26729 research outputs found
Sort by
The Dynamic Strength Index: is it a useful tool to guide programming decisions?
Get PDFHow do I know if an athlete’s power output would be best enhanced by increasing their force or velocity capabilities? How do I know if an athlete would benefit most from increasing their peak force or their rate of force development (RFD)? These are two questions strength and conditioning (S&C) professionals will ponder when planning strength training to support athletic performance. The dynamic strength index (DSI) has been proposed as a diagnostic approach to help answer such questions. This article discusses the suitability of both the denominator (isometric peak force) and numerator (jump peak force) metrics, and the DSI ratio itself, to inform programming decisions. Drawing on biomechanical principles and research exploring the physiology of condition-specific strength, we outline its disputable underpinnings. Accordingly, alternative diagnostic tools are proposed. Together with an understanding of the specific constraints on force production within target sporting actions, these will in turn, help practitioners make the most informed decision on the best strength training approach to enhance their athletes’ physical performance
Enhanced sensitivity to pitch perception and its possible relation to language acquisition in autism
Get PDFBackground and aims
Fascinations for or aversions to particular sounds are a familiar feature of autism, as is an ability to reproduce another person's utterances, precisely copying the other person's prosody as well as their words. Such observations seem to indicate not only that autistic people can pay close attention to what they hear, but also that they have the ability to perceive the finer details of auditory stimuli. This is consistent with the previously reported consensus that absolute pitch is more common in autistic individuals than in neurotypicals. We take this to suggest that autistic people have perception that allows them to pay attention to fine details. It is important to establish whether or not this is so as autism is often presented as a deficit rather than a difference. We therefore undertook a narrative literature review of studies of auditory perception, in autistic and nonautistic individuals, focussing on any differences in processing linguistic and nonlinguistic sounds.
Main contributions
We find persuasive evidence that nonlinguistic auditory perception in autistic children differs from that of nonautistic children. This is supported by the additional finding of a higher prevalence of absolute pitch and enhanced pitch discriminating abilities in autistic children compared to neurotypical children. Such abilities appear to stem from atypical perception, which is biased toward local-level information necessary for processing pitch and other prosodic features. Enhanced pitch discriminating abilities tend to be found in autistic individuals with a history of language delay, suggesting possible reciprocity. Research on various aspects of language development in autism also supports the hypothesis that atypical pitch perception may be accountable for observed differences in language development in autism.
Conclusions
The results of our review of previously published studies are consistent with the hypothesis that auditory perception, and particularly pitch perception, in autism are different from the norm but not always impaired. Detail-oriented pitch perception may be an advantage given the right environment. We speculate that unusually heightened sensitivity to pitch differences may be at the cost of the normal development of the perception of the sounds that contribute most to early language development.
Implications
The acquisition of speech and language may be a process that normally involves an enhanced perception of speech sounds at the expense of the processing of nonlinguistic sounds, but autistic children may not give speech sounds this same priority
Performative power and affective resonance: toward an understanding of Old Testament blessings as speech acts with affective impact
Get PDFThis thesis explores the linguistic, theological, and affective dimensions of blessings in the Old Testament (OT), situating them as transformative speech acts with enduring significance for covenantal relationships and community identity. By integrating Speech Act Theory (SAT) and Affect Theory (AT), the study investigates the performative power of blessings, their intended perlocutionary effects, and their capacity to elicit and express profound affective responses within individuals and communities. The research begins by examining the linguistic roots and functions of blessings in OT Hebrew, focusing on the ברך root and its derivatives, which appear throughout patriarchal narratives and cultic practices. Building on SAT, blessings are analysed as illocutionary acts that not only declare but enact Divine favour, shaping relational and existential realities. The study further incorporates AT to uncover the affective stimuli and responses evoked by blessings, emphasizing their role in fostering joy, reassurance, and a sense of belonging. Two case studies anchor the analysis: the Jacob narratives (Genesis 27–28) and the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6). The Jacob narratives highlight the complex interplay of intent, deception, and Divine fulfilment, while the Priestly Blessing illustrates the communal and covenantal dimensions of Divine-human relationality. Both cases underscore the transformative impact of blessings as both Divine declarations and human experiences. This interdisciplinary approach contributes to biblical hermeneutics by demonstrating how blessings function as a nexus of linguistic, theological, and emotional significance. The thesis argues that blessings in the OT transcend their verbal forms, serving as performative acts that shape identity, community, and Divine relationships. These insights have broader implications for understanding religious practices, theological reflection, and the universal dynamics of language and affect in human interaction
Comparing the benefits of parent–infant flute and singing groups for communication and parenting: A feasibility study
Get PDFThere is growing evidence highlighting benefits of musical exposure and participation on several aspects of development and parenting. Aiming to establish a rigorous protocol allowing researchers to study different types of musical interactions and their benefits on the development of early communication, the present study explored parents’ experiences of musically engaging with their infants in different types of music groups. Twenty-five infants and their parents were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) singing, (2) flute playing or (3) control group. Music sessions were held weekly for 14 weeks and were followed by the home use of the recorded routines specific of each group, for further three months. Semi structured interviews were conducted with the experimental groups’ participants, and pre/post quantitative developmental measures were collected from all groups, to assess participants’ compliance. Qualitative analyses of the interviews revealed both shared themes, (communication enhancement, enjoyment and regulation); and unique themes (creativity and freedom in the flute group; familiarity and responsiveness in the singing group). The feasibility study was successful in establishing a workable protocol to use in RCT longitudinal interventions aiming to examine how specific aspects of the musical experience might differentially support developmental outcomes, in parent-infant groups
Investment arbitration and the rule of law: how transparency impacts on domestic accountability
Get PDFRealising its role in developing international law and enhancing legal certainty, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has been at the forefront of promoting transparency both at the pre-award and post-award stages within the limits of the ICSID Convention. Despite these efforts, however, ICSID can still be criticised from a rule of law standpoint. There seems to be a mismatch between what information about arbitration proceedings ICSID’s current rules allow to be made public and what information civil society expects to access. Even after the major amendments of 2022, ICSID’s rules contain loopholes that allow states acting in bad faith to deceive the public about the outcome in ICSID proceedings. This is regrettable since violations of investors’ rights may involve deliberate wrongdoings by governments and public officials. Meanwhile, states compensate investors for such breaches with taxpayers’ money. Because of the limited access to information, civil society cannot exercise its role in checks and balances – namely, holding those responsible for the wrongdoing accountable and pushing for legislative changes that can prevent similar abuses of power in the future. After showcasing three concrete examples that illustrate how states have taken advantage of the loopholes in ICSID’s rules to hide the true outcome in ICSID proceedings, this chapter makes concrete recommendations about what reforms are necessary to curtail such bad faith behaviour in the future
A rank-one optimization framework and its applications to transmit beamforming
Get PDFThis paper proposes an elegant optimization framework consisting of a mix of linear-matrix-inequality and second-order-cone constraints. The proposed framework generalizes the semidefinite relaxation (SDR) enabled solution to the typical transmit beamforming problems presented in the form of quadratically constrained quadratic programs (QCQPs) in the literature. It is proved that the optimization problems subsumed under the framework always admit a rank-one optimal solution when they are feasible and their optimal solutions are not trivial. This finding indicates that the relaxation is tight as the optimal solution of the original beamforming QCQP can be straightforwardly obtained from that of the SDR counterpart without any loss of optimality. Four representative examples of transmit beamforming, i.e., transmit beamforming with perfect channel state information (CSI), transmit beamforming with imperfect CSI, chance-constraint approach for imperfect CSI, and reconfigurable-intelligent-surface (RIS) aided beamforming, are shown to demonstrate how the proposed optimization framework can be realized in deriving the SDR counterparts for different beamforming designs
Blue carbon: challenges for definition, valuation and governance
No full textBlue Carbon ecosystems (mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses) and marine sediments support the provision of climate mitigation and adaptation services, as well as of biodiversity. Nowadays these ecosystems are at high risk of degradation. Sea level rise, coastal and marine pollution, physical disturbance and global warming are major threats to these coastal and marine habitats and their ecosystems. In this chapter, we provide an overview of how complex the economic valuation of Blue Carbon may be focusing on: the definition of Blue Carbon; the biophysical measurement required for Blue Carbon valuation; and the governance and management challenges that Blue Carbon projects and policies face
Environmental delicts and post-communist private law in Bulgaria: time for reforms in view of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal?
Get PDFCan private law contribute to seeking solutions to environmental problems and aligning Bulgaria better with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which have informed the European Green Deal? This chapter highlights the importance of the procedural right of access to justice in environmental matters as it emerges from international and EU law to better delineate the potential role which tort law can play in supporting environmental protection. Then, it surveys the untidy notion of environmental delict in Bulgarian law. Finally, it suggests what reforms are necessary to help Bulgarian tort law become a useful tool in promoting environmental protection
Navigating the herd: a bibliometric examination of investor psychology in financial markets
Get PDFThe concept of 'herding behavior' in finance, characterized by individuals mimicking the actions of others, has gained prominence following major financial crises like the Dot-com bubble, Global Financial Crisis, Euro Zone Crisis, and the Covid-19 Pandemic (Chakraborty 2023; Hasan, Tunaru, and Vioto 2023; Jiang et al. 2022; Batmunkh et al. 2020; Chiang and Zheng 2010). Often, this behavior involves overlooking personal information in favor of following the crowd (Erdenetsogt and Kallinterakis 2016; Kurz and Kurz-Kim 2013), leading to market inefficiencies and mispricing (Alhaj-Yaseen and Yau 2018; Bikhchandani and Sharma 2000; Blasco, Corredor, and Ferreruela 2012; Cakan et al. 2019; Nofsinger and Sias 1999). Academically termed as 'animal spirits' (Avery and Zemsky 1998), this collective behavior often disregards rational evidence, particularly during uncertain times, leading to heightened market volatility and potential market bubbles. Understanding herding behavior is thus crucial for financial analysts, researchers, and policymakers
The pivotal role of EU research diasporas in EU-UK scientific and diplomatic relations
Get PDFThe implementation of Brexit in 2020 upended EU-UK foreign relations. Among the many policy areas that were critically disrupted, research and science faced substantial changes, posing challenges for scientists, institutions of higher education, and research organizations, as well as the UK government, European governments, and the EU overall. Researchers based in the UK experienced this disruption through changes in funding, access to resources, international collaborations, and mobility. The UK’s departure from the EU funding program Horizon Europe, whose predecessor Horizon 2020 had awarded around €7 billion in research grants to the UK,1 meant that multiple research opportunities were stripped away from UK- based researchers. Among them, EU researchers based in the UK have particularly struggled with these circumstances. The EU scientific diaspora has had a unique experience dealing with the transformations precipitated by the no-deal Brexit,2 which confers this group a pivotal position in the reconstruction of the scientific and diplomatic relations between the EU and the UK