Speech versus sign comprehension in autistic children: analysis and prediction

Autistic children have severe problems in acquiring language. For this reason, special techniques have been developed to teach them speech and sign language. It is not known, however, whether these children will profit more from speech or sign training. The research literature implies that verbal imitative ability may predict language learning characteristics particularly in the speech modality. In view of this possibility, two groups of autistic children--good versus poor verbal imitators--were studied within the context of a receptive label acquisition task. Good imitators acquired receptive speech whereas poor imitators typically did not. Both groups acquired receptive signs. The results were discussed in terms of the role that imitative ability may play with respect to language acquisition in this population.     

Studies on the balancing,the minimal balancing,and the minimum balancing processes for social groups with planar and nonplanar graph structures

Balancing processes of social groups which transform an unbalanced group to a balanced one by changing the interpersonal relations in the group are characterized in terms of signed graphs. The graphs are given by categorizing the (interpersonal) relations within groups as positive or negative. A balanced state of a group is defined as one in which all the circuits of the graph have a positive sign, and the other cases are called unbalanced states. First, we show that a balancing process for a signed graph (changing the signs of its lines) is decomposed into that for each of the block components of the graph. Second, we classify signed graphs as planar and nonplanar. For the planar cases, we define the dual graph of a planar signed graph, and the balancing processes are characterized by specified sets of lines of the graph. According to the characterization, effective algorithms to derive the minimal and the minimum balancing processes are proposed. For the nonplanar cases, the balancing processes are characterized in terms of adjacency matrices of nonplanar signed graphs by introducing the notion of sign vectors. The characterization results in effective algorithms to derive the minimal and the minimum balancing processes. These discussions are also extended to the case where interpersonal relations have their own directions.     

Attention to speed and guide traffic signs with eye movements

The goal of this research is to describe the visual search patterns for diverse traffic signs. Twelve drivers of both genders and different driving experience levels took part in real driving research with an instrumented car provided with an eye-tracking system. Looking at signs has a weak relation with speed reduction in cases where actual driving speed was higher. Nevertheless, among the people who looked at the sign, the percentage of those who reduce the speed below the limit is greater than of those who do not look at the sign. Guide traffic signs, particularly those mounted over the road, are more frequently glanced at than speed limit signs, with a glance duration of more than one second, in sequences of more than two consecutive fixations. Implications for driving and the possibilities and limitations of eye movement analysis for traffic sign research are discussed.     

A validity scale sign calling for caution in the interpretation of MMPIs among psychiatric inpatients

Three expert MMPI judges classified 100 psychiatric inpatients as psychotic or non-psychotic on the basis of their MMPIs. Validity scale data, as well as clinical scale scores, were included for 50 of the profiles, while the validity scale scores were withheld from the judges for the remaining 50 profiles. Within each of the above two groups, half had a "positive" validity scale sign (a defensive validity scale configuration defined as L or K greater than or equal to 70, or both greater than or equal to 60) and half had a negative validity scale sign, indicating a lack of defensiveness. Using actual diagnosis as the external criterion, results indicated that the majority of defensive psychotic patients produced clinical scale configurations which appeared nonpsychotic to the judges. Conversely, the majority of nondefensive nonpsychotics produced psychotic-appearing clinical scale configurations. These two types of test misses suggest that K corrections on MMPI scales relating to psychosis are not optimal for psychiatric inpatients. Guidelines were developed for interpreting defensive profiles.     

“MORE” is “LESS”: Sign language comprehension in deaf and hearing children

Matched groups of deaf children of deaf parents and hearing children of hearing parents were required to indicate which of two glasses contained more or less water. The deaf comprehended the meaning of the highly iconic sign “LESS” across all ages while comprehension of the noniconic sign “MORE” was a function of age. These data, reflecting a “MORE is LESS” effect, were the reverse of the findings for the hearing given speech. When given sign, the performance of the hearing was similar to that of the deaf except for the absence of an age-related increase in “MORE” accuracy. Analyses of response biases revealed differential preferences for the two groups. Results are discussed in terms of the relative iconicity of the two signs and Clark's Semantic Feature Hypotheses.     

Mental representations of obligatory and prohibitory traffic signs

Every traffic sign conveys a single proposition about traffic conditions. Drivers must integrate this proposition with their goals and other known facts to decide on an appropriate action in what amounts to a deduction task. For example, imagine that you are driving a car and you want to turn right at an intersection but there is a no right turn sign. You have to assess the options and make a decision (reach a conclusion). Theoretical accounts from research about reasoning can be applied to how we understand traffic signs and make inferences from them. This study includes two experiments that analysed how people decide whether a situation is allowed or not, taking into account the information provided by one sign - obligatory or prohibitory - or two signs - two obligatory or two prohibitory signs. The number of signs, that is, the complexity of the driving scene, was a key factor in this study. The two experiments differ in the presentation format of the two-sign experimental condition. In the first experiment, the signs were presented as two isolated signs. In the second experiment, the two signs were embedded in one. Equivalent results were found whether two isolated signs or two embedded signs were shown. When an obligatory sign was used at the junction, faster responses were obtained for allowed manoeuvres than for those not allowed. When a prohibitory sign was used, the results were the opposite. However, the advantage of prohibitory signs in the not-allowed situation was not replicated when people had to collect information from two prohibitory signs. Results showed that people integrate two obligatory sign messages - informing where one can go - more easily than two prohibitory sign messages - informing where not to go. Therefore, it could be said that each traffic sign elicits an internal mental model elaboration in which forbidden actions are explicitly labelled by means of attached "mental footnotes" indicating the epistemic status of "prohibitory information."     

Canonical analysis of two convex polyhedral cones and applications

Canonical analysis of two convex polyhedral cones consists in looking for two vectors (one in each cone) whose square cosine is a maximum. This paper presents new results about the properties of the optimal solution to this problem, and also discusses in detail the convergence of an alternating least squares algorithm. The set of scalings of an ordinal variable is a convex polyhedral cone, which thus plays an important role in optimal scaling methods for the analysis of ordinal data. Monotone analysis of variance, and correspondence analysis subject to an ordinal constraint on one of the factors are both canonical analyses of a convex polyhedral cone and a subspace. Optimal multiple regression of a dependent ordinal variable on a set of independent ordinal variables is a canonical analysis of two convex polyhedral cones as long as the signs of the regression coefficients are given. We discuss these three situations and illustrate them by examples.     

Brain activations associated with sign production using word and picture inputs in deaf signers

Effective literacy education in deaf students calls for psycholinguistic research revealing the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying their written language processing. When learning a written language, deaf students are often instructed to sign out printed text. The present fMRI study was intended to reveal the neural substrates associated with word signing by comparing it with picture signing. Native deaf signers were asked to overtly sign in Chinese Sign Language (CSL) common objects indicated with written words or presented as pictures. Except in left inferior frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule where word signing elicited greater activation than picture signing, the two tasks engaged a highly overlapping set of brain regions previously implicated in sign production. The results suggest that word signing in the deaf signers relies on meaning activation from printed visual forms, followed by similar production processes from meaning to signs as in picture signing. The present study also documents the basic brain activation pattern for sign production in CSL and supports the notion of a universal core neural network for sign production across different sign languages.     

Spin and space

In this paper we will take a careful look at the well-known fact that a complete 2 rotation in three dimensional space, while leaving vectors, tensors and generally the integral representations of the rotation group unchanged, causes a sign change in the half-integral spinor representations of the rotation group. First, in a brief introduction, we review the origin of the sign change of spinors by a 2 rotation. Next, we analyze Aharonov and Susskind's (hereafter referred to as A. & S.) (1967) original proposal for detecting such a sign change and compare it with a later proposal¹ for detecting the sign change using neutron beams that are coherently split and recombined. While the A. & S. experiment is, we think, conceptually more interesting, the neutron beam experiment has actually been carried out. And finally, we discuss the philosophical significance of the rotationally induced spinor sign change.On leave from the Department of Philosophy, Fordham University.     

Learning about the equal sign: Does comparing with inequality symbols help?

This study investigated whether instruction that involves comparing the equal sign with other relational symbols is more effective at imparting a relational interpretation of the equal sign than instruction about the equal sign alone. Third- and fourth-grade students in a comparing symbols group learned about the greater than, less than, and equal signs and had the opportunity to compare the inequality symbols with the equal sign. Students in an equal sign group learned about the equal sign only. A third group of students served as a control group. Three aspects of students’ knowledge were assessed before and after the lesson: (a) conceptual understanding of the equal sign, (b) equation encoding, and (c) problem solving. Students in the comparing symbols group showed greater gains in conceptual understanding from pretest to posttest than students in the other two groups, and students in the comparing symbols group also scored higher on a posttest that assessed knowledge about inequality symbols and inequality problem solving. Thus, they learned about three symbols in the same amount of time as other students learned about the equal sign alone or not at all. Therefore, an instructional approach involving comparison can be an effective tool for learning about concepts in mathematics.     

Driving simulator study of the comparative effectiveness of monolingual and bilingual guide signs on Chinese highways

As China has become more attractive for foreigners to travel or work, some Chinese-English bilingual guide signs have been adopted on the highways for the convenience of foreign drivers. This research examined the effectiveness of Chinese-English bilingual guide signs on highways in China for drivers with different language backgrounds. The study involved three different groups of participants: Chinese (Group C), foreigners who passed the Chinese proficiency test HSK (Group FC), and foreigners without Chinese proficiency test (Group F). A driving simulator and an eye tracker were used to obtain eye movement and driving behaviour data for both monolingual and bilingual guide sign scenes. The results showed that, for Groups C and FC, their performance in the two scenes had little difference when the number of Chinese place (destination) names on the sign was 5 or less. However, the performance of Groups C and FC in the bilingual guide sign scene was worse than that in the Chinese guide sign scene when the number of place names exceeded 5. Moreover, the participants’ performance worsened as the number of place names increased for all different groups within the same scene. Thus, the threshold of the number of place names for bilingual guide signs on highways appears to be 5. Actually, the English place names on the bilingual guide signs did not have much practical effect on the drivers, since the letters of the place names were too small to be quickly seen and the translation was inaccurate.     

Cognitive adaptations arising from nonnative experience of sign language in hearing adults

Three experiments examined spatial transformation abilities in hearing people who acquired sign language in early adulthood. The performance of the nonnative hearing signers was compared with that of hearing people with no knowledge of sign language. The two groups were matched for age and gender. Using an adapted Corsi blocks paradigm, the experimental task simulated spatial relations in sign discourse but offered no opportunity for linguistic coding. Experiment 1 showed that the hearing signers performed significantly better than the nonsigners on a task that entailed 180 degree rotation, which is the canonical spatial relationship in sign language discourse. Experiment 2 found that the signers did not show the typical costs associated with processing rotated stimuli, and Experiment 3 ruled out the possibility that their advantage relied on seen hand movements. We conclude that sign language experience, even when acquired in adulthood by hearing people, can give rise to adaptations in cognitive processes associated with the manipulation of visuospatial information.     

Cognition and Suicide: A Methodological Review

This article reviews the literature related to studies measuring various cognitive properties in suicidal patients. It provides a structural framework with which to classify the studies, and employs the categories of suicidal logic, cognitive style, social cognition, and cognitive control. The methodological issues discussed include: sample characteristics, operational definitions of suicidal behaviors, use of appropriate control groups, and the temporal nature of assessment. Improvements in experimental design are suggested for use in future research.     

Group discussion as interactive dialogue or as serial monologue: the influence of group size

Current models draw a broad distinction between communication as dialogue and communication as monologue. The two kinds of models have different implications for who influences whom in a group discussion. If the discussion is like interactive dialogue, group members should be influenced most by those with whom they interact in the discussion; if it is like serial monologue, they should be influenced most by the dominant speaker. The experiments reported here show that in small, 5-person groups, the communication is like dialogue and members are influenced most by those with whom they interact in the discussion. However, in large, 10-person groups, the communication is like monologue and members are influenced most by the dominant speaker. The difference in mode of communication is explained in terms of how speakers in the two sizes of groups design their utterances for different audiences.     

Dual language use in sign-speech bimodal bilinguals: fNIRS brain-imaging evidence

The brain basis of bilinguals’ ability to use two languages at the same time has been a hotly debated topic. On the one hand, behavioral research has suggested that bilingual dual language use involves complex and highly principled linguistic processes. On the other hand, brain-imaging research has revealed that bilingual language switching involves neural activations in brain areas dedicated to general executive functions not specific to language processing, such as general task maintenance. Here we address the involvement of language-specific versus cognitive-general brain mechanisms for bilingual language processing. We study a unique population, bimodal bilinguals proficient in signed and spoken languages, and we use an innovative brain-imaging technology, functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS; Hitachi ETG-4000). Like fMRI, the fNIRS technology measures hemodynamic change, but it is also advanced in permitting movement for unconstrained speech and sign production. Participant groups included (i) hearing ASL–English bilinguals, (ii) ASL monolinguals, and (iii) English monolinguals. Imaging tasks included picture naming in “Monolingual mode” (using one language at a time) and in “Bilingual mode” (using both languages either simultaneously or in rapid alternation). Behavioral results revealed that accuracy was similar among groups and conditions. By contrast, neuroimaging results revealed that bilinguals in Bilingual mode showed greater signal intensity within posterior temporal regions (“Wernicke’s area”) than in Monolingual mode. Significance: Bilinguals’ ability to use two languages effortlessly and without confusion involves the use of language-specific posterior temporal brain regions. This research with both fNIRS and bimodal bilinguals sheds new light on the extent and variability of brain tissue that underlies language processing, and addresses the tantalizing questions of how language modality, sign and speech, impact language representation in the 7brain.     

Divergence Behaviour of the Successive Geometric Mean Method of Pairwise Comparison Matrix Generation for a Multiple Stage,Multiple Objective Optimization Problem

This paper focuses on the divergence behaviour of the successive geometric mean (SGM) method used to generate pairwise comparison matrices while solving a multiple stage, multiple objective (MSMO) optimization problem. The SGM method can be used in the matrix generation phase of our three‐phase methodology to obtain pairwise comparison matrix at each stage of an MSMO optimization problem, which can be subsequently used to obtain the weight vector at the corresponding stage. The weight vectors across the stages can be used to convert an MSMO problem into a multiple stage, single objective (MSSO) problem, which can be solved using dynamic programming‐based approaches. To obtain a practical set of non‐dominated solutions (also referred to as Pareto optimal solutions) to the MSMO optimization problem, it is important to use a solution approach that has the potential to allow for a better exploration of the Pareto optimal solution space. To accomplish a more exhaustive exploration of the Pareto optimal solution space, the weight vectors that are used to scalarize the MSMO optimization problem into its corresponding MSSO optimization problem should vary across the stages. Distinct weight vectors across the stages are tied directly with distinct pairwise comparison matrices across the stages. A pairwise comparison matrix generation method is said to diverge if it can generate distinct pairwise comparison matrices across the stages of an MSMO optimization problem. In this paper, we demonstrate the SGM method's divergence behaviour when the three‐phase methodology is used in conjunction with an augmented high‐dimensional, continuous‐state stochastic dynamic programming method to solve a large‐scale MSMO optimization problem. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effets comportementaux et cognitifs de l'engagement dans un acte préparatoire activant un élément central versus périphérique de la représentation du don d'organes

We render an account of a research programme that links two fields of study usually unconnected: the field of the freely agreed submission and the field of social representations. Two hypothesis are tested in the foot-in-the door paradigm: participants that agree to perform an initial request (to sign a petition) that selects a core element of the representation of organ donation: a) will be more inclined to agree to perform the target request (to sign a donor card); and b) will have an attitude more favourable about organ donation than participants that agree to perform an initial request that selects a peripheral element. The two experiments presented confirm these hypotheses.     

Collective efficacy and vigilant problem solving in group decision making: A non-linear model

This research explores the relationship between collective efficacy and aspects of analytic or vigilant problem solving (Janis, 1989) in the context of group decision making. We hypothesized that vigilant problem solving would be most evident under conditions of relatively moderate collective efficacy, as opposed to either very high or very low collective efficacy. We investigated this hypothesis with groups of business students who participated in a complex business strategy simulation. Results show a significant curvilinear relationship between collective efficacy and vigilant problem solving, and a significant linear relationship between vigilant problem solving and decision outcomes. There is also evidence that vigilant problem solving mediates the relationship between collective efficacy and decision outcomes. Implications for theory, managerial practice, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Relationships between intergroup contact and prejudice among minority and majority status groups

Considerable research has shown that greater intergroup contact corresponds with lower intergroup prejudice, yet little is known regarding how the relationships between contact and prejudice may vary for members of minority and majority status groups. The present research examined differences in contact-prejudice relationships among members of minority and majority status groups, using data from a larger meta-analytic study of the effects of intergroup contact. Results indicate that the relationships between contact and prejudice tend to be weaker among members of minority status groups than among members of majority status groups. Moreover, establishing Allport's (1954) proposed conditions for optimal intergroup contact significantly predicts stronger contact-prejudice relationships among members of majority status groups, but not among members of minority status groups. Implications of these findings for future research on contact between minority and majority status groups are discussed.