Inferential Communication: Bridging the Gap Between Intentional and Ostensive Communication in Non-human Primates

Communication, when defined as an act intended to affect the psychological state of another individual, demands the use of inference. Either the signaler, the recipient, or both must make leaps of understanding which surpass the semantic information available and draw from pragmatic clues to fully imbue and interpret meaning. While research into human communication and the evolution of language has long been comfortable with mentalistic interpretations of communicative exchanges, including rich attributions of mental state, research into animal communication has balked at theoretical models which describe mentalized cognitive mechanisms. We submit a new theoretical perspective on animal communication: the model of inferential communication. For use when existing proximate models of animal communication are not sufficient to fully explain the complex, flexible, and intentional communication documented in certain species, specifically non-human primates, we present our model as a bridge between shallower, less cognitive descriptions of communicative behavior and the perhaps otherwise inaccessible mentalistic interpretations of communication found in theoretical considerations of human language. Inferential communication is a framework that builds on existing evidence of referentiality, intentionality, and social inference in primates. It allows that they might be capable of applying social inferences to a communicative setting, which could explain some of the cognitive processes that enable the complexity and flexibility of primate communication systems. While historical models of animal communication focus on the means-ends process of behavior and apparent cognitive outcomes, inferential communication invites consideration of the mentalistic processes that must underlie those outcomes. We propose a mentalized approach to questions, investigations, and interpretations of non-human primate communication. We include an overview of both ultimate and proximate models of animal communication, which contextualize the role and utility of our inferential communication model, and provide a detailed breakdown of the possible levels of cognitive complexity which could be investigated using this framework. Finally, we present some possible applications of inferential communication in the field of non-human primate communication and highlight the role it could play in advancing progress toward an increasingly precise understanding of the cognitive capabilities of our closest living relatives.

Depression Risk Factors for Knowledge Workers in the Post-Capitalist Society of Taiwan

This study aimed to examine the depression risk factors for knowledge workers aged 20–64 in the post-capitalist society of Taiwan. Interview data from 2014 and 2019 were adopted for quantitative analysis of the depression risk by demographic and individual characteristics. The results showed that the depression risks of knowledge workers were not affected by demographic variables in a single period. From 2014 to 2019, the prevalence of high depression risk in knowledge workers aged 20–64 years increased over time. The more attention is paid to gender equality in society, the less the change in the gender depression index gap may be seen. Positive psychological state and family relationships are both depression risk factors and depression protective factors. Being male, married, religious, and aged 45–49 years old were found to be critical risk factors. Variables of individual characteristics could effectively predict depression risk.

Advantages and Limits of Remote Care and Stress Management Experienced by Mothers of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities During the Covid-19 Period

These instructions give you guidelines for preparing papers. Use this document as a template if you are using Microsoft Word. Otherwise, use this document as an instruction set.. Define all symbols used in the abstract. Do not cite references in the abstract. Do not delete the blank line immediately above the abstract; it sets the footnote at the bottom of this column. Page margins are 1,78 cm top and down; 1,65 cm left and right. Each column width is 8,89 cm and the separation between the columns is 0,51 cm. Abstract-Introduction : The period of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic has harmful consequences on the psychological state of parents and their children, especially those with psychological or neurocognitive problems. The care of these children plays a primordial role in their development, particularly during the COVID-19 period. For this reason, our objective is to assess the state of stress among mothers of children with learning disabilities during the COVID-19 period in Morocco, as well as the support of these children. Materials and methods : This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted during the period from April to June 2020. To realise it, we used a investigation form which contains three parts. To evaluate the state of stress in mothers, we used the "PSS10d" scale adapted to the Moroccan context. The target population is composed of mothers of children with learning disabilities who are being monitored by Moroccan Association for Learning Disorders and Difficulties (MALDD) in Casablanca. Results : During the period of confinement, only 13% (n=15) of mothers reported that their children "Dys" had benefited from remote remediation by specialists According to the Odds Ratio calculation, the risk factors influencing the care of "Dys" children during this period of confinement are: lack of cooperation from the child (Odds Ratio= 16.8; IC95%=[3.5-79]). 1]; P-value=0.001), the educational level of mothers (Odds Ratio= 9.4; IC95%=[2.4-35.7]; P-value=0.001), the economic situation (Odds Ratio= 5.1; IC95%=[1.5-17.4]; P-value=0.01) and technical problems (Odds Ratio= 5.1; IC95%=[1.5-17.4]; P-value=0.01). Conclusion : According to our results, we noticed that the psychological state of the mothers is influenced by the remote care of the "Dys" children. For this the responsible authorities in Morocco must support this population.

Aggressive Language in Literature: A Pragmatic Approach

Aggression is a negative form of an anti-social behavior. It is produced because of a particular reason, desire, want, need, or due to the psychological state of the aggressor. It injures others physically or psychologically. Aggressive behaviors in human interactions cause discomfort and disharmony among interlocutors. The paper aims to identify how aggressive language manifests itself in the data under scrutiny in terms of the pragmatic paradigm. Two British literary works are the data; namely, Look Back in Anger by John Osborne (1956), and The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter (1957). This paper endeavors to answer the question of how aggressive language is represented in literature pragmatically? It is hoped to be significant to linguistic and psychological studies in that it clarifies how aggression is displayed in human communications linguistically. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are conducted to verify the findings. It ends with some concluding remarks, the most important of which are: insulting, belittling, ridiculing and threatening are prevalent speech acts; simile, hyperbole, metaphor and repetition appear due to Grice’s maxims breaching while the use of taboo words, calling names, or abusive words are the impoliteness strategies that are distinguished in the data.

Sportsman’s Mental State Evaluation and Early Warning Method Using Decision Tree

Aiming at the intelligent needs of psychological state assessment of university students, the text information-based psychological problem identification approach is investigated in the paper. This approach uses the text of student forums within universities as the database and introduces the convolutional neural network (CNN) model in deep learning, which contains a convolutional layer, a pooling layer, and a fully connected layer. After the convolution is completed, the convolution result is de-linearized by the activation function, and then pooling is performed to improve the fitting ability of the network for nonlinearities. For data processing, behavioral features attribute features, content features, and social relationship features are extracted from text information as the input of the CNN by using the decision tree. The psychological lexicon of expertise (LIWC) is used to enhance the efficiency of text word frequency statistics when performing text content extraction. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, simulations are performed in the open dataset of CLPsyh2017 ReachOut Forum, and the FastText method is used as a comparison. The results show that the CNN model achieves an accuracy of 0.71 in the full-sample domain, which is significantly higher than that of the FastText model at 0.64. In the early warning evaluation of mental states, the CNN performance is better than that of FastText.

The Relationship Between Urinary Symptom Severity And Functional Status İn Patients With Stroke

Background Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction (LUTD) is a condition that is common in stroke patients and affects their quality of life and psychological state. Aim To determine the factors affecting LUTD severity in stroke patients and to evaluate its relationship with functional status. Method 77 stroke patients were included in our study. Demographic and stroke characteristics of all patients were recorded. Functional Ambulation Scale (FAS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Score (CLSS) Questionnaire, Beck Depression Scale were administered to the patient. 33 of 77 patients had urodynamic study and these patients constituted the subgroup of the study. Patients were grouped according to type of disorder, type of detrusor and detrusor sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) using urodynamic study findings. Result The mean CLSS of men was significantly higher than women ( P = 0.017). A significant positive correlation was found between age and CLSS ( P = 0.035 r = 0.24) and negative correlation was found between total FIM and all sub-parameter scores and mean of CLSS ( P = 0.001 r = -0.467). Conclusion LUTD is common in stroke patients and the presence of urinary symptoms is associated with poor functional status. No significant relationship was observed between urodynamic data except maximum flow rate and CLSS.

Effects of drug abuse and mental disorders on oral health: a case report

Substance use disorders, related to mental health issues can lead to oral pathologies. The purpose of this case report was to identify the oral conditions and manifestations in a 28-year-old male narco-dependent schizophrenic who smoked tobacco and marijuana. In intra-oral clinical exploration, poor oral hygiene, excessive tartar formation and dental plaque were observed, and the diagnosis of severe chronic periodontitis was established. The choice of a treatment plan in such patients is complex because the consequences of an invasive treatment can aggravate the psychological state and emotional stability leading to a negative effect on behaviour and mental health due to edentulism. The effects of excessive drug consumption related to schizophrenia can cause poor oral hygiene habits leading to oral pathologies and the loss of teeth. Keywords: drugs, schizophrenia, oral manifestations, mental health, oral pathologies.

Psychological Status, Compliance, Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, and Nerve Growth Factor Levels of Patients with Depression after Augmented Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Objective. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a cost-effective psychosocial program that prevents relapse/recurrence in major depression. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of augmented MBCT along with standard treatment dominated by pharmacotherapy on psychological state, compliance, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and nerve growth factor (NGF) expression levels in patients with depression. Methods. A total of 160 eligible patients with depression in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were included in this study. The study randomly assigned the patients to the experimental group (n = 80) and control group (n = 80). All participants were assessed with the questionnaires including the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ), and Stigma Scale (Scale of Stigma in People with Mental Illness, SSPM). The serum levels of BDNF and NGF were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. After 8 weeks of treatment, the experimental group showed significant lower HAMD-17 score, higher RSES, and SAQ score, as well as lower SSPM score compared with the control group ( P < 0.01 ). Furthermore, ELISA revealed that the serum levels of BDNF and NGF remarkably increased in the experimental group after treatment ( P < 0.001 ). Conclusions. Our data showed that augmented MBCT combined with pharmacotherapy contributed to improvement on patients’ psychological state, compliance, and disease recurrence.

Animal Activity Recognition From Sensor Data Using Ensemble Learning

Animal activity recognition is an important task to monitor the behavior of animals to know their health condition and psychological state. To provide a solution for this need, this study is aimed to build an internet of things (IoT) system that predicts the activities of animals based on sensor data obtained from embedded devices attached to animals. This chapter especially considers the problem of prediction of goat activity using three types of sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer. Five possible goat activities are of interest, including stationary, grazing, walking, trotting, and running. The utility of five ensemble learning methods was investigated, including random forest, extremely randomized trees, bagging trees, gradient boosting, and extreme gradient boosting. The results showed that all these methods achieved good performance (>94%) on the datasets. Therefore, this study can be successfully used by professionals such as farmers, vets, and animal behaviorists where animal tracking may be crucial.

Loneliness of seniors in long-term care institutions and COVID-19 restrictions

The ageing of society is a significant social and economic challenge in the 21st century Europe. The article analyses loneliness and social isolation among seniors in long-term care (LTC) institutions, as well as how COVID-19 restrictions influence their social isolation. Loneliness and social isolation are different phenomena, but they are interconnected. The feeling of loneliness is a person’s psychological state, but it is especially exacerbated among seniors. Loneliness is closely linked to the deficit of social relations. The study employs a mixed methods approach: a survey using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and semi-structured interviews with social workers in LTC institutions during the first wave of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. A significant number of seniors in LTC experience loneliness or social isolation. The qualitative interviews reveal factors that account for loneliness among seniors. The study also indicates how social workers can reduce seniors’ sense of loneliness and social isolation caused by COVID-19 restrictions. Daily routines and pandemic constraints in LTC institutions to some extent limit the social worker’s ability to address the loneliness of seniors.