INTERLANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT OF TURKISH SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH: EXPLORING ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Language learners employ communication strategies (CSs) to avoid communication breakdowns in times of difficulty, and such strategies develop within strategic competence thanks to exposure to a target language. This research is designed as a developmental study aiming to investigate the possible effects of exposure to English as a foreign language on the use of CSs in the interlanguage of Turkish speakers of English. To attain this aim, we chose 20 Turkish learners of English from the beginner level, and they designated the topics they would speak and write about. Their oral and written performances on the topics were tested at the beginning prior to instruction, in the middle, and at the end of the academic year to observe whether CS usage altered over time. The findings revealed that participants resorted to different types of CSs in their speaking and writing tasks. The comparison of CS employment in each test showed that learners’ CS preferences, as well as L1 and L2-based CSs, changed over time in both speaking and writing. Therefore, it is concluded that exposure to the target language may have a significant effect on the preference of CSs. The results of this study are significant as they suggested that CSs in interlanguage evolves from L1-based to L2-based strategies. The findings of this study have important implications for teaching English as a foreign language in reference to the effects of language exposure on the use of CSs in both oral and written performances of L2 learners.

A Developmental Study of Mirror-Gazing-Induced Anomalous Self-Experiences and Self-Reported Schizotypy from 7 to 28 Years of Age

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The mirror-gazing task (MGT) is an experimental paradigm inducing anomalous perceptions and anomalous experiences of self-face (ASEs) in the general population, ranging from changes in light and color, to face deformation, to experiencing one’s specular image as another identity. Subclinical ASEs have been related to the emergence of the risk for developing psychotic disorders, and inducing such states in the general population could shed light on the factors underlying interindividual differences in proneness to these phenomena. We aimed to examine the influence of schizotypal personality traits on proneness to experiencing induced ASEs from a developmental perspective, from childhood to adulthood. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Two hundred and sixteen children, adolescents, and young adults participated in the MGT, and their schizotypal personality traits were assessed with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Statistical analyses assessed the relationship between schizotypy dimensions and induced ASEs, and we further tested their dynamic relationship as function of age (from childhood to adulthood). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Results confirmed the developmental trajectory of the different schizotypy dimensions, with scores peaking during adolescence, and proneness to induced ASEs seemed to follow a similar developmental trajectory. Moreover, positive (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and disorganized (<i>p</i> = 0.004) dimensions were found to contribute to the proneness to experiencing induced ASEs. Finally, the developmental model showed that positive schizotypy (<i>p</i> = 0.035) uniquely distinguished between experiencing other-identity phenomena between childhood and adulthood. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study has the potential to inform research on early detection of psychosis through a developmental approach and links the concept of schizotypy with processes of perceptual self-distortions.

SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY CONCEPTS FROM DEVELOPMENTAL VIEW

In secondary school, where students begin to be more interested in physics, chemistry and biology, it is an important issue how their interests are in terms of all three subject areas according to grade levels. The aim of this study was to examine and evaluate the interest of secondary school students in the concepts of physics, chemistry and biology taught in science classes by grade level. The participants included 251 students enrolled in 16 different classrooms in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades in a boarding secondary school located in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey. The study was carried out as a developmental study in single screening model. For compliance with the research pattern, study data were collected with a questionnaire consisting of four open-ended questions, and the questionnaire was given to the students in order to find out their thoughts on the matter under consideration. In addition, the students were asked to draw a picture depicting the place and importance of science in their life and to explain their drawings briefly in writing. The data obtained from the open-ended questionnaire and drawings were analyzed through content analysis. The collected data were classified in categories and themes, and matrices were generated accordingly. In addition, frequency and percentage analysis was performed. As a result, science was found to be mostly associated with concepts regarding biology discipline by the students. Also, overall interest level was found to be higher with physics and biology topics at all grade levels studied here. Keywords: content analysis, science interest, science subjects, secondary school students

Older Adult Health and Remission of Risky Drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder: A Lifespan-Developmental Study

Older-adult drinking is a growing public-health concern. As part of a larger project investigating older adulthood by contrasting this with other adult developmental periods, this study used longitudinal U.S.-representative data to test bidirectional associations between drinking and health, emphasizing aging-related health concerns as potential mechanisms of remission from risky/problem drinking. In multiple-group cross-lag models, we found that effects of poor self-reported health on drinking reductions increased with age, reached significance around midlife, and were strongest in older adulthood. However, a caveat revealed by additional Markov transition models was that these effects did not extend to relatively severe older-adult drinkers (indexed by DSM-5 AUD). In some instances, poor health even predicted less older-adult AUD remission. Altogether, findings support the notion of aging-related health concerns as important mechanisms of older-adult drinking reduction; but highlight a need to understand barriers to these mechanisms among severe older-adult drinkers, in part toward guiding lifespan-developmentally-informed interventions.

Comparison of wavelet transformations to enhance convolutional neural network performance in brain tumor segmentation

Introduction and goal to background Due to the importance of segmentation of MRI images in identifying brain tumors, various methods including deep learning have been introduced for automatic brain tumor segmentation. On the other hand, using a combination of methods can improve their performance. Among them is the use of wavelet transform as an auxiliary element in deep networks. The analysis of the requirements of such combinations has been addressed in this study. Method In this developmental study, different wavelet functions were used to compress brain MRI images and finally as an auxiliary element in improving the performance of the convolutional neural network in brain tumor segmentation. Results Based on the results of the tests performed, the Daubechies1 function was most effective in enhancing network performance in segmenting MRI images and was able to balance the performance and computational overload. Conclusion Choosing the wavelet function to optimize the performance of a convolutional neural network should be based on the requirements of the problem, also taking into account some considerations such as computational load, processing time, and performance of the wavelet function in optimizing CNN output in the intended task.

A Signal Detection Approach to the Perception of Affective Prosody in Anxious Individuals: A Developmental Study

<p>The present study used a Signal Detection approach to the study of prosody perception in children and adults who self-reported high levels of anxiety. Seventy-one children aged eight and nine years, and 85 adults listened to filtered speech and were required to discriminate angry, fearful and happy tones of voice. Anxiety levels were not associated with perception of affective prosody in adults. Levels of anxiety were related to children's criterion but not sensitivity to prosody. Highly anxious children were significantly more liberal in reporting fearful prosody compared to low anxious children. Analyses of total responses suggest that this criterion is reflective of an interpretation bias as opposed to a response bias. Given that the interpretation bias was observed in children and not adults, it is possible that the bias may mark a vulnerability to develop further anxiety. This is consistent with previous experimental findings in other modalities as well as integrative models of anxiety development that identify such cognitive biases as predisposing factors. Furthermore, regardless of anxiety level, children were comparable to adults in their accuracy for fearful prosody, yet were significantly poorer than adults in their accuracy for angry and happy prosody. This suggests that fear may be one of the first emotions children learn to identify.</p>

A Signal Detection Approach to the Perception of Affective Prosody in Anxious Individuals: A Developmental Study

<p>The present study used a Signal Detection approach to the study of prosody perception in children and adults who self-reported high levels of anxiety. Seventy-one children aged eight and nine years, and 85 adults listened to filtered speech and were required to discriminate angry, fearful and happy tones of voice. Anxiety levels were not associated with perception of affective prosody in adults. Levels of anxiety were related to children's criterion but not sensitivity to prosody. Highly anxious children were significantly more liberal in reporting fearful prosody compared to low anxious children. Analyses of total responses suggest that this criterion is reflective of an interpretation bias as opposed to a response bias. Given that the interpretation bias was observed in children and not adults, it is possible that the bias may mark a vulnerability to develop further anxiety. This is consistent with previous experimental findings in other modalities as well as integrative models of anxiety development that identify such cognitive biases as predisposing factors. Furthermore, regardless of anxiety level, children were comparable to adults in their accuracy for fearful prosody, yet were significantly poorer than adults in their accuracy for angry and happy prosody. This suggests that fear may be one of the first emotions children learn to identify.</p>