scholarly journals Contrast implementation affects phonetic variability: A case study of Hindi and English stops

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy Hauser
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
American English ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Dispersion Theory ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Phonological Contrast ◽  
Individual Speaker

There is a large body of work in phonetics and phonology demonstrating sources and structure of acoustic variability, showing that variability in speech production is not random. This paper examines the question of how variability itself varies across languages and speakers, arguing that differences in extent of variability are also systematic. A classic hypothesis from Dispersion Theory (Lindblom, 1986) posits a relationship between extent of variability and phoneme inventory size, but this has been shown to be inadequate for predicting differences in phonetic variability. I propose an alternative hypothesis, Contrast-Dependent Variation, which considers cue weight of individual phonetic dimensions rather than size of phonemic inventories. This is applied to a case study of Hindi and American English stops and correctly predicts more variability in English stop closure voicing relative to Hindi, but similar amounts of lag time variability in both languages. In addition to these group-level between- language differences, the results demonstrate how patterns of individual speaker differences are language-specific and conditioned by differences in phonological contrast implementation.

Using hidden Markov models to find discrete targets in continuous sociophonetic data

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Hidden Markov Models ◽  
Markov Models ◽  
Hidden Markov ◽  
Abstract Representation ◽  
Language Variation And Change ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Single Target ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Speaker

Abstract Advances in sociophonetic research resulted in features once sorted into discrete bins now being measured continuously. This has implied a shift in what sociolinguists view as the abstract representation of the sociolinguistic variable. When measured discretely, variation is variation in selection: one variant is selected for production, and factors influencing language variation and change are influencing the frequency at which variants are selected. Measured continuously, variation is variation in execution: speakers have a single target for production, which they approximate with varying success. This paper suggests that both approaches can and should be considered in sociophonetic analysis. To that end, I offer the use of hidden Markov models (HMMs) as a novel approach to find speakers’ multiple targets within continuous data. Using the lot vowel among whites in Greater St. Louis as a case study, I compare 2-state and 1-state HMMs constructed at the individual speaker level. Ten of fifty-two speakers’ production is shown to involve the regular use of distinct fronted and backed variants of the vowel. This finding illustrates HMMs’ capacity to allow us to consider variation as both variant selection and execution, making them a useful tool in the analysis of sociophonetic data.

Satisfaction of tuberculosis patients with health services in Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 545-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Bonsu ◽  
Felix Afutu ◽  
Nii Nortey Hanson-Nortey ◽  
Mary-Anne Ahiabu ◽  
Joshua Amo-Adjei
Keyword(s):  
Client Satisfaction ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sputum Production ◽  
Interview Guide

Purpose Within human services, client satisfaction is highly prioritised and considered a mark of responsiveness in service delivery. A large body of research has examined the concept of satisfaction from the perspective of service users. However, not much is known about how service providers construct client satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to throw light on healthcare professionals’ perspectives on patient satisfaction, using tuberculosis (TB) clinics as a case study. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 35 TB clinic supervisors purposively sampled from six out of the ten regions of Ghana. An unstructured interview guide was employed. The recorded IDIs were transcribed, edited and entered into QSR NVivo 10.0 and analysed inductively. Findings Respondents defined service satisfaction as involving education/counselling (on drugs, nature of condition, sputum production, caregivers and contacts of patients), patient follow-up, assignment of reliable treatment supporters as well as being attentive and receptive to patients, service availability (e.g. punctuality at work, availability of commodities), positive assurances about disease prognosis and respect for patients. Practical implications Complementing opinions of health service users with those of providers can offer key performance improvement areas for health managers. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a first study that has examined healthcare providers’ views on what makes their clients satisfied with the services they provide.

Translation teams as cognitive systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-327
Author(s):  
Richard Pleijel
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Cognitive Artifacts ◽  
Archival Material

Abstract This paper aims to bring research on different forms of group-level cognition into conversation with Cognitive Translation Studies (CTS), the focal point of the paper being cognitive processes in translation teams. It is argued that an analysis of cognition in translation teams, which exhibit the properties of a cognitive system, needs to be placed on group-level. A case study of a team, translating the Hebrew Bible Book of Psalms into Swedish in the 1980’s, is presented. The empirical base for the case study consists of archival material in the form of draft translations and paratexts. The methodological question is thus raised whether, and if so in what way, cognitive processes may be analyzed retrospectively, and not only from a real time perspective. By treating the archival material as cognitive artifacts which have constituted an integral part of the team’s cognitive process, the question is tentatively answered in a favourable way. This, it is finally argued, opens up interesting possibilities for joining CTS with translator archives research, Genetic Translation Studies (GTS), and cognitive archeology.

scholarly journals On the Role of Learning Theories in Furthering Software Engineering Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 1645-1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Oh Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Software Engineering ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
Software Engineering Education ◽  
Role Learning ◽  
How People Learn

Learning theories describe how people learn. There is a large body of work concerning learning theories on which to draw, a valuable resource of which the domain of software engineering educational research has thus far not taken full advantage. In this chapter, we explore what role learning theories could play in software engineering education. We propose that learning theories can move the field of software engineering education forward by helping us to categorize, design, evaluate, and communicate about software engineering educational approaches. We demonstrate this by: (1) surveying a set of relevant learning theories, (2) presenting a categorization of common software engineering educational approaches in terms of learning theories, and (3) using one such approach (SimSE) as a case study to explore how learning theories can be used to improve existing approaches, design new approaches, and structure and guide the evaluation of an approach.

scholarly journals Contrasting Medical and Legal Standards of Evidence: A Precision Medicine Case Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary E. Marchant ◽  
Kathryn Scheckel ◽  
Doug Campos-Outcalt
Keyword(s):  
Precision Medicine ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Genetic Profile ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Standards Of Evidence ◽  
The Individual

As the health care system transitions to a precision medicine approach that tailors clinical care to the genetic profile of the individual patient, there is a potential tension between the clinical uptake of new technologies by providers and the legal system's expectation of the standard of care in applying such technologies. We examine this tension by comparing the type of evidence that physicians and courts are likely to rely on in determining a duty to recommend pharmacogenetic testing of patients prescribed the oral anti-coagulant drug warfarin. There is a large body of inconsistent evidence and factors for and against such testing, but physicians and courts are likely to weigh this evidence differently. The potential implications for medical malpractice risk are evaluated and discussed.

scholarly journals Digital technology and changing roles: a management accountant’s dream or nightmare?

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-238
Author(s):  
Roy-Ivar Andreassen
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Management Accountants ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Changing Roles ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Recent developments in digital technology have revitalized interest in the relationship between technology and management accounting. Yet, few empirical in-depth studies have assessed how digital technologies influence the roles of management accountants. This paper builds on the concept of jurisdiction to illuminate the relationship between management accountants, expert knowledge and digital technology. The study identifies and describes competition over jurisdiction between management accountants and other groups of employees. The study describes a shift for divisional management accountants towards narrower roles in their tasks and expectations, while business-oriented roles at group level are found to entail expanding tasks and expectations. In doing so, management accountants are divided into two divergent categories facing different expectations: divisional and group level management accountants. Through a case study in the technology-oriented finance sector, the paper contributes to the debate on the roles of management accountants in a number of ways. First, it describes how digital technology can contribute to narrower and more specialized roles. Second, it describes how digital technology can contribute to competition between professions. Third, it elucidates how digital technology contributes to changes in the behaviour of decision makers, and in their expectations toward, and the involvement of, management accountants. Fourth, it details how the changes contributed by digital technology in the roles of management accountants can act as mediators in the identity-work of management accountants. Finally, it empirically describes the relationships between digital technology and management accountants’ roles.

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