Impresa sociale ed imposta di registro

si tratta delle fonti normative relative agli argomenti trattati nella lezione del 28 maggio 200

Il tributo ed i principi costituzionali in materia tributaria

MATERIALE NON OBBLIGATORIO: si tratta della presentazione e della giurisprudenza indicata dal dott. V. Mercurio nella lezione del 21.10.200

riscossione dei tributi e sanzioni amministrative tributarie - Lez. Vitaliano Mercurio del 23.04.2009

si tratta di parte del materiale legislativo e giurisprudenziale indicato nella lezione del 23 aprile 200

Emotion Communication Through Voice Modulation: Insights on Biological and Evolutionary Underpinnings of Language

Abstract. The aim of this review is to enhance our understanding of the role of emotional communication in the emergence of language. I provide data on the following research topics: 1) Cross-species comparative approach to the anatomical principles governing emotional vocal production. 2) Analysis of acoustic parameters conveying emotional arousal and valence through voice modulation across human cultures and a wide variety of vocalizing nonhuman animals. On this regard, I will describe the evolutionary advantage of being able to identify emotional contentin both heterospecific and conspecific vocalizations. 3) The relative salienceof emotional voice modulation and verbal content in emotional meaning processing, as an indicator of the biological role of voice modulation in the emergence of language. Finally, I propose that co-evolutionary dynamics between genetic transmission of the cognitive mechanisms underpinning language and socio-cultural transmission of vocal behaviors are responsible for the emergence of the abilities involved in language

Tributi locali - Lezione dott. V. Mercurio

Viene pubblicato il materiale legislativo e giurisprudenziale utilizzato per la lezione del 2 aprile 200

Pitch enhancement facilitates word learning across visual contexts

This study investigates word-learning using a new model that integrates three processes: a) extracting a word out of a continuous sound sequence, b) inferring its referential meanings in context, c) mapping the segmented word onto its broader intended referent, such as other objects of the same semantic category, and to novel utterances. Previous work has examined the role of statistical learning and/or of prosody in each of these processes separately. Here, we combine these strands of investigation into a single experimental approach, in which participants viewed a photograph belonging to one of three semantic categories while hearing a complex, five-syllable utterance containing a one-syllable target word. Six between-subjects conditions were tested with 20 adult participants each. In condition 1, the only cue to word-meaning mapping was the co-occurrence of word and referents. This statistical cue was present in all conditions. In condition 2, the target word was sounded at a higher pitch. In condition 3, random one-syllable words were sounded at a higher pitch, creating an inconsistent cue. In condition 4, the duration of the target word was lengthened. In conditions 5 and 6, an extraneous acoustic cue and a visual cue were associated with the target word, respectively. Performance in this word-learning task was significantly higher than that observed with simple co-occurrence only when pitch prominence consistently marked the target word. We discuss implications for the intentional value of pitch marking as well as the relevance of our findings to language acquisition and language evolution

Do Women Prefer More Complex Music around Ovulation?

The evolutionary origins of music are much debated. One theory holds that the ability to produce complex musical sounds might reflect qualities that are relevant in mate choice contexts and hence, that music is functionally analogous to the sexually-selected acoustic displays of some animals. If so, women may be expected to show heightened preferences for more complex music when they are most fertile. Here, we used computer-generated musical pieces and ovulation predictor kits to test this hypothesis. Our results indicate that women prefer more complex music in general; however, we found no evidence that their preference for more complex music increased around ovulation. Consequently, our findings are not consistent with the hypothesis that a heightened preference/bias in women for more complex music around ovulation could have played a role in the evolution of music. We go on to suggest future studies that could further investigate whether sexual selection played a role in the evolution of this universal aspect of human culture