Action-based effects on music perception

The classical, disembodied approach to music cognition conceptualizes action and perception as separate, peripheral processes. In contrast, embodied accounts of music cognition emphasize the central role of the close coupling of action and perception. It is a commonly established fact that perception spurs action tendencies. We present a theoretical framework that captures the ways in which the human motor system and its actions can reciprocally influence the perception of music. The cornerstone of this framework is the common coding theory, postulating a representational overlap in the brain between the planning, the execution, and the perception of movement. The integration of action and perception in so-called internal models is explained as a result of associative learning processes. Characteristic of internal models is that they allow intended or perceived sensory states to be transferred into corresponding motor commands (inverse modeling), and vice versa, to predict the sensory outcomes of planned actions (forward modeling). Embodied accounts typically refer to inverse modeling to explain action effects on music perception (Leman, 2007). We extend this account by pinpointing forward modeling as an alternative mechanism by which action can modulate perception. We provide an extensive overview of recent empirical evidence in support of this idea. Additionally, we demonstrate that motor dysfunctions can cause perceptual disabilities, supporting the main idea of the paper that the human motor system plays a functional role in auditory perception. The finding that music perception is shaped by the human motor system and its actions suggests that the musical mind is highly embodied. However, we advocate for a more radical approach to embodied (music) cognition in the sense that it needs to be considered as a dynamical process, in which aspects of action, perception, introspection, and social interaction are of crucial importance

A Consent Decree Abroad: Extraterritorial Enforcement of an EPA Consent Decree in \u3cem\u3eUnited States v. Volvo Powertrain Corp.\u3c/em\u3e

Although not as prominent in the public eye as automobile engines, emissions from non-road engines contribute significantly to global air pollution. In 2005, the United States Government fined Volvo Powertrain Corp. seventy-two million dollars for manufacturing non-road engines at its foreign subsidiary because these engines were not in compliance with emissions standards and therefore violated a consent decree between Volvo Powertrain Corp. and the federal government. In United States v. Volvo Powertrain Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld an interpretation of the consent decree and financial penalty put forth by the lower court. This Comment argues that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was correct in holding Volvo Powertrain liable for the emissions violations of its subsidiaries’ engines. Volvo Powertrain subjected itself to United States jurisdiction by requesting certificates of emissions compliance from the Environmental Protection Agency for the engines manufactured abroad by their foreign subsidiary

Research Methodology: An Innovative Approach to a Venerable Course

This paper outlines a number of innovations that we have recently implemented in the Research Methodology Course at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. Consistent with the goals of evidence-based medicine, evidence-based public health, intrinsic motivation, and phase 4 (T4) translational research, we have placed the emphasis on enhancing the students’ desire to learn—and more specifically on their desire to learn rigorous methods for conducting useful research that delivers practical benefits in a straightforward manner. A dozen innovations, along with some preliminary outcomes, are outlined in detail. Clin Trans Sci 2010; Volume 3: 309–311Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79360/1/j.1752-8062.2010.00239.x.pd

Research Notes: Iowa State University, Ames, and United States Department of Agriculture

The male-sterile (female-fertile) mutant ms1 is identified by three characteristic features. Kenworthy et al. (1973) reported occurrence of twin seedlings, at a low frequency. We are reporting the two additional characteristics: failure of cytokinesis following telophase II; and production of twice as many pollen mother cells as are found in male-fertile sibs

Research Notes : United States : Variation in pollen receptivity in artificial crosses of ms1-Urbana line

General characters associated with the soybean male-sterile msl gene have been described in a previous study (Chen et al., 1985). Among the four spontaneous and independent msl source populations (Palmer et al., 1978), the Urbana male-sterile (msl-Urbana) line was reported to have 1) higher female fertility (Boerma and Cooper, 1978), 2) lower percentage of ovule abortion (Kennell and Horner, 1985), and 3) higher percentage of pollen-tube germination in male-sterile anthers (Chen et al., 1986). However, no report has men-tioned whether gynoecia of male-sterile plants would have the same receptivity as those of male-fertile plants, when fertile pollen was applied to the stigma of male-sterile plants

RamStart

According to the 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationally, students with disabilities are less likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and more likely to be unemployed.1 At VCU, these students are served by the Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity Office (SAEO), which currently has only two case managers for 1500 registered students while the Association for Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) recommends an individual case load of 350 or fewer students. While these students attend New Student Orientation, there are currently no programs or sessions specifically designed to address their needs. RamStart is a model for presemester transition workshops for new students who have been granted accommodations through SAEO for disabilities and their families which is designed to provide them with tools for self-advocacy and independence. The goal of these workshops is to help ease the students’ transition to VCU by educating them and their parents about SAEO’s services, their rights and responsibilities, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), campus resources, and University policies and procedures to improve their chances of success

Low temperature removal of surface oxides and hydrocarbons from Ge(100) using atomic hydrogen

Germanium is a group IV semiconductor with many current and potential applications in the modern semiconductor industry. Key to expanding the use of Ge is a reliable method for the removal of surface contamination, including oxides which are naturally formed during the exposure of Ge thin films to atmospheric conditions. A process for achieving this task at lower temperatures would be highly advantageous, where the underlying device architecture will not diffuse through the Ge film while also avoiding electronic damage induced by ion irradiation. Atomic hydrogen cleaning (AHC) offers a low temperature, damage-free alternative to the common ion bombardment and annealing (IBA) technique which is widely employed. In this work, we demonstrate with xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) that the AHC method is effective in removing surface oxides and hydrocarbons, yielding an almost completely clean surface when the AHC is conducted at a temperature of 250 ◦C. We compare the post-AHC cleanliness and (2 × 1) low energy electron diffraction (LEED) pattern to that obtained via IBA, where the sample is annealed at 600 ◦C. We also demonstrate that the combination of a sample temperature of 250 ◦C and atomic H dosing is required to clean the surface. Lower temperatures prove less effective in removal of the oxide layer and hydrocarbons, whilst annealing in ultra-high vacuum conditions only removes weakly bound hydrocarbons. Finally, we examine the subsequent H-termination of an IBA-cleaned sample using XPS, LEED and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) in order to examine changes in the work function of Ge(100) upon hydrogenation

Convergent Chaos

Chaos is widely understood as being a consequence of sensitive dependence upon initial conditions. This is the result of an instability in phase space, which separates trajectories exponentially. Here, we demonstrate that this criterion should be refined. Despite their overall intrinsic instability, trajectories may be very strongly convergent in phase space over extremely long periods, as revealed by our investigation of a simple chaotic system (a realistic model for small bodies in a turbulent flow). We establish that this strong convergence is a multi-facetted phenomenon, in which the clustering is intense, widespread and balanced by lacunarity of other regions. Power laws, indicative of scale-free features, characterize the distribution of particles in the system. We use large-deviation and extreme-value statistics to explain the effect. Our results show that the interpretation of the 'butterfly effect' needs to be carefully qualified. We argue that the combination of mixing and clustering processes makes our specific model relevant to understanding the evolution of simple organisms. Lastly, this notion of convergent chaos, which implies the existence of conditions for which uncertainties are unexpectedly small, may also be relevant to the valuation of insurance and futures contracts