Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture

This open access volume reveals the hidden power of the script we read in and how it shapes and drives our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures. Expanding on the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (i.e., the idea that language affects the way we think), this volume proposes the “Script Relativity Hypothesis” (i.e., the idea that the script in which we read affects the way we think) by offering a unique perspective on the effect of script (alphabets, morphosyllabaries, or multi-scripts) on our attention, perception, and problem-solving. Once we become literate, fundamental changes occur in our brain circuitry to accommodate the new demand for resources. The powerful effects of literacy have been demonstrated by research on literate versus illiterate individuals, as well as cross-scriptal transfer, indicating that literate brain networks function differently, depending on the script being read. This book identifies the locus of differences between the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, and between the East and the West, as the neural underpinnings of literacy. To support the “Script Relativity Hypothesis”, it reviews a vast corpus of empirical studies, including anthropological accounts of human civilization, social psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, applied linguistics, second language studies, and cross-cultural communication. It also discusses the impact of reading from screens in the digital age, as well as the impact of bi-script or multi-script use, which is a growing trend around the globe. As a result, our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures are now growing closer together, not farther apart. ; Examines the origin, emergence, and co-evolution of written language, the human mind, and culture within the purview of script effects Investigates how the scripts we read over time shape our cognition, mind, and thought patterns Provides a new outlook on the four representative writing systems of the world Discusses the consequences of literacy for the functioning of the min

Designing Embodied Interactive Software Agents for E-Learning: Principles, Components, and Roles

Embodied interactive software agents are complex autonomous, adaptive, and social software systems with a digital embodiment that enables them to act on and react to other entities (users, objects, and other agents) in their environment through bodily actions, which include the use of verbal and non-verbal communicative behaviors in face-to-face interactions with the user. These agents have been developed for various roles in different application domains, in which they perform tasks that have been assigned to them by their developers or delegated to them by their users or by other agents. In computer-assisted learning, embodied interactive pedagogical software agents have the general task to promote human learning by working with students (and other agents) in computer-based learning environments, among them e-learning platforms based on Internet technologies, such as the Virtual Linguistics Campus (www.linguistics-online.com). In these environments, pedagogical agents provide contextualized, qualified, personalized, and timely assistance, cooperation, instruction, motivation, and services for both individual learners and groups of learners. This thesis develops a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and user-oriented view of the design of embodied interactive pedagogical software agents, which integrates theoretical and practical insights from various academic and other fields. The research intends to contribute to the scientific understanding of issues, methods, theories, and technologies that are involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of embodied interactive software agents for different roles in e-learning and other areas. For developers, the thesis provides sixteen basic principles (Added Value, Perceptible Qualities, Balanced Design, Coherence, Consistency, Completeness, Comprehensibility, Individuality, Variability, Communicative Ability, Modularity, Teamwork, Participatory Design, Role Awareness, Cultural Awareness, and Relationship Building) plus a large number of specific guidelines for the design of embodied interactive software agents and their components. Furthermore, it offers critical reviews of theories, concepts, approaches, and technologies from different areas and disciplines that are relevant to agent design. Finally, it discusses three pedagogical agent roles (virtual native speaker, coach, and peer) in the scenario of the linguistic fieldwork classes on the Virtual Linguistics Campus and presents detailed considerations for the design of an agent for one of these roles (the virtual native speaker)

Musical Composition in the Context of Globalization

Since the early transformation of European music practice and theory in the cultural centers of Asia, Latin America, and Africa around 1900, it has become necessary for music history to be conceived globally - a challenge that musicology has hardly faced yet. This book discusses the effects of cultural globalization on processes of composition and distribution of art music in the 20th and 21st century. Christian Utz provides the foundations of a global music historiography, building on new models such as transnationalism, entangled histories, and reflexive globalization. The relationship between music and broader changes in society forms the central focus and is treated as a pivotal music-historical dynamic

Chinese elements : a bridge of the integration between Chinese -English translation and linguaculture transnational mobility

[Abstract] As the popularity of Chinese elements in the innovation of the translation part in Chinese CET, we realized that Chinese elements have become a bridge between linguaculture transnational mobility and Chinese-English translation.So, Chinese students translation skills should be critically improved; for example, on their understanding about Chinese culture, especially the meaning of Chinese culture. Five important secrets of skillful translation are introduced to improve students’ translation skills

Chinese Circulations

Chinese merchants have traded with Southeast Asia for centuries, sojourning and sometimes settling, during their voyages. These ventures have taken place by land and by sea, over mountains and across deserts, linking China with vast stretches of Southeast Asia in a broad, mercantile embrace. Chinese Circulations provides an unprecedented overview of this trade, its scope, diversity, and complexity. This collection of twenty groundbreaking essays foregrounds the commodities that have linked China and Southeast Asia over the centuries, including fish, jade, metal, textiles, cotton, rice, opium, timber, books, and edible birds’ nests. Human labor, the Bible, and the coins used in regional trade are among the more unexpected commodities considered. In addition to focusing on a certain time period or geographic area, each of the essays explores a particular commodity or class of commodities, following its trajectory from production, through exchange and distribution, to consumption

Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards and Market Performance of Listed Banks in Nigeria

Abstract. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the adoption of IFRS on the market performance of banks in Nigeria. Secondary data were acquired from the financial statement of 15 money deposit banks listed on floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) while regression and paired sample test analyses were used to determine the association between the adoption of IFRS and the market performance of listed money deposit Banks in Nigeria. The study found a positive and significant relationship between the adoption of IFRS and the market performance of listed money deposit banks in Nigeria proxy by Dividend pay-out (DPO) and Dividend Yield (DY). Furthermore, the paired sample test result indicates a significant difference exists between Dividend pay-out (DPO) and the adoption of IFRS while no significant difference exists between Dividend Yield (DY) and the adoption of IFRS. Thus, the study recommends that the global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards particularly in developing economies like Nigeria should be properly implemented and studied, so as to keep abreast with the various changes the would likely affect the market performance of the Nigerian Banking industry

Firm Characteristics and Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Nigerian Listed Firms: An Empirical Investigation

In recent past, Corporate Social Responsibility has been a fundamental subject of discussion in academic literatures because of its vital contribution to sustainable development. In line with this assertion, this study assessed the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performances of listed companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). A cross-sectional research design was adopted for the study and secondary data compiled from the annual reports of those companies were used for the analysis. The study employed multiple regression estimation technique to analyse the CSR ratings of sixteen (16) companies used as the basis of investigation. The study found that while market capitalization had a positive significant relationship with corporate social responsibility practice, period of existence on the listing of Nigerian Stock Exchange had a negative relationship. Also, the industrial goods sector had a positive significant relationship with CSR practice while the oil and gas sector had a significant negative relationship. It is therefore recommended that activist groups, NGOs and community leaders should be more dynamic to challenge organizations to do more for their communitie

Impact of Ethics on the Conduct of Professional Accountants in Nigeria

High profile corporate collapses and fraud with which accountants are said to have been associated with has given rise to the questioning of the integrity of the professional accountants. This systemic failure has brought into focus issues of long standing debate with respect to how to curb this act and regain the confidence of the public in the professional accountants and the professional accountancy bodies at large. The study examined the impact of code of ethics on the conduct of professional accountants in Nigeria. Regression Analysis, Correlation Technique and Ttest were employed in analyzing the data collected. The results revealed that the fundamental principles of ethics have a significant impact on the positive conduct of professional accountants. It further revealed that there is no difference in the various opinions of stakeholders with respect to the impact of the code of ethics. It is therefore recommended that early stage teaching of ethics in all schools and continuous improvements taking into consideration changes in time, based on the current trend should be encouraged. There should also be a program in place to effectively monitor the adherence level of accountant