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There is a long standing debate as to whether or not time is 'real' or illusory, and whether or not human time (the flow/passage of time) is a direct reflection of physical time. Differing spacetime cosmologies have opposing views. Exactly what human time entails has, in our opinion, led to the failure to resolve this 'two times' problem. To help resolve this issue we propose a dualistic model of human time in which each component (e.g. change, motion, and temporality) has both an illusory and non-illusory ('real') aspect. With the dualistic model we are able to provide experimental tests for all of the human time assertions of 10 chosen spacetime cosmologies. The illusory aspect of the 'present,' i.e. a 'unique present' was confirmed. An information gathering and utilizing system (IGUS) was constructed using a virtual reality (VR) apparatus allowing the observer to experientially roam back and forth along the worldline ad lib. The phenomenon of 'change' was experimentally found to be illusory at high frequency observation and non-illusory ('real') at low frequency observation, the latter phenomenon coinciding with 'change' referred to in the 'Order of Time' and 'Relativity Refounded' views. Additional experiments are presented indicating that both motion and temporality are dualistic. In sum, the dualistic model of human time allows for the existence of both illusory and non-illusory ('real') aspects of human time that are not in conflict with one another. It also provides experimental evidence for various spacetime cosmological assertions regarding human time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptual completion fills the gap for discrete perception to become continuous. Similarly, dynamic perceptual completion (DPC) provides an experience of dynamic continuity. Our recent discovery of the 'happening' (H) element of DPC completes the total experience for dynamism in the flow of time (FOT). However, a phenomenological explanation for these experiences is essential. The Snapshot Hypotheses especially the Dynamic Snapshot View provides the most comprehensive explanation. From that understanding the 'two times' problem (TTP) can be addressed. The static time of spacetime cosmologies has been irreconcilable with the dynamic FOT. Dismissing the FOT as an illusion is unsatisfactory. Therefore, we provide four hypotheses for the TTP. 1) Since cosmological static time demands that all events (cerebral included) are discrete, DPC elements for dynamism should likewise be expected to be discrete and accounted for by a snapshot phenomenology such as the DSV. 2) If temporality can be demonstrated to be similar to apparent motion by being a snapshot phenomenon and not demanding temporal extension it would confirm the DSV and permit reconciliation with static time. 3) If the 'present moment' (of the FOT) is subjective as static time theories suggest, it should be possible experimentally for an observer to choose his own 'present' by moving (perceptually) to various points in the past with the aid of virtual reality. 4) If dynamism e.g. motion can be precluded without significant information loss or violating physics principles it is a cognitive add-on, thereby contradicting non-static time theories which suggest that time is 'real.' We confirm those hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early days of psychology, researchers have investigated whether or not intending to remember in- formation affects subsequent memory performance. The literature contains methodological issues and empirical contradictions, with ambiguous effects. In five experiments, a total of 576 participants viewed a rapid series of pictorial stimuli under either incidental- or intentional-memory conditions. Although the methodology was stringent, intent to remember consistently enhanced recognition memory. Recognition was enhanced even when participants viewed a picture of a human face, of an ape face, or of a bird for as little as 0.5-1.0 sec, with no inter-stimulus interval between it and the next picture. Rehearsal, depth of processing, and attentional allocation are discussed to explain how people might intentionally encode pictorial information to enhance their subsequent recognition memory performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, despite substantial investment in public health initiatives to promote early detection of breast cancer through screening mammography, the proportion of female breast cancers that have advanced beyond the localized stage by the time of diagnosis remains high. Our objective in this exploratory study was to investigate whether stage of breast cancer at diagnosis among Chicago residents is associated with characteristics of the neighborhoods in which proximate mammography facilities are located. Those characteristics may influence likelihood of utilizing the service routinely and partly explain differences in stage at diagnosis. We used a retrospective cohort design and combined 3 years of data from the Illinois State Cancer Registry (ISCR) with information on locations of mammography facilities, public transportation service, crime, and area demographic and economic characteristics. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), we identified the five facilities located nearest to each case’s residence. Estimates of the association between characteristics of mammography facility locations and breast cancer stage at diagnosis were obtained using the partial proportional odds regression model. We found that the number of homicides in areas in which the nearest mammography facilities were located was associated with increased odds of later stage diagnosis. This effect was independent of age, race, and residential area education and income. We found no effect on stage of distance, public transportation service, or measures of neighborhood social similarity. The “spatial dynamics” of health may involve geographies beyond the immediate neighborhood. The results of our study suggest that areas in which the nearest mammography facilities are located may be one such geography. We hope that this study will spark research interest in the impact of health service locations on utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates humans sex differences in the magnitude and variability of duration judgments. Larger subjective-to-objective duration ratio for females than for males during retrospective judgments; More intersubject variability shown by females' judgments than those of the males; Better episodic memory of females in the retrospective paradigm.

In this note, a new method for defining gang activity areas based upon police records is illustrated using the Chicago Police Department's 1996 incident files. This method is based upon standard geographic techniques and uses a uniform grid that divides the city into 150-m squares. It is shown that this technique may be useful both in describing gang activity areas and in describing the spatial distribution of crime in large cities. A strong relationship is found between the number of gangs that are active in an area and the general level of criminal activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments investigated the remembered duration of relatively long intervals. In both, subjects viewed two sequences of visual patterns. Then they unexpectedly were asked to make a comparative judgment of duration of the two intervals. In Experiment 1 there was no effect of complexity of the individual patterns on remembered duration. In Experiment 2, however, there was an effect of complexity of the entire sequence, with a complex sequence remembered as longer in duration than a simple sequence. In both experiments there was a positive time order error. Several subsequent memory tests were given in an attempt to determine what types of retrieval processes mediate remembered duration. Results were discussed in terms of several current hypotheses, and a contextual change hypothesis was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments examined effects of the spacing of repetitions on memory for pictures. In Experiment I, the duration of the first presentation (P) was manipulated, as was P-P spacing. The effect of spacing on judged frequency was independent of P duration. In Experiment II, pictures were given M massed presentations just prior to the P-P spacing interval. The form of the spacing curve was independent of M. Neither experiment confirmed the prediction of 'overhabituation,' derived from the habituation-recovery explanation of the spacing effect. In Experiment III, subjects made both duration and frequency judgments. The duration judgment results were not consistent with the notion that subjects remember multiple massed presentations as single occurrences of especially long duration. Some evidence from Experiments I and III suggests that an interrupted stimulus is recognized better than one that is not interrupted-a finding that, if replicable, would support the habituation-recovery account of the spacing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments investigated the relationship between long-term memory for events occurring during an interval and the experience of duration of the interval in retrospect. In both, Ss attended to a sequence consisting of a standard, an experimental, and a second standard interval. Then unexpected comparative duration and memory judgments were requested. In Experiment I, either 30 or 60 unrelated words occurred during the 180-see experimental interval. When more words had occurred, judgments of duration of the experimental interval, judgments of number of words presented, and number of words recognized all increased, but free recall of words was unaffected. In Experiment II, 80 categorized words occurred during the 160-see experimental interval, with category instances in either blocked or random order. When words were blocked by category, judgments of duration of the experimental interval, free recall, and recognition all increased, but judgments of number of words were unaffected. Results were discussed in terms of Ornstein's (1969) 'storage size' hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the trend of increasing employer involvement in social issues through human resource policies. Over the past decade, there has been tremendous growth in employer involvement with issues that have a link to an employee's life and interests away from the job. Drug testing, child and elder care, AIDS testing and education, smoking policies, employee assistance, and health and fitness programs are current examples of increasing organizational influence on personal lifestyles of employees. Issues such as drug abuse and child care are workplace issues, to be sure, but they are also issues of great societal debate. Some employee rights scholars believe that balancing employee rights and privacy issues with organizational objectives is likely to increasingly pose critical human resource policy dilemmas in the future, particularly because for many employers there is a natural tendency to always favor organizational interests over those of employees. The growth of human resource policies covering social domains and the increasing potential for conflict between employee and employer interests raises some critical questions.