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Sample records for improve nonverbal conducting

  1. Nonverbal Communication and Human–Dog Interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meyer, Iben Helene Coakley; Forkman, Björn

    2014-01-01

    Human–dog interaction relies to a large extent on nonverbal communication, and it is therefore plausible that human sensitivity to nonverbal signals affects interactions between human and dog. Experience with dogs is also likely to influence human–dog interactions, and it has been suggested...... and answered a questionnaire on their experience with dogs. The data obtained were then used to investigate the relationship between experience with dogs and sensitivity to human nonverbal communication. The results did not indicate that experience with dogs improves human nonverbal sensitivity. In study 2, 16...... that it influences human social skills. The present study investigated possible links between human nonverbal sensitivity, experience with dogs, and the quality of human–dog interactions. Two studies are reported. In study 1, 97 veterinary students took a psychometric test assessing human nonverbal sensitivity...

  2. [Non-verbal communication in Alzheimer's disease].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiaratura, Loris Tamara

    2008-09-01

    This review underlines the importance of non-verbal communication in Alzheimer's disease. A social psychological perspective of communication is privileged. Non-verbal behaviors such as looks, head nods, hand gestures, body posture or facial expression provide a lot of information about interpersonal attitudes, behavioral intentions, and emotional experiences. Therefore they play an important role in the regulation of interaction between individuals. Non-verbal communication is effective in Alzheimer's disease even in the late stages. Patients still produce non-verbal signals and are responsive to others. Nevertheless, few studies have been devoted to the social factors influencing the non-verbal exchange. Misidentification and misinterpretation of behaviors may have negative consequences for the patients. Thus, improving the comprehension of and the response to non-verbal behavior would increase first the quality of the interaction, then the physical and psychological well-being of patients and that of caregivers. The role of non-verbal behavior in social interactions should be approached from an integrative and functional point of view.

  3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INTERVIEWERS CONDUCTING SOCIOLOGICAL SURVEYS: THE USE OF THE PSYCHOTYPES THEORY AND ANALYSIS OF RESPONDENTS’ NONVERBAL REACTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ж В Пузанова

    2018-12-01

    Full Text Available The quality of sociological data is the problem that cannot lose relevance in the works of methodologists and practicing sociologists for decades. Procedures and techniques for the improvement of the quality of information for all type of survey methods are developing. The purpose of the article is to inform the interviewers conducting semi-structured or unstructured interviews of the recommendations developed on the basis of the theory of psychotypes (by V.V. Ponomarenko. This technology will allow to improve the quality of sociological data. Identification of the psychotype of the respondent and his emotional reactions to different sensitive topics during the interview are the basis of this technology. Emotional reactions can be traced by nonverbal cues (facial expressions, gestures and poses and interpreted by the technology of the analysis of nonverbal reactions developed and approved earlier. During the multi-stage experiment, the reactions significant in the course of interview were traced and analyzed - irritation, surprise, sadness, contempt, joy, fear, disgust, stress/discomfort, doubt/indecision, manifestations of mental processes. At the first phase, representatives of ‘ideal types’ of each psychotype were selected by an abridged psychological test and external diagnostics based on sensitive topics. As a result, the recommendations for a semi-structured interview were formulated. To use this technique, it is necessary to test an interviewee before the interview by the abridged psychological technique (in case there are doubts after the visual diagnostics. According to the psychotype the interviewer pays attention to the sensitive topics of the in-terview, and during the interview can reformulate the open-ended questions to reduce the sensitivity of significant topics for each respondent.

  4. The impact of the teachers' non-verbal communication on success in teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambaeeroo, Fatemeh; Shokrpour, Nasrin

    2017-04-01

    Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers' non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers' use of non-verbal communication and also its impact on success in teaching. Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, we searched for all articles in this field using key words such as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. The results of this revealed that there was a strong relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more efficacious their education and the students' academic progress were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative, purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and pictures all have been effective in students' learning and academic success. The teachers' attention to the students' non-verbal reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students' mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed. It was concluded that if this skill is practiced by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the students' mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message and ask him to pay more attention to non-verbal than verbal messages because non-verbal

  5. Nonverbal and verbal emotional expression and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, D S; Pennebaker, J W

    1993-01-01

    The spontaneous nonverbal expression of emotion is related to immediate reductions in autonomic nervous system activity. Similar changes in specific autonomic channels occur when individuals are encouraged to verbally express their emotions. Indeed, these physiological changes are most likely to occur among individuals who are either verbally or nonverbally highly expressive. These data suggest that when individuals must actively inhibit emotional expression, they are at increased risk for a variety of health problems. Several experiments are summarized which indicate that verbally expressing traumatic experiences by writing or talking improves physical health, enhances immune function, and is associated with fewer medical visits. Although less research is available regarding nonverbal expression, it is also likely that the nonverbal expression of emotion bears some relation to health status. We propose that the effectiveness of many common expressive therapies (e.g., art, music, cathartic) would be enhanced if clients are encouraged to both express their feelings nonverbally and to put their experiences into words.

  6. The impact of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FATEMEH BAMBAEEROO

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal communication and also its impact on success in teaching. Methods: Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, we searched for all articles in this field using key words such as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. Results: The results of this revealed that there was a strong relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more efficacious their education and the students’ academic progress were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative, purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and pictures all have been effective in students’ learning and academic success. The teachers’ attention to the students’ non-verbal reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students’ mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed. Conclusion: It was concluded that if this skill is practiced by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the students’ mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message

  7. The impact of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    BAMBAEEROO, FATEMEH; SHOKRPOUR, NASRIN

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal communication and also its impact on success in teaching. Methods: Considering the research method, i.e. a review article, we searched for all articles in this field using key words such as success in teaching, verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In this study, we did not encode the articles. Results: The results of this revealed that there was a strong relationship among the quality, amount and the method of using non-verbal communication by teachers while teaching. Based on the findings of the studies reviewed, it was found that the more the teachers used verbal and non-verbal communication, the more efficacious their education and the students’ academic progress were. Under non-verbal communication, some other patterns were used. For example, emotive, team work, supportive, imaginative, purposive, and balanced communication using speech, body, and pictures all have been effective in students’ learning and academic success. The teachers’ attention to the students’ non-verbal reactions and arranging the syllabus considering the students’ mood and readiness have been emphasized in the studies reviewed. Conclusion: It was concluded that if this skill is practiced by teachers, it will have a positive and profound effect on the students’ mood. Non-verbal communication is highly reliable in the communication process, so if the recipient of a message is between two contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages, logic dictates that we push him toward the non-verbal message and ask him to pay

  8. How Interviewers' Nonverbal Behaviors Can Affect Children's Perceptions and Suggestibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almerigogna, Jehanne; Ost, James; Akehurst, Lucy; Fluck, Mike

    2008-01-01

    We conducted two studies to examine how interviewers' nonverbal behaviors affect children's perceptions and suggestibility. In the first study, 42 8- to 10-year-olds watched video clips showing an interviewer displaying combinations of supportive and nonsupportive nonverbal behaviors and were asked to rate the interviewer on six attributes (e.g.,…

  9. The impact of the teachers? non-verbal communication on success in teaching

    OpenAIRE

    BAMBAEEROO, FATEMEH; SHOKRPOUR, NASRIN

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Non-verbal communication skills, also called sign language or silent language, include all behaviors performed in the presence of others or perceived either consciously or unconsciously. The main aim of this review article was to determine the effect of the teachers’ non-verbal communication on success in teaching using the findings of the studies conducted on the relationship between quality of teaching and the teachers’ use of non-verbal communication and ...

  10. Nonverbal Accommodation in Healthcare Communication

    OpenAIRE

    D’Agostino, Thomas A.; Bylund, Carma L.

    2013-01-01

    This exploratory study examined patterns of nonverbal accommodation within healthcare interactions and investigated the impact of communication skills training and gender concordance on nonverbal accommodation behavior. The Nonverbal Accommodation Analysis System (NAAS) was used to code the nonverbal behavior of physicians and patients within 45 oncology consultations. Cases were then placed in one of seven categories based on patterns of accommodation observed across the interaction. Results...

  11. Nonverbal og empatisk kommunikation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis-Hasche, Erik

    2004-01-01

    Nonverbal kommunikation, empati, sundhedspsykologi, non verbal communication, empathy, health psychology......Nonverbal kommunikation, empati, sundhedspsykologi, non verbal communication, empathy, health psychology...

  12. A qualitative study on non-verbal sensitivity in nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Zenobia C Y

    2013-07-01

    To explore nursing students' perception of the meanings and roles of non-verbal communication and sensitivity. It also attempts to understand how different factors influence their non-verbal communication style. The importance of non-verbal communication in the health arena lies in the need for good communication for efficient healthcare delivery. Understanding nursing students' non-verbal communication with patients and the influential factors is essential to prepare them for field work in the future. Qualitative approach based on 16 in-depth interviews. Sixteen nursing students from the Master of Nursing and the Year 3 Bachelor of Nursing program were interviewed. Major points in the recorded interviews were marked down for content analysis. Three main themes were developed: (1) understanding students' non-verbal communication, which shows how nursing students value and experience non-verbal communication in the nursing context; (2) factors that influence the expression of non-verbal cues, which reveals the effect of patients' demographic background (gender, age, social status and educational level) and participants' characteristics (character, age, voice and appearance); and (3) metaphors of non-verbal communication, which is further divided into four subthemes: providing assistance, individualisation, dropping hints and promoting interaction. Learning about students' non-verbal communication experiences in the clinical setting allowed us to understand their use of non-verbal communication and sensitivity, as well as to understand areas that may need further improvement. The experiences and perceptions revealed by the nursing students could provoke nurses to reconsider the effects of the different factors suggested in this study. The results might also help students and nurses to learn and ponder their missing gap, leading them to rethink, train and pay more attention to their non-verbal communication style and sensitivity. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Universals of Nonverbal Behavior: A Review of Literature and Statement of Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Patrick H.

    Universals in nonverbal behavior represent an important issue in the study of the cross-cultural communication. Perhaps the most well-known research in nonverbal universals was conducted by Paul Ekman, who examined literate and preliterate cultures from various language groups and identified six universal facial expressions: happiness, sadness,…

  14. Perception of Verbal and Nonverbal Emotional Signals in Women With Borderline Personality Disorder: Evidence of a Negative Bias and an Increased Reliance on Nonverbal Cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brück, Carolin; Derstroff, Stephanie; Jacob, Heike; Wolf-Arehult, Martina; Wekenmann, Stefanie; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2017-04-01

    Studies conducted in patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have documented a variety of anomalies concerning patients' abilities to interpret emotional signals. Attempting to clarify the bases of these anomalies, the current literature draws attention to a possible role of dysfunctional expectations, such as the expectation of social rejection. Dysfunctional expectations, however, may not only bias social interpretations, but may also focus attention on social cues most important in conveying emotional messages, such as nonverbal signals. To explore these assumptions, 30 female BPD patients were tasked to judge the valence of emotional states conveyed by combinations of verbal and nonverbal emotional cues. Compared to controls, BPD patients exhibited a negative bias in their interpretations and relied more on available nonverbal cues. Shifts in the relative importance of nonverbal cues appeared to be rooted mainly in a reduced reliance on positive verbal cues presumably deemed less credible by BPD patients.

  15. Drama to promote non-verbal communication skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Martina; Nixon, Lara; Broadfoot, Kirsten; Hofmeister, Marianna; Dornan, Tim

    2018-05-23

    Non-verbal communication skills (NVCS) help physicians to deliver relationship-centred care, and the effective use of NVCS is associated with improved patient satisfaction, better use of health services and high-quality clinical care. In contrast to verbal communication skills, NVCS training is under developed in communication curricula for the health care professions. One of the challenges teaching NVCS is their tacit nature. In this study, we evaluated drama exercises to raise awareness of NVCS by making familiar activities 'strange'. Workshops based on drama exercises were designed to heighten an awareness of sight, hearing, touch and proxemics in non-verbal communication. These were conducted at eight medical education conferences, held between 2014 and 2016, and were open to all conference participants. Workshops were evaluated by recording narrative data generated during the workshops and an open-ended questionnaire following the workshop. Data were analysed qualitatively, using thematic analysis. Non-verbal communication skills help doctors to deliver relationship-centred care RESULTS: One hundred and twelve participants attended workshops, 73 (65%) of whom completed an evaluation form: 56 physicians, nine medical students and eight non-physician faculty staff. Two themes were described: an increased awareness of NVCS and the importance of NVCS in relationship building. Drama exercises enabled participants to experience NVCS, such as sight, sound, proxemics and touch, in novel ways. Participants reflected on how NCVS contribute to developing trust and building relationships in clinical practice. Drama-based exercises elucidate the tacit nature of NVCS and require further evaluation in formal educational settings. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

  16. The role of interaction of verbal and non-verbal means of communication in different types of discourse

    OpenAIRE

    Orlova M. А.

    2010-01-01

    Communication relies on verbal and non-verbal interaction. To be most effective, group members need to improve verbal and non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication fulfills functions within groups that are sometimes difficult to communicate verbally. But interpreting non-verbal messages requires a great deal of skill because multiple meanings abound in these messages.

  17. Nonverbal Interaction Analysis. A Method of Systematically Observing and Recording Nonverbal Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amidon, Peggy

    These materials will help the educator develop an awareness of nonverbal behavior, which is complimentary to and independent of the verbal realm, to give a complete picture of the classroom. The purpose of the manual is to enable the teacher to identify nonverbal components of behavior, including dimensions other than behavioral of the teacher's…

  18. Assessing potentially gifted students from lower socioeconomic status with nonverbal measures of intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaunessy, Elizabeth; Karnes, Frances A; Cobb, Yolanda

    2004-06-01

    The screening and identification of gifted students has historically been conducted using verbal measures of intelligence. However, the underrepresentation in gifted programs of culturally diverse children, who may have limited English proficiency or cultural values different from those measured in traditional intelligence tests, has prompted researchers to consider other measures. Nonverbal measures of intelligence have been utilized to increase the number of gifted children from diverse backgrounds. Researchers in the current study sought to increase the number of culturally diverse gifted students at a rural public school enrolling predominantly African-American students from low socioeconomic homes. 169 students in Grades 2 through 6 were assessed using three nonverbal measures of intelligence: the Culture-Fair Intelligence Test, the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test, and the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices. The scores on these nonverbal measures indicated that the Culture-Fair Intelligence Test and the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices identified more students than the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test. A discussion of the results and implications for research are presented.

  19. Emotion Comprehension: The Impact of Nonverbal Intelligence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albanese, Ottavia; De Stasio, Simona; Di Chiacchio, Carlo; Fiorilli, Caterina; Pons, Francisco

    2010-01-01

    A substantial body of research has established that emotion understanding develops throughout early childhood and has identified three hierarchical developmental phases: external, mental, and reflexive. The authors analyzed nonverbal intelligence and its effect on children's improvement of emotion understanding and hypothesized that cognitive…

  20. Children Use Nonverbal Cues to Make Inferences About Social Power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brey, Elizabeth; Shutts, Kristin

    2016-01-01

    Four studies (N=192) tested whether young children use nonverbal information to make inferences about differences in social power. Five- and 6-year-old children were able to determine which of two adults was “in charge” in dynamic videotaped conversations (Study 1) and in static photographs (Study 4) using only nonverbal cues. Younger children (3–4 years) were not successful in Study 1 or Study 4. Removing irrelevant linguistic information from conversations did not improve the performance of 3–4-year-old children (Study 3), but including relevant linguistic cues did (Study 2). Thus, at least by 5 years of age, children show sensitivity to some of the same nonverbal cues adults use to determine other people’s social roles. PMID:25521913

  1. Nonverbal Cues: The Key to Classroom Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrie, Garth; Lindauer, Patricia; Bennett, Brenda; Gibson, Sherri

    1998-01-01

    Principals should familiarize teachers with the benefits of nonverbal procedures for classroom management and discipline enforcement. A behavior-management checklist of nonverbal techniques (eye contact, touching, smiling, and frowning) can be used in a series of short visits. At least 75% of control techniques should be nonverbal. Relying on…

  2. Development of the Nonverbal Communication Skills of School Administrators Scale (NCSSAS): Validity, Reliability and Implementation Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uzun, Tevfik

    2017-01-01

    The main purpose of this study is to develop a scale intended for identifying the school administrators' nonverbal communication skills, and establish the relationship between the nonverbal communication skills of school administrators and job performance of teachers. The study was conducted in three stages. The first stage involved the creation…

  3. Real-time feedback on nonverbal clinical communication. Theoretical framework and clinician acceptance of ambient visual design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartzler, A L; Patel, R A; Czerwinski, M; Pratt, W; Roseway, A; Chandrasekaran, N; Back, A

    2014-01-01

    This article is part of the focus theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on "Pervasive Intelligent Technologies for Health". Effective nonverbal communication between patients and clinicians fosters both the delivery of empathic patient-centered care and positive patient outcomes. Although nonverbal skill training is a recognized need, few efforts to enhance patient-clinician communication provide visual feedback on nonverbal aspects of the clinical encounter. We describe a novel approach that uses social signal processing technology (SSP) to capture nonverbal cues in real time and to display ambient visual feedback on control and affiliation--two primary, yet distinct dimensions of interpersonal nonverbal communication. To examine the design and clinician acceptance of ambient visual feedback on nonverbal communication, we 1) formulated a model of relational communication to ground SSP and 2) conducted a formative user study using mixed methods to explore the design of visual feedback. Based on a model of relational communication, we reviewed interpersonal communication research to map nonverbal cues to signals of affiliation and control evidenced in patient-clinician interaction. Corresponding with our formulation of this theoretical framework, we designed ambient real-time visualizations that reflect variations of affiliation and control. To explore clinicians' acceptance of this visual feedback, we conducted a lab study using the Wizard-of-Oz technique to simulate system use with 16 healthcare professionals. We followed up with seven of those participants through interviews to iterate on the design with a revised visualization that addressed emergent design considerations. Ambient visual feedback on non- verbal communication provides a theoretically grounded and acceptable way to provide clinicians with awareness of their nonverbal communication style. We provide implications for the design of such visual feedback that encourages empathic patient

  4. Interactive use of communication by verbal and non-verbal autistic children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amato, Cibelle Albuquerque de la Higuera; Fernandes, Fernanda Dreux Miranda

    2010-01-01

    Communication of autistic children. To assess the communication functionality of verbal and non-verbal children of the autistic spectrum and to identify possible associations amongst the groups. Subjects were 20 children of the autistic spectrum divided into two groups: V with 10 verbal children and NV with 10 non-verbal children with ages varying between 2y10m and 10y6m. All subjects were video recorded during 30 minutes of spontaneous interaction with their mothers. The samples were analyzed according to the functional communicative profile and comparisons within and between groups were conducted. Data referring to the occupation of communicative space suggest that there is an even balance between each child and his mother. The number of communicative acts per minute shows a clear difference between verbal and non-verbal children. Both verbal and non-verbal children use mostly the gestual communicative mean in their interactions. Data about the use of interpersonal communicative functions point out to the autistic children's great interactive impairment. The characterization of the functional communicative profile proposed in this study confirmed the autistic children's difficulties with interpersonal communication and that these difficulties do not depend on the preferred communicative mean.

  5. Context, culture and (non-verbal) communication affect handover quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankel, Richard M; Flanagan, Mindy; Ebright, Patricia; Bergman, Alicia; O'Brien, Colleen M; Franks, Zamal; Allen, Andrew; Harris, Angela; Saleem, Jason J

    2012-12-01

    Transfers of care, also known as handovers, remain a substantial patient safety risk. Although research on handovers has been done since the 1980s, the science is incomplete. Surprisingly few interventions have been rigorously evaluated and, of those that have, few have resulted in long-term positive change. Researchers, both in medicine and other high reliability industries, agree that face-to-face handovers are the most reliable. It is not clear, however, what the term face-to-face means in actual practice. We studied the use of non-verbal behaviours, including gesture, posture, bodily orientation, facial expression, eye contact and physical distance, in the delivery of information during face-to-face handovers. To address this question and study the role of non-verbal behaviour on the quality and accuracy of handovers, we videotaped 52 nursing, medicine and surgery handovers covering 238 patients. Videotapes were analysed using immersion/crystallisation methods of qualitative data analysis. A team of six researchers met weekly for 18 months to view videos together using a consensus-building approach. Consensus was achieved on verbal, non-verbal, and physical themes and patterns observed in the data. We observed four patterns of non-verbal behaviour (NVB) during handovers: (1) joint focus of attention; (2) 'the poker hand'; (3) parallel play and (4) kerbside consultation. In terms of safety, joint focus of attention was deemed to have the best potential for high quality and reliability; however, it occurred infrequently, creating opportunities for education and improvement. Attention to patterns of NVB in face-to-face handovers coupled with education and practice can improve quality and reliability.

  6. Nonverbal accommodation in health care communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Agostino, Thomas A; Bylund, Carma L

    2014-01-01

    This exploratory study examined patterns of nonverbal accommodation within health care interactions and investigated the impact of communication skills training and gender concordance on nonverbal accommodation behavior. The Nonverbal Accommodation Analysis System (NAAS) was used to code the nonverbal behavior of physicians and patients within 45 oncology consultations. Cases were then placed in one of seven categories based on patterns of accommodation observed across the interaction. Results indicated that across all NAAS behavior categories, physician-patient interactions were most frequently categorized as joint convergence, followed closely by asymmetrical-patient convergence. Among paraverbal behaviors, talk time, interruption, and pausing were most frequently characterized by joint convergence. Among nonverbal behaviors, eye contact, laughing, and gesturing were most frequently categorized as asymmetrical-physician convergence. Differences were predominantly nonsignificant in terms of accommodation behavior between pre- and post-communication skills training interactions. Only gesturing proved significant, with post-communication skills training interactions more likely to be categorized as joint convergence or asymmetrical-physician convergence. No differences in accommodation were noted between gender-concordant and nonconcordant interactions. The importance of accommodation behavior in health care communication is considered from a patient-centered care perspective.

  7. Persistent non-verbal memory impairment in remitted major depression - caused by encoding deficits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnken, Andreas; Schöning, Sonja; Gerss, Joachim; Konrad, Carsten; de Jong-Meyer, Renate; Zwanzger, Peter; Arolt, Volker

    2010-04-01

    While neuropsychological impairments are well described in acute phases of major depressive disorders (MDD), little is known about the neuropsychological profile in remission. There is evidence for episodic memory impairments in both acute depressed and remitted patients with MDD. Learning and memory depend on individuals' ability to organize information during learning. This study investigates non-verbal memory functions in remitted MDD and whether nonverbal memory performance is mediated by organizational strategies whilst learning. 30 well-characterized fully remitted individuals with unipolar MDD and 30 healthy controls matching in age, sex and education were investigated. Non-verbal learning and memory were measured by the Rey-Osterrieth-Complex-Figure-Test (RCFT). The RCFT provides measures of planning, organizational skills, perceptual and non-verbal memory functions. For assessing the mediating effects of organizational strategies, we used the Savage Organizational Score. Compared to healthy controls, participants with remitted MDD showed more deficits in their non-verbal memory function. Moreover, participants with remitted MDD demonstrated difficulties in organizing non-verbal information appropriately during learning. In contrast, no impairments regarding visual-spatial functions in remitted MDD were observed. Except for one patient, all the others were taking psychopharmacological medication. The neuropsychological function was solely investigated in the remitted phase of MDD. Individuals with MDD in remission showed persistent non-verbal memory impairments, modulated by a deficient use of organizational strategies during encoding. Therefore, our results strongly argue for additional therapeutic interventions in order to improve these remaining deficits in cognitive function. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Nonverbal behavior during face-to-face social interaction in schizophrenia: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelle, Mary; Healey, Patrick G T; McCabe, Rosemarie

    2014-01-01

    Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia display social cognitive deficits. However, little is known about patients' nonverbal communication during their social encounters with others. This review identified 17 studies investigating nonverbal communication in patients' unscripted face-to-face interactions, addressing a) nonverbal differences between patients and others, b) nonverbal behavior of the patients' partners, c) the association between nonverbal behavior and symptoms, and d) the association between nonverbal behavior and social outcomes. Patients displayed fewer nonverbal behaviors inviting interaction, with negative symptoms exacerbating this pattern. Positive symptoms were associated with heightened nonverbal behavior. Patients' partners changed their own nonverbal behavior in response to the patient. Reduced prosocial behaviors, inviting interaction, were associated with poorer social outcomes. The evidence suggests that patients' nonverbal behavior, during face-to-face interaction, is influenced by patients symptoms and impacts the success of their social interactions.

  9. Negative Symptoms and Avoidance of Social Interaction: A Study of Non-Verbal Behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worswick, Elizabeth; Dimic, Sara; Wildgrube, Christiane; Priebe, Stefan

    2018-01-01

    Non-verbal behaviour is fundamental to social interaction. Patients with schizophrenia display an expressivity deficit of non-verbal behaviour, exhibiting behaviour that differs from both healthy subjects and patients with different psychiatric diagnoses. The present study aimed to explore the association between non-verbal behaviour and symptom domains, overcoming methodological shortcomings of previous studies. Standardised interviews with 63 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia were videotaped. Symptoms were assessed using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Calgary Depression Scale. Independent raters later analysed the videos for non-verbal behaviour, using a modified version of the Ethological Coding System for Interviews (ECSI). Patients with a higher level of negative symptoms displayed significantly fewer prosocial (e.g., nodding and smiling), gesture, and displacement behaviours (e.g., fumbling), but significantly more flight behaviours (e.g., looking away, freezing). No gender differences were found, and these associations held true when adjusted for antipsychotic medication dosage. Negative symptoms are associated with both a lower level of actively engaging non-verbal behaviour and an increased active avoidance of social contact. Future research should aim to identify the mechanisms behind flight behaviour, with implications for the development of treatments to improve social functioning. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  10. Nonverbal Communication in the Contemporary Operating Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    relationship to speech and be affected by issues of stress, intonation, and pacing (Kendon, 1981). Bilinguals generally gesture more than monolinguals ...a stranger: Some commonly used nonverbal signals of aversiveness. Semiotica, 22(3/4), 351-367. Givens, D. B. (2006). The nonverbal dictionary of

  11. Training Manual. Focused Observations: Nonverbal Teaching Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Banks; And Others

    Nonverbal teacher behavior is recognized as an important factor in establishing a positive social climate in the classroom. A feedback and analysis instrument is presented focusing on specific nonverbal teacher behaviors. These behaviors--facial expressions, gestures, body movements, and idiosyncratic characteristics--are categorized as either…

  12. Do organizational strategies mediate nonverbal memory impairment in drug-naïve patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Na Young; Kang, Do-Hyung; Choi, Jung-Seok; Jung, Myung Hun; Jang, Joon Hwan; Kwon, Jun Soo

    2010-07-01

    The present study aimed to examine nonverbal memory and organizational skill functions in psychotropic-naïve patients with OCD. Forty-one drug-naïve, 41 medicated OCD patients and 41 healthy controls, all of whom were matched for gender, age, education and intelligence, were included in the study. The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) was administered to evaluate nonverbal memory ability and organizational skill. OCD patients demonstrated impaired nonverbal memory irrespective of medication status (F = 6.54, p organizational strategies (eta(2)p = .079), which mediated nonverbal memory impairment (Z = -2.20, p = .027). The difference of organizational skill between drug-naïve and control groups did not reach statistical significance (eta(2)p = .054) and the association between organization and nonverbal memory was weak in the drug-naïve sample (Z = -1.74, = .081). There was no significant difference between the patient groups in RCFT indices. Our findings suggest that the organizational strategies may not be an effective mediator of nonverbal memory impairment in OCD and indicate that the clinical characteristics may be important to be considered in future research. Further studies are needed to improve understanding of the nature of nonverbal memory dysfunction in OCD.

  13. [Non-verbal communication and executive function impairment after traumatic brain injury: a case report].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sainson, C

    2007-05-01

    Following post-traumatic impairment in executive function, failure to adjust to communication situations often creates major obstacles to social and professional reintegration. The analysis of pathological verbal communication has been based on clinical scales since the 1980s, but that of nonverbal elements has been neglected, although their importance should be acknowledged. The aim of this research was to study non-verbal aspects of communication in a case of executive-function impairment after traumatic brain injury. During the patient's conversation with an interlocutor, all nonverbal parameters - coverbal gestures, gaze, posture, proxemics and facial expressions - were studied in as much an ecological way as possible, to closely approximate natural conversation conditions. Such an approach highlights the difficulties such patients experience in communicating, difficulties of a pragmatic kind, that have so far been overlooked by traditional investigations, which mainly take into account the formal linguistic aspects of language. The analysis of the patient's conversation revealed non-verbal dysfunctions, not only on a pragmatic and interactional level but also in terms of enunciation. Moreover, interactional adjustment phenomena were noted in the interlocutor's behaviour. The two inseparable aspects of communication - verbal and nonverbal - should be equally assessed in patients with communication difficulties; highlighting distortions in each area might bring about an improvement in the rehabilitation of such people.

  14. Patients' perceptions of GP non-verbal communication: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcinowicz, Ludmila; Konstantynowicz, Jerzy; Godlewski, Cezary

    2010-02-01

    During doctor-patient interactions, many messages are transmitted without words, through non-verbal communication. To elucidate the types of non-verbal behaviours perceived by patients interacting with family GPs and to determine which cues are perceived most frequently. In-depth interviews with patients of family GPs. Nine family practices in different regions of Poland. At each practice site, interviews were performed with four patients who were scheduled consecutively to see their family doctor. Twenty-four of 36 studied patients spontaneously perceived non-verbal behaviours of the family GP during patient-doctor encounters. They reported a total of 48 non-verbal cues. The most frequent features were tone of voice, eye contact, and facial expressions. Less frequent were examination room characteristics, touch, interpersonal distance, GP clothing, gestures, and posture. Non-verbal communication is an important factor by which patients spontaneously describe and evaluate their interactions with a GP. Family GPs should be trained to better understand and monitor their own non-verbal behaviours towards patients.

  15. A Web-Based Telehealth Training Platform Incorporating Automated Nonverbal Behavior Feedback for Teaching Communication Skills to Medical Students: A Randomized Crossover Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chunfeng; Lim, Renee L; McCabe, Kathryn L; Taylor, Silas; Calvo, Rafael A

    2016-09-12

    In the interests of patient health outcomes, it is important for medical students to develop clinical communication skills. We previously proposed a telehealth communication skills training platform (EQClinic) with automated nonverbal behavior feedback for medical students, and it was able to improve medical students' awareness of their nonverbal communication. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EQClinic to improve clinical communication skills of medical students. We conducted a 2-group randomized crossover trial between February and June 2016. Participants were second-year medical students enrolled in a clinical communication skills course at an Australian university. Students were randomly allocated to complete online EQClinic training during weeks 1-5 (group A) or to complete EQClinic training during weeks 8-11 (group B). EQClinic delivered an automated visual presentation of students' nonverbal behavior coupled with human feedback from a standardized patient (SP). All students were offered two opportunities to complete face-to-face consultations with SPs. The two face-to-face consultations were conducted in weeks 6-7 and 12-13 for both groups, and were rated by tutors who were blinded to group allocation. Student-Patient Observed Communication Assessment (SOCA) was collected by blinded assessors (n=28) at 2 time points and also by an SP (n=83). Tutor-rated clinical communications skill in face-to-face consultations was the primary outcome and was assessed with the SOCA. We used t tests to examine the students' performance during face-to-face consultations pre- and postexposure to EQClinic. We randomly allocated 268 medical students to the 2 groups (group A: n=133; group B: n=135). SOCA communication skills measures (score range 4-16) from the first face-to-face consultation were significantly higher for students in group A who had completed EQClinic training and reviewed the nonverbal behavior feedback, compared with group B, who had completed

  16. A Web-Based Telehealth Training Platform Incorporating Automated Nonverbal Behavior Feedback for Teaching Communication Skills to Medical Students: A Randomized Crossover Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Background In the interests of patient health outcomes, it is important for medical students to develop clinical communication skills. We previously proposed a telehealth communication skills training platform (EQClinic) with automated nonverbal behavior feedback for medical students, and it was able to improve medical students’ awareness of their nonverbal communication. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EQClinic to improve clinical communication skills of medical students. Methods We conducted a 2-group randomized crossover trial between February and June 2016. Participants were second-year medical students enrolled in a clinical communication skills course at an Australian university. Students were randomly allocated to complete online EQClinic training during weeks 1–5 (group A) or to complete EQClinic training during weeks 8–11 (group B). EQClinic delivered an automated visual presentation of students’ nonverbal behavior coupled with human feedback from a standardized patient (SP). All students were offered two opportunities to complete face-to-face consultations with SPs. The two face-to-face consultations were conducted in weeks 6–7 and 12–13 for both groups, and were rated by tutors who were blinded to group allocation. Student-Patient Observed Communication Assessment (SOCA) was collected by blinded assessors (n=28) at 2 time points and also by an SP (n=83). Tutor-rated clinical communications skill in face-to-face consultations was the primary outcome and was assessed with the SOCA. We used t tests to examine the students’ performance during face-to-face consultations pre- and postexposure to EQClinic. Results We randomly allocated 268 medical students to the 2 groups (group A: n=133; group B: n=135). SOCA communication skills measures (score range 4–16) from the first face-to-face consultation were significantly higher for students in group A who had completed EQClinic training and reviewed the nonverbal behavior

  17. Non-verbal communication barriers when dealing with Saudi sellers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yosra Missaoui

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Communication has a major impact on how customers perceive sellers and their organizations. Especially, the non-verbal communication such as body language, appearance, facial expressions, gestures, proximity, posture, eye contact that can influence positively or negatively the first impression of customers and their experiences in stores. Salespeople in many countries, especially the developing ones, are just telling about their companies’ products because they are unaware of the real role of sellers and the importance of non-verbal communication. In Saudi Arabia, the seller profession has been exclusively for foreign labor until 2006. It is very recently that Saudi workforce enters to the retailing sector as sellers. The non-verbal communication of those sellers has never been evaluated from consumer’s point of view. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore the non-verbal communication barriers that customers are facing when dealing with Saudi sellers. After discussing the non-verbal communication skills that sellers must have in the light of the previous academic research and the depth interviews with seven focus groups of Saudi customers, this study found that the Saudi customers were not totally satisfied with the current non-verbal communication skills of Saudi sellers. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to develop the non-verbal communication skills of Saudi sellers by intensive trainings, to distinguish more the appearance of their sellers, especially the female ones, to focus on the time of intervention as well as the proximity to customers.

  18. The Impact of Robot Tutor Nonverbal Social Behavior on Child Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Kennedy

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Several studies have indicated that interacting with social robots in educational contexts may lead to a greater learning than interactions with computers or virtual agents. As such, an increasing amount of social human–robot interaction research is being conducted in the learning domain, particularly with children. However, it is unclear precisely what social behavior a robot should employ in such interactions. Inspiration can be taken from human–human studies; this often leads to an assumption that the more social behavior an agent utilizes, the better the learning outcome will be. We apply a nonverbal behavior metric to a series of studies in which children are taught how to identify prime numbers by a robot with various behavioral manipulations. We find a trend, which generally agrees with the pedagogy literature, but also that overt nonverbal behavior does not account for all learning differences. We discuss the impact of novelty, child expectations, and responses to social cues to further the understanding of the relationship between robot social behavior and learning. We suggest that the combination of nonverbal behavior and social cue congruency is necessary to facilitate learning.

  19. Getting the Message Across; Non-Verbal Communication in the Classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, Jack

    This handbook presents selected theories, activities, and resources which can be utilized by educators in the area of non-verbal communication. Particular attention is given to the use of non-verbal communication in a cross-cultural context. Categories of non-verbal communication such as proxemics, haptics, kinesics, smiling, sound, clothing, and…

  20. The Influence of Nonverbal Behavior on Person Perception in Television Interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kepplinger, Hans Mathias; And Others

    A controlled experiment was conducted to test the extent to which nonverbal behavior between a journalist and a politician in a televised interview influences the way in which they are perceived by a television audience. Nine test films were produced that showed different versions of an interview in which the participants exhibited aggressive or…

  1. The Relationship between Family Expressiveness and Nonverbal Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halberstadt, Amy G.

    Although research in nonverbal communication is in its seventh decade, the origins of individual differences in nonverbl sensitivity remain. To investigate the relationship between family norms of emotional expression and nonverbal communication, 64 college students completed the Family Expressiveness Questionnaire, were videotaped while…

  2. Randomised controlled trial of a brief intervention targeting predominantly non-verbal communication in general practice consultations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Paul; White, Peter; Kelly, Joanne; Everitt, Hazel; Mercer, Stewart

    2015-06-01

    The impact of changing non-verbal consultation behaviours is unknown. To assess brief physician training on improving predominantly non-verbal communication. Cluster randomised parallel group trial among adults aged ≥16 years attending general practices close to the study coordinating centres in Southampton. Sixteen GPs were randomised to no training, or training consisting of a brief presentation of behaviours identified from a prior study (acronym KEPe Warm: demonstrating Knowledge of the patient; Encouraging [back-channelling by saying 'hmm', for example]; Physically engaging [touch, gestures, slight lean]; Warm-up: cool/professional initially, warming up, avoiding distancing or non-verbal cut-offs at the end of the consultation); and encouragement to reflect on videos of their consultation. Outcomes were the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS) mean item score (1-7) and patients' perceptions of other domains of communication. Intervention participants scored higher MISS overall (0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06 to 0.41), with the largest changes in the distress-relief and perceived relationship subscales. Significant improvement occurred in perceived communication/partnership (0.29, 95% CI = 0.09 to 0.49) and health promotion (0.26, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.46). Non-significant improvements occurred in perceptions of a personal relationship, a positive approach, and understanding the effects of the illness on life. Brief training of GPs in predominantly non-verbal communication in the consultation and reflection on consultation videotapes improves patients' perceptions of satisfaction, distress, a partnership approach, and health promotion. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

  3. Nonverbal Communication in Politics: A Review of Research Developments, 2005-2015

    OpenAIRE

    Dumitrescu, Delia

    2016-01-01

    This article reviews research contributions in political science and communication to the topic of nonverbal communication and politics from 2005 to 2015. The review opens with research on the content of nonverbal communication, then considers studies examining what moderates the impact of nonverbal aspects of political messages on attitudes and behavior and the mechanisms that underpin these effects. Over the period reviewed here, research shows that the nonverbal channel is rich in politica...

  4. [Mediate evaluation of replicating a Training Program in Nonverbal Communication in Gerontology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimidt, Teresa Cristina Gioia; Duarte, Yeda Aparecida de Oliveira; Silva, Maria Julia Paes da

    2015-04-01

    Replicating the training program in non-verbal communication based on the theoretical framework of interpersonal communication; non-verbal coding, valuing the aging aspects in the perspective of active aging, checking its current relevance through the content assimilation index after 90 days (mediate) of its application. A descriptive and exploratory field study was conducted in three hospitals under direct administration of the state of São Paulo that caters exclusively to Unified Health System (SUS) patients. The training lasted 12 hours divided in three meetings, applied to 102 health professionals. Revealed very satisfactory and satisfactory mediate content assimilation index in 82.9%. The program replication proved to be relevant and updated the setting of hospital services, while remaining efficient for healthcare professionals.

  5. Perception of Nonverbal Communication Influenced by Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张蒙蒙

    2013-01-01

    The concept of perception influenced by culture is pretty important in the study of intercultural communication. The perceptions of language and nonverbal language formed under various cultures intimate with each other during communication. This paper aims to explore the relationship between perception and culture in nonverbal communication through the study of eye language and body odor, and promote the communication among people of different culture as well.

  6. A Meta-study of musicians' non-verbal interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karl Kristoffer; Marchetti, Emanuela

    2010-01-01

    interruptions. Hence, despite the fact that the skill to engage in a non-verbal interaction is described as tacit knowledge, it is fundamental for both musicians and teachers (Davidson and Good 2002). Typical observed non-verbal cues are for example: physical gestures, modulations of sound, steady eye contact...

  7. Slap What? An Interactive Lesson in Nonverbal Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haithcox-Dennis, Melissa J.

    2011-01-01

    This article discusses the use of nonverbal communication strategies for fostering social health in middle school students. It outlines a teaching technique designed to help students better understand nonverbal cues and their role in maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships. The technique begins with the card game "Slap What?" where the…

  8. Bilateral and unilateral ECT: effects on verbal and nonverbal memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squire, S R; Slater, P C

    1978-11-01

    The memory loss associated with bilateral and nondominant unilateral ECT was assessed with verbal memory tests known to be sensitive to left temporal lobe dysfunction and with nonverbal memory tests known to be sensitive to right temporal lobe dysfunction. Bilateral ECT markedly impaired delayed retention of verbal and nonverbal material. Right unilateral ECT impaired delayed retention of nonverbal material without measurably affecting retention of verbal material. Nonverbal memory was affected less by right unilateral ECT than by bilateral ECT. These findings, taken together with a consideration of the clinical efficacy of the two types of treatment, make what appears to be a conclusive case for unilateral over bilateral ECT.

  9. Non-Verbal Communication in Children with Visual Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallineni, Sharmila; Nutheti, Rishita; Thangadurai, Shanimole; Thangadurai, Puspha

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine: (a) whether children with visual and additional impairments show any non-verbal behaviors, and if so what were the common behaviors; (b) whether two rehabilitation professionals interpreted the non-verbal behaviors similarly; and (c) whether a speech pathologist and a rehabilitation professional interpreted…

  10. Experience in Developing Nonverbal Communication Training for Russian and Chinese Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M V Gridunova

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of effectiveness of intercultural competence in nonverbal communication. The results of measuring the effectiveness of nonverbal communication training, developed on the basis of the studies of ethnic stereotypes about nonverbal communication of Russian and Chinese students are analyzed.

  11. A Survey of the Research on Sex Differences in Nonverbal Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blahna, Loretta J.

    Although the bulk of recent research on nonverbal communication has involved studies of the functions of nonverbal behavior (emotion conveying, regulation, and adaption), a few studies have focused on the differences in nonverbal communication variables between men and women. These differences have been found in vocal patterns, intensities, length…

  12. ANALYZING TEACHER’S INSTRUCTIONAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN EFL CLASSROOM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ranta

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this research were to find out the teacher’s instructional language, kinds of nonverbal communication and effects in EFL Classroom. The objects of the research were the teacher and students of one primary school in Merauke. The approach employed was qualitative approach. The type of this research applied discourse analysis (DA. Data collection was conducted through observation by recording and interview. Data from observa tion was used to know the teacher’s instructional Language and kinds of nonverbal communication. Interview was used to know the effects of using the teacher’s instructional Language and nonverbal communication to the students. The research findings showed that (1 the teacher’s instructional language in the classroom activities covered explanations, asking questions, giving feedback, and giving corrections. In term of explanation, the teacher used English, switched and mixed the Indonesian language. The teacher used display question to know the students understanding related to the material. She used referential question to start the classroom and when she checked the progress of the students’ activity. In giving feedback, mostly same with explanation, the teacher also used English even she switched and mixed her language with Indonesian. The teacher used direct correction and indirect correction in giving correction. Repetition was also found in explanation, asking question, giving feedback and giving correction. (2 that the kind The findings revealed s of nonverbal communication used by the teacher in the classroom included gesture, body movement and posture, eye contact and facial expression. These nonverbal were applied to explain some unclear verbal communication. (3 The last, the findings showed that there were positive and negative effects of the teacher’s instructional language The positive effects included motivating the students in studying, increasing the students’ vocabulary mastery

  13. Nonverbal intelligence in young children with dysregulation: the Generation R Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basten, Maartje; van der Ende, Jan; Tiemeier, Henning; Althoff, Robert R; Rijlaarsdam, Jolien; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Hudziak, James J; Verhulst, Frank C; White, Tonya

    2014-11-01

    Children meeting the Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP) suffer from high levels of co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems. Little is known about the cognitive abilities of these children with CBCL-DP. We examined the relationship between CBCL-DP and nonverbal intelligence. Parents of 6,131 children from a population-based birth cohort, aged 5 through 7 years, reported problem behavior on the CBCL/1.5-5. The CBCL-DP was derived using latent profile analysis on the CBCL/1.5-5 syndrome scales. Nonverbal intelligence was assessed using the Snijders Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test 2.5-7-Revised. We examined the relationship between CBCL-DP and nonverbal intelligence using linear regression. Analyses were adjusted for parental intelligence, parental psychiatric symptoms, socio-economic status, and perinatal factors. In a subsample with diagnostic interview data, we tested if the results were independent of the presence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The results showed that children meeting the CBCL-DP (n = 110, 1.8%) had a 11.0 point lower nonverbal intelligence level than children without problems and 7.2-7.3 points lower nonverbal intelligence level than children meeting other profiles of problem behavior (all p values intelligence in children with CBCL-DP. In conclusion, we found that children with CBCL-DP have a considerable lower nonverbal intelligence score. The CBCL-DP and nonverbal intelligence may share a common neurodevelopmental etiology.

  14. Nonverbal indicants of comprehension monitoring in language-disordered children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skarakis-Doyle, E; MacLellan, N; Mullin, K

    1990-08-01

    This study investigated normal and language-disordered (LD) children's patterns of nonverbal behavior in response to messages varying in degree of ambiguity. Each LD child was matched to two normally developing children: one for comprehension level (LM) and the other for chronological age (CM). All children participated in a videotaped ambiguity detection task. Nonverbal behaviors that were produced between the time the message was completed and the examiner's acknowledgment of the response were scored for type of behavior exhibited including eye contact, hand behavior, body movement, and smile. Results demonstrated that all subjects increased their nonverbal behavior (e.g. eye contact) from unambiguous to ambiguous message conditions, suggesting awareness of the differences in these message types at a rudimentary level. Most often nonverbal indication was the only signal of ambiguity detection exhibited by the LD children and their LM peers. Only the CM children concurrently indicated awareness through more direct means (i.e., verbalization and pointing to all possible referents) in a consistent and accurate manner. The finding that LD children did differentiate inadequate from adequate messages in a rudimentary manner suggests that clinicians might promote the intentionality of these preintentional nonverbal behaviors as a possible intervention strategy.

  15. PERBANDINGAN KOMUNIKASI NONVERBAL PENUTUR ASLI DAN PENUTUR ASING BAHASA INGGRIS DALAM PUBLIC SPEAKING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Made Suta Paramarta

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstrak Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk membandingkan fitur-fitur nonverbal penutur asli dan penutur asing dalam public speaking. Perbedaan budaya antara kedua kelompok penutur tersebut menimbulkan perbedaan penggunaan fitur nonverbal dalam public speaking. Desain penelitian ini adalah desain deskriptif kualitatif dengan 10 subjek. 5 subjek adalah video penutur asli Bahasa Inggris dan 5 video subjek yang lain adalah video mahasiswa Jurusan D III Bahasa Inggris Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. Penutur asli menunjukkan gerakan nonverbal yang jauh lebih variatif dari penutur asing Bahasa Inggris. Penutur asli memiliki gerakan-gerakan spesifik yang mengacu pada makna yang spesifik juga. Di lain pihak, penutur asing menunjukkan gerakan nonverbal yang bersifat umum tanpa rujukan pasti pada maksud yang spesifik. Fitur nonverbal yang dicermati dikelompokkan pada gerakan kepala, gerakan badan, dan kontak mata. Kata kunci: perbandingan, nonverbal, public speaking Abstract The purpose of this research is to compare the nonverbal features of the native speakers and the non-native speakers of English in public speaking. Cultural differences between the two groups make significant differences on using the nonverbal features in public speaking. The design of this research was a descriptive-qualitative design with 10 subjects. 5 subjects were videos of 5 English native speakers and the other 5 subjects were the videos of 5 students of Diploma III English Department Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. The native speakers showed more variative nonverbal movements compared to the non-native speakers. The native speakers made specific gestures which refered to certain specific meanings. On the other hand, the non-native speakers applied general nonverbal movements without specific referents. The investigated nonverbal features were grouped into head movements, body movements, and eye contacts. Keywords: comparison, nonverbal, public speaking

  16. Hearing loss is associated with decreased nonverbal intelligence in rural Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmett, Susan D; Schmitz, Jane; Pillion, Joseph; Wu, Lee; Khatry, Subarna K; Karna, Sureshwar L; LeClerq, Steven C; West, Keith P

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the association between adolescent and young-adult hearing loss and nonverbal intelligence in rural Nepal. Cross-sectional assessment of hearing loss among a population cohort of adolescents and young adults. Sarlahi District, southern Nepal. Seven hundred sixty-four individuals aged 14 to 23 years. Evaluation of hearing loss, defined by World Health Organization criteria of pure-tone average greater than 25 decibels (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz), unilaterally and bilaterally. Nonverbal intelligence, as measured by the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, 3rd Edition standardized score (mean, 100; standard deviation, 15). Nonverbal intelligence scores differed between participants with normal hearing and those with bilateral (p = 0.04) but not unilateral (p = 0.74) hearing loss. Demographic and socioeconomic factors including male sex; higher caste; literacy; education level; occupation reported as student; and ownership of a bicycle, watch, and latrine were strongly associated with higher nonverbal intelligence scores (all p intelligence score based on unilateral hearing loss (0.97; 95% confidence interval, -1.67 to 3.61; p = 0.47). Nonverbal intelligence is adversely affected by bilateral hearing loss even at mild hearing loss levels. Socio economic well-being appears compromised in individuals with lower nonverbal intelligence test scores.

  17. Mediate evaluation of replicating a Training Program in Nonverbal Communication in Gerontology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Cristina Gioia Schimidt

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE Replicating the training program in non-verbal communication based on the theoretical framework of interpersonal communication; non-verbal coding, valuing the aging aspects in the perspective of active aging, checking its current relevance through the content assimilation index after 90 days (mediate of its application. METHOD A descriptive and exploratory field study was conducted in three hospitals under direct administration of the state of São Paulo that caters exclusively to Unified Health System (SUS patients. The training lasted 12 hours divided in three meetings, applied to 102 health professionals. RESULTS Revealed very satisfactory and satisfactory mediate content assimilation index in 82.9%. CONCLUSION The program replication proved to be relevant and updated the setting of hospital services, while remaining efficient for healthcare professionals.

  18. Nonverbal auditory agnosia with lesion to Wernicke's area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saygin, Ayse Pinar; Leech, Robert; Dick, Frederic

    2010-01-01

    We report the case of patient M, who suffered unilateral left posterior temporal and parietal damage, brain regions typically associated with language processing. Language function largely recovered since the infarct, with no measurable speech comprehension impairments. However, the patient exhibited a severe impairment in nonverbal auditory comprehension. We carried out extensive audiological and behavioral testing in order to characterize M's unusual neuropsychological profile. We also examined the patient's and controls' neural responses to verbal and nonverbal auditory stimuli using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We verified that the patient exhibited persistent and severe auditory agnosia for nonverbal sounds in the absence of verbal comprehension deficits or peripheral hearing problems. Acoustical analyses suggested that his residual processing of a minority of environmental sounds might rely on his speech processing abilities. In the patient's brain, contralateral (right) temporal cortex as well as perilesional (left) anterior temporal cortex were strongly responsive to verbal, but not to nonverbal sounds, a pattern that stands in marked contrast to the controls' data. This substantial reorganization of auditory processing likely supported the recovery of M's speech processing.

  19. Trauma team leaders' non-verbal communication: video registration during trauma team training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härgestam, Maria; Hultin, Magnus; Brulin, Christine; Jacobsson, Maritha

    2016-03-25

    regularly just as technical skills need to be trained. Simulation training provides healthcare professionals the opportunity to put both verbal and non-verbal communication in focus, in order to improve patient safety. Non-verbal communication plays a decisive role in the interaction between the trauma team members, and so both verbal and non-verbal communication should be in focus in trauma team training. This is even more important for inexperienced leaders, since vague non-verbal communication reinforces ambiguity and can lead to errors.

  20. Guidelines for Teaching Non-Verbal Communications Through Visual Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundu, Mahima Ranjan

    1976-01-01

    There is a natural unique relationship between non-verbal communication and visual media such as television and film. Visual media will have to be used extensively--almost exclusively--in teaching non-verbal communications, as well as other methods requiring special teaching skills. (Author/ER)

  1. Nonverbal imitation skills in children with specific language delay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dohmen, Andrea; Chiat, Shula; Roy, Penny

    2013-10-01

    Research in children with language problems has focussed on verbal deficits, and we have less understanding of children's deficits with nonverbal sociocognitive skills which have been proposed to be important for language acquisition. This study was designed to investigate elicited nonverbal imitation in children with specific language delay (SLD). It is argued that difficulties in nonverbal imitation, which do not involve the processing of structural aspects of language, may be indicative of sociocognitive deficits. Participants were German-speaking typically developing children (n=60) and children with SLD (n=45) aged 2-3 ½ years. A novel battery of tasks measured their ability to imitate a range of nonverbal target acts that to a greater or lesser extent involve sociocognitive skills (body movements, instrumental acts on objects, pretend acts). Significant group differences were found for all body movement and pretend act tasks, but not for the instrumental act tasks. The poorer imitative performance of the SLD sample was not explained by motor or nonverbal cognitive skills. Thus, it appeared that the nature of the task affected children's imitation performance. It is argued that the ability to establish a sense of connectedness with the demonstrator was at the core of children's imitation difficulty in the SLD sample. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Investigating a Relationship between Nonverbal Communication and Student Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    York, Dustin

    2013-01-01

    Clear and effective communication is essential in today's society (Smith & Cotten, 1980; Smith & Land, 1981). Nonverbal communication specifically has a vital role in communication. There is inconsistent data on the effect of nonverbal communication used by instructors and the impact on student learning within the higher education…

  3. Cross-cultural features of gestures in non-verbal communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chebotariova N. A.

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available this article is devoted to analysis of the concept of non-verbal communication and ways of expressing it. Gesticulation is studied in detail as it is the main element of non-verbal communication and has different characteristics in various countries of the world.

  4. From SOLER to SURETY for effective non-verbal communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stickley, Theodore

    2011-11-01

    This paper critiques the model for non-verbal communication referred to as SOLER (which stands for: "Sit squarely"; "Open posture"; "Lean towards the other"; "Eye contact; "Relax"). It has been approximately thirty years since Egan (1975) introduced his acronym SOLER as an aid for teaching and learning about non-verbal communication. There is evidence that the SOLER framework has been widely used in nurse education with little published critical appraisal. A new acronym that might be appropriate for non-verbal communication skills training and education is proposed and this is SURETY (which stands for "Sit at an angle"; "Uncross legs and arms"; "Relax"; "Eye contact"; "Touch"; "Your intuition"). The proposed model advances the SOLER model by including the use of touch and the importance of individual intuition is emphasised. The model encourages student nurse educators to also think about therapeutic space when they teach skills of non-verbal communication. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The Effect of Training Play Therapy to the Mothers of Autistic Children to Improve the Verbal and Nonverbal Skills of their Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinus Amrollahi far

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of play therapy training to mothers of autistic children on verbal and non-verbal improvement of their children.Materials and Methods: 30 autistic children with intermediate degree of autism were selected based on availability sampling procedure and were divided into experimental and control groups. Having collected the intended data and analyzed them with SPSS software.Results: The study finally revealed that the play therapy training significantly improved the social skills of autistic children.Conclusion: These results suggested that applying play therapy with families and teach it to the mothers that have autistic children. 

  6. Effects of Nonverbal Behavior on Perceptions of Power Bases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguinis, Herman; Simonsen, Melissa M.; Pierce, Charles A.

    1998-01-01

    Manipulates three types of nonverbal behaviors and examines their effects on perceptions of power bases. Reports that a relaxed facial expression increased the ratings for five of the selected power bases; furthermore, direct eye contact yielded higher credibility ratings. Provides evidence that various nonverbal behaviors have only additive…

  7. Effect of interaction with clowns on vital signs and non-verbal communication of hospitalized children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcântara, Pauline Lima; Wogel, Ariane Zonho; Rossi, Maria Isabela Lobo; Neves, Isabela Rodrigues; Sabates, Ana Llonch; Puggina, Ana Cláudia

    2016-12-01

    Compare the non-verbal communication of children before and during interaction with clowns and compare their vital signs before and after this interaction. Uncontrolled, intervention, cross-sectional, quantitative study with children admitted to a public university hospital. The intervention was performed by medical students dressed as clowns and included magic tricks, juggling, singing with the children, making soap bubbles and comedic performances. The intervention time was 20minutes. Vital signs were assessed in two measurements with an interval of one minute immediately before and after the interaction. Non-verbal communication was observed before and during the interaction using the Non-Verbal Communication Template Chart, a tool in which nonverbal behaviors are assessed as effective or ineffective in the interactions. The sample consisted of 41 children with a mean age of 7.6±2.7 years; most were aged 7 to 11 years (n=23; 56%) and were males (n=26; 63.4%). There was a statistically significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pain and non-verbal behavior of children with the intervention. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased and pain scales showed decreased scores. The playful interaction with clowns can be a therapeutic resource to minimize the effects of the stressing environment during the intervention, improve the children's emotional state and reduce the perception of pain. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  8. Physical growth and nonverbal intelligence: associations in Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hein, Sascha; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E; Grigorenko, Elena L

    2014-11-01

    To investigate normative developmental body mass index (BMI) trajectories and associations of physical growth indicators--height, weight, head circumference (HC), and BMI--with nonverbal intelligence in an understudied population of children from sub-Saharan Africa. A sample of 3981 students (50.8% male), grades 3-7, with a mean age of 12.75 years was recruited from 34 rural Zambian schools. Children with low scores on vision and hearing screenings were excluded. Height, weight, and HC were measured, and nonverbal intelligence was assessed using the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test, Symbolic Memory subtest and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition, Triangles subtest. Students in higher grades had a higher BMI over and above the effect of age. Girls had a marginally higher BMI, although that for both boys and girls was approximately 1 SD below the international Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization norms. When controlling for the effect of age, nonverbal intelligence showed small but significant positive relationships with HC (r = 0.17) and BMI (r = 0.11). HC and BMI accounted for 1.9% of the variance in nonverbal intelligence, over and above the contribution of grade and sex. BMI-for-age growth curves of Zambian children follow observed worldwide developmental trajectories. The positive relationships between BMI and intelligence underscore the importance of providing adequate nutritional and physical growth opportunities for children worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Directions for future studies are discussed with regard to maximizing the cognitive potential of all rural African children. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Attracting Assault: Victims' Nonverbal Cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grayson, Betty; Stein, Morris I.

    1981-01-01

    Describes a study in which prison inmates convicted of assault identified potential victims from videotapes. A lab analysis code was used to determine which nonverbal body movement categories differentiated victims and nonvictims. (JMF)

  10. Leaders in Interdependent Contexts Suppress Nonverbal Assertiveness: A Multilevel Analysis of Japanese University Club Leaders' and Members' Rank Signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Atsuki; Gobel, Matthias S; Uchida, Yukiko

    2018-01-01

    Previous research has shown that leadership is signaled through nonverbal assertiveness. However, those studies have been mostly conducted in individualistic cultural contexts, such as in the U.S. Here, we suggest that one important strategy for goal attainment in collectivistic cultures is for leaders to self-regulate their behaviors. Thus, contrary to the previous evidence from individualistic cultural contexts, in collectivistic cultural contexts, leaders might suppress nonverbal assertiveness. To test this possibility, we assessed nonverbal behaviors (NVB) of Japanese leaders and members, and how they were evaluated by observers. We recruited Japanese leaders and members of university clubs and video-recorded them while introducing their club. Then, we coded their nonverbal rank signaling behavior. Finally, we asked a new set of naïve observers to watch these video-clips and to judge targets' suitability for being possible club leaders. Results of a multilevel analysis (level 1: individual participants, level 2: clubs) suggested that the more the club culture focused on tasks (rather than relationships), the more likely were leaders (but not members) of those clubs to suppress their nonverbal assertiveness. Naïve observers judged individuals who restrained from emitting nonverbal assertiveness as being more suitable and worthy club leaders. Thus, our findings demonstrate the cultural fit between contextual effects at the collective level (i.e., cultural orientation of a group) and the signaling and perceiving of social ranks at the individual level (i.e., suppression of nonverbal assertiveness). We discuss the importance of studying the cultural fit between the collective reality that people inhabit and people's psychology for future research in cultural psychology.

  11. Leaders in Interdependent Contexts Suppress Nonverbal Assertiveness: A Multilevel Analysis of Japanese University Club Leaders' and Members' Rank Signaling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsuki Ito

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Previous research has shown that leadership is signaled through nonverbal assertiveness. However, those studies have been mostly conducted in individualistic cultural contexts, such as in the U.S. Here, we suggest that one important strategy for goal attainment in collectivistic cultures is for leaders to self-regulate their behaviors. Thus, contrary to the previous evidence from individualistic cultural contexts, in collectivistic cultural contexts, leaders might suppress nonverbal assertiveness. To test this possibility, we assessed nonverbal behaviors (NVB of Japanese leaders and members, and how they were evaluated by observers. We recruited Japanese leaders and members of university clubs and video-recorded them while introducing their club. Then, we coded their nonverbal rank signaling behavior. Finally, we asked a new set of naïve observers to watch these video-clips and to judge targets' suitability for being possible club leaders. Results of a multilevel analysis (level 1: individual participants, level 2: clubs suggested that the more the club culture focused on tasks (rather than relationships, the more likely were leaders (but not members of those clubs to suppress their nonverbal assertiveness. Naïve observers judged individuals who restrained from emitting nonverbal assertiveness as being more suitable and worthy club leaders. Thus, our findings demonstrate the cultural fit between contextual effects at the collective level (i.e., cultural orientation of a group and the signaling and perceiving of social ranks at the individual level (i.e., suppression of nonverbal assertiveness. We discuss the importance of studying the cultural fit between the collective reality that people inhabit and people's psychology for future research in cultural psychology.

  12. On Manipulating Nonverbal Interaction Style to Increase Anthropomorphic Computer Character Credibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cowell, Andrew J.; Stanney, Kay M.

    2003-09-01

    This study examined the effectiveness of enhancing humanagentinteraction through the use of nonverbal behaviors. Ataxonomy is described, which organizes nonverbal behaviorsinto functional categories and the manner in which they can beembodied (i.e. through gesture, posture, paralanguage, eyecontact and facial expression). Prototype computer characterswere created according to guidelines extracted from thetaxonomy and their efficacy was empirical evaluated. Theresults indicate that by including trusting nonverbal behaviors,the perceived credibility of a computer character was enhanced,although addition of trusting bodily nonverbal behaviorprovided little in addition to trusting facial nonverbal behavior.Perhaps more importantly, a character expressing non-trustingnonverbal behaviors was perceived to be the least credible of allcharacters examined (including a character that expressed nononverbal behavior). Participants that interacted with thispersona perceived the task to be more demanding, madesignificantly more errors, and rated their interaction lesspositively and more monotonous than those using trustingpersonas. They also rated this character to be less likable,accurate, and intelligent. Taken together, the results from thisstudy suggest that there may indeed be benefit to endowingcomputer characters with nonverbal trusting behaviors, as longas those behaviors are accurately and appropriately portrayed.Such behaviors may lead to a more trusting environment andpositive experience for users. Negative character behavior,however, such as non-trusting behavior, may squander theadvantages that embodiment brings.

  13. Non-verbal communication in meetings of psychiatrists and patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelle, M; Dimic, S; Wildgrube, C; McCabe, R; Priebe, S

    2015-03-01

    Recent evidence found that patients with schizophrenia display non-verbal behaviour designed to avoid social engagement during the opening moments of their meetings with psychiatrists. This study aimed to replicate, and build on, this finding, assessing the non-verbal behaviour of patients and psychiatrists during meetings, exploring changes over time and its association with patients' symptoms and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. 40-videotaped routine out-patient consultations, involving patients with schizophrenia, were analysed. Non-verbal behaviour of patients and psychiatrists was assessed during three fixed, 2-min intervals using a modified Ethological Coding System for Interviews. Symptoms, satisfaction with communication and the quality of the therapeutic relationship were also measured. Over time, patients' non-verbal behaviour remained stable, whilst psychiatrists' flight behaviour decreased. Patients formed two groups based on their non-verbal profiles, one group (n = 25) displaying pro-social behaviour, inviting interaction and a second (n = 15) displaying flight behaviour, avoiding interaction. Psychiatrists interacting with pro-social patients displayed more pro-social behaviours (P communication (P non-verbal behaviour during routine psychiatric consultations remains unchanged, and is linked to both their psychiatrist's non-verbal behaviour and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. © 2014 The Authors. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Evaluating verbal and non-verbal communication skills, in an ethnogeriatric OSCE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Lauren G; Schrimmer, Anne; Diamond, James; Burke, Janice

    2011-05-01

    Communication during medical interviews plays a large role in patient adherence, satisfaction with care, and health outcomes. Both verbal and non-verbal communication (NVC) skills are central to the development of rapport between patients and healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of non-verbal and verbal communication skills on evaluations by standardized patients during an ethnogeriatric Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Interviews from 19 medical students, residents, and fellows in an ethnogeriatric OSCE were analyzed. Each interview was videotaped and evaluated on a 14 item verbal and an 8 item non-verbal communication checklist. The relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication skills on interview evaluations by standardized patients were examined using correlational analyses. Maintaining adequate facial expression (FE), using affirmative gestures (AG), and limiting both unpurposive movements (UM) and hand gestures (HG) had a significant positive effect on perception of interview quality during this OSCE. Non-verbal communication skills played a role in perception of overall interview quality as well as perception of culturally competent communication. Incorporating formative and summative evaluation of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills may be a critical component of curricular innovations in ethnogeriatrics, such as the OSCE. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Toward Speech and Nonverbal Behaviors Integration for Humanoid Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Wang

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available It is essential to integrate speeches and nonverbal behaviors for a humanoid robot in human-robot interaction. This paper presents an approach using multi-object genetic algorithm to match the speeches and behaviors automatically. Firstly, with humanoid robot's emotion status, we construct a hierarchical structure to link voice characteristics and nonverbal behaviors. Secondly, these behaviors corresponding to speeches are matched and integrated into an action sequence based on genetic algorithm, so the robot can consistently speak and perform emotional behaviors. Our approach takes advantage of relevant knowledge described by psychologists and nonverbal communication. And from experiment results, our ultimate goal, implementing an affective robot to act and speak with partners vividly and fluently, could be achieved.

  16. Perception of 'Back-Channeling' Nonverbal Feedback in Musical Duo Improvisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Nikki; Hadley, Lauren V; Bader, Maria; Keller, Peter E

    2015-01-01

    In witnessing face-to-face conversation, observers perceive authentic communication according to the social contingency of nonverbal feedback cues ('back-channeling') by non-speaking interactors. The current study investigated the generality of this function by focusing on nonverbal communication in musical improvisation. A perceptual experiment was conducted to test whether observers can reliably identify genuine versus fake (mismatched) duos from musicians' nonverbal cues, and how this judgement is affected by observers' musical background and rhythm perception skill. Twenty-four musicians were recruited to perform duo improvisations, which included solo episodes, in two styles: standard jazz (where rhythm is based on a regular pulse) or free improvisation (where rhythm is non-pulsed). The improvisations were recorded using a motion capture system to generate 16 ten-second point-light displays (with audio) of the soloist and the silent non-soloing musician ('back-channeler'). Sixteen further displays were created by splicing soloists with back-channelers from different duos. Participants (N = 60) with various musical backgrounds were asked to rate the point-light displays as either real or fake. Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the real/fake distinction in the free improvisation condition independently of musical experience. Individual differences in rhythm perception skill did not account for performance in the free condition, but were positively correlated with accuracy in the standard jazz condition. These findings suggest that the perception of back-channeling in free improvisation is not dependent on music-specific skills but is a general ability. The findings invite further study of the links between interpersonal dynamics in conversation and musical interaction.

  17. Oncologists’ non-verbal behavior and analog patients’ recall of information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hillen, M.A.; de Haes, H.C.J.M.; van Tienhoven, G.; van Laarhoven, H.W.M.; van Weert, J.C.M.; Vermeulen, D.M.; Smets, E.M.A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist’s non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors,

  18. Oncologists' non-verbal behavior and analog patients' recall of information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hillen, Marij A.; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W. M.; van Weert, Julia C. M.; Vermeulen, Daniëlle M.; Smets, Ellen M. A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist's non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors,

  19. The Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire in the Czech context

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hřebíčková, Martina

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 52, č. 3 (2010), s. 165-177 ISSN 0039-3320 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70250504 Keywords : Nonverbal personality measurement * five -factor model * The Five -Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire * FF-NPQ Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.254, year: 2010

  20. Nonverbal communication in the focus-group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Simona TECĂU

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In the process of analysing the information obtained through focus group qualitative marketing research, a very important source of data is represented by non-verbal communication. Although the literature reveals an abundance of published material that describes how data obtained through focus group should be analysed, one of the least addressed issue is the interpretation of signals from participants: gestures, posture, dynamic and rhythm of speech or even the silence. This Article addresses precisely aspects of non-verbal communication in the focus group's and although not intended to examine in detail the results of a focus group, it shows how some of signals transmitted by participants of such research have been analysed and interpreted.

  1. Dissociating verbal and nonverbal audiovisual object processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hocking, Julia; Price, Cathy J

    2009-02-01

    This fMRI study investigates how audiovisual integration differs for verbal stimuli that can be matched at a phonological level and nonverbal stimuli that can be matched at a semantic level. Subjects were presented simultaneously with one visual and one auditory stimulus and were instructed to decide whether these stimuli referred to the same object or not. Verbal stimuli were simultaneously presented spoken and written object names, and nonverbal stimuli were photographs of objects simultaneously presented with naturally occurring object sounds. Stimulus differences were controlled by including two further conditions that paired photographs of objects with spoken words and object sounds with written words. Verbal matching, relative to all other conditions, increased activation in a region of the left superior temporal sulcus that has previously been associated with phonological processing. Nonverbal matching, relative to all other conditions, increased activation in a right fusiform region that has previously been associated with structural and conceptual object processing. Thus, we demonstrate how brain activation for audiovisual integration depends on the verbal content of the stimuli, even when stimulus and task processing differences are controlled.

  2. Parts of Speech in Non-typical Function: (Asymmetrical Encoding of Non-verbal Predicates in Erzya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rigina Turunen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Erzya non-verbal conjugation refers to symmetric paradigms in which non-verbal predicates behave morphosyntactically in a similar way to verbal predicates. Notably, though, non-verbal conjugational paradigms are asymmetric, which is seen as an outcome of paradigmatic neutralisation in less frequent/less typical contexts. For non-verbal predicates it is not obligatory to display the same amount of behavioural potential as it is for verbal predicates, and the lexical class of non-verbal predicate operates in such a way that adjectival predicates are more likely to be conjugated than nominals. Further, besides symmetric paradigms and constructions, in Erzya there are non-verbal predicate constructions which display a more overt structural encoding than do verbal ones, namely, copula constructions. Complexity in the domain of non-verbal predication in Erzya decreases the symmetry of the paradigms. Complexity increases in asymmetric constructions, as well as in paradigmatic neutralisation when non-verbal predicates cannot be inflected in all the tenses and moods occurring in verbal predication. The results would be the reverse if we were to measure complexity in terms of the morphological structure. The asymmetric features in non-verbal predication are motivated language-externally, because non-verbal predicates refer to states and occur less frequently as predicates than verbal categories. The symmetry of the paradigms and constructions is motivated language-internally: a grammatical system with fewer rules is economical.

  3. Phenomenology of non-verbal communication as a representation of sports activities

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    Liubov Karpets

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The priority of language professional activity in sports is such non-verbal communication as body language. Purpose: to delete the main aspects of non-verbal communication as a representation of sports activities. Material & Methods: in the study participated members of sports teams, individual athletes, in particular, for such sports: basketball, handball, volleyball, football, hockey, bodybuilding. Results: in the process of research it was revealed that in sports activities such nonverbal communication as gestures, facial expressions, physique, etc., are lapped, and, as a consequence, the position "everything is language" (Lyotard is embodied. Conclusions: non-verbal communication is one of the most significant forms of communication in sports. Additional means of communication through the "language" of the body help the athletes to realize themselves and self-determination.

  4. Nonverbal Communication of Confidence in Soccer Referees: An Experimental Test of Darwin's Leakage Hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furley, Philip; Schweizer, Geoffrey

    2016-12-01

    The goal of the present paper was to investigate whether soccer referees' nonverbal behavior (NVB) differed based on the difficulty of their decisions and whether perceivers could detect these systematic variations. On the one hand, communicating confidence via NVB is emphasized in referee training. On the other hand, it seems feasible from a theoretical point of view that particularly following relatively difficult decisions referees have problems controlling their NVB. We conducted three experiments to investigate this question. Experiment 1 (N = 40) and Experiment 2 (N = 60) provided evidence that perceivers regard referees' NVB as less confident following ambiguous decisions as compared with following unambiguous decisions. Experiment 3 (N = 58) suggested that perceivers were more likely to debate with the referee when referees nonverbally communicated less confidence. We discuss consequences for referee training.

  5. Nonverbal Learning Disabilities and Socioemotional Functioning: A Review of Recent Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Sara S.

    1993-01-01

    This article presents an overview of literature relating to a nonverbal learning disabilities subtype. The article addresses the relationship between nonverbal learning disabilities and socioemotional functioning, generalizability of research outcomes, individual differences, and treatment validity. (Author/JDD)

  6. The Effect of Nonverbal Signals on Student Role-Play Evaluations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taute, Harry A.; Heiser, Robert S.; McArthur, David N.

    2011-01-01

    Although salespeople have long been urged to recognize and adapt to customer needs and wants by observing communications style and other cues or signals by the buyer, nonverbal communications by the salesperson have received much less empirical scrutiny. However, nonverbal communications may be important in this context; research in several…

  7. Culture and Social Relationship as Factors of Affecting Communicative Non-verbal Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhter Lipi, Afia; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Mathias

    The goal of this paper is to link a bridge between social relationship and cultural variation to predict conversants' non-verbal behaviors. This idea serves as a basis of establishing a parameter based socio-cultural model, which determines non-verbal expressive parameters that specify the shapes of agent's nonverbal behaviors in HAI. As the first step, a comparative corpus analysis is done for two cultures in two specific social relationships. Next, by integrating the cultural and social parameters factors with the empirical data from corpus analysis, we establish a model that predicts posture. The predictions from our model successfully demonstrate that both cultural background and social relationship moderate communicative non-verbal behaviors.

  8. Expressive suppression and neural responsiveness to nonverbal affective cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrican, Raluca; Rosenbaum, R Shayna; Grady, Cheryl

    2015-10-01

    Optimal social functioning occasionally requires concealment of one's emotions in order to meet one's immediate goals and environmental demands. However, because emotions serve an important communicative function, their habitual suppression disrupts the flow of social exchanges and, thus, incurs significant interpersonal costs. Evidence is accruing that the disruption in social interactions, linked to habitual expressive suppression use, stems not only from intrapersonal, but also from interpersonal causes, since the suppressors' restricted affective displays reportedly inhibit their interlocutors' emotionally expressive behaviors. However, expressive suppression use is not known to lead to clinically significant social impairments. One explanation may be that over the lifespan, individuals who habitually suppress their emotions come to compensate for their interlocutors' restrained expressive behaviors by developing an increased sensitivity to nonverbal affective cues. To probe this issue, the present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan healthy older women while they viewed silent videos of a male social target displaying nonverbal emotional behavior, together with a brief verbal description of the accompanying context, and then judged the target's affect. As predicted, perceivers who reported greater habitual use of expressive suppression showed increased neural processing of nonverbal affective cues. This effect appeared to be coordinated in a top-down manner via cognitive control. Greater neural processing of nonverbal cues among perceivers who habitually suppress their emotions was linked to increased ventral striatum activity, suggestive of increased reward value/personal relevance ascribed to emotionally expressive nonverbal behaviors. These findings thus provide neural evidence broadly consistent with the hypothesized link between habitual use of expressive suppression and compensatory development of increased responsiveness to

  9. Quality Matters! Differences between Expressive and Receptive Non-Verbal Communication Skills in Adolescents with ASD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, Ruth B.; Tager-Flusberg, Helen

    2012-01-01

    We analyzed several studies of non-verbal communication (prosody and facial expressions) completed in our lab and conducted a secondary analysis to compare performance on receptive vs. expressive tasks by adolescents with ASD and their typically developing peers. Results show a significant between-group difference for the aggregate score of…

  10. Preparatory power posing affects nonverbal presence and job interview performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuddy, Amy J C; Wilmuth, Caroline A; Yap, Andy J; Carney, Dana R

    2015-07-01

    The authors tested whether engaging in expansive (vs. contractive) "power poses" before a stressful job interview--preparatory power posing--would enhance performance during the interview. Participants adopted high-power (i.e., expansive, open) poses or low-power (i.e., contractive, closed) poses, and then prepared and delivered a speech to 2 evaluators as part of a mock job interview. All interview speeches were videotaped and coded for overall performance and hireability and for 2 potential mediators: verbal content (e.g., structure, content) and nonverbal presence (e.g., captivating, enthusiastic). As predicted, those who prepared for the job interview with high- (vs. low-) power poses performed better and were more likely to be chosen for hire; this relation was mediated by nonverbal presence, but not by verbal content. Although previous research has focused on how a nonverbal behavior that is enacted during interactions and observed by perceivers affects how those perceivers evaluate and respond to the actor, this experiment focused on how a nonverbal behavior that is enacted before the interaction and unobserved by perceivers affects the actor's performance, which, in turn, affects how perceivers evaluate and respond to the actor. This experiment reveals a theoretically novel and practically informative result that demonstrates the causal relation between preparatory nonverbal behavior and subsequent performance and outcomes. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Perception of 'Back-Channeling' Nonverbal Feedback in Musical Duo Improvisation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikki Moran

    Full Text Available In witnessing face-to-face conversation, observers perceive authentic communication according to the social contingency of nonverbal feedback cues ('back-channeling' by non-speaking interactors. The current study investigated the generality of this function by focusing on nonverbal communication in musical improvisation. A perceptual experiment was conducted to test whether observers can reliably identify genuine versus fake (mismatched duos from musicians' nonverbal cues, and how this judgement is affected by observers' musical background and rhythm perception skill. Twenty-four musicians were recruited to perform duo improvisations, which included solo episodes, in two styles: standard jazz (where rhythm is based on a regular pulse or free improvisation (where rhythm is non-pulsed. The improvisations were recorded using a motion capture system to generate 16 ten-second point-light displays (with audio of the soloist and the silent non-soloing musician ('back-channeler'. Sixteen further displays were created by splicing soloists with back-channelers from different duos. Participants (N = 60 with various musical backgrounds were asked to rate the point-light displays as either real or fake. Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the real/fake distinction in the free improvisation condition independently of musical experience. Individual differences in rhythm perception skill did not account for performance in the free condition, but were positively correlated with accuracy in the standard jazz condition. These findings suggest that the perception of back-channeling in free improvisation is not dependent on music-specific skills but is a general ability. The findings invite further study of the links between interpersonal dynamics in conversation and musical interaction.

  12. Social priming increases nonverbal expressive behaviors in schizophrenia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Del-Monte

    Full Text Available Semantic priming tasks are classically used to influence and implicitly promote target behaviors. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that prosocial semantic priming modulated feelings of social affiliation. The main aim of this study was to determine whether inducing feelings of social affiliation using priming tasks could modulate nonverbal social behaviors in schizophrenia. We used the Scrambled Sentence Task to prime schizophrenia patients according to three priming group conditions: pro-social, non-social or anti-social. Forty-five schizophrenia patients, diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR, were randomly assigned to one of the three priming groups of 15 participants. We evaluated nonverbal social behaviors using the Motor-Affective subscale of the Motor-Affective-Social-Scale. Results showed that schizophrenia patients with pro-social priming had significantly more nonverbal behaviors than schizophrenia patients with anti-social and non-social priming conditions. Schizophrenia patient behaviors are affected by social priming. Our results have several clinical implications for the rehabilitation of social skills impairments frequently encountered among individuals with schizophrenia.

  13. The impact of culture and education on non-verbal neuropsychological measurements: a critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosselli, Mónica; Ardila, Alfredo

    2003-08-01

    Clinical neuropsychology has frequently considered visuospatial and non-verbal tests to be culturally and educationally fair or at least fairer than verbal tests. This paper reviews the cross-cultural differences in performance on visuoperceptual and visuoconstructional ability tasks and analyzes the impact of education and culture on non-verbal neuropsychological measurements. This paper compares: (1) non-verbal test performance among groups with different educational levels, and the same cultural background (inter-education intra-culture comparison); (2) the test performance among groups with the same educational level and different cultural backgrounds (intra-education inter-culture comparisons). Several studies have demonstrated a strong association between educational level and performance on common non-verbal neuropsychological tests. When neuropsychological test performance in different cultural groups is compared, significant differences are evident. Performance on non-verbal tests such as copying figures, drawing maps or listening to tones can be significantly influenced by the individual's culture. Arguments against the use of some current neuropsychological non-verbal instruments, procedures, and norms in the assessment of diverse educational and cultural groups are discussed and possible solutions to this problem are presented.

  14. Cross-cultural Differences of Stereotypes about Non-verbal Communication of Russian and Chinese Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I A Novikova

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with peculiarities of non-verbal communication as a factor of cross-cultural intercourse and adaptation of representatives of different cultures. The possibility of studying of ethnic stereotypes concerning non-verbal communication is considered. The results of empiric research of stereotypes about non-verbal communication of Russian and Chinese students are presented.

  15. Ethnic Differences in Nonverbal Pain Behaviors Observed in Older Adults with Dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Brianne; Snow, A Lynn; Herr, Keela; Tripp-Reimer, Toni

    2015-10-01

    Research supports using nonverbal pain behaviors to identify pain in persons with dementia. It is unknown whether variations exist among ethnic groups in the expression of nonverbal pain behaviors in this special population. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine ethnic differences in the presentation and intensity of nonverbal pain behaviors among African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic older adults with dementia when screened for pain by certified nursing assistants. Six certified nursing assistants were trained to review and score 28 video recordings of subjects with dementia for nonverbal pain behaviors using the Non-Communicative Patient's Pain Assessment Instrument. Chi-square was used to examine differences among ethnic groups with regard to the display of nonverbal pain behaviors, and ANOVA was used to evaluate differences in the intensity of overall pain across ethnic groups. Of the 168 assessments, pain words (28%), pain noises (29.8%), and pain faces (28%) were observed most often as indicators of pain. Rubbing, bracing, and restlessness were rarely noted. Chi-square analysis revealed ethnic differences in the expression of pain words (χ(2) = 19.167, p ethnic groups with regards to overall pain intensity. These findings are the first to examine ethnic differences in nonverbal pain behaviors for older adults with dementia. However, future work should examine assessment tendencies of providers in a larger, more diverse sample. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. All rights reserved.

  16. A Nonverbal Phoneme Deletion Task Administered in a Dynamic Assessment Format

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillam, Sandra Laing; Fargo, Jamison; Foley, Beth; Olszewski, Abbie

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of the project was to design a nonverbal dynamic assessment of phoneme deletion that may prove useful with individuals who demonstrate complex communication needs (CCN) and are unable to communicate using natural speech or who present with moderate-severe speech impairments. Method: A nonverbal dynamic assessment of phoneme…

  17. Non-verbal Communication in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Video Audit Using Non-verbal Immediacy Scale (NIS-O).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimbalkar, Somashekhar Marutirao; Raval, Himalaya; Bansal, Satvik Chaitanya; Pandya, Utkarsh; Pathak, Ajay

    2018-05-03

    Effective communication with parents is a very important skill for pediatricians especially in a neonatal setup. The authors analyzed non-verbal communication of medical caregivers during counseling sessions. Recorded videos of counseling sessions from the months of March-April 2016 were audited. Counseling episodes were scored using Non-verbal Immediacy Scale Observer Report (NIS-O). A total of 150 videos of counseling sessions were audited. The mean (SD) total score on (NIS-O) was 78.96(7.07). Female counseled sessions had significantly higher proportion of low scores (p communication skills in a neonatal unit. This study lays down a template on which other Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can carry out gap defining audits.

  18. Training Soldiers to Decode Nonverbal Cues in Cross-Cultural Interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-07-01

    stylistic differences do not necessarily have a specific purpose or meaning; thus, they differ from display and decoding rules, which are conscious...rapport. They found that cognitive feedback—that is, receiving general information about the nonverbal cues that are typically diagnostic in... Cognition and Emotion, 18, 613-629. Feldman, R. S., Philippot, P., & Custrini, R. J. (1992). Social competence and nonverbal behavior. In R. S

  19. Perception of ‘Back-Channeling’ Nonverbal Feedback in Musical Duo Improvisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Nikki; Hadley, Lauren V.; Bader, Maria; Keller, Peter E.

    2015-01-01

    In witnessing face-to-face conversation, observers perceive authentic communication according to the social contingency of nonverbal feedback cues (‘back-channeling’) by non-speaking interactors. The current study investigated the generality of this function by focusing on nonverbal communication in musical improvisation. A perceptual experiment was conducted to test whether observers can reliably identify genuine versus fake (mismatched) duos from musicians’ nonverbal cues, and how this judgement is affected by observers’ musical background and rhythm perception skill. Twenty-four musicians were recruited to perform duo improvisations, which included solo episodes, in two styles: standard jazz (where rhythm is based on a regular pulse) or free improvisation (where rhythm is non-pulsed). The improvisations were recorded using a motion capture system to generate 16 ten-second point-light displays (with audio) of the soloist and the silent non-soloing musician (‘back-channeler’). Sixteen further displays were created by splicing soloists with back-channelers from different duos. Participants (N = 60) with various musical backgrounds were asked to rate the point-light displays as either real or fake. Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the real/fake distinction in the free improvisation condition independently of musical experience. Individual differences in rhythm perception skill did not account for performance in the free condition, but were positively correlated with accuracy in the standard jazz condition. These findings suggest that the perception of back-channeling in free improvisation is not dependent on music-specific skills but is a general ability. The findings invite further study of the links between interpersonal dynamics in conversation and musical interaction. PMID:26086593

  20. The Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire in the Czech context

    OpenAIRE

    Hřebíčková, M. (Martina)

    2010-01-01

    This study reports on the psychometric properties of the Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire (FF-NPQ) in a sample of 1,113 people. The FF-NPQ is a non-verbal measure of the Big Five personality dimensions (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience). The presented psychometric measures include scale internal consistencies, intercorrelations, and convergences with two verbal Big Five measures. Gender and age differences are reported. Further...

  1. Non-verbal communication through sensor fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tairych, Andreas; Xu, Daniel; O'Brien, Benjamin M.; Anderson, Iain A.

    2016-04-01

    When we communicate face to face, we subconsciously engage our whole body to convey our message. In telecommunication, e.g. during phone calls, this powerful information channel cannot be used. Capturing nonverbal information from body motion and transmitting it to the receiver parallel to speech would make these conversations feel much more natural. This requires a sensing device that is capable of capturing different types of movements, such as the flexion and extension of joints, and the rotation of limbs. In a first embodiment, we developed a sensing glove that is used to control a computer game. Capacitive dielectric elastomer (DE) sensors measure finger positions, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) detects hand roll. These two sensor technologies complement each other, with the IMU allowing the player to move an avatar through a three-dimensional maze, and the DE sensors detecting finger flexion to fire weapons or open doors. After demonstrating the potential of sensor fusion in human-computer interaction, we take this concept to the next level and apply it in nonverbal communication between humans. The current fingerspelling glove prototype uses capacitive DE sensors to detect finger gestures performed by the sending person. These gestures are mapped to corresponding messages and transmitted wirelessly to another person. A concept for integrating an IMU into this system is presented. The fusion of the DE sensor and the IMU combines the strengths of both sensor types, and therefore enables very comprehensive body motion sensing, which makes a large repertoire of gestures available to nonverbal communication over distances.

  2. Prosody Predicts Contest Outcome in Non-Verbal Dialogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreiss, Amélie N; Chatelain, Philippe G; Roulin, Alexandre; Richner, Heinz

    2016-01-01

    Non-verbal communication has important implications for inter-individual relationships and negotiation success. However, to what extent humans can spontaneously use rhythm and prosody as a sole communication tool is largely unknown. We analysed human ability to resolve a conflict without verbal dialogs, independently of semantics. We invited pairs of subjects to communicate non-verbally using whistle sounds. Along with the production of more whistles, participants unwittingly used a subtle prosodic feature to compete over a resource (ice-cream scoops). Winners can be identified by their propensity to accentuate the first whistles blown when replying to their partner, compared to the following whistles. Naive listeners correctly identified this prosodic feature as a key determinant of which whistler won the interaction. These results suggest that in the absence of other communication channels, individuals spontaneously use a subtle variation of sound accentuation (prosody), instead of merely producing exuberant sounds, to impose themselves in a conflict of interest. We discuss the biological and cultural bases of this ability and their link with verbal communication. Our results highlight the human ability to use non-verbal communication in a negotiation process.

  3. Organizational strategies mediate nonverbal memory impairment in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savage, C R; Baer, L; Keuthen, N J; Brown, H D; Rauch, S L; Jenike, M A

    1999-04-01

    Previous neuropsychological studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have indicated impaired executive functioning and nonverbal memory. The extent to which impaired executive functioning impacts nonverbal memory has not been established. The current study investigated the mediating effects of organizational strategies used when copying a figure on subsequent nonverbal memory for that figure. We examined neuropsychological performance in 20 unmedicated subjects with OCD and 20 matched normal control subjects. Subjects were administered the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) and neuropsychological tests assessing various aspects of executive function. OCD subjects differed significantly from healthy control subjects in the organizational strategies used to copy the RCFT figure, and they recalled significantly less information on both immediate and delayed testing. Multiple regression analyses indicated that group differences in immediate percent recall were significantly mediated by copy organizational strategies. Further exploratory analyses indicated that organizational problems in OCD may be related to difficulties shifting mental and/or spatial set. Immediate nonverbal memory problems in OCD subjects were mediated by impaired organizational strategies used during the initial copy of the RCFT figure. Thus, the primary deficit was one affecting executive function, which then had a secondary effect on immediate memory. These findings are consistent with current theories proposing frontal-striatal system dysfunction in OCD.

  4. Nonverbal synchrony and affect in dyadic interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang eTschacher

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In an experiment on dyadic social interaction, we invited participants to verbal interactions in cooperative, competitive, and 'fun task' conditions. We focused on the link between interactants' affectivity and their nonverbal synchrony, and explored which further variables contributed to affectivity: interactants' personality traits, sex, and the prescribed interaction tasks. Nonverbal synchrony was quantified by the coordination of interactants' body movement, using an automated video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Traits were assessed with standard questionnaires of personality, attachment, interactional style, psychopathology and interpersonal reactivity. We included 168 previously unacquainted individuals who were randomly allocated to same-sex dyads (84 females, 84 males, mean age 27.3 years. Dyads discussed four topics of general interest drawn from an urn of eight topics, and finally engaged in a fun interaction. Each interaction lasted five minutes. In between interactions, participants repeatedly assessed their affect. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found moderate to strong effect sizes for synchrony to occur, especially in competitive and fun task conditions. Positive affect was associated positively with synchrony, negative affect was associated negatively. As for causal direction, data supported the interpretation that synchrony entailed affect rather than vice versa. The link between nonverbal synchrony and affect was strongest in female dyads. The findings extend previous reports of synchrony and mimicry associated with emotion in relationships and suggest a possible mechanism of the synchrony-affect correlation.

  5. Nonverbal Learning Disabilities : What kind of communication challenges do parents face when communicating with their children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, and what kind of strategies the parents use to overcome the challenges?

    OpenAIRE

    Ramos, Alexandra Jacinta

    2011-01-01

    This is a qualitative study that explores and tries to understand what kind of communicational challenges do parents face when communicating with their children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, and to comprehend what kind of strategies these parents use to overcome these challenges. The designation of the Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) was formerly proposed by Johnson and Myklebust. NLD were firstly described by Myklebust as an inability to read and understand nonverbal aspect...

  6. The Influence of Manifest Strabismus and Stereoscopic Vision on Non-Verbal Abilities of Visually Impaired Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gligorovic, Milica; Vucinic, Vesna; Eskirovic, Branka; Jablan, Branka

    2011-01-01

    This research was conducted in order to examine the influence of manifest strabismus and stereoscopic vision on non-verbal abilities of visually impaired children aged between 7 and 15. The sample included 55 visually impaired children from the 1st to the 6th grade of elementary schools for visually impaired children in Belgrade. RANDOT stereotest…

  7. The Complementary Effects of Empathy and Nonverbal Communication Training on Persuasion Capabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Robin T.; Leonhardt, James M.

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the possible complementary effects that training in empathy and nonverbal communication may have on persuasion capabilities. The narrative considers implications from the literature and describes an exploratory study in which students, in a managerial setting, were trained in empathy and nonverbal communication. Subsequent…

  8. Culture and Social Relationship as Factors of Affecting Communicative Non-Verbal Behaviors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lipi, Afia Akhter; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Matthias

    2010-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to link a bridge between social relationship and cultural variation to predict conversants' non-verbal behaviors. This idea serves as a basis of establishing a parameter based socio-cultural model, which determines non-verbal expressive parameters that specify the shapes...

  9. The Impact of Discrepant Verbal-Nonverbal Messages in the Teacher-Student Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karr-Kidwell, PJ

    Noting that teachers' nonverbal behaviors are frequently inconsistent with their verbal messages, a situation that detracts from student learning, this paper offers an activity for focusing prospective teachers' attentions on the frequency and impact of discrepant verbal-nonverbal messages occurring in the classroom. The step-by-step process is…

  10. Nonverbal Synchrony in Psychotherapy: Coordinated Body Movement Reflects Relationship Quality and Outcome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramseyer, Fabian; Tschacher, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony--the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement--in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome. Method: Using an…

  11. Nonverbal Communication and the First Amendment: The Rhetoric of the Streets Revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haiman, Franklyn S.

    1982-01-01

    Reviews court cases and current issues involving nonverbal communication and the First Amendment. Concludes that many modes of nonverbal expression have won a firm place under the umbrella of protection of the First Amendment but that some modes (flag and draft card burnings, economic boycotts, and coercive persuasion) still raise troublesome…

  12. Physical growth and non-verbal intelligence: Associations in Zambia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hein, Sascha; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E.; Grigorenko, Elena L.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives To investigate normative developmental BMI trajectories and associations of physical growth indicators (ie, height, weight, head circumference [HC], body mass index [BMI]) with non-verbal intelligence in an understudied population of children from Sub-Saharan Africa. Study design A sample of 3981 students (50.8% male), grades 3 to 7, with a mean age of 12.75 years was recruited from 34 rural Zambian schools. Children with low scores on vision and hearing screenings were excluded. Height, weight and HC were measured, and non-verbal intelligence was assessed using UNIT-symbolic memory and KABC-II-triangles. Results Results showed that students in higher grades have a higher BMI over and above the effect of age. Girls showed a marginally higher BMI, although that for both boys and girls was approximately 1 SD below the international CDC and WHO norms. Controlling for the effect of age, non-verbal intelligence showed small but significant positive relationships with HC (r = .17) and BMI (r = .11). HC and BMI accounted for 1.9% of the variance in non-verbal intelligence, over and above the contribution of grade and sex. Conclusions BMI-for-age growth curves of Zambian children follow observed worldwide developmental trajectories. The positive relationships between BMI and intelligence underscore the importance of providing adequate nutritional and physical growth opportunities for children worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Directions for future studies are discussed with regard to maximizing the cognitive potential of all rural African children. PMID:25217196

  13. Nonverbal communication and conversational contribution in breast cancer genetic counseling: are counselors' nonverbal communication and conversational contribution associated with counselees' satisfaction, needs fulfillment and state anxiety in breast cancer genetic counseling?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, H.; Albada, A.; Klöckner Cronauer, C.; Ausems, M.G.E.M.; Dulmen, S. van

    2013-01-01

    Objective: The current study aimed to examine how counselors’ nonverbal communication (i.e. nonverbal encouragements and counselee-directed eye gaze) and conversational contribution (i.e. verbal dominance and interactivity) during the final visit within breast cancer genetic counseling relate to

  14. Spatial short-term memory in children with nonverbal learning disabilities: impairment in encoding spatial configuration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narimoto, Tadamasa; Matsuura, Naomi; Takezawa, Tomohiro; Mitsuhashi, Yoshinori; Hiratani, Michio

    2013-01-01

    The authors investigated whether impaired spatial short-term memory exhibited by children with nonverbal learning disabilities is due to a problem in the encoding process. Children with or without nonverbal learning disabilities performed a simple spatial test that required them to remember 3, 5, or 7 spatial items presented simultaneously in random positions (i.e., spatial configuration) and to decide if a target item was changed or all items including the target were in the same position. The results showed that, even when the spatial positions in the encoding and probe phases were similar, the mean proportion correct of children with nonverbal learning disabilities was 0.58 while that of children without nonverbal learning disabilities was 0.84. The authors argue with the results that children with nonverbal learning disabilities have difficulty encoding relational information between spatial items, and that this difficulty is responsible for their impaired spatial short-term memory.

  15. Auditory-motor mapping training as an intervention to facilitate speech output in non-verbal children with autism: a proof of concept study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Y Wan

    Full Text Available Although up to 25% of children with autism are non-verbal, there are very few interventions that can reliably produce significant improvements in speech output. Recently, a novel intervention called Auditory-Motor Mapping Training (AMMT has been developed, which aims to promote speech production directly by training the association between sounds and articulatory actions using intonation and bimanual motor activities. AMMT capitalizes on the inherent musical strengths of children with autism, and offers activities that they intrinsically enjoy. It also engages and potentially stimulates a network of brain regions that may be dysfunctional in autism. Here, we report an initial efficacy study to provide 'proof of concept' for AMMT. Six non-verbal children with autism participated. Prior to treatment, the children had no intelligible words. They each received 40 individual sessions of AMMT 5 times per week, over an 8-week period. Probe assessments were conducted periodically during baseline, therapy, and follow-up sessions. After therapy, all children showed significant improvements in their ability to articulate words and phrases, with generalization to items that were not practiced during therapy sessions. Because these children had no or minimal vocal output prior to treatment, the acquisition of speech sounds and word approximations through AMMT represents a critical step in expressive language development in children with autism.

  16. Nonverbal arithmetic in humans: light from noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cordes, Sara; Gallistel, C R; Gelman, Rochel; Latham, Peter

    2007-10-01

    Animal and human data suggest the existence of a cross-species system of analog number representation (e.g., Cordes, Gelman, Gallistel, & Whalen, 2001; Meeck & Church, 1983), which may mediate the computation of statistical regularities in the environment (Gallistel, Gelman, & Cordes, 2006). However, evidence of arithmetic manipulation of these nonverbal magnitude representations is sparse and lacking in depth. This study uses the analysis of variability as a tool for understanding properties of these combinatorial processes. Human subjects participated in tasks requiring responses dependent upon the addition, subtraction, or reproduction of nonverbal counts. Variance analyses revealed that the magnitude of both inputs and answer contributed to the variability in the arithmetic responses, with operand variability dominating. Other contributing factors to the observed variability and implications for logarithmic versus scalar models of magnitude representation are discussed in light of these results.

  17. The role of non-verbal behaviour in racial disparities in health care: implications and solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Cynthia S; Ambady, Nalini

    2013-09-01

    People from racial minority backgrounds report less trust in their doctors and have poorer health outcomes. Although these deficiencies have multiple roots, one important set of explanations involves racial bias, which may be non-conscious, on the part of providers, and minority patients' fears that they will be treated in a biased way. Here, we focus on one mechanism by which this bias may be communicated and reinforced: namely, non-verbal behaviour in the doctor-patient interaction. We review 2 lines of research on race and non-verbal behaviour: (i) the ways in which a patient's race can influence a doctor's non-verbal behaviour toward the patient, and (ii) the relative difficulty that doctors can have in accurately understanding the nonverbal communication of non-White patients. Further, we review research on the implications that both lines of work can have for the doctor-patient relationship and the patient's health. The research we review suggests that White doctors interacting with minority group patients are likely to behave and respond in ways that are associated with worse health outcomes. As doctors' disengaged non-verbal behaviour towards minority group patients and lower ability to read minority group patients' non-verbal behaviours may contribute to racial disparities in patients' satisfaction and health outcomes, solutions that target non-verbal behaviour may be effective. A number of strategies for such targeting are discussed. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. "Artificial humans": Psychology and neuroscience perspectives on embodiment and nonverbal communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogeley, Kai; Bente, Gary

    2010-01-01

    "Artificial humans", so-called "Embodied Conversational Agents" and humanoid robots, are assumed to facilitate human-technology interaction referring to the unique human capacities of interpersonal communication and social information processing. While early research and development in artificial intelligence (AI) focused on processing and production of natural language, the "new AI" has also taken into account the emotional and relational aspects of communication with an emphasis both on understanding and production of nonverbal behavior. This shift in attention in computer science and engineering is reflected in recent developments in psychology and social cognitive neuroscience. This article addresses key challenges which emerge from the goal to equip machines with socio-emotional intelligence and to enable them to interpret subtle nonverbal cues and to respond to social affordances with naturally appearing behavior from both perspectives. In particular, we propose that the creation of credible artificial humans not only defines the ultimate test for our understanding of human communication and social cognition but also provides a unique research tool to improve our knowledge about the underlying psychological processes and neural mechanisms. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  19. Preface (to: Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and Enactment: The Procesing Issues)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Esposito, Anna; Vinciarelli, Alessandro; Vicsi, Klára; Pelachaud, Catherine; Nijholt, Antinus

    2011-01-01

    This volume brings together the advanced research results obtained by the European COST Action 2102 “Cross Modal Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication,‿ primarily discussed at the PINK SSPnet-COST 2102 International Conference on “Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and

  20. Non-verbal mother-child communication in conditions of maternal HIV in an experimental environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Sousa Paiva, Simone; Galvão, Marli Teresinha Gimeniz; Pagliuca, Lorita Marlena Freitag; de Almeida, Paulo César

    2010-01-01

    Non-verbal communication is predominant in the mother-child relation. This study aimed to analyze non-verbal mother-child communication in conditions of maternal HIV. In an experimental environment, five HIV-positive mothers were evaluated during care delivery to their babies of up to six months old. Recordings of the care were analyzed by experts, observing aspects of non-verbal communication, such as: paralanguage, kinesics, distance, visual contact, tone of voice, maternal and infant tactile behavior. In total, 344 scenes were obtained. After statistical analysis, these permitted inferring that mothers use non-verbal communication to demonstrate their close attachment to their children and to perceive possible abnormalities. It is suggested that the mothers infection can be a determining factor for the formation of mothers strong attachment to their children after birth.

  1. Human Nonverbal Behaviors, Empathy, and Film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiggers, T. Thorne

    Nonverbal behavior is an important aspect of the film and is one of the several tools that a director uses to communicate to an audience the characters' feelings and relationships. By adding to this information their own personal responses, viewers often experience strong feelings. With reference to the social psychological research of nonverbal…

  2. A Parameter-based Model for Generating Culturally Adaptive Nonverbal Behaviors in Embodied Conversational Agents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lipi, Afia Akhter; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Matthias

    2009-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to integrate culture as a computational term in embodied conversational agents by employing an empirical data-driven approach as well as a theoretical model-driven approach. We propose a parameter-based model that predicts nonverbal expressions appropriate for specific...... cultures. First, we introduce the Hofstede theory to describe socio-cultural characteristics of each country. Then, based on the previous studies in cultural differences of nonverbal behaviors, we propose expressive parameters to characterize nonverbal behaviors. Finally, by integrating socio-cultural...

  3. Maintenance of auditory-nonverbal information in working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soemer, Alexander; Saito, Satoru

    2015-12-01

    According to the multicomponent view of working memory, both auditory-nonverbal information and auditory-verbal information are stored in a phonological code and are maintained by an articulation-based rehearsal mechanism (Baddeley, 2012). Two experiments have been carried out to investigate this hypothesis using sound materials that are difficult to label verbally and difficult to articulate. Participants were required to maintain 2 to 4 sounds differing in timbre over a delay of up to 12 seconds while performing different secondary tasks. While there was no convincing evidence for articulatory rehearsal as a main maintenance mechanism for auditory-nonverbal information, the results suggest that processes similar or identical to auditory imagery might contribute to maintenance. We discuss the implications of these results for multicomponent models of working memory.

  4. Non-verbal communication in severe aphasia: influence of aphasia, apraxia, or semantic processing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogrefe, Katharina; Ziegler, Wolfram; Weidinger, Nicole; Goldenberg, Georg

    2012-09-01

    Patients suffering from severe aphasia have to rely on non-verbal means of communication to convey a message. However, to date it is not clear which patients are able to do so. Clinical experience indicates that some patients use non-verbal communication strategies like gesturing very efficiently whereas others fail to transmit semantic content by non-verbal means. Concerns have been expressed that limb apraxia would affect the production of communicative gestures. Research investigating if and how apraxia influences the production of communicative gestures, led to contradictory outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of limb apraxia on spontaneous gesturing. Further, linguistic and non-verbal semantic processing abilities were explored as potential factors that might influence non-verbal expression in aphasic patients. Twenty-four aphasic patients with highly limited verbal output were asked to retell short video-clips. The narrations were videotaped. Gestural communication was analyzed in two ways. In the first part of the study, we used a form-based approach. Physiological and kinetic aspects of hand movements were transcribed with a notation system for sign languages. We determined the formal diversity of the hand gestures as an indicator of potential richness of the transmitted information. In the second part of the study, comprehensibility of the patients' gestural communication was evaluated by naive raters. The raters were familiarized with the model video-clips and shown the recordings of the patients' retelling without sound. They were asked to indicate, for each narration, which story was being told and which aspects of the stories they recognized. The results indicate that non-verbal faculties are the most important prerequisites for the production of hand gestures. Whereas results on standardized aphasia testing did not correlate with any gestural indices, non-verbal semantic processing abilities predicted the formal diversity

  5. The Relationships among Physician Nonverbal Immediacy and Measures of Patient Satisfaction with Physician Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conlee, Connie J.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Examines the relationship among four dimensions of patient satisfaction with physician care and nonverbal immediacy. Finds a significant positive correlation between nonverbal immediacy and overall patient satisfaction, with the strongest correlation to the attention/respect factor. (SR)

  6. Dissociation of neural correlates of verbal and non-verbal visual working memory with different delays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Endestad Tor

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, posterior parietal cortex, and regions in the occipital cortex have been identified as neural sites for visual working memory (WM. The exact involvement of the DLPFC in verbal and non-verbal working memory processes, and how these processes depend on the time-span for retention, remains disputed. Methods We used functional MRI to explore the neural correlates of the delayed discrimination of Gabor stimuli differing in orientation. Twelve subjects were instructed to code the relative orientation either verbally or non-verbally with memory delays of short (2 s or long (8 s duration. Results Blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD 3-Tesla fMRI revealed significantly more activity for the short verbal condition compared to the short non-verbal condition in bilateral superior temporal gyrus, insula and supramarginal gyrus. Activity in the long verbal condition was greater than in the long non-verbal condition in left language-associated areas (STG and bilateral posterior parietal areas, including precuneus. Interestingly, right DLPFC and bilateral superior frontal gyrus was more active in the non-verbal long delay condition than in the long verbal condition. Conclusion The results point to a dissociation between the cortical sites involved in verbal and non-verbal WM for long and short delays. Right DLPFC seems to be engaged in non-verbal WM tasks especially for long delays. Furthermore, the results indicate that even slightly different memory maintenance intervals engage largely differing networks and that this novel finding may explain differing results in previous verbal/non-verbal WM studies.

  7. The Importance of Nonverbal Aspects of Communication in Teaching and the Pre- and Inservice Teacher Education Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinzing, Hans Gerhard

    2009-01-01

    The ability to express and decode nonverbal cues is assumed to be an essential quality in communication and teaching. To validate, generalize and expand upon earlier research on the importance of nonverbal competencies in communication and teaching, i.e., the relationship of nonverbal competencies (e.g., expressiveness/"charisma" and…

  8. Effects of Emotional Intelligence on the Impression of Irony Created by the Mismatch between Verbal and Nonverbal Cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Heike; Kreifelts, Benjamin; Nizielski, Sophia; Schütz, Astrid; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Emotional information is conveyed through verbal and nonverbal signals, with nonverbal cues often being considered the decisive factor in the judgment of others' emotional states. The aim of the present study was to examine how verbal and nonverbal cues are integrated by perceivers. More specifically, we tested whether the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information was perceived as an expression of irony. Moreover, we investigated the effects of emotional intelligence on the impression of irony. The findings revealed that the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information created the impression of irony. Furthermore, participants higher in emotional intelligence were faster at rating such stimuli as ironic expressions.

  9. Effects of Emotional Intelligence on the Impression of Irony Created by the Mismatch between Verbal and Nonverbal Cues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Heike; Kreifelts, Benjamin; Nizielski, Sophia; Schütz, Astrid; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Emotional information is conveyed through verbal and nonverbal signals, with nonverbal cues often being considered the decisive factor in the judgment of others’ emotional states. The aim of the present study was to examine how verbal and nonverbal cues are integrated by perceivers. More specifically, we tested whether the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information was perceived as an expression of irony. Moreover, we investigated the effects of emotional intelligence on the impression of irony. The findings revealed that the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information created the impression of irony. Furthermore, participants higher in emotional intelligence were faster at rating such stimuli as ironic expressions. PMID:27716831

  10. Nonverbal Communication, Music Therapy, and Autism: A Review of Literature and Case Example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverman, Michael J.

    2008-01-01

    This article presents a review of nonverbal literature relating to therapy, music, autism, and music therapy. Included is a case study of a woman with autism who was nonverbal. The case highlights and analyzes behaviors contextually. Interpretations of communication through the music therapy, musical interactions, and the rapport that developed…

  11. Nonverbal Synchrony in Social Interactions of Patients with Schizophrenia Indicates Socio-Communicative Deficits.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeno Kupper

    Full Text Available Disordered interpersonal communication can be a serious problem in schizophrenia. Recent advances in computer-based measures allow reliable and objective quantification of nonverbal behavior. Research using these novel measures has shown that objective amounts of body and head movement in patients with schizophrenia during social interactions are closely related to the symptom profiles of these patients. In addition to and above mere amounts of movement, the degree of synchrony, or imitation, between patients and normal interactants may be indicative of core deficits underlying various problems in domains related to interpersonal communication, such as symptoms, social competence, and social functioning.Nonverbal synchrony was assessed objectively using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA in 378 brief, videotaped role-play scenes involving 27 stabilized outpatients diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia.Low nonverbal synchrony was indicative of symptoms, low social competence, impaired social functioning, and low self-evaluation of competence. These relationships remained largely significant when correcting for the amounts of patients' movement. When patients showed reduced imitation of their interactants' movements, negative symptoms were likely to be prominent. Conversely, positive symptoms were more prominent in patients when their interaction partners' imitation of their movements was reduced.Nonverbal synchrony can be an objective and sensitive indicator of the severity of patients' problems. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of nonverbal synchrony may provide novel insights into specific relationships between symptoms, cognition, and core communicative problems in schizophrenia.

  12. Emotional expression in oral history narratives: comparing results of automated verbal and nonverbal analyses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Truong, Khiet Phuong; Westerhof, Gerben Johan; Lamers, S.M.A.; de Jong, Franciska M.G.; Sools, A.

    Audiovisual collections of narratives about war-traumas are rich in descriptions of personal and emotional experiences which can be expressed through verbal and nonverbal means. We complement a commonly used verbal analysis with a nonverbal one to study emotional developments in narratives. Using

  13. Emotional expression in oral history narratives: comparing results of automated verbal and nonverbal analyses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    F.M.G. de Jong (Franciska); K.P. Truong (Khiet); G.J. Westerhof (Gerben); S.M.A. Lamers (Sanne); A. Sools (Anneke)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractAudiovisual collections of narratives about war-traumas are rich in descriptions of personal and emotional experiences which can be expressed through verbal and nonverbal means. We complement a commonly used verbal analysis with a nonverbal one to study emotional developments in

  14. Non-verbal auditory cognition in patients with temporal epilepsy before and after anterior temporal lobectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurélie Bidet-Caulet

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available For patients with pharmaco-resistant temporal epilepsy, unilateral anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL - i.e. the surgical resection of the hippocampus, the amygdala, the temporal pole and the most anterior part of the temporal gyri - is an efficient treatment. There is growing evidence that anterior regions of the temporal lobe are involved in the integration and short-term memorization of object-related sound properties. However, non-verbal auditory processing in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE has raised little attention. To assess non-verbal auditory cognition in patients with temporal epilepsy both before and after unilateral ATL, we developed a set of non-verbal auditory tests, including environmental sounds. We could evaluate auditory semantic identification, acoustic and object-related short-term memory, and sound extraction from a sound mixture. The performances of 26 TLE patients before and/or after ATL were compared to those of 18 healthy subjects. Patients before and after ATL were found to present with similar deficits in pitch retention, and in identification and short-term memorisation of environmental sounds, whereas not being impaired in basic acoustic processing compared to healthy subjects. It is most likely that the deficits observed before and after ATL are related to epileptic neuropathological processes. Therefore, in patients with drug-resistant TLE, ATL seems to significantly improve seizure control without producing additional auditory deficits.

  15. Behaviour of conductivity improvers in jet fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dacre, B.; Hetherington, J.I. [Cranfield Univ., Wiltshire (United Kingdom)

    1995-05-01

    Dangerous accumulation of electrostatic charge can occur due to high speed pumping and microfiltration of fuel. This can be avoided by increasing the electrical conductivity of the fuel using conductivity improver additives. However, marked variations occur in the conductivity response of different fuels when doped to the same level with conductivity improver. This has been attributed to interactions of the conductivity improver with other fuel additives or fuel contaminants. The present work concentrates on the effects of fuel contaminants, in particular polar compounds, on the performance of the conductivity improver. Conductivity is the fuel property of prime interest. The conductivity response of model systems of the conductivity improver STADIS 450 in dodecane has been measured and the effect on this conductivity of additions of model polar contaminants sodium naphthenate, sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate, and sodium phenate have been measured. The sodium salts have been found to have a complex effect on the performance of STADIS 450, reducing the conductivity at low concentrations to a minimum value and then increasing the conductivity at high concentrations of sodium salts. This work has focused on characterising this minimum in the conductivity values and on understanding the reason for its occurrence. The effects on the minimum conductivity value of the following parameters are investigated: (a) time, (b) STADIS 450 concentration, (c) sodium salt concentration, (d) mixed sodium salts, (e) experimental method, (f) a phenol, (g) individual components of STADIS 450. The complex conductivity response of the STADIS 450 to sodium salt impurities is discussed in terms of possible inter-molecular interactions.

  16. Oncologists' non-verbal behavior and analog patients' recall of information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillen, Marij A; de Haes, Hanneke C J M; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W M; van Weert, Julia C M; Vermeulen, Daniëlle M; Smets, Ellen M A

    2016-06-01

    Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist's non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors, i.e. eye contact, body posture and smiling, on patients' recall of information and perceived friendliness of the oncologist. Moreover, the influence of patient characteristics on recall was examined, both directly or as a moderator of non-verbal communication. Material and methods Non-verbal communication of an oncologist was experimentally varied using video vignettes. In total 194 breast cancer patients/survivors and healthy women participated as 'analog patients', viewing a randomly selected video version while imagining themselves in the role of the patient. Directly after viewing, they evaluated the oncologist. From 24 to 48 hours later, participants' passive recall, i.e. recognition, and free recall of information provided by the oncologist were assessed. Results Participants' recognition was higher if the oncologist maintained more consistent eye contact (β = 0.17). More eye contact and smiling led to a perception of the oncologist as more friendly. Body posture and smiling did not significantly influence recall. Older age predicted significantly worse recognition (β = -0.28) and free recall (β = -0.34) of information. Conclusion Oncologists may be able to facilitate their patients' recall functioning through consistent eye contact. This seems particularly relevant for older patients, whose recall is significantly worse. These findings can be used in training, focused on how to maintain eye contact while managing computer tasks.

  17. A Study of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in Second Life--The ARCHI21 Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wigham, Ciara R.; Chanier, Thierry

    2013-01-01

    Three-dimensional synthetic worlds introduce possibilities for nonverbal communication in computer-mediated language learning. This paper presents an original methodological framework for the study of multimodal communication in such worlds. It offers a classification of verbal and nonverbal communication acts in the synthetic world "Second…

  18. Dominant, open nonverbal displays are attractive at zero-acquaintance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vacharkulksemsuk, Tanya; Reit, Emily; Khambatta, Poruz; Eastwick, Paul W; Finkel, Eli J; Carney, Dana R

    2016-04-12

    Across two field studies of romantic attraction, we demonstrate that postural expansiveness makes humans more romantically appealing. In a field study (n = 144 speed-dates), we coded nonverbal behaviors associated with liking, love, and dominance. Postural expansiveness-expanding the body in physical space-was most predictive of attraction, with each one-unit increase in coded behavior from the video recordings nearly doubling a person's odds of getting a "yes" response from one's speed-dating partner. In a subsequent field experiment (n = 3,000), we tested the causality of postural expansion (vs. contraction) on attraction using a popular Global Positioning System-based online-dating application. Mate-seekers rapidly flipped through photographs of potential sexual/date partners, selecting those they desired to meet for a date. Mate-seekers were significantly more likely to select partners displaying an expansive (vs. contractive) nonverbal posture. Mediation analyses demonstrate one plausible mechanism through which expansiveness is appealing: Expansiveness makes the dating candidate appear more dominant. In a dating world in which success sometimes is determined by a split-second decision rendered after a brief interaction or exposure to a static photograph, single persons have very little time to make a good impression. Our research suggests that a nonverbal dominance display increases a person's chances of being selected as a potential mate.

  19. Non-verbal communication between primary care physicians and older patients: how does race matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanikova, Irena; Zhang, Qian; Wieland, Darryl; Eleazer, G Paul; Stewart, Thomas

    2012-05-01

    Non-verbal communication is an important aspect of the diagnostic and therapeutic process, especially with older patients. It is unknown how non-verbal communication varies with physician and patient race. To examine the joint influence of physician race and patient race on non-verbal communication displayed by primary care physicians during medical interviews with patients 65 years or older. Video-recordings of visits of 209 patients 65 years old or older to 30 primary care physicians at three clinics located in the Midwest and Southwest. Duration of physicians' open body position, eye contact, smile, and non-task touch, coded using an adaption of the Nonverbal Communication in Doctor-Elderly Patient Transactions form. African American physicians with African American patients used more open body position, smile, and touch, compared to the average across other dyads (adjusted mean difference for open body position = 16.55, p non-verbal communication with older patients. Its influence is best understood when physician race and patient race are considered jointly.

  20. Nonverbal Behavior of Young Abused and Neglected Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hecht, Michael; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Investigated whether abused and neglected children differ from other children in their nonverbal attachment and communicative behavior. Found that in comparison (1) abused children avoided contact and interaction and (2) abused females exhibited more avoidance than males. (PD)

  1. Non-verbal numerical cognition: from reals to integers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallistel; Gelman

    2000-02-01

    Data on numerical processing by verbal (human) and non-verbal (animal and human) subjects are integrated by the hypothesis that a non-verbal counting process represents discrete (countable) quantities by means of magnitudes with scalar variability. These appear to be identical to the magnitudes that represent continuous (uncountable) quantities such as duration. The magnitudes representing countable quantity are generated by a discrete incrementing process, which defines next magnitudes and yields a discrete ordering. In the case of continuous quantities, the continuous accumulation process does not define next magnitudes, so the ordering is also continuous ('dense'). The magnitudes representing both countable and uncountable quantity are arithmetically combined in, for example, the computation of the income to be expected from a foraging patch. Thus, on the hypothesis presented here, the primitive machinery for arithmetic processing works with real numbers (magnitudes).

  2. Who Is Controlling the Interaction? The Effect of Nonverbal Mirroring on Teacher-Student Rapport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang-yuan, Zhou; Wei, Guo

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the effect of nonverbal mirroring on teacher-student rapport in one-on-one interactions. Nonverbal mirroring refers to the unconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of one's interaction partner in social interactions. In a within-subjects paradigm, students had four…

  3. Longitudinal genetic study of verbal and nonverbal IQ from early childhood to young adulthood.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoekstra, R.A.; Bartels, M.; Boomsma, D.I.

    2007-01-01

    In a longitudinal genetic study we explored which factors underlie stability in verbal and nonverbal abilities, and the extent to which the association between these abilities becomes stronger as children grow older. Measures of verbal and nonverbal IQ were collected in Dutch twin pairs at age 5, 7,

  4. [Non-verbal communication of patients submitted to heart surgery: from awaking after anesthesia to extubation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werlang, Sueli da Cruz; Azzolin, Karina; Moraes, Maria Antonieta; de Souza, Emiliane Nogueira

    2008-12-01

    Preoperative orientation is an essential tool for patient's communication after surgery. This study had the objective of evaluating non-verbal communication of patients submitted to cardiac surgery from the time of awaking from anesthesia until extubation, after having received preoperative orientation by nurses. A quantitative cross-sectional study was developed in a reference hospital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from March to July 2006. Data were collected in the pre and post operative periods. A questionnaire to evaluate non-verbal communication on awaking from sedation was applied to a sample of 100 patients. Statistical analysis included Student, Wilcoxon, and Mann Whittney tests. Most of the patients responded satisfactorily to non-verbal communication strategies as instructed on the preoperative orientation. Thus, non-verbal communication based on preoperative orientation was helpful during the awaking period.

  5. Automated Video Analysis of Non-verbal Communication in a Medical Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Yuval; Czerniak, Efrat; Karnieli-Miller, Orit; Mayo, Avraham E; Ziv, Amitai; Biegon, Anat; Citron, Atay; Alon, Uri

    2016-01-01

    Non-verbal communication plays a significant role in establishing good rapport between physicians and patients and may influence aspects of patient health outcomes. It is therefore important to analyze non-verbal communication in medical settings. Current approaches to measure non-verbal interactions in medicine employ coding by human raters. Such tools are labor intensive and hence limit the scale of possible studies. Here, we present an automated video analysis tool for non-verbal interactions in a medical setting. We test the tool using videos of subjects that interact with an actor portraying a doctor. The actor interviews the subjects performing one of two scripted scenarios of interviewing the subjects: in one scenario the actor showed minimal engagement with the subject. The second scenario included active listening by the doctor and attentiveness to the subject. We analyze the cross correlation in total kinetic energy of the two people in the dyad, and also characterize the frequency spectrum of their motion. We find large differences in interpersonal motion synchrony and entrainment between the two performance scenarios. The active listening scenario shows more synchrony and more symmetric followership than the other scenario. Moreover, the active listening scenario shows more high-frequency motion termed jitter that has been recently suggested to be a marker of followership. The present approach may be useful for analyzing physician-patient interactions in terms of synchrony and dominance in a range of medical settings.

  6. Emotion Recognition in Adolescents with Down Syndrome: A Nonverbal Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Régis Pochon

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Several studies have reported that persons with Down syndrome (DS have difficulties recognizing emotions; however, there is insufficient research to prove that a deficit of emotional knowledge exists in DS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the recognition of emotional facial expressions without making use of emotional vocabulary, given the language problems known to be associated with this syndrome. The ability to recognize six emotions was assessed in 24 adolescents with DS. Their performance was compared to that of 24 typically developing children with the same nonverbal-developmental age, as assessed by Raven’s Progressive Matrices. Analysis of the results revealed no global difference; only marginal differences in the recognition of different emotions appeared. Study of the developmental trajectories revealed a developmental difference: the nonverbal reasoning level assessed by Raven’s matrices did not predict success on the experimental tasks in the DS group, contrary to the typically developing group. These results do not corroborate the hypothesis that there is an emotional knowledge deficit in DS and emphasize the importance of using dynamic, strictly nonverbal tasks in populations with language disorders.

  7. Introverts' and Extraverts' Responses to Nonverbal Attending Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genthner, Robert W.; Moughan, James

    1977-01-01

    The different responses of introverts and extraverts to two types of helper nonverbal attending were examined. Subjects were 26 introverts and 26 extraverts, as defined by Eysenck and Eysenck's questionnaire. Introverts rated the listener higher than did extraverts, independent of his posture. (Author)

  8. Audience perceptions of candidates' appropriateness as a function of nonverbal behaviors displayed during televised political debates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seiter, John S; Weger, Harry

    2005-04-01

    Compared to televised debates using a single-screen format, such debates using a split screen presenting both debaters simultaneously show viewers the nonverbal reactions of each debater's opponent. The authors examined how appropriate or inappropriate such nonverbal behaviors are perceived to be. Students watched one of four versions of a televised debate. One version used a single-screen format, showing only the speaker, whereas the other three versions used a split-screen format in which the speaker's oppodent displayed constant, occasional, or no nonverbal disagreement with the speaker. Students then rated the debaters' appropriateness. Analysis indicated that the opponent was perceived to be less appropriate when he displayed any background disagreement compared to when he did not. The students perceived the speaker as most appropriate when his opponent displayed constant nonverbal disagreement.

  9. Language, Power, Multilingual and Non-Verbal Multicultural Communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marácz, L.; Zhuravleva, E.A.

    2014-01-01

    Due to developments in internal migration and mobility there is a proliferation of linguistic diversity, multilingual and non-verbal multicultural communication. At the same time the recognition of the use of one’s first language receives more and more support in international political, legal and

  10. Parents and Physiotherapists Recognition of Non-Verbal Communication of Pain in Individuals with Cerebral Palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riquelme, Inmaculada; Pades Jiménez, Antonia; Montoya, Pedro

    2017-08-29

    Pain assessment is difficult in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). This is of particular relevance in children with communication difficulties, when non-verbal pain behaviors could be essential for appropriate pain recognition. Parents are considered good proxies in the recognition of pain in their children; however, health professionals also need a good understanding of their patients' pain experience. This study aims at analyzing the agreement between parents' and physiotherapists' assessments of verbal and non-verbal pain behaviors in individuals with CP. A written survey about pain characteristics and non-verbal pain expression of 96 persons with CP (45 classified as communicative, and 51 as non-communicative individuals) was performed. Parents and physiotherapists displayed a high agreement in their estimations of the presence of chronic pain, healthcare seeking, pain intensity and pain interference, as well as in non-verbal pain behaviors. Physiotherapists and parents can recognize pain behaviors in individuals with CP regardless of communication disabilities.

  11. Detection of Nonverbal Synchronization through Phase Difference in Human Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Jinhwan; Ogawa, Ken-ichiro; Ono, Eisuke; Miyake, Yoshihiro

    2015-01-01

    Nonverbal communication is an important factor in human communication, and body movement synchronization in particular is an important part of nonverbal communication. Some researchers have analyzed body movement synchronization by focusing on changes in the amplitude of body movements. However, the definition of "body movement synchronization" is still unclear. From a theoretical viewpoint, phase difference is the most important factor in synchronization analysis. Therefore, there is a need to measure the synchronization of body movements using phase difference. The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative definition of the phase difference distribution for detecting body movement synchronization in human communication. The phase difference distribution was characterized using four statistical measurements: density, mean phase difference, standard deviation (SD) and kurtosis. To confirm the effectiveness of our definition, we applied it to human communication in which the roles of speaker and listener were defined. Specifically, we examined the difference in the phase difference distribution between two different communication situations: face-to-face communication with visual interaction and remote communication with unidirectional visual perception. Participant pairs performed a task supposing lecture in the face-to-face communication condition and in the remote communication condition via television. Throughout the lecture task, we extracted a set of phase differences from the time-series data of the acceleration norm of head nodding motions between two participants. Statistical analyses of the phase difference distribution revealed the characteristics of head nodding synchronization. Although the mean phase differences in synchronized head nods did not differ significantly between the conditions, there were significant differences in the densities, the SDs and the kurtoses of the phase difference distributions of synchronized head nods. These

  12. Detection of Nonverbal Synchronization through Phase Difference in Human Communication.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhwan Kwon

    Full Text Available Nonverbal communication is an important factor in human communication, and body movement synchronization in particular is an important part of nonverbal communication. Some researchers have analyzed body movement synchronization by focusing on changes in the amplitude of body movements. However, the definition of "body movement synchronization" is still unclear. From a theoretical viewpoint, phase difference is the most important factor in synchronization analysis. Therefore, there is a need to measure the synchronization of body movements using phase difference. The purpose of this study was to provide a quantitative definition of the phase difference distribution for detecting body movement synchronization in human communication. The phase difference distribution was characterized using four statistical measurements: density, mean phase difference, standard deviation (SD and kurtosis. To confirm the effectiveness of our definition, we applied it to human communication in which the roles of speaker and listener were defined. Specifically, we examined the difference in the phase difference distribution between two different communication situations: face-to-face communication with visual interaction and remote communication with unidirectional visual perception. Participant pairs performed a task supposing lecture in the face-to-face communication condition and in the remote communication condition via television. Throughout the lecture task, we extracted a set of phase differences from the time-series data of the acceleration norm of head nodding motions between two participants. Statistical analyses of the phase difference distribution revealed the characteristics of head nodding synchronization. Although the mean phase differences in synchronized head nods did not differ significantly between the conditions, there were significant differences in the densities, the SDs and the kurtoses of the phase difference distributions of synchronized head

  13. Virtual Chironomia: A Multimodal Study of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in a Virtual World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhulsdonck, Gustav

    2010-01-01

    This mixed methods study examined the various aspects of multimodal use of non-verbal communication in virtual worlds during dyadic negotiations. Quantitative analysis uncovered a treatment effect whereby people with more rhetorical certainty used more neutral non-verbal communication; whereas people that were rhetorically less certain used more…

  14. Non-verbal behaviour in nurse-elderly patient communication.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Caris-Verhallen, W.M.C.M.; Kerkstra, A.; Bensing, J.M.

    1999-01-01

    This study explores the occurence of non-verbal communication in nurse-elderly patient interaction in two different care settings: home nursing and a home for the elderly. In a sample of 181 nursing encounters involving 47 nurses a study was made of videotaped nurse-patient communication. Six

  15. Non-verbal communication of compassion: measuring psychophysiologic effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemper, Kathi J; Shaltout, Hossam A

    2011-12-20

    Calm, compassionate clinicians comfort others. To evaluate the direct psychophysiologic benefits of non-verbal communication of compassion (NVCC), it is important to minimize the effect of subjects' expectation. This preliminary study was designed to a) test the feasibility of two strategies for maintaining subject blinding to non-verbal communication of compassion (NVCC), and b) determine whether blinded subjects would experience psychophysiologic effects from NVCC. Subjects were healthy volunteers who were told the study was evaluating the effect of time and touch on the autonomic nervous system. The practitioner had more than 10 years' experience with loving-kindness meditation (LKM), a form of NVCC. Subjects completed 10-point visual analog scales (VAS) for stress, relaxation, and peacefulness before and after LKM. To assess physiologic effects, practitioners and subjects wore cardiorespiratory monitors to assess respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) throughout the 4 10-minute study periods: Baseline (both practitioner and subjects read neutral material); non-tactile-LKM (subjects read while the practitioner practiced LKM while pretending to read); tactile-LKM (subjects rested while the practitioner practiced LKM while lightly touching the subject on arms, shoulders, hands, feet, and legs); Post-Intervention Rest (subjects rested; the practitioner read). To assess blinding, subjects were asked after the interventions what the practitioner was doing during each period (reading, touch, or something else). Subjects' mean age was 43.6 years; all were women. Blinding was maintained and the practitioner was able to maintain meditation for both tactile and non-tactile LKM interventions as reflected in significantly reduced RR. Despite blinding, subjects' VAS scores improved from baseline to post-intervention for stress (5.5 vs. 2.2), relaxation (3.8 vs. 8.8) and peacefulness (3.8 vs. 9.0, P non-tactile LKM. It is possible to test the

  16. Directed forgetting of visual symbols: evidence for nonverbal selective rehearsal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hourihan, Kathleen L; Ozubko, Jason D; MacLeod, Colin M

    2009-12-01

    Is selective rehearsal possible for nonverbal information? Two experiments addressed this question using the item method directed forgetting paradigm, where the advantage of remember items over forget items is ascribed to selective rehearsal favoring the remember items. In both experiments, difficult-to-name abstract symbols were presented for study, followed by a recognition test. Directed forgetting effects were evident for these symbols, regardless of whether they were or were not spontaneously named. Critically, a directed forgetting effect was observed for unnamed symbols even when the symbols were studied under verbal suppression to prevent verbal rehearsal. This pattern indicates that a form of nonverbal rehearsal can be used strategically (i.e., selectively) to enhance memory, even when verbal rehearsal is not possible.

  17. The Effects of Verbal and Non-Verbal Features on the Reception of DRTV Commercials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smiljana Komar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Analyses of consumer response are important for successful advertising as they help advertisers to find new, original and successful ways of persuasion. Successful advertisements have to boost the product’s benefits but they also have to appeal to consumers’ emotions. In TV advertisements, this is done by means of verbal and non-verbal strategies. The paper presents the results of an empirical investigation whose purpose was to examine the viewers’ emotional responses to a DRTV commercial induced by different verbal and non-verbal features, the amount of credibility and persuasiveness of the commercial and its general acceptability. Our findings indicate that (1 an overload of the same verbal and non-verbal information decreases persuasion; and (2 highly marked prosodic delivery is either exaggerated or funny, while the speaker is perceived as annoying.

  18. Linking social cognition with social interaction: Non-verbal expressivity, social competence and "mentalising" in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lehmkämper Caroline

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research has shown that patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD can be distinguished from controls on the basis of their non-verbal expression. For example, patients with SSD use facial expressions less than normals to invite and sustain social interaction. Here, we sought to examine whether non-verbal expressivity in patients corresponds with their impoverished social competence and neurocognition. Method Fifty patients with SSD were videotaped during interviews. Non-verbal expressivity was evaluated using the Ethological Coding System for Interviews (ECSI. Social competence was measured using the Social Behaviour Scale and psychopathology was rated using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale. Neurocognitive variables included measures of IQ, executive functioning, and two mentalising tasks, which tapped into the ability to appreciate mental states of story characters. Results Non-verbal expressivity was reduced in patients relative to controls. Lack of "prosocial" nonverbal signals was associated with poor social competence and, partially, with impaired understanding of others' minds, but not with non-social cognition or medication. Conclusion This is the first study to link deficits in non-verbal expressivity to levels of social skills and awareness of others' thoughts and intentions in patients with SSD.

  19. Neurobiological mechanisms for nonverbal IQ tests: implications for instruction of nonverbal children with autism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrey Vyshedskiy

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally, the neurological correlates of IQ test questions are characterized qualitatively in terms of ‘control of attention’ and ‘working memory.’ In this report we attempt to characterize each IQ test question quantitatively by two factors: a the number of disparate objects that have to be imagined in concert in order to solve the problem and, b the amount of recruited posterior cortex territory. With such a classification, an IQ test can be understood on a neuronal level and a subject’s IQ score could be interpreted in terms of specific neurological mechanisms available to the subject. Here we present the results of an analysis of the three most popular nonverbal IQ tests: Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-4, Standard Raven's Progressive Matrices, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V. Our analysis shows that approximately half of all questions (52±0.02% are limited to mental computations involving only a single object; these easier questions are found towards the beginning of each test. More difficult questions located towards the end of each test rely on mental synthesis of several disparate objects and the number of objects involved in computations gradually increases with question difficulty. These more challenging questions require the organization of wider posterior cortex networks by the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC. This conclusion is in line with neuroimaging studies showing that activation level of the lateral PFC and the posterior cortex positively correlates with task difficulty. This analysis has direct implications for brain pathophysiology and, specifically, for therapeutic interventions for children with language impairment, most notably for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD and other developmental disorders.

  20. Videotutoring, Non-Verbal Communication and Initial Teacher Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichol, Jon; Watson, Kate

    2000-01-01

    Describes the use of video tutoring for distance education within the context of a post-graduate teacher training course at the University of Exeter. Analysis of the tapes used a protocol based on non-verbal communication research, and findings suggest that the interaction of participants was significantly different from face-to-face…

  1. The relationship between nonverbal cognitive functions and hearing loss

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zekveld, A.A.; Deijen, J.B.; Goverts, S.T.; Kramer, S.E.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between hearing loss and memory and attention when nonverbal, visually presented cognitive tests are used. Method: Hearing loss (pure-tone audiometry) and IQ were measured in 30 participants with mild to severe hearing loss. Participants performed

  2. Multi-level prediction of short-term outcome of depression : non-verbal interpersonal processes, cognitions and personality traits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geerts, E; Bouhuys, N

    1998-01-01

    It was hypothesized that personality factors determine the short-term outcome of depression, and that they may do this via non-verbal interpersonal interactions and via cognitive interpretations of non-verbal behaviour. Twenty-six hospitalized depressed patients entered the study. Personality

  3. Housing mobility and cognitive development: Change in verbal and nonverbal abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Patrick J; McGrath, Lauren M; Henry, David B; Schoeny, Michael; Chavira, Dina; Taylor, Jeremy J; Day, Orin

    2015-10-01

    This study investigates the influence of housing instability on verbal and nonverbal cognitive development among at-risk children and adolescents involved in the child welfare system. Frequent residential changes threaten child mental health, especially among low-income families. Little is known regarding disruptions to cognitive growth, specifically the impact on verbal and nonverbal abilities. The study tests whether developmental timing of housing mobility affects cognitive development beyond individual and family risks. A nationally representative study of families (n=2,442) susceptible to housing and family instability tracked children and adolescents aged 4-14 years (M=8.95 years) over 36 months following investigation by the child welfare system. Youth completed standardized cognitive assessments while caregivers reported on behavior problems and family risk at three time points. Latent growth models examined change in cognitive abilities over time. Housing mobility in the 12 months prior to baseline predicts lower verbal cognitive abilities that improve marginally. Similar effects emerge for all age groups; however, frequent moves in infancy diminish the influence of subsequent housing mobility on verbal tasks. Housing instability threatened cognitive development beyond child maltreatment, family changes, poverty, and other risks. Findings inform emerging research on environmental influences on neurocognitive development, as well as identify targets for early intervention. Systematic assessment of family housing problems, including through the child welfare system, provides opportunities for coordinated responses to prevent instability and cognitive threats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Anatomical Correlates of Non-Verbal Perception in Dementia Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pin-Hsuan Lin

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Patients with dementia who have dissociations in verbal and non-verbal sound processing may offer insights into the anatomic basis for highly related auditory modes. Methods: To determine the neuronal networks on non-verbal perception, 16 patients with Alzheimer’s dementia (AD, 15 with behavior variant fronto-temporal dementia (bv-FTD, 14 with semantic dementia (SD were evaluated and compared with 15 age-matched controls. Neuropsychological and auditory perceptive tasks were included to test the ability to compare pitch changes, scale-violated melody and for naming and associating with environmental sound. The brain 3D T1 images were acquired and voxel-based morphometry (VBM was used to compare and correlated the volumetric measures with task scores. Results: The SD group scored the lowest among 3 groups in pitch or scale-violated melody tasks. In the environmental sound test, the SD group also showed impairment in naming and also in associating sound with pictures. The AD and bv-FTD groups, compared with the controls, showed no differences in all tests. VBM with task score correlation showed that atrophy in the right supra-marginal and superior temporal gyri was strongly related to deficits in detecting violated scales, while atrophy in the bilateral anterior temporal poles and left medial temporal structures was related to deficits in environmental sound recognition. Conclusions: Auditory perception of pitch, scale-violated melody or environmental sound reflects anatomical degeneration in dementia patients and the processing of non-verbal sounds is mediated by distinct neural circuits.

  5. An MEG Investigation of Neural Biomarkers and Language in Nonverbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-01

    1.Lord C, Risi S, Pickles A. Trajectory of language development in autistic spectrum disorders . In: Rice M, Warren S, eds. Developmental Language...Nonverbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Kristina McFadden CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: University of...SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER An MEG Investigation of Neural Biomarkers and Language in Nonverbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders 5b

  6. Computerized training of non-verbal reasoning and working memory in children with intellectual disability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stina eSöderqvist

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Children with intellectual disabilities show deficits in both reasoning ability and working memory (WM that impact everyday functioning and academic achievement. In this study we investigated the feasibility of cognitive training for improving WM and non-verbal reasoning (NVR ability in children with intellectual disability. Participants were randomized to a 5-week adaptive training program (intervention group or non-adaptive version of the program (active control group. Cognitive assessments were conducted prior to and directly after training, and one year later to examine effects of the training. Improvements during training varied largely and amount of progress during training predicted transfer to WM and comprehension of instructions, with higher training progress being associated with greater transfer effects. The strongest predictors for training progress were found to be gender, co-morbidity and baseline capacity on verbal WM. In particular, females without an additional diagnosis and with higher baseline performance showed greater progress. No significant effects of training were observed at the one-year follow-up, suggesting that training should be more intense or repeated in order for effects to persist in children with intellectual disabilities. A major finding of this study is that cognitive training is feasible in children with intellectual disabilities and can help improve their cognitive capacities. However, a minimum cognitive capacity or training ability seems necessary for the training to be beneficial, with some individuals showing little improvement in performance. Future studies of cognitive training should take into consideration how inter-individual differences in training progress influence transfer effects and further investigate how baseline capacities predict training outcome.

  7. Counselor Nonverbal Self-Disclosure and Fear of Intimacy during Employment Counseling: An Aptitude-Treatment Interaction Illustration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrein, Cindy; Bernaud, Jean-Luc

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of nonverbal self-disclosure within the dynamic of aptitude-treatment interaction. Participants (N = 94) watched a video of a career counseling session aimed at helping the jobseeker to find employment. The video was then edited to display 3 varying degrees of nonverbal self-disclosure. In conjunction with the…

  8. Shall we use non-verbal fluency in schizophrenia? A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinaldi, Romina; Trappeniers, Julie; Lefebvre, Laurent

    2014-05-30

    Over the last few years, numerous studies have attempted to explain fluency impairments in people with schizophrenia, leading to heterogeneous results. This could notably be due to the fact that fluency is often used in its verbal form where semantic dimensions are implied. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of fluency deficits, a non-verbal fluency task - the Five-Point Test (5PT) - was proposed to 24 patients with schizophrenia and to 24 healthy subjects categorized in terms of age, gender and schooling. The 5PT involves producing as many abstract figures as possible within 1min by connecting points with straight lines. All subjects also completed the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) while those with schizophrenia were further assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results show that the 5PT evaluation differentiates patients from healthy subjects with regard to the number of figures produced. Patients׳ results also suggest that the number of figures produced is linked to the "overall executive functioning" and to some inhibition components. Although this study is a first step in the non-verbal efficiency research field, we believe that experimental psychopathology could benefit from the investigations on non-verbal fluency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Patterns of non-verbal social interactions within intensive mathematics intervention contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Jonathan Norris; Harkness, Shelly Sheats

    2016-06-01

    This study examined the non-verbal patterns of interaction within an intensive mathematics intervention context. Specifically, the authors draw on social constructivist worldview to examine a teacher's use of gesture in this setting. The teacher conducted a series of longitudinal teaching experiments with a small number of young, school-age children in the context of early arithmetic development. From these experiments, the authors gathered extensive video records of teaching practice and, from an inductive analysis of these records, identified three distinct patterns of teacher gesture: behavior eliciting, behavior suggesting, and behavior replicating. Awareness of their potential to influence students via gesture may prompt teachers to more closely attend to their own interactions with mathematical tools and take these teacher interactions into consideration when forming interpretations of students' cognition.

  10. Nonverbal auditory working memory: Can music indicate the capacity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Eunju; Ryu, Hokyoung

    2016-06-01

    Different working memory (WM) mechanisms that underlie words, tones, and timbres have been proposed in previous studies. In this regard, the present study developed a WM test with nonverbal sounds and compared it to the conventional verbal WM test. A total of twenty-five, non-music major, right-handed college students were presented with four different types of sounds (words, syllables, pitches, timbres) that varied from two to eight digits in length. Both accuracy and oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) were measured. The results showed significant effects of number of targets on accuracy and sound type on oxyHb. A further analysis showed prefrontal asymmetry with pitch being processed by the right hemisphere (RH) and timbre by the left hemisphere (LH). These findings suggest a potential for employing musical sounds (i.e., pitch and timbre) as a complementary stimuli for conventional nonverbal WM tests, which can additionally examine its asymmetrical roles in the prefrontal regions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Relationships of Big Five personality traits and nonverbal intelligence at high school age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Voronina Irina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of study on the relationship of personality traits and intelligence in Russian high school students. The study focused on Big Five personality traits - Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness - and the structure of their relationships with nonverbal intelligence, as measured by the test “Standard Progressive Matrices”. Significant correlations were only found between nonverbal intelligence and Openness (r = 0.26, p < 0.05. The results are interpreted in the context of investment theory, which assumes that personality traits can promote the formation of individual differences in intelligence.

  12. Assessment of Nonverbal and Verbal Apraxia in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monia Presotto

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To assess the presence of nonverbal and verbal apraxia in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD and analyze the correlation between these conditions and patient age, education, duration of disease, and PD stage, as well as evaluate the correlation between the two types of apraxia and the frequency and types of verbal apraxic errors made by patients in the sample. Method. This was an observational prevalence study. The sample comprised 45 patients with PD seen at the Movement Disorders Clinic of the Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Patients were evaluated using the Speech Apraxia Assessment Protocol and PD stages were classified according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale. Results. The rate of nonverbal apraxia and verbal apraxia in the present sample was 24.4%. Verbal apraxia was significantly correlated with education (p≤0.05. The most frequent types of verbal apraxic errors were omissions (70.8%. The analysis of manner and place of articulation showed that most errors occurred during the production of trill (57.7% and dentoalveolar (92% phonemes, consecutively. Conclusion. Patients with PD presented nonverbal and verbal apraxia and made several verbal apraxic errors. Verbal apraxia was correlated with education levels.

  13. Nonverbal channel use in communication of emotion: how may depend on why.

    Science.gov (United States)

    App, Betsy; McIntosh, Daniel N; Reed, Catherine L; Hertenstein, Matthew J

    2011-06-01

    This study investigated the hypothesis that different emotions are most effectively conveyed through specific, nonverbal channels of communication: body, face, and touch. Experiment 1 assessed the production of emotion displays. Participants generated nonverbal displays of 11 emotions, with and without channel restrictions. For both actual production and stated preferences, participants favored the body for embarrassment, guilt, pride, and shame; the face for anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness; and touch for love and sympathy. When restricted to a single channel, participants were most confident about their communication when production was limited to the emotion's preferred channel. Experiment 2 examined the reception or identification of emotion displays. Participants viewed videos of emotions communicated in unrestricted and restricted conditions and identified the communicated emotions. Emotion identification in restricted conditions was most accurate when participants viewed emotions displayed via the emotion's preferred channel. This study provides converging evidence that some emotions are communicated predominantly through different nonverbal channels. Further analysis of these channel-emotion correspondences suggests that the social function of an emotion predicts its primary channel: The body channel promotes social-status emotions, the face channel supports survival emotions, and touch supports intimate emotions.

  14. THE BARRIERS IN THE NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN TEACHER - STUDENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norka Arellano

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available From the research “Communication in the Conflict Prevention in High Schools and Professional Educational Institutions”; the objective worked in this article was: To identify the existing barriers in the nonverbal communication between teachers and students of the educative institutions which are the object of study. Research of descriptive type, based on the theories of: Bounds and Woods, Ghio and Hechim, Gordon and Garagorri, Gibson among others. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, emphasizing the existence of nonverbal communicational barriers, which interfere with an effective communication between teachers and students, becoming necessary the development of a training program for high school headmasters and teachers, in communication and to impel educative projects that form for the coexistence, the assertive communication, the participation, solidarity and the commitment, creating bases for a culture of pace.

  15. The Bursts and Lulls of Multimodal Interaction: Temporal Distributions of Behavior Reveal Differences Between Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abney, Drew H; Dale, Rick; Louwerse, Max M; Kello, Christopher T

    2018-04-06

    Recent studies of naturalistic face-to-face communication have demonstrated coordination patterns such as the temporal matching of verbal and non-verbal behavior, which provides evidence for the proposal that verbal and non-verbal communicative control derives from one system. In this study, we argue that the observed relationship between verbal and non-verbal behaviors depends on the level of analysis. In a reanalysis of a corpus of naturalistic multimodal communication (Louwerse, Dale, Bard, & Jeuniaux, ), we focus on measuring the temporal patterns of specific communicative behaviors in terms of their burstiness. We examined burstiness estimates across different roles of the speaker and different communicative modalities. We observed more burstiness for verbal versus non-verbal channels, and for more versus less informative language subchannels. Using this new method for analyzing temporal patterns in communicative behaviors, we show that there is a complex relationship between verbal and non-verbal channels. We propose a "temporal heterogeneity" hypothesis to explain how the language system adapts to the demands of dialog. Copyright © 2018 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  16. Soil hydraulic properties near saturation, an improved conductivity model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Børgesen, Christen Duus; Jacobsen, Ole Hørbye; Hansen, Søren

    2006-01-01

    of commonly used hydraulic conductivity models and give suggestions for improved models. Water retention and near saturated and saturated hydraulic conductivity were measured for a variety of 81 top and subsoils. The hydraulic conductivity models by van Genuchten [van Genuchten, 1980. A closed-form equation...... for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 892–898.] (vGM) and Brooks and Corey, modified by Jarvis [Jarvis, 1991. MACRO—A Model of Water Movement and Solute Transport in Macroporous Soils. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Soil Sciences....... Optimising a matching factor (k0) improved the fit considerably whereas optimising the l-parameter in the vGM model improved the fit only slightly. The vGM was improved with an empirical scaling function to account for the rapid increase in conductivity near saturation. Using the improved models...

  17. Nonverbal Learning Disability Explained: The Link to Shunted Hydrocephalus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rissman, Barbara

    2011-01-01

    A nonverbal learning disability is believed to be caused by damage, disorder or destruction of neuronal white matter in the brain's right hemisphere and may be seen in persons experiencing a wide range of neurological diseases such as hydrocephalus and other types of brain injury (Harnadek & Rourke 1994). This article probes the relationship…

  18. Training Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Interview Skills to Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olszewski, Abbie; Panorska, Anna; Gillam, Sandra Laing

    2017-01-01

    Adolescents' verbal and nonverbal communication skills were compared before and after training in a workforce readiness training program, Language for Scholars (LFS), and a study skills program, Ideal Student Workshop (ISW). A cross-over design was used, ensuring that 44 adolescents received both programs and acted as their own control. The LFS…

  19. Young Children's Understanding of Markedness in Non-Verbal Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liebal, Kristin; Carpenter, Malinda; Tomasello, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Speakers often anticipate how recipients will interpret their utterances. If they wish some other, less obvious interpretation, they may "mark" their utterance (e.g. with special intonations or facial expressions). We investigated whether two- and three-year-olds recognize when adults mark a non-verbal communicative act--in this case a pointing…

  20. Empirical Implications of Matching Children with Specific Language Impairment to Children with Typical Development on Nonverbal IQ

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earle, F. Sayako; Gallinat, Erica L.; Grela, Bernard G.; Lehto, Alexa; Spaulding, Tammie J.

    2017-01-01

    This study determined the effect of matching children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their peers with typical development (TD) for nonverbal IQ on the IQ test scores of the resultant groups. Studies published between January 2000 and May 2012 reporting standard nonverbal IQ scores for SLI and age-matched TD controls were categorized…

  1. Verbal and non-verbal behaviour and patient perception of communication in primary care: an observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Paul; White, Peter; Kelly, Joanne; Everitt, Hazel; Gashi, Shkelzen; Bikker, Annemieke; Mercer, Stewart

    2015-06-01

    Few studies have assessed the importance of a broad range of verbal and non-verbal consultation behaviours. To explore the relationship of observer ratings of behaviours of videotaped consultations with patients' perceptions. Observational study in general practices close to Southampton, Southern England. Verbal and non-verbal behaviour was rated by independent observers blind to outcome. Patients competed the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS; primary outcome) and questionnaires addressing other communication domains. In total, 275/360 consultations from 25 GPs had useable videotapes. Higher MISS scores were associated with slight forward lean (an 0.02 increase for each degree of lean, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.002 to 0.03), the number of gestures (0.08, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.15), 'back-channelling' (for example, saying 'mmm') (0.11, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.2), and social talk (0.29, 95% CI = 0.4 to 0.54). Starting the consultation with professional coolness ('aloof') was helpful and optimism unhelpful. Finishing with non-verbal 'cut-offs' (for example, looking away), being professionally cool ('aloof'), or patronising, ('infantilising') resulted in poorer ratings. Physical contact was also important, but not traditional verbal communication. These exploratory results require confirmation, but suggest that patients may be responding to several non-verbal behaviours and non-specific verbal behaviours, such as social talk and back-channelling, more than traditional verbal behaviours. A changing consultation dynamic may also help, from professional 'coolness' at the beginning of the consultation to becoming warmer and avoiding non-verbal cut-offs at the end. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

  2. Short-Term Memory Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment: The Effect of Verbal and Nonverbal Task Content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botting, Nicola; Psarou, Popi; Caplin, Tamara; Nevin, Laura

    2013-01-01

    Background and Design: In recent years, evidence has emerged that suggests specific language impairment (SLI) does not exclusively affect linguistic skill. Studies have revealed memory difficulties, including those measured using nonverbal tasks. However, there has been relatively little research into the nature of the verbal/nonverbal boundaries…

  3. "Preparatory power posing affects nonverbal presence and job interview performance": Correction to Cuddy et al. (2015).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-05-01

    Reports an error in "Preparatory power posing affects nonverbal presence and job interview performance" by Amy J. C. Cuddy, Caroline A. Wilmuth, Andy J. Yap and Dana R. Carney ( Journal of Applied Psychology , 2015[Jul], Vol 100[4], 1286-1295). In the article, the degrees of freedom associated with the three F-tests noted on pages 1289 and 1290 should be 1 and 59 (and not 1 and 60, as previously reported). Also, on p. 1290, in the first sentence under the "Mediation" heading, it should be noted that the dependent variables were regressed onto the mediators, and not the other way around. Finally, in Figures 2 and 3 (on p.interview-preparatory power posing-would enhance performance during the interview. Participants adopted high-power (i.e., expansive, open) poses or low-power (i.e., contractive, closed) poses, and then prepared and delivered a speech to 2 evaluators as part of a mock job interview. All interview speeches were videotaped and coded for overall performance and hireability and for 2 potential mediators: verbal content (e.g., structure, content) and nonverbal presence (e.g., captivating, enthusiastic). As predicted, those who prepared for the job interview with high- (vs. low-) power poses performed better and were more likely to be chosen for hire; this relation was mediated by nonverbal presence, but not by verbal content. Although previous research has focused on how a nonverbal behavior that is enacted during interactions and observed by perceivers affects how those perceivers evaluate and respond to the actor, this experiment focused on how a nonverbal behavior that is enacted before the interaction and unobserved by perceivers affects the actor's performance, which, in turn, affects how perceivers evaluate and respond to the actor. This experiment reveals a theoretically novel and practically informative result that demonstrates the causal relation between preparatory nonverbal behavior and subsequent performance and outcomes. (PsycINFO Database

  4. Language performance in siblings of nonverbal children with autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, Yonata; Bar-Yuda, Chanit

    2011-05-01

    The study focuses on language and cognitive abilities of siblings of the linguistically most affected children with autism (i.e. siblings of nonverbal children - SIBS-ANV). Twenty-eight SIBS-ANV (17 boys), ages 4-9 years, took part in the study. All children attended regular schools, and none had received a diagnosis of autism. Controls were 27 typically developing children (SIBS-TD; 16 boys) matched to the SIBS-ANV on age, family background, socioeconomic status and type of school they attended. Significant IQ differences, as well as language differences as measured on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF), emerged between SIBS-ANV and SIBS-TD. However, differences in the language scores mostly disappeared when PIQ and FSIQ were controlled for. Furthermore, grammatical analysis of spontaneous speech samples produced in the course of testing did not reveal any significant differences between the groups. These results add to recent work suggesting that language deficits may not be part of the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP). It further suggests that the cognitive deficit characteristic of nonverbal people with autism may be familial.

  5. Bilateral hearing loss is associated with decreased nonverbal intelligence in US children aged 6 to 16 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmett, Susan D; Francis, Howard W

    2014-09-01

    To evaluate the association between hearing loss and nonverbal intelligence in US children. The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) is a cross-sectional survey (1988-1994) that used complex multistage sampling design to produce nationally representative demographic and examination data. A total of 4,823 children ages 6 to 16 years completed audiometric evaluation and cognitive testing during NHANES III. Hearing loss was defined as low-frequency pure-tone average (PTA) >25 dB (0.5, 1, 2 kHz) or high-frequency PTA >25 dB (3, 4, 6, 8 kHz) and was designated as unilateral or bilateral. Nonverbal intelligence was measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised block design subtest. Low nonverbal intelligence was defined as a standardized score intelligence scores differed between children with normal hearing (9.59) and children with bilateral (6.87; P = .02) but not unilateral (9.12; P = .42) hearing loss. Non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity and family income intelligence, respectively (odds ratio [OR]: 3.92; P intelligence compared to normal hearing children (OR: 5.77; P = .02). Unilateral hearing loss was not associated with higher odds of low nonverbal intelligence (OR: 0.73; P = .40). Bilateral but not unilateral hearing loss is associated with decreased nonverbal intelligence in US children. Longitudinal studies are urgently needed to better understand these associations and their potential impact on future opportunities. © 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  6. Bilateral Hearing Loss is Associated with Decreased Nonverbal Intelligence in US Children Ages 6 to 16 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmett, Susan D.; Francis, Howard W.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To evaluate the association between hearing loss and nonverbal intelligence in US children. Study Design The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) is a cross-sectional survey (1988–1994) that used complex multistage sampling design to produce nationally representative demographic and examination data. Methods A total of 4823 children ages 6–16 years completed audiometric evaluation and cognitive testing during NHANES III. Hearing loss was defined as low frequency pure tone average (PTA)>25 decibels (dB) (0.5,1,2 kHz) or high frequency PTA>25dB (3,4,6,8 kHz) and was designated as unilateral or bilateral. Nonverbal intelligence was measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised block design subtest. Low nonverbal intelligence was defined as a standardized score intelligence scores differed between children with normal hearing (9.59) and children with bilateral (6.87; p=0.02) but not unilateral (9.12; p=0.42) hearing loss. Non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity and family incomeintelligence, respectively (OR 3.92; pintelligence compared to normal hearing children (OR 5.77; p=0.02). Unilateral hearing loss was not associated with higher odds of low nonverbal intelligence (OR 0.73; p=0.40). Conclusion Bilateral but not unilateral hearing loss is associated with decreased nonverbal intelligence in US children. Longitudinal studies are urgently needed to better understand these associations and their potential impact on future opportunities. PMID:24913183

  7. All eyes on the patient: the influence of oncologists? nonverbal communication on breast cancer patients? trust

    OpenAIRE

    Hillen, Marij A.; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; Bijker, Nina; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W. M.; Vermeulen, Dani?lle M.; Smets, Ellen M. A.

    2015-01-01

    Trust in the oncologist is crucial for breast cancer patients. It reduces worry, enhances decision making, and stimulates adherence. Optimal nonverbal communication by the oncologist, particularly eye contact, body posture, and smiling, presumably benefits patients? trust. We were the first to experimentally examine (1) how the oncologist?s nonverbal behavior influences trust, and (2) individual differences in breast cancer patients? trust. Analogue patients (APs) viewed one out of eight vers...

  8. Cross-Cultural Detection of Depression from Nonverbal Behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    Alghowinem, Sharifa; Goecke, Roland; Cohn, Jeffrey F.; Wagner, Michael; Parker, Gordon; Breakspear, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Millions of people worldwide suffer from depression. Do commonalities exist in their nonverbal behavior that would enable cross-culturally viable screening and assessment of severity? We investigated the generalisability of an approach to detect depression severity cross-culturally using video-recorded clinical interviews from Australia, the USA and Germany. The material varied in type of interview, subtypes of depression and inclusion healthy control subjects, cultural background, and record...

  9. The Relationship between Robot's Nonverbal Behaviour and Human's Likability Based on Human's Personality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thepsoonthorn, Chidchanok; Ogawa, Ken-Ichiro; Miyake, Yoshihiro

    2018-05-30

    At current state, although robotics technology has been immensely developed, the uncertainty to completely engage in human-robot interaction is still growing among people. Many current studies then started to concern about human factors that might influence human's likability like human's personality, and found that compatibility between human's and robot's personality (expressions of personality characteristics) can enhance human's likability. However, it is still unclear whether specific means and strategy of robot's nonverbal behaviours enhances likability from human with different personality traits and whether there is a relationship between robot's nonverbal behaviours and human's likability based on human's personality. In this study, we investigated and focused on the interaction via gaze and head nodding behaviours (mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony) between introvert/extravert participants and robot in two communication strategies (Backchanneling and Turn-taking). Our findings reveal that the introvert participants are positively affected by backchanneling in robot's head nodding behaviour, which results in substantial head nodding synchrony whereas the extravert participants are positively influenced by turn-taking in gaze behaviour, which leads to significant mutual gaze convergence. This study demonstrates that there is a relationship between robot's nonverbal behaviour and human's likability based on human's personality.

  10. Using the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) 7 Nonverbal Battery to Identify the Gifted/Talented: An Investigation of Demographic Effects and Norming Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carman, Carol A.; Walther, Christine A. P.; Bartsch, Robert A.

    2018-01-01

    The nonverbal battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is one of the two most common nonverbal measures used in gifted identification, yet the relationships between demographic variables and CogAT7 performance has not yet been fully examined. Additionally, the effect of using the CogAT7 nonverbal battery on the identification of diverse…

  11. Get a Little Closer: Further Examination of Nonverbal Comforting Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullis, Connie; Horn, Charlotte

    1995-01-01

    Tests whether a set of nonverbal comforting strategies and their relationships with affective orientation and gender in previous research are generalizable to a broader sample. Concludes gender differences in affective orientation, diversity and number of strategies, and use of specific strategies were supported. Finds that females were more…

  12. EEG correlates of verbal and nonverbal working memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danker Jared

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Distinct cognitive processes support verbal and nonverbal working memory, with verbal memory depending specifically on the subvocal rehearsal of items. Methods We recorded scalp EEG while subjects performed a Sternberg task. In each trial, subjects judged whether a probe item was one of the three items in a study list. Lists were composed of stimuli from one of five pools whose items either were verbally rehearsable (letters, words, pictures of common objects or resistant to verbal rehearsal (sinusoidal grating patterns, single dot locations. Results We found oscillatory correlates unique to verbal stimuli in the θ (4–8 Hz, α (9–12 Hz, β (14–28 Hz, and γ (30–50 Hz frequency bands. Verbal stimuli generally elicited greater power than did nonverbal stimuli. Enhanced verbal power was found bilaterally in the θ band, over frontal and occipital areas in the α and β bands, and centrally in the γ band. When we looked specifically for cases where oscillatory power in the time interval between item presentations was greater than oscillatory power during item presentation, we found enhanced β activity in the frontal and occipital regions. Conclusion These results implicate stimulus-induced oscillatory activity in verbal working memory and β activity in the process of subvocal rehearsal.

  13. The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward the Handicapped and Nonverbal Behavior with Educators of Special Needs Students: An Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stodden, Robert A.; And Others

    Examined were the relationships between attitudes toward the handicapped and nonverbal behavior of 60 special education teachers involved in inservice or preservice coursework. Ss were administered the Attitudes Toward Handicapped Individuals (ATHI) Scale and the Nonverbal Behavior Characteristics Scale (NBCS). Analysis of the data indicated a…

  14. “Communication by impact” and other forms of non-verbal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article aims to review the importance, place and especially the emotional impact of non-verbal communication in psychiatry. The paper argues that while biological psychiatry is in the ascendency with increasing discoveries being made about the functioning of the brain and psycho-pharmacology, it is important to try ...

  15. Inappropriate Accommodation in Communication to Elders: Inferences about Nonverbal Correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Ellen Bouchard; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Overaccommodation in communication with elders is frequently based on stereotyped expectations of frailty and dependence. In this study, volunteers read either a patronizing or neutral version of a conversation between a nursing home resident and a nurse. The main analyses indicated that negative nonverbal behaviors were rated more likely to occur…

  16. The Relationships between Verbal and Nonverbal Communication of Therapeutic Effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proefrock, David W.; Bloom, Robert

    The relationship between a therapist's verbal and nonverbal communication of therapeutic effectiveness was investigated. In a design intended to eliminate many of the methodological problems which exist in this area of research, subjects (N=102) were asked to rate videotaped segments showing combinations of three different levels of both verbal…

  17. Non-Verbal Communication Training: An Avenue for University Professionalizing Programs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazaille, Mariane

    2011-01-01

    In accordance with today's workplace expectations, many university programs identify the ability to communicate as a crucial asset for future professionals. Yet, if the teaching of verbal communication is clearly identifiable in most university programs, the same cannot be said of non-verbal communication (NVC). Knowing the importance of the…

  18. Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication and Coordination in Mission Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinkhuyzen, Erik; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    In this talk I will present some video-materials gathered in Mission Control during simulations. The focus of the presentation will be on verbal and non-verbal communication between the officers in the front and backroom, especially the practices that have evolved around a peculiar communications technology called voice loops.

  19. Maximizing the persuasiveness of a salesperson: An exploratory study of the effects of nonverbal immediacy and language power on the extent of persuasion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natavan M. Gadzhiyeva

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the effects of a salesperson's use of language power and nonverbal immediacy on the persuasiveness of the salesperson. A high level of language power and a high level of nonverbal immediacy were hypothesized to singularly and jointly increase a salesperson's level of persuasiveness. A sample of 211 undergraduate students voluntarily completed an online survey, which displayed a video clip of a sales presentation. Each participant randomly viewed one of four video clips, which differed in terms of the salesperson's levels of language power (powerful vs. powerless and nonverbal immediacy (high vs. low. A three-way ANOVA indicated that language power had a significant main effect on persuasion in the expected direction, and also revealed a significant interaction between nonverbal immediacy and participant biological sex. However, there were no main effects for nonverbal immediacy and participant biological sex, and no interaction effect was found between language power and nonverbal immediacy. Subsequent data analysis revealed that the perceived power of the speaker mediated the relationship between language power and the extent of persuasion. We conclude the article with a discussion of the implications of our findings for both researchers and practitioners.

  20. Time Parameters of Nonverbal Communication and Personal Communicative Competence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alla K. Bolotova

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive behavior in interpersonal relations is always connected with time characteristicssuch as sequence, rhythm, and succession of actions. In our research weattempted to determine the role of time parameters in the development of thefollowing social communications: (a interpersonal relations, (b communicativeacts, and (c the process of structuring social behavior. We intended to show therole of time in acquiring and mastering social contacts. In our research we outlineda number of methods for developing time competence and various consciousand unconscious ways to organize time and to create an atmosphere of understanding,acceptance, and trust in interpersonal nonverbal communication. Thetime characteristics of social behavior and its nonverbal manifestation can exert apositive influence on communicative activity and can determine time competencein communication. Ignoring time parameters in the self-realization and self-actualizationof personality introduces a certain destructive element into the processof interpersonal relations; hence the necessity of teaching competence in communicationarises. Teaching is carried out in the process of training and includesseveral stages: the introductory stage and the stages of intensification, integration,avoidance, and others. Thus, time management and the process of teachingtime management allow one to discover time resources for the self-organizationof one’s personality over a lifetime.

  1. Individual differences in nonverbal number skills predict math anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindskog, Marcus; Winman, Anders; Poom, Leo

    2017-02-01

    Math anxiety (MA) involves negative affect and tension when solving mathematical problems, with potentially life-long consequences. MA has been hypothesized to be a consequence of negative learning experiences and cognitive predispositions. Recent research indicates genetic and neurophysiological links, suggesting that MA stems from a basic level deficiency in symbolic numerical processing. However, the contribution of evolutionary ancient purely nonverbal processes is not fully understood. Here we show that the roots of MA may go beyond symbolic numbers. We demonstrate that MA is correlated with precision of the Approximate Number System (ANS). Individuals high in MA have poorer ANS functioning than those low in MA. This correlation remains significant when controlling for other forms of anxiety and for cognitive variables. We show that MA mediates the documented correlation between ANS precision and math performance, both with ANS and with math performance as independent variable in the mediation model. In light of our results, we discuss the possibility that MA has deep roots, stemming from a non-verbal number processing deficiency. The findings provide new evidence advancing the theoretical understanding of the developmental etiology of MA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. A Competitive Nonverbal False Belief Task for Children and Apes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krachun, Carla; Carpenter, Malinda; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

    2009-01-01

    A nonverbal false belief task was administered to children (mean age 5 years) and two great ape species: chimpanzees ("Pan troglodytes") and bonobos ("Pan paniscus"). Because apes typically perform poorly in cooperative contexts, our task was competitive. Two versions were run: in both, a human competitor witnessed an experimenter hide a reward in…

  3. Condom use: exploring verbal and non-verbal communication strategies among Latino and African American men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zukoski, Ann P; Harvey, S Marie; Branch, Meredith

    2009-08-01

    A growing body of literature provides evidence of a link between communication with sexual partners and safer sexual practices, including condom use. More research is needed that explores the dynamics of condom communication including gender differences in initiation, and types of communication strategies. The overall objective of this study was to explore condom use and the dynamics surrounding condom communication in two distinct community-based samples of African American and Latino heterosexual couples at increased risk for HIV. Based on 122 in-depth interviews, 80% of women and 74% of men reported ever using a condom with their primary partner. Of those who reported ever using a condom with their current partner, the majority indicated that condom use was initiated jointly by men and women. In addition, about one-third of the participants reported that the female partner took the lead and let her male partner know she wanted to use a condom. A sixth of the sample reported that men initiated use. Although over half of the respondents used bilateral verbal strategies (reminding, asking and persuading) to initiate condom use, one-fourth used unilateral verbal strategies (commanding and threatening to withhold sex). A smaller number reported using non-verbal strategies involving condoms themselves (e.g. putting a condom on or getting condoms). The results suggest that interventions designed to improve condom use may need to include both members of a sexual dyad and focus on improving verbal and non-verbal communication skills of individuals and couples.

  4. Maternal postpartum depressive symptoms predict delay in non-verbal communication in 14-month-old infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Emiko; Takagai, Shu; Takei, Nori; Itoh, Hiroaki; Kanayama, Naohiro; Tsuchiya, Kenji J

    2017-02-01

    We investigated the potential relationship between maternal depressive symptoms during the postpartum period and non-verbal communication skills of infants at 14 months of age in a birth cohort study of 951 infants and assessed what factors may influence this association. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and non-verbal communication skills were measured using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, which include Early Gestures and Later Gestures domains. Infants whose mothers had a high level of depressive symptoms (13+ points) during both the first month postpartum and at 10 weeks were approximately 0.5 standard deviations below normal in Early Gestures scores and 0.5-0.7 standard deviations below normal in Later Gestures scores. These associations were independent of potential explanations, such as maternal depression/anxiety prior to birth, breastfeeding practices, and recent depressive symptoms among mothers. These findings indicate that infants whose mothers have postpartum depressive symptoms may be at increased risk of experiencing delay in non-verbal development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. An fMRI Study of Nonverbally Gifted Reading Disabled Adults: Has Deficit Compensation Effected Gifted Potential?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey W Gilger

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Neuroscience has advanced our understanding of the neurological basis of reading disability. Yet, no functional imaging work has been reported on the twice-exceptional dyslexic: individuals exhibiting both nonverbal-giftedness and reading disability (RD. We compared groups of reading-disabled (RD, nonverbally-gifted (G, nonverbally-gifted-RD (GRD, and control (C adults on validated word-rhyming and spatial visualization fMRI tasks, and standardized psychometric tests, to ascertain if the neurological functioning of GRD subjects was similar to that of typical RD or G subjects, or perhaps some unique RD subtype. Results demonstrate that GRD adults resemble non-gifted reading disabled (RD adults in performance on paper-and-pencil reading, math and spatial tests, and in patterns of functional activation during rhyming and spatial processing. Data are consistent with what may be a shared etiology of reading disability and giftedness in GRD individuals that yields a lifespan interaction with reading compensation effects, modifying how their adult brain processes text and spatial stimuli.

  6. Effects of cue modality and emotional category on recognition of nonverbal emotional signals in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, Bastian D; Brück, Carolin; Jacob, Heike; Eberle, Mark; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2016-07-07

    , future studies evaluating perception of nonverbal cues should consider a broader range of social and emotional signals beyond basic emotions including attitudes and interpersonal intentions. Identifying specific domains of social perception particularly prone for misunderstandings in patients with schizophrenia might allow for a refinement of interventions aiming at improving social functioning.

  7. Presentation Trainer: a toolkit for learning non-verbal public speaking skills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schneider, Jan; Börner, Dirk; Van Rosmalen, Peter; Specht, Marcus

    2014-01-01

    The paper presents and outlines the demonstration of Presentation Trainer, a prototype that works as a public speaking instructor. It tracks and analyses the body posture, movements and voice of the user in order to give in- structional feedback on non-verbal communication skills. Besides exploring

  8. Network structure underlying resolution of conflicting non-verbal and verbal social information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Takamitsu; Yahata, Noriaki; Kawakubo, Yuki; Inoue, Hideyuki; Takano, Yosuke; Iwashiro, Norichika; Natsubori, Tatsunobu; Takao, Hidemasa; Sasaki, Hiroki; Gonoi, Wataru; Murakami, Mizuho; Katsura, Masaki; Kunimatsu, Akira; Abe, Osamu; Kasai, Kiyoto; Yamasue, Hidenori

    2014-06-01

    Social judgments often require resolution of incongruity in communication contents. Although previous studies revealed that such conflict resolution recruits brain regions including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG), functional relationships and networks among these regions remain unclear. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated the functional dissociation and networks by measuring human brain activity during resolving incongruity between verbal and non-verbal emotional contents. First, we found that the conflict resolutions biased by the non-verbal contents activated the posterior dorsal mPFC (post-dmPFC), bilateral anterior insula (AI) and right dorsal pIFG, whereas the resolutions biased by the verbal contents activated the bilateral ventral pIFG. In contrast, the anterior dmPFC (ant-dmPFC), bilateral superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus were commonly involved in both of the resolutions. Second, we found that the post-dmPFC and right ventral pIFG were hub regions in networks underlying the non-verbal- and verbal-content-biased resolutions, respectively. Finally, we revealed that these resolution-type-specific networks were bridged by the ant-dmPFC, which was recruited for the conflict resolutions earlier than the two hub regions. These findings suggest that, in social conflict resolutions, the ant-dmPFC selectively recruits one of the resolution-type-specific networks through its interaction with resolution-type-specific hub regions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. "I'm pretty sure that we will win!": The influence of score-related nonverbal behavioral changes on the confidence in winning a basketball game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furley, Philip; Schweizer, Geoffrey

    2014-06-01

    The goal of the present research was to test whether score-related changes in opponents' nonverbal behavior influence athletes' confidence in beating their opponents. In an experiment, 40 participants who were experienced basketball players watched brief video clips depicting athletes' nonverbal behavior. Video clips were not artificially created, but showed naturally occurring behavior. Participants indicated how confident they were in beating the presented athletes in a hypothetical scenario. Results indicated that participants' confidence estimations were influenced by opponents' score-related nonverbal behavior. Participants were less confident about beating a leading team and more confident about beating a trailing team, although they were unaware of the actual score during the depicted scenes. The present research is the first to show that in-game variations of naturally occurring nonverbal behavior can influence athletes' confidence. This finding highlights the importance of research into nonverbal behavior in sports, particularly in relation to athletes' confidence.

  10. Memory Test Performance on Analogous Verbal and Nonverbal Memory Tests in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldock, Deanna; Miller, Justin B; Leger, Gabriel C; Banks, Sarah Jane

    2016-01-01

    Patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) typically have initial deficits in language or changes in personality, while the defining characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is memory impairment. Neuropsychological findings in the two diseases tend to differ, but can be confounded by verbal impairment in FTD impacting performance on memory tests in these patients. Twenty-seven patients with FTD and 102 patients with AD underwent a neuropsychological assessment before diagnosis. By utilizing analogous versions of a verbal and nonverbal memory test, we demonstrated differences in these two modalities between AD and FTD. Better differentiation between AD and FTD is found in a nonverbal memory test, possibly because it eliminates the confounding variable of language deficits found in patients with FTD. These results highlight the importance of nonverbal learning tests with multiple learning trials in diagnostic testing.

  11. The Use of Virtual Characters to Assess and Train Non-Verbal Communication in High-Functioning Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgescu, Alexandra Livia; Kuzmanovic, Bojana; Roth, Daniel; Bente, Gary; Vogeley, Kai

    2014-01-01

    High-functioning autism (HFA) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which is characterized by life-long socio-communicative impairments on the one hand and preserved verbal and general learning and memory abilities on the other. One of the areas where particular difficulties are observable is the understanding of non-verbal communication cues. Thus, investigating the underlying psychological processes and neural mechanisms of non-verbal communication in HFA allows a better understanding of this disorder, and potentially enables the development of more efficient forms of psychotherapy and trainings. However, the research on non-verbal information processing in HFA faces several methodological challenges. The use of virtual characters (VCs) helps to overcome such challenges by enabling an ecologically valid experience of social presence, and by providing an experimental platform that can be systematically and fully controlled. To make this field of research accessible to a broader audience, we elaborate in the first part of the review the validity of using VCs in non-verbal behavior research on HFA, and we review current relevant paradigms and findings from social-cognitive neuroscience. In the second part, we argue for the use of VCs as either agents or avatars in the context of “transformed social interactions.” This allows for the implementation of real-time social interaction in virtual experimental settings, which represents a more sensitive measure of socio-communicative impairments in HFA. Finally, we argue that VCs and environments are a valuable assistive, educational and therapeutic tool for HFA. PMID:25360098

  12. The use of virtual characters to assess and train non-verbal communication in high-functioning autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgescu, Alexandra Livia; Kuzmanovic, Bojana; Roth, Daniel; Bente, Gary; Vogeley, Kai

    2014-01-01

    High-functioning autism (HFA) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which is characterized by life-long socio-communicative impairments on the one hand and preserved verbal and general learning and memory abilities on the other. One of the areas where particular difficulties are observable is the understanding of non-verbal communication cues. Thus, investigating the underlying psychological processes and neural mechanisms of non-verbal communication in HFA allows a better understanding of this disorder, and potentially enables the development of more efficient forms of psychotherapy and trainings. However, the research on non-verbal information processing in HFA faces several methodological challenges. The use of virtual characters (VCs) helps to overcome such challenges by enabling an ecologically valid experience of social presence, and by providing an experimental platform that can be systematically and fully controlled. To make this field of research accessible to a broader audience, we elaborate in the first part of the review the validity of using VCs in non-verbal behavior research on HFA, and we review current relevant paradigms and findings from social-cognitive neuroscience. In the second part, we argue for the use of VCs as either agents or avatars in the context of "transformed social interactions." This allows for the implementation of real-time social interaction in virtual experimental settings, which represents a more sensitive measure of socio-communicative impairments in HFA. Finally, we argue that VCs and environments are a valuable assistive, educational and therapeutic tool for HFA.

  13. Peculiarities of Stereotypes about Non-Verbal Communication and their Role in Cross-Cultural Interaction between Russian and Chinese Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I A Novikova

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the stereotypes about non-verbal communication, formed in Russian and Chinese cultures. The results of the experimental research of the role of ethnic auto- and heterostereotypes about non-verbal communication in cross-cultural interaction between Russian and Chinese students of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia are presented.

  14. Language representation of the emotional state of the personage in non-verbal speech behavior (on the material of Russian and German languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scherbakova Irina Vladimirovna

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the features of actualization of emotions in a non-verbal speech behavior of the character of a literary text. Emotions are considered basic, the most actively used method of literary character reaction to any object, action, or the communicative situation. Nonverbal ways of expressing emotions more fully give the reader an idea of the emotional state of the character. The main focus in the allocation of non-verbal means of communication in art is focused on the description of kinetic, proxemic and prosodic components. The material of the study is the microdialogue fragments extracted by continuous sampling of their works of art texts of the Russian-speaking and German-speaking classical and modern literature XIX - XX centuries. Fragments of the dialogues were analyzed, where the recorded voice of nonverbal behavior of the character of different emotional content (surprise, joy, fear, anger, rage, excitement, etc. was fixed. It was found that means of verbalization and descriptions of emotion of nonverbal behavior of the character are primarily indirect nomination, expressed verbal vocabulary, adjectives and adverbs. The lexical level is the most significant in the presentation of the emotional state of the character.

  15. Using Item Response Theory to Describe the Nonverbal Literacy Assessment (NVLA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, Danielle; Wilson, Mark; Ahlgrim-Delzell, Lynn

    2018-01-01

    The Nonverbal Literacy Assessment (NVLA) is a literacy assessment designed for students with significant intellectual disabilities. The 218-item test was initially examined using confirmatory factor analysis. This method showed that the test worked as expected, but the items loaded onto a single factor. This article uses item response theory to…

  16. The similar effects of verbal and non-verbal intervening tasks on word recall in an elderly population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, B R; Sullivan, S K; Morra, L F; Williams, J R; Donovick, P J

    2014-01-01

    Vulnerability to retroactive interference has been shown to increase with cognitive aging. Consistent with the findings of memory and aging literature, the authors of the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) suggest that a non-verbal task be administered during the test's delay interval to minimize the effects of retroactive interference on delayed recall. The goal of the present study was to determine the extent to which retroactive interference caused by non-verbal and verbal intervening tasks affects recall of verbal information in non-demented, older adults. The effects of retroactive interference on recall of words during Long-Delay recall on the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) were evaluated. Participants included 85 adults age 60 and older. During a 20-minute delay interval on the CVLT-II, participants received either a verbal (WAIS-III Vocabulary or Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IIIB) or non-verbal (Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices or WAIS-III Block Design) intervening task. Similarly to previous research with young adults (Williams & Donovick, 2008), older adults recalled the same number of words across all groups, regardless of the type of intervening task. These findings suggest that the administration of verbal intervening tasks during the CVLT-II do not elicit more retroactive interference than non-verbal intervening tasks, and thus verbal tasks need not be avoided during the delay interval of the CVLT-II.

  17. Memory Test Performance on Analogous Verbal and Nonverbal Memory Tests in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deanna Baldock

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD typically have initial deficits in language or changes in personality, while the defining characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD is memory impairment. Neuropsychological findings in the two diseases tend to differ, but can be confounded by verbal impairment in FTD impacting performance on memory tests in these patients. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with FTD and 102 patients with AD underwent a neuropsychological assessment before diagnosis. By utilizing analogous versions of a verbal and nonverbal memory test, we demonstrated differences in these two modalities between AD and FTD. Discussion: Better differentiation between AD and FTD is found in a nonverbal memory test, possibly because it eliminates the confounding variable of language deficits found in patients with FTD. These results highlight the importance of nonverbal learning tests with multiple learning trials in diagnostic testing.

  18. Have We Forgotten Auditory Sensory Memory? Retention Intervals in Studies of Nonverbal Auditory Working Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Nees

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Researchers have shown increased interest in mechanisms of working memory for nonverbal sounds such as music and environmental sounds. These studies often have used two-stimulus comparison tasks: two sounds separated by a brief retention interval (often 3 to 5 s are compared, and a same or different judgment is recorded. Researchers seem to have assumed that sensory memory has a negligible impact on performance in auditory two-stimulus comparison tasks. This assumption is examined in detail in this comment. According to seminal texts and recent research reports, sensory memory persists in parallel with working memory for a period of time following hearing a stimulus and can influence behavioral responses on memory tasks. Unlike verbal working memory studies that use serial recall tasks, research paradigms for exploring nonverbal working memory—especially two-stimulus comparison tasks—may not be differentiating working memory from sensory memory processes in analyses of behavioral responses, because retention interval durations have not excluded the possibility that the sensory memory trace drives task performance. This conflation of different constructs may be one contributor to discrepant research findings and the resulting proliferation of theoretical conjectures regarding mechanisms of working memory for nonverbal sounds.

  19. Have We Forgotten Auditory Sensory Memory? Retention Intervals in Studies of Nonverbal Auditory Working Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nees, Michael A

    2016-01-01

    Researchers have shown increased interest in mechanisms of working memory for nonverbal sounds such as music and environmental sounds. These studies often have used two-stimulus comparison tasks: two sounds separated by a brief retention interval (often 3-5 s) are compared, and a "same" or "different" judgment is recorded. Researchers seem to have assumed that sensory memory has a negligible impact on performance in auditory two-stimulus comparison tasks. This assumption is examined in detail in this comment. According to seminal texts and recent research reports, sensory memory persists in parallel with working memory for a period of time following hearing a stimulus and can influence behavioral responses on memory tasks. Unlike verbal working memory studies that use serial recall tasks, research paradigms for exploring nonverbal working memory-especially two-stimulus comparison tasks-may not be differentiating working memory from sensory memory processes in analyses of behavioral responses, because retention interval durations have not excluded the possibility that the sensory memory trace drives task performance. This conflation of different constructs may be one contributor to discrepant research findings and the resulting proliferation of theoretical conjectures regarding mechanisms of working memory for nonverbal sounds.

  20. Non-Verbal Psychotherapy of Deaf Children with Disorders in Personality Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalewska, Marina

    1989-01-01

    Discussed are principles of nonverbal therapy for deaf children with disorders in the development of self, and the possible existence of a relationship between lack of auditory experiences in deaf children and disorders in mother-child bonding. A case study presents a three-year-old deaf boy successfully treated through a nonverbal…

  1. Incongruence between Verbal and Non-Verbal Information Enhances the Late Positive Potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morioka, Shu; Osumi, Michihiro; Shiotani, Mayu; Nobusako, Satoshi; Maeoka, Hiroshi; Okada, Yohei; Hiyamizu, Makoto; Matsuo, Atsushi

    2016-01-01

    Smooth social communication consists of both verbal and non-verbal information. However, when presented with incongruence between verbal information and nonverbal information, the relationship between an individual judging trustworthiness in those who present the verbal-nonverbal incongruence and the brain activities observed during judgment for trustworthiness are not clear. In the present study, we attempted to identify the impact of incongruencies between verbal information and facial expression on the value of trustworthiness and brain activity using event-related potentials (ERP). Combinations of verbal information [positive/negative] and facial expressions [smile/angry] expressions were presented randomly on a computer screen to 17 healthy volunteers. The value of trustworthiness of the presented facial expression was evaluated by the amount of donation offered by the observer to the person depicted on the computer screen. In addition, the time required to judge the value of trustworthiness was recorded for each trial. Using electroencephalography, ERP were obtained by averaging the wave patterns recorded while the participants judged the value of trustworthiness. The amount of donation offered was significantly lower when the verbal information and facial expression were incongruent, particularly for [negative × smile]. The amplitude of the early posterior negativity (EPN) at the temporal lobe showed no significant difference between all conditions. However, the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) at the parietal electrodes for the incongruent condition [negative × smile] was higher than that for the congruent condition [positive × smile]. These results suggest that the LPP amplitude observed from the parietal cortex is involved in the processing of incongruence between verbal information and facial expression.

  2. Social attraction in video-mediated communication : The role of nonverbal affiliative behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Croes, Emmelyn; Antheunis, Marjolijn; Schouten, Alexander; Krahmer, Emiel

    2018-01-01

    The first aim of this study was to analyze video-mediated communication (VMC), in comparison to face-to-face (FTF) communication, and the effect it has on how communicators express nonverbal affiliative behaviors relevant for social attraction. Second, this study aimed to discover whether these

  3. An executable model of the interaction between verbal and non-verbal communication.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper an executable generic process model is proposed for combined verbal and non-verbal communication processes and their interaction. The model has been formalised by three-levelled partial temporal models, covering both the material and mental processes and their relations. The generic

  4. An Executable Model of the Interaction between Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.; Dignum, F.; Greaves, M.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper an executable generic process model is proposed for combined verbal and non-verbal communication processes and their interaction. The model has been formalised by three-levelled partial temporal models, covering both the material and mental processes and their relations. The generic

  5. The role of nonverbal cognitive ability in the association of adverse life events with dysfunctional attitudes and hopelessness in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flouri, Eirini; Panourgia, Constantina

    2012-10-01

    The aim of this study was to test whether nonverbal cognitive ability buffers the effect of life stress (number of adverse life events in the last year) on diatheses for depression. It was expected that, as problem-solving aptitude, nonverbal cognitive ability would moderate the effect of life stress on those diatheses (such as dysfunctional attitudes) that are depressogenic because they represent deficits in information-processing or problem-solving skills, but not on diatheses (such as hopelessness) that are depressogenic because they represent deficits in motivation or effort to apply problem-solving skills. The sample included 558 10- to 19-year-olds from a state secondary school in London. Nonverbal cognitive ability was negatively associated with both dysfunctional attitudes and hopelessness. As expected, nonverbal cognitive ability moderated the association between life adversity and dysfunctional attitudes. However, hopelessness was not related to life stress, and therefore, there was no life stress effect for nonverbal cognitive ability to moderate. This study adds to knowledge about the association between problem-solving ability and depressogenic diatheses. By identifying life stress as a risk factor for dysfunctional attitudes but not hopelessness, it highlights the importance of considering outcome specificity in models predicting adolescent outcomes from adverse life events. Importantly for practice, it suggests that an emphasis on recent life adversity will likely underestimate the true level of hopelessness among adolescents. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Relationship of Non-Verbal Intelligence Materials as Catalyst for Academic Achievement and Peaceful Co-Existence among Secondary School Students in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sambo, Aminu

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines students' performance in Non-verbal Intelligence tests relative academic achievement of some selected secondary school students. Two hypotheses were formulated with a view to generating data for the ease of analyses. Two non-verbal intelligent tests viz: Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) and AH[subscript 4] Part II…

  7. Emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and psychosocial adjustment in children with nonverbal learning disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metsala, Jamie L; Galway, Tanya M; Ishaik, Galit; Barton, Veronica E

    2017-07-01

    Nonverbal learning disability is a childhood disorder with basic neuropsychological deficits in visuospatial processing and psychomotor coordination, and secondary impairments in academic and social-emotional functioning. This study examines emotion recognition, understanding, and regulation in a clinic-referred group of young children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD). These processes have been shown to be related to social competence and psychological adjustment in typically developing (TD) children. Psychosocial adjustment and social skills are also examined for this young group, and for a clinic-referred group of older children with NLD. The young children with NLD scored lower than the TD comparison group on tasks assessing recognition of happy and sad facial expressions and tasks assessing understanding of how emotions work. Children with NLD were also rated as having less adaptive regulation of their emotions. For both young and older children with NLD, internalizing and externalizing problem scales were rated higher than for the TD comparison groups, and the means of the internalizing, attention, and social problem scales were found to fall within clinically concerning ranges. Measures of attention and nonverbal intelligence did not account for the relationship between NLD and Social Problems. Social skills and NLD membership share mostly overlapping variance in accounting for internalizing problems across the sample. The results are discussed within a framework wherein social cognitive deficits, including emotion processes, have a negative impact on social competence, leading to clinically concerning levels of depression and withdrawal in this population.

  8. Interpersonal Interactions in Instrumental Lessons: Teacher/Student Verbal and Non-Verbal Behaviours

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhukov, Katie

    2013-01-01

    This study examined verbal and non-verbal teacher/student interpersonal interactions in higher education instrumental music lessons. Twenty-four lessons were videotaped and teacher/student behaviours were analysed using a researcher-designed instrument. The findings indicate predominance of student and teacher joke among the verbal behaviours with…

  9. Symbiotic Relations of Verbal and Non-Verbal Components of Creolized Text on the Example of Stephen King’s Books Covers Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Anna S. Kobysheva; Viktoria A. Nakaeva

    2017-01-01

    The article examines the symbiotic relationships between non-verbal and verbal components of the creolized text. The research focuses on the analysis of the correlation between verbal and visual elements of horror book covers based on three types of correlations between verbal and non-verbal text constituents, i.e. recurrent, additive and emphatic.

  10. "You Looking at Me?": Investigating 9 and 13 Year-Olds' Ability to Encode and Decode Nonverbal Communication and Demonstrate "Emotional Literacy"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickson, Esther; Burton, Neil

    2011-01-01

    This small-scale study reports the findings from an investigation into non-verbal communication. It primarily seeks to analyse whether 9 and 13 year-olds can encode and decode non-verbal communication in the context of classroom behaviour management. This research showed that, in contrast to previous published research, there were no distinct…

  11. The effect of a nonverbal aid on preschoolers' recall for color.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, J; Blades, M

    2000-09-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the provision of a nonverbal memory aid would improve preschoolers' recall of color. Forty 4-year-old children carried out 2 tasks with the same set of colored objects. Colors were not referred to, nor were children told that their recall would later be tested. One day later, the children were split into 2 groups. One group was given a chart containing both the colors of the objects and distractor colors. The other group was not given a chart. Recall for object color was tested. There was an effect of chart provision; children who used the chart recalled more colors correctly than did those who did not use a chart. This result indicates (a) that even very young children can make use of props to facilitate their recall and (b) that such memory aids need not be exact copies of previously seen objects. Implications of these findings for eyewitness recall are discussed.

  12. Visual Processing of Verbal and Nonverbal Stimuli in Adolescents with Reading Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boden, Catherine; Brodeur, Darlene A.

    1999-01-01

    A study investigated whether 32 adolescents with reading disabilities (RD) were slower at processing visual information compared to children of comparable age and reading level, or whether their deficit was specific to the written word. Adolescents with RD demonstrated difficulties in processing rapidly presented verbal and nonverbal visual…

  13. Encoding Specificity and Nonverbal Cue Context: An Expansion of Episodic Memory Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodall, W. Gill; Folger, Joseph P.

    1981-01-01

    Reports two studies demonstrating the ability of nonverbal contextual cues to act as retrieval mechanisms for co-occurring language. Suggests that visual contextual cues, such as speech primacy and motor primacy gestures, can access linguistic target information. Motor primacy cues are shown to act as stronger retrieval cues. (JMF)

  14. Improving electrical conductivity in polycarbonate nanocomposites using highly conductive PEDOT/PSS coated MWCNTs

    KAUST Repository

    Zhou, Jian

    2013-07-10

    We describe a strategy to design highly electrically conductive polycarbonate nanocomposites by using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with a thin layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/ poly(styrenesulfonate), a conductive polymer. We found that this coating method improves the electrical properties of the nanocomposites in two ways. First, the coating becomes the main electrical conductive path. Second, the coating promotes the formation of a percolation network at a low filler concentration (0.3 wt %). To tailor the electrical properties of the conductive polymer coating, we used a polar solvent ethylene glycol, and we can tune the final properties of the nanocomposite by controlling the concentrations of the elementary constituents or the intrinsic properties of the conductive polymer coating. This very flexible technique allows for tailoring the properties of the final product. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

  15. Symbiotic Relations of Verbal and Non-Verbal Components of Creolized Text on the Example of Stephen King’s Books Covers Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna S. Kobysheva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the symbiotic relationships between non-verbal and verbal components of the creolized text. The research focuses on the analysis of the correlation between verbal and visual elements of horror book covers based on three types of correlations between verbal and non-verbal text constituents, i.e. recurrent, additive and emphatic.

  16. Are there Nonverbal Cues to Commitment? An Exploratory Study Using the Zero-Acquaintance Video Presentation Paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Michael Brown

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Altruism is difficult to explain evolutionarily if subtle cheaters exist in a population (Trivers, 1971. A pathway to the evolutionary maintenance of cooperation is nonverbal altruist-detection. One adaptive advantage of nonverbal altruist-detection is the formation of trustworthy division of labour partnerships (Frank, 1988. Three studies were designed to test a fundamental assumption behind altruistic partner preference models. In the first experiment perceivers (blind with respect to target altruism level made assessments of video-clips depicting self-reported altruists and self-reported non-altruists. Video-clips were designed with attempts to control for attractiveness, expressiveness, role-playing ability, and verbal content. Overall perceivers rated altruists as more “helpful” than non-altruists. In a second experiment manipulating the payoffs for cooperation, perceivers (blind with respect to payoff condition and altruism level assessed altruists who were helping others as more “concerned” and “attentive” than non-altruists. However perceivers assessed the same altruists as less “concerned” and “attentive” than non-altruists when the payoffs were for self. This finding suggests that perceivers are sensitive to nonverbal indicators of selfishness. Indeed the self-reported non-altruists were more likely than self-reported altruists to retain resources for themselves in an objective measure of cooperative tendencies (i.e. a dictator game. In a third study altruists and non-altruists' facial expressions were analyzed. The smile emerged as a consistent cue to altruism. In addition, altruists exhibited more expressions that are under involuntary control (e.g., orbicularis oculi compared to non-altruists. Findings suggest that likelihood to cooperate is signaled nonverbally and the putative cues may be under involuntary control as predicted by Frank (1988.

  17. Male/Female Differential Encoding and Intercultural Differential Decoding of Nonverbal Affective Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    St. Martin, Gail McAllister

    In order to investigate the process of nonverbal communication of emotions in a simulated intercultural context, videotapes were made in which two white Americans (one male and one female) responded to paragraphs which evoked the following emotions: sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, happiness, and fear. These portrayals were then viewed by male…

  18. The Introduction of Non-Verbal Communication in Greek Education: A Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stamatis, Panagiotis J.

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: The introductory part of this paper underlines the research interest of the educational community in the issue of non-verbal communication in education. The question for the introduction of this scientific field in Greek education enter within the context of this research which include many aspects. Method: The paper essentially…

  19. project SENSE : multimodal simulation with full-body real-time verbal and nonverbal interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miri, Hossein; Kolkmeier, Jan; Taylor, Paul Jonathon; Poppe, Ronald; Heylen, Dirk; Poppe, Ronald; Meyer, John-Jules; Veltkamp, Remco; Dastani, Mehdi

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a multimodal simulation system, project-SENSE, that combines virtual reality and full-body motion capture technologies with real-time verbal and nonverbal communication. We introduce the technical setup and employed hardware and software of a first prototype. We discuss the

  20. Development of non-verbal intellectual capacity in school-age children with cerebral palsy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smits, D. W.; Ketelaar, M.; Gorter, J. W.; van Schie, P. E.; Becher, J. G.; Lindeman, E.; Jongmans, M. J.

    Background Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are at greater risk for a limited intellectual development than typically developing children. Little information is available which children with CP are most at risk. This study aimed to describe the development of non-verbal intellectual capacity of

  1. Analysis of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s nonverbal communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imelda Rodríguez-Escanciano, Ph.D.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Aware of television’s high level of persuasion and impact, politicians have progressively adapted their messages to the guidelines of the audiovisual media in order to strongly persuade TV viewers, which are seen as potential voters. Currently, the communication, marketing and telegenicity teams of most political parties do not only train their politicians to effectively use verbal communication, but they also try to reinforce their non-verbal communications skills, because they understand that a really effective message is only created through the correct combination of both dimensions. This article presents an in-depth study of the nonverbal communication displayed by the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, during the first quarter of 2010 when a political topic predominated in the agenda: the financial crisis. Through content analysis, and a self-developed methodology, the study aims to decipher the strategic meaning of this political leader’s kinesic behaviour in the second edition of Telediario, the news programme broadcast by Spain’s Public TV Network (Televisión Española, aka, TVE.

  2. Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabian eRamseyer

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The coordination of patient’s and therapist’s bodily movement – nonverbal synchrony – has been empirically shown to be associated with psychotherapy outcome. This finding was based on dynamic movement patterns of the whole body. The present paper is a new analysis of an existing dataset (Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011, which extends previous findings by differentiating movements pertaining to head and upper-body regions. Method: In a sample of 70 patients (37 female, 33 male treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic, we quantified nonverbal synchrony with an automated objective video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Head- and body-synchrony was quantified during the initial 15 minutes of video-recorded therapy sessions. Micro-outcome was assessed with self-report post-session questionnaires provided by patients and their therapists. Macro-outcome was measured with questionnaires that quantified attainment of treatment goals and changes in experiencing and behavior at the end of therapy. Results: The differentiation of head- and body-synchrony showed that these two facets of motor coordination were differentially associated with outcome. Head-synchrony predicted global outcome of therapy, while body-synchrony did not, and body-synchrony predicted session outcome, while head-synchrony did not. Conclusions: The results pose an important amendment to previous findings, which showed that nonverbal synchrony embodied both outcome and interpersonal variables of psychotherapy dyads. The separation of head- and body-synchrony suggested that distinct mechanisms may operate in these two regions: Head-synchrony embodied phenomena with a long temporal extension (overall therapy success, while body-synchrony embodied phenomena of a more immediate nature (session-level success. More explorations with fine-grained analyses of synchronized phenomena in nonverbal behavior may shed additional light on the embodiment of

  3. Neurophysiological Modulations of Non-Verbal and Verbal Dual-Tasks Interference during Word Planning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raphaël Fargier

    Full Text Available Running a concurrent task while speaking clearly interferes with speech planning, but whether verbal vs. non-verbal tasks interfere with the same processes is virtually unknown. We investigated the neural dynamics of dual-task interference on word production using event-related potentials (ERPs with either tones or syllables as concurrent stimuli. Participants produced words from pictures in three conditions: without distractors, while passively listening to distractors and during a distractor detection task. Production latencies increased for tasks with higher attentional demand and were longer for syllables relative to tones. ERP analyses revealed common modulations by dual-task for verbal and non-verbal stimuli around 240 ms, likely corresponding to lexical selection. Modulations starting around 350 ms prior to vocal onset were only observed when verbal stimuli were involved. These later modulations, likely reflecting interference with phonological-phonetic encoding, were observed only when overlap between tasks was maximal and the same underlying neural circuits were engaged (cross-talk.

  4. Neurophysiological Modulations of Non-Verbal and Verbal Dual-Tasks Interference during Word Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fargier, Raphaël; Laganaro, Marina

    2016-01-01

    Running a concurrent task while speaking clearly interferes with speech planning, but whether verbal vs. non-verbal tasks interfere with the same processes is virtually unknown. We investigated the neural dynamics of dual-task interference on word production using event-related potentials (ERPs) with either tones or syllables as concurrent stimuli. Participants produced words from pictures in three conditions: without distractors, while passively listening to distractors and during a distractor detection task. Production latencies increased for tasks with higher attentional demand and were longer for syllables relative to tones. ERP analyses revealed common modulations by dual-task for verbal and non-verbal stimuli around 240 ms, likely corresponding to lexical selection. Modulations starting around 350 ms prior to vocal onset were only observed when verbal stimuli were involved. These later modulations, likely reflecting interference with phonological-phonetic encoding, were observed only when overlap between tasks was maximal and the same underlying neural circuits were engaged (cross-talk).

  5. Non-verbal emotion communication training induces specific changes in brain function and structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreifelts, Benjamin; Jacob, Heike; Brück, Carolin; Erb, Michael; Ethofer, Thomas; Wildgruber, Dirk

    2013-01-01

    The perception of emotional cues from voice and face is essential for social interaction. However, this process is altered in various psychiatric conditions along with impaired social functioning. Emotion communication trainings have been demonstrated to improve social interaction in healthy individuals and to reduce emotional communication deficits in psychiatric patients. Here, we investigated the impact of a non-verbal emotion communication training (NECT) on cerebral activation and brain structure in a controlled and combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and voxel-based morphometry study. NECT-specific reductions in brain activity occurred in a distributed set of brain regions including face and voice processing regions as well as emotion processing- and motor-related regions presumably reflecting training-induced familiarization with the evaluation of face/voice stimuli. Training-induced changes in non-verbal emotion sensitivity at the behavioral level and the respective cerebral activation patterns were correlated in the face-selective cortical areas in the posterior superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus for valence ratings and in the temporal pole, lateral prefrontal cortex and midbrain/thalamus for the response times. A NECT-induced increase in gray matter (GM) volume was observed in the fusiform face area. Thus, NECT induces both functional and structural plasticity in the face processing system as well as functional plasticity in the emotion perception and evaluation system. We propose that functional alterations are presumably related to changes in sensory tuning in the decoding of emotional expressions. Taken together, these findings highlight that the present experimental design may serve as a valuable tool to investigate the altered behavioral and neuronal processing of emotional cues in psychiatric disorders as well as the impact of therapeutic interventions on brain function and structure.

  6. Executive functioning and non-verbal intelligence as predictors of bullying in early elementary school

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verlinden, Marina; Veenstra, René; Ghassabian, Akhgar; Jansen, P.W.; Hofman, Albert; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Verhulst, F.C.; Tiemeier, Henning

    Executive function and intelligence are negatively associated with aggression, yet the role of executive function has rarely been examined in the context of school bullying. We studied whether different domains of executive function and non-verbal intelligence are associated with bullying

  7. Description of Communication Breakdown Repair Strategies Produced by Nonverbal Students with Developmental Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dincer, Baris; Erbas, Dilek

    2010-01-01

    This study describes the communication repair behaviors used by nonverbal students with developmental disabilities in the interactions they were involved in with their teachers during free play activities. All children were students at centers serving student with developmental disabilities at Anadolu University in Turkey. Data were collected by…

  8. A Communication-Based Intervention for Nonverbal Children with Autism: What Changes? Who Benefits?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Kate; Pasco, Greg; McElduff, Fiona; Wade, Angie; Howlin, Pat; Charman, Tony

    2011-01-01

    Objective: This article examines the form and function of spontaneous communication and outcome predictors in nonverbal children with autism following classroom-based intervention (Picture Exchange Communication System [PECS] training). Method: 84 children from 15 schools participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of PECS (P. Howlin, R.…

  9. Power in the Classroom VI: Verbal Control Strategies, Nonverbal Immediacy and Affective Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plax, Timothy G.; And Others

    Recognizing that nonverbal behaviors typically provide the framework for interpreting verbal messages, this project (the sixth in a series of projects designed to examine teacher power in the classroom) proposed and sequentially tested a heuristic model of student affective learning as a function of behavior alteration techniques and teacher…

  10. Vedic Science Based Education and Nonverbal Intelligence: A Preliminary Longitudinal Study in Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fergusson, Lee C.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    A study investigated the effects on students' nonverbal intelligence of implementing an approach to higher education based on Vedic science, developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and including transcendental meditation. The approach was implemented in two Cambodian universities and its effects assessed in 70 undergraduate students. An increase in…

  11. Cultural Difference in Stereotype Perceptions and Performances in Nonverbal Deductive Reasoning and Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Regine; Niu, Weihua

    2013-01-01

    A total of 182 undergraduate students from China and the United States participated in a study examining the presence of stereotypical perceptions regarding creativity and deductive reasoning abilities, as well as the influence of stereotype on participants' performance on deductive reasoning and creativity in nonverbal form. The results showed…

  12. Definition of a visuospatial dimension as a step forward in the diagnostic puzzle of nonverbal learning disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poletti, Michele

    2017-01-01

    Although clinically recognized for almost 50 years, the categorical distinction of specific learning disabilities due to an impairment of the nonverbal domain (nonverbal learning disability [NLD]) is still debated and controversial. Unsolved issues involve theoretical models, diagnostic criteria, rehabilitative interventions, and moderator factors. These issues are briefly overviewed to sustain the need for a shift toward dimensional approaches, as suggested by research domain criteria, as a step forward in the diagnostic puzzle of NLD. With this aim, a visuospatial dimension, or spectrum, is proposed, and then clinical conditions that may fit with its impaired side are systemized, while specifying in which conditions a visuospatial impairment may be considered an NLD.

  13. Practicing a musical instrument in childhood is associated with enhanced verbal ability and nonverbal reasoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgeard, Marie; Winner, Ellen; Norton, Andrea; Schlaug, Gottfried

    2008-01-01

    In this study we investigated the association between instrumental music training in childhood and outcomes closely related to music training as well as those more distantly related. Children who received at least three years (M = 4.6 years) of instrumental music training outperformed their control counterparts on two outcomes closely related to music (auditory discrimination abilities and fine motor skills) and on two outcomes distantly related to music (vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning skills). Duration of training also predicted these outcomes. Contrary to previous research, instrumental music training was not associated with heightened spatial skills, phonemic awareness, or mathematical abilities. While these results are correlational only, the strong predictive effect of training duration suggests that instrumental music training may enhance auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning. Alternative explanations for these results are discussed.

  14. Motor system contributions to verbal and non-verbal working memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana A Liao

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Working memory (WM involves the ability to maintain and manipulate information held in mind. Neuroimaging studies have shown that secondary motor areas activate during WM for verbal content (e.g., words or letters, in the absence of primary motor area activation. This activation pattern may reflect an inner speech mechanism supporting online phonological rehearsal. Here, we examined the causal relationship between motor system activity and WM processing by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS to manipulate motor system activity during WM rehearsal. We tested WM performance for verbalizable (words and pseudowords and non-verbalizable (Chinese characters visual information. We predicted that disruption of motor circuits would specifically affect WM processing of verbalizable information. We found that TMS targeting motor cortex slowed response times on verbal WM trials with high (pseudoword vs. low (real word phonological load. However, non-verbal WM trials were also significantly slowed with motor TMS. WM performance was unaffected by sham stimulation or TMS over visual cortex. Self-reported use of motor strategy predicted the degree of motor stimulation disruption on WM performance. These results provide evidence of the motor system’s contributions to verbal and non-verbal WM processing. We speculate that the motor system supports WM by creating motor traces consistent with the type of information being rehearsed during maintenance.

  15. Early lexical development and risk of verbal and nonverbal cognitive delay at school age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ghassabian, A.; Rescorla, L.; Henrichs, J.; Jaddoe, V.W.; Verhulst, F.C.; Tiemeier, H.W.

    2014-01-01

    Aim To characterise the relationship between preschool lexical delay and language comprehension and nonverbal intelligence at school age. Methods The mothers of 2724 children completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory when their child reached 1.5 years and the Language Development

  16. Nonverbal communication of intention and attention while playing a game

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Ditte Hvas

    This poster abstract describes first part of a series of experiments on using the individual’s gesture, grip and direction of face, to infer intentions and attention during interaction with technology. The experiment recorded here studies these patterns of nonverbal communication in order...... to explore how they can be used in an activity-aware setup that seeks adjusts to the individual’s intentions and attention. Results indicate that basic patterns of facial direction, grip and gestures are correlated with intention and/or attention....

  17. Prevalence of inter-hemispheric asymetry in children and adolescents with interdisciplinary diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wajnsztejn, Alessandra Bernardes Caturani; Bianco, Bianca; Barbosa, Caio Parente

    2016-01-01

    To describe clinical and epidemiological features of children and adolescents with interdisciplinary diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder and to investigate the prevalence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry in this population group. Cross-sectional study including children and adolescents referred for interdisciplinary assessment with learning difficulty complaints, who were given an interdisciplinary diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder. The following variables were included in the analysis: sex-related prevalence, educational system, initial presumptive diagnoses and respective prevalence, overall non-verbal learning disorder prevalence, prevalence according to school year, age range at the time of assessment, major family complaints, presence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry, arithmetic deficits, visuoconstruction impairments and major signs and symptoms of non-verbal learning disorder. Out of 810 medical records analyzed, 14 were from individuals who met the diagnostic criteria for non-verbal learning disorder, including the presence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry. Of these 14 patients, 8 were male. The high prevalence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry suggests this parameter can be used to predict or support the diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder. Descrever as características clínicas e epidemiológicas de crianças e adolescentes com transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal, e investigar a prevalência de assimetria inter-hemisférica neste grupo populacional. Estudo transversal que incluiu crianças e adolescentes encaminhados para uma avaliação interdisciplinar, com queixas de dificuldades de aprendizagem e que receberam diagnóstico interdisciplinar de transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal. As variáveis avaliadas foram prevalência por sexo, sistema de ensino, hipóteses diagnósticas iniciais e respectivas prevalências, prevalência de condições em relação à amostra total, prevalência geral do transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal

  18. In the ear of the beholder: how age shapes emotion processing in nonverbal vocalizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, César F; Alves, Tiago; Scott, Sophie K; Castro, São Luís

    2014-02-01

    It is well established that emotion recognition of facial expressions declines with age, but evidence for age-related differences in vocal emotions is more limited. This is especially true for nonverbal vocalizations such as laughter, sobs, or sighs. In this study, 43 younger adults (M = 22 years) and 43 older ones (M = 61.4 years) provided multiple emotion ratings of nonverbal emotional vocalizations. Contrasting with previous research, which often includes only one positive emotion (happiness) versus several negative ones, we examined 4 positive and 4 negative emotions: achievement/triumph, amusement, pleasure, relief, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness. We controlled for hearing loss and assessed general cognitive decline, cognitive control, verbal intelligence, working memory, current affect, emotion regulation, and personality. Older adults were less sensitive than younger ones to the intended vocal emotions, as indicated by decrements in ratings on the intended emotion scales and accuracy. These effects were similar for positive and negative emotions, and they were independent of age-related differences in cognitive, affective, and personality measures. Regression analyses revealed that younger and older participants' responses could be predicted from the acoustic properties of the temporal, intensity, fundamental frequency, and spectral profile of the vocalizations. The two groups were similarly efficient in using the acoustic cues, but there were differences in the patterns of emotion-specific predictors. This study suggests that ageing produces specific changes on the processing of nonverbal vocalizations. That decrements were not attenuated for positive emotions indicates that they cannot be explained by a positivity effect in older adults. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  19. Non-verbal communication between nurses and people with an intellectual disability: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Anne-Marie; O'Connor-Fenelon, Maureen; Lyons, Rosemary

    2010-12-01

    This article critically synthesizes current literature regarding communication between nurses and people with an intellectual disability who communicate non-verbally. The unique context of communication between the intellectual disability nurse and people with intellectual disability and the review aims and strategies are outlined. Communication as a concept is explored in depth. Communication between the intellectual disability nurse and the person with an intellectual disability is then comprehensively examined in light of existing literature. Issues including knowledge of the person with intellectual disability, mismatch of communication ability, and knowledge of communication arose as predominant themes. A critical review of the importance of communication in nursing practice follows. The paucity of literature relating to intellectual disability nursing and non-verbal communication clearly indicates a need for research.

  20. Nonverbal behavior observation : collaborative gaming method for prediction of conflicts during long-term missions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voynarovskaya, N.; Gorbunov, R.D.; Barakova, E.I.; Ahn, R.M.C.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.; Yang, H.S.; et al., xx

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a method for monitoring mental state of small isolated crews during long-term missions (such as space mission, polar expeditions, submarine crews, meteorological stations, and etc). It combines the records of negotiation game with monitoring of the nonverbal behavior of the

  1. Do Nonverbal Emotional Cues Matter? Effects of Video Casting in Synchronous Virtual Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Heeyoung

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the effects of an instructor's use of video casting as a nonverbal emotional cue in synchronous discussion sessions on students' social presence, satisfaction, and learning achievement. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of video casting in a synchronous virtual classroom. The research setting was a…

  2. Non-verbal Persuasion and Communication in an Affective Agent

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    André, Elisabeth; Bevacqua, Elisabetta; Heylen, Dirk

    2011-01-01

    the critical role of non-verbal behaviour during face-to-face communication. In this chapter we restrict the discussion to body language. We also consider embodied virtual agents. As is the case with humans, there are a number of fundamental factors to be considered when constructing persuasive agents......This chapter deals with the communication of persuasion. Only a small percentage of communication involves words: as the old saying goes, “it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”. While this likely underestimates the importance of good verbal persuasion techniques, it is accurate in underlining...

  3. A Review of Verbal and Non-Verbal Human-Robot Interactive Communication

    OpenAIRE

    Mavridis, Nikolaos

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, an overview of human-robot interactive communication is presented, covering verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of human-robot interaction. Following a historical introduction, and motivation towards fluid human-robot communication, ten desiderata are proposed, which provide an organizational axis both of recent as well as of future research on human-robot communication. Then, the ten desiderata are examined in detail, culminating to a unifying discussion, and a forward-lookin...

  4. Toward a digitally mediated, transgenerational negotiation of verbal and non-verbal concepts in daycare

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chimirri, Niklas Alexander

    an adult researcher’s research problem and her/his conceptual knowledge of the child-adult-digital media interaction are able to do justice to what the children actually intend to communicate about their experiences and actions, both verbally and non-verbally, by and large remains little explored...

  5. [The Impact of Visual Perceptual Abilities on the Performance on the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werpup-Stüwe, L; Petermann, F; Daseking, M

    2015-10-01

    The use of psychometric tests in with children and adolescents is especially important in psychological diagnostics. Nonverbal intelligence tests are very often used to diagnose psychological abnormalities and generate developmental prognosis independent of the child´s verbal abilities. The correlation of the German version of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception - Adolescents and Adults (DTVP-A) with the Wechsler Nonverbal Scala of Abilities (WNV) was calculated based on the results of 172 children, adolescents and young adults aged 9-21 years. Furthermore, it was examined if individuals with poor visual perceptual abilities scored lower on the WNV than healthy subjects. The correlations of the results scored on DTVP-A and WNV ranged from moderate to strong. The group with poor visual perceptual abilities scored significantly lower on the WNV than the control group. Nonverbal intelligence tests like the WNV are not reliable for estimating the intelligence of individuals with low visual perceptual abilities. Therefore, the intelligence of these subjects should be tested with a test that also contains verbal subtests. If poor visual perceptual abilities are suspected, then they should be tested. The DTVP-A seems to be the right instrument for achieving this goal. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  6. Increasing Social Interaction Using Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching with Nonverbal School-Age Children with Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco, Jessica H.; Davis, Barbara L.; Davis, John L.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Children with autism display marked deficits in initiating and maintaining social interaction. Intervention using play routines can create a framework for developing and maintaining social interaction between these children and their communication partners. Method: Six nonverbal 5- to 8-year-olds with autism were taught to engage in…

  7. NONVERBAL TREATMENT OF NEUROSIS—Techniques for General Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batten, Charles T.

    1959-01-01

    “Psychosomatic medicine” does not demand that the general practitioner function as a psychiatrist; rather, it is a psychiatric orientation that can increase the effectiveness of purely medical treatment for such conditions as neuroses. The general practitioner to whom the patient turns may achieve permanent results with nonverbal techniques where formal psychotherapy would be impracticable or unacceptable. The first aim is to relieve pressure so that the patient can regain his mental balance and thereby his self-confidence. Arts, hobbies, sports, and the like can be prescribed rather specifically according to the patient's personality and needs. Nutrition can be improved simply at first by prescribing needed additions to diet rather than imposing restrictions. Vitamin deficiency may by itself be the cause of neurosis or more serious mental disease, whereas psychic stress by itself may create a need for additional vitamin intake. Hormone therapy may be extremely helpful but must be based on clear indication and limited to specific purposes. Since lack of sleep and rest quickly impairs mental function, it is important for neurotic persons to learn relaxation as a necessity for sleep. Sedatives may be used in a crisis but should be abandoned as soon as possible. With all drugs there are problems of excess and habituation. The least, the mildest, the shortest dosage is the ideal. The initial steps of psychotherapy are available to any physician: Establishing rapport, noting how complaints are stated, encouraging ventilation, winning confidence rather than immediate results. PMID:13638823

  8. Perception of non-verbal auditory stimuli in Italian dyslexic children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantiani, Chiara; Lorusso, Maria Luisa; Valnegri, Camilla; Molteni, Massimo

    2010-01-01

    Auditory temporal processing deficits have been proposed as the underlying cause of phonological difficulties in Developmental Dyslexia. The hypothesis was tested in a sample of 20 Italian dyslexic children aged 8-14, and 20 matched control children. Three tasks of auditory processing of non-verbal stimuli, involving discrimination and reproduction of sequences of rapidly presented short sounds were expressly created. Dyslexic subjects performed more poorly than control children, suggesting the presence of a deficit only partially influenced by the duration of the stimuli and of inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs).

  9. Students' Perceived Understanding Mediates the Effects of Teacher Clarity and Nonverbal Immediacy on Learner Empowerment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finn, Amber N.; Schrodt, Paul

    2012-01-01

    This study examined students' perceived understanding as a mediator of the relationship between student perceptions of teacher clarity, nonverbal immediacy cues, and learner empowerment (i.e., meaningfulness, competence, and impact). Participants included 261 undergraduate students who completed survey instruments. Results of structural equation…

  10. Understanding Instructor Nonverbal Immediacy, Verbal Immediacy, and Student Motivation at a Small Liberal Arts University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furlich, Stephen A.

    2016-01-01

    Instructor communication behaviors and student motivation to learn relationships were studied at a small liberal arts university. Specifically, relationships between instructor nonverbal immediacy, verbal immediacy behaviors and student motivation to learn were measured. Only instructor verbal immediacy behaviors had a significant linear…

  11. Anxiety and Depression in Children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, Reading Disabilities, or Typical Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mammarella, Irene C.; Ghisi, Marta; Bomba, Monica; Bottesi, Gioia; Caviola, Sara; Broggi, Fiorenza; Nacinovich, Renata

    2016-01-01

    The main goal of the present study was to shed further light on the psychological characteristics of children with different learning disability profiles aged between 8 and 11 years, attending from third to sixth grade. Specifically, children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD), reading disabilities (RD), or a typical development (TD) were…

  12. On the embedded cognition of non-verbal narratives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruni, Luis Emilio; Baceviciute, Sarune

    2014-01-01

    Acknowledging that narratives are an important resource in human communication and cognition, the focus of this article is on the cognitive aspects of involvement with visual and auditory non-verbal narratives, particularly in relation to the newest immersive media and digital interactive...... representational technologies. We consider three relevant trends in narrative studies that have emerged in the 60 years of cognitive and digital revolution. The issue at hand could have implications for developmental psychology, pedagogics, cognitive science, cognitive psychology, ethology and evolutionary studies...... of language. In particular, it is of great importance for narratology in relation to interactive media and new representational technologies. Therefore we outline a research agenda for a bio-cognitive semiotic interdisciplinary investigation on how people understand, react to, and interact with narratives...

  13. Nonverbal interpersonal attunement and extravert personality predict outcome of light treatment in seasonal affective disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geerts, E; Kouwert, E; Bouhuys, N; Meesters, Y; Jansen, J

    We investigated whether personality and nonverbal interpersonal processes can predict the subsequent response to light treatment in seasonal affective disorder (SAD) patients. In 60 SAD patients, Neuroticism and Extraversion were assessed prior to light treatment (4 days with 30 min of 10.000 lux).

  14. Near Real-Time Comprehension Classification with Artificial Neural Networks: Decoding e-Learner Non-Verbal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Mike; Latham, Annabel; Crockett, Keeley; O'Shea, James D.

    2018-01-01

    Comprehension is an important cognitive state for learning. Human tutors recognize comprehension and non-comprehension states by interpreting learner non-verbal behavior (NVB). Experienced tutors adapt pedagogy, materials, and instruction to provide additional learning scaffold in the context of perceived learner comprehension. Near real-time…

  15. Narrative retelling in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: is there a role for nonverbal temporal-sequencing skills?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnels, Jakob Åsberg; Hagberg, Bibbi; Gillberg, Christopher; Miniscalco, Carmela

    2013-10-01

    Oral narrative retelling is often problematic for children with communicative and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, beyond a suggested role of language level, little is known about the basis of narrative performance. In this study we examine whether oral narrative retelling might be associated not just with language level but also with skills related to nonverbal narrative temporal sequencing. A diagnostically heterogeneous sample of Swedish-speaking children with a full scale IQ >70 was included in the study (N = 55; age 6-9 years). Narrative retelling skills were measured using the three subscores from the bus story test (BST). Independent predictors included (1) temporal sequencing skills according to a picture arrangement test and (2) a language skills factor consisting of definitional vocabulary and receptive grammar. Regression analyses show that language skills predicted BST Sentence Length and Subordinate Clauses subscores, while both temporal sequencing and language were independently linked with the BST Information subscore. When subdividing the sample based on nonverbal temporal sequencing level, a significant subgroup difference was found only for BST Information. Finally, a principal component analysis shows that temporal sequencing and BST Information loaded on a common factor, separately from the language measures. It is concluded that language level is an important correlate of narrative performance more generally in this diagnostically heterogeneous sample, and that nonverbal temporal sequencing functions are important especially for conveying story information. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  16. Effects of Training on Accuracy of Decoding Complex Nonverbal Behavior. Working Paper No. 267.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, Michael L.; And Others

    Two studies investigated the effects of training on how accurately observers (college students) decoded a complex nonverbal stimulus. In the first experiment, observers viewed silent videotapes of 16 third and fourth-grade school children who were listening to an easy or a difficult lesson. Half of the children were responding spontaneously, while…

  17. Power and status within small groups: An analysis of students' verbal and nonverbal behavior and responses to one another

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Lynnae Carol

    The purpose of this research has been to determine the influence of verbal and nonverbal behavior on power and status within small groups. The interactions which took place within five small groups of students in a middle school spatial reasoning elective were analyzed. Verbal responses to requests for help were analyzed using sequential analysis techniques. Results indicated that the identity of the student asking a question or requesting help in some form or another is a better predictor of whether he/she will receive help than the type of questions he/she asks. Nonverbal behavior was analyzed for social gestures, body language, and shifts in possession of tools. Each nonverbal act was coded as either "positive" (encouraging participation) or "negative" (discouraging participation); and, the researchers found that in groups in which there was unequal participation and less "help" provided among peers (according to the verbal analysis results) there tended to be more "negative" nonverbal behavior demonstrated than in groups in which "shared talk time" and "helping behavior" were common characteristics of the norm. The combined results from the analyses of the verbal and nonverbal behavior of students within small groups were then reviewed through the conflict, power, status perspective of small group interactions in order to determine some common characteristics of high functioning (collaborative) and low functioning (non-collaborative) groups. Some common characteristics of the higher functioning groups include: few instances of conflict, shared "talk time" and decision making, inclusive leadership, frequent use of encouraging social gestures and body language, and more sharing of tools than seizing. Some shared traits among the lower functioning groups include: frequent occurrences of interpersonal conflict, a focus on process (rather than content), persuasive or alienating leadership, unequal participation and power, frequent use of discouraging social gestures

  18. No deficits in nonverbal memory, metamemory and internal as well as external source memory in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moritz, Steffen; Ruhe, Claudia; Jelinek, Lena; Naber, Dieter

    2009-04-01

    A large body of literature suggests that some symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) result from mnemonic dysfunctions. The present study tested various formulations of the memory deficit hypothesis considering important moderators, such as depression and response slowing. Thirty-two OCD patients and 32 healthy controls were presented verbal or nonverbal instructions for actions (e.g. simple gestures). These actions should either be performed or imagined. For recognition, previously presented as well as novel actions were displayed. Decisions had to be made whether an action was previously displayed (verbally vs. nonverbally) or not and whether an action was performed or imagined (internal source memory). Moreover, both judgments required confidence ratings. Groups did not differ in memory accuracy and metamemory for verbally presented material. Patients displayed some impairment for nonverbally presented material and imagined instructions, which, however, could be fully accounted for by response slowing and depressive symptoms. The study challenges the view that primary memory deficits underlie OCD or any of its subtypes. We claim that research should move forward from the mere study of objective impairment to the assessment of cognitive performance in conjunction with personality traits such as inflated responsibility.

  19. The assessment of nonverbal behavior in schizophrenia through the Formal Psychological Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granziol, Umberto; Spoto, Andrea; Vidotto, Giulio

    2018-03-01

    The nonverbal behavior (NVB) of people diagnosed with schizophrenia consistently interacts with their symptoms during the assessment. Previous studies frequently observed such an interaction when a prevalence of negative symptoms occurred. Nonetheless, a list of NVBs linked to negative symptoms needs to be defined. Furthermore, a list of items that can exhaustively assess such NVBs is still needed. The present study aims to introduce both lists by using the Formal Psychological Assessment. A deep analysis was performed on both the scientific literature and the DSM-5 for constructing the set of nonverbal behaviors; similarly, an initial list of 138 items investigating the behaviors was obtained from instruments used to assess schizophrenia. The Formal Psychological Assessment was then applied to reduce the preliminary list. A final list of 23 items necessary and sufficient to investigate the NVBs emerged. The list also allowed us to analyze specific relations among items. The present study shows how it is possible to deepen a patient's negative symptomatology, starting with the relations between items and the NVBs they investigate. Finally, this study examines the advantages and clinical implications of defining an assessment tool based on the found list of items. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Comparative Analysis of Verbal and Non-Verbal Mental Activity Components Regarding the Young People with Different Intellectual Levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. M. Revenko

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper maintains that for developing the educational pro- grams and technologies adequate to the different stages of students’ growth and maturity, there is a need for exploring the natural determinants of intel- lectual development as well as the students’ individual qualities affecting the cognition process. The authors investigate the differences of the intellect manifestations with the reference to the gender principle, and analyze the correlations be- tween verbal and non-verbal components in boys and girls’ mental activity depending on their general intellect potential. The research, carried out in Si- berian State Automobile Road Academy and focused on the first year stu- dents, demonstrates the absence of gender differences in students’ general in- tellect levels; though, there are some other conformities: the male students of different intellectual levels show the same correlation coefficient of verbal and non-verbal intellect while the female ones have the same correlation only at the high intellect level. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the need for the integral ap- proach to raising students’ mental abilities considering the close interrelation between the verbal and non-verbal component development. The teaching materials should stimulate different mental qualities by differentiating the educational process to develop students’ individual abilities. 

  1. Consonant Differentiation Mediates the Discrepancy between Non-verbal and Verbal Abilities in Children with ASD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Key, A. P.; Yoder, P. J.; Stone, W. L.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate verbal communication disorders reflected in lower verbal than non-verbal abilities. The present study examined the extent to which this discrepancy is associated with atypical speech sound differentiation. Methods: Differences in the amplitude of auditory event-related…

  2. Cross-Cultural Differences in the Processing of Nonverbal Affective Vocalizations by Japanese and Canadian Listeners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michihiko eKoeda

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The Montreal Affective Voices (MAVs consist of a database of nonverbal affect bursts portrayed by Canadian actors, and high recognitions accuracies were observed in Canadian listeners. Whether listeners from other cultures would be as accurate is unclear. We tested for cross-cultural differences in perception of the MAVs: Japanese listeners were asked to rate the MAVs on several affective dimensions and ratings were compared to those obtained by Canadian listeners. Significant Group x Emotion interactions were observed for ratings of Intensity, Valence, and Arousal. Whereas Intensity and Valence ratings did not differ across cultural groups for sad and happy vocalizations, they were significantly less intense and less negative in Japanese listeners for angry, disgusted, and fearful vocalizations. Similarly, pleased vocalizations were rated as less intense and less positive by Japanese listeners. These results demonstrate important cross-cultural differences in affective perception not just of nonverbal vocalizations expressing positive affect (Sauter et al, 2010, but also of vocalizations expressing basic negative emotions.

  3. Learning social attitudes: children's sensitivity to the nonverbal behaviors of adult models during interracial interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelli, Luigi; De Dea, Cristina; Nesdale, Drew

    2008-11-01

    White children show marked ingroup race preferences and a relative devaluation of Black people. The origin of these early interracial attitudes is to a large extent still unclear. The studies here test the possibility that preschool-aged children are particularly sensitive to the nonverbal behaviors performed by White adults during interracial interactions. In Study 1, children were shown a video displaying an interaction between a White and a Black adult. Across conditions, the White adult's verbal behaviors were either friendly or neutral, whereas his nonverbal behaviors showed either easiness (e.g., closeness, high eye contact) or uneasiness (e.g., distance, avoidance of eye contact). Results revealed that participants shaped their attitudes toward the Black target accordingly, independently from the White adults' verbal behaviors. Study 2 replicated the basic findings and demonstrated that the observed effects generalized to other Black targets. Results are discussed in relation to current approaches to understanding the formation of racial attitudes among children.

  4. Nonverbal memory and organizational dysfunctions are related with distinct symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Joon Hwan; Kim, Hee Sun; Ha, Tae Hyon; Shin, Na Young; Kang, Do-Hyung; Choi, Jung-Seok; Ha, Kyooseob; Kwon, Jun Soo

    2010-12-30

    Recent acceptance that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) represents a heterogeneous phenomenon has underscored the need for dimensional approaches to this disorder. However little is known about the relation between neuropsychological functions and symptom dimensions. The purpose of this study was to identify the cognitive deficits correlated with specific symptom dimensions. Thirteen categories in the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale symptom checklist from 144 patients with OCD were analyzed by principal component analysis. Correlations between identified symptom dimensions and neuropsychological functioning, measured by the Boston Qualitative Scoring System, were analyzed. Five factors or dimensions were identified: contamination/cleaning, hoarding, symmetry/ordering, obsessions/checking, and repeating/counting. Dysfunctions in nonverbal memory and organizational strategies were related to the symmetry/ordering dimension and the obsessions/checking dimension, respectively. The results of the present study support a transculturally stable symptom structure for OCD. They also suggest the possibility that nonverbal memory dysfunction and organizational impairment are mediated by distinct obsessive-compulsive dimensions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Long-latency auditory evoked potentials with verbal and nonverbal stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppitz, Sheila Jacques; Didoné, Dayane Domeneghini; Silva, Débora Durigon da; Gois, Marjana; Folgearini, Jordana; Ferreira, Geise Corrêa; Garcia, Michele Vargas

    2015-01-01

    Long-latency auditory evoked potentials represent the cortical activity related to attention, memory, and auditory discrimination skills. Acoustic signal processing occurs differently between verbal and nonverbal stimuli, influencing the latency and amplitude patterns. To describe the latencies of the cortical potentials P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3, as well as P3 amplitude, with different speech stimuli and tone bursts, and to classify them in the presence and absence of these data. A total of 30 subjects with normal hearing were assessed, aged 18-32 years old, matched by gender. Nonverbal stimuli were used (tone burst; 1000Hz - frequent and 4000Hz - rare); and verbal (/ba/ - frequent; /ga/, /da/, and /di/ - rare). Considering the component N2 for tone burst, the lowest latency found was 217.45ms for the BA/DI stimulus; the highest latency found was 256.5ms. For the P3 component, the shortest latency with tone burst stimuli was 298.7 with BA/GA stimuli, the highest, was 340ms. For the P3 amplitude, there was no statistically significant difference among the different stimuli. For latencies of components P1, N1, P2, N2, P3, there were no statistical differences among them, regardless of the stimuli used. There was a difference in the latency of potentials N2 and P3 among the stimuli employed but no difference was observed for the P3 amplitude. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  6. Social influence on metacognitive evaluations: The power of nonverbal cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eskenazi, Terry; Montalan, Benoît; Jacquot, Amélie; Proust, Joëlle; Grèzes, Julie; Conty, Laurence

    2016-11-01

    Metacognitive evaluations refer to the processes by which people assess their own cognitive operations with respect to their current goal. Little is known about whether this process is susceptible to social influence. Here we investigate whether nonverbal social signals spontaneously influence metacognitive evaluations. Participants performed a two-alternative forced-choice task, which was followed by a face randomly gazing towards or away from the response chosen by the participant. Participants then provided a metacognitive evaluation of their response by rating their confidence in their answer. In Experiment 1, the participants were told that the gaze direction was irrelevant to the task purpose and were advised to ignore it. The results revealed an effect of implicit social information on confidence ratings even though the gaze direction was random and therefore unreliable for task purposes. In addition, nonsocial cues (car) did not elicit this effect. In Experiment 2, the participants were led to believe that cue direction (face or car) reflected a previous participant's response to the same question-that is, the social information provided by the cue was made explicit, yet still objectively unreliable for the task. The results showed a similar social influence on confidence ratings, observed with both cues (car and face) but with an increased magnitude relative to Experiment 1. We additionally showed in Experiment 2 that social information impaired metacognitive accuracy. Together our results strongly suggest an involuntary susceptibility of metacognitive evaluations to nonverbal social information, even when it is implicit (Experiment 1) and unreliable (Experiments 1 and 2).

  7. Long-latency auditory evoked potentials with verbal and nonverbal stimuli,

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila Jacques Oppitz

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Long-latency auditory evoked potentials represent the cortical activity related to attention, memory, and auditory discrimination skills. Acoustic signal processing occurs differently between verbal and nonverbal stimuli, influencing the latency and amplitude patterns. OBJECTIVE: To describe the latencies of the cortical potentials P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3, as well as P3 amplitude, with different speech stimuli and tone bursts, and to classify them in the presence and absence of these data. METHODS: A total of 30 subjects with normal hearing were assessed, aged 18-32 years old, matched by gender. Nonverbal stimuli were used (tone burst; 1000 Hz - frequent and 4000 Hz - rare; and verbal (/ba/ - frequent; /ga/, /da/, and /di/ - rare. RESULTS: Considering the component N2 for tone burst, the lowest latency found was 217.45 ms for the BA/DI stimulus; the highest latency found was 256.5 ms. For the P3 component, the shortest latency with tone burst stimuli was 298.7 with BA/GA stimuli, the highest, was 340 ms. For the P3 amplitude, there was no statistically significant difference among the different stimuli. For latencies of components P1, N1, P2, N2, P3, there were no statistical differences among them, regardless of the stimuli used. CONCLUSION: There was a difference in the latency of potentials N2 and P3 among the stimuli employed but no difference was observed for the P3 amplitude.

  8. Analysis of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s nonverbal communication

    OpenAIRE

    Imelda Rodríguez-Escanciano, Ph.D.; María Hernández-Herrarte, Ph.D

    2010-01-01

    Aware of television’s high level of persuasion and impact, politicians have progressively adapted their messages to the guidelines of the audiovisual media in order to strongly persuade TV viewers, which are seen as potential voters. Currently, the communication, marketing and telegenicity teams of most political parties do not only train their politicians to effectively use verbal communication, but they also try to reinforce their non-verbal communications skills, because they understand th...

  9. All eyes on the patient: the influence of oncologists' nonverbal communication on breast cancer patients' trust

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hillen, Marij A.; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; Bijker, Nina; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W. M.; Vermeulen, Daniëlle M.; Smets, Ellen M. A.

    2015-01-01

    Trust in the oncologist is crucial for breast cancer patients. It reduces worry, enhances decision making, and stimulates adherence. Optimal nonverbal communication by the oncologist, particularly eye contact, body posture, and smiling, presumably benefits patients' trust. We were the first to

  10. Bilateral bone conduction devices: improved hearing ability in children with bilateral conductive hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dun, Catharina A J; Agterberg, Martijn J H; Cremers, Cor W R J; Hol, Myrthe K S; Snik, Ad F M

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate whether children with bilateral conductive hearing loss benefit from their second device (i.e., the bilateral bone conduction device [BCD]). Speech recognition in noise was assessed in 10 children fitted with bilateral BCDs during childhood. Speech recognition was measured in 2 conditions with both BCDs active. Spatial resolution was tested with the Minimum Audible Angle test in the bilateral and monaural listening conditions. Children demonstrated an improvement in speech recognition when speech was presented from the front and noise was presented from the right-hand side as compared with both speech and noise being presented from the front. The minimum audible angle decreased from 57° in the best monaural condition to 13° in the bilateral condition. The audiological outcomes demonstrate the advantage of bilateral BCD fitting in children with bilateral conductive hearing loss.

  11. An exploratory study of relational, persuasive, and nonverbal communication in requests for tissue donation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siminoff, Laura A; Traino, Heather M; Gordon, Nahida H

    2011-10-01

    This study explores the effects of tissue requesters' relational, persuasive, and nonverbal communication on families' final donation decisions. One thousand sixteen (N = 1,016) requests for tissue donation were audiotaped and analyzed using the Siminoff Communication Content and Affect Program, a computer application specifically designed to code and assist with the quantitative analysis of communication data. This study supports the important role of communication strategies in health-related decision making. Families were more likely to consent to tissue donation when confirmational messages (e.g., messages that expressed validation or acceptance) or persuasive tactics such as credibility, altruism, or esteem were used during donation discussions. Consent was also more likely when family members exhibited nonverbal immediacy or disclosed private information about themselves or the patient. The results of a hierarchical log-linear regression revealed that the use of relational communication during requests directly predicted family consent. The results provide information about surrogate decision making in end-of-life situations and may be used to guide future practice in obtaining family consent to tissue donation.

  12. An improved UO2 thermal conductivity model in the ELESTRES computer code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chassie, G.G.; Tochaie, M.; Xu, Z.

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the improved UO 2 thermal conductivity model for use in the ELESTRES (ELEment Simulation and sTRESses) computer code. The ELESTRES computer code models the thermal, mechanical and microstructural behaviour of a CANDU® fuel element under normal operating conditions. The main purpose of the code is to calculate fuel temperatures, fission gas release, internal gas pressure, fuel pellet deformation, and fuel sheath strains for fuel element design and assessment. It is also used to provide initial conditions for evaluating fuel behaviour during high temperature transients. The thermal conductivity of UO 2 fuel is one of the key parameters that affect ELESTRES calculations. The existing ELESTRES thermal conductivity model has been assessed and improved based on a large amount of thermal conductivity data from measurements of irradiated and un-irradiated UO 2 fuel with different densities. The UO 2 thermal conductivity data cover 90% to 99% theoretical density of UO 2 , temperature up to 3027 K, and burnup up to 1224 MW·h/kg U. The improved thermal conductivity model, which is recommended for a full implementation in the ELESTRES computer code, has reduced the ELESTRES code prediction biases of temperature, fission gas release, and fuel sheath strains when compared with the available experimental data. This improved thermal conductivity model has also been checked with a test version of ELESTRES over the full ranges of fuel temperature, fuel burnup, and fuel density expected in CANDU fuel. (author)

  13. Improving the Thermal Conductivity of UO2 Fuel with the Addition of Graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Byoung Jin; Kim, Young Jin; Sohn, Dong Seong

    2012-01-01

    Improvement of fuel performances by increasing the fuel thermal conductivity using the BeO or W were reported elsewhere. In this paper, some major fuel performances of improved thermal conductivity oxide (ICO) nuclear fuel with the addition of 10 v/o graphene have been compared to those of standard UO 2 fuel. The fuel thermal conductivity affects many performance parameters and thus is an important parameter to determine the fuel performance. Furthermore, it also affects the performance of the fuel during reactor accidents. The improved thermal conductivity of the fuel would reduce the fuel temperature at the same power condition and would improve the fission gas release, rod internal pressure and fuel stored energy. Graphene is well known for its excellent electrical conductivity, strength and thermal conductivity. The addition of graphene to the UO 2 fuel could increase the thermal conductivity of the ICO fuel. Although the graphene material is extensively studied recently, the characteristics of the graphene material, especially the thermal properties, are not well-known yet. In this study, we used the Light Water Reactor fuel performance analysis code FRAPCON-3.2 to analyze the performance of standard UO 2 and ICO fuel

  14. The Role of Modular Robotics in Mediating Nonverbal Social Exchanges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marti, P; Giusti, L; Lund, Henrik Hautop

    2009-01-01

    This paper outlines the use of modular robotics to encourage and facilitate nonverbal communication during therapeutic intervention in dementia care. A set of new socially interactive modular robotic devices called rolling pins (RPs) has been designed and developed to assist the therapist...... is that they are able to communicate with each other or with other devices equipped with the same radio communication technology. The RPs are usually used in pairs, as the local feedback of an RP can be set depending not only on its own speed and orientation but also on the speed and the orientation of the peer RP...

  15. The Use of Non-Verbal and Body Movement Techniques in Working with Families with Infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, James M.

    1979-01-01

    Presents an experiential-educational approach to families with infants integrating dance and movement therapy with family therapy theories and techniques. Nonverbal techniques are the only possible methods of working directly with infants present with their parents in these workshops. The focus is on negotiations and exchanges of feelings in…

  16. She Wore a Flower in Her Hair: The Effect of Ornamentation on Nonverbal Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stillman, JeriJayne W.; Hensley, Wayne E.

    Six waitresses in a restaurant of a large midwestern city agreed to participate in a study of the nonverbal effects of ornamentation. The hypothesis was that diners would leave larger tips for a waitress who wore a flower in her hair than for the same waitress without a flower. During the four nights that data were collected, the waitresses…

  17. Deaf children’s non-verbal working memory is impacted by their language experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chloe eMarshall

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies suggest that deaf children perform more poorly on working memory tasks compared to hearing children, but do not say whether this poorer performance arises directly from deafness itself or from deaf children’s reduced language exposure. The issue remains unresolved because findings come from (1 tasks that are verbal as opposed to non-verbal, and (2 involve deaf children who use spoken communication and therefore may have experienced impoverished input and delayed language acquisition. This is in contrast to deaf children who have been exposed to a sign language since birth from Deaf parents (and who therefore have native language-learning opportunities. A more direct test of how the type and quality of language exposure impacts working memory is to use measures of non-verbal working memory (NVWM and to compare hearing children with two groups of deaf signing children: those who have had native exposure to a sign language, and those who have experienced delayed acquisition compared to their native-signing peers. In this study we investigated the relationship between NVWM and language in three groups aged 6-11 years: hearing children (n=27, deaf native users of British Sign Language (BSL; n=7, and deaf children non native signers (n=19. We administered a battery of non-verbal reasoning, NVWM, and language tasks. We examined whether the groups differed on NVWM scores, and if language tasks predicted scores on NVWM tasks. For the two NVWM tasks, the non-native signers performed less accurately than the native signer and hearing groups (who did not differ from one another. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the vocabulary measure predicted scores on NVWM tasks. Our results suggest that whatever the language modality – spoken or signed – rich language experience from birth, and the good language skills that result from this early age of aacquisition, play a critical role in the development of NVWM and in performance on NVWM

  18. Predicting Personality Disorder Functioning Styles by the Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire in Healthy Volunteers and Personality Disorder Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Qianqian; Ma, Guorong; Zhu, Qisha; Fan, Hongying; Wang, Wei

    2016-01-01

    Detecting personality disorders in the illiterate population is a challenge, but nonverbal tools measuring personality traits such as the Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire (FFNPQ) might help. We hypothesized that FFNPQ traits are associated with personality disorder functioning styles in a predictable way, especially in a sample of personality disorder patients. We therefore invited 106 personality disorder patients and 205 healthy volunteers to answer the FFNPQ and the Parker Personality Measure (PERM) which measures 11 personality disorder functioning styles. Patients scored significantly higher on the FFNPQ neuroticism and conscientiousness traits and all 11 PERM styles. In both groups, the 5 FFNPQ traits displayed extensive associations with the 11 PERM styles, respectively, and the associations were more specific in patients. Associations between neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness traits and most PERM styles were less exclusive, but conscientiousness was associated with antisocial (-) and obsessive-compulsive styles, and openness to experience with schizotypal and dependent (-) styles. Our study has demonstrated correlations between FFNPQ traits and PERM styles, and implies the nonverbal measure of personality traits is capable of aiding the diagnoses of personality disorders in the illiterate population. Enlarging sample size and including the illiterate might make for more stable results. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. The Effect of Nonverbal Cues on the Interpretation of Utterances by People with Visual Impairments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sak-Wernicka, Jolanta

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: The purpose of this article is to explore the effect of nonverbal information (gestures and facial expressions) provided in real time on the interpretation of utterances by people with total blindness. Methods: The article reports on an exploratory study performed on two groups of participants with visual impairments who were tested…

  20. Sensory Symptoms and Processing of Nonverbal Auditory and Visual Stimuli in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Claire R.; Sanchez, Sandra S.; Grenesko, Emily L.; Brown, Christine M.; Chen, Colleen P.; Keehn, Brandon; Velasquez, Francisco; Lincoln, Alan J.; Müller, Ralph-Axel

    2016-01-01

    Atypical sensory responses are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While evidence suggests impaired auditory-visual integration for verbal information, findings for nonverbal stimuli are inconsistent. We tested for sensory symptoms in children with ASD (using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile) and examined unisensory and bisensory…

  1. Communicating in a Multicultural Classroom: A Study of Students' Nonverbal Behavior and Attitudes toward Faculty Attire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okoro, Ephraim; Washington, Melvin

    2011-01-01

    Economic and market globalization in the United States has engendered a multicultural learning environment that challenges both faculty and students. Diversity in the classroom is further complicated by nonverbal communication, which impacts on students' attitudes toward faculty members. Because today's classrooms are changing and undergoing rapid…

  2. Treating depressive symptoms in psychosis : A Network Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Non-Verbal Therapies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenhuis, L. A.; Nauta, M. H.; Bockting, C. L. H.; Pijnenborg, G. H. M.

    2015-01-01

    AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine whether non-verbal therapies are effective in treating depressive symptoms in psychotic disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Psychinfo, Picarta, Embase and ISI Web of Science, up to January 2015.

  3. Treating depressive symptoms in psychosis : A network meta-analysis on the effects of non-verbal therapies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenhuis, Laura A.; Nauta, Maaike H.; Bocking, Claudi L.H.; Pijnenborg, Gerdina H.M.

    2015-01-01

    AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine whether non-verbal therapies are effective in treating depressive symptoms in psychotic disorders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Psychinfo, Picarta, Embase and ISI Web of Science, up to January 2015.

  4. The association between visual, nonverbal cognitive abilities and speech, phonological processing, vocabulary and reading outcomes in children with cochlear implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Lindsey; Anderson, Sara

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the possibility that specific nonverbal, visual cognitive abilities may be associated with outcomes after pediatric cochlear implantation. The study therefore examined the relationship between visual sequential memory span and visual sequential reasoning ability, and a range of speech, phonological processing, vocabulary knowledge, and reading outcomes in children with cochlear implants. A cross-sectional, correlational design was used. Sixty-six children aged 5 to 12 years completed tests of visual memory span and visual sequential reasoning, along with tests of speech intelligibility, phonological processing, vocabulary knowledge, and word reading ability (the outcome variables). Auditory memory span was also assessed, and its relationship with the other variables examined. Significant, positive correlations were found between the visual memory and reasoning tests, and each of the outcome variables. A series of regression analyses then revealed that for all the outcome variables, after variance attributable to the age at implantation was accounted for, visual memory span and visual sequential reasoning ability together accounted for significantly more variance (up to 25%) in each outcome measure. These findings have both clinical and theoretical implications. Clinically, the findings may help improve the identification of children at risk of poor progress after implantation earlier than has been possible to date as the nonverbal tests can be administered to children as young as 2 years of age. The results may also contribute to the identification of children with specific learning or language difficulties as well as improve our ability to develop intervention strategies for individual children based on their specific cognitive processing strengths or difficulties. Theoretically, these results contribute to the growing body of knowledge about learning and development in deaf children with cochlear implants.

  5. Cross-cultural differences in the processing of non-verbal affective vocalizations by Japanese and canadian listeners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koeda, Michihiko; Belin, Pascal; Hama, Tomoko; Masuda, Tadashi; Matsuura, Masato; Okubo, Yoshiro

    2013-01-01

    The Montreal Affective Voices (MAVs) consist of a database of non-verbal affect bursts portrayed by Canadian actors, and high recognitions accuracies were observed in Canadian listeners. Whether listeners from other cultures would be as accurate is unclear. We tested for cross-cultural differences in perception of the MAVs: Japanese listeners were asked to rate the MAVs on several affective dimensions and ratings were compared to those obtained by Canadian listeners. Significant Group × Emotion interactions were observed for ratings of Intensity, Valence, and Arousal. Whereas Intensity and Valence ratings did not differ across cultural groups for sad and happy vocalizations, they were significantly less intense and less negative in Japanese listeners for angry, disgusted, and fearful vocalizations. Similarly, pleased vocalizations were rated as less intense and less positive by Japanese listeners. These results demonstrate important cross-cultural differences in affective perception not just of non-verbal vocalizations expressing positive affect (Sauter et al., 2010), but also of vocalizations expressing basic negative emotions.

  6. Cross-Cultural Differences in the Processing of Non-Verbal Affective Vocalizations by Japanese and Canadian Listeners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koeda, Michihiko; Belin, Pascal; Hama, Tomoko; Masuda, Tadashi; Matsuura, Masato; Okubo, Yoshiro

    2013-01-01

    The Montreal Affective Voices (MAVs) consist of a database of non-verbal affect bursts portrayed by Canadian actors, and high recognitions accuracies were observed in Canadian listeners. Whether listeners from other cultures would be as accurate is unclear. We tested for cross-cultural differences in perception of the MAVs: Japanese listeners were asked to rate the MAVs on several affective dimensions and ratings were compared to those obtained by Canadian listeners. Significant Group × Emotion interactions were observed for ratings of Intensity, Valence, and Arousal. Whereas Intensity and Valence ratings did not differ across cultural groups for sad and happy vocalizations, they were significantly less intense and less negative in Japanese listeners for angry, disgusted, and fearful vocalizations. Similarly, pleased vocalizations were rated as less intense and less positive by Japanese listeners. These results demonstrate important cross-cultural differences in affective perception not just of non-verbal vocalizations expressing positive affect (Sauter et al., 2010), but also of vocalizations expressing basic negative emotions. PMID:23516137

  7. Force modulation for improved conductive-mode atomic force microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koelmans, W.W.; Sebastian, Abu; Despont, Michel; Pozidis, Haris

    We present an improved conductive-mode atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) method by modulating the applied loading force on the tip. Unreliable electrical contact and tip wear are the primary challenges for electrical characterization at the nanometer scale. The experiments show that force modulation

  8. School effects on non-verbal intelligence and nutritional status in rural Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hein, Sascha; Tan, Mei; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E; Grigorenko, Elena L

    2016-02-01

    This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the school factors (i.e., related to school organization and teacher and student body) associated with non-verbal intelligence (NI) and nutritional status (i.e., body mass index; BMI) of 4204 3 rd to 7 th graders in rural areas of Southern Province, Zambia. Results showed that 23.5% and 7.7% of the NI and BMI variance, respectively, were conditioned by differences between schools. The set of 14 school factors accounted for 58.8% and 75.9% of the between-school differences in NI and BMI, respectively. Grade-specific HLM yielded higher between-school variation of NI (41%) and BMI (14.6%) for students in grade 3 compared to grades 4 to 7. School factors showed a differential pattern of associations with NI and BMI across grades. The distance to a health post and teacher's teaching experience were the strongest predictors of NI (particularly in grades 4, 6 and 7); the presence of a preschool was linked to lower BMI in grades 4 to 6. Implications for improving access and quality of education in rural Zambia are discussed.

  9. Aphasic and amnesic patients' verbal vs. nonverbal retentive abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cermak, L S; Tarlow, S

    1978-03-01

    Four different groups of patients (aphasics, alcoholic Korsakoffs, chronic alcoholics, and control patients) were asked to detect either repeated words presented orally, repeated words presented visually, repeated pictures or repeated shapes, during the presentation of a list of similarly constructed stimuli. It was discovered that on the verbal tasks, the number of words intervening between repetitions had more effect on the aphasics than on the other groups of patients. However, for the nonverbal picture repetition and shape repetition tasks, the aphasics' performance was normal, while the alcoholic Korsakoff patients were most affected by the number of intervening items. It was concluded that the aphasics' memory deficit demonstrated by the use of this paradigm was specific to the presentation of verbal material.

  10. Warning Signals for Poor Performance Improve Human-Robot Interaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Brule, Rik; Bijlstra, Gijsbert; Dotsch, Ron; Haselager, Pim; Wigboldus, Daniel HJ

    2016-01-01

    The present research was aimed at investigating whether human-robot interaction (HRI) can be improved by a robot’s nonverbal warning signals. Ideally, when a robot signals that it cannot guarantee good performance, people could take preventive actions to ensure the successful completion of the

  11. Beyond R2D2 - The design of nonverbal interaction behavior optimized for robot-specific morphologies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karreman, Daphne Eleonora

    2016-01-01

    It is likely that in the near future we will meet more and more robots that will perform tasks in social environments, such as shopping malls, airports or museums. However, design guidelines that inform the design of effective nonverbal behavior for robots are scarce. This is surprising since the

  12. All eyes on the patient: the influence of oncologists' nonverbal communication on breast cancer patients' trust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillen, Marij A; de Haes, Hanneke C J M; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; Bijker, Nina; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W M; Vermeulen, Daniëlle M; Smets, Ellen M A

    2015-08-01

    Trust in the oncologist is crucial for breast cancer patients. It reduces worry, enhances decision making, and stimulates adherence. Optimal nonverbal communication by the oncologist, particularly eye contact, body posture, and smiling, presumably benefits patients' trust. We were the first to experimentally examine (1) how the oncologist's nonverbal behavior influences trust, and (2) individual differences in breast cancer patients' trust. Analogue patients (APs) viewed one out of eight versions of a video vignette displaying a consultation about chemotherapy treatment. All eight versions varied only in the oncologist's amount of eye contact (consistent vs. inconsistent), body posture (forward leaning vs. varying), and smiling (occasional smiling vs. no smiling). Primary outcome was trust in the observed oncologist (Trust in Oncologist Scale). 214 APs participated. Consistent eye contact led to stronger trust (β = -.13, p = .04). This effect was largely explained by lower educated patients, for whom the effect of consistent eye contact was stronger than for higher educated patients (β = .18, p = .01). A forward leaning body posture did not influence trust, nor did smiling. However, if the oncologist smiled more, he was perceived as more friendly (rs = .31, p < .001) and caring (rs = .18, p = .01). Older (β = .17, p = .01) and lower educated APs (β = -.25, p < .001) were more trusting. Trust was weaker for more avoidantly attached APs (β = -.16, p = .03). We experimentally demonstrated the importance of maintaining consistent eye contact for breast cancer patients' trust, especially among lower educated patients. These findings need to be translated into training for oncologists in how to optimize their nonverbal communication with breast cancer patients while simultaneously managing increased time pressure and computer use during the consultation.

  13. Lie detection based on nonverbal expressions - study of the Czech Republic Police employees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hedvika Boukalová

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Lie detection based on nonverbal behavior is not a standard method, it is an intuitive process, applied by lay persons, but also professionals. Some of the major sources (e.g. widespread Interrogation Manual by F. Inbau et al., 2004 offer clear recommendations about the nonverbal behavior of liars to investigators of serious crime. These findings are not supported by the research, moreover they can lead to lowering the ability to detect lie (Blair, Kooi 2004. Another topic is mapping the skills of professionals (police officers, members of the secret services and non-specialists to detect lies by nonverbal signs. Across the studies (with few exceptions a low performance in the task of detecting lies by nonverbal expressions (Ekman P., 1996; Vrij, 2004 and others is found. The levels of success are usually around the level of chance. The potential reasons for such results are analyzed (e.g. Blair, Kooi, 2004. However a group of psychologists led by P. Ekman and M. O'Sullivan (O'Sullivan, 2007 managed to find in their years lasting research a group of people whose ability to detect lies is well above the population average. This group is diverse in terms of age, interests and professions, all of them come from the USA. There were certain common features found in this group and also a focus on similar phenomena in the detection of lying. The main goal and research question is to find out: what is the success rate of differentiation between lies and truths in this specific professional group of Czech population, is it the same or different from the results reported in the context of available resources. The research will focus on the ability of respondents to determine the truth or deceit on the basis of non-verbal and paraverbal expressions of observed subjects, with focus on specific professional groups - mainly police workers. We assume, that the police officers are frequently in the contact with people, who are not willing to reveal critical

  14. Nonverbal oral apraxia in primary progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botha, Hugo; Duffy, Joseph R; Strand, Edythe A; Machulda, Mary M; Whitwell, Jennifer L; Josephs, Keith A

    2014-05-13

    The goal of this study was to explore the prevalence of nonverbal oral apraxia (NVOA), its association with other forms of apraxia, and associated imaging findings in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and progressive apraxia of speech (PAOS). Patients with a degenerative speech or language disorder were prospectively recruited and diagnosed with a subtype of PPA or with PAOS. All patients had comprehensive speech and language examinations. Voxel-based morphometry was performed to determine whether atrophy of a specific region correlated with the presence of NVOA. Eighty-nine patients were identified, of which 34 had PAOS, 9 had agrammatic PPA, 41 had logopenic aphasia, and 5 had semantic dementia. NVOA was very common among patients with PAOS but was found in patients with PPA as well. Several patients exhibited only one of NVOA or apraxia of speech. Among patients with apraxia of speech, the severity of the apraxia of speech was predictive of NVOA, whereas ideomotor apraxia severity was predictive of the presence of NVOA in those without apraxia of speech. Bilateral atrophy of the prefrontal cortex anterior to the premotor area and supplementary motor area was associated with NVOA. Apraxia of speech, NVOA, and ideomotor apraxia are at least partially separable disorders. The association of NVOA and apraxia of speech likely results from the proximity of the area reported here and the premotor area, which has been implicated in apraxia of speech. The association of ideomotor apraxia and NVOA among patients without apraxia of speech could represent disruption of modules shared by nonverbal oral movements and limb movements.

  15. Judging the urgency of non-verbal auditory alarms: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrabito, G Robert; Mondor, Todd; Kent, Kimberley

    2004-06-22

    When designed correctly, non-verbal auditory alarms can convey different levels of urgency to the aircrew, and thereby permit the operator to establish the appropriate level of priority to address the alarmed condition. The conveyed level of urgency of five non-verbal auditory alarms presently used in the Canadian Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopter was investigated. Pilots of the CH-146 Griffon helicopter and non-pilots rated the perceived urgency of the signals using a rating scale. The pilots also ranked the urgency of the alarms in a post-experiment questionnaire to reflect their assessment of the actual situation that triggers the alarms. The results of this investigation revealed that participants' ratings of perceived urgency appear to be based on the acoustic properties of the alarms which are known to affect the listener's perceived level of urgency. Although for 28% of the pilots the mapping of perceived urgency to the urgency of their perception of the triggering situation was statistically significant for three of the five alarms, the overall data suggest that the triggering situations are not adequately conveyed by the acoustic parameters inherent in the alarms. The pilots' judgement of the triggering situation was intended as a means of evaluating the reliability of the alerting system. These data will subsequently be discussed with respect to proposed enhancements in alerting systems as it relates to addressing the problem of phase of flight. These results call for more serious consideration of incorporating situational awareness in the design and assignment of auditory alarms in aircraft.

  16. Individual differences in non-verbal number acuity correlate with maths achievement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halberda, Justin; Mazzocco, Michèle M M; Feigenson, Lisa

    2008-10-02

    Human mathematical competence emerges from two representational systems. Competence in some domains of mathematics, such as calculus, relies on symbolic representations that are unique to humans who have undergone explicit teaching. More basic numerical intuitions are supported by an evolutionarily ancient approximate number system that is shared by adults, infants and non-human animals-these groups can all represent the approximate number of items in visual or auditory arrays without verbally counting, and use this capacity to guide everyday behaviour such as foraging. Despite the widespread nature of the approximate number system both across species and across development, it is not known whether some individuals have a more precise non-verbal 'number sense' than others. Furthermore, the extent to which this system interfaces with the formal, symbolic maths abilities that humans acquire by explicit instruction remains unknown. Here we show that there are large individual differences in the non-verbal approximation abilities of 14-year-old children, and that these individual differences in the present correlate with children's past scores on standardized maths achievement tests, extending all the way back to kindergarten. Moreover, this correlation remains significant when controlling for individual differences in other cognitive and performance factors. Our results show that individual differences in achievement in school mathematics are related to individual differences in the acuity of an evolutionarily ancient, unlearned approximate number sense. Further research will determine whether early differences in number sense acuity affect later maths learning, whether maths education enhances number sense acuity, and the extent to which tertiary factors can affect both.

  17. Highly conductive carbon nanotube buckypapers with improved doping stability via conjugational cross-linking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, I-Wen Peter; Liang, Richard; Zhao, Haibo; Wang, Ben; Zhang, Chuck

    2011-12-02

    Carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets or buckypapers have demonstrated promising electrical conductivity and mechanical performance. However, their electrical conductivity is still far below the requirements for engineering applications, such as using as a substitute for copper mesh, which is currently used in composite aircraft structures for lightning strike protection. In this study, different CNT buckypapers were stretched to increase their alignment, and then subjected to conjugational cross-linking via chemical functionalization. The conjugationally cross-linked buckypapers (CCL-BPs) demonstrated higher electrical conductivity of up to 6200 S cm( - 1), which is more than one order increase compared to the pristine buckypapers. The CCL-BPs also showed excellent doping stability in over 300 h in atmosphere and were resistant to degradation at elevated temperatures. The tensile strength of the stretched CCL-BPs reached 220 MPa, which is about three times that of pristine buckypapers. We attribute these property improvements to the effective and stable conjugational cross-links of CNTs, which can simultaneously improve the electrical conductivity, doping stability and mechanical properties. Specifically, the electrical conductivity increase resulted from improving the CNT alignment and inter-tube electron transport capability. The conjugational cross-links provide effective 3D conductive paths to increase the mobility of electrons among individual nanotubes. The stable covalent bonding also enhances the thermal stability and load transfer. The significant electrical and mechanical property improvement renders buckypaper a multifunctional material for various applications, such as conducting composites, battery electrodes, capacitors, etc.

  18. Introduction of cooperating conductive components into the phosphor to improve the low voltage cathodoluminescence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shang, Chun Yu; Kang, Hui; Jiang, Hong Bo; Bu, Shu Po; Shang, Xiao Hong; Wu, Yan

    2013-01-01

    In order to improve the electric conductivity of Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ phosphor with the least amount of conductive component so as to maximize the improvement in low voltage cathodoluminescence, In 2 O 3 and Cu nanowires (NWs) were simultaneously introduced to form Cu NWs/In 2 O 3 -attached Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ phosphor. In 2 O 3 and Cu NWs play different roles in the formation of electrically conductive network, i.e., Cu NWs are suitable as conductive channels for charge transmission due to their one-dimensional morphology with large slenderness ratios, while the island-like In 2 O 3 condensates form local conductive contacts joining the adjacent Cu NWs. Meanwhile, In 2 O 3 forms attachment between Cu NWs and the phosphor. Owing to the cooperating effects between Cu NWs/In 2 O 3 conductive components in the phosphor, the efficiency in low voltage cathodoluminescence was significantly improved. -- Highlights: ► In 2 O 3 /Cu NWs were introduced in Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ phosphor to improve the low voltage cathodoluminescence. ► In 2 O 3 /Cu NWs play different key roles in the formation of electrically conductive network. ► The cooperating effect was proved by comparing the experimental data and the calculated results. ► The low voltage cathodoluminescence was significantly improved

  19. School effects on non-verbal intelligence and nutritional status in rural Zambia

    OpenAIRE

    Hein, Sascha; Tan, Mei; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E.; Grigorenko, Elena L.

    2015-01-01

    This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the school factors (i.e., related to school organization and teacher and student body) associated with non-verbal intelligence (NI) and nutritional status (i.e., body mass index; BMI) of 4204 3rd to 7th graders in rural areas of Southern Province, Zambia. Results showed that 23.5% and 7.7% of the NI and BMI variance, respectively, were conditioned by differences between schools. The set of 14 school factors accounted for 58.8% and ...

  20. Recognition, Expression, and Understanding Facial Expressions of Emotion in Adolescents with Nonverbal and General Learning Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloom, Elana; Heath, Nancy

    2010-01-01

    Children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD) have been found to be worse at recognizing facial expressions than children with verbal learning disabilities (LD) and without LD. However, little research has been done with adolescents. In addition, expressing and understanding facial expressions is yet to be studied among adolescents with LD…

  1. Polypyrrole-chitosan conductive biomaterial synchronizes cardiomyocyte contraction and improves myocardial electrical impulse propagation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhi; Ni, Nathan C; Wu, Jun; Du, Guo-Qing; He, Sheng; Yau, Terrence M; Weisel, Richard D; Sung, Hsing-Wen; Li, Ren-Ke

    2018-01-01

    Background: The post-myocardial infarction (MI) scar interrupts electrical impulse propagation and delays regional contraction, which contributes to ventricular dysfunction. We investigated the potential of an injectable conductive biomaterial to restore scar tissue conductivity and re-establish synchronous ventricular contraction. Methods: A conductive biomaterial was generated by conjugating conductive polypyrrole (PPY) onto chitosan (CHI) backbones. Trypan blue staining of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (CMs) cultured on biomaterials was used to evaluate the biocompatibility of the conductive biomaterials. Ca 2+ imaging was used to visualize beating CMs. A cryoablation injury rat model was used to investigate the ability of PPY:CHI to improve cardiac electrical propagation in the injured heart in vivo . Electromyography was used to evaluate conductivity of scar tissue ex vivo . Results: Cell survival and morphology were similar between cells cultured on biomaterials-coated and uncoated-control dishes. PPY:CHI established synchronous contraction of two distinct clusters of spontaneously-beating CMs. Intramyocardial PPY:CHI injection into the cryoablation-induced injured region improved electrical impulse propagation across the scarred tissue and decreased the QRS interval, whereas saline- or CHI-injected hearts continued to have delayed propagation patterns and significantly reduced conduction velocity compared to healthy controls. Ex vivo evaluation found that scar tissue from PPY:CHI-treated rat hearts had higher signal amplitude compared to those from saline- or CHI-treated rat heart tissue. Conclusions: The PPY:CHI biomaterial is electrically conductive, biocompatible and injectable. It improved synchronous contraction between physically separated beating CM clusters in vitro . Intra-myocardial injection of PPY:CHI following cardiac injury improved electrical impulse propagation of scar tissue in vivo .

  2. Improving the cycling stability of silicon nanowire anodes with conducting polymer coatings

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Yan; Liu, Nian; McDowell, Matthew T.; Pasta, Mauro; Cui, Yi

    2012-01-01

    For silicon nanowires (Si NWs) to be used as a successful high capacity lithium-ion battery anode material, improvements in cycling stability are required. Here we show that a conductive polymer surface coating on the Si NWs improves cycling stability; coating with PEDOT causes the capacity retention after 100 charge-discharge cycles to increase from 30% to 80% over bare NWs. The improvement in cycling stability is attributed to the conductive coating maintaining the mechanical integrity of the cycled Si material, along with preserving electrical connections between NWs that would otherwise have become electrically isolated during volume changes. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  3. The Nonverbal Communication of Positive Emotions: An Emotion Family Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauter, Disa A

    2017-07-01

    This review provides an overview of the research on nonverbal expressions of positive emotions, organised into emotion families, that is, clusters sharing common characteristics. Epistemological positive emotions (amusement, relief, awe, and interest) are found to have distinct, recognisable displays via vocal or facial cues, while the agency-approach positive emotions (elation and pride) appear to be associated with recognisable visual, but not auditory, cues. Evidence is less strong for the prosocial emotions (love, compassion, gratitude, and admiration) in any modality other than touch, and there is little support for distinct recognisable signals of the savouring positive emotions (contentment, sensory pleasure, and desire). In closing, some limitations of extant work are noted and some proposals for future research are outlined.

  4. The Uncanny Valley and Nonverbal Communication in Virtual Characters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tinwell, Angela; Grimshaw, Mark Nicholas; Abdel Nabi, Debbie

    2014-01-01

    This chapter provides an overview of a current research project investigating the Uncanny Valley phenomenon in realistic, human-like virtual characters. !e research methods used in this Work include a retrospective of both empirical studies and philosophical writings on the Uncanny. No other...... research has explored the notion that realistic, human-like, virtual characters are regarded less favorably due to a perceived diminished degree of responsiveness in facial expression, specifically, nonverbal communication (NVC) in the upper face region. So far, this research project has provided the first...... empirical evidence to test the Uncanny Valley phenomenon in the domain of animated video game characters with speech, as opposed to just still, unresponsive images, as used in previous studies. Based on the results of these experiments, a conceptual framework of the Uncanny Valley in virtual characters has...

  5. Improved conductivity of carbon-nano-fiber (CNF)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chandra, Sarita; Kalra, G. S.; Pushkar, Vinay K.; Gill, Fateh Singh, E-mail: drfatehs@gmail.com [Graphic Era University, Bell Road, Clement Town, Dehradun (India); Panwar, Variz [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science Technology (GIST), Gwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Gupta, Himanshu; Pal, Pankaj K.; Pathak, Trilok K.; Purohit, L. P. [Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar-249404 (India)

    2016-05-23

    A series of CNF/PTFE composite loaded with different weight % of CNFs as 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 into PTFE is fabricated. In this work, the 5wt% heat-treated CNFs were used as filler in PTFE. Current-voltage (I-V) study of the samples confirmed the samples as conducting composite. In scanning electron microscope (SEM) study, the conducting CNFs channels were observed from upper surface to inside throughout the polymer matrix. A sintered composite of 5 wt% loading of CNFs showed an improved conductivity and SEM image exhibited a good binding of CNFs into PTFE.

  6. Improved conductivity of carbon-nano-fiber (CNF)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandra, Sarita; Kalra, G. S.; Pushkar, Vinay K.; Gill, Fateh Singh; Panwar, Variz; Gupta, Himanshu; Pal, Pankaj K.; Pathak, Trilok K.; Purohit, L. P.

    2016-01-01

    A series of CNF/PTFE composite loaded with different weight % of CNFs as 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 into PTFE is fabricated. In this work, the 5wt% heat-treated CNFs were used as filler in PTFE. Current-voltage (I-V) study of the samples confirmed the samples as conducting composite. In scanning electron microscope (SEM) study, the conducting CNFs channels were observed from upper surface to inside throughout the polymer matrix. A sintered composite of 5 wt% loading of CNFs showed an improved conductivity and SEM image exhibited a good binding of CNFs into PTFE.

  7. Linguistic analysis of verbal and non-verbal communication in the operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Alison; Butt, David; Ellis-Clarke, Jodie; Cartmill, John

    2010-12-01

    Surgery can be a triumph of co-operation, the procedure evolving as a result of joint action between multiple participants. The communication that mediates the joint action of surgery is conveyed by verbal but particularly by non-verbal signals. Competing priorities superimposed by surgical learning must also be negotiated within this context and this paper draws on techniques of systemic functional linguistics to observe and analyse the flow of information during such a phase of surgery. © 2010 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2010 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  8. Improve your communication skills

    CERN Document Server

    Barker, Alan

    2016-01-01

    Excellent communication skills are vital in today's workplace. Whether keeping the interest of a large audience, impressing a potential employer or simply winning the argument at an important meeting, sounding the part is key. This fourth edition of Improve Your Communication Skills is full of practical advice on all aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication. It gives vital tips on improving conversations and building rapport with colleagues, learning the skills of persuasion, and writing effective emails, letters and reports. This editionincludes new information focusing on communicating across borders and virtual teams and a new chapter on managing difficult conversations."

  9. Role of Auditory Non-Verbal Working Memory in Sentence Repetition for Bilingual Children with Primary Language Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebert, Kerry Danahy

    2014-01-01

    Background: Sentence repetition performance is attracting increasing interest as a valuable clinical marker for primary (or specific) language impairment (LI) in both monolingual and bilingual populations. Multiple aspects of memory appear to contribute to sentence repetition performance, but non-verbal memory has not yet been considered. Aims: To…

  10. Cross-Cultural Detection of Depression from Nonverbal Behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alghowinem, Sharifa; Goecke, Roland; Cohn, Jeffrey F; Wagner, Michael; Parker, Gordon; Breakspear, Michael

    2015-05-01

    Millions of people worldwide suffer from depression. Do commonalities exist in their nonverbal behavior that would enable cross-culturally viable screening and assessment of severity? We investigated the generalisability of an approach to detect depression severity cross-culturally using video-recorded clinical interviews from Australia, the USA and Germany. The material varied in type of interview, subtypes of depression and inclusion healthy control subjects, cultural background, and recording environment. The analysis focussed on temporal features of participants' eye gaze and head pose. Several approaches to training and testing within and between datasets were evaluated. The strongest results were found for training across all datasets and testing across datasets using leave-one-subject-out cross-validation. In contrast, generalisability was attenuated when training on only one or two of the three datasets and testing on subjects from the dataset(s) not used in training. These findings highlight the importance of using training data exhibiting the expected range of variability.

  11. Thin Slices of Athletes' Nonverbal Behavior Give Away Game Location: Testing the Territoriality Hypothesis of the Home Game Advantage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furley, Philip; Schweizer, Geoffrey; Memmert, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    The present research investigated whether perceivers could detect who is playing at home or away in soccer matches based on thin slices of professional (Experiment 1) and amateur (Experiment 3) athletes' nonverbal behavior prior to the match and whether perceivers rated athletes playing at home relatively higher on behavioral dimensions (Experiments 2 and 3) linked to territoriality. In Experiment 1 ( N = 80), participants watched short videos depicting soccer players prior to a UEFA Champions League match and rated whether athletes were more likely to be playing at home or away. In Experiment 2 (two groups N = 102 and N = 101), perceivers rated these videos in terms of assertiveness, dominance, and aggression. In Experiment 3, we replicated the procedure of Experiments 1 and 2 with different stimulus material from amateur soccer ( N = 112). Participants could significantly differentiate between home playing and away playing athletes (Experiment 1: d = 0.44 and Experiment 3: d = 1.07). Experiments 2 and 3 showed that perceivers rated professional and amateur soccer players higher on assertiveness ( d = 0.34-0.63), dominance ( d = 0.20-0.55), and aggression ( d = 0.16-0.49) when playing at home compared to playing away. Findings are supportive of evolutionary accounts of nonverbal behavior, ecological approaches to person perception, and the thin slices of behavior hypothesis by demonstrating that humans change their nonverbal behavior depending on game location. We discuss the relevance of the present findings for the home advantage in sports.

  12. The Relationship of Instructor Self-Disclosure, Nonverbal Immediacy, and Credibility to Student Incivility in the College Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Ann Neville; Katt, James A.; Brown, Tim; Sivo, Stephen A.

    2014-01-01

    In this study, we examined the potential mediating role of instructor credibility in the relationship of instructor self-disclosure and nonverbal immediacy to student incivility in the college classroom. Four hundred thirty-eight students completed online questionnaires regarding the instructor of the class they attended prior to the one in which…

  13. Gender Differences in Variance and Means on the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test: Data from the Philippines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vista, Alvin; Care, Esther

    2011-01-01

    Background: Research on gender differences in intelligence has focused mostly on samples from Western countries and empirical evidence on gender differences from Southeast Asia is relatively sparse. Aims: This article presents results on gender differences in variance and means on a non-verbal intelligence test using a national sample of public…

  14. Do You Know What Your Nonverbal Behavior Communicates? – Studying a Self-reflection Module for the Presentation Trainer.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schneider, Jan; Börner, Dirk; Van Rosmalen, Peter; Specht, Marcus

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, research on multimodal sensor-based technologies has produced different prototypes designed to support the development of public skills. These prototypes are able to analyze the nonverbal communication of learners and provide them with feedback, in cases where human feedback is not

  15. Applying Nonverbal Techniques to Organizational Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tubbs, Stewart L.; Koske, W. Cary

    Ongoing research programs conducted at General Motors Institute are motivated by the practical objective of improving the company's organizational effectiveness. Computer technology is being used whenever possible; for example, a technique developed by Herman Chernoff was used to process data from a survey of employee attitudes into 18 different…

  16. [Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test: useful for the elderly?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerritsen, M; Berg, I; Deelman, B

    2001-02-01

    The feasibility of the SON-R 5 1/2-17, a non-verbal intelligence test for deaf children, was investigated in a group of older adults, with a view to the future use of the test in older neurological patients. In a group of 58 healthy elderly persons intelligence was measured with the SON, the Raven Progressive Matrices and a Dutch reading test. The subjects were also asked for their subjective judgements of the tests. The SON-R 5 1/2-17 appears to be a user-friendly test. The high correlations between the subtests, and between the SON and other measures of intelligence suggest that the SON is a valid test for measuring fluid intelligence in elderly persons. The existing norms are not suitable when the SON is used in elderly people, new norms for adults should therefore be developed.

  17. Nonverbal behavioral similarity between patients with depression in remission and interviewers in relation to satisfaction and recurrence of depression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geerts, Erwin; van Os, Titus; Ormel, Johan; Bouhuys, Netty

    2006-01-01

    Unsatisfying interpersonal relationships are involved in the onset and course of depression. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In this study we investigated the nonverbal communication between 101 patients with remitted depression and interviewers. We related the interaction

  18. Nonverbal learning disabilities and developmental dyscalculia: Differential diagnosis of two Brazilian children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magda Solange Vanzo Pestun

    Full Text Available Nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD, a clinical condition still little reported in Brazil, are characterized by damages in the visual spatial domains, visual motor integration, fine motor skills, math skills and social and emotional difficulties. Developmental Dyscalculia (DD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects basic arithmetic skills acquisition, including storage and recovery of arithmetic facts, calculation fluency and precision and number sense domain. Although both are persistent Math learning disorder/disability, they cause different damages. The objective of this case report is to describe, compare and analyze the neuropsychological profile of two Brazilian children with similar complaints but distinct diagnosis.

  19. Direct observation of mother-child communication in pediatric cancer: assessment of verbal and non-verbal behavior and emotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, Madeleine J; Rodriguez, Erin M; Miller, Kimberly S; Gerhardt, Cynthia A; Vannatta, Kathryn; Saylor, Megan; Scheule, C Melanie; Compas, Bruce E

    2011-06-01

    To examine the acceptability and feasibility of coding observed verbal and nonverbal behavioral and emotional components of mother-child communication among families of children with cancer. Mother-child dyads (N=33, children ages 5-17 years) were asked to engage in a videotaped 15-min conversation about the child's cancer. Coding was done using the Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scale (IFIRS). Acceptability and feasibility of direct observation in this population were partially supported: 58% consented and 81% of those (47% of all eligible dyads) completed the task; trained raters achieved 78% agreement in ratings across codes. The construct validity of the IFIRS was demonstrated by expected associations within and between positive and negative behavioral/emotional code ratings and between mothers' and children's corresponding code ratings. Direct observation of mother-child communication about childhood cancer has the potential to be an acceptable and feasible method of assessing verbal and nonverbal behavior and emotion in this population.

  20. Measurement of Nonverbal IQ in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Scores in Young Adulthood Compared to Early Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, Somer L.; Farmer, Cristan; Thurm, Audrey

    2015-01-01

    Nonverbal IQ (NVIQ) was examined in 84 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) followed from age 2 to 19. Most adults who scored in the range of intellectual disability also received scores below 70 as children, and the majority of adults with scores in the average range had scored in this range by age 3. However, within the lower ranges…

  1. Maternal discipline of children with Asperger Syndrome and nonverbal learning disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Liza

    2002-01-01

    This study investigated how often mothers of children with Asperger Syndrome and nonverbal learning disorders reported using either psychological aggression (shouting, cursing, name calling) or corporal punishment (spanking, hitting) when disciplining their children, and also examined the correlates of these methods of discipline. A descriptive study of 41l mothers with children between ages 4 and 17 years. Mothers were recruited by placing an invitation on two national Web sites; one for parents of children with Asperger syndrome and one for parents of children with nonverbal learning disabilities. An anonymous, mailed survey was used and a 70% response rate was obtained. The Conflict Tactics Scale-Child Form was used to measure psychological aggression and corporal punishment. Univariate analyses were used to describe the child and maternal characteristics and maternal rates of discipline. The correlates of maternal discipline were measured using bivariate analyses. The overall reported use of any corporal punishment (slaps on the hand, arm, and leg; hitting on the buttocks with a belt or brush; spanking on the buttocks with a hand; pinching and shaking) during the past year was 58%. The yearly use of any psychological aggression (screaming and yelling, cursing, threatening to hit or spank, threatening to kick out or send away, calling the child "dumb" or "lazy") was 95%. Spanking declined with increasing age of the child and the mother. Mothers who used psychological aggression were more likely to use corporal punishment with their child. Informed nurses working with these populations can use the results of this study to help address the stresses felt by these mothers, and to teach alternative strategies of coping to mothers who are in danger of using psychological aggression and corporal punishment.

  2. The Functional Role of Neural Oscillations in Non-Verbal Emotional Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symons, Ashley E; El-Deredy, Wael; Schwartze, Michael; Kotz, Sonja A

    2016-01-01

    Effective interpersonal communication depends on the ability to perceive and interpret nonverbal emotional expressions from multiple sensory modalities. Current theoretical models propose that visual and auditory emotion perception involves a network of brain regions including the primary sensory cortices, the superior temporal sulcus (STS), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). However, relatively little is known about how the dynamic interplay between these regions gives rise to the perception of emotions. In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the importance of neural oscillations in mediating neural communication within and between functional neural networks. Here we review studies investigating changes in oscillatory activity during the perception of visual, auditory, and audiovisual emotional expressions, and aim to characterize the functional role of neural oscillations in nonverbal emotion perception. Findings from the reviewed literature suggest that theta band oscillations most consistently differentiate between emotional and neutral expressions. While early theta synchronization appears to reflect the initial encoding of emotionally salient sensory information, later fronto-central theta synchronization may reflect the further integration of sensory information with internal representations. Additionally, gamma synchronization reflects facilitated sensory binding of emotional expressions within regions such as the OFC, STS, and, potentially, the amygdala. However, the evidence is more ambiguous when it comes to the role of oscillations within the alpha and beta frequencies, which vary as a function of modality (or modalities), presence or absence of predictive information, and attentional or task demands. Thus, the synchronization of neural oscillations within specific frequency bands mediates the rapid detection, integration, and evaluation of emotional expressions. Moreover, the functional coupling of oscillatory activity across multiples

  3. The Impact of Nonverbal Ability on Prevalence and Clinical Presentation of Language Disorder: Evidence from a Population Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norbury, Courtenay Frazier; Gooch, Debbie; Wray, Charlotte; Baird, Gillian; Charman, Tony; Simonoff, Emily; Vamvakas, George; Pickles, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    Background: Diagnosis of "specific" language impairment traditionally required nonverbal IQ to be within normal limits, often resulting in restricted access to clinical services for children with lower NVIQ. Changes to DSM-5 criteria for language disorder removed this NVIQ requirement. This study sought to delineate the impact of varying…

  4. Validation of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test-Revised 2 1/2-7 for Australian children with disabilities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jenkinson, J; Roberts, S; Dennehy, S; Tellegen, P.J.

    One hundred and fifty-five preschool children (59 with hearing impairment, 37 with developmental delay, and 59 nondisabled children) were tested with the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test - Revised (2 1/2 - 7) (SON-R 2 1/2 - 7) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence -

  5. Test Anxiety Among College Students With Specific Reading Disability (Dyslexia): Nonverbal Ability and Working Memory as Predictors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Jason M; Lindstrom, Will; Foels, Patricia A

    2015-01-01

    Test anxiety and its correlates were examined with college students with and without specific reading disability (RD; n = 50 in each group). Results indicated that college students with RD reported higher test anxiety than did those without RD, and the magnitude of these differences was in the medium range on two test anxiety scales. Relative to college students without RD, up to 5 times as many college students with RD reported clinically significant test anxiety. College students with RD reported significantly higher cognitively based test anxiety than physically based test anxiety. Reading skills, verbal ability, and processing speed were not correlated with test anxiety. General intelligence, nonverbal ability, and working memory were negatively correlated with test anxiety, and the magnitude of these correlations was medium to large. When these three cognitive constructs were considered together in multiple regression analyses, only working memory and nonverbal ability emerged as significant predictors and varied based on the test anxiety measure. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

  6. Decay uncovered in nonverbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Tom; McKeown, Denis

    2014-02-01

    Decay theory posits that memory traces gradually fade away over the passage of time unless they are actively rehearsed. Much recent work exploring verbal short-term memory has challenged this theory, but there does appear to be evidence for trace decay in nonverbal auditory short-term memory. Numerous discrimination studies have reported a performance decline as the interval separating two tones is increased, consistent with a decay process. However, most of this tone comparison research can be explained in other ways, without reference to decay, and these alternative accounts were tested in the present study. In Experiment 1, signals were employed toward the end of extended retention intervals to ensure that listeners were alert to the presence and frequency content of the memoranda. In Experiment 2, a mask stimulus was employed in an attempt to distinguish between a highly detailed sensory trace and a longer-lasting short-term memory, and the distinctiveness of the stimuli was varied. Despite these precautions, slow-acting trace decay was observed. It therefore appears that the mere passage of time can lead to forgetting in some forms of short-term memory.

  7. Like father, like son: periventricular nodular heterotopia and nonverbal learning disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Marcia V; Pongonis, Stephen J; Golomb, Meredith R; Edwards-Brown, Mary; Christensen, Celanie K; Sokol, Deborah K

    2008-08-01

    Periventricular nodular heterotopia is a common malformation of cortical development in which the migration of developing neurons destined for the cerebral cortex is abbreviated. Bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia is most commonly an X-linked disorder that involves mutations in the filamin A (FLNA) gene, but an autosomal recessive form and sporadic forms have been identified. To our knowledge, autosomal dominant transmission of isolated periventricular nodular heterotopia has not been reported. Periventricular nodular heterotopia has a heterogeneous phenotype, associated commonly with seizure disorder, and more recently with reading deficits and visual-spatial deficits in some patients. We present a father and son with bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia and similar visual-spatial learning deficits, consistent with nonverbal learning disability.

  8. Naturalistic Observations of Nonverbal Children with Autism: A Study of Intentional Communicative Acts in the Classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samantha Drain

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We examined evoked and spontaneous communicative acts in six nonverbal children with autism (10–15 years, M = 12.8, SD = 2.1. All participants attended the same special school for children with autism but were in different classes. Each was observed for 30 minutes during a typical school day. An observer coded the presence/absence of an antecedent, the form and function of the communicative act, and the teacher’s response to the child. One hundred and fifty-five communicative acts were observed, 41% were spontaneous and 59% were evoked. The main antecedents to evoked communicative acts were verbal prompts, and most of the evoked communicative acts were physical in nature (i.e., motor acts and gestures. However, verbalizations and the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS were higher for spontaneous communicative acts. The functions of spontaneous communicative acts were primarily requests. Results showed a substantial number of “nonresponses” from teachers, even following evoked communicative acts. These results suggest that teachers may not actively promote intentional communication as much as possible. Therefore, our findings provide information concerning ways in which educators could facilitate intentional communication in non-verbal children with autism.

  9. MODELO DE COMUNICACIÓN NO VERBAL EN DEPORTE Y BALLET NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION MODELS IN SPORTS AND BALLET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gloria Vallejo

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Este estudio analiza el modelo de comunicación que se genera en los entrenadores de fútbol y de gimnasia artística a nivel profesional, y en los instructores de ballet en modalidad folklórica, tomando como referente el lenguaje corporal dinámico propio de la comunicación especializada de deportistas y bailarines, en la que se evidencia lenguaje no verbal. Este último se estudió tanto en prácticas psicomotrices como sociomotrices, para identificar y caracterizar relaciones entre diferentes conceptos y su correspondiente representación gestual. Los resultados indican que el lenguaje no verbal de los entrenadores e instructores toma ocasionalmente el lugar del lenguaje verbal, cuando este último resulta insuficiente o inapropiado para describir una acción motriz de gran precisión, debido a las condiciones de distancia o de interferencias acústicas. En los instructores de ballet se encontró una forma generalizada de dirigir los ensayos utilizando conteos rítmicos con las palmas o los pies. De igual forma, se destacan los componentes paralingüísticos de los diversos actos de habla, especialmente, en lo que se refiere a entonación, duración e intensidad.This study analyzes the communication model generated among professional soccer trainers, artistic gymnastics trainers, and folkloric ballet instructors, on the basis of the dynamic body language typical of specialized communication among sportspeople and dancers, which includes a high percentage of non-verbal language. Non-verbal language was observed in both psychomotor and sociomotor practices in order to identify and characterize relations between different concepts and their corresponding gestural representation. This made it possible to generate a communication model that takes into account the non-verbal aspects of specialized communicative contexts. The results indicate that the non-verbal language of trainers and instructors occasionally replaces verbal language when the

  10. Comparisons of memory for nonverbal auditory and visual sequential stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFarland, D J; Cacace, A T

    1995-01-01

    Properties of auditory and visual sensory memory were compared by examining subjects' recognition performance of randomly generated binary auditory sequential frequency patterns and binary visual sequential color patterns within a forced-choice paradigm. Experiment 1 demonstrated serial-position effects in auditory and visual modalities consisting of both primacy and recency effects. Experiment 2 found that retention of auditory and visual information was remarkably similar when assessed across a 10s interval. Experiments 3 and 4, taken together, showed that the recency effect in sensory memory is affected more by the type of response required (recognition vs. reproduction) than by the sensory modality employed. These studies suggest that auditory and visual sensory memory stores for nonverbal stimuli share similar properties with respect to serial-position effects and persistence over time.

  11. [Nonverbal communication by the presurgical patient].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freixa García, J; Marcos Sáiz, M

    1999-02-01

    Throughout human history, besides oral language, man has used other forms of communication which are known as non-verbal. From the three components of the basic structure of human communication, language, paralanguage and kinesthesia, we have chosen the last one, kinesthesia, to develop our project. Kinesthesia studies the gestures, mannerisms and postures, or in other words all body movements and positions which occur as part of our speech or independent to it. This project proposes to analyze presurgical patients' kinesthetic manifestations. We have observed that some patients do not verbally express their fears, anxieties, nervousness, etc; nonetheless, bodies do respond with similar gestures and movements in persons of varying age, sex, socio-cultural level and pathology. It is difficult to be certain what another human being feels at any given moment. One may ask a person, but he/she can refuse to answer, he/she can lie or maybe he/she does not even know what his/her feeling is. In spite of the fact that the level of information a patient possesses is higher all the time, since this is one of the primary objectives all health professionals have, one doubt remains: Will a person who has all the possible information regarding his/her surgery at his/her disposition feel the same degree of anxiety as the person who does not have such complete information available to him/her?

  12. Measuring Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Aphasia: Reliability, Validity, and Sensitivity to Change of the Scenario Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Meulen, Ineke; van de Sandt-Koenderman, W. Mieke E.; Duivenvoorden, Hugo J.; Ribbers, Gerard M.

    2010-01-01

    Background: This study explores the psychometric qualities of the Scenario Test, a new test to assess daily-life communication in severe aphasia. The test is innovative in that it: (1) examines the effectiveness of verbal and non-verbal communication; and (2) assesses patients' communication in an interactive setting, with a supportive…

  13. The Validity of the Lorge Thorndike Nonverbal Battery as a Predictor of the Academic Achievement of International Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saigh, Philip A.

    1981-01-01

    Moderate correlations were observed between the grade point average and nonverbal battery IQ scores of the Lorge Thorndike Intelligence Test administered to 27 elementary school students representing 12 countries during their first semester at a private American school overseas. Reasons are cited for additional research needs in the United States…

  14. Prevalence of physical, verbal and nonverbal sexual harassments and their association with psychological distress among Jimma University female students: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamaru, Almaz; Getachew, Kinde; Mohammed, Yasmin

    2015-01-01

    A number of studies conducted on sexual harassment focused on general magnitude rather than specific details of the various forms of sexual harassment and their effect on psychological health. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence rates of the various forms of sexual harassments and their associations with psychological distress among Jimma University female students. Three hundred and eighty five (385) female participants were selected from all colleges using stratified and systematic sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire consisting of items on the various forms of sexual harassment and psychological distress was administered. The prevalence rates of physical, verbal and nonverbal sexual harassments were 78.2%, 90.4% and 80.0%, respectively, while the prevalence rate of psychological distress among students who had experienced sexual harassment was 63.0%. The multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that students who were physically [adjusted OR = 3.950, 95% CI = (1.979, 7.884)] and nonverbally [(adjusted OR = 12.099, 95% CI= (5.190, 28.205] harassed were 4 and 12 times more likely to experience psychological distress, respectively, adjusted for all other variables. The prevalence of various forms of sexual harassment were higher and strongly associated with psychological distress. Important implications for University officials and policy makers including creating harassment free University have been drawn. Otherwise, female students tend to dropout and their academic achievements suffer a lot as a result of psychological distress; and the government's effort for realizing the gender parity in education would be compromised.

  15. Validating emotional attention regulation as a component of emotional intelligence: A Stroop approach to individual differences in tuning in to and out of nonverbal cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfenbein, Hillary Anger; Jang, Daisung; Sharma, Sudeep; Sanchez-Burks, Jeffrey

    2017-03-01

    Emotional intelligence (EI) has captivated researchers and the public alike, but it has been challenging to establish its components as objective abilities. Self-report scales lack divergent validity from personality traits, and few ability tests have objectively correct answers. We adapt the Stroop task to introduce a new facet of EI called emotional attention regulation (EAR), which involves focusing emotion-related attention for the sake of information processing rather than for the sake of regulating one's own internal state. EAR includes 2 distinct components. First, tuning in to nonverbal cues involves identifying nonverbal cues while ignoring alternate content, that is, emotion recognition under conditions of distraction by competing stimuli. Second, tuning out of nonverbal cues involves ignoring nonverbal cues while identifying alternate content, that is, the ability to interrupt emotion recognition when needed to focus attention elsewhere. An auditory test of valence included positive and negative words spoken in positive and negative vocal tones. A visual test of approach-avoidance included green- and red-colored facial expressions depicting happiness and anger. The error rates for incongruent trials met the key criteria for establishing the validity of an EI test, in that the measure demonstrated test-retest reliability, convergent validity with other EI measures, divergent validity from factors such as general processing speed and mostly personality, and predictive validity in this case for well-being. By demonstrating that facets of EI can be validly theorized and empirically assessed, results also speak to the validity of EI more generally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Development of a team-based framework for conducting self-assessment of Continuous Improvement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Frances; Gertsen, Frank; Boer, Harry

    2004-01-01

    The study presented in this article is based on two basic premises. First, successful continuous improvement (CI) is dependent on shop floor level involvement and participation in improvement efforts. Second, the term "self-assessment" clearly implies that those whose performance is being measured......, and who are involved in conducting the assessment process. Excerpts from longitudinal case studies in a single Danish manufacturing organization demonstrate how teams involved in the process of conducting self-assessment of CI developed a better understanding of the basic principles of CI. Furthermore...

  17. Red mud enhances methanogenesis with the simultaneous improvement of hydrolysis-acidification and electrical conductivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Jie; Hu, Andong; Ren, Guoping; Zhou, Ting; Zhang, Guangming; Zhou, Shungui

    2018-01-01

    The role of red mud in the improvement of methanogenesis during sludge anaerobic digestion was innovatively investigated in this study. The results demonstrated that the addition of 20g/L red mud resulted in a 35.5% increase in methane accumulation. Red mud effectively promoted the hydrolysis-acidification of organic compounds in the sludge, which resulted in the increase of protein, polysaccharide, and VFAs by 5.1-94.5%. The activities of key enzymes were improved by 41.4-257.3%. Electrochemical measurements presented direct evidence that the electrical conductivity was significantly improved with red mud. More conductive magnetite was formed during the secondary mineralization after Fe(III) reduction by Fe (III)-reducing genes such as Clostridiaceae and Ruminococcaceae. The higher conductivity enhanced the electron transfer between the syntrophic bacteria (Geobacteraceae) and methanogens (Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina), and then improved the methanogenesis. This research provides a novel perspective on the synergism between sludge and red mud for methane production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Concurrent validity of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence in Parkinson's disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bostantjopoulou, S; Kiosseoglou, G; Katsarou, Z; Alevriadou, A

    2001-03-01

    The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-2; L. Brown, R. J. Sherbenou, & S. Johnsen, 1990) and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM; J. C. Raven, 1965) are defined as language-free measures of cognitive ability. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between the RCPM and the TONI-2 for samples of patients with Parkinson's disease (n = 75) and controls (n = 47). A regression equation was computed to evaluate the relation of the RCPM scores to the TONI-2 quotient. Regression equation results indicate that there is a significant overlapping linear variance between the two measures in both patients and controls.

  19. Adults with Asperger Syndrome with and without a Cognitive Profile Associated with "Non-Verbal Learning Disability." A Brief Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyden, Agneta; Niklasson, Lena; Stahlberg, Ola; Anckarsater, Henrik; Dahlgren-Sandberg, Annika; Wentz, Elisabet; Rastam, Maria

    2010-01-01

    Asperger syndrome (AS) and non-verbal learning disability (NLD) are both characterized by impairments in motor coordination, visuo-perceptual abilities, pragmatics and comprehension of language and social understanding. NLD is also defined as a learning disorder affecting functions in the right cerebral hemisphere. The present study investigates…

  20. Maternal Perceptions of the Importance of Needs and Resources for Children with Asperger Syndrome and Nonverbal Learning Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Liza

    2003-01-01

    A survey examined the perceptions of 404 mothers on the availability and importance of various resources for their children (ages 4-17) with Asperger syndrome or nonverbal learning disorder. A significant number (20-30%) reported that pragmatics training, social skills training, smaller classes, or a trained aide were not made available. (Contains…

  1. Test Review: Wechsler, D., & Naglieri, J.A. (2006). "Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability". San Antonio, TX--Harcourt Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massa, Idalia; Rivera, Vivina

    2009-01-01

    This article provides a review of the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV), a general cognitive ability assessment tool for individuals' aged 4 year 0 months through 21 years 11 months with English language and/or communicative limitations. The test targets a population whose performance on intelligence batteries might be compromised by…

  2. Nonspecificity and theory of mind: new evidence from a nonverbal false-sign task and children with autism spectrum disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iao, Lai-Sang; Leekam, Susan R

    2014-06-01

    Understanding of false belief has long been considered to be a crucial aspect of "theory of mind" that can be explained by a domain-specific mechanism. We argue against this claim using new evidence from a nonverbal false representation task (false-sign task) with typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Experiments 1 and 2 showed that typically developing children (mean age=62.67months) were equivalent in their performance across nonverbal and verbal forms of both the false-belief and false-sign tasks. Results for these two misrepresentation tasks differed from the results of an outdated representation task ("false"-photograph task). Experiment 3 showed that children with ASD had difficulties with the false representation tasks, and this could not be explained by executive functioning or language impairments. These findings support the view that children with ASD might not have a specific theory-of-mind deficit. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Mood As Cumulative Expectation Mismatch: A Test of Theory Based on Data from Non-verbal Cognitive Bias Tests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camille M. C. Raoult

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Affective states are known to influence behavior and cognitive processes. To assess mood (moderately long-term affective states, the cognitive judgment bias test was developed and has been widely used in various animal species. However, little is known about how mood changes, how mood can be experimentally manipulated, and how mood then feeds back into cognitive judgment. A recent theory argues that mood reflects the cumulative impact of differences between obtained outcomes and expectations. Here expectations refer to an established context. Situations in which an established context fails to match an outcome are then perceived as mismatches of expectation and outcome. We take advantage of the large number of studies published on non-verbal cognitive bias tests in recent years (95 studies with a total of 162 independent tests to test whether cumulative mismatch could indeed have led to the observed mood changes. Based on a criteria list, we assessed whether mismatch had occurred with the experimental procedure used to induce mood (mood induction mismatch, or in the context of the non-verbal cognitive bias procedure (testing mismatch. For the mood induction mismatch, we scored the mismatch between the subjects’ potential expectations and the manipulations conducted for inducing mood whereas, for the testing mismatch, we scored mismatches that may have occurred during the actual testing. We then investigated whether these two types of mismatch can predict the actual outcome of the cognitive bias study. The present evaluation shows that mood induction mismatch cannot well predict the success of a cognitive bias test. On the other hand, testing mismatch can modulate or even inverse the expected outcome. We think, cognitive bias studies should more specifically aim at creating expectation mismatch while inducing mood states to test the cumulative mismatch theory more properly. Furthermore, testing mismatch should be avoided as much as possible

  4. Non-verbal communication of the residents living in homes for the older people in Slovenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaletel, Marija; Kovacev, Asja Nina; Sustersic, Olga; Kragelj, Lijana Zaletel

    2010-09-01

    Aging of the population is a growing problem in all developed societies. The older people need more health and social services, and their life quality in there is getting more and more important. The study aimed at determining the characteristics of non-verbal communication of the older people living in old people's homes (OPH). The sample consisted of 267 residents of the OPH, aged 65-96 years, and 267 caregivers from randomly selected twenty-seven OPH. Three types of non-verbal communication were observed and analysed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods. In face expressions and head movements about 75% older people looked at the eyes of their caregivers, and about 60% were looking around, while laughing or pressing the lips together was rarely noticed. The differences between genders were not statistically significant while statistically significant differences among different age groups was observed in dropping the eyes (p = 0.004) and smiling (0.008). In hand gestures and trunk movements, majority of older people most often moved forwards and clenched fingers, while most rarely they stroked and caressed their caregivers. The differences between genders were statistically significant in leaning on the table (p = 0.001), and changing the position on the chair (0.013). Statistically significant differences among age groups were registered in leaning forwards (p = 0.006) and pointing to the others (p = 0.036). In different modes of speaking and paralinguistic signs almost 75% older people spoke normally, about 70% kept silent, while they rarely quarrelled. The differences between genders were not statistically significant while statistically significant differences among age groups was observed in persuasive speaking (p = 0.007). The present study showed that older people in OPH in Slovenia communicated significantly less frequently with hand gestures and trunk movements than with face expressions and head movements or different modes of speaking

  5. Have We Forgotten Auditory Sensory Memory? Retention Intervals in Studies of Nonverbal Auditory Working Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Nees, Michael A.

    2016-01-01

    Researchers have shown increased interest in mechanisms of working memory for nonverbal sounds such as music and environmental sounds. These studies often have used two-stimulus comparison tasks: two sounds separated by a brief retention interval (often 3 to 5 s) are compared, and a same or different judgment is recorded. Researchers seem to have assumed that sensory memory has a negligible impact on performance in auditory two-stimulus comparison tasks. This assumption is examined in detai...

  6. More than a face: a unified theoretical perspective on nonverbal social cue processing in social anxiety

    OpenAIRE

    Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva; Shachar-Lavie, Iris

    2013-01-01

    Processing of nonverbal social cues (NVSCs) is essential to interpersonal functioning and is particularly relevant to models of social anxiety. This article provides a review of the literature on NVSC processing from the perspective of social rank and affiliation biobehavioral systems (ABSs), based on functional analysis of human sociality. We examine the potential of this framework for integrating cognitive, interpersonal, and evolutionary accounts of social anxiety. We argue that NVSCs are ...

  7. Interest Level in 2-Year-Olds with Autism Spectrum Disorder Predicts Rate of Verbal, Nonverbal, and Adaptive Skill Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klintwall, Lars; Macari, Suzanne; Eikeseth, Svein; Chawarska, Katarzyna

    2015-01-01

    Recent studies have suggested that skill acquisition rates for children with autism spectrum disorders receiving early interventions can be predicted by child motivation. We examined whether level of interest during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessment at 2?years predicts subsequent rates of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill…

  8. Orofacial pain during mastication in people with dementia : Reliability testing of the orofacial pain scale for non-verbal individuals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, M.W.; Visscher, C.; Delwel, S.; van der Steen, J.T.; Pieper, M.J.C.; Scherder, E.J.A.; Achterberg, W.P.; Lobbezoo, F.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. The aim of this study was to establish the reliability of the “chewing” subscale of the OPS-NVI, a novel tool designed to estimate presence and severity of orofacial pain in nonverbal patients. Methods. The OPS-NVI consists of 16 items for observed behavior, classified into four

  9. Bi-directional effects of depressed mood in the postnatal period on mother-infant non-verbal engagement with picture books.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reissland, Nadja; Burt, Mike

    2010-12-01

    The purpose of the present study is to examine the bi-directional nature of maternal depressed mood in the postnatal period on maternal and infant non-verbal behaviors while looking at a picture book. Although, it is acknowledged that non-verbal engagement with picture books in infancy plays an important role, the effect of maternal depressed mood on stimulating the interest of infants in books is not known. Sixty-one mothers and their infants, 38 boys and 23 girls, were observed twice approximately 3 months apart (first observation: mean age 6.8 months, range 3-11 months, 32 mothers with depressed mood; second observation: mean age 10.2 months, range 6-16 months, 17 mothers with depressed mood). There was a significant effect for depressed mood on negative behaviors: infants of mothers with depressed mood tended to push away and close books more often. The frequency of negative behaviors (pushing the book away/closing it on the part of the infant and withholding the book and restraining the infant on the part of the mother) were behaviors which if expressed during the first visit were more likely to be expressed during the second visit. Levels of negative behaviors by mother and infant were strongly related during each visit. Additionally, the pattern between visits suggests that maternal negative behavior may be the cause of her infant negative behavior. These results are discussed in terms of the effects of maternal depressed mood on the bi-directional relation of non-verbal engagement of mother and child. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Verbal and non-verbal semantic impairment: From fluent primary progressive aphasia to semantic dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirna Lie Hosogi Senaha

    Full Text Available Abstract Selective disturbances of semantic memory have attracted the interest of many investigators and the question of the existence of single or multiple semantic systems remains a very controversial theme in the literature. Objectives: To discuss the question of multiple semantic systems based on a longitudinal study of a patient who presented semantic dementia from fluent primary progressive aphasia. Methods: A 66 year-old woman with selective impairment of semantic memory was examined on two occasions, undergoing neuropsychological and language evaluations, the results of which were compared to those of three paired control individuals. Results: In the first evaluation, physical examination was normal and the score on the Mini-Mental State Examination was 26. Language evaluation revealed fluent speech, anomia, disturbance in word comprehension, preservation of the syntactic and phonological aspects of the language, besides surface dyslexia and dysgraphia. Autobiographical and episodic memories were relatively preserved. In semantic memory tests, the following dissociation was found: disturbance of verbal semantic memory with preservation of non-verbal semantic memory. Magnetic resonance of the brain revealed marked atrophy of the left anterior temporal lobe. After 14 months, the difficulties in verbal semantic memory had become more severe and the semantic disturbance, limited initially to the linguistic sphere, had worsened to involve non-verbal domains. Conclusions: Given the dissociation found in the first examination, we believe there is sufficient clinical evidence to refute the existence of a unitary semantic system.

  11. Oral Language Impairments in Developmental Disorders Characterized by Language Strengths: A Comparison of Asperger Syndrome and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stothers, M. E.; Cardy, J. Oram

    2012-01-01

    Asperger syndrome (AS) and nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) are developmental disorders in which linguistic ability is reported to be stronger than in disorders from which they must be distinguished for diagnosis. Children and adults with AS and NLD share pragmatic weaknesses, atypical social behaviours, and some cognitive features. To date,…

  12. Evidence for a Double Dissociation between Spatial-Simultaneous and Spatial-Sequential Working Memory in Visuospatial (Nonverbal) Learning Disabled Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mammarella, Irene C.; Cornoldi, Cesare; Pazzaglia, Francesca; Toso, Cristina; Grimoldi, Mario; Vio, Claudio

    2006-01-01

    The paper describes the performance of three children with specific visuospatial working memory (VSWM) impairments (Study 1) and three children with visuospatial (nonverbal) learning disabilities (Study 2) assessed with a battery of working memory (WM) tests and with a number of school achievement tasks. Overall, performance on WM tests provides…

  13. Contextual analysis of human non-verbal guide behaviors to inform the development of FROG, the Fun Robotic Outdoor Guide

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karreman, Daphne Eleonora; van Dijk, Elisabeth M.A.G.; Evers, Vanessa

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports the first step in a series of studies to design the interaction behaviors of an outdoor robotic guide. We describe and report the use case development carried out to identify effective human tour guide behaviors. In this paper we focus on non-verbal communication cues in gaze,

  14. Emotional Contagion in the Classroom: The Impact of Teacher Satisfaction and Confirmation on Perceptions of Student Nonverbal Classroom Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houser, Marian L.; Waldbuesser, Caroline

    2017-01-01

    Teachers appreciate nonverbally responsive students, but what is missing is an understanding of the direct influence of teachers' self-perceptions on their perceptions of how engaged their students are in class. Using the emotional contagion theory as a lens, this study examines the premise that satisfied instructors expect students to mirror…

  15. Talk to the virtual hands: self-animated avatars improve communication in head-mounted display virtual environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trevor J Dodds

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: When we talk to one another face-to-face, body gestures accompany our speech. Motion tracking technology enables us to include body gestures in avatar-mediated communication, by mapping one's movements onto one's own 3D avatar in real time, so the avatar is self-animated. We conducted two experiments to investigate (a whether head-mounted display virtual reality is useful for researching the influence of body gestures in communication; and (b whether body gestures are used to help in communicating the meaning of a word. Participants worked in pairs and played a communication game, where one person had to describe the meanings of words to the other. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In experiment 1, participants used significantly more hand gestures and successfully described significantly more words when nonverbal communication was available to both participants (i.e. both describing and guessing avatars were self-animated, compared with both avatars in a static neutral pose. Participants 'passed' (gave up describing significantly more words when they were talking to a static avatar (no nonverbal feedback available. In experiment 2, participants' performance was significantly worse when they were talking to an avatar with a prerecorded listening animation, compared with an avatar animated by their partners' real movements. In both experiments participants used significantly more hand gestures when they played the game in the real world. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the studies show how (a virtual reality can be used to systematically study the influence of body gestures; (b it is important that nonverbal communication is bidirectional (real nonverbal feedback in addition to nonverbal communication from the describing participant; and (c there are differences in the amount of body gestures that participants use with and without the head-mounted display, and we discuss possible explanations for this and ideas for future investigation.

  16. Mathematical difficulties in nonverbal learning disability or co-morbid dyscalculia and dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mammarella, Irene C; Bomba, Monica; Caviola, Sara; Broggi, Fiorenza; Neri, Francesca; Lucangeli, Daniela; Nacinovich, Renata

    2013-01-01

    The main goal of the present study was to shed further light on the weaknesses of children with different profiles of mathematical difficulties, testing children with nonverbal learning disability (NLD), co-morbid dyscalculia and dyslexia (D&D), or typical development (TD). Sixteen children with NLD, 15 with D&D, and 16 with TD completed tasks derived from Butterworth (2003 ) and divided into: a capacity subscale (i.e., a number-dots comparison task, a number comparison task, and a dots comparison task); and an achievement subscale (i.e., mental calculations and arithmetical fact retrieval). Children with NLD were impaired in the dots comparison task, children with D&D in the mental calculation and arithmetical facts.

  17. Lack of coordination of nonverbal behaviour between patients and interviewers as a potential risk factor to depression recurrence : vulnerability accumulation in depression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouhuys, AL; Sam, MM

    2000-01-01

    Background: Coordination of nonverbal behaviour during interactions is a prerequisite for satisfactory relationships. Lack of coordination may form a risk factor for depression. The 'vulnerability-accumulation hypothesis' assumes that vulnerability to recurrence of depression will increase with

  18. The Role of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication in a Two-Person, Cooperative Manipulation Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarangi P. Parikh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Motivated by the differences between human and robot teams, we investigated the role of verbal communication between human teammates as they work together to move a large object to a series of target locations. Only one member of the group was told the target sequence by the experimenters, while the second teammate had no target knowledge. The two experimental conditions we compared were haptic-verbal (teammates are allowed to talk and haptic only (no talking allowed. The team’s trajectory was recorded and evaluated. In addition, participants completed a NASA TLX-style postexperimental survey which gauges workload along 6 different dimensions. In our initial experiment we found no significant difference in performance when verbal communication was added. In a follow-up experiment, using a different manipulation task, we did find that the addition of verbal communication significantly improved performance and reduced the perceived workload. In both experiments, for the haptic-only condition, we found that a remarkable number of groups independently improvised common haptic communication protocols (CHIPs. We speculate that such protocols can be substituted for verbal communication and that the performance difference between verbal and nonverbal communication may be related to how easy it is to distinguish the CHIPs from motions required for task completion.

  19. Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes for Improved Thermal Conductivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Alexander; Burt, Timothy; Mullen, Kieran; Glatzhofer, Daniel; Houck, Matthew; Huang, Paul

    The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to improve the thermal conductivity of composite materials is thwarted by their large thermal boundary resistance. We study how to overcome this Kapitza resistance by functionalizing CNTs with mixed molecular chains. Certain configurations of chains improve the transmission of thermal vibrations through our systems by decreasing phonon mismatch between the CNTs and their surrounding matrix. Through the calculation of vibrational normal modes and Green's functions, we develop a variety of computational metrics to compare the thermal conductivity (κ) of our systems. We show how different configurations of attached chains affect the samples' κ values by varying chain identity, chain length, number of chains, and heat driver behavior. We vary the parameters to maximize κ. To validate and optimize these metrics, we perform molecular dynamics simulations for comparison. We also present experimental results of composites enhanced with CNTs and make comparisons to the theory. We observe that some composites are thermally improved with the inclusion of CNTs, while others are scarcely changed, in agreement with theoretical models. This work was supported by NSF Grant DMR-1310407.

  20. Predicting first-grade mathematics achievement: The contributions of domain-general cognitive abilities, nonverbal number sense, and early number competence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline eHornung

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Early number competence, grounded in number-specific and domain-general cognitive abilities, is theorized to lay the foundation for later math achievement. Few longitudinal studies have tested a comprehensive model for early math development. Using structural equation modeling and mediation analyses, the present work examined the influence of kindergarteners’ nonverbal number sense and domain-general abilities i.e., working memory, fluid intelligence, and receptive vocabulary and their early number competence (i.e., symbolic number skills on first grade math achievement (arithmetic, shape and space skills, and number line estimation assessed one year later. Latent regression models revealed that nonverbal number sense and working memory are central building blocks for developing early number competence in kindergarten and that early number competence is key for first grade math achievement. After controlling for early number competence, fluid intelligence significantly predicted arithmetic and number line estimation while receptive vocabulary significantly predicted shape and space skills. In sum we suggest that early math achievement draws on different constellations of number-specific and domain-general mechanisms.

  1. Higher Capacity, Improved Conductive Matrix VB2/Air Batteries (Postprint)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-02-18

    gravimetric capacity five-fold higher than the 2 e− oxidation of the widely used zinc alkaline anode. One challenge to the implementation of VB2/air...VB2 has an intrinsic gravimetric capacity five fold higher than the 2 e− oxidation of the widely used zinc alkaline anode. One challenge to the...to ameliorate this effect through advanced anode configurations with an improved conductive matrix. Materials and Methods Anodes were prepared using

  2. The influence of non-verbal educational and therapeutic Practices in autism spectrum disorder: the possibilities for physical education professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adryelle Fabiane Campelo de Lima

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD have symptoms that begin in childhood and affects the individual's ability to function in life and in their day to day. For reduce and control the symptoms of ASD exist several types of practices. Thus, this study aims to analyze the contributions of the main pedagogical and therapeutic practices of non-verbal communication in motivation, emotional stability, communication and socialization of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, which may collaborate in the intervention of the physical education professional. The study was done through a systematic review that was conducted in the electronic databases. Initially, 390 documents have been identified. After the reading and analysis of the titles of the documents, have selected 109. After reading the summaries were considered eligible 53 and, finally, we've included 18, which completely satisfy our criteria for inclusion. The results showed that intervention programs are distinct and the majority is in music therapy. This systematic review showed that there is direct intervention of physical education professionals only in psychomotricity.

  3. Reduce the Sensitivity of CL-20 by Improving Thermal Conductivity Through Carbon Nanomaterials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuang; An, Chongwei; Wang, Jingyu; Ye, Baoyun

    2018-03-27

    The graphene (rGO) and carbon nanotube (CNT) were adopted to enhance the thermal conductivity of CL-20-based composites as conductive fillers. The microstructure features were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and tested the properties by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), static electricity accumulation, special height, thermal conductivity, and detonation velocity. The results showed that the mixture of rGO and CNT had better effect in thermal conductivity than rGO or CNT alone under the same loading (1 wt%) and it formed a three-dimensional heat-conducting network structure to improve the heat property of the system. Besides, the linear fit proved that the thermal conductivity of the CL-20-based composites were negatively correlated with the impact sensitivity, which also explained that the impact sensitivity was significantly reduced after the thermal conductivity increased and the explosive still maintained better energy.

  4. Reduce the Sensitivity of CL-20 by Improving Thermal Conductivity Through Carbon Nanomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuang; An, Chongwei; Wang, Jingyu; Ye, Baoyun

    2018-03-01

    The graphene (rGO) and carbon nanotube (CNT) were adopted to enhance the thermal conductivity of CL-20-based composites as conductive fillers. The microstructure features were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and tested the properties by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), static electricity accumulation, special height, thermal conductivity, and detonation velocity. The results showed that the mixture of rGO and CNT had better effect in thermal conductivity than rGO or CNT alone under the same loading (1 wt%) and it formed a three-dimensional heat-conducting network structure to improve the heat property of the system. Besides, the linear fit proved that the thermal conductivity of the CL-20-based composites were negatively correlated with the impact sensitivity, which also explained that the impact sensitivity was significantly reduced after the thermal conductivity increased and the explosive still maintained better energy.

  5. A brain-computer interface for potential non-verbal facial communication based on EEG signals related to specific emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashihara, Koji

    2014-01-01

    Unlike assistive technology for verbal communication, the brain-machine or brain-computer interface (BMI/BCI) has not been established as a non-verbal communication tool for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Face-to-face communication enables access to rich emotional information, but individuals suffering from neurological disorders, such as ALS and autism, may not express their emotions or communicate their negative feelings. Although emotions may be inferred by looking at facial expressions, emotional prediction for neutral faces necessitates advanced judgment. The process that underlies brain neuronal responses to neutral faces and causes emotional changes remains unknown. To address this problem, therefore, this study attempted to decode conditioned emotional reactions to neutral face stimuli. This direction was motivated by the assumption that if electroencephalogram (EEG) signals can be used to detect patients' emotional responses to specific inexpressive faces, the results could be incorporated into the design and development of BMI/BCI-based non-verbal communication tools. To these ends, this study investigated how a neutral face associated with a negative emotion modulates rapid central responses in face processing and then identified cortical activities. The conditioned neutral face-triggered event-related potentials that originated from the posterior temporal lobe statistically significantly changed during late face processing (600-700 ms) after stimulus, rather than in early face processing activities, such as P1 and N170 responses. Source localization revealed that the conditioned neutral faces increased activity in the right fusiform gyrus (FG). This study also developed an efficient method for detecting implicit negative emotional responses to specific faces by using EEG signals. A classification method based on a support vector machine enables the easy classification of neutral faces that trigger specific individual emotions. In

  6. Analysis of transient heat conduction in a PWR fuel rod by an improved lumped parameter approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dourado, Eneida Regina G. [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Cotta, Renato M. [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Mecanica; Jian, Su, E-mail: eneidadourado@gmail.com, E-mail: sujian@nuclear.ufrj.br, E-mail: cotta@mecanica.ufrj.br [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear

    2017-07-01

    This paper aims to analyze transient heat conduction in a nuclear fuel rod by an improved lumped parameter approach. One-dimensional transient heat conduction is considered, with the circumferential symmetry assumed and the axial conduction neglected. The thermal conductivity and specific heat in the fuel pellet are considered temperature dependent, while the thermophysical properties of the cladding are considered constant. Hermite approximation for integration is used to obtain the average temperature and heat flux in the radial direction. Significant improvement over the classical lumped parameter formulation has been achieved. The proposed model can be also used in dynamic analysis of PWR and nuclear power plant simulators. (author)

  7. Analysis of transient heat conduction in a PWR fuel rod by an improved lumped parameter approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dourado, Eneida Regina G.; Cotta, Renato M.; Jian, Su

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims to analyze transient heat conduction in a nuclear fuel rod by an improved lumped parameter approach. One-dimensional transient heat conduction is considered, with the circumferential symmetry assumed and the axial conduction neglected. The thermal conductivity and specific heat in the fuel pellet are considered temperature dependent, while the thermophysical properties of the cladding are considered constant. Hermite approximation for integration is used to obtain the average temperature and heat flux in the radial direction. Significant improvement over the classical lumped parameter formulation has been achieved. The proposed model can be also used in dynamic analysis of PWR and nuclear power plant simulators. (author)

  8. Common Variance Among Three Measures of Nonverbal Cognitive Ability: WISC-R Performance Scale, WJPB-TCA Reasoning Cluster, and Halstead Category Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telzrow, Cathy F.; Harr, Gale A.

    1987-01-01

    Examined the relationships among two psychometric measures of nonverbal cognitive ability - The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJPB-TCA) and a neuropsychological test of abstract reasoning and concept formation (Halstead Category Test) in 25…

  9. Adverse Life Events and Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Adolescence: The Role of Non-Verbal Cognitive Ability and Negative Cognitive Errors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flouri, Eirini; Panourgia, Constantina

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to test whether negative cognitive errors (overgeneralizing, catastrophizing, selective abstraction, and personalizing) mediate the moderator effect of non-verbal cognitive ability on the association between adverse life events (life stress) and emotional and behavioral problems in adolescence. The sample consisted of 430…

  10. Improved ionic conductivity of lithium-zinc-tellurite glass-ceramic electrolytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widanarto, W.; Ramdhan, A. M.; Ghoshal, S. K.; Effendi, M.; Cahyanto, W. T.; Warsito

    An enhancement in the secondary battery safety demands the optimum synthesis of glass-ceramics electrolytes with modified ionic conductivity. To achieve improved ionic conductivity and safer operation of the battery, we synthesized Li2O included zinc-tellurite glass-ceramics based electrolytes of chemical composition (85-x)TeO2·xLi2O·15ZnO, where x = 0, 5, 10, 15 mol%. Samples were prepared using the melt quenching method at 800 °C followed by thermal annealing at 320 °C for 3 h and characterized. The effects of varying temperature, alternating current (AC) frequency and Li2O concentration on the structure and ionic conductivity of such glass-ceramics were determined. The SEM images of the annealed glass-ceramic electrolytes displayed rough surface with a uniform distribution of nucleated crystal flakes with sizes less than 1 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the well crystalline nature of achieved electrolytes. Incorporation of Li2O in the electrolytes was found to generate some new crystalline phases including hexagonal Li6(TeO6), monoclinic Zn2Te3O8 and monoclinic Li2Te2O5. The estimated crystallite size of the electrolyte was ranged from ≈40 to 80 nm. AC impedance measurement revealed that the variation in the temperatures, Li2O contents, and high AC frequencies have a significant influence on the ionic conductivity of the electrolytes. Furthermore, electrolyte doped with 15 mol% of Li2O exhibited the optimum performance with an ionic conductivity ≈2.4 × 10-7 S cm-1 at the frequency of 54 Hz and in the temperature range of 323-473 K. This enhancement in the conductivity was attributed to the sizable alteration in the ions vibration and ruptures of covalent bonds in the electrolytes network structures.

  11. Hydrogen plasma treatment for improved conductivity in amorphous aluminum doped zinc tin oxide thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Morales-Masis

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Improving the conductivity of earth-abundant transparent conductive oxides (TCOs remains an important challenge that will facilitate the replacement of indium-based TCOs. Here, we show that a hydrogen (H2-plasma post-deposition treatment improves the conductivity of amorphous aluminum-doped zinc tin oxide while retaining its low optical absorption. We found that the H2-plasma treatment performed at a substrate temperature of 50 °C reduces the resistivity of the films by 57% and increases the absorptance by only 2%. Additionally, the low substrate temperature delays the known formation of tin particles with the plasma and it allows the application of the process to temperature-sensitive substrates.

  12. Hydrogen plasma treatment for improved conductivity in amorphous aluminum doped zinc tin oxide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morales-Masis, M., E-mail: monica.moralesmasis@epfl.ch; Ding, L.; Dauzou, F. [Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL, Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel (Switzerland); Jeangros, Q. [Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne (Switzerland); Hessler-Wyser, A. [Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL, Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel (Switzerland); Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne (Switzerland); Nicolay, S. [Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) SA, Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, CH-2002 Neuchatel (Switzerland); Ballif, C. [Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - EPFL, Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel (Switzerland); Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) SA, Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, CH-2002 Neuchatel (Switzerland)

    2014-09-01

    Improving the conductivity of earth-abundant transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) remains an important challenge that will facilitate the replacement of indium-based TCOs. Here, we show that a hydrogen (H{sub 2})-plasma post-deposition treatment improves the conductivity of amorphous aluminum-doped zinc tin oxide while retaining its low optical absorption. We found that the H{sub 2}-plasma treatment performed at a substrate temperature of 50 °C reduces the resistivity of the films by 57% and increases the absorptance by only 2%. Additionally, the low substrate temperature delays the known formation of tin particles with the plasma and it allows the application of the process to temperature-sensitive substrates.

  13. Role of Age, Siblings Verbal and Nonverbal Ability in Development of the Theory of Mind in Intellectually Disabled Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Ali Yazdani

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate theory of mind development (TOM with regard to mental retarded students (MRS and its relationship with verbal and non-verbal abilities, and number of siblings. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional, for all male mental retarded students, age of 8 to 14 years (about 59 individuals which were from the city Torbat-e Heidarieh, Iran. Unexpected-content task (UCT and 38-items test were used for measuring TOM. Also, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children Revised (WISC-R was used to examine the verbal and non-verbal abilities. Information of siblings was established in an interview with the parents, also by looking at the students’ ID cards. In order to analyze data, ANOVA, Scheffe, Pearson correlation coefficient and chi- square were carried out. Results: First and second level theory of mind development with regard to intellectually disable students were ascending to 12 years age (p0.05. Conclusion: Altogether, the things “theory theory” and “modular” approaches state might be acceptable. Those theories which are based on sociocultural approaches expressing experiment of communication underlies mind understanding development must be more examined.

  14. The isothermal conductivity improvement in zirconia-based ceramics under 24 GHz microwave heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kishimoto, Akira; Ayano, Keiko; Teranishi, Takashi; Hayashi, Hidetaka

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Under 24-GHz millimetre-wave irradiation heating ionic conductivity of zirconia base ceramics was up to 20 times higher than that of a conventionally-heated sample at the same temperature of 400 °C. The degree of enhancement could be altered by changing the stabilising atom from Y to Yb. Enhancement of ionic conduction was prominent in the setup condition of larger self-heating ratio and larger MMW absorbing materials. The isothermal improvement of ionic conductivity under MMW irradiation would be ascribed to the non-thermal effect. - Highlights: • Under millimetre-wave irradiation heating ionic conductivity of zirconia ceramics was examined. • It was up to 20 times higher than that of a conventionally heating condition. • The activation process was examined in relation to the non-thermal effects. • The operation temperature could be lowered while maintaining the ionic conductivity

  15. Improved ionic conductivity of lithium-zinc-tellurite glass-ceramic electrolytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Widanarto

    Full Text Available An enhancement in the secondary battery safety demands the optimum synthesis of glass-ceramics electrolytes with modified ionic conductivity. To achieve improved ionic conductivity and safer operation of the battery, we synthesized Li2O included zinc-tellurite glass-ceramics based electrolytes of chemical composition (85-xTeO2·xLi2O·15ZnO, where x = 0, 5, 10, 15 mol%. Samples were prepared using the melt quenching method at 800 °C followed by thermal annealing at 320 °C for 3 h and characterized. The effects of varying temperature, alternating current (AC frequency and Li2O concentration on the structure and ionic conductivity of such glass-ceramics were determined. The SEM images of the annealed glass-ceramic electrolytes displayed rough surface with a uniform distribution of nucleated crystal flakes with sizes less than 1 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the well crystalline nature of achieved electrolytes. Incorporation of Li2O in the electrolytes was found to generate some new crystalline phases including hexagonal Li6(TeO6, monoclinic Zn2Te3O8 and monoclinic Li2Te2O5. The estimated crystallite size of the electrolyte was ranged from ≈40 to 80 nm. AC impedance measurement revealed that the variation in the temperatures, Li2O contents, and high AC frequencies have a significant influence on the ionic conductivity of the electrolytes. Furthermore, electrolyte doped with 15 mol% of Li2O exhibited the optimum performance with an ionic conductivity ≈2.4 × 10−7 S cm−1 at the frequency of 54 Hz and in the temperature range of 323–473 K. This enhancement in the conductivity was attributed to the sizable alteration in the ions vibration and ruptures of covalent bonds in the electrolytes network structures. Keywords: Zinc-tellurite, Glass-ceramics, X-ray diffraction, Ionic conductivity, Lithium oxide

  16. Synergistically improved thermal conductivity of polyamide-6 with low melting temperature metal and graphite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. C. Jia

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Low melting temperature metal (LMTM-tin (Sn was introduced into polyamide-6 (PA6 and PA6/graphite composites respectively to improve the thermal conductivity of PA6 by melt processing (extruding and injection molding. After introducing Sn, the thermal conductivity of PA6/Sn was nearly constant because of the serious agglomeration of Sn. However, when 20 wt% (5.4 vol% of Sn was added into PA6 containing 50 wt% (33.3 vol% of graphite, the thermal conductivity of the composite was dramatically increased to 5.364 versus 1.852 W·(m·K–1 for the PA6/graphite composite, which suggests that the incorporation of graphite and Sn have a significant synergistic effect on the thermal conductivity improvement of PA6. What is more, the electrical conductivity of the composite increased nearly 8 orders of magnitudes after introducing both graphite and Sn. Characterization of microstructure and energy dispersive spectrum analysis (EDS indicates that the dispersion of Sn in PA6/graphite/Sn was much more uniform than that of PA6/Sn composite. According to Differential Scanning Calorimetry measurement and EDS, the uniform dispersion of Sn in PA6/graphite/Sn and the high thermal conductivity of PA6/graphite/Sn are speculated to be related with the electron transfer between graphite and Sn, which makes Sn distribute evenly around the graphite layers.

  17. Improving Conductivity Image Quality Using Block Matrix-based Multiple Regularization (BMMR Technique in EIT: A Simulation Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tushar Kanti Bera

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available A Block Matrix based Multiple Regularization (BMMR technique is proposed for improving conductivity image quality in EIT. The response matrix (JTJ has been partitioned into several sub-block matrices and the highest eigenvalue of each sub-block matrices has been chosen as regularization parameter for the nodes contained by that sub-block. Simulated boundary data are generated for circular domain with circular inhomogeneity and the conductivity images are reconstructed in a Model Based Iterative Image Reconstruction (MoBIIR algorithm. Conductivity images are reconstructed with BMMR technique and the results are compared with the Single-step Tikhonov Regularization (STR and modified Levenberg-Marquardt Regularization (LMR methods. It is observed that the BMMR technique reduces the projection error and solution error and improves the conductivity reconstruction in EIT. Result show that the BMMR method also improves the image contrast and inhomogeneity conductivity profile and hence the reconstructed image quality is enhanced. ;doi:10.5617/jeb.170 J Electr Bioimp, vol. 2, pp. 33-47, 2011

  18. The differential item functioning and structural equivalence of a nonverbal cognitive ability test for five language groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pieter Schaap

    2011-10-01

    Research purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the differential item functioning (DIF and structural equivalence of a nonverbal cognitive ability test (the PiB/SpEEx Observance test [401] for five South African language groups. Motivation for study: Cultural and language group sensitive tests can lead to unfair discrimination and is a contentious workplace issue in South Africa today. Misconceptions about psychometric testing in industry can cause tests to lose credibility if industries do not use a scientifically sound test-by-test evaluation approach. Research design, approach and method: The researcher used a quasi-experimental design and factor analytic and logistic regression techniques to meet the research aims. The study used a convenience sample drawn from industry and an educational institution. Main findings: The main findings of the study show structural equivalence of the test at a holistic level and nonsignificant DIF effect sizes for most of the comparisons that the researcher made. Practical/managerial implications: This research shows that the PIB/SpEEx Observance Test (401 is not completely language insensitive. One should see it rather as a language-reduced test when people from different language groups need testing. Contribution/value-add: The findings provide supporting evidence that nonverbal cognitive tests are plausible alternatives to verbal tests when one compares people from different language groups.

  19. TITANIUM DIOXIDE TRIADS FOR IMPROVED CHARGE-SEPARATION USING CONDUCTIVE POLYMERS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cochran, T.M.; Gaylor, T.N.; de la Garza, L.; Rajh, T.

    2009-01-01

    Dye-sensitized solar cells are potentially one of the best solutions to solar energy conversion because of the low cost of required materials and production processes. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticulate fi lms are the basis for one of these types of cells, providing large surface area for dye-sensitizer adsorption. Because TiO2 nanoparticulate fi lms develop defects caused by oxygen defi ciency, deep reactive electron traps are formed. With the addition of an enediol ligand, these electron traps are deliberately removed, enhancing the conduction of electrons within the fi lm. In this project, TiO2 nanoparticulate fi lms made by a layer-by-layer dip coating method were modifi ed with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC). DOPAC binds to the titanium atoms on the surface of the nanoparticles, restoring their octahedral geometry. This restructuring of the surface shifts the spectral properties of the TiO2 to the visible spectrum and improves the separation of charges which is observed using photoelectrochemistry. Furthermore, DOPAC enables the electronic attachment of other molecules to the surface of TiO2 fi lms, such as the conductive polymer polyaniline base. This conductive polymer provides an extended separation of charges which increases photocurrent production by forming a triad with the TiO2 semiconductor through the 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid linker. The photocurrent increases due to the donor properties of the conductive polymer thereby decreasing charge pair recombination.

  20. Comparison among Children with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Nonverbal Learning Disorder and Typically Developing Children on Measures of Executive Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semrud-Clikeman, Margaret; Fine, Jodene Goldenring; Bledsoe, Jesse

    2014-01-01

    It has been suggested that children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) or Asperger's Syndrome (AS) may show difficulties with executive functioning. There were 3 groups in this study who completed a neuropsychological battery of visual-spatial, executive functioning, and reasoning tasks; AS (n = 37), NLD (n = 31), and controls…

  1. Referential Interactions of Turkish-Learning Children with Their Caregivers about Non-Absent Objects: Integration of Non-Verbal Devices and Prior Discourse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ates, Beyza S.; Küntay, Aylin C.

    2018-01-01

    This paper examines the way children younger than two use non-verbal devices (i.e., deictic gestures and communicative functional acts) and pay attention to discourse status (i.e., prior mention vs. newness) of referents in interactions with caregivers. Data based on semi-naturalistic interactions with caregivers of four children, at ages 1;00,…

  2. Improving the Conductivity of Sulfonated Polyimides as Proton Exchange Membranes by Doping of a Protic Ionic Liquid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bor-Kuan Chen

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Proton exchange membranes (PEMs are a key component of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Sulfonated polyimides (SPIs were doped by protic ionic liquid (PIL to prepare composite PEMs with substantially improved conductivity. SPIs were synthesized from diamine, 2,2-bis[4-(4-amino-phenoxyphenyl]propane (BAPP, sulfonated diamine, 4,4'-diamino diphenyl ether-2,2'-disulfonic acid (ODADS and aromatic anhydride. BAPP improved the mechanical and thermal properties of SPIs, while ODADS enhanced conductivity. A PIL, 1-vinylimidazolium trifluoromethane-sulfonate ([VIm][OTf], was utilized. [VIm][OTf] offered better conductivity, which can be attributed to its vinyl chemical structure attached to an imidazolium ring that contributed to ionomer-PIL interactions. We prepared sulfonated polyimide/ionic liquid (SPI/IL composite PEMs using 50 wt% [VIm][OTf] with a conductivity of 7.17 mS/cm at 100 °C, and in an anhydrous condition, 3,3',4,4'-diphenyl sulfone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (DSDA was used in the synthesis of SPIs, leading to several hundred-times improvement in conductivity compared to pristine SPIs.

  3. Verbal and nonverbal behavior of ability-grouped dyads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, M. Gail; Carter, Glenda

    In this study we describe the social interactions of ability-grouped dyads as they constructed knowledge of balance concepts to elucidate the relationship between interactions and conceptual growth. The verbal and nonverbal behaviors of 30 fifth-grade students were recorded as they completed three activities related to balance. These student interactions were examined within a framework of social cognition. For each dyad, characteristics of ability-grouped dyads were identified. Results revealed that high-achieving students effectively used prior experiences, maintained focus on the learning task, and were able to manipulate the equipment effectively to construct knowledge. Low-achieving students exhibited off-task behavior, lacked a metacognitive framework for organizing the learning tasks, centered on irrelevant features of the equipment, and were unable to use language effectively to mediate learning. Within low-high student dyads, high-achieving students typically modeled thinking processes and strategies for manipulating equipment. In addition, they focused the low-achieving students on the components of the tasks while verbally monitoring their progress, thus enabling low students to identify the critical features necessary for concept construction. These results highlighted the differences that students have in the use of language and tools. Low students' inefficient use of tools has implications for the ways science teachers structure lessons and group students for laboratory work.Received: 8 March 1993; Revised: 6 January 1994;

  4. Designing virtual audiences for fear of public speaking training - an observation study on realistic nonverbal behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poeschl, Sandra; Doering, Nicola

    2012-01-01

    Virtual Reality technology offers great possibilities for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of fear of public speaking: Clients can be exposed to virtual fear-triggering stimuli (exposure) and are able to role-play in virtual environments, training social skills to overcome their fear. Usually, prototypical audience behavior (neutral, social and anti-social) serves as stimulus in virtual training sessions, although there is significant lack of theoretical basis on typical audience behavior. The study presented deals with the design of a realistic virtual presentation scenario. An audience (consisting of n=18 men and women) in an undergraduate seminar was observed during three frontal lecture sessions. Behavior frequency of four nonverbal dimensions (eye contact, facial expression, gesture, and posture) was rated by means of a quantitative content analysis. Results show audience behavior patterns which seem to be typical in frontal lecture contexts, like friendly and neutral face expressions. Additionally, combined and even synchronized behavioral patterns between participants who sit next to each other (like turning to the neighbor and start talking) were registered. The gathered data serve as empirical design basis for a virtual audience to be used in virtual training applications that stimulate the experiences of the participants in a realistic manner, thereby improving the experienced presence in the training application.

  5. Self-Paced Segmentation of Written Words on a Touchscreen Tablet Promotes the Oral Production of Nonverbal and Minimally Verbal Children with Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vernay, Frédérique; Kahina, Harma; Thierry, Marrone; Jean-Yves, Roussey

    2017-01-01

    We investigated in a pilot study the effects of various types of visual mediation (photos, written words and self-paced syllabic segmentation of written words displayed on a touchscreen tablet) that are thought to facilitate the oral production of nonverbal and minimally verbal children with autism, according to the participants' level of oral…

  6. EQClinic: a platform for learning communication skills in clinical consultations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chunfeng; Scott, Karen M; Lim, Renee L; Taylor, Silas; Calvo, Rafael A

    2016-01-01

    Doctors' verbal and non-verbal communication skills have an impact on patients' health outcomes, so it is important for medical students to develop these skills. Traditional, non-verbal communication skills training can involve a tutor manually annotating a student's non-verbal behaviour during patient-doctor consultations, but this is very time-consuming. Tele-conference systems have been used in verbal communication skills training. We describe EQClinic, a system that enables verbal and non-verbal communication skills training during tele-consultations with simulated patients (SPs), with evaluation exercises promoting reflection. Students and SPs can have tele-consultations through the tele-consultation component. In this component, SPs can provide feedback to students through a thumbs-up/ thumbs-down tool and a comments box. EQClinic automatically analyses communication features in the recorded consultations, such as facial expressions, and provides graphical representations. Our 2015 pilot study investigated whether EQClinic helped students be aware of their non-verbal behaviour and improve their communication skills, and evaluated the usability of the platform. Students received automated feedback, and SP and tutor evaluations, and then completed self-assessment and reflection questionnaires. Eight medical students and three SPs conducted 13 tele-consultations using EQClinic. More students paid attention to their non-verbal communication and students who were engaged in two consultations felt more confident in their second consultation. Students rated the system positively, felt comfortable using it (5.9/7), and reported that the structure (5.4/7) and information (5.8/7) were clear. This pilot provides evidence that EQClinic helps, and positively influences, medical students practise their communication skills with SPs using a tele-conference platform. It is not easy to improve non-verbal communication skills in a short time period. Further evaluation of

  7. EQClinic: a platform for learning communication skills in clinical consultations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunfeng Liu

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: Doctors’ verbal and non-verbal communication skills have an impact on patients’ health outcomes, so it is important for medical students to develop these skills. Traditional, non-verbal communication skills training can involve a tutor manually annotating a student's non-verbal behaviour during patient–doctor consultations, but this is very time-consuming. Tele-conference systems have been used in verbal communication skills training. Methods: We describe EQClinic, a system that enables verbal and non-verbal communication skills training during tele-consultations with simulated patients (SPs, with evaluation exercises promoting reflection. Students and SPs can have tele-consultations through the tele-consultation component. In this component, SPs can provide feedback to students through a thumbs-up/ thumbs-down tool and a comments box. EQClinic automatically analyses communication features in the recorded consultations, such as facial expressions, and provides graphical representations. Our 2015 pilot study investigated whether EQClinic helped students be aware of their non-verbal behaviour and improve their communication skills, and evaluated the usability of the platform. Students received automated feedback, and SP and tutor evaluations, and then completed self-assessment and reflection questionnaires. Results: Eight medical students and three SPs conducted 13 tele-consultations using EQClinic. More students paid attention to their non-verbal communication and students who were engaged in two consultations felt more confident in their second consultation. Students rated the system positively, felt comfortable using it (5.9/7, and reported that the structure (5.4/7 and information (5.8/7 were clear. This pilot provides evidence that EQClinic helps, and positively influences, medical students practise their communication skills with SPs using a tele-conference platform. Discussion: It is not easy to improve non-verbal

  8. The role of verbal and nonverbal memory in the Family Pictures Subtest: Data from children with specific language impairment

    OpenAIRE

    Lum, Jarrad A. G.; Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Ullman, Michael T.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the contribution of verbal and visual memory to performance on the Family Pictures subtest of the Children's Memory Scale. This subtest purports to assess declarative memory functioning in the visual/nonverbal domain. A total of 115 nine-year-old children participated in this study. Fifty-eight had specific language impairment (SLI), whilst the remaining 57 were typically developing (TD), with no history of language difficulties. Results showed that the children with SLI, ...

  9. Concurrent validity of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test 2 1/2-7-Revised with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moore, C; O'Keefe, SL; Lawhon, D; Tellegen, P

    This study examined the concurrent validity of the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test-Revised compared to the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised Subjects were 25 4-yr.-olds of lower, lower-middle, and middle socioeconomic status from both urban and rural areas of

  10. Effects of proactive interference on non-verbal working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyr, Marilyn; Nee, Derek E; Nelson, Eric; Senger, Thea; Jonides, John; Malapani, Chara

    2017-02-01

    Working memory (WM) is a cognitive system responsible for actively maintaining and processing relevant information and is central to successful cognition. A process critical to WM is the resolution of proactive interference (PI), which involves suppressing memory intrusions from prior memories that are no longer relevant. Most studies that have examined resistance to PI in a process-pure fashion used verbal material. By contrast, studies using non-verbal material are scarce, and it remains unclear whether the effect of PI is domain-general or whether it applies solely to the verbal domain. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of PI in visual WM using both objects with high and low nameability. Using a Directed-Forgetting paradigm, we varied discriminability between WM items on two dimensions, one verbal (high-nameability vs. low-nameability objects) and one perceptual (colored vs. gray objects). As in previous studies using verbal material, effects of PI were found with object stimuli, even after controlling for verbal labels being used (i.e., low-nameability condition). We also found that the addition of distinctive features (color, verbal label) increased performance in rejecting intrusion probes, most likely through an increase in discriminability between content-context bindings in WM.

  11. National Implications: Implementing the "Ways of Knowing through the Realms of Meaning" for the Improvement of Ethical Conduct

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cloud, Michelle; Kritsonis, William Allan

    2007-01-01

    The intent of this article is to illustrate the effectiveness of using the tenets described in the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning by Dr. William Allan Kritsonis (2007) to improve ethical conduct. Ten recommendations to implement the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning for the improvement of ethical conduct are provided.…

  12. Who Are the Children Most Vulnerable to Social Exclusion? The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem, Popularity, and Nonverbal Intelligence on Cognitive Performance Following Social Exclusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobia, Valentina; Riva, Paolo; Caprin, Claudia

    2017-05-01

    Social exclusion has a profound emotional impact on children. However, there is still limited and partly conflicting experimental evidence for the possible effect of social exclusion on children's cognitive performance. In the present study, we tested the possibility that some children are more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of social exclusion on cognitive performance. We selected 4 potential candidates that could moderate the effects of social exclusion: relational self-esteem, peer ratings of popularity, rejection sensitivity and nonverbal intelligence. Individual differences in these 4 potential moderating factors were first assessed in a sample of 318 children (45.6 % females; mean age = 9.92 years). Then, in a subsequent experimental session, the participants were either socially included or excluded using a typical manipulation (i.e., the Cyberball paradigm). Following the manipulation, the children's cognitive performance was assessed using a logical reasoning test. The results showed that the children with lower scores for relational self-esteem (the bottom 37.46 % of the sample), lower popularity (43.49 %) or weaker nonverbal intelligence (37.80 %) performed worse on the logical reasoning test following social exclusion. Moreover, children with combined low self-esteem, popularity and nonverbal intelligence were the most affected by social exclusion. This study identified factors that make some children more vulnerable to the negative effects of social exclusion. Overall, the present work underscores the value of considering basic cognitive and relational individual differences when developing interventions aimed at preventing the negative effects of social exclusion among children.

  13. Interest level in 2-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder predicts rate of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill acquisition

    OpenAIRE

    Klintwall, Lars; Macari, Suzanne; Eikeseth, Svein; Chawarska, Katarzyna

    2014-01-01

    Recent studies have suggested that skill acquisition rates for children with autism spectrum disorders receiving early interventions can be predicted by child motivation. We examined whether level of interest during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessment at 2 years predicts subsequent rates of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill acquisition to the age of 3 years. A total of 70 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder, mean age of 21.9 months, were scored using Interest Level Sco...

  14. Improving the Performance of Lithium–Sulfur Batteries by Conductive Polymer Coating

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yuan

    2011-11-22

    Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries hold great potential for next-generation high-performance energy storage systems because of their high theoretical specific energy, low materials cost, and environmental safety. One of the major obstacles for its commercialization is the rapid capacity fading due to polysulfide dissolution and uncontrolled redeposition. Various porous carbon structures have been used to improve the performance of Li-S batteries, as polysulfides could be trapped inside the carbon matrix. However, polysulfides still diffuse out for a prolonged time if there is no effective capping layer surrounding the carbon/sulfur particles. Here we explore the application of conducting polymer to minimize the diffusion of polysulfides out of the mesoporous carbon matrix by coating poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)- poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) onto mesoporous carbon/sulfur particles. After surface coating, coulomb efficiency of the sulfur electrode was improved from 93% to 97%, and capacity decay was reduced from 40%/100 cycles to 15%/100 cycles. Moreover, the discharge capacity with the polymer coating was ∼10% higher than the bare counterpart, with an initial discharge capacity of 1140 mAh/g and a stable discharge capacity of >600 mAh/g after 150 cycles at C/5 rate. We believe that this conductive polymer coating method represents an exciting direction for enhancing the device performance of Li-S batteries and can be applicable to other electrode materials in lithium ion batteries. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  15. A Brain–Computer Interface for Potential Nonverbal Facial Communication Based on EEG Signals Related to Specific Emotions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koji eKashihara

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Unlike assistive technology for verbal communication, the brain–machine or brain–computer interface (BMI/BCI has not been established as a nonverbal communication tool for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS patients. Face-to-face communication enables access to rich emotional information, but individuals suffering from neurological disorders, such as ALS and autism, may not express their emotions or communicate their negative feelings. Although emotions may be inferred by looking at facial expressions, emotional prediction for neutral faces necessitates advanced judgment. The process that underlies brain neuronal responses to neutral faces and causes emotional changes remains unknown. To address this problem, therefore, this study attempted to decode conditioned emotional reactions to neutral face stimuli. This direction was motivated by the assumption that if electroencephalogram (EEG signals can be used to detect patients’ emotional responses to specific inexpressive faces, the results could be incorporated into the design and development of BMI/BCI-based nonverbal communication tools. To these ends, this study investigated how a neutral face associated with a negative emotion modulates rapid central responses in face processing and then identified cortical activities. The conditioned neutral face-triggered event-related potentials that originated from the posterior temporal lobe statistically significantly changed during late face processing (600–700 ms after stimulus, rather than in early face processing activities, such as P1 and N170 responses. Source localization revealed that the conditioned neutral faces increased activity in the right fusiform gyrus. This study also developed an efficient method for detecting implicit negative emotional responses to specific faces by using EEG signals.

  16. Freeze Drying Improves the Shelf-Life of Conductive Polymer Modified Neural Electrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Himadri S. Mandal

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Coating microelectrodes with conductive polymer is widely recognized to decrease impedance and improve performance of implantable neural devices during recording and stimulation. A concern for wide-spread use of this approach is shelf-life, i.e., the electrochemical stability of the coated microelectrodes prior to use. In this work, we investigated the possibility of using the freeze-drying process in order to retain the native low impedance state and, thereby, improve the shelf-life of conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT-PSS modified neural electrodes. Control PEDOT-PSS coated microelectrodes demonstrated a significant increase in impedance at 1 kHz after 41–50 days of room temperature storage. Based on equivalent circuit modeling derived from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, this increase in impedance could be largely attributed to a decrease in the interfacial capacitance consistent with a collapse and closing of the porous structure of the polymeric coating. Time-dependent electrochemical impedance measurements revealed higher stability of the freeze-dried coated microelectrodes compared to the controls, such that impedance values after 41–50 days appeared to be indistinguishable from the initial levels. This suggests that freeze drying PEDOT-PSS coated microelectrodes correlates with enhanced electrochemical stability during shelf storage.

  17. Measurements of void fraction by an improved multi-channel conductance void meter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Chul-Hwa; Chung, Moon Ki; No, Hee Cheon

    1998-01-01

    An improved multi-channel Conductance Void Meter (CVM) was developed to measure a void fraction. Its measuring principle is basically based upon the differences of electrical conductance of a two-phase mixture due to the variation of void fraction around a sensor. The sensor is designed to be flush-mounted to the inner wall of the test section to avoid the flow disturbances. The signal processor with three channels is specially designed so as to minimize the inherent error due to the phase difference between channels. It is emphasized that the guard electrodes are electrically shielded in order not to affect the measurements of two-phase mixture conductance, but to make the electric fields evenly distributed in a measuring volume. Void fraction is measured for bubbly and slug flow regimes in a vertical air-water loop, and statistical signal processing techniques are applied to show that CVM has a good dynamic resolution which is required to investigate the structural developments of bubbly flow and the propagation of void waves in a flow channel. (author)

  18. Output-Conductance Transition-Free Method for Improving Radio-Frequency Linearity of SOI MOSFET Circuits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Daghighi

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article, a novel concept is introduced to improve the radio frequency (RF linearity of partially-depleted (PD silicon-on-insulator (SOI MOSFET circuits. The transition due to the non-zero body resistance (RBody in output conductance of PD SOI devices leads to linearity degradation. A relation for RBody is defined to eliminate the transition and a method to obtain transition-free circuit is shown. 3-D Simulations of various body-contacted devices are carried out to extract the transition-free body resistances. To identify the output conductance transition-free concept and its application to RF circuits, a 2.4 GHz low noise amplifier (LNA is analyzed. Mixed mode device-circuit analysis is carried out to simultaneously solve device transport equations and circuit spice models. FFT calculations are performed on the output signal to compute harmonic distortion figures. Comparing the conventional body-contacted and transition-free SOI LNAs, third harmonic distortion (HD3 and total harmonic distortion (THD are improved by 16% and 24%, respectively. Two-tone test is used to analyze third order intermodulation distortions. OIP3 is improved in transition-free SOI LNA by 17% comparing with the conventional body-contacted SOI LNA. These results show the possibility of application of transition-free design concept to improve linearity of RF SOI MOSFET circuits.

  19. Improved incremental conductance method for maximum power point tracking using cuk converter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Saad Saoud

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The Algerian government relies on a strategy focused on the development of inexhaustible resources such as solar and uses to diversify energy sources and prepare the Algeria of tomorrow: about 40% of the production of electricity for domestic consumption will be from renewable sources by 2030, Therefore it is necessary to concentrate our forces in order to reduce the application costs and to increment their performances, Their performance is evaluated and compared through theoretical analysis and digital simulation. This paper presents simulation of improved incremental conductance method for maximum power point tracking (MPPT using DC-DC cuk converter. This improved algorithm is used to track MPPs because it performs precise control under rapidly changing Atmospheric conditions, Matlab/ Simulink were employed for simulation studies.

  20. Improvements and artifact analysis in conductivity images using multiple internal electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farooq, Adnan; McEwan, Alistair Lee; Woo, Eung Je; Oh, Tong In; Tehrani, Joubin Nasehi

    2014-01-01

    Electrical impedance tomography is an attractive functional imaging method. It is currently limited in resolution and sensitivity due to the complexity of the inverse problem and the safety limits of introducing current. Recently, internal electrodes have been proposed for some clinical situations such as intensive care or RF ablation. This paper addresses the research question related to the benefit of one or more internal electrodes usage since these are invasive. Internal electrodes would be able to reduce the effect of insulating boundaries such as fat and bone and provide improved internal sensitivity. We found there was a measurable benefit with increased numbers of internal electrodes in saline tanks of a cylindrical and complex shape with up to two insulating boundary gel layers modeling fat and muscle. The internal electrodes provide increased sensitivity to internal changes, thereby increasing the amplitude response and improving resolution. However, they also present an additional challenge of increasing sensitivity to position and modeling errors. In comparison with previous work that used point sources for the internal electrodes, we found that it is important to use a detailed mesh of the internal electrodes with these voxels assigned to the conductivity of the internal electrode and its associated holder. A study of different internal electrode materials found that it is optimal to use a conductivity similar to the background. In the tank with a complex shape, the additional internal electrodes provided more robustness in a ventilation model of the lungs via air filled balloons. (paper)

  1. Calibration-free electrical conductivity measurements for highly conductive slags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macdonald, Christopher J.; Gao, Huang; Pal, Uday B.; Van den Avyle, James A.; Melgaard, David K.

    2000-01-01

    This research involves the measurement of the electrical conductivity (K) for the ESR (electroslag remelting) slag (60 wt.% CaF 2 - 20 wt.% CaO - 20 wt.% Al 2 O 3 ) used in the decontamination of radioactive stainless steel. The electrical conductivity is measured with an improved high-accuracy-height-differential technique that requires no calibration. This method consists of making continuous AC impedance measurements over several successive depth increments of the coaxial cylindrical electrodes in the ESR slag. The electrical conductivity is then calculated from the slope of the plot of inverse impedance versus the depth of the electrodes in the slag. The improvements on the existing technique include an increased electrochemical cell geometry and the capability of measuring high precision depth increments and the associated impedances. These improvements allow this technique to be used for measuring the electrical conductivity of highly conductive slags such as the ESR slag. The volatilization rate and the volatile species of the ESR slag measured through thermogravimetric (TG) and mass spectroscopy analysis, respectively, reveal that the ESR slag composition essentially remains the same throughout the electrical conductivity experiments

  2. Achieving visibility? Use of non-verbal communication in interactions between patients and pharmacists who do not share a common language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Fiona

    2014-06-01

    Despite the seemingly insatiable interest in healthcare professional-patient communication, less attention has been paid to the use of non-verbal communication in medical consultations. This article considers pharmacists' and patients' use of non-verbal communication to interact directly in consultations in which they do not share a common language. In total, 12 video-recorded, interpreted pharmacy consultations concerned with a newly prescribed medication or a change in medication were analysed in detail. The analysis focused on instances of direct communication initiated by either the patient or the pharmacist, despite the presence of a multilingual pharmacy assistant acting as an interpreter. Direct communication was shown to occur through (i) the demonstration of a medical device, (ii) the indication of relevant body parts and (iii) the use of limited English. These connections worked to make patients and pharmacists visible to each other and thus to maintain a sense of mutual involvement in consultations within which patients and pharmacists could enact professionally and socially appropriate roles. In a multicultural society this work is important in understanding the dynamics involved in consultations in situations in which language is not shared and thus in considering the development of future research and policy. © 2014 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL (SHIL).

  3. Laser surface modification of electrically conductive fabrics: Material performance improvement and design effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunakova, Veronika; Hrubosova, Zuzana; Tunak, Maros; Kasparova, Marie; Mullerova, Jana

    2018-01-01

    Development of lightweight flexible materials for electromagnetic interference shielding has obtained increased attention in recent years particularly for clothing, textiles in-house use and technical applications especially in areas of aircraft, aerospace, automobiles and flexible electronics such as portable electronics and wearable devices. There are many references in the literature concerning development and investigation of electromagnetic shielding lightweight flexible materials especially textile based with different electrically conductive additives. However, only little attention is paid to designing and enhancing the properties of these special fabrics by textile finishing processes. Laser technology applied as a physical treatment method is becoming very popular and can be used in different applications to make improvement and even overcome drawbacks of some of the traditional processes. The main purpose of this study is firstly to analyze the possibilities of transferring design onto the surface of electrically conductive fabrics by laser beam and secondly to study of effect of surface modification degree on performance of conductive fabric including electromagnetic shielding ability and mechanical properties. Woven fabric made of yarns containing 10% of extremely thin stainless steel fiber was used as a conductive substrate.

  4. A Morphology Study of Nanofiller Networks in Polymer Nanocomposites: Improving Their Electrical Conductivity through Better Doping Strategies

    KAUST Repository

    Mora, Angel

    2018-02-01

    Over the past years, research efforts have focused on adding highly conductive nanoparticles, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), into polymers to improve their electrical conductivity or to tailor their piezoresistive behavior. Resultant materials are typically described by the weight or volume fractions of their nanoparticles. The weight/volume fraction alone is a very global quantity, making it a poor evaluator of a doping configuration. Knowing which particles actually participate in improving electrical conductivity can optimize the doping strategy. Additionally, conductive particles are only capable of charge transfer over a very short range, thus most of them do not form part of the conduction path. Thus, understanding how these particles are arranged is necessary to increase their efficiency. First, this work focuses on polymers loaded with CNTs. A computational modeling strategy based on a full morphological analysis of the CNT network is presented to systematically analyze conductive networks and show how particles are arranged. A definition of loading efficiency is provided based on the results obtained from this morphology analysis. This study provides useful guidelines for designing these types of materials based on important features, such as representative volume element, nanotube tortuosity and length, tunneling cutoff distance, and efficiency. Second, a computational approach is followed to study the conductive network formed by hybrid particles in polymer nanocomposites. These hybrid particles are synthesized by growing CNTs on the surfaces of GNPs. The objective of this study is to show that the higher electrical conductivity of these composites is due to the hybrids forming a segregated structure. Polymers loaded with hybrid particles have shown a higher electrical conductivity compared with classical carbon fillers: only CNTs, only GNPs or mixed CNTs and GNPs. This is done to understand and compare the doping

  5. Working Memory Training Does Not Improve Performance on Measures of Intelligence or Other Measures of “Far Transfer”

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Redick, Thomas S.; Hulme, Charles

    2016-01-01

    It has been claimed that working memory training programs produce diverse beneficial effects. This article presents a meta-analysis of working memory training studies (with a pretest-posttest design and a control group) that have examined transfer to other measures (nonverbal ability, verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension, or arithmetic; 87 publications with 145 experimental comparisons). Immediately following training there were reliable improvements on measures of intermediate transfer (verbal and visuospatial working memory). For measures of far transfer (nonverbal ability, verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension, arithmetic) there was no convincing evidence of any reliable improvements when working memory training was compared with a treated control condition. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that across studies, the degree of improvement on working memory measures was not related to the magnitude of far-transfer effects found. Finally, analysis of publication bias shows that there is no evidential value from the studies of working memory training using treated controls. The authors conclude that working memory training programs appear to produce short-term, specific training effects that do not generalize to measures of “real-world” cognitive skills. These results seriously question the practical and theoretical importance of current computerized working memory programs as methods of training working memory skills. PMID:27474138

  6. The neural basis of non-verbal communication-enhanced processing of perceived give-me gestures in 9-month-old girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakker, Marta; Kaduk, Katharina; Elsner, Claudia; Juvrud, Joshua; Gustaf Gredebäck

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the neural basis of non-verbal communication. Event-related potentials were recorded while 29 nine-month-old infants were presented with a give-me gesture (experimental condition) and the same hand shape but rotated 90°, resulting in a non-communicative hand configuration (control condition). We found different responses in amplitude between the two conditions, captured in the P400 ERP component. Moreover, the size of this effect was modulated by participants' sex, with girls generally demonstrating a larger relative difference between the two conditions than boys.

  7. Engineering the heart: Evaluation of conductive nanomaterials for improving implant integration and cardiac function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jin; Chen, Jun; Sun, Hongyu; Qiu, Xiaozhong; Mou, Yongchao; Liu, Zhiqiang; Zhao, Yuwei; Li, Xia; Han, Yao; Duan, Cuimi; Tang, Rongyu; Wang, Chunlan; Zhong, Wen; Liu, Jie; Luo, Ying; (Mengqiu) Xing, Malcolm; Wang, Changyong

    2014-01-01

    Recently, carbon nanotubes together with other types of conductive materials have been used to enhance the viability and function of cardiomyocytes in vitro. Here we demonstrated a paradigm to construct ECTs for cardiac repair using conductive nanomaterials. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were incorporated into gelatin hydrogel scaffolds to construct three-dimensional ECTs. We found that SWNTs could provide cellular microenvironment in vitro favorable for cardiac contraction and the expression of electrochemical associated proteins. Upon implantation into the infarct hearts in rats, ECTs structurally integrated with the host myocardium, with different types of cells observed to mutually invade into implants and host tissues. The functional measurements showed that SWNTs were essential to improve the performance of ECTs in inhibiting pathological deterioration of myocardium. This work suggested that conductive nanomaterials hold therapeutic potential in engineering cardiac tissues to repair myocardial infarction. PMID:24429673

  8. The Use of Gestural Modes to Enhance Expressive Conducting at All Levels of Entering Behavior through the Use of Illustrators, Affect Displays and Regulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathers, Andrew

    2009-01-01

    In this article, I discuss the use of illustrators, affect displays and regulators, which I consider to be non-verbal communication categories through which conductors can employ a more varied approach to body use, gesture and non-verbal communication. These categories employ the use of a conductor's hands and arms, face, eyes and body in a way…

  9. Improved approach for determining thin layer thermal conductivity using the 3 ω method. Application to porous Si thermal conductivity in the temperature range 77–300 K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valalaki, K; Nassiopoulou, A G

    2017-01-01

    An improved approach for determining thermal conductivity using the 3 ω method was used to determine anisotropic porous Si thermal conductivity in the temperature range 77–300 K. In this approach, thermal conductivity is extracted from experimental data of the third harmonic of the voltage (3 ω ) as a function of frequency, combined with consequent FEM simulations. The advantage is that within this approach the finite thickness of the sample and the heater are taken into account so that the corresponding errors introduced in thermal conductivity values when using Cahill’s simplified analytical formula are eliminated. The developed method constitutes a useful tool for measuring the thermal conductivity of samples with unknown thermal properties. The thermal conductivity measurements with the 3 ω method are discussed and compared with those obtained using the well-established dc method. (paper)

  10. Deficits in visual short-term memory binding in children at risk of non-verbal learning disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Ricardo Basso; Mammarella, Irene C; Pancera, Arianna; Galera, Cesar; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2015-01-01

    It has been hypothesized that learning disabled children meet short-term memory (STM) problems especially when they must bind different types of information, however the hypothesis has not been systematically tested. This study assessed visual STM for shapes and colors and the binding of shapes and colors, comparing a group of children (aged between 8 and 10 years) at risk of non-verbal learning disabilities (NLD) with a control group of children matched for general verbal abilities, age, gender, and socioeconomic level. Results revealed that groups did not differ in retention of either shapes or colors, but children at risk of NLD were poorer than controls in memory for shape-color bindings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Method of making improved gas storage carbon with enhanced thermal conductivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burchell, Timothy D [Oak Ridge, TN; Rogers, Michael R [Knoxville, TN

    2002-11-05

    A method of making an adsorbent carbon fiber based monolith having improved methane gas storage capabilities is disclosed. Additionally, the monolithic nature of the storage carbon allows it to exhibit greater thermal conductivity than conventional granular activated carbon or powdered activated carbon storage beds. The storage of methane gas is achieved through the process of physical adsorption in the micropores that are developed in the structure of the adsorbent monolith. The disclosed monolith is capable of storing greater than 150 V/V of methane [i.e., >150 STP (101.325 KPa, 298K) volumes of methane per unit volume of storage vessel internal volume] at a pressure of 3.5 MPa (500 psi).

  12. Non-verbal Full Body Emotional and Social Interaction: A Case Study on Multimedia Systems for Active Music Listening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camurri, Antonio

    Research on HCI and multimedia systems for art and entertainment based on non-verbal, full-body, emotional and social interaction is the main topic of this paper. A short review of previous research projects in this area at our centre are presented, to introduce the main issues discussed in the paper. In particular, a case study based on novel paradigms of social active music listening is presented. Active music listening experience enables users to dynamically mould expressive performance of music and of audiovisual content. This research is partially supported by the 7FP EU-ICT Project SAME (Sound and Music for Everyone, Everyday, Everywhere, Every Way, www.sameproject.eu).

  13. Measuring cues for stand-off deception detection based on full-body nonverbal features in body-worn cameras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouma, Henri; Burghouts, Gertjan; den Hollander, Richard; van der Zee, Sophie; Baan, Jan; ten Hove, Johan-Martijn; van Diepen, Sjaak; van den Haak, Paul; van Rest, Jeroen

    2016-10-01

    Deception detection is valuable in the security domain to distinguish truth from lies. It is desirable in many security applications, such as suspect and witness interviews and airport passenger screening. Interviewers are constantly trying to assess the credibility of a statement, usually based on intuition without objective technical support. However, psychological research has shown that humans can hardly perform better than random guessing. Deception detection is a multi-disciplinary research area with an interest from different fields, such as psychology and computer science. In the last decade, several developments have helped to improve the accuracy of lie detection (e.g., with a concealed information test, increasing the cognitive load, or measurements with motion capture suits) and relevant cues have been discovered (e.g., eye blinking or fiddling with the fingers). With an increasing presence of mobile phones and bodycams in society, a mobile, stand-off, automatic deception detection methodology based on various cues from the whole body would create new application opportunities. In this paper, we study the feasibility of measuring these visual cues automatically on different parts of the body, laying the groundwork for stand-off deception detection in more flexible and mobile deployable sensors, such as body-worn cameras. We give an extensive overview of recent developments in two communities: in the behavioral-science community the developments that improve deception detection with a special attention to the observed relevant non-verbal cues, and in the computer-vision community the recent methods that are able to measure these cues. The cues are extracted from several body parts: the eyes, the mouth, the head and the fullbody pose. We performed an experiment using several state-of-the-art video-content-analysis (VCA) techniques to assess the quality of robustly measuring these visual cues.

  14. Improving the conductivity of single-walled carbon nanotubes films by heat treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Jiaping [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Superfine Microstructures, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Sun Jing, E-mail: jingsun@mail.sic.ac.c [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Superfine Microstructures, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Gao Lian, E-mail: liangaoc@online.sh.c [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Superfine Microstructures, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Liu Yangqiao; Wang Yan; Zhang Jing [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Superfine Microstructures, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Kajiura, Hisashi; Li Yongming; Noda, Kazuhiro [Advanced Materials Laboratories, Sony Corporation, Atsugi Tec. No. 2, 4-16-1 Okata Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0021 (Japan)

    2009-10-19

    A simple heat treatment method was applied to remove surfactants remaining in the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) films at 300 deg. C for 5 h in air. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and reflected light interference microscope (RLIM) were employed to verify the elimination of surfactants. The comprehensive performance, especially the conductivity, could be improved by more than one order after heat treatment. For example, using SDBS as dispersant, the sheet resistance decreased from 782,600 OMEGA/square to 40,460 OMEGA/square with the transmittance of about 99.5% at 550 nm.

  15. Improved behavior of cooper-amine complexes during thermal annealing for conductive thin film synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ayag, Kevin Ray; Panama, Gustavo; Paul, Shrabani; Kim, Hong Doo [Dept. of Advanced Materials Engineering for Information and Electronics, Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-15

    Previous studies successfully produced conductive thin films from organo-metallic-compounds-based inks. Some inks like those made from copper salt and amines, however, tend to move during thermal annealing and, thus, affect the conductive pattern on the substrate. In this study, conductive inks were synthesized by forming complexes of copper with amines and/or blended amines. To build-up an organo-metallic framework and preserve the pattern throughout the annealing period, diamine was added to the complex in different proportions. The prepared inks were coated on glass substrate and were annealed on a hot plate at 170°C under the gaseous mixture of formic acid and alcohol for 5 min. The metallic film was observed to retain the original pattern of the ink during and after annealing. Adhesion on the substrate was also improved. Inks with blended amines produced films with lower resistivities. The lowest electrical resistivity recorded was 4.99 μΩ cm, three times that of bulk copper.

  16. An improved electrical-conductance sensor for void-fraction measurement in a horizontal pipe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Min Seok; Jemg, Dong Wook; Kim, Sin; Lee, Bo An; Won, Woo Youn; Lee, Yeon Gun

    2015-01-01

    The electrical-impedance method has been widely used for void-fraction measurement in two-phase flow due to its many favorable features. In the impedance method, the response characteristics of the electrical signal heavily depend upon flow pattern, as well as phasic volume. Thus, information on the flow pattern should be given for reliable void-fraction measurement. This study proposes an improved electrical-conductance sensor composed of a three-electrode set of adjacent and opposite electrodes. In the proposed sensor, conductance readings are directly converted into the flow pattern through a specified criterion and are consecutively used to estimate the corresponding void fraction. Since the flow pattern and the void fraction are evaluated by reading conductance measurements, complexity of data processing can be significantly reduced and real-time information provided. Before actual applications, several numerical calculations are performed to optimize electrode and insulator sizes, and optimal design is verified by static experiments. Finally, the proposed sensor is applied for air-water two-phase flow in a horizontal loop with a 40-mm inner diameter and a 5-m length, and its measurement results are compared with those of a wire-mesh sensor

  17. Neuropsychological characteristics of selective attention in children with nonverbal learning disabilities

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    静进; 王庆雄; 杨斌让; 陈学彬

    2004-01-01

    Background Children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) usually manifest defective attention function. This study sought to investigate the neuropsychological characteristics of selective attention, such as attention control, working memory, and attention persistence of the frontal lobe in children with NLD. Methods Using the auditory detection test (ADT), Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), and C-WISC, 27 children with NLD and 33 normal children in the control group were tested, and the results of C-WISC subtests were analyzed with factor analysis. Results Compared with the control group, the correct response rate in the auditory detection test in the NLD group was much lower (P<0.01), and the number of incorrect responses was much higher (P<0.01); NLD children also scored lower in WCST categories achieved (CA) and perseverative errors (PE) (P<0.05). Factor analysis showed that perceptual organization (PO) related to visual space and freedom from distractibility (FD) relating to attention persistence in the NLD group were obviously lower than in the control group (P<0.01). Conclusions Children with NLD have attention control disorder and working memory disorder mainly in the frontal lobe. We believe that the disorder is particularly prominent in the right frontal lobe.

  18. Nonverbal spatially selective attention in 4- and 5-year-old children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Lisa D; Zobel, Benjamin H

    2012-07-01

    Under some conditions 4- and 5-year-old children can differentially process sounds from attended and unattended locations. In fact, the latency of spatially selective attention effects on auditory processing as measured with event-related potentials (ERPs) is quite similar in young children and adults. However, it is not clear if developmental differences in the polarity, distribution, and duration of attention effects are best attributed to acoustic characteristics, availability of non-spatial attention cues, task demands, or domain. In the current study adults and children were instructed to attend to one of two simultaneously presented soundscapes (e.g., city sounds or night sounds) to detect targets (e.g., car horn or owl hoot) in the attended channel only. Probes presented from the same location as the attended soundscape elicited a larger negativity by 80 ms after onset in both adults and children. This initial negative difference (Nd) was followed by a larger positivity for attended probes in adults and another negativity for attended probes in children. The results indicate that the neural systems by which attention modulates early auditory processing are available for young children even when presented with nonverbal sounds. They also suggest important interactions between attention, acoustic characteristics, and maturity on auditory evoked potentials. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Diagnostic Bias and Conduct Disorder: Improving Culturally Sensitive Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizock, Lauren; Harkins, Debra

    2011-01-01

    Disproportionately high rates of Conduct Disorder are diagnosed in African American and Latino youth of color. Diagnostic bias contributes to overdiagnosis of Conduct Disorder in these adolescents of color. Following a diagnosis of Conduct Disorder, adolescents of color face poorer outcomes than their White counterparts. These negative outcomes…

  20. Effects of daily milk supplementation on improving the physical and mental function as well as school performance among children: results from a school feeding program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmani, Khadijeh; Djazayery, Abolghasem; Habibi, Mohsen Ibrahim; Heidari, Homa; Dorosti-Motlagh, Ahmad Reza; Pourshahriari, Mahsima; Azadbakht, Leila

    2011-04-01

    School feeding programs are important interventions for improving the nutritional status of students. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of milk supplementation on physical, mental and school performance of students. This case-control population-based intervention was conducted on 469 students from 4 schools in a medium socio-economic status region in Tehran. The schools were chosen by Iranian ministry of education and training and they were allocated in case and control groups randomly. All the students in the first to third classes in the intervention schools were daily consumed sterilized and homogenized milk for three months (250 ml each). Anthropometric measurements were done according to the standard methods. For evaluating the mental function, the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (verbal, non-verbal, total Intelligent Quotient) were conducted on students. School performance was assessed by grade-point averages of each student. The weight of children was significantly different between control and intervention group at the end of the study among girls (23.0 ± 3.8 vs. 23.8 ± 4.3 kg; p performances specifically among girls in Iran.

  1. A comparison of processing load during non-verbal decision-making in two individuals with aphasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salima Suleman

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION A growing body of evidence suggests people with aphasia (PWA can have impairments to cognitive functions such as attention, working memory and executive functions.(1-5 Such cognitive impairments have been shown to negatively affect the decision-making (DM abilities adults with neurological damage. (6,7 However, little is known about DM abilities of PWA.(8 Pupillometry is “the measurement of changes in pupil diameter”.(9;p.1 Researchers have reported a positive relationship between processing load and phasic pupil size (i.e., as processing load increases, pupil size increases.(10 Thus pupillometry has the potential to be a useful tool for investigating processing load during DM in PWA. AIMS The primary aim of this study was to establish the feasibility of using pupillometry during a non-verbal DM task with PWA. The secondary aim was to explore non-verbal DM performance in PWA and determine the relationship between DM performance and processing load using pupillometry. METHOD DESIGN. A single-subject case-study design with two participants was used in this study. PARTICIPANTS. Two adult males with anomic aphasia participated in this study. Participants were matched for age and education. Both participants were independent, able to drive, and had legal autonomy. MEASURES. PERFORMANCE ON A DM TASK. We used a computerized risk-taking card game called the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT as our non-verbal DM task.(11 In the IGT, participants made 100 selections (via eye gaze from four decks of cards presented on the computer screen with the goal of maximizing their overall hypothetical monetary gain. PROCESSING LOAD. The EyeLink 1000+ eye tracking system was used to collect pupil size measures while participants deliberated before each deck selection during the IGT. For this analysis, we calculated change in pupil size as a measure of processing load. RESULTS P1. P1 made increasingly advantageous decisions as the task progressed (Fig.1. When

  2. Seizure-related factors and non-verbal intelligence in children with epilepsy. A population-based study from Western Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Høie, B; Mykletun, A; Sommerfelt, K; Bjørnaes, H; Skeidsvoll, H; Waaler, P E

    2005-06-01

    To study the relationship between seizure-related factors, non-verbal intelligence, and socio-economic status (SES) in a population-based sample of children with epilepsy. The latest ILAE International classifications of epileptic seizures and syndromes were used to classify seizure types and epileptic syndromes in all 6-12 year old children (N=198) with epilepsy in Hordaland County, Norway. The children had neuropediatric and EEG examinations. Of the 198 patients, demographic characteristics were collected on 183 who participated in psychological studies including Raven matrices. 126 healthy controls underwent the same testing. Severe non-verbal problems (SNVP) were defined as a Raven score at or Raven percentile group, whereas controls were highly over-represented in the higher percentile groups. SNVP were present in 43% of children with epilepsy and 3% of controls. These problems were especially common in children with remote symptomatic epilepsy aetiology, undetermined epilepsy syndromes, myoclonic seizures, early seizure debut, high seizure frequency and in children with polytherapy. Seizure-related characteristics that were not usually associated with SNVP were idiopathic epilepsies, localization related (LR) cryptogenic epilepsies, absence and simple partial seizures, and a late debut of epilepsy. Adjusting for socio-economic status factors did not significantly change results. In childhood epilepsy various seizure-related factors, but not SES factors, were associated with the presence or absence of SNVP. Such deficits may be especially common in children with remote symptomatic epilepsy aetiology and in complex and therapy resistant epilepsies. Low frequencies of SNVP may be found in children with idiopathic and LR cryptogenic epilepsy syndromes, simple partial or absence seizures and a late epilepsy debut. Our study contributes to an overall picture of cognitive function and its relation to central seizure characteristics in a childhood epilepsy population

  3. Exploring Children’s Peer Relationships through Verbal and Non-verbal Communication: A Qualitative Action Research Focused on Waldorf Pedagogy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aida Milena Montenegro Mantilla

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzes the relationships that children around seven and eight years old establish in a classroom. It shows that peer relationships have a positive dimension with features such as the development of children’s creativity to communicate and modify norms. These features were found through an analysis of children’s verbal and non-verbal communication and an interdisciplinary view of children’s learning process from Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Pedagogy, and Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, specialists in children’s cognitive and social dimensions. This research is an invitation to recognize children’s capacity to construct their own rules in peer relationships.

  4. Conduction Mechanism and Improved Endurance in HfO2-Based RRAM with Nitridation Treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Fang-Yuan; Deng, Ning; Shih, Chih-Cheng; Tseng, Yi-Ting; Chang, Ting-Chang; Chang, Kuan-Chang; Wang, Ming-Hui; Chen, Wen-Chung; Zheng, Hao-Xuan; Wu, Huaqiang; Qian, He; Sze, Simon M.

    2017-10-01

    A nitridation treatment technology with a urea/ammonia complex nitrogen source improved resistive switching property in HfO2-based resistive random access memory (RRAM). The nitridation treatment produced a high performance and reliable device which results in superior endurance (more than 109 cycles) and a self-compliance effect. Thus, the current conduction mechanism changed due to defect passivation by nitrogen atoms in the HfO2 thin film. At a high resistance state (HRS), it transferred to Schottky emission from Poole-Frenkel in HfO2-based RRAM. At low resistance state (LRS), the current conduction mechanism was space charge limited current (SCLC) after the nitridation treatment, which suggests that the nitrogen atoms form Hf-N-Ox vacancy clusters (Vo +) which limit electron movement through the switching layer.

  5. Improving preschooler conduct adaptation by using a social learning program based on motion games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zsuzsa Szilárda

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Being aware of the changes which occur under the influence of environmental conditions, education, culture and social roles upon the child is indispensable with a view to build up a conduct adapted to the social environment. For any preschooler child, entering kindergarten is an important social event and getting adapted to the new situation is not easy. Broadening the relational framework with objects, other individuals, with one’s own self, results in disciplining preschooler conducts and increasing the number of socially desirable conducts. Relying upon the above statements, this study is aimed at working out a social learning programme made up of motion games involving socialization/cooperation elements intended for inducing amelioration in terms of the child’s conduct during the process of adaptation to the kindergarten environment. The experiment was conducted using a sample of “little group” preschoolers (children 3-4 years of age. As research methods, the following have been used: studying the reference literature, the method of pedagogical observation, the method of experiment and the method of playing. Further to the practical application of the programme worked out with a view to enhance the adaptation conduct in the said subjects, the experimental group proved to have undergone a significant positive evolution and each subject showed improvements considering the conduct of adaptation to kindergarten conditions, as highlighted by the change i.e. higher values in terms of the individual scores achieved at the final test. Preschool education is meant to provide all possible ways and means to enable any child’s integration into groups of children of a peer age, to develop sociability in children and to create favorable conditions for building out inter-children networks.

  6. Working Memory Training Does Not Improve Performance on Measures of Intelligence or Other Measures of "Far Transfer": Evidence From a Meta-Analytic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Redick, Thomas S; Hulme, Charles

    2016-07-01

    It has been claimed that working memory training programs produce diverse beneficial effects. This article presents a meta-analysis of working memory training studies (with a pretest-posttest design and a control group) that have examined transfer to other measures (nonverbal ability, verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension, or arithmetic; 87 publications with 145 experimental comparisons). Immediately following training there were reliable improvements on measures of intermediate transfer (verbal and visuospatial working memory). For measures of far transfer (nonverbal ability, verbal ability, word decoding, reading comprehension, arithmetic) there was no convincing evidence of any reliable improvements when working memory training was compared with a treated control condition. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that across studies, the degree of improvement on working memory measures was not related to the magnitude of far-transfer effects found. Finally, analysis of publication bias shows that there is no evidential value from the studies of working memory training using treated controls. The authors conclude that working memory training programs appear to produce short-term, specific training effects that do not generalize to measures of "real-world" cognitive skills. These results seriously question the practical and theoretical importance of current computerized working memory programs as methods of training working memory skills. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. Improved Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Pedotransfer Functions Using Machine Learning Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araya, S. N.; Ghezzehei, T. A.

    2017-12-01

    Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is one of the fundamental hydraulic properties of soils. Its measurement, however, is cumbersome and instead pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are often used to estimate it. Despite a lot of progress over the years, generic PTFs that estimate hydraulic conductivity generally don't have a good performance. We develop significantly improved PTFs by applying state of the art machine learning techniques coupled with high-performance computing on a large database of over 20,000 soils—USKSAT and the Florida Soil Characterization databases. We compared the performance of four machine learning algorithms (k-nearest neighbors, gradient boosted model, support vector machine, and relevance vector machine) and evaluated the relative importance of several soil properties in explaining Ks. An attempt is also made to better account for soil structural properties; we evaluated the importance of variables derived from transformations of soil water retention characteristics and other soil properties. The gradient boosted models gave the best performance with root mean square errors less than 0.7 and mean errors in the order of 0.01 on a log scale of Ks [cm/h]. The effective particle size, D10, was found to be the single most important predictor. Other important predictors included percent clay, bulk density, organic carbon percent, coefficient of uniformity and values derived from water retention characteristics. Model performances were consistently better for Ks values greater than 10 cm/h. This study maximizes the extraction of information from a large database to develop generic machine learning based PTFs to estimate Ks. The study also evaluates the importance of various soil properties and their transformations in explaining Ks.

  8. Toward a functional analysis of private verbal self-regulation.

    OpenAIRE

    Taylor, I; O'Reilly, M F

    1997-01-01

    We developed a methodology, derived from the theoretical literatures on rule-governed behavior and private events, to experimentally investigate the relationship between covert verbal self-regulation and nonverbal behavior. The methodology was designed to assess whether (a) nonverbal behavior was under the control of covert rules and (b) verbal reports of these rules were functionally equivalent to the covert rules that control non-verbal behavior. The research was conducted in the context of...

  9. Winning Faces Vary by Ideology: How Nonverbal Source Cues Influence Election and Communication Success in Politics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laustsen, Lasse; Petersen, Michael Bang

    2016-01-01

    -looking sources have better success in attracting votes and policy support. Yet, are all nonverbal source cues similarly received irrespective of audience, or does their reception vary across audiences? Specifically, we ask whether some physical traits are received positively by some audiences but backfire...... for others. Utilizing research on ideological stereotypes and the determinants of facial preferences, we focus on the relationship between the facial dominance of the source and the ideology of the receiver. Across five studies, we demonstrate that a dominant face is a winning face when the audience...... is conservative but backfires and decreases success when the audience is liberal. On the other hand, a non-dominant face constitutes a winning face among liberal audiences but backfires among conservatives. These effects seemingly stem from deep-seated psychological responses and shape both the election...

  10. Improvement of the ionic conductivity for amorphous polyether electrolytes using supercritical CO2 treatment technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwak, Gun-Ho; Tominaga, Yoichi; Asai, Shigeo; Sumita, Masao

    2003-01-01

    The influence of the supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) on ionic conductivity for polyether electrolytes based on oligo(oxyethylene glycol) methacrylate with lithium triflate, LiCF 3 SO 3 , has been investigated. In particular, the present research is a first attempt to improve an ion transport behavior of the polyether electrolytes using scCO 2 treatment technique. Consequently, the ionic conductivity of scCO 2 treated samples at room temperature was more than ten times elevated by the scCO 2 treatment under the condition of 10 MPa and 40 deg. C. From the Raman spectroscopy, decrease of aggregate ions and increase of free ions for the scCO 2 treated samples have been observed

  11. A Comparative Study of Effectiveness of Neurofeedback and Ritalin on Improving Conduct Problems and Hyperactivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Khoushabi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: There are varieties of interventions to treatment of ADHD, among which drug therapy, behavior therapy, parental management training and neurofeedback can be cited. The present study designed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of neurofeedback and Ritalin on improving conduct problems and hyperactivity. Materials & Methods: Quasi-experimental research method with pretest-post test design has been applied in the research. Statistical population of the study consisted of ADHD children of Tehran. The study samples of the study were patients referred to children psychiatric clinic. Based on the purpose of the study' 20 children were randomly selected and classified into 2 groups according to random assignment. CPRS-48 (parent form was administered by parents before and after the treatments as research tools. Recruited data was analyzed by SPSS-19 in two sections of descriptive and inferential statistics. ANCOVA revealed some differences in the groups. Results: The findings of the study showed that there was a significant difference between Ritalin and neurofeedback on improving conduct problems; in other words, Ritalin was more effective in alleviating the problems. Also there was no significant difference between the interventions on improving hyperactivity index. Conclusion: With respect to more efficiency of Ritalin than neurofeedback on certain continuum of signs/symptoms of ADHD, as a whole, preferences of interventions should be based on type, magnitude and severity of the syndrome(Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2012;18(4:53-59

  12. Manufacture of a UO2-Based Nuclear Fuel with Improved Thermal Conductivity with the Addition of BeO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Chad B.; Brito, Ryan A.; Ortega, Luis H.; Malone, James P.; McDeavitt, Sean M.

    2017-12-01

    The low thermal conductivity of oxide nuclear fuels is a performance-limiting parameter. Enhancing this property may provide a contribution toward establishing accident-tolerant fuel forms. In this study, the thermal conductivity of UO2 was increased through the fabrication of ceramic-ceramic composite forms with UO2 containing a continuous BeO matrix. Fuel with a higher thermal conductivity will have reduced thermal gradients and lower centerline temperatures in the fuel pin. Lower operational temperatures will reduce fission gas release and reduce fuel restructuring. Additions of BeO were made to UO2 fuel pellets in 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 vol pct concentrations with the goals of establishing reliable lab-scale processing procedures, minimizing porosity, and maximizing thermal conductivity. The microstructure was characterized with electron probe microanalysis, and the thermal properties were assessed by light flash analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Reliable, high-density samples were prepared using compaction pressure between 200 and 225 MPa and sintering times between 4 and 6 hours. It was found that the thermal conductivity of UO2 improved approximately 10 pct for each 1 vol pct BeO added over the measured temperature range 298.15 K to 523.15 K (25 °C to 250 °C) with the maximum observed improvement being ˜ 100 pct, or doubled, at 10 vol pct BeO.

  13. Conducting compositions of matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswanathan, Tito (Inventor)

    2000-01-01

    The invention provides conductive compositions of matter, as well as methods for the preparation of the conductive compositions of matter, solutions comprising the conductive compositions of matter, and methods of preparing fibers or fabrics having improved anti-static properties employing the conductive compositions of matter.

  14. Improving electrical conductivity in polycarbonate nanocomposites using highly conductive PEDOT/PSS coated MWCNTs

    KAUST Repository

    Zhou, Jian; Lubineau, Gilles

    2013-01-01

    concentration (0.3 wt %). To tailor the electrical properties of the conductive polymer coating, we used a polar solvent ethylene glycol, and we can tune the final properties of the nanocomposite by controlling the concentrations of the elementary constituents

  15. Sex differences in the ability to recognise non-verbal displays of emotion: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Ashley E; Voyer, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    The present study aimed to quantify the magnitude of sex differences in humans' ability to accurately recognise non-verbal emotional displays. Studies of relevance were those that required explicit labelling of discrete emotions presented in the visual and/or auditory modality. A final set of 551 effect sizes from 215 samples was included in a multilevel meta-analysis. The results showed a small overall advantage in favour of females on emotion recognition tasks (d=0.19). However, the magnitude of that sex difference was moderated by several factors, namely specific emotion, emotion type (negative, positive), sex of the actor, sensory modality (visual, audio, audio-visual) and age of the participants. Method of presentation (computer, slides, print, etc.), type of measurement (response time, accuracy) and year of publication did not significantly contribute to variance in effect sizes. These findings are discussed in the context of social and biological explanations of sex differences in emotion recognition.

  16. Nonverbal contention and contempt in U.K. parliamentary oversight hearings on fiscal and monetary policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schonhardt-Bailey, Cheryl

    2017-01-01

    In parliamentary committee oversight hearings on fiscal policy, monetary policy, and financial stability, where verbal deliberation is the focus, nonverbal communication may be crucial in the acceptance or rejection of arguments proffered by policymakers. Systematic qualitative coding of these hearings in the 2010-15 U.K. Parliament finds the following: (1) facial expressions, particularly in the form of anger and contempt, are more prevalent in fiscal policy hearings, where backbench parliamentarians hold frontbench parliamentarians to account, than in monetary policy or financial stability hearings, where the witnesses being held to account are unelected policy experts; (2) comparing committees across chambers, hearings in the House of Lords committee yield more reassuring facial expressions relative to hearings in the House of Commons committee, suggesting a more relaxed and less adversarial context in the former; and (3) central bank witnesses appearing before both the Lords and Commons committees tend toward expressions of appeasement, suggesting a willingness to defer to Parliament.

  17. Fostering Verbal and Non-Verbal Social Interactions in a 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment: A Case Study of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders Learning Social Competence in iSocial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xianhui; Laffey, James; Xing, Wanli; Galyen, Krista; Stichter, Janine

    2017-01-01

    This case study describes the verbal and nonverbal social interaction of 11 youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a 3D Collaborative Virtual Learning Environment-iSocial. The youth were developing social competence through participation in a social competence intervention curriculum implemented online so as to provide access to high quality…

  18. Improved Laser Scribing of Transparent Conductive Oxide for Fabrication of Thin-Film Solar Module

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egorov, F. S.; Kukin, A. V.; Terukov, E. I.; Titov, A. S.

    2018-04-01

    Nonuniform thickness of the front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) used for fabrication of thin-film solar module (TFSM) based on micromorphic technology affects P1 laser scribing (P1 scribing on the TCO front layer). A method for improvement of the thickness uniformity of the front TCO using modification of the existing system for gas supply of the LPCVD (TCO1200) vacuum setup with the aid of gasdistributing tubes is proposed. The thickness nonuniformity of the deposition procedure is decreased from 15.2 to 11.4% to improve uniformity of the resistance of the front TCO and light-scattering factor of TFSM. In addition, the number of P1 laser scribes with inadmissible resistance of insulation (less than 2 MΩ) is decreased by a factor of 7. A decrease in the amount of melt at the P1 scribe edges leads to an increase in the TFSM shunting resistance by 56 Ω. The TFSM output power is increased by 0.4 W due to improvement of parameters of the front TCO related to application of gas-distributing tubes.

  19. Habilidades de praxia verbal e não-verbal em indivíduos gagos Verbal and non-verbal praxic abilities in stutterers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália Casagrande Brabo

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: caracterizar as habilidades de praxias verbal e não-verbal em indivíduos gagos. MÉTODOS: participaram do estudo 40 indivíduos, com idade igual ou superior a 18 anos, do sexo masculino e feminino: 20 gagos adultos e 20 sem queixas de comunicação. Para a avaliação das praxias verbal e não-verbal, os indivíduos foram submetidos à aplicação do Protocolo de Avaliação da Apraxia Verbal e Não-verbal (Martins e Ortiz, 2004. RESULTADOS: com relação às habilidades de praxia verbal houve diferença estatisticamente significante no número de disfluências típicas e atípicas apresentadas pelos grupos estudados. Quanto à tipologia das disfluências observou-se que nas típicas houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os grupos estudados apenas na repetição de frase, e nas atípicas, houve diferença estatisticamente significante, tanto no bloqueio quanto na repetição de sílaba e no prolongamento. Com relação às habilidades de praxia não-verbal, não foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significantes entre os indivíduos estudados na realização dos movimentos de lábios, língua e mandíbula, isolados e em sequência. CONCLUSÃO: com relação às habilidades de praxia verbal, os gagos apresentaram frequência maior de rupturas da fala, tanto de disfluências típicas quanto de atípicas, quando comparado ao grupo controle. Já na realização de movimentos práxicos isolados e em sequência, ou seja, nas habilidades de praxia não-verbal, os indivíduos gagos não se diferenciaram dos fluentes não confirmando a hipótese de que o início precoce da gagueira poderia comprometer as habilidades de praxia não-verbal.PURPOSE: to characterize the verbal and non-verbal praxic abilities in adult stutterers. METHODS: for this research, 40 over 18-year old men and women were selected: 20 stuttering adults and 20 without communication complaints. For the praxis evaluation, they were submitted to

  20. Consistency between verbal and non-verbal affective cues: a clue to speaker credibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillis, Randall L; Nilsen, Elizabeth S

    2017-06-01

    Listeners are exposed to inconsistencies in communication; for example, when speakers' words (i.e. verbal) are discrepant with their demonstrated emotions (i.e. non-verbal). Such inconsistencies introduce ambiguity, which may render a speaker to be a less credible source of information. Two experiments examined whether children make credibility discriminations based on the consistency of speakers' affect cues. In Experiment 1, school-age children (7- to 8-year-olds) preferred to solicit information from consistent speakers (e.g. those who provided a negative statement with negative affect), over novel speakers, to a greater extent than they preferred to solicit information from inconsistent speakers (e.g. those who provided a negative statement with positive affect) over novel speakers. Preschoolers (4- to 5-year-olds) did not demonstrate this preference. Experiment 2 showed that school-age children's ratings of speakers were influenced by speakers' affect consistency when the attribute being judged was related to information acquisition (speakers' believability, "weird" speech), but not general characteristics (speakers' friendliness, likeability). Together, findings suggest that school-age children are sensitive to, and use, the congruency of affect cues to determine whether individuals are credible sources of information.

  1. Frontal brain deactivation during a non-verbal cognitive judgement bias test in sheep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guldimann, Kathrin; Vögeli, Sabine; Wolf, Martin; Wechsler, Beat; Gygax, Lorenz

    2015-02-01

    Animal welfare concerns have raised an interest in animal affective states. These states also play an important role in the proximate control of behaviour. Due to their potential to modulate short-term emotional reactions, one specific focus is on long-term affective states, that is, mood. These states can be assessed by using non-verbal cognitive judgement bias paradigms. Here, we conducted a spatial variant of such a test on 24 focal animals that were kept under either unpredictable, stimulus-poor or predictable, stimulus-rich housing conditions to induce differential mood states. Based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we measured haemodynamic frontal brain reactions during 10 s in which the sheep could observe the configuration of the cognitive judgement bias trial before indicating their assessment based on the go/no-go reaction. We used (generalised) mixed-effects models to evaluate the data. Sheep from the unpredictable, stimulus-poor housing conditions took longer and were less likely to reach the learning criterion and reacted slightly more optimistically in the cognitive judgement bias test than sheep from the predictable, stimulus-rich housing conditions. A frontal cortical increase in deoxy-haemoglobin [HHb] and a decrease in oxy-haemoglobin [O2Hb] were observed during the visual assessment of the test situation by the sheep, indicating a frontal cortical brain deactivation. This deactivation was more pronounced with the negativity of the test situation, which was reflected by the provenance of the sheep from the unpredictable, stimulus-poor housing conditions, the proximity of the cue to the negatively reinforced cue location, or the absence of a go reaction in the trial. It seems that (1) sheep from the unpredictable, stimulus-poor in comparison to sheep from the predictable, stimulus-rich housing conditions dealt less easily with the test conditions rich in stimuli, that (2) long-term housing conditions seemingly did not influence mood

  2. Estudo das habilidades de memória e raciocínio simbólico e não-simbólico de crianças e adolescentes surdas por meio da bateria padrão do Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test Study of memory and symbolic and non-symbolic reasoning skills of deaf children and adolescents using standard battery of Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cláudia Furtado Borges

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo explorou as habilidades de memória e raciocínio simbólico e não simbólico de crianças e adolescentes com deficiência auditiva através das análises de desempenho da Bateria Padrão do Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT. Participaram deste estudo 55 crianças e adolescentes surdos. Os dados coletados foram analisados através de análises paramétricas. Os dados mostram que a memória simbólica, a capacidade de manipular e representar a informação simbólica memorizada está sendo melhorada por atividades escolares e/ou extracurriculares.This study aimed to explore memory and symbolic and non symbolic reasoning skills of deaf children and adolescents using the analyses of performance of the standard battery of Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT. Fifty five participants took part in the study. The collected data were analyzed through parametric statistics. The data suggest that the capacity to manipulate and to represent memorized symbolic information may be enhanced by school and/or extracurricular activities.

  3. Highly sensitive piezo-resistive graphite nanoplatelet-carbon nanotube hybrids/polydimethylsilicone composites with improved conductive network construction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Hang; Bai, Jinbo

    2015-05-13

    The constructions of internal conductive network are dependent on microstructures of conductive fillers, determining various electrical performances of composites. Here, we present the advanced graphite nanoplatelet-carbon nanotube hybrids/polydimethylsilicone (GCHs/PDMS) composites with high piezo-resistive performance. GCH particles were synthesized by the catalyst chemical vapor deposition approach. The synthesized GCHs can be well dispersed in the matrix through the mechanical blending process. Due to the exfoliated GNP and aligned CNTs coupling structure, the flexible composite shows an ultralow percolation threshold (0.64 vol %) and high piezo-resistive sensitivity (gauge factor ∼ 10(3) and pressure sensitivity ∼ 0.6 kPa(-1)). Slight motions of finger can be detected and distinguished accurately using the composite film as a typical wearable sensor. These results indicate that designing the internal conductive network could be a reasonable strategy to improve the piezo-resistive performance of composites.

  4. Improvement of ionic conductivity and performance of quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell using PEO/PMMA gel electrolyte

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aram, E.; Ehsani, M.; Khonakdar, H.A.

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Reduced interfacial resistance of a quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell with PEO/PMMA blend gel electrolytes. - Highlights: • A new polymer gel electrolyte containing PEO/PMMA was developed for DSSCs. • Optimization of polymer gel electrolyte was done for dye sensitized solar cell. • The best ionic conductivity was found in PEO/PMMA blend with 10/90 w/w composition. • The DSSC with the PEO/PMMA based electrolyte showed good photovoltaic performance. • Significant stability improvement for quasi-solid state DSSC was obtained. - Abstract: Polymer blend gel electrolytes based on polyethylene oxide (PEO) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as host polymers with various weight ratios, LiI/I 2 as redox couple in electrolyte and 4-tert-butyl pyridine as additive were prepared by solution method. The introduction of PMMA in the PEO gel electrolyte reduced the degree of crystallinity of PEO, which was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Complexation and ionic conductivity as a function of temperature were investigated with Fourier transform infrared and ionic conductometry, respectively. A good correlation was found between the degree of crystallinity and ionic conductivity. The reduction in crystallinity, governed by blending ratio, led to improvement of ionic conductivity. The best ionic conductivity was attained in PEO/PMMA blend with 10/90 w/w composition. The performance of a quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell using the optimized polymer gel electrolyte was investigated. The optimized system of high ionic conductivity of 7 mS cm −1 , with fill factor of 0.59, short-circuit density of 11.11 mA cm −2 , open-circuit voltage of 0.75 V and the conversion efficiency of 4.9% under air mass 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm −2 ) was obtained. The long-term stability of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) during 600 h was improved by using PEO/PMMA gel electrolyte relative to a liquid type electrolyte

  5. Improvement of ionic conductivity and performance of quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell using PEO/PMMA gel electrolyte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aram, E. [Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, 14965/115 Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ehsani, M., E-mail: m.ehsani@ippi.ac.ir [Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, 14965/115 Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khonakdar, H.A. [Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, 14965/115 Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research, D-01067 Dresden (Germany)

    2015-09-10

    Graphical abstract: Reduced interfacial resistance of a quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell with PEO/PMMA blend gel electrolytes. - Highlights: • A new polymer gel electrolyte containing PEO/PMMA was developed for DSSCs. • Optimization of polymer gel electrolyte was done for dye sensitized solar cell. • The best ionic conductivity was found in PEO/PMMA blend with 10/90 w/w composition. • The DSSC with the PEO/PMMA based electrolyte showed good photovoltaic performance. • Significant stability improvement for quasi-solid state DSSC was obtained. - Abstract: Polymer blend gel electrolytes based on polyethylene oxide (PEO) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as host polymers with various weight ratios, LiI/I{sub 2} as redox couple in electrolyte and 4-tert-butyl pyridine as additive were prepared by solution method. The introduction of PMMA in the PEO gel electrolyte reduced the degree of crystallinity of PEO, which was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Complexation and ionic conductivity as a function of temperature were investigated with Fourier transform infrared and ionic conductometry, respectively. A good correlation was found between the degree of crystallinity and ionic conductivity. The reduction in crystallinity, governed by blending ratio, led to improvement of ionic conductivity. The best ionic conductivity was attained in PEO/PMMA blend with 10/90 w/w composition. The performance of a quasi-solid-state dye sensitized solar cell using the optimized polymer gel electrolyte was investigated. The optimized system of high ionic conductivity of 7 mS cm{sup −1}, with fill factor of 0.59, short-circuit density of 11.11 mA cm{sup −2}, open-circuit voltage of 0.75 V and the conversion efficiency of 4.9% under air mass 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm{sup −2}) was obtained. The long-term stability of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) during 600 h was improved by using PEO/PMMA gel electrolyte relative to a liquid type

  6. Improvement of thermal conductivity of ceramic matrix composites for 4. generation nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cabrero, J.

    2009-11-01

    This study deals with thermal conductivity improvement of SiCf/SiC ceramic matrix composites materials to be used as cladding material in 4. generation nuclear reactor. The purpose of the study is to develop a composite for which both the temperature and irradiation effect is less pronounced on thermal conductivity of material than for SiC. This material will be used as matrix in CMC with SiC fibers. Some TiC-SiC composites with different SiC volume contents were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The sintering process enables to fabricate specimens very fast, with a very fine microstructure and without any sintering aids. Neutron irradiation has been simulated using heavy ions, at room temperature and at 500 C. Evolution of the thermal properties of irradiated materials is measured using modulated photothermal IR radiometry experiment and was related to structural evolution as function of dose and temperature. It appears that such approach is reliable to evaluate TiC potentiality as matrix in CMC. Finally, CMC with TiC matrix and SiC fibers were fabricated and both mechanical and thermal properties were measured and compare to SiCf/SiC CMC. (author)

  7. Do children with autism have a theory of mind? A non-verbal test of autism vs. specific language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colle, Livia; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Hill, Jacqueline

    2007-04-01

    Children with autism have delays in the development of theory of mind. However, the sub-group of children with autism who have little or no language have gone untested since false belief tests (FB) typically involve language. FB understanding has been reported to be intact in children with specific language impairment (SLI). This raises the possibility that a non-verbal FB test would distinguish children with autism vs. children with SLI. The present study tested two predictions: (1) FB understanding is to some extent independent of language ability; and (2) Children with autism with low language levels show specific impairment in theory of mind. Results confirmed both predictions. Results are discussed in terms of the role of language in the development of mindreading.

  8. Feasibility of Using an Augmented Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environment to Enhance Music Conducting Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orman, Evelyn K.; Price, Harry E.; Russell, Christine R.

    2017-01-01

    Acquiring nonverbal skills necessary to appropriately communicate and educate members of performing ensembles is essential for wind band conductors. Virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs) provide a unique setting for developing these proficiencies. For this feasibility study, we used an augmented immersive VRLE to enhance eye contact, torso…

  9. Hierarchically interconnected porous scaffolds for phase change materials with improved thermal conductivity and efficient solar-to-electric energy conversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jie; Yu, Peng; Tang, Li-Sheng; Bao, Rui-Ying; Liu, Zheng-Ying; Yang, Ming-Bo; Yang, Wei

    2017-11-23

    An ice-templating self-assembly strategy and a vacuum impregnation method were used to fabricate polyethylene glycol (PEG)/hierarchical porous scaffold composite phase change materials (PCMs). Hierarchically interconnected porous scaffolds of boron nitride (BN), with the aid of a small amount of graphene oxide (GO), endow the composite PCMs with high thermal conductivity, excellent shape-stability and efficient solar-to-electric energy conversion. The formation of a three-dimensional (3D) thermally conductive pathway in the composites contributes to improving the thermal conductivity up to 2.36 W m -1 K -1 at a relatively low content of BN (ca. 23 wt%). This work provides a route for thermally conductive and shape-stabilized composite PCMs used as energy storage materials.

  10. Interpreting equilibrium-conductivity and conductivity-relaxation measurements to establish thermodynamic and transport properties for multiple charged defect conducting ceramics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Huayang; Ricote, Sandrine; Coors, W Grover; Kee, Robert J

    2015-01-01

    A model-based interpretation of measured equilibrium conductivity and conductivity relaxation is developed to establish thermodynamic, transport, and kinetics parameters for multiple charged defect conducting (MCDC) ceramic materials. The present study focuses on 10% yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY10). In principle, using the Nernst-Einstein relationship, equilibrium conductivity measurements are sufficient to establish thermodynamic and transport properties. However, in practice it is difficult to establish unique sets of properties using equilibrium conductivity alone. Combining equilibrium and conductivity-relaxation measurements serves to significantly improve the quantitative fidelity of the derived material properties. The models are developed using a Nernst-Planck-Poisson (NPP) formulation, which enables the quantitative representation of conductivity relaxations caused by very large changes in oxygen partial pressure.

  11. Carbon nanotubes with silver nanoparticle decoration and conductive polymer coating for improving the electrical conductivity of polycarbonate composites

    KAUST Repository

    Patole, Archana S.

    2015-01-01

    We proposed a strategy to enhance the conductivity of polycarbonate by using three-phase hybrid metallic/non-metallic fillers. Ethylene diamine (EDA) functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-EDA) are first decorated with silver nanoparticles. These Ag/ MWCNT-EDA fillers are then coated with a conductive layer of ethylene glycol treated PEDOT: PSS (poly [3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene]: poly [styrenesulfonate]) (EP). In such an approach, the MWCNT backbone is covered by a highly conductive coating made of Ag nanoparticles surrounded by EP. To understand how Ag and EP form a highly conductive coating, the effect of different wt% of Ag nanoparticles on EP was studied. Ag nanoparticles around the size of 128 ± 28 nmeffectively lowered the volume resistivity of bulk EP, resulting in a highly conducting Ag/EP blend. We found that in the final Ag/MWCNT-EDA/EP assembly, the EP coating enhances the electrical conductivity in two ways: (1) it is an efficient dispersing agent that helps in achieving a uniform dispersion of the Ag/MWCNT-EDA and (2) it acts as a conductive bridge between particles (Ag and MWCNT-EDA), reducing the particle to particle resistivity. When inserted into polycarbonate, this three-phase blend successfully reduced the volume resistivity of the polymer by two orders of magnitude compared with previous approaches.

  12. Modifying sulfomethylated alkali lignin by horseradish peroxidase to improve the dispersibility and conductivity of polyaniline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Dongjie; Huang, Wenjing; Qiu, Xueqing; Lou, Hongming; Qian, Yong

    2017-12-01

    Pine and wheat straw alkali lignin (PAL and WAL) were sulfomethylated to improve water solubility, polymerized with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to improve the molecular weight (Mw) and applied to dope and disperse polyaniline (PANI). The structural effect of lignin from different origins on the reactivities of sulfomethylation and HRP polymerization was investigated. The results show that WAL with less methoxyl groups and lower Mw have higher reactivity in sulfomethylation (SWAL). More phenolic hydroxyl groups and lower Mw benefit the HRP polymerization of sulfomethylated PAL (SPAL). Due to the natural three-dimensional aromatic structure and introduced sulfonic groups, SPAL and SWAL could effectively dope and disperse PANI in water by π-π stacking and electrostatic interaction. HRP modified SPAL (HRP-SPAL) with much higher sulfonation degree and larger Mw significantly increased the conductivity and dispersibility of lignin/PANI composites.

  13. Randomized controlled psychotherapy trials in eating disorders: Improving their conduct, interpretation and usefulness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, Tracey D; Johnson, Catherine; Byrne, Susan M

    2018-04-25

    While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) inform the efficacy and effectiveness of treatments, we need to understand that even RCTs can be associated with sub-optimal execution. This is of special pertinence to eating disorders given the majority of treatment studies involving cognitive behaviour therapy are of poor quality with respect to managing risk of bias adequately. The current paper outlines the components of a good RCT for psychotherapy, and examines ways to improve the conduct, interpretation, and usefulness of RCTs. This includes managing reporting bias, recognizing the limits of randomization, applicability, and ethical considerations. We highlight a number of strategies for future research, including issues related to utilizing a variety of designs to examine treatment outcomes, integrity, openness and reproducibility. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Improved gap conductance model for the TRAC code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hatch, S.W.; Mandell, D.A.

    1980-01-01

    The purpose of the present work, as indicated earlier, is to improve the present constant fuel clad spacing in TRAC-P1A without significantly increasing the computer costs. It is realized that the simple model proposed may not be accurate enough for some cases, but for the initial calculations made the DELTAR model improves the predictions over the constant Δr results of TRAC-P1A and the additional computing costs are negligible

  15. Heterogeneous in situ polymerization of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers on cotton textiles: Improved electrical conductivity, electrical switching, and tuning properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tissera, Nadeeka D; Wijesena, Ruchira N; Rathnayake, Samantha; de Silva, Rohini M; de Silva, K M Nalin

    2018-04-15

    Electrically conductive cotton fabric was fabricated by in situ one pot oxidative polymerization of aniline. Using a simple heterogeneous polymerization method, polyaniline (PANI) nano fibers with an average fiber diameter of 40-75 nm were grafted in situ onto cotton fabric. The electrical conductivity of the PANI nanofiber grafted fabric was improved 10 fold compared to fabric grafted with PANI nanoclusters having an average cluster size of 145-315 nm. The surface morphology of the cotton fibers was characterized using SEM and AFM. Electrical conductivity of PANI nanofibers on the cotton textile was further improved from 76 kΏ/cm to 1 kΏ/cm by increasing the HCl concentration from 1 M to 3 M in the polymerization medium. PANI grafted cotton fabrics were analyzed using FTIR, and the data showed the presence of polyaniline functional groups on the treated fabric. Further evidence was present for the chemical interaction of PANI with cellulose. Dopant level and morphology dependent electron transition behavior of PANI nanostructures grafted on cotton fabric was further characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity of the PANI nano fiber grafted cotton fabric can be tuned by immersing the fabric in pH 2 and pH 6 solutions for multiple cycles. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Improved 3-omega measurement of thermal conductivity in liquid, gases, and powders using a metal-coated optical fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiffres, Scott N; Malen, Jonathan A

    2011-06-01

    A novel 3ω thermal conductivity measurement technique called metal-coated 3ω is introduced for use with liquids, gases, powders, and aerogels. This technique employs a micron-scale metal-coated glass fiber as a heater/thermometer that is suspended within the sample. Metal-coated 3ω exceeds alternate 3ω based fluid sensing techniques in a number of key metrics enabling rapid measurements of small samples of materials with very low thermal effusivity (gases), using smaller temperature oscillations with lower parasitic conduction losses. Its advantages relative to existing fluid measurement techniques, including transient hot-wire, steady-state methods, and solid-wire 3ω are discussed. A generalized n-layer concentric cylindrical periodic heating solution that accounts for thermal boundary resistance is presented. Improved sensitivity to boundary conductance is recognized through this model. Metal-coated 3ω was successfully validated through a benchmark study of gases and liquids spanning two-orders of magnitude in thermal conductivity. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

  17. Evaluation of a multicomponent workplace health promotion program conducted in Japan for improving employees' cardiovascular disease risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muto, T; Yamauchi, K

    2001-12-01

    The long-term effectiveness of multicomponent worksite health promotion programs targeting cardiovascular disease risk factors remains unclear in Japan. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of such a health promotion program consisting of a main program provided over 4 days and a follow-up program provided over 1 year. The subjects of this randomized controlled trial were male employees working for a building maintenance company in Japan. The intervention group (n = 152) and the control group (n = 150) consisted of employees having abnormal findings in at least one of the following items at baseline health examination: body mass index (BMI), systolic (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting blood glucose. Evaluation was conducted at 18 months after the main program. BMI, SBP, total cholesterol, and triglycerides improved significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). When comparisons were limited to those who showed abnormality at baseline, BMI, total cholesterol, and triglycerides improved significantly in the intervention group (P < 0.05). The multicomponent health promotion program provided to employees was shown to be effective in improving obesity, high blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia when evaluated 18 months after the main intervention program. Copyright 2001 American Health Foundation and Elsevier Science.

  18. Highly Conductive In-SnO2/RGO Nano-Heterostructures with Improved Lithium-Ion Battery Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ying; Palmieri, Alessandro; He, Junkai; Meng, Yongtao; Beauregard, Nicole; Suib, Steven L.; Mustain, William E.

    2016-01-01

    The increasing demand of emerging technologies for high energy density electrochemical storage has led many researchers to look for alternative anode materials to graphite. The most promising conversion and alloying materials do not yet possess acceptable cycle life or rate capability. In this work, we use tin oxide, SnO2, as a representative anode material to explore the influence of graphene incorporation and In-doping to increase the electronic conductivity and concomitantly improve capacity retention and cycle life. It was found that the incorporation of In into SnO2 reduces the charge transfer resistance during cycling, prolonging life. It is also hypothesized that the increased conductivity allows the tin oxide conversion and alloying reactions to both be reversible, leading to very high capacity near 1200 mAh/g. Finally, the electrodes show excellent rate capability with a capacity of over 200 mAh/g at 10C. PMID:27167615

  19. Validation of Doloplus-2 among nonverbal nursing home patients - an evaluation of Doloplus-2 in a clinical setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirkevold Øyvind

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pain measurement in nonverbal older adults is best based on behavioural observation, e.g. using an observational measurement tool such as Doloplus-2. The purposes of this study were to examine the use of Doloplus-2 in a nonverbal nursing home population, and to evaluate its reliability and validity by comparing registered nurses' estimation of pain with Doloplus-2 scores. Method In this cross-sectional study, Doloplus-2 was used to observe the pain behaviour of patients aged above 65 years who were unable to self-report their pain. Nurses also recorded their perceptions of patient pain (yes, no, don't know before they used Doloplus-2. Data on demographics, medical diagnoses, and prescribed pain treatment were collected from patient records. Daily life functioning was measured and participants were screened using the Mini Mental State Examination. Results In total, 77 nursing home patients were included, 75% were women and the mean age was 86 years (SD 6.6, range 68-100. Over 50% were dependent on nursing care to a high or a medium degree, and all were severely cognitively impaired. The percentage of zero scores on Doloplus-2 ranged from 17% (somatic reactions to 40% (psychosocial reactions. Cronbach's alpha was 0.71 for the total scale. In total, 52% of the patients were judged by nurses to be experiencing pain, compared with 68% when using Doloplus-2 (p = 0.01. For 29% of the sample, nurses were unable to report if the patients were in pain. Conclusions In the present study, more patients were categorized as having pain while using Doloplus-2 compared with nurses' estimation of pain without using any tools. The fact that nurses could not report if the patients were in pain in one third of the patients supports the claim that Doloplus-2 is a useful supplement for estimating pain in this population. However, nurses must use their clinical experience in addition to the use of Doloplus-2, as behaviour can have different meaning

  20. A Comparison of Television and Audio Presentations of the MLA French Listening Examination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stallings, William M.

    1972-01-01

    Although nonverbal cues are often available in real-life communication, listening is usually tested by aural stimuli broadcast from an audio-tape. It would seem that testing listening comprehension might be improved by using television to offer nonverbal cues in addition to aural stimuli. (Author)

  1. Improved dielectric properties, mechanical properties, and thermal conductivity properties of polymer composites via controlling interfacial compatibility with bio-inspired method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Mengnan; Yang, Dan; Guo, Wenli; Zhang, Liqun; Li, Shuxin; Shang, Yuwei; Wu, Yibo; Zhang, Min; Wang, Hao

    2018-05-01

    Surface functionalization of Al2O3 nano-particles by mussel-inspired poly(dopamine) (PDA) was developed to improve the dielectric properties, mechanical properties, and thermal conductivity properties of nitrile rubber (NBR) matrix. As strong adhesion of PDA to Al2O3 nano-particles and hydrogen bonds formed by the catechol groups of PDA and the polar acrylonitrile groups of NBR, the dispersion of Al2O3-PDA/NBR composites was improved and the interfacial force between Al2O3-PDA and NBR matrix was enhanced. Thus, the Al2O3-PDA/NBR composites exhibited higher dielectric constant, better mechanical properties, and larger thermal conductivity comparing with Al2O3/NBR composites at the same filler content. The largest thermal conductivity of Al2O3-PDA/NBR composite filled with 30 phr Al2O3-PDA was 0.21 W/m K, which was 122% times of pure NBR. In addition, the Al2O3-PDA/NBR composite filled with 30 phr Al2O3-PDA displayed a high tensile strength about 2.61 MPa, which was about 255% of pure NBR. This procedure is eco-friendly and easy handling, which provides a promising route to polymer composites in application of thermal conductivity field.

  2. Conducting a SWOT Analysis for Program Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orr, Betsy

    2013-01-01

    A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of a teacher education program, or any program, can be the driving force for implementing change. A SWOT analysis is used to assist faculty in initiating meaningful change in a program and to use the data for program improvement. This tool is useful in any undergraduate or degree…

  3. Reducing Information's Speed Improves Verbal Cognition and Behavior in Autism: A 2-Cases Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tardif, Carole; Latzko, Laura; Arciszewski, Thomas; Gepner, Bruno

    2017-06-01

    According to the temporal theory of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), audiovisual changes in environment, particularly those linked to facial and verbal language, are often too fast to be faced, perceived, and/or interpreted online by many children with ASD, which could help explain their facial, verbal, and/or socioemotional interaction impairments. Our goal here was to test for the first time the impact of slowed-down audiovisual information on verbal cognition and behavior in 2 boys with ASD and verbal delay. Using 15 experimental sessions during 4 months, both boys were presented with various stimuli (eg, pictures, words, sentences, cartoons) and were then asked questions or given instructions regarding stimuli. The audiovisual stimuli and instructions/questions were presented on a computer's screen and were always displayed twice: at real-time speed (RTS) and at slowed-down speed (SDS) using the software Logiral. We scored the boys' verbal cognition performance (ie, ability to understand questions/instructions and answer them verbally/nonverbally) and their behavioral reactions (ie, attention, verbal/nonverbal communication, social reciprocity), and analyzed the effects of speed and order of the stimuli presentation on these factors. According to the results, both participants exhibited significant improvements in verbal cognition performance with SDS presentation compared with RTS presentation, and they scored better with RTS presentation when having SDS presentation before rather than after RTS presentation. Behavioral reactions were also improved in SDS conditions compared with RTS conditions. This initial evidence of a positive impact of slowed-down audiovisual information on verbal cognition should be tested in a large cohort of children with ASD and associated speech/language impairments. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  4. Improvement of Transparent Conducting Performance on Oxygen-Activated Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide Electrodes Formed by Horizontal Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo, Bon-Ryul; Oh, Dong-Hyeun; Riu, Doh-Hyung; Ahn, Hyo-Jin

    2017-12-27

    In this study, highly transparent conducting fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes were fabricated using the horizontal ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition. In order to improve their transparent conducting performances, we carried out oxygen activation by adjusting the ratio of O 2 /(O 2 +N 2 ) in the carrier gas (0%, 20%, and 50%) used during the deposition process. The oxygen activation on the FTO electrodes accelerated the substitution concentration of F (F O • ) into the oxygen sites in the FTO electrode while the oxygen vacancy (V O • • ) concentration was reduced. In addition, due to growth of pyramid-shaped crystallites with (200) preferred orientations, this oxygen activation caused the formation of a uniform surface structure. As a result, compared to others, the FTO electrode prepared at 50% O 2 showed excellent electrical and optical properties (sheet resistance of ∼4.0 ± 0.14 Ω/□, optical transmittance of ∼85.3%, and figure of merit of ∼5.09 ± 0.19 × 10 -2 Ω -1 ). This led to a superb photoconversion efficiency (∼7.03 ± 0.20%) as a result of the improved short-circuit current density. The photovoltaic performance improvement can be defined by the decreased sheet resistance of FTO used as a transparent conducting electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which is due to the combined effect of the high carrier concentration by the improved F O • concentration on the FTO electrodes and the fasted Hall mobility by the formation of a uniform FTO surface structure and distortion relaxation on the FTO lattices resulting from the reduced V O • • • concentration.

  5. Improvement in ionic conductivity of self-supported P(MMA-AN-VAc) gel electrolyte by fumed silica for lithium ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao Youhao; Rao Mumin; Li Weishan; Tan Chunlin; Yi Jin; Chen Lang

    2009-01-01

    Fumed silica was used as a dopant in the preparation of poly(methyl methacrylate-acrylonitrile-vinyl acetate) (P(MMA-AN-VAc)) to improve the ionic conductivity of the P(MMA-AN-VAc)-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). The performance of the P(MMA-AN-VAc) membrane and its GPE for lithium ion battery use were studied by XRD, SEM, TGA, LSV, CA, EIS, and charge/discharge test. It is found that the doping of fumed silica in the P(MMA-AN-VAc) changes the membrane from semi-crystal to amorphous state and the pore structure of the membrane. By the doping of 10 wt.% fumed silica in the membrane, the porosity of the membrane increases with the pore dispersed more uniformly and interconnected and having higher electrolyte uptake, resulting in the improvement in ionic conductivity of the GPE from 3.48 x 10 -3 to 5.13 x 10 -3 S cm -1 at ambient temperature. On the other hand, the thermal stability of the membrane, the electrochemical stability of the GPE, and the cyclic performance of the battery are also improved.

  6. Electrically and Thermally Conductive Low Density Polyethylene-Based Nanocomposites Reinforced by MWCNT or Hybrid MWCNT/Graphene Nanoplatelets with Improved Thermo-Oxidative Stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Paszkiewicz

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the electrical and thermal conductivity and morphological behavior of low density polyethylene (LDPE/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs + graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs hybrid nanocomposites (HNCs have been studied. The distribution of MWCNTs and the hybrid of MWCNTs/GNPs within the polymer matrix has been investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The results showed that the thermal and electrical conductivity of the LDPE-based nanocomposites increased along with the increasing content of carbon nanofillers. However, one could observe greater improvement in the thermal and electrical conductivity when only MWCNTs have been incorporated. Moreover, the improvement in tensile properties and thermal stability has been observed when carbon nanofillers have been mixed with LDPE. At the same time, the increasing content of MWCNTs and MWCNTs/GNPs caused an increase in the melt viscosity with only little effect on phase transition temperatures.

  7. Electrically and Thermally Conductive Low Density Polyethylene-Based Nanocomposites Reinforced by MWCNT or Hybrid MWCNT/Graphene Nanoplatelets with Improved Thermo-Oxidative Stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paszkiewicz, Sandra; Szymczyk, Anna; Pawlikowska, Daria; Subocz, Jan; Zenker, Marek; Masztak, Roman

    2018-04-22

    In this paper, the electrical and thermal conductivity and morphological behavior of low density polyethylene (LDPE)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) + graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) hybrid nanocomposites (HNCs) have been studied. The distribution of MWCNTs and the hybrid of MWCNTs/GNPs within the polymer matrix has been investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the thermal and electrical conductivity of the LDPE-based nanocomposites increased along with the increasing content of carbon nanofillers. However, one could observe greater improvement in the thermal and electrical conductivity when only MWCNTs have been incorporated. Moreover, the improvement in tensile properties and thermal stability has been observed when carbon nanofillers have been mixed with LDPE. At the same time, the increasing content of MWCNTs and MWCNTs/GNPs caused an increase in the melt viscosity with only little effect on phase transition temperatures.

  8. Comparison of Visual-Spatial Performance Strategy Training in Children with Turner Syndrome and Learning Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Janet K.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Thirteen females with Turner syndrome, 13 females with nonverbal learning disabilities, and 14 males with nonverbal learning disabilities, ages 7-14, were taught via a cognitive behavioral modification approach to verbally mediate a spatial matching task. All three groups showed significant task improvement after the training, with no significant…

  9. Planning, Conducting, and Documenting Data Analysis for Program Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winer, Abby; Taylor, Cornelia; Derrington, Taletha; Lucas, Anne

    2015-01-01

    This 2015 document was developed to help technical assistance (TA) providers and state staff define and limit the scope of data analysis for program improvement efforts, including the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP); develop a plan for data analysis; document alternative hypotheses and additional analyses as they are generated; and…

  10. Fuel thermal conductivity (FTHCON). Status report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagrman, D.L.

    1979-02-01

    An improvement of the fuel thermal conductivity subcode is described which is part of the fuel rod behavior modeling task performed at EG and G Idaho, Inc. The original version was published in the Materials Properties (MATPRO) Handbook, Section A-2 (Fuel Thermal Conductivity). The improved version incorporates data which were not included in the previous work and omits some previously used data which are believed to come from cracked specimens. The models for the effect of porosity on thermal conductivity and for the electronic contribution to thermal coductivity have been completely revised in order to place these models on a more mechanistic basis. As a result of modeling improvements the standard error of the model with respect to its data base has been significantly reduced

  11. Hydrogenation of Penta-Graphene Leads to Unexpected Large Improvement in Thermal Conductivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xufei; Varshney, Vikas; Lee, Jonghoon; Zhang, Teng; Wohlwend, Jennifer L; Roy, Ajit K; Luo, Tengfei

    2016-06-08

    Penta-graphene (PG) has been identified as a novel two-dimensional (2D) material with an intrinsic bandgap, which makes it especially promising for electronics applications. In this work, we use first-principles lattice dynamics and iterative solution of the phonon Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) to determine the thermal conductivity of PG and its more stable derivative, hydrogenated penta-graphene (HPG). As a comparison, we also studied the effect of hydrogenation on graphene thermal conductivity. In contrast to hydrogenation of graphene, which leads to a dramatic decrease in thermal conductivity, HPG shows a notable increase in thermal conductivity, which is much higher than that of PG. Considering the necessity of using the same thickness when comparing thermal conductivity values of different 2D materials, hydrogenation leads to a 63% reduction in thermal conductivity for graphene, while it results in a 76% increase for PG. The high thermal conductivity of HPG makes it more thermally conductive than most other semiconducting 2D materials, such as the transition metal chalcogenides. Our detailed analyses show that the primary reason for the counterintuitive hydrogenation-induced thermal conductivity enhancement is the weaker bond anharmonicity in HPG than PG. This leads to weaker phonon scattering after hydrogenation, despite the increase in the phonon scattering phase space. The high thermal conductivity of HPG may inspire intensive research around HPG and other derivatives of PG as potential materials for future nanoelectronic devices. The fundamental physics understood from this study may open up a new strategy to engineer thermal transport properties of other 2D materials by controlling bond anharmonicity via functionalization.

  12. The computer-assisted interview In My Shoes can benefit shy preschool children's communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salari, Raziye; Eriksson, Maria; Sarkadi, Anna

    2017-01-01

    Interviewing children is a cognitively, socially, and emotionally challenging situation, especially for young and shy children. Thus, finding methods that aid rapport and increase these children’s communication is important. The present study investigated whether children’s verbal and non-verbal communicative behavior developed differently during the rapport phase, depending on whether children were situationally shy or not, and whether the interview was conducted using the computer-assisted interview In My Shoes (IMS) or a Standard verbal interview. The sample consisted of 60 children aged 4 to 5-years-old. The results showed that for the shy children in the IMS group their talkativeness increased and their answer latency decreased including the amount of encouragement the child needed to talk, while no changes were observed for the shy children in the Standard verbal interview group. There were no significant differences in the non-verbal behavior for the shy children regardless of the interview method used. For the non-shy children, overall, the interview method did not affect either the verbal or the non-verbal outcomes. Our findings indicate that IMS can be a useful tool during the rapport-building phase with shy children as it helps these children to improve their verbal communication. PMID:28813534

  13. Fabrication of flexible silver nanowire conductive films and transmittance improvement based on moth-eye nanostructure array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chengpeng; Zhu, Yuwen; Yi, Peiyun; Peng, Linfa; Lai, Xinmin

    2017-07-01

    Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) are widely used in optoelectronic devices, such as touch screens, liquid-crystal displays and light-emitting diodes. To date, the material of the most commonly used TCEs was indium-tin oxide (ITO), which had several intrinsic drawbacks that limited its applications in the long term, including relatively high material cost and brittleness. Silver nanowire (AgNW), as one of the alternative materials for ITO TCEs, has already gained much attention all over the world. In this paper, we reported a facile method to greatly enhance the transmittance of the AgNW TCEs without reducing the electrical conductivity based on moth-eye nanostructures, and the moth-eye nanostructures were fabricated by using a roll-to-roll ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography process. Besides, the effects of mechanical pressure and bending on the moth-eye nanostructure layer were also investigated. In the research, the optical transmittance of the flexible AgNW TCEs was enhanced from 81.3% to 86.0% by attaching moth-eye nanostructures onto the other side of the flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate while the electrical conductivity of the AgNW TCEs was not sacrificed. This research can provide a direction for the cost-effective fabrication of moth-eye nanostructures and the transmittance improvement of the flexible transparent electrodes.

  14. Fabrication of flexible silver nanowire conductive films and transmittance improvement based on moth-eye nanostructure array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Chengpeng; Zhu, Yuwen; Yi, Peiyun; Peng, Linfa; Lai, Xinmin

    2017-01-01

    Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) are widely used in optoelectronic devices, such as touch screens, liquid-crystal displays and light-emitting diodes. To date, the material of the most commonly used TCEs was indium-tin oxide (ITO), which had several intrinsic drawbacks that limited its applications in the long term, including relatively high material cost and brittleness. Silver nanowire (AgNW), as one of the alternative materials for ITO TCEs, has already gained much attention all over the world. In this paper, we reported a facile method to greatly enhance the transmittance of the AgNW TCEs without reducing the electrical conductivity based on moth-eye nanostructures, and the moth-eye nanostructures were fabricated by using a roll-to-roll ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography process. Besides, the effects of mechanical pressure and bending on the moth-eye nanostructure layer were also investigated. In the research, the optical transmittance of the flexible AgNW TCEs was enhanced from 81.3% to 86.0% by attaching moth-eye nanostructures onto the other side of the flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate while the electrical conductivity of the AgNW TCEs was not sacrificed. This research can provide a direction for the cost-effective fabrication of moth-eye nanostructures and the transmittance improvement of the flexible transparent electrodes. (paper)

  15. High-Thermal-Conductivity Fabrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chibante, L. P. Felipe

    2012-01-01

    Heat management with common textiles such as nylon and spandex is hindered by the poor thermal conductivity from the skin surface to cooling surfaces. This innovation showed marked improvement in thermal conductivity of the individual fibers and tubing, as well as components assembled from them. The problem is centered on improving the heat removal of the liquid-cooled ventilation garments (LCVGs) used by astronauts. The current design uses an extensive network of water-cooling tubes that introduces bulkiness and discomfort, and increases fatigue. Range of motion and ease of movement are affected as well. The current technology is the same as developed during the Apollo program of the 1960s. Tubing material is hand-threaded through a spandex/nylon mesh layer, in a series of loops throughout the torso and limbs such that there is close, form-fitting contact with the user. Usually, there is a nylon liner layer to improve comfort. Circulating water is chilled by an external heat exchanger (sublimator). The purpose of this innovation is to produce new LCVG components with improved thermal conductivity. This was addressed using nanocomposite engineering incorporating high-thermalconductivity nanoscale fillers in the fabric and tubing components. Specifically, carbon nanotubes were added using normal processing methods such as thermoplastic melt mixing (compounding twin screw extruder) and downstream processing (fiber spinning, tubing extrusion). Fibers were produced as yarns and woven into fabric cloths. The application of isotropic nanofillers can be modeled using a modified Nielsen Model for conductive fillers in a matrix based on Einstein s viscosity model. This is a drop-in technology with no additional equipment needed. The loading is limited by the ability to maintain adequate dispersion. Undispersed materials will plug filtering screens in processing equipment. Generally, the viscosity increases were acceptable, and allowed the filled polymers to still be

  16. High performance silicon–organic hybrid solar cells via improving conductivity of PEDOT:PSS with reduced graphene oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Xinyu; Wang, Zilei; Han, Wenhui; Liu, Qiming; Lu, Shuqi; Wen, Yuxiang; Hou, Juan; Huang, Fei; Peng, Shanglong; He, Deyan; Cao, Guozhong

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The fabricated Si–organic hybrid solar cells with 2 mg/ml rGO addition yielded a power conversion efficiency of 11.95% with a J_s_c of 31.94 mA cm"−"2, a V_o_c of 579 mV and a FF of 0.648, about 27.8% increase from 9.35% in pristine hybrid solar cells. • The electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS improved 35% when appropriate amount rGO was added to PEDOT:PSS, the electron recombination at the junction interface of the device was suppressed by the appropriate amount rGO flakes addition. • The rGO flakes also serve as an antireflection coating to further reduce the reflectance in the wavelength range of 300–550 nm, leading to further enhanced performances of hybrid solar cells. - Abstract: The optical and electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS organic layer play a very important role in determining the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Si–organic hybrid solar cells (HSCs). In the present study, properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and their impacts on the performances of the resultant Si–organic HSCs have been systematically investigated. The electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS improved 35% when rGO was added to PEDOT:PSS, and the fabricated HSCs with 2 mg/ml rGO addition yielded an PCE of 11.95% with a J_s_c of 31.94 mA cm"−"2, a V_o_c of 579 mV and a FF of 0.648. However, excess rGO would deteriorate the solar cells performances and it might create additional defects and prevent carriers being collected. The Raman spectroscopy, sheet resistance and EQE analyses with rGO suggested that the interaction between the conductive rGO flakes and the aromatic PEDOT most probably not only provide additional charge transport pathways in hole transport layer to improve carrier mobility leading to a higher carrier collection efficiency, but also suppress the electron recombination at the junction interface. In addition, the rGO serve as an antireflection coating to reduce the reflectance of PEDOT:PSS thin film

  17. High performance silicon–organic hybrid solar cells via improving conductivity of PEDOT:PSS with reduced graphene oxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Xinyu; Wang, Zilei; Han, Wenhui; Liu, Qiming; Lu, Shuqi; Wen, Yuxiang [School of Physical Science and Technology, Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Hou, Juan [School of Science, Key Laboratory of Ecophysics, Shihezi University, Xinjiang 832003 (China); Huang, Fei [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-2120 (United States); Peng, Shanglong, E-mail: pengshl@lzu.edu.cn [School of Physical Science and Technology, Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); He, Deyan [School of Physical Science and Technology, Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Cao, Guozhong, E-mail: gzcao@u.washington.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-2120 (United States)

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • The fabricated Si–organic hybrid solar cells with 2 mg/ml rGO addition yielded a power conversion efficiency of 11.95% with a J{sub sc} of 31.94 mA cm{sup −2}, a V{sub oc} of 579 mV and a FF of 0.648, about 27.8% increase from 9.35% in pristine hybrid solar cells. • The electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS improved 35% when appropriate amount rGO was added to PEDOT:PSS, the electron recombination at the junction interface of the device was suppressed by the appropriate amount rGO flakes addition. • The rGO flakes also serve as an antireflection coating to further reduce the reflectance in the wavelength range of 300–550 nm, leading to further enhanced performances of hybrid solar cells. - Abstract: The optical and electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS organic layer play a very important role in determining the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Si–organic hybrid solar cells (HSCs). In the present study, properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and their impacts on the performances of the resultant Si–organic HSCs have been systematically investigated. The electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS improved 35% when rGO was added to PEDOT:PSS, and the fabricated HSCs with 2 mg/ml rGO addition yielded an PCE of 11.95% with a J{sub sc} of 31.94 mA cm{sup −2}, a V{sub oc} of 579 mV and a FF of 0.648. However, excess rGO would deteriorate the solar cells performances and it might create additional defects and prevent carriers being collected. The Raman spectroscopy, sheet resistance and EQE analyses with rGO suggested that the interaction between the conductive rGO flakes and the aromatic PEDOT most probably not only provide additional charge transport pathways in hole transport layer to improve carrier mobility leading to a higher carrier collection efficiency, but also suppress the electron recombination at the junction interface. In addition, the rGO serve as an antireflection coating to reduce the reflectance of

  18. Improved thermal conductivity of TiO2-SiO2 hybrid nanofluid in ethylene glycol and water mixture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamid, K. A.; Azmi, W. H.; Nabil, M. F.; Mamat, R.

    2017-10-01

    The need to study hybrid nanofluid properties such as thermal conductivity has increased recently in order to provide better understanding on nanofluid thermal properties and behaviour. Due to its ability to improve heat transfer compared to conventional heat transfer fluids, nanofluids as a new coolant fluid are widely investigated. This paper presents the thermal conductivity of TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in ethylene glycol (EG)-water. The TiO2-SiO2 hybrid nanofluids is measured for its thermal conductivity using KD2 Pro Thermal Properties Analyzer for concentration ranging from 0.5% to 3.0% and temperature of 30, 50 and 70°C. The results show that the increasing in concentration and temperature lead to enhancement in thermal conductivity at range of concentration studied. The maximum enhancement is found to be 22.1% at concentration 3.0% and temperature 70°C. A new equation is proposed based on the experiment data and found to be in good agreement where the average deviation (AD), standard deviation (SD) and maximum deviation (MD) are 1.67%, 1.66% and 5.13%, respectively.

  19. Individual Differences in Verbal and Non-Verbal Affective Responses to Smells: Influence of Odor Label Across Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferdenzi, Camille; Joussain, Pauline; Digard, Bérengère; Luneau, Lucie; Djordjevic, Jelena; Bensafi, Moustafa

    2017-01-01

    Olfactory perception is highly variable from one person to another, as a function of individual and contextual factors. Here, we investigated the influence of 2 important factors of variation: culture and semantic information. More specifically, we tested whether cultural-specific knowledge and presence versus absence of odor names modulate odor perception, by measuring these effects in 2 populations differing in cultural background but not in language. Participants from France and Quebec, Canada, smelled 4 culture-specific and 2 non-specific odorants in 2 conditions: first without label, then with label. Their ratings of pleasantness, familiarity, edibility, and intensity were collected as well as their psychophysiological and olfactomotor responses. The results revealed significant effects of culture and semantic information, both at the verbal and non-verbal level. They also provided evidence that availability of semantic information reduced cultural differences. Semantic information had a unifying action on olfactory perception that overrode the influence of cultural background. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Improvement in ionic conductivities of poly-(2-vinylpyridine) by ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    cal properties, easy fabrication into thin films of desired sizes and their ability to ... liquid state can be used for electroplating and water purifi- cation. The merits of ... that its ionic conductivity increases very appreciably and. P-2VP-HI proved to ...