The Effects of Gesture on Early Language Production

Over the last decade, baby sign language (adapted signs for simple words like milk or mom) has become a trending parenting fad. Although significant research is still lacking on the subject, there is evidence suggesting that the use of early gestures is beneficial in promoting spoken language in typically developing children. Given developmental support for early gesture, this project aims to investigate the use of manual gestures to support speech sound production for a young child with speech and language delay. This project is two-fold. Part one included an extensive literature review of existing research on baby sign, gesture and language acquisition. Part two of the project included field work with a 2.7-year-old boy with history of delayed language and speech. We created a unique motor gesture to mimic the movement of the articulators utilized in the production of each sound. Play based sessions were conducted in which the child received direct instruction on how to produce the gesture as well as verbal input on how to produce the speech sound. Data was collected on the child’s articulation progress across sessions before and after the presence of the supporting motor gesture. The caregiver was provided with instruction on how to promote the use of gestures and was asked to journal on use of gestures within the home. Qualitative analyses suggest that the use of manual gesture may support speech sound production in young children. Further research in this area is needed to provide evidence to support the use of gesture within speech sound interventions for children

The Socratic Argument against \u3cem\u3eAkrasia \u3c/em\u3ein the \u3cem\u3eProtagoras\u3c/em\u3e

Editor\u27s note: After blind peer review, this paper was selected for reading at the University of Dayton\u27s 10th annual Philosophy Colloquium, held Feb. 27-28, 1981. In a famous argument at the end of the Protagoras Socrates undertakes to show (a) that the thesis that one can act contrary to what one knows to be best is absurd, given the explanation of such actions as being due to the agent\u27s being overcome by pleasure, and given the hedonistic standards of evaluation to which most people are committed; and (b) that the correct explanation of such actions is that they are due to the agent\u27s ignorance, i.e., his failure to know what is best in the circumstances. Like many others, I want to know what Socrates thinks the absurdity in question is and whether he is correct in making the charge. I also want to know on what grounds he bases his rival explanation and whether these grounds are compelling. In what follows I set out the thesis under attack, determine to what extent hedonism is being relied upon in the argument, diagnose and analyse the absurdity, and analyse the argument which sponsors Socrates\u27 rival explanation. I hope to offer some fresh insights into the logical structure and assumptions of the argument, and shall express disagreement with some existing interpretations where such expression is indicated

Socrates and Hedonism: Protagoras 351b-358d

The weight of the evidence is heavily in favor of the antihedonist reading of the Protagoras. It is thoroughly compatible with the text of the Protagoras; it is intelligible in the light of a plausible account of Socrates\u27 aims; and it can meet objections to it, whereas the prohedonist account creates more problems than it solves

ALPPACA - A tooL for Prokaryotic Phylogeny And Clustering Analysis

A tooL for Prokaryotic Phylogeny And Clustering Analysis (ALPPACA) is a pipeline that allows both de-novo and reference-based phylogenetic analysis of prokaryotic genomes. The pipeline provides a suite of analyses tailored for different scenarios, designed to allow analysis of datasets represented by three different genetic diversity levels, all in one package. These levels of similarity influence what assumptions are used to consider sequences as orthologous when reconstructing the multiple alignment required for phylogenetic inference. By selecting an appropriate track for the data at hand, the user can be confident that these assumptions are taken care of within the framework of ALPPACA

Yeast Sex: Surprisingly High Rates of Outcrossing between Asci

BACKGROUND: Saccharomyces yeasts are an important model system in many areas of biological research. Very little is known about their ecology and evolution in the wild, but interest in this natural history is growing. Extensive work with lab strains in the last century uncovered the Saccharomyces life cycle. When nutrient limited, a diploid yeast cell will form four haploid spores encased in a protective outer layer called the ascus. Confinement within the ascus is thought to enforce mating between products of the same meiotic division, minimizing outcrossing in this stage of the life cycle. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a set of S. cerevisiae and S. paradoxus strains isolated from woodlands in North America, we set up trials in which pairs of asci were placed in contact with one another and allowed to germinate. We observed outcrossing in approximately 40% of the trials, and multiple outcrossing events in trials with three asci in contact with each other. When entire populations of densely crowded asci germinated, approximately 10-25% of the resulting colonies were outcrossed. There were differences between the species with S. cerevisiae having an increased tendency to outcross in mass mating conditions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results highlight the potential for random mating between spores in natural strains, even in the presence of asci. If this type of mating does occur in nature and it is between close relatives, then a great deal of mating behavior may be undetectable from genome sequences

Condition-dependent auditory processing in the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus): Links to sex, reproductive condition and female estrogen levels

Neural responses to sensory stimuli often differ between sexes, vary seasonally, and can be regulated by endocrine activity, but the ecological and physiological mechanisms driving such patterns are not well understood. The current study examined how auditory function in the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), a vocal teleost, co-varied with sex, reproductive condition and female plasma 17β-estradiol level. Auditory evoked potentials were collected in response to tone pips (100–600Hz) and a natural round goby pulse vocalization. Additionally, saccule hair cell densities were compared across reproductive groups. Auditory threshold was evaluated in terms of pressure and particle acceleration, and response amplitude and onset latency were measured at 10dB above threshold. Relative to males, females displayed lower auditory thresholds in response to the natural vocalization and to tones at 300–600Hz, and had a higher density of saccule hair cells. The 17β-estradiol level was positively associated with amplitude and latency for the pulse stimulus and with both threshold and amplitude for tones at 100–200Hz in females. Relative to non-reproductive males, reproductive males exhibited longer response latencies at 100–200Hz. The results demonstrate sexual dimorphism in auditory function in a teleost fish as well as intra-sexual variation, partially based on hormone levels. The current research further identifies links between auditory function and reproductive behaviors in fishes and provides a finer-scaled analysis of how this behavior is reflected at the level of the sensory systems facilitating signal reception

Condition-dependent auditory function and reproductive development in the round goby, Neogobius melanostomus

Neural responses to sensory stimuli often differ between sexes and can be regulated by endocrine activity. This thesis examines the effects of sex, reproductive condition, female plasma 17b-estradiol level, and saccule hair cell density on auditory function in the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus). Relative to males, females had greater auditory sensitivity in the upper range of their hearing (300-600 Hz) and a higher density of hair cells. Female 17b-estradiol was associated with changes in auditory filtering properties at low frequencies (100-200 Hz). Additionally, I examined associations between gonadosomatic index, reproductive hormones, and stage of gonadal development in the round goby. Gonadasomatic indices provided limited resolution on reproductive condition in males and females; these categories encompassed individuals in varied endocrine and gonadal conditions. The results demonstrate auditory sexual dimorphism, elucidate the physiological mechanisms regulating auditory function, and present a framework for future studies on the reproductive cycle in the round goby