Correlates of linguistic rhythm in the speech signal

Spoken languages have been classified by linguists according to their rhythmic properties, and psycholinguists have relied on this classification to account for infants’ capacity to discriminate languages. Although researchers have measured many speech signal properties, they have failed to identify reliable acoustic characteristics for language classes. This paper presents instrumental measurements based on a consonant/vowel segmentation for eight languages. The measurements suggest that intuitive rhythm types reflect specific phonological properties, which in turn are signaled by the acoustic/phonetic properties of speech. The data support the notion of rhythm classes and also allow the simulation of infant language discrimination, consistent with the hypothesis that newborns rely on a coarse segmentation of speech. A hypothesis is proposed regarding the role of rhythm perception in language acquisition

Organic Speciation Of Air Particulate Matter With Thermal Desorption – Pyrolysis – Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry

Characterization of particulate matter (PM), more specifically the carbonaceous fraction, is essential for understanding atmospheric processes, source determination, and health impacts. In this thesis, a novel approach to both the quantification and characterization of carbonaceous atmospheric PM was developed and validated on model compounds and collected ambient PM from a local source within Grand Forks, ND. Thermal optical analysis (TOA) is a commonly used method for the determination of organic (OC) and elemental (EC) carbon within atmospheric PM that yields quantitative results, i.e., total concentrations of OC and EC. However, for speciation of OC, there is no universal method. Typical approaches include solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), thermal desorption aerosol GC-MS (TAG), aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS), and pyrolysis GC-MS. In this thesis, thermal desorption (TD) coupled with pyrolysis (Pyr) GC-MS (TD-Pyr-GC-MS) was employed for characterization of carbonaceous PM and determination of specific tracers that were used for source apportionment. This method was developed to be used in combination with quantitative TOA data and qualitative results for both concentrations of OC, and its characterization. TOA of PM revealed a wide range of OC that makes up the total PM concentration (25 –75%), showing a wide variability in composition of atmospheric PM. Quantification by TOA supported the significance of the pyrolytic fraction, in which 73 – 87 % of the OC evolved at temperatures above 400 °C. The comprehensive speciation of OC assessed sequentially with thermal TD (evolving at 300 °C) and Pyr (˃ 400 °C) coupled to GC-MS enabled the investigation of both low and high molecular weight species’ tracers. The TD fraction showed a high abundance of long chain alkanes (waxes) with an odd number of carbon atoms, indicating biogenic origin, along with fatty acids (FAs) and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Furthermore, the generally ignored Pyr fraction showed a series of homologous compounds, which included n-alkenes, n-alkylbenzenes, light polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), n-alkanes, and substituted phenols, many of which are thought to be derived from the breakdown of larger molecular weight biogenic sources, e.g., plant waxes and triacylglycerides (TGs). The sequential pyrolytic temperatures steps used in this thesis were essential in understanding the overall composition of PM collected in the Grand Forks area. Furthermore, the model compounds analyzed in this study with TD-Pyr-GC-MS, i.e., TGs and fatty acids, provided unique insights into the mechanisms of pyrolysis. Moreover, the process of decomposition through hydrodeoxygenation vs. decarboxylation were assessed through analysis of these compounds. In addition, the Pyr of TGs and fatty acids, were shown to form specific homology profiles, mainly n-alkylbenzenes and 2-ring PAHs, which further supported their presence in atmospheric PM

Nutritional Status and Clinical Outcomes of Residents Admitted to a Nursing Home

Purpose The purpose of this research study was to describe the nutritional status (well nourished, at risk for malnutrition, or malnourished) of residents admitted to nursing homes and adverse clinical outcomes in those residents after four weeks. Methodology A descriptive, correlational design utilizing medical record data was used to examine the relationship between nutritional status and adverse clinical outcomes of weight loss and pressure ulcers. Results The sample (n=69) was predominately Caucasian (90%) with 38% having one or more pressure ulcers on admission. Most of the residents were admitted from an acute care facility (97%) and were either malnourished or at risk for malnutrition at the time of admission to a nursing home. At admission, there was no significant difference between the three groups of nutritional status (well nourished, at risk for malnutrition, and malnourished) in terms of pressure ulcers (F=1.127, p=0.33-). Just over half (52%) of the individuals remained at the nursing home at four weeks and of those 54% experienced a significant weight loss of 5% or more and 33% had one or more pressure ulcers. At four weeks, there were no significant differences between the three groups of nutritional status on the adverse clinical outcomes of weight loss (x²=3.37, df=2, p=0.185) or pressure ulcers (F=1.600, -=0.216). However, the relationship between nutritional status at admission and pressure ulcers at four weeks was significant (gamma value = 0.649; p = 0.016). Conclusion Older adults admitted to nursing homes were either at risk for malnutrition or are malnourished. Older adults experience a significant unintentional weight loss of 5% or more at four weeks following admission to a nursing home that was not related to nutritional status at admission. There was a relationship between nutritional status at admission and the presence of pressure ulcers at four weeks with those with poorer nutrition being more inclined to develop pressure ulcers. Nurses caring for older adults in nursing homes need to initiate weight monitoring processes early after an individual has been admitted to mitigate the tendency of older adults to lose weight and develop pressure ulcers following admission to a nursing home

Three European Sociologies of Religion: Beyond the Usual Agenda of the Discipline

The contemporary boom in the popularity of religion(s) and religiosity has led to new interest in their sociological study that has returned the sociology of religion to the heart of sociological research. In secular Europe alone, three new overviews of the discipline have appeared in 2006 and 2007, written by Grace Davie, I. Furseth and P. Repstad, and Z. R. Nespor and D. Luzny, all of which attempt to go beyond the traditional agenda of the discipline. This review article summarises the various attitudes of the respective authors and provides a general overview of their books. However, rather than evaluating them it tries to use the three books as a starting point for thinking of the discipline itself. Primarily, the author examines whether there is one single sociology of religion or not and stresses the multiplicity of 'national' approaches with regard to the state of religion in respective societies. Beyond the attention usually paid to the European-American division, and Davie's 'hybrid cases' of British, Canadian, German and Eastern European versions of the sociology of religion, which are also discussed, the author outlines the particularities of the French and Scandinavian approaches. The article then concerns itself with the various theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the discipline and emphasises its 'post-paradigmatic' stage. While some sociologists are looking for new theories (Furseth and Repstad), others highlight the variety of methods which allow a deeper understanding of the multiplicity of facts and meanings (Davie, Nespor and Luzny). Finally, the article discusses the specific position of religion(s) in post-communist countries and the ways in which it is studied

The Disappointed and Disgruntled: A Study of the Return in the 1990s of Czech Emigrants from the Communist Era

Any in-depth research on Czech emigration to the West in the communist era, & on the return of these emigrants in the 1990s, has until now been almost non-existent, although it could provide a deeper comprehension of present Czech society & its cultural values. The article provides a strong theoretical basis for this kind of study, which starts out from P. Berger's & T. Luckmann's theory of socialization, & compares it with the socioeconomic point of view, considered the most useful research method for this particular field. After a brief description of former developments, the article concentrates on a more detailed analysis of the recent process of the emigrants' return, which is described on the basis of qualitative biographical research. The author attempts to explain why the emigrants decided to return, including the factors of their prosperity abroad & their attitudes to modern capitalism & analyzes the process of their (re-)integration into Czech society. The main conclusion is that economic & work characteristics have played the most important role in the decision, although some other factors (especially time) must also be taken into account. The emigrants who have returned to the Czech Republic have found above-average employment positions in the country. However, their social adaptation contrasts sharply with this prosperity, partly owing to the envy of other people, & partly as a result of the significant difference in attitudes towards individual-collective relations

'The Son Has Ploughed', But a Foreign Son: Five Case Studies on Transformation Strategies in Czech Agriculture after 1989

European agriculture has recently undergone important changes connected with the reorientation of EU policy towards regional, recreational, and land-use subsidies, and owing to the internal divergence in agriculture itself, which has led to large ‘industrial’ farming companies on the one hand and small, ecological farms on the other. During the period of transformation, the Czech agricultural sector has been forced to confront these changes and full stability remains a long way in the future. Transformation has thus brought both advantages and disadvantages to all the players involved. The former include the existence of large-scale farms, relatively highly skilled workers, and a cheap labour force, which make Czech agriculture competitive on a European scale. On the other hand, Czech attitudes towards work and respect for the property of others are inadequate; production efficiency and quality are low, whereas the expectations of farmers are high. Czech entrepreneurs have opted for relatively strict, unsocial, win-win strategies and understand their business simply in terms of material profit. Conversely, Western businessmen active in the Czech Republic more highly value the long-term profit, social ties and the symbolic functions of agriculture, though that does not mean they would not prefer ‘industrial’ forms of farming. The main problem of Czech agriculture is thus the absence of family-type farms rooted in their local, social environment, and there is only limited potential for this to develop. Unfortunately, this fact creates the threat of a ‘two-speed’ European agriculture: the Western model, combining both small and ‘industrial’ farms, and the Eastern model, focusing solely on extensive large-scale farming

The Effect of Newspaper Closure on Local Media Ecology

On August 31, 2019, the local newspaper of Youngstown, Ohio, The Vindicator, ceased publication after 150 years. The Vindicator’s closure left Youngstown as the largest city in the United State without a major newspaper. As local newspaper closures become more and more common across communities, there are questions on how, and if, the coverage and content those newspaper provide to their communities can be replaced or will simply be lost forever. This study has three research questions. Question one pertains to the amount of original reporting that will exist without The Vindicator. Questions two asks about the amount of locally focused content that will be produced without The Vindicator. Question three asks how news outlets that continue to publish following The Vindicator’s closure will fulfil the community’s critical information needs (CIN). To answer these questions, a content analysis was conducted comparing a constructed week from the final six months of The Vindicator’s existence compared to a week-long sample of five news outlets that continue to publish in the Youngstown area following The Vindicator’s closing. Content from all six publications were coded for original reporting, local focus and fulfilling the community’s critical information needs. The results from this content analysis show that, by themselves, none of the examined outlets would be able to replace The Vindicator on their own. However, when viewing all five outlets together, there still exists a robust local media ecology in Youngstown following The Vindicator’s closing

Native Language Influence in the Segmentation of a Novel Language

Published online: 04 Apr 2016.A major problem in second language acquisition (SLA) is the segmentation of fluent speech in the target language, i.e., detecting the boundaries of phonological constituents like words and phrases in the speech stream. To this end, among a variety of cues, people extensively use prosody and statistical regularities. We examined the role of pitch, duration, and transitional probabilities (TPs) between adjacent syllables in the segmentation of a novel language by native speakers of German and compared their responses with the segmentation by the listeners with a phonologically different native language: Italian. We used an artificial language with different prosodic cues marking the boundaries of statistically defined words. In artificial-language learning experiments, we compared how Germans and Italians use prosodic and statistical cues for segmenting continuous speech. We show that native phonology modulates the processing of prosodic cues in novel languages. While native speakers of Italian interpret prosodic cues at both the word and the phrasal level, native speakers of German interpret them exclusively at the phrasal level. Phrasal prosody can facilitate the segmentation of a novel language when prosodic and statistical cues lead to the same segmentation solution. Word-level prosody does not necessarily facilitate segmentation, but it can disrupt it when statistical and prosodic cues lead to different segmentation solutions.The research leading to these results was supported by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement Number 269502 (PASCAL), by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, and by the Basque Foundation of Science, Spain

Can you see what i am talking about? Human speech triggers referential expectation in four-month-old infants

Infants’ sensitivity to selectively attend to human speech and to process it in a unique way has been widely reported in the past. However, in order to successfully acquire language, one should also understand that speech is a referential, and that words can stand for other entities in the world. While there has been some evidence showing that young infants can make inferences about the communicative intentions of a speaker, whether they would also appreciate the direct relationship between a specific word and its referent, is still unknown. In the present study we tested four-month-old infants to see whether they would expect to find a referent when they hear human speech. Our results showed that compared to other auditory stimuli or to silence, when infants were listening to speech they were more prepared to find some visual referents of the words, as signalled by their faster orienting towards the visual objects. Hence, our study is the first to report evidence that infants at a very young age already understand the referential relationship between auditory words and physical objects, thus show a precursor in appreciating the symbolic nature of language, even if they do not understand yet the meanings of words