scholarly journals /s/-Lenition and the Preservation of Plurality in Modern Occitan

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
Laurel MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Plural Marking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Using Data

This paper examines the variable weakening and deletion of /s/ in the Languedocian variety of Modern Occitan, with particular attention to how it has affected the system of plural marking in noun phrases. Using data from linguistic atlases, I demonstrate that /s/-lenition in this variety involves a stage of vocalization to [j]. I find that, where /s/ on the definite article has vocalized to [j], the immediately-preceding vowel of the definite article has undergone concomitant raising to [e]. This raising appears to preserve the difference between singular and plural despite the plural’s weakening /s/. I argue that these results support Labov’s (1994) hypothesis that the meaning of a weakening element may be transferred to a stable, co-occurrent one.

scholarly journals Plural definite NPs presuppose multiplicity via embedded exhaustification

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemens Mayr
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Plural Noun ◽  
Number Marking ◽  
Bare Plurals ◽  
Singular Reference ◽  
Plural Marking

There is evidence from bare plurals that strongly suggests that plural-marking on noun phrases does not exclude singular reference. This paper discusses the problematic consequence that such a view has for the analysis of definite plurals, namely that their multiplicity inference is not straightforwardly predicted. We adduce novel evidence that this inference is a presupposition arising from the application of the definite article to the plural noun phrase and that it cannot be explained away by a presuppositional analysis of number-marking (Sauerland 2003). It is proposed that plural- and singular-marking are scalar items subject to obligatory exhaustification (Ivlieva 2013). We show that global exhaustification is, however, untenable in the case of definite plurals, contra (Magri 2014). The semantics of the definite article is shown to force exhaustifiation to occur below itself on the noun phrase directly. Having reached this conclusion for definite plurals, makes it possible to drastically simplify the derivation of the multiplicity inference even in bare plurals when compared to competing proposals such as (Spector 2007a; Zweig 2009). 

scholarly journals The Processing of Spanish Article–Noun Gender Agreement by Monolingual and Bilingual Toddlers

2020 ◽  
pp. 002383092097705
Author(s):  
Monika Molnar ◽  
José Alemán Bañón ◽  
Simona Mancini ◽  
Sendy Caffarra
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Gender Agreement

We assessed monolingual Spanish and bilingual Spanish-Basque toddlers’ sensitivity to gender agreement in correct vs. incorrect Spanish noun phrases (definite article + noun), using a spontaneous preference listening paradigm. Monolingual Spanish-learning toddlers exhibited a tendency to listen longer to the grammatically correct phrases (e.g., la casa; “the house”), as opposed to the incorrect ones (e.g., * el casa). This listening preference toward correct phrases is in line with earlier results obtained from French monolingual 18-month-olds (van Heugten & Christophe, 2015). Bilingual toddlers in the current study, however, tended to listen longer to the incorrect phrases. Basque was not a source of interference in the bilingual toddler’s input as Basque does not instantiate grammatical gender agreement. Overall, our results suggest that both monolingual and bilingual toddlers can distinguish between the correct and incorrect phrases by 18 months of age; however, monolinguals and bilinguals allocate their attention differently when processing grammatically incorrect forms.

The Impact of Customer Loyalty and Restaurant Sanitation Grades on Revisit Intention and the Importance of Narrative Information: The Case of New York Restaurant Sanitation Grading System

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Gyung Kim ◽  
Hyunjoo Yang ◽  
Anna S. Mattila
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
York City ◽  
Letter Grades ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Revisit Intentions ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Loyal Customers

New York City launched a restaurant sanitation letter grade system in 2010. We evaluate the impact of customer loyalty on restaurant revisit intentions after exposure to a sanitation grade alone, and after exposure to a sanitation grade plus narrative information about sanitation violations (e.g., presence of rats). We use a 2 (loyalty: high or low) × 4 (sanitation grade: A, B, C, or pending) between-subjects full factorial design to test the hypotheses using data from 547 participants recruited from Amazon MTurk who reside in the New York City area. Our study yields three findings. First, loyal customers exhibit higher intentions to revisit restaurants than non-loyal customers, regardless of sanitation letter grades. Second, the difference in revisit intentions between loyal and non-loyal customers is higher when sanitation grades are poorer. Finally, loyal customers are less sensitive to narrative information about sanitation violations.

Comparing two definitions of ethnicity for identifying young persons at risk for chlamydia

2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 951-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. HAASNOOT ◽  
F. D. H. KOEDIJK ◽  
E. L. M. OP DE COUL ◽  
H. M. GÖTZ ◽  
M. A. B. VAN DER SANDE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Chlamydia Infection ◽  
Chlamydia Screening ◽  
Country Of Birth ◽  
Regression Modelling ◽  
Explained Variation ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Logistic Regression Modelling

SUMMARYEthnic disparities in chlamydia infections in The Netherlands were assessed, in order to compare two definitions of ethnicity: ethnicity based on country of birth and self-defined ethnicity. Chlamydia positivity in persons aged 16–29 years was investigated using data from the first round of the Chlamydia Screening Implementation (CSI, 2008–2009) and surveillance data from STI centres (2009). Logistic regression modelling showed that being an immigrant was associated with chlamydia positivity in both CSI [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2·3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·0–2·6] and STI centres (aOR 1·4, 95% CI 1·3–1·5). In both settings, 60% of immigrants defined themselves as Dutch. Despite the difference, classification by self-defined ethnicity resulted in similar associations between (non-Dutch) ethnicity and chlamydia positivity. However, ethnicity based on country of birth explained variation in chlamydia positivity better, and is objective and constant over time and therefore more useful for identifying young persons at higher risk for chlamydia infection.

POSTPARTUM AMENORRHOEA IN RURAL EASTERN UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

1998 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-243
Author(s):  
K. N. S. YADAVA ◽  
S. K. JAIN
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Current Status Data ◽  
North India ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Survival Status ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Using Data

This paper calculates the mean duration of the postpartum amenorrhoea (PPA) and examines its demographic, and socioeconomic correlates in rural north India, using data collected through 'retrospective' (last but one child) as well as 'current status' (last child) reporting of the duration of PPA.The mean duration of PPA was higher in the current status than in the retrospective data;n the difference being statistically significant. However, for the same mothers who gave PPA information in both the data sets, the difference in mean duration of PPA was not statistically significant. The correlates were identical in both the data sets. The current status data were more complete in terms of the coverage, and perhaps less distorted by reporting errors caused by recall lapse.A positive relationship of the mean duration of PPA was found with longer breast-feeding, higher parity and age of mother at the birth of the child, and the survival status of the child. An inverse relationship was found with higher education of a woman, higher education of her husband and higher socioeconomic status of her household, these variables possibly acting as proxies for women's better nutritional status.

scholarly journals Depth-Average Velocity from Spray Underwater Gliders

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1665-1673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Rudnick ◽  
Jeffrey T. Sherman ◽  
Alexander P. Wu
Keyword(s):  
Average Velocity ◽  
Dead Reckoning ◽  
Water Velocity ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Underwater Glider ◽  
Underwater Gliders ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers

AbstractThe depth-average velocity is routinely calculated using data from underwater gliders. The calculation is a dead reckoning, where the difference between the glider’s velocity over ground and its velocity through water yields the water velocity averaged over the glider’s dive path. Given the accuracy of global positioning system navigation and the typical 3–6-h dive cycle, the accuracy of the depth-average velocity is overwhelmingly dependent on the accurate estimation of the glider’s velocity through water. The calculation of glider velocity through water for the Spray underwater glider is described. The accuracy of this calculation is addressed using a method similar to that used with shipboard acoustic Doppler current profilers, where water velocity is compared before and after turns to determine a gain to apply to glider velocity through water. Differences of this gain from an ideal value of one are used to evaluate accuracy. Sustained glider observations of several years off California and Palau consisted of missions involving repeated straight sections, producing hundreds of turns. The root-mean-square accuracy of depth-average velocity is estimated to be in the range of 0.01–0.02 m s−1, consistent with inferences from the early days of underwater glider design.

Confidence intervals for a difference between lognormal means in cluster randomization trials

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 598-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Poirier ◽  
GY Zou ◽  
John Koval
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Community Acquired Pneumonia ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Cluster Randomization ◽  
Critical Pathway ◽  
Arithmetic Means ◽  
Multiple Parameters ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Cluster randomization trials, in which intact social units are randomized to different interventions, have become popular in the last 25 years. Outcomes from these trials in many cases are positively skewed, following approximately lognormal distributions. When inference is focused on the difference between treatment arm arithmetic means, existent confidence interval procedures either make restricting assumptions or are complex to implement. We approach this problem by assuming log-transformed outcomes from each treatment arm follow a one-way random effects model. The treatment arm means are functions of multiple parameters for which separate confidence intervals are readily available, suggesting that the method of variance estimates recovery may be applied to obtain closed-form confidence intervals. A simulation study showed that this simple approach performs well in small sample sizes in terms of empirical coverage, relatively balanced tail errors, and interval widths as compared to existing methods. The methods are illustrated using data arising from a cluster randomization trial investigating a critical pathway for the treatment of community acquired pneumonia.

scholarly journals Bias and error in modelling thermochronometric data: resolving a potential increase in Plio-Pleistocene erosion rate

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1153-1221
Author(s):  
Sean D. Willett ◽  
Frédéric Herman ◽  
Matthew Fox ◽  
Nadja Stalder ◽  
Todd A. Ehlers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Error Analysis ◽  
Inverse Method ◽  
Synthetic Data ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Exhumation Rate ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Path Lengths ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Exhumation History

Abstract. Thermochronometry provides one of few methods to quantify rock exhumation rate and history, including potential changes in exhumation rate. Thermochronometric ages can resolve rates, accelerations, and complex histories by exploiting different closure temperatures and path lengths using data distributed in elevation. We investigate how the resolution of an exhumation history is determined by the distribution of ages and their closure temperatures through an error analysis of the exhumation history problem. We define the sources of error, defined in terms of resolution, model error and methodological bias in the inverse method used by Herman et al. (2013) which combines data with different closure temperatures and elevations. The error analysis provides a series of tests addressing the various types of bias, including addressing criticism that there is a tendency of thermochronometric data to produce a false inference of faster erosion rates towards the present day because of a spatial correlation bias. Tests based on synthetic data demonstrate that the inverse method used by Herman et al. (2013) has no methodological or model bias towards increasing erosion rates. We do find significant resolution errors with sparse data, but these errors are not systematic, tending rather to leave inferred erosion rates at or near a Bayesian prior. To explain the difference in conclusions between our analysis and that of other work, we examine other approaches and find that previously published model tests contained an error in the geotherm calculation, resulting in an incorrect age prediction. Our reanalysis and interpretation show that the original results of Herman et al. (2013) are correctly calculated and presented, with no evidence for a systematic bias.

scholarly journals Definiteness

Linguistics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus von Heusinger
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Computational Linguistics ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Definite Descriptions ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Linguistic Structure ◽  
Definite Expressions

Definiteness is a semantic-pragmatic notion that is closely associated with the use of the definite article (or determiner) in languages like English, Hungarian, Hebrew, and Lakhota. The definite article can be used in different conditions: deictic, anaphoric, unique, and certain indirect uses, often also called “bridging uses.” Accordingly, there are different semantic theories of definiteness, such as the salience theory, the familiarity or identifiability theory, and the uniqueness or inclusiveness theory. Definite expressions cover personal pronouns, proper names, demonstratives, definite noun phrases, and universally quantified expressions. Noun phrases with the definite article, known as “definite descriptions,” are a key issue in semantics and analytic philosophy with respect to the interaction of reference and description in identifying an object. The research and analysis of definiteness is of great importance not only for the linguistic structure of languages but also for our understanding of reference and referring in philosophy, cognitive science, computational linguistics, and communication science.

Quantifying changes in bicycle volumes using crowdsourced data

2022 ◽  
pp. 239980832110661
Author(s):  
Ali Al-Ramini ◽  
Mohammad A Takallou ◽  
Daniel P Piatkowski ◽  
Fadi Alsaleem
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crowdsourced Data ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
Bicycle Infrastructure ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Infrastructure Investments ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Most cities in the United States lack comprehensive or connected bicycle infrastructure; therefore, inexpensive and easy-to-implement solutions for connecting existing bicycle infrastructure are increasingly being employed. Signage is one of the promising solutions. However, the necessary data for evaluating its effect on cycling ridership is lacking. To overcome this challenge, this study tests the potential of using readily-available crowdsourced data in concert with machine-learning methods to provide insight into signage intervention effectiveness. We do this by assessing a natural experiment to identify the potential effects of adding or replacing signage within existing bicycle infrastructure in 2019 in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. Specifically, we first visually compare cycling traffic changes in 2019 to those from the previous two years (2017–2018) using data extracted from the Strava fitness app. Then, we use a new three-step machine-learning approach to quantify the impact of signage while controlling for weather, demographics, and street characteristics. The steps are as follows: Step 1 (modeling and validation) build and train a model from the available 2017 crowdsourced data (i.e., Strava, Census, and weather) that accurately predicts the cycling traffic data for any street within the study area in 2018; Step 2 (prediction) use the model from Step 1 to predict bicycle traffic in 2019 while assuming new signage was not added; Step 3 (impact evaluation) use the difference in prediction from actual traffic in 2019 as evidence of the likely impact of signage. While our work does not demonstrate causality, it does demonstrate an inexpensive method, using readily-available data, to identify changing trends in bicycling over the same time that new infrastructure investments are being added.

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