Maturing Temporal Bones as Non-Neural Sites for Transforming the Speech Signal during Language Development

Developmental events in the temporal bones shift the pattern of a given speech sounds acoustic profile through the time children are mapping linguistic sound systems. Before age 5 years, frequency information in vowels is differentially accessible through the years children are acquiring the sound systems of their native language(s). To model the acoustic effects caused by developing temporal bones, data collected to elicit steady-state vowels from adult native speakers of English and Diné were modified to reflect the form of children\u27s hearing sensitivities at different ages based on patterns established in the psychoacoustic literature. It was assumed, based on the work of psychacousticians (e.g., Werner, Fay & Popper 2012; and Werner & Marean 1996), that the effects caused by immature temporal bones were conductive immaturities, and the age-sensitive filters were constructed based on psychoacoustic research into the hearing of infants and children. Data were partitioned by language, sex, and individual vowels and compared for points of similarity and difference in the way information in vowels is filtered because of the constraints imposed by the immaturity of the temporal bones. Results show that the early formant pattern becomes successively modified in a constrained pattern reflecting maturational processes. Results also suggest that children may well be switching strategies for processing vowels, using a more adult-like process after 18 months. Future research should explore if early hearing not only affects individual speech sounds but their relationships to one another in the vowel space as well. Additionally, there is an interesting artifact in the observed gradual progression to full adult hearing which may be the effect of the foramen of Huschke contributing to the filters at 1 year and 18 months. Given that immature temporal bones reflect brain expansion and rotational birth in hominids, these results contribute to the discussion of the biological underpinnings of the evolution of language.\u2

Influenza Vaccination: an Educational Module for Health Care Workers

The seasonal influenza virus continues to have a significant impact on the health of hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States each year, despite the availability of a vaccine shown to be effective at reducing both illness and death. All Health Care Workers (HCWs) at a large Midwestern medical center must make a choice whether to receive the yearly influenza vaccine or not, and approximately 5,000 HCWs chose to decline the vaccine in 20l2. Reasons given for these declinations included fears about vaccine safety and effectiveness, as well as misperceptions about vaccine side effects and the intended recipients. While Occupational Health Nurses (OHNs) offer the influenza vaccine to all HCWs, there is an identified need to provide fuither education about the vaccine and the important role it plays in the health promotion of HCWs to those who may choose to decline the vaccine. An educational module, based on Nola Pender\u27s Health Promotion Model, and formatted as a video for HCWs to view before they are able to decline the influenza vaccine, is proposed in this project. This educational module would allow OHNs an opportunity to influence a positive change in HCWs\u27 future decision making about receiving an influenza vacsination. If successful, the overall health of both the HCWs and the patients cared for in the medical center could be improved

Sexual Exploitation in the Rhetoric of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

In this essay, Lisa Hogan explores Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s attacks on marriage, including her critique of the institution of marriage and her support of liberal divorce laws. It reveals that Stanton’s most controversial writings addressed woman’s sexuality in a broader context, including discussions of sexual exploitation and infanticide

Enhancing the implementation and sustainability of fundamental movement skill interventions in the UK and Ireland: lessons from collective intelligence engagement with stakeholders

Abstract Background To have population-level impact, physical activity (PA) interventions must be effectively implemented and sustained under real-world conditions. Adequate Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) is integral to children being able to actively participate in play, games, and sports. Yet, few FMS interventions have been implemented at scale, nor sustained in routine practice, and thus it is important to understand the influences on sustained implementation. The study’s aim was to use Collective Intelligence (CI)—an applied systems science approach—with stakeholder groups to understand barriers to the implementation of FMS interventions, interdependencies between these barriers, and options to overcome the system of barriers identified. Methods Three CI sessions were conducted with three separate groups of experienced FMS intervention researchers/practitioners (N = 22) in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Participants generated and ranked barriers they perceive most critical in implementing FMS interventions. Each group developed a structural model describing how highly ranked barriers are interrelated in a system. Participants then conducted action mapping to solve the problem based on the logical relations between barriers reflected in the model. Results The top ranked barriers (of 76) are those related to policy, physical education curriculum, and stakeholders’ knowledge and appreciation. As reflected in the structural model, these barriers have influences over stakeholders’ efficacy in delivering and evaluating interventions. According to this logical structure, 38 solutions were created as a roadmap to inform policy, practice, and research. Collectively, solutions suggest that efforts in implementation and sustainability need to be coordinated (i.e., building interrelationship with multiple stakeholders), and a policy or local infrastructure that supports these efforts is needed. Conclusions The current study is the first to describe the complexity of barriers to implementing and sustaining FMS interventions and provide a roadmap of actions that help navigate through the complexity. By directing attention to the ecological context of FMS intervention research and participation, the study provides researchers, policy makers, and practitioners with a framework of critical components and players that need to be considered when designing and operationalising future projects in more systemic and relational terms

Reduced Bias for Respondent Driven Sampling: Accounting for Non-Uniform Edge Sampling Probabilities in People Who Inject Drugs in Mauritius

People who inject drugs are an important population to study in order to reduce transmission of blood-borne illnesses including HIV and Hepatitis. In this paper we estimate the HIV and Hepatitis C prevalence among people who inject drugs, as well as the proportion of people who inject drugs who are female in Mauritius. Respondent driven sampling (RDS), a widely adopted link-tracing sampling design used to collect samples from hard-to-reach human populations, was used to collect this sample. The random walk approximation underlying many common RDS estimators assumes that each social relation (edge) in the underlying social network has an equal probability of being traced in the collection of the sample. This assumption does not hold in practice. We show that certain RDS estimators are sensitive to the violation of this assumption. In order to address this limitation in current methodology, and the impact it may have on prevalence estimates, we present a new method for improving RDS prevalence estimators using estimated edge inclusion probabilities, and apply this to data from Mauritius

Older Veteran Digital Disparities: Examining the Potential for Solutions Within Social Networks

BACKGROUND: Older adults typically have less access to the Internet than other age groups, and older Veterans may use the Internet even less due to economic and geographic reasons. OBJECTIVE: To explore solutions to this problem, our study examined older Veterans\u27 reported ability to access technology through their close social ties. METHODS: Data were collected via mail survey from a sample of Veterans aged 65 years and older (N=266). RESULTS: Nearly half (44.0%, 117/266) of the sample reported having no Internet access. Yet, among those without current access, older Veterans reported having a median of 5 (IQR 7) close social ties with home Internet access. These older Veterans also reported that they would feel comfortable asking a median of 2 (IQR 4) social ties for help to access the Internet, and that a median of 2 (IQR 4) social ties would directly access the Internet for the older Veteran to help with health management. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that even older Veterans without current Internet access have at least two social ties with home Internet who could be called upon for technology support. Thus, older Veterans may be willing to call upon these surrogate seekers for technology assistance and support in health management. This has implications for the digital divide, technology design, and health care policy