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Ten cerebral palsied adolescents and young adults with complex communicative needs who use augmentative and alternative communication were studied. They were classified according to their high versus low working memory capacity and according to their high versus low phonological skills into two groups of participants. These groups were compared on their performance in reading tests--an orthographic knowledge test, a word test and a pseudoword reading test- and in the spelling of words, pseudowords and pictures' names. Statistical differences were found between high vs. low phonological skills groups, and between high and low working memory groups. High working memory capacity group scored significantly higher than low working memory group in the orthographic and word reading tests. The high phonological skills group outperformed the low phonological skills group in the word reading test and in the spelling of pseudowords and pictures' names. From a descriptive point of view, phonological skills and working memory, factors known to be highly predictive of literacy skills in people without disabilities, also hold as important variables for the participants in our study. Implications of the results are discussed. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)

Ten cerebral palsied adolescents and young adults with complex communicative needs who use augmentative and alternative communication were studied. They were classified according to their high versus low working memory capacity and according to their high versus low phonological skills into two groups of participants. These groups were compared on their performance in reading tests--an orthographic knowledge test, a word test and a pseudoword reading test- and in the spelling of words, pseudowords and pictures' names. Statistical differences were found between high vs. low phonological skills groups, and between high and low working memory groups. High working memory capacity group scored significantly higher than low working memory group in the orthographic and word reading tests. The high phonological skills group outperformed the low phonological skills group in the word reading test and in the spelling of pseudowords and pictures' names. From a descriptive point of view, phonological skills and working memory, factors known to be highly predictive of literacy skills in people without disabilities, also hold as important variables for the participants in our study. Implications of the results are discussed. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)

Ten cerebral palsied adolescents and young adults with complex communicative needs who use augmentative and alternative communication were studied. They were classified according to their high versus low working memory capacity and according to their high versus low phonological skills into two groups of participants. These groups were compared on their performance in reading tests--an orthographic knowledge test, a word test and a pseudoword reading test- and in the spelling of words, pseudowords and pictures' names. Statistical differences were found between high vs. low phonological skills groups, and between high and low working memory groups. High working memory capacity group scored significantly higher than low working memory group in the orthographic and word reading tests. The high phonological skills group outperformed the low phonological skills group in the word reading test and in the spelling of pseudowords and pictures' names. From a descriptive point of view, phonological skills and working memory, factors known to be highly predictive of literacy skills in people without disabilities, also hold as important variables for the participants in our study. Implications of the results are discussed. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)

A study investigated how skills involved in phonological processing (phonological awareness, verbal working memory, and lexical access) are related to reading achievement when a child learns to read in a language not spoken at home. Subjects were 151 English-speaking children in a French immersion program, initially in grades 1, 3, and 5 in 1995. Subjects were tested in the winter semester of those grades, and again in the following winter semester (1996). At each testing, measures were taken of phonological awareness and reading achievement in French and English, and of nonverbal reasoning, speed naming, and pseudo-word repetition in English only. Initial testing indicated that phonological awareness in either French or English was equally predictive of reading achievement in French, suggesting a transfer of learning between the home language and formally taught language. Speed naming and verbal working memory did not make a unique contribution to the prediction of reading achievement in French or English beyond the effects of phonological awareness. Further analysis will measure maintenance of this pattern of results over time. (Author/MSE)

A study examined the degree to which children with limited English proficiency can benefit from English instruction in phonemic awareness and phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Subjects were 27 kindergarten children in a suburban northern California school--16 spoke Hmong as their primary language and the rest were monolingual English speakers. The comparison class consisted of 29 students, 17 of whom spoke Hmong as their primary language. Students in the intervention class received 20-minute lessons on both phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle four to five times a week for eight weeks. Literacy instruction in the comparison class included a daily alphabet song or chant. Results indicated that: (1) students in the intervention group significantly improved in rhyming, segmenting, and blending skills from pretest to posttest; (2) students in the intervention class outperformed their comparison class counterparts on the phonemic awareness measures but not the letter name and letter sound measures; (3) English learners in the intervention class scored significantly higher than the English learners in the comparison class on rhyming and blending; (4) no significant correlations between English oral proficiency and phonemic awareness performance were seen; and (5) students in all classes showed significant improvement in understanding the alphabetic principle. Findings suggest that the intervention instruction was particularly beneficial to English learners, and that English language learners who are at the very initial stages of English language acquisition and who are from very low socioeconomic status backgrounds can learn phonemic awareness through explicit instruction. (Contains 21 references, and two tables and three figures of data.) (RS)

This study focuses on the role of reinforcement learning in instilling recognition memory decision biases. We will use a form of probabilistic feedback termed False Positive Feedback (FPF) during which most feedback is correct, but occasionally subjects receive positive feedback for particular types of memory errors (e.g., claiming a newly shown stimulus was recognized). This manipulation has been shown to shift subjects towards either increasingly claiming stimuli are recognized (liberal responding) or increasing claiming stimuli are novel (conservative responding). Here, the key question is whether these learned biases transfer across different types of memoranda (words versus pictures). During the study, subjects will view words and pictures and perform a 'Living?' rating task for pictures and a 'Pleasant?' orienting task for words. This is followed by tests of recognition memory where these stimuli are repeated and intermixed with new stimuli. Following each recognition judgment and confidence assessment, subjects are provided feedback that differs across two groups (Liberal vs Conservative) and across the two stimulus types (Words versus Pictures) within each group. Subjects in the liberal group are given feedback for word recognition that is generally correct, although occasionally reinforcing for errors of false recognition (liberal group). The other group receives the same manipulation for errors of false novelty (conservative group). Within each group, half will receive FPF to words and correct feedback to pictures, and the other half the reverse. The key question is whether the groups develop different recognition decision biases (replicating prior work) and whether these recognition biases spread from FPF materials (those incurring false positive feedback) and control materials (those receiving wholly correct feedback). If so, it would suggest that reinforcement serves to alter the way an abstract recognition signal, that spans words and pictures, is used. Following the final study/test session, subjects are asked a series of questions exploring their beliefs about the purpose of the recognition feedback and hence their insight into their acquired recognition response biases.

This study focuses on the role of reinforcement learning in instilling recognition memory decision biases. We will use a form of probabilistic feedback termed False Positive Feedback (FPF) during which most feedback is correct, but occasionally subjects receive positive feedback for particular types of memory errors (e.g., claiming a newly shown stimulus was recognized). This manipulation has been shown to shift subjects towards either increasingly claiming stimuli are recognized (liberal responding) or increasing claiming stimuli are novel (conservative responding). Here, the key question is whether these learned biases transfer across different types of memoranda (words versus pictures). During the study, subjects will view words and pictures and perform a 'Living?' rating task for pictures and a 'Pleasant?' orienting task for words. This is followed by tests of recognition memory where these stimuli are repeated and intermixed with new stimuli. Following each recognition judgment and confidence assessment, subjects are provided feedback that differs across two groups (Liberal vs Conservative) and across the two stimulus types (Words versus Pictures) within each group. Subjects in the liberal group are given feedback for word recognition that is generally correct, although occasionally reinforcing for errors of false recognition (liberal group). The other group receives the same manipulation for errors of false novelty (conservative group). Within each group, half will receive FPF to words and correct feedback to pictures, and the other half the reverse. The key question is whether the groups develop different recognition decision biases (replicating prior work) and whether these recognition biases spread from FPF materials (those incurring false positive feedback) and control materials (those receiving wholly correct feedback). If so, it would suggest that reinforcement serves to alter the way an abstract recognition signal, that spans words and pictures, is used. Following the final study/test session, subjects are asked a series of questions exploring their beliefs about the purpose of the recognition feedback and hence their insight into their acquired recognition response biases.

This study focuses on the role of reinforcement learning in guiding recognition memory decisions (the decision that a stimulus has been encountered previously). In the current work, we will investigate a form of probabilistic feedback termed the False Positive Feedback (FPF) procedure during which most feedback is correct, but occasionally subjects receive positive feedback for particular types of memory errors (e.g., claiming a newly shown stimulus was recognized). This manipulation has been shown to shift subjects towards either increasingly claiming stimuli are recognized (liberal responding) or increasing claiming stimuli are novel (conservative responding). In the current study, the key question is whether these reinforced decision tendencies transfer across different types of memoranda (words versus visuals). During the study, subjects will view words and visuals and perform various ratings of them (e.g., rating the alphabetic order of the first and last letter). This is followed by tests of recognition memory where these stimuli are repeated and intermixed with new stimuli. Following each recognition judgment and confidence assessment, subjects are provided feedback that differs across two groups and across the two stimulus types (words versus visuals) within each group. Subjects in the liberal group are given feedback for word recognition that is generally correct, although occasionally reinforcing for errors of false recognition (liberal group). The other group receives the same manipulation for errors of false novelty (conservative group). For both groups recognition decisions for visuals are always wholly accurate. The key question is whether the groups develop different recognition decision tendencies (replicating prior work) and whether these recognition tendencies spread from words to visuals, even though visuals always receive correct decision feedback. If so, it would suggest that reinforcement serves to alter the way an abstract recognition signal, that spans words and visuals, is used. Following the final study/test session, subjects are asked a series of questions exploring their beliefs about the purpose of the recognition feedback and hence their insight into their recognition response tendencies.

This study focuses on the role of reinforcement learning in guiding recognition memory decisions (the decision that a stimulus has been encountered previously). In the current work, we will investigate a form of probabilistic feedback termed the False Positive Feedback (FPF) procedure during which most feedback is correct, but occasionally subjects receive positive feedback for particular types of memory errors (e.g., claiming a newly shown stimulus was recognized). This manipulation has been shown to shift subjects towards either increasingly claiming stimuli are recognized (liberal responding) or increasing claiming stimuli are novel (conservative responding). In the current study, the key question is whether these reinforced decision tendencies transfer across different types of memoranda (words versus visuals). During the study, subjects will view words and visuals and perform various ratings of them (e.g., rating the alphabetic order of the first and last letter). This is followed by tests of recognition memory where these stimuli are repeated and intermixed with new stimuli. Following each recognition judgment and confidence assessment, subjects are provided feedback that differs across two groups and across the two stimulus types (words versus visuals) within each group. Subjects in the liberal group are given feedback for word recognition that is generally correct, although occasionally reinforcing for errors of false recognition (liberal group). The other group receives the same manipulation for errors of false novelty (conservative group). For both groups recognition decisions for visuals are always wholly accurate. The key question is whether the groups develop different recognition decision tendencies (replicating prior work) and whether these recognition tendencies spread from words to visuals, even though visuals always receive correct decision feedback. If so, it would suggest that reinforcement serves to alter the way an abstract recognition signal, that spans words and visuals, is used. Following the final study/test session, subjects are asked a series of questions exploring their beliefs about the purpose of the recognition feedback and hence their insight into their recognition response tendencies.

This article is from Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences , volume 39 . Abstract None

Air traffic control (ATC) is conducted by men and women of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic service. Controllers do an excellent job of keeping aircraft separated and safe. However, they do make mistakes. Many of these errors are caused by the limitations of working memory, which controllers continuously use to maintain situational awareness (SA) An experiment was conducted at the FAA Technical Center Human Factors Laboratory to examine the potential benefits of a memory aiding concept on controller performance, SA, and workload. The advanced use of Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs) and Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) were selected as the memory aids for testing. These specially-designed STARs and SIDs were intended to simplify the controller's task and allow more time for planning and monitoring aircraft. A new high-fidelity ATC simulator was used which allowed controllers to work under extremely realistic conditions. Sixteen controllers from Atlantic City TRACON participated and worked scenarios consisting of low and high traffic volumes both with and without the memory aids. Controllers' actions and aircraft data were recorded during each scenario and used to evaluate ATC performance. Other evaluation methods included the Air Traffic Workload Input Technique and a modification of the Situational Awareness Global Assessment Technique. The results indicated that the memory aids decreased both the number of ground-to-air transmissions and handoff errors. Controller workload and SA were primarily determined by the traffic volume and were not affected by the memory aids. A final debriefing with controllers suggested several ways the memory aids and SA technique could be improved.

An experiment was conducted to compare situational awareness and control ability between two test conditions. One condition allowed for the active organization of aircraft information (allowed note-writing on flight strips containing directional arrows). The other did not (note-writing not allowed, no arrows on strips). Such flight strip management activities have been cited as critical for the formation and maintenance of the controllers' picture. Participants were eight air traffic controllers with at least four years of on- the-job experience. They were tested using TRACON II, an air traffic control (ATC) simulator for the personal computer (pc) which requires keyboard-entered, rather than verbally-issued commands. Situational awareness was evaluated during intervals in which each of the test scenarios was paused and the display was blocked from view. Participants indicated the locations of all active aircraft on a paper map and reported the last command issued to each. Control performance was evaluated using a variation of the TRACON-provided scoring system. Situational awareness and control performance did not differ as a function of test condition. However, situational awareness was found to differ as a function of reported level of video-game experience. The implications of these results for systems requiring such interaction are discussed. Air traffic control, Flight strips, Controller memory, Note-writing, Situational awareness, Memory enhancement.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a phonological awareness intervention program on phonological memory, phonological sensitivity, and metaphonological abilities of preschool children at-risk for reading disabilities. The participants in this study were 40 preschool children selected from three preschools located within three elementary schools in Baltim Educational Edara. A pre-post design was used to examine the effectiveness of the phonological awareness intervention program on phonological memory, phonological sensitivity, and metaphonological abilities of the target children. Findings from this study indicated the effectiveness of the phonological awareness intervention program on phonological memory, phonological sensitivity, and metaphonological abilities of the target children. On the basis of the findings, the study advocated for the effectiveness of the phonological awareness intervention program employed on phonological memory, phonological sensitivity, and metaphonological abilities of the target children.