METAPHORIC COHERENCE: DISTINGUISHING VERBAL METAPHOR FROM "ANOMALY"

Theories and computational models of metaphor comprehension generally circumvent the question of metaphor versus "anomaly" in favor of a treatment of metaphor versus literal language. Making the distinction between metaphoric and "anomalous" expressions is subject to wide variation in judgment, yet humans agree that some potentially metaphoric expressions are much more comprehensible than others. In the context of a program which interprets simple isolated sentences that are potential instances of cross-modal and other verbal metaphor, I consider some possible coherence criteria which must be satisfied for an expression to be "conceivable" metaphorically. Metaphoric constraints on object nominals are represented as abstracted or extended along with the invariant structural components of the verb meaning in a metaphor. This approach distinguishes what is preserved in metaphoric extension from that which is "violated", thus referring to both "similarity" and "dissimilarity" views of metaphor. The role and potential limits of represented abstracted properties and constraints is discussed as they relate to the recognition of incoherent semantic combinations and the rejection or adjustment of metaphoric interpretations.     

More of What? Issues raised by the Fort Bragg study.

The sobering findings of the Fort Bragg study (L. Bickman, see record 83-31861; L. Bickman et al, 1995) illustrate why ambitious demonstration projects must be combined with objective outcome evaluations. The study does suggest that "more is better," but more of what? Little is known about the specific interventions that were combined to form the Fort Bragg system of care, so the study does not really reveal what failed or what needs to be changed. Moreover, there is no evidence that the specific treatments used had any empirical support. Combining and systematizing various treatments may not produce improved outcomes if the treatments are not effective in the first place. Costly demonstration programs that combine untested treatments may be a poor investment. A better strategy may be to develop and test an array of well-documented treatments for an array of child and family problems, creating the building blocks needed for effective systems of care in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of brief puppet therapy upon the emotional responses of children undergoing cardiac catheterization.

40 children between ages 3 and 11, admitted to a children's hospital for cardiac catheterization (CC), served as Ss for a study of the effect of this therapy upon the emotional responses of patients hospitalized for this diagnostic procedure. 20 of the Ss were assigned randomly to an experimental group which received puppet therapy before and after CC; 20 were placed in a control group which was not given therapy but otherwise was treated similarly to the experimental group. Children who received therapy were less disturbed during CC (p     

Removal of phenol from aqueous solutions by continuous RF-pertraction

Water dephenolation was studied using a multistage Rotating Film Pertractor (RFP). This relatively new liquid membrane technique allows the use of almost water-insoluble liquids as intermediate organic ‘membranes’. The effects of the main processing parameters such as disc rotation velocity, temperature and phase flowrate, on removal efficiency were studied. A mathematical model describing the process of dephenolation in a counter-current multistage cascade of n-RFP contactors was proposed for the prediction of phenol removal.