The Use of Pitch Accent in Word–Object Association by Monolingual Japanese Infants

This study investigated the lexical use of Japanese pitch accent in Japanese‐learning infants. A word–object association task revealed that 18‐month‐old infants succeeded in learning the associations between two nonsense objects paired with two nonsense words minimally distinguished by pitch pattern (Experiment 1). In contrast, 14‐month‐old infants failed (Experiment 2). Eighteen‐month‐old infants succeeded even for sounds that contained only the prosodic information (Experiment 3). However, a subsequent experiment revealed that 14‐month‐old infants succeeded in an easier single word–object task using pitch contrast (Experiment 4). These findings indicate that pitch pattern information is robustly available to 18‐month‐old Japanese monolingual infants in a minimal pair word‐learning situation, but only partially accessible in the same context for 14‐month‐old infants.     

Records of rat control campaigns in a food market with the largest seafood trading volume worldwide

Urban Ecosystems - Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) and roof rats (Rattus rattus) are among the most common mammals worldwide. Little is known about the effects of season on rat population size,...     

Choice with imprecise information: an experimental approach

This article provides an experimental analysis of attitude toward imprecise and variable information. Imprecise information is provided in the form of a set of possible probability values, such that it is virtually impossible for the subjects to guess or estimate, which one in the set is true or more likely to be true. We investigate how geometric features of such information pieces affect choices. We find that the subjects care about more features than the pairs of best-case and worst-case, which is a counter-evidence to the well-known models, maximin and α-maximin. We find that presence of nonextreme points in the set affects choice, which suggests that attitude toward imprecision is ‘nonlinear.’ We also obtain an observation, though not significant, that information pieces have a complementarity that may not be explained by the Bayesian view.     

Crossing Boundaries: Legality and the Power of the State in Unauthorized Migration

Unauthorized migrants, often referred to as 'illegal aliens' or 'undocumented immigrants', are a burning political issue in many countries. This paper examines the complexities of unauthorized migration and addresses competing viewpoints on the subject as it relates to the power of the state. Despite the popular image of unauthorized migration as secret border crossing, migrants become 'illegal' in various ways, and the boundary between 'legal' and 'illegal' is more fluid than it may appear to be. Unauthorized migration is conventionally understood as evidence of the limited power of the state over immigration. This view, however, too narrowly focuses on the power of the state over entries of migrants. If we broaden our perspective and examine its power over migrants' lives and the way in which they are integrated into society, unauthorized migration in fact reveals the strong power of the state, which has a capacity to deprive migrants of their rights.