Contact call diversity in natural beluga entrapments in an Arctic estuary: Preliminary evidence of vocal signatures in wild belugas

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are gregarious toothed whales that strictly reside in the high Arctic. They produce a broad range of signal types; however, studies of narwhal vocalizations have been mostly descriptive of the sounds available in the species’ overall repertoire. Little is known regarding the functions of highly stereotyped mixed calls (i.e., biphonations with both sound elements produced simultaneously), although preliminary evidence has suggested that such vocalizations are individually distinctive and function as contact calls. Here we provide evidence that supports this notion in narwhal mother-calf communication. A female narwhal was tagged as part of larger studies on the life history and acoustic behavior of narwhals. At the time of tagging, it became apparent that the female had a calf, which remained close by during the tagging event. We found that the narwhal mother produced a distinct, highly stereotyped mixed call when separated from her calf and immediately after release from capture, which we interpret as preliminary evidence for contact call use between the mother and her calf. The mother’s mixed call production occurred continually over the 4.2 day recording period in addition to a second prominent but different stereotyped mixed call which we believe belonged to the narwhal calf. Thus, narwhal mothers produce highly stereotyped contact calls when separated from their calves, and it appears that narwhal calves similarly produce distinct, stereotyped mixed calls which we hypothesize also contribute to maintaining mother-calf contact. We compared this behavior to the acoustic behavior of two other adult females without calves, but also each with a unique, stereotyped call type. While we provide additional support for individual distinctiveness across narwhal contact calls, more research is necessary to determine whether these calls are vocal signatures which broadcast identity.

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Building Emotional Intelligence for Student Success: A Pilot Study

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_persp-19-00101 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 1445-1461

Author(s):

Amee P. Shah ◽

Mary Lou Galantino

Keyword(s):

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Communication Competence ◽

Emotional Awareness ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Empowerment Model ◽

Dyad Interaction ◽

Relational Management

Purpose Nationwide, upward trends exist in student issues with anxiety, stress, depression, and lowered classroom performance. As emotional awareness and emotional regulation skills are typically not addressed in professional discipline-specific courses, students experience challenges in their academic performance. This pilot research explored the effect of brief targeted classroom practices within an empowerment-based framework on domains of emotional intelligence. Method Twenty-two students in an undergraduate speech-language pathology class received a 13-week, biweekly, 15-min session of empowerment-based worksheet exercises to develop increased self-esteem, emotional awareness and regulation, and communication. Assessments of self-esteem, emotional intelligence, communication competence, and communication apprehension were conducted using validated scales, namely, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ), the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment ( Mohapel, 2015 ), the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale ( McCroskey & McCroskey, 2013 ), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension ( McCroskey, 1982 ), respectively. Midsemester and semester-end student reflections were collected. Results Paired t tests were significant in self-esteem and emotional quotient, including subdomains of emotional awareness, emotional management, social emotional awareness, and relational management. Significance was noted in communication competence in the subdomains of dyad interaction, stranger interaction, and acquaintance. Students' reflection showed significant improvement in empowerment and self-rated improvements in confidence, communication, connections with peers, and trust with instructor. Conclusion Preliminary evidence demonstrates positive outcomes with integration of intentional classroom exercises to build emotional intelligence (including emotional awareness and regulation), self-esteem, and communication. This empowerment model may assist faculty in developing effective pedagogical strategies to build students' self-resiliency.

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A Pilot Study of Early Storybook Reading With Babies With Hearing Loss

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-17-0305 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (9) ◽

pp. 3397-3412

Author(s):

Michelle I. Brown ◽

David Trembath ◽

Marleen F. Westerveld ◽

Gail T. Gillon

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Visual Analysis ◽

Single Case ◽

Eye Contact ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Storybook Reading ◽

Book Selection ◽

Turn Taking ◽

Parent Child

Purpose This pilot study explored the effectiveness of an early storybook reading (ESR) intervention for parents with babies with hearing loss (HL) for improving (a) parents' book selection skills, (b) parent–child eye contact, and (c) parent–child turn-taking. Advancing research into ESR, this study examined whether the benefits from an ESR intervention reported for babies without HL were also observed in babies with HL. Method Four mother–baby dyads participated in a multiple baseline single-case experimental design across behaviors. Treatment effects for parents' book selection skills, parent–child eye contact, and parent–child turn-taking were examined using visual analysis and Tau-U analysis. Results Statistically significant increases, with large to very large effect sizes, were observed for all 4 participants for parent–child eye contact and parent–child turn-taking. Limited improvements with ceiling effects were observed for parents' book selection skills. Conclusion The findings provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of an ESR intervention for babies with HL for promoting parent–child interactions through eye contact and turn-taking.

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Attentional Bias Among Adolescents Who Stutter: Evidence for a Vigilance–Avoidance Effect

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00090 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (10) ◽

pp. 3349-3363

Author(s):

Naomi H. Rodgers ◽

Jennifer Y. F. Lau ◽

Patricia M. Zebrowski

Keyword(s):

Social Anxiety ◽

Attentional Bias ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Cutoff Score ◽

Attentional Disengagement ◽

Social Stimuli ◽

Facial Stimuli ◽

The Social ◽

Attentional Engagement ◽

High Social Anxiety

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine group and individual differences in attentional bias toward and away from socially threatening facial stimuli among adolescents who stutter and age- and sex-matched typically fluent controls. Method Participants included 86 adolescents (43 stuttering, 43 controls) ranging in age from 13 to 19 years. They completed a computerized dot-probe task, which was modified to allow for separate measurement of attentional engagement with and attentional disengagement from facial stimuli (angry, fearful, neutral expressions). Their response time on this task was the dependent variable. Participants also completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) and provided a speech sample for analysis of stuttering-like behaviors. Results The adolescents who stutter were more likely to engage quickly with threatening faces than to maintain attention on neutral faces, and they were also more likely to disengage quickly from threatening faces than to maintain attention on those faces. The typically fluent controls did not show any attentional preference for the threatening faces over the neutral faces in either the engagement or disengagement conditions. The two groups demonstrated equivalent levels of social anxiety that were both, on average, very close to the clinical cutoff score for high social anxiety, although degree of social anxiety did not influence performance in either condition. Stuttering severity did not influence performance among the adolescents who stutter. Conclusion This study provides preliminary evidence for a vigilance–avoidance pattern of attentional allocation to threatening social stimuli among adolescents who stutter.

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The Effect of Real-Time Feedback Using a Smartwatch on the Clinical Behavior of Novice Student Clinicians

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/persp2.sig11.79 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (11) ◽

pp. 79-90

Author(s):

Courtney G. Scott ◽

Trina M. Becker ◽

Kenneth O. Simpson

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Single Subject ◽

Clinical Behavior ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Treatment Data ◽

Computer Monitors

The use of computer monitors to provide technology-based written feedback during clinical sessions, referred to as “bug-in-the-eye” (BITi) feedback, recently emerged in the literature with preliminary evidence to support its effectiveness (Carmel, Villatte, Rosenthal, Chalker & Comtois, 2015; Weck et al., 2016). This investigation employed a single-subject, sequential A-B design with two participants to observe the effects of implementing BITi feedback using a smartwatch on the clinical behavior of student clinicians (SCs). Baseline and treatment data on the stimulus-response-consequence (S-R-C) contingency completion rates of SCs were collected using 10 minute segments of recorded therapy sessions. All participants were students enrolled in a clinical practicum experience in a communication disorders and sciences (CDS) program. A celeration line, descriptive statistics, and stability band were used to analyze the data by slope, trend, and variability. Results demonstrated a significant correlative relationship between BITi feedback with a smartwatch and an increase in positive clinical behaviors. Based on qualitative interviews and exit rating scales, SCs reported BITi feedback was noninvasive and minimally distracting. Preliminary evidence suggests BITi feedback with a smartwatch may be an effective tool for providing real-time clinical feedback.

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Too Much to Bear

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000355 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 59-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicole J. Peak ◽

James C. Overholser ◽

Josephine Ridley ◽

Abby Braden ◽

Lauren Fisher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Concurrent Validity ◽

Medical Center ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Diagnostic Interview ◽

Veterans Affairs ◽

Self Report ◽

Perceived Burdensomeness ◽

Scale Method

Abstract. Background: People who feel they have become a burden on others may become susceptible to suicidal ideation. When people no longer feel capable or productive, they may assume that friends and family members would be better off without them. Aim: The present study was designed to assess preliminary psychometric properties of a new measure, the Perceived Burdensomeness (PBS) Scale. Method: Depressed psychiatric patients (N = 173) were recruited from a veterans affairs medical center. Patients were assessed with a structured diagnostic interview and self-report measures assessing perceived burdensomeness, depression severity, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. Results: The present study supported preliminary evidence of reliability and concurrent validity of the PBS. Additionally, perceived burdensomeness was significantly associated with higher levels of hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: It is hoped that with the aid of the PBS clinicians may be able to intervene more specifically in the treatment of suicidality.

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Different Forms of Work Satisfaction

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040.3.3.209 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 209-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

André Büssing ◽

Thomas Bissels

Keyword(s):

Work Satisfaction ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Qualitative Approach ◽

Extended Model ◽

Work Situation ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Global Satisfaction ◽

Evaluative Processes ◽

The Right ◽

Level Of Aspiration

The extended model of different forms of work satisfaction ( Büssing, 1991 ), originally proposed by Bruggemann (1974) , is suggested as a distinctive qualitative approach to work satisfaction. Six forms of work satisfaction—progressive, stabilized, resigned satisfaction, constructive, fixated, resigned dissatisfaction—are derived from the constellation of four constituent variables: comparison of the actual work situation and personal aspirations, global satisfaction, changes in level of aspiration, controllability at work. Preliminary evidence from semi-structured interviews with 46 nurses shows that the dynamic model is headed in the right direction (qualitative differentiation of consistently high propertions of satisfied employees, uncovering processes of person-work situation interaction). Qualitative methods demonstrated their usefulness in accessing underlying cognitive and evaluative processes of the forms, which are often neglected by traditional attitude-based satisfaction research.

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