Audiovisual Cues in Bilingual Language Acquisition

Audiovisual Cues in Bilingual Language Acquisition Article title: Bilingualism modulates infants’ selective attention to the mouth of a talking face Authors: Pons, F., Bosch, L., Weikum et al., 2007). Significant research has been conducted to explore the auditory domain of bilingual language acquisition and there is strong evidence that both bilinguals and monolinguals rely on redundant audiovisual speech (Rosenblum, 2008; Stein, 2012; Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s et al., 2012). However, this paper seeks to understand the importance of audiovisual cues as a mechanism that bilingual infants utilize during complex language processing in comparison to monolingual infants. METHODS (234 words) To test these predictions they conducted two experiments each on infants whose native languages were Spanish/Catalan. The goal of the first experiment was to extend the findings of previous studies about monolingual, native English speaking, infants’ use of audiovisual speech cues to infants whose native languages are eithe r Spanish or Catalan. Sixty monolingual infants (with native languages of either Spanish or Catalan) participated in this experiment and formed three groups: 4, 8 and 12 month-old infants with 20 participants in each group. Stimuli, 45-second videos of one of two female actors speaking a monologue in English or Spanish/Catalan, were presented on a computer screen in front of the infant. Each infant watched one video of a monologue in their native language and a second video of a monologue in English. Throughout the procedure, an eye-tracker was utilized to enable researchers to collect data about their attention to two areas of interest (AOI), the speaker’s mouth and eyes. The second experiment investigated how bilingual infants’ selective attention to these AOI changes and develops in their first year of life. 63 Spanish-Catalan bilingual infants (once again divided into groups of 4, 8 and 12-month-olds) were presented with the same stimuli as in the first experimen t and researchers tracked their eye movements to AOI. They conducted a Mann-Whitney test to compare the vocabularies of the monolingual and bilingual infants and found no significant difference between their lexica. DISCUSSION (399 words) The results from the first experiment successfully extended the findings of Lewkowicz and Hansen Tift’s (2012) study to monolingual speakers in Spain of Catalan or Spanish. They saw the same developmental trends with language acquisition and attention to AOI with this group of infants: when presented with both native and non-native audiovisual stimuli 4-month-old infants spent more time attending to the eyes of the speaker and 8-month-old infants spend more time attending to the mouth of the speaker. When presented with stimuli in their native language, the 12-month-old infants spent equal time looking at the mouth and eyes but with stimuli in their non-native language they spent more time looking at the mouth than the eyes. One of th e most intriguing comparisons explores the differences between the monolingual and bilingual infants’ developmental pattern of attention during audiovisual stimuli presentation (comparing Experiment 1 and 2). They found the biggest differences at 4-months and 12-months. 4-month-old bilingual infants attended equally to the mouth and eyes while the 4-month-old monolinguals spent more time attending to the eyes. 12-month-old bilingual infants spent more time attending to the mouth in both native and non-native language presentation while the monolinguals attended more to the mouth only in non-native trials. On average the bilingual infants spent more time attending to the mouth of the speaker than monolinguals at their same age. These findings support evidence that audio input is not the sole contributor to language acquisition and differentiation. Visual cues are crucial in understanding and interpreting speech because there is not a 1:1 relationship between speech signals a nd meaning; we must use hermeneutics and external cues to make sense of language. The McGurk Effect demonstrates this idea: when just using audio input a person hears â€Å"ba, ba† but when provided with audiovisual stimulus, a person hears â€Å"da da† as a result of hearing â€Å"ba, ba† but seeing the mouth produce â€Å"ga ga.† These early studies illustrate the importance of visual input but do not explore how this reliance on external cues during development is different for bilinguals. This paper offers fascinating evidence that shows how monolingual and bilingual infants rely on audiovisual input to acquire, perceive and comprehend language. Research still must explore how these effects continue after 12 months old, once native and non-native language systems are more defined: do bilingual young adults still look more at the mouth than the eyes of a speaker? REFERENCES Bijeljac-Babic, R., Serres, J., Hà ¶hle, B., & Nazzi, T. (2012). Effect of bilingualism on lexical stress pattern discrimination in French-learning infants. PLoS ONE , 7 (2), e30843.       Bosch, L., & Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s, N. (2001b). Evidence of early language discrimination abilities in infants from bilingual environments. Infancy , 2 , 29-49. Lewkowicz, D. J., & Hansen-Tift, A. M. (2012). Infants deploy selective attention to the mouth of a talking face when learning speech. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA , 109 , 1431-1436. Oller, D. K., Eilers, R. E., Urbano, R., & Cobo-Lewis, A. B. (1997). Development of precursors to speech in infants exposed to two languages. Journal of Child Language , 24 , 407-426. Pons, F., Bosch, L., & Lewkowicz, D.J. (2014). Bilingualism modulates infants’ selective attention to the mouth of a talking face. Psychological Science , 26.4, 490-498. Rosenblum, L. D. (2008). Speech perception as a multimodal phenomenon. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 17 , 405-409. Stein, B. E. (2012). The new handbook of multisensory process- ing . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Weikum, W. M., Vouloumanos, A., Navarra, J., Soto-Faraco, S., Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s, N., & Werker, J. F. (2007). Visual lan- guage discrimination in infancy. Science , 316 , 1159.

Critical Reflection and Self-Evaluation in the Context of Systems Essay

Critical Reflection and Self-Evaluation in the Context of Systems Thinking - Essay Example It is due to the rapid changes to organizations that organizations have to readjust to the inevitable changes to cope in a highly chining environment such as the one involved in event management. Event planning changes affect the IS project outcomes in the in such a project and it is not until shortcomings are indentified in event planning that portrays a need to reassess and reevaluate the IS are taken appropriately. This brought about the concept of soft system thinking and hard thinking in the â€Å"Bear-Wear† event coaching group. Hard systems regard to situations that human behaviors perceived to play minimal roles though there are many people involved in the system ( Waring, 1996). Hard systems in this case referred to tools, machines and to other equipment that were used in the project, which were quantifiable, predictable, and those that were relatively undisputable. Hard systems as Checkland & Holwell (1997) explain included the natural systems. Natural systems are th ose that are not manmade, which include the biological systems, weather, volcanoes and other natural phenomena. Logistics and ticketing are susceptible to interruptions as a result of the hard systems such as weather and disruptions of the equipment. This was taken care of in risk awareness. On the other hand, soft systems refer to those systems that involved the team members’ behaviors and beliefs. Human beings are unpredictable in most cases in the physical aspect and the way they think. Soft systems refer to the beliefs, attitudes, behavior values, opinions that describe each of the team members. Checkland & Scholes (1999) explain that soft system methodology is intended for use in situation that exhibit crisis, uncertainty, conflict or unease in relationship among the human actors. In the event hosting and management, different opinions and personality will surface in the team or from the clients. Advocating for creative thinking and providing coaching and counseling serv ices to Grad Com and anyone involved will enable the team work to work harmoniously. Gesellschaft & Gemeinsschaft, which relates to sociality maintained by instrumental goals of participating individuals vs. the inherent connectedness of participating individuals (Kitayama & Cohen, 2010) were two major views that would guide in implementing operations in the event planning, management and counselling services. Soft approach related to information in attribution of meanings and sense making and would utilize interpretative actions as the modes of managing environment around project members (Auyang, 1998). Since organisations and the IS are mutually dependent on one another, they both affect each other proportionately to make an organisation environment. Soft System thinking application Systems thinking concept was first applied to real world problems as early as 1970s and 80s. The design of system thinking was as a result of indentifying that problems were mainly caused as a result o f the analyst’s inability to indentify describe objectives amongst the other, in an environment with numerous conflicting and ambitious alternatives (Auyang, 1998). System analysts therefore led leaders and other analysts to design and construct models that could be used by analysts as devices that would help in structuring questioning procedures to address

Workplace Violence in Health Institutions Term Paper

Workplace Violence in Health Institutions - Term Paper Example These guidelines include recommendations for recognizing risk factors, management commitment and employee involvement, work site analysis, hazard prevention and control, and safety and health training. Violence against Health Workers The levels of violence against healthcare staff have become a concern in recent years. More and more healthcare staffs face the prospect of violence and aggression in the workplace, not only from the people they care for, but from strangers and families. Although there is a high risk of work place violence across all healthcare occupations, most indicators suggest that it is the nursing profession that is most at risk, followed closely by ambulance and medical staff. (Linsley, 2006, pgs. 7-8) nurses are especially vulnerable to violence in high risk areas of practice such as the emergency department and psychatric settings (Dempski & Westrick, 2008, pg. 237) This paper seeks to addreses the spectrum of violent behaviors in health care, including violence directed horizontally or vertically between healthcare providers or violence focused on nurses from patients, families, and visitors. In addition, it will give a brief explanation of the types of violence experienced by nurses at their place of work, the risk factors, the various ways through which workplace violence affects the workers as well as the steps and measures which can be undertaken to reduce the impact and effects of workplace violence or minimize their chances of occurence and reoccurance. Types of Violence in Healthcare Settings Healthcare and social service workers for many years have confronted significant risks of job-related violence. Assaults in particular represent serious safety threats and health hazards for this field, and violence against... Healthcare and social service workers for many years have confronted significant risks of job-related violence. Assaults in particular represent serious safety threats and health hazards for this field, and violence against their workers increasingly continues to manifest. Healthcare settings are at risk for a variety of violent behaviours. Violence may be manifested as verbal abuse, sexual harassment, racial harassment, bullying, property damage, threats, murder, and physical assault. In 2000, almost half of all nonfatal injuries from violent acts against workers occurred in the healthcare sector. These injuries include, bruises, lacerations, broken bones, and head injuries. There are also other forms of violence such as lateral and horizontal violence which frequently occur in healthcare agencies. Lateral violence is a form of bullying, nurse to nurse, and is usually directed toward nursing staff perceived as less powerful. This includes bullying which encompasses barrage behaviour s which include being harassed, tormented, ignored, sabotaged, put down, and insulted among others. This form of violence is tolerated because many nurses experience it as a rite of passage and regard it as normal.Risk Factors. Health care providers, especially so, nurses deal with a greater than before risk of work-related physical attack. A number of factors have been identified as causal factors, while they do not cause violence directly, they have an impact on it and can enhance its effects.