The Effect of Social Influences and General Metacognitive Knowledge on Metamemory Judgments

This study investigated whether social information can affect Ease-of-Learning (EOL), Judgments-of-Learning (JOL), and Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) and their accuracy. Participants first learned associated word pairs and made the above-mentioned judgments. They were later divided into two groups of metacognitive ability in order to assess if they had been affected differently by the social cues, which consisted of information about previous performances of college students. Results revealed that the magnitude of the metamemory judgments assessed was significantly affected by the social cues and that participants with a Low level of metacognitive ability were more influenced than those with High metacognitive ability. Concerning accuracy, however, only the recall accuracy of JOL judgments was affected. Further, different patterns of influence across the three judgments were observed for the two ability groups. Results and educational implications were discussed.     

Three-dimensional two-component velocity measurement of the flow field induced by the Vorticella picta microorganism using a confocal microparticle image velocimetry technique

Understanding the biological feeding strategy and characteristics of a microorganism as an actuator requires the detailed and quantitative measurement of flow velocity and flow rate induced by the microorganism. Although some velocimetry methods have been applied to examine the flow, the measured dimensions were limited to at most two-dimensional two-component measurements. Here we have developed a method to measure three-dimensional two-component flow velocity fields generated by the microorganism Vorticella picta using a piezoscanner and a confocal microscope. We obtained the two-component velocities of the flow field in a two-dimensional plane denoted as the XY plane, with an observation area of 455×341 μm² and the resolution of 9.09 μm per each velocity vector by a confocal microparticle image velocimetry technique. The measurement of the flow field at each height took 37.5 ms, and it was repeated in 16 planes with a 2.50 μm separation in the Z direction. We reconstructed the three-dimensional two-component flow velocity field. From the reconstructed data, the flow velocity field [u_(x,y,z),v_(x,y,z)] in an arbitrary plane can be visualized. The flow rates through YZ and ZX planes were also calculated. During feeding, we examined a suction flow to the mouth of the Vorticella picta and measured it to be to 300 pl∕s.     

Cocco's musical intervention in the US base problems: traversing a realm of everyday cultural sensibilities in Okinawa

This essay intervenes in the political contradiction between the pro-base and anti-base positions in Okinawa while at the same time seeking to provide an alternative to the binary at the level of everyday cultural sensibilities. I will accomplish this task by exploring the activities of charismatic Okinawan musician-artist-activist Cocco. More specifically, locating Cocco's music within – and also outside – a long, complicated genealogy of Okinawan popular music, I will trace how she has grounded the formal political problems of the US military in Okinawa's everyday dilemmas concerning money, memory, and globalization. In my view, Cocco has done so in a way that prods us to move beyond the pro-base/anti-base binary and to navigate an uncharted realm of culture, power, and history. I will also pay attention to how the audience in Okinawa and beyond, as a co-producer of Cocco's music community, has participated in this process. In so doing, I will show how Cocco's music has brought to light possibilities of transforming the existing political inequalities from below, possibilities that may be destined to disappear as soon as they are materialized as an explicit political program. I will articulate these possibilities with reference to what French writer-critic-philosopher Maurice Blanchot (1908–2003) once called the ‘unavowable community’.     

Three-dimensional CoM energetics,pelvis and lower limbs joint kinematics of uphill treadmill running at high speed

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of slope on three-dimensional running kinematics at high speed. Thirteen male sprinters ran at high speed (7.5 m/s) on a motorised treadmill in each a level and a 5.0% slope condition. Three-dimensional motion analysis was conducted to compare centre of mass (CoM) energetics, pelvis segment and lower limb joints kinematics. We found that contact time was not affected by the slope, whereas flight time and step length were significantly shorter in uphill compared to level running. Uphill running reduced negative CoM work and increased positive CoM work compared to level running. Ankle, knee and hip joints were more flexed at initial ground contact, but only the knee was more extended at the end of stance in uphill compared to level running. Additionally, the hip joint was more abducted, and the free leg side of the pelvis was more elevated at the end of stance in uphill running. Our results demonstrate that joint motion must be developed from a more flexed/adducted position at initial contact through a greater range of motion compared to level running in order to meet the greater positive CoM work requirements in uphill running at high speed.     

The Effects of Social Cues on Confidence Judgments Mediated by Knowledge and Regulation of Cognition

The relationships between knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition and how they interact to mediate the effects of social cues on confidence judgments were investigated. The participants were asked to read 6 literature texts, answer corresponding multiple-choice comprehension questions, and rate the accuracy of their test performances. Subsequently, they were assigned to 4 different ability groups according to their knowledge and their regulation of cognition, assessed by means of a metacognitive checklist and by accuracy results on the tests, respectively. Knowledge and regulation of cognition conjointly played an important role in predicting performance and the magnitude and accuracy of confidence judgments. However, social cues affected confidence judgments of the participants as a function of their regulatory ability only. Results and educational implications are discussed.