Matthew Evans

Bio: Matthew Evans is an academic researcher from University of York. The author has contributed to research in topics: Transitional justice & Transformative justice. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 32 publications receiving 646 citations. Previous affiliations of Matthew Evans include University of Sussex & University of the Witwatersrand.

Working memory abilities and children's performance in laboratory analogues of classroom activities

Abstract: Laboratory analogues of classroom activities on which children with low working memory skills have been observed to perform very poorly were developed and employed in two studies In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-old completed one task involving recalling spoken sentences and counting the numbers of words, and another task involving the identification of rhyming words in spoken poems Poorer performance of low than average working memory children was obtained on the recall measure of both tasks In Study 2, 5- and 6-year-old children heard spoken instructions involving the manipulation of a sequence of objects, and were asked either to perform the instructions or repeat them, in different conditions The accuracy of performing but not repeating instructions was strongly associated with working memory skills These results indicate that working memory plays a significant role in typical classroom activities that involve both the storage and mental manipulation of information Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Iodine's impact on tropospheric oxidants: a global model study in GEOS-Chem

Abstract: . We present a global simulation of tropospheric iodine chemistry within the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model. This includes organic and inorganic iodine sources, standard gas-phase iodine chemistry, and simplified higher iodine oxide (I2OX, X = 2, 3, 4) chemistry, photolysis, deposition, and parametrized heterogeneous reactions. In comparisons with recent iodine oxide (IO) observations, the simulation shows an average bias of ∼ +90 % with available surface observations in the marine boundary layer (outside of polar regions), and of ∼ +73 % within the free troposphere (350 hPa 1 Here OX is defined as O3 + NO2 + 2NO3 + PAN + PMN+PPN + HNO4 + 3N2O5 + HNO3 + BrO + HOBr + BrNO2+2BrNO3 + MPN + IO + HOI + INO2 + 2INO3 + 2OIO+2I2O2 + 3I2O3 + 4I2O4, where PAN = peroxyacetyl nitrate, PPN = peroxypropionyl nitrate, MPN = methyl peroxy nitrate, and MPN = peroxymethacryloyl nitrate.

Structural Violence, Socioeconomic Rights, and Transformative Justice

Abstract: This article provides a critique of the scope of existing models of transitional justice, which focus on legal and quasi-legal remedies for a narrow set of civil and political rights violations. The article highlights the significance of structural violence in producing and reproducing violations of human rights, particularly of socioeconomic rights. There is a need to utilize a different toolkit and a different understanding of human rights from that typically employed in transitional justice in order to remedy structural violations of human rights. Focusing on a case study of land inequalities in postapartheid South Africa, the potential for transformative (rather than transitional) justice in postconflict and postauthoritarian contexts is discussed. The article outlines a definition of transformative justice, relevant actors, and relationships for such an agenda and discusses the kinds of strategies that promise a more transformative approach.

Weak global sensitivity of cloud condensation nuclei and the aerosol indirect effect to Criegee + SO 2 chemistry

Abstract: . H2SO4 vapor is important for the nucleation of atmospheric aerosols and the growth of ultrafine particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) sizes with important roles in the global aerosol budget and hence planetary radiative forcing. Recent studies have found that reactions of stabilized Criegee intermediates (CIs, formed from the ozonolysis of alkenes) with SO2 may be an important source of H2SO4 that has been missing from atmospheric aerosol models. For the first time in a global model, we investigate the impact of this new source of H2SO4 in the atmosphere. We use the chemical transport model, GEOS-Chem, with the online aerosol microphysics module, TOMAS, to estimate the possible impact of CIs on present-day H2SO4, CCN, and the cloud-albedo aerosol indirect effect (AIE). We extend the standard GEOS-Chem chemistry with CI-forming reactions (ozonolysis of isoprene, methyl vinyl ketone, methacrolein, propene, and monoterpenes) from the Master Chemical Mechanism. Using a fast rate constant for CI+SO2, we find that the addition of this chemistry increases the global production of H2SO4 by 4%. H2SO4 concentrations increase by over 100% in forested tropical boundary layers and by over 10–25% in forested NH boundary layers (up to 100% in July) due to CI+SO2 chemistry, but the change is generally negligible elsewhere. The predicted changes in CCN were strongly dampened to the CI+SO2 changes in H2SO4 in some regions: less than 15% in tropical forests and less than 2% in most mid-latitude locations. The global-mean CCN change was less than 1% both in the boundary layer and the free troposphere. The associated cloud-albedo AIE change was less than 0.03 W m−2. The model global sensitivity of CCN and the AIE to CI+SO2 chemistry is significantly (approximately one order-of-magnitude) smaller than the sensitivity of CCN and AIE to other uncertain model inputs, such as nucleation mechanisms, primary emissions, SOA (secondary organic aerosol) and deposition. Similarly, comparisons to size-distribution measurements show that uncertainties in other model parameters dominate model biases in the model-predicted size distributions. We conclude that improvement in the modeled CI+SO2 chemistry would not likely lead to significant improvements in present-day CCN and AIE predictions.

Radical chemistry at night: comparisons between observed and modelled HO x , NO 3 and N 2 O 5 during the RONOCO project

Abstract: The RONOCO (ROle of Nighttime chemistry in controlling the Oxidising Capacity of the AtmOsphere) aircraft campaign during July 2010 and January 2011 made observations of OH, HO2, NO3, N2O5 and a number of supporting measurements at night over the UK, and reflects the first simultaneous airborne measurements of these species. We compare the observed concentrations of these short-lived species with those calculated by a box model constrained by the concentrations of the longer lived species using a detailed chemical scheme. OH concentrations were below the limit of detection, consistent with model predictions. The model systematically underpredicts HO2 by ∼200% and overpredicts NO3 and N2O5 by around 80 and 50%, respectively. Cycling between NO3 and N2O5 is fast and thus we define the NO3x (NO3xCombining double low lineNO3+N2O5) family. Production of NO3x is overwhelmingly dominated by the reaction of NO2 with O3, whereas its loss is dominated by aerosol uptake of N2O5, with NO3+VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and NO3+RO2 playing smaller roles. The production of HOx and ROx radicals is mainly due to the reaction of NO3 with VOCs. The loss of these radicals occurs through a combination of HO2+RO2 reactions, heterogeneous processes and production of HNO3 from OH+NO2, with radical propagation primarily achieved through reactions of NO3 with peroxy radicals. Thus NO3 at night plays a similar role to both OH and NO during the day in that it both initiates ROx radical production and acts to propagate the tropospheric oxidation chain. Model sensitivity to the N2O5 aerosol uptake coefficient (γN2O5) is discussed and we find that a value of γN2O5Combining double low line0.05 improves model simulations for NO3 and N2O5, but that these improvements are at the expense of model success for HO2. Improvements to model simulations for HO2, NO3 and N2O5 can be realised simultaneously on inclusion of additional unsaturated volatile organic compounds, however the nature of these compounds is extremely uncertain.

Is working memory training effective

Abstract: Working memory (WM) is a cognitive system that strongly relates to a person’s ability to reason with novel information and direct attention to goal-relevant information. Due to the central role that WM plays in general cognition, it has become the focus of a rapidly growing training literature that seeks to affect broad cognitive change through prolonged training on WM tasks. Recent work has suggested that the effects of WM training extend to general fluid intelligence, attentional control, and reductions in symptoms of ADHD. We present a theoretically motivated perspective of WM and subsequently review the WM training literature in light of several concerns. These include (a) the tendency for researchers to define change to abilities using single tasks, (b) inconsistent use of valid WM tasks, (c) no-contact control groups, and (d) subjective measurement of change. The literature review highlights several findings that warrant further research but ultimately concludes that there is a need to directly demonstrate that WM capacity increases in response to training. Specifically, we argue that transfer of training to WM must be demonstrated using a wider variety of tasks, thus eliminating the possibility that results can be explained by task specific learning. Additionally, we express concern that many of the most promising results (e.g., increased intelligence) cannot be readily attributed to changes in WM capacity. Thus, a critical goal for future research is to uncover the mechanisms that lead to transfer of training.

Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children

Abstract: Working memory plays a crucial role in supporting learning, with poor progress in reading and mathematics characterizing children with low memory skills. This study investigated whether these problems can be overcome by a training program designed to boost working memory. Children with low working memory skills were assessed on measures of working memory, IQ and academic attainment before and after training on either adaptive or non-adaptive versions of the program. Adaptive training that taxed working memory to its limits was associated with substantial and sustained gains in working memory, with age-appropriate levels achieved by the majority of children. Mathematical ability also improved significantly 6 months following adaptive training. These findings indicate that common impairments in working memory and associated learning difficulties may be overcome with this behavioral treatment.

Recent advances in understanding secondary organic aerosol: Implications for global climate forcing

Abstract: Anthropogenic emissions and land use changes have modified atmospheric aerosol concentrations and size distributions over time. Understanding preindustrial conditions and changes in organic aerosol due to anthropogenic activities is important because these features (1) influence estimates of aerosol radiative forcing and (2) can confound estimates of the historical response of climate to increases in greenhouse gases. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA), formed in the atmosphere by oxidation of organic gases, represents a major fraction of global submicron-sized atmospheric organic aerosol. Over the past decade, significant advances in understanding SOA properties and formation mechanisms have occurred through measurements, yet current climate models typically do not comprehensively include all important processes. This review summarizes some of the important developments during the past decade in understanding SOA formation. We highlight the importance of some processes that influence the growth of SOA particles to sizes relevant for clouds and radiative forcing, including formation of extremely low volatility organics in the gas phase, acid-catalyzed multiphase chemistry of isoprene epoxydiols, particle-phase oligomerization, and physical properties such as volatility and viscosity. Several SOA processes highlighted in this review are complex and interdependent and have nonlinear effects on the properties, formation, and evolution of SOA. Current global models neglect this complexity and nonlinearity and thus are less likely to accurately predict the climate forcing of SOA and project future climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases. Efforts are also needed to rank the most influential processes and nonlinear process-related interactions, so that these processes can be accurately represented in atmospheric chemistry-climate models.

The cognitive and behavioral characteristics of children with low working memory.

Abstract: This study explored the cognitive and behavioral profiles of children with working memory impairments. In an initial screening of 3,189 five- to eleven-year-olds, 308 were identified as having very low working memory scores. Cognitive skills (IQ, vocabulary, reading, and math), classroom behavior, and self-esteem were assessed. The majority of the children struggled in the learning measures and verbal ability. They also obtained atypically high ratings of cognitive problems/inattentive symptoms and were judged to have short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, problems in monitoring the quality of their work, and difficulties in generating new solutions to problems. These data provide rich new information on the cognitive and behavioral profiles that characterize children with low working memory.