published_or_final_version / Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D. in psychology)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 19, 2009). "Department of Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 32-36).

Prospective memory, memory to perform future intended actions, is an important component of independent living for older adults. The current study examined prospective memory performance in 120 adults (Young-Old; 45-64 years old and Old; 65 - 87 years old) using Virtual Week (Rendell & Craik, 2000; Rendell & Henry, 2009). Virtual week was used to assess performance for regular and irregular event based, regular and irregular time based, and time check prospective memory tasks. Prospective memory performance under conditions of stereotype threat, stereotype boost, and a neutral condition was also examined. Stereotype threat occurs when individuals fear their behavior will confirm a negative opinion regarding one’s in-group. Older adults completed fewer prospective memory tasks compared to participants in the Young-Old group. No effect of stereotype condition on completion of prospective memory tasks was observed. The implication that stereotype threat may influence memory systems differently, as well as the possible role of the positivity effect on performance is considered.

Les méthodes actuelles utilisées pour définir les enjeux de biodiversité peinent à prendre en compte : les espaces agricoles et les pratiques, à la fois réservoir et pression pour la biodiversité et les dynamiques spatiales et temporelles, modifiant l’occupation du sol et la présence, la qualité et la connectivité des habitats. Ce travail a pour objectif de proposer des solutions pour ces 2 aspects.Nous avons identifié des pratiques agricoles favorables à la biodiversité. Pour comprendre les enjeux liés au développement de ces pratiques, nous avons étudié des leviers pour leur mise en place. Nous avons confirmé la difficulté à mesurer un effet général de certaines pratiques sur la biodiversité. Néanmoins, l’hétérogénéité, dans les pratiques, les types de culture et les éléments semi-naturels environnants est un aspect favorisant la biodiversité. Inciter leur développement nécessite de s’appuyer sur les avantages pour les agriculteurs, au travers des services écosystémiques et d'une multitude de supports de diffusion. Nous avons aussi montré l’importance d'intégrer l’agriculture dans l’identification d’enjeux de conservation.Nous avons présenté les limites des scénarios existants pour l’échelle régionale. Nous proposons une méthode alliant ces deux types de scénarios pour explorer l’impact des changements sur les continuités écologiques. Cette utilisation revêt un intérêt particulier pour les questions d’aménagement, par ex. pour mesurer l’effet, cumulé ou non, de certains projets. Avant le transfert vers des projets appliqués, il convient néanmoins de poursuivre la recherche sur cette méthode, notamment en la complétant avec d’autres mesures de continuités écologiques. / Actual ways to define priorities for biodiversity conservation experience difficulties to take into account: agricultural areas and practices, both reservoir and source of pressure for biodiversity and spatial and temporal dynamics modifying land-cover and land-use and the presence, the quality and the connectivity of habitats. This research work have for objective to propose solutions for these two aspects.We wanted to identify biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices. To understand the issues related to the development of these practices, we also studied the levers to their application. We confirm the difficulty to measure a general effect of some practices on biodiversity. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity, in practices, crops types and semi-natural elements, favor the biodiversity. Encourage their development need to rely on benefits for farmers, through ecosystem services and various substrate for information spread. We show the importance to taking into account agriculture in the identification of conservation priorities.We introduced the limits from existing scenarios to explore changes at regional scale. We proposed a method coupling these two types of scenarios to measure the impact of changes on ecological networks, with an indicator of connectedness, for three species. The application of scenarios to ecological networks’ analyses have a particular interest for land planning questions, for example to measure the, cumulative or not, effect of some projects. Before transfer to applied projects, research on this method have to be continued, in particular completing it with others measures of ecological networks.

Background: Prospective memory (ProM) consists of remembering that some action needs to be performed in the future and when (detecting the Intent Trigger), and what the action is (Recalling the Content of the trigger). The Intent Trigger is bound by a forward association to the Content Recall, and the Content Recall has a backward association to the intent Trigger. In situations which present multiple, interleaving ProM tasks to operators it is not known how subsequently-presented ProM tasks interfere with the associations between the Intent Trigger and Content Recall of the original ProM task. Objective: The current study investigated the effect of presenting multiple, interleaved ProM tasks on timely detection of the Intent Trigger and accurate Recall of the Content of the original ProM task. Method: Participants encoded a ProM task (AB) in an air traffic control simulation. They then were interrupted with a second ProM task. The ProM interruption task was different from the original ProM task in either the Intent Trigger (AB, CB), Content Recall (AB, AD), or both Intent Trigger and Content Recall (i.e., a new ProM task, AB, CD). A control condition involved interrupting the participant with a weather report. Results: Detection of the Intent Trigger was significantly worse after a ProM interruption as compared to a weather interruption; a similar pattern of results, but with marginal significance, was also found for Content Recall. Additionally, a ProM task that interfered with backward association (AB, CB) was no better or worse than doing two unrelated ProM tasks (AB, CD) on the detection of the Intent Trigger. However, a task that presented a new forward association (AB, AD) was worse than performing two unrelated ProM tasks (AB, CD) on Recall of the Content. The results are discussed in the context of designing memory aids to support interleaved ProM tasks in dynamic environments.

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Prospective memory (ProM) is the ability people use to realize earlier-formed intentions at a delayed time. It has been proposed to be heavily reliant executive functions, as it shares many of its characteristic attributes, including working memory as well as planning and organizational abilities. Cross-cultural literature on executive functions (EF) has previously established evidence of advanced executive functioning in East Asian children when compared to age- and educationally-matched Western counterparts. Given the close association between ProM and EF, it is surmised that East Asians may also display an advantage in this specific memory type, and that this trend would continue into early adulthood when cognitive abilities typically have matured. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to investigate whether or not Mainland Chinese adults would display the same advantage in ProM when compared to Canadian adults. Analyses indicated that the Canadians did show significant disadvantage in ProM performance despite similar executive-functioning performances. The ProM findings are discussed in terms of potential psychometric inequity but also include accounts of cultural distinctions in neural and visual processing. The contradictory results in EF and ProM are explained in relation to socio-cultural differences and limitations in the present study design. / Graduate

La problématique de la recherche est : en quoi les pratiques de transmission du métier individuel permettent aux acteurs de co-construire le(s) métiers(s) collectifs(s) ? Un cadre théorique a été construit à partir du croisement de plusieurs champs : la sociologie et l’histoire pour le métier, le management stratégique pour le transfert intra-organisationnel de connaissances, la gestion des ressources humaines pour le management des compétences. L’approche empirique est constituée de trois études de cas enchâssées (Yin, 2003) dans le contexte des métiers du BTP.Les analyses révèlent que les individus dans l’exercice de leur métier intègrent quatre champs d’analyse : la mémoire, la recherche, la formation et la rencontre. Ces éléments réunissent à la fois l’importance de la tradition et les évolutions liées aux métiers à travers une dimension prospective. Le lien entre ces dimensions étant effectué via la rencontre, la transmission se réalisant essentiellement par la rencontre. / The general research issue is the following : how can the practices of transmitting individual trades enable the participants to build collective trades together ? A theoretical framework was built by crossing literature from several disciplinary fields : sociology and history for trade, strategic management for the intra-organizational transfer of knowledge, human resource management for skills management. The empirical approach consists of three embedded case studies (Yin, 2003), in a specific context : the building and public works trades.The analyses reveal that whilst exercising their trade the subjects integrate four fields of analysis : memory, research, training and meeting. These elements bring together both the importance of tradition and the changes related to trade through a prospective dimension. The link between these two dimensions is carried out via the meeting process ; the transmission of trade is essentially carried out by the meting process.

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Cette thèse sur travaux traite des différences, similarités et relations entre l'ergonomie prospective (EP) et le Design Stratégique (DS). Son cadre théorique met en relation de l'EP et le DS à travers différents prismes d'analyse: des théories de gestion, des modèles d'innovation, des stratégies de raisonnement en design, des démarches et interventions en ergonomie. Ce cadre de comparaison cherche à définir les modes de raisonnement en œuvre en conception (normatif, par résolution de problème, herméneutique, réflexif, participatif, social) qui contribuent à la compréhension des pratiques et à la création de valeur. Puis viennent les questions de recherche qui visent à positionner l'EP par apport aux sciences du design d'une part, et, à en préciser les contours par rapport aux autres formes d'interventions ergonomiques, d'autre part. Les résultats portent sur une analyse comparée de 12 cas d'intervention en ergonomie corrective, préventive et prospective dans les domaines du transport, de la vie quotidienne, de l'enseignement, des systèmes d'aménagement intérieur, d'élevage des poissons, et plus globalement de projets d'innovation. Les résultats indiquent que l'innovation fondée sur l'EP cherche à mettre l'accent sur un équilibre entre, à la fois, la recherche de la rentabilité et du profit, la réalisation du bien-être social et humain, ainsi que la satisfaction des intérêts personnels et collectifs. Les résultats montrent également que l'ergonomie prospective amène les entreprises à plus se connecter aux stratégies « push-pull » que ne le fait l'ergonomie corrective ou préventive. Enfin, les résultats tendent à souligner que les approches normative et positiviste devraient être complétées par des approches plus constructivistes, créatives et réflexives, qui prennent en considération la création de valeur proposée par l'EP. La discussion suggère des améliorations pour les pratiques d’EP et DS / This dissertation argues for a prospective turn in ergonomics to challenge the established fields of strategic design (SD) and management. Differences, similarities and relationships between strategic design and prospective ergonomics are being reviewed using existing theories and frameworks from design, ergonomics, strategic and innovation management. To complement the theoretical part, 12 cases have been analysed in greater depth according to 4 main dimensions of analysis. Outcomes have ishown that innovating through PE approach is about finding the right balance between on one hand meeting primary objectives, such as profit maximisation or solving the design problem, and on the other hand achieving social and human well-being, personal interest and ambitions, family relations, etc. Intervention of prospective ergonomics within a classical strategy perspective requires organizations to couple push-pull market strategies while considering the interest of different stakeholders throughout all stages of the development process. This means that prescriptive approaches, methods and tools in the positivist mode should be complemented with constructive modes of reasoning and designing as well as reflective methods and tools, while taking into consideration all levels and perspectives of value creation. From an educational perspective, the transfer of design knowledge and skills requires a mentorship and scholarship approach in research-, or practice-based learning, which implies a hermeneutic, reflective and participatory mode of design reasoning within a constructivist worldview