title: Infants' conceptual representations of meaningful verbal and nonverbal sounds

authors: Sirri, Louah

abstract: In adults, words are more effective than sounds at activating conceptual representations. We aimed to replicate these findings and extend them to infants. In a series of experiments using an eye tracker object recognition task, suitable for both adults and infants, participants heard either a word (e.g. cow) or an associated sound (e.g. mooing) followed by an image illustrating a target (e.g. cow) and a distracter (e.g. telephone). The results showed that adults reacted faster when the visual object matched the auditory stimulus and even faster in the word relative to the associated sound condition. Infants, however, did not show a similar pattern of eye-movements: only eighteen-month-olds, but not 9- or 12-month-olds, were equally fast at recognizing the target object in both conditions. Looking times, however, were longer for associated sounds, suggesting that processing sounds elicits greater allocation of attention. Our findings suggest that the advantage of words over associated sounds in activating conceptual representations emerges at a later stage during language development.

text: Infants' conceptual representations of meaningful verbal and nonverbal sounds In adults, words are more effective than sounds at activating conceptual representations. We aimed to replicate these findings and extend them to infants. In a series of experiments using an eye tracker object recognition task, suitable for both adults and infants, participants heard either a word (e.g. cow) or an associated sound (e.g. mooing) followed by an image illustrating a target (e.g. cow) and a distracter (e.g. telephone). The results showed that adults reacted faster when the visual object matched the auditory stimulus and even faster in the word relative to the associated sound condition. Infants, however, did not show a similar pattern of eye-movements: only eighteen-month-olds, but not 9- or 12-month-olds, were equally fast at recognizing the target object in both conditions. Looking times, however, were longer for associated sounds, suggesting that processing sounds elicits greater allocation of attention. Our findings suggest that the advantage of words over associated sounds in activating conceptual representations emerges at a later stage during language development.

year: 2020

title: Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils

authors: Smith, Julie L.

subjects: abiotic controls

abstract: Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.

text: Resolving environmental drivers of microbial community structure in Antarctic soils Antarctic soils are extremely cold, dry, and oligotrophic, yet harbour surprisingly high bacterial diversity. The severity of environmental conditions has constrained the development of multi-trophic communities, and species richness and distribution is thought to be driven primarily by abiotic factors. Sites in northern and southern Victoria Land were sampled for bacterial community structure and soil physicochemical properties in conjunction with the US and New Zealand Latitudinal Gradient Project. Bacterial community structure was determined using a high-resolution molecular fingerprinting method for 80 soil samples from Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett sites which are separated by five degrees of latitude and have distinct soil chemistry. Taylor Valley is part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, while Cape Hallett is the site of a penguin rookery and contains ornithogenic soils. The influence of soil moisture, pH, conductivity, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen and organic carbon on community structure was revealed using Spearman rank correlation, Mantel test, and principal components analysis. High spatial variability was detected in bacterial communities and community structure was correlated with soil moisture and pH. Both unique and shared bacterial community members were detected at Taylor Valley and Cape Hallett despite the considerable distance between the sites.

year: 2009

title: Speaking the unspoken: Racism, sport and Māori

authors: Hippolite, Holly Raima

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: In this paper, we consider the silence that surrounds issues of racism in New Zealand sport. We argue that the intersection of two key ideologies – New Zealand’s purported history of good race relations, and the positive contribution that sport is believed to make to racial equality – contribute to a culture of silence in which it is difficult to talk about, let alone discuss constructively, Māori experiences of racism. Our aim is to put the issue on the agenda through engagement with ten experienced Māori sport participants, coaches and administrators whose experiences demonstrate the existence of, and pain caused by, cultural and institutional racism in New Zealand sport. In this aim, we do not seek to hide behind a veil of neutrality or objectivity. Rather, following a kaupapa Māori research approach, our interest is in bringing to light the voices, frustrations and concerns of Māori sportspeople in order to contribute to a much-needed conversation.

text: Speaking the unspoken: Racism, sport and Māori In this paper, we consider the silence that surrounds issues of racism in New Zealand sport. We argue that the intersection of two key ideologies – New Zealand’s purported history of good race relations, and the positive contribution that sport is believed to make to racial equality – contribute to a culture of silence in which it is difficult to talk about, let alone discuss constructively, Māori experiences of racism. Our aim is to put the issue on the agenda through engagement with ten experienced Māori sport participants, coaches and administrators whose experiences demonstrate the existence of, and pain caused by, cultural and institutional racism in New Zealand sport. In this aim, we do not seek to hide behind a veil of neutrality or objectivity. Rather, following a kaupapa Māori research approach, our interest is in bringing to light the voices, frustrations and concerns of Māori sportspeople in order to contribute to a much-needed conversation.

year: 2010