Repetition Effects Research Articles

Effects Of Dual Task And Repetition On Five-times Sit-to-Stand Task In Healthy Young Adults

The Sit-to-Stand (STS) task is an essential activity of independent daily living. It is commonly transferred into the clinic as five-times STS task (FTSTS) for assessment and prognosis of balance and muscle efficiency in the lower extremities of various populations. Research has shown that for activities such as the STS task, a certain level of attentional demand is required to perform the multiple components of a transitional movement. However, to our knowledge, the changes that occur in body mechanics with greater repetitions and the effects of dual tasking while performing FTSTS are currently unknown. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of dual tasking and multiple repetitions on the FTSTS task in healthy, young adults. METHODS: 10 healthy adults (mean age 24 (4.1) years) participated. Each participant stood up and sat down five times as fast as possible as part of FTSTS assessment. Three trials were completed without a cognitive task (SingleTask) and then with a concurrent cognitive task of counting backwards by 3 starting from a random number (DualTask). Time to complete FTSTS was measured. Impulse (Ns/BW), peak force (N/BW), and power (Nm/BW.s) variables were calculated using ground reaction force measurements. A 2-way ANOVA and paired samples t-test were conducted. RESULTS: Participants took significantly longer to complete FTSTS while dual tasking (8.16 [1.77]s) compared to SingleTask (7.38 [1.08]; p = .05). Concentric impulse significantly increased from 0.55 (0.02) during SingleTask to 0.59 (0.03) during DualTask (p = .022), however, power significantly decreased from 0.99 (0.04) during SingleTask to 0.92 (0.05) during DualTask (p = .017). FTSTS concentric, eccentric, and total impulse significantly increased from 1st to 5th repetition respectively: 0.56 (0.03) to 0.59 (0.03; p = .005), 0.49 (0.03) to 0.56 (0.04; p = .013), 1.05 (0.05) to 1.15 (0.06; p = .006). Also, standing peak force significantly decreased from 1st repetition (1.39 [0.03]) to 5th repetition (1.34 [0.03]; p = .004). The mean peak force standing decreased more from 1st to 5th repetition under SingleTask (1.39 [0.04] to 1.32 [0.03]) compared to DualTask (1.39 [0.03] to 1.35 [0.03]; p = .044). CONCLUSION: The force characteristics are altered by both dual tasking and number of repetitions during the FTSTS task in healthy, young adults.

MASSED TASK REPETITION IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR FLUENCY DEVELOPMENT

AbstractTo examine the effects of task repetition with different schedules, English-as-a-foreign-language classroom learners performed the same oral narrative task six times under three different schedules. They narrated the same six-frame cartoon story (a) six times consecutively in one class (massed practice), (b) three times at the beginning and at the end of a class (short-spaced practice), and (c) three times as a part of two classes 1 week apart (long-spaced practice). The results yielded by an immediate posttest using a novel cartoon showed that massed practice reduced breakdown fluency (mid-clause and clause-final pauses) the most. However, the participants in the massed-practice group showed degraded speed (slower articulation rate) and repair fluency (more verbatim repetition). The effects of repetition schedule seem limited on a 1-week delayed posttest involving a novel cartoon. Yet, when participants narrated the same practiced cartoon 1 week later, massed practice also resulted in more verbatim repetition.

P 15. Cognitive performance depending on side of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Introduction. Previous research revealed significant effects of tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) over the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) on cognition. However, the effects of right- vs left-sided stimulation on different cognitive domains has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, this study aimed at showing differential effects of right- vs left-sided tDCS of the DLPFC on different cognitive domains depending on the stimulated hemisphere. Methods. Healthy participants aged 20 to 35 years were randomly assigned to one of three groups in a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Participants underwent tDCS either of the left ( N = 20) or the right hemisphere (N=20), or sham stimulation (N=20). A neuropsychological test battery comprising verbal as well as non-verbal tasks covering different cognitive domains was conducted on three consecutive days. Stimulation was scheduled prior to the cognitive assessment on the second day. For this, we used the 10-10 hybrid StarStim 32 EEG-tDCS system with a total inject stimulation current of 2 mA distributed over 5 electrodes (right group: AF4 0.976 mA, F4 0.976 mA as anodes and Fpz −0.731 mA, FC6 −0.730 mA, Cz −0.491 mA as cathodes; left group: AF3 0.999 mA, F3 1.0 mA as anodes and FC5 −0.848 mA, Fpz -.820 mA, Cz −0.331 mA as cathodes). The same system was used to derive an electro encephalogram (EEG) before and after stimulation. Performance directly and 24 hours after stimulation was compared to baseline with repeated measurement ANOVA. For two tests comprising several parameters (verbal memory test “VLMT” and test for attentional and executive functions “EpiTrack”) repeated measurement MANOVA was performed. Results. No significant interactions were found, yet non-verbal working memory (block span) and variability in reaction time of a Go/NoGo paradigm showed a slight effect ( p < .10): Left-sided anodal tDCS inhibited non-verbal working memory directly after stimulation. With anodal stimulation on either side, subjects appeared to benefit less from repetition effects in reducing variability in response times. Conclusion. While left-sided tDCS of the DLPFC slightly inhibited a spatial working memory task, our study found no further indications of cognitive effects specific to the side that was stimulated. Analysis of resting EEG prior and after stimulation might yield neurophysiological correlates for the observed behavior outcomes.

Nonword Repetition Performance of Arabic-Speaking Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder: A Study on Diagnostic Accuracy

PurposeThis study evaluates the effectiveness of a nonword repetition (NWR) task in discriminating between Palestinian Arabic–speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and age-matched typically developing (TD) children.MethodParticipants were 30 children with DLD aged between 4;0 and 6;10 (years;months) and 60 TD children aged between 4;0 and 6;8 matched on chronological age. The Arabic version of a Quasi-Universal NWR task was administered. The task comprises 30 nonwords that vary in length, presence of consonant clusters (CCs) and wordlikeness ratings. Responses were scored using an item-level scoring method to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the task. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted to determine the best cutoff point with the highest sensitivity and specificity values, and likelihood ratios were calculated.ResultsChildren with DLD scored significantly lower on the NWR task than their age-matched TD peers. Only the DLD group was influenced by the phonological complexity of the nonwords, with nonwords with two CC being more difficult than nonwords with no or only one CC. For both groups, three-syllable nonwords were repeated less accurately than two- and one-syllable nonwords. Also, high word-like nonwords were repeated more accurately than nonwords with low wordlikeness ratings. The best cutoff score had sensitivity and specificity of 93% and highly informative likelihood ratios.ConclusionsNWR was an area of difficulty for Palestinian Arabic–speaking children with DLD. NWR showed excellent discriminatory power in differentiating Arabic-speaking children diagnosed with DLD from their age-matched TD peers. NWR appears to hold promise for clinical use as it is a useful indicator of DLD in Arabic. These results need to be further validated using population-based studies.Supplemental Materialhttps://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14880360

Focus on form in task repetition through oral and written task modeling

Abstract This study expands upon research into task repetition effects by exploring the effect of task modeling between the performances of the same oral narrative task and its extension to a new task. Seventy-one advanced beginner English as a foreign language (EFL) learners were divided into three groups: task repetition with oral modeling (TR + OM), task repetition with written modeling (TR + WM), and task repetition with no modeling (TR). All groups enacted another oral narrative task (a new task of the same type), three days apart. Participants’ oral narrative task performances were analyzed in terms of complexity, accuracy and fluency. Results revealed that TR + WM was more effective than the TR + OM, and both were significantly better than the control group in leading to subordination complexity in the repeated task and the new task. Whereas the percentage of error-free clauses remained unchanged over time, the accurate verb forms increased in TR + WM’s repeated task, but declined in the new task. Fluency in terms of articulation speed and mid-clause silent pauses was improved and maintained in the new task in all groups, with both the experimental groups particularly the TR + OM outperforming the TR regarding the significant reduction of repair in the repeated and new task performances. In conclusion, these significant developments induced by the modeling conditions speak to the strength of models in providing and extending linguistic features beyond learners’ current repertoires. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

Role of Task Repetition and Content Familiarity in EFL Students’ Fluency and Accuracy in Narrative Tasks: A Case Study

Developing writing skills has become a priority for many students in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. To this end, classroom practices should be facilitative of opportunities to communicate accurately and fluently in written and oral forms. Drawing on evidence which suggests that task repetition allows students to perform subsequent tasks more efficiently and accurately, the study examines the likely effect of procedural repetition with four narrative tasks (i.e. narrating stories in written form after watching short animated videos) on five EFL students’ fluency and accuracy (AF). To do this, the levels of the students’ AF were measured during the performance of each task. Moreover, qualitative data from questionnaires administered to the students after each task were also included to better understand the behavior of the AF levels in relation to their perceptions of the task performance and the familiarity with the content of the tasks. The evidence shows that the students’ AF tended to progressively increase as weeks went by. The highest AF levels were found in the tasks where the content was familiar to the students. The opposite was observed when the students claimed not to be familiar with the content. The argument that we put forward in this article is that task (procedural) repetition may be beneficial for enhancing students’ AF in writing task performance; however, if this practice combines with the students’ lack of content familiarity, AF may engage in a dynamic interaction in which trade-off effects can be observed.

ANALISIS CALENDAR ANOMALIES DI PASAR SAHAM INDONESIA TAHUN 1998 – 2018

ABSTRACT The Efficient Market Hypothesis Theory of Fama states that stock prices cannot be predicted by its movement tendency (random walk). In some stock markets, the movement of stock prices has a seasonal effect, which is the repetition of stock movements at a certain time that can be called a calendar anomalies. The repetition or seasonal effect on rate of return shows that the stock price can be predicted, thus it can be exploited by investors to get the probability of a higher rate of return. This research aims to see whether calendar anomalies prevail in the Indonesian stock market by using the daily and monthly rate of return of LQ45 and the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) with an observation period of 21 years from 1998 to 2018 and estimated using the GARCH-M model (1,1). The results of this research are the existence of daily anomalies on Monday as the day with the lowest rate of return and Wednesday as the day with the highest rate of return. In addition, we also get the results of monthly anomalies in August as the month with the lowest rate of return and December as the month with the highest rate of return.

In Situ Viscoelasticity Behavior of Cellulose-Chitin Composite Hydrogels during Ultrasound Irradiation.

Composite hydrogels with different cellulose and chitin loading were prepared, and their in-situ viscoelastic properties were estimated under cyclic exposure of 43 kHz and 30 W ultrasound (US) using a sono-deviced rheometer. US transmitted into the hydrogel caused it to soften within about 10 sec, thus causing a decline in the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″). However, when the US was stopped, the G′ and G″ returned to their initial values. Here, G′ dropped gradually in response to the US irradiation, especially in the first cycle. After the second and third cycles, the decline was much quicker, within a few seconds. When the chitin component in the hydrogel was increased, the drop was significant. FTIR analysis of the hydrogels suggested that the peaks of -OH stretching and amide I vibration near 1655 cm−1 shifted towards lower wave numbers after the third cycle, meaning that the US influenced the hydrogen bonding interaction of the chitin amide group. This repetitive effect contributed to the breakage of hydrogen bonds and increased the interactions of the acetylamine group in chitin and in the -OH groups. Eventually, the matrix turned into a more stabilized hydrogel.

The Effect of Task Tepetition on Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency of Indonesian Maritime Vocational School Students’ Speaking Performance

Developments in the area of task-based language teaching (TBLT) research have focused on the task implementation factors in that they effectively promote successful language performances. The present study aimed to examine the effect of task repetition on the speaking performances of students who studied English Specific Purposes at an Indonesian Maritime Vocational School. To this end, a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design was applied that involved 43 participants, who were non-randomly selected and considered as two groups of the experimental and control ones. Both groups took a pre-test to ensure their homogeneity in speaking skill. For 12 sessions, the experimental group was engaged in repetitive practice of speaking tasks. Three weeks after the end of the treatment, both groups performed the two post-tests. The results of independent samples t-tests showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group in terms of task complexity on the two post-test phases (p&lt;.05). However, they did not differ significantly in terms of accuracy.

Age-related post-error slowing and stimulus repetition effect in motor inhibition during a stop-signal task

This study aims to investigate how older adults react to a failed-inhibition error while performing a stop-signal task. That is, whether elderly people would exhibit enlarged post-error slowing and whether such slowing revealed an adaptive process, maladaptive process, or a mixture of maladaptive followed by adaptive processes. This study also addresses if the post-error process might further interact with a stimulus repetition effect based on the memory retrieval explanation. A group of 34 younger adults (age range 20-30years) and a group of 34 older adults (age range 60-80years) were included for the analyses. The results of the current study supported a mixture model by showing that older adults exhibited a larger post-error slowing than younger adults, and their post-error slowing was initially accompanied by deceased accuracy that then increased on the subsequent trial. Furthermore, such post-error slowing on older adults only occurred in the trial condition where the stimulus was repeated from the previous trial suggesting a memory-based process (a form of negative priming) involved in post-error processes. The implication of the current finding is that older adults might maintain the ability to detect and monitor the response error, yet their post-error adjustment might require a much longer time to start functioning well after the initial detrimental orienting response to the error and the entire process was memory-based.

Immediate recall of serial numbers with or without multiple item repetitions

ABSTRACT Immediate recall of lists of items in random serial order has been examined in thousands of studies throughout the history of experimental psychology. In most studies, though, there have been no repetitions of items within a list, or occasionally a single repetition. These stimuli differ from the common uses of item series, which often include multiple repetitions (e.g., identification numbers; orders of people at a restaurant table). To begin to understand such cases we presented lists that, in some trial blocks, were constructed with no restrictions on repetitions. Specifically, we examined immediate serial recall of visually-presented, nine-digit lists, either spatially separated into three separate groups of three digits (Experiment 1) or undivided (Experiment 2). Many of the lists included single or multiple repetitions of digits, with repeated digits either adjacent or non-adjacent in an unpredictable manner. We assessed theoretical expectations derived from prior research. Effects of repetition were often helpful but, when repetitions favoured a grouping that conflicted with the presented grouping into threes in Experiment 1, repetition was disadvantageous. We suggest a theoretical analysis in which participants can use presented grouping cues or, when those cues are absent, create their own groupings to exploit repetitions among the stimuli.

Credibility and Event Frequency: Assessing the Credibility of Adults Who Recall a Repeated Event Using Reality Monitoring

Evaluators are often sceptical about the veracity of allegations for repeated events such as domestic violence. However, previous research has not examined the effect of event repetition upon verbal cues to deception using an adult sample. We conducted two experiments investigating the effect of event frequency upon adults’ Reality Monitoring scores. In Experiment 1, truth-tellers experienced a single or repeated event, and a third group fabricated the event on a single occasion. In Experiment 2, participants observed or fabricated a domestic violence video on one or multiple occasions. All interview responses were coded using Reality Monitoring. In both experiments, Reality Monitoring criteria reliably classified single-event speakers, but not repeated-events speakers. There were also some differences in individual Reality Monitoring criteria as a function of event-type. Although future research is needed, Reality Monitoring does not appear to be a valid tool to assess the credibility of repeated-event speakers.

Attention modulates repetition effects in a context of low periodicity

Stimulus repetition can result in a reduction in neural responses (i.e., repetition suppression) in neuroimaging studies. Predictive coding models of perception postulate that this phenomenon largely reflects the top-down attenuation of prediction errors. Electroencephalography research further demonstrated that repetition effects consist of sequentially ordered attention-independent and attention-dependent components in a context of high periodicity. However, the statistical structure of our auditory environment is richer than that of a fixed pattern. It remains unclear if the attentional modulation of repetition effects can be generalised to a setting which better represents the nature of our auditory environment. Here we used electroencephalography to investigate whether the attention-independent and attention-dependent components of repetition effects previously described in the auditory modality remain in a context of low periodicity where temporary disruption might be absent/present. Participants were presented with repetition trains of various lengths, with/without temporary disruptions. We found attention-independent and attention-dependent repetition effects on, respectively, the P2 and P3a event-related potential components. This pattern of results is in line with previous research, confirming that the attenuation of prediction errors upon stimulus repetition is first registered regardless of attentional state before further attenuation of attended but not unattended prediction errors takes place. However, unlike previous reports, these effects manifested on later components. This divergence from previous studies is discussed in terms of the possible contribution of contextual factors.

The Effect of Repeated Prescribed Burning on Soil Properties: A Review

Prescribed burning is a tool that is frequently used for various land management objectives, mainly related to reduction of hazardous forest fuels, habitat management and ecological restoration. Given the crucial role of soil in forest ecosystem processes and functions, assessing the effects of prescribed burning on soil is particularly relevant. This study reviews research on the impacts of repeated prescribed burning on the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. The available information shows that the effects are highly variable, rather inconsistent and generally minor for most of the soil characteristics studied, while a number of soil properties show contrasting responses. On the other hand, ecosystem characteristics, differences in fire severity, frequency of application and the cumulative effect of treatment repetition over time, have possibly made it more difficult to find a more common response in soil attributes. Our study has also revealed some limitations of previous research that may have contributed to this result, including a limited number of long-term studies, conducted at a few experimental sites, and in a limited number of forest ecosystems. Research issues concerning the effects of prescribed fire on soil are presented. The need to integrate such research into a broader interdisciplinary framework, encompassing the role of the fire regime on ecosystem functions and processes, is also highlighted.

Is long-term memory used in a visuo-spatial change-detection paradigm?

In tests of working memory with verbal or spatial materials, repeating the same memory sets across trials leads to improved memory performance. This well-established “Hebb repetition effect” could not be shown for visual materials in previous research. The absence of the Hebb effect can be explained in two ways: Either persons fail to acquire a long-term memory representation of the repeated memory sets, or they acquire such long-term memory representations, but fail to use them during the working memory task. In two experiments (N1 = 18 and N2 = 30), we aimed to decide between these two possibilities by manipulating the long-term memory knowledge of some of the memory sets used in a change-detection task. Before the change-detection test, participants learned three arrays of colors to criterion. The subsequent change-detection test contained both previously learned and new color arrays. Change detection performance was better on previously learned compared with new arrays, showing that long-term memory is used in change detection.

No significant association of repeated messages with changes in health compliance in the COVID-19 pandemic: a registered report on the extended parallel process model.

When people are confronted with health proposals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it has been suggested that fear of COVID-19 can serve protective functions and ensure public health compliance. However, health proposal repetition and its perceived efficacy also influence the behavior intention toward the proposal, which has not yet been confirmed in the COVID-19 context. The present study examined whether the extended parallel process model (EPPM) could be generalized to a naturalistic context like the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we explored how repetition of a health proposal is involved with the EPPM. In this study, two groups of participants were exposed to the same health proposal related to COVID-19, where one group was exposed once and another group twice. Participants then filled out a questionnaire consisting of items concerning behavior intention and adapted from the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the multivariate associations between the variables. Although the results showed that behavior intention is predicted by perceived efficacy, no significant influence of perceived threat was detected. Furthermore, no significant effect of repetition was found toward either response efficacy or perceived susceptibility. These findings indicate that to promote health compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more efficient to focus on health proposals’ perceived efficacy rather than the disease’s perceived threat. For future health communication research, the present study suggests improved analysis strategies and repeated manipulation of messages.

Motivating Adherence to Exercise Plans Through a Personalized Mobile Health App: Enhanced Action Design Research Approach.

BackgroundPhysical inactivity is a global issue that affects people’s health and productivity. With the advancement of mobile technologies, many apps have been developed to facilitate health self-management. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of these mobile health (mHealth) apps in motivating exercise adherence.ObjectiveThis study aims to demonstrate the enhanced action design research (ADR) process and improve the design of mHealth apps for exercise self-management. Specifically, we investigate whether sending motivational messages improves adherence to exercise plans, whether the motivational effect is affected by personality, the impact of message type and repetition, and the process of involving a field experiment in the design process and learning new design principles from the results.MethodsThis formative research was conducted by proposing an enhanced ADR process. We incorporated a field experiment into the process to iteratively refine and evaluate the design until it converges into a final mHealth app. We used the Apple ResearchKit to develop the mHealth app and promoted it via trainers at their gyms. We targeted users who used the app for at least two months. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of the 12 groups in a 2×3×2 factorial design and remained blinded to the assigned intervention. The groups were defined based on personality type (thinking or feeling), message type (emotional, logical, or none), and repetition (none or once). Participants with different personality types received tailored and repeated messages. Finally, we used the self-reported completion rate to measure participants’ adherence level to exercise plans. By analyzing users’ usage patterns, we could verify, correct, and enhance the mHealth app design principles.ResultsIn total, 160 users downloaded the app, and 89 active participants remained during the 2-month period. The results suggest a significant main effect of personality type and repetition and a significant interaction effect between personality type and repetition. The adherence rate of people with feeling personality types was 18.15% higher than that of people with thinking types. Emotional messages were more effective than logical messages in motivating exercise adherence. Although people received repeated messages, they were more likely to adhere to exercise plans. With repeated reminders, the adherence rates of people with thinking personality types were significantly improved by 27.34% (P<.001).ConclusionsThis study contributes to the literature on mHealth apps. By incorporating a field experiment into the ADR process, we demonstrate the benefit of combining design science and field experiments. This study also contributes to the research on mHealth apps. The principles learned from this study can be applied to improve the effectiveness of mHealth apps. The app design can be considered a foundation for the development of more advanced apps for specific diseases, such as diabetes and asthma, in future research.

Impact of the implementation of a Contouring Atlas on Therapeutic Radiographer inter-observer contour variation in prostate radiotherapy

Purpose: The clinical implementation of MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy requires fast, accurate delineation of target volumes and organs at risk (OAR's). It is important with the introduction of new online imaging strategies to mitigate the potential for contouring inaccuracies, as they could potentially result in treatment errors. To support the introduction of radiographer-led real-time MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy on the MR-Linac (MRL), an MR contouring atlas for prostate radiotherapy delineation guidance was developed. This tool was based on the ‘Male Pelvis Normal Tissue RTOG Consensus Contouring’ recommendations and local guidelines, and its impact on inter-observer variation was subsequently determined. Methods: Multi-disciplinary consensus on the contouring of the prostate, seminal vesicles and associated OAR's was obtained by developing a contouring guide (3 MRL radiographers, 2 clinical oncologists and 1 diagnostic radiographer). Contours were defined on T2-weighted three-dimensional turbo spin echo sequences, reconstructed axially (T2w 3D Tra) acquired on the MRL. To assess the guide's utility, 9 radiographers with varying MRL experience contoured 5 MRI scans in the Monaco treatment planning system, from 5 different patients (n= 25). Each radiographer contoured the prostate, seminal vesicles, bladder, and rectum on each data set before and after the introduction of the atlas. The ‘after’ contours were generated &gt;21 days following the ‘before’ contours to minimise the effects of repetition. In addition to DICE coefficients and descriptive statistics, inter-observer contour variations, time to contour and observer contouring confidence was determined prior to and following the introduction of the atlas utilising a 5-point Likert scale (observers score confidence 1 not confident to 5 extremely confident). Results: The contouring atlas has been agreed by the multidisciplinary team incorporating locally defined gold-standard contours and RTOG guidance. Five sets of images from 5 different patients have been acquired on the MRL (T2w 3D Tra) and to date the ‘before’ contours have been completed. Mean contouring time without the atlas for all contours was 54 minutes with the rectum and prostate contouring taking the greatest amount of time, a mean time of 15 minutes each. Contour confidence levels varied between participants greatly. Minimum contour variability between the observers was for the bladder contour, with the maximum range being 22.0cm3. This corresponded with the participants scoring the bladder contour with the higher confidence level rates (majority scoring ≥ 3). Prostate and rectum structures had the greatest contour variability between observers with the maximum range being 32.6cm3 and 36.1 cm3 respectively. Confidence levels also corresponded with this large variation with majority of observers scoring ≤ 2. The same radiographers will repeat the process with the aid of the contouring atlas. Conclusion: It is anticipated that the new atlas for contouring prostate and surrounding OAR anatomy during both online and offline radiotherapy planning scenarios will reduce inter-observer variability, uncertainty and the time needed to contour. This will be of particular benefit in future adapt to shape pathways.

The Effects of Task Repetition on Child EFL Learners’ Oral Performance

While the role of task repetition has received much attention in task-based research, few studies have examined how exact task repetition affects the performance of child second language learners. Also, little is known about the impact of exact task repetition on trade-off effects between linguistic performance areas among child learners. To help fill this gap, we investigated the impact of task repetition on 40 Chinese EFL learners’ oral production. The children repeated the same story-telling task three times, and transcripts of their performance were coded for linguistic complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Complexity was expressed in terms of overall complexity and subordination and phrasal complexity. We assessed accuracy with weighted clause ratios and proportion of errors. Fluency was captured by repair and breakdown fluency measures. Wilcoxon signed rank tests revealed positive effects for task repetition on fluency and accuracy. Trade-off effects observed during participants’ first performance had decreased by their third retelling. These results support Skehan’s (1998) Limited Capacity model and suggest that task repetition is a useful pedagogical tool in instructed child L2 contexts.

Reasoning strategies determine the effect of disconfirmation on belief in false claims.

The dual-strategy model of reasoning proposes that people tend to use one of two reasoning strategies: either a statistical or a counterexample strategy, with the latter being more sensitive to potential counterexamples to a given conclusion. Previous studies have examined the effects of reasoning strategy in a variety of contexts. In the present study, we looked at the effects of gist repetition and disconfirmation on belief in an unknown claim. This is particularly interesting since there is no single normative analysis of this situation. We examine the hypotheses that (a) increasing gist repetition will result in higher levels of belief with both counterexample and statistical reasoners, and (b) that counterexample reasoners will have lower belief levels following a single disconfirming instance than will statistical reasoners. In a large-scale online study, over 2,000 adult participants received a False Claim procedure along with a Strategy Diagnostic. Results are consistent with the hypotheses. This provides strong evidence that the dual-strategy model captures a clear difference in information processing that is not captured by any normative/non-normative distinction.