Microtiming and Mental Effort

The present study tested two assumptions concerning the auditory processing of microtiming in musical grooves (i.e., repeating, movement-inducing rhythmic patterns): 1) Microtiming challenges the listener's internal framework of timing regularities, or meter, and demands cognitive effort. 2) Microtiming promotes a “groove” experience—a pleasant sense of wanting to move along with the music. Using professional jazz musicians and nonmusicians as participants, we hypothesized that microtiming asynchronies between bass and drums (varying from −80 to 80 ms) were related to a) an increase in “mental effort” (as indexed by pupillometry), and b) a decrease in the quality of sensorimotor synchronization (as indexed by reduced finger tapping stability). We found bass/drums-microtiming asynchronies to be positively related to pupil dilation and negatively related to tapping stability. In contrast, we found that steady timekeeping (presence of eighth note hi-hat in the grooves) decreased pupil size and increased tapping performance, though there were no conclusive differences in pupil response between musicians and nonmusicians. However, jazz musicians consistently tapped with higher stability than nonmusicians, reflecting an effect of rhythmic expertise. Except for the condition most closely resembling real music, participants preferred the on-the-grid grooves to displacements in microtiming and bass-succeeding-drums-conditions were preferred over the reverse.

Addressing Students’ Mental Health in a ‘Sustainable Societies’ Class

On an average college campus, about 41.6 percent of students are suffering from anxiety and 36.4 percent from depression. We do not think we can address student’s mental health challenges without also talking about power/oppression in the classroom. What we present here is a case study of our attempts at intersectional compassionate pedagogy (ICP) that focused on creating authentic intimate connections and community as our pedagogy. I, Phoebe, teach a sociology class, ‘Sustainable Societies’ for which I decided that there can be no ‘sustainability’ if a large percentage of students in the class is suffering from some form of mental distress. As a means of putting the wellbeing of my students at the central focus of the class, I recruited three former students to work with me as student mentors. I, Jess, and the two other mentors modeled social sustainability by sharing leadership of the class. We explored in particular the power dynamics entrenched in positionality of race, class, gender, age and sexuality. We further intended to radically challenge the culture of isolation and disengagement on campus and demonstrate the potential for healing within the classroom by prioritising healthy and connected relationships between all members of the class. I, Julianne was a student in this class, I saw myself, and peers begin to re-harness our natural willingness to self-express. The challenge was to shift our internal framework to one of connection to ourselves and eventually each other, in order to create a sustainable society for all. We collectively believe that educators have a responsibly to challenge the oppression inherent in our current school system through creative pedagogy. This lofty aim requires thinking flexibly about what a successful education looks like. This is our story.

Internal framework and geochemistry of the Carboniferous Huaco granite pluton, Sierra de Velasco, NW Argentina

The A-type Huaco granite pluton of the Velasco range (Sierras Pampeanas of northwest Argentina) is formed by three coeval granitic facies and contains subordinate coeval-to-late facies, as well as enclaves, dikes and stocks that show different temporal relations, textures and compositions. The dominant facies (Regional Porphyritic Granite; RPG) is a porphyritic two-mica monzo- to syenogranite, with abundant microcline megacrysts up to 12 cm in size. It was emplaced in a dominant extensional setting and has a mainly crustal source but with participation of a mantle-derived component. The RPG transitions towards two coeval and co-genetic granite facies, at its margins (Border Granite; BG) and around Be-pegmatites (Adjacent Porphyritic Granite; APG). These two facies have a finer-grained texture and smaller and less abundant megacrysts. They are also monzo- to syenogranites, but a slight decrease in the biotite/muscovite ratio is observed from the BG to the RPG to the APG. Trace element modeling suggests that the RPG, BG and APG differentiated from the same magma source by fractional crystallization. Temporally older mafic (ME) and felsic (FE) enclaves are common in the pluton. The ME can be considered partially assimilated remnants of a mafic component in the genesis of the RPG, whereas the FE seem to be remnants of premature aplites. Other subordinate rocks intrude the RPG and are, hence, temporally younger: felsic dikes (FD), dioritic dikes (DD) and equiganular granites (EqG) are clearly posterior, whereas coeval-to-late Be-pegmatites (BeP) and orbicular granites (OG) formed during the final stages of crystallization of the pluton. The BeP, OG and FD indicate the presence of abundant water and volatiles. The EqG form small stocks that intrude the RPG and were possibly originated from purely crustal sources. The DD probably correspond to a younger unrelated episode of mafic magmatism.

A Retrospective Look at the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002- Has it accomplished its original purpose?

As a result of notable frauds including Enron, WorldCom and Waste Management, the United States Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The Act would forever change the accounting profession. After a little more than a decade, publicly traded companies have been able to create and implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Act, specifically the provisions set forth in Section 404. Since all public companies have implemented SOX compliance together with other regulations imposed by the Internal Revenue Service and other regulatory agencies into their normal reporting routines, management of these companies have realized further benefits associated with SOX compliance. Because of these reported benefits many private companies have begun to voluntarily implement SOX-like policies and procedures into their own internal framework. This paper will discuss the perceptions of the enactment and implementation of the Act, the associated benefits derived from SOX compliance and reasons why private companies have begun voluntarily adopting SOX-like policiesprocedures and strategies.

A Proposed Method of Group Observation and Note-Taking from a Psychoanalytical Perspective

Although the taking of notes in clinical group settings is an important issue, it has received surprisingly little attention. Given that it is one of the tools in the analyst’s armoury and part of his or her internal framework, it certainly deserves detailed reflection. Taking notes forces us to question our implicit choices of what is (or is not) relevant to pick up, note down and interpret, as well as the way we process the clinical material both during and after sessions. For all these reasons, we believe it is important to make a careful study of our observation method. This article identifies the criteria for relevant note-taking in a group setting and describes a notation method devised specifically for group settings. The aim of this method is to link different levels of psychic reality, all the while keeping them separate. To this end, the notes are divided into four columns: the group associative chain, the underlying ‘basic scenarios’, internal and intertransferential reactions, and hypotheses about the observed phenomena.