Effects of voice on emotional arousal

Music is a powerful medium capable of eliciting a broad range of emotions. Although the relationship between language and music is well documented, relatively little is known about the effects of lyrics and the voice on the emotional processing of music and on listeners' preferences. In the present study, we investigated the effects of vocals in music on participants' perceived valence and arousal in songs. Participants (N = 50) made valence and arousal ratings for familiar songs that were presented with and without the voice. We observed robust effects of vocal content on perceived arousal. Furthermore, we found that the effect of the voice on enhancing arousal ratings is independent of familiarity of the song and differs across genders and age: females were more influenced by vocals than males; furthermore these gender effects were enhanced among older adults. Results highlight the effects of gender and aging in emotion perception and are discussed in terms of the social roles of music

Psyche Gooden Papers, 1892-1931

This collection consists primarily of correspondence between Psyche Gooden and her family members, mainly her daughter Norma. Also included are postcards, mostly to Psyche from various family members, invitations and announcements, bank documents, bills and receipts, expense accounts, a concert program, newspaper clippings, phone numbers, photos, a song book, student directories, a teachers certificate, and a telegram

The Emotional And Spiritual Wellbeing Of Hospice Patients In Botswana And Sources Of Distress For Their Caregivers

Background: Little regional data exists on the distress of people nearing the end of their lives and their caregivers. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of life and the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of people at the end of life and the sources of distress for their primary caregivers in Gaborone, Botswana, in order to inform current and limited hospice resources and services. Design: This study employed a qualitative design. Setting/Subjects: Twenty-eight primary caregivers who cared for an adult who passed away fewer than 14 months prior to the interview date and were in the care of a non-governmental hospice (NGH) in Botswana were interviewed between June and August 2012. Measurements: Semi-structured interviews and the Quality of Death and Dying (QODD) questionnaire were used. Descriptive analysis and qualitative content analysis was performed. Results: Quality of life of decedents was poor. Emotional and spiritual distress persists at high rates even for those receiving support from an NGH. Caregiver distress arises from practical concerns, including lack of food, clothing, and shelter, and from emotional and spiritual concerns. Conclusions: The practical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people at the end of life in Botswana and their caregivers are not being fully met, with poor overall quality of life among the dying. More research is needed to explore how hospice and home health services and the services of spiritual leaders can be expanded to meet their needs

Students’ insight and understanding of the notion ‘decolonisation of the curriculum in higher education’ at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.The #FeesMustFall protest in South African Universities in 2015 and 2016 saw students raise, amongst their concerns regarding the nature of the higher education curriculum and the inability of some students to afford higher education. In terms of the former, students called for a decolonised higher education curriculum. In spite of the growing calls for decolonisation, there are contestations about what decolonisation is and how it can best be implemented in the country’s higher education institutions. In addition, cumulative evidence affirms that some students have little or no knowledge of what decolonisation means and are rather absorbing populace or rhetorical stances (Oelofsen, 2015). This study investigates students’ understanding of the meaning of a ‘decolonised curriculum’. This qualitative study employed in-depth face-to-face interviews with fifteen students across different Colleges at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. The sample of participants included two student organisations leaders and thirteen student members of these organisations. Thematic analysis was used to report key findings. Paulo Freire’s concept of critical consciousness and Steve Biko’s black consciousness has been used to understand the factors that shape students’ ideas and notions of the decolonised curriculum. The study shows that students acknowledge the challenges in the implementation of the decolonised curriculum in universities. Using more African based authors rather than western authors in the curriculum is one of the ways it can be transformed. The language was also identified as critical to debate on the curriculum. Students believe that if the curriculum is taught in South African indigenous languages, academic performance would improve. Renaming the university infrastructures and facilities also becomes the main proposal from students who claim that they do not identify with individuals whose names are used to label university buildings. Students recommended that the renaming of the buildings be taken into consideration because it is highly associated with decolonisation of the curriculum and university. Participants recommended that more formal dialogues should be conducted between academics and students. Students also need to do more research on decolonising the curriculum so that they can avoid rhetorical arguments and stances

Difference in the Cognitive Mechanism of Predictive Processing in Computer-Mediated Communication: A Comparison Study of L2 Speakers

Previous studies of predictive mechanisms in computer-mediated communication (CMC) suggested that native speakers (L1) rely on auditory cues and emotion in conversation processing. To understand how the prediction mechanism differs for non-native speakers (L2) in CMC, this study assessed how the loss of multi-modal cues affects word predictability in turn-taking, considering language background and social factors. L2 watched videos, listened to audio, or read a transcript of conversations, and predicted the same set of omitted words with different levels of predictability and semantic relatedness in different CMC. Results showed that, similar to the L1 study in He et al. (2025), higher response similarity but longer response time were observed in conditions with richer cues in L2 predictive processing. Semantic relatedness, self-emotion, attention, and language proficiency did not affect predictability. Participants reporting negative emotions and more limited L2 exposure demonstrated reduced prediction accuracy, particularly in cue-rich environments. These findings expand our understanding of L2 predictive processing in CMC by highlighting how multimodal cue integration operates differently for L2. The results have implications for developing communication technologies and language pedagogies tailored to L2 across various mediated communication contexts

Use-inspired music cognition: Designing cognitively informed musical interventions for the brain

As the field of music cognition is rapidly burgeoning, researchers are beginning to consider how the unique amalgam of scientific and humanistic study of music may translate towards large-scale interventions that may improve cognition for many, including but not limited to people from neurodiverse populations. Here I examine novel ways in which music cognition research may help improve cognition, in ways that move away from overused tropes (e.g. the Mozart Effect) towards future directions of use-inspired music cognition research. As use cases, I will describe some recent studies in my lab that capitalize on new musical technology, developed from first principles from music cognition research, to help those with attention deficits, dementia and memory disorders, and Parkinson's Disease. Our results show how music cognition can help refine and target music-based interventions for multiple special populations, by pinpointing ways in which music capitalizes on fundamental operating characteristics of the brain

SEASONAL ABUNDANCE OF CULEX SP. AND ITS CONTROL BY USING BOTANICALS

A Thesis Submitted to Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture. Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka- In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF SCIENCE (MS) IN ENTOMOLOGYA laboratory experiment was conducted at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University campus to find out the seasonal abundance and to evaluate the efficiency of 5 botanicals for bio rational management of Culex sp. mosquito in Bangladesh. Five botanicals namely Lemon leaf extract, Mint leaf extract, Fenugreek extract, Chilli powder, Mustard oil and control were used against the mosquito larvae of different stages. The experiment was conducted at CRD method with 5 replications. Monthly abundance of Culex sp. was measured from the experimental sites. Form the collection of mosquitoes specimens highest single day collection was from July day 1. The presence of Culex sp. was found throughout the experimental period with a peak population in July and November and lowest in December. The mean developmental duration of different life stages of Culex sp. mosquito was approximately 20 days. The least developmental time was spent in pupal stage (2.25 days). Meanwhile, the longest duration was spent as larvae were 15.33 days. Developmental period from egg to adult was 20 days. Among the treatments lemon leaf extract performed best in case of larval mortality 52.33%. The highest pupal mortality was observed in the treatment of mint leaf extract and similar result observed in case of adult mortality (79.50%) by application of mint leaf extract

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Applied to Heschl's Gyrus Modulates Pitch Discrimination

The neural basis of the human brain's ability to discriminate pitch has been investigated by functional neuroimaging and the study of lesioned brains, indicating the critical importance of right and left Heschl's gyrus (HG) in pitch perception. Nonetheless, there remains some uncertainty with regard to localization and lateralization of pitch discrimination, partly because neuroimaging results do not allow us to draw inferences about the causality. To address the problem of causality in pitch discrimination functions, we used transcranial direct current stimulation to downregulate (via cathodal stimulation) and upregulate (via anodal stimulation) excitability in either left or right auditory cortex and measured the effect on performance in a pitch discrimination task in comparison with sham stimulation. Cathodal stimulation of HG on the left and on the right hemispheres adversely affected pitch discrimination in comparison to sham stimulation, with the effect on the right being significantly stronger than on the left. Anodal stimulation on either side had no effect on performance in comparison to sham. Our results indicate that both left and right HG are causally involved in pitch discrimination, although the right auditory cortex might be a stronger contributor

Relating Pitch Awareness to Phonemic Awareness in Children: Implications for Tone-Deafness and Dyslexia

Language and music are complex cognitive and neural functions that rely on awareness of one's own sound productions. Information on the awareness of vocal pitch, and its relation to phonemic awareness which is crucial for learning to read, will be important for understanding the relationship between tone-deafness and developmental language disorders such as dyslexia. Here we show that phonemic awareness skills are positively correlated with pitch perception–production skills in children. Children between the ages of seven and nine were tested on pitch perception and production, phonemic awareness, and IQ. Results showed a significant positive correlation between pitch perception–production and phonemic awareness, suggesting that the relationship between musical and linguistic sound processing is intimately linked to awareness at the level of pitch and phonemes. Since tone-deafness is a pitch-related impairment and dyslexia is a deficit of phonemic awareness, we suggest that dyslexia and tone-deafness may have a shared and/or common neural basis