Final Letter Research Articles

Julia Margaret Cameron and the photographic society of Scotland

Preserved in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh is an illuminating series of unpublished letters by the great Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. These letters illustrate Cameron's enthusiasm for her art, her uninhibited candour and her generosity, but one of them exhibits a lingering bitterness. Six of the letters are concerned with Cameron's showing her work in December 1864 at the ninth annual exhibition ofthe Photographic Society of Scotland. The bitterness emerges from the seventh and final letter, written almost a decade later. In it Cameron makes clear her continuing disapproval of the Society's award in 1864 of a silver medal to Henry Peach Robinson for the best portraita photograph entitled Brenda. All six letters are addressed to Thomas Brumby Johnston, Secretary of the Photographic Society of Scotland.1

Killer‐cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor (KIR) nomenclature report, 2002

Killer‐cell immunoglobulin‐like receptor (KIR) nomenclature report, 2002

Effect of grammatical gender on visual word recognition: evidence from lexical decision and eye movement experiments.

Lexical decision times and eye movements were recorded to determine whether grammatical gender can influence the visual recognition of isolated French nouns. This issue was investigated by assessing the use of two types of regularities between a noun's form and its gender--namely ending-to-gender regularities (e.g., the final letter sequence -at appears only in masculine nouns and, thus, is predictive of masculine gender) and gender-to-ending regularities (e.g., feminine gender would predict the final letter e, whereas masculine gender would not). Previous studies have shown that noun endings are used by readers when they have to identify gender. However, the influence of ending-to-gender predictiveness has never been investigated in a lexical decision task, and the effect of gender-to-ending regularities has never been evaluated at all. The results suggest that gender information can influence both the activation stage (Experiments 1 and 3) and the selection stage (Experiments 2 and 3) of the word recognition process.

Final Letter Compared with Final Phoneme in Male and Female Names

AbstractFirst names of male and female residents in the United States in 1950 and 1990 were divided into three categories: the 100 most frequent names in 1950 and also in 1990, in 1950 only, and in 1990 only. The final letter more often than the final phoneme was associated with the same sex. The finalleUer was associated with the same sex more often for male than female names and therefore was more often predominantly male. Names that were the 100 most frequent in 1990 only had a final phoneme that was associated with the same sex more often for female than male names and therefore were more often predominantly female.

They look similar, but they are different: reading two morphological structures of Hebrew nouns

This study examined the influence of two specific Hebrew nominal morphological structures on the accurate reading of Hebrew nouns. The study also analysed and categorized the reading errors within each nominal structure. All 24 nouns in this study looked similar, inasmuch as they were all four-lettered and ended with the final vowel letter [H]. Yet they were of two different morphological structures. Twelve were feminine nominal derivations, and 12 were feminine possessive optional inflections. The focus of the study was to discern if this difference was reflected in the respondents' reading accuracy and whether grade level had any effects. In addition, error types were analysed by morphology and grade level. The results of this study show that both reading accuracy and the type of errors are affected by morphological complexity and grade level. Thus, even in a shallow orthography such as vocalized Hebrew, morphological complexity seems to play an integral role in reading accuracy and error types at different grade levels.

Table of Contents

AbstractCorporate Sponsorship Regulations Issued in Final FormIRS Information Letter States Criteria for Incentive CompensationCourt Strikes Down Sales and Use Tax Exemptions for ReligionCourt Holds Social Club Not Exempt Because of Nature of FundingHouse Passes Legislation to Save Parsonage AllowanceOther Developments

Standardisierte Befunderfassung in der Echokardiographie mittels WWW: EchoBefundSystem

As a non-invasive imaging system, ultrasound echocardiography has a very high impact on modern diagnosis and is widely used in clinical routine but without any structured and standardized documentation of the results. Thus, quality management (QM), statistics and comparison of the results are difficult. Therefore, a working group of the German Cardiac Society issued a consensus proposal. For evaluation and wide public distribution, we have developed the first internet-based application covering the full proposal: EchoBefundSystem. The EchoBefundSystem is a web based client-server application for standardized documentation of echocardiography results right at the workplace. The software leads the examiner by means of a user interface design and stored medical knowledge. The level of detail is scaled automatically to the ongoing examination. Every day clinical routine is performed on only two pages, one for general patient data and a second one covering the complete minimal data set called "minimum finding" in the standard. As the examiner discovers more and more special findings or might even enter a complete medical study, the interface offers more and more fields and checkboxes. One data set can contain up to 600 values and findings. The structured user interface reflects the organ structure as well as examination methods familiar to the examiner. Automatically calculated fields speed up the examination. Judgements, diagnoses, values and ranges are interrelated. If there is a difference between the entered data and the medical knowledge base, a warning will be issued but the doctor's decision is authoritative. Some values may be gathered by different methods and even different units are converted automatically. The final doctor's letter is generated automatically in clear text but still editable and can be given out to the patient right after the examination without any further delay. Beside the minimal data set, all abnormal findings will appear and findings will be summarized wherever possible. The report is intended for the referring general practitioner, your own documentation, expert witness as well as clinical studies. Interested examiners may test the full version online at http://echo.ma.uni-heidelberg.de

The spelling of final letter patterns: A comparison of instruction at the level of the phoneme and the rime

Two groups of first graders (n=63) participated in a brief 10-day intervention study in which they were instructed in the spelling of five final letter patterns in monosyllabic words. Apart from the final letter pattern sh, the other four patterns (nk, ke, sk, and ck) incorporated the phoneme /k/. One group received phoneme-based instruction that emphasized the direct relation between final speech sounds and their spelling patterns, whereas the second group received linguistically implicit instruction that focused solely on the spelling of the rime. The group receiving phoneme instruction (PI) improved accuracy of final pattern spelling as well as speed of word reading over the group receiving rime instruction (RI). The representation of one sound with the digraphs sh or ck did not confuse first graders as much as the discrimination and representation of two sounds with the blends sk and nk, or spelling of /k/ with ke when preceded by a long or tense vowel. The results suggest that the difficulty for beginning spelling does not necessarily lie in the letter pattern but in the sound sequence that is represented by letters. The results seem to support phoneme-based spelling instruction.

アウロマン文書 No. 3 (大英図書館 Or. 8115) の新訳

A new transliteration and translation of the Avroman Parchment No. 3 (British Library Or. 8115), written in Parthian, is given here.Transliteration based on P1. III in Minns 1915:1. SNT IIIC YRH' 'rwtt MZBNW ptspr BRY tyryn2. ZY MN bwdy KRM' 'smk MH 'bykskn PLG y't3. W ZBNW 'wyl BRY bsnyn KZY 'HY KL' ZWZN XX XX XX IIIII4. MH MN bwmhwtw '(py) h (w) z hmy 'KLW QDMTH5. SHDYN tyrk BRY 'pyn (m..g) BRY rsnw 'rstt6. B (RY) 'bzn grybnzwy B (RY) mtrpry synk BRY m'tbwg7. [] (.) KRM' 'smkn KRM' ZBNT 'wyl MN8. ptspr (K) L' ZWZN XX XX XX IIIII1.4 '(py) h (w) z: '(p) [y] h [w] (z) in the present state;1.5 (m..g): (m) [..] (g) in the present state.Translation:“Year 300 (=A. D. 53), month Arwatat, Patspar son of Tiren from Bod sold a half part of the vineyard Asmak which is within the ploughland; and Awil son of Basnen bought it for a total of 65 drachms, (the price asked) by the landowner, ‘as brothers’ (> on equal terms with the seller?). They swore together that there should be no accusation, before the witnesses: Tirak son of Apen, M…g (?) son of Rasn, Arstat son of 'bzn (?), Grybnzwy (?) son of Mihrfriy and Senak son of Matbog. Awil bought [] vineyard, Asmakan vineyard from Patspar for a total of 65 drachms.”On the readings:1.3 KZY: nzd in Gignoux 1972, but his reading is impossible.1.4 'pyhwz or 'pyhwn: 'tyhrw in Gignoux 1972, 'py hrw in Perikhanian 1983; previous scholars read the fifth letter as {r}, but that reading is not correct because they, probably, overlooked a wormhole which covered the uppermost part of the letter. —now the wormhole has become larger and covered the entire area where the letter existed. For the reading of the final letter, see Haruta 1992: 33 n. 27; see also the length of the first letter {Z} in ZWZN in 1.3.On the translation:1.3 KZY 'HY “as brother (s)”: I tentatively interpret the phrase as “as equals, on equal terms, ” though one can translate it as “as partners” or “as co-owners.” KZY 'HY may be related to βραδδιγογο in Bactrian [Sims-Williams 2000: 82-83 (Document P), 187].1.4 'pyhwz hmy 'KLW /apexwaz ham xwart/“They swore together that there should be no accusation”; or 'pyhwn…/apexwan…/“…there should be no claim”: for 'pyhwz “without accusation”/ 'pyhwn “without claim, ” cf. 'pw sk'rw, 'pwyx's, etc. in Sogdian [Yoshida et al. 1988] and αβηδαχοαυο, αβηχοαυδο, etc. in Bactrian [Sims-Williams 2000]. For the Aramaeogram 'KLW “to swear, ” cf. Herzfeld 1924: 134-135 and Haruta 1992: 29, 32 n. 27; Schwartz [1989] discussed in detail the verb √xvar- “to swear, ” a verb homophonous with “to eat.” Note that this interpretation is possible only when you read the document in Parthian; this is the strongest evidence, I think, against the allegation that it was written in Aramaic.

Are individual or consecutive letters the unit affected by repetition blindness?

When 2 similar words (e.g., react reach) are briefly sequentially displayed, the 2nd word may be omitted from the report, a phenomenon known as repetition blindness (RB). Previous researchers have suggested that consecutive letters are the unit affected by RB. Six experiments provided new data on orthographic RB. Two letters at the beginning or end of words resulted in RB, as did alternating interior letters (tactile earthly) and 3 letters with different relative positions (arid bird). However, no RB was found with a single final letter (show view). Observed RB may reflect pattern completion because RB for pairs like throat theory was reduced when the nonrepeated letters (eory) were consistent with only a single word. The experiments point to a model of orthographic RB in which both individual letters and letter sequences of length 2 or more play a role.

Making a Difference: Using peers to assess individual students' contributions to a group project

Overcoming the potential dilemma of awarding the same grade to a group of students for group work assignments, regardless of the contribution made by each group member, is a problem facing teachers who ask their students to work collaboratively together on assessed group tasks. In this paper, we report on the procedures to factor in the contributions of individual group members engaged in an integrated group project using peer assessment procedures. Our findings demonstrate that the method we used resulted in a substantially wider spread of marks being given to individual students. Almost every student was awarded a numerical score which was higher or lower than a simple group project mark would have been. When these numerical scores were converted into the final letter grades, approximately one-third of the students received a grade for the group project that was different from the grade that they would have received if the same grade had been awarded to all group members. Based on these preliminary findings we conclude that peer assessment can be usefully and meaningfully employed to factor individual contributions into the grades awarded to students engaged in collaborative group work.

Part IV

Three previous letters written to the parent(s) of children with developmental apraxia of speech (DAS) described the speech characteristics of DAS, the nature and causes of the disorder, and problems that often co-occur with DAS. This final letter discusses the treatment of DAS and includes an appendix of publications for a more complete review of this aspect of the problem.

The left-to-right nature of the masked onset priming effect in naming

Two experiments were performed to investigate the nature of the masked onset priming effect in naming, that is, the facilitation in naming latency that is observed when a target shares the initial grapheme/phoneme with a masked prime. Experiment 1 showed that the effect is not due to position-independent letter priming, since the naming of nonword targets preceded by masked primes was facilitated only if the prime shared the initial letter with the target (e.g., suf-SIB) and not if the prime shared the final letter (e.g., mub-SIB). Experiment 2 showed that the effect reflects the sharing of onsets rather than the initial letter, since facilitation due to an overlap of the initial letter was observed only for the simple onset target (e.g., penny-PASTE) for which the letter corresponded to the onset, and not for complex onset targets (e.g., bingo-BLISS). It is argued that the serial nature of the masked onset priming effect is best interpreted as the planning of articulation, rather than as the computation of phonology from orthography.

Using z-scores to evaluate accounting students: a test of Weinstein’s suggestion

Based on analysis using hypothetical data, Weinstein suggested that z -scores should be used in the determination of accounting students’ grades. The computation of z -scores mitigates the subjectivity caused by differences in the variances of the individual components that make up the total points for the course. We tested Weinstein’s suggestion using actual data to determine the degree to which subjectivity resulting from different variances influenced grades based on a total point distribution. The effect on actual final letter grades assigned was determined by comparing the rankings in grade distributions based on total points versus rankings based on z -scores. Findings show minimal overall effects on letter grade differences between total point and z -score-based methods. Because the results using actual data in our study found smaller differences than suggested by Weinstein’s hypothetical data, our findings do not indicate a compelling need to use a z -score standardization method in determining students’ grades. However, since using z -scores is easy and final grade rankings differed in some cases, instructors might find it useful to compute z -scores in addition to their normal grading procedures.

Student Evaluations of Teaching and their Short Term Validity

Looking for dialog with impacted parties number of years ago I interviewed for a position at a university that was struggling to develop a viable communications program. The chairperson of department told me he was looking for a person who was willing to be, in his words, an SOB. He said he was distressed because he believed standards in department were not what they should be. In my now nearly 30 years in higher education, this is a concern that I have heard expressed, albeit in a usually less crude manner, over and over again. Journalism/mass communication administrators are concerned that faculty are not demanding enough of students. I have lost count, for example, of number of hours I have spent on committees charged with examining why grade inflation appears to be so rampant. There is a fear that we are rapidly approaching a time when students putting even mediocre effort into a particular course will file a formal protest if they receive a B rather than an A as a final letter grade. I agree that these are legitimate concerns - concerns that go to very core of how one defines good teaching in journalism and mass communication programs. Unfortunately, I also believe we have been unwilling to directly and candidly address social and institutional developments that have been instrumental in bringing us to this point. Too often, it appears, we have danced around because we fear going directly to core of problem will result in considerable discomfort because of dissonance that will be created vis-avis a number of important constituencies. That is why I found article on evaluating teaching by Daniel Panici - Methods of Assessing Teaching: Investigating How and Why - in summer issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator SO interesting. I found article generally well done and informative. It raised several important questions concerning efforts to measure and, more importantly, improve quality of student instruction. My concern, however, is that it did not sufficiently address what I consider dysfunctional aspects of wide - often time singular reliance upon student evaluations in that assessment process. Does it not seem at least somewhat disingenuous to speak about increasing academic standards at same time student evaluations of teachers are given disproportionate weight in evaluating good teaching for purposes of tenure, promotion and salary increases? Is not conflict obvious to anyone willing to honestly open his or her eyes? This point was driven home a short time ago when I had an opportunity to visit with a former professor. By chance, I stopped by his as he was preparing to retire after a long and very distinguished teaching career. He is truly one of giants of journalism/mass communication education. He was in process of cleaning out his office after many years - an emotional time. This is a man of immense integrity who is also one of finest teachers I ever had - and my opinion is shared by other students - graduate and undergraduate - too numerous to count. When he was honored several years earlier as one of top teachers at university, he said, vital to good teaching is (the ability) to convey to students that you care about 1 don't have to fake that. ... They understand that you feel good about them. As we sat in his now partially empty office, we talked about teaching. Our conversation turned to student evaluations of faculty. I doubt this man ever gave a grade because it was expedient thing to do. Nevertheless, he told me, common sense would suggest that there likely is a correlation between grade inflation and student evaluations of faculty. I strongly agree. Professor Panici's article cites researchers who contend that the reliability and validity of student ratings are generally good and that student ratings are best, and often only, method of providing objective evidence for summative evaluation of instruction. …

The Importance of Waste Packaging Advice Following Rejection of the Nirex RCF Planning Application

The decision to reject the Nirex application to build the Rock Characterisation Facility at Longlands Farm in Cumbria will inevitably lead to a delay in the development of the UK deep repository for intermediate level waste. This delay, however, has not had a major impact on the Nirex approach to waste packaging as the strategy has always been to ensure that Waste Package Specifications are not specific to a particular site or design. In the absence of a finalised repository site, design or associated safety cases, Nirex has not been in a position to issue final Waste Acceptance Criteria. Nirex has instead produced and issued a suite of waste package specifications and guidance documentation which define packaging standards and which give guidance to customers on the form of packaging which will be consistent with developing plans for safe transport, handling, storage and disposal. The documentation is not based on a specific repository design or safety case, but is founded on design concepts and safety assessments for generic transport and underground repository systems. Many customers are now developing waste management strategies that involve the retrieval and packaging of waste in a form that will be suitable for interim storage and deep disposal. In such situations Nirex will assist customers by the provision of waste packaging advice, and if proposals are consistent with plans for transport, handling, storage and disposal, by the issue of a Letter of Comfort. Experience has shown that there is value in seeking Nirex advice at three stages in the development of a waste packaging project: at the conceptual stage, at the pre-commitment stage and finally prior to active commissioning. Nirex advice will enable agreements to be reached on key issues such as waste package design, wasteform and data recording. It will identify areas of uncertainty or where further evidence and/or R&D may be required and will ensure that satisfactory QA systems are in place prior to plant operations. Assuming that there are no outstanding issues, Nirex will issue a final Letter of Comfort. This process has been recognised as being of value by Nirex, regulators and customers. The Nirex strategy to define packaging standards against generic repository and transport system concepts has been shown to be robust and continues to provide an appropriate standard for waste packaging.

Lectotypification of Gomphocarpus physocarpus E. Mey. (Asclepiadaceae)

Two species of Gomphocarpus are commonly encountered as tropical and subtropical weeds and it is necessary to fix the application of their names prior to the publication of forthcoming Flora accounts. The first of these species, G. physocarpus E. Mey. is typified here. Typification of the second, G. fruticosus (L.) W. T. Aiton, will be discussed in a separate paper. Meyer (1838) based his description of G. physocarpus on three Drege collections from South Africa. Meyer's herbarium was offered for sale in 1859 and transferred ultimately to Berlin in 1915, where the bulk of it was subsequently destroyed (Stafleu & Cowan 1981). Many Dr&ge collections are duplicated elsewhere, however, although the label data on these sheets are generally somewhat cryptic and may consist simply of a small, handwritten label bearing the name of the species and a letter. This final letter relates to the specimens listed after the descriptions in Meyer's work. The Kew herbarium contains two duplicates of G. physocarpus specimen 'a', which is clearly the collection 'ad rivulos prope Glenfilling, alt. 500 ped.' listed by Meyer (1838) under this species, and the Kew sheets are annotated as such by N. E. Brown. I have chosen the duplicate stamped 'Herbarium Benthamianum 1854' as the lectotype. This specimen also bears the annotation 'This is identical to the type of Gomphocarpus physocarpus E. Mey.! in E. Meyer's herbarium. Compared March 6 1905. N. E. Brown.' Note that the packet mounted at the top right of this sheet and labelled 'Near Durban, Gerrard 511' is a separate collection and is not part of the type.

Final Letter to Readers

Final Letter to Readers

Dear Psychiatrist . . . Do Child Care Specialists Understand?

Tom was born with Asperger (or Asperger's) Syndrome, a form of Autism that affects both mental and physical development. He changed from a happy, achieving nine-year-old to an uncommunicative adolescent requiring psychiatric treatment after years of bullying by his peers because he was different. A minor shoplifting offence and the resulting court case brought the psychiatrist's report to the attention of Tom's parents. Failing to recognise bullying as a probable cause for Tom's behaviour it blamed instead his parents for poor understanding of their son's limitations, consequently they have placed unrealistic expectations upon him leading to his deep sense of failure. Very alarmed by this, the parents were further disturbed on being refused a meeting with the psychiatrist to discuss their concerns, a major result of which was the mother's decision to write this book. Written as a series of letters (mainly fictional to highlight the author's frustrations) to Tom's psychiatrist, Dear Psychiatrist is Jennie Robert's perspective on her son's case history; a perspective that details not only the difficulties that Tom suffered through his handicap, but also the extra (and perhaps more disabling) difficulties imposed by the bullying and the unhelpful attitudes encountered from some members of the teaching, medical, psychological and psychiatric professions. This intensely moving mother's account of the childhood and adolescence of her handicapped son is a must read for those working with special needs children and their families, or for parents in the same position as the author. Having first-hand experience, Jennie Roberts recognises that parents should be considered a valuable and indeed, vital source of information when any sort of discussion about their child takes place. In her Foreword, Baroness Warnock's concluding hope is that The book should be compulsory reading for anyone entering training whether as a teacher, doctor, social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist. It is no less an essential source of support for parents who are having difficulties with the professional help they have received. These sentiments are given poignant endorsement by the tragic circumstance of Tom's suicide in November 1994, his final letter making it clear that his unhappy school experience was a major contributory factor.

Rehabilitation for pure alexia: Efficacy of therapy and implications for models of normal word recognition

Abstract In an attempt to remediate the deficit in letter processing thought to underlie pure alexia or letter-by-letter reading, a therapy programme was implemented with SI, a 46 year-old woman with pure alexia following a posterior cerebral artery infarction. Prior to the intervention programme, SI's reading and letter processing abilities were characterised in detail, and baseline measurements were taken to rule out spontaneous recovery or fluctuations in her performance. A nine-week, intensive therapy programme was designed to alter SI's report of single letters as a function of serial position in a string from the observed linear function to a more normal M-shaped curve. This involved training SI to apprehend and report the identity of the letter in the final position of a string as string length was increased and exposure duration was decreased. Whereas SI's ability to recognise the final letter improved significantly on post-therapy measures, there was no significant transfer to her word reading pe...