Hemispheric asymmetries in recognition memory for negative and neutral words

Federmeier and Benjamin (2005) have suggested that semantic encoding for verbal information in the right hemisphere can be more effective when memory demands are higher. However, other studies (Kanske & Kotz, 2007) also suggest that visual word recognition differ in function of emotional valence. In this context, the present study was designed to evaluate the effects of retention level upon recognition memory processes for negative and neutral words. Sample consisted of 15 right-handed undergraduate portuguese students with normal or corrected to normal vision. Portuguese concrete negative and neutral words were selected in accordance to known linguistic capabilities of the right hemisphere. The participants were submitted to a visual half-field word presentation using a continuous recognition memory paradigm. Eye movements were continuously monitored with a Tobii T60 eye-tracker that showed no significant differences in fixations to negative and neutral words. Reaction times in word recognition suggest an overall advantage of negative words in comparison to the neutral words. Further analysis showed faster responses for negative words than for neutral words when were recognised at longer retention intervals for left-hemisphere encoding. Electrophysiological data through event related potentials revealed larger P2 amplitude over centro-posterior electrode sites for words studied in the left hemifield suggesting a priming effect for right-hemisphere encoding. Overall data suggest different hemispheric memory strategies for the semantic encoding of negative and neutral words.

The Church of Goa: Give to Cesar what is Cesar's

Este ensaio analisa os desafios que a Igreja de Goa enfrentou nas décadas que seguiram à era colonial. O balanço é positivo, e isto foi devido em larga medida à participação mais intensa dos leigos com formação democrática e experiência profissional na India vizinha. Palavras-chave: Goa, igreja, VAticano II, participação leiga, desafios. Key-words: Goa, church, Vatican II, lay participation, challenges.

The East Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries: Stock Collapse or Recovery?

A discrete time, multi-gear, and age structured bio-economic model is developed for the East Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries, a paradigmatic example of the difficulties faced in managing highly migratory fish stocks. The model is used to analyse alternative management strategies for the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) managing this fishery, and to investigate some of the policy implications. For the various scenarios, the optimal stock level varies between 500–800,000 tonnes, which compares with a stock level of 150,000 tonnes in 1995. In other words, there is a very strong case for rebuilding the stock. Moreover, the sustainability of the stock is threatened unless a recovery programme is implemented; indeed, the alternative may be stock collapse. Second, to rebuild the stock, Draconian measures are called for: either outright moratoria over fairly lengthy periods, or possibly a more gradual approach to steady state given by a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) at a low level for an extended period of time. Third, the cost of inefficient gear structure is very high indeed.

Metamorfoses em espelho de água : identidade, perfil, contextos e mudança nas (auto)representações dos professores

RESUMO: Nos últimos trinta anos, em Portugal, ocorreram processos de democratização política e de modernização da sociedade e das instituições, tendo como impulso as vontades nacionais e as mudanças ocorridas no Mundo em globalização, lideradas, no campo da educação, por agentes como a OCDE ou o Banco Mundial, e pela integração de Portugal na União Europeia. À implementação da(s) reforma(s), correspondeu uma mudança de paradigma educativo e organizacional, a criação de uma escola para todos, a emergência de novos alunos e de novos mandatos à Escola, a contingência de novas respostas educativas. Tais reformas constituiram instrumentos de mudança das organizações escolares e do sistema educativo, mas também do que significa ser professor, reformulando o desempenho e a “performatividade” docente (Ball, 2002), induzindo uma nova “identidade social” (Bernstein, 1996 e Dubar, 2006), produzindo novos modos de “fabricação da alma dos professores” (Foucault, 1996). Neste sentido, a autora procurou analisar, numa perspectiva crítica, as representações de professores do Ensino Básico, sobre os mecanismos de (re)configuração das suas identidades/perfis profissionais, recorrendo a uma investigação qualitativa descritiva, que privilegia a análise de conteúdo dos seus discursos sobre o tema, recolhidos segundo a técnica focus group. O estudo indiciou que os alunos são factor de realização, de risco e de mudança do perfil docente, actuando como uma quinta dimensão da (re)construção identitária dos Professores, a par da formação, do associativismo, do Estado e do Mercado, constituindo factor importante a ter em conta nos estudos sobre identidade docente. ABSTRACT: In the past thirty years, in Portugal, radical changes on politics and policies have been occurring, to achive the society and its institutions democratization and modernization, led by national wills and the changes occured in the World, stimulated, in the Education area, by global agencies like OECD, or the World Bank, and the integration of Portugal in the European Union. These reforms are connected to a new educational and organizational paradigm, the creation of a school for all, the emergence of new pupils, new demands to School and teachers, the imperative of new pedagogical solutions for educational problems, and are not only changing instruments in schools and in the educational system, but are also a powerful way to change “what to be a teacher” means, to re-formulate the teaching performance and “performativity” (Ball, 2002), to recompose his/her “social identity” (Bernstein, 1996; Dubar, 2006), or, in Michel Foucault (1996) words, to produce “new ways to manufacture teachers soul”. In this sense, the author intended to analyze, on a critical perspective, the representations of portuguese teachers of basic education (K12), on the mechanisms of (re)configuration of their professional identities/profiles, appealing to a qualitative descriptive research, which privileges the analysis of content of their speeches on the subject, collected according to the focus group technique, what, in its development, was brought near a circle of culture (in the sense of Paulo Freire‟s pedagogy). At least, pupils are the most important references and motivation to teachers changes, reflecting professional satisfaction and well done, but also risk, acting like a fifth dimension of teachers identity (re)construction, together with training, associative involvement, State and Market, and they must be considered on teatching identity studies.

A questão da verdade e o desenvolvimento de memórias falsas provenientes de processos associativos

RESUMO: O objectivo desta investigação foi analisar as diferenças relativas à produção de recordações falsas, de acordo com o paradigma de associados convergentes. Foram realizadas experiências, nas quais participaram crianças entre os 4 e os 5 anos e adultos. Como metodologia adoptámos a apresentação de dez listas de palavras associadas a uma palavra não incluída na lista (palavra crítica). A ordem das palavras de cada lista foi manipulada de forma a ser apresentada em sentido decrescente de força associativa (ordem standard) ou em sentido crescente (ordem invertida). A instrução fornecida antes da apresentação das listas foi também manipulada nas crianças de forma a incluir uma condição em que se pedia para as crianças repetirem os primeiros três itens de cada lista com o intuito de aumentar a recordação desses itens (instrução de primazia). A predição inicial foi de que este tipo de manipulação ao aumentar a recordação dos itens mais fortemente associados ao item crítico poderia também levar a um aumento das recordações falsas relativas ao item crítico. Os resultados mostraram que a instrução de primazia não teve efeito na produção de memórias falsas e que, nas crianças o uso de listas invertidas diminuiu o número evocações falsas, não tendo qualquer efeito nos adultos. Não foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre as crianças e os adultos relativamente à produção de memórias falsas. ABSTRACT: The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the differences in the production of false memories, according to the paradigm of converging associates. Experiments were carried out, which involved children between 4 and 5 and adults. The methodology adopted was the presentation of ten lists of words associated with a word not included in the list (critical word). The word order of each list was manipulated so as to be presented in descending order of associative strength (standard order) or an increasing trend (inverted order). The instruction given prior to the presentation of lists was also manipulated, in children, to include a condition in which it was asked children to repeat the first three items in each list in order to increase the recall of these items (primacy' instruction). The initial prediction was that this kind of manipulation witch increase the recall of the items most strongly associated with the critical item could also lead to an increase in false memories relative to the critical item. The results showed that the primacy instruction had no effect on production of false memories and that, in children the use of inverted lists reduced the number of false evocations and has no effect in adults. There were no statistically significant differences between children and adults for the production of false memories.