Effects of altered auditory feedback across effector systems: production of melodies by keyboard and singing

We report an experiment that tested whether effects of altered auditory feedback (AAF) during piano performance differ from its effects during singing. These effector systems differ with respect to the mapping between motor gestures and pitch content of auditory feedback. Whereas this action-effect mapping is highly reliable during phonation in any vocal motor task (singing or speaking), mapping between finger movements and pitch occurs only in limited situations, such as piano playing. Effects of AAF in both tasks replicated results previously found for keyboard performance (Pfordresher, 2003), in that asynchronous (delayed) feedback slowed timing whereas alterations to feedback pitch increased error rates, and the effect of asynchronous feedback was similar in magnitude across tasks. However, manipulations of feedback pitch had larger effects on singing than on keyboard production, suggesting effector-specific differences in sensitivity to action-effect mapping with respect to feedback content. These results support the view that disruption from AAF is based on abstract, effector independent, response-effect associations but that the strength of associations differs across effector systems.     

ERP correlates of language-specific processing of auditory pitch feedback during self-vocalization

The present study investigated whether the neural correlates for auditory feedback control of vocal pitch can be shaped by tone language experience. Event-related potentials (P2/N1) were recorded from adult native speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese who heard their voice auditory feedback shifted in pitch by −50, −100, −200, or −500 cents when they sustained the vowel sound /u/. Cantonese speakers produced larger P2 amplitudes to −200 or −500 cents stimuli than Mandarin speakers, but this language effect failed to reach significance in the case of −50 or −100 cents. Moreover, Mandarin speakers produced shorter N1 latencies over the left hemisphere than the right hemisphere, whereas Cantonese speakers did not. These findings demonstrate that neural processing of auditory pitch feedback in vocal motor control is subject to language-dependent neural plasticity, suggesting that cortical mechanisms of auditory-vocal integration can be shaped by tone language experience.     

“Not Much to Praise in Such Seeking and Finding”: Evolutionary Psychology,the Biological Turn in the Humanities,and the Epistemology of Ignorance

This paper critiques the rise of scientific approaches to central questions in the humanities, specifically questions about human nature, ethics, identity, and experience. In particular, I look at how an increasing number of philosophers are turning to evolutionary psychology and neuroscience as sources of answers to philosophical problems. This approach constitutes what I term a biological turn in the humanities. I argue that the biological turn, especially its reliance on evolutionary psychology, is best understood as an epistemology of ignorance that contributes to a climate of hostility and intolerance regarding feminist insights about gender, identity, and the body.     

For your Eyes Only: A Q-Methodology on the Ontology of Happiness Among Chronically Ill Filipino Elderly in a Penal Institution

Happiness is a positive phenomenon that is universal in nature and is therefore, pertinent to all human beings. However, the definition of happiness differs from person to person, and varies among cultures, economic status, social connectedness, spiritual upbringing and daily situations. An individual’s contextual perception of happiness can change when subjected to bleak conditions such as incarceration wherein inmates, especially those who are old and are experiencing health impairments are stripped off with their customary source of happiness. Since Filipinos are known to be as “happy people,” this study purports to surface the different facets of what constitute happiness in the context of a penal institution in the Philippine setting. The Q-methodology is the primary design used in the study. It combines the objectivity of quantitative approach with the essence of human experiences as explored in qualitative studies. The participants (P-sample) were twenty elderly inmates suffering from chronic ailments. They were asked to arrange 32 statements (Q-sample), derived from the initial interview, in the Q-sort table based on their degree of agreement, which were then further explicated in the post-sort interviews. The results were then subjected to by-person factor analysis with varimax rotation using the PQ Method version 2.11. Five profiles emerged from the by-person factor analysis, namely: (1) ‘Sense of Affinity’, (2) ‘Sense of Opportunity’, (3) ‘Sense of Indemnity’, (4) ‘Sense of Positivity’ and (5) ‘Sense of Resiliency’. The discussion focused on similarities and differences among profiles regarding the four principal themes (familial, social, internal and spiritual components of happiness) derived from the statements used as the Q-sample. The perception of happiness varies from profile to profile. The differences in views on what constitutes happiness among profiles are more prominent than their said similarities. Most leanings are directed toward the familial and spiritual aspects of happiness however, happiness can also be internally motivated and cognitively construed. While happiness has a direct relationship to an individual’s overall perception of well-being, the nurse, being the primary provider of holistic care, plays a pivotal role in promoting optimum health through awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of vis-a vis an unwavering involvement with the unique and distinct psychological and emotional needs of the elderly inmates characterized by respect, openness, authenticity and inter-subjectivity.     

When feeling bad is expected to be good: emotion regulation and outcome expectancies in social conflicts

According to the instrumental approach to emotion regulation, people may want to experience even unpleasant emotions to attain instrumental benefits. Building on value-expectancy models of self-regulation, we tested whether people want to feel bad in certain contexts specifically because they expect such feelings to be useful to them. In two studies, participants were more likely to try to increase their anger before a negotiation when motivated to confront (vs. collaborate with) a negotiation partner. Participants motivated to confront (vs. collaborate with) their partner expected anger to be more useful to them, and this expectation in turn, led them to try to increase their anger before negotiating. The subsequent experience of anger, following random assignment to emotion inductions (Study 1) or engagement in self-selected emotion regulation activities (Study 2), led participants to be more successful at getting others to concede to their demands, demonstrating that emotional preferences have important pragmatic implications.     

Derivation of strain hardening in cyclic loading from that in tensile loading

The micromechanical model of extrusion formation in a single crystal under stress-controlled loading in high-cycle fatigue is reviewed. In the present letter, the microstress and strain fields of a single crystal under a high-amplitude fatigue are calculated by the boundary element method. Based on Schmidt's law, the resolved shear stress to activate or to cause the continuation of slip in a slip system is taken to depend on the amount of slip in that system. The cyclic strain hardening is calculated from the experimental tensile stress-strain curve. This calculated cyclic strain hardening is compared with the experimental cyclic hardening. Good agreement is shown.     

Intrinsic factor controlling the deformation and ductile-to-brittle transition of metallic glasses

The energetic driving force and resistance for shearing and cracking in metallic glasses (MGs) are quantitatively evaluated. A universal thermodynamic criterion is proposed for better understanding the intrinsic correlations between fracture toughness and Poisson’s ratio, the competitions between various deformation modes and the ductile-to-brittle transition in MGs and other materials. A new cooperation parameter δ is also introduced to depict quantitatively the relative propensity of shearing versus cracking. This work could provide insights into the long-standing issues of deformation mechanisms of glassy materials, and be helpful in searching for ductile and tough MGs.     

Networking amorphous phase reinforced titanium composites which show tensile plasticity

Titanium matrix composites reinforced by an in situ formed networking amorphous phase have been prepared directly in the form of as-cast ingots. The composites show significant compressive and tensile plasticity. In contrast to the highly localized plasticity for most monolithic amorphous alloys, the tensile deformation of the current composites distributes uniformly over the entire specimen as a consequence of substantial work (strain) hardening. The formation mechanism of the networking structure, as a result of well-separated two-step solidification of the current alloy melts, have possible implications for composite synthesis in other alloy systems.     

Microstructure and mechanical behavior of nanostructured composite Cu60Fe40 alloy

In this study, bulk nanostructured composite Cu₆₀Fe₄₀ alloy is prepared by a combustion synthesis technique. The prepared Cu₆₀Fe₄₀ alloy consists of Cu(Fe) solid solution and Fe(Cu) solid solution phases. The large-scaled compositional segregation in the Cu-rich and Fe-rich phases is not observed, respectively. A few micron-sized dendrite (Fe(Cu) solid solution) is embedded into the nanostructured matrix (Cu(Fe) solid solution). The grain size of the matrix is in the range 50–300?nm. The yield and fracture strength of the Cu₆₀Fe₄₀ alloy are 540 and 1050?MPa, respectively, and the fracture strain obtained from the compression test is about 20.9%. The Cu₆₀Fe₄₀ alloy displays notable work hardening in the compressive deformation.