Endress and Mehler (2009) reported that when adult subjects are exposed to an unsegmented artificial language composed from trisyllabic words such as ABX, YBC, and AZC, they are unable to distinguish between these words and what they coined as the "phantom-word" ABC in a subsequent test. This suggests that statistical learning generates knowledge…

A central question for environmental policy is whether the long-term benefits of energy-saving technologies are sufficient to justify their short-term costs, and if so, whether financial incentives are needed to stimulate adoption. The fiscal effects of incentivizing new technologies, and the revenue effects of using the technology, are also…

A latent variable modeling approach that permits estimation of propensity scores in observational studies containing fallible independent variables is outlined, with subsequent examination of treatment effect. When at least one covariate is measured with error, it is indicated that the conventional propensity score need not possess the desirable…

Wills and Pothos (2012) reviewed approaches to evaluating formal models of categorization, raising a series of worthwhile issues, challenges, and goals. Unfortunately, in discussing these issues and proposing solutions, Wills and Pothos (2012) did not consider Bayesian methods in any detail. This means not only that their review excludes a major…

When wave vortices, that is nodal lines of a complex scalar wavefunction in space, approach transversely, their typical crossing and reconnection is a two-stage process incorporating two well-understood elementary events in which locally coplanar hyperbolas switch branches. The explicit description of this reconnection is a pedagogically useful…

Students and mathematicians alike have long struggled to understand the nature of probability. This article explores the use of gambling activities as a basis for defining probabilities. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

No risk, no fun--betting on sports events costs the gamblers a lot of money and brings excellent profits to those who offer the bets. Among the people who bet on a regular basis, the proportion of young adults is frighteningly high. We now suggest a concept (as part of a basic mathematics course) for acquiring the necessary mathematical knowledge…

Statistical segmentation of continuous speech, i.e., the ability to utilise transitional probabilities between syllables in order to detect word boundaries, is reflected in the brain's auditory event-related potentials (ERPs). The N1 and N400 ERP components are typically enhanced for word onsets compared to random syllables during active…

This note is concerned with a latent variable modeling approach for the study of differential item functioning in a multigroup setting. A multiple-testing procedure that can be used to evaluate group differences in response probabilities on individual items is discussed. The method is readily employed when the aim is also to locate possible…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the introduction of psychosocial services to gynecologic oncology outpatients by a social worker increases service use. During the initial six weeks (phase I), patients were referred for psychosocial services by clinic staff. During the second six weeks (phase II), a nurse introduced available…

The effects of sisters' and brothers' education on the annual school entry probability of boys and girls in rural Amhara are estimated, using within-household variation. There are negative effects of younger siblings' school attendance on girls' school entry, and positive effects of older brothers' literacy only when they have left school. This is…

A Bayesian network (BN) is a graphical model of uncertainty that is especially well suited to legal arguments. It enables us to visualize and model dependencies between different hypotheses and pieces of evidence and to calculate the revised probability beliefs about all uncertain factors when any piece of new evidence is presented. Although BNs…

Visual attention prioritizes information presented at particular spatial locations. These locations can be defined in reference frames centered on the environment or on the viewer. This study investigates whether incidentally learned attention uses a viewer-centered or environment-centered reference frame. Participants conducted visual search on a…

The current Situational Space Awareness (SSA) is faced with a huge task of tracking the increasing number of space objects. The tracking of space objects requires frequent and accurate monitoring for orbit maintenance and collision avoidance using methods for statistical orbit determination. Statistical orbit determination enables us to obtain…

These proceedings are a written record of the research presented at the 44th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) held in Nashville, Tennessee, and virtually. This year's conference theme is "Critical Dissonance and Resonant Harmony." The aim of this…