What is Behaviour? And (when) is Language Behaviour? A Metatheoretical Definition

Behaviour is central to many fields, but metatheoretical definitions specifying the most basic assumptions about what is considered behaviour and what is not are largely lacking. This transdisciplinary research explores the challenges in defining behaviour, highlighting anthropocentric biases and a frequent lack of differentiation from physiological and psychical phenomena. To meet these challenges, the article elaborates a metatheoretical definition of behaviour that is applicable across disciplines and that allows behaviours to be differentiated from other kinds of phenomena. This definition is used to explore the phenomena of language and to scrutinise whether and under what conditions language can be considered behaviour and why. The metatheoretical concept of two different levels of meaning conveyed in human language is introduced, highlighting that language inherently relies on behaviours and that the content of what‐is‐being‐said, in and of itself, can constitute (interpersonal) behaviour under particular conditions. The analyses reveal the ways in which language meaningfully extends human's behavioural possibilities, pushing them far beyond anything enabled by non‐language behaviours. These novel metatheoretical concepts can complement and expand on existing theories about behaviour and language and contribute a novel piece of theoretical explanation regarding the crucial role that language has played in human evolution.     

Analysis of environmental flow requirements for macroinvertebrates in a creek affected by urban drainage (Prague metropolitan area,Czech Republic)

The habitat suitability index and environmental flow requirements were assessed for ten species of macroinvertebrates in a 2 km length section of the urban Boti? creek (average flow 0.4 m³ s^?1) in Prague. Boti? creek has been affected by two combined sewer overflows (CSO). Spring, summer and fall seasonal environmental flow requirements were identified using the Physical HABitat SIMulation System (PHABSIM) approach for the whole macroinvertebrate community: Spring – optimal flow 0.32–0.38 m³ s^?1, minimal flow 0.20–0.21 m³ s^?1 and maximal acceptable flow 0.91–0.93 m³ s^?1; Summer - optimal flow 0.42–0.45 m³ s^?1, minimal flow 0.19–0.21 m³ s^?1 and maximal acceptable flow 0.95–1.00 m³ s^?1; Fall - optimal flow 0.38–0.48 m³ s^?1, minimal flow 0.22–0.23 m³ s^?1 and maximal acceptable flow 0.95–0.98 m³ s^?1. The seasonal variability of environmental flow for all three categories is approximately 10%. Environmental flow requirements of the studied species and their life stages vary with depth, velocity and bottom substratum. Due to inflow from the CSOs, the optimal and maximal acceptable flow are not maintained and the maximal flow is exceeded by more than twice its value. Although the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) was primarily designed for large impounded rivers, the study proved its applicability in small streams affected by urbanization and urban drainage.     

Influence of Parenting Behavior on Psychosocial Adjustment in Early Adolescence: Mediated by Anger Regulation and Moderated by Gender

Emotion regulation (ER)—one of the most important developmental tasks in early adolescence—has been proposed to mediate the relation between parenting and adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of parental psychological control and autonomy support on adolescents’ problem and prosocial behavior (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), as well as to examine the mediating role of adolescents’ anger regulation and the moderating effect of gender. We collected three‐year longitudinal questionnaire data from N = 923 parents and their (at first assessment) 9‐ to 13‐year‐old children. Path‐analysis results mainly support the mediating role of adolescents’ adaptive and maladaptive anger regulation and suggest parental autonomy support to be beneficial for regulatory abilities and psychosocial adjustment, whereas the opposite was found for psychological control. Gender differences were found for parent report data, but not for adolescent report data. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Communicative Openness About Adoption and Interest in Contact in a Sample of Domestic and Intercountry Adolescent Adoptees

Adolescent intercountry (n = 122) and domestic (n = 40) adoptees and their adoptive parents were asked about their views on communicative openness. The adoptees were also asked for their thoughts on birth parents and contact. A modest association between communicative openness and feelings about adoptive status and self-esteem was found. Girls were more interested in many aspects of their adoptions than boys. Compared with the situation at 11 years of age, there was greater parent-child agreement on whether the child had difficulties talking about adoption. Nevertheless, at age 15, children were still nearly twice as likely to report difficulties talking about adoption issues than their adoptive parents realized. At the age of 15, the majority of the adoptees expressed a desire for contact with birth relatives, but this was a reduction from the numbers at age 11. They also reported finding it easier to talk about adoption issues than they did at the age of 11. The implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Scoring predictions at extreme quantiles

AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis - Prediction of quantiles at extreme tails is of interest in numerous applications. Extreme value modelling provides various competing predictors for this...     

Daily street life in the inner city of Prague under transformation: the visual experience of socio-spatial differentiation and temporal rhythms

The paper is concerned with the everyday manifestation of increasing social, lifestyle and cultural diversity in the transforming inner city of Prague. The Smíchov neighbourhood and particularly its central hub, the Anděl junction, were chosen as the focus of the study. The regeneration dynamics during the post-socialist transformation make this place particularly interesting for an inquiry into the interplay of the social and physical environment, into the interactions of changing urban landscapes and people's everyday practices. Particular attention is paid to the character of ordinary daily street life, to the users of urban space and to the manifestation of close-knit social, spatial and temporal diversity in the close vicinity of the Anděl hub. The paper concludes with the necessity of including the temporal dimension of space in urban planning and design practice. Methodologically the case study derives principally from direct observation of neighbourhood life and users, but also draws on the extensive research previously conducted in the neighbourhood by the authors and from intensive experience of living in the area.     

Infant locomotion shapes proximity to adults during everyday play in the U.S.

Learning to walk expands infants’ access to the physical environment and prompts changes in their communicative behaviors. However, little is known about whether walking also shapes infants’ proximity to their adult social partners during everyday activities at home. Here we followed 89 infants (42 boys, 47 girls; 92% White, not Hispanic or Latino) longitudinally and documented connections between infant locomotion and infant-adult proximity on two timescales: (1) across developmental time, by comparing data from a session when infants could only crawl to a later session when they could walk (M walk onset = 12.15 months, range = 8-15); and (2) in real time, by testing whether the amount of time that infants spent in motion (regardless of their locomotor status) related to their interpersonal distance to adults. The developmental transition to walking corresponded to a significant, but modest, decrease in infant-adult proximity. Infants’ moment-to-moment locomotion, however, was strongly related to patterns of interpersonal distance: infants who spent more time in motion spent less time near adults and instigated more proximity transitions, resulting in shorter and more dispersed bouts of proximity throughout sessions. Findings shed new light on how infants’ motor achievements can reverberate across other domains of development, and how changes in infant development that researchers often observe over months arise from infants’ moment-to-moment experiences.     

Attitudes towards childcare policies,policy feedback and path dependency: Czech Republic contrasted to Norway

This article explores the recent changes in mothers’ employment, childcare policies and attitudes towards gender equality in the labour market, in the Czech Republic and Norway, how these factors interact and what impact they have on the provision of childcare. Analysis suggests that there is convergence of the Czech Republic with Norway in terms of female employment, but divergence in childcare policies. The policy feedback – the mutual interrelatedness of attitudes towards mothers’ employment and childcare policies – has shaped refamilialising policies in the Czech Republic, whereas in Norway policies that support gender equality in work and family have emerged.