A presente dissertação busca compreender as formas de expressão das memórias de homens e mulheres na maturidade e idosos, com seus possíveis elementos dramáticos. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com três mulheres e três homens participantes de um grupo de teatro. Na metodologia empregada história oral optou-se pela entrevista temática. O tema das memórias foi gerado pela escolha dos entrevistados de, no máximo, três fotografias. As entrevistas foram realizadas a partir de perguntas abertas: “por que escolheu essa fotografia?” ou “que lembranças lhe trouxe essa imagem?”. A avaliação das informações da pesquisa foi realizada por meio da análise do conteúdo. Na unidade “Memórias”, foram analisadas as memórias dramática, emocional e social. As análises apontaram que o conflito − essência da dramaticidade − está presente em todas as memórias, em algum dos fatos narrados. A memória que é armazenada e depois lembrada, em sua maioria, está ligada às emoções vividas. Em alguns momentos da narrativa, a memória pessoal se mescla com a memória da sociedade onde o indivíduo viveu, o que caracteriza a memória coletiva ou social. / This dissertation seeks to understand the forms of expressing memories of men and women in maturity and old age, with their possible dramatic elements. The study was conducted with a group of three women and three men participating in a theater group. Given to the methodology employed – oral history – we chose to conduct thematic interviews. The theme of memories was a result of the choice of a maximum of three photographs by respondents. The interviews included open-ended questions: Why did you choose that photograph? Which memories did this picture raise? Data was analyzed through content analysis. The MEMORIES unit analyzed: dramatic, emotional and, social memory. The analyses showed that conflict – the essence of drama – is present in all memories, in some of the events. Most memories stored and then remembered are linked to emotions experienced. At some moments of the narrative, personal memory is intertwined with memories of the society individuals lived in, characterizing collective or social memory.

This thesis is an analysis of the pros and cons of doing ethnographic and oral history research with elders. The subjects are women born before 1933 and residing in Sulphur Springs, Florida for most of their adolescence and adult lives. They were selected from attendees of the semiannual reunion of students who attended the Sulphur Springs School during the years it served both elementary and junior high. This method of research, with an elder population presents specific challenges and rewards. The pros and cons of such research are discussed within the context of doing ethnography of Sulphur Springs from the perspective of a select group of women. Interviews were conducted with eight (8) women in their homes, yielding approximately fourteen (14) hours of recordings. A list of questions was developed to prompt memories during the interviews. A small tabletop recorder was used to record unstructured interviews regarding their years in Sulphur Springs, with emphasis on the years they consider most memorable. A social network analysis of attendees of the recent reunions was conducted with the responses to a mailed questionnaire. The study revealed the importance of understanding the culture of a generation through the lens of history and place. Special considerations need to be made in preparation of survey instruments and interview questions for any physical limitations and/or security concerns. Researchers also need to be flexible in the application of their pre-determined research designs in order to assure maximum quality and quantity of resulting data.

This thesis was concerned with investigating a visual-illusionary phenomenon that co-occurs with post-traumatic anxiety symptoms. More specifically, individuals who report recurring specific memories of a fearful event (RSM) also tend to report a persistent illusion of movement (PIM) upon prolonged visual fixation (Tym, Dyck & McGrath, 2000). The development of a visual test (i-Test) designed to reliably elicit PIM has enabled research to be conducted on the nature and correlates of this type of visual disturbance. The present research aimed: 1) To develop a standard protocol for assessment of PIM and RSM; 2) to test the reliability of the i-Test in eliciting PIM in a student sample 3) to test the predictive relationship between dissociation and anxiety symptoms with PIM and RSM 4) to formulate and test a hypothesis regarding a mechanism underlying PIM. The first study screened 142 participants for RSM and PIM using self-administered questionnaires designed by Tym (personal communication, 2001). There was an unexpectedly high rate (54.2%) of PIM and RSM (37.3%) in the sample, which appeared to be the product of questionnaire design limitations. Two semi-structured interviews were developed and subsequently tested on a new sample of 50 participants in Study 2. Study 2 documented intra-rater and inter-rater reliability co-efficient of sufficient strength to indicate good reliability for the semi-structured interviews. The results of Study 2 indicate that PIM is a relatively stable symptom over a 30-minute and one-week test-retest time frame. / The onset time for PIM was relatively consistent between participants, with a mean latency of approximately 7 seconds. The oscillation rate of PIM was relatively consistent between individuals, with a mean average oscillation of approximately 0.8Hz. The third study tested a sample of 148 participants using the revised assessment protocols. The base rate for PIM (16.2%) and RSM (18.9%), and the concordance rates (46% to 54%) were slightly stronger than the Tym et al. (2000) community based study (33%). In addition to this, 11 other illusionary phenomena were documented, however none of these visual symptoms significantly correlated with RSM. The average oscillation rate is comparable to the rate documented in Study 2, further establishing the consistency of the reported rate of PIM oscillations between individuals. In Study 3, each participant was assessed for levels of dissociation (Dissociative Experiences Scale), somatic arousal (Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire – Anxious Arousal Scale) and anxiety sensitivity (Anxiety Sensitivity Index). The results indicate that gender and dissociation significantly predict RSM status, and self-reported levels of anxious-arousal significantly predict PIM status. A multiway frequency analysis between the sub-components of RSM and PIM revealed that the physiological arousal inducing properties of the recurring memory is the only significant predictor of PIM. / The observed relationship between RSM and PIM may reflect the broader relationship between anxiety and dissociation. A pulsatile hypothesis was proposed as a feasible mechanism underlying PIM, due to the rhythmical nature of the visual disturbance, the range of the documented oscillations, and its specificity to psychological disorders characterised by cardiovascular sensitivities. All participants were administered the i-Test prior to and following aerobic exercise aimed at increasing pulse rate to 80% of maximum load. An increase in physical exertion significantly increased the latency of PIM onset, but did not impact on the rate of PIM. PIM rate appeared relatively consistent between individuals at 0.6Hz to 0.8Hz at the pre-exercise condition. Several participants who reported PIM also displayed obvious nystagmoid-like movements during the i-Test perceptual task. The role of eye-movements in PIM requires further investigation by future ophthalmological research. The final aim of Study 3 was to investigate the relationship between RSM/PIM and flicker sensitivity. Through the use of a Critical Flicker Frequency/Fusion task (CFF), each participant’s sensitivity to flicker was determined. In addition to detecting sensitivity thresholds, CFF is also considered to be a reliable indicator of the level of cortical arousal. / The results of this study suggest that individuals with RSM have a higher sensitivity to flicker than other participants, however there was a non-significant relationship between CFF and PIM. The lack of relationship between PIM and CFF may be due to issues concerning statistical power and effect-size. Future research is required to investigate this link in more detail. The overall results of this thesis suggest that i-Test elicited PIM is a reliable phenomenon that is associated with higher rates of traumatic memories when compared with persons who do not report this visual symptom. The strength of the association between RSM and PIM, however, does not support the use of the i-Test as a marker for the presence of RSM outside a clinical sample. The reliability of PIM as a phenomenon and its association with anxiety symptoms may be of theoretical importance in enabling future research to investigate the relationship between visual symptoms and anxiety-related pathology.

Abstract This qualitative interview study was designed to understand how early literacy experiences continue to influence individuals as they become adult readers. The study utilized a case study methodology that allowed detailed descriptions of participants’ recollections of early literacy experiences and descriptions of the participants’ current reading habits. The researcher, working from a constructivist paradigm, worked to find evidence to explore what features of early reading experiences might compel an individual to turn to reading again and again, or to choose to abstain from reading. The following research questions guided this study: “What specific memories do adult readers recall about early reading experiences?” “What is the nature of the influence of early reading experiences on lifelong reading habits as reported by adults?” and “What is the nature of the influence of lifelong reading habits on social and professional life as reported by adults?” Seven participants shared their earliest memories of literacy experiences, as rooted in family and school contexts, along with explanations of the uses of reading in their adult lives. The researcher employed a typological analysis to determine how participants’ memories of early literacy experiences impacted their adult reading habits. The many facets of early reading experiences that influenced the participants’ reading habits could be categorized as positive, neutral, or negative. Most individuals experienced a combination of positive and negative literacy experiences, and the nature of these experiences influenced the participants’ adult reading habits in particular ways. The results of the analysis supported prior research in the field about the influence of teachers and the importance of early literacy instruction, and highlighted in particular, the emotional impact of successes or perceived failure in learning to read.

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.

I represented a person’s stories and memories of childhood through the material called glass, and found a method to approach personal stories. To do this, the medium to express my conception that is express of the personal experience and extreme situation on glass was based. The most significant point of study was realizing the nature of emotions and meanings within a person’s life. As well as special instruments and to analyze whether it is an appropriate expression. Accordingly with this, I collected individual stories from Zili and tried to comprehensively understand the cause behind. For that I approached different cases of psychology theory to compare. After I analyzed the colour and object that relate to memories or the person. Expression of artefact I created from foundational theory through my perspective. I represented in magnification of memories as an expression on glass artefacts for respect of peoples diversity life. This led me to make more concrete context in practical work and theoretical tool as well.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering." Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-116).

Thesis (M.S.)--Boise State University, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-95).

Thesis (M.S.)--Boise State University, 2009. / Title from t.p. of PDF file (viewed Mar. 12, 2010). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-95).

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.