Prosody and the Acquisition of Hierarchical Structure in Toddlers and Adults

Though language manifests linearly, one word at a time, children must learn that words are embedded in constituents, which are in turn embedded in larger constituents. That is, they must learn that syntax is hierarchically structured. Prosody—speech melody and rhythm—is likewise hierarchically organized, with smaller prosodic constituents embedded in larger ones. This paper presents results showing that 20‐month‐olds (N = 40) can use modifier + clause prosody to learn constituents at multiple levels in a hierarchically structured artificial grammar, but that they fail to learn from clause + modifier prosody. We consider several explanations for this asymmetry, and suggest that it may be due to the frequency of the two constructions in the input. Two parallel experiments with adults suggest that older learners may not be able to learn the prosodically marked constituents. Instead, adult responses are likely based on perceptually prominent boundary words.     

The historical roots of multicultural unity along the Upper Guinea Coast and in Guinea-Bissau

Lusofonia or lusophony is often defined as an identity shared by people in areas that were once colonised by Portugal, which in Africa include Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. Lusofonia assumes that in these places people share something – a language, certainly, but also a history and culture rooted in the Iberian Peninsula. In some ways it is a re-articulation of Gilberto Freyre’s lusotropicalismo, the idea that Portuguese were more adaptable than other Europeans to tropical climates and cultures and created more multicultural colonial communities. Those who espouse lusofonia often have a political agenda – the strengthening of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries. In this article, we argue that, like lusotropicalismo, lusofonia is a dream; it is not rooted in a historical reality. It is luso-centric in that it ignores the power and persistence of local cultures and gives undue weight to Portuguese influence. With regard to Africa, lusofonia’s agenda is elite driven and assumes the inevitability of modernity and globalisation. And we demonstrate that it was through Upper Guinean institutions and languages, and not colonial ones, that community and fellowship were most commonly fostered in the past, as they are fostered today. Those seeking the roots of lusofonia cannot, then, look to this period of Portuguese–African engagement in Upper Guinea. There Portuguese embraced “black ways.” They operated in a peculiar multicultural space in which people possessed fluid and flexible identities. Portugal did not create that space. Lusofonia has not been the foundation for cultural unity. Rather, unity has been found in localised institutions and in Crioulo. In Guinea-Bissau, lusofonia is not an indigenous movement. If it is anything, it is the stuff of elites and foreigners and is not rooted in any historical reality.     

“Me,the street,and a backpack”: employment,income, and physical capital in rural recovery

ABSTRACT

Recovery capital is a framework for understanding individuals’ resources for recovery from substance misuse. In a qualitative analysis of rural individuals in recovery (N = 49), the role of physical capital emerged prominently across ten focus groups. Participants highlighted the effects of employment status, income, and other forms of physical capital directly, as well as indirect effects through changes in human capital. Negative cultural capital components, in the form of stigma and employment discrimination, were described as barriers to physical capital acquisition and successful recovery. Based on these findings, we discuss rural recovery challenges and propose a model of recovery capital interactions.     

Hand force of men and women over 65 years of age as measured by maximum pinch and grip force

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the impact of age and gender on 4 measures of grip and pinch force of well elderly community dwellers and to provide normative values. The hypotheses were that age and gender affect pinch and grip force and that these 2 factors might interact. Hand strength of 224 seniors 65-92 years old was tested. Grip and pinch force decreased in successively older age groups past 65 years. Men's grip force exceeded that of women in all age groups. Men's hand-force decline was steeper than that of women over successive age groups, suggesting that gender differences in force decreased with age. Trends were the same for all 4 types of grip- and pinch-force measurement but were most clearly visible in grip and key-pinch force. Norms were provided for seniors age 65-85+ years in 5-yr increments.     

The Marginalization of Nonresident Fathers: Their Postdivorce Roles

ABSTRACT

A sample of 260 Australian men were surveyed about their experience as nonresident fathers and their contact with their children. Most reported having little input into decisions concerning children's postseparation living arrangements, the amount of child support they paid, and the spending of their child support payments. Many claimed to have very limited say in any parenting decisions, and little or no involvement in children's schools. Fathers' limited parental role was found to be negatively correlated with their ongoing contact and involvement with children, and positively with their reported level of interparental hostility. Many respondents viewed their marginalization as parents as an impediment to their capacity to develop meaningful relationships with their children.     

Asian student migration to Australia

"This paper presents an overview of Asian student migration to Australia, together with an analysis of political and educational aspects of the overseas student programme. It focuses on some significant consequences of this flow for Australia. The characteristics of key student groups are contrasted to provide some perspective of the diversity of historical and cultural backgrounds, with the source countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and PRC [China] selected as case studies. Since the issue of PRC students in Australia has attracted considerable public attention and policy consideration, particular focus is placed on their experience." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Administrative Metadata to Support the Acquisition of Continuing E-Resources

Abstract

What is administrative metadata? Why is it important? How are libraries handling administrative metadata for continuing electronic resources? What ILS vendors have products available? This article describes solutions developed by four academic libraries to manage administrative metadata and access to electronic resources. Pennsylvania State University Libraries and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries developed systems that track the acquisitions process and provide access to e-resources. Stanford University Libraries focused on providing access to electronic resources. The Tri-College Consortium (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges in Pennsylvania) created a database to track the licensing aspect of the acquisitions process. The article also describes efforts currently underway to develop standards and best practices for managing electronic resources. Serials Review 2003; 29:276–281.     

Learning from the Experiences of Ethnic Minorities Accessing HIV Services in Ireland

Since the mid-1990s, Ireland has become a more culturally diversesociety. To ensure equitable, culturally sensitive services,social workers need to consult with and listen to views of serviceusers. This paper reports on findings of two recent studiesby social workers in Ireland with migrants living with HIV.It highlights how many of those newly diagnosed with HIV arefrom sub-Saharan African countries and still in the asylum processand discusses barriers to accessing support and integratinginto Irish society. The paper points out that unless properlysupported, those living with HIV may find it difficult to disclosetheir HIV status and highlights the importance of tackling HIVstigma. It concludes with the need to provide training for healthcare workers to provide culturally appropriate services, andargues against immigration policies which inhibit integration.     

Administrative Metadata to Support the Acquisition of Continuing E-Resources

What is administrative metadata? Why is it important? How are libraries handling administrative metadata for continuing electronic resources? What ILS vendors have products available? This article describes solutions developed by four academic libraries to manage administrative metadata and access to electronic resources. Pennsylvania State University Libraries and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries developed systems that track the acquisitions process and provide access to e-resources. Stanford University Libraries focused on providing access to electronic resources. The Tri-College Consortium (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges in Pennsylvania) created a database to track the licensing aspect of the acquisitions process. The article also describes efforts currently underway to develop standards and best practices for managing electronic resources. Serials Review 2003; 29:276–281.     

Interpreting the WHOQOL-Brèf: Preliminary Population Norms and Effect Sizes

Since publication use of the WHOQOL-Brèf has rapidly risen. However, as yet no population norms have been published as a reference point against which researchers can interpret their findings. This study provides preliminary population norms for this purpose. Randomly sampled community residents from two studies were pooled and used to examine the properties of the WHOQOL-Brèf by age group, gender and health status. The results showed that general norms for the WHOQOL-Brèf domains were 73.5 (SD=18.1) for the Physical health domain, 70.6 (14.0) for Psychological wellbeing, 71.5 (18.2) for Social relationships and 75.1 (13.0) for the Environment domain. In general scores declined slightly by age group. For females scores were stable across the lifespan with an accelerated decline after the age of 60 years. Males exhibited a more consistent and even decline across the lifespan. There were significant differences in WHOQOL-Brèf scores when reported by health status, with those in poor health obtaining scores that were up to 50% lower than those in excellent health. Effect sizes between different health status levels are reported. These preliminary norms and effect sizes may be used as reference points for interpreting WHOQOL-Brèf scores. They provide additional information to the numerous national studies already reporting on the validity of the WHOQOL-Brèf.