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In everyday life, motivation and learning are connected like music and dancing. Many educators realize this and work hard to improve their students' motivation. A motivated student may repeat and self-rehearse the content of a chapter more often, which leads to better learning. However, from a cognitive psychology point of view, it is still uncertain if motivation without differences in repetition or attention, affects episodic memory performance. That is, would a motivated student perform better compared to a less motivated peer if they both have same level of previous knowledge, attention and rehearsal? The number of studies in this field is scarce, and some studies are limited by methodological issues, and others indicate that motivation does not affect episodic memory performance. The overall aim of this thesis was to develop a motivational instruction that facilitates or affects memory performance, and to characterize the underlying mechanisms of this potential effect. Study I examined if reward competition would affect word and source recall as well as word recognition. Following the self-determination theory of motivation, Study I also included subjective ratings of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The results showed dissociation between experienced motivation and actual memory performance. Study II involved goal-setting and ego-involvement (stereotype threat) as motivators in the context of a word recall task. The results showed that goals and ego-involvement had no effect on performance. Study III manipulated competition motivation by a combination of group process (group vs. individual) and chance of winning (high vs. low) to in two experiments. The results suggested that both chance of winning and group process can affect episodic memory performance. Study IV extended these findings by showing a complex interaction among group process, chance of winning, and gender. Specifically, male participants were more subjected to group process and chance of winning than female participants in memory performance. Taken together, the present studies show that memory performance is relatively impervious to motivational influence, but that a combination of reward competition, group process and chance of winning can affect episodic recall performance. Presumably, the underlying mechanisms through which motivation affects episodic memory performance is that motivated participants generate more possible items to familiarize themselves with during memory retrieval than less motivated participants.

This thesis explores practices and experiences of using photography to support remembering. While the increasing use of photography is well documented, we have limited theoretical understanding of how we approach the taking, organising, and sharing of personal images in relation to memory, and of the opportunities and risks that are created through technological change. Two studies were conducted in which a total of 21 participants were interviewed in front of a sample of their photographs. Study 1 explored photography and remembering around a single, specific event: a wedding. Study 2 explored longer-term patterns of photographic and remembering activity across a range of contexts and events. The analysis showed that the ways that participants engaged with other people and technologies were significant in determining the kinds of photographs that were produced, and the engagement with those photos. Photographic practices were also heavily influenced by the situations in which they were performed and the beliefs and preferences of individuals. The existence of photographs could lead to thinking about particular aspects of the past, but the taking of photographs also altered the experience of what was being photographed. This could be seen as disruptive, depending on the participant’s beliefs about whether photography was a legitimate part of experience. When taking photos, participants pursued a mix of aesthetics, objectivity, and personal meaning, and perceptions of these qualities could influence the way that photographs were used in cueing recall. However, while most participants had produced large collections of photographs, there had been limited engagement with these and taking or having photographs could be more important than looking at them. The thesis concludes that there is value in redefining memory as a kind of activity that emerges through the performance of remembering and that is dependent on the tools used to support it and the situations in which it is performed. From this perspective, photography and autobiographical remembering are parts of the same wider activity, an inseparable blend of internal and external processes. As such, attempts to support our memories should consider both the features of technology and the experience of using it, as well as the ways that we work with tools and people when remembering.

This experimental study examined whether a humanitarian and a dominant interviewing style, respectively, had any causal effect on 146 interviewees’ memory performance, as well as the interviewees’ psychological well-being. Independent-samples t-tests showed that participants interviewed in a humanitarian style reported a larger amount of information altogether, including, as defined, more peripheral and central information, compared to those interviewed in a dominant style. The amount of false reported information was statistically invariable regardless of interviewing style. A mixed between-within analysis of variance showed an interaction effect between the interviewing style and the interviewees’ anxiety level before and after interview, thus, partly supporting the hypothesis that a humanitarian interviewing style promotes greater psychological well-being among interviewees. Factors influencing the results are discussed, including the main implications, which are that a humanitarian interviewing style promotes rapport building and provides the interviewees with adequate time to find retrieval paths and cues to memories.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brandeis University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 29, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Cette thèse porte sur la mémoire transactive (Wegner, 1985), une forme de mémoire socialement partagée qui influence la performance collective grâce à une spécialisation, une coordination tacite et une confiance ou crédibilité dans les compétences de l'autre. Une revue de la littérature sur la mémoire transactive a permis de faire plusieurs constats. Premièrement, rares sont les recherches qui ont été réalisées sur la mémoire transactive dans les couples. Deuxièmement, les recherches ont négligé les niveaux d’explication positionnelle et idéologique, se centrant essentiellement sur des explications intra- et interindividuelles. Enfin, les effets de la diversité culturelle liée à la composition des couples et binômes et/ou à la nature de la tâche collaborative n'ont pas été étudiés sur la mémoire transactive. L’objectif de la thèse est donc d’examiner les effets de la composition culturelle des couples (et binômes « artificiels ») et du marquage culturel d’une tâche réalisée en collaboration sur la mémoire transactive. Les couples (et binômes) sont composés de personnes de même culture ou de cultures différentes (française et/ou marocaine). La tâche se présente sous la forme d’un jeu de « memory » qui comprend des cartes avec des images de culture marocaine et française. Une observation des comportements des participants à partir de vidéos, un rappel des cartes, et des mesures par questionnaires ont été combinés pour mettre en évidence une régulation culturelle de la mémoire transactive. La première étude examine les effets de la composition culturelle des couples sur la mémoire transactive et montre que la performance au jeu de « memory » est meilleure dans les couples biculturels que dans les couples mono-culturels, mais uniquement sur les cartes de culture française. La seconde étude examine cette forme de mémoire dans des binômes« artificiels », mono- ou biculturels, où les compétences des partenaires dans la réalisation de la tâche peuvent être inférées à partir de caractéristiques culturelles présentes dans la situation. Les résultats indiquent que les binômes biculturels ont une performance à la tâche inférieure aux binômes mono-culturels, alors que l’effet inverse est observé sur la spécialisation perçue. Ce résultat suggère qu’une mémoire transactive « illusoire » a été mobilisée par les partenaires des binômes biculturels en inférant leurs compétences respectives à partir de leur appartenance à une culture donnée. Enfin, une dernière étude montre qu’un entraînement collectif préalable a un effet bénéfique sur la performance au jeu de « memory » des binômes biculturels, mais uniquement lorsque les cartes de culture française ont servi de support à cet entraînement. Considérés dans leur ensemble, les résultats de ces trois études permettent d’envisager que la mémoire transactive dans les couples et les binômes peut être régulée par des facteurs culturels / This thesis focuses on the transactive memory model (Wegner, 1985), a form of socially shared memory that influences collective performance through specialization, tacit coordination and trust or credibility in the partner’s skills. A review of the literature leads to several observations. First, little research has been conducted on transactive memory in couples. Second, research has overlooked the levels of positional and ideological explanation, focusing primarily on intra- and inter-individual explanations. Finally, the effects of cultural diversity on transactive memory, linked to the composition of couples and dyads and/or the collaborative task have not been studied. The aim of the thesis is to study the effects of the cultural composition of couples (and "artificial" dyads) and a culturally marked collaborative task on the transactive memory system. Couples (and dyads) were composed of individuals with either the same or different cultural backgrounds (French and/or Moroccan). The task was a "Memory" game using cards with Moroccan and French cultural images. Video observations of the participants’ behavior, recall of cards, and questionnaires were combined to investigate the cultural regulation oftransactive memory. The first study examined the effects of the composition of couples on transactive memory and found that performance on the "Memory" game was better in bi-cultural than in mono-cultural couples, but only with French culturally marked cards. The second study examined this form of memory in mono- or bi-cultural "artificial" dyads. It was assumed that the partners’ skills for the task could be inferred from the cultural characteristics of the situation. The results indicate that the performance of the bi-cultural dyads was poorer than that of the mono-cultural dyads, while the reverse was observed for perceived specialization. This result suggests that an "illusory" transactive memory was involved in bi-cultural dyads by inferring cultural skills based on cultural characteristics. The third study shows that prior collective training had a positive effect on the performance of bicultural dyads, but only when the French cultural cards were used as the medium. Taken together, the results of these studies suggest that transactive memory in couples and dyads could be regulated by cultural factors

This diploma thesis presents a tool for dynamic memory allocator analysis, focused on their performance. The work identifies the important memory allocator performance metrics, as well as the environment and program factors influencing these metrics. Using this knowledge, a tool was designed and implemented. This tool allows to gather and analyze these metrics. The tool provides the ability to create memory allocator usage scenarios for the purpose of the allocator behavior analysis under different conditions. The tool was tested on several available memory allocators with free license.

yes / Evidence suggests that flavonoid-rich foods are capable of inducing improvements in memory and cognition in animals and humans. However, there is a lack of clarity concerning whether flavonoids are the causal agents in inducing such behavioral responses. Here we show that supplementation with pure anthocyanins or pure flavanols for 6 weeks, at levels similar to that found in blueberry (2% w/w), results in an enhancement of spatial memory in 18 month old rats. Pure flavanols and pure anthocyanins were observed to induce significant improvements in spatial working memory (p = 0.002 and p = 0.006 respectively), to a similar extent to that following blueberry supplementation (p = 0.002). These behavioral changes were paralleled by increases in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (R = 0.46, p<0.01), suggesting a common mechanism for the enhancement of memory. However, unlike protein levels of BDNF, the regional enhancement of BDNF mRNA expression in the hippocampus appeared to be predominantly enhanced by anthocyanins. Our data support the claim that flavonoids are likely causal agents in mediating the cognitive effects of flavonoid-rich foods.

Background This thesis investigated the efficacy and safety of Bacopa monnieri in improving memory in healthy Australians over the age of 55-years. A review of the literature showed that memory impairment and dementia are increasingly prevalent in the current demographic climate of an ageing population. As well as the pathological cognitive loss of neurodegenerative disease, many older persons are experiencing memory loss as part of the physiological process of ageing. Bacopa monnieri is a herbal medicine used since antiquity in the traditional Ayurvedic medical system of India for its cognitive enhancing effects. A number of pre-clinical and clinical studies support this traditional usage. Laboratory studies have demonstrated antioxidant and cholinergic actions in the brain as well as improved memory and cognitive performance in animal models. Human trials of Bacopa have also demonstrated improved memory performance. Some of these trials are limited by methodological flaws such as lack of blinding, small sample sizes, or use of outcome measurements which are not well validated. However, a small number of well designed human trials provide evidence for efficacy in cognitive and memory performance improvement. The current study was employed to extend on previous findings by assessing the efficacy and safety of Bacopa in the aged population specifically, as it is in this population that memory impairment becomes apparent. Aims 1. To assess the efficacy of Bacopa monnieri in improving memory in healthy Australians over the age of 55-years. 2. To assess whether the use of Bacopa is associated with side-effects Design A 12-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group clinical trial. Participants Participants were self selected from the general population. They were aged 55-years or over at the commencement of the trial. Participants were without dementia, depression or other serious health conditions and did not use psychotropic medications. Intervention Participants were randomised to one of two treatment conditions, either a tableted extract of Bacopa monnieri called Bacomind™ (300mg/day, standardised to contain at least 40% bacosides), or an identical placebo. Participants attended three clinical evaluations: the first an initial screening session, the second a baseline evaluation of neuropsychological function and subjective memory performance at the commencement of the trial and the third, an end-of-trial outcome evaluation at 12-weeks, during which neuropsychological function and subjective memory performance were again assessed along with side-effects and study compliance. Primary Outcome Measures Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (CFT), Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), and Trail Making Test (TMT) Results From 136 people who elected to participate, 103 people met study entry criteria and 98 of these commenced the trial. Of these, 81 participants completed the trial and provided evaluable data for the end point analysis. Bacopa monnieri versus placebo significantly improved verbal learning as well as delayed recall as measured by the AVLT (p<.05). Though improvements were noted in the CFT, MAC-Q and TMT, there were no significant differences between placebo and active groups found for these tests. The Bacopa group reported a higher incidence of gastro-intestinal (GIT) side-effects than the placebo group, these predominantly being increased stool frequency, abdominal cramps and nausea. No other significant adverse effects were found. Conclusions A clinical trial was carried out to assess the effects of 12-weeks administration of Bacopa monnieri (300mg/day) on memory performance in people over the age of 55-years. Primary outcome measures were well validated neuropsychological tests that objectively measured verbal and visual memory and a memory complaint questionnaire that measured subjective memory complaints. The results demonstrated that Bacopa significantly improved memory acquisition and retention in older Australians. This concurs with findings from previous human and animal studies, as well as supports traditional Ayurvedic claims and uses. The beneficial effects on memory observed may be due to previously demonstrated antioxidant and cholinergic effects of the herb on the central nervous system. The use of Bacopa was associated with GIT side-effects, particularly increased bowel movements, nausea and abdominal cramping, findings infrequently reported previously. Possible explanations for these side-effects include GIT irritation by the saponin constituents of the herb, or cholinergic stimulation of autonomic and motor responses in the GIT, or a combination of both of these factors. The side-effects observed in the current study provide supportive evidence that Bacopa may increase cholinergic activity in humans. A worthwhile future extension of the current study would be to assess whether the finding of Bacopa’s efficacy for improving memory performance is replicable in populations with either mild cognitive impairment or early dementia.

This thesis explores memory performance for smartphone workloads. We design a Video Conference Workload (VCW) to model typical smartphone usage. We describe a trace-based methodology which uses a software implementation to mimic the behaviour of specialised hardware accelerators. Our methodology stores dataflow information from the original application to maintain the relationships between requests. We first study seven address mapping schemes with our VCW, using a first-ready, first-come-first-served (FR-FCFS) memory scheduler. Our results show the best performing scheme is up to 82% faster than the worst. The VCW is memory intensive, with up to 86.8% bandwidth utilisation using the best performing scheme. We also test a Web Browsing and a set of computer vision workloads. Most are not memory intensive, with utilisation under 15%. Finally, we compare four schedulers and find that the FR-FCFS scheduler using the Write Drain mode [8] performed the best, outperforming the worst scheduler by 6.3%.