Investigation of functional working memory in the reading span test.

Two issues were investigated in 2 experiments: (1) the validity of a reading span test that combined a knowledge verification task with a secondary task of word memorization and (2) the hypothesis that word recall reflects the amount of working memory that is functional in reading. In Exp 1, the validity and reliability of the reading span measure were determined. In Exp 2, it was reasoned that if word recall reflected functional working memory in reading, then 2 results should be observed. The 1st predicted result was that prior exposure to sentences used in the reading span test would release working memory resources and improve word recall. The 2nd was that word recall, though correlated with general working memory and verbal knowledge measures, would add to these scores in predicting comprehension. Both sets of results were obtained, supporting the hypothesis that the reading span test measures functional working memory in reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Important features of Iris OSQL

OSQL is the object-oriented database language developed for the Iris object-oriented database management system at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. Its three fundamental constructs are objects, types, and functions. This paper provides an overview of the underlying concepts and some important features of OSQL.     

Hemispheric priming by meaningful and nonmeaningful symbols in language-trained chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Further evidence of a left hemisphere advantage.

Hemispheric priming was examined in 3 language-trained chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) using a simple reaction time (RT) paradigm. Ss were required to hold down a response button until the occurrence of a response cue. A warning stimulus was presented to either the left visual field or the right visual field (RVF) before the response cue occurred. No warning stimulus was presented on control trials. The warning stimuli were geometric communicative symbols from 2 semantic categories: food and tools. A 3rd set of warning stimuli were familiar geometric symbols. Dependent measures included RT and the number of false-positive responses. RT data indicated an RVF advantage in priming when the warning stimuli were food or tool symbols. No significant visual half-field differences were found for familiar symbols, but a trend toward an RVF advantage was observed. These effects were enhanced when Ss responded with their left hand. False-positive data also indicated an RVF advantage for the food and tool warning stimuli. The data indicate that hemispheric asymmetries for processing communicative symbols are present in language-trained chimpanzees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexualities, technologies, and the teaching of writing: A critical overview

In this introduction to a special issue of Computers and Composition, the authors critically review current literature on computer-assisted writing pedagogies that grapple with issues of sexuality. Although this body of work is small, it points to provocative ways to develop our students’ critical and rhetorical sensibilities about the constructions of sexuality in our culture. Further, such work innovatively addresses the place of networked communication technologies in the interrogation of such constructions. The authors conclude with both an introduction of the work in this special issue that addresses the intersection of sexuality studies and computer-assisted writing studies and with a call for additional work in this field.     

The analysis of solvation in ionic liquids and organic solvents using the Abraham linear free energy relationship

The contentions made in an earlier paper [J Chem Technol Biotechnol 80 : 133–137 (2005)] that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equation do not provide meaningful information on the molecular properties of ionic liquid solvents is refuted. The objections noted in the earlier paper disappear when the solvation equation model is correctly applied to the experimental data. It is further shown that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equations can be used to characterize ionic liquids and can be used to select solvents for the solubility of gaseous solutes. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Positive expectations predict health after heart transplantation.

We explored the relations between positive expectations and adjustment, adherence, and health in cardiac transplant patients. Thirty-one patients and their nurse completed questionnaires before transplantation and at 3 times after surgery. As predicted, patients' self-reported positive expectations were generally associated with good mood, adjustment to the illness, and quality of life, even in patients who experienced health setbacks. High preoperative expectations predicted later adherence to a complex medical regimen. Positive expectations measured before the transplant predicted a substantial amount of the variance in the nurse's ratings of physical health 6 months after surgery, covarying for adherence behavior and preoperative health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cardiovascular responses to occupational stress in male medical students: A paradigm for ambulatory monitoring studies.

Examined hemodynamic responses to systematic variations in occupational stress using ambulatory blood pressure monitors. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, rate–pressure product, and mood states were measured before, during, and after low-stress (lecture) and high-stress (examination) work in 44 healthy White male medical students. The lecture day was characterized by stable patterns of cardiovascular activity across all 3 periods. Hemodynamic activity and reports of activation and distress were greater on the examination day than on the lecture day. Cardiovascular activity during the pre-examination period was as high as that seen during the examination period itself, indicating an anticipatory stress effect. Pressor activity decreased after the examination, although some residual chronotropic activity was seen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral medicine: St. Louis style.

Describes a unique multidisciplinary division in which 8 clinical programs are all administered by psychologists working in a university medical center setting. The increasingly complex environment of a university medical center is discussed in terms of academic mission, competitiveness of health care, and professional roles. The development of this division is reviewed in relation to a number of critical issues, such as organizational structure, academic vs clinical demands, business operations, and 1 version of a scientist–practitioner model in practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fathers and children: Predicting the quality and quantity of fathering.

This study looked at the quality and quantity of interactions between fathers and their firstborn 5-year-olds from the perspective of the family as a developmental interdependent system. The goals were to identify predictors of men's parenting from men's own adaptation (direct effects) and from their wives' characteristics (indirect effects), both measured during the expectancy. Twenty-three families from the Boston University Pregnancy and Parenthood Project made up the sample. Measures included self-report scales, observations, and semistructured interviews. Several of men's psychological characteristics, particularly their autonomy and job satisfaction, predicted their play time and the quality of their interactions with their children. Women's autonomy, occupation, and age in the expectancy predicted men's caretaking and weekday time involvement with their 5-year-olds. We suggest that the findings can best be explained by the concepts of complementarity and identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)