This thesis investigated the effects of eyewitnesses retellings and discussions with non-witnesses on the eyewitness memory and meta-memory judgments. In Study I, the effect of eyewitness discussions with non-witnesses (persons who had not experienced the event) on eyewitness memory and meta-memory realism for the overall information about an event was investigated. The results suggest that discussions of an experienced event may reduce some of the beneficial memory and meta-memory effects caused by mere retellings, but may not have great negative effects compared to a control condition. Analysis of the type of questions asked suggests listeners ask more about the peripheral details as compared with the central details. In a follow-up study to study I conducted a year later participants in the Retell condition no longer showed evidence of the memory and meta-memory benefits evident at the original final test after about 24 days. However, participants in the Retell condition recalled a higher number of correct items than participants in the Control condition. In Study II, the effect of eyewitness discussions with non-witnesses on eyewitness memory and meta-memory realism for different types of information was investigated. The different types of information were Forensically central, Forensically peripheral, and Non-forensic information. These are types of information that the police may ask at the beginning of a crime investigation. The results from the two experiments showed that participants had better memory and meta-memory realism for Forensically central and Non-forensic information than for Forensically peripheral information. Moreover, participants in the four conditions were equally capable of distinguishing between correct and incorrect items. Further, in Experiment 1 participants in conditions involving retelling and discussing the event reported more total number and number of correct Forensically central items as compared to the Control condition. Study III investigated if retellings and discussions would cause more reminiscence and hypermnesia than mere retellings. The results showed that discussions indeed cause more reminiscence and hypermnesia over the five sessions as compared to mere retellings. The results also showed that the number of times a piece of in- formation was repeated over the sessions was associated with a higher probability for that piece of information being retrieved at the final recall. Interestingly, if the information was retold or discussed in an earlier or later session did not predict if this information would be reported in the testing session or not. Last, the results showed that the forensically peripheral information, but not forensically central information was affected by the reiteration effect (i.e., the effect that confidence tends to increase when a person asserts the same statement many times). This may be due to the fact that the peripheral information was less integrated than the central information. / Det är vanligt att ögonvittnen återger och diskuterar en upplevd brottshändelse med sin familj och vänner. Syftet med dessa diskussioner är att uppdatera familj och vänner om vad som är nytt. Dessa diskussioner har konsekvenser för ögonvittnets senare minnesrapportering och meta-minnesbedömningar. Med minnesrapportering menas här vad ett ögonvittne kan återerinra sig om den bevittnade händelsen och med meta-minnesbedömningar menas ögonvittnets känslor av säkerhet på att hans/hennes minnen av händelsen är korrekta. Vittnens meta-minnesbedömningar kallas nedan konfidensbedömningar. Med uttrycket ”god realism” i meta-minnesbedömningarna menas att nivån på vittnets konfidensbedömningar matchar nivån på korrektheten i vittnets minnesrapportering av den upplevda händelsen. Vittnets minnesrapportering och konfidensbedömningar av sina rapporterade minnen är viktig information i kriminaltekniska sammanhang. Minnet hjälper oss att förstå detaljerna i brottshändelsen och vittnets konfidensbedömningar ger hjälp att förstå korrektheten av dessa minnen. Denna avhandling har undersökt effekterna av att ögonvittnen återberättar och diskuterar (en filminspelning av) en upplevd brottshändelse med icke-vittnen (personer som inte upplevt händelsen) på ögonvittnens minnesrapportering och på deras konfidensbedömningar av de rapporterade minnena. I Studie I fick deltagarna först se en kort film (c:a 4 minuter) och därefter fem gånger över en tre-veckorsperiod uppdelade i tre betingelser antingen enbart fick återberätta händelsen eller både återberätta och diskutera händelsen med icke-vittnen (antingen i en laboratoriemiljö eller med familjemedlemmar och vänner). Lyssnarna var nya personer i var och en av de fem sessionerna. Dessa tre försöksbetingelser jämfördes mot en kontrollbetingelse där dessa aktiviteter inte skedde. Alla deltagarna genomförde en avslutande sjätte testsession där vittnena fick instruktionen att återberätta allt vad de kan minnas av den upplevda händelsen (dvs öppen fri framtagning) och tre dagar senare ge konfidensbedömningar av de olika ingående elementära minneutsagorna i de rapporterade minnena. Av intresse i studien var alltså effekten av upprepat återberättande och diskussioner av en upplevd händelse på ögonvittnens minnesrapportering och på realismen i vittnenas konfidensbedömningar i den avslutande sjätte testsessionen. Resultaten tyder på att diskussioner om en upplevd händelse kan minska några av de positiva effekterna på kvalitén i minnesrapporteringen och på realismen i meta-minne som orsakas av enbart återberättande, men att diskussionerna inte får stora negativa effekter jämfört med en kontrollbetingelse där återberättande och diskussioner av händelsen inte skett. Analys av vilken typ av frågor lyssnarna ställde visade att man frågade mer om de perifera detaljerna i händelsen, jämfört med händelsens centrala detaljer (i första hand handlingar). En uppföljande studie till studie I genomfördes ett år senare. Denna studie visade inga kvarstående tecken på de fördelar på minnesrapportering och meta-minne som deltagarna i den betingelse som enbart återberättat händelsen fem gånger uppvisade i slutsessionen i Studie I efter c:a 24 dagar. Däremot hade deltagarna, i den betingelse som enbart återberättat händelsen, efter ett år ett högre antal korrekta minnesrapporterade utsagor jämfört med deltagarna i kontrollbetingelsen. Studie II utgick delvis från samma data som i Studie I. Här undersöktes effekten av ögonvittnens diskussioner med icke-vittnen på ögonvittnens minne och meta-minne realism för olika typer av information. De olika typer av information som analyserades var Forensiskt central, Forensiskt perifer och Icke-forensiskt relevant information. De två Forensiskt relevanta informationstyperna är sådan information som det är troligt att polisen kan vilja ha i början av en brottsutredning. Resultaten från de två experimenten i Studie II visade att deltagarna hade bättre minne och meta-minne realism för Forensiskt central och för Icke-forensiskt relevant information än för Forensiskt perifer information. Dessutom var deltagarna i de fyra betingelserna i Experiment I (samma fyra betingelser som i Studie I) lika kapabla att skilja mellan korrekt och inkorrekt objekt med hjälp av nivån på sina konfidensbedömningar för alla tre informationstyperna. Experiment 1 i Studie II visade också att deltagarna i de betingelser där deltagarna återberättade och diskuterade händelsen rapporterade ett högre antal korrekta Forensiskt centrala minnesutsagor jämfört med kontrollbetingelsen. Studie III gällde data från två av betingelserna i Studie I, närmare bestämt inspelade data från de fem återgivningsomgångarna i den betingelse där deltagarna enbart återberättat händelsen och inspelade data från den betingelse där deltagarna både återberättade och diskuterade händelsen i laboratoriet. Studien visade att deltagarna i den betingelse där deltagarna både återgav och diskuterade händelsen uppvisade mer reminiscens (fler minnesutsagor, både korrekta och inkorrekta över de fem sessionerna) och mer hypermnesi (tillskott av mer korrekta minnesutsagor över de fem sessionerna) än deltagarna i den betingelse där de bara återberättade händelsen fem gånger över tre veckor. Resultaten visade också att antalet gånger en minnesutsaga upprepades under sessionerna var förenat med en högre sannolikhet för att minnesutsagan skulle återges vid den slutliga återgivningen. Däremot hade det, intressant nog, ingen effekt om minnesutsagorna hade återberättats eller diskuterats i en tidigare eller senare session (av de 5 sessionerna) på om minnesutsagan skulle redovisas i den sjätte testsession eller inte. Slutligen visade resultatet i Studie III att de Forensiskt perifera minnesutsagorna, men inte de Forensiskt centrala utsagorna, uppvisade en så kallad reitereringseffekt vilken innebär att säkerhetskänslan (dvs upplevd konfidens att utsagan är korrekt) höjs som en effekt av att utsagan upprepas fler gånger. Detta kan bero på att den Forensiskt perifera informationen är mindre välintegrerad än den Forensiskt centrala informationen.

The investigative interviewing of eyewitnesses is an important part of the judicial system and is essential in police investigations to identify culpable parties. However, interviewing witnesses to elicit accurate recall is not without some flaws (Ainsworth, 2002). Researchers have acknowledged that recall of information is a complex process vulnerable to variables which impede the retrieval of accurate information (Gudjonsson, 1996; Loftus, 1979; 1992). To improve witness recall, psychologists developed the Cognitive Interview (CI) procedure to help interviewers retrieve more correct information from witnesses (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992). The use of the CI has been shown to increase accuracy in many populations (Memon, Holley, Wark, Bull, & Koehnken, 1996; Milne & Shaw, 1999). However, there are some criticisms of the CI. For example, the CI may cause confusion for witnesses (Kebbell, Milne, & Wagstaff, 1999), takes longer to administer than a standard police interview (Croft, 1995) and contain components which are reported to undermine the effectiveness of this procedure (Boon & Noon, 1994). This research program utilised three studies in a multimethod approach to evaluate investigative interviewing procedures, from an experimental and applied perspective. The overarching aim of this research was to identify a parsimonious, effective and efficient interview procedure which overcame some of the limitations recognized in the CI. The first study employed an experimental methodology to test the effectiveness of the CI and two alternative versions of the CI, to determine which interview procedure resulted in the most correct and least incorrect amounts of information being elicited from student witnesses to a road incident stimulus. Results indicated that the truncated group utilizing mnemonics Tell All and Reinstate Context elicited as much correct and less incorrect information than the ‘Full CI’ group, and took less time to administer. Study Two examined the perceptions of the interview procedure from the witnesses’ perspective. Witnesses were asked to complete a questionnaire which was designed to investigate what the participants thought about how the interview was conducted. Results indicated that, overall, the witnesses found that the interviewers engaged in practices and behaviours at a similar skill level and appreciated the rapport building and clarity of the interviewers. A content analysis revealed that the witnesses favoured some mnemonics over others. The qualitative statements made in regard to questions in the questionnaire are presented. Study Three used a triangulation methodology to determine what the Queensland Police Service officers were currently trained in and practising in the field. Secondary sources, a questionnaire, focus group and case study methodologies were used to make this determination. Findings indicated that there were areas where the police service could improve training of officers to help facilitate interviewing of witnesses. The integration of the findings from the three studies will help to inform the current state of research in the area of investigative interviewing. In particular, this research provides a target examination of interviewing practices in a sub-section of the Queensland Police Service. The findings from the three studies were used to identify an interview procedure which obtained more correct information, did not gain an increase in incorrect information, reduced the time required to conduct the interview, was not confusing for the witnesses, or the officers, and contained no inherent problems for the judicial system. Further recommendations are made for the use of interview protocols for investigative interviewing of road incidents.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the School of Human Communication Disorders. Bibliography: leaves 71-80.

Calls for history teachers to adopt inquiry methods continue to go unabated in educational research and curricular initiatives. In recent years, there has been increased recognition of the important role teacher reflection plays in managing the uncertainty that accompanies such pedagogy in history classrooms. Accordingly, this dissertation was situated within theories of reflection and reflective teaching, which acknowledge teaching to be endemically problematic and teachers as autonomous in their curricular- instructional decisions and thereby resistive to certainty-driven models of history teaching. This dissertation sought to investigate the reflections of inquiry-oriented history teachers by examining how and upon what they reflect throughout a unit of study. Using an interpretive multiple-case design with video-stimulated recall methodology, reflective interviews were conducted with participants in four different schools within the same urban public school district. A cross-case analysis of the data led to several key findings. First, the process of reflection for teachers in practice revealed itself to be more affective and messy than conventional rational models of reflection found in the literature. Second, the results showed that history teachers’ reflections were prioritized in accordance with their values and sense of purpose. Third, the inclusiveness of teachers’ classroom environments and curricular-instructional decisions were a focal point of their reflections. Fourth, the teachers’ reflections were influenced by their understandings of their school cultures, with three of the four teachers finding their school norms and policies as oppositional to the promotion of inquiry methods with their students. Finally, the findings showed that reflection aided teachers’ examination of assumptions embedded within their professional routines and pedagogical decisions, particulary with regard to the selection and use of the essential questions that framed their units. This dissertation highlights the need for more and better reflective opportunites for pre- and in-service history teachers and for better research that might yield further insights into the nature of inquiry-based history teaching.

En el presente artículo, el autor realiza un análisis del fenómeno económico llamado recall, así como también de las consecuencias jurídicas que surgen de este. Para cumplir con dicha tarea, se nos presenta la posición que se ha tomado en el Derecho Comparado, para después hacer un parangón con la forma en la que el recall ha sido tratado por INDECOPI en el Perú. Finalmente, el autor emprende una propuesta sobre cómo debería estar regulado el recall en nuestro ordenamiento. In this paper, the author analyzes the economic phenomenon known as “recall”, as well as the legal consequences that arise from it. To fulfill this task, the author first introduces the stance accepted in Comparative Law, and then compares it with the way in which the “recall” has been dealt with by INDECOPI in Peru. Finally, the author presents a proposal as to how the “recall” should be regulated in our legal system.

Objetivos: Quantificar a ingestão dietética de adultos portadores de hepatopatia crônica correlacionando-a ao estado nutricional, e comparar diferentes métodos de avaliação nutricional nesta população, especialmente métodos de avaliação funcional (dinamometria - FAM - e espessura do músculo adutor do polegar - MAP) e a avaliação global do Royal Free Hospital (RFH-GA). Materiais e métodos: Foram avaliados 97 pacientes ambulatoriais do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, com diagnóstico de hepatopatia crônica (41 hepatite crônica – HCr - e 56 cirróticos - CIR) entre abril de 2009 e janeiro de 2010. Foi realizada avaliação nutricional através de inquérito alimentar (R24h), antropometria - Índice de massa corporal (IMC) e circunferência muscular do braço (CMB), avaliação subjetiva global (ASG), FAM, RFH-GA e MAP. Resultados: Pacientes do grupo HCr apresentaram maior ingestão calórica total (p=0,005) e maior ingestão proteica (p<0,0001) que os pacientes CIR. Houve relação entre RFH-GA (p<0,001) e FAM (p<0,05) e ingestão de calorias e proteínas. A prevalência de desnutrição no grupo HCr e no grupo CIR foi, de acordo com RFH-GA (51,2 vs 84% - p=0,002), FAM (61 vs 82,1% - p=0,02), ASG (14,6 vs 32,1% - p=0,048), MAP (7,3vs 14,3% - p=NS), CMB (4,9 vs 14,3% - p=NS) e IMC (2,4 vs 3,6% - p=NS). Houve concordância moderada entre FAM e RFH-GA (k=0,43). Conclusão: Pacientes portadores de hepatopatia crônica, mesmo não cirróticos, têm ingestão energética e proteica inadequadas. Desnutrição é frequente nos dois grupos, especialmente na cirrose. FAM e RFH-GA são os métodos que identificaram maior prevalência de desnutrição nesta população e apresentam concordância entre si. A ingestão insuficiente de calorias e proteinas foi associada ao diagnóstico de DPC pela RFH-GA e FAM. / Background/aims: Objectives: To quantify the dietary intake of adults with chronic liver disease and correlate the nutritional status. Compare different methods of nutritional assessment in this population, in special methods of functional evaluation (hand grip streght – HG and The thickness of the adductor pollices muscle - APM) and the Royal Free Hospital global assessment (RFH-GA). Methods: 97 patients at the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, diagnosed with chronic liver disease (41 chronic hepatitis - CH - and 56 cirrhotic - CIR) between April 2009 and January 2010 was assessed. Nutritional assessment was carried out by dietary recall (24HR), anthropometry (body mass index - BMI - body and arm muscle circumference - AMC), subjective global assessment (SGA), HG, RFH-GA and APM. Results: CH group patients had higher total caloric intake (p = 0.005) and higher protein intake (p <0.0001) than patients CIR. There was a relationship between the RFH-GA (p <0.001) and HG (p <0.001) and intake of calories and proteins. The prevalence of malnutrition in the CH group and the CIR group was by RFH-GA (51.2 vs. 84% - p = 0.002), HG (61 vs 82.1% - p = 0.02), SGA (14.6 vs. 32.1% - p = 0.048), APM (7.3 vs 14.3% - p> 0.05), MAC (4.9 vs 14.3% - p> 0.05) and BMI (2.4 vs. 3.6% - p> 0.05). There was moderate agreement between HG and RFH-GA (k = 0.43). Conclusion: Patients HC and CIR have energy and protein intake inadequate. Malnutrition is common in both groups, especially in the second. RFH-GA and HG are the best methods to identify malnutrition in this population and usually correlate with each other. The insufficient intake of calories and protein contributed to the diagnosis of malnutrition by RFH-GA and HG.

Os mecanismos tradicionais de consulta a bases de dados, que utilizam o critério de igualdade, têm se tornado ineficazes quando os dados armazenados possuem variações tanto ortográficas quanto de formato. Nesses casos, torna-se necessário o uso de funções de similaridade ao invés dos operadores booleanos. Os mecanismos de consulta por similaridade retornam um ranking de elementos ordenados pelo seu valor de similaridade em relação ao objeto consultado. Para delimitar os elementos desse ranking que efetivamente fazem parte do resultado pode-se utilizar um limiar de similaridade. Entretanto, a definição do limiar de similaridade adequado é complexa, visto que este valor varia de acordo com a função de similaridade usada e a semântica dos dados consultados. Uma das formas de auxiliar na definição do limiar adequado é avaliar a qualidade do resultado de consultas que utilizam funções de similaridade para diferentes limiares sobre uma amostra da coleção de dados. Este trabalho apresenta um método automático de estimativa da qualidade de funções de similaridade através de medidas de revocação e precisão computadas para diferentes limiares. Os resultados obtidos a partir da aplicação desse método podem ser utilizados como metadados e, a partir dos requisitos de uma aplicação específica, auxiliar na definição do limiar mais adequado. Este processo automático utiliza métodos de agrupamento por similaridade, bem como medidas para validar os grupos formados por esses métodos, para eliminar a intervenção humana durante a estimativa de valores de revocação e precisão. / Traditional database query mechanisms, which use the equality criterion, have become inefficient when the stored data have spelling and format variations. In such cases, it's necessary to use similarity functions instead of boolean operators. Query mechanisms that use similarity functions return a ranking of elements ordered by their score in relation to the query object. To define the relevant elements that must be returned in this ranking, a threshold value can be used. However, the definition of the appropriated threshold value is complex, because it depends on the similarity function used and the semantics of the queried data. One way to help to choose an appropriate threshold is to evaluate the quality of similarity functions results using different thresholds values on a database sample. This work presents an automatic method to estimate the quality of similarity functions through recall and precision measures computed for different thresholds. The results obtained by this method can be used as metadata and, through the requirements of an specific application, assist in setting the appropriated threshold value. This process uses clustering methods and cluster validity measures to eliminate human intervention during the process of estimating recall and precision.

Vocabulary acquisition plays an important role in second language students’ performance. In the process of learning vocabulary, students are exposed to different sorts of input that might affect the way their working memory processes, retains, and recalls the new information they are exposed to, which can be visual, auditory, haptic, or multimodal (Paivio, 1991). Research has been extensively done on the effects of input modality on working memory in L1 word recall tasks in individuals with normal development and also in individuals with visual disabilities; however, no attention has been given to the effects of input modality on working memory in word recall tasks in blind individuals in the realm of second language learning. The current research sought to investigate the effects of input modality on working memory in L2 word recall tasks with the goal of determining if the lack of access to visual stimuli would have any substantial effects on L2 word retention and recall. It was predicted that participants would do better on those word recall tasks that involved the use of more than one modality simultaneously and that lack of access to visual stimuli would not negatively affect L2 word recall. To address these issues, we devised two word recall experiments: experiment 1 for the blind participant of the study (a 24 year old female graduate student who is an English native speaker), and experiment 2 for the sighted participants. Both experiments comprised a Digit Span Test, 4 word recall tasks in which participants were exposed to four different lists of high frequency Spanish words and their English translations in different modalities (Oral, Written (Braille), Oral+Written (Braille), Haptic/visual+Oral), and an interview. Thirty (16 females, 14 males) American English Native speakers who were sighted with ages ranging from 19 to 37 participated in this study; half of them were blindfolded for the last word recall task (Haptic+Oral). The results for both experiments showed that contrary to our predictions and to what dual coding theories claim, our participants were able to recall more words in those tasks that involved the use of only one modality. In part this may be attributed to 1) the fact that it was the first time these participants were exposed to Spanish vocabulary and so it made it more difficult for their working memories to integrate modalities and 2) an information overload since the stimulus words were presented with their translation. Moreover, the lack of access to visual stimuli did not have a strong effect in those participants who were blindfolded, which may be explained by the fact that the oral and haptic input triggered the use of mental imagery when retaining and recalling the words. Finally, the practical and pedagogical implications of the findings of the present study, as well as recommendations for the future research are discussed.