Sanyog: A Speech Enabled Communication System for the Speech Impaired and People with Multiple Disorders

SUMMARY

The paper presents a multilingual communication tool that has been designed for helping in the communication needs of people with severe speech and multiple disorders. The system accepts icons, selected through special access switches, as input and can form natural language sentences, which can be spoken out using in-built text-to-speech synthesizer. The system has been deployed and is being field tested at the schools for the children with cerebral palsy in India.     

Verbal Communication about Sex in Marriage: Patterns of Language Use and Its Connection with Relational Outcomes

This study examined the vocabulary husbands and wives use for talking to each other about sex, and connections between language use and relational qualities. Married people (n?=?293) responded to a questionnaire about their use of common sex-related terms and about several characteristics of their marriage: sexual communication satisfaction, relational satisfaction, and relational closeness. Cluster analysis based on reported use revealed that sexual terms fell into clusters characterized as clinical terms, slang, or standard English. Results showed an association between use of sexual terms, particularly slang terms, and both satisfaction and closeness. This connection was stronger for women than for men. The findings offer insight into sexual talk and marital relationships.     

Verbal Communication about Sex in Marriage: Patterns of Language Use and Its Connection with Relational Outcomes

This study examined the vocabulary husbands and wives use for talking to each other about sex, and connections between language use and relational qualities. Married people (n = 293) responded to a questionnaire about their use of common sex-related terms and about several characteristics of their marriage: sexual communication satisfaction, relational satisfaction, and relational closeness. Cluster analysis based on reported use revealed that sexual terms fell into clusters characterized as clinical terms, slang, or standard English. Results showed an association between use of sexual terms, particularly slang terms, and both satisfaction and closeness. This connection was stronger for women than for men. The findings offer insight into sexual talk and marital relationships.     

A Cross-species Comparison of Facial Morphology and Movement in Humans and Chimpanzees Using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS)

A comparative perspective has remained central to the study of human facial expressions since Darwin’s [(1872/1998). The expression of the emotions in man and animals (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press] insightful observations on the presence and significance of cross-species continuities and species-unique phenomena. However, cross-species comparisons are often difficult to draw due to methodological limitations. We report the application of a common methodology, the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to examine facial movement across two species of hominoids, namely humans and chimpanzees. FACS [Ekman & Friesen (1978). Facial action coding system. CA: Consulting Psychology Press] has been employed to identify the repertoire of human facial movements. We demonstrate that FACS can be applied to other species, but highlight that any modifications must be based on both underlying anatomy and detailed observational analysis of movements. Here we describe the ChimpFACS and use it to compare the repertoire of facial movement in chimpanzees and humans. While the underlying mimetic musculature shows minimal differences, important differences in facial morphology impact upon the identification and detection of related surface appearance changes across these two species.

Development and validation of the Early Executive Functions Questionnaire: A carer-administered measure of Executive Functions suitable for 9- to 30-month-olds

Executive functions (EFs) enable us to control our attention and behavior in order to set and work toward goals. Strong EF skills are linked to better academic performance, and greater health, wealth, and happiness in later life. Research into EF development has been hampered by a lack of scalable measures suitable for infancy through to toddlerhood. The 31-item Early Executive Functions Questionnaire (EEFQ) complements temperament measures by targeting cognitive and regulatory capabilities. Exploratory Factor Analysis (n = 486 8- to 30-month-olds) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n = 317 9- to 30-month-olds) indicate Inhibitory Control, Flexibility, and Working Memory items load onto a common “Cognitive Executive Function (CEF)” factor, while Regulation items do not. The CEF factor shows strong factorial measurement invariance for sex, and partial strong factorial measurement invariance for age. CEF and Regulation scores show limited floor and ceiling effects, good internal consistency, short-term stability, and convergent validity with carer-report measures of attentional control. The EEFQ is sensitive to developmental change. Results indicate that the widely overlooked period between late infancy and early toddlerhood may be a sensitive period for EF development. The low-resource demands of the EEFQ afford the possibility to study emergent EFs at scale; opening up new opportunities in basic developmental and intervention research.     

Intensity of Aggression in Childhood as a Predictor of Different Forms of Adult Aggression: A Two‐Country (Finland and the United States) Analysis

This study examined the prediction of different forms of adult aggression in 2 countries from child and adolescent aggression. It was based on 2 longitudinal projects: the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS; N=196 boys and 173 girls) conducted in Finland and the Columbia County Longitudinal Study (CCLS; N=436 boys and 420 girls) conducted in the United States. The same peer‐nominated items for aggression were used in both studies at age 8; comparable measures of aggression were also available in adolescence (age 14 in the JYLS/19 in the CCLS) and adulthood (ages 36/30 and 42/48). Results showed that in both countries and in both genders, aggression in school age was linked significantly to physical aggression and lack of self‐control of anger in adulthood but not to verbal aggression. This differential predictability of aggression over 40 years suggests that individual differences in physical aggression are more determined by lasting individual differences (including emotional reactivity) than are individual differences in verbal aggression.     

Body Image and Sexuality in Indonesian Adults with a Disorder of Sex Development (DSD)

In Indonesia, disorders of sex development (DSDs) are not well recognized and medical care for affected individuals is scarce. Consequently, many patients live with ambiguous genitalia and appearance. We compared reported outcomes on body image, sexual functioning, and sexual orientation of 39 adults with DSDs (aged 18 to 41) and 39 healthy controls matched for gender, age, and residential setting (urban, suburban, rural). Differences in gender and treatment status (treated or untreated) were also explored. On body image, adults with DSDs reported dissatisfaction with sex-related body parts. Compared to the matched controls, women with DSDs reported greater sexual distress, and men with DSDs reported lower erectile and ejaculation frequencies, and more dissatisfaction with sexual life but not with sexual desire and activities. Men with DSDs who had undergone genital surgery reported higher erectile and ejaculation frequencies than untreated men. More women than men in the DSDs group reported a nonexclusive heterosexual orientation. DSDs and infertility had a great impact on sexuality. Fear of ostracism complicated DSD acceptance. Findings were compared to those of Western studies. Based on these results, education about DSDs and their psychosexual consequences may help reduce the sexual distress and problems in adults with DSDs and improve quality of life.     

青年学的知识体系、方法建构与发展进路(上)

我国的青年研究,发端于20世纪初的新文化运动时期,20世纪80年代进入到学科化发展的新阶段,运用多学科知识对青年作综合性研究的青年学,在社会需要的推动下,应时而兴。青年研究是青年学赖以发展的理论之源头和学科创建之根基,青年学是青年研究学科化的学术结晶,反过来又可以为青年研究的深化提供学理的指导和规律性引领。青年学所具有的运用多学科知识研究青年的综合性,有别于其他任何一门单学科。青年学在青年研究学科化中无可替代的地位,已是不争的事实,难以逆转的历史必然。     

青年学的知识体系、方法建构与发展进路(下)

青年学有自已独特的学理根基与知识体系。青年学的研究对象是青年及其发生发展过程;研究的逻辑起点是青年及其本质;研究的学术范畴是揭示青年身心发展的规律,青年与社会相互作用的规律,青年特殊需求的发生与引导的规律。青年学这门新兴的综合性学科,必然要吸纳众多学科理论研究青年的成果,对青年学研究应防止故作高深的苛求,让后来者视综合性研究为畏途。青年学的研究方法也应是各种科学研究方法在青年学学科建设中的综合,在综合中形成自己的方法论,应提倡在综合中创新,避免眼中只有某一种方法的单学科思维的局限。     

Philanthrocapitalism as a Neoliberal (Development Agenda) artefact: philanthropic discourse and hegemony in (financing for) international development*

ABSTRACT

Based on a critical analysis of the structurally neoliberal financing for development (FfD) system established by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, this article contributes to the literature that views the 2030 Agenda as a new phase of the Neoliberal Development Agenda (NDA), which has been consolidated as hegemonic within the international development (ID) field in recent decades. Additionally, considering philanthrocapitalism as an ideological framework that proposes its own diagnoses and prognoses, we analyse various discourses of relevant Philanthrocapitalist Institutions and International Organizations to point how they legitimate themselves. This article shows how philanthrocapitalism has been constituted not only as a key element within the current model of FfD but also as a genuine neoliberal artefact designed to encapsulate the NDA apparatus, and fostered by the discourse of international agencies to contribute to the meta-objective of consolidating the neoliberal model as hegemonic in the ID arena.     

The Relationship Between Sexual Minority Verbal Harassment and Utilization of Health Services: Results from Countywide Risk Assessment Survey (CRAS) 2004

In this article we examine the prevalence of and associations between sexual orientation–based verbal harassment and reported utilization of health services across levels of sexual orientation in a diverse sample of adult recipients of Los Angeles County–funded HIV-related health and social services. Thirty-two percent reported they had experienced verbal harassment, the majority (80.3%) of whom identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). Those who reported being verbally harassed received significantly more services overall than those who were not verbally harassed, and service utilization varied by sexual orientation. These findings inform future efforts to identify and assess social discrimination in health and social service settings.     

Development and Utilization of a Practice-Based,Adolescent Intake Questionnaire (Adquest)

Summary

This article describes an intake questionnaire (Adquest) that was designed, tested, and implemented, and later employed in clinical data-mining studies, by practitioners in an adolescent mental health program. The instrument is primarily a practice-based, clinical information-gathering and client engagement device. Consequently, it differs in significant ways from more research-driven Rapid Assessment Instruments (RAIs). Despite these differences, when aggregated and analyzed, Adquest data provides valuable psychosocial information about hundreds of vulnerable urban youth seeking mental health services.     

Technology‐Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation

This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents’ technology‐based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school‐based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; M_age = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technological modes (text messaging, social networking sites) and (2) competence in the romantic relationship skill domains of negative assertion and conflict management. Results of cross‐lagged panel models indicated that adolescents who engaged in greater proportions of technology‐based communication with romantic partners reported lower levels of interpersonal competencies one year later, but not vice versa; associations were particularly strong for boys.     

深化金融税制改革,促进上海自贸试验区发展

随着我国经济全球化步伐的加快,金融发展和创新的速度也在加快,金融服务日益复杂多样,也对税收提出了更复杂、更艰巨的技术和制度设计要求.深化金融税制改革,已成为当前金融领域创新改革的迫切要求,这也是促进上海自贸试验区发展亟待解决的重要问题.     

“A Second-Chance at Being a Parent”: Grandparent Caregivers’ Reported Communication and Parenting Practices with Co-Residential Grandchildren

ABSTRACT

Grandfamilies, family structures in which grandparent(s) co-reside with and assume a primary caregiving role for at least one grandchild, are increasingly common in the United States. This qualitative, exploratory study, informed by family communication patterns theory (FCPT), illuminated the reported communication beliefs and practices of grandparents who serve as primary caregiver to at least one grandchild. Hybrid thematic analysis, combining FCTP with inductive analysis, was used to analyze 21 semi-structured interviews with grandparents. Results yielded four themes describing grandparents’ reported communicative practices: creating opportunities for listening and dialogue, talking about emotion, emphasizing openness, and allowing questioning; and three themes describing the impact of second-chance parenting: increased resources, acquired wisdom, and matured emotionally. Implications for grandfamily communication research in light of hybrid analyses and FCPT are discussed.