Categorical Distinction Research Articles

The operationalization of bilingual linguistic experience and its relationship with executive function

Research of the relation between linguistic experiences and the executive function have been a hot topic in the field of psycholinguistics for over two decades. Considerable body of studies have provided both supporting and challenging evidence for the existence of such relation. The final answer about the relation between the linguistic experiences and the executive function has not been obtained yet, due to reconsiderations of the established methodological approaches and new theories still being developed, which challenge the validity of earlier findings. This article is an attempt to summarize and explain current trends in this line of studies, specifically focusing on the issue of operationalization of linguistic experiences. Bilingualism and multilingualism are complex constructs, composed of multiple elements that can have unique, independent effects on cognition, including language proficiency, manner and duration of language acquisition, current tendencies of language use. Earlier studies had a tendency to focus on a single element of language experience for categorical distinction between monolinguals and bilinguals, converging the great variability in the latter under a single category. Each element of linguistic experience has to be accounted for and carefully operationalized in a way that would allow reasonable comparison between different research on the topic. In addition to exploring the effects of various elements of linguistic experiences on cognitive control, interactions between those experiences also demand attention, which have been largely overlooked. Finally, each study has to be backed up by a solid theoretical background, which was argued to be a problem for the research of the relation between the linguistic experiences and the executive function, but has great potential for resolving the inconsistencies in research findings. Not all experiences with languages require effortful cognitive processing and adaptations, and even if some might, a comprehensive theory is required to explain how cognitive adaptations for language use can be generalized for other domains of cognition.

Not Just They/Them: Exploring Diversity and Meaning in Pronoun Use among Non-Binary Individuals

ABSTRACT Gender-neutral pronouns, such as they/them, have been studied as a site of identity affirmation and, at other times, contestation for non-binary individuals. In this study, we draw from interviews with 123 non-binary individuals to better understand the role of pronouns in these individuals’ lives. We find that pronoun practices are ontoformative—they actively (re)construct the meanings attached to gender and gender identities. Yet, not all non-binary individuals use similar pronoun practices, resulting in diverse ontologies of non-binary identity. Half of our respondents consistently used non-binary pronouns, such as they/them, and felt they were a stable and direct reflection of identity—an approach we refer to as a fixed expression. These individuals define non-binary gender as independent from the woman/man binary. The other half of our sample held flexible pronoun expressions—they used multiple pronouns and anticipated future changes. Some of these individuals rejected the idea that pronouns expressed their identity, offering a definition of non-binary that eschewed categorical distinctions. Others embrace pronouns as identity expressing and forming, but felt that multiplicity best reflected their identity, offering a definition of non-binary as category-spanning. Our findings highlight the central and diverse role of pronouns in the social construction of non-binary ontology.

The acoustic characteristics of Swedish vowels.

The Swedish vowel space is relatively densely populated with 21 categories that differ in quality and quantity. Existing descriptions of the entire space rest on recordings made in the late 1990s or earlier, while recent work in general has focused on subsets of the space. The present paper reports on static and dynamic acoustic analyses of the entire vowel space using a recently released database of h-VOWEL-d words (SwehVd). The results highlight the importance of static and dynamic spectral and temporal cues for Swedish vowel category distinction. The first two formants and vowel duration are the primary acoustic cues to vowel identity, however, the third formant contributes to increased category separability for neighboring contrasts presumed to differ in lip-rounding. In addition, even though all long-short vowel pairs differ systematically in duration, they also display considerable spectral differences, suggesting that quantity distinctions are not separate from quality distinctions in Swedish. The dynamic analysis further suggests formant movements in both long and short vowels, with [e:] and [o:] displaying clearer patterns of diphthongization.

Rolling bearing fault diagnosis method based on wavelet packet logarithmic energy map

Aiming at the fault diagnosis problem of rolling bearings, a diagnosis method based on wavelet packet logarithmic energy map is proposed. Firstly, a new wavelet packet node logarithmic energy formula is improved and proposed to overcome the shortcomings of cumbersome parameter determination and strong subjectivity in the traditional wavelet packet energy formula, improve the recognition of high-frequency faults and the distinction of low-frequency fault categories, so as to fully extract the initial time-frequency domain features; secondly, the Gram angle and field idea is used to realize the conversion from one-dimensional features to two-dimensional image features, so as to construct the logarithmic energy map feature based on wavelet packet, which further considers the spatial information between adjacent features, thereby optimizing the initial time-frequency domain features and improving the significance of the obtained features. On this basis, the residual network is used to improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis classification results. Finally, through the simulation verification of the standard rolling bearing data set of Case Western Reserve University, it can be seen that the fault diagnosis model constructed by the proposed method has high diagnostic accuracy and strong generalization ability.

The Morphological Tapestry: A Linguistic Exploration

This article introduces morphological typology, exploring the patterns and structures underlying word formation and grammatical encoding across languages. A systematic literature review examines fundamental concepts, including distinctions between analytic and synthetic languages, features of agglutinating, fusional, and inflectional morphologies, and phenomena like suppletion and polysynthetic structures. Readers gain insights into language classification based on morphological characteristics, challenging strict categorical distinctions and emphasizing the continuum across types. The study highlights the diversity and complexity of morphological systems. Suppletion, where stems are irregularly replaced in inflectional patterns, and polysynthetic languages, encoding entire sentences within single complex words, are explored in depth. This work offers a concise overview of morphological typology by synthesizing reputable sources, including books, journals, and online resources. It is an accessible resource for language learners, linguists, and anyone interested in understanding the intricate morphological underpinnings of human language.

The pickleball seven decibel challenge

Noise emission from outdoor pickleball play and its potential impact to surrounding community receptors is often characterized as an impulsive source of sound, which would be consistent with ISO 1996-1 definition for a regular impulsive sound source that includes "outdoor ball games" as an example. But some recent noise assessments including those that may be found online are leaning towards elevating pickleball noise emission to the highly impulsive category and thus affording it a 12 dB adjustment instead of the 5 dB adjustment for regular impulsive noise--hence, a 7 dB difference that if confirmed would make pickleball noise compliance with applicable community regulations and policies much more difficult. This paper elaborates on the impulse noise category distinction as it may apply to pickleball play, and summarizes apparent support (or lack thereof) to cross the seven-decibel divide and how that might influence court development growth for the rapidly growing pickleball sport and potentially affected neighboring communities.

Aristotle’s On the Good and the “Categorial Reduction Argument”

Abstract Alexander of Aphrodisias reports a series of arguments from Aristotle’s Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ purportedly deployed by Plato to defend his doctrine of principles. One of these arguments, the so-called “categorial reduction argument”, underpins the postulation of the two first principles, the One and the Great and Small, through a bipartition of all beings into two categories, labeled ‘in themselves’ and ‘opposites’. I scrutinize this argument and compare it with other Early Academic bicategorial divisions and especially with the tripartite categorial distinction, itself apparently based on material of Early Academic provenance, included in Sextus Empiricus’ Adversus Physicos 2.262-275. I argue that the Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ account of the “categorial reduction argument” leaves open certain philosophical problems, and Sextus’ report is best interpreted, rather than as a more detailed version of that account (as a common view would have it), as an alternative formulation of it that incorporates a philosophical attempt to disentangle those problems.

Exploring the transition: biology, technology, and epistemic activities

By focusing on biorobotics, this article explores the epistemological foundations necessary to support the transition from biological models to technological artifacts. To address this transition, I analyze the position of the German philosopher Thomas Fuchs, who represents one possible approach to the problem of the relationship between bio-inspired technology and biology. While Fuchs defends the idea of a unique ontological space for humans, this article contends that his categorical distinctions face challenges in establishing a robust epistemic foundation necessary to ground the transition from biology to technology. After identifying at least three interwoven reasons for rejecting Fuchs’ epistemic foundation, I ask how, through what methods, and by means of which practices the newly bio-inspired object is accessed and shaped. Expanding on philosophy of science and technology in practice, I argue that the plurality of answers to this question provides a possible epistemological foundation within the different frameworks of practices that produce the bio-inspired object. In addressing the potential epistemological foundation for pluralistically grounding the transition from biological models to technological ones, my approach helps us: (i) concretize and examine the relationship between biological and technological models, and (ii) investigate the features and validity of bio-inspired objects, effectively offering a more concrete and pluralistic picture of what bio-inspired sciences and technologies are and what they can (or cannot) do.

Low-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with increased fibrosis in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease

Both metabolic dysfunction and alcohol consumption cause steatotic liver disease (SLD). The distinction between metabolic dysfunction-associated SLD (MASLD) and MetALD categories is based on arbitrary thresholds of alcohol intake. Thus, we assessed the impact of different levels of alcohol consumption on SLD severity and their interaction with metabolic comorbidities. We performed a population-based study with transient elastography (FibroScan®) data from participants in Spain (derivation cohort) and the US (validation cohort). A controlled attenuation parameter ≥275dB/m was used to define SLD. At least one cardiometabolic risk factor was required to define MASLD. Among patients with MASLD, low alcohol consumption was defined as an average of 5-9 drinks/week, moderate consumption as 10-13 drinks/week for females and 10-20 drinks/week for males, and increased alcohol intake (MetALD) as 14-35 drinks/week for females and 21-42 drinks/week for males. Significant fibrosis was defined as a liver stiffness measurement ≥8kPa and at-risk metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) as a FAST score ≥0.35. The derivation cohort included 2,227 individuals with MASLD (9% reported low, 14% moderate alcohol consumption) and 76 cases with MetALD. Overall prevalences of significant fibrosis and at-risk MASH were 7.6% and 14.8%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, alcohol consumption was independently associated with significant fibrosis and at-risk MASH. A dose-dependent increase in the prevalence of significant fibrosis and at-risk MASH was observed between the number of drinks/week and the number of cardiometabolic factors. The validation cohort included 1,732 participants with MASLD, of whom 17% had significant fibrosis and 13% at-risk MASH. This cohort validated the association between moderate intake and MASLD at risk of progression (odds ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.06-2.71). Moderate alcohol intake is commonly seen in MASLD and increases the risk of advanced disease to a level similar to that observed in MetALD. Metabolic risk factors such as overweight, diabetes or dyslipidemia, and alcohol consumption can cause liver disease. These factors frequently coexist, but their joint effects on liver fibrosis remain uncertain. In this study, we have analyzed individuals from the general population with MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease) enrolled in Spain and the US. We show that moderate alcohol consumption has a supra-additive effect with metabolic risk factors, exponentially increasing the risk of liver fibrosis. These results suggest that there are no safe limits of daily alcohol intake in patients with unhealthy metabolic status and MASLD.

Exploring the Association between Anxiety, Depression, and Gut Microbiota during Pregnancy: Findings from a Pregnancy Cohort Study in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.

Negative emotions and gut microbiota during pregnancy both bear significant public health implications. However, the relationship between them has not been fully elucidated. This study, utilizing data from a pregnancy cohort, employed metagenomic sequencing to elucidate the relationship between anxiety, depression, and gut microbiota's diversity, composition, species, and functional pathways. Data from 87 subjects, spanning 225 time points across early, mid, and late pregnancy, were analyzed. The results revealed that anxiety and depression significantly corresponded to lower alpha diversity (including the Shannon entropy and the Simpson index). Anxiety and depression scores, along with categorical distinctions of anxiety/non-anxiety and depression/non-depression, were found to account for 0.723%, 0.731%, 0.651%, and 0.810% of the variance in gut-microbiota composition (p = 0.001), respectively. Increased anxiety was significantly positively associated with the abundance of Oscillibacter sp. KLE 1745, Oscillibacter sp. PEA192, Oscillibacter sp. KLE 1728, Oscillospiraceae bacterium VE202 24, and Treponema socranskii. A similar association was significantly noted for Oscillibacter sp. KLE 1745 with elevated depression scores. While EC.3.5.3.1: arginase appeared to be higher in the anxious group than in the non-anxious group, vitamin B12-related enzymes appeared to be lower in the depression group than in the non-depression group. The changes were found to be not statistically significant after post-multiple comparison adjustment.

Electrophysiological Evidence for a Whorfian Double Dissociation of Categorical Perception Across Two Languages

AbstractTaza in Spanish refers to cups and mugs in English, whereas glass refers to different glass types in Spanish: copa and vaso. It is still unclear whether such categorical distinctions induce early perceptual differences in speakers of different languages. In this study, for the first time, we report symmetrical effects of terminology on preattentive indices of categorical perception across languages. Native speakers of English or Spanish saw arrays of cups, mugs, copas, and vasos flashed in streams. Visual mismatch negativity, an implicit electrophysiological correlate of perceptual change in the peripheral visual field, was modulated for categorical contrasts marked in the participants’ native language but not for objects designated by the same label. Conversely, P3a, an index of attentional orienting, was modulated only for missing contrasts in the participants’ native language. Thus, whereas native labels influenced participants’ preattentive perceptual encoding of objects, nonverbally encoded dissociations reoriented their attention at a later processing stage.

The Double-Edged Sword of Exemplar Similarity

We investigate how a firm’s positioning relative to category exemplars shapes security analysts’ evaluations. Using a two-stage model of evaluation (initial screening and subsequent assessment), we propose that exemplar similarity enhances a firm’s recognizability and legitimacy, increasing the likelihood that it passes the initial screening stage and attracts analyst coverage. However, exemplar similarity may also prompt unfavorable comparisons with exemplar firms, leading to lower analyst recommendations in the assessment stage. We further argue that category coherence, distinctiveness, and exemplar typicality influence the impact of exemplar similarity on firm evaluation. Leveraging natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze a sample of 7,603 U.S. public firms from 1997 to 2022, we find robust support for our predictions. By highlighting the intricate role of strategic positioning vis-à-vis category exemplars in shaping audience evaluations, our findings have important implications for research on positioning relative to category exemplars, category viability, optimal distinctiveness, and security analysts. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.16855 .

Cripistemologies of Memory

While crip time serves as a useful heuristic for understanding how disabled people challenge normative expectations regarding pace, what the article terms demented time conveys the meaningful inversions of past and present modeled by people with dementia and misunderstood by those without it. The article interweaves the documentary film Dick Johnson is Dead and personal stories of dementia to study the ways they present “forgotten” memory in new and surprising forms. If Johnson’s film insists that disabled people are not yet dead, the grandmother of the article’s author—in forgetting who is dead—keeps them among the living. While mourning typically frames the dead as lost, the person with dementia recapitulates this loss as presence. A cripistemology of memory, then, asks that we embrace demented time , that we unknow categorical distinctions between life and death, and that we privilege the ways memories of the dead interrupt the presumed certainty of the living.

Organizational demography and gender authority gaps in Dutch workplaces

Social stratification research increasingly draws attention to the role of workplaces for the (re)production of categorical inequalities. This article studies the relationship between differences between men’s and women’s chances of having a position of workplace authority – the gender authority gap – and the demographic characteristics of the organization they work in. Using unique linked employer-employee data representative of large workplaces in the Netherlands and individuals working in these organizations, I document larger gender authority gaps in organizations with larger shares of men and organizations where men have higher status than women in terms of other categorical distinctions, for example where their percentage of non-migrants is higher relative to women’s. Crucially, these findings are net of women’s and men’s individual status characteristics and human capital and related organizational characteristics. This article contributes to the literature on the gender authority gap by showing that women may be unable to reach desired jobs partially because of working in an organization with a particular demographic composition or intersection of status distinctions even when they have the qualifications to do so. In addition, the study contributes to the emerging relational inequalities literature that has thus far focused on earnings inequality by showing that predictions from this literature are consistent with the unequal distribution of desirable jobs.

Monitoring problems of court proceedings regarding criminal offenses in Ukraine

Each sphere of legal regulation with a dynamic movement objectively has certain problems caused by the development of social relations, the assessment of which allows for the development of ways to eliminate them and the practice of uniform law enforcement. Given the novelties of criminal proceedings regarding criminal offenses and the lack of unity of law enforcement due to the ambiguity of criminal procedural legal regulation, the problematic issues of court proceedings regarding this type of criminal violations are of research interest. In this regard, the article highlights the results of the monitoring of such problems and expresses the author’s vision regarding their solution. Attention is focused on three types of problematic issues: theoretical-methodological, practical and normative. In order to generalize problematic issues, the following are analysed: modern scientific developments regarding criminal offenses in general, and court proceedings regarding them, in particular, presented after the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Simplification of Pretrial Investigation of Certain Categories of Criminal Offenses» (from 01 July 2020); practice of the Supreme Court regarding criminal offenses and legislative proposals in this area. The conducted monitoring allowed the author to summarize the identified problematic issues of court proceedings regarding criminal offenses and to express the author’s vision regarding their solution. At the same time, it was noted that there is objectively no categorical distinction between some theoretical- methodological and normative issues, given their interdependence and multi-vector significance for both the theory and practice of law enforcement. The author ascertained the lack of dynamic development of court proceedings regarding criminal offenses in both theoretical and methodological (research) and law-making vectors and indicated the need to form a comprehensive vision of its improvement: from theory to practice.

MAKING THE PAST SPEAK: ACCELERATION, RESONANCE, AND PRESENCE1

ABSTRACTThis review essay offers an extended analysis of Hartmut Rosa's Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World. By proposing a critical theory for our present times, the book dissects modes of being related to the world and how these relations are conditioned by the dynamic of escalation that is inscribed into modern social formations. Rosa argues that the wide‐ranging compulsion to grow, accelerate, and innovate produces a distorted and alienated mode of being in the world, suppressing and limiting possibilities for developing dialogic and responsive relations that are characterized by the concept of resonance. This review essay parses the categorical distinction between alienation and resonance, critically interrogating Rosa's notion that resonant relations form the basis for a good and successful life. While my analysis argues that the structural shortage of resonant relations can make subjects and collectives vulnerable to acting on the promise of resonance—possibly giving rise to problematic and undesired effects—I nonetheless contend that the concept of resonance is an effective explanatory tool that exhibits significant potential for interdisciplinary engagement. To illustrate this potential, I explore the extent to which Rosa's theorizing can illuminate contemporary matters of history and historical temporality. More specifically, I consider the perspective that the framework of resonance provides a comprehensive background for the paradigm of presence and the related surge in interest to theorize bodily and perceptual modes of being connected to the past.

Left-handed voices? Examining the perceptual learning of novel person characteristics from the voice.

We regularly form impressions of who a person is from their voice, such that we can readily categorise people as being female or male, child or adult, trustworthy or not, and can furthermore recognise who specifically is speaking. How we establish mental representations for such categories of person characteristics has, however, only been explored in detail for voice identity learning. In a series of experiments, we therefore set out to examine whether and how listeners can learn to recognise a novel person characteristic. We specifically asked how diagnostic acoustic properties underpinning category distinctions inform perceptual judgements. We manipulated recordings of voices to create acoustic signatures for a person's handedness (left-handed vs. right-handed) in their voice. After training, we found that listeners were able to successfully learn to recognise handedness from voices with above-chance accuracy, although no significant differences in accuracy between the different types of manipulation emerged. Listeners were, furthermore, sensitive to the specific distributions of acoustic properties that underpinned the category distinctions. We, however, also find evidence for perceptual biases that may reflect long-term prior exposure to how voices vary in naturalistic settings. These biases shape how listeners use acoustic information in the voices when forming representations for distinguishing handedness from voices. This study is thus a first step to examine how representations for novel person characteristics are established, outside of voice identity perception. We discuss our findings in light of theoretical accounts of voice perception and speculate about potential mechanisms that may underpin our results.

Pasolini and Popular Music

ABSTRACT This article explores popular music in the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Pasolini conceived of two broad categories of popular music: folk music, which he understood to represent pre-capitalistic, pre-industrial cultures; and contemporary, radio-ready musical genres like pop and jazz, which he tied to bourgeois culture. I show how these two categories, like so many of Pasolini’s categorical distinctions, were permeable, and explore his own role as mediator and transmitter of music.

Experience and expression of postnatal mothers practicing kangaroo mother care: A qualitative study.

Kangaroo Mother Care is a valuable technique recognized for its impact on bonding, breastfeeding, and thermoregulation in newborn infants, transcending considerations of weight, gestational age, or clinical condition. This study aimed to assess mothers' feelings and perceptions regarding the implementation of the Kangaroo Mother Care procedure. In this qualitative investigation, individual interviews were conducted with 25 postnatal mothers who had experienced Kangaroo Mother Care with their infants. While, 12 unique responses were acquired. These interviews served as a means to explore and document the mothers' perspectives on Kangaroo Mother Care. The analysis of field notes identified four themes and one subtheme, which were coded into categorical distinctions. A total of 25 postnatal mothers, along with their newborns participated in this study. The majority of postnatal mothers fall within the age range of 20-30 years (48%), followed by 30-40 years (40%), Regarding newborn, majority were full-term (64%), followed by premature (28%) The findings revealed several significant outcomes. Mothers reported a marked improvement in their perception of Kangaroo Mother Care, describing reduced pain, enhanced comfort, and an overall positive sentiment. Many expressed that practicing KMC was a novel and delightful experience, marking their first engagement in this procedure. Moreover, a majority expressed a willingness to continue Kangaroo Mother Care in the future, hoping for its continued implementation within hospital settings. This enthusiasm aligns with recognizing Kangaroo Mother Care as a priority in nursing mother care. In conclusion, the study underscores the potential benefits and positive impact of Kangaroo Mother Care on mother's experience. The findings advocate for the broad implementation of Kangaroo Mother Care as a valuable strategy in neonatal care, offering a holistic approach to improving the well-being of both mothers and newborns. These insights emphasize the importance of promoting and integrating Kangaroo Mother Care into neonatal care protocols, contributing to enhanced neonatal health and maternal satisfaction.

Blue Black Ecstasy: Ellen Gallagher’s Watery Ecstatic, Oceanic Feeling, and Mysticism in the Flesh

Abstract Since 2001, visual artist Ellen Gallagher has been working on “Watery Ecstatic,” an ongoing, expansive project that depicts real and imaginary underwater life through drawings, films, reliefs, and paintings. Thus far, this series—indeed, Gallagher’s oeuvre—has not been studied by scholars of religion. Arguing that the series provokes an extended conversation about mysticism, (para)religion, and constructions of blackness, humanness, and animality, this article addresses this lacuna. Placing the series in conversation with Sigmund Freud and Fred Moten, I argue that “Watery Ecstatic” displays a particular kind of mysticism that I call blue black mysticism: an experience of sociality that, in and through the oceanic, refuses the categorical distinctions and modes of identification that ground and mark normative and racialized ideations of humanness and subjectivity. I suggest, further, that blue black mysticism, because it engages the alterity of the ocean, offers a prime site to trouble the racialized, hierarchical boundary between human and nonhuman animals.