scholarly journals The influence of linguistic and social factors on the recent decline of French ne

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Armstrong ◽  
Alan Smith

In this article we present some results showing the decline in radio speech in the use of the French negative particle ne over the last forty years or so. These results derive from a comparison of two radio corpora: an archival corpus recorded by Ågren (1973) in 1960–61. The second, contemporary corpus was recorded and analysed by one of the present authors (Smith) in 1997. Having described the variable in question, we present these corpora in turn and analyse results deriving from them. We then examine some of the linguistic constraints that endorse the progressive decline of ne in some contexts while hindering the process in others. Finally we consider some elements of the social context within which the decline of ne has been occurring.

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Burgo

The Present Perfect (PP) in some Peninsular Spanish dialects is following the same path as other Romance languages; it is going through a grammaticalization process where the PP is usurping the semantic domains of the Preterite. This is the case of many Peninsular dialects such as Alicante (Schwenter, 1994) and Madrid (Serrano, 1994) among others as well as Bilbao (Kempas, 2005). He found that the frequencies of PPs in hodiernal contexts were higher than in other Spanish cities so these findings point out to a more advanced path of grammaticalization in this city. Previous studies have paid more attention to the linguistic constraints that favor the use of the PP instead of the Preterite rather than the social factors that influence this linguistic change. In this article, I focus on the study of three social variables (age, gender and class) to account for evidence of a change in progress in Bilbao Spanish.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
James Steinhoff

Abstract The thriving contemporary form of artificial intelligence (AI) called machine learning is often represented sensationally in popular media as a semi-mystical technology. Machine learning systems are frequently ascribed anthropomorphic capacities for learning, emoting and reasoning which, it is suggested, might lead to the alleviation of humanity’s woes. One critical reaction to such sensational proclamations has been to focus on the mundane reality of contemporary machine learning as mere inductive prediction based on statistical generalizations, albeit with surprisingly powerful abilities (Pasquinelli 2017). While the deflationist reaction is a necessary reply to sensationalist agitation, adequate comprehension of modern AI cannot be achieved while neglecting its material and social context. One does not have to subscribe wholeheartedly to the social construction of technology thesis1 to allow that the development and evolution of technologies are influenced by social factors. For AI, the most important aspect of the current social context is arguably capital, which increasingly dominates AI research and production. One former computer science professor describes a “giant sucking sound of [AI] academics going into industry” (Metz 2017). This paper introduces capital’s theory of AI as utility and initiates a discussion on its social consequences. First, I discuss utilities and their infrastructures and introduce a few critical thoughts on the topic. Second, I situate modern AI by way of a brief history. Third, I detail capital’s view of AI as a utility and the technical details underpinning it. Fourth, I sketch how AI as a utility frames a social problematic beyond the important issues of algorithmic bias and the automation of work. I do so by extrapolating from one consequence of AI as a utility which multiple capitalist firms predict: the curation of human subjectivities.


Sexualities ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136346072096130
Author(s):  
Julie Fennell

Drawing from extensive insider ethnographic work and an internet survey with a convenience sample of 1642 BDSM practitioners, I show that the social context of the BDSM subculture has a profound impact on pansexual BDSM practitioners’ interpretation of the relationship between BDSM and sex. Greater involvement in the public BDSM subculture and participation in feminine Dominance/masculine submission are both strongly associated with less preference for and experience of sexual BDSM. Greater involvement in the BDSM subculture increases participants’ likelihood of viewing their sexuality in terms of BDSM but decreases their likelihood of viewing BDSM in sexual terms. BDSM practitioners who meet new BDSM partners in BDSM subcultural contexts, even ones where sex is allowed, are much less likely to have sex with their partners than practitioners who met anywhere else. I argue that research should focus more on the social factors that influence participants’ experience and interpretation of BDSM, particularly on the influence of the BDSM subculture, and that theorists should think more broadly about the social determinants of “sex” and “sexual experience.”


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Gosselin

This paper uses a non-ideal theory approach advocated for by Alison Jaggar to show that practices involved with the medicalization of serious mental disorders can subject people who have these disorders to a cycle of vulnerability that keeps them trapped within systems of injustice. When medicalization locates mental disorders solely as problems of individual biology, without regard to social factors, and when it treats mental disorders as personal defects, it perpetuates injustice in several ways: by enabling biased diagnoses through stereotyping, by exploiting and coercing people who are seen as insufficiently competent, and by perpetuating idealized conceptions of choice and control that do not take into account people’s real limitations and the social context of health. Through practices of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, medicalization can perpetuate injustices toward people who have serious mental disorders.


2021 ◽  
pp. 008124632098405
Author(s):  
Duane D. Booysen ◽  
Ashraf Kagee

Considering the global trend towards the dissemination and implementation of trauma-focused treatments in the majority of the world, it is imperative to ascertain the contextual factors which affect the treatment of traumatic stress, especially in low- and middle-income countries characterised by ongoing adversity such as poverty and increased levels of trauma exposure. We explored the experiences of non-specialist health workers whose work involved providing trauma-focused services in low-resource communities in South Africa. Participants ( n = 18) worked at four non-governmental organisations in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape of South Africa. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted and analysed using a phenomenologically informed thematic analysis. Two superordinate themes were identified, namely, adjusting to trauma-focused work and trauma in the social context. Five themes that made up the superordinate themes were Encountering Trauma Narratives, Support and Resilience, Going the Extra Mile, Helplessness, and Social Factors. The findings are not only in keeping with the psychological risks of trauma-focused work (e.g., vicarious traumatisation) but also highlighting the impact of the social context on the provision of trauma-focused work. Participants reported experiencing an added burden of helplessness due to social factors, such as poverty and high levels of trauma exposure, which affect the process of treating traumatic stress in low-resource settings. We discuss how these findings can contribute to efforts to implement trauma-focused services in low- and middle-income countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-216
Author(s):  
Resti Hartika

This research aims to analyze to illustrate the kind of bully action that do Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter. To describe the factors that trigger the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape take action against bully Harry Potter. To illustrate the social impact of the bully acts committed by the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Joanne Kathleen Rowling. The method of the research is descriptive qualitative, which tries to explain about the correlations between author life background and its influence to the literary work produced. Sources of data in this study include the source of primary data and secondary data. Data collection techniques used in this study is a technique to read and record. The measures undertaken to analyze the data is as follows (1) Read the novel Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone works J.K. Rowling. (2) Marking a sentence or a paragraph discussing about the social context associated with the bully action. (3) Analyzing the results about the social context are associated with the bully, the social picture, and social functions and (4) Describe results. After analyzing the social factors that Harry Potter bully (intimidated) in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the author concludes the analysis into three findings: first to describe the type of action undertaken bully Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter. The types of bullying done of verbal bullying, where the actors perform intimidation through their words to a bully victim. Then bullying involving physical contact between the offender and the victim either directly or indirectly. This type of bullying usually include punching, kicking, slapping, choking, biting, spitting, even destroy the belongings of the victims, and relational bullying (friendship). Second to describe the factors that trigger the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape take action against Harry Potter bully. Factors child's own personal self, namely anxiety and feeling inferior from an agent, competition is not realistic, feelings of resentment arising from hostility or because the bullies had been the victim of bullying before, and the inability to handle emotions positively. Family factors namely lack of warmth and level of awareness of parents are low on his son, Pattern foster parents who are too permissive so that children are free to take whatever measures are desirable or otherwise. Factors association. Third to describe the social impact of the bully acts committed by the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy and Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter. The social impact of the action bully among others They have a strong need to dominate and subdue other students and to get their own way. Are impulsive and are Easily angered. Are Often defiant and aggressive toward adults, Including parents and teachers. Show little empathy toward students who are victimized If they are boys, they are physically stronger than most other boys in general.    


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Thomason

AbstractTwo claims made by Thomason & Kaufman (1988) have elicited particularly strong reactions from specialists in language contact: first, that there are no absolute linguistic constraints on the kinds or numbers of features that can be transferred from one language to another; and second, that when social factors and linguistic factors might be expected to push in opposite directions in a language contact situation, the social factors will be the primary determinants of the linguistic outcome. Both claims have frequently been challenged in recent years, for instance by Gillian Sankoff, Ruth King, and Carol Myers-Scotton. To some extent the challenges are based on a misunderstanding of our arguments; most seriously, some critics argue that we dismiss linguistic predictors as entirely irrelevant to an analysis of contact-induced change. Since we discussed linguistic as well as social predictors of contactinduced change, it isn't true that, as King 2002 puts it, we claimed that 'linguistic factors… play no role' in determining the outcome of language contact (and Sankoff 2001 has a similar statement). In part, however, the objections to our position are based on genuine theoretical and/or empirical disagreements between Thomason & Kaufman and their critics. This paper explores these disagreements in an effort to arrive at a better understanding of the relative importance of social and linguistic predictors in language contact situations. My main conclusions are these: although critics have made impressive contributions toward specifying linguistic predictors, there is still no good reason to abandon the Thomason & Kaufman position (mainly because it was much less extreme than some readers have assumed); and much more work needs to be done to make even rough predictions about the relative impact of particular social and linguistic factors, and their interactions, in particular contact situations.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Michael ◽  
Alina Gutoreva ◽  
Huixian Michele Lee ◽  
Peng Ning Tan ◽  
Eleanor M. Bruce ◽  
...  

People’s risky decisions can be highly influenced by the social context in which they take place. Across three experiments we investigated the influence of three social factors upon participants’ decisions: the recipient of the decision-making outcome (self, other, or joint), the nature of the relationship with the other agent (friend, stranger, or teammate), and the type of information that participants received about others’ preferences: none at all, information about how previous participants had decided, or information about a partner’s preference. We found that participants’ decisions about risk did not differ according to whether the outcome at stake was their own, another agent’s, or a joint outcome, nor according to the type of information available. Participants were, however, willing to adjust their preferences for risky options in light of social information.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-33
Author(s):  
Doris Schartmueller

Life after prison can pose challenges for the formerly incarcerated, their families, and wider communities. This research studies Austria where probation services are either mandated by the court or sought voluntarily after prison. Through semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals, reintegration experiences from their perspectives are examined. The narratives emphasized social factors that either assuage or complicate life after prison. The main factors addressed were stable housing, the maintaining and (re)building of relationships, and employment. Overall, a lack of stable housing appeared to complicate life after prison the most and also negatively affected relationships and employment. For some, life after prison was further exacerbated by immigration status and a perceived stigma related to the nature of one’s convictions. This study shows the importance of working towards a better understanding of the social context individuals are released into after prison to better meet their individual needs and to counteract recidivism.


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