Jurnal Online STTKD (Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Kedirgantaraan)
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Functional and Structural Brain Asymmetries in Sign Language Processing
No full textThe capacity for language constitutes a cornerstone of human cognition and distinguishes our species from other animals. Research in the cognitive sciences has demonstrated that this capacity is not bound to speech but can also be externalized in the form of sign language. Sign languages are the naturally occurring languages of the deaf and rely on movements and configurations of hands, arms, face, and torso in space. This chapter reviews the functional and structural organisation of the neural substrates of sign language as identified by neuroimaging research over the past decades. Most aspects of sign language processing in adult deaf signers markedly mirror the well-known functional left-lateralization of spoken and written language. However, both hemispheres exhibit a certain equipotentiality for processing linguistic information and the right hemisphere seems to specifically support processing of some constructions unique to the signed modality. Crucially, the so-called “core language network” in the left hemisphere constitutes a functional and structural asymmetry in typically developed deaf and hearing populations alike: This network is (i) pivotal for processing complex syntax independent of the modality of language use, (ii) matures in accordance with a genetically determined biological matrix, and (iii) may have constituted an evolutionary prerequisite for the emergence of the human capacity for language
Indirect Executive Accountability of Prime Ministers
No full textIn parliamentary democracies, voters delegate the power of replacing the chief executive to the more knowledgeable legislators. The logic of costly signaling suggests that this indirect accountability helps voters ensure a competent prime minister (PM). I formally model this indirect executive accountability and show that while the incentive of the legislators in the PM's party to signal their leader's competence leads to increased voter welfare through two distinct mechanisms, the PM's incentive to remain in office can eliminate this welfare effect. Specifically, if we consider that the PM can use their delegated authority and resources to maintain the support of the legislators in the PM's party, the benefit of indirect executive accountability is in general diminished and may be even eliminated. I also examine how the clarity of the PM's responsibility affects voter welfare and highlight that greater clarity is not always good for voters
Increased multisensory integration in older adults during speech and semantic tasks
No full textWhen individuals perceive sensory inputs through multiple sensory modalities, they incur perceptual and behavioural benefits. Older adults have been found to benefit more from such multisensory integration than younger adults. However, such findings have been inconsistent in the context of speech processing. In the current study, we examined age-related differences in multisensory gain using two tasks: a speech-in-noise task and a semantic discrimination task. In the first task, participants identified a single noun embedded in multi-talker babble. Stimuli were presented in auditory-only, visual-only, or audiovisual conditions, and perceptual accuracies were recorded. In the second task, participants identified whether they perceived a red or blue stimulus in either auditory-only (spoken word), visual-only (a red or blue circle), and audiovisual conditions, with response times recorded. Older adults exhibited more multisensory gain relative to younger adults in both speech perception and semantic processing tasks, even when accounting for unisensory declines associated with aging
A mixed-methods investigation of weight bias reduction in medical students
No full textWe used a mixed-methods design to test a novel weight bias intervention and understand current attitudes towards people with higher weight and weight-inclusive care among medical students (N=80). The intervention was embedded in curriculum and focused on delegitimising the use of weight as a heuristic for health. Almost half of participants (43.8%) responded to pre- and post-intervention surveys. These participants found the intervention acceptable; reported significant pre-post reductions in weight bias and endorsement of using weight as a heuristic for health. Less engaged participants (i.e., who did not complete the post-survey) reported significantly greater pre-intervention endorsement of using weight as a heuristic for health. One central theme emerged from pre-intervention qualitative responses, relating to how medical students scoped both the problem and the solution. This consisted of three sub-themes: problematising the (1) system and clinician (and their weight bias), (2) patient (who was responsible for their own health), and (3) medical condition (weight and health behaviours as problems for clinicians to solve). Participants often showed evidence of several and sometimes contradictory ways of problem-scoping. Problematising the patient was particularly pronounced among less engaged participants. Findings suggest that the intervention may be acceptable and effective in reducing weight bias in medical students who already have lower levels of bias than their peers. A key challenge for weight bias reduction among medical students lies in addressing problem-scoping that may encourage weight bias and weight-centric care, and reaching the population most in need of intervention – students with high levels of weight bias
Causation, Meaning, and Communication
No full textThe words we use to describe what happened shape what comes to a listener's mind. How do speakers choose what causal expressions to use? How does that choice impact what listeners imagine? In this paper, we develop a computational model of how people use the causal expressions "caused", "enabled", "affected", and "made no difference". The model first builds a causal representation of what happened. By running counterfactual simulations, the model computes several causal aspects that capture the different ways in which a candidate cause made a difference to the outcome. Logical combinations of these aspects define a semantics for the causal expressions. The model then uses pragmatic inference to decide what word to use in context. We test our model in a series of experiments and compare it to prior psychological accounts. In a set of psycholinguistic studies, we verify the model's semantics and pragmatics. We show that the causal expressions exist on a hierarchy of specificity, and that participants draw informative pragmatic inferences in line with this scale. In the next two studies, we demonstrate that our model quantitatively fits participant behavior in a speaker task and a listener task involving dynamic physical scenarios. We compare our model to two lesioned alternatives, one which removes pragmatic inference, and another which removes semantics and pragmatics. Our full model better accounts for participants' behavior than both alternatives. Taken together, these results suggest a new way forward for modeling the relationship between language and thought in the study of causality
