The development of cross-cultural recognition of vocal emotion during childhood and adolescence

Humans have an innate set of emotions recognised universally. However, emotion recognition also depends on socio-cultural rules. Although adults recognise vocal emotions universally, they identify emotions more accurately in their native language. We examined developmental trajectories of universal vocal emotion recognition in children. Eighty native English speakers completed a vocal emotion recognition task in their native language (English) and foreign languages (Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic) expressing anger, happiness, sadness, fear, and neutrality. Emotion recognition was compared across 8-to-10, 11-to-13-year-olds, and adults. Measures of behavioural and emotional problems were also taken. Results showed that although emotion recognition was above chance for all languages, native English speaking children were more accurate in recognising vocal emotions in their native language. There was a larger improvement in recognising vocal emotion from the native language during adolescence. Vocal anger recognition did not improve with age for the non-native languages. This is the first study to demonstrate universality of vocal emotion recognition in children whilst supporting an “in-group advantage” for more accurate recognition in the native language. Findings highlight the role of experience in emotion recognition, have implications for child development in modern multicultural societies and address important theoretical questions about the nature of emotions

Comparison of user groups' perspectives of barriers and facilitators to implementing electronic health records: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electronic health record (EHR) implementation is currently underway in Canada, as in many other countries. These ambitious projects involve many stakeholders with unique perceptions of the implementation process. EHR users have an important role to play as they must integrate the EHR system into their work environments and use it in their everyday activities. Users hold valuable, first-hand knowledge of what can limit or contribute to the success of EHR implementation projects. A comprehensive synthesis of EHR users' perceptions is key to successful future implementation. This systematic literature review was aimed to synthesize current knowledge of the barriers and facilitators influencing shared EHR implementation among its various users.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Covering a period from 1999 to 2009, a literature search was conducted on nine electronic databases. Studies were included if they reported on users' perceived barriers and facilitators to shared EHR implementation, in healthcare settings comparable to Canada. Studies in all languages with an empirical study design were included. Quality and relevance of the studies were assessed. Four EHR user groups were targeted: physicians, other health care professionals, managers, and patients/public. Content analysis was performed independently by two authors using a validated extraction grid with pre-established categorization of barriers and facilitators for each group of EHR users.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of a total of 5,695 potentially relevant publications identified, 117 full text publications were obtained after screening titles and abstracts. After review of the full articles, 60 publications, corresponding to 52 studies, met the inclusion criteria. The most frequent adoption factors common to all user groups were design and technical concerns, ease of use, interoperability, privacy and security, costs, productivity, familiarity and ability with EHR, motivation to use EHR, patient and health professional interaction, and lack of time and workload. Each user group also identified factors specific to their professional and individual priorities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This systematic review presents innovative research on the barriers and facilitators to EHR implementation. While important similarities between user groups are highlighted, differences between them demonstrate that each user group also has a unique perspective of the implementation process that should be taken into account.</p

Coping with Europe: How Greek journalists deal with disconnections between the EU and national levels

In this article, we explore Greek journalists’ perceptions of European Union (EU) journalism, the ways in which they talk about EU affairs, European integration and the EU establishment. There is a lack of research on how journalists from member states of the EU periphery deal with EU affairs. Greece being one of those member states is in our opinion an interesting case study, given circumstances like the financial or refugee crisis. We look at the challenges Greek journalists face in dealing with EU affairs, those they share with journalists from other countries, and those that are unique to the Greek case. We also look at certain coping strategies Greek journalists engage with in dealing with those challenges. Via our discussion we wish to offer a deeper insight into EU periphery journalists’ approaches to dealing with EU affairs and make recommendations for further research towards this direction. © The Author(s) 2020

C: A System for the Indexing, Storage, and Retrieval of Medical Images by Content

Image indexing, storage, and retrieval based on pictorial content is a feature of image database systems which is becoming of increasing importance in many application domains. Medical image database systems, which support the retrieval of images generated by different modalities based on their pictorial content, will provide added value to future generation Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), and can be used as a diagnostic decision support tool and as a tool for medical research and training. This paper presents the architecture and features of I 2 C, a system for the indexing, storage, and retrieval of medical images by content. A unique design feature of this architecture is that it also serves as a platform for the implementation and performance evaluation of image description methods and retrieval strategies. I 2 C is a modular and extensible system, which has been developed based on object-oriented principles. It consists of a set of cooperating modules which..

Humor as a humble way to access the complexity of knowledge construction

Ackermann tackles "humor" as an agentive participant in the process of knowledge construction. Performing her thesis in her writing, she give a refective account of how oblique ways of knowing have always been present in debates concerning epistemology, albeit not given equal status as rational ones. As such, her endeavors in this text are geared towards lifting up the position of "humor" to a much deserved higher level in educational and learning practices. Consequently, our endeavors in this commentary are targeted towards a little more in this direction by focusing on how "humor" becomes a way of accessing the process of knowledge construction and of unraveling its significance

A critical mathematics perspective on reading data visualizations: reimagining through reformatting, reframing, and renarrating

Data visualizations have proliferated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to communicate information about the crisis and influence policy development and individual decision-making. In invoking exponential growth, mathematical modelling, statistical analysis, and the like, these data visualizations invite opportunities for mathematics teaching and learning. Yet data visualizations are social texts, authored from specific points of view, that narrate particular, and often consequential, stories. Their fundamental reliance on quantification and mathematics cements their social positioning as supposedly objective, reliable, and neutral. The reading of any data visualization demands unpacking the role of mathematics, including how data and variables have been formatted and how relationships are framed to narrate stories from particular points of view. We present an approach to a critical reading of data visualizations for the context of mathematics education that draws on three interrelated concepts: mathematical formatting (what gets quantified, measured, and how), framing (how variables are related and through what kind of data visualization), and narrating (which stories the data visualization tells, its potential impacts and limits). This approach to reading data visualisations includes a process of reimagining through reformatting, reframing and renarrating. We illustrate this approach and these three concepts using data visualizations published in the New York Times in 2020 about COVID-19. We offer a set of possible questions to guide a critical reading of data visualizations, beyond this set of examples. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V

Establishing the use of 'metre' as a measure unit: An interdisciplinary approach for teaching mathematics

The present article focuses on exploring the dynamics of an interdisciplinary approach in teaching mathematics as a process that cultivates creativity in the school curriculum. We specificallydescribe here a research project that aims: first, to encourage students to develop and express their creativity; second, to support them towards envisioning mathematics in relationto other school subjects; and third, to assist them in realizing the social role ofmathematics itself as a subject closely related to citizenship.The project entitled 'Sensitive pendulum or heavy earth' was focused on actively engaging students with the main historical arguments concerning the idea of appropriating a common measure unit for length by the French National Assembly during the French Revolution. In order to motivate students and productively organize their efforts in this pedagogic setting we exploited certain drama techniques such as role-playing and role-playing debate. As a result, a short period (i.e. 6 weeks) interdisciplinary project was organized with two classes of 22 and 23 students who attend the 11th grade of an inner city Lyceum school in Athens, Greece. The students involved in this project got responses regarding the very-often-emerging question: why mathematics is useful. At the same time, students seem to change their perception of mathematics and tomove towards appreciating its multi-disciplinary and creative nature as well as the broader significance of mathematics in society. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. All rights reserved