Clarkson, Larissa, The phonological neighbourhood effect on short-term memory for order, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, 2013. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3841The phonological neighbourhood effect on short-term memory for order A AbstractVerbal short-term memory and long-term memory were once thought to be distinct processes, with short-term memory responsible for the maintenance and manipulation of verbal information in the immediate consciousness, and long-term memory responsible for storage of words and associated information over the lifespan.However, more recent research has suggested that the processes are intrinsically linked. The ability to learn novel items suggests that short-term memory is able to contribute to long-term memory, and recent findings also indicate that long-term memory has an influence on short-term memory. Typically, long-term memory is thought to assist the recall of items from short-term memory through a late stage redintegration process but does not influence the serial ordering of items in memory.More recently, one long-term memory variable, phonological neighbourhood density has been shown to influence memory for order in an immediate serial recall task with lists containing both large and small phonological neighbourhood words. This result has implications for the locus of the link between long-term memory and short-term memory, and is indicative of a link occurring earlier than assumed by most models of short-term memory. The aim of this thesis was to replicate evidence that phonological neighbourhood density is a variable that is sensitive to order processing and to identify the conditions under which this sensitivity appears. In a series of experiments, the effect of phonological neighbourhood density on memory for order was examined using tasks that varied in their requirement to recall order information or item information. Memory for order was better for words from large neighbourhoods than from small neighbourhoods, for pure lists but not for mixed lists in a task that reduces the requirement to remember item information, namely serial reconstruction. Further experiments using this paradigm revealed that this result was not due to differences in word lengths between large and small stimuli sets nor due to differences in reaction time to the items at output, and could not be attributed to different processes underlying immediate serial recall and serial reconstruction. The difference in memory for order between large-and small-phonological neighbourhood lists was found to disappear under conditions of articulatory suppression, suggesting that sub-vocal articulation acts as an intermediary between long-term memory and short-term memory. Finally, a second long-term memory variable, word frequency, was examined and was also shown to influence memory for iii order. This is indicative of a general long-term memory effect on short-term memory for order that has not been identified previously in the literature. These results are disc...

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Sleep research is characterized by an interest in humans, with the realm of animal sleep left largely to ethologists and animal scientists. However, the lives of sleep-study participants and those with sleep problems frequently involve animals. For the majority of the population in developed countries who own pets, their waking lives are impacted by the duties of animal care and ownership. For many, their sleeping lives are also impacted through sharing their bedrooms or their beds with pets. Yet, little is known about the prevalence of human-animal co-sleeping relationships or their impact on sleep. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and implications of human-animal co-sleeping in an Australian sample. The study uses data collected from the 2012 Sealy Sleep Census, a national online survey of sleep wellness that included a sample of 10,128 after data cleaning. The population of respondents (aged 18-74) who co-slept with pets (n = 1,018 or 10% of the sample) was then matched to a sample of respondents who did not co-sleep with pets, according to gender and age. Those who co-slept with pets took longer to fall asleep (p = 0.029), were more likely to wake up tired (p = 0.025), and although they were not more likely to wake up due to a disturbance, those who did had a greater chance of being disturbed by dog barking/animals making noises (p < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences found in total self-reported sleep length or feelings of tiredness during the day. The continued practice of co-sleeping with pets suggests that there may be some benefits such as social support and social interaction, and increased feelings of personal security. The survey provides a preliminary understanding of the prevalence and implications of human-animal cosleeping, and highlights areas for further examination of its implications on sleep research and clinical practice.

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Youth are vulnerable to sleep loss and fatigue due to biological, social and psychological factors. However, there are few studies addressing the risk that sleep loss and fatigue pose for youth in the workplace. The aim of this study was to explore work health and safety (WHS) issues for young workers and develop strategies and solutions for improved WHS outcomes, with a focus on issues related to fatigue, using a mixed-method, multi-stage approach. Participants either completed a survey (n=212) or took part in focus groups (n=115) addressing WHS for young workers, or attended a Future Inquiry Workshop (n=29) where strategies for improving youth WHS were developed. Fatigue was identified as a significant problem by the majority of young workers and was associated with unpredictable working time arrangements, precarious employment, high workload, working overtime and limited ability to self-advocate. Participants identified six key areas for action to improve WHS outcomes for young workers; 1) develop expertise, 2) give young workers a voice, 3) improve education and training, 4) build stakeholder engagement, 5) increase employer awareness of WHS responsibilities and, 6) improve processes for employers to manage and monitor WHS outcomes. The application of these directives to fatigue is discussed.

Our findings contribute to our understanding of young workers' perceptions of work health and safety. Although young workers could identify their concerns about particular health and safety related issues at work, they lacked the confidence to report their concerns and had limited information about where to go for help. The research suggests that there is a need to empower young people to report WHS concerns to their employer and provide structures and processes that encourage reporting.

The horse-keeping profile in this study should be considered in the public communication of guidelines as well as interactions between veterinarians and clients.