Postcontraction influences on reaction time

The purpose of this study was to compare reaction time (RT) and fractionated RT components (premotor and motor times) between normal and postcontraction conditions. Twelve participants performed 20 trials each of control and postcontraction RT conditions. For the control condition, participants executed a learned, rapid, knee-extension contraction response to an auditory stimulus. The postcontraction condition was identical to the control condition except that the participants performed a 3-s isometric contraction of the knee extensor muscles prior to an auditory stimulus. Muscle activity was recorded from the quadriceps muscle group. Results indicated that the postcontraction condition was significantly faster than the control condition for the average RT, premotor time, and motor time. It was concluded that reaction time, processing time, and muscle contraction time for a learned task could be significantly reduced following an isometric contraction.     

Combining a human performance model and a Six Sigma model to assess performance in a military environment

Military officials continually search for improvements in processes that focus on high‐performance outcomes. This qualitative study investigated process improvements of two departments within the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (the Security Department and the Testing Department) by assessing performance levels of the two departments using a combinatorial model from human performance theory and Six Sigma theory. Study findings produced strong empirical evidence with specific recommendations for initiating cost‐effective interventions for improvements. The Behavior Engineering Model was used to identify possible solutions to post‐training performance gaps identified during the evaluation.     

Symbolic,identity, and probe delayed matching of sounds by the bottlenosed dolphin

The short-term memory for sounds of the bottlenosed dolphin was tested using symbolic, identity, and probe forms of the delayed matching-to-sample (DMS) task. The forms differed in the number (one or two) or nature (symbolic or identity matches of sample sounds) of postdelay test stimuli available as memory retrieval cues. Although symbolic DMS was difficult to learn, the final performance level was approximately equal to that for identity or probe DMS. On all tasks, the dolphin’s responses were above 80% correct through to delays of 90 sec and, in some cases, through to delays of 180 and 240 sec, the “limits” being governed mainly by the dolphin’s reluctance to continue being tested at long delays. Encoding of sample stimuli into their learned symbolic representation was hypothesized to have reduced symbolic DMS to a recognition memory task, resulting in the observed equivalence of performance with the other two recognition memory tasks. The probe DMS results, unlike those for identity or symbolic DMS, showed no significant proactive interference effects from samples of prior trials. Instead, proactive interference was traceable to the probe value of the prior trial. Overall, the auditory DMS data for the dolphin were functionally similar to results reported for monkeys tested on symbolic, identity, and probe visual DMS tasks.     

Livelihood and Social Division

The struggle for livelihood has always been of central concern to working class people. In Australia today the concentration of unemployment raises issues which must be seen as part of an historical process, involving the reconstruction of social division and the struggle for the right to subsistence. These issues are examined in this article, with particular attention to the social and economic changes which have produced this threat to livelihood. Our research has shown that the responses of working class young people to this situation bring into sharp relief the complex social processes through which social division is produced. The evidence suggests that the cultural perspectives of working class males and females in Australia still have a force and significance which represent a potential challenge to the present pattern of restructuring of the economy which has resulted in such widespread unemployment. This raises particular questions about the growth in local employment initiatives in Australia (as in Europe) and its implications for curriculum development in schools in working class neighbourhoods.     

Build Your Program by Building Your Team: Inclusively Transforming Services,Staffing and Spaces

ABSTRACT

User feedback told the story of the largest and busiest campus library being dated in both physical form and programmatic function. Under the framework of a newly-developed strategic plan, library leadership initiated a comprehensive and inclusive assessment program to understand fully user needs by engaging users, campus partners, and, importantly, library personnel. Simultaneously, they embarked on a review of change management literature for guidance on implementing the required transformation. Informed by the change management philosophy of John Kotter, the library utilized the findings of the assessment program to craft and implement a sustainable transformation of its services, staffing, and spaces.     

Language and reading impairments are associated with increased prevalence of non-right-handedness

Handedness has been studied for association with language-related disorders because of its link with language hemispheric dominance. No clear pattern has emerged, possibly because of small samples, publication bias, and heterogeneous criteria across studies. Non-right-handedness (NRH) frequency was assessed in N = 2503 cases with reading and/or language impairment and N = 4316 sex-matched controls identified from 10 distinct cohorts (age range 6–19 years old; European ethnicity) using a priori set criteria. A meta-analysis (N_cases = 1994) showed elevated NRH % in individuals with language/reading impairment compared with controls (OR = 1.21, CI = 1.06–1.39, p = .01). The association between reading/language impairments and NRH could result from shared pathways underlying brain lateralization, handedness, and cognitive functions.