport and special needs in Germany
Authors: Doll‐Tepper Gudrun
Published: September 2011

Historically, in Germany individuals with special needs have been offered participation in physical education (PE) both in segregated and increasingly in integrated settings. Specific curricula for children with disabilities (physical disabilities, hearing, and visual impairments, speech and behaviour disorders as well as intellectual disabilities) were developed in the 1960s and 1970s. They all emphasized the specific importance of physical activities for people with a disability focusing not only on motor competencies but also on the psychological and social benefits of physical education. During the 1970s so‐called model schools started to include children with disabilities in mainstream schools. Unlike developments in the United States, for example, where integrated or mainstream schooling was based on legal requirements, in Germany improved integration or inclusion was not based on federal law, but on parents’ or teachers’ initiatives in different Bundesländer (states of Germany). Parallel to these developments, new approaches to PE have accentuated a positive orientation towards ‘ability’ rather than ‘disability’. Professionals in PE in universities and in schools have been challenged to develop better diagnostic skills and more individualized programmes. On the initiative of nine European universities, a European Master's degree of Adapted Physical Activity has been developed to offer advanced training on a European scale. However, despite these positive and innovative developments serious concerns remain concerning the situation of children with disabilities in the school system. This article argues that there is still a significant lack of specially trained professionals and support staff and that the ongoing process of reducing the amount of PE in schools for all children, including those with a disability, does not contribute to improved physical and social skills or increased participation in recreational and sport activities outside schools.
School‐based restructuring and curriculum change: teachers’ and students’ contrasting perspectives
Authors: Beattie Mary , Thiessen Dennis
Published: September 2011

This article is set within the context of a school‐based change initiative, where we studied a number of teachers and students in order to understand the ways in which they understood and experienced the complexities of the change process, and to add their voices to the ongoing discussions around restructuring and school‐based change. We found that although there were some commonalties between how teachers and students experienced the changes being implemented, there were also some profound differences between the curriculum as planned by teachers and the curriculum as experienced by students. For the teachers, the themes of caring for students’ lives, recasting themselves as classroom practitioners and of working as collaborative colleagues were identified; for students, the themes were those of getting used to the place, and of re‐establishing their preferred way of working in this new setting. In our discussion and analysis of these themes we look at the implications for future school‐based change initiatives, and at some of the complexities and difficulties which present themselves as schools take on increased authority and responsibility for self‐management and for the creation of improved learning environments for students and teachers. We suggest that future change efforts should give more importance to the perspectives of teachers and students, and to the interactive and programmatic exchanges of teachers and students. We suggest also that changed school structures should originate in a focus on the improvement of teaching and learning, and on the facilitation of teachers’ and students’ collaborative efforts to create a curriculum for the classroom and a learning community which is both enabling and transformative for both.
Short term Memory Impairment and Arithmetical Ability
Authors: Butterworth Brian , Cipolotti Lisa , Warrington Elizabeth K.
Published: September 2011

We document the dissociation of preserved calculation skills in a patient with impaired auditory short-term memory. The patient (MRF) had a memory span of three digits. Furthermore, he showed rapid decrement in performance of single digits and letters with both auditory and visual presentation in the Brown-Peterson forgetting task. Analysis of his calculation skills revealed a normal ability to solve auditorily presented multidigit addition and subtraction problems such as 173 + 68 and to execute the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (Sampson, 1956, 1958; Gronwall, 1977). In addition, his performance on other tests, including arithmetic manipulation of natural numbers, decimals and fractions, approximation, magnitude, ratio, and percentage, appeared to be normal (Hitch, 1978b). It is argued that these findings require a revision of Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) concept of the function of working memory.
Serial Order in Spatial Immediate Memory
Authors: Smyth Mary M. , Scholey Keith A.
Published: September 2011

Serial order effects in spatial memory are investigated in three experiments. In the first an analysis of errors in recall data suggested that immediate transpositions were the most common error and that order errors over 2 or 3 adjacent items accounted for the majority of errors in recall. The first and last serial positions are less error-prone than is the middle position in sets of six and seven items. A second experiment investigated recognition of transpositions and found that immediate transpositions were hardest to recognize but that a traditional serial position effect was not found. This may be due to the difficulty of maintaining one set of spatial items when another set is presented for comparison. A probe experiment, in which subjects were asked to recognize whether a single item came from a memory set and then to assign it to its position in the set indicated that the first and last positions were remembered more accurately than were central positions. The combination of serial order data in recall and position data suggests that there are similarities between serial order and position effects in the verbal and spatial domains and that serial order in spatial sequences is position-based.
An Analysis of Errors in the Learning, Overlearning, and Forgetting of Sequences
Authors: Lansdale Mark , How Tan Tarn
Published: September 2011

This paper investigates the effects upon delayed recall of errors made during learning. Subjects learn a sequence of wagons in a model train over repeated presentation and test cycles. The recall of the same sequence is unexpectedly tested one week later. The results show that the errors subjects make during learning are a significant factor in predicting which elements of the sequence are forgotten. Learning is modelled by a population of discrete traces, accumulated during learning, which has two characteristics: First, many of the traces duplicate information encoded in other traces; and second, representations of the correct sequence coexist with traces containing incorrect information about the same elements of the sequence. Forgetting is modelled by the accretion of null traces that compete with correct traces at retrieval and the increasing inability with time to discriminate correct representations in memory from erroneous records. This model is shown to provide a good fit to the experimental results and suggests a strong link between the complete history of learning new material (including errors) and its subsequent likelihood of forgetting.
S-R Compatibility Effects without Response Uncertainty
Authors: Hommel Bernhard
Published: September 2011

Five experiments investigated whether cognitively based spatial S-R correspondence effects or “compatibility” effects can occur in simple reaction time (SRT) tasks and if so, which factors might be responsible for their occurrence and size. In Experiment 1, responses were cued before each trial, but made only after presentation of a Go signal. There were considerably faster responses with spatial correspondence of Go signal and response, demonstrating that response certainty does not prevent a compatibility effect. Experiment 2, a SRT task with “extra” trials requiring responses with the same or the opposite hand, indicated a major determinant of this effect to be the keeping of two task-relevant responses in a state of readiness. Experiment 3 provided preliminary evidence for “inertia” effects—that is, for stronger correspondence effects with frequent than with infrequent alternations between left-hand and right-hand blocks. Experiment 4 showed that correspondence effects can be obtained by using a within-hand response repertoire. Experiment 5, a replication of Experiment 3 with within-hand responses, found further evidence for inertia effects. For all experiments, reaction time distribution analyses were carried out to gain insight into the temporal dynamics of correspondence effects. Altogether the results strongly suggest that most if not all correspondence effects had a cognitive rather than an anatomical origin. This raises some doubts about conclusions from prior attempts to measure interhemispheric transmission costs by means of SRT tasks.
A Probabilistic Interpretation of “If-Then”
Authors: Liu In-mao , Lo King-chung , Wu Jei-tun
Published: September 2011

This study proposes that subjects interpret thematic conditionals (“if p then q”) probabilistically in solving conditional reasoning problems. Experiment 1 found that subjects’ correct responses increased with the perceived probability of q, given p for each of the four forms of conditional arguments: modus ponens (MP), modus tollens (MT), denial of the antecedent (DA), and affirmation of the consequent (AC). Experiment 2 ruled out two alternative explanations based on the comprehensibility of conditionals and on subjects interpreting conditionals as biconditionals. In Experiment 3, subjects solved two types of problems: (a) complete probabilistic problems, such as “If p then q; knowing p; how probable is q?”, and (b) reduced probabilistic problems, such as “Knowing p; how probable is q?” Two sources of information that determine the observable reasoning responses are identified. One source of information is based on one's general knowledge, and another is based on taking all premises into account.
The Use of Stereotypical Gender Information in Constructing a Mental Model: Evidence from English and Spanish
Authors: Carreiras Manuel , Garnham Alan , Oakhill Jane , Cain Kate
Published: September 2011

Four experiments were carried out to investigate how general knowledge about the stereotypical gender of participants in a text influences comprehension. A self-paced reading task was used to present short texts comprising one, two, or three sentences. The first sentence of each text introduced a stereotypically masculine or feminine participant (e.g. doctor, nurse), or a neutral one. The last sentence introduced a pronoun (he/she) that could match or mismatch the gender of the referent. The first experiment, which was carried out in English, showed that reading times for the last sentence were longer when there was a mismatch than when there was a match between the gender of the pronoun in the last sentence and the stereotypical gender of the referent in the first sentence. In contrast to English, the gender of the participant can be disambiguated by a preceding article ( el/la) in Spanish. The results of the second, third, and fourth experiments, which were carried out in Spanish, showed that reading times for the first sentences were longer when there was a mismatch than when there was a match between the gender of the article and the stereotypical gender of the participant. However, reading times for the last sentences did not differ. Overall, the results suggest that information about the stereotypical gender of the participants in a text is incorporated into the representation as soon as it becomes available, and that it affects the ease with which the text is understood.
Retrieval Cue Specificity and the Realization of Delayed Intentions
Authors: Ellis Judi , Milne Alan
Published: September 2011

Successful performance of a delayed intention relies, in part, on recognition that a cue provides a signal for the retrieval and realization of that intention. The relative ease with which cues are recognized should influence the likelihood of successfully acting upon a delayed intention (cf. Einstein & McDaniel, 1990). We report three studies in which we manipulated ease of recognition by providing, at encoding, either the particular cues (category exemplars) that subsequently appeared during the test phase or the name of the category from which these cues were drawn—specific or general encoding instructions, respectively. Recognition of cues at test, and thus delayed intention performance, should be enhanced by the provision of specific rather than general instructions at encoding—the “specificity effect” identified by Einstein, McDaniel, Richardson, Guynn, and Cunfer (1995). This contrast, however, is likely to be influenced by both category-exemplar and exemplar-exemplar relations. The experiments reported here explored the influence of these relations on delayed intention performance. The results indicate the importance of the semantic relations (a) among cues and (b) between cues and the category from which they are drawn in determining the superiority of specific over general cue instructions.
Abstraction Processes in Artificial Grammar Learning
Authors: Shanks David R. , Johnstone Theresa , Staggs Leo
Published: September 2011

Four experiments explored the extent to which abstract knowledge may underlie subjects’ performance when asked to judge the grammaticality of letter strings generated from an artificial grammar. In Experiments 1 and 2 subjects studied grammatical strings instantiated with one set of letters and were then tested on grammatical and ungrammatical strings formed either from the same or a changed letter-set. Even with a change of letter-set, subjects were found to be sensitive to a variety of violations of the grammar. In Experiments 3 and 4, the critical manipulation involved the way in which the training strings were studied: an incidental learning procedure was used for some subjects, and others engaged in an explicit code-breaking task to try to learn the rules of the grammar. When strings were generated from a biconditional (Experiment 4) but not from a standard finite-state grammar (Experiment 3), grammaticality judgements for test strings were independent of their surface similarity to specific studied strings. Overall, the results suggest that transfer in this simple memory task is mediated at least to some extent by abstract knowledge.
The Interpretation of Anaphoric Noun Phrases Time Course, and Effects of Overspecificity
Authors: Garnham Alan , Oakhill Jane , Cain Kate
Published: September 2011

Two experiments investigated the interpretation of anaphoric noun phrases, and in particular those that could only be linked to their antecedents via knowledge-based inferences. The first experiment showed that much of the inferential processing was carried out as the anaphoric noun phrase was read, although there was some indication that inferential processing continued to the end of the clause. The second experiment attempted to establish why anaphoric noun phrases that are more specific than their antecedents cause problems. It showed that the difficulty did not lie in adding the extra information carried by the anaphor to the representation of the referent. Rather, we suggest, putting extra information in the anaphoric noun phrase disrupts the process of linking that noun phrase to its antecedent.
Disruption of Short Term Recognition Memory for Tones: Streaming or Interference?
Authors: Jones D.M. , Macken W.J. , Harries C.
Published: September 2011

A sequence of auditory stimuli interpolated between the initial presentation of a tone and a comparison tone impairs recognition performance. Notably, the impairment is much less with interpolated speech than with tones. Six experiments converge on the conclusion that this pattern of impairment is due more to the organization of the interpolated sequence than to its similarity to the to-be-remembered standard. Factors that contribute to the coherence of the interpolated sequence into a stream distinct from the initial tone are primary determinants of the level of impairment. This is demonstrated by manipulating factors that contribute to the coherence of the interpolated sequence by the action of temporal, spatial, timbral, and tonal attributes. However, the relative immunity of recognition performance to the interpolation of unprocessed digit sequences is not explained wholly by such coherence.
Mood State-Dependent Retrieval: The Effects of Induced Mood on Memory Reconsidered
Authors: Kenealy Pamela M.
Published: September 2011

Analysis of studies investigating mood-state-dependent retrieval identifies methodological problems that may have contributed to the controversy surrounding the reliability of the effect—in particular, the possible confounding of encoding and retrieval in previous studies. Five experiments are reported investigating the effects of mood on learning and recall. Mood-state-dependent retrieval was observed in Experiment 1a (using Velten's Mood Induction Procedure); Experiment 1b (using a music MIP); and Experiment 1c (using Velten's MIP at encoding and a music MIP at retrieval). Subjects who learned and recalled in different moods had significantly greater decrements in recall than did subjects in the same moods. Experiments 2 and 3 investigated the effect of observable retrieval cues on mood state-dependent retrieval. In Experiment 2, the presence of observable retrieval cues at recall overrode state-dependent retrieval. In Experiment 3, by manipulating the presence or absence of observable cues at recall, both the occurrence and the erasure of the mood-state dependency was demonstrated. Moodstate during learning and cued recall was also shown to affect performance in a third session under conditons of free recall.
Working Memory Constraints on Linear Reasoning with Spatial and Temporal Contents
Authors: Vandierendonck Andre , De Vooght Gino
Published: September 2011

The present article reports two experiments testing the use of working memory components during reasoning with temporal and spatial relations in four-term series problems. In the first experiment four groups of subjects performed reasoning tasks with temporal and with spatial contents either without (control) or with a secondary task (articulatory suppression, visuospatial suppression or central executive suppression). The second experiment tested the secondary task effects in a within-subjects design either on problems with a spatial content or on problems with a temporal content, and within each content domain either under conditions of self-paced or of fixed presentation of the premises. Both experiments found effects of all three secondary tasks on reasoning accuracy. This supports the hypothesis that the subjects construct spatial representations of the premise information with the support of visuo-spatial resources of working memory. The second experiment also showed that during premise intake, only visuo-spatial and central executive secondary tasks had an effect. The implications of the data for the working memory requirements of reasoning and for theories of linear reasoning are discussed.
Measuring Attentional Demand in Continuous Dual-task Performance
Authors: Bourke Patrick A.
Published: September 2011

Despite its intuitive appeal, the commonly held assumption that there is some general limitation on dual-task performance has been shown to be seriously flawed (Allport 1980; Navon 1984). Central to this has been the inability to measure the attentional demands of tasks, without which there is no way to determine whether their joint demands exceed the hypothetical general limit. In the absence of such a measure, dual-task interference can always be explained by the alternative possibility that specific interference has occurred. A method is described in which the attentional demands of tasks can be measured and cross validated by the use of two scales. Two experiments are described in which a general attentional limit is found; the measurement of attentional demand is consistent across scales and can be made at a level of precision approximating that of an interval scale.
Selection through Rejection: Reconsidering the Invariant Learning Paradigm
Authors: Elizabeth F. Churchill , Gilmore David J.
Published: September 2011

Two experiments are reported that investigate the nature of selections in the McGeorge and Burton (1990) invariant learning paradigm. McGeorge and Burton suggest that subjects implicitly acquire abstract knowledge of an invariant feature (usually the presence of the digit “3”) in a set of 30 stimuli. McGeorge and Burton's analysis has recently been challenged by Cock, Berry, and Gaffan (1994) and by Wright and Burton (1995). In this paper, we demonstrate that performance is based on knowledge of other aspects of the learning set besides the invariant digit, but that this knowledge is still implicit. Altering the nature of the learning stimuli to highlight these co-varying features enhances the effects and increases the reporting of explicit knowledge. Our results indicate that performance within this paradigm is more easily characterized as rejection of salient negatives than selection of positive instances, but that salience is not based simply on similarity.
I Recognise you but I Can't Place you: An Investigation of Familiar-only Experiences during Tests of Voice and Face Recognition
Authors: Hanley J. Richard , Smith S. Tanya , Hadfield Jenny
Published: September 2011

In this paper, we examine in detail the situation in which a subject finds that a face or voice is familiar but is unable to retrieve any biographical information about the person concerned. In two experiments, subjects were asked to identify a set of 40 celebrities either from hearing their voice or from seeing their face. Although many more celebrities were identified and named in response to their face than their voice, the results showed that there was a very large number of occasions when a celebrity's voice was felt to be familiar but the subject was unable to retrieve any biographical information about the person. This situation occurred less frequently in response to seeing a celebrity's face; when a face was found familiar, the subject was much more likely to be able to recall the celebrity's occupation. The possibility that these results might have come about because subjects were using different criteria to determine familiarity in the face and voice conditions was investigated and discounted. An additional finding was that when subjects found a face to be familiar-only, they were able to recall significantly more additional information about the person when they were cued by the person's voice than when they simply saw the face again. These results are discussed in relation to the models of person recognition put forward by Bruce and Young (1986) and Burton, Bruce, and Johnston (1990).
Comparing Differences in Accuracy across Conditions or Individuals: An Argument for the Use of Log Odds
Authors: Allerup Peter , Elbro Carsten
Published: September 2011

In experimental psychology, the degree of difference between the proportions of correctly solved items on two related tests (such as word lists) has been calculated by different methods, for example, a simple difference (e.g. as used in within-subjects ANOVAs), difference relative to potential gain, quotient, difference between standardized z-scores, or by Signal Detection Theory's d’, every one of which may yield different results. The present article discusses the choice of methods with an example from reading research concerned with contextual facilitation in readers with different abilities. Assuming that the total number of correctly solved items captures all relevant variance in subjects’ abilities (i.e. it is a sufficient measure), it is demonstrated that the logarithm of the quotient between odds for the frequencies of correct responses (log odds) is the most suitable method of calculation. For example, calculations based on log odds provide an appropriate ranking of the subjects, from relevant for repeated-measures ANOVAs. The aims of the present paper are to draw attention to the problem of comparing differences, to evaluate current methods of calculation, and to present a consistent solution to the problem. We illustrate the problem by applying several current methods of expressing differences in proportion correct to the same set of data: they yield radically different results. The choice of an appropriate method depends on the assumptions made about the underlying metric. We argue for a solution-the log odds measure-on the basis of Rasch's (1968a, 1968b) measurement model. This relies on a demonstration that, given a set of test items given to a set of subjects, the proportion of correct is, in technical terms, a sufficient statistic -that is, it captures all relevant variation in a subject's ability (or an item's difficulty). The example for the presentation of the problem is selected from recent reading research using comparison of accuracy in two related reading tasks. Reading accuracy with two tasks is a suitable example because it is a simple, much-used design. Researchers
The Mechanism Underlying Backward Priming in a Lexical Decision Task: Spreading Activation versus Semantic Matching
Authors: Chwilla Dorothee J. , Hagoort Peter , Brown C.M.
Published: September 2011

Koriat (1981) demonstrated that an association from the target to a preceding prime, in the absence of an association from the prime to the target, facilitates lexical decision and referred to this effect as “backward priming”. Backward priming is of relevance, because it can provide information about the mechanism underlying semantic priming effects. Following Neely (1991), we distinguish three mechanisms of priming: spreading activation, expectancy, and semantic matching/ integration. The goal was to determine which of these mechanisms causes backward priming, by assessing effects of backward priming on a language-relevant ERP component, the N400, and reaction time (RT). Based on previous work, we propose that the N400 priming effect reflects expectancy and semantic matching/ integration, but in contrast with RT does not reflect spreading activation. Experiment 1 shows a backward priming effect that is qualitatively similar for the N400 and RT in a lexical decision task. This effect was not modulated by an ISI manipulation. Experiment 2 clarifies that the N400 backward priming effect reflects genuine changes in N400 amplitude and cannot be ascribed to other factors. We will argue that these backward priming effects cannot be due to expectancy but are best accounted for in terms of semantic matching/integration.
Local and Relational Aspects of Face Distinctiveness
Authors: Leder Helmut , Bruce Vicki
Published: September 2011

Distinctiveness contributes strongly to the recognition and rejection of faces in memory tasks. In four experiments we examine the role played by local and relational information in the distinctiveness of upright and inverted faces. In all experiments subjects saw one of three versions of a face: original faces, which had been rated as average in distinctiveness in a previous study (Hancock, Burton, & Bruce, 1996), a more distinctive version in which local features had been changed ( D-local), and a more distinctive version in which relational features had been changed ( D-rel). An increase in distinctiveness was found for D-local and D-rel faces in Experiment 1 (complete faces) and 3 and 4 (face internals only) when the faces had to be rated in upright presentation, but the distinctiveness of the D-rel faces was reduced much more than that of the D-local versions when the ratings were given to the faces presented upside-down (Experiments 1 and 3). Recognition performance showed a similar pattern: presented upright, both D-local and D-rel revealed higher performance compared to the originals, but in upside-down presentation the D-local versions showed a much stronger distinctiveness advantage. When only internal features of faces were used (Experiments 3 and 4), the D-rel faces lost their advantage over the Original versions in inverted presentation. The results suggest that at least two dimensions of facial information contribute to a face's apparent distinctiveness, but that these sources of information are differentially affected by turning the face upside-down. These findings are in accordance with a face processing model in which face inversion effects occur because a specific type of information processing is disrupted, rather than because of a general disruption of performance.
Inspection Times and the Selection Task: Are They Relevant?
Authors: Roberts Maxwell J.
Published: September 2011

Five experiments are reported based upon Evans'(1996) inspection time paradigm in which subjects are required to solve computer-presented Wason Selection Task problems while simultaneously using a mouse to indicate which card is currently under consideration. It had previously been found that selected cards were inspected for considerably longer than were non-selected cards, and this was taken as support for the existence of pre-conscious heuristics that direct attention towards relevant aspects of a problem. The first experiment reported here fully replicated this effect. However, by systematically varying the task format in subsequent experiments, the effect was found to diminish, disappear, or even reverse. The change in effect size and direction was not accompanied by any systematic variations in the subjects’ card choices, indicating that the changes in taskformat had not altered the operation of the relevance-determining heuristics. On balance, it is suggested that the inspection time effect appears to be artefactual, and the inspection time paradigm therefore does not constitute satisfactory evidence for the existence of pre-conscious heuristics.
Determ inants of Positive and Negative Generation Effects in Free Recall
Authors: Steffens Melanie C. , Erdfelder Edgar
Published: September 2011

Better retention of self-produced as opposed to experimenter-presented material is called generation effect; the reverse phenomenon is the negative generation effect. Both are found in intentional-learning experiments in which generating versus reading is manipulated between subjects. The present article presents an overview of those findings and aims at clarifying the conditions under which these effects emerge. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrate that if cuetarget relations are manipulated within one list, a negative generation effect in free recall can be obtained for all items, no matter which cue-target relation they bear. In Experiment 3, cue-target relations were manipulated between lists. Here, a negative generation effect in free recall was found only in lists in which items were cued with words that mismatched the intertarget relations, whereas a positive generation effect was observed in those lists in which the generation cues matched the inter-target relations. A subsequent cued-recall test demonstrated that in cases of mismatch of relations, participants in the generate condition process cue-target relations at the expense of inter-target relations. The three-factor theory can be integrated with the task-demand account in a transfer-appropriate processing framework to accommodate these findings.
Necessity, Sufficiency, and Perspective Effects in Causal Conditional Reasoning
Authors: Fairley Neil , Manktelow Ken , Over David
Published: September 2011

A growing body of research indicates that in causal conditional reasoning, the conclusion that P is necessary for Q is suppressed where alternative conditions for Q are available. Similarly, the conclusion that P is sufficient for Q is suppressed where disabling conditions for P or additional requirements for Q are available. This paper describes experiments in which these factors were used to produce “perspective effects” in causal contexts that appear identical to the perspective effects found in previous research with deontic tasks. It is therefore proposed that deontic perspective effects are themselves also attributable to the influence of pragmatic factors upon perceived necessity and sufficiency. A generalized theory based on a modification of the mental model theory of deontic reasoning is presented, which accounts for perspective effects across the two domains.
Avoiding Misinformation: Reinstating Target Modality
Authors: Abeles Paul , Morton John
Published: September 2011

Explanations of the misinformation effect were considered in an experiment using a reversed eyewitness suggestibility design (Lindsay & Johnson, 1989b). Forty-eight subjects read a narrative describing a photograph that they subsequently viewed. For half the subjects, the narrative contained misinformation. Recognition tests for objects appearing in the photograph were administered in either a verbal or a pictorial modality. A misinformation effect was found in the verbal condition, as found by Lindsay and Johnson. With pictorial probes there was no misinformation effect, indicating that reinstatement of the appropriate modality cues can eliminate the influence of misleading post-event information upon memory and permit the retrieval of the target memory. The experiment was conceived of and discussed within the headed records framework.
Contextual Strength Modulates the Subordinate Bias Effect: Reply to Rayner, Binder, and Duffy
Authors: Vu Hoang , Kellas George
Published: September 2011

Martin, Vu, Kellas, and Metcalf (this issue) report research indicating that strongly biased contexts can eliminate a subordinate bias effect, whereas in weakly biased context, a subordinate bias effect is evident. Martin et al. further show that in weakly biased contexts the subordinate bias effect increased in a continuous fashion as the frequency difference between dominant and subordinate meanings of ambiguous words increased. The results supported a context-sensitive model of lexical ambiguity resolution. Rayner, Binder, and Duffy (this issue) challenge the research on theoretical and methodological grounds. Here, we address the major issues raised by Rayner et al. We refer the reader to Kellas and Vu (in press) for additional comments.
Contextual Strength and the Subordinate Bias Effect: Comment on Martin, Vu, Kellas, and Metcalf
Authors: Rayner Keith , Binder Katherine S. , Duffy Susan A.
Published: September 2011

Martin, Vu, Kellas, and Metcalf (this issue) claim to have demonstrated that the subordinate bias effect (when preceding context instantiates the subordinate meaning of an ambiguous word that has a highly dominant meaning, reading time on that word is lengthened) can be eliminated by strong context. They argue that this provides evidence critical to discriminating between competing models of lexical ambiguity resolution: the reordered access model (in which access of meanings for an ambiguous word is exhaustive but in which the order of access is influenced by prior disambiguating context) and the context-sensitive model (in which access is selective in the presence of prior disambiguating information). We argue that there are methodological problems with their demonstration, but even if there were not, it is unclear that the subordinate bias effect is appropriate for discriminating between competing models of lexical ambiguity resolution (the reordered access model and the context-sensitive model). The effect is an empirical finding and not a fundamental tenet of the reordered access model.
Cluster ofBacillusSpecies Bacteremia Cases in Neonates during a Hospital Construction Project
Authors: Campbell Judith R. , Hulten Kristina , Baker Carol J.
Published: September 2011

We report an outbreak ofBacillusbacteremia among premature infants during a construction project. Our investigation revealed potential environmental sources. After replacement of air filters, cleaning of the unit, emphasis on hand hygiene, and relocation of the loading dock for linen and supply delivery, no further cases were detected.
Prevalence of and Risks for Internal Contamination among Hospital Staff Caring for a Patient Contaminated with a Fatal Dose of Polonium-210
Authors: Waroux Olivier le Polain de , Cohuet Sandra , Bishop Louise , Johnson Sandra , Shaw Karen , Maguire Helen , Charlett André , Fraser Graham
Published: September 2011

Background.

Alexander Litvinenko died on November 23, 2006, from acute radiation sickness syndrome caused by ingestion of polonium-210 (210Po).

Objective.

The objective was to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for internal contamination with 210Po in healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for the contaminated patient.

Setting.

Hospital.

Participants.

HCWs who had direct contact with the patient.

Methods.

We interviewed 43 HCWs and enquired about their activities and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Internal contamination was denned as urinary 210Po excretion above 20 mBq within 24 hours. We obtained risk ratios (RRs) for internal contamination using Poisson regression.

Results.

Thirty-seven HCWs (86%) responded, and 8 (22%) showed evidence of internal contamination, all at very low levels that were unlikely to cause adverse health outcomes. Daily care of the patient (washing and toileting the patient) was the main risk factor (RR, 3.6 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1-11.6]). In contrast, planned invasive procedures were not associated with a higher risk. There was some evidence of a higher risk associated with handling blood samples (RR, 3.5 [95% CI, 0.8-15.6]) and changing urine bags and/or collecting urine samples (RR, 2.7 [95% CI, 0.8-9.5]). There was also some evidence that those who reported not always using standard PPE were at higher risk than were others (RR, 2.5 [95% CI, 0.8-8.1]).

Conclusions.

The sensitive quantitative measurement enabled us to identify factors associated with contamination, which by analogy to other conditions with similar transmission mechanisms may help improve protection and preparedness in staff dealing with an ill patient who experiences an unknown illness.
Current Practice in Staphylococcus aureus Screening and Decolonization
Authors: Diekema Daniel , Johannsson Birgir , Herwaldt Loreen , Beekmann Susan , Jernigan John , Kallen Alexander , Berrios-Torres Sandra , Polgreen Philip
Published: September 2011

We surveyed infectious disease physicians to determine their preoperative Staphylococcus aureus screening and decolonization practices. Sixty percent reported preoperative screening for S. aureus. However, specific screening and decolonization practices are highly variable, are focused almost exclusively on methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and do not include testing for mupirocin or chlorhexidine resistance.
Improving Risk-Adjusted Measures of Surgical Site Infection for the National Healthcare Safely Network
Authors: Mu Yi , Edwards Jonathan R. , Horan Teresa C. , Berrios-Torres Sandra I. , Fridkin Scott K.
Published: September 2011

Background.

The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) has provided simple risk adjustment of surgical site infection (SSI) rates to participating hospitals to facilitate quality improvement activities; improved risk models were developed and evaluated.

Methods.

Data reported to the NHSN for all operative procedures performed from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2008, were analyzed. Only SSIs related to the primary incision site were included. A common set of patient- and hospital-specific variables were evaluated as potential SSI risk factors by univariate analysis. Some ific variables were available for inclusion. Stepwise logistic regression was used to develop the specific risk models by procedure category. Bootstrap resampling was used to validate the models, and the c-index was used to compare the predictive power of new procedure-specific risk models with that of the models with the NHSN risk index as the only variable (NHSN risk index model).

Results.

From January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2008, 847 hospitals in 43 states reported a total of 849,659 procedures and 16,147 primary incisional SSIs (risk, 1.90%) among 39 operative procedure categories. Overall, the median c-index of the new procedure-specific risk was greater (0.67 [range, 0.59–0.85]) than the median c-index of the NHSN risk index models (0.60 [range, 0.51–0.77]); for 33 of 39 procedures, the new procedure-specific models yielded a higher c-index than did the NHSN risk index models.

Conclusions.

A set of new risk models developed using existing data elements collected through the NHSN improves predictive performance, compared with the traditional NHSN risk index stratification.
“But My Patients Are Different!”: Risk Adjustment in 2012 and Beyond
Authors: Moehring Rebekah W. , Anderson Deverick J.
Published: September 2011

Feedback of surgical site infection (SSI) rates to surgeons improves patient outcomes and should be considered a cornerstone of any infection control program. For as long as feedback of SSI data has occurred, those in infection control have often heard a searing retort from indignant surgeons: “But my patients are different!”

Fortunately, epidemiologists have several tools to use in response. One of the most commonly used approaches involves risk adjustment for differences in case mix between the group of interest (eg, a surgeon's patients) and a comparator. In other words, risk adjustment levels the playing field.

Formal risk adjustment for rates of SSI has existed for almost 50 years but is still an imperfect science. In fact, risk adjustment for different variables can lead to different conclusions. Over the past 2 decades, the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) risk index has been used by many hospitals to perform risk adjustment for rates of SSI. The NHSN risk index is simple and effective but has undergone considerable scrutiny. Numerous investigators have described scenarios and/or procedures for which the risk index performed poorly and have offered suggestions for improvement. Indeed, Robert Gaynes summarized some of the shortcomings of the NHSN risk index in 2 editorials 10 years ago, stating, “A composite risk index that captures the joint influence of [intrinsic patient risk] and other risk factors is required before meaningful comparisons of SSI rates can be made by surgeons, among institutions, or across time.”
Selling to the BRIC: Brazil — an awakening tiger
Authors: Myers David
Published: September 2011

Brazil is now self‐sufficient and actually a net exporter in many core areas. This newly found wealth is being partially transferred to feed an increased demand for scholarly content. Brazil has the lofty goal of leading the region, if not the world, in amassing subscriptions to content that will hopefully educate its people to further accelerate growth in Brazil and bring it closer to par with developed nations. Through the CAPES Consortia and its Portal, one of Brazil's main vehicles for content acquisition and dissemination under the Ministry of Education, it has amassed more than 23,000 periodical titles, and countless other sources. Use of the Portal has increased more than 2,100% since it was created and now exceeds 18 million full‐text downloads/year and more than 155,000 accesses/day. This article hopes to identify the challenges in tapping this market, and provide some suggestions in pursuing subscription opportunities in Brazil. It is important to understand the economic and psychological drivers that will make a publisher successful in these uncertain times, including the need for flexibility, and the need to forge and maintain relationships, to understand the political and financial climate with the help from ‘in‐country’ representation, and generally to think creatively.
The extent of concentration in journal publishing
Authors: DIDEGAH Fereshteh , GAZNI Ali
Published: September 2011

This study examines the extent of concentration in the journal publishing industry. A number of aspects are considered: publishers, journal impacts, countries, and languages. For journals indexed in JCR from 1997 to 2009, just 0.2% of publishers produce 50% of journals and articles, and 0.3% of publishers account for the top 50% of citations, impact factors and immediacy indices. More than a half of publishers in JCR are from four countries: USA, UK, Germany and Japan. In addition, more than a half of journals come from the USA and UK. Examining the publishers' interactions in terms of buying and selling journals shows the extent of change by acquisition, and the acquisition links between publishers. The findings confirm that the international market of journal publishing is essentially dominated by a few publishers.
History of Political Philosophy as a Discipline
Authors: Gunnell John G.
Published: September 2011

Whether one speaks of the study of the history of political philosophy, the history of political theory, or the history of political thought, the reference is typically to one basic scholarly genre. Although this body of scholarship is now the province of a distinctly interdisciplinary academic practice, bridging, and including, fields such as philosophy, history, and literary criticism, it is professionally largely the product of a subdiscipline located primarily in departments of political science, politics, or government. In the United States, the emerging social sciences, during the nineteenth century, were primarily the confluence of three closely related tributaries: elements of academic moral philosophy, often inspired by Scottish Enlightenment thinkers; individuals such as William Graham Sumner, who taught a scientific understanding of society and elicit the secret of social progress; and movements such as those represented in the American Social Science Association, which invoked the cognitive authority of science as they pursued a variety of causes from abolition to civil service reform.