Proposes a new lock primitive called ordered sharing that allows increased concurrency in database systems. Reliability and performance issues of the proposed protocol are addressed, a simulation study that demonstrates that ordered sharing results in improved performance in database systems is described; and use in several representative database…

Results of three experiments support the conclusion that tasks involving the localization of objects or events from mirror images are not direct indices of self-recognition among children between 14 and 22 months of age. Rather, they indicate the skill of infants in using the mirror as a perceptual tool. (RH)

Discussion of performance improvement focuses on work processes. Highlights include a definition of process; types of process steps, including operational and nonoperational; desired process characteristics, including high reliability and low variability; a comparison of two different processes; and suggestions for process improvement, including…

To examine the basis of familiar associations with poor language achievement, 62 twin pairs and 3 triplet sets were studied in which at least one member presented poor oral-language status in the absence of other impairments. The language status of monozygotic pairs was highly similar. (Author/CR)

Analyzes the three major inferences involved in interpretation of performance assessments: (1) scoring of the observed performances; (2) generalization to a domain of assessment performances like those included in the assessment; and (3) extrapolation to the large performance domain of interest. Suggests ways to improve the validity of performance…

Discusses the role of managers as coaches in organizations that aspire to become learning organizations and reports the results of a qualitative critical incident study that investigated the triggers for coaching and the outcomes of coaching interventions for the individual employee, manager, and organization in terms of performance. (Author/LRW)

Evaluates the relative merits of approaches to measuring corporate and competitive performance: financial, stakeholder, admiration, reputation, and corporate logic models. Promotes a holistic framework for selecting appropriate measures that considers strategic success in terms of values, environment, and resources. (SK)

Describes the technology involved in codecs (compression/decompression products) that are used by CD-ROM producers to compress video to CD-ROM data transfer rates for multimedia materials. The performance of codecs is evaluated both for quality and for ease of use, and recommendations are offered. (LRW)

Cognitive and decision-making capabilities and motor responses were assessed for 24 older adults using 15 videotaped driving scenarios. Older drivers performed better on the simulation than the written test. Men performed better, drove more miles per year, and did more highway driving, differences attributed to handgrip strength or sex-role…

Three experiments examined factors influencing whether young children consider function, as opposed to appearance or shape, when extending names of novel artifacts. Findings indicated that 4-year-olds extend names based on demonstrated function more often when that function provides a plausible causal account of perceptible object structure, when…

Examined the effects of drawing true and false reminders about a previously experienced magic show on 3- to 6-year-olds' suggestibility and source monitoring ability. Found that children who had drawn the reminders had better recall of reminders and better source memory than children who had only answered questions about them. Both groups reported…

Examined relation between individual differences in inhibitory control (IC) and theory-of-mind (ToM) performance in preschoolers. Found that IC was strongly related to ToM, even after controlling for several important factors. Inhibitory tasks requiring a novel response in face of a conflicting prepotent response and those requiring delay of a…

Tested whether 7-month-olds' means-end behaviors were genuine or the repetition of trained behaviors under conditions of greater arousal. Found that infants' learned button-pushing to light a set of distant lights differed from button-pushing to retrieve toys. Infants demonstrated means-end skills with behaviors that they had not been trained to…

Two experiments assessed preschoolers' understanding of objects possessing a property in part only and their understanding that different parts of an object may possess opposed properties. Results suggested that children as young as 3 years possess a sophisticated ability to reason about the heritability of properties from parts to wholes.…

Used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine spatial working memory in 8- to 11-year-olds tested under 3 conditions. Found that subtracting activation of the motor condition from the memory condition revealed activity in dorsal aspects of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior parietal and anterior cingulate cortex. Analysis of…