The Role of Native Language and the Fundamental Design of the Auditory System in Detecting Rhythm Changes

Accepted December 13, 2018Purpose: We investigated whether rhythm discrimination is mainly driven by the native language of the listener or by the fundamental design of the human auditory system and universal cognitive mechanisms shared by all people irrespective of rhythmic patterns in their native language. Method: In multiple experiments, we asked participants to listen to 2 continuous acoustic sequences and to determine whether their rhythms were the same or different (AX discrimination). Participants were native speakers of 4 languages with different rhythmic properties (Spanish, French, English, and German) to understand whether the predominant rhythmic patterns of a native language affect sensitivity, bias, and reaction time in detecting rhythmic changes in linguistic (Experiment 2) and in nonlinguistic (Experiments 1 and 2) acoustic sequences. We examined sensitivity and bias measures, as well as reaction times. We also computed Bayes factors in order to assess the effect of native language. Results: All listeners performed better (i.e., responded faster and manifested higher sensitivity and accuracy) when detecting the presence or absence of a rhythm change when the 1st stimulus in an AX test pair exhibited regular rhythm (i.e., a syllable-timed rhythmic pattern) than when the 1st stimulus exhibited irregular rhythm (i.e., stress-timed rhythmic pattern). This result pattern was observed both on linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli and was not modulated by the native language of the participant. Conclusion: We conclude that rhythm change detection is a fundamental function of a processing system that relies on general auditory mechanisms and is not modulated by linguistic experience.The authors acknowledge support from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Grant PSI2017-82563-P (awarded to A. G. S.), the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/Units of Excellence in R&D Grant SEV-2015-490 (BCBL), and the Basque Foundation for Science Grant IKERBASQUE (awarded to A. G. S. and M. O.). D. M. G. was supported by Grant PIA/Basal FB0003 from the Chilean Research Council. L. P. was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via Juan de la Cierva fellowship

Associations of inner retinal layers with risk of incident dementia: An individual participant data analysis of four prospective cohort studies

INTRODUCTION: Our main objective was to investigate whether retinal neurodegeneration, estimated from lower thickness of inner retinal layers, was associated with incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis using unpublished data from four prospective cohort studies with a total of 69,955 participants (n = 1087 cases of incident all-cause dementia; n = 520 cases incident AD; follow-up time median [interquartile range] 11.3 [8.8-11.5] years). RESULTS: General baseline characteristics of the study population were mean (standard deviation) age, 58.1 (8.8) years; 47% women. After adjustment, lower baseline macular retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was significantly associated with a 10% and 11% higher incidence of all-cause dementia and AD, respectively. Lower baseline macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness was not significantly associated with these outcomes. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that retinal neurodegeneration precedes the onset of clinical dementia. Retinal imaging tools may be informative biomarkers for the study of the early pathophysiology of dementia

Global standards of Constitutional law : epistemology and methodology

Just as it led the philosophy of science to gravitate around scientific practice, the abandonment of all foundationalist aspirations has already begun making political philosophy into an attentive observer of the new ways in which constitutional law is practiced. Yet paradoxically, lawyers and legal scholars are not those who understand this the most clearly. Beyond analyzing the jurisprudence that has emerged from the expansion of constitutional justice, and taking into account the development of international and regional law, the ongoing globalization of constitutional law requires comparing the constitutional laws of individual nations. Following Waldron, the product of this new legal science can be considered as ius gentium. This legal science is not as well established as one might like to think. But it can be developed on the grounds of the practice that consists in ascertaining standards. As abstract types of best “practices” (and especially norms) of constitutional law from around the world, these are only a source of law in a substantive, not a formal, sense. They thus belong to what I should like to call a “second order legal positivity.” In this article I will undertake, both at a methodological and an epistemological level, the development of a model for ascertaining global standards of constitutional law

Study of the doubly charmed tetraquark T+cc

Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force, describes interactions of coloured quarks and gluons and the formation of hadronic matter. Conventional hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and quark-antiquark pairs, respectively. Particles with an alternative quark content are known as exotic states. Here a study is reported of an exotic narrow state in the D0D0π+ mass spectrum just below the D*+D0 mass threshold produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The state is consistent with the ground isoscalar T+cc tetraquark with a quark content of ccu⎯⎯⎯d⎯⎯⎯ and spin-parity quantum numbers JP = 1+. Study of the DD mass spectra disfavours interpretation of the resonance as the isovector state. The decay structure via intermediate off-shell D*+ mesons is consistent with the observed D0π+ mass distribution. To analyse the mass of the resonance and its coupling to the D*D system, a dedicated model is developed under the assumption of an isoscalar axial-vector T+cc state decaying to the D*D channel. Using this model, resonance parameters including the pole position, scattering length, effective range and compositeness are determined to reveal important information about the nature of the T+cc state. In addition, an unexpected dependence of the production rate on track multiplicity is observed

An Interdisciplinary Theoretical Interpretive Synthesis Examining the Barriers to Implementing Restorative Justice as the Standard Paradigm of Adult Criminal Justice Within the Context of the United States

A systemic paradigm shift of any sort is complex and multifaceted. A systemic paradigm shift of justice is no different. The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers that exist in a systemic paradigm shift from retributive justice to restorative justice. The methodology for this study is an interpretive synthesis of literature on restorative justice and consists of primarily theoretical literature. The literature for this study came from a variety of disciplines (e.g. psychology, criminal justice, sociology, and social work) in order to obtain a holistic perspective. A tripartite analysis was conducted using three perspectives: criminal justice, social systems model, and social work. In using these three lenses, different barriers to a systemic paradigm shift were able to be identified. This study identified several barriers from all three perspectives that may likely impede a systemic paradigm shift to restorative justice. With these barriers is it possible that a restorative justice paradigm might not be able to wholly replace the criminal justice system, but rather, that it can grow to work in concert with the current criminal justice system, and infusing the criminal justice system with restorative values. This study holds the potential for social workers to focus efforts on social change, and addressing the barriers that have been identified. This research advocates for social workers to be active in political action as well as in community organizing and development. Social work, because of its mission, values, and perspectives, is in a unique position to address these barriers

Indonesian Cybercrime Verdicts Collected 2016-2018

The dataset presents a summary of Indonesian cybercrime cases from 123 district court verdicts; 18 high court verdicts; and 16 Supreme Court verdicts. All the verdicts contain at least one indictment from Act 11/2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transaction as amended by Act 19/2016 (EITA). The verdicts were collected from the website of Indonesian Supreme Court website as of 15 June 2016 until 1 February 2018. The dataset is part of my dissertation: Issues of Cross-Border Access to Electronic Evidence: Improving Indonesian Practice in Investigating Cybercrim

Constitutional Court Decisions concerning the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Law (KUHAP) 2006 to 2018

The dataset presents a summary of 51 decisions of the Indonesian Constitutional Court concerning judicial review of the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Law (KUHAP) from 2006 to 2018. It contains the case number; applicants; articles of the KUHAP that the Court reviewed; and the verdicts of the Court and its main consideration. The decisions were collected from the website of the Indonesian Constitutional Court as of 15 June 2016 until 11 March 2018. The dataset is part of my dissertation: Issues of Cross-Border Access to Electronic Evidence: Improving Indonesian Practice in Investigating Cybercrime

Worker separations in a nonstationary corporate environment

Das Arbeitspapier berichtet ueber die Ergebnisse einer Studie, die von 1987 bis 1996 in einer grossen niederlaendischen Flugzeugfabrik die Unterschiede der Personalpolitik (Uebernahme und Entlassung von Arbeitern) in Zeiten hoher Arbeitsauslastung, der Konzentration der Firma und der Teilschliessung untersuchte. Methodisch stuetzt die Untersuchung sich dabei auf ein Cox proportional hazard Modell, um die Personalentwicklung zu analysieren bzw. zu prognostizieren. Als Determinanten fuer die Uebernahme von Teilen des Personal erweisen sich die Qualitaet der Arbeit, das Verhaeltnis von Arbeitern und Angestellten, Dauer der Betriebszugehoerigkeit und betriebsspezifische Karrieremuster. Aus den Ergebnissen werden abschliessend einige personalpolitische Massnahmen abgeleitet, die Firmen in einer 'turbulenten Umwelt' flexiblere Reaktionen erlauben. (ICA)'This paper investigates differences in worker turnover characteristics between periods of workforce expansion and contraction in a firm. We derive a Cox proportional hazard model from a simple model of job separation based an the expected surpluses from the firm and its workers. We account for non-stationarity in the baseline hazard reversing the rote of calendar time and employment duration (Imbens, 1994), and estimate the model using personnel data from a large Dutch aircraft manufacturer over a period from January 1987 until March 14th, 1996, one day before its bankruptcy. Performance evaluations, blue versus white collar employment, and career paths within the firm are found to play an important role explaining differences in turnover behavior. A generally important result is that smooth functional forms of the age effect an worker mobility can produce misleading results, blurring a better understanding of the design of early retirement schemes for corporate reorganizations.' (author's abstract)German title: Arbeiter in einem dynamischen UnternehmenSIGLEAvailable from ftp://ftp.iza.org/dps/dp201.pdf / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman