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Research Article
The Importance of Memory in Reading Processes
1National Institute of Psychology and Neurosciences, Lisbon, Portugal
2Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of the Education, University of Coimbra, Portugal
*Corresponding author: Rui Manuel Carreteiro, Professor, National Institute of Psychology and Neurosciences, Lisbon, Portugal, Tel: +351 210 965 158, E-mail: email@example.com
Received: October 20, 2017 Accepted: October 31, 2017 Published: November 04, 2017
Citation: Carreteiro RM, Figueira APC. The Importance of Memory in Reading Processes. Madridge J Neurosci. 2017; 1(1): 23-31. doi: 10.18689/mjns-1000105
Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Introduction: Most authors argue that the main cause of reading difficulties is the phonological dimension. Nevertheless, there are alternative explanations, since the phonological processing includes three distinct processes. Regarding the role of memory, literature focuses mainly on visual and auditory memory, dismissing other types and memory function (e.g., procedural memory), whose impact may be important in reading.
Aim: To study the relationship between the visual, auditory and procedural memory on sublexical, lexical, syntactic and semantic reading processes.
Method: 110 children aged 7-11 years from several Portuguese schools completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, CPM, PROLEC-R, PADD, PMI4, Rey Complex Figure, TOMAL, MAI, Yuste Memory, Tower of Hanoi and TOMAL.
Results: Visual memory contributes to explain the statistical variance of the identification of letters, as well as sublexical, lexical, syntactic and semantic processes. The same applies to auditory memory, except regarding lexical processes. The procedural memory only contributes to the explanation of sublexical, lexical and syntactical processes.
Conclusions: Several modalities of memory (visual, auditory and procedural) play an important role in the explanation of reading processes.
Keywords: Importance of Memory; Auditory memory; Visual memory; Procedural memory.
Reading Processes (RP) are among the most studied competences. Most authors seem to agree that Reading Disabilities (RD) may take many forms [49] and, although phonological fragilities appear to be their main explanatory factor [17, 77], there are alternative explanations.
Phonological processing refers to the perception, storage, retrieval and manipulation of language sounds during acquisition, comprehension and production of the verbal and written code [18] and includes three distinct processes: (a) phonological awareness, (b) lexical retrieval of phonological codes and (c) short-term verbal memory [76, 78].
Different authors suggest different conceptions of memory [4]. Many authors [9, 52, 60, 72, 74] argue that the changes in working memory (WM) are one of the main characteristics of the RD. Several scientific evidences suggest an association between reading skills, phonological awareness and short-term verbal memory [53] in such a way that, according to Smith-Spark, Fisk, Fawcett and Nicolson (2003) [71], it remains unclear whether RD are due to changes in WM or phonological processing.
However, the causal relation often found between RD and WM may not be so linear as some studies suggest [5]. According to Landerl and colleagues (2014) [47], although phonological awareness, automatic naming tasks and short-term verbal memory, are reliable predictors for developmental dyslexia, their contribution varies according to spelling's characteristics [47, 57]. Furthermore, for Melby-Lervag (2012) [53], phonetic awareness is the only major factor in explaining RD, since longitudinal and crosssectional studies do not allow for a causal relationship between RD and short term verbal memory.
The concept of WM arises as a substitute for the concept of short-term memory (STM) and can be described as a system that requires conscious attention which consists of four different components (phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive and phonological buffer), capable of retain and manipulate information, especially in cognitive tasks such as learning, comprehension and reasoning [4].
Although several studies reported that children with developmental dyslexia present difficulties in the phonological loop [28, 43, 58], many authors recognize the existence of a controversy regarding the role of the phonological loop and WM upon phonological awareness and RD [73, 61].
Dyslexic children show clear difficulties in WM with poor activation in the prefrontal, parietal and cerebella cortex [7]. Furthermore, according to Mortimore (2003), subjects with RD may show difficulties in episodic auditory memory, which includes the orthographic form of words and in procedural memory (responsible for the coding, storage and retrieval of procedures underlying motor, verbal and cognitive abilities [55,56].
According to Garcia, Mammarella, Tripodi and Cornoldi (2013) [33], while children with dyslexia have difficulties in visuospatial WM, children with nonverbal disabilities show difficulties in memorizing locations. By studying adult dyslexics, Hachamann and colleagues (2014) conclude that dyslexia is related to a specific short-term memory difficulty for sequential ordering but not for item information. Also, by studying children with both mathematical and reading disabilities Klesczewski and colleagues (2015) found that [45], while children without RD show difficulties in WM, children with RD show difficulties in the central executive functioning.
According to Bacon and Handley (2014), while most people use abstract verbal strategies for problem solving [1,2], dyslexics privilege reasoning strategies based on visual mental representations, which authors associate with limitations upon verbal and executive components of WM.
Studying the WM in Portuguese children, Moura, Simões and Pereira (2014) found that, compared to others [58], dyslexic children show greater difficulties in the phonological loop and the central executive, but not in the visuospatial sketch, which led the authors to conclude that the first two components would be significant predictors of reading and spelling abilities. However, the complexity of these disabilities seems to be such that, according to Brandenburg et al. (2015), the memory profiles of children with RD are different from those of children with difficulties in spelling [8].
In a recent study with Portuguese children, Carreteiro and Figueira (2015) found differences between the performance of children with and without RD in immediate memory tasks nevertheless, the authors recognize the need for additional, deeper studies [11].
Aim and Hypothesis
Based on the literature review, it can be said that: (1) comparatively to other domains, few studies analyse the role of memory processes in reading; (2) available studies do not clarify the importance of memory in RP; and (3) besides the fact that they do not distinguish between lexical (orthographic) and sublexical (phonological) reading processes, (4) they mainly focuses on visual or auditory memory, forgetting other memory modalities or functions, such as procedural memory, where the existence of concrete studies in the field of reading are unknown. Furthermore, (5) like in many other contexts, there are very few studies among this field regarding the Portuguese population.
Therefore, the present work research aims to study the relationship between the memory function and RP.
By memory function, we mean visual (verbal and non-verbal), auditory and procedural memory, with immediate recall. Among RP we highlight the identification of the letters, lexical processes (reading of words and irregular words), sublexical processes (reading of pseudo words and phonological awareness), syntactic processes (grammatical structures and punctuation marks) and semantics (sentences, text and oral comprehension).
Through this study we intend to contribute for the clarification of the importance of the several memory modalities in the RP specified above and, consequently, to contribute with new strategies for the assessment and intervention in RD.
Given the nature of the present investigation, it was decided to formulate only general hypotheses, which are basically an extension of the objective itself:
Hypothesis 1: Visual memory contributes to the explanation of RP.
Hypothesis 2: Auditory memory contributes to the explanation of RP.
Hypothesis 3: Procedural memory contributes to the explanation of RP.
Several authors have advocated an active role of visual memory [33, 56, 61] and especially auditory memory (42) in reading tasks, from which came up Hypothesis 1 and 2, respectively. Hypothesis 3 is based on authors such as Beaunieux and colleagues (2009) who [6], although with less expression, argue that the procedural memory has an important role in these tasks.
In this study participants were 110 children (67 boys and 43 girls), aged from 7-11 years (M=9.22 and SD=1.14), from several Portuguese learning institutions (North, Central, South, Madeira and Azores). Written informed consents were obtained from both parents and learning institutions [36-41].
All participants met the following general inclusion criteria: a) age between 7-11 years; b) intellectual level greater or equal than the expected for their age, according to CPM standards for Portuguese population; c) absence of neurological disorders based on clinical history and d) absence of visual or hearing problems that could interfere with the ability of hearing or reading.
The choice of the age range took into account cognitive and developmental personality issues: it was decided not to include children with less than 6 years old, as this age coincides with the beginning of schooling, avoiding misunderstandings between the lack of knowledge and the lack of skills for reading. The range from 7-11 years is also the most sensitive and critical stage for RD's screening.
The participating children successfully completed an average of three years of schooling (SD =1.22, Min=1 and Max=6) and showed a low scholar failure (M =.24, SD=.70, Min=0 and Max=4).
In this study, in addition to children, also participated the majority of their respective parents: 83 fathers, aged from 23- 59 years (M=41.62 and SD=6.90) and 86 mothers, aged from 25-49 years (38.49 and SD=4.84). At least one of the parents of each child participated in this study.
In an attempt to operationalize the variables under study, several instruments were used:
General information: SDQ
A specific socio-demographic questionnaire (SDQ) was developed in order to collect general information about parents (age, education, occupational status, marital status and socioeconomic status - SES) and about each participating child (gender, age, education, number of academic failures, number of siblings, general health problems, neurological problems and visual or hearing difficulties).
Intellectual Level: CPM
Intellectual level was controlled by Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM, developed by Raven, Raven and Court in 1947 and adapted to Portuguese population by Mário Simões, 1995). Internal consistency analyses conducted in this research confirmed very good values (α = .940, M = 29.53, SD = 5.75) [62].
Reading Processes
To assess RP we used the PROLEC-R, Bateria de Avaliação dos Processor Leitores - Revista (Reading Processes' Assessment Battery - Revised), developed by Cuetos, Rodríguez, Ruano and Arribas (2007) [24], whose adaptation to Portuguese population is in course by Figueira, Lopes and Almeida (in press) complemented by PADD [29], Prova de Análise e Despiste da Dislexia (Dyslexia Assessment Test).
PROLEC-R is an individual test, based in the cognitive model of reading comprehension processes, for children aged 6-12 years. It involves nine tasks whose application time varies from 20-40 minutes: a) Identification of Letters, b) SameDifferent, c) Words Reading, d) Pseudo words Reading, e) Grammatical Structures, f) Punctuation, g) Sentences Comprehension, h) Text Comprehension and i) Listening. The main aim of PROLEC-R is to assess the reading components which are affected in children unable to learn how to read [30]. According to his Spanish editor, PROLEC-R is one of the most important references in reading assessment in Spain [24]. Regarding internal consistency, Cuetos and colleagues (2007) obtained satisfactory values (.48 ≤α≤.79), that were overcome in the present study (.62 ≤α≤.97) [24].
PADD [11-15] is a Portuguese individual test, composed by 6 subtests (Letter Identification, Memory, Semantic Access, Phonological Awareness, Articulatory Awareness and Reading) for children aged 7-11 years. In this study only 2 subtests were used: Phonological Awareness subtest (composed by the indexes of Phonemes Subtraction, Fusion and Inversion) and part of the Reading subtest (Irregular Words, Pseudowords and Semantic Reading). In terms of internal consistency, this study confirmed the good values previously obtained by the author [11], with Cronbach alpha values ranging from .690 to .979 [62-65].
Memory tasks
Visual memory was assessed through the Immediate Memory Test [68], Rey's Complex Figure [64] and some of the TOMAL's subtests [65]. The auditory memory was assessed through the MAI (Cordero, 2002) and Memoria de Yuste (Hernanz, 2005) tests [81]. To assess procedural memory, the Tower of Hanoi [48] and a sub-test of TOMAL [65] were used.
The Immediate Memory Test (PMI4), developed by Silvae-Sá (2005), is a computerized immediate visual memory test [68], composed of 4 subtests: Discriminatory memory, text memory, digit memory and space location memory.
The discriminative memory subtest consists of successive presentations of 6 stimulus rectangles, involving 3 criteria (color name, color of the letter and color of the background) in order to assess the ability to memorize and discriminate several visual aspects of the same stimulus [68]. The text memory subtest assesses the ability to retain texts' visual information [68]. The digit memory assesses the immediate visual memory for numbers [68]. The subtest of space location memory assesses the ability to memorize visual stimuli's shape, color and space location [67-69].
Rey's Complex Figure
The Rey's Complex Figure (RCF) test, developed by André Rey (1941), is composed of a complex geometric figure that the subject should [63], at first, copy and then reproduce from memory. In the present study, the memory reproduction of the CRF was used to assess the non-verbal visual memory. Its reliability, assessed through Cronbach's alpha (α = .940), revealed a good internal consistency.
The TOMAL - Test of Memory and Learning [65, 35] is a standardized and extensive memory battery for people aged from 5 - 19 years. TOMAL is composed of 10 subtests (5 verbal and 5 nonverbal). In the present study we used the subtests of Face's Memory, Visual Selective Memory, Abstract Visual Memory, Visual Sequential Memory, Location Memory and Manual Imitation.
The Face's Memory (FM) subtest assesses non-verbal visual memory, asking the recognition and identification of blackand-white photos with faces of individuals of both genders, different ages and different ethnicities, within a set of distracters [35]. The reliability analysis assessed by Cronbach's alpha (α = .791) showed an acceptable internal consistency. The Visual Selective Memory (VSM) subtest assesses nonverbal visual memory: after a demonstration, participants are asked to mark specific points on a page [35]. The reliability analysis, assessed by Cronbach's alpha (α = .892) showed good internal consistency.
Abstract Visual Memory (AVM) is a non-verbal memory task in which participants are asked to recognize certain neutral stimulus among a group of six distracting alternatives [35]. The reliability analysis, assessed by Cronbach's alpha (α = .874) showed good internal consistency.
Nonverbal Sequential Memory (NSM) is a non-verbal task that involves memorizing a sequence of unmeaningful geometric series. The reliability analysis, assessed by Cronbach's alpha (α = .745) showed an acceptable internal consistency.
According to Goikoetxea (2001), the subtest of Location Memory (LM) assesses spatial memory [35]. The subject is faced with a set of large points distributed on a page, whose location should remember. The reliability analysis assessed by Cronbach's alpha (α = .904) showed good internal consistency.
Manual Imitation (MI) is a sequential psychomotor memory task in which the participants are asked to reproduce a set of hand movements in the same order in which they were previously presented. The reliability assessment trough Cronbach's alpha (α = .809) showed good internal consistency.
The Immediate Auditory Memory test (Teste de MemóriaImediata - MAI), developed by Cordero (2002), is designed for children from 4th to 8th grade and consists of three parts: in the first part (Logical Memory) [39], a logical history, with two paragraphs, is red to assess the child's ability to recall the details. The second part (Numerical Memory), like the Memory of Digits of the Wechsler intelligence scales, shows series of digits which the participants should repeat, either in the direct or in the reverse order. Finally, the Associative Memory test consists of ten words that are presented to the child in three different moments, varying the order of presentation. The internal consistency of the MAI, assessed through the Cronbach's alpha (α = .847), showed a good reliability.
The Yuste Memory (Memória de Yuste- MY) tests, developed by Carlos Yuste (1985) are designed in four levels according the years of schooling: Elementary (1st - 2nd years), Level I (2nd - 4th years), Level II (4th - 7th years) and Level III (8th - 10th years). In this study, Level II, composed by two tasks, was used: Word recall, in which a list of 30 words is red to a further identification between a total of 120 words, and History recall, in which is red an adventure that the Children should remember later. The internal consistency of the MAI was assessed using the Cronbach's alpha (α = .740) revealing an acceptable reliability.
Tower of Hanoi
Tower of Hanoi, first presented by Lucas (1883), consists of three rods, and several disks of different sizes which can slide onto any rod [48]. The puzzle starts with the disks in a neat stack in ascending order of size on one rod, the smallest at the top, thus making a conical shape.
The Tower of Hanoi has been widely used to assess procedural memory [1, 6, 10, 66, 80], making even an integral part of some neuropsychological assessment batteries for children [70].
In the present study, the child was initially given the correct resolution of the Tower of Hanoi and then asked to perform the task alone. It was decided to finish the task when the child had completed the task successfully or after 10 minutes. The result was calculated by the quotient between the number of movements produced correctly within the time limit and the time (in seconds) the child took to complete the task [27,29,30,32,34].
After obtained written consent and once controlled all general inclusion criteria, children and parents were assessed trough previously described instruments. A preliminary analysis by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (p>.05), Shapiro-Wilk test (p>.05) and Normal QQ Plots (deviations between -2 and+2) has shown that the variables does not significantly deviate from normal distribution. Hypotheses were tested using a multiple hierarchical linear regression model. Model application requests were checked regarding statistical Tolerance (T>.1) and VIF (VIF <10) in order to avoid multicol linearity effects. According Durbin-Watson's statistic (d≈2), errors are random and independent. Significant effects were considered when p<.05.
Visual Memory
The contribution of visual memory for the explanation of the statistical variance of RP was tested through regression analysis, with the following models: model 1 (individual factors) contemplates the sociodemographic variables of the child (gender, age, education and Intellectual level); Model 2 (family factors), adds the sociodemographic variables of the family (parental subsystem, number of siblings, parents' age, parental education, existence of previous learning disabilities among parents, parents' occupational status and parents' SES) and, finally, model 3 (visual memory performance) is complete with the combination of the results obtained in the RCF, PMI4 and subtests FM, VSM, AVM, NSM and LM of TOMAL.
Rey's Complex Figure
As can be seen in Table 1, multiple hierarchical linear regression applied to the PROLEC-R's indexes regarding nonverbal visual memory, assessed by RCF (model 3), was only statistically significant for Sentence Comprehension (R2 change = .033, F change = 4.410, p = .041). The same analysis applied to PADD subtests was not significant for any of the subtests.
Multiple hierarchical linear regression applied to PROLEC-R's indexes regarding verbal visual memory assessed trough PMI4 (model 3), was statistically significant for the indexes Name of the Letters (R2 change = .138, F change = 2.791, p = .022), Same-Different (R2 change = .170, F change = 3.281, p = .009), Word Reading (R2 change = .146, F change = 2.423, p = .041), Pseudoword Reading(R2 change= .177, F change = 4.144, p = .002) and Text Comprehension (R2 change= .109, F change = 2.445, p = .040) - Table 1. The same analysis applied to PADD subtests was significant for Phonological Awareness (R2 change= .025, F change = 7.089, p = .011) and Pseudoword Reading (R2 change = .177, F change = 4.144, p = .002) - Table 1.
Multiple hierarchical linear regression applied to the PROLEC-R indexes regarding visual non-verbal memory assessed by TOMAL subtests (model 3), was statistically significant for Name of the Letters (R2 change= .081, F change = 9.480, p = .003), Word Reading (R2 change = .190, F change = 23.368, p< .001), Pseudoword Reading (R2 change= .079, F change, p = .003), Grammatical Structures (R2 change= .055, F change = 10.615, p = .002), Punctuation (R2 change= .195, F change = 23.103, p< .001), Sentences Comprehension (R2 change= .039, F change = 5.338, p = .025)and Oral Comprehension (R2 change= .125, F change = 20.651, p< .001) - Table 1. The same analysis applied to PADD was significant for all considered subtests: Phonological Awareness (R2 change= .048, F change = 2.784, p = .029), Pseudoword Reading (R2 change= .068, F change = 3.321, p = .012), Irregular Word Reading (R2 change= .055, F change = 3.106, p = .017) e Semantic Reading (R2 change= .057, F change = 2.456, p = .048) - Table 1.
Auditory Memory
The contribution of auditory memory for the explanation of the statistical variance of RP was tested through regression analysis, with the following models: model 1 (individual factors) contemplates the sociodemographic variables of the child (gender, age, education and Intellectual level); Model 2 (family factors), adds the sociodemographic variables of the family (parental subsystem, number of siblings, parents' age, parental education, existence of previous learning disabilities among parents, parents' occupational status and parents' SES) and, finally, model 3 (auditory memory performance) becomes complete with the combination of the results obtained in MAI and MY tests [44,51,59,75,79].
According to Table 2, multiple hierarchical linear regression applied to the PROLEC-R indexes regarding auditory (verbal) memory assessed by MAI and MY (model 3), was statistically significant for most of the indexes of PROLEC-R: Name of the Letters (R2 change= .088, F change = 5.132, p = .010), Same-Different (R2 change= .153, F change = 9.291, p< .001), Word Reading (R2 change= .162, F change = 9.116, p< .001), Pseudoword Reading (R2 change= .200, F change = 16.621, p< .001), Punctuation (R2 change= .128, F change = 6.386, p = .003), Text Comprehension (R2 change= .126, F change = 9.711, p< .001) and Oral Comprehension (R2 change= .071, F change = 4.887, p = .012). The same analysis applied to PADD was significant for Phonological Awareness (R2 change= .022, F change = 3.105, p = .031), and Pseudoword Reading (R2 change= .038, F change = 4.255, p = .020).
Procedural memory
The contribution of procedural memory for the explanation of the statistical variance of RP was tested through regression analysis, with the following models: model 1 (individual factors) contemplates the sociodemographic variables of the child (gender, age, education and Intellectual level); Model 2 (family factors), adds the sociodemographic variables of the family (parental subsystem, number of siblings, parents' age, parental education, existence of previous learning disabilities among parents, parents' occupational status and parents' SES) and, finally, model 3 (procedural memory performance)becomes complete with the performance on Towers of Hanoi and Manual Imitation subtest of TOMAL.
Towers of Hanoi
As can be seen in Table 3, multiple hierarchical linear regression applied to the PROLEC-R indexes regarding procedural memory assessed by the Towers of Hanoi was only statistically significant for Word Reading (R2 change = .071, F change = 5.387, p= .026) and Irregular Word Reading (R2 change = .046, F change = 4.254, p = .040). The same analysis applied to PADD was not significant for any subtest.
Multiple hierarchical linear regression applied to the PROLEC-R indexes regarding procedural memory assessed by the Manual Imitation subtest of TOMAL was only statistically significant for Punctuation (R2 change = .049, F change = 4.303, p = .043).The same analysis applied to PADD was not significant for any subtest.
Table 4 synthetizes our main results. Visual Memory does contribute to the explanation of all PADD subtests and PROLEC-R indexes (except for Irregular Words). The same applies to Auditory Memory, which just does not contribute for the explanation of Irregular Words, Grammatical Structures and Sentence Comprehension (all from PROLEC-R) and the PADD Irregular Word Reading and Spelling subtests. Finally, Procedural Memory seems only to contribute for the explanation of the PROLEC-R indexes of Pseudoword Reading, Irregular Word Reading and Punctuation.
Considering the differences between the explanatory capacity of the RCF and the other visual memory selected tests, it was decided to study the correlation between the scoring of each of these tests and the CPM's scoring. According to Table 5, when compared to the score of the remain visual memory tests, RCF's scoring presents a higher, statistically significant correlation, with the CPM score (rp = .583, p<.001, n = 88).
According to the results, not only the auditory memory (widely described in the literature) but also the visual memory and even the procedural memory seem to play an active role in the explanation of at least some memory processes, which is congruent with our hypotheses.
These results are in line with several authors who argue the importance of memory skills upon reading tasks [3, 16, 31, 46, 54, 71, 72], namely Menghiniand colleagues (2013) and Mortimore (2003) [54, 56], who emphasize the importance not only of auditory memory, but also of visual memory [71, 72]. However, these findings are contrary to the view that only visual memory or auditory memory would be relevant for RP [8, 43].
Visual Memory's contribute
The global analysis and the cross-checking of the several instruments used both to assess memory and RP, points out that visual memory contributes to explain the generality of RP (visual identification, sublexical processes, lexical processes, Syntactic processes and semantic processes). The same conclusion was reached in other studies, Garcia (2013), Mortimore (2003) or Ram-Tsur and collaborators (2008) who advocate the importance of visual memory in RP [33, 56, 61].
The fact that, unlike PMI-4 and the selected TOMAL subtests, the RCF only explains a sub-test of PROLEC-R (Sentence Comprehension) is associated with the nature of the test itself, which proves to be more demanding from the intellectual level point of view. The high significant correlation found between the RCF's scores and CPM's scores, seems to confirm this theory.
Auditory Memory's contribute
Concerning the auditory memory, the same analysis points to a contribution in the explanation of all the reading processes, except for the lexical processes (irregular word reading and word completion), which arises in line with the investigations of authors like Kibby (2009) [42], Mortimore (2003) and Moura and colleagues (2014) [56].
Procedural Memory's contribute
Also procedural memory seems to have a significant contribution to explain some RP (Irregular Words Reading, Pseudowords Reading and Punctuation, assessed PEOLEC-R).
Although the role of procedural memory in RP has already been described in the literature [6,81], the fact that this memory function does contribute for the explanation of these tasks assessed by PROLEC-R but not by PADD may, eventually indicate some lack of robustness, which lead us to alert to the need for future replications.
Global Analysis
From the comparison between the contributions of the several modalities of memory for the explanation of RP, evidenced in the present study, it can be concluded that contrary to the current tendency, the widest explanation seems to come from visual memory and not from auditory memory. If we consider the theory of Neural Recycling, proposed by Dehaene (2007), according to which reading appeals to the neuronal mechanisms of vision [25], defending the existence of a neuronal hierarchy that supports the visual recognition of words, these results appear to be plausible.
If we try to integrate these results into the classical reading theories [50, 22], according to which the individual essentially has two ways of reading (one lexical and other sublexical) it's possible to conclude that, while auditory memory is particularly important in sublexical processes (whose affectation leads to the onset of the condition described by phonological dyslexia - [17,19,20,21], visual memory is important on both lexical (whose affectation leads to the onset of the condition described by orthographic dyslexia - Castles, Bates and Coltheart, 2006)[17] and sublexical processes - and subsequently in the explanation of the mix dyslexia also known as hyperlexia [26] which appears when both pathways are affected.
According to the results of the present study, visual memory, auditory memory and procedural memory contribute significantly for the explanation of RP.
Among several memory functions, the greatest contribution seems to come from visual memory, which seems to explain overall RP, and the less robust contribution comes from procedural memory that only revealed explanatory capacity for PROLEC-R pseudowords and irregular words reading's subtests.
Despite the current focus found in literature explaining RP through auditory memory, if we consider the theory of neuronal recycling, advanced by Dehaene (2007), these results seem to make perfect sense [25].
In an attempt to fit these results into dual-route reading models [22,23,24,50], it seems also possible to concluded that while auditory memory is important for the explanation of the phonological (sublexical) route, visual memory presents explanatory capacity for both (orthographic - lexical and phonological) routes.
We consider that the present study does contribute, not only for a better understanding of RP but also for the diagnosis and intervention in RD. Nevertheless, we recognize the need for additional studies that allow a deeper understanding of this issue and possibly replicate these conclusions, particularly regarding the role of procedural memory whose robustness, as we have seen, seems to raise some gaps.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
No funding was obtained.
Conflict of Interest
The authors of this manuscript declare no potential conflict of interest. The authors declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article and that this work has not received any funding.
Research involving Human Participants and/or Animals
This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent
Written informed consent was obtained from parents. Written informed consent was also obtained from schools' directive boards assuming deontological responsibilities.
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text:
Today in 1961
The United Auto Workers calls for a company-wide strike against Ford Motor Co., the first since Ford's initial contract with the union 20 years earlier. ~ Labor Tribune
(L-R) Buisness Agent Marcus Smith, Sysco driver Dan Heitzer, Business Agent Dan Taylor, UPS steward Mike Petro, at Sysco's facility in Jessup, Md.
On April 24, Sysco and US Foods workers distributed information to our colleagues across the U.S. during our second "National Day of Action."
Bright-colored fliers provide information about the "SyscoUSFworkers" Facebook page and how to take the worker survey.
"It's important that all Sysco and US Foods employees – whether or not they are union members – stay informed as the merger process goes forward," said Steve Vairma, Teamsters International Vice President and Warehouse Division Director. "The Teamsters want to protect jobs, and the best way to stay protected is for all employees at Sysco and US Foods to work together."
"I have 20 more years before I can retire from the job but if we close down and I have to go looking for a job, that'll add seven more years," said Doug Robinson, a US Foods mechanic and Local 355 Teamster. "If we end up over at Sysco, the mechanics there are non-union. We're in the Local's benefits plan, which is great. The US Foods non-union plans are not as good as ours. There's a lot of uncertainty right now with this merger and not knowing what's going to happen to our jobs. It helps that we can be informed about what's going on."
Sysco and US Foods workers have been posting pictures and comments on the "SyscoUSFworkers" Facebook page. (A direct link is also on our home page.)
And, if you haven't taken the survey yet, do it now!
Above right, Buisness Agent Jim Deene with US Foods driver Joe Schwabline at the US Foods facility in Severn, Md.
Left, Sysco warehouseman Gary Clark and Business Agent Dan Taylor at Sysco, Jessup. Md.
General Membership
Baltimore - Oct. 1 @ 10 a.m.
Salisbury - Oct. 15 @ 10 a.m.
Please be present and on time.
And bring a coworker!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Gold in the Sun, 1900-1919
CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Rainmaker – And Who Caused the Big Flood?
For four years the runoff into the local rivers had been below normal and it appeared that another prolonged drought was under way. There still was water in the storage reservoirs but the early settlers had never forgotten the periodic dry spells that had brought disaster to cattle and crops in past years.
From time to time from 1912 to 1914 the town Council had received recommendations, particularly from a real estate agent named F. A. Binney and from the Wide Awake Improvement Club, that Charles M. Hatfield be employed to produce rain, as they insisted he had been doing successfully since 1904 from Los Angeles north through the Central Valleys of California and in the wheat fields of Oregon, Montana and Alberta, Canada.
As 1915 drew to a close the city's reservoirs, Morena, Upper and Lower Otay, and Chollas held more than ten billion gallons. A dry November sharply reduced the supply. Rain in the first few days of December held out hope that the drought might be over, but only Morena added any appreciable amount of storage.
On December 8 the Common Council received a letter from Hatfield offering to produce at least forty inches of rain in the vicinity of the Morena Reservoir without expense to the city. On instructions of the Council, City Clerk Allen H. Wright sent a telegram to Hatfield, who was then in Eagle Rock, near Los Angeles, asking if he could be present at a meeting of the Council the next day. In reply, Hatfield forwarded the following offer:
"I will fill the Morena Reservoir to overflowing between now and next December 20th, 1916, for the sum of ten thousand dollars, in default of which I ask no compensation; or I will deliver at the Morena Reservoir thirty inches of rain free of charge, you to pay me $500 per inch from the thirtieth to the fiftieth inch–all above fifty inches to be free, on or before the 1st of June, 1916. Or I will forty inches (sic) during the next twelve months, free of charge, provided you pay me $1000 per inch for all between forty and fifty inches, all above fifty inches free."
Accompanying the offer was a photograph of a lake in Stanislaus County which Hatfield said had been filled by his efforts for the first time in its recorded history. He was not without credentials. The Hatfield family was of Quaker stock and had come to California from the Midwest, settling first in Los Angeles County and moving to a ranch in Gopher Canyon, in San Diego County between Bonsall and Vista in 1894. Dry years in Los Angeles County had aroused the interest of Steven Hatfield's two sons, Charles and Paul, in meteorology and in Gopher Canyon they began experiments with various mixtures of chemicals. In April of 1902 the two boys, with Charles as the leader, placed a batch of their latest chemical mixture atop a windmill platform and performed a rite which to the end they kept secret. A fog drifted in and the slight precipitation which followed was not conclusive as to the experiment's success. The same circumstance occurred the following month. Testing was put off until July, when fog and rain generally are almost entirely absent, and Charles Hatfield has insisted over the years that a cloudless sky was converted into a stormy one and .65 of an inch of rain resulted.
Though Charles Hatfield was earning his living as a sewing machine salesman, his experiments attracted the attention of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in 1904 and he was offered $1000 to produce rain. In four months Los Angeles had eighteen inches of rain and the Hatfields were launched on a rainmaking career. They made no claims as to "creating" rain and said they merely persuaded nature to release vast stores of moisture always present in the air even in desert areas. Newspaper clippings saved by the Hatfields over the next dozen years describe rainfalls coincident with their efforts. There were no clippings of failure.
Braving a barrage of ridicule, but figuring they had nothing to lose, a Council majority of Otto M. Schmidt, C. W. Fox, Percy J. Benbough and Walter P. Moore, over the objections of Councilman Herbert R. Fay, who said it was all a lot of nonsense, voted to accept the offer to fill Morena Reservoir and instructed City Attorney T. B. Cosgrove to prepare a contract, which, however, was never signed. As it already was late in the season, Hatfield immediately began moving his equipment by wagon to the area of Morena Reservoir. The lake, sixty miles from San Diego, lies in the lower elevations of the Laguna Mountains at about 3000 feet. A quarter of a mile east of the dam he erected a tower with a platform about twelve feet across. Nothing happened for a while and the name of Hatfield disappeared from the local news.
The exposition began its second year and with money left over from exhibits at San Francisco, the United States Government took over the former Sacramento Counties Building and the Bureau of Fisheries erected its own building in another area. Canada, France, Brazil, Russia and Germany became major participants. A horse racing track opened in Tijuana, at a location just a few hundred feet across the border, on January 1, 1916. The track had been under construction for six months by the Lower California Jockey Club headed by James W. Coffroth.
Out over the Pacific Ocean, the "Pacific High," a high pressure area extending over a vast area of the sea, began to move southward. As it did it opened a path for storms from the North Pacific to swing down the length of California. In San Diego County the sky had clouded up and some scattered rain had fallen. No one was particularly interested in what the Hatfields were doing up in the dry hills around Morena Reservoir. An estimated crowd of 10,000 persons attended a day of racing which raised the little border town to an important tourist attraction.
Those who visited the site of the Hatfield experiments saw little to impress them and their curiosity was not encouraged. There were no sounds of explosions nor clouds of fumes from the square basin atop the platform into which the Hatfields poured their chemicals and dissipated them into the sky. On Friday, January 14, a steady rain began to fall and continued for the following two days, and on Sunday, January 16, began to reach torrential proportions. The town suddenly remembered the Hatfields. Cosgrove was quoted as saying that while it obviously was raining and runoff was pouring into Morena Reservoir no money should be paid until it was ascertained that this was the direct result of Hatfield's efforts.
A half century later Dr. Don I. Eidemiller of San Diego State College made a study of weather maps compiled by the United States Army during the World War to aid in predicting battle conditions. The Army's data included weather studies of January, 1916. They indicated that at that time the low pressure area over Southern California sucked in four separate air masses. As these masses were pulled together, air of different temperatures was brought together along their edges, or fronts, creating a "pinwheel" figure on weather maps, a condition which causes heavy rains.
By morning, the 17th, the situation was serious. The San Diego River was rising rapidly and there were reports of bridges being washed out in interior valleys, of the drowning of cattle, of delays in Santa Fe trains, of wires that were down and roads made impassable. One resident of Mission Valley who was rescued by row boat wiped the rain from his brow and said "let's pay Hatfield $100,000 to quit." At Morena, where the Hatfields were working their mysteries, the rainfall in four days was 12.73 inches. Using the telephone line from Morena Reservoir, Charles Hatfield called the City Hall and was quoted as saying:
"I just wanted to tell you that it is only sprinkling now. So far we have encountered only a couple of showers. Within the next few days I expect to make it rain right…just hold your horses until I show you a real rain."
United States Weatherman E. H. Nimmo was unimpressed and said the storm was very widely distributed. "It may rain some more," he said, "and then it may not. Lack of telegraphic reports from the north makes it impossible for this office to issue a report." Each day the headlines in the newspapers got blacker. The race track at Tijuana closed down. By January 20 it was still raining and the Sweetwater Reservoir was filled to overflowing. A Santa Fe train was stalled near Oceanside for forty hours and attempts were made to get provisions to the passengers by oceangoing launch. The railroad bridge across the San Dieguito River near Del Mar was carried away. Much of the Little Landers Colony in the Tia Juana River Valley where the river crosses into the United States before reaching the sea, disappeared, leaving 100 families homeless.
The bridge at Old Town was bolstered with a sand bag jetty. Then the storm began to let up. Though intermittent rain continued, San Diegans consoled themselves that the worst was over. Communications were gradually restored, a relief fund of several thousand dollars was collected for the Little Landers people. Though the city's reservoirs had impounded about twenty-one billion gallons of water, there was an estimated loss of $300,000 in bridges alone.
The rainfall in the lower areas, for example at Lower Otay Reservoir at an elevation of 500 feet, was 5.60 inches from January 15 to 20. In the higher elevations, it was much greater. Cuyamaca Reservoir at 4766 feet recorded 17.96 inches from January 14 to January 19. By then the ground was thoroughly saturated. The Hatfields were trying to make good on their promise and could present no claim for payment until the rainfall or the storage in Morena Reservoir met the stipulated conditions. There had been nothing like thirty inches of rain even in the wettest mountain areas. They remained at their tower and as far as anybody knew were sending their chemical vapors into the atmosphere. Most of the rainy season was still ahead of them.
Meteorological conditions similar to those of January 17 reappeared on January 24 and heavy rain began to fall again in an area extending from the sea edge of San Diego County north to the Canadian border and in another interior area covering most of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.
The ground could hold no more water. The rainfall swept down the sides of the mountains and hills, was gathered up in swollen streams and poured down the canyons into the river beds which snaked through the wide coastal valleys. The rivers again jumped their banks and spread from bank to bank. The coast road to Los Angeles was impassable though the inland route by way of Escondido was kept open. Teams were on hand to pull autos out of the roaring waters in Bernardo Valley. The San Diego River reached a crest six feet higher than in the previous storm. The city's concrete bridge across the river at Old Town was the first to go. Then the Santa Fe Railroad bridge was washed away, even though it had been weighed down with loaded freight cars. High winds swept boats from their moorings and whipped water onto bay front streets. Telephone communications with Point Loma went out. The forecaster Nimmo predicted still more rain.
On January 26 the city dynamited the dam in Switzer Canyon in the south portion of Balboa Park, as it had been cracked and weakened over the years, and two houses were overturned on Sixteenth Street as the water rushed down to the bay. The San Diego Union reported on the morning of January 27:
"The memory of the famous storm of 1884 was put to shame yesterday and last night by the presence of the most serious weather conditions which have been felt in this part of the country for half a century…San Diego's wind records were shattered at 4:30 yesterday morning when a velocity of fifty-four miles an hour was recorded for a period of five minutes. For one minute the wind blew at the rate of sixty-two miles an hour."
The level of Lower Otay Reservoir rose more than twentyseven feet in ten days. Morena rose seventeen and a half feet in the same period. Upper Otay filled in three days. Water was going over the top of the Sweetwater Dam more than three and a half feet deep. The north abutment wing dam washed away, leaving a gap ninety feet wide, as did the auxiliary dam on the south rim. A deputy United States marshall, W. C. Carse, rode out to warn Otay Valley ranchers that the Lower Otay Dam might be in danger. As he dashed across the Sweetwater River, the bridge went out behind him. In a telephone call to The San Diego Union he said conditions were beyond description. Then the telephone line was severed.
Lower Otay Lake was one of two reservoirs lying at the foot of the junction of the Jamul and San Ysidro Mountains. The two ranges swing near the coast at this point, not far from the international border, and the waters of the several creeks come together to form the Otay River which cuts along the edge of Otay mesa and empties into the southern portion of San Diego Bay. The dam had been started as a masonry structure in 1887, but work had been stopped until 1894, when the Southern California Mountain Water Company resumed construction and changed it to an earth and rock fill dam with a central wall of steel plates. It was 134 feet high and 565 feet wide along its crest and held 42,000 acre feet of water. There were many engineers who were aware that its spillway was entirely inadequate. When the water went over the top of the dam itself it washed away supporting fill at the base of the structure.
Soon after 6 o'clock on the evening of Thursday, January 27, the steel diaphram tore from top to bottom as if it were a piece of paper and the dam opened like a gate. A wall of water slammed against the side of a mountain just below the dam, where the canyon swings sharply to the right, and then plunged down Salt Canyon for a mile and spread out across the valley floor and rushed for the sea. Emanuelle Daneri was ascending the steps of his wine cellar in his winery and through a window saw a wave of water. He cried out to his wife and they ran for their lives. In a few minutes an aged couple who had lived and worked on that location for thirty-seven years were homeless and penniless.
It required two and a half hours for the dam to empty itself of thirteen billion gallons of water, and the water on its seven-mile course to the bay swept nearly everything before it. Nothing remained of the neat ranches, the citrus groves and chicken farms. The land was left "like a gravel bed." Of twenty-four houses, only one was left standing. Near the mouth of the valley the San Diego & Arizona Railway had built an embankment for its tracks 3000 feet long. Over the main river channel was a bridge. The channel was choked with debris trapped by bridge supports and in a few seconds or minutes the entire embankment gave way under the pressure of the mounting waters. An express car was carried a mile down stream to the edge of the bay. C. Killingsworth of Palm City who watched from a few feet away described the destruction of the railroad embankment:
"The terrible wave came almost without warning. I heard a great roar that cannot be described in words. There was a crash, a boom, a mighty swish and before I could realize what was happening, the water was upon me. The seething wave, bearing before it spars of wood, roofs of houses, trees and rubbish, hit the railroad embankment with a smash. The waters towered what seemed to me a hundred feet in the air. Folks living in the valley were running for their lives…The water couldn't have paused more than a few seconds for the embankment. It just seemed to me that it hesitated there, that was all."
It was never determined for certain how many persons lost their lives; probably not more than fourteen or fifteen. Some of them had ignored warnings or had failed to receive them. The loss of human life in the entire county reached perhaps eighteen or twenty. Property losses in the Lakeside-Foster area, from flooding waters of the San Diego River emerging from narrow mountain gorges, were almost as great as in the Otay Valley. J.A. Pierce, an auto dealer, came into town and said refugees were living in the few remaining homes or in the Lakeside Inn and as for the topsoil, "you might as well try to farm on a cement sidewalk as on what is left."
Pipe lines from reservoirs were broken and some sections swept out to sea. Mail was being sent north on naval vessels. Mail and supplies were being taken by boat between San Diego and Chula Vista. The Tia Juana River Valley was swept clear of the last of the bottom land homes and farms of the Little Landers. United States Marines were detailed to prevent looting.
In the five days from January 25 to 30 at Lower Otay there had been 5.60 inches of rain upon an already soaked earth. At Cuyamaca Lake the rainfall was reported as 14.38 inches from January 23rd to the 29th. At Morena the two-storm total was more than thirty-five inches. Hatfield let it be known he was going to stay on the job. Water had risen to within eighteen inches of the top of the parapet wall, or eighteen inches above the crest of the dam, but debris accumulating behind trash racks had choked the expected flow through the spillway to a trickle and, incidentally, created a dangerous situation.
Other areas of California also suffered heavily. The Southern Pacific lines were severely damaged and train service to Southern California was discontinued. Flat lands in the San Pedro area were flooded and Long Beach was reported to be an island. The Los Angeles River caused considerable damage in low-lying areas. As the storms subsided relief and repair work got under way. Emergency water lines were installed. A goal of $150,000 to aid sufferers was set by the Chamber of Commerce.
On February 4 The San Diego Union reported that Charles Hatfield had come out of the hills and in later years his brother Paul acknowledged that they had denied their identity to angry persons they met on the trail down from their abandoned tower. They used the name of Benson. Their friend Binney was quoted as saying that anyone who had in mind shooting the rainmaker had better be quick on the draw, as Hatfield had been practicing slipping a gun from his hip pocket ever since he had "turned on the water and thrown away the key."
The next morning reporters cornered Hatfield in Binney's real estate office and reported that his demeanor was "that of the proverbial conquering hero, home from the fray and awaiting the laurel wreath." He disclaimed all responsibility for the damage and loss of lives. Later that same day he appeared at the city attorney's office to begin proceedings to collect the $10,000 he said was due him. He said that while there would have been considerable rainfall at Morena anyway he had doubled it and that he could produce still more rain if desired but he didn't believe the Council would want any more at the moment. He was asked how he accounted for the heavy rains all over the state, and he replied:
"I expected that question…You will remember that it often rains as hard around Los Angeles as it did this year, but that San Diego gets only a small part of the rainfall…my tests at Morena were the most potent I ever made. I used 300 percent stronger forces than ever before. Up at Morena they told me that it frequently clouded up like rain, but that the clouds passed away without shedding a drop. None of them got away while I was there, I can tell you."
His claim for $10,000 was based upon filling Morena Reservoir. Water had gone over the spillway. Two days later he filed a formal demand with the Council, contending that he was responsible for twelve inches of rainfall and until he was paid he was the owner of four billion gallons of water in Morena Reservoir which at ten cents a thousand gallons were worth $400,000. His demand was referred to the city attorney but as far as Cosgrove was concerned there had been no contract and the city owned him nothing. Hatfield was not easily turned away and at the same time was prophetic in warning:
"I wish to draw to your attention that during my operations throughout January you had only three days of sunshine…as soon as I ceased you have had continual bright sunshine, with your usual morning fog…the time is coming, at no great distance when drought will overtake this portion of the state…your population has increased to such a size that with a series of two, three or four dry years, you would suffer, especially in the backcountry. It will be then that you will call for my services again."
The city had more to contend with than Hatfield at the moment. Roads had to be opened, temporary bridges constructed, and emergency lines laid down to bring water to the townspeople. It wasn't until February 18 that the first Santa Fe train was able to reach San Diego.
In San Diego City the January rain total was 7.56 inches, about three times the normal of 2.2. But the records of time showed that the storms were widespread. Oregon had the heaviest snowfall in many years; Arizona had the wettest month of records going back to 1892; Nevada had its stormiest month in twenty-six years; and Idaho reported the heaviest snowfall it had ever recorded.
When the city failed to respond to his claim for payment, Hatfield filed suit on December 2, 1916. Six months later he offered to settle for $1800, a sum which he said was less than the expenses he incurred in setting up his operation at Morena. The city offered to settle if he assumed responsibility for settling law suits amounting to $3,500,000 which had been filed against the city for the failure of Lower Otay Dam and the hiring of a rainmaker. No more was heard from him. In time, most of the suits were settled by the city and the two that went to trial in August, 1919, resulted in a verdict that the flood and collapse of the dam had been an "act of God." The Hatfield suit remained in court files until 1938, when it was dismissed as a dead issue. Meanwhile the Hatfields went about their trade of rainmaking up and down California and even to Central America, and of amassing newspaper clippings of successful rainfall.
The floods had been severe blows to the community and attendance at the exposition in the first two months of 1916 was discouraging. In March a rededication ceremony was conducted at noon in Plaza de Panama and all records for attendance were broken, with 22,741 persons entering the grounds before 3 o'clock in the afternoon. President Wilson was represented by Secretary of the Interior Franklin Lane and in Washington Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels pressed an electric button which set exposition bells ringing. By May 4 it appeared that the decision to maintain the exposition for a second year had been a wise one. The attendance had passed 400,000, which was 9564 more than in the same period of the previous year.
The year of 1915 had been a good one, agriculturally and industrially. The Escondido area shipped about 100 carloads of grapes and raisins, 238 of oranges, 182 of lemons and twenty of honey, and 2500 head of cattle. El Cajon Valley shipped fifty carloads of grapes and Chula Vista 800 carloads of lemons. In the South Bay the Western Salt Company shipped 30,000 tons of salt from its beds in the lower bay.
The population of the county-wide metropolitan area was estimated at 109,195 and had almost doubled in four years. There were 200 factories, twice as many as four years before, employing 2500 persons. The municipal pier and the 2675 feet of bayfront bulkheading were nearing completion and ten steamship lines now were making San Diego their southern terminus.
A change in the management of the Southern Pacific Railroad was bringing new officers closer to Spreckels and the possibility of settling their long financial dispute over the building of the San Diego & Arizona Railway. Spreckels had abandoned plans to erect six more six-story buildings along the south side of D Street, from Third to the waterfront, and he announced that he might close Tent City in Coronado, because of continuing operating losses. He said he had maintained it largely as an advertising measure for the summer climate of San Diego. Hotel del Coronado had made money only in one year, 1915. He also disposed of some of the area of Mission Beach, where he had once planned a little "Venice," and J. M. Asher put up a small resort of thirty tents.
Then there was the unexpected burden of the flood damage to the San Diego & Arizona. Its tracks were expected to reach Campo by February, and from the east end, tracks had been laid as far as Carrizo Gorge, making a total of ninety-seven miles of which fifty-nine were in use. The final thirty-six miles, however, represented one of the most difficult railroad projects to be undertaken in America, with eleven miles through the gorge itself and four and a half miles of tunneling through solid rock.
Threats of a recall action against Mayor Capps were heard, particularly from a group claiming the support of organized labor, as the result of an incident involving a $5000 check. E. W. Scripps had written the check for the relief fund for the Little Landers, but for an unexplained reason it never was turned over to the fund. When pressed about the matter, Capps produced the check and indignantly tore it up. Scripps refused to write another. Capps withheld comment except to say that he did not fear any recall proceedings.
During the floods the city had relied on water service from the Cuyamaca flume and La Mesa Reservoir owned by the Cuyamaca Water Company. The flume had been repaired and a storage reservoir, later named Murray Dam, was built to serve the steadily growing population of East San Diego, La Mesa, El Cajon and Spring Valley. James A. Murray and Fletcher offered the system to the city at a price to be agreed upon by the State Railroad Commission. At one time the system had been offered to the city for $300,000; the commission now set a value of $778,000. Again, as with the previous offer, according to Fletcher's memoirs, Spreckels induced the city to reject the purchase.
The war in Europe was on all people's minds and it was becoming apparent too that the United States would soon be involved. With conditions still unsettled in Mexico, and fearing Germany's fishing in its troubled waters, the United States Army established Camp Hearn at Imperial Beach. During a Preparedness Day parade in San Francisco, a bomb exploded and killed six persons, fatally wounded four others and injured forty more. Tom Mooney, for ten years an associate of I.W.W.'s, was arrested along with a friend, Warren K. Billings, and accused of murder. Mooney was sentenced to be hanged and Billings to life imprisonment, and their cases became a center of controversy for years.
In the national election that year, with the Progressives now weakened in influence and membership, Gov. Johnson had taken full control of the Republican machinery and became a candidate for the United States Senate. Charles Evans Hughes was the Republican candidate for President against Woodrow Wilson. Johnson gave little support to Hughes' campaign in California, and ignored the conservatives who were supporting him, and Wilson carried the state, though only by a majority of less than 4000 votes. The loss of California cost Hughes the presidency and altered the course of history at one of the world's most perilous moments. San Diego County turned Republican again, but only by a small margin, with 16,894 votes for Hughes and 16,784 for Wilson. The Spreckels interests fought the Johnson candidacy with bitterness. He was assailed as "Holy Hiram." But in the county he was an easy winner over Democrat George S. Patton
The exposition and an era drew to a close. A half century had passed since Father Horton had laid out a town that had thought it could challenge its great rival cities to the north. All of the results from the exposition were not yet in. The attendance in the second year, after a brief period in which it went beyond expectations, slowly dropped off, for a 1916 total of 1,697,886 as compared with 2,050,030 for 1915. The two-year total was 3,747,916. On the formal closing day of the fair the troops of the First Battalion of the Twenty-first Infantry staged a mock battle demonstrating the fighting in the trenches of France and Germany. Later there were fireworks and formal dinners. At 10 o'clock in the evening all of the exhibits were closed. At 11:59, taps were sounded from the balconies of Plaza de Panama. At midnight the organ began Auld Lang Syne and Madame Schumann-Heink began to sing. Tears filled her eyes. As the song ended, the lights went out. Atop the Organ Pavilion San Diego presented in a "moving picture of fire" what was described as a message to the future: "World's Peace, 1917." Tommasino's band played the Star Spangled Banner as fireworks exploded to form the flags of all nations.
Return to Books.
Ch. 1 The Town That Wanted to Grow Up and Be Something
Ch. 2 Here Come the Cultists and the Health Seekers
Ch. 3 Who Could Have Guessed These Stones Were Gems
Ch. 4 The River That Proved It Was Lord of the Desert
Ch. 5 The Auto Challenges the Train and Shapes the City
Ch. 6 It Was Not Yet Too Late to Design a City – Or Was It?
Ch. 7 Beauty Wins A Round in Parks and the Exposition
Ch. 8 The Wobblies and A Story No One Likes to Remember
Ch. 9 San Francisco Shows How Politics Should Be Played
Ch. 10 A 'Magic City' Surprises Even Those Who Built It
Ch. 11 The Rainmaker – And Who Caused the Big Flood?
Ch. 12 The Military Appreciated What the Natives Did Not
Ch.13 Southern California and the Gold Nobody Noticed


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Use this oversized hood PDF to make a beautiful and useful wool cape. Try this Wool Cape with Oversized Hood Free sewing pattern and tutorial.
The link to the full instructions and tutorial is on the pattern.
Check the FREE Pattern and Tutorial HERE
Another Wool Cape Tutorial can be found HERE


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Igniting Value
We strive to create shareholder value and sustainable growth by investing in companies with the potential for superior earnings and dividend growth over the long term.
We continuously monitor and measure risks and opportunities against the risk appetite and risk-bearing capacity as determined by the Board of Directors.
How We Manage Our Investments
We exert considerable influence on our underlying subsidiaries through executive board representation. We have decision-making involvement in all material aspects including the appointment and removal of directors, capital structure, mergers and acquisitions and business strategy.
We also strive to ensure that investee companies adhere to the Dunamis Capital Group perspectives and requirements in view of corporate values, governance, risk management, information management, brand and reputation building, human resource development and sustainability.
Non-subsidiary investments may comprise both listed and unlisted companies not controlled by the Company.
Investments in which we do not have board representation are treated as our trading portfolio.
In keeping with our corporate philosophy of Igniting Value we offer strategic, financial and managerial support, creating a conducive environment for deal-making, strategic alliances, reputation building and innovation.
Going forward, we intend to manage our investments with a greater level of decentralisation, encouraging autonomous operations across our subsidiaries.


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The Internet is an overwhelming source of advice for small business owners. And with so many voices out there telling you what to do and how to do it, it's not uncommon to find two popular gurus out there preaching conflicting messages.
"How-to and list headlines get the most shares!" the first one says.
"How-to and list headlines are overused and ineffective!" says the other.
And, of course, they've both got numbers to illustrate their point. As a small business owner, your job isn't to figure out who's right. Your job is to figure out what's right for you and your business.
The most effective way to solve these little conundrums is with A/B testing.
What is A/B testing?
A/B testing is a nickname for testing multiple variations of something—like a headline style. If you have two variations, they are the A and B in A/B testing. Of course, you can test more than two variations if you want.
When you conduct an A/B test, you're comparing changes against a control to see which one produces the highest number of results. The variation could be as small as changing a single word in a headline or as big as testing changes in voice and style. In all cases, the goal is to identify and use the best performing option and, ultimately, make more money.
What kinds of things can be A/B tested?
- Headlines
- Images
- Designs
- Calls to action
- Copy length
- Copy styles
- Forms
- Tweets
- Social media posts
Why is A/B testing important?
Perhaps the greatest thing about A/B testing is that you don't have to guess, hope, or cross your fingers that what you're doing is best for your small business. By testing, you get real data and real results full of information about what your audience prefers and how they react. You can use this information to do things like post more engaging content on Facebook or drive more traffic to your blog or website.
A/B testing is particularly important in online advertising. Think about it: Online advertising impressions and clicks cost lots of money. Wasting that money on poorly performing copy and designs is a real concern unless you're testing and monitoring the success rate of different campaigns. Obviously, high-performing ads should be displayed more often.
When should you conduct A/B testing?
It's not a once-and-done thing, if that's what you're thinking. A/B testing is a process. It's a way for you to continually improve how you market and advertise yourself to consumers.
You never know when some new and shiny process will come along and steal the spotlight from your best performers. The only way to anticipate that decline is to track your results. Watch the numbers. And when you see a downturn in the desired response, try and test a new variation, always giving priority to the variations that provide the most clicks or sales.
Do you use A/B testing for your small business? Were you surprised by any of the results?


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1000 Series Mechanical Portable Beam Scale
A rugged and economical mechanical scale for industrial and commercial weighing. The 1000 Series features cast iron construction, a large 23.5" x 17.75" weighing platform, a 1,000-pound capacity and wheels. These features make this scale ideal for a wide variety of general weighing applications.


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Next week Michelle Obama will visit Copenhagen as part of her book tour. The Egmont weekly ALT for damerne is proud to present an exclusive interview with the former First Lady who have become a role model for girls and women all over the world
Her autobiography has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. On 9 April Michelle Obama's book tour will take her to Copenhagen and as the only Danish media ALT for damerne has been given an interview with the popular former First Lady.
I the magazine tomorrow Michelle Obama opens up about the freedom she has regained since she and president Obama left the White House. Michelle Obama also speaks about the relationship to Barack Obama with whom she went to marriage counseling after the birth of their two daughters. In the interview with Alt for damerne Michelle Obama says:
"Barack and I are in a great place in our relationship. We love each other deeply. We've been through so much together—so many unexpected twists and turns—and through it all, we've learned to weather the ebbs and flows that naturally come with any partnership. We know that we can lean on each other and we know how to support each other," she says and adds:
"Our partnership is a durable one—we've seen each other grow and change through many seasons. It's a great feeling to come out of the last decade still intact and in love.
Of course, we know that like any marriage, ours needs continued care and attention to maintain its strength. Nowadays, we have more time to do that—more time for ourselves, more time for each other—and that's been a real blessing."
She has walked the walk
Editor in Chief Tina Nikolaisen is proud of the interview not the least because Michelle Obama with her personal story makes a difference to girls all over the world:
"Michelle Obama is a role model. She has created her own platform and in a very personal and professional manner she uses it to make a difference. She has a consequent focus on education and equality for both gender and race and because of her own background we listen even more. Michelle Obama is not just talking the talk – she has walked the walk," Tina Nikolaisen says.
ALT for damerne have also interviewed 10 girls from 4thgrade about the former First Lady. The girls describe Michelle Obama as both nice and brave and stresses the fact that she was endorsed by her family and parents who made her believethat she should reach for the stars.
Michelle Obama visits Royal Arena in Copenhagen on Tuesday April 9th where she is interviewed by the Emmy Award-winning tv-star Rachael Ray .


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Thank you for sharing your thanksgiving with us, very nice and I am glad you enjoyed it, MashAllah your kids are looking really lovely.
as for the picture I didnt laugh (much) :o)
Thanks Anglolibyan.
When I saw Sol's picture with the غفة, I told him I'm glad I didn't see him back then, but than retracted and said "Actually, I might have thought you were hot back then!" Gosh, I was 11 at that time!
Hi, AL. We did have a nice time, and the kids can be a blast, but as I'm sure you know, they can also be a ... I've got pics from that era that will have you on the floor! I'm sure some will find their way on the right occasion.
Hanu: Of course you would have. The Ghuffa was the look back then... But I still can't believe it, and as I recall, mine was not the most ridiculous looking. My friend Abdallah definitely won that title!
Hello Hanu & sul,
Ah, that looks so much fun. The غفة pic had me in floods of tears, of course from laughing. Sul, do you have any picture with خدني معاك trousers? You know the wide trousers guys used to wear at that time. hehehehe
Oh, yes of course, bell bottoms, leather coats and platforms! It's all coming back, slightly different nowadays but still, at least the flare is there!ReplyDelete
Hi Suliman,
I love platforms! I got one already, hehe
Back to that little bigot, it is obvious he is just trying one of his 'new discovered vocab'. A blonde Japanese, eh! That reminds me of a real funny story.
My maternal grandparents lived in a small town in the Green Mountain and they had a neighbour who had a son studying philosophy at the university. Each time we visited our grandparents the lady would come in and say hello then say: حيه أسمعتو؟ أوليدي أحميدة توا يقرا فلفلة في الجامعة
Hehehe, he is also trying some Falfala.
the ghuffa brings back memories of me looking at pictures of my uncles and cousins...shabab of the early 80s. I used to also think "What the heck were they thinking???" but internally I always thought the ghuffa was really cool.ReplyDelete
Hey, Aisha! What do you mean back to shabab 80's, I'm shabab 70's! lol lol I bet that sounds "prehistoric" to you. It's OK, I'm young at heart as they say-- only grew one last month! lol lolReplyDelete
good ole days .... 80s ....70s....I'm just happy everyone has nice normal hair. As much as I thought the ghuffa was funky!!! So I shouldn't say Suliman...I should say 3amee Sleeman :)ReplyDelete
Aisha, that nice normal hair we have now, might be a laughing topic in few years to come! Who knows!ReplyDelete
Happy Thanksgiving.ReplyDelete


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In here you'll find lots of useful tips about composition writing process. You may have tons of time to supply the composition your best effort. After this method is the simplest way to draft a thriving article, whatever its purpose may possibly be. With essential writing, you're carrying out function collectively with the evidence you're using, by adding a amount of assessment and assessment. You've only created a superb essay. Example article writing tips are very beneficial in producing high quality article papers. Imaginative composition authors have the ability to generate first documents. They can compose example documents using all types. First sentences in essays need not be stellar you simply have to begin With only a tweak in some places, it may become an excellent composition, you believe.
I anticipate to be able to hand back for the community once i begin my teaching vocation.
Stick to that many important topic through the article. Inside this section you may discover samples of essays owned by distinct essay kinds and manners of formatting. The essay shows little if any understanding of the task. It takes a position on the issue and may offer some context for discourse. The essay demands a placement on the problem and can offer a vital context for dialogue. Compose the introduction. Now you've developed your thesis and the absolute body of your own composition, you got to write an opening. Als wichtigste erfindung konstruierte er eine hausarbeit schreiben muster knopflochnähmaschine


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Dr. Oberndorfer collecting rhubarb for Aunt Annie Evans at Turnaviks (photo by Todd Broomfield)
Summer is already halfway over, and soon our members will be heading back from fieldsites, digs, gardens, archives, protests, sit-ins, workshops, and labs to share the wide range of experiences that we gain as ethnobiologists. If you'd like to share an experience from your work, ranging from photography to short essays to poems, please write to us at email@example.com. We'd like to thank Chelsey Armstrong for establishing this blog as a way for our members


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>A completion notice is a document that specifies the completion date for newly built properties. It is the date the property becomes a dwelling for Council Tax purposes and is the date it is entered into the valuation list.
A completion notice will be served on the owner of the property where:
- a domestic property is structurally complete; or
- where the work remaining can reasonably be expected to be completed within three months
Where work on a property is not yet completed, the completion notice can be served specifying a final completion day up to three months from the date of service; this should reflect the additional time reasonably required to complete the work on the property.
To ensure the accuracy of our completion notices, the council's inspector will visit all properties that are being built or altered. Photographs will usually be taken and a checklist completed.
A property will be considered to have reached a stage of substantial completion when it meets the following criteria:
Shell and core
- all external walls are complete
- roof tiles are laid
- ceilings are in place
- floors have been laid
- staircase(s) have been fitted
- external doors fitted
- windows fitted
- permanent availability of gas/electric/water is laid up to the property (but not necessarily connected)
First fix
The position from foundation up to plastering:
- cutting and laying of joists
- erecting studwork and partitioning
- fixing door linings
- fixing window boards
- assembling and erecting staircase(s)
- plasterboards
- fixing cable network around shell
Second fix
- external doors
- fixing of skirting, architraves and decorative mouldings
- finishing off staircases and balustrade
- installation of power points
- boxing in - waste runs and sanitary ware
- radiators and boilers
- guttering and down pipes
To be considered ready for banding, the following work doesn't need to have been carried out:
- internal decoration of the property, including the fitting of internal door
- final fitting of bathroom and kitchen units
- final fitting of electrical fixtures, plug points and switches
- final connection of water, gas and electricity (although services should be laid on to the site)
A completion notice for council tax is different to that for determining completion for Building Control. Legislation does not allow us to take financial or personal factors into consideration for the purposes of setting a completion date. The property need not be structurally complete by the completion date, only capable of completion.
If you disagree with a completion notice you should appeal within 28 days of the date of service of the notice to the Valuation Tribunal Service.
A completion notice is issued in accordance with Schedule 4A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and Section 17 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.


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Skin is the largest human organ and is susceptible to a range of medical conditions and infections. Whilst most people are of the opinion that skin conditions primarily affect adults, the fact is that it can affect anyone, including children, adolescents and newborns. Studies have shown that there are several skin conditions that can commonly present at the time of birth.
Conditions that can affect children:
Here are some of the most common skin problems that can affect children:
- Eczema – This is actually a generic name for a range of conditions that can affect the skin and can cause the skin to become inflamed, red, tender or swollen. Conditions such as atopic dermatitis can present itself in the form of an itchy rash, which can appear on almost any part of the body. While the cause of the condition is still unknown, there can be a lot of irritation and itching due to which the child can be quite uncomfortable. In most cases, topical ointments and general precautions as stated by the doctor will be more than enough to tackle the disease.
- Chicken pox – Caused by a contagious virus known as varicella zoster, chicken pox is actually quite common and there are very few children in the world, who have not had the chicken pox. The infection will start showing in the form of small spots, which will by itchy and will turn red. The spots can appear all over the body and even on the scalp. In a matter of days, the spots should start to dry off and scabs will start to form. Once the scabs fall off, the chicken pox is supposed to have completed its course. It is best to refer to a dermatologist to see its severity and advise treatment.
- Hives – Many children have to struggle with hives, in which the surface of skin becomes raised, red and itchy. The condition is caused by histamines, which are actually chemicals created by the body in response to a range of foreign bodies. Hives can be caused by certain allergens like pollen, insect bites, viral infection and as an allergic reaction to certain medicines. In most cases, hives do not require any treatment, as they tend to fade away in a matter of days. However, if the child is having trouble in breathing, it would be best to take the child to the doctor immediately.
- Moles – Moles are actually benign spots on the skin, which could be in any shape or size. The colour of the moles can vary from light pink to black. In most cases, moles are benign and there is no harm caused due to them. However, for some children, the moles are too big and placed in parts of the body, where it looks odd. In such cases, the moles can be removed by a dermatologist.
- Warts – Growths or tumours that are benign in nature are often categorised as warts and these can be found on any part of the body. They are caused due to viral infection and meeting a doctor might become essential.
- Community Acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureaus – Commonly known as CA-MRSA, this is a kind of infection that is caused by a bacteria and enters the body through cuts or open wounds. The condition is very contagious and can spread quite quickly. Treatment can be done using antibiotics, but it has to be started as quickly as possible. If the child has an open cuts or bruises, it would be best that they are washed and cleaned and then wrapped in bandage to avoid infection.
- Impetigo – Impetigo is also known as school sores and is caused by either the staphylococcus or streptococcus bacteria. It can cause small blisters, which are red in colour and can be quite itchy. Although the condition can affect any part of the body, they are most commonly seen around the mouth and nose. When the sores break open, there is a liquid that oozes out and then a crust will start to form on top. Touching the scabs or the blisters is what makes the condition contagious, which is why parents should deter their child from doing the same.
- Molluscum contagiosum – This is a viral infection caused due to the poxvirus and is quite contagious. Once the virus has incubated, round growths will start to appear. While they might look like warts, these rounds can be irritating and can spread quite easily. The treatment is a little more than medication, because the growths will have to be removed by needle extirpation, cutting them out, cryotherapy or freezing them using liquid nitrogen or even laser therapy.
- Psoriasis – Most often, people consider this to be a condition that affects only adults, but psoriasis can affect children too. This is a chronic skin condition that makes the skin red and inflamed. The cause is considered to be a fault with the immune system of the body and hence is not contagious. The treatment of the condition depends on the types of psoriasis.
Fortunately, advances in medical science have actually made it much easier to handle such problems. However, in order to treat the condition, it is imperative that the exact biology and nature of the same be understood. With the use of medicines and certain types of surgeries, congenital skin lesions, vascular birthmarks and moles can all be taken care of. In addition, the usage of anaesthetic creams has ensured that any kind of treatment, surgical or non-surgical, is minimally painful for children.


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If shopping is your favorite past-time, you should try a shopping trip around the world. You can travel to the fashion capitals of the world and get incredible discounts for as much as 65 percent or more. Many people who hate to shop can spend hours in these outlets and save an incredible amount of money. Here are some of the world's best shopping outlets for big brands.
1. FoxTown Outlets in Mendriso, Switzerland
Women flock to this outlet store because of the Prada and other big brands at half off. There is nothing more rewarding than going to shopping outlets after Milan Fashion Week. Even stylists shop these outlets for A-list celebrities. Women are constantly shopping these outlets to find bargains on Gucci, Pucci, and Dolce &Gabbana.
2. Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Near New York City
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets are located 90 minutes north of New York City. The best part about this outlet mall is that there are numerous big name brands, such as Burberry, Armani, and Coach, to select. Shoppers enjoy discounts of as much as 65 percent off the retail prices. This outlet mall is shaped like flower and each petal has stores. Experts recommend starting at the middle and circling each petal.
3. Marni Outlet Shopping Near Milan, Italy
Marni Outlet offers some of the best discounts on big brands. Shoppers indulge on clothes that are discounted as much as 50 percent. Gucci is among the big brands that shoppers can expect from shopping at Milan, Italy.
4. Joyce Warehouse at Horizon Plaza in Hong Kong
If you want high-end shopping in Hong Kong, look no further than Joyce Warehouse. This outlet shopping mall includes Jimmy Choo, Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garcons, and Ann Demeulemeester.
5. Gotemba Premium Outlets in Japan
In this outlet, Gotemba Premium Outlet offers big brands such as Bvlgari, Coach, and Maison Martin Margiela. The outlets are located near Tokyo and receive thousands of visitors daily.
6. Yeoju Premium Outlets in Yeoju, Korea
Yeoju's outlet has 120 stores for fashion or accessories. Issey Miyake, Escada, and Coach are some of the most popular stores that offer premium merchandise. Discounts for MAC, Clinique, and Estee Lauder are not uncommon in the Yeoju Premium Outlets. Even home goods, such as Le Creuset and Royal Copenhagen, can be purchased from Yeoju Premium Outlets.
7. Arabia Factory Outlet in Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki's Arabia Factory Outlet features stores like Finnish Kitchen and Bathroom Outfitters, Hacksman, and Iittala. The merchandise was up to 70 percent off the original price. There is an export service to ship your purchases by Teema and Aalto.
Shop at the World's Best
If you are looking for a reason to travel the world, there is no better reason than shopping and savings. You will have to ship clothes back to your home because there won't be enough luggage spaces to accommodate all of these fabulous finds. If you can't wait till our next trip, check out the latest Lasoo shopping catalogue online for shopping at the comfort of your own home.
Written by Kay Anderson