Positive Subjective Evaluation Research Articles

Multimodal training on L2 Japanese pitch accent: learning outcomes, neural correlates and subjective assessments

Abstract Japanese pitch accent is phonemic, making it crucial for second-language learners to acquire. Building on theories of multimodal learning, the present study explored how auditory, visual and gestural training of Japanese pitch accent affected behavioral, neural and meta-cognitive aspects of pitch perception across two experiments. Experiment 1 used a between-subjects pre/posttest design to train native English speakers to perceive Japanese pitch accents in one of the following three conditions: (1) baseline (audio + flat notation), (2) pitch height notation (audio + notation mimicking pitch height) and (3) pitch height notation + a left-hand gesture (L-gesture) (to engage the contralateral right hemisphere specialized for suprasegmental pitch processing). Our results indicated that (2) pitch height notation training was most robust in its benefits, as participants in this condition improved on trained and novel words alike. Experiment 2 used a within-subjects design to extend Experiment 1 in three ways: adding a right-hand gesture (R-gesture) condition (to engage more segmental language areas in the left hemisphere), introducing a neural correlate of cognitive load (measured by EEG alpha and theta power) and performing a metacognitive subjective assessment of learning (e.g., ‘Which training did you find the most helpful?’). The results showed that although there were no differences among our four training conditions on learning outcomes or EEG power, participants made the most positive subjective evaluations about pitch height notation and R-gesture training. Together, the results suggest that there may be a ‘just right’ amount of multimodal instruction to boost learning and increase engagement during foreign language pitch instruction.

УДОВЛЕТВОРЁННОСТЬ РОДИТЕЛЕЙ ДЕТЕЙ С РАССТРОЙСТВАМИ АУТИСТИЧЕСКОГО СПЕКТРА СТОМАТОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ПОМОЩЬЮ, АССОЦИИРОВАННОЙ С МОБИЛЬНЫМ ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕМ ДЛЯ СЕНСОРНОЙ ДЕПРИВАЦИИ НЕЙРОРАЗНООБРАЗНЫХ ПАЦИЕНТОВ

Patients with autism spectrum disorders pose a challenge to the dentist in terms of implement-ing preventive and treatment measures. This is due to the hypersensitivity of these patients to unavoidable dental stimuli and communication disorders. Previously, we developed a new method of mitigating dental stimuli for neurodiverse patients, realized in a mobile application. The aim of the study was to evaluate parental satisfaction with dental care against the back-ground of using a mobile application for sensory deprivation of children with autism. The study included 168 families with neurodiverse children who worked with the mobile application for 1 year. As a subjective criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the mobile application, the opinion of the direct user (families - study participants) was analyzed, represented by a wide range of parametrics in terms of the multidimensional concept of "satisfaction" of expectations from the use of technology. The Customer Satisfaction Index was used to measure satisfaction with the interaction with the application during one year. The dynamics of the final satisfaction index after 1 and 12 months of the study (70.75% and 84.9%, respectively) indicates a positive subjective evaluation of both the process and the result of dental treatment of neurodiverse children using the mobile application.

Enhanced neural synchronization during social communications between dyads with high autistic traits.

Autism is characterized by atypical social communication styles. To investigate whether individuals with high autistic traits could still have effective social communication among each other, we compared the behavioral patterns and communication quality within 64 dyads of college students paired with both high, both low, and mixed high-low (HL) autistic traits, with their gender matched. Results revealed that the high-high (HH) autistic dyads exhibited atypical behavioral patterns during conversations, including reduced mutual gaze, communicational turns, and emotional sharing compared with the low-low and/or HL autistic dyads. However, the HH autistic dyads displayed enhanced interpersonal neural synchronization during social communications measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy, suggesting an effective communication style. Besides, they also provided more positive subjective evaluations of the conversations. These findings highlight the potential for alternative pathways to effectively communicate with the autistic community, contribute to a deeper understanding of how high autistic traits influence social communication dynamics among autistic individuals, and provide important insights for the clinical practices for supporting autistic people.

What is the Relationship Between the Perceived Quality of Neighbourhood and the Self-reported Life Satisfaction in Immigrants Versus Natives in Europe?

Subjective well-being (SWB) is emerging as an important measure of individual and societal progress. Among the many individual factors associated with SWB, the quality of the neighbourhood is recently receiving growing attention as a factor shaping self-reported life satisfaction in contemporary societies. However, to the best of our knowledge, studies focusing on the perceived quality of the neighbourhood are still scant. We aim to fill this gap, comparing self-reported life satisfaction of different population groups (i.e., immigrants and natives) living in European countries, and to analyse the association between self-reported life satisfaction and the perceived quality of the neighbourhood, controlling for individual socio-demographic and human capital variables and socio-economic characteristics of the country of residence. The data are drawn from the cross-sectional European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) of 2016. Our findings reveal that first and second-generation immigrants report lower self-reported life satisfaction compared to natives. Moreover, our findings show that the positive subjective evaluation of the characteristics and services available in the immediate neighbourhood where people live is positively associated with self-reported life satisfaction. There is also a positive relationship between contacts and social networks in the neighbourhood and self-reported life satisfaction. Finally, the characteristics of the country of residence matter for both native and immigrants’ life satisfaction, with immigrants being more satisfied in countries with higher quality of life captured by country gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, life expectancy and unemployment rate.

Public participation and policy evaluation in China's smog governance

This paper explicitly addresses the key works of public participation in subjective policy evaluation from the perspective of smog governance. Based on the unique data from a large survey distributed to more than 3500 respondents in 37 key cities of China, we adopt the ordered probit model to identify the factors affecting public evaluation towards the smog-governing policy. To solve the endogeneity problem, we construct an effective instrumental variable - the policy strength of government in eliminating smog to analyze empirically. The results suggest that public participation are significant and important predictors of the public evaluation, higher degree of participation is associated with more positive subjective evaluation. Further, this paper explores the role of effective public perception and concern as well as the expected subsidy. The results show that the public who actively participate into the co-governance of smog are more concern about the air quality and also have lower expected subsidy.

Невынашивание беременности. Возможности лечения

Objective. To justify the selection of the most effective gestagen with an optimal safety profile in the treatment of patients with pregnancy loss. Patients and methods. A retrospective study of 93 records of patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) who were prescribed gestagens was made. The first group included 49 patients taking dydrogesterone; the second – 44 patients who received micronized progesterone (19 – orally/subgroup 2a/ and 25 – intravaginally/subgroup 2b/). In order to assess the effectiveness of therapy, prolongation of pregnancy up to 22 weeks was the study’s primary endpoint. The secondary endpoint was prolongation of pregnancy up to 34 weeks of gestation and live birth. Results. A positive subjective evaluation was found in 94% of women taking dydrogesterone and in 79.5% of women taking micronized progesterone (68.4% – orally and 88% – intravaginally). The total number of observations with adverse effects when taking dydrogesterone was significantly lower than in case of micronized progesterone: in 7 (16%) and 31 (72%), respectively (p < 0.05). Dull lower abdominal pain was significantly more frequent in oral administration of micronized progesterone compared with dydrogesterone: in 15 (79%) and 11 (22%), respectively (p < 0.05). In dydrogesterone and intravaginal administration of micronized progesterone, pain syndrome occurred with the same frequency. Bloody vaginal discharge was 2.5 times more frequent in group 2: in 4 (8%) patients of group 1 and in 10 (23%) patients in group 2 (p < 0.05). Moreover, bloody discharge remained significantly more often in case of vaginal administration of micronized progesterone (p < 0.05). In oral micronized progesterone, the difference with dydrogesterone was not significant. According to ultrasound data, hematomas that were not accompanied by bloody discharge were registered in 6 (12%) patients taking micronized progesterone, equally for oral and intravaginal administration. Against the background of receiving dydrogesterone, no hematomas were revealed according to ultrasound data. Against the administration of dydrogesterone, both primary and secondary results were achieved in all women. With the use of micronized progesterone, the primary result was achieved in 39 (88.6%), the secondary – in 38 (86%) patients. Early pregnancy loss was in 6 (14%) women of group 2: 5 (11%) had a spontaneous miscarriage before 14 weeks of gestation (intravaginal drug administration), one had premature birth at 32 weeks (oral drug administration). Conclusion. Dydrogesterone has the highest efficacy and optimal safety profile in the treatment of RPL; therefore, it can be considered as the gestagen of choice in early pregnancy. If it is impossible to prescribe dydrogesterone, preference should be given to micronized progesterone – intravaginal route of administration. Key words: dydrogesterone, micronized progesterone, pregnancy loss, progesterone

A Dermonutrient Containing Special Collagen Peptides Improves Skin Structure and Function: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Triple-Blind Trial Using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy on the Cosmetic Effects and Tolerance of a Drinkable Collagen Supplement.

The purpose of this randomized, placebo-controlled, triple-blind trial on 60 healthy female volunteers was to assess the cosmetic effects on skin quality of a food supplement containing special collagen peptides together with acerola extract, vitamin C, vitamin E, biotin, and zinc after an intake of 12 weeks (Elasten®, QUIRIS Healthcare, Germany). To reduce assessment bias maximally and increase the accuracy and objectivity of the outcomes, the trial design was triple blinded in a manner that neither the subjects nor the person administering the products nor the person who assessed the primary outcomes knew which subjects had received the test product and which had received the placebo. The expert grader assessing the confocal laser scanning microscopy images was additionally blinded regarding the time when the image was taken (on days 1 or 85). The objective, blinded, and validated image analyses using confocal laser scanning microscopy showed a significant improvement of the collagen structure of facial skin (primary endpoint) after intake of the test product, while no improvements were found after intake of the placebo. The proven positive nutritional effect on the collagen structure was fully consistent with positive subjective evaluations of relevant skin parameters such as elasticity, crinkliness/wrinkliness, and evenness in different body areas such as face, hands, décolleté, neck, backside, legs, and belly, all serving as secondary endpoints. The test product was found to be safe and very well tolerated. A cosmetically relevant improvement of the facial skin was demonstrated after administration of the collagen supplement.

Virtues – Moral Mirrors of Contemporary Society

Abstract The aspiration for the ideal of a harmonious life assumes the systematic work on one’s own education of the soul and authenticity. Contemporary thoughts face us with a crisis of moral values. We ask the question if that crisis is reflected only on a social level, or must we observe and investigate the problem in the personal influence and responsibility towards society. This train of thought also forces the famous expression – quality of life – on us, which is considered a subjective indicator of satisfaction, i.e. dissatisfaction with the life of an individual in the evaluation of success when achieving personal needs and desires. Therefore, we will attempt to show what makes the ideal of a good life in this paper through the interpretation of the values in the work of Marcus Aurelius or, as the Stoics called it – the science of a virtuous life, and also the achievement of a positive subjective evaluation of the quality of life and satisfaction.

Forgiveness and Loneliness in Peer-Victimized Adolescents.

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the relationships between forgiveness, motivations for revenge, avoidance, and benevolence; loneliness, emotional loneliness and positive subjective evaluation of the social network; and peer victimization in schools, relational, overt physical, and overt verbal, based on gender. A battery of instruments was administered to 617 Spanish students (50.7% boys and 49.3% girls), aged between 10 and 16 years (M = 13.04 years, SD = 1.80 years) from primary and secondary education. A multivariate analysis of variance and a multiple block regression for data analysis was used. Study results revealed that the most victimized students showed greater motivation for revenge and avoidance, as well as a greater perception of emotional loneliness and less positive subjective evaluation of their social network. In addition, the findings obtained in the regression analysis (stepwise) indicated that being a boy between 11 and 13 years old and having a high level of emotional loneliness and high avoidance motivation were the most important predictors of peer victimization. Finally, the findings and their possible implications in the design of intervention projects that encourage forgiveness in interpersonal conflicts and integration in social networks as preventive strategies of peer victimization were discussed.

ALE meta-analysis reveals dissociable networks for affective and discriminative aspects of touch.

Emotionally‐laden tactile stimulation—such as a caress on the skin or the feel of velvet—may represent a functionally distinct domain of touch, underpinned by specific cortical pathways. In order to determine whether, and to what extent, cortical functional neuroanatomy supports a distinction between affective and discriminative touch, an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta‐analysis was performed. This meta‐analysis statistically mapped reported functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activations from 17 published affective touch studies in which tactile stimulation was associated with positive subjective evaluation (n = 291, 34 experimental contrasts). A separate ALE meta‐analysis mapped regions most likely to be activated by tactile stimulation during detection and discrimination tasks (n = 1,075, 91 experimental contrasts). These meta‐analyses revealed dissociable regions for affective and discriminative touch, with posterior insula (PI) more likely to be activated for affective touch, and primary somatosensory cortices (SI) more likely to be activated for discriminative touch. Secondary somatosensory cortex had a high likelihood of engagement by both affective and discriminative touch. Further, meta‐analytic connectivity (MCAM) analyses investigated network‐level co‐activation likelihoods independent of task or stimulus, across a range of domains and paradigms. Affective‐related PI and discriminative‐related SI regions co‐activated with different networks, implicated in dissociable functions, but sharing somatosensory co‐activations. Taken together, these meta‐analytic findings suggest that affective and discriminative touch are dissociable both on the regional and network levels. However, their degree of shared activation likelihood in somatosensory cortices indicates that this dissociation reflects functional biases within tactile processing networks, rather than functionally and anatomically distinct pathways. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1308‐1320, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of personality on daily life emotional processes.

Personality features are associated with individual differences in daily emotional life, such as negative and positive affectivity, affect variability and affect reactivity. The existing literature is somewhat mixed and inconclusive about the nature of these associations. The aim of this study was to shed light on what personality features represent in daily life by investigating the effect of the Five Factor traits on different daily emotional processes using an ecologically valid method. The Experience Sampling Method was used to collect repeated reports of daily affect and experiences from 104 healthy university students during one week of their normal lives. Personality traits of the Five Factor model were assessed using NEO Five Factor Inventory. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the effect of the personality traits on daily emotional processes. Neuroticism predicted higher negative and lower positive affect, higher affect variability, more negative subjective evaluations of daily incidents, and higher reactivity to stressors. Conscientiousness, by contrast, predicted lower average level, variability, and reactivity of negative affect. Agreeableness was associated with higher positive and lower negative affect, lower variability of sadness, and more positive subjective evaluations of daily incidents. Extraversion predicted higher positive affect and more positive subjective evaluations of daily activities. Openness had no effect on average level of affect, but predicted higher reactivity to daily stressors. The results show that the personality features independently predict different aspects of daily emotional processes. Neuroticism was associated with all of the processes. Identifying these processes can help us to better understand individual differences in daily emotional life.

Successful managerial behaviour for farm-based tourism: A functional approach

Despite the overall growth of rural tourism, not all have benefited equally. This study reports research designed to improve managerial performance in the rural tourism sector in Korea. Six areas are identified as being important: product/service development, business planning and evaluation, promotions, human resource management, networking, and cost reduction. It was found managers in farm-based tourism have primarily concentrated on product/service development, human resource management, and cost reduction. Of these areas, only product/service development and promotions have exhibited a statistically significant effect on real profits and on positive subjective evaluations of financial results. Based on these results, this study suggests that continuous investment in product/service development and promotions should have positive effects on operations and result in increased competitiveness and viability in the Korean farm tourism sector.

I Gave at the Campus

This study examined the determinants of student contributions to their senior gift campaign while currently enrolled at a university and whether student giving predicted young alumni giving patterns after graduation. Determinants of student giving were largely consistent with those of alumni giving, although parental support was found to be an important difference. Financial aid in the form of parental support and scholarships, but not loans or grants, increased the likelihood of student giving. College experiences including group participation and positive subjective evaluation also increased the likelihood of giving. Student giving was then found to be a strong predictor of future donation patterns of young alumni. Students who did not contribute to the senior gift campaign despite repeated, in-person solicitations from peers were less likely to donate after graduation.

Feedback-Controlled and Programmed Stretching of the Ankle Plantarflexors and Dorsiflexors in Stroke: Effects of a 4-Week Intervention Program

Selles RW, Li X, Lin F, Chung SG, Roth EJ, Zhang L-Q. Feedback-controlled and programmed stretching of the ankle plantarflexors and dorsiflexors in stroke: effects of a 4-week intervention program. Objective To investigate the effect of repeated feedback-controlled and programmed “intelligent” stretching of the ankle plantar- and dorsiflexors to treat subjects with ankle spasticity and/or contracture in stroke. Design Noncontrolled trial. Setting Institutional research center. Participants Subjects with spasticity and/or contracture after stroke. Interventions Stretching of the plantar- and dorsiflexors of the ankle 3 times a week for 45 minutes during a 4-week period by using a feedback-controlled and programmed stretching device. Main Outcome Measures Passive and active range of motion (ROM), muscle strength, joint stiffness, joint viscous damping, reflex excitability, comfortable walking speed, and subjective experiences of the subjects. Results Significant improvements were found in the passive ROM, maximum voluntary contraction, ankle stiffness, and comfortable walking speed. The visual analog scales indicated very positive subjective evaluation in terms of the comfort of stretching and the effect on their involved ankle. Conclusions Repeated feedback-controlled or intelligent stretching had a positive influence on the joint properties of the ankle with spasticity and/or contracture after stroke. The stretching device may be an effective and safe alternative to manual passive motion treatment by a therapist and has potential to be used to repeatedly and regularly stretch the ankle of subjects with spasticity and/or contracture without daily involvement of clinicians or physical therapists.

Subjective evaluations of alcohol expectancies and their relevance to drinking game involvement in female college students

Purpose The purpose of this study was to test whether subjective evaluations of alcohol expectancies mediate the association between perceived drinking expectancies and participation in drinking games (DGs). Participation in DGs facilitates heavy drinking; therefore, we also examined the association between DG participation and alcohol-related problems. Methods This cross-sectional study included 187 female athletes from an all-women’s college in the Northeastern United States. Respondents completed self-report questionnaires in small groups who reported on their alcohol use, drinking expectancies, and number of DGs played with their teammates during the semester. Results A mediation effect emerged for subjective evaluation of liquid courage expectancy but not for increased sociability and cognitive/behavioral impairment expectancies. Although perceived expectancies of cognitive/behavioral impairment were associated negatively with DG participation, positive subjective evaluations of this expectancy were related positively with DG participation. Finally, participation in DG was associated positively with alcohol-related problems. Conclusions Findings are consistent with notions of social learning and utility theories and sheds light on the link between alcohol expectancies and participation in DGs among female student athletes. Results also highlight the health risks associated with DG involvement. Intervention programs aimed at decreasing the prevalence of DG participation might consider addressing students’ perceptions about the desirability of liquid courage expectancies.