scholarly journals More diversity enGENDERed by African languages: an introduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-240
Author(s):  
Tom Güldemann ◽  
Ines Fiedler
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Noun Class ◽  
Nominal Classification ◽  
Systemic Diversity ◽  
Ongoing Project

Abstract We give an overview of current research questions pursued in connection with an ongoing project on nominal classification systems in Africa, with a particular focus on Niger-Congo. We first introduce our cross-linguistically applicable methodological approach which provides new insights into the design of a range of gender systems on the continent. We then apply these ideas to the “noun class” systems of Niger-Congo. We focus on non-canonical phenomena of poorly known languages, which attest to an unexpected systemic diversity beyond the well-known Bantu type and promise to change the synchronic and diachronic perspective on the gender systems of this family.

scholarly journals The gender system of Longuda

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-346
Author(s):  
Julius-Maximilian Elstermann ◽  
Ines Fiedler ◽  
Tom Güldemann
Keyword(s):  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Classifier System ◽  
Class System ◽  
Nominal Form ◽  
Noun Class ◽  
Nominal Classification ◽  
Gender System

Abstract This article describes the gender system of Longuda. Longuda class marking is alliterative and does not distinguish between nominal form and agreement marking. While it thus appears to be a prototypical example of a traditional Niger-Congo “noun-class” system, this identity of gender encoding makes it look morpho-syntactic rather than lexical. This points to a formerly independent status of the exponents of nominal classification, which is similar to a classifier system and thus less canonical. Both types of class marking hosts involve two formally and functionally differing allomorphs, which inform the historical reconstruction of Longuda noun classification in various ways.

scholarly journals CORPUS-BASED METHOD IN TEACHING VOCABULARY

2021 ◽  
pp. 128-137
Author(s):  
LILIT MOVSESYAN
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Qualitative Analyses

Corpus linguistics is one of the fastest-growing methodologies in contemporary linguistics. It utilizes a large and principled collection of natural texts, known as a corpus, as the basis for analysis. At the same time, corpus linguistics is more than a methodological approach, because it has enabled researchers to ask fundamentally different kinds of research questions, sometimes resulting in radically different perspectives on language variation and use from those taken in previous research. And to make good use of corpus resources one needs a modest orientation to the routines involved in retrieving information from the corpus, and most importantly training and experience in how to evaluate that information. Hence, this paper presents corpus techniques in the field of teaching addressing the possible areas of its usage in vocabulary development through some activities requiring quantitative and qualitative analyses.

scholarly journals Children’s sensitivity to phonological and semantic cues during noun class learning: evidence for a phonological bias

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Culbertson ◽  
Hanna Jarvinen ◽  
Frances Haggarty ◽  
Kenny Smith
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Artificial Language ◽  
Phonological Information ◽  
Semantic Cues ◽  
Artificial Language Learning ◽  
Cue Use ◽  
Noun Class

Previous research on the acquisition of noun classification systems (e.g., grammatical gender) has found that child learners rely disproportionately on phonological cues to determine the class of a new noun, even when competing semantic cues are more reliable in their language. Culbertson, Gagliardi, and Smith (2017) argue that this likely results from the early availability of phonological information during acquisition; learners base their initial representations on formal features of nouns, only later integrating semantic cues from noun meanings . Here, we use artificial language learning experiments to show that early availability drives cue use in children (67 year-olds). However, we also find evidence of developmental changes in sensitivity to semantics; when both cues types are simultaneously available, children are more likely to rely on phonology than adults. Our results suggest that early availability and a bias favoring phonological cues both contribute to children’s over-reliance on phonology in natural language acquisition.

Natural Experiments in Business Research Methods

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Withers ◽  
Chi Hon Li
Keyword(s):  
Study Design ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Causal Relationships ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Viable Approach

Causal identification is an important consideration for organizational researchers as they attempt to develop a theoretical understanding of the causes and effects of organizational phenomena. Without valid causal identification, insights regarding organizational phenomena are challenging given their inherent complexity. In other words, organizational research will be limited in its scientific progression. Randomized controlled experiments are often suggested to provide the ideal study design necessary to address potential confounding effects and isolate true causal relationships. Nevertheless, only a few research questions lend themselves to this study design. In particular, the full randomization of subjects in the treatment and control group may not be possible due to the empirical constraints. Within the strategic management area, for example, scholars often use secondary data to examine research questions related to competitive advantage and firm performance. Natural experiments are increasingly recognized as a viable approach to identify causal relationships without true random assignment. Natural experiments leverage external sources of variation to isolate causal effects and avoid potentially confounding influences that often arise in observational data. Natural experiments require two key assumptions—the as-if random assignment assumption and the stable unit treatment value assumption. When these assumptions are met, natural experiments can be an important methodological approach for advancing causal understanding of organizational phenomena.

Mobilized by Injustice

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Hannah L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Racial Group ◽  
Central Mechanism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Criminal Justice Contact

Chapter 1 introduces many research questions, around which the rest of the volume organized. Under what conditions are individuals mobilized by criminal justice experiences and under what conditions do these experiences lead to demobilization? What is the central mechanism connecting criminal justice contact to political mobilization outcomes? Do mobilization and withdrawal vary by racial group? Lastly, does political mobilization and withdrawal vary by type of activity? Chapter 1 further situates the inquiry in a longer history of resistance around issues related to criminal justice, outlines the methodological approach of the research, and gives an overview of the remainder of the manuscript.

Introduction: The Battle over Race, Crime, and Gentrification

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Jan Doering
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Racial Segregation ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
American City ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Structural Context ◽  
Research Questions

The first chapter gives an overview of crime and gentrification in Rogers Park and Uptown. It explains why residents largely regarded efforts to tackle these interconnected problems as mutually exclusive. It also situates the local tensions about crime and gentrification in the broader historical and structural context of racial segregation and integration in the American city. In addition, the chapter introduces the book’s methodological approach, outlines its research questions, and develops its theoretical framework. Regarding the theoretical framework, the chapter introduces two simple concepts, “racial challenges” and “racial neutralizations,” which describe the contentious work of framing social phenomena as racially problematic or racially benign.

Expanding the Methodological Approach to the Social Servicescape: Moving From Measurement to Manipulation

2020 ◽  
pp. 193896552094921
Author(s):  
Lydia Hanks ◽  
Nathaniel D. Line ◽  
Lu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Measured Variable ◽  
Service Environment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Tangible Element ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Nomological Validity

Recently, research of the servicescape has expanded to include a social element in addition to the traditionally identified physical/tangible element. Typically, this social servicescape construct has been treated as a measured variable, reflecting the other customers in the service environment across three dimensions (i.e., similarity, behavior, and appearance). However, the exclusive use of measurement to operationalize a phenomenon limits both the types of methods that can be used and, correspondingly, the types of research questions that can be asked. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to propose and test a scenario-based manipulation of the customer social servicescape construct so that future research can address the phenomenon using experimental design. Scenarios crossing the social servicescape with social density (i.e., crowding) are constructed in three different domains (restaurant, hotel, and retail) and tested in terms of their nomological validity by assessing the effects of the manipulated variables on attitudes and satisfaction. Our results demonstrate that the three elements of the social servicescape—similarity, appearance, and behavior—each had a direct and significant effect on attitude and satisfaction. In addition, these results were consistent across the hotel, restaurant, and retail contexts. The clarity and consistency of these findings indicate the viability of the social servicescape manipulations as a research tool.

Is there nothing outside the tags?

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Murphy ◽  
Pauline Rafferty
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Social Tagging ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Death Of The Author

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between social tagging and key poststructuralist principles; to devise and construct an analytical framework through which key poststructuralist principles are converted into workable research questions and applied to analyse Librarything tags, and to assess the validity of performing such an analysis. The research hypothesis is that tagging represents an imperfect analogy for the poststructuralist project. Design/methodology/approach – Tags from LibraryThing and from a library OPAC were compared and constrasted with Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and publishers’ descriptions. Research questions derived from poststructuralism, asked whether tags destabilise meaning, whether and how far the death of the author is expressed in tags, and whether tags deconstruct LCSH. Findings – Tags can temporarily destabilise meaning by obfuscating the structure of a word. Meaning is destabilised, perhaps only momentarily, and then it is recreated; it might resemble the original meaning, or it may not, however any attempt to make tags useful or functional necessarily imposes some form of structure. The analysis indicates that in tagging, the author, if not dead, is ignored. Authoritative interpretations are not pervasively mimicked in the tags. In relation to LCSH, tagging decentres the dominant view, but neither exposes nor judges it. Nor does tagging achieve the final stage of the deconstructive process, showing the dominant view to be a constructed reality. Originality/value – This is one of very few studies to have attempted a critical theoretical approach to social tagging. It offers a novel methodological approach to undertaking analysis based on poststructuralist theory.

scholarly journals Written assignments in distance learning and communication with learners as part of the role of the lecturer in the distant education

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1420-1425
Author(s):  
ANDREAS KARAOULANIS ◽  
VASILIKI KOUKOUSOURI
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
System A ◽  
Modern Learning ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Distant Education ◽  
Written Assignments

In this paper the authors tried to underline the importance of distance learning as a means of distant education in the contemporary educational system. A literature review which explains why such a survey is very important in terms of this kind of modern learning was implemented. A short revision of some very important past surveys around the topic of distance learning was carried out, especially in terms of the research questions and the methodological approach that past researchers used in order to dig deeper into the topic. Finally, the results of such empirical researches were analyzed and some critical thoughts of the authors are presented.

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