Letter visual similarity of Japanese hiragana and katakana based on reaction times

AbstractLetter similarity (i.e., perceptual distance) is a critical measure to better understand letter perception and literacy development. Despite its importance, however, measurements of letter similarity for non-alphabetic scripts are limited, and the shortage of letter similarity for non-alphabetic script interferes with the identification of the universality and the uniqueness of letter perception systems across different scripts. In the present study, we provide a comprehensive matrix of letter similarity for Japanese kana letters (hiragana and katakana). We obtained the discrimination reaction times for simultaneously presented letter pairs and calculated the perceptual distance of 4,278 letter pairs by inversing the time. The matrix showed significant correlations with previously obtained letter similarity for hiragana and katakana. An additional experiment showed that letter pairs for the same sounds (え–エ) produced significantly slower responses compared with those for different sounds (え–コ). However, the differences in reaction times between the same and different sound conditions were smaller than the sequentially presented conditions, suggesting that the matrix was partially attributable to knowledge-based factors (e.g., letter-sound knowledge). This first comprehensive matrix of letter similarity (i.e., perceptual distance) for Japanese kana letters (hiragana and katakana) will be useful for researchers interested in letter perception and literacy development.

The Effect of Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim) on the Taste Perception of Stewed Sheep Tail Fat by LC-QTOF-MS/MS and a Chemometrics Analysis

This work aims to explore the contribution of prickly ash (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim) on the taste perception of stewed sheep tail fat. Liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) was applied to analyze the taste-related compounds. A total of 99 compounds in different sheep tail fat samples were identified. The semi-quantitative results showed that there were differences between the samples. The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model without overfitting was used to investigate the effect of prickly ash. Eleven marker compounds were predicted with a variable importance for projection > 1, fold change > 2 and p < 0.05. An additional experiment showed that guanosine 5′-monophosphate, malic acid, inosine and adenosine 5′-monophosphate could improve the umami and saltiness taste of stewed sheep tail fat.

Visual Search Asymmetry Due to the Relative Magnitude Represented by Number Symbols

In visual search tasks, physically large target stimuli are more easily identified among small distractors than are small targets among large distractors. The present study extends this finding by presenting preliminary evidence of a new search asymmetry: stimuli that symbolically represent larger magnitude are identified more easily among featurally equivalent distractors that represent smaller magnitude. Participants performed a visual search task using line-segment digits representing the numbers 2 and 5, and the numbers 6 and 9, as well as comparable non-numeric control stimuli. In three experiments, we found that search times are faster when the target is a digit that represents a larger magnitude than the distractor, although this pattern was not evident in one additional experiment. The results provide suggestive evidence that the magnitude of a number symbol can affect perceptual comparisons between number symbols, and that the semantic meaning of a target stimulus can systematically affect visual search.

Psychological ownership interventions increase interest in claiming government benefits

Each year, eligible individuals forgo billions of dollars in financial assistance in the form of government benefits. To address this participation gap, we identify psychological ownership of government benefits as a factor that significantly influences individuals’ interest in applying for government benefits. Psychological ownership refers to how much an individual feels that a target is their own. We propose that the more individuals feel that government benefits are their own, the less likely they are to perceive applying for them as an aversive ask for help, and thus, the more likely they are to pursue them. Three large-scale field experiments among low-income individuals demonstrate that higher psychological ownership framing of government benefits significantly increases participants’ pursuit of benefits and outperforms other common psychological interventions. An additional experiment shows that this effect occurs because greater psychological ownership reduces people’s general aversion to asking for assistance. Relative to control messages, these psychological ownership interventions increased interest in claiming government benefits by 20% to 128%. These results suggest that psychological ownership framing is an effective tool in the portfolio of potential behavioral science interventions and a simple way to stimulate interest in claiming benefits.

Stimulus–response complexity influences task-set inhibition in task switching

Previous studies have found that inhibiting a task set plays an important role in task switching. However, the impact of stimulus–response (S–R) complexity on this inhibition processing has not been explored. In this study, we applied the backward inhibition paradigm (switching between tasks A, B, and C, presented in sets of three) in order to investigate inhibition performance under different S–R complexities caused by corresponding S–R mappings. The results showed that the difficult condition resulted in a greater switch cost than the moderate and easy conditions. Furthermore, we found a significant n−2 repetition cost under the easy S–R complexity that was reversed under the difficult S–R complexity. To verify stability of the reversed n−2 repetition cost in the difficult condition, we recruited another independent sample to conduct an additional experiment with the difficult condition. These results replicated the reversed n−2 repetition cost. These findings suggest that S–R complexity affects task-set inhibition in task switching because the effect of the task-set inhibition was insignificant when the S–R complexity increased; it was only significant under the easy condition. This result was caused by the different cognitive resource assignments.

An eye-tracking study of letter-sound correspondence in Japanese-speaking 2- to 3-year-old toddlers

Although the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences is a critical step in reading development, how and when children develop such correspondence remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we focused on Japanese hiragana letters to examine the implicit letter-sound correspondence using an eye-tracking technique for 80 Japanese-speaking toddlers. The results showed that 32- to 48-month-olds (but not 24- to 32-month-olds) directed their gaze at the target letter. An additional experiment on a letter-reading task showed that 32- to 40-month-olds could barely read the presented hiragana letters. These findings suggest that toddlers have already begun to grasp implicit letter-sound correspondences well before actually acquiring the ability to read letters.

The effects of locations on the build tray on the quality of specimens in powder bed additive manufacturing

In this study, the effect of powder spreading direction was investigated on selectively laser-melted specimens. The results showed that the metallurgical properties of the specimens varied during fabrication with respect to their position on the build tray. The density, porosity, and tensile properties of the Co–Cr–W–Mo alloy were investigated on cuboid and tensile specimens fabricated at different locations. Two different significant positions on the tray were selected along the powder spreading direction. One set of specimens was located near the start line of powder spreading, and the other set was located near the end of the building tray. The main role in the consequences of powder layering was played by the distribution of powder particle sizes and the packing density of the layers. As a result, laser penetration, melt pool formation, and fusion characteristics varied. To confirm the occurrence of variations in sample density, an additional experiment was performed with a Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Furthermore, the powders were collected at two different fabricating locations and their size distribution for both materials was investigated.

The Consumer Citizen, Trust, and Operational Transparency

This chapter examines the consumer citizen and trust in government. Approaching citizens as consumer citizens can affect trust in government. Increases in trust can be obtained by using “operational transparency,” a concept from social psychology and management. Higher levels of operational transparency can make consumers more loyal and supportive of companies. An experiment conducted with the consumer psychologists who pioneered operational transparency makes clear that a similar dynamic can affect trust in government. When people see a computer simulation of the construction of a generic American town dubbed “Anytown” that meets the standards of operational transparency, their trust in government shoots up. However, as an additional experiment shows, when applied to governmental processes, operational transparency can reduce trust in government.

Commercial-Aircraft-Based Observations for NWP: Global Coverage, Data Impacts, and COVID-19

Weather observations from commercial aircraft constitute an essential component of the global observing system and have been shown to be the most valuable observation source for short-range numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems over North America. However, the distribution of aircraft observations is highly irregular in space and time. In this study, we summarize the recent state of aircraft observation coverage over the globe and provide an updated quantification of its impact upon short-range NWP forecast skill. Aircraft observation coverage is most dense over the contiguous United States and Europe, with secondary maxima in East Asia and Australia/New Zealand. As of late November 2019, 665 airports around the world had at least one daily ascent or descent profile observation; 400 of these come from North American or European airports. Flight reductions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a 75% reduction in aircraft observations globally as of late April 2020. A set of data denial experiments with the latest version of the Rapid Refresh NWP system for recent winter and summer periods quantifies the statistically significant positive forecast impacts of assimilating aircraft observations. A special additional experiment excluding approximately 80% of aircraft observations reveals a reduction in forecast skill for both summer and winter amounting to 30%–60% of the degradation seen when all aircraft observations are excluded. These results represent an approximate quantification of the NWP impact of COVID-19-related commercial flight reductions, demonstrating that regional NWP guidance is degraded as a result of the decreased number of aircraft observations.

Enhancing Punishment or Repairing Harms? Perceptions of Sentencing Hate Crimes Amongst Members of a Commonly Targeted Victim Group

This article investigates the attitudes and emotional reactions of LGBT+ people to enhanced sentencing (ES) and restorative justice (RJ) interventions for hate crime. When forced to choose between interventions, our survey (N = 589) found a preference for the use of RJ over ES, which was perceived to be better at reducing reoffending and supporting victims. Nevertheless, the study found greater average levels of support for the use of ES for hate crime, which was predicted by previous experiences of hate crime, perceptions of threat and feelings of anger. An additional experiment (N = 120) revealed RJ, in response to a hate crime, elicited less anger and sadness and higher levels of satisfaction compared with an ES intervention.