Engendering Human Development: A Critique of the UNDP’s Gender-Related Development Index

This article reviews the literature critiquing the United Nations Development Programme’s Gender-related Development Index (GDI), which is a measure of human development penalized for the extent of gender inequality in each country; presents several original critiques of GDI; and presents proposed corrections to the GDI in response to both received and original critiques. Elizabeth Stanton is a researcher at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.Gender-related Development Index; GDI; human development; gender disparities

Interjudge Reliability in the Measurement of Pitchmatching

In the clinical analysis and treatment of voice disorders, software packages allow the extraction of acoustic voice parameters, such as fundamental frequency, from patient vocal productions. The utility of such software packages in the clinical situation, however, is dependent upon consistency in their use and in interpretation of the analyses they provide. The present study focused on the extraction and interpretation of voice pitch data. Samples from eight trained singers who were asked to match the pitch of both pure tones and synthesized human voice were submitted to the Kay Elemetrics Computerized Speech Lab for analysis. Estimates of voice pitch were made by three judges, and the inter-rater reliability was measured. Results indicated that judges were very consistent in the estimation of token duration but varied widely in estimates of fundamental frequency. These results have important implications for use of such software packages in clinical diagnosis and treatment.ASC Undergraduate Research ScholarshipSBS Undergraduate Research Scholarshi

Spartan Daily, March 25, 1977

Volume 68, Issue 36https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/6190/thumbnail.jp

South Thames College: report from the Inspectorate (FEFC inspection report; 113/97)

The Further Education Funding Council has a legal duty to make sure further education in England is properly assessed. The FEFC’s inspectorate inspects and reports on each college of further education according to a four-year cycle. This is such a report for the period 1996-97

Enhanced Syllable Discrimination Thresholds in Musicians

Speech processing inherently relies on the perception of specific, rapidly changing spectral and temporal acoustic features. Advanced acoustic perception is also integral to musical expertise, and accordingly several studies have demonstrated a significant relationship between musical training and superior processing of various aspects of speech. Speech and music appear to overlap in spectral and temporal features; however, it remains unclear which of these acoustic features, crucial for speech processing, are most closely associated with musical training. The present study examined the perceptual acuity of musicians to the acoustic components of speech necessary for intra-phonemic discrimination of synthetic syllables. We compared musicians and non-musicians on discrimination thresholds of three synthetic speech syllable continua that varied in their spectral and temporal discrimination demands, specifically voice onset time (VOT) and amplitude envelope cues in the temporal domain. Musicians demonstrated superior discrimination only for syllables that required resolution of temporal cues. Furthermore, performance on the temporal syllable continua positively correlated with the length and intensity of musical training. These findings support one potential mechanism by which musical training may selectively enhance speech perception, namely by reinforcing temporal acuity and/or perception of amplitude rise time, and implications for the translation of musical training to long-term linguistic abilities.Grammy FoundationWilliam F. Milton Fun

Assessing Music Perception in Young Children: Evidence for and Psychometric Features of the M-Factor

Given the relationship between language acquisition and music processing, musical perception (MP) skills have been proposed as a tool for early diagnosis of speech and language difficulties; therefore, a psychometric instrument is needed to assess music perception in children under 10 years of age, a crucial period in neurodevelopment. We created a set of 80 musical stimuli encompassing seven domains of music perception to inform perception of tonal, atonal, and modal stimuli, in a random sample of 1006 children, 6–13 years of age, equally distributed from first to fifth grades, from 14 schools (38% private schools) in So Paulo State. The underlying model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. A model encompassing seven orthogonal specific domains (contour, loudness, scale, timbre, duration, pitch, and meter) and one general music perception factor, the “m-factor,” showed excellent fit indices. The m-factor, previously hypothesized in the literature but never formally tested, explains 93% of the reliable variance in measurement, while only 3.9% of the reliable variance could be attributed to the multidimensionality caused by the specific domains. The 80 items showed no differential item functioning based on sex, age, or enrolment in public vs. private school, demonstrating the important psychometric feature of invariance. Like Charles Spearman's g-factor of intelligence, the m-factor is robust and reliable. It provides a convenient measure of auditory stimulus apprehension that does not rely on verbal information, offering a new opportunity to probe biological and psychological relationships with music perception phenomena and the etiologies of speech and language disorders

The Effect of Intrauterine Growth Restriction on Long-Term Outcome in Very or Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

The project consisted of two long-term follow-up studies of preterm children addressing the question whether intrauterine growth restriction affects the outcome. Assessment at 5 years of age of 203 children with a birth weight less than 1000 g born in Finland in 1996-1997 showed that 9% of the children had cognitive impairment, 14% cerebral palsy, and 4% needed a hearing aid. The intelligence quotient was lower (p<0.05) than the reference value. Thus, 20% exhibited major, 19% minor disabilities, and 61% had no functional abnormalities. Being small for gestational age (SGA) was associated with sub-optimal growth later. In children born before 27 gestational weeks, the SGA had more neuropsychological disabilities than those appropriate for gestational age (AGA). In another cohort with birth weight less than 1500 g assessed at 5 years of age, echocardiography showed a thickened interventricular septum and a decreased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter in both SGA and AGA born children. They also had a higher systolic blood pressure than the reference. Laser-Doppler flowmetry showed different endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation responses in the AGA children compared to those of the controls. SGA was not associated with cardio-vascular abnormalities. Auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) were recorded using an oddball paradigm with frequency deviants (standard tone 500 Hz and deviant 750-Hz with 10% probability). At term, the P350 was smaller in SGA and AGA infants than in controls. At 12 months, the automatic change detection peak (mismatch negativity, MMN) was observed in the controls. However, the pre-term infants had a difference positivity that correlated with their neurodevelopment scores. At 5 years of age, the P1-deflection, which reflects primary auditory processing, was smaller, and the MMN larger in the preterm than in the control children. Even with a challenging paradigm or a distraction paradigm, P1 was smaller in the preterm than in the control children. The SGA and AGA children showed similar AERP responses. Prematurity is a major risk factor for abnormal brain development. Preterm children showed signs of cardiovascular abnormality suggesting that prematurity per se may carry a risk for later morbidity. The small positive amplitudes in AERPs suggest persisting altered auditory processing in the preterm in-fants.Hyvin ennenaikainen syntymä ja sikiön kasvuhäiriö ovat riskitekijöitä lapsen kehitykselle. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin viisivuotiaitten pienipainoisten keskosten neurologista suoriutumista, sydän-ja verenkiertoelimistön toimintaa sekä kuuloaivokuoren erottelukyvyn kehitystä. Suomessa 1996 1997 syntyneistä, alle 1000g painaneista keskosista 9 %:lla todettiin kehitysvammaisuus, 14 %:lla aivohalvaus, 4 %:lla oli kuulokoje. Vaikka keskosten älykkyys- ja neuropsykologisten testien tulosten keskiarvot asettuivat normaalialueelle, ne olivat merkittävästi viitearvoja pienempiä. Merkittävä toiminnallinen haitta todettiin 20 %:lla, lievä haitta 19 %:lla, ja 61 % lapsista oli toiminnallisesti normaaleja. Sikiökautinen kasvuhäiriö jatkui myöhemmin hitaana kasvuna. Toisessa, alle 1500 g painaneiden keskosten seurantatutkimuksessa sydämen ultraäänitutkimus 5 vuoden iässä osoitti kammioväliseinän paksuuntuneen, vasemman kammion diastolisen läpimitan pienentyneen ja systolisen verenpaineen nousseen verrattuna viitearvoihin. Ihon pintaverenkierron laser-Doppler tutkimuksessa raskauden kestoon nähden normaalipainoisina syntyneillä keskosilla todettiin erilainen vaste lääkeaineilla provosoituun endoteeliriippuvaiseen tai sileälihasriippuvaiseen verisuonten laajenemiseen kuin täysiaikaisina syntyneillä verrokeilla. Vastasyntyneisyyskaudella näillä keskosilla todettiin kuuloaivokuoren erottelukokeessa positiivinen jännitevaste 350 ms ärsykkeen alusta. Vuoden iässä äänisarjan poikkeama aiheutti keskosilla positiivisen erotusjännitevasteen, kun taas täysiaikaisina syntyneillä kontrollilapsilla vaste oli muuttunut odotetusti negatiiviseksi. Viiden vuoden iässä varhaiset positiiviset jännitevasteet, jotka kuvastavat primaarikuuloaivokuoren toimintaa, olivat vaimeammat kuin verrokeilla. Nämä varhaiset vasteet sekä äänisarjan poikkeaman erottaminen korreloivat kielelliseen suoriutumiseen. Kuuloerottelun aktiivista tarkkaavaisuutta vaativassa kokeessa tarkkaavuuden perusmekanismit olivat keskosilla samanlaisia kuin kontrolleilla, mutta kontrolleja vaimeammat jännitepotentiaalit voivat viitata kuuloärsykkeen poikkeavaan prosessointiin. Ennenaikaisuus on merkittävä riski keskushermoston kehitykselle. Ennenaikaisuus voi lisätä sydän- ja verenkiertoelimistön poikkeavaa toimintaa. Keskosten kuuloaivokuoren erottelukokeen poikkeavuudet voivat assosioitua poikkeavaan kielelliseen kehitykseen