Perceptual Boundaries Research Articles

The influence of perceptual–motor variability on the perception of action boundaries for reaching.

Successful interactions within the environment are contingent upon the perceiver's ability to perceive the maximum extent over which they can perform actions, commonly referred to as action boundaries. Individuals are extremely calibrated to their action boundaries, and the perceptual system can quickly and flexibly recalibrate to changes in the size of action boundaries in the event of physiological and/or environmental changes. However, because even the most basic motor activities are subject to variability over time, the information upon which action boundaries are based must also be subject to variability. In this set of studies, we examined the effect of random and systematic variability in reaching experience on the perception of action boundaries for reaching using virtual reality. Participants were asked to estimate their reachability following experience reaching with either a long virtual arm, short virtual arm, or a virtual arm that varied in size. Overall, we found that individuals tended toward liberal estimates of their reachability; however, individuals can be influenced to be slightly more conservative after a higher percentage of short reaches. Consequently, when anticipating our reaching capability in the event of perceptual motor variability, individuals employ a liberal approach as it would result in the highest number of successful attempts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Active tectonics and GPS data analysis of the Maghrebian thrust belt and Africa-Eurasia plate convergence in Tunisia

The Atlas Mountains of Tunisia belong to the seismically active zone of the Africa (Nubia) - Eurasia plate boundary in the central-western Mediterranean. We study the eastern section of the Maghrebian thrust belt using a subset (6 days) from each of 5 years (2014 to 2018) of permanent (survey-mode) GPS data and active tectonics. WNW to NNW-trending velocities express crustal motion and geodetic strain fields from the Sahara Platform to the Tell Atlas, consistent with African plate convergence. To the south, the velocities and trajectories indicate nearly WNW-ESE-trending right-lateral motion of the Sahara fault-related Atlas fold belt with respect to the Sahara Platform. Farther north and northeast, the significant decrease in velocities between the Eastern Platform (Sahel), Central Atlas and Tell Atlas and the clockwise rotation mark the NNW-trending shortening deformation associated with local ENE-WSW extension visible in the Quaternary grabens. The velocity field and strain distribution associated with the active E-W- to WNW-ESE-trending right-lateral faulting and NE-SW fault-related folds illustrate the transpression tectonics and support the identification of four tectonic domains north of the Africa-Nubia Platform in Tunisia. The transpression reduces northward when reaching the Central and Tell Atlas. These results change our perception of the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary previously located along the western Mediterranean coastline.

Privacy at a Glance: The User-Centric Design of Glanceable Data Exposure Visualizations

Abstract Smartphone users are often unaware of mobile applications’ (“apps”) third-party data collection and sharing practices, which put them at higher risk of privacy breaches. One way to raise awareness of these practices is by providing unobtrusive but pervasive visualizations that can be presented in a glanceable manner. In this paper, we applied Wogalter et al.’s Communication-Human Information Processing model (C-HIP) to design and prototype eight different visualizations that depict smartphone apps’ data sharing activities. We varied the granularity and type (i.e., data-centric or app-centric) of information shown to users and used the screensaver/lock screen as a design probe. Through interview-based design probes with Android users (n=15), we investigated the aspects of the data exposure visualizations that influenced users’ comprehension and privacy awareness. Our results shed light on how users’ perceptions of privacy boundaries influence their preference regarding the information structure of these visualizations, and the tensions that exist in these visualizations between glanceability and granularity. We discuss how a pervasive, soft paternalistic approach to privacy-related visualization may raise awareness by enhancing the transparency of information flow, thereby, unobtrusively increasing users’ understanding of data sharing practices of mobile apps. We also discuss implications for privacy research and glanceable security.

Dynamics and Hierarchical Encoding of Non-compact Acoustic Categories in Auditory and Frontal Cortex.

Categorical perception is a fundamental cognitive function enabling animals to flexibly assign sounds into behaviorally relevant categories. This study investigates the nature of acoustic category representations, their emergence in an ascending series of ferret auditory and frontal cortical fields, and the dynamics of this representation during passive listening to task-relevant stimuli and during active retrieval from memory while engaging in learned categorization tasks. Ferrets were trained on two auditory Go-NoGo categorization tasks to discriminate two non-compact sound categories (composed of tones or amplitude-modulated noise). Neuronal responses became progressively more categorical in higher cortical fields, especially during task performance. The dynamics of the categorical responses exhibited a cascading top-down modulation pattern that began earliest in the frontal cortex and subsequently flowed downstream to the secondary auditory cortex, followed by the primary auditory cortex. In a subpopulation of neurons, categorical responses persisted even during the passive listening condition, demonstrating memory for task categories and their enhanced categorical boundaries.

Language-specific prosodic acquisition: A comparison of phrase boundary perception by French- and German-learning infants

This study compares the development of prosodic processing in French- and German-learning infants. The emergence of language-specific perception of phrase boundaries was directly tested using the same stimuli across these two languages. French-learning (Experiment 1, 2) and German-learning 6- and 8-month-olds (Experiment 3) listened to the same French noun sequences with or without major prosodic boundaries ([Loulou et Manou][et Nina]; [Loulou et Manou et Nina], respectively). The boundaries were either naturally cued (Experiment 1), or cued exclusively by pitch and duration (Experiment 2, 3). French-learning 6- and 8-month-olds both perceived the natural boundary, but neither perceived the boundary when only two cues were present. In contrast, German-learning infants develop from not perceiving the two-cue boundary at 6 months to perceiving it at 8 months, just like German-learning 8-month-olds listening to German (Wellmann, Holzgrefe, Truckenbrodt, Wartenburger, & Höhle, 2012). In a control experiment (Experiment 4), we found little difference between German and French adult listeners, suggesting that later, French listeners catch up with German listeners. Taken together, these cross-linguistic differences in the perception of identical stimuli provide direct evidence for language-specific development of prosodic boundary perception.

Interaural recalibration of phonetic categories.

Recalibration is a learning process in which perceptual boundaries between speech-sounds adjust through exposure to a supplementary source of information. Using a dichotic-listening methodology, the experiments reported here establish interaural recalibration-in which an ambiguous speech sound in one ear is recalibrated on the basis of a clear sound presented to the other ear. This demonstrates a previously unknown form of recalibration and shows that location-specific recalibration occurs even when people are unaware of location differences between the sounds involved.

A new unsupervised method for boundary perception and word-like segmentation of sequence

In cognitive science research on natural language processing, motor learning and visual perception, perceiving boundary points and segmenting a continuous string or sequence is one of the fundamental problems. Boundary perception can also be viewed as a machine learning problem; supervised or unsupervised learning. In supervised learning approach for determining boundary points for segmentation of a sequence, it is necessary to have some pre-segmented training examples. In unsupervised mode, the learning is accomplished without any training data hence, the frequency of occurence of symbols within the sequence is normally used as the cue. Most of earlier algorithms use this cue while scanning the sequence in forward direction. In this paper we propose a novel approach of extracting the possible boundary points by using bi-directional scanning of the sequence. We show here that such an extension from unidirectional to bi-directional is not trivial and requires judicious consideration of datastructure and algorithm. We here propose a new algorithm which traverses the sequence unidirectionally but extracts the information bi-directionally. Our method yields better segmentation which is demonstrated by rigorous experimentation on several datasets.

A new unsupervised method for boundary perception and word-like segmentation of sequence

In cognitive science research on natural language processing, motor learning and visual perception, perceiving boundary points and segmenting a continuous string or sequence is one of the fundamental problems. Boundary perception can also be viewed as a machine learning problem; supervised or unsupervised learning. In supervised learning approach for determining boundary points for segmentation of a sequence, it is necessary to have some pre-segmented training examples. In unsupervised mode, the learning is accomplished without any training data hence, the frequency of occurence of symbols within the sequence is normally used as the cue. Most of earlier algorithms use this cue while scanning the sequence in forward direction. In this paper we propose a novel approach of extracting the possible boundary points by using bi-directional scanning of the sequence. We show here that such an extension from unidirectional to bi-directional is not trivial and requires judicious consideration of datastructure and algorithm. We here propose a new algorithm which traverses the sequence unidirectionally but extracts the information bi-directionally. Our method yields better segmentation which is demonstrated by rigorous experimentation on several datasets.

What Do You Mean by 'Asia?': Public Perception of the Geographical Boundaries of Regions

Where do people draw boundaries between regions of the world? Although there are numerous theoretical works on regions and regionalism, there has been little discussion regarding the public perception of the geographical definition of regions. Using survey data on college students from seven East/Southeast Asian countries, this paper examines which set of countries people perceive as being part of “Asia” and how perceptions of its geographical boundary differ across countries and individuals. The country-level analysis shows that students in China and Vietnam tend to perceive a narrower set of countries as Asia, whereas Japanese and Korean students include more countries in the region. We also find within-country variations and show that individuals with more knowledge about regional institutions and those with higher English proficiency are more likely to consider more countries as being part of Asia. These variations may have important implications, especially on the study of regional identity and support for regional integration.

БИБЛЕЙСКИЕ ФРАЗЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ЕДИНИЦЫ В МАТЕРИАЛАХ САЙТА CNN

This paper presents the results of the study of biblical phraseological units (BPUs) found in CNN publications during the period of 2015-2019 (the total of 1643 articles). At the first stage of the experiment, the analysis of 156 BPUs used in the articles demonstrated different distribution of the tokens in CNN rubrics. It was discovered that BPUs in the rubrics “Politics” and “Entertainment” were characterized by considerably higher frequency of occurrence than those in “Style” and “Sports”. At the second stage, specifically designed questionnaire was given to 30 American native speakers to determine the perceptual boundaries of the Bible words. The obtained data revealed indirect correlation between phraseological units frequency of occurrence and the American speakers’ awareness degree of their associative connection with the original source - the Bible: the higher the awareness, the lower the frequency of occurrence. The obtained results enable to assume that the readers do not always identify these units as part of the Holy Scripture, because some BPUs lose their sacred connotations over time. However, journalists often use such units as stylistic means due to their imaginative stylistic and evaluation potential.

Vietnam and Bien Dong in the 17th and 19th Century: Organization Background and Activities of Hoang Sa Company

The conflict between Vietnam and China over Bien Dong is getting severer. Both countries, bordered by land and sea, had to go through several adjustments between ‘colonial times border’ and ‘historical border’ to define the current border, and in the end, the land border and Tonqing bay border issues were settled, but the Bien Dong dispute remains as a problematic issue. Both Vietnam and China are claiming sovereignty over ‘Bien Dong’ based on historical reason. Then, What is Vietnam s position? What historical material would prove the jurisdiction of the 17th century Bien Dong? It is Hoang Sa Company that emerges in this discussion. Hoang Sa Company was the organization established for the maritime management and safety at the time when Nguyen s regime extended its territory to the south. Since the 17th century, along with the activities of Hoang Sa Company, Bien Dong has gradually been incorporated into the real jurisdiction of Vietnam. The activities of the Hoang Sa Company are the primary source of evidence for Vietnam s jurisdiction over Bien Dong, creating new perceptions of ocean boundaries and territories and requiring a series of inequality treaties.

Market formation in the context of transitions: A comment on the transitions agenda

Transition studies has recently underscored the need to focus on upscaling and diffusion of innovations. A key question is how these innovations, already existing in niche markets, can become diffused and embedded in broader markets. As a first step, we offer ideas about the design and formation of what one might call ‘markets for transitions’. We argue that less attention has been paid to legitimized perceptions of market boundaries, the roles of actors, the interplay between markets, and the process character of market formation.

Denoising High-Field Multi-Dimensional MRI With Local Complex PCA.

Modern high field and ultra high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments routinely collect multi-dimensional data with high spatial resolution, whether multi-parametric structural, diffusion or functional MRI. While diffusion and functional imaging have benefited from recent advances in multi-dimensional signal analysis and denoising, structural MRI has remained untouched. In this work, we propose a denoising technique for multi-parametric quantitative MRI, combining a highly popular denoising method from diffusion imaging, over-complete local PCA, with a reconstruction of the complex-valued MR signal in order to define stable estimates of the noise in the decomposition. With this approach, we show signal to noise ratio (SNR) improvements in high resolution MRI without compromising the spatial accuracy or generating spurious perceptual boundaries.

Faculty Senates and College Presidents: Perspectives on Collaborations

Colleges and universities have historically provided faculty members access to sharing authority, and this has been manifest in recent decades through the creation and use of a formal body called a faculty senate. These formal bodies have at times been highly effective at articulating faculty member interests, yet there are few formal definitions or boundaries concerning what areas senates are most appropriately engaged. College presidents similarly recognize that senates have a role in institutional decision-making, yet often lack a clear understanding of where and how they should be engaged. The current study explored faculty senate leader and college president perceptions of boundaries of senate collaboration in decision-making. Survey respondents identified a high level of agreement that faculty senates should be engaged in academic collaboration with the president, but there was less agreement concerning collaboration in areas of campus life and work-life.

Percepção auditiva de fronteiras de palavras e de clíticos fonológicos no Português Brasileiro

Este artigo analisa a percepção auditiva de fronteiras de clíticos fonológicos e de palavras prosódicas no Português Brasileiro. Para testar o quanto essas fronteiras são mais ou menos perceptíveis aos falantes nativos, desenvolvemos um experimento de percepção de fala a partir de sentenças formadas por estruturas cuja cadeia segmental correspondia, simultaneamente, à palavra prosódica e à estrutura de clítico e hospedeiro, como “encaixa” e “em caixa”, respectivamente. Como resultado principal, discutimos que a percepção de fronteiras de unidades linguísticas menores, como de sílaba e de palavra, está fortemente relacionada a aspectos fonológicos da língua.

Event related message processing: perceiving and remembering changes in films with and without soundtrack

ABSTRACT Hollywood movies provide continuous audiovisual information. Yet, information conveyed by movies address different sensory systems. For a broad variety of media applications (such as multimedia learning environments) it is important to understand the underlying cognitive principles. This project addresses the interplay of auditory and visual information during movie perception. Because auditory information is known to change basic visual processes, it is possible that movie perception and comprehension depends on stimulus modality. In this project, we report three experiments that studied how humans perceive and remember changes in visual and audiovisual movie clips. We observed basic processes of event perception (event segmentation, change detection, and memory) to be independent of stimulus modality. We thus conclude that event boundary perception is a general perceptual-cognitive mechanism and discuss these findings with respect to current cognitive psychological and media psychological theories.

Action Boundary Perception Across 30 Days in an Isolated and Confined Environment

Action Boundary Perception Across 30 Days in an Isolated and Confined Environment

Phonemes, words, and phrases: Tracking phonological processing in pre-schoolers developing dyslexia

ObjectivesIndividuals with dyslexia often suffer from deficient segmental phonology, but the status of suprasegmental phonology (prosody) is still discussed. MethodsIn three passive-listening event-related brain potential (ERP) studies, we examined prosodic processing in literacy-impaired children for various prosodic units by contrasting the processing of word-level and phrase-level prosody, alongside segmental phonology. We retrospectively analysed school children’s ERPs at preschool age for discrimination of vowel length (phoneme processing), discrimination of stress pattern (word-level prosody), and processing of prosodic boundaries (phrase-level prosody). ResultsWe found differences between pre-schoolers with and without later literacy difficulties for phoneme and stress pattern discrimination, but not for prosodic boundary perception. ConclusionOur findings complement the picture of phonological processing in dyslexia by confirming difficulties in segmental phonology and showing that prosodic processing is affected for the smaller word level, but not the larger phrase level. SignificanceThese findings might have implications for early interventions, considering both phonemic awareness and stress pattern training.

The effects of reading rate, accuracy and prosody on second grade students’ oral retelling

This study investigates the effects of reading rate, accuracy and prosody on second grade students' reading comprehension measured by oral retelling. The results of the research indicate that reading prosody has a significant positive correlation with oral retelling scores only, among other components of reading fluency. Additionally, second graders with low and high oral retelling scores differed significantly only in the prosodic measurement. In the light of these findings, it is suggested that more attention should be paid to prosody in order to improve students' reading comprehension skills in the classroom environment and reading programmes must take into account the suitable use of prosody (e.g. intonation, stress placement, perception of word boundaries, pausing and rhythm) for achieving efficient reading skills.

Phonological (in)visibility

AbstractReduced vowels between obstruents and rhotics are durationally variable and phonologically invisible in Spanish, e.g.pərado‘field’ as /pɾ/. The present study compares L1-Spanish speakers, English monolinguals, and L2-Spanish learners’ perceptual boundaries for reduced vowels in Spanish. A native speaker produced 70 Spanish nonce words with word-initial obstruent + vowel + flap sequences, and the duration of each vowel was manipulated from 100% to 75%, 50%, and 25% of its original duration. To determine whether these groups perceive variably reduced vowels as phonologically visible, 78 listeners counted the number of syllables perceived in 280 target audio files. Linear regression models fitted to 21,436 responses indicate that English monolinguals apply an L1 perceptual strategy, but L2-Spanish learners have shifted their perceptual boundaries. The study concludes that the perception of highly variable acoustic information becomes more native-like with greater L2 proficiency, while age of acquisition is less predictive of native-like perception.