Cognitive processes in story understanding.

The major goal of the author's research has been to discover how readers overcome the limited capacity of working memory to discover the rich pattern of causal relationships found in even the simplest stories. The specific purpose of the series of experiments presented in this article is to discover what happens when the goals and actions are widely separated in the text, and when the actions are not associated with a coherence break. The results suggest that some readers retrieve the goal from long-term memory while others do not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterization of the Coffee Mucilage Fermentation Process Using Chemical Indicators: A Field Study in Nicaragua

ABSTRACT: The recent "crisis" brought about by the collapse of the worldwide commodity coffee market has caused severe economic conditions for coffee producers in developing countries, including those of Central America. As a result, many coffee producers desire to improve the quality and consistency of their product to enter the specialty market. With the ultimate aim of assisting coffee producers in their quality control efforts, this study was designed to determine the feasibility of simple chemical measurements of the fermentation process on remote farms and to assess the potential of these measurements for assisting the producers in control and optimization efforts. Temperature, pH, and the concentrations of glucose, ethanol, and lactic acid were measured throughout the course of 7 coffee mucilage fermentation batches on 4 farms. In each batch, a pattern was observed in which the pH was initially in the range 5.5 to 5.7 and decreased sharply to about 4.6 as fermentation neared completion. Glucose concentration was seen to drop throughout the course of most batches, whereas either ethanol or lactic acid increased sharply near completion. The pH profile may prove useful in predicting the time of fermentation completion and in preventing over-fermentation of coffee mucilage.     

The use of a specific function to estimate maximum methane production in a batch‐fed anaerobic reactor

A readily biodegradable substrate was used to assess the value of using a mathematical function of y = y_maxexp^m/x as a simplified method of determining the maximum methane production (G_max) in a batch anaerobic reactor. Experimental results to test the method used three different initial substrate loadings in pre‐acclimatised completely mixed anaerobic reactors. Gas production was found to follow a typical trend that has previously been described by first order reaction kinetics; for the purpose of fitting the linearisation, it requires a value for maximum cumulative methane production. Use of the modified specific function to yield the equation G = G_maxexp^m/t showed that the experimental gas production curve could be estimated with a high degree of similarity. This was confirmed by a statistical analysis using the method of residuals which gave a correlation coefficient (R²) greater than 0.97 between experimental and estimated values. Using a graphical linearisation of the specific function produced a simplified method of predicting G_max. The value obtained was then used in a first order kinetic model to derive the specific coefficient rate (K_o), which was in agreement with other methods used for its determination. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preschoolers' understanding of mental and bodily reactions to contamination: What you don't know can hurt you, but cannot sadden you.

Evidence of the operation of a biological theory might be found in children's distinction between mental (emotional) and bodily (illness) reactions to contamination. Study 1 explored whether children see emotions as voluntary but illness as outside of intentional control. Three- and 5-yr-olds judged that simple volitions were insufficient to alter either outcome. Study 2 suggested that children distinguish reactions mediated by representations from those mediated by physical interactions. Children indicated that knowledge determines mental reactions to contamination, but physical contact determines bodily reactions. Study 3 explored knowledge about particulars of emotional and illness reactions. Most preschoolers did not realize that illness takes time to develop. These data suggest that preschoolers do distinguish between physical and mental reactions to contamination but have a poor understanding of the actual bodily processes involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affiliative vocalizations in infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

In Exp 1, infant rhesus monkeys were separated and then reunited with mothers, united with a male, or placed into an empty cage. Infants girned more when with mothers or the male than when alone. Girns declined over time when infants were united with the male. Coo rates were high when the infant was alone or with the male. Shrieks, barks, and fear-related behavior were higher with the male. In Exp 2, the vocalizations of infants were examined during separation when alone or when mothers or a male were in the same room. Infants cooed more when mothers or a male were present. Cooing increased over time, with a greater increase in the mothers' presence. Girns were given to both mothers and males, but more were given to mothers. Coos and girns are both affiliative vocalizations but are differentially modulated as infants cease cooing when they receive contact comfort. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of meaningful subgroups in explaining differences in perceived variability for in-groups and out-groups.

Five aspects of the complexity of the knowledge representation of business and engineering majors were examined to see whether these differed by group memberships and whether these differences were related to differences in perceived variability. Significantly more subgroups were generated when describing the in-group than the out-group; this difference predicted the relative tendency to see the in-group as more variable, and when controlled for statistically, out-group homogeneity effects were eliminated. Familiarity, redundancy, number of attributes used to describe the group, and the deviance of the subgroups from the larger group generally showed differences for in-group and out-group but did not show consistent evidence of mediation. In a 2nd study, Ss who were asked to sort group members into meaningful subgroups perceived greater variability relative to those who did not perform the sorting task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Oil production,resource movement effects,and macroeconomic adjustment

The paper is concerned with simulating the macroeconomic adjustment processes arising in a small open economy experiencing a temporary period of oil production. In a recent paper, Harvie conducted a similar exercise for an economy in which the spending effect arising from such oil production dominated the resource movement effect. That paper concluded that the wage adjustment processes operative were important in influencing the macroeconomic adjustment process arising. Specifically, that paper concluded that wage indexation was preferable during the period of oil production, but that de-indexation was preferable in the post oil production period. Although, in the present paper, the principles underlying the simulated model are the same as in Harvie, the emphasis here is placed on the resource movement consequences arising from temporary oil production. The major conclusion identified is that wages policy is still important in influencing the macroeconomic adjustment processes identified. However, a difference arises not in regard to the profile of that adjustment but rather in its magnitude. The paper emphasizes, in particular, developments in non-oil output, consumer prices, and the stock of domestically held foreign assets. The simulation results suggest that, where the resource movement effect dominates, it would be preferable to de-index wages during the period of oil production and index wages in the post oil production period. Hence wages policy should be regarded as an important component of a government's policy response arising from a period of temporary oil production, irrespective of whether the resource movement or spending effect dominates. However, what that policy response should be would depend on the relative importance of either effect.     

Hypnotic taper with or without self-help treatment of insomnia: A randomized clinical trial.

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a minimal intervention focusing on hypnotic discontinuation and cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for insomnia. Fifty-three adult chronic users of hypnotics were randomly assigned to an 8-week hypnotic taper program, used alone or combined with a self-help CBT. Weekly hypnotic use decreased in both conditions, from a nearly nightly use at baseline to less than once a week at posttreatment. Nightly dosage (in lorazepam equivalent) decreased from 1.67 mg to 0.12 mg. Participants who received CBT improved their sleep efficiency by 8%, whereas those who did not remained stable. Total wake time decreased by 52 min among CBT participants and increased by 13 min among those receiving the taper schedule alone. Total sleep time remained stable throughout withdrawal in both CBT and taper conditions. The present findings suggest that a systematic withdrawal schedule might be sufficient in helping chronic users stop their hypnotic medication. The addition of a self-help treatment focusing on insomnia, a readily available and cost-effective alternative to individual psychotherapy, produced greater sleep improvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do confidants of depressed women provide less social support than confidants of nondepressed women?

Tested the prediction that during a simulated telephone conversation, the confidants of depressed women would provide less social support than the confidants of nondepressed psychiatric and nonpsychiatric control women. The coded speech of Ss and their confidants indicated that (1) confidants echoed the positive or negative valence of the statements made by Ss, (2) depressed women exhibited more depressotypic speech than women in both control groups, (3) confidants of depressed women also made more depressotypic statements, possibly due to the echoing phenomenon, (4) contrary to prediction, there were no significant group differences in the sequential dependencies of responses that confidants made to depressotypic or antidepressotypic subject statements, and (5) contrary to prediction, the affect of depressed women's confidants was not more negative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)