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Temporal representation in the brain has been recently acknowledged as a fundamental mechanism underlying short-term memory (STM). Nonetheless, the existing body of research presents conflicting results on the extent of this relationship. Some studies propose that rhythmic disruption adversely affects perception and comprehension, and regular rhythm has been associated with the facilitative impact on STM tasks, while others suggest that its influence on STM tasks might not be as substantial. This thesis delves into rhythmic irregularity's impact on STM, particularly when an internally established rhythm is disrupted. Through two verbal STM tasks – the jabberwocky memory task and the Urdu memory task – conducted with thirty participants (31 females), involving the repetition of sentences in native English or foreign Urdu, this experiment investigates whether manipulating the speed of target sentences in relation to prime phrases affects the accuracy of sentence repetition in the assigned tasks. Our hypothesis posited that STM for sentences presented at altered speeds, either slower or faster, would be compromised compared to sentences at a normal pace. However, the outcomes of our study did not reveal any significant differences in repetition accuracy across the three speed conditions within the two STM tasks. Interestingly, our investigation uncovers two noteworthy findings. Firstly, variations in repetition accuracy among the three speed conditions appear to be influenced by participants' bilingual or multilingual backgrounds. Bilingual and multilingual individuals exhibited better performance under slow speed conditions at the syllable level, while monolingual participants displayed enhanced recall accuracy for whole words in the normal speed condition. Secondly, a discrepancy emerges between participants' self-perceived performance across the three speech conditions and their actual performance. These findings emphasize the potential roles of linguistic background and metacognition in shaping both temporal representation and STM performance, thereby prompting further exploration of these intricate interactions. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Our ability to remember spoken language, or phonological content, is closely tied to how we perceive its rhythm and timing. When we hear speech, our brain processes not just the words but also the temporal structure of the context. This temporal organization helps to retain spoken information, and our ability to remember speech in turn predicts how well we can learn new words in a foreign language. This suggests that the rhythmic patterns of words and their sentence contexts might play a crucial role in how we organize and remember linguistic content. The brain’s rhythms naturally synchronize with the rhythms of speech, influencing comprehension. However, when this synchronization is disrupted – for instance, when a speaker changes their pace suddenly – comprehension may be impeded. On the other hand, while studies have shown that memory for digits is not affected by their presentations at different rhythmic regularities, the way the brain processes disruption of internally driven rhythms might differ from how it processes externally driven rhythms. This thesis explores these rhythmic influences on memory by conducting tasks involving repeating sentences in native English and the foreign Urdu language to see how sudden changes in rhythm impact memory. This sheds light on the mechanisms by which the brain handles different time-related aspects of language and how this affects the memory retention, which ultimately shapes language skills and learning abilities.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the factors which facilitate the successful transition of youth from a detention educational program to a mainstream educational program. The study investigated the following components: (a) informal or formalized transition programs, (b) the practices used to assist youth at the detention level transition to the educational mainstream, (c) program components used at the detention level to successfully transition youth to the educational mainstream, the importance of personnel in assisting youth in their transition, (d) factors which contribute to the successful transition from detention to the educational mainstream, (e) program components effective in moving youth from a detention education program to the educational mainstream, and (f) whether or not a detention education program with a formal or informal transition program makes a difference in recidivism rates. A survey questionnaire was sent to 143 detention center administrators in the Southeastern United States . Descriptive data were run on all items in the survey. Cronbach's alpha test of reliability was used to assess internal consistency. Pearson correlation was used to compare consistency between independent and dependent variables. Finally, an independent sample t-test was conducted to examine if mean differences exist on Total Returned to a Detention Center by Transition Program. Transitioning from a detention facility to the community is a difficult process. By making available to youth a comprehensive program during periods of incarceration, and collaborating with the local educational agency, youth are often better able to make the adjustment. This study emphasized that in order for youth to be successful once they leave a correctional facility, a linkage must exist among all stakeholders. / Ed. D.

No / Current models of short-term visual perceptual memory invoke mechanisms that are closely allied to low-level perceptual discrimination mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which human visual perceptual memory for spatial frequency is based upon multiple, spatially tuned channels similar to those found in the earliest stages of visual processing. To this end we measured how performance on a delayed spatial frequency discrimination paradigm was affected by the introduction of interfering or ‘memory masking’ stimuli of variable spatial frequency during the delay period. Masking stimuli were shown to induce shifts in the points of subjective equality (PSE) when their spatial frequencies were within a bandwidth of 1.2 octaves of the reference spatial frequency. When mask spatial frequencies differed by more than this value, there was no change in the PSE from baseline levels. This selective pattern of masking was observed for different spatial frequencies and demonstrates the existence of multiple, spatially tuned mechanisms in visual perceptual memory. Memory masking effects were also found to occur for horizontal separations of up to 6 deg between the masking and test stimuli and lacked any orientation selectivity. These findings add further support to the view that low-level sensory processing mechanisms form the basis for the retention of spatial frequency information in perceptual memory. However, the broad range of transfer of memory masking effects across spatial location and other dimensions indicates more long range, long duration interactions between spatial frequency channels that are likely to rely contributions from neural processes located in higher visual areas. / V.N. supported by a Ph.D. studentship funded by the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians.