Thinking about Philosophy

Quote of the Day: Confucius

2013-05-23T15:41:00.000+10:00

For more Confucius quotes, click here.

How Fascist Are You?

2013-05-23T15:25:00.000+10:00

The F Scale attempts to estimate individuals' "fascist receptivity at the personality level" based on their answers to 30 questions. It is supposedly designed for Americans, but I think it would apply to the general population of the world.

My F Score was 4.1, which is said to be within normal limits.

Take the test and see how you score!

40 Astonishing Facts You Didn't Know

2013-05-23T13:37:00.000+10:00

Source: Ink Tank

1. There’s more stars in the universe than grains of sand on earth.

2. Walt Disney was afraid of mice.

3. Most humans alive today have never made a phone call.

4. In the African country of Lesotho, the people are known as Basotho and speak Sesotho.

5. The Western Lowland Gorilla’s scientific name is Gorilla gorilla gorilla.

6. Horses cannot breathe through their mouths.

7. Salvadore Dali designed the Chupa Chups logo.

8. There is an immortal jellyfish.

9. Practically all astronauts were first born children.

10. The name Canada comes from the native American word Kanata meaning ‘Big Village’.

11. When split into two or more pieces, provided that each piece retains enough of the center disc, each piece of a starfish will grow into a new, individual starfish.

12. The top richest 1% of Americans own 42% of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 80% own just 7%.

13. Saudi Arabia imports camels from Australia.

14.There are more atoms in a grain of sand than there are grains of sand in the whole world.

15. Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” sold more copies than any single by The Beatles.

16. Alcohol kills more people than all illegal drugs combined.

17. Giraffes can go without water for longer than camels.

18. Ralph Lauren’s real name is Ralph Lifshitz.

19. A loofa is a vegetable.

20. In Texas, it is illegal to shoot a buffalo from a hotel room.

21. Richard Nixon’s VP – Spiro Agnew’s name is an anagram for “grow a penis

22. Tomatoes are a fruit.

23. If you stretched out all the DNA in your body and put them end-to-end, it would be about six times the distance that Pluto is from the Sun.

24. Bananas are a type of berry.

25. The American accent is more deeply rooted in England than the current British accent.

26. Before they became a fashion accessory, high heels were originally for cavalry men.

27. Humans in peak condition can outrun any animal on earth in a marathon.

28. The total weight of all ants on earth is greater than the total weight of all humans.

29. Eagles mate while airborne.

30. Astronauts in orbit feel weightless because they are constantly falling, not because there is no gravity in space.

31. Popeye has four identical quadruplet nephews named Pipeye, Pupeye, Poopeye and Peepeye.

32. Falling coconuts kill far more people per year than sharks.

33. It’s illegal to tickle a women in Virginia

34. Wombats poo cubes.

35. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on Earth.

36. When you run in rain, you get more rain on you than when you walk in rain.

37. If you shuffle a deck of cards and deal all 52 it’s 100% certain that that permutation of cards has never ever been dealt before.

38. A strawberry is not a berry. In fact, it’s technically not even a fruit.

39. Google’s Page rank algorithm is named after Larry Page, not Web pages.

40. Honey never goes bad. Archaeologists have found 2000 year old jars of honey in Egyptian tombs, which still tasted delicious.

S#!t Philosophers Say (Video)

2013-05-22T20:40:00.000+10:00

Sounds like Heidegger!

You are Everyone Who's Ever Lived

2013-05-22T20:10:00.000+10:00

Written by Andy Weir, The Egg is a beautiful piece of writing. It really makes you think about your personal identity, where you belong, and most of all, how to be kind.

Source

The Egg

By: Andy Weir

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

Dad Accidentally Films Partner Having Sex with His Son

2013-05-21T18:37:00.000+10:00

Source

This is a few-hours-old fresh story from Australia which I found hilarious and equally sad.

A Tasmanian man set up a video camera hoping to capture paranormal activity. Instead, the camera captured his 16-year-old son engaging in sexual intercourse with his (the dad's) 28-year-old partner.

It turns out that the man had forgotten to turn the camera off, and it had filmed everything that happened while he was at work. [Source: Yahoo]

The Yahoo article explains that:

She pleaded guilty to five counts of having sexual intercourse with a young person ... She has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Monday.

The saddest part, for me, is that the couple (the dad and his partner) had apparently been together for eleven years and even have a child together.

Sadly, I think it will be very hard for this Tasmanian man to ever trust anyone again.

Quote of the Day: Thomas Jefferson

2013-05-21T16:17:00.001+10:00

Man Kills His Children

2013-05-21T13:57:00.000+10:00

Sick and disturbing things happen on a daily basis in the world that we're living in. But it is rare that we hear stories of a parent killing their children, although they have happened many times in the past. We like to believe that the unconditional and can't-live-without kind of love exists in all families.

This was not the case for a French father (48) who allegedly killed his two children (5 and 10) on 19 May, 2013.

An article, taken from UPI, reads:

Source

LYON, France, May 19 (UPI) -- A man in France allegedly killed his two children on the first weekend he had custody of them after splitting with his ex-wife, an official said.

Police in Lyon, France, arrested a 48-year-old Briton, whose name was not reported, for allegedly killing his two children at the center of a custody dispute with his ex-wife, Britain's Sunday Telegraph reported.

The mother, whose name was not reported, bumped into her ex-husband as he was leaving the lobby of his apartment building while wearing roller skates and covered in blood She then found her two children -- ages 5 and 10 -- dead in his apartment.

"It was the first time since the divorce that the man was allowed to be alone with the children," a judicial source told the Telegraph. He said a knife, "which may have been used for the murders," was found in the apartment.

The man allegedly had problems with alcohol and physically abused his ex-wife in the past, the newspaper said.

Some of the other sources say that this man was British, not French.

No other information has been available yet - for example, regarding the man's mental health or his motives.

Anonymous Comments Disabled

2013-05-20T22:52:00.000+10:00

I'm definitely not amused.

Since the post 'David Parker Ray's Audio Tape Transcript' is attracting some of the sickest comments by some of the most disgusting and unworthy trashy scumbags of the internet, I've decided to disable anonymous commenting. I knew the internet is filled with these so-called "trolls" but I was naive to think that I wouldn't see such insensitive comments on a serious and disturbing post as the transcript which was intended for informational purposes and assumed to trigger pure rage and overwhelming sympathy for the victims.

For the future, I will work on integrating the Facebook comment form.

Thanks all.

UPDATE: The Disqus comment form is now integrated with this blog, which allows you to comment using your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Disqus account, and lets you vote up or down comments.

#1 Killer of Girls Aged 15-19?

2013-05-20T22:40:00.001+10:00

Source

This is an infographic made by The Girl Effect.

I can't help but think that this is rather biased and generally not very informational. Is marriage killing them or poor medical infrastructure before, during and after birth? Also, it is rather disturbing that this seems to be pushing and forcing Western values onto other cultures.

Quote of the Day: Chuck Palahniuk

2013-05-20T17:50:00.000+10:00

Women Dating Men are Crazy!

2013-05-20T16:45:00.004+10:00

This is taken from a post floating around on Tumblr.

Louis CK is hilarious!

Murder or Suicide?

2013-05-20T10:01:00.001+10:00

Is it murder or suicide...? This case will blow your mind!

Source: Cool Pics Bro

8 Great Philosophical Questions That We Will Never Solve

2013-05-14T03:53:00.002+10:00

George Dvorsky on io9 have produced a list of 8 philosophical questions that we will never solve:

Why is there something rather than nothing?
Is our universe real?
Do we have free will?
Does God exist?
Is there life after death?
Can you really experience anything objectively?
What is the best moral system?
What are numbers?

For his explanation of each question, click here!

International Number Ones

2013-05-14T01:36:00.000+10:00

Taken from InformationisBeautiful.net, this infographic shows the areas in which each country is the best. It is very interesting to say the least. In order to see the zoomed-in picture, please click here!

Impact of ATL Resection on VEM (Full)

2013-05-14T01:12:00.000+10:00

Delay recall results in verbal learning test indicate verbal episodic memory impairment in left medial temporal lobe epilepsy patients

Abstract

Previous research with left medial temporal lobe epilepsy (left-MTLE) patients, who underwent left anterior temporal lobe (left ATL) resection, has shown evidence that the left medial temporal lobe (left MTL) is connected to verbal episodic memory (VEM). Building on these findings, this study aimed to find whether left-MTLE patients suffer VEM impairment. 350 normal controls and 350 left-MTLE patients who had a left-ATL resection participated in a verbal learning task for this study, aimed to assess VEM based on the number of words correctly recalled in the Delay trial. As expected, left-MTLE patients recalled fewer words than normal controls, indicating VEM impairment. This supports the previous findings that the left MTL structures are connected to verbal and episodic memory, and thus gives evidence of the involvement of the MTL in memory functions.

Medial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) is a form of epilepsy originating from the medial temporal lobe (MTL; Engel, 2001) most commonly characterised by Hippocampal Sclerosis (Engel, 2001a). Although antiepileptic drugs are used to treat MTLE, surgical treatment such as lobectomy or resection is used for those patients whose seizures are unmanageable with medication (Engel, 1996; 2001a). One of the surgical procedures performed to treat MTLE is the resection of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL; Engel, 2001a; Lee, Yip & Johns-Gotman, 2002). Evidence has been found that such surgery has postoperative effects such as anterograde and retrograde amnesia in some patients (Milner, 2005). This information gives insight into the roles and functions of MTL, suggesting that the MTL structures are associated with memory functions.

Studies unrelated to MTLE have found that MTL is closely related to memory functions (Huang, 2011). This is supported by Huang's study (2011) of 76 healthy participants between the ages of 12 and 29 which found that MTL structures are involved in both verbal working memory and visual and spatial memory.

Research consisting of TLE patients who had undergone lobectomy, however, found evidence that the MTL is associated with different aspects of material-specific memory functions depending on the hemisphere of the brain in which it is located. This is supported by a meta-analysis of 33 studies which tested verbal and non-verbal memory performance in TLE patients before and after ATL resection (Lee, et al., 2002). This meta-analytic study found a high probability of left-TLE patients scoring lower on verbal memory measures than right-TLE patients. It was concluded that there is strong evidence that the left MTL is connected with verbal memory, confirming previous studies of the same findings (see Milner, 1968; Bellgowan et al., 1998). Alternatively, although not strong, there was some evidence that non-verbal memory is lateralised in the right MTL (Lee, et al., 2002).

Studies also found evidence of the involvement of the left MTL in episodic memory (memory of past experiences; Tulving, 2002) functions. A study of 19 participants who underwent left or right MTL resection found predominant involvement of left MTL structures in episodic auditory-spatial learning (Lancelot et al., 2005). Moreover, distinguishable differences in episodic memory performance have been identified in MTLE patients compared to that of the normal controls. A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the involvement of MTL in verbal episodic memory (VEM) tasks showed that different functional patterns were involved in healthy participants and left-MTLE patients (Dupont et al., 2000).

Based on these findings, it was expected that left-MTLE patients who undergo left-ATL resection would suffer material-specific episodic memory impairment. Further, consistent with previous research findings (see Bonelli et al., 2010), it was expected that left-MTLE patients after undergoing left-ATL resection would suffer greater VEM impairment than normal controls. This study focused on a verbal recall task based on Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT; Van der Elst, Van Boxtel, Van Breukelen & Jolles, 2005) which measure the subjects' VEM based on the number of correct words recalled. It was hypothesized that left-MTLE patients who underwent left-ATL resection would recall fewer words than would the normal controls on the verbal recall task, indicating VEM impairment.

Method

Participants

The control group consisted of 350 healthy participants (175 females (50%) and 175 males (50%)) living in Australia, with no history of neurological or psychiatric history. The participants were a friend or family member of each second year Biological Psychology student at The University of Melbourne, and were required to have conversational level English skills. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 48 years, with the mean age of 32.21, SD=7.35.

For the surgery group, 350 TLE patients (175 females (50%) and 175 males (50%)) were studied. All patients had undergone a left-sided anterior lobectomy between three months and five years prior to recruitment. The age of the participants ranged from 19 to 48 years, with the mean age of 31.62, SD=6.07.

Materials

A Verbal Learning Test based on RAVLT (Van der Elst, et al., 2005) was provided by the Biological Psychology department of the university. Consisting of two lists of 15 unrelated words, it was used for recall tasks for which the participants were to recall as many of the 15 words as they can immediately or some time after hearing all of the words in the list. List A consisted of six trials and a final Delay trial and List B consisted of a single trial. The scoring sheet consisted of a table providing boxes beside each word for each trial (see Appendix).

Procedure

Consent forms were signed by the participants after a brief description of the study. For the control group, each student conducted the test in the student's or participant's home. For the surgery group, the test was carried out by neuropsychologists in the hospitals.

The test was conducted in the following order: (1) Five trials of List A of the Verbal Learning Test, (2) A single trial of List B, (3) Sixth trial of List A, (4) 20-30 minutes of filler tests, (5) Delay trial of List A. The words in the lists for the Verbal Learning Test were read out by the students at approximately one second interval, and the students recorded the recalled words by ticking the boxes beside each word recalled. For the first five trials for List A, all the words in the list were read out each time, whereas they were not read out for the sixth and Delay trial.

For the Vocabulary Test, the participants were to provide meanings of 35 words read out to them which were then recorded by the test conductor. For the Map Drawing Test, the participants were asked to draw a map of Australia as accurately as they can. For the story-telling task, the participants were asked to tell a detailed story about the earliest happy memory they can recall. These were carried out without its purpose as distraction being known to the participants.

Design

The Verbal Learning Test was carried out to determine whether having had a left-ATL resection or not (independent variables) influences the subjects' VEM. The number of all correct words recalled in the Delay trial (dependent variable) was used in this study, with higher score indicating a better VEM performance. The responses for the filler tests were not used in this study. An independent samples t-test was carried out to determine whether the two groups are significantly different from each other.

Results

In this sample, the control group achieved higher VEM scores in the Verbal Learning Test (i.e., recalled more words; M = 12.37, SD = 1.76) than did the surgery group (M = 6.91, SD = 1.87). An independent samples t-test revealed that the mean difference between the two groups was significant (t(698) = 39.79, p < 0.001).

Discussion

The present study aimed to find the influence of left-ATL resection for the treatment of left-MTLE on VEM. It was expected that left-MTLE patients who underwent left-ATL resection would suffer VEM impairment. It was thus hypothesized that they would recall fewer words than would the normal controls in the Verbal Learning Test designed to measure the subjects' VEM.

The hypothesis was supported: The surgery group recalled significantly fewer words in the Delay trial of the Verbal Learning Test than did the control group. This suggests that the surgery group's VEM is impaired compared to that of the control group, which in turn indicates that the resection of the left-ATL has a negative influence on VEM.

This is consistent with the previous research which found evidence that left-MTLE patients' verbal memory is impaired after the resection of the left-ATL (Lee, et al., 2002) and that their episodic memory is impaired after the resection of the left MTL (Lancelot et al., 2005). This, along with the results of the current study, supports the evidence of the involvement of the left MTL structures in verbal memory (Lee, et al., 2002) and episodic memory (Lancelot et al., 2005). This then supports the broad findings of previous research which show evidence that the MTL is associated with material-specific memory depending on the hemisphere in which it is located (Lee, et al., 2002; Martin, Bowles, Mirsattari & Kohler, 2011) - I.e., the left MTL is connected to verbal memory (Lee, et al., 2002). These findings give insight into the neural systems of the MTL and suggest that they function in a manner that is related to the specific type of stimulus being assessed (Martin, et al., 2011). Such information could be useful for future research aiming to grasp a better understanding of the MTL mechanisms and the type of material-specific information that stimulate the various areas of the MTL. Consequently, the current study adds to the findings of the previous research and confirms the overall idea that the MTL structures are closely related to memory functions (Huang, 2011).

Some limitations of the current study should be considered. A previous study, intended to gather normative data for RAVLT using a large healthy sample (1855 participants aged 24 - 81), found that several factors may influence the recall results (Van der Elst, et al., 2005). For example, the results of the RAVLT showed that higher educated participants outperformed lower educated participants (Van der Elst, et al., 2005). Participants' educational history was not collected in the current study. If such information was collected and balanced in the analysis, the mean scores may have been slightly different. Although considering the education factor presumably would not greatly influence the overall analysis of the mean scores between the control and surgery groups, it could ensure that the study takes into consideration all possible factors and therefore provide a more accurate analysis. On the other hand, future researchers could consider testing whether left-MTLE patients' higher educational attainment prior to left-ATL resection would predict higher VEM scores than the scores of the patients with lower previous educational attainment.

Additionally, Van der Elst, et al. (2005) found that females performed significantly better than males, and younger participants outperformed older participants in RAVLT. Although the current study's focus was to compare the VEM scores of the control and surgery groups, a more thorough analysis considering gender and age factors would provide a richer understanding of the results and possible implications. Future studies could consider using highly specific samples or balancing all possible factors in the statistical analysis which may contribute to better or worse recall results on the RAVLT, depending on the aim of the study and the variable(s) to be tested.

To conclude, the current study showed that left-MTLE patients after undergoing left-ATL resection suffer VEM impairment, confirming the previous findings which show evidence of involvement of the MTL in verbal and episodic memory functions. This information may be useful for the broad neuropsychological research aiming to find the various functions associated with the MTL, and contribute to the current knowledge around memory functions in the brain by gaining a more thorough insight into the neural basis of material specific and episodic memory (Viskontas, 2012).

References

Bellgowan, P. S., Binder, J. R., Swanson, S. J., Hammeke, T. A., Springer, J. A., Frost, J. A., . . . Morris, G. L. (1998). Side of seizure focus predicts left medial temporal lobe activation during verbal encoding. Neurology, 51(2), 479-484. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/docview/619359095?accountid=12372

Bonelli, S. B., Powell, R. H., Yogarajah, M., Samson, R. S., Symms, M. R., Thompson, P. J., . . . Duncan, J. S. (2010). Imaging memory in temporal lobe epilepsy: Predicting the effects of temporal lobe resection. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 133(4), 1186-1199. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awq006

Dupont, S., Van, D. M., Samson, S., Hasboun, D., Poline, J. B., Adam, C., . . . Baulac, M. (2000). Episodic memory in left temporal lobe epilepsy: A functional MRI study. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 123(8), 1722-1732. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/docview/619497856?accountid=12372

Engel, J. (2001). A Proposed Diagnostic Scheme for People with Epileptic Seizures and with Epilepsy: Report of the ILAE Task Force on Classification and Terminology. Epilepsia,42(6), 796–803. Retrieved from doi/10.1046/j.1528-1157.2001.10401.x

Engel, J. (2001). Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: what have we learned? Neuroscientist, 7(4), 340-352. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11488399

Engel, J. (1996). Surgery for Seizures. The New England Journal of Medicine, (334), 647-653. Retrieved from DOI/10.1056/NEJM199603073341008

Hessen, E. (2011). Rehearsal significantly improves immediate and delayed recall on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Applied Neuropsychology, 18(4), 263-268. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09084282.2011.595452

Huang, S. (2011). A study of medial temporal lobe involvement in verbal working memory from adolescence to young adulthood: A dynamic and developmental perspective. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/docview/873850116?accountid=12372. (873850116; 2011-99100-486).

Lancelot, C., Ahad, P., Noulhiane, M., Hasboun, D., Baulac, M., & Samson, S. (2005). Loss of memory for auditory-spatial associations following unilateral medial temporal-lobe damage. Neuropsychologia, 43(13), 1975-1982. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.03.006

Lee, T. M., Yip, J. T., & Jones-Gotman, M. (2002). Memory Deficits after Resection from Left or Right Anterior Temporal Lobe in Humans: A Meta-Analytic Review. Epilepsia, 43(3), 283-291.

Martin, C., Bowles, B., Mirsattari, S., & Kohler, S. (2011). Selective familiarity deficits after left anterior temporal-lobe removal with hippocampal sparing are material specific. Neuropsychologia, 49(7), 1870-1878.

Milner, B. (1968). Disorders of memory after brain lesions in man: Preface: Material-specific and generalized memory loss. Neuropsychologia, 6(3), 175-179. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/10.1016/0028-3932(68)90017-1

Milner, B. (2005). The Medial Temporal-Lobe Amnesic Syndrome. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 28(3), 599-611. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2005.06.002

Tulving, E. (2002). Episodic memory: From mind to brain. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 1-25. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135114

Van der Elst, W., Van Boxtel, M. P., Van Breukelen, G. J., & Jolles, J. (2005). Rey's verbal learning test: Normative data for 1855 healthy participants aged 24-81 years and the influence of age, sex, education, and mode of presentation. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 11(3), 290-302. doi:10.1017/S1355617705050344

Viskontas, I. V. (2012). Mapping memories in the medial temporal lobe: contributions from single-neuron recordings in patients with epilepsy. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580286.003.0022

What Influences Theory of Mind?

2013-05-14T01:03:00.001+10:00

Age, but not the presence of older siblings, influences the development of theory of mind

Abstract

Previous research has shown evidence that theory of mind (ToM) in children is acquired with age, and that its development may be associated with the presence of older siblings. Further, false belief tasks (FBT) have been found to be useful in assessing the presence or absence of ToM in children. This study aimed to find the association between age and the presence of older siblings and the performance on a FBT. 288 children aged 3 to 5 participated in this study. As expected, older children out-performed younger children in the FBT, suggesting an association between age and ToM. However, in contrast to expectation, children with at least one older sibling did not out-perform children with no siblings, indicating no association between older siblings and ToM. The findings suggest that consideration of various factors that may influence the development of ToM is needed.

Theory of mind (ToM) is known as the understanding of human psychology and the social world which allows the interpretation of others' actions, intentions and emotions that are unobservable (Peterson, 2000; McAlister & Peterson, 2007; Nelson, Adamson & Bakeman, 2008). ToM is crucial in dealing with everyday social interactions as it heightens one's sensibility to criticism (Lecce, Caputi & Hughes, 2011) and ability to pretend, imagine and predict, and thus enhancing the quality of and appreciation for communication (Peterson, 2000; Perner, Ruffman & Leekam, 1994).

An abundance of previous research has found evidence that ToM is not innate, but developed at a young age, most often before turning six (Peterson, 2000). A widely accepted way of assessing the absence or presence of ToM in children is the false belief tasks (FBT) in which children are required to infer others' mental states that may be inconsistent with their own knowledge of reality (Keceli Kaysili & Acarlar, 2011).

Previous studies using FBT have identified a number of variables which are associated with the development of ToM such as age and presence, number and type of siblings (Perner et al., 1994; Ruffman, Perner, Naito, Parkin & Clements, 1998). For example, Perner et al.'s (1994) study with three- to five-year-old children found that older children performed better on the FBT than did younger children, providing some evidence that ToM is developed and acquired with maturation (Perner et al., 1994; Jenkins & Astington, 1996). Further, children with siblings had a better false belief understanding (FBU) than those with no siblings, and children with two siblings performed better than those with one sibling, indicating that FBU is associated with the presence and number of siblings (Perner et al., 1994). This is supported by Dunn's (1984) finding that interaction with siblings intensifies social experience for young children, enhancing their creativity (Perner et al., 1994). Following this idea, Jenkins and Astington (1996) conducted a study which found evidence that larger family size (i.e., number of siblings) is indeed positively associated with early learning of FBU, while birth order and the age gap between siblings were not.

In contrast, Ruffman et al. (1998) conducted a series of experiments which found that, inconsistent with Jenkins and Astington's (1996) findings, birth order was a significant predictor of FBU. Their results showed that children between three and six with older siblings out-performed children without older siblings on FBT (Ruffman et al., 1998). The presence of younger siblings seemed to have no such effect (Ruffman et al,, 1998). Further, their re-analysis of Perner et al.'s (1994) experiment found that the number of older siblings had a positive association with FBU (Ruffman et al., 1998). It was suggested that older siblings assist in children's development of ToM through pretend play and discussion of feelings (Ruffman et al., 1998).

The findings of a number of later studies were consistent with those of previous research in that older children showed better FBU than did younger children, and that the presence of siblings predicted a better performance in FBT (Peterson, 2000; Cassidy, Fineberg, Brown & Perkins, 2005; McAlister & Peterson, 2007). However, inconsistencies remain on the impact of number and type of siblings on the development of ToM. For example, Peterson's (2000) study found that twins, and children with younger or older siblings within proximate age range, out-performed only-children in FBT regardless of family size. However, in another study, twins were not found to have a significant effect on FBU, while non-twin siblings were (Cassidy et al., 2005).

So far, previous research has shown evidence that age has an impact on the development of ToM, indicating that ToM is developed rather than innate (Perner et al., 1994). It is also evident that the presence, number and type of siblings may have an impact on the development of ToM, due to frequent opportunities of social interaction through playing and conversing (Peterson, 2000). Building on these findings and the assumption that FBT are indeed an adequate way of assessing the presence of ToM, this study focused on the effect of age and siblings on the performance in FBT. It was hypothesised that younger children will be more likely to fail the FBT than older children. It was also hypothesised that children with at least one older sibling will be more likely to pass the FBT than children of the same age with no older siblings.

Method

Participants

288 children, 138 females (47.9 %) and 150 males (52.1 %), participated in the research. Each participant was recruited through personal contacts and interviewed by a pair of students enrolled in Developmental Psychology at the University of Melbourne. The age of the participants ranged from 3 to 5 years, with 81 3-year-olds, 114 4-year-olds and 93 5-year-olds. 134 children had at least one older sibling.

Materials

The study consisted of an interview-based FBT, intended to determine whether the participant had a ToM. An interview instruction sheet and answer sheet (see Appendix) were used, on which the interviewers recorded the participants' responses verbatim. A small M&M's container containing pencils was used.

Procedure

Consent forms were signed by the caregivers after a brief description of the study. Then, the demographic information of the participants was collected, including age and gender of the participant, number of younger and/or older siblings aged between 12 months and 13 years, and gender of younger and/or older siblings.

After collecting demographic information, the interview/FBT was conducted. It was carried out in a quiet room with the participant's caregiver present. The interviewers talked or played with the participant to ensure that he/she was comfortable. During this rapport building conversation, the interviewer obtained the name of one of the participant's friends.

The interviewer showed the participant a container of M&M's and asked what they think is in the container. Once answered correctly (M&M's, chocolates, etc.), the interviewer revealed that there are pencils instead of M&M's, and asked the participant what is really in the container. Once answered correctly (pencils), the interviewer asked, "If you show (name of child's friend obtained earlier) this container and ask him/her what is in it, what will he/she say?" The correct answer to the question (M&M's, chocolates, etc.) indicates the success of the FBT.

Design

After eliminating participants with missing data from the initial 368 participants, the number of participants reduced to 313. Then, children who did not correctly answer the first two interview questions were excluded, leaving 288 participants.

A chi-squared test was carried out for analysis to determine the association between age and presence of older siblings and the presence of ToM. Of the demographic information, only the age of participant (3 levels) and the presence of older siblings (2 levels) were used as categorical independent variables. The answer to the last question was used as a 2-level categorical dependent variable.

Results

The distribution of FBU for the age groups is presented in Table 1. A chi-squared test for independence showed that there was a significant association between age group and FBU, χ2 (2, n = 288) = 75.49, p < 0.001. Examination of adjusted standardised residuals indicated that, compared to independence of variables, there were significantly more 3-year-olds who did not understand false belief and significantly more 5-year-olds who did understand false belief. Age and FBU were found to be independent of each other for 4-year-olds.

Table 1.

Distribution of FBU for three age groups

FBU

Count type

3 years of age

4 years of age

5 years of age

Total

No evidence

Count

62

44

11

117

Expected count

32.9

46.3

37.8

117

Adjusted residual

7.8

-0.6

-6.9

Evidence

Count

19

70

82

171

Expected count

48.1

67.7

55.2

171

Adjusted residual

-7.8

0.6

6.9

Total

Count

81

114

93

288

Expected count

81

114

93

288

Because of the significant association between age and FBU for 3 and 5-year-olds, their data were excluded from the testing of the association between the presence of older siblings and FBU. It was expected that the association, or no association, would be more easily testable for 4-year-olds whose age was not found to be associated with FBU.

Out of 114 4-year-olds, 53 had at least one older sibling, and 61 had no older siblings. The distribution of FBU for 114 4-year-olds with or without older siblings is presented in Table 2. A chi-squared test for independence showed that there was no association between the presence of older siblings and FBU, χ2 (1, n = 114) = 0.32, p = 0.57.

Table 2.

Distribution of FBU for 4-year-olds with or without older siblings

FBU

Count type

4-year-olds without older sibling

4-year-olds with older sibling

Total

No evidence

Count

25

19

44

Expected count

23.5

20.5

44

Adjusted residual

0.6

-0.6

Evidence

Count

36

34

70

Expected count

37.5

32.5

70

Adjusted residual

-0.6

0.6

Total

Count

61

53

114

Expected count

61

53

114

Discussion

The present study aimed to find the association between age and presence of older siblings and the presence of ToM. It was hypothesised that younger children will be more likely to fail the FBT than older children, and that children with at least one older sibling will be more likely to pass the FBT than children of the same age with no older siblings.

The first hypothesis was supported. There was evidence that more older children (5-year-olds) passed the FBT than younger children (3-year-olds), indicating that age is associated with the presence of ToM. No association was found between age and FBU in 4-year-olds, indicating that there was a random chance that 4-year-olds would have a ToM. This finding supports the findings of previous research and the broad idea surrounding the study of ToM within developmental psychology that ToM is acquired with age and maturation (Perner et al., 1994; Jenkins & Astington, 1996; Peterson, 2000).

The hypothesis that children with older siblings will be more likely to pass the FBT than children of the same age with no older siblings was not supported. The current study focused on 4-year-olds as it was assumed that the effect of older siblings would be more easily identifiable in 4-year-olds whose FBU was not influenced by age. No association was found between the presence of older siblings and FBU, indicating that for this sample of 4-year-olds, older siblings did not have an effect on the development of ToM.

One of the possible explanations for the unsupported hypothesis may be the frequency of social interactions. For example, previous studies have identified the possible reasons for the effect of older siblings on FBU to be related to social interactions, such as pretend play, conversing and arguing (Ruffman et al., 1998; Peterson, 2000). It was suggested that through interacting with siblings, children may learn to take the perspectives of others and expand their imagination (Ruffman et al., 1998; Peterson, 2000). Following this idea, children with older siblings would only show a more developed FBU if they are exposed to frequent interactions with their older siblings. For this study, the amount of time the children spent with their older siblings was not considered. If this information was collected and controlled, the outcome may have been different.

The social interaction factor could also be helpful in understanding why the first hypothesis (i.e., older children are more likely to pass FBT than younger children) was supported. For example, older children presumably have had more opportunities of social interaction than younger children, which may have helped the development of ToM.

On the other hand, it was suggested by Ruffman et al. (1998) that the effect of older siblings may only be influential if the younger children have already developed some kind of precondition that would let them benefit from the advantages of having older siblings. Although this precondition was not identified (Ruffman et al., 1998), it suggests that the true influence of older siblings may only be possible to examine once most possible developmental preconditions are controlled. Future studies could consider examining what such preconditions could be.

There are several other possible factors that may influence the acquisition of ToM that the present study did not consider. These factors include the children's verbal mental age (Ruffman et al., 1998), family size (Perner et al., 1994), types of FBT (Keceli Kaysili & Acarlar, 2011), social competence (Newton & Jenvey, 2011) and more.

Overall, the present study found a significant association between age and FBU, and no association between the presence of older siblings and FBU. It appears that future studies of a similar kind considering a number of different variables could offer a better insight into the study of ToM.

References

Cassidy, K. W., Fineberg, D. S., Brown, K., & Perkins, A. (2005). Theory of mind may be contagious, but you don’t catch it from your twin. Child Development, 76(1), 97-106. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00832.x

Dunn, J. (1984). Sisters and Brothers. London: Fontana.

Jenkins, J. M., & Astington, J. W. (1996). Cognitive factors and family structure associated with theory of mind development in young children. Developmental Psychology, 32(1), 70-78. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.32.1.70

Keceli Kaysili, B., & Acarlar, F. (2011). The development of theory of mind according to false belief performance of children ages 3 to 5. Educational Sciences: Theory And Practice,11(4), 1821-1826. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/PDFS/EJ962676.pdf

Lecce, S., Caputi, M., & Hughes, C. (2011). Does sensitivity to criticism mediate the relationship between theory of mind and academic achievement?. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, 110(3), 313-331. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.04.011

McAlister, A., & Peterson, C. (2007). A longitudinal study of child siblings and theory of mind development. Cognitive Development, 22(2), 258-270. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2006.10.009

Nelson, P. B., Adamson, L. B., & Bakeman, R. (2008). Toddlers’ joint engagement experience facilitates preschoolers’ acquisition of theory of mind. Developmental Science, 11(6), 847-852. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00733.x

Newton, E., & Jenvey, V. (2011). Play and theory of mind: Associations with social competence in young children. Early Child Development And Care, 181(6), 761-773.

Perner, J., Ruffman, T., & Leekam, S. R. (1994). Theory of mind Is contagious: You catch it from your sibs. Child Development, 65, 1228-1238. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00814.x

Peterson, C. C. (2000). Kindred spirits: Influences of siblings' perspectives on theory of mind.Cognitive Development, 15, 435-455. doi:10.1016/S0885-2014(01)00040-5

Ruffman, T., Perner, J., Naito, M., Parkin, L., & Clements, W. A. (1998). Older (but not younger) siblings facilitate false belief understanding. Developmental Psychology, 34(1), 161-174.

Criminal Law's Intervention in Public Space

2013-05-10T16:06:00.001+10:00

Occupy Melbourne, forcible removal by police. Source: Herald Sun

This essay examines two articles, Occupy Policing: A Report into the Effects and Legality of the Eviction of Occupy Melbourne from City Square on 21 October 2011 (hereafter referred to as Occupy Policing; Gonzalez et al. 2012) and Violence and Control in the Night-Time Economy (hereafter referred to as Night-Time Economy; Hobbs et al. 2005) which consider the role of criminal law and its enforcement in public space in terms of the Occupy Melbourne movement and the night-time economy in British cities, respectively. It will explore the arguments made by both articles and critically analyse them in terms of the criminal law's intervention in public space and its perceived implications. This essay will argue that (1) Occupy Policing suggests the need to re-examine the role and excessive power of the criminal law in public space, while failing to provide considerations of the underlying factors shaping the current police stance in public; and (2) Night-Time Economy implies the need for stricter regulations and additional law enforcement in public space, while failing to consider the broader picture and the consequences that may occur.

Excess of Criminal Law's Intervention in Public Space

A qualitative report released by the Occupy Melbourne Legal Support Team (OMLST) provides details of the events that occurred during and surrounding the Occupy Melbourne movement in October 2011 in Melbourne, Australia (Gonzalez et al. 2012). The report takes a realistic and legal approach to the criminal law's intervention in public space; namely, the legality and consequences of the eviction of Occupy Melbourne and the forms and justifications of the policing power exercised during the eviction.

The primary objective of Occupy Melbourne is said to be the transformation of City Square 'into a common space of political demonstration' where discussions and debates could take place, concerning 'the abuses of political and corporate power' and the 'privatisation of public services' in particular (1). On 21 October, 2011, the protesters of Occupy Melbourne were forcibly removed from the City Square by the Victoria police and other highly trained police and private security, despite the 'entirely peaceful' (28) nature of the protest.

According to the report, the city council was dismissive of the movement, failing to recognise the purpose and legal nature of the protest as Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was reported saying the protesters had enough time (a week) to make their point, despite there being no time limit to political demonstrations by law (9). Over 400 police were reportedly involved in the removal of the protesters including the Public Order Response Team officers who are specially trained to handle 'critical incidents' (10). The police were seen with capsicum spray, police horses, and batons and shields (2-3). The report recognises the unfair and unlawful nature of the police power exercised during that day. Under the law, the report argues, the protest itself and the actions of the protesters were entirely legal and no reasoning made by the city council or police was justified. Specifically, the police did not act in accordance with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) which protects the rights of, and allows, individuals to participate in non-violent public assemblies and protests consisting of but not limited to political demonstrations (8).

The report focuses on the facts and merely brushes past the surface of the policing and governing powers surrounding Occupy Melbourne and their implications. Although this report appropriately fits the title of the report, an insight into the political implications may have provided a richer understanding of the events that occurred and the criminal law's intervention in public space. For example, it mentions the political consequences of the forcible removal of Occupy Melbourne; that the protesters and/or observers would be hesitant to participate in future protests due to the fear incited in public by violent and aggressive reactions of the police and state (17). It explains that this form of self-censorship is 'unhealthy for democracy' (17). However, it does not explore the possible reasons why the events unfolded this way on that day; It does not consider other underlying factors contributing to the perhaps purposeful reactions from the city council and its use of criminal law's intervention in public space.

Taking on Foucault's idea of the relationship between power and knowledge, and how the former determines the latter (Stokes 2004), it may be suggested that the power of criminal law was used for social control and to assert the state power. That is, if effective, the forcible removal of the protesters in public view may have a criminalising effect, making the active participation in political debate appear unwelcome, disorderly and illegal, especially if it questions the power relations in our society as did the Occupy Melbourne movement.

On the other hand, there could be an economic and political factor that underlies Melbourne's capitalist society that gave rise to the forcible removal of the protesters or the role of criminal law in general. One can argue, given the purpose of the protest to raise awareness of the unevenly spread wealth in our society, the interests of the rich and powerful were under attack. Based on the Marxist idea that it is the large corporations and businesses whose interests are primarily protected under the law in capitalist societies (Korten 1995), the intervention of the criminal law to silence the protesters may have been a form of capitalist mechanism. Another concern addressed in Occupy Melbourne was the increasing privatisation of public space and services in Melbourne, which was ironically met by the use and help of private security in the eviction of the protest.

Additionally, personal accounts given by the protesters and observers of Occupy Melbourne provided OMLST with a glimpse into the short-term effects of the eviction of the protest, namely, the psychological affects including anxiety, fear and distrust around and of the police and the state, and the doubts as to whether the safety and rights of the citizens are protected by the law enforcers (16). Although qualitative research involving interviews is an effective way of gaining an in-depth understanding of the topic in question (Ezzy 2010), this report provides a relatively small number of quotations and no other evidence to support these personal accounts. In order to strengthen its argument that the abuse of police power and criminal law's intervention in public space is detrimental to democracy and to individuals' willingness to actively participate in political debates, additional methods could have been used; for example, a survey of the public's reactions to the events of Occupy Melbourne.

Whilst the report's reliance on the legal definitions for the basis of its arguments is sufficient, it fails to consider a number of possible economic and political factors contributing to the eviction of the protest.

Lack of Criminal Law's Intervention in Public Space

Contrary to the arguments made in Occupy Policing (Gonzalez et al. 2012), Night-Time Economy (Hobbs et al. 2005) employs quantitative methods and historical and economic accounts to examine the 'night-time economy' and its surrounding criminal factors in British cities. It argues, with supporting statistics, that in the recent post-industrial period many Western cities have become increasingly focused on re-developing into places of consumption, leisure and tourism (89-90). Consequently, the cities' nightlife scene has grown in the last few years, with venues such as bars, clubs and restaurant-bars vastly expanding in numbers (91). This re-developed cities' nightlife provides increased employment opportunities and brings in continuous and large amount of profit (91), and thus appropriately termed 'night-time economy'.

The article argues that with the lively and energetic night-time economy comes the alcohol-related violence, especially in areas where there is a density of licensed premises that are open till early in the morning (96). Statistics and police reports show evidence of the cause-and-effect relationship between alcohol and violence and that the reported alcohol-related violence occurs most often in weekend nights, between young males in bars or on streets. Further, there has been an increase in alcohol-related violence consistent with the increasing number of nighttime venues serving alcohol (96-99).

The article examines the way in which the police is integrated into the regulation of such concern involving violence at night-time in city centres. Statistics show that there has only been a slight increase in the number of police officers available at night, that like most other forms of business or public institution, police work seems to be limited to daytime. Instead, the employment of private security such as bouncers has increased (100-101).

Night-Time Economy offers an abundance of economic factors in and contributing to the night-time economy in British cities, as well as some considerations of political factors. When analysing Night-Time Economy in light of criminal law and political factors, the article resembles Occupy Policing in a way that the capitalist society's mechanism in relation to the criminal law's intervention in public space is apparent. Despite a wealth of evidence showing the positive correlation between the number of night-time venues and alcohol-related violence, the night-time economy has yet to be strictly regulated by law (96-99). In terms of the Marxist ideas as discussed above, one can argue that the lack of regulation is due to the large revenue brought into the cities by these licensed premises, and thus the interests of the city planners and owners of the premises are prioritised, prevailing the issues concerning the safety of the public.

Unlike the concern presented in Occupy Policing that there is an abuse and overuse of criminal law's and state's power in regulating the public space, however, Night-Time Economy offers a different view, that there is perhaps a lack of criminal law's intervention. In light of the Marxist view, the lack of (or mismatched number of) police officers at night-time can be seen as a way of maximising the cities' profit, by saving on the night-shift and overtime payment of many more police officers. Additionally, it seems reasonable to suggest that too much policing at night-time may be detrimental to the night-time economy, as many bar-goers may stray away from city centres due to discomfort caused by the presence of police, and thus reducing the profit of the premises.

Another factor considered in the article is the privatisation of public services, as also was one of the primary concerns in Occupy Melbourne. Just as private security organisations were employed in the eviction of the protest, Night-Time Economy shows a large number of bouncers employed to ensure order and safety around bars compared to the number of police officers (101). The delegation of the state's responsibilities in terms of the criminal law to private commercial security or criminal firms, is problematic as the private security are not subject to the same authority as the police. This can give rise to no real or recognisable effect in successfully reducing the number of alcohol-related violence due to the control powers used by the bouncers which often involve violence (101).

However, as elaborated in Occupy Policing, there may be problems of a different nature arising from an increase in policing in night-time economy, not considered in the article. For example, perhaps the criminal law's intervention in our nightlife may be considered as a regulation of fun and youth lifestyle, and seen as a restriction of freedom, and therefore unwelcome by not only the bar owners but also the general public.

Night-Time Economy effectively considers the economic and political factors surrounding the alcohol-related violence in night-time economy and the (lack of) criminal law's intervention in order to minimise the problem. However, it seems to have been unsuccessful in considering anticipated consequences and implications of an increased intervention of the criminal law in public space.

This essay examined Occupy Policing (Gonzalez et al. 2012) and Night-Time Economy (Hobbs et al. 2005) in terms of the arguments provided in the articles relating to the criminal law's intervention in public space. It argued that Occupy Policing offered thorough explanations of legal definitions and political and psychological consequences arising from the forcible removal of the Occupy Melbourne protesters, but lacked in providing possible political and economic factors underlying the excess of the criminal law's intervention in public space. Night-Time Economy, on the other hand, provided an abundance of economic and political factors contributing to the increasing alcohol-related violence and lack of policing in night-time economy, but lacked considerations of possible consequences of increased intervention of the criminal law in public space.

References

Ezzy, D. (2010) The Research Process. In W. Maggie (ed.) Social Research Methods. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gonzalez, A. et al. (2012) Occupy Policing: A Report into the Effects and Legality of the Eviction of Occupy Melbourne from City Square on 21 October 2011. p.1-30.

Hobbs, D. et al. (2005) Violence and Control in the Night-Time Economy. European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 13 (1), p.89-102.

Korten, D. (1995) When Corporations Rule the World. West Hartford: Kumarian Press.

Stokes, P. (2004) Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers. Kettering: Index Books.

Arrogance of Mankind (Video)

2013-04-30T16:09:00.001+10:00

Every now and again, I watch and re-watch clips of George Carlin's stand-up comedy on YouTube. Not only was he incredibly intelligent and funny, as much as I can tell from the videos, he never fails to remind me of how little and insignificant I am in this world. And this is one of my favourite clips of him to watch when I need a little reminder to be humble.

9 Weirdest Psychology Studies Ever Performed

2013-04-30T09:28:00.000+10:00

If you've ever wondered about human behaviours that are just plain weird and not really relevant to your life, then you're not alone! Some of the seemingly unnecessary curiosities have been great interests of some psychologists and, fortunately for us, they have actually studied them. And a list of 9 weird psychology studies have been put together by Casey Wheeler on Online Psychology Degree.

My favourite is: Do beards make people more or less trustworthy?

Psychology study on beards!

Click here to see all 9!

Research on Homosexuality

2013-04-10T16:14:00.000+10:00

Homosexuality

This essay examines the quantitative and qualitative research methods applied in two journal articles on the topic of perceptions of and attitudes towards homosexuality and homosexual stereotypes, and attempts to analyse the advantages and shortcomings of each method in relation to the research questions. The first article (Brown and Groscup, 2009), using quantitative methods, examines the correlation between homophobia and acceptance of stereotypes about homosexual individuals. The second article (Bortolin, 2010) uses qualitative methods to examine male heterosexual students' perceptions of and experiences with homosexual peers regarding their perceptions of masculinity. This essay argues that although both studies were conducted using the most appropriate methods, a richer and more in-depth analysis would have been established if mixed or other research methods had been used.

Brown and Groscup, in their quantitative study (2009), hypothesised that there is a correlation between homophobia and "acceptance of stereotypes about gays and lesbians" (p. 161), and that individual characteristics such as age, gender, experience with homosexuals, and religion would contribute to varying degrees of homophobia (p. 161). 142 university students (70% female, 30% male) of various ethnic and religious backgrounds completed an individual characteristic questionnaire, and were given popular stereotypes about homosexuals for which they rated their level of agreement with each statement on a Likert-type scale. The results, calculated using one-sample t-tests, found that most individual characteristics were not found to have a significant correlation with homophobia, although those with previous experience with homosexuals were significantly less homophobic than those without. It was also found that homophobia is related with acceptance of negative stereotypes; That is, participants with higher levels of homophobia tended to believe negative stereotypes about gays and lesbians (p. 162).

For Bortolin's qualitative research (2010), 15 heterosexual male volunteers from Canadian secondary schools were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding demographic information including the subjects' perceived social position within the school (i.e., Jock, prep, emo and other) (p. 204). An interview was conducted with each participant with the focus on examining the participants' attitudes towards homosexual peers, grouped into three main ideas: masculinity, heteronormativity, and homophobia (p. 205). Bortolin's analysis of the responses found that male homosexual students were perceived to be at the lowest social hierarchy within schools and were often subjected to verbal and physical assaults by popular, and most often sporty, peers. It was also found that perceptions of homosexuality were associated with misogyny, and male peers participating in performing arts (or other activities perceived to be feminine) and whose friends are predominantly female, were perceived to be gay. Additionally, the participants expressed discomfort of being around male homosexual peers due to concern of being "hit on" (p. 210).

The disadvantages and advantages of both quantitative and qualitative methods are shown in the two studies. In the most brief form, quantitative research is described as an empirical investigation of repeated patterns in a social phenomenon based on a large sample (John, 2010), the advantage being that generalisations can be made (p. 269) about a large population based on the trends and statistical analysis. In Brown and Groscup's study (2009), using a large sample of 140 randomly selected students from various backgrounds ensured the sample's relatively accurate representation of the general population, and therefore ensuring external validity (Polit and Beck, 2010). The disadvantage is said to be that quantitative research fails to capture the social or political context (John, 2010, p. 269). In Brown and Groscup's study, despite the sample size and the inclusion of individual characteristics as additional variables, their research was limited in that they were only able to find the relevant information within the narrow spectrum of the question. It was unable to obtain unexpected variables other than individual characteristics, which could have been obtained if mixed research methods were applied including interviews. Some of these limitations were discussed in the paper along with direction for future research (p. 164) . However, overall, this study did not clearly discuss why their findings are important and what these findings mean in the broader social context.

Qualitative methods, on the other hand, are used when asking why and how certain human behaviour occurs around a social phenomenon, based on a smaller sample (Ezzy, 2010). Its advantage is its ability to obtain an in-depth understanding of each subject or small group, most often achieved by conducting one-on-one interviews. Bortolin's study (2010) was a good example of this. By letting the participants express their thoughts, Bortolin was able to gain detailed information on the topic in question and, further, additional factors not originally considered. For example, based on one of the participants' responses about his personal life and heterosexual relationship, Bortolin gained insight into factors such as gender role expectations in society and its association with homophobia, especially within the working class where the importance of masculinity is emphasised (p. 217). It was also discovered that the topic of homosexuality was avoided in classes unless it was associated with health risks such as AIDS, and some teachers would express personal homophobic views (p. 213-214). However, the disadvantage of applying qualitative methods remains that the findings of interview-based research on a small sample cannot represent the larger population and are difficult to be generalised. This is shown as some of Bortolin's participants expressed varying personal opinions about homosexual peers, perceptions of masculinity and popularity (p. 206 - 217). Further, qualitative methods seem to rely on the researcher's subjective interpretation of the responses, therefore reducing its validity. Overall, Bortolin suggested that the findings provide a useful insight into the position of homosexuality within secondary schools and the need for readily-available information on (homo)sexuality in schools, along with a need to challenge perceptions of hegemonic masculinity.

Both studies seem to have chosen the most appropriate research methods in regards to the research questions. In Brown and Groscup's research, the statistical analysis of the survey results obtained from a large sample made possible a generalisation representative of a large population. And Bortolin's qualitative research gave extensive insight into understanding why homosexual peers are positioned at the low end of the school social hierarchy and the factors which may contribute to the question of causality. However, the common disadvantages of both methods were shown in each study (as discussed above). Although applying one method or the other may be adequate enough in answering the research question, applying additional or mixed research methods would have heightened the quality and depth of the discussion, contributing to a richer understanding of the implications of the studies.

References

Bortolin, S. 2010. “I Don’t Want Him Hitting On Me”: The Role of Masculinities in Creating a Chilly High School Climate. Journal of LGBT Youth. 7, 200-223

Brown, M. J & Groscup, J. L. 2009. Homophobia and Acceptance of Stereotypes About Gays and Lesbians. Individual Differences Research. 7 (3), 159-167

Ezzy, D. 2010. The Research Process. In W. Maggie (ed.) Social Research Methods. New York: Oxford University Press.

John, P. 2010. Quantitative Methods. In D. Marsh and Gerry Stoker (eds), Theory and Methods in Political Science (third edition). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Polit, D. F & Beck C. T. 2010. Generalization in quantitative and qualitative research: Myths and strategies. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 47 (11), 1451-1458.

Corpse Brides and Forced Abortions

2013-04-02T21:42:00.001+11:00

Corpse brides and forced abortions

Consequences of China's one-child policy

I found an article on Vice which discusses the negative consequences of China's one-child policy, including child-bride trafficking, corpse brides and forced abortions. A part of the passage is copied below.

In China, women are the runt of society's litter. You probably already know about the one-child policy that has had families actively sidelining the fairer sex for years—a millennias-old preference for sons in Chinese society means that, if couples can only afford one child given the financial penalties for multiple kids, they tend to go for boys rather than girls. Predictions state that there will be between 30 to 40 million fewer women than men in China by 2020, which sounds like it'll be a pretty lonely year for many in the People's Republic.The terrible male-to-female ratio in China has caused people to resort to desperate measures. There has been a rise in child-bride trafficking from both within and outside the country. Other parents have been so intent on their sons getting married that they have resorted to fixing up "ghost marriages," where female corpses are dug up and reburied next to deceased bachelors so they can have a bride in the afterlife. Which I guess is a consequence you don't normally have to consider when you're drawing up social policy.

To read the rest, click here.

Impact of ATL Resection on Verbal Episodic Memory

2013-03-31T21:44:00.001+11:00

Hello, friends! Recently I had to submit a psychology lab report on medial temporal lobe epilepsy and verbal episodic memory for my university assignment. It included only the introduction and the methods section. I shared it below, and will share the rest once I finish the report. Any comments and criticism will be appreciated. :)

UPDATE: The full report is now up here.

Q. Do individuals who undergo surgical resection of the left anterior temporal lobe for treatment of left-sided medial temporal lobe epilepsy suffer greater verbal episodic memory impairment than normal controls?

Medial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) is a form of epilepsy originating from the medial temporal lobe (MTL; Engel, 2001) with its most commonly known pathophysiological substrate being Hippocampal Sclerosis (Engel, 2001a). Although antiepileptic drugs are used to treat MTLE patients, surgical treatment such as lobectomy or resection is used for those whose seizures are unmanageable by medication (Engel, 1996; 2001a). One of the surgical procedures performed to treat MTLE is the resection of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL; Engel, 2001a; Lee, Johns-Gotman & Yip, 2002). Such surgery has seen postoperative effects such as anterograde and retrograde amnesia in patients (Milner, 2005), giving insight into the roles and functions of MTL and allowing for a more focused research; namely, its association with memory functions.

Studies unrelated to MTLE have found that MTL is closely related to memory functions (Huang, 2010). This is supported by Huang's study (2010) of 76 healthy participants between the ages of 12 and 29 which found that MTL structures are involved in both verbal working memory and visual and spatial memory (p. 80-83).

Research consisting of TLE patients who had undergone lobectomy, however, found evidence that MTL is associated with different aspects of material-specific memory functions depending on the side of hemisphere in which it is located. This is supported by a meta-analysis of 33 studies which tested verbal and non-verbal memory performance in TLE patients before and after ATL resection (Lee, Johns-Gotman & Yip, 2002). This meta-analytic study found a high probability of left-TLE patients scoring lower on verbal memory measures than right-TLE patients (p. 287). It concluded that there is strong evidence that the left MTL is connected with verbal memory, confirming previous studies of the same findings (see Milner, 1968; Bellgowan et al., 1998). Alternatively, although not strong, there was some evidence that non-verbal memory is lateralised in the right MTL (p. 288).

Studies also found evidence of the involvement of left MTL in episodic memory (memory of past experiences; Tulving, 2002) functions. A study of 19 participants who underwent left or right MTL resection found predominant involvement of left MTL structures in episodic auditory-spatial learning (Lancelot et al., 2005). Moreover, distinguishable differences in episodic memory performance have been identified in MTLE patients compared to that of the normal controls. A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the involvement of MTL in verbal episodic memory tasks showed that different functional patterns were involved in healthy participants and left-MTLE patients (Dupont et al., 2000).

Based on these findings, we suspected that left-MTLE patients who undergo left-ATL resection would suffer material-specific episodic memory impairment. Further, consistent with previous research findings (see Bonelli et al., 2010), we expected that left-MTLE patients after undergoing left-ATL resection would suffer greater verbal episodic memory impairment than normal controls, whereas right-MTLE patients would suffer greater non-verbal episodic memory impairment. This study focused on verbal recall tasks which measure the subjects' verbal episodic memory. It was hypothesized that left-MTLE patients who underwent left-ATL resection would perform worse than normal controls on the verbal recall tasks, indicating verbal episodic memory impairment.

Method

Participants

XX normal control participants living in Australia, with no history of neurological or psychiatric history, were studied. The participants, XX females (XX %) and XX males (XX %), were a friend or family member of each second year Biological Psychology student at The University of Melbourne, and were required to have conversational level English skills. The age of the participants ranged from XX to XX years, with the mean age of XX, SD=X.

For the Epilepsy group, XX TLE patients, XX females (XX %) and XX males (XX %), were studied. All patients had undergone a left-sided anterior lobectomy between three months and five years prior to recruitment. The age of the participants ranged from XX to XX years, with the mean age of XX, SD=X.

Materials

Each participant completed a Verbal Learning Test provided by the Biological Psychology department of the university, to determine whether left ATL resection (independent variable) has a negative effect on the subjects' verbal episodic memory (dependent variable) . The Verbal Learning Test, consisting of two lists of 15 words, was used for recall tasks for which the participants were to recall as many of the 15 words as they can immediately or some time after hearing all of the words in the list. List A consisted of six trials and a final Delay trial and List B consisted of a single trial. The number of all correct words recalled in the Delay trial was used in this study, with higher score indicating a greater verbal episodic memory performance. Independent samples t-test was carried out to determine whether the two groups are significantly different from each other.

A Vocabulary Test, a Map Drawing Test, and an additional story-telling task were used as a filler intended to distract the participants from rehearsing the words for a minimum of 20 minutes and maximum of 30 minutes before completing the final Delay trial of List A (see Hessen, 2011 for a study showing evidence of better recall performance after rehearsal). For the Vocabulary Test, the participants were to provide meanings of 35 words read out to them which were then recorded by the test conductor. For the Map Drawing Test, the participants were asked to draw a map of Australia as accurately as they can. For the story-telling task, the participants were asked to tell a detailed story about the earliest happy memory they can recall. The responses were not used in this study.

Procedure

For the normal controls, each student conducted the test in the student's or participant's home. The test was conducted in the following order: (1) Five trials of List A of the Verbal Learning Test, (2) A single trial of List B, (3) Sixth trial of List A, (4) 20-30 minutes of filler tests, (5) Delay trial of List A. The words in the lists for the Verbal Learning Test were read out by the students at approximately one second interval, and the students recorded the recalled words by ticking the boxes beside each word recalled. For the first five trials for List A, all the words in the list were read out each time, whereas they were not read out for the sixth and Delay trial. The filler tests were carried out without its purpose as distraction being known to the participants.

The same test procedure was carried out for the Epilepsy group by neuropsychologists in the hospitals.

References

Engel, J. (2001). Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: what have we learned? Neuroscientist, 7(4), 340-352. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11488399

Engel, J. (1996). Surgery for Seizures. The New England Journal of Medicine, (334), 647-653. Retrieved from DOI/10.1056/NEJM199603073341008

Lee, T. M., Yip, J. T., & Jones-Gotman, M. (2002). Memory Deficits after Resection from Left or Right Anterior Temporal Lobe in Humans: A Meta-Analytic Review. Epilepsia, 43(3), 283-291.

Milner, B. (2005). The Medial Temporal-Lobe Amnesic Syndrome. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 28(3), 599-611. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2005.06.002

Tulving, E. (2002). Episodic memory: From mind to brain. Annual Review of Psychology,53(1), 1-25. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135114

Inside the Mind of Issei Sagawa

2013-03-26T11:00:00.000+11:00

Issei Sagawa is a Japanese man who killed and ate a Dutch woman in 1981. The video shows an interview with Sagawa for a closer look inside the "criminal" mind.
For a short description of his crime and story, click here (and read no.1), and for a more detailed description, click here to read on Vice.

11 Stephen Hawking Quotes

2013-03-26T00:42:00.000+11:00

1. ON HIS SCHOOLING:

"At school, I was never more than about halfway up the class. It was a very bright class. My classwork was very untidy, and my handwriting was the despair of my teachers. But my classmates gave me the nickname Einstein, so presumably they saw signs of something better. When I was twelve, one of my friends bet another friend a bag of sweets that I would never come to anything. I don't know if this bet was ever settled, and if so, which way it was decided..."

From the lecture "My Brief History," 2010.

2. ON CONTACTING ALIENS:

"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans. We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."

From Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, 2010.

3. ON THE EUREKA MOMENT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY:

“I wouldn’t compare it to sex, but it lasts longer.”

From a lecture at Arizona State University, April 2011.

4. ON DISABILITY:

"If you are disabled, it is probably not your fault, but it is no good blaming the world or expecting it to take pity on you. One has to have a positive attitude and must make the best of the situation that one finds oneself in; if one is physically disabled, one cannot afford to be psychologically disabled as well. In my opinion, one should concentrate on activities in which one's physical disability will not present a serious handicap. I am afraid that Olympic Games for the disabled do not appeal to me, but it is easy for me to say that because I never liked athletics anyway. On the other hand, science is a very good area for disabled people because it goes on mainly in the mind. Of course, most kinds of experimental work are probably ruled out for most such people, but theoretical work is almost ideal. My disabilities have not been a significant handicap in my field, which is theoretical physics. Indeed, they have helped me in a way by shielding me from lecturing and administrative work that I would otherwise have been involved in. I have managed, however, only because of the large amount of help I have received from my wife, children, colleagues and students. I find that people in general are very ready to help, but you should encourage them to feel that their efforts to aid you are worthwhile by doing as well as you possibly can."

From "Handicapped People and Science," Science Digest 92, No. 9, September 1984.

To read the rest on Mental Floss, click here!

FBU	Count type	3 years of age	4 years of age	5 years of age	Total
No evidence	Count	62	44	11	117
	Expected count	32.9	46.3	37.8	117
	Adjusted residual	7.8	-0.6	-6.9
Evidence	Count	19	70	82	171
	Expected count	48.1	67.7	55.2	171
	Adjusted residual	-7.8	0.6	6.9
Total	Count	81	114	93	288
	Expected count	81	114	93	288

FBU	Count type	4-year-olds without older sibling	4-year-olds with older sibling	Total
No evidence	Count	25	19	44
	Expected count	23.5	20.5	44
	Adjusted residual	0.6	-0.6
Evidence	Count	36	34	70
	Expected count	37.5	32.5	70
	Adjusted residual	-0.6	0.6
Total	Count	61	53	114
	Expected count	61	53	114