Future Research into Auditory Spatial Attention Essay

An interesting observation made in this research was that there was an overall faster response time rates when an informative cue was presented spatially. Several cues were used in the experiment, both uninformative and informative, both pure sound and speech. The cues were given in conjunction with spatial and non-spatial orientations. But given the various cues, it was found that the response rates were faster as compared to the rates recoded by Spence and Driver (1994). The scope of the current research was not intended to explore this possibility; hence no statistical analysis was able to be performed on the data obtained. But further investigation of the said effect should be considered. Generally each experiment was analyzed individually with not all subjects completing the three experiments relating to this observed effect (experiments 3, 4 & 5). Furthermore, the subjects that had completed these three experiments did so in the same order, therefore opening up the possibility that the faster response times observed in experiment 5 may be due to practice effects. Despite these concerns, further investigation into the possible existence of this effect could be vital in a practical sense with relation to the design of auditory attention grabbing stimuli. The use of auditory stimuli as attention grabbing devices for use in reducing operator response times to critical stimuli can be designed in such a way that the combination of both auditory and visual information can be helpful in reducing operator workload. A number of studies have demonstrated that the addition of auditory information to an already attentionally overloaded visual workspace does not add to the overall workload. Recently Duncan, Martens & Ward (1997) found evidence of restricted attentional capacity within but not between sensory modalities. They presented streams of visual and/or auditory inputs, containing occasional targets to be identified and recalled. For two visual or two auditory streams they found that the identification of one target produce a sustained reduction in the ability to identify a second target. In contrast, when the streams were from both modalities, there was no such reduction in the identification of the second target. The results suggest a modality-specific restriction to concurrent attention and awareness. Flanagan, McAnally, Martin, Meehan & Oldfield (1998) found that with the use of spatially informative auditory information, visual search times were reduced. They used a spatial localisation task in which the search for a visual target was aided by either a visual arrow or an auditory cue. They found that both the visual and auditory cues aided in significantly reducing the search time when compared to an unaided search. With evidence suggesting that attentional capacity is modality-specific (Duncan, Martens & Ward, 1997) and that auditory cues can help with a visual spatial localisation task (Flanagan, McAnally, Martin, Meehan & Oldfield, 1998), the nature of the links between auditory and visual streams in spatial attention is of great importance. Moreover, a study by Spence and Driver (1996, 1997) had a subject stare at a fixed point at the center of a screen where lights were placed on the four corners of the screen. At the back of each light was a speaker, the task of the subject was to discriminate whether light or sound came from the upper and lower corners of the screen. They found that when a non-predictive visual cue was presented on one side an auditory target on the same location was processed faster and more accurately. In summary, our results indicate support for the claims of Spence and Driver and at the same time established the usefulness of using virtual 3-dimensional sound to measure auditory attention. Spatial advantage was found for non-informative cued areas in experiment 1 and 2 but for the shortest SOA of 200ms only which was also found by Spence and Driver in their experiments. Furthermore, spatial advantage was also found for informative cued areas for experiment 3, 4 and 5 wherein significant response time advantage was found in all SOA conditions (200ms, 500ms & 1100ms) for experiment 3 and 5 while the results obtained for experiment 4 found a significant response time advantage for valid cues only at the middle SOA condition (500ms). In experiment 3 response time advantage was found at all SOA levels for valid cues, while in experiment four wherein spatial informative cues were removed, response tine advantage for valid cues were only for the middle SOA conditions (500ms) and the introduction of spatially informative speech cues in experiment 5 found higher response time for all valid cues for all SOA levels.

Russias new leader (International Relations) Essay

Russias new leader (International Relations) - Essay Example Under Putin, Russia began consolidating itself after the traumatic experiences of moving to a market economy and losing ground in Europe. Thus, the recent presidential elections have again raised the specter of nationalism and a call from the president elect, Medvedev to the Russian people to help him regain Russia’s past glory. This paper takes a look at what the Russian elections of 2008 mean for Russia and its quest to regain its past glory. I also take a look at what kind of leaders are Medvedev and Putin apart from examining the Russian-Georgian conflict and the way in which Putin handled the same. According to Stratfor, a website devoted to geo-political affairs, â€Å"Despite ongoing demographic, economic and geopolitical problems, Russia is using every political and economic — and, increasingly, military — tool at its disposal to reassert itself in the former Soviet Union and try to rake back its former geopolitical position† (George Friedman, 2008). This has been accompanied by a string of actions ranging from going to the aid of South Ossetia and flexing its muscles over the missile deployment in Eastern Europe. The fact that Russia is on the ascendant and is likely to play a prominent role in the great power equations of the 21st century has been noted by other commentators as well. â€Å"If Russia was where history most dramatically ended two decades ago, today it is where history has most dramatically returned. Russia’s turn toward liberalism at home stalled and then reversed, and so has its foreign policy. Great power nationalism has returned to Russia and with it traditional great power calculations and ambitions† (Robert Kagan, 2008). Thus, ever since Putin began consolidating powers in the presidency, there has been a marked shift in the tone and attitude of Russia towards the world. This is in line with the expectations of the Russian people who want to return to their days of glory as a

History of the World Bank. What is the impact of the world bank upon Essay

History of the World Bank. What is the impact of the world bank upon development in the south - Essay Example The World Bank Group has five agencies (IEG, 2008). Since its inception during World War II with an objective to rebuild Europe, the World Bank generated more criticism and controversy than any other financial institution in the world. Even threatened by its conceivers, beneficiaries, and supporters, the World Bank is closely monitored by agencies which developed around it over a period of time. The institution itself reached at a stage of engulfed by the mounting pressures. However, these pressures have always been there and exerted by either donor governments, national governments, donor agencies, citizen groups, or even World Bank's employees. Their annual meetings are echoed by the slogans of "Ya Basta!" ("Enough is enough!")(Nath, 2001, p.1). Moreover, Meltzer commission report (2000) declared the World Bank as "irrelevant" in the mission of reducing poverty and promoting development (cited in Nath, 2001, p.1). The World Bank as Global Development Agency During the Bretton Woods , USA conference in 1944, 43 countries' meeting led to the establishment of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).IBRD's major objective was to provide loans for rebuilding Europe after WWII. For instance IBRD provided US$28,600,000 for rebuilding and development of the steel industry in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg (World Bank, cited in Nath, 2001, p.2).However, the World Bank's lending portfolio failed to meet the increasing demands within the industrialized countries. Mounting pressure led IBRD to channelize its funds in other developing and poor nations. However, the lack of expertise in dealing with developing countries and a continuous pressure to lend made it disastrous which led to overnight rebirth of IBRD as the World Bank. In its shift from West to East, the World Bank could anticipate the investment opportunities in long-term loans to developing countries for their huge infrastructure projects. It led to the dramatic increase in the Bank's lendi ng for large scale dam project sin Asia, roads projects in Africa, and highway projects in Latin America(Nath,2001,pp.2-3). With above deployments, the World Bank found its niche-electricity supply that is associated with dam projects and represented nearly 50 percent of Bank's annual lending.World Bank patented the approach of "Economic Colonization" for global development. The newly found role as a developmental financial institution, World Bank grew as a powerful and influential institution throughout world. Its investments proved to be very profitable for donors and stakeholders since 1948.There had been times when annual rate of return exceeded the annual amount of loan provided. In that period, even when Bank focused on investing in socials sector, the traditional sector investments increased (World Bank 1992, BIC, 1990 cited in Nath, 2001, p.3). The trend of such investment and returns continued until international debt crisis emerged in early 1980s.The risk of World Bank loa n's default increased. The Bank changed its focus after a series of closed door meetings of World Bank's shareholders (United States, Japan, Germany, France, and UK). Rather than a traditional project lending approach, World Bank focused on bringing developing economies in its control in order to ensure the return. Until the ends of early 80s, approximately 25 percent of the Bank's funds were used for economic restructuring of developing countries through its Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs).SAP was remote controlling the budget and expenses of the recipient countries. World Bank and IMF, often called Bretton Woods twins, were in a

Thunder Heart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thunder Heart - Essay Example Graham Greene, a tribal police officer, challenges the roots and attitudes of the FBI agent. The story in the film revolves around Ray Levoi, an FBI agent of mixed blood venturing in South Dakota to investigate a murder case (Edwards 22). In the process, Ray finds his Indian identity. While on his mission to solve a murder case, Ray discovers that it was an extra-judicial killing because of a scheme surrounding the mining of uranium. Henceforth, he teams up with Walter Crow Horse, a tribal police officer, and Grandpa Sam Reaches, a traditional elder. The three unite with aim of stopping the plot and conserving the environment. Throughout the film, various depictions of Native Americans take place. The depiction is a fundamental difference from the presentation by other films produced before Thunder Heart. The director sets the film in contemporary times as opposed to most films set in a changeless Indian past. Native actors also play roles designated for them with the exception of the starring character. It adds to the revelation identity in Thunder Heart. The producer uses Grandpa Reaches, Crow, Jimmy Looks Twice, and Maggie Eagle Bear to strengthen the manifestation of the Indian Identity. All the characters show substance in revealing the identity of Native Americans (Indians) in the American society. Generally, the producer and director succeed in depicting Native Americans as dynamic and complex entities. With all the humour shown by characters, they still possess familiar stereotypes associated with Indians. The film displays the relationship between Indians and whites in the US society in an exceptional manner. In so doing, Thunderheart makes the main character half-white and half Indian (Edward 19). The protagonist lives his entire life in a white-dominated society, goes on a job mission in his ancestral land (land of birth for his ancestors), and discovers his identity while on duty.

Reducing mongoose in Hawaii Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reducing mongoose in Hawaii - Essay Example address the issue through mobilizing collective efforts by the public as well as the government agents responsible of wildlife conservation and management into resolving the issue. There is the need to have the endangered species of animals and plants (threatened by mongoose) saved while still conserving the mongoose because the retaliation efforts by the citizens present another threat to the mongoose species. This paper therefore proposes the creation of management/conservation zones for the mongoose in Hawaii, which would help through protecting them from human beings while at the same time reducing their detrimental effects towards human beings. The position of this paper that conserving the mongoose through conservancy zones would present an amicable solution to the current issue is because the solution has proven with other species on endangered species of wildlife. By keeping the species out of unauthorized interaction with human beings would allow them to breed to the capacity that the ecosystem would naturally support while reducing their risk of threatening existence of other species of animals and plants as claimed. Adaptive management has therefore been shown to be a paramount area of study in the 21st century especially with the increase in human populations and the resultant interference with natural ecosystem. The study is therefore not only interesting but also informative and presents an opportunity for people to devise practical solutions to emerging issues such as the one at hand. Hays, W. S., & Conant, S. (2007). Biology and impacts of Pacific Island invasive species. 1. A worldwide review of effects of the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes javanicus (Carnivora: Herpestidae). Pacific Science, 61(1),

Enterprise Data Warehousing and Data Mining Coursework

Enterprise Data Warehousing and Data Mining - Coursework Example To this end data mining systems are used, are they all they could be and are they really the only way of sorting the chaff from the wheat? Keywords: data, mining, search, find, information, business intelligence. Implementing Data Warehousing To bring a data warehousing system into a company means first analyzing the situation that exists, the size of the organization, its present systems and what they can do to improve the problem without extra costs, it is quite likely there are professional statisticians in the company who simply need help to get their work done a little faster. To bring a new system into the company means ensuring there is a business need as that must always drive implementation so there must be an emphasised need such as competitors are getting products to the marketplace first. Stated by Davis (1994). Once it has been decided there is no choice, but to purchase, then a study of what applications are available in the marketplace must be done, a needs definition will give information on just what is needed from the new system, it may need to be custom built or modified such as has been done for the data mining tool now used by Jaeger. Stated by Grant (2008). With a large company there are going to be many demands from different groups for something that addresses their needs, but as a person responsible for buying the tool it is important it can answer as many differing demands as possible. The implementation often means a company must upgrade its present IT, its hardware, networks and PC’s may need replacement or upgrading, so the cost of implementation becomes more than just the cost of purchasing the new system. Thearling, (2003). Figure 1: Convergence of Three Technologies for Data Mining, Thearling (2003) Once the data warehouse is in place data mining can begin, but the two things are separate, data warehousing is not data mining. For data mining to go ahead it is probable that software for this role will have to be bought, and implemented after the warehousing system is in place, creating a time delay. Applications available include: Sybase IQ 15.3 -- this business intelligence/analytics and data warehouse focused relational database management product is now powered by a so-called "new generation" of shared everything Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) technology. Bridgwater (2011). Another application is that used by Jaeger's new loss prevention programme aims to change managers' behaviour by giving them the data they need to take action. Jaeger went to UK loss prevention specialist Oris, which has a strategic partnership with product identity and shrink management company Checkpoint Systems. Oris also supplied IDM Systems' Oracle-based LossManager data mining application. Data from its electronic point of sale system lets Jaeger identify the source of losses, integrate information from other applications such as RFID and CCTV, monitor investigations, and provide action alerts for managers. "From data mining we knew that 84% of goods stolen were taken from near doors, despite 70% of our [more than 120] stores having tagging," Hearn said. Stated by Grant (2008). Benefits of a Data Warehousing System Data warehousing can be very useful in the right situation, it can give just the information needed from all

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay The themes that are introduced and emphasised in Chapter 8 of Charles Dickens Great Expectations are a near complete summary of the themes of the novel as a whole and of the conditions in which the English people had to live with in the 1800s. This chapter epitomises the circumstances in which English people lived and the situations that they faced, and it looks at many different perspectives and takes into account many different factors. The Industrial Revolution was a period in time when everything in England changed rapidly, and Dickens made sure that he captured Englands huge transition in every light he could. Dickens himself lived in poverty for a number of years, and his main motive for writing books (such as Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby) was his desire to see change. These books are based around injustice and the divide between wealth and poverty. Chapter 8 of Great Expectations clearly defines the issues that Dickens sought to deal with through writing. The very first thing that happens in Chapter 8 Pips uncomfortable breakfast with Mr Pumblechook. Pip states in his narrative that on politely bidding him Good morning, Pumblechook immediately asked him a mathematics question. The breakfast then proceeds to continues in this manner (before I had swallowed a morsel, he began a running sum that lasted throughout breakfast. ) This is a prime example of control. This is one of the themes that come to the fore as the novel progresses. Pip finds that he very rarely has a choice in matters, he is either forced to do something or it would be very foolish or insulting to decline making certain choices. His life his almost completely influenced by others, and he often has no control over it at all. In Chapter 8, he is controlled by Pumblechook (as afore mentioned), Estella (You are to wait here, boy. ) and Miss Havisham (Play! ). In particular, Miss Havisham manipulates the lives of Estella and Pip to suit her own twisted, selfish needs to the point where she is remorseful of her actions. Dickens stresses the point that, in this era, the wealthy people dictate the actions of the poorer people. The fact that Pip is sitting back and enjoying the ride, so to speak, is a result of the people around him ordering and demanding things of him. Pip rarely has a choice to make, and is manipulated and used by many people, some with good intentions (Magwitch), some with evil intentions (Miss Havisham and Compeyson). Control and the gulf between inferiority and superiority are perpetual forces in the novel.