Effects of Familiarity and Feeding on Newborn Speech–Voice Recognition

Newborn infants preferentially orient to familiar over unfamiliar speech sounds. They are also better at remembering unfamiliar speech sounds for short periods of time if learning and retention occur after a feed than before. It is unknown whether short‐term memory for speech is enhanced when the sound is familiar (versus unfamiliar) and, if so, whether the effect is further enhanced by feeding. We used a two‐factorial design and randomized infants to one of four groups: prefeed‐unfamiliar, prefeed‐familiar, postfeed‐unfamiliar, and postfeed‐familiar. Memory for either familiar or unfamiliar speech (the infant's mother saying “baby” versus a female stranger saying “beagle”) was assessed using head turning to sound in an habituation–recovery paradigm and a retention delay of 85 sec either before or after a typical milk feed. Memory for the familiar speech–voice was enhanced relative to the unfamiliar speech–voice, expressed by significantly less head turning toward the habituated sound stimulus when it was re‐presented after the delay. Memory for familiar or unfamiliar speech was not significantly enhanced from pre‐ to postfeeding, nor was there a significant interaction. This is the first demonstration in newborns that familiarity enhances short‐term memory for speech–voice sound.     

Abstracts and reviews

Frank A. Beach (Editor): Sex and Behavior, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York, London, Sydney, 1965. 592 + x pages. Price: $8.75.

Richard F. Hettlinger. Living with Sex: The Student's Dilemma. The Seabury Press, New York, 1966.

The Hygienic Principles of Moses Maimonides. J. American Medical Association. Vol. 194, No. 13, page 86, December 27, 1965.

Eleanor Mears (Editor): Handbook on Oral Contraception. J. & A. Churchill Ltd., London, 1965, pp. xv, 107.

Lars Ullerstam: The Erotic Minorities. Introduction by Yves de St. Agnes; translated by Anselm Hollo. Grove Press, New York, 1966.     

Colliding Identities in Arctic Canadian Sports and Games

Abstract

Using field data collected in northern Canadian communities between 1991 and 1995, this paper explores recent attempts by Canadian aboriginal peoples to determine and re-discover, on their own terms, what is meant by the expressions “traditional life” and “traditional culture.” Faced with the infiltration into the north of rationalized and commercial “southern” sports and the values they imply, aboriginal Canadians have attempted to consolidate their cultural integrity through the staging of games-festivals. An examination of these games-festivals demonstrates a number of tensions or colliding identities not only between “outside” and aboriginal communities but also within aboriginal communities over the place and meaning of traditional forms of sport, games and other contests.     

Compelling Family Processes

This article introduces the idea of family process research and asserts that the study of family processes is an indispensable component of any effort to conceptualize and measure family life. Within this article the family process approach is defined through the use of several domains that categorize core constructs. Further, several key assumptions are identified that form the foundation this family process approach. A related objective of this article advances the notion that family process–oriented research has grown increasingly sophisticated over the years, often in ways that have helped to shape and define the discipline of family science. This article instructs readers about using a family process approach, especially within the context of employing a large national data set such as the NLSY97.     

Learning and the Form of Compensation

Using data from the PSID and an empirical setup similar to the one used in Altonji and Pierret (Q J Econ 116(1):313–350, 2001)’s paper on wages and employer learning, we find that the coefficient of a hard-to-observe correlate of productivity—parents’ educational attainment—in a wage regression increases more rapidly with experience in performance pay jobs than in nonperformance pay jobs. This result is driven entirely by bonus pay jobs as opposed to commission/piece rate jobs. In the latter, there is no evidence that the importance of parental education in the wage determination process increases over time. This is consistent with the notion that explicit pay-for-performance compensation schemes are, by design, revealing workers’ productivities and that employers need not infer anything about worker productivity when the payment is ex post as is the case for commissions and piece rates as opposed to having to set pay ex ante.     

ENGAGING A SPIRIT FROM THE EAST: ASIAN AMERICAN CHRISTIANS AND CIVIC LIFE

Asian Americans are one the fastest growing nonwhite populations and nearly half are Christian. Little is known, however, about the impact of religion on their civic lives beyond volunteerism. This article is a comparative analysis of Asian American Catholic and Protestant civic involvements. In the general population some have argued that the acquisition of civic skills is hindered by Catholic affiliation relative to Protestantism, but it is not know if the same is true for Asian Americans. I explore these issues with data from the Social Capital Benchmark (SCCB) Survey using logistic regression analysis. Results suggest that Protestant Asian Americans are more likely to vote and be interested in politics than Asian American Catholics, but being Protestant is not a significant predictor of community participation. I conclude that religion, particularly with small group participation, is an important resource for all Asian American Christians across broad measures of civic life.     

Teenage fertility and its social integration correlates: A control theory explanation

This study uses control theory to explain teenage fertility in one southeastern state. Control theory explains deviance from societal norms in terms of weak social bonding or integration. An important assumption of the study is that teenage parenting violates American parenting norms, and can thus be conceptualized as deviant behavior. Consequently, this study hypothesizes that teenage fertility should covary with measures of social integration. This study uses data from 64 parishes in Louisiana, and the results suggest that measures of social integration (i.e., divorce rates, percentage of population living alone, and personal alienation) are significant predictors of teenage fertility in non urban settings and explain approximately 53% of the variance in teenage fertility. However, among urban parishes, socioeconomic status is the only significant predictor of teenage fertility, explaining almost 44% of its variance.     

The Psychological Effects of Considering a Move into Residential Care: An Age-Related Study

This study employed a cross-sectional design to examine the psychological effects of considering a move into supported housing. It sought to explore the wistful “prefactual/counterfactual” evaluation of “if only” scenarios. A Time, Environment, Motivation, Personality, and Outcome (TEMPO) model was applied to investigate whether individuals moving closer in time to a prefactual scenario (a hypothetical vignette about two older adults facing a move toward residential care) expressed increased prefactual/counterfactual statements. Additional hypotheses explored the impact of personality and outcome. Thirty-three older adults (65 and older) and 33 adults (aged 18 to 64) were asked to write what could be better or worse about each scenario. The older-adult group generated a significantly higher number of counterfactual/prefactual statements. Effect sizes were medium-large. The implications of these findings, particularly concerning the emotional impact, were explored.     

Pathways to Becoming a Church Musician

This article is the second in our series on dimensions of the social world of church musicians. For the current analysis of how people first become church musicians, we draw on data from in-depth interviews with 47 church musicians conducted by the three authors. The respondents ranged in age from 18 to 71 years (mean age 43.8 years). There were 19 women and 28 men interviewed. Keyboard players, vocalists, guitarists (acoustic and electric), bass players, drummers, a flautist, and a choir director were interviewed. Results indicate the importance of both early and ongoing socialization in the process of becoming a church musician. Our respondents took a variety of pathways to becoming church musicians, including having parents who were church musicians, regularly attending church services during childhood, and receiving early musical and/or vocal training. Our results also indicate the functioning of three enabling mechanisms—being authority directed, volunteering, and being recruited/invited—that determine the likelihood of an individual becoming a church musician as a child, as an adolescent, or as an adult.     

Affordable Clustered Housing-Care: A Category of Long-Term Care Options for the Elderly Poor

ABSTRACT

What we label as affordable clustered housing-care options are making it increasingly possible for poor and frail older Americans to age in place comfortably and securely in residential-like settings combining both affordable shelter and long-term care. The hallmark of these housing arrangements is their sizable population clusters of low-income frail persons in need of supportive services. Despite their greater availability and the compelling factors underlying their growth, the diversity of their supportive services and operations cloud their identity resulting in uncertainty as to whether they have a common mission. In response to the need for a more careful delineation of this aging in place option, this paper describes the distinguishing features of these hybrid settings and constructs a typology of their representative exemplars or prototypes.