Silent reading of direct versus indirect speech activates voice-selective areas in the auditory cortex

In human communication, direct speech (e.g., Mary said: “I'm hungry”) is perceived to be more vivid than indirect speech (e.g., Mary said [that] she was hungry). However, for silent reading, the representational consequences of this distinction are still unclear. Although many of us share the intuition of an “inner voice,” particularly during silent reading of direct speech statements in text, there has been little direct empirical confirmation of this experience so far. Combining fMRI with eye tracking in human volunteers, we show that silent reading of direct versus indirect speech engenders differential brain activation in voice-selective areas of the auditory cortex. This suggests that readers are indeed more likely to engage in perceptual simulations (or spontaneous imagery) of the reported speaker's voice when reading direct speech as opposed to meaning-equivalent indirect speech statements as part of a more vivid representation of the former. Our results may be interpreted in line with embodied cognition and form a starting point for more sophisticated interdisciplinary research on the nature of auditory mental simulation during reading

Etnocentrisme in Nederland: Veranderingen bij kansarme en/of gepriviligeerde groepen?

Contains fulltext : 3309.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Cultivatietheorie in een veranderd medialandschap: Overzicht van eerdere studies en een toetsing voor een middelgrote stad

Contains fulltext : 3318.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

The Rise in Support for Gender Egalitarianism in the Netherlands, 1979-2006: The Roles of Educational Expansion, Secularization, and Female Labor Force Participation

Since the 1960s, public support for gender egalitarianism has risen substantially in many western countries. Although earlier research proposed that structural and cultural developments, such as educational expansion, declining religiosity, and the rise of women’s employment may explain this upward trend, these theoretical speculations have not yet been thoroughly tested. In the present research, we aim to contribute to the existing literature by empirically analyzing the influence of educational expansion, secularization, and the rise of women’s labor force participation on support for gender egalitarianism in the Netherlands and to explore to what extent these influences differ for men and women. We use repeated cross-sectional survey data from the Netherlands involving 12,146 men and 13,858 women. To capture cohort and period effects, we include historical and contemporary contextual measures of educational expansion, secularization, and female labor force participation obtained from population censuses and labor force surveys, covering about 100 birth cohorts and 25 survey years. Of these three indicators, educational expansion contributed most to the rise in men’s, and particularly women’s, support for gender egalitarianism by changing the normative societal climate in which men and women have grown up and live. Promoting educational levels may therefore have far-reaching benefits for gender equality

Damage assessment and refurbishment of steam turbine blade/rotor attachment holes

This paper presents a case study dealing with the assessment of cracking observed at steam turbine blade attachment holes, and subsequent use of an innovative repair solution based on a friction processing technique, friction hydro-pillar processing (FHPP). This was performed with a bespoke welding platform developed specifically for repair of radially cracked or incorrectly drilled blade attachment holes in LP turbine rotors. The paper initially outlines a fracture mechanics analysis of observed in-service cracking aimed at assessing critical defect sizes to support repair or replacement scenarios. It then briefly discusses development of the FHPP process before focusing on characterisation of the residual stresses resulting from the welding process and their amelioration by heat treatment; a necessary part of the procedure approval for turbine refurbishment

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Ethnocentrism in the Low Countries: A comparative perspective

Contains fulltext : 3361.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)New Community, continued by: Journal of ethnic and migration studies [1369-183X