Interpreting conjoined noun phrases and conjoined clauses: Collective versus distributive preferences

Two experiments are reported that show that introducing event participants in a conjoined noun phrase (NP) favours a single event (collective) interpretation, while introducing them in separate clauses favours a separate events (distributive) interpretation. In Experiment 1, acceptability judgements were speeded when the bias of a predicate toward separate events versus a single event matched the presumed bias of how the subjects' referents were introduced (as conjoined noun phrases or in conjoined clauses). In Experiment 2, reading of a phrase containing an anaphor following conjoined noun phrases was facilitated when the anaphor was they, relative to when it was neither/each of them; the opposite pattern was found when the anaphor followed conjoined clauses. We argue that comprehension was facilitated when the form of an anaphor was appropriate for how its antecedents were introduced. These results address the very general problem of how we individuate entities and events when presented with a complex situation and show that different linguistic forms can guide how we construe a situation. The results also indicate that there is no general penalty for introducing the entities or events separately—in distinct clauses as “split” antecedents.     

Deterioration of the phonological processing skills in adults with an acquired severe hearing loss

Phonological processing was examined in a group of individuals with an acquired severe hearing loss and compared to a group of matched normal hearing individuals. The hearing-impaired group was significantly slower and less accurate when performing a visual rhyme-judgement task, and produced fewer rhyming word pairs on a rhyme-generation task than the normal hearing group. In contrast, the hearing-impaired group performed on a par with the normal hearing group on verbal working memory tasks. It is concluded that specific aspects of the phonological system deteriorate in this population as a function of auditory deprivation. In particular, the phonological representations are impaired and this impairment also affects the ability to rapidly perform phonological operations (i.e., analyse and compare). In contrast, phonological processing involved in verbal working memory is preserved in this population.     

Pronoun resolution in Italian: The role of grammatical gender and context

The aim of this self-paced reading study was to investigate the role of grammatical and context-based gender in assigning an antecedent to a pronoun where the antecedent is an epicene or a bigender noun. In Italian, epicene nouns (e.g., vittima, victim) have grammatical gender, whereas bigender nouns (e.g., assistente, assistant) do not have grammatical gender but instead acquire it from the context in which they occur. We devised three different types of context: incongruent contexts (i.e., contexts containing a gender bias that differed from the grammatical gender of the epicene), congruent contexts (i.e., contexts where the gender bias and grammatical gender coincided), and neutral contexts. In the case of epicenes, pronoun resolution was driven by grammatical gender; in the case of bigenders it was driven by the gender assigned by context. The results are discussed in the light of current models of anaphor resolution.     

Making the audience a key participant in the science communication process

The public communication of science and technology has become increasingly important over the last several decades. However, understanding the audience that receives this information remains the weak link in the science communication process. This essay provides a brief review of some of the issues involved, discusses results from an audience-based study, and suggests some strategies that both scientists and journalists can use to modify media coverage in ways that can help audiences better understand major public issues that involve science and technology. Carol L. Rogers is editor of the interdisciplinary journal Science Communication.     

Coordination tending towards an anti-phase relationship determines greater sway reduction during entrainment with a simulated partner

The increased risk of falls in the older aged population demands the development of assistive robotic devices capable of effective balance support. For the development and increased user acceptance of such devices, which provide balance support in a human-like way, it is important to understand the simultaneous occurrence of entrainment and sway reduction in human-human interaction. However, sway reduction has not been observed yet during a human touching an external, continuously moving reference, which rather increased human body sway. Therefore, we investigated in 15 healthy young adults (27.20±3.55 years, 6 females) how different simulated sway-responsive interaction partners with different coupling modes affect sway entrainment, sway reduction and relative interpersonal coordination, as well as how these human behaviours differ depending on the individual body schema accuracy. For this, participants were lightly touching a haptic device that either played back an average pre-recorded sway trajectory (“Playback”) or moved based on the sway trajectory simulated by a single-inverted pendulum model with either a positive (Attractor) or negative (Repulsor) coupling to participant's body sway. We found that body sway reduced not only during the Repulsor-interaction, but also during the Playback-interaction. These interactions also showed a relative interpersonal coordination tending more towards an anti-phase relationship, especially the Repulsor. Moreover, the Repulsor led to the strongest sway entrainment. Finally, a better body schema contributed to a reduced body sway in both the “reliable” Repulsor and the “less reliable” Attractor mode. Consequently, a relative interpersonal coordination tending more towards an anti-phase relationship and an accurate body schema are important to facilitate sway reduction.     

Cultural representations of thinness in women, redux: Playboy magazine's depiction of beauty from 1979 to 1999

Playboy's portrayal of the male ideal of feminine beauty, in terms of overall body size, percent normative weight, and waist-to-hip ratios (WHRs), was analyzed for the years 1979–1999. Trends were examined through body measurements obtained from Playboy centerfolds. Results reveal a continuation of the low body mass index (BMI) found in the Playmates by earlier studies; however, for the 21 years examined, the trend towards increasing thinness seems to have stabilized and may have begun to actually reverse. There was also an increase in the centerfolds’ WHRs over the 21-year time period. Overall, the results support the continued valuing in American society of a thin ideal for women; while the images of beauty have become somewhat heavier over the 21-year period reviewed, the Playmates remain markedly below weights normative for their age group.     

The swimsuit issue: Correlates of body image in a sample of 52,677 heterosexual adults

Past research on adults’ body image has typically used small convenience samples, limiting the ability to examine associations of personal characteristics to body satisfaction. This study of 52,677 heterosexual adults ages 18–65 examined associations of body satisfaction to age, height, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Age and height were mostly unrelated to body satisfaction. Consistent with an Objectification Theory perspective, fewer men than women reported being too heavy (41% versus 61%), rated their body as unattractive (11% versus 21%), or avoided wearing a swimsuit in public (16% versus 31%). Men felt better about their bodies than women across most of the weight span, although among underweight individuals, women felt better than men. Slender women (BMIs 14.5–22.49) were more satisfied than most other women (BMIs 22.5–40.5). Among men, underweight and obese men were least satisfied. These findings highlight gender differences in the association of weight to body satisfaction.     

Genocide and Mass Killing: Origins, Prevention, Healing and Reconciliation

This article focuses on intense collective violence, especially mass killing and genocide. It briefly presents a conception of their origins, with new elements in the conception and comparisons with other approaches. Various aspects of genocide and mass killing are considered, including their starting points (such as difficult life conditions and group conflict), cultural characteristics, psychological and social processes (such as destructive ideologies), the evolution of increasing violence and its effect on perpetrators and bystanders, and the roles of leaders and of internal and external bystanders. Actions that might be taken by the community of nations and other actors to halt or prevent violence are described. In considering prevention there is a focus on processes of healing within previously victimized groups and reconciliation between hostile groups. A project on healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation in Rwanda is briefly described.     

Loneliness,eating, and body mass index in parent–adolescent dyads from the Family Life,Activity, Sun,Health, and Eating study

Loneliness is a salient risk factor for obesity, emotional eating, and poor diet. Because adolescents and parents are embedded within a family unit, their experiences of loneliness may be associated with both their own and one another's behaviors. To examine the extent to which parent and child loneliness predict body mass index (BMI) and eating in parents and adolescents, an actor–partner interdependence model of loneliness, eating, and BMI in adolescent–parent dyads was analyzed. There were actor effects among adolescents such that greater loneliness was positively associated with emotional eating and BMI‐z, and there was an actor effect among parents such that higher loneliness was positively related to emotional eating. There was a partner effect among adolescents such that greater parental loneliness was positively associated with adolescent emotional eating, and there was a partner effect among parents such that higher adolescent loneliness was positively associated with parental emotional eating. There were several actor–partner effects for loneliness and junk food in dyads with boys. Findings highlight the importance of dyadic models of loneliness in adolescent–parent dyads.     

Remarks on Penrose’s “New Argument”

It is commonly agreed that the well-known Lucas–Penrose arguments and even Penrose’s ‘new argument’ in [Penrose, R. (1994): Shadows of the Mind, Oxford University Press] are inconclusive. It is, perhaps, less clear exactly why at least the latter is inconclusive. This note continues the discussion in [Lindström, P. (2001): Penrose’s new argument, J. Philos. Logic 30, 241–250; Shapiro, S.(2003): Mechanism, truth, and Penrose’s new argument, J. Philos. Logic 32, 19–42] and elsewhere of this question.