Memory

Purpose: This research was done to investigate the effect of life syllabus and web-based language learning on the vocabulary improvement of the participants of the study and to seek the attitudes of the learners on the use of web-based approach in language class based on life syllabus. Methodology: Michigan test (version1997) was presented and students were divided into one experimental group who learned their course vocabularies making use of free vocabulary learning sites of IELTS English language learning site every day for 8 weeks based on life issues and one control group who received ordinary classroom instructions each session. Findings: The result appeared to manifest that learners’ perception improved by incorporating web based instruction in language learning classroom based on life syllabus. The findings indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups with regard to their vocabulary knowledge. Web-based language teaching instruction enhanced EFL learners' vocabulary knowledge. As Life Syllabus proved to be useful with Iranian EFL learners, EFL teachers also can adopt the technique in their classes to advance their students' language learning and improve their memory.

The present study aimed to compare the effects of physical, cognitive and combined rehabilitation on improving working memory and cognitive flexibility of the elderly living in the nursing home. This quasi-experimental study was carried out with a pretest-posttest design in four groups with the control group. The statistical population consisted of all elderly residents of a nursing home in Tehran. 48 people were selected randomly and divided into four groups (three experimental groups and one control group). For the experimental groups, intervention programs, including physical, cognitive, and combined rehabilitation, were conducted in three sessions of one hour each week for two months. The data were collected using a working memory capacity scale and a cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI). Data was analyzed using a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc test using SPSS software version 22. The results showed that all three types of rehabilitation programs have a significant effect on improving the working memory and cognitive flexibility of the elderly (P <0.001). Also, the mean of the groups in the pre-test and post-test stages showed that among the three programs, the combined rehabilitation program had more efficacy in improving the working memory and cognitive flexibility of the elderly and there was no difference between the two types of physical and cognitive rehabilitation programs (P> 0.001) According to the findings, combined rehabilitation programs can be effective in improving the working memory and cognitive flexibility due to the focus on both physical and cognitive aspects.

Particle phrases are defined as prefabricated “chunks” stored and retrieved as a whole from memory at the time of use, rather than being subject to generation or analysis by the language grammar. This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of teaching particle-bound phrases on spoken accuracy of Iranian EEL learners. Having been homogenized, a sample of 51 Iranian EFL learners at a university in Karaj, Iran was assigned to three groups: two experimental and one control. Before the treatment, a pre-test of video-based narrative retelling was administered. The Experimental Group 1 (EG1) was presented with the target particle phrases and came up with drawings of their concepts. In Experimental Group 2 (EG2), the same procedure happened except for the hands-on drawing task. The Control Group (CG) was presented with the same particle phrases every session along with their L1 (Farsi) meanings. The results showed that EG2 (M = 5.16) significantly outperformed CG (M = 3.81) on the immediate posttest (Mean Difference = 1.34, p = .000). It was also found that EG1 (M = 4.82) significantly outperformed CG (M = 3.81) on the immediate posttest (Mean Difference = 1.01, p = .000). Plus, there was not any significant difference between EG1 (M = 5.16) and EG2’S (M = 4.82) means on the immediate posttest (Mean Difference = .334, p = .146). Regarding delayed post-test, it was shown that there was no significant difference between EG1 and EG2 on delayed posttest, but both groups outperformed CG in that regard.

Auster’s first novel The Invention of Solitude was significant, in that it not only catalogued his own experiences, but also provided one of the earliest examples of the psychological processes involved in trauma and memory storage. It demonstrates the self’s psychological use of the Ego, in a classical sense, to negotiate between emotional response and reality, in order to create meaning around a set of events. More specifically, the death of Auster’s father operates as a catalyst for the author’s journey of self-discovery, which is richly tied to the psychoanalytical principles of Freud and Lacan, and which ultimately allows him to fully appreciate his experience of loss, by supporting the wish fulfillment related to his relationship with his father, and his need to understand the rejection he perceives suffering as a child. This highlights the difference between the inner child’s ego-centric or narcissistic perception, and the adult’s ability to rationalize, especially as it relates to memory and unfulfilled need. Keywords: Paul Auster, psychoanalysis, trauma, memory, self-myth

Mental fatigue is a factor that may influence performance of chess players. However, effects of mental fatigue on performance of chess players are rarely investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the effects of exposure to a mental fatigue protocol on memory function (pattern recall performance) of expert chess players. Thirty expert chess players (55-65 years-old) were randomly assigned into mental fatigue and control groups. Participants in the mental fatigue group were asked to (re-)place observed ordinary and random chess positions on a blank chessboard before and after exposing to a 30-minutes’ mental fatigue protocol. The control group followed the same procedure but they read a text about history of chess instead of exposing to mental fatigue protocol. Two ordinary and two random chess positions were used to measure pattern recall performances in pre- and post-tests. Visual Analogue Scale was used to measure the subjective rating of mental fatigue and motivation for upcoming pattern recall task. Results showed that exposing to mental fatigue protocol increased the subjective rating of mental fatigue significantly in the mental fatigue group. Moreover, motivation was not different between the groups before performing pattern recall task in posttest. Also, results revealed that exposing to mental fatigue protocol impaired pattern recall performance of expert chess players. Finally, expert chess players performed significantly better in recalling ordinary positions than random positions. Findings of the study can add to the existing knowledge on effects of mental fatigue on a variety of sporting context and also provide support for Chunking Theory of Memory and Template Theory.

Using chunks is said to bring about fluency into speech as they save speakers from constructing their speech upon a word-by-word basis. Particle phrases (A term coined in this study to refer to phrasal verbs and their derived and deviated nouns and adjectives) are also among those chunks. This study seeks to see whether memorizing them will affect EFL learners' spoken fluency. To this end, 51 Persian speaking participants (37 females, 14 males) who were selected from 3 intact classes based on their performance in narrative video-based retelling constituted the sample of the study. The study was a quasi-experimental one in design because of the non-random assignment of the participants into either of the experimental and control groups. They were assigned to three groups: two experimental and one control. Both experimental groups received the same instructions on metaphorical concepts of particles (out, off, etc.) in the 150 phrasal verbs available in Garnier and Schmitt’s (2015) frequency list. They both engaged in self-generated contexts except that those in the first came up with hands-on task of drawing sketches, too. The control group, however, received none of the above treatments. The results of a one-way ANOVA procedure in the immediate post-test indicated that the participants in the first experimental group significantly outperformed not only the control group, but also the second experimental group that made more relative gains than their counterparts in the control group. The outperformance of the first experimental group was also found in the delayed post-test, which represented the long-term effects of the methods. The findings suggest several implications for this vital but surprisingly neglected issue of engaging students with self-generated sketches.

Objective: The present research aimed to determine the pure and combined effect of both techniques of mindfulness based-relaxation (MBR) and Transcranial Electrical Simulation (tCES) on decreasing prospective and retrospective memory errors and failure of executive functions of patients with type 2 diabetes. Method: The study is a randomized three-group double-blind clinical trial with repeated measures designs. The sample of the study consisted of 30 patients selected with convenience and purposive sampling method from Diabetes Association of Bonab city, and they were randomly assigned to the three groups of 10 subjects: MBR, CES, MBR+CES groups; and they received interventions related to their group in 10 individual sessions. All patients were assessed by the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS) and Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), before and after the intervention, and one month after the intervention. Result: The results of split-plot analysis of variance (SPANOVA) indicated the change of the mean of retrospective and prospective memory over time, and the change of prospective memory over time in different groups. The results of covariance analysis and the post hoc test of Ben Foruni indicated that in the follow-up phase, the prospective memory errors in the MBR+CES group were significantly lower than both the MBR and CES group (P <0.05). Conclusion: The results of the study provide many theoretical and practical implications for improving the cognitive function of type 2 diabetic patients following MBR and CES therapeutic techniques.

Leslie Marmon Silko, an American Indian writer, is one of the pioneers of literary renaissance in Native American literature. Her works are focused on cultural identity, the Native people’s struggle to preserve their past and culture by means of storytelling. This article focuses on Silko’s fictional world as both fiction and history. Moreover, it deals with the cultural trauma ingrained in the Indigenous people’s collective memories, which have shaped Silko’s imagined geography in her works. Regarding the theoretical axis of discussions concerning history, historiography and emplotment of history, this article uses theories of Hayden White to explore the place of historiography in narrative. Furthermore, it applies the critical arguments concerning cultural trauma proposed by Jeffrey C. Alexander. The research proves that Silko and her characters are haunted not by the desire for history, or the past itself; but rather, they are haunted by the desire for the act of historical recollection and the process of remembering and surviving. Finally, this article shows that Silko, as a historical figure with certain literary-historiographical ambitions, reconstructs her cultural heritage and cultural identity through storytelling and fictionalizes history to give voice to her silenced land, past and history, and dismantle the dominant Euro-American historiography.

Maintaining strong flavor of Aristotelian theory of perception, Farabi as well as Avicenna have appended new phases to the theory. Depicting imaginary perception with its crucial jobs, Farabi explains these three activities: storing sensory forms, composing and decomposing sensory forms, as well as imagery. What Farabi names the imaginary faculties, is conceptualized as three inner perceptions, i.e., imagination, estimative and memory faculties in Avicenna’s works. Evolving existing theories of perception, Avicenna delivers an account of five inner perceptions. Beforehand Farabi did not consider any difference between imaginary perception and motekhayelah. However, he mentioned one faculty doing both activities and was usually calling it motekhayelah and sometimes imaginary perception. Conceptualizing imaginary perception with its functions, Farabi deals with three primary activities: storing sensory forms, composing and decomposing sensory forms, and imagery. In other words, Avicenna defines what Farabi calls the imaginary faculties as three inner perceptions, i.e., imagination, estimative and memory faculties.