5371. |
5372. A multi-level approach to the analysis of narrative language in aphasiaAndrea Marini, Sara Andreetta, Silvana Del Tin, Sergio Carlomagno, 2011, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: Several studies have shown that traditional standardised aphasia tests may not be sensitive enough to adequately assess linguistic deficits and recovery patterns in persons with aphasia. As a result, both functional and structural methods for the ana- lysis of connected language samples from people with aphasia have been devised (see Armstrong, 2000; Prins & Bastiaanse, 2004).
The present article focuses on our attempt to provide a comprehensive, multi-level procedure for both structural and functional analysis of narrative discourse produced by speakers with brain damage. Accordingly, we will describe a method for analysis of connected language samples elicited on single picture and cartoon story description tasks. This method has proven sensitive in the assessment of language deficits in many neurogenic populations.
A comprehensive description of the language production sys- tem, a thorough discussion of the different approaches to discourse analysis in persons with aphasia, and the procedure for the analysis of narrative discourse are detailed. The characteristics of the eliciting stimuli, the procedures for their administration and the transcription of the language samples are carefully explained. The analysis focuses on four main aspects of linguistic processing: productivity, lexical and grammatical pro- cessing, narrative organisation, and informativeness. To further illustrate the analytic procedure, two case reports and an appendix with the analysis of a narrative sample are provided.
We will provide direct evidence of the usefulness of the multi-level procedure for discourse analysis for assessing changes in discourse performance of two persons with fluent aphasia, with different aetiologies, that were not captured by tradi- tional standardised aphasia tests.
The method of analysis presented in this paper has strong grounds in linguistic and psychological theories of linguistic structure and functioning. It also has the advantage of being both quantitative and functional as it captures selective aspects of linguistic processing, and can provide relevant information about the person's communicative and informative skills. Ključne besede: aphasia, language, narrative analysis Objavljeno v RUNG: 07.03.2016; Ogledov: 4467; Prenosov: 1 Gradivo ima več datotek! Več... |
5373. Narrative discourse in anomic aphasiaSara Andreetta, Anna Cantagallo, Andrea Marini, 2012, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: Anomic aphasia is a disturbance affecting lexical retrieval. Nonetheless, persons with this disorder may also experience difficulties in the construction of coherent narratives. Whether this symptom is a sign of a macrolinguistic difficulty per se or reflects the lexical disorder is still an open debate. In order to analyze the effect of the lexical impairment on macrolinguistic processing, we compared the narrative skills of a group of ten participants with chronic anomic aphasia with those of ten healthy control individuals matched for age and educational level. The anomic participants produced narratives with lowered speech rate, reduced mean length of utterance, fewer grammatically well-formed sentences, more semantic paraphasias. The macrolinguistic analysis showed that they also produced more errors of cohesion and global coherence and fewer lexical information units. Interestingly, their levels of thematic selection were normal. A bivariate correlational analysis showed a strong correlation between the production of errors of cohesion and production of complete sentences, and between production of errors of global coherence and lexical information units. These correlations showed that aspects related to lexical retrieval may affect macrolinguistic processing during the construction of a narrative. Indeed, it is suggested that lexical deficits lead to two main consequences: First, patients with anomia frequently interrupt the utterances they are producing and this reduces the levels of sentence completeness and the overall degree of cohesion across the utterances; Second, they use strategies to cope with the lexical impairment and produce a quantity of lexical fillers and repetitions that, clustered in utterances, reduce the levels of global coherence. Ključne besede: aphasia, neurolinguistics, speech disorders, discourse analysis Objavljeno v RUNG: 07.03.2016; Ogledov: 4633; Prenosov: 0 Gradivo ima več datotek! Več... |
5374. Patterns of impairment of narrative language in mild traumatic brain injuryValentina Galetto, Sara Andreetta, Marina Zettin, Andrea Marini, 2013, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) represents a condition whose cognitive and behavioral sequelae are often underestimated, even when it exerts a profound impact on the patients’ every-day life. The present study aimed to analyze the features of narrative discourse impairment in a group of adults with mTBI. 10 mTBI non-aphasic speakers (GCS > 13) and 13 neurologically intact participants were recruited for the experiment. Their cognitive, linguistic and narrative skills were thoroughly assessed. The group of mTBIs exhibited normal phonological, lexical and grammatical skills. However, their narratives were characterized by the pres- ence of frequent interruptions of ongoing utterances, derailments and extraneous utterances that at times made their discourse vague and ambiguous. They produced more errors of global coherence [F (1; 21)1⁄424.242; p1⁄4.000; h2p1⁄40. 536] and fewer Lexical Information Units [F (1; 21) 1⁄4 7.068; p 1⁄4 .015; h2p 1⁄4 .252]. The errors of global coherence correlated negatively with non- perseverative errors on the WCST (r 1⁄4 1⁄4.755; p < .012). The mac- rolinguistic problems made their narrative samples less informa- tive than those produced by the group of control participants. These disturbances may reflect a deficit at the interface between cognitive and linguistic processing rather than a specific linguistic disturbance. These findings suggest that also persons with mild forms of TBI may experience linguistic disturbances that may hamper the quality of their every-day life. Ključne besede: mild traumatic brain injury, narrative analysis, neurolinguistics, neuropsychology Objavljeno v RUNG: 07.03.2016; Ogledov: 4832; Prenosov: 1 Gradivo ima več datotek! Več... |
5375. The effect of lexical deficits on narrative disturbances in fluent aphasiaSara Andreetta, Andrea Marini, 2015, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: Background: The label “fluent aphasia” applies to different aphasic syndromes char- acterised by fluent speech with difficulties in lexical retrieval and/or grammatical processing.
Aims: This study aims at investigating microlinguistic and macrolinguistic skills in persons with fluent aphasia. We hypothesised that their lexical and syntactic (i.e., microlinguistic) difficulties would affect also their narrative (i.e., macrolinguistic) skills.
Methods & Procedures: Growing evidence shows that traditional tests may not be sensitive enough to capture the patterns of the linguistic impairments observed in these persons. Therefore, we used a narrative task to elicit linguistic samples. Spontaneous speech was elicited through a picture description task. The narrative samples were analysed with a multilevel approach that allows clinicians to quantify their productivity levels as well as their lexical, grammatical, and narrative skills. The spontaneous speech produced by a group of 20 persons with fluent aphasia was compared to that of a group of 20 healthy participants. All participants with aphasia were in the phase of neurological stability. The two groups were matched for age and level of formal education.
Outcomes & Results: Results showed that the lexical impairment observed in the group of participants with fluent aphasia hampered the ability to produce well-formed sentences that, in turn, lowered the levels of cohesion of their narrative samples. Furthermore, the reduced levels of lexical informativeness were found correlated also to the production of errors of global coherence.
Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that in these patients, microlin- guistic difficulties might affect macrolinguistic processing. Furthermore, these results stress the importance of a multilevel approach to assess linguistic skills in patients with fluent aphasia, as it assesses both microlinguistic and macrolinguistic dimensions in parallel. Therefore, it allows linguists, psychologists, and clinicians to observe how the linguistic levels interact during natural language processing. Ključne besede: neurolinguistics, aphasia, discourse analysis, coherence Objavljeno v RUNG: 07.03.2016; Ogledov: 4631; Prenosov: 0 Gradivo ima več datotek! Več... |
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5377. Education, Outreach and Public Relations of the Pierre Auger ObservatoryCharles Timmermans, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The scale and scope of the physics studied at the Pierre Auger
Observatory continue to offer significant opportunities for
original outreach work. Education, outreach and public
relations of the Auger Collaboration are coordinated in a
dedicated task whose goals are to encourage and support
a wide range of efforts that link schools and the public with
the Auger scientists and the science of cosmic rays, particle
physics, and associated technologies. We focus on the impact of
the Collaboration in Mendoza Province, Argentina and beyond.
The Auger Visitor Center in Malargüe has hosted over 95,000
visitors since 2001, and a fifth Collaboration-sponsored
science fair was held on the Observatory campus in November
2014. The Rural Schools Program, which is run by Observatory
staff and which brings cosmic-ray science and infrastructure
improvements to remote schools, continues to broaden its
reach. Numerous online resources, video documentaries, and
animations of extensive air showers have been created for wide
public release. Increasingly, collaborators draw on these
resources to develop Auger related displays and outreach events
at their institutions and in public settings to disseminate the
science and successes of the Observatory worldwide. We also
highlight education and outreach activities associated with the
planned upgrade of the Observatory’s detector systems and
future physics goals. Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, cosmic rays physics, education, outreach, public relations Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4648; Prenosov: 184 Celotno besedilo (4,12 MB) |
5378. AugerNext: R&D studies at the Pierre Auger Observatory for a next generation ground-based ultra-high energy cosmic-ray experimentAndreas Haungs, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The findings so far of the Pierre Auger Observatory and those
of the Telescope Array define some requirements for a possible
next generation global cosmic ray observatory: it needs to be
considerably increased in size, it needs enhanced sensitivity
to composition, and it has to cover the full sky. At the Pierre
Auger Observatory, AugerNext aims to conduct some innovative
initial research studies on a design of a sophisticated hybrid
detector fulfilling these demands. Within a European supported
ASPERA/APPEC (Astroparticle Physics European Consortium)
project for the years 2011-2014, such R&D studies primarily
focused on the following areas: i) consolidation of the
detection of cosmic rays using MHz radio antennas; ii) proof-
of-principle of cosmic ray microwave detection; iii) test of
the large-scale application of new generation photo sensors;
iv) generalization of data communication techniques; and v)
development of new schemes for muon detection with surface
arrays. The AugerNext Consortium consists of 14 principal
investigators from 9 countries. This contribution summarizes
some achievements of the R&D studies within the AugerNext
project. Ključne besede: ultra-high energy cosmic-ray experiments, Pierre Auger Observatory, Telescope Array, AugerNext research and development study Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 5052; Prenosov: 198 Celotno besedilo (594,23 KB) |
5379. Status and Prospects of the Auger Engineering Radio ArrayJohannes Schulz, Andrej Filipčič, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Ahmed Saleh, Samo Stanič, Marta Trini, Darko Veberič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, 2015, objavljeni znanstveni prispevek na konferenci Opis: The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is an extension of the
Pierre Auger Observatory. It is used to detect radio emission
from extensive air showers in the 30 - 80 MHz frequency band.
A focus of interest is the dependence of the radio emission on
shower parameters such as the energy and the atmospheric depth
of the shower maximum. After three phases of deployment, AERA
now consists of 153 autonomous radio stations with different
spacings, covering an area of about 17 km2. The size, station
spacings, and geographic location at the same site or near other
Auger extensions, are all targeted at cosmic ray energies above
10[sup]17 eV. The array allows us to explore different
technical schemes to measure the radio emission as well as to
cross calibrate our measurements with the established baseline
detectors of the Auger Observatory. We present the most recent
technological developments and selected experimental results
obtained with AERA. Ključne besede: Pierre Auger Observatory, the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA), radio emission from extensive air showers, detector cross-calibration Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4674; Prenosov: 196 Celotno besedilo (2,79 MB) |
5380. On complementable semihypergroupsHossien Aghabozorgi, Irina Elena Cristea, Morteza Jafarpour, 2016, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: n this paper, we first introduce the notion of complementable semihypergroup, proving that the classes of simplifiable semigroups, groups, and complete hypergroups are examples of complementable semihypergroups. Then we define when two semihypergroups are disjoint and find examples of such semihypergroups. Finally, we discuss on the complementable property of $K_H$-hypergroups. Ključne besede: (semi)hypergroup, complementable semihypergroup, disjoint semihypergroup, $K_H$-hypergroup Objavljeno v RUNG: 03.03.2016; Ogledov: 4231; Prenosov: 1 Gradivo ima več datotek! Več... |