Putting the Pieces Together: Mental Construction of Semantically Congruent and Incongruent Scenes in Dementia

Scene construction refers to the process by which humans generate richly detailed and spatially cohesive scenes in the mind’s eye. The cognitive processes that underwrite this capacity remain unclear, particularly when the envisaged scene calls for the integration of various types of contextual information. Here, we explored social and non-social forms of scene construction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD; n = 11) and the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD; n = 15) relative to healthy older control participants (n = 16) using a novel adaptation of the scene construction task. Participants mentally constructed detailed scenes in response to scene–object cues that varied in terms of their sociality (social; non-social) and congruence (congruent; incongruent). A significant group × sociality × congruence interaction was found whereby performance on the incongruent social scene condition was significantly disrupted in both patient groups relative to controls. Moreover, bvFTD patients produced significantly less contextual detail in social relative to non-social incongruent scenes. Construction of social and non-social incongruent scenes in the patient groups combined was significantly associated with independent measures of semantic processing and visuospatial memory. Our findings demonstrate the influence of schema-incongruency on scene construction performance and reinforce the importance of episodic–semantic interactions during novel event construction.

“El Caribe que nos une” Relaciones Públicas en Cuba: una mirada desde el Turismo / "The Caribbean that unites us" Public Relations in Cuba: a tourism perspective

Public Relations have been classified into 6 stages from its emergence in Cuba (1956) to date (2021); However, it was not until the third phase (1990-1998) that the discipline began to awaken, coinciding with the germination of the specialty in the political, economic and social scene in which the country found itself in those years. The 90s also set the tone in the development of Tourism in Cuba, from then on several tourist institutions were created or expanded such as travel agencies, hotel and extra-hotel entities, including the Ministry of Tourism - hereinafter MINTUTR- ; Likewise, various avenues of relations were established, which made it possible to demonstrate the role that Public Relations played on the island. This binomial became increasingly important, also achieving a bidirectional sense, to the point that the exponential growth of Tourism is attributed - to a certain extent - to Public Relations. A small diagnosis carried out during the investigative process, showed that there are a set of weaknesses in relation to the current attention of Public Relations in the territory, which need to be combated and take a series of measures for their improvement, much more so, if they are takes into account that the current situation in Cuba was exacerbated by the entire epidemiological scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which results in further distancing from the competition. This tool has been of vital importance, since it is present in the customer experience cycle in the 4 key moments: attraction, attention, loyalty and feedback; and where the figure of the public relations officer is empowered from graduates in the communication area, to those who are in some way in direct contact with the client, since although they do not know the theory, it does add great value to their satisfaction, reaching even turning a product / service that did not deliver on its promise into a positive one. The aforementioned diagnosis is carried out mainly from: bibliographic review, interview with specialists from different tourism companies, business owners and the assessment of experts through a test on the purification or relevance of the problems obtained. From this, two great results are reached where a series of essential opportunities are displayed for the improvement of Public Relations from the tourist perspective. The first summarizes the concept of strong binomial that exists between Tourism and Public Relations, in such a way that, if the found weaknesses were solved, it would be possible to enhance the confidence of the tourism sector and therefore of Public Relations. This section is supported by 4 elements that are pointed out in order to achieve the success of this first task. These fundamentals are: structure, the education of the new public relations officer, interrelationships and competition. The second focuses on the change in behavior that has caused the impact of the pandemic, which puts in value not only the role of Public Relations, but also shows that they are facing a new challenge. In summary, the research makes it clear that, if the aforementioned actions are carried out, success will be achieved in the development of Public Relations in Tourism in Cuba.

Social attention in anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorder: Role of social motivation

Research suggests a relationship between anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the current study was to examine social attention in anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorder compared with age- and sex-matched typically developing groups, and to examine whether lowered social motivation could explain reductions in social attention across the two disorders. Participants’ eye movements were tracked while watching a dynamic social scene. The proportion of fixation duration to faces, bodies and non-social areas of interest were compared across groups. Participants with autism spectrum disorder looked at faces significantly less often than controls, however, there were no differences between anorexia nervosa and controls in attention to faces. Typically developing -normed z-scores indicated that attention to faces showed the greatest deviation from normative data compared with body or non-social areas of interest in both autism spectrum disorder and anorexia nervosa, however, differences were larger in autism spectrum disorder than in anorexia nervosa. Social motivation scores did not predict attention to faces in either autism spectrum disorder or anorexia nervosa. Our results do not support the hypothesis that differences in social motivation underlie reduced social attention in both anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorder. Lay abstract Research suggests a relationship between autism and anorexia nervosa. For example, rigid and inflexible behaviour, a preference for routine and social difficulties are seen in both conditions. In this study, we examined whether people with anorexia and people with autism show similarities in social attention (where they look while engaging in social interactions or watching a scene with people interacting). This could help us understand why people with anorexia and autism experience difficulties in social situations. Participants with either anorexia or autism, as well as participants with no mental health problems watched a video of a social scene while we recorded which parts of the scene they looked at with an eye-tracker. Participants also completed questionnaires to assess characteristics of autism. We found that autistic participants looked at faces less than typically developing participants. However, participants with anorexia did not show a similar reduction in attention to faces, contrary to our predictions. Autistic features were not related to attention in either group. The results suggest that autistic people may miss important social cues (like facial expressions), potentially contributing to social difficulties. However, this mechanism does not appear explain social difficulties in people with anorexia.

The Market in Poetry in the Persian World

'Poetic speech is a pearl, connected to the king's ear.' This statement gestures to words as objects of material value sought by those with power and resources. I provide a sense for the texture of the Persian world by discussing what made poetry precious. By focusing on reports on poets' lives, I illuminate the social scene in which poetry was produced and consumed. The discussion elicits poetry's close connections to political and religious authority, economic exchange, and the articulation of gender. At the broadest level, the study substantiates the interdependency between cultural and material reproduction of society.

Relevansi metode khalwat dalam proses pembelajaran pada masa pandemi COVID-19

<p class="15bIsiAbstractBInggris"><em>This study aims to examine the relevance of the seclusion (khalwat) method in the learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic. The method used is library research with an emphasis on analysis of classical references which are the source of the seclusion method. The results of the study indicate that the seclusion method is very relevant to be used in the learning process during the COVID-19 period with the following considerations: (1) The seclusion process takes place in three stages; separation, namely the process of separating oneself from the crowd; Initiation is the process of seclusion, concentration and dive deep within to find enlightenment; and return, namely returning to the social scene with a new vision. (2) The seclusion process is very in line with the psychological conditions of students where conditions require students to practice social distancing and stay away from crowds. (3) The seclusion method aims to foster calm within the perpetrator so that it can be used as an effort to overcome mental disorders of students caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.</em></p><p class="15cKeywordsBInggris"><strong><br /></strong></p><p class="16aJudulAbstrak"><strong>Abstrak</strong></p><p class="16bIsiAbstrak">Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji relevansi metode <em>khalwat</em> dalam proses pembelajaran pada masa pandemik COVID-19. Metode yang digunakan adalah <em>library research</em> dengan penekanan kepada analisis terhadap referensi klasik yang menjadi sumber dari metode <em>khalwat</em>. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa metode <em>khalwat</em> sangat relevan untuk digunakan dalam proses pembelajaran pada masa COVID-19 dengan pertimbangan, yaitu: (1) Proses <em>khalwat</em> berlangsung dalam tiga tahap; s<em>eparation</em> yaitu proses memisahkan diri dari keramaian; <em>Initiation</em> adalah proses mengasingkan diri, berkonsentrasi dan menukik jauh ke dalam diri untuk menemukan pencerahan; dan <em>return</em> yaitu kembali ke kancah pergaulan dengan visi baru. (2) Proses <em>khalwat</em> tersebut sangat <em>inline</em> dengan kondisi kejiwaan peserta didik di mana kondisi mengharuskan peserta didik untuk melakukan <em>social distancing</em> dan menjauhi keramaian. (3) Metode <em>khalwat</em> bertujuan untuk menumbuhkan ketenangan dalam diri pelakunya sehingga dapat dijadikan upaya untuk menanggulangi gangguan jiwa peserta didik yang diakibatkan oleh pandemik COVID-19.</p>

Addison’s Modesty, or the Essayist as Spectator

The disengaged position of Mr Spectator, who observes life without participating in it, is related to Addison’s interest in an inexpressive reticence or modesty in language and in manners. How can this valorization of reserve be reconciled with The Spectator’s saturation in the social scene, a scene which is everywhere held up as open to appraisal? Comparison with Adam Smith’s ‘impartial spectator’ in The Theory of Moral Sentiments reveals Addison’s greater emphasis on the function of the imagination, such that the spectatorial viewpoint is often felt as an imagined viewpoint, a place to visit rather than to reside. This chimes with Addison’s way of endorsing Locke as a thinker who emphasizes the role of the mind’s suppositions and projections in the construction of experience. Genial recognition of the provisionality of what is imagined is key to Addison’s celebrated humour (especially in the Roger de Coverley papers), while the sense of an elusive imaginative agency gives the apparent spontaneity of his ‘easy’ style its subtle irony and its power to delight.

Searching for A Feminist Rights: A Postmodernist Analysis of Selected Poems by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath is one of those American poets who left their thumbprints on early postmodernist writings in America. Though, she lived a short life concluded by a horrible suicide, she produced a large body of poetry whose importance could have competed with later postmodernist poetry such as that written by Adrienne Rich, Maya Angelo and Harriet Mullen. The form and content of Plath's poetry demonstrated a new way of writing in comparison to the modernist poetry that preceded her time. When postmodernism meant the ultimate end of previous metanarratives and philosophies of form and content of writing and when postmodernism advocated selfgeneration over self-understanding, Plath appeared as a newly generated poet with a feminist message. Her appeal for a feminist position found support in the rapidly developing public sphere, which America witnessed during 1960s, as well as in the artistic and literary postmodernist sphere that accompanied it. To make an account for Sylvia Plath's achievement in this respect, the researcher divides the present paper into an introduction, three sections and a conclusion: The introduction of the paper sets the background of Sylvia Plath's literary rise and significance in her posthumous literary American scene. Section One discusses Plath's fight for a feminist role as it started early inside her family. The researcher selects a couple of poems to define the different sides of this internal struggle. Section Two moves out to the larger social scene which Plath choses to confirm her feminist demand on an external level. Here, she re-introduces the images of the 'bee' and the 'spider' to support her feminist stand. Section Three sheds light upon the theme of suicide and how it allures Plath as a means to define her feminist self. The Conclusion sums up the findings of the paper.

Gender Identification in Language Other than Mother-Tongue: A Case of Non-Thai Listeners Deciphering a Thai Male Speaker’s Gender

This paper explores what factors contribute to distinguishing gay sounding and straight man sounding speech; linguistic cognate or social knowledge and whether the gender of listeners also determines ability in identification. To answer these questions, 286 participants were classified by nationality into 3 groups of participants: Thai listeners as a control group, Zhuang, and Other listeners. They were asked to listen to 12 voice stimuli in Thai from straight and gay men and identify the gender of the speakers. The outcome revealed that the accuracy rate in identifying a speaker’s gender varied among the 3 groups of listeners with Thai listeners scoring the highest in gender identification, followed by the Others and Zhuang respectively. This indicates that social knowledge gained from one’s presence Thailand is more important than linguistic cognate. Gender identification may have been made based on the expectation of the ‘typical’ social scene such as the high visibility of gay men in Thailand. The results also suggest that gender of the listeners does not have a significant bearing on the ability to differentiate gay and straight male voices.

Women in Diplomacy in Late Eighteenth-Century Istanbul

This article identifies the different roles played by women in the diplomatic corps of the Pera embassies of Christian-ruled states. It focuses on women operating in and from the Habsburg embassy during the last two decades of the eighteenth century, a period marked by the revolutionary wars and the beginning of the ‘Eastern Question’. Using a microhistorical approach, this article analyses how women facilitated the embedding of individual members of the diplomatic corps in Pera's diplomatic social scene, the social integration of young diplomats, and the development of the trans-imperial networks of influence upon which diplomats heavily depended. It shifts the focus from states to actors and invites a more systematic development of a diplomatic history based on networks of non-official agents, thus enabling an improved understanding of the family, social, and urban dynamics that led to the development of political elites. This article draws on a set of private sources and parish sources in order to emphasize the role of households in the diplomacy of empires, the agenda of women in the management of patronage and power networks, and the diversity of their social affiliation.