On What Exists

Quine’s criterion of theoretical ontological commitment is subject to a variety of interpretations, all of which save one yield incorrect verdicts. Moreover, the interpretation that yields correct verdicts is not what Quine meant. Instead the intended criterion unfairly imputes ontological commitments to theories that lack those commitments and fails to impute commitments to theories that have them. Insofar as Quine’s criterion is interpreted so that it yields only correct verdicts, it is trivial and of questionable utility. Moreover, the correct criterion invokes analyticity, a notion that Quine spent most of his life tirelessly combating. This yields a dilemma for Quinean philosophy: either his criterion of ontological commitment is incorrect, or else Quine is committed to a traditional philosophical notion that he emphatically rejected as disreputable.

Can College Academic Performance Be Predicted Using a Measure of Cognitive Style?

One hundred and forty-three subjects were identified as Field Independent or Field Dependent based on their performance on the Group Embedded Figures Test, a measure of cognitive style. Results indicated that Field Independent students performed significantly better on course tests and had higher academic potential as measured by the ACT, than Field Dependent students. A regression analysis was conducted to determine which measures would contribute variance to a course test (number correct) criterion. Although both the GEFT and the ACT were significantly related to course test performance, only the ACT contributed significant variance to the regression, F(1,141) = 12.99, r=.29, p <.01. A Principal Components Factor Analysis applied to the GEFT, ACT, and course test data identified two factors. The course tests were associated with factor 1 while the GEFT and ACT were more closely associated with factor 2. The regression and factor analysis results suggest that the ACT and GEFT tests are measuring similar or related constructs for this sample of subjects.

Effects of Intensity and Age on Perception of Accent in Isochronous Sequences of a Snare Drum Timbre

Musical expression is often dependent upon accentuation, yet there is little research in the perception of dynamic accent in music and its relationship to intensity just noticeable differences (JNDs). This experiment estimated relationships among (a) accent limen (AL), (b) difference limen (DL), and (c) the ages of the nonmusician female subjects (N = 51). The AL was the intensity increment producing 80 % correct criteria in subjects' perceptions of single accented tones embedded xvithin seven-tone isochronous series. The unaccented tones were identical-timbre 87-dB(A) digitally produced snare drum sounds. The DL was the intensity difference in tone pairs that produced a 75% correct criterion. The relationship between AL and DL was not significant [F(1, 48) = 5.505, p = .197]. The relationship between AL and age was significant [F(1, 48) = 5.732, p = .021], suggesting that the amount of intensity change required for perception of intensity accentuation in musical set-I tings (especially by children) should be larger than the DL.