Collision warning systems represent a promising means to reduce rear-end crash involvement. However, these systems experience failures in the real-world that may promote driver distrust and diminish drivers' willingness to comply with warnings. Recent research suggests that not all false alarms (FAs) are detrimental to drivers. However, very few studies have examined how different alarms influence different driving populations. The purpose of this research was to examine how younger, middle-aged, and older drivers (with and without UFOV impairments) evaluated and responded to four different alarm contexts - false alarm (FA), nuisance alarm (NA), unnecessary alarm (UA) and true alarm (TA) - when they did and did not receive warnings. FA contexts represent out-of-path conflict scenarios where it is difficult for the driver to identify the source of the alarm. NA contexts represent out-of-path conflict scenarios that occur in a predictable manner that allows drivers to identify the source of the alarm. UA contexts are transitioning host conflict scenarios where the system issues an alert but the situation resolves itself before the driver needs to intervene. TA contexts represent in-host conflict scenarios where the situation requires the driver to intervene to avoid a collision. The results suggest that alarm context does matter. Compared to response data that differentiates FA and NA from UA and TA, subjective data shows greater sensitivity and differentiates between all four alarm contexts (FA Younger drivers indicated a high degree of confidence in their own ability across the different conditions. While they adopted a similar response pattern as middle-aged drivers during the TA contexts, these drivers responded less frequently than middle-aged and older drivers during the UA context. Diminished hazard perception ability and the tendency to consider these situations less hazardous likely account for the fewer responses made during these situations by younger drivers. Older drivers with and without UFOV impairments indicated similar hazard ratings for UA and TA contexts, yet drivers with UFOV impairments responded less frequently in both alarm contexts. Diminished hazard perception ability, slower simple response times, and degraded contrast sensitivity likely account for the fewer and slower responses. Interestingly older drivers with impairments did respond more frequently when warned during the TA context. They also rated FAs and NAs more positively than the other driver groups. The results of this study suggest applying signal detection theory without concern for the alarm context and driver characteristics is insufficient for understanding how different alarms influence operators and that subjective data can inform design. Researchers are encouraged to combine multiple perspectives that incorporate of both an engineering and human perspective.

acase@tulane.edu / The technological advances of past decades have led to the accumulation of large amounts of genomic and neuroimaging data, enabling novel strategies in precision medicine. These largely rely on machine learning algorithms and modern statistical methods for big biological datasets, which are data-driven rather than hypothesis-driven. These methods often lack guarantees on the validity of the research findings. Because it can be a matter of life and death, when computational methods are deployed in clinical practice in medicine, establishing guarantees on the validity of the results is essential for the advancement of precision medicine. This thesis proposes several novel sparse regression and sparse canonical correlation analysis techniques, which by design include guarantees on the false discovery rate in variable selection. Variable selection on biomedical data is essential for many areas of healthcare, including precision medicine, population stratification, drug development, and predictive modeling of disease phenotypes. Predictive machine learning models can directly affect the patient when used to aid diagnosis, and therefore they need to be thoroughly evaluated before deployment. We present a novel approach to validly reuse the test data for performance evaluation of predictive models. The proposed methods are validated in the application on large genomic and neuroimaging datasets, where they confirm results from previous studies and also lead to new biological insights. In addition, this work puts a focus on making the proposed methods widely available to the scientific community though the release of free and open-source scientific software. / 1 / Alexej Gossmann

Veratrum californicum (common name: corn lily) is a wild plant species that grows in the Intermountain West, its range extending from British Columbia to Mexico. Corn lily is of interest because it has the potential to provide pharmaceutical precursors for use in the treatment of cancer. Pharmaceutical companies are currently running clinical trials of new drugs that use these precursors. As such, a sustainable supply of corn lily is needed if these drugs are ever to enter the market. Unfortunately, wild populations of corn lily will not be able to meet the market demand. Therefore, it is necessary that horticultural guidelines be established so that corn lily can be grown in an agricultural setting. Establishing irrigation criteria is one crucial component in this process, as corn lily grows in naturally wet areas and will most likely require supplemental irrigation in an agricultural setting. In order to determine the appropriate level of irrigation for corn lily, an appropriate range of irrigation levels to test in a field trial must be determined. Plant success as a function of irrigation level can then be measured. In order to determine what irrigation levels should be tested, the OSU Malheur Experiment Station monitored the natural environment of corn lily at a variety of locations over the course of four seasons. Results showed that for the majority of its growing season, corn lily occupies a narrow environmental niche where soil water tension ranges from 0 kPa to 30 kPa. With this information, irrigation levels ranging from 5 kPa to 30 kPa were chosen for irrigation trials. In 2009, corn lily plots were established at Ontario, Oregon and McCall, Idaho. Irrigation trials were run in 2010, 2011, and 2012 at Ontario and McCall. Plots were assigned to five irrigation treatments: 5 kPa (added halfway through the 2010 growing season), 10 kPa, 15 kPa, 20 kPa, and 30 kPa. Collectively, the data indicate that the 5 and 10 kPa treatments are most conducive to corn lily survival and growth. In addition, the observed data are consistent with the hypothesis that soil moisture levels in the first month of growth may be the most important determinant in plant growth and survival. / Graduation date: 2013

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-67)

Research in our laboratory has demonstrated blocked and recovered memories within the context of a controlled experiment. The comparative memory paradigm allows for comparisons of recovered memories, continuous memories, and false memories. Additional research in our laboratory has shown two distinct types of memory errors; semantic based errors which occur due to pre-existing category knowledge, and episodic based errors in which the source of details (list members) are misattributed. Independently, these two lines of research have illuminated basic memory processes, however, they have not been combined previously. That is, the experiments in the present study explore the susceptibility of recovered memories to semantic and episodic based errors relative to continuous memories. Experiment 1 replicated the large blocking and recovery effects previously found by our laboratory. Additionally, it demonstrated that recovered memories were no more prone to semantic based errors than were continuous memories. These errors occurred very infrequently despite the use of materials chosen specifically to induce such errors. Experiment 2 again replicated the large blocking and recovery effects. The equivalent low rate of semantic based errors was also replicated. However, Experiment 2 also revealed that recovered memories were more susceptible to episodic based errors than were continuous memories. This was especially true when the memory block occurred in an interference treatment condition. Finally, post-recall source recognition tests failed to improve memory accuracy. In fact, numerically both semantic based and episodic based errors increased on the source recognition test relative to the cued recall test. Findings are discussed in relation to the source monitoring and fuzzy-trace theories of memory as well as the legal and clinical recovered memory controversy.

No description available.

This thesis examines the effects of linguistic input on the development of children’s epistemic concepts. It draws upon two fundamental questions in the field of cognitive development: (a) whether distinctions between automatic and controlled forms of cognitive processing are indicative of underlying conceptual differences, and (b) whether language is critical to the process of concept development. To establish the background of the current research, a summary of how these theoretical questions have been addressed in other fields of cognitive psychology is first provided (Chapter 1). These questions are then re- examined within the specific domain of epistemic concept development (Chapter 2). Changes in false-belief processing that occur between infancy and the early preschool years are discussed in relation to two competing theories of false-belief development. A framework to explain how language promotes children’s transition between automatic and controlled forms of processing is then provided. It is suggested that language facilitates change by both reducing the cognitive demands associated with controlled response tasks as well as assisting with the formation of robust epistemic representations. An empirical study that was designed to examine the effects of epistemic language (i.e., verbs and syntax) on children’s automatic and controlled processing of belief is then described (Chapters 3 to 5). Eighty-four children (Mage = 3;5 years), who initially failed elicited measures of false-belief, were trained with visual contexts of true- and false-belief. The critical manipulation across three conditions was the linguistic input presented in conjunction with these contexts. Children heard narrations that contained either (a) the description of an agent’s actions without an epistemic verb, (b) a familiar epistemic verb (thinks) across both contexts, or (c) the familiar epistemic verb in contexts of true-belief and a novel epistemic verb (gorps) in contexts of false-belief. Results demonstrated a significant advantage for children who were trained with epistemic verbs on spontaneous measures of false-belief (i.e., anticipatory gaze). Significant effects of epistemic verb exposure were also demonstrated in novel contexts of belief induction. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theories that make distinct predictions about the role of language in epistemic concept development (Chapter 6).

This study aimed to explore how 31 collage students' cognitive performance and their ability to create false memories were affected by the exposure of an extraneous background noise. The studies main hypotheses were based on previous research on how extraneous noise affect the cognitive ability and the creation of false memories: 1) that an extraneous background noise increases the ability to create false memories, 2) that an extraneous background noise impairs the learning of cognitive information, 3) that an extraneous background noise contributes to an increased representation of fictional words, 4) that an extraneous background noise impedes the ability to understand speech . The results showed a tendency in which false memories increased in the condition without background noise, a result which goes in the opposite direction of the hypothesis. Furthermore, the result supported the hypothesis that the extraneous background noise impairs the learning of cognitive information. The results also showed that there was no effect between the conditions regarding the representation of fictional information. However, the result confirmed the hypothesis that a background noise impedes the ability to understand speech. The authors believe that studies like this are of great importance to the debate about how noise in open plan offices affect people's performance and the appearance of error information. / Denna studie grundar sig på en undersökning om hur 31 högskolestudenters kognitiva prestation, samt förmåga att skapa falska minnen påverkades av ett ovidkommande bakgrundsbrus. Studiens huvudsakliga hypoteser utformades utifrån tidigare forskning om hur ovidkommande ljudkällor påverkar den kognitiva förmågan samt inverkar på skapandet av falska minnen; 1) att ett ovidkommande bakgrundsbrus ökar förmågan att skapa falska minnen, 2) att ett ovidkommande bakgrundsbrus försämrar inlärningen av kognitiv information, 3) att ett ovidkommande bakgrundsbrus bidrar till en ökad återgivning av påhittad information, 4) att ett ovidkommande bakgrundsbrus försvårar förmågan att uppfatta tal. Resultatet visade en tendens av att falska minnen ökade i betingelsen utan bakgrundsbrus vilket går i hypotesens motsatta riktning. Vidare gav resultatet stöd åt hypotesen att ovidkommande bakgrundsbrus försämrar inlärningen av kognitiv information. I resultatet framgick även att det inte förelåg någon effekt mellan betingelserna beträffande återgivningen av påhittad information. Däremot bekräftades författarnas hypotes att ett bakgrundsbrus försvårar förmågan att uppfatta tal. Författarna menar att studier likt denna är av stor betydelse för debatten kring hur buller i öppna kontorslandskap påverkar människors prestationsförmåga samt uppkomsten av fel information.

Two studies were conducted to test the central hypothesis that internal working models of attachment will influence false memory in a model-congruent pattern. Participants in both studies were first primed with a relationship-specific attachment model by writing about a person with whom they shared a secure, anxious, or avoidant relationship. Next participants viewed attachment-relevant and non-relevant stimuli presented in either a word list or vignette format. Afterwards they completed a brief distracter task followed by a category cued-recall memory test. Study 2 participants also reported confidence ratings for each word recalled. Results from both studies demonstrated interactive effects between chronic attachment and relationshipspecific models in predicting false memories. Effects were found primarily for attachment stimuli relevant to social isolation and hate/rejection themes. Both model-congruent and modelincongruent effects emerged depending on stimuli set and chronic attachment style. Notably, no attachment-based differences in false memories occurred for non-attachment stimuli. Finally, a consistent association was found between confidence in false recall and congruence between participants' chronic and relationship-specific working models; specifically, greater confidence was associated with congruency, and lower confidence with incongruence. This pattern occurred for both attachment-relevant and non-relevant stimuli. The results of this research provide further support for a key proposition of attachment theory; namely, that relationship working models influence how individuals process relationship-relevant information in general. In addition, this research contributes new knowledge regarding the generation of false memories in particular.

Research in our laboratory has demonstrated blocked and recovered memories within the context of a controlled experiment. The comparative memory paradigm allows for comparisons of recovered memories, continuous memories, and false memories. Additional research in our laboratory has shown two distinct types of memory errors; semantic based errors which occur due to pre-existing category knowledge, and episodic based errors in which the source of details (list members) are misattributed. Independently, these two lines of research have illuminated basic memory processes, however, they have not been combined previously. That is, the experiments in the present study explore the susceptibility of recovered memories to semantic and episodic based errors relative to continuous memories. Experiment 1 replicated the large blocking and recovery effects previously found by our laboratory. Additionally, it demonstrated that recovered memories were no more prone to semantic based errors than were continuous memories. These errors occurred very infrequently despite the use of materials chosen specifically to induce such errors. Experiment 2 again replicated the large blocking and recovery effects. The equivalent low rate of semantic based errors was also replicated. However, Experiment 2 also revealed that recovered memories were more susceptible to episodic based errors than were continuous memories. This was especially true when the memory block occurred in an interference treatment condition. Finally, post-recall source recognition tests failed to improve memory accuracy. In fact, numerically both semantic based and episodic based errors increased on the source recognition test relative to the cued recall test. Findings are discussed in relation to the source monitoring and fuzzy-trace theories of memory as well as the legal and clinical recovered memory controversy.