4,598 research outputs found
Sociolinguistic factors associated with the subjectively and objectively measured language development in German preschoolers in three follow-up studies
No full textThe study aimed at an analysis of sociolinguistic variables associated with the language acquisition progress between the first and the second test sessions in three follow-up studies with German preschool children. In all three samples, children acquiring German, both Germans and immigrants, were tested twice with validated language tests within a time span of several months. Furthermore, language skills of children were judged by daycare center teachers. The language competence of normally developed test subjects did not change much between two test sessions, whereas children acquiring German under more challenging circumstances were still in the process of active development, mostly due to the daycare center attendance, language courses, and medical therapies. Therefore, contra-intuitively at first sight, the following factors were associated with the quick progress in language development (floor effect): bad school marks for the language competence at the beginning of the daycare attendance, low age at the first test session, not regular attendance of the daycare centers, late contact to the German language, foreign language(s) spoken at home, medical issues, and some other unfavorable language acquisition conditions
Women's body movements are a potential cue to ovulation
No full textRecent evidence suggests that the concept of 'concealed ovulation' in women should be reconsidered, as there appear to be certain behavioural, visual, olfactory, and vocal cues that serve as indirect cues to female fertility. Here we test the hypothesis that men are able to discern fertile from non-fertile women based on their dance and gait movements. Digital videos of dances and gaits of 48 heterosexual women, aged 19-33 years, were recorded twice, once in the late follicular phase, and once in the mid-luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. Short video clips comprising movement silhouettes of dances and gaits were judged on attractiveness by a total of 200 men. Dances and gaits recorded in the late follicular were rated significantly more attractive compared to recordings in the mid-luteal phase. We suggest that (i) menstrual cycle effects on women's body movements exist, and (ii) men are sensitive to these effects, as they expressed a stronger preference (via attractiveness judgments) for women's body movements at times of peak fertility. Our data add body movements to the list of features that show systematic changes across the menstrual cycle and support the assertion that men are able to detect cues of female fertility. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Women's visual attention to variation in men's dance quality
No full textRecent research shows that 'good' male dancers display larger and more variable movements of their head, neck and trunk, and differ in certain personality characteristics from 'bad' dancers. Here we elaborate on these findings by testing the hypothesis that 'good' male dancers will also receive higher visual attention and will be judged as being more attractive by women. The eye-gaze of 46 women aged 19-33 years was tracked whilst they viewed pairs of video clips of male dancers in the form of avatars created using motion capture, each pair showing one 'good' and one 'bad' dancer together on the screen. In a subsequent rating task, women judged each dance avatar on perceived attractiveness and masculinity. Our data show that women viewed 'good' dancers significantly longer and more often than 'bad' dancers. In addition, visual attention was positively correlated with perceived attractiveness and masculinity, though the latter association failed to reach statistical significance. We conclude that (i) 'good' male dancers receive higher visual attention from women as compared to 'bad' dancers, and (ii) 'good' dancers are being judged as more attractive. This suggests that in following mating-related motives, women are selectively processing male dynamic displays, such as dance movements. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Past and future sea-level rise along the coast of North Carolina, USA
No full textWe evaluate relative sea level (RSL) trajectories for North Carolina, USA, in the context of tide-gauge measurements and geological sea-level proxy reconstructions spanning the last ∼11,000 years. RSL rise was fastest (∼7 mm/yr) during the early Holocene and slowed over time with the end of the deglaciation. During the pre-Industrial Common Era (i.e., 0–1800 CE), RSL rise (∼0.7 to 1.1 mm/yr) was driven primarily by glacio-isostatic adjustment, though dampened by tectonic uplift along the Cape Fear Arch. Ocean/atmosphere dynamics caused centennial variability of up to ∼0.6 mm/yr around the long-term rate. It is extremely likely (probability P = 0.95) that 20th century RSL rise at Sand Point, NC, (2.8 ± 0.5 mm/yr) was faster than during any other century in at least 2,900 years. Projections based on a fusion of process models, statistical models, expert elicitation, and expert assessment indicate that RSL at Wilmington, NC, is very likely (P = 0.90) to rise by 42–132 cm between 2000 and 2100 under the high-emissions RCP 8.5 pathway. Under all emission pathways, 21st century RSL rise is very likely (P > 0.90) to be faster than during the 20th century. Due to RSL rise, under RCP 8.5, the current ‘1-in-100 year’ flood is expected at Wilmington in ∼30 of the 50 years between 2050-2100.The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1451-xPeer reviewe
Words Won’t Fail
No full textApplying sexual selection theory to language, it can be assumed that high verbal proficiency increases attractiveness, but male more than female attractiveness, because women have higher costs regarding reproduction and are thus more selective in mate choice. These predictions were tested experimentally. In the first study, videos were used as the stimuli for opposite-sex participants where an actor/actress performed verbal self-presentations. The content was alike but was delivered with three levels of verbal proficiency with respect to lexical, grammatical, and fluency features. The main effect of verbal proficiency on attractiveness was supported, but the interaction effect was not supported between verbal proficiency and sex according to which male more than female attractiveness is affected by verbal proficiency. In the second study, only audio tracks from the videos were used. Both effects were significant, supporting the assertion that language plays a significant role in mate choice, especially for male attractiveness
Public worship and practical theology in the work of Benjamin Keach (1640-1704)
No full textThe late seventeenth century was a critical and fruitful period
for the Particular Baptists of England. Severely persecuted following
the Restoration, toleration in 1689 brought its own perils.
Particular Baptists were fortunate in having several strong leaders,
especially the London trio of Hanserd Knollys, William Kiffin, and
Benjamin Keach. Such a small and severely persecuted group as the
Baptists could afford little time for academic pursuits, thus of
necessity most of their theology was practical in nature.
Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) was the most outstanding practical
theologian among the English Particular Baptists of the late
seventeenth century. This dissertation is a study of Keach, in
particular his writings on public worship and practical theology.
Although Keach was a prolific author, he has been almost completely
neglected by scholars.
After a biographical sketch of Keach, this study considers his
writings on public worship and practical theology. In the area of
worship, Keach made two outstanding contributions: First, he was the
most vocal apologist for Baptist views on Baptism of his period.
Secondly, and more importantly, his hymn writing and defense of hymn
singing broke new ground, not just for Baptists, but for English
Protestantism, in general. In addition to his contributions in these
areas, he also dealt with the laying on of hands and the sabbath day
worship controversy.
Keach's contributions to practical theology fall into two main
groups: his writings that concern religious education and those that
deal with polity. In addition to these, Keach's vigorous advocacy of
a high Calvinist soteriology are also considered under the rubric of
practical theology. Keach's most important (although not his most
positive) contribution in this area were his soteriological writings.
Although well within the bounds of orthodoxy, some of the tendencies
in Keach's soteriology were taken up by the following generation of
Baptist leaders and developed into a stultifying hyper-Calvinism that
handicapped Baptist evangelism and missions.
In the conclusion, Keach's contributions to a theory of practical
theology are considered
The effectiveness of stuttering treatments in Germany
No full textPurpose: Persons who stutter (PWS) should be referred to the most effective treatments available, locally or regionally. A prospective comparison of the effects of the most common stuttering treatments in Germany is not available. Therefore, a retrospective evaluation by clients of stuttering treatments was carried out. Method: The five most common German stuttering treatments (231 single treatment cases) were rated as to their perceived effectiveness, using a structured questionnaire, by 88 PWS recruited through various sources. The participants had received between I and 7 treatments for stuttering. Results: Two stuttering treatments (stuttering modification, fluency shaping) showed favorable and three treatments (breathing therapy, hypnosis, unspecified logopedic treatment) showed unsatisfactory effectiveness ratings. The effectiveness ratings of stuttering modification and fluency shaping did not differ significantly. The three other treatments were equally ineffective. The differences between the effective and ineffective treatments were of large effect sizes. The typical therapy biography begins in childhood with an unspecified logopedic treatment administered extensively in single and individual sessions. Available comparisons showed intensive or interval treatments to be superior to extensive treatments, and group treatments to be superior to single client treatments. Conclusion: The stuttering treatment most often prescribed in Germany, namely a weekly session of individual treatment by a speech-language pathologist, usually with an assorted package of mostly unknown components, is of limited effectiveness. Better effectiveness can be expected from fluency shaping or stuttering modification approaches, preferably with an intensive time schedule and with group sessions. Educational objectives: Readers will be able to: (a) discuss the five most prevalent stuttering treatments in Germany; (b) summarize the effectiveness of these treatments; and (c) describe structural treatment components that seem to be preferable across different kinds of treatments. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Sea-Level change and subsidence in the Delaware Estuary during the last ~2200 years
No full textWe produced eight new sea-level index points that reconstruct a ~2.5 m relative sea-level (RSL) rise at Sea Breeze in the Delaware Bay from ~200 BCE to 1800 CE. The precision of our reconstruction improved upon existing data by using high-resolution surveying methods, AMS radiocarbon dating of in-situ plant macrofossils collected immediately above the basal contact between pre-Holocene sand and salt-marsh sediments, foraminifera as sea-level indicators, and by accounting for tidal range changes through time. Our new data were combined with a database of 65 sea-level index points available for the Delaware Bay to estimate the rate of RSL rise in the upper (1.26 ± 0.33 mm/yr) and lower bay (1.30 ± 0.36 mm/yr) using a spatial-temporal model. Correction for changes in tidal range through time removed the disparity in rate between the upper and lower Delaware Bay that had previously been postulated. After paleotidal correction, the rates of RSL rise estimated for the Delaware Bay (1.25 ± 0.27 mm/yr) correlate with the ~1.3 mm/yr rate reported for New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, and confirm that the maximal ongoing forebulge collapse along the U.S. Atlantic coast is focused on the mid-Atlantic.Peer reviewe
Vergleichung der Nöthigen Antwort mit den Hundert und dreyßig Fragen des Herrn D. und P. J. Langens, Aus der Wolffischen Philosophie: Jn welcher gezeiget wird, Daß der Antwortende die Fragen keineswegs zureichend aufgelöset habe ... Zur Prüfung der Wahrheit und Entdeckung der schädlichen Pädanterie, Charlatanerie und Bigotterie in der so genanten Wolffischen Philosophie; auch insbesondere zu Abwendung des der ... Hällischen Universität darausgemachten falschen Vorwurffs eine Mangels an einer gründlichen Philosophie, ans Licht gestellet
No full textVorlageform des Erscheinungsvermerks: Lejpzjg, bey Samuel Benjamin Walther, 1735
Water Swallow Screening Test for Patients After Surgery for Head and Neck Cancer: Early Identification of Dysphagia, Aspiration and Limitations of Oral Intake
No full textPatients with head and neck cancer (HNC) are at high risk for oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) following surgical therapy. Early identification of OD can improve outcomes and reduce economic burden. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of a water screening test using increasing volumes postsurgically for patients with HNC (N=80) regarding the early identification of OD in general, and whether there is a need for further instrumental diagnostics to investigate the presence of aspiration as well as to determine the limitations of oral intake as defined by fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing. OD in general was identified in 65%, with aspiration in 49%, silent aspiration in 21% and limitations of oral intake in 56%. Despite a good sensitivity, for aspiration of 100% and for limitations of oral intake of 97.8%, the presented water screening test did not satisfactorily predict either of these reference criteria due to its low positive likelihood ratio (aspiration=2.6; limitations of oral intake=3.1). However, it is an accurate tool for the early identification of OD in general, with a sensitivity of 96.2% and a positive likelihood ratio of 5.4 in patients after surgery for HNC
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