This paper makes two contributions to the study of problem solving methods. First, we extend the current theory on how to characterise problem-solving methods. We show that the current theory is not strong enough, and does not allow the characterisation of many natural problem-solving methods. Secondly, we show that characterisations of problem-solving methods should be stated in gradual terms,...

The French interrogative system, which allows for variation among several distinct syntactic structures, constitutes a domain in which normative prescription and actual usage differ greatly (Elsig, 2009). Although many sociolinguistic studies have examined this variation (e.g., Ashby, 1977; Behnstedt, 1973; Coveney, 1989, 2002; Fox, 1989; Myers, 2007; Quillard, 2000), most can be characterized ...

Phonology provides a system by which a limited number of types of phonetic variation can signal communicative intentions at multiple levels of linguistic analysis. Because phonologies vary from language to language, acquiring the phonology of a language demands learning to attribute phonetic variation appropriately. Here, we studied the case of pitch-contour variation. In English, pitch contour...

PURPOSE To obtain prospective evidence of whether industry support of continuing medical education (CME) affects perceptions of commercial bias in CME activities. METHOD The authors analyzed information from the CME activity database (346 CME activities of numerous types; 95,429 participants in 2007) of a large, multispecialty academic medical center to determine whether a relationship existe...

Determining the optimal choice among multiple options is necessary in various situations, and the collective rationality of groups has recently become a major topic of interest. Social insects are thought to make such optimal choices by collecting individuals' responses relating to an option's value (=a quality-graded response). However, this behaviour cannot explain the collective rationality ...

PURPOSE Clinical grammar markers are needed for children with SLI older than 8 years. This study followed children who were previously studied on sentences with omitted finiteness to determine if affected children continue to perform at low levels and to examine possible predictors of low performance. This is the first longitudinal report of grammaticality judgments of questions. METHOD Three...

We employed event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine emotional valence effects on verbal recognition memory. Using a yes/no recognition task, we focussed on prefrontal cortex responses to positive, negative and neutral words. Behavioral data confirmed enhanced processing of emotional items and functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed different subregions in the prefr...

BACKGROUND Rapid physical and emotional growth occurs during youth. Adolescence is one of the most important periods for adapting to body change and establishing an ideal body image. Body change is an important and sensitive concern for adolescents, and the values and self-conception established at this time affect various aspects of the entire life. This study aimed to investigate the prevalen...

BACKGROUND Allergic rhinitis and asthma (ARA) are chronic inflammatory diseases of the airways that often coexist in children. The only tool to assess the ARA control, the Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) is to be used by adults. We aimed to develop the Pediatric version of Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARATkids) and to test its comprehensibility in children...

This survey describes caring in the workplace in selected health services and is part of a greater study conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This study describes the views of nurse managers and nurses regarding caring in the workplace. Human competence, recovery and healing are central to caring. To ensure caring and healing of patients in health services it is of the utmost importance fo...