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Early neural encoding of pitch drives cue weighting during speech perception
Get PDFLinguistic categories are conveyed in speech by several acoustic cues simultaneously, so listeners need to decide how to prioritize different potential sources of information. There are robust, replicable individual differences in how cues are weighted during speech perception, but the underlying mechanisms explaining this variability remain unclear. Here we tested the hypothesis that the reliability of early auditory encoding of a dimension is linked to the weighting placed on that dimension during speech categorization. This hypothesis was tested in 60 first language speakers of Mandarin learning English as a second language. Neural tracking of changes in the pitch contour of naturalistic speech was assessed using EEG, while speech cue weighting was behaviorally tested using word emphasis, lexical stress, and phrase boundary categorization tasks. We find that neural tracking of pitch is linked to pitch cue weighting during word emphasis and lexical stress perception. Specifically, higher pitch weighting is linked to increased tracking of pitch at early latencies within the neural response, from 15 to 55 ms. These results suggest that individuals’ perceptual strategies are shaped by the reliability of encoding at early stages of the auditory system
Parenthood and self-reported depression, anxiety and life satisfaction in the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: an examination of differences by age of children and level of social support
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic had a marked detrimental effect on the mental health of the UK population [1]. Parents with dependent children were deemed vulnerable but research on parental mental health in this period neglected to examine child’s age together with the presence of social support. To inform potential mental health support strategies this study investigated whether the pandemic was associated with different levels of psychological wellbeing for parents with youngest children of varying ages, relative to socio-demographic factors and social support levels. From November 2020 to April 2021 n=915 UK adults completed an online survey measuring self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, satisfaction with life, social support and socio-demographic characteristics. Results provide some evidence of better psychological wellbeing for parents with younger children (aged 0 to 5 years) than older children. Overall, social support was a key factor in mitigating depression, anxiety and stress scores for parents of dependent aged children. Findings provide new evidence supporting Pearlin’s Stress Process Model [2], highlighting the importance of social support to parents under pandemic related pressures. These findings indicate that one way of safeguarding parents vulnerable to poor mental health could be by increasing social support to parents via formal and informal support services within school communities
On Collective Funding Models for Open Access
No full textA talk on the history, development, and economics of collective funding models for open acces
Enhancing digital transformation in SMEs: the dynamic capabilities of innovation intermediaries within ecosystems
Get PDFWhile the dynamic capabilities framework discusses the sensing, seizing, and transformation capabilities of organisations, we lack knowledge of the specific dynamic capabilities of intermediaries that support collaborations leading to the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The specific role of intermediaries supporting collaboration between SMEs and the ecosystem, the unique barriers confronted by SMEs, and the long-term focus required for digital transformation suggest that intermediaries should deploy specific dynamic capabilities. By conducting in-depth interviews with innovation intermediaries, SMEs, and other ecosystem actors in the Ostrobothnia region of Finland, we make three original contributions to the dynamic capability framework. First, while the literature has discussed spotting opportunities and bringing partners together as sensing dynamic capability, we make an original contribution by demonstrating the ‘ancillary opportunity spotting capability’ of intermediaries. This includes intermediaries spotting opportunities to develop digital technologies to address business, environmental, or social challenges of ecosystem actors (e.g. developing carbon-neutral solutions) where SME digital transformation is only indirectly achieved: hence, this is described as an ancillary opportunity. Second, while the literature has discussed that the seizing capability involves exploiting opportunities by using resources, we identified that intermediaries leverage ‘business model co-creation capability’ for seizing. This predominantly consists of them co-creating – with the stakeholders of SMEs (i.e. customers, suppliers, and competitors) – the business models of SMEs for digital transformation. Third, as a transformation capability, intermediaries leverage ‘ecosystem revamping capability’ for continued and scaled-up SME digital transformation, the capabilities associated with which include altering opportunity and ecosystem structures, bridging inter-ecosystem collaborations, and deploying international best practices. Our finding has implications for intermediaries, SMEs, and policymakers keen to enhance SME digital transformation by enabling intermediaries to develop required dynamic capabilities
Fluid pressure fluctuations and the seismic signature of a fault-controlled fluid migration pulse
Get PDFFluids in the crust may build pressure through a variety of mechanisms. This buildup can activate nearby faults, which then serve as conduits for fluid flow and as valves for pressure release. The rapid pressure drop promotes mineral precipitation and fault sealing, allowing the cycle to restart. While evidence of this cyclical interplay between faults and fluids is abundant in exhumed faults, whether these processes can be identified in the seismological record remains unknown. Here, we have detected a complete sequence of fluid pressure build-up, fluid migration through local faults, and pressure release by means of a joint magnetotelluric and seismicity survey in the Southern Andes. We identified intense seismicity along a previously unmapped WNW-striking fault, with seismic swarm activity concentrated at the edge of a low-resistivity crustal zone, interpreted as a fluid reservoir. Hypocenters delineate two fault planes from the reservoir toward higher-resistivity crust. We linked distinct seismicity patterns to each sequence stage: fluid pressure buildup is marked by relatively high b-values (1.2–1.4) and low magnitudes (
), while fluid migration and pressure release are characterized by a sudden drop in b-values (<1). Our findings capture the seismic signature of a fluid migration pulse along faults, linking active fault-fluid interactions with long-term geological evidence of fluid compartmentalization and cyclical along-fault fluid flow
Cryo-electron tomography reveals how COPII assembles on cargo-containing membranes
Get PDFProteins traverse the eukaryotic secretory pathway through membrane trafficking between organelles. The coat protein complex II (COPII) mediates the anterograde transport of newly synthesized proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum, engaging cargoes with a wide range of size and biophysical properties. The native architecture of the COPII coat and how cargo might influence COPII carrier morphology remain poorly understood. Here we reconstituted COPII-coated membrane carriers using purified Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins and cell-derived microsomes as a native membrane source. Using cryo-electron tomography with subtomogram averaging, we demonstrate that the COPII coat binds cargo and forms largely spherical vesicles from native membranes. We reveal the architecture of the inner and outer coat layers and shed light on how spherical carriers are formed. Our results provide insights into the architecture and regulation of the COPII coat and advance our current understanding of how membrane curvature is generated
Linking spatial metaphors to body size perception: different roles of top-down associations and multisensory contributions when mapping auditory cues to finger length
Get PDFTemporospatial and semantic multisensory aspects contribute to bodily and spatial perception. An informative paradigm to study this is the Auditory Pinocchio Illusion, in which participants perceive an elongation of their finger upon vertically pulling their finger and hearing a concurrent upward pitch glissando. This arguably relies on anchoring (i.e., associating) the ecologically unrelated upward pitch glissando to the finger and allows to separately assess the role of semantic and multisensory contributions. However, what is needed for this anchoring to occur is unknown. In a first experiment, we manipulated top-down attention to the finger upon which either an ascending or descending sound would be produced. In a second experiment, we compared how different bottom-up multisensory cues (arising from actions performed on the finger) concurrent to the ascending or descending pitch affected finger length perception. Participants either pulled, touched or stretched their finger. Through a perceptual judgment task of finger landmark localization and questionnaire ratings, we measured participants’ perceived finger length in both studies and separately assessed their sensory imagery skills. Our results show that attention alters finger length perception according to questionnaire ratings but not perceptual judgements, while concurrent multisensory signals similarly affect both measures. No relationship between these effects and participants’ sensory imagery was found. We suggest that while top-down associations between pitch and verticality are necessary and affect questionnaire ratings, they are not sufficient to affect perceptual judgements. Bottom-up somatosensory cues seem to be additionally needed to impact such judgements in this illusion
Primordialism, perennialism, modernism and ethno-symbolism: the perception of homeland and identity among Azerbaijani Lezgis
No full textThe state of ethnic self-perception amongst Lezgis, one of Azerbaijan’s largest ethnic minorities, has been in constant realignment in the post-Soviet period, as borders both physical and cultural have been built up or brought down, facilitating a multifaceted perspective of members of the same ethnic community. In the contemporary context, relative ethnic isolation of portions of the Lezgi population has resulted in perceived characteristics becoming the focal point for individuals’ ethnic identities, with theories such as primordialism, perennialism, ethno-symbolism and modernism becoming the primary explanatory features for where these hypothetical lines may be drawn. The research on this case study has sought to see what differences in perceptions between Lezgi communities from different districts of Azerbaijan there are and to what degree it affects their ethno-political identity. Research through semi-structured interviews has analyzed ethnic self-narratives of individuals from Azerbaijani regions of Qusar, Quba, Gabala, Ismayilli, Sheki and other districts. Findings have considered the main camps of ethno-nationalist identity and how it may affect the political dynamics of the broader Azerbaijani Lezgi community. On the basis of these findings, we have also sought to identify the theoretical void that renders the failure to inform different ethnic self-perceptions
EEG evidence for spatial selectivity in feature-based preparation for visual search
No full textIn many visual search tasks, the detection of target objects in visual search requires feature-selective attentional guidance and space-based attentional selection. Feature-based attention is often assumed to operate in a spatially global fashion across the entire visual field, but there is also evidence that it can be restricted to task-relevant locations under some conditions. Here, we investigated whether such spatial filtering processes are already evident when representations of target-defining features (attentional templates) are activated during the preparation for an upcoming search episode. We measured N2pc components (an electrophysiological index of attentional allocation) in response to a rapid series of lateral task-irrelevant but template-matching colour probes that appeared while participants prepared for an upcoming search task with colour-defined targets. Critically, search targets would either always appear in the same lateral regions of visual space as the probes, or at different locations (near fixation or in lateral areas that never contained probes), thus rendering the probed locations either task-relevant or irrelevant. N2pc components triggered by target-colour probes during the preparation period emerged later and were attenuated when probes were presented at irrelevant locations. This demonstrates that the effects of preparatory feature-based attentional templates can be modulated by spatial expectations. However, this type of spatial filtering during search preparation only attenuates but not completely eliminates feature-based attentional modulations
Sailing through uncertainty: the impact of geopolitical risks on technology adoption in U.S. corporations—a corporate culture lens
No full textAmid escalating geopolitical tensions, this study investigates how these risks reshape corporate technology adoption strategies in the U.S., focusing on the intersection of geopolitics, technology, and organizational dynamics. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory, we analyzed 32,940 earnings call transcripts from September 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, using advanced text-based big data analytics, including Word2vec and Structured Topic Modeling (STM). The findings reveal that geopolitical risks significantly influence technology adoption decisions, driving advancements in critical domains such as electric mobility, artificial intelligence, digital currencies, intelligent shipping, and carbon abatement technologies. While these risks pose challenges, they also serve as catalysts for innovation and strategic realignment. Corporate culture emerges as a key moderating factor, with firms possessing a strong technology-oriented culture demonstrating greater adaptability in aligning technology adoption with external pressures. By integrating geopolitical risk considerations into the RBV framework, this research highlights the complex interplay between external uncertainties and internal capabilities, emphasizing the strategic value of an adaptive corporate culture in navigating geopolitical challenges and leveraging technological opportunities
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