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We develop a theory of non-monetary costs incurred by chief executive officers (CEOs) when deciding about layoffs and test its predictions on French data. Our results support the idea that, being embedded in their social environment, CEOs find it more difficult to fire employees closer to their own workplace. This effect is stronger whenever social interactions are less anonymous in the CEOs' local environment. It is weaker when CEOs live further away from where they work, because of limited exposure to local discontent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic strongly influenced daily practices, and this manifested in social interactions, communications and consumption. This work addresses the relations between branding and cultural trends in strategic communication and advertising in different contexts of the pandemic. First, we reviewed the concepts of branding and cultural trends. From there, it was necessary to develop a methodological proposal to articulate a connotative semiotic analysis with the semiotic square and a cultural trend mapping. The analysis was carried out through an independent and comparative reading of two-time phases: confinement (2020) and end of constraints (2022). Three telecommunications brands in Portugal act as case studies in a random and probabilistic sample of two audiovisual texts from Christmas campaigns each. Finally, a theoretical-operational triangulation is obtained between branding, cultural trends and semiotic analysis in promoting local brands that redefine spaces, social relations, and identity expression during and after the COVID-19 pandemic confinements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We develop a theoretically grounded framework of boundary transitions and their effect on individuals working in dynamic teamwork settings. "Boundaries in teamwork," described here as the psychological limits that define one team as separate from another, have been examined in silos across a broad range of literatures. Consequently, we know little about the cognitive processes associated with the psychological shift in focus (or boundary transition) that occurs because of a change in people, roles, tasks, or technologies in the context of dynamic teamwork. Our comprehensive model of boundary transitions incorporates a broader perspective of boundary transitions, such as transitions across multiple types of boundaries, as well as dimensions of boundary transitions, such as the strength and meaning of the boundaries traversed, the number of boundaries crossed (transition breadth), and whether the context of the transition is within or between teams (transition context). We leverage this framework to explore the cognitive implications of boundary transitions (cognitive exertion and expansion) as well as their implications for individual contributions to teamwork and provide an agenda for future inquiry in boundary transitions in dynamic collaborative teamwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite the significant growth of online education worldwide, the online educational experiences of students living with disabilites (SWDs) have been largely overlooked. This research presents an analysis of themes that emerged from in-depth interviews related to the authentic experiences of SWDs. Derived from the experience territory matrix three types of educational experiences that students encounter in their online journey (enchantment, re-enchantment, and disenchantment) were contextualised using the psycho-emotional model of disability. The study identified varying degrees of both enabling and disabling factors (i.e., perceived student-customer orientation, respect, experience quality, structural barriers, and internalised oppression). These factors contribute to the education experiences of SWDs that go beyond the curriculum with implications for institutional guidelines and the design of specific interventions targeting the needs of SWDs. Findings revealed how educational experiences can be improved for SWDs when addressing structural barriers, social interactions, internalised oppressions, and by enhancing student-customer orientation dimensions, and respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of next-generation membranes requires a nanoscopic understanding of the effect of biologically inspired heterogeneous surface chemistries and topologies (roughness) on local water and solute behavior. In particular, the rejection of small, neutral solutes, such as boric acid, poses a heretofore unsolved challenge. In prior work, a computational inverse design technique using an evolutionary optimization successfully uncovered new surface design strategies for optimized transport of water over solutes in smooth, model pores consisting of two surface chemistries. However, extending such an approach to more complex (and realistic) scenarios involving many surface chemistries as well as surface roughness is challenging due to the expanded design space. In this work, we develop a new approach that uses active learning to optimize in a reduced feature space of surface group interactions, finding parameters that lead to their assembly into ordered, optimal patterns. This approach rapidly identifies novel surface functionalizations that maximize the difference in water and boric acid transport through the nanopore. Moreover, we find that the roughness of the nanopore wall, independent of its chemistry, can be leveraged to enhance transport selectivity: oscillations in the pore wall diameter optimally inhibit boric acid transport by creating energetic wells from which the solute must escape to transport down the pore. This proof-of-concept demonstrates the potential for active learning strategies, in concert with molecular simulations, to rapidly navigate complex design spaces of aqueous interfaces and is promising as a tool for engineering water-mediated surface interactions for a broad range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Implicit bias perpetuates health care inequities and manifests in patient-provider interactions, particularly nonverbal social cues like dominance. We investigated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for automated communication assessment and feedback during primary care visits to raise clinician awareness of bias in patient interactions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: (1) Assessed the technical performance of our AI models by building a machine-learning pipeline that automatically detects social signals in patient-provider interactions from 145 primary care visits. (2) Engaged 24 clinicians to design usable AI-generated communication feedback for their workflow. (3) Evaluated the impact of our AI-based approach in a prospective cohort of 108 primary care visits. RESULTS: Findings demonstrate the feasibility of AI models to identify social signals, such as dominance, warmth, engagement, and interactivity, in nonverbal patient-provider communication. Although engaged clinicians preferred feedback delivered in personalized dashboards, they found nonverbal cues difficult to interpret, motivating social signals as an alternative feedback mechanism. Impact evaluation demonstrated fairness in all AI models with better generalizability of provider dominance, provider engagement, and patient warmth. Stronger clinician implicit race bias was associated with less provider dominance and warmth. Although clinicians expressed overall interest in our AI approach, they recommended improvements to enhance acceptability, feasibility, and implementation in telehealth and medical education contexts. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Findings demonstrate promise for AI-driven communication assessment and feedback systems focused on social signals. Future work should improve the performance of this approach, personalize models, and contextualize feedback, and investigate system implementation in educational workflows. This work exemplifies a systematic, multistage approach for evaluating AI tools designed to raise clinician awareness of implicit bias and promote patient-centered, equitable health care interactions.

People often interact with groups (i.e., ensembles) during social interactions. Given that group-level information is important in navigating social environments, we expect perceptual sensitivity to aspects of groups that are relevant for personal threat as well as social belonging. Most ensemble perception research has focused on visual ensembles, with little research looking at auditory or vocal ensembles. Across four studies, we present evidence that (i) perceivers accurately extract the sex composition of a group from voices alone, (ii) judgments of threat increase concomitantly with the number of men, and (iii) listeners sense of belonging depends on the number of same-sex others in the group. This work advances our understanding of social cognition, interpersonal communication, and ensemble coding to include auditory information, and reveals peoples ability to extract relevant social information from brief exposures to vocalizing groups.

Social interactions unfold within networks of relationships. How do beliefs about others social ties shape-and how are they shaped by-expectations about how others will behave? Here, participants joined a fictive online game-playing community and interacted with its purported members, who varied in terms of their trustworthiness and apparent relationships with one another. Participants were less trusting of partners with untrustworthy friends, even after they consistently showed themselves to be trustworthy, and were less willing to engage with them in the future. To test whether people not only expect friends to behave similarly but also expect those who behave similarly to be friends, an incidental memory test was given. Participants were exceptionally likely to falsely remember similarly behaving partners as friends. Thus, people expect friendship to predict similar behavior and vice versa. These results suggest that knowledge of social networks and others behavioral tendencies reciprocally interact to shape social thought and behavior.

Interaction between humans and robots in the workplace garners interest in recent years due to the introduction of Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 frameworks. A scoping review was performed aimed at investigating the effect of robot design features on their human counterparts. In the analysis of the 32 identified articles, the robot design features used in the literature are shown along with the effects on the operators. Results showcased the many to many relationships between robot design features and effects on operators. Robot appearance, for example, and capabilities play a role in the operators' perception and expectations of their capabilities based on the task and subsequently perceived reliability and safety. Communication capabilities between operators and robots is an integral part for teamwork and performance as it can affect work processes. The paucity of papers empirically addressing human robot interaction as a system is consistent with results from previous literature, indicating the need for more research. The results of this investigation can prove useful in the form of advice to designers and practitioners, such as the operator's involvement in implementation, knowledge on robots' capabilities and training. Research gaps identified are discussed, as well as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between loneliness, sedentary behavior, physical exercise, and social participation in Chinese older adults, and provided ideas to formulate preventive strategies that can help reduce loneliness. Data on demographics, health behavior, social participation, and loneliness were collected from a cross-sectional study of 629 older adults in Hefei, Anhui province, from June to August 2020. After adjusting for age, income, religion, marital status, and chronic illness demographic variables, sedentary behavior (β = 0.111, SE = 0.671, p =.001), physical exercise (β = −0.229, SE = 0.358, p <.001), and social participation (β = −0.329, SE = 0.086, p <.001) were found to be significantly correlated with loneliness in older adults. These findings suggest that a higher level of loneliness may be linked to greater sedentary behavior, less social engagement, and decreased physical exercise among older men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Role theory generally predicts that when the demands and norms of two roles are highly contrasted, individuals will construct a strong boundary to separate the roles. However, such predictions are grounded primarily in the Global North, emphasizing role pairings including "work–family" and hybrid "work–work." Comparatively, the Global South is characterized by a lack of public services that creates a highly contrasted, highly salient, and yet understudied role pairing—"work–community." Additionally, the socioeconomic features of the Global South (e.g., dense and overlapping community networks, financial poverty) call into question whether existing predictions surrounding boundary strength are likely to hold. We conducted a qualitative study of 73 Tanzanian participants who had both a self-employed work role and a family planning counselor community role. We found that highly contrasted roles can be simultaneously perceived as both incompatible and compatible. Specifically, the boundaries we observed were neither uniformly strong nor weak, but rather of asymmetric strength: strong when a social interaction was anchored in the community role, but weak when anchored in the work role. The specific role contrasts we identify, and the importance of role anchoring we observe, have important implications for role theory and boundary-setting more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the embodied consumption literature, we draw on Merleau-Ponty's theory of art to consider how new modes of visibility arise in interactions between individuals online. Focusing on one particular virtual and collaborative museum programme, we use ethnomethodological analysis of interactions to analyse video recordings of virtual arts conversations. The analysis explores how participants render visible their orientation to each other and to the works of art discussed in the workshop. Thus, we can see how participants produce the sense and significance of works of art in, and through 'intercorporeal interactions' while participating in a virtual arts programme. Observations and findings from our research have significant implications for the strategic management of virtual consumer experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and Industry 4.0 has mainly focused on technical aspects, while the humans who work with AGVs as well as the influences on the organisation have received limited attention. This paper aims to explore human- and organisation-related challenges in the introduction of AGVs in production facilities. Two cases are examined and analysed using the Human, Technology, and Organisation (HTO) model, which highlights the interactions between the three subsystems: human, technology, and organisation. The paper shows that several human- and organisation-related challenges arise when introducing AGVs, such as supporting the AGVs with new work procedures for managing AGV errors, determining what different operators need to know about AGVs, and developing acceptance among employees. The identified challenges complement the technical focus in previous research. Actions are proposed to facilitate the introduction of AGVs to avoid or manage the identified challenges. The findings of this study can help managers involved in the introduction of AGVs to consider human- and organisation-related aspects to improve AGV performance and employee well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social technologies on online review platforms enable social interactions among users, such as establishing following relationships and commenting on others' posts. Although it is well recognized that more socially engaged reviewers tend to be more active and generate content of higher quality, our knowledge about the impact of social interactions on peer evaluations of reviews is limited. To address this issue, we use a unique dataset from a major online review platform and find that, ceteris paribus, reviews posted by more socially engaged users receive more helpfulness votes than those posted by less socially engaged users. Similarly, users tend to vote more for reviews written by their mutual followers than for those written by nonfollowers. In addition, we find that less socially engaged users review a broader range of products and services but are less likely to stay on a platform, which may further contribute to the inflation of peer evaluations (toward online reviews). Our study provides unique empirical evidence regarding the influence of social interactions on review evaluations. Furthermore, we caution researchers and practitioners against utilizing review helpfulness scores as a sole measure for review quality and diagnosticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses extant literature on how Industry 4.0 impacts Social Capital in Buyer-Supplier Relationships. We conduct a systematic literature review and identify 36 academic articles that are analysed in the research process. The study uncovers strategic changes Industry 4.0 implies for Social Capital in Buyer-Supplier Relationships. These include transformations in cognitive, structural and relational capital in terms of a shared vision, social interaction and trust. Therein, Social Capital in Buyer-Supplier Relationships is needed and further invested in aspects like common decision-making, information sharing and cross-company integration in Industry 4.0 contexts. We propose that Industry 4.0 implementation does require and foster Social Capital in Buyer-Supplier Relationships and that two diametrically opposed elementary forms of Buyer-Supplier Relationships co-exist in an Industry 4.0 context. The systematic literature review is the first to analyse the extant body of literature on Buyer-Supplier Relationships in Industry 4.0 to synthesise detailed transformations against the backdrop of Social Capital. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of research and develops several suggestions for future research and managerial practice, for example, concerning the role of humans in strategic tasks in Industry 4.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of research have demonstrated that social connection is fundamental to health and well-being. The benefits of connection are observed with both close and distant others, within both new and established relationships, and even with exchanges that unfold over a relatively short timeframe. Because social connection is fundamental to well-being, many existing measures in the literature aim to assess either a global sense of connection or partner-specific (relationship-specific) connection. What is missing are measures of connection felt in specific social interactions or conversations. In three studies (Study 1: N = 351; Study 2: Time 1 N = 397, Time 2 N = 336, Time 3 N = 299; Study 3: N = 235), we developed the Connection During Conversations Scale (CDCS), a 14-item measure of conversation-specific social connection that assesses connection experienced during a social interaction (or conversation). Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a four-factor model fit our samples well, which resulted in four subscales: Shared Reality, Partner Responsiveness, Participant Interest, and Affective Experience. The overall CDCS measure, along with its four subscales, was significantly correlated with established measures of loneliness, partner responsiveness, relatedness, positivity resonance, and shared reality. Because of the importance of frequent interactions-whether with family, friends, coworkers, or strangers-our new scale will allow researchers to better understand how, when, and where such conversations may contribute to social connection and well-being. (225 words).

This study explored how parenting may be described by Generation Z parents in parenting their Generation Alpha children. It explored the challenges and coping strategies of three resident Generation Z married couples in the City of Koronadal, South Cotabato, who have Generation Alpha children. This research featured a qualitative case study method, specifically a single case approach, as it aimed to provide an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon within the case boundaries, which is a rigorous, transferrable understanding of the phenomenon. The results revealed that lenient, adaptive, and empathic approaches were the major characteristics that described Generation Z parenting. Meanwhile, problems with parenting, screen time discipline, guidance and discipline, and economic hardship were all issues that Generation Z parents dealt with. To cope, parents of Generation Z used techniques including valuing physical, social interaction, seeking solace in prayer and optimism, being adept at time management, adjusting through parental adaptation, and coming to terms with responsible parenting. Ultimately, the results offer a glance into the varied elements of Generation Z parenting, addressing both their parenting and the challenges they encounter, along with their helpful coping mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigated if postural instability can induce motor resonance. • The unstable, compared to stable, display dampened left temporal theta activity. • The unstable display enhanced left temporal-prefrontal connectivity. • Biological and scramble stimuli differently modulated temporal cortex. • Observed postural (in)stability is encoded in cortical theta oscillations. This study investigates whether postural equilibration follows the same principles of motor resonance as goal-oriented actions, namely, whether an individual activates the same neuronal substrates when experiencing postural perturbation as when observing another individual in this condition. To address this question, we examined electroencephalographic dynamics while subjects observed point-light displays featuring an unstable human display, a stable human display, and their respective scrambled counterparts lacking shape information and biological motion. We focused on theta band (4–7 Hz), which is a fundamental frequency for modulating brain activity during challenging balance tasks and reflects postural stability monitoring. Rather than mirroring activity, our findings suggest an inhibitory response to postural instability. Theta event-related synchronization in the left temporal cortex was dampened for the unstable display as compared to its scramble counterpart and to the stable display. This low theta response coincided with an increase in left temporal-prefrontal connectivity, compatible with top-down inhibitory mechanisms. By contrast, the stronger theta response to the stable display as compared to the unstable one could be due to the difficulty of recognizing low-motion biological stimuli, or alternatively, to a facilitation of stimulus processing and strengthening of the mirroring response. The response facilitation for stable posture, coupled with a diminished response to the unstable display, could contribute to a broader mechanism mitigating postural threats and ensuring stable balance. Future investigations should leverage these findings to explore how posture-related responses correlate with perceptual and motor expertise, and to more clearly define these mechanisms during dynamic social interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Interpersonal coordination is widely acknowledged as critical to relating with, connecting to, and understanding others, but the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon are poorly understood. Dance—particularly improvised dance—offers a valuable paradigm for investigating the dynamics of interpersonal coordination due to its inherent ability to connect us. However, conventional approaches to studying coordination often fail to capture the co-creative spontaneity that is intrinsic to such interactions. Methods: This study combined multiple measures of interpersonal coordination to detect moments of high coordination between two freely improvising dancers. We applied maximum correlation vectors, normalized Symbolic Transfer Entropy (NSTE), and surveys to analyze the time-varying dynamics of similarity in movement speeds, directed influence, and subjective perception of dancers engaged in an improvisation task. Results: This multi-measure approach offers a means of capturing the interplay between different dimensions of interpersonal coordination. Discussion: This approach may be used to understand the underlying mechanisms of co-creative social interactions in improvised dance and other forms of spontaneous interactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The education system has sought ways to deliver quality education using different means and platforms. This study dives into the various experiences of students in hybrid learning. This study focuses on students' experiences with hybrid learning, including the difficulties they overcame, the adjustments they had to make, the lessons they learned from engaging in this type of learning that combines in-person and online classes, as well as their perceptions of their learning environment and general well-being as learners. The researchers aim to elucidate the challenges they have encountered and surpassed, and the obstacles they have adapted to achieve success during hybrid learning, which is still a rather fresh form of learning for most students and teachers alike. The study not only aims to assist in marking hybrid learning as a feasible and effective mode of learning, but also wishes to relay the difficulties students have faced and overcome, and the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the two primary modes of learning we have discussed. The researchers employed qualitative research techniques and the phenomenological approach in conducting this study. The researchers utilized purposive sampling and interviewed 10 students from NU Fairview to gather the data and understand the actual experiences of students, their preferences, their perceptions, and the things they have done during the transition to hybrid learning due to uncontrollable events like a pandemic. In the study, thematic analysis was used by the researchers to examine the interview-based data. Through this process, we were able to focus on four key themes: "Accepting the Hybrid Shift," "Hybrid Hurdles," "Beyond the Screen," and "Finding Balance." These themes covered the essence of the students' experiences, difficulties encountered as well as obstacles surmounted, perspectives, adaptations in adjustments, as well as comparisons and insights related to hybrid learning. The findings of this study satisfy and justify the research by illuminating hybrid learning's characteristics informing educators and educational institutions on how to enhance student experiences and maximize learning outcomes in this style of hybrid learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childbirth may lead to perinatal mental health issues, such as childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS), depression, and anxiety. Despite well explored mother-infant interactions in the context of maternal depression and anxiety, only limited studies investigated mother-infant interactions in the context of CB-PTSS, which is the aim of the present study. One-hundred mother-infant dyads in the French speaking part of Switzerland were classified into three groups: birth-related symptoms (BRS, i.e., symptoms of re-experiencing and avoidance) (n = 20), general symptoms (GS, i.e., symptoms of negative cognition and mood and hyperarousal) (n = 46), and non-symptomatic (NS) (n = 34) based on maternal report on PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). At six months postpartum, mother-infant interactions were video-recorded and their quality was assessed using the Global Rating Scale. Data was analyzed using ordinal logistic and negative binomial regressions. In the adjusted model, mothers in BRS group engaged in more frequent coercions compared to the NS group (B = −1.46, p = 0.01, 95%CI = −2.63, −0.36) and showed lower reciprocity in their interactions with their infants compared to the GS group (B = 1.21, p = 0.03, 95%CI = 0.05, 2.37). The use of a cross-sectional design limited the exploration of how consistent these findings are regarding mother-infant interactions between groups over time. Mothers with higher BRS may need support to improve interactions with their infants. Future studies should consider longitudinal design to observe mother-infant interaction changes between CB-PTSS groups over time. • Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS) consist of birth-related and general symptom clusters. • This study compared mother-infant interactions between CB-PTSS groups. • More maternal coercions/intrusions occurred in the birth-related CB-PTSS group. • Higher mother-infant reciprocity was observed in the general symptom CB-PTSS group. • Interventions aimed at tackling birth-related symptoms should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social isolation and loneliness have both been associated with psychological health and cognitive decline in older adults. This study investigated the impact of social interaction through remote communication technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic on the cognitive and psychological status of older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Methods: Participants were recruited from Boston (USA) and Chieti (Italy). The study used a randomized single-blinded controlled crossover design with an intervention (remote social conversations with research staff over 20-minute video or telephone calls three times per week) and a passive control condition, each one of 4-weeks duration. The primary outcome was a composite cognitive score change from baseline to week 4. Secondary outcomes included scales for mood, anxiety, and loneliness. Results: Out of 196 participants recruited from April 2020 to April 2021, 17% dropped out. Based on the blind MoCA, 52% had cognitive impairment, and 25% were at risk of social isolation according to the Lubben social network scale. We observed that larger social networks were linked to better cognitive status and lower depression and anxiety levels, while loneliness was directly associated to depression severity. Older adults with cognitive impairment exhibited higher levels of depression and anxiety and were at greater risk for social isolation. In terms of the intervention, 91% preferred telephone over video calls. The intervention did not lead to improvements in cognitive or psychological scores. Conclusions: More work is needed to assess the utility of this intervention for the support of a heterogenous cross-cultural sample of older adults at-risk for social isolation, including individuals with cognitive impairment. Future research should explore longer intervention periods, categorize participants by call type, and target those meeting social isolation criteria. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04480112. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social isolation affects the brain and behavior in a variety of animals, including humans. Studies in traditional laboratory rodents, including mice and rats, have supported the idea that short-term social isolation promotes affiliative social behaviors, while long-term isolation promotes anti-social behaviors, including increased aggression. Whether the effects of isolation on the social behaviors of mice and rats generalize to other rodents remains understudied. In the current study, we characterized the effects of short-term (3-days) social isolation on the social behaviors of adult prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments revealed that short-term isolation did not affect rates of ultrasonic vocalizations or time spent in non-aggressive social behaviors and huddling during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Unexpectedly, although short-term isolation also did not affect time spent in resident-initiated and mutually-initiated aggressive behavior, we found that short-term isolation increased time spent in visitor-initiated aggression during male-male interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of comparative work across species and the consideration of social context to understand the diverse ways in which social isolation can impact social behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights Infant pointing is predictive of later language development, but little is known about factors enhancing the development of pointing. The current study investigated two possible social learning mechanisms in the development of pointing. Given that infants observe their caregivers' pointing gestures from early on, one possibility is learning via imitation. A second possibility is that caregivers' contingent reactions to infant communication promote communicative exchange, including pointing. To test which of these behaviours influences infants' pointing frequency, we manipulated parents' pointing frequency and their responsive behaviour via instructions in a cross‐sectional 2 × 3 design. We randomly assigned 12‐months‐old infants (N = 131, 65 females) and one of their parents to six different experimental groups. Participants were predominantly central Europeans from middle to high socioeconomic backgrounds. Data were collected with an online remote adaption of the decorated‐room paradigm. Parents successfully adapted their behaviours to the instructions. Parents' increased responsiveness, but not their increased pointing in general, significantly enhanced infants' pointing frequency (d = 0.36). Regression results further revealed that parents' responsive pointing positively predicted infants' pointing frequency. Findings question direct imitation accounts of pointing and identify responsive social interactions, including responsive pointing, as factors enhancing the occurrence of pointing in infancy. Imitation and responsive social interaction are possible social learning mechanisms in the development of pointing. Experimental manipulation of parental behaviours reveals that infant pointing increases when parents are particularly responsive, but not when parents point a lot in general. Parents' responsiveness through pointing gestures may be especially suited to enhance infants' pointing frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Acoustic communication plays a prominent role in various ecological and evolutionary processes involving social interactions. The properties of acoustic signals are thought to be influenced not only by the interaction between signaller and receiver but also by the acoustic characteristics of the environment through which the signal is transmitted. This conjecture forms the core of the so‐called “acoustic adaptation hypothesis” (AAH), which posits that vegetation structure affects frequency and temporal parameters of acoustic signals emitted by a signaller as a function of their acoustic degradation properties. Specifically, animals in densely vegetated “closed habitats” are expected to produce longer acoustic signals with lower repetition rates and lower frequencies (minimum, mean, maximum, and peak) compared to those inhabiting less‐vegetated “open habitats”. To date, this hypothesis has received mixed results, with the level of support depending on the taxonomic group and the methodology used. We conducted a systematic literature search of empirical studies testing for an effect of vegetation structure on acoustic signalling and assessed the generality of the AAH using a meta‐analytic approach based on 371 effect sizes from 75 studies and 57 taxa encompassing birds, mammals and amphibians. Overall, our results do not provide consistent support for the AAH, neither in within‐species comparisons (suggesting no overall phenotypically plastic response of acoustic signalling to vegetation structure) nor in among‐species comparisons (suggesting no overall evolutionary response). However, when considering birds only, we found weak support for the AAH in within‐species comparisons, which was mainly driven by studies that measured frequency bandwidth, suggesting that this variable may exhibit a phenotypically plastic response to vegetation structure. For among‐species comparisons in birds, we also found support for the AAH, but this effect was not significant after excluding comparative studies that did not account for phylogenetic non‐independence. Collectively, our synthesis does not support a universal role of vegetation structure in the evolution of acoustic communication. We highlight the need for more empirical work on currently under‐studied taxa such as amphibians, mammals, and insects. Furthermore, we propose a framework for future research on the AAH. We specifically advocate for a more detailed and quantitative characterisation of habitats to identify frequencies with the highest detection probability and to determine if frequencies with greater detection distances are preferentially used. Finally, we stress that empirical tests of the AAH should focus on signals that are selected for increased transmission distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Emerging research suggests that a more infant‐led approach to complementary feeding may confer benefits for child language, but these findings are based on parent report studies. Using an observational approach this study examines whether different complementary feeding experiences relate to infant language exposure and language use. Fifty‐eight parents recorded a typical infant mealtime in the home (mean infant age = 14 months, SD = 4.15). Observations were coded to measure the prevalence of infant‐led and parent‐led feeding using the Family Mealtime Coding Scheme. Caregiver language use (word types and token directed at the child, mean length of utterances in child‐directed speech, responsiveness and initiations) and the number of infant vocalisations were coded in ELAN using CHAT conventions and parents completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory short form as a measure of child language. Greater observed infant self‐feeding was significantly associated with greater observed exposure to language from caregivers (r = 0.312 percentage of infant self‐feeding correlated with caregiver word types directed at the child) and a greater number of infant vocalisations (r = 0.320 percentage of infant self‐feeding correlated with number of child vocalisations produced). Structural Equation Modelling showed the relationship between infant self‐feeding and infant vocalisations to be significantly mediated by enhanced quality and quantity of caregiver child‐directed speech (model fit: χ2 [5] = 5.01, p = 0.415, CFI = 1.00 [NF = 0.98], RMSEA = 0.006). Differences in the approach to complementary feeding may shape infant's experiences in ways that support language exposure and use. Autonomy associated with infant self‐feeding may enhance opportunities for social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines ethical principles for ‘participant-centred linguistic research’ (PCLR), a term we coin to incorporate a range of linguistic research approaches that place importance on the involvement of participants. Linguistics, as a field, has strengthened its focus on participant-centred and socially situated research, recognising the value of better understanding our participants’ practices and linguistic knowledge. However, this also brings ethical challenges for our research practice. Drawing on three differing UK-based case studies from the authors’ own work, the article explores complex issues that can arise during PCLR and establishes four key principles that cut across our varied experiences. Firstly, we address participant consent and confidentiality, establishing the principles: 1. Informed consent and ethics protocols are dialogic processes and 2. Expectations around confidentiality and anonymity can shift during a project. Secondly, we address our research relationships with participants, our key principles being: 3. The researcher-participant relationship is complex and variable and 4. Close attention must be paid to power dynamics within the research setting. Ultimately, we argue that the human interactions and relationships involved in PCLR mean research may inevitably be somewhat unpredictable; researchers therefore need an understanding of the ethical parameters of their practice to navigate these complexities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Self-care deficits first emerged eight weeks after a single closed-head injury. • Injured animals lost social novelty preference within the first month post-injury. • Loss of desire for social interaction developed over a twelve week period. • GluN1 expression increased chronically in the injured frontal cortex and amygdala. • Hippocampal GLT-1 expression was decreased chronically following injury. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is known to result in chronic somatic, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. Depression is commonly reported among individuals suffering from persistent concussion symptoms; however, the underlying mechanisms are not understood. The glutamatergic system has recently been linked with mTBI and depression due to reports of similar changes in expression of glutamatergic proteins. Using a closed-head controlled cortical impact (cCCI) model in adult male rats (n = 8/group), this study investigated the emergence of self-care deficits and changes in social interaction behaviors at four, eight and twelve weeks post-injury. Western blotting was used to assess associated changes in expression of glutamate transporters and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits at twelve weeks. Splash test results revealed deficits in self-care behaviors beginning at eight weeks, which continued through twelve weeks in the injury group. Injured animals also exhibited decreased preference for social novelty at four weeks and loss of desire for social interaction as a whole by twelve weeks. GluN1 was increased in injured animals compared to shams in the frontal cortex and amygdala, while decreased GLT-1 was observed in the hippocampus. Linear regression was performed to evaluate relationships between behavioral and molecular variables; the results suggested that injury affects these relationships in a region-dependent manner. Together, these results suggest that the development of chronic depression-like behavior was associated with changes in glutamatergic protein expression. Deeper investigations into how injury influences glutamatergic synaptic protein expression are needed, as this has the potential to affect circuit-level neurotransmission that drives depression-like behavior following mTBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The study aimed to explore the key factors influencing emotional valence in rodents, focusing on the critical elements that distinguish the contagion processes of fear and pain. Methods: Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined behavioral outcomes of rodents exposed to painful or fearful catastrophes to see whether they are prosocial or antisocial through three-chamber test and dyadic social interaction paradigm. Results: Fear contagion, particularly when witnessed, leads to social avoidance behavior, unaffected by sex difference but more pronounced with age. In contrast, pain contagion promotes social approach and caring/helping behaviors. Discussion: The present study demonstrates that the emotional valence induced by pain contagion is quite different from fear contagion and this difference may result in different motivations and social behaviors, namely, social contagion of pain is likely to be more associated with prosocial behaviors, however, social contagion of fear is likely to be more associated with antisocial behaviors. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42024566326). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This large-scale, mixed-methods study aimed to uncover sources of learner anxiety when interacting in small groups in the language classroom. A secondary aim of the study was to examine relationships between these sources and learners' levels of small-group anxiety. Methods: Data was gathered from 1,344 learners enrolled in English classes at four universities in western Japan. Qualitative content analysis was employed to identify anxiety-inducing situations described in learner' responses, and categorize these situations based on the underlying source of anxiety. Results: The analysis revealed two primary sources of small-group anxiety: interacting with other learners and L2 communication. The most prominent interaction-related situations were interacting with new people, expressing opinions, and uncomfortable silence, while those related to L2 communication were competence and proficiency, conveying meaning and understanding others. Levels of small-group anxiety were significantly related to the source of anxiety. Learners with a high level of anxiety were twice as likely to cite interaction as the source of their anxiety than learners with a low level of anxiety. Discussion: The results suggest that interaction anxiety may be more salient than foreign language anxiety when language learners work in small groups, and that the impact of this form of social anxiety needs to be taken into consideration for learners to fully receive the benefits of group work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has emerged as a pedagogical approach integrating foreign language learning with subject content. Nevertheless, its foray into the online environment, where courses are commonly delivered in two modes: asynchronous and synchronous, remains unexplored. By integrating synchronous delivery into an asynchronous-only online CLIL course, this study aims to probe how synchronous delivery affects students’ learning performances (learning behaviors and outcomes), and investigate learners’ perspectives on synchronous delivery as affordances for enhancing these performances. The study involved 969 learners and two teachers, with data collected from six sources for triangulation: tracking data from social media chat logs, website learning records, course scores, teachers’ reflective narratives, observation of synchronous learning, and student interviews. The findings unveil the effectiveness of synchronous delivery in promoting learning performances, evident in students’ proactive time management and interactive behaviors, as well as elevated learning outcomes. Three affordances – pedagogical, technological, and social – are offered by synchronous delivery for promoting learning performances. Particularly noteworthy are the social affordances, which significantly enhance learning behaviors and outcomes by fostering efficient interactions, cordial interpersonal relationships, and a learning community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The study reported here sets out to investigate to what extent Generation Z EFL speakers employ English in their linguistic practices on digital media platforms and how these compare to the patterns of English use on other social occasions. To that end, 630 adolescents (aged 14 to 18) from five grammar schools were targeted in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg. Results of a 27‐item survey pinpoint young individuals’ habitual reliance on English for (i) socializing on Facebook, Twitter, and similar platforms; (ii) consuming content on YouTube and TikTok; and (iii) watching series on various streaming platforms. Simultaneously, English is also revealed as an important linguistic variant underpinning their daily communicative practices, notably interactions with peers. The multiple linear regression analysis pinpoints statistically significant associations between learners’ habits of digital media use and their in‐group conversational practices. This is interpreted as a sign indicating the emergence of ESL‐like qualities in a traditional EFL setting. It is argued that consuming and engaging with digital media products through English may be affecting the psycholinguistic modus operandus of a noticeable cohort of young EFL speakers, who become increasingly bilingual as a result of those practices. Consequently, it is this adjusted psycholinguistic state (from predominantly monolingual to increasingly bilingual) that motivates the addition of English to the sociolinguistic repertoire of conversational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laugh faces of humans play a key role in everyday social interactions as a pervasive tool of communication across contexts. Humans often vary the degree of mouth opening and teeth exposure when producing these facial expressions, which may depend on who their social partner is (e.g., their gender and age as well as their social relationship), serving this way different functions. Although it was found that laugh faces show evolutionary continuity across humans and non-human great apes according to the Principle of Maximum Parsimony, little is known about the function of laugh face variations from an evolutionary perspective. Hence, the present work examined the morphology of laugh faces in orangutan and chimpanzee dyadic play to test if they are modified with dependence on the playmate's characteristics (sex, age and social relationship). In total, we analysed over 600 facial expressions of 14 orangutans and 17 chimpanzees by coding the specific muscle activations (Action Units, i.e. AUs) contributing to these expressions, using OrangFACS and ChimpFACS, respectively. Our results suggest that age difference and, to a lesser extent, playmate sex influence laugh face morphology in both taxa, but in opposite ways. While the orangutans of our study seem to expose their upper teeth (with AU10) and to pull the mouth corners (with AU12) more towards weaker partners (younger and female), possibly to communicate non-hostility, the chimpanzees showed both upper and lower teeth exposure (with AU10 and AU16) more often when interacting with the stronger partners (older individuals), possibly to communicate submissiveness. These findings suggest that the ability of humans to modify laugh faces with dependence on social partner characteristics has most likely evolved from pre-existing traits, going back at least to the last common ancestor of today's great apes, including humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dogs interact with humans effectively and intimately. However, the neural underpinnings for such interspecies social communication are not understood. It is known that interbrain activity coupling, i.e., the synchronization of neural activity between individuals, represents the neural basis of social interactions. Here, previously unknown cross‐species interbrain activity coupling in interacting human–dog dyads is reported. By analyzing electroencephalography signals from both dogs and humans, it is found that mutual gaze and petting induce interbrain synchronization in the frontal and parietal regions of the human–dog dyads, respectively. The strength of the synchronization increases with growing familiarity of the human–dog dyad over five days, and the information flow analysis suggests that the human is the leader while the dog is the follower during human–dog interactions. Furthermore, dogs with Shank3 mutations, which represent a promising complementary animal model of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), show a loss of interbrain coupling and reduced attention during human–dog interactions. Such abnormalities are rescued by the psychedelic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The results reveal previously unknown interbrain synchronizations within an interacting human–dog dyad which may underlie the interspecies communication, and suggest a potential of LSD for the amelioration of social impairment in patients with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physically connected humans have been shown to exploit the exchange of haptic forces and tactile information to improve their performance in joint action tasks. As human interactions are increasingly mediated through robots and networks it is important to understand the impact that network features such as lag and noise may have on human behaviour. In this paper, we investigated interaction with a human-like robot controller that provides similar haptic communication behaviour as human-human interaction and examined the influence and compensation mechanisms for delay and noise on haptic communication. The results of our experiments show that participants can perceive a difference between noise and delay, and make use of compensation mechanisms to preserve performance in both cases. However, while noise is compensated for by increasing co-contraction, delay compensation could not be explained by this strategy. Instead, computational modelling suggested that a distinct mechanism is used to compensate for the delay and yield an efficient haptic communication. Author summary: Increasingly humans are making use of networks and robots to coordinate haptic interactions through teleoperation. However, with networks there comes delays and noise that can change both the force that is transmitted and how we perceive that force. The haptic communication involved in joint actions, such as when moving a piano or performing a pair spin, has been shown to improve performance, but how does delay affect this behaviour? We tested how participants tracked a moving target with their right hand while connected to a human-like robotic partner, when perturbed by delay or noise. Through a comparison between noise and delay perturbation, in experimental performance and in simulation with a computational model, we found that participants could from small values of perturbation identify if the perturbation was from delay or noise and that they adopted different compensation strategies in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and ObjectivesDesign and MethodsResultsConclusionsThis multimodal two-phase study investigated the impact of trait social anxiety on exploration, social attention, and autonomic responses in a naturalistic setting. We expected higher avoidance of potentially crowded spaces, reduced visual attention on other people, and heightened physiological arousal in social situations for participants with higher social anxiety levels.Eighty-seven participants, pre-screened for high variance in trait social anxiety, first completed a half-hour walk on a freely chosen route and subsequently had a staged social interaction with a confederate consisting of a non-interactive waiting phase and a short conversation.While social anxiety did not modulate the choice of route during the walk phase, socially anxious participants avoided gazing at other individuals in non-interactive situations, i.e., during the walk and the waiting phase. In contrast, during actual interaction, they showed increased visual attention towards the confederate’s face. Across all experimental phases, highly socially anxious individuals showed elevated heart rates, but this effect was independent of the social context.This study showed that social anxiety affects social exploration behavior not in a way of general avoidance, but rather in nuanced adaptations depending on the concrete situation, likelihood of interaction and associated socio-evaluative threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is devoted to the history of the political adaptation of tribal structures to the conditions of social class interactions in the Kazakh aul in the 1920s. Newly uncovered archival materials show how patrimonial and hierarchical institutions tried to adapt and adjust themselves to the system of socialist construction in the Kazakh steppe. The authors have identified three directions that most clearly demonstrated the behavioural motives and adaptation practices of Kazakh tribal cattle-breeding society: the formation of the Soviet apparatus of power in Kazakhstan; the participation of the tribal elite in elections to enter the Soviet institutions of power; and confiscation as a policy of struggle against ancestry and descent groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we tested the respective contributions of primate premotor and prefrontal cortex to support vocal behavior. We applied a model-based generalized linear model (GLM) analysis that better accounts for the inherent variance in natural, continuous behaviors to characterize the activity of neurons throughout the frontal cortex as freely moving marmosets engaged in conversational exchanges. While analyses revealed functional clusters of neural activity related to the different processes involved in the vocal behavior, these clusters did not map to subfields of prefrontal or premotor cortex, as has been observed in more conventional task-based paradigms. Our results suggest a distributed functional organization for the myriad neural mechanisms underlying natural social interactions and have implications for our concepts of the role that frontal cortex plays in governing ethological behaviors in primates. • Neurons in marmoset monkey PFC and PMC recorded during natural conversations • GLM and PSTH were applied to quantify neural activity in continuous behavior • Model-based approach robustly outperformed more traditional analyses • Neurons in behavior-related functional clusters were distributed throughout PFC/PMC Li and colleagues applied model-based and traditional analyses to characterize single-neuron responses in the frontal cortex while marmosets engaged in their natural conversational exchanges. Results showed that the population supported nearly all facets of this ethological behavior through an anatomically distributed—but functionally modular—pattern of neural activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using computational Social Network Analysis (SNA), this longitudinal study investigates the development of the interaction network and its influence on the second language (L2) gains of a complete cohort of 41 U.S. sojourners enrolled in a 3‐month intensive study‐abroad Arabic program in Jordan. Unlike extant research, our study focuses on students’ interactions with alma mater classmates, reconstructing their complete network, tracing the impact of individual students’ positions in the social graph using centrality metrics, and incorporating a developmental perspective with three measurement points. Objective proficiency gains were influenced by predeparture proficiency (negatively), multilingualism, perceived integration of the peer learner group (negatively), and the number of fellow learners speaking to the student. Analyses reveal relatively stable same‐gender cliques, but with changes in the patterns and strength of interaction. We also discuss interesting divergent trajectories of centrality metrics, L2 use, and progress; predictors of self‐perceived progress across skills; and the interplay of context and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study attempts to investigate the relationships between the host motivations for micro-entrepreneurship, positive emotions, and behavioral intentions of Turkish people toward the meal-sharing economy. Drawing on a quantitative research method, 204 self-administered questionnaires were conducted in Istanbul. Structural equation modeling was used to analyzed the data. The results showed that whereas social interaction and independence directly and positively influence developing positive emotions, gratification of host and source of cultural capital has no significant impact on positive emotions. The findings also confirmed positive relationship between, positive emotions, gratification of host, social interaction and source of cultural capital and support intention. Independency has no significant effect on support intention to support meal sharing. Moreover, this study provides useful theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly become a widespread design aid through the recent proliferation of generative AI tools. In this work we use generative AI to explore soft robotics designs, specifically Soft Biomorphism, an aesthetic design paradigm emphasizing the inherent biomorphic qualities of soft robots to leverage them as affordances for interactions with humans. The work comprises two experiments aimed at uncovering how generative AI can articulate and expand the design space of soft biomorphic robotics using text-to-image (TTI) and image-to-image (ITI) generation techniques. Through TTI generation, Experiment 1 uncovered alternative interpretations of soft biomorphism, emphasizing the novel incorporation of, e.g., fur, which adds a new dimension to the material aesthetics of soft robotics. In Experiment 2, TTI and ITI generation were combined and a category of hybrid techno-organic robot designs discovered, which combined rigid and pliable materials. The work thus demonstrates in practice the specific ways in which AI image generation can contribute towards expanding the design space of soft robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]