Age of Arrival (AOA) effects on anaphor processing by Japanese bilinguals

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichi Shoji ◽  
Stanley Dubinsky ◽  
Amit Almor

AbstractThis study investigates the role of exposure to English on discourse-reference processing by native Japanese speakers. Shoji et al. (2016a, The repeated name penalty, the overt pronoun penalty, and topic in Japanese. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007 %2Fs10936-016-9424-4) found that Japanese-English bilinguals residing in the United States show a Repeated Name Penalty (RNP; Gordon et al. 1993. Pronouns, names, and the centering of attention in discourse. Cognitive Science 17. 311–347) and an Overt Pronoun Penalty (OPP; Gelormini-Lezama and Almor 2011, Repeated names, overt pronouns, and null pronouns in Spanish. Language Cognitive Processes 26. 437–454) in Japanese with both topic (wa-marked) subject anaphors and non-topic (ga-marked) subject anaphors, indicating that the different morphological markings on anaphors do not alter these effects. In contrast, more recent data collected from L1-immersed Japanese speakers residing in Japan (Shoji et al. 2016b, The repeated name penalty and the overt pronoun penalty in Japanese. Unpublished manuscript) show that these speakers do not show a RNP or an OPP for topic-marked anaphors. Here we report a reanalysis of Shoji et al.’s (2016a) results showing that these effects are moderated by participants’ Age of Arrival (AOA; i. e. the age at which participants first arrived to the place where their second language is regularly spoken). Participants with an early AOA showed differential processing patterns for topic-marked anaphors and non-topic anaphors, while participants with late AOA did not. We propose as an explanation that early AOA bilinguals represent different languages separately, while late AOA bilinguals tend to rely on a single unified language system.

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Wenxing Yang ◽  
Ying Sun

Abstract. The causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers’ mental representations of time seems to be well established by many psychological experiments. However, the question of whether bidirectional writing systems in some languages can also produce such an impact on temporal cognition remains unresolved. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese and Taiwanese, both of which have a similar mix of texts written horizontally from left to right (HLR) and vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed which recruited Japanese and Taiwanese speakers as participants. Experiment 1 used an explicit temporal arrangement design, and Experiment 2 measured implicit space-time associations in participants along the horizontal (left/right) and the vertical (up/down) axis. Converging evidence gathered from the two experiments demonstrate that neither Japanese speakers nor Taiwanese speakers aligned their vertical representations of time with the VTB writing orientation. Along the horizontal axis, only Japanese speakers encoded elapsing time into a left-to-right linear layout, which was commensurate with the HLR writing direction. Therefore, two distinct writing orientations of a language could not bring about two coexisting mental time lines. Possible theoretical implications underlying the findings are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita C. Banerjee ◽  
Kathryn Greene ◽  
Marina Krcmar ◽  
Zhanna Bagdasarov ◽  
Dovile Ruginyte

This study demonstrates the significance of individual difference factors, particularly gender and sensation seeking, in predicting media choice (examined through hypothetical descriptions of films that participants anticipated they would view). This study used a 2 (Positive mood/negative mood) × 2 (High arousal/low arousal) within-subject design with 544 undergraduate students recruited from a large northeastern university in the United States. Results showed that happy films and high arousal films were preferred over sad films and low-arousal films, respectively. In terms of gender differences, female viewers reported a greater preference than male viewers for happy-mood films. Also, male viewers reported a greater preference for high-arousal films compared to female viewers, and female viewers reported a greater preference for low-arousal films compared to male viewers. Finally, high sensation seekers reported a preference for high-arousal films. Implications for research design and importance of exploring media characteristics are discussed.


Author(s):  
Taylor F Brinkman

During the past decade, forty-six professional sports venues were constructed in the United States, while only 16 expansion teams were created by the major sports leagues. Nearly two thirds of these newly built stadiums and arenas were funded with public tax revenues, despite substantial evidence showing no positive economic impact of new sports stadium construction on local communities. In reviewing the economic literature, this article investigates the role of professional sports organizations in the construction and public subsidization of new sports venues. Franchise relocation and public stadium subsidization is a direct result of the monopoly power of professional sports leagues, whose franchise owners extract large subsidies from their host communities by threatening to relocate to viable alternative locations. After explaining how the most common methods of stadium subsidization project a disproportionate allocation of the benefits and costs of hosting a professional team to local community interests, this article outlines several considerations for local policymakers who seek to reinvigorate public discussion of equity concerns in professional sports finance.


Author(s):  
G. John Ikenberry

The end of the Cold War was a “big bang” reminiscent of earlier moments after major wars, such as the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the end of the world wars in 1919 and 1945. But what do states that win wars do with their newfound power, and how do they use it to build order? This book examines postwar settlements in modern history, arguing that powerful countries do seek to build stable and cooperative relations, but the type of order that emerges hinges on their ability to make commitments and restrain power. The book explains that only with the spread of democracy in the twentieth century and the innovative use of international institutions—both linked to the emergence of the United States as a world power—has order been created that goes beyond balance of power politics to exhibit “constitutional” characteristics. Blending comparative politics with international relations, and history with theory, the book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the organization of world order, the role of institutions in world politics, and the lessons of past postwar settlements for today.


2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
P. Pace-Asciak ◽  
T. Gelfand

Medical students depend on illustration to learn anatomical facts and details that may be too subtle for the written or spoken word. For surgical disciplines, learners rely on tools such as language, 2-dimensional illustrations, and 3-dimensional models to pass on important concepts. Although a photograph can convey factual information, illustration can highlight and educate the pertinent details for understanding surgical procedures, neurovascular structures, and the pathological disease processes. In order to understand the current role of medical illustration in education, one needs to look to the past to see how art has helped solve communication dilemmas when learning medicine. This paper focuses on Max Brodel (1870-1941), a German-trained artist who eventually immigrated to the United States to pursue his career as a medical illustrator. Shortly after his arrival in Baltimore, Brodel made significant contributions to medical illustration in Gynecology at John Hopkins University, and eventually in other fields of medicine such as Urology and Otolaryngology. Brodel is recognized as one of America’s most distinguished medical illustrators for creating innovative artistic techniques and founding the profession of medical illustration. Today, animated computer based art is synergistically used with medical illustration to educate students about anatomy. Some of the changes that have occurred with the advancement of computer technology will be highlighted and compared to a century ago, when illustrations were used for teaching anatomy due to the scarcity of cadavers. Schultheiss D, Udo J. Max Brodel (1870-1941) and Howard A.Kelly (1858-1943) – Urogynecology and the birth of modern medical illustration. European Journal of Obstetrics & gynecology and Reproductive Biology 1999; 86:113-115. Crosby C. Max Brodel: the man who put art into medicine. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1991. Papel ID. Max Brodel’s contributions to otolaryngology – Head and Neck surgery. The American Journal of Otology 1986; 7(6):460-469.


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