Musicians and tone-language speakers share enhanced brainstem encoding but not perceptual benefits for musical pitch

Behavioral and neurophysiological transfer effects from music experience to language processing are well-established but it is currently unclear whether or not linguistic expertise (e.g., speaking a tone language) benefits music-related processing and its perception. Here, we compare brainstem responses of English-speaking musicians/non-musicians and native speakers of Mandarin Chinese elicited by tuned and detuned musical chords, to determine if enhancements in subcortical processing translate to improvements in the perceptual discrimination of musical pitch. Relative to non-musicians, both musicians and Chinese had stronger brainstem representation of the defining pitches of musical sequences. In contrast, two behavioral pitch discrimination tasks revealed that neither Chinese nor non-musicians were able to discriminate subtle changes in musical pitch with the same accuracy as musicians. Pooled across all listeners, brainstem magnitudes predicted behavioral pitch discrimination performance but considering each group individually, only musicians showed connections between neural and behavioral measures. No brain-behavior correlations were found for tone language speakers or non-musicians. These findings point to a dissociation between subcortical neurophysiological processing and behavioral measures of pitch perception in Chinese listeners. We infer that sensory-level enhancement of musical pitch information yields cognitive-level perceptual benefits only when that information is behaviorally relevant to the listener.     

Besoin de cognition,besoin d’évaluer,besoin de clôture : proposition d’échelles en langue française et approche socio-normative des besoins dits fondamentaux

Introduction and objectivesAfter leading a validation of questionnaires about three fundamental needs in French language (need for cognition, closing and evaluation), we tested in two studies that fundamental needs could be subjected to social constraints and could be considered differently than exclusively like stable personality characteristics and motivational drivers of action.MethodUsing the paradigm of judges (study 1) and the paradigm of identification (study 2), the results argue for a normative approach, at least as regards the need for cognition and assess.ResultsThe results of the first study show that individuals consider more favorably targets with strong need rather than low need and especially in social contexts with high social utility (that is to say, the professional context in comparison with the friendly context). The results of the second study show that when the questionnaires about needs “as would a person having been previously well or poorly assessed” participants get higher scores high on the need for cognition questionnaire in the first case than in the second. The results regarding the need for closure are more mixed.ConclusionThe results are discussed in a socio-normative perspective.     

Choosing to exercise more: Small choices increase exercise engagement

ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to examine whether individuals' motivation to exercise could be increased by providing them with an incidental choice.DesignExperimental design with two groups.MethodTwo groups of participants were asked to perform four exercises (i.e., lunges, jumping jacks, bear crawls, medicine-ball throws). After a demonstration of each exercise, a choice group was given the opportunity to choose the order of exercises, while a control group performed them in a pre-determined order. Subsequently, all participants decided how many sets and repetitions of each exercise they wanted to complete.ResultsChoice group participants performed a significant greater number of total repetitions (sets × repetitions) of all exercises than did control group participants.ConclusionsThe finding suggests that individuals' need for autonomy can be supported by giving them small choices, which can positively affect exercise engagement.     

Does movement proficiency impact on exergaming performance?

There is growing interest in the use of consumer level exergames in movement skill acquisition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between movement proficiency and performance in virtual exergaming. Twenty seven children, aged 10–15 years participated in an experiment completing the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (MABC-2) and a series of XBOX360 Kinect Sports exergaming tasks. Significant correlations were observed between MABC-2 aiming and catching percentile and exergame javelin and target kick, where the more proficient movers tended to perform better in the exergame. Statistically significant correlations were observed between MABC-2 balance percentile and exergaming sprint and target kick performance. In this study children who scored better in real life gross motor movement tasks performed better in most related exergaming activities. This suggests current exergaming technology has advanced to a point where body movement unencumbered by a physical or remote game device tether can extract movements resembling real life tasks, translate them into game play and reward proficient movers with higher in-game performance. It is possible that benefit gained in an exergaming environment by more proficient movers was a result of either their more proficient movement, or a greater ability to adapt to the exergame.     

Two Theories of Just War

As it is traditionally conceived, Just War Theory is not well suited for dealing with nation vs non-nation wars. It thus makes sense to create a second Just War Theory to deal with these wars. This article explores the differences and similarities between the two theories.

International Human Rights and National Discretion

This paper argues that the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights couldserve as a model for an international court ofhuman rights to be builtupon the United Nations Committee on HumanRights. It argues that theconcerns states might have over the surrenderof a significant portion oftheir national sovereignity might be lessenedif such an internationalcourt were to incorporate the margin ofappreciation doctrine employed bythe European Court of Human Rights. Thisdoctrine is intended to respectthe customs and traditions of sovereign statesin dealing with humanrights issues, while maintaining that somerights such as the right not tobe tortured will be considered as basic andwill stand independently ofthe customs and traditions of sovereignstates.     

JUST WAR THEORY,HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION,AND THE NEED FOR A DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION

The primary purpose of government is to secure public goods that cannot be achieved by free markets. The Coordination Principle tells us to consolidate sovereign power in a single institution to overcome collective action problems that otherwise prevent secure provision of the relevant public goods. There are several public goods that require such coordination at the global level, chief among them being basic human rights. The claim that human rights require global coordination is supported in three main steps. First, I consider Pogge's and Habermas's analyses as alternatives to Hobbesian conceptions of justice. Second, I consider the core conventions of international law, which are in tension with the primacy of state sovereignty in the UN system. Third, I argue that the just war tradition does not limit just causes for war to self‐defense; it supports saving innocent third parties from crimes against humanity as a just reason for war. While classical authors focused less on this issue, the point is especially clear in twentieth‐century just war theories, such as those offered by the American Catholic bishops, Jean Elshtain, Brian Orend, and Michael Walzer. Against Walzer, I argue that we add intractable military tyranny to the list of horrors meriting intervention if other ad bellum conditions are met. But these results require us to reexamine the “just authority” of first resort to govern such interventions. The Coordination Principle implies that we should create a transnational federation with consolidated powers in place of a treaty organization requiring near‐unanimity. But to be legitimate, such a global institution must also be directly answerable to the citizens of its member states. While the UN Security Council is inadequate on both counts, a federation of democracies with a directly elected executive and legislature could meet both conditions.     

论公共管理中不道德手段的生成与控制

公共生活要得到有效而又合理的管理必须运用道德的手段。有的公共管理机构及其人员出于提高管理效率或者实现私人目的的考虑,可能会选择不道德的手段。由于不道德的手段会造成严重的道德后果,因此,就有必要对其予以合理控制。这种控制既需要合理的道德观念的支持,又需要刚性的内部控制与外部控制的配合。