Cue-integration and context effects in speech: Evidence against speaking-rate normalization

Listeners are able to accurately recognize speech despite variation in acoustic cues across contexts, such as different speaking rates. Previous work has suggested that listeners use rate information (indicated by vowel length; VL) to modify their use of context-dependent acoustic cues, like voice-onset time (VOT), a primary cue to voicing. We present several experiments and simulations that offer an alternative explanation: that listeners treat VL as a phonetic cue rather than as an indicator of speaking rate, and that they rely on general cue-integration principles to combine information from VOT and VL. We demonstrate that listeners use the two cues independently, that VL is used in both naturally produced and synthetic speech, and that the effects of stimulus naturalness can be explained by a cue-integration model. Together, these results suggest that listeners do not interpret VOT relative to rate information provided by VL and that the effects of speaking rate can be explained by more general cue-integration principles.     

The past,present, and future of computational models of cognitive development

Does modeling matter? We address this question by providing a broad survey of the computational models of cognitive development that have been proposed and studied over the last three decades. We begin by noting the advantages and limitations of computational models. We then describe four key dimensions across which models of development can be organized and classified. With this taxonomy in hand, we focus on how the modeling enterprise has evolved over time. In particular, we separate the timeline into three overlapping historical waves and highlight how each wave of models has not only been shaped by developmental theory and behavioral research, but in return also provided valuable insights and innovations to the study of cognitive development.     

The Political Justification of Migrant Workers in Alberta,Canada

Considering a series of oil-driven economic booms, the use of inter-provincial and international migrant labour has become an important part of labour market policy in the Canadian province of Alberta. The increased use of temporary foreign workers is controversial. Narrative analysis of legislators’ statements in the legislature and the press between 2000 and 2011 reveals the government using three narratives to justify policies encouraging greater use of foreign migrant workers: (1) labour shortages require migrant workers, (2) migrants do not threaten Canadian jobs and (3) migrants are not being exploited. Close scrutiny of each narrative demonstrates them to be largely invalid. This suggests a significant disconnect between the real and espoused reasons for the significant changes to labour market policy, changes that advantage employers and disadvantage both Canadian and foreign workers. The findings are relevant to understand the political dynamics of economically related migration.     

Further investigation on the mnemonic effect of gestures: Their meaning matters

Three experiments are reported that examine the nature of knowledge underlying performance in the invariant learning task. Previous research (Bright & Burton, 1994; McGeorge & Burton, 1990) has supported an account of performance based on the implicit abstraction and application of a rule pertaining to the invariant feature. In contrast, we found effects in both the digit and clock invariant tasks that are difficult to explain solely in terms of subjects acquiring the experimenters' rule. In all three experiments, manipulation of test item properties that are independent of the invariant feature led to a detriment in performance that is not predicted by an account based on the experimenters' rules. Furthermore, the use of an on-line measure of awareness (confidence ratings) provided some evidence that performance is mediated by low confidence explicit knowledge.     

Health Related Quality of Life in Children with Congenital Heart Disease

Health-related quality of life in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) was compared to that of healthy children. Furthermore, agreement between child and parent reports was examined. In addition, differences in quality of life related to the severity of CHD were evaluated. One hundred children with CHD aged between 8-18 years and their parents answered a health-related quality of life-questionnaire during their visit to the paediatric cardiology outpatient department. CHD children reported reduced motor functioning and autonomy compared to healthy children. Parents of children with CHD reported their children to have a reduced quality of life in the domains of: motor functioning, autonomy and cognitive functioning. Agreement between child and parent reports was moderate. Children systematically reported lower health related quality of life on the domain of positive emotions than did parents. Health related quality of life in children with CHD appeared not to be influenced by severity of the disease. In conclusion, regardless of the severity of the disease, children with CHD reported their health related quality of life on several domains to be lower than that of healthy children. This means that on several domains, the emotional impact of problems in health status is greater for children with CHD than for healthy children. When CHD patients visit the clinic, it is important that physicians actively ask patients as well as parents about the child's motor functioning, autonomy and cognitive functioning. Children with problems in these domains can then be identified, and psychological interventions can take place at an early stage.     

Seeing is a verb

This commentary on ‘The interaction of attention and action: From seeing action to acting on perception’ by Humphreys et al. (2010) considers selection‐for‐action in relation to the role of parietal cortex corollary discharge in the ‘mastery of sensori‐motor contingencies’ that O'Regan and Noe (2001) suggest gives rise to visual awareness.     

The level of frontal-temporal beta-2 band EEG synchronization distinguishes anterior cingulate cortex from other frontal regions

Recent findings indicate that complex cognitive functions are organized at a global level in the brain and rely on large-scale information processing requiring functional integration of multiple disparate neural assemblies. The critical question of the integration of distributed brain activities is whether the essential integrative role can be attributed to a specific structure in the brain or whether this ability is inherent to the cognitive network as a whole. The results of the present study show that mean values of the running correlation function in frontal-temporal EEG pairs with one electrode in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are significantly higher than the same values in other frontal-temporal pairs. These findings indicate a particular role of the ACC in large-scale communication, which could reflect its unique integrative functions in cognitive processing.     

Maternal and Paternal Perception of Child Vulnerability and Behaviour Problems in Very Preterm Born Children

Preterm born children have more behaviour problems than term born children. Perinatal risks, current child functioning, sociodemographic characteristics, parental psychological distress and parental perceptions of child vulnerability (PCV) have been shown to be risk factors for behaviour problems. However, the role of maternal and paternal PCV is unclear, as these have not been investigated as a risk factor for behaviour problems, with all other risk factors taken into account. Aim of this study is to investigate whether maternal and paternal PCV are independent risk factors for behaviour problems in very preterm (VP) and term born children. The present study is a single centre prospective cohort study. Preterm children (n = 104), born at <30 weeks' gestation and/or birth weight <1000 g, and term children (n = 95) were assessed at age 5. Results showed that risk factors for parent‐rated behaviour problems were low/middle parental education, VP birth, parental stress and, in VP children, maternal PCV. Risk factors for teacher‐rated behaviour problems were low/middle parental education, foreign parental country of birth, intrauterine growth restriction and objective child vulnerabilities. It can be concluded that maternal PCV is a risk factor for parent‐rated behaviour problems in VP children. When VP children are presented with behavioural problems, clinicians ought to be aware of the possibility that parents might still perceive their child as vulnerable. The neonatal history of the child, the way parents experienced that period, their perceptions of the child and possible consequences of these perceptions could be subjects for conversation during visits at follow‐up clinics. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.