The Building Blocks of Defensive and Accusatory Language in Canadian Question Period

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Blyth
Keyword(s):  
Building Blocks ◽  
English Studies ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Linguistic Strategies ◽  
Argumentative Strategies ◽  
Political Integrity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Strategies ◽  
Grammatical Structures ◽  
General Scale

The idea that there are grammatical structures which form accusations and defenses in language has been explored in the context of isolated instances of political debate (Rasiah 2009). This paper goes beyond that, looking at the specific linguistic strategies that compose such a structure, and evaluating those strategies over time. A discourse analysis is used to isolate, contrast and compare argumentative strategies in two different sections from the Canadian Hansard corpus. The first section consists of transcriptions of question period recorded in 2005 while the second is from 2014, allowing for a comparison that explores these trends through time. The strategies found in each section consist of specific linguistic elements which are relevant in the context of grammar structure analysis. Beyond this the individual strategies can also be sorted into larger groups, such as temporal distancing and diverting agentivity, which map the grammar of evasion on a more general scale. These groups expose language trends in political debate, and allow for an analysis of general evasion tactics used in Canadian government. By exploring the implications of said trends, this paper raises the question of political integrity in our Country’s leadership. A presentation of this thesis would explore the specific strategies, however would focus on the general groups, the trends that they expose and their implications.  This information could be found relevant in many academic contexts including sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, politics, and English studies.

Fully Automated Parallel Oligonucleotide Synthesizer

2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1299-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Lebl ◽  
Christine Burger ◽  
Brett Ellman ◽  
David Heiner ◽  
Georges Ibrahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solid Phase ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Solid Support ◽  
Continuous Operation ◽  
Gear Pump ◽  
Oligonucleotide Synthesis ◽  
Center Of Rotation ◽  
Microtiter Plates ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Design And Construction

Design and construction of automated synthesizers using the tilted plate centrifugation technology is described. Wash solutions and reagents common to all synthesized species are delivered automatically through a 96-channel distributor connected to a gear pump through two four-port selector valves. Building blocks and other specific reagents are delivered automatically through banks of solenoid valves, positioned over the individual wells of the microtiterplate. These instruments have the following capabilities: Parallel solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis in the wells of polypropylene microtiter plates, which are slightly tilted down towards the center of rotation, thus generating a pocket in each well, in which the solid support is collected during centrifugation, while the liquid is expelled from the wells. Eight microtiterplates are processed simultaneously, providing thus a synthesizer with a capacity of 768 parallel syntheses. The instruments are capable of unattended continuous operation, providing thus a capacity of over two millions 20-mer oligonucleotides in a year.

scholarly journals Cross-Linking Effects Dictate the Preference of Galectins to Bind LacNAc-Decorated HPMA Copolymers

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 6000
Author(s):  
Sara Bertuzzi ◽  
Ana Gimeno ◽  
Ane Martinez-Castillo ◽  
Marta G. Lete ◽  
Sandra Delgado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Lectin Binding ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Hpma Copolymers ◽  
Hydroxypropyl Methacrylamide ◽  
Galectin 3 ◽  
Nmr Methods ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Statistical Effects

The interaction of multi-LacNAc (Galβ1-4GlcNAc)-containing N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers with human galectin-1 (Gal-1) and the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of human galectin-3 (Gal-3) was analyzed using NMR methods in addition to cryo-electron-microscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments. The interaction with individual LacNAc-containing components of the polymer was studied for comparison purposes. For Gal-3 CRD, the NMR data suggest a canonical interaction of the individual small-molecule bi- and trivalent ligands with the lectin binding site and better affinity for the trivalent arrangement due to statistical effects. For the glycopolymers, the interaction was stronger, although no evidence for forming a large supramolecule was obtained. In contrast, for Gal-1, the results indicate the formation of large cross-linked supramolecules in the presence of multivalent LacNAc entities for both the individual building blocks and the polymers. Interestingly, the bivalent and trivalent presentation of LacNAc in the polymer did not produce such an increase, indicating that the multivalency provided by the polymer is sufficient for triggering an efficient binding between the glycopolymer and Gal-1. This hypothesis was further demonstrated by electron microscopy and DLS methods.

scholarly journals Facing the Future: A Blueprint for a Resilient and Equitable Society: Connecting the Functional Building Blocks

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
F. Bocken ◽  
E. Brennan ◽  
N. Claessens ◽  
D. Claeys ◽  
S. Debeaussaert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Bank Loans ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Future ◽  
Range Of Functions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Unemployed

Abstract Contemporary society is plagued by a number of issues and inconsistencies on both an environmental and a socio-economic level. Reliance on bank loans forces debtors to seek means to repay their debts, thus facilitating the current boundless economic growth in which long-term, environmental considerations typically come second. On the individual level, since virtually nothing is free, everyone has to ensure his or her own livelihood, mostly in the form of wage labour. For fear of poverty, the unemployed must adjust to the needs of the job market and risk not being able to fully explore their potential. Other socio-economic groups also face stigmatisation, and inequality is rampant as a result of the pervasive market-based pricing mechanisms. In view of these issues, it seems unjustified to accept these terms and conditions in the future, especially since the West has to cater to its ageing population and the ensuing pressure this will exert on welfare systems. Therefore, as a transdisciplinary team assisted by various experts and armed with insights from a wide <target target-type="page-num" id="p-2"/>variety of sources, we propose an alternative model of society based on the values of fairness, inclusion and transparency, with the goal of developing a representative systems map for a future, resilient and equitable society. The exact workings of this society are captured by several building blocks, which together endeavour to cover the full range of functions and responsibilities associated with society today, and jointly promote democratisation while guaranteeing equal political representation for all members of society.

scholarly journals Platform for Integrating and Testing Tools which Transform Natural Language Queries into SPARQL Queries

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-152
Author(s):  
I. S. Postanogov ◽  
I. A. Turova
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Data Flow ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Flow Diagram ◽  
Graphical Form ◽  
Testing Tools ◽  
Party Transformation ◽  
The Individual

In the paper we discuss how to support the process of creating tools which transform natural language (NL) queries into SPARQL queries (hereinafter referred to as a transformation tool). In the introduction, we describe the relevance of the task of understanding natural language queries by information systems, as well as the advantages of using ontologies as a means of representing knowledge for solving this problem. This ontology-based data access approach can be also used in systems which provide natural language interface to databases. Based on the analysis of problems related to the integration and testing of existing transformation tools, as well as to support the creation and testing own transformation modules, the concept of a software platform that simplifies these tasks is proposed. The platform architecture satisfies the requirements for ease of connecting third party transformation tools, reusing individual modules, as well as integrating the resulting transformation tools into other systems, including testing systems. The building blocks of the created transformation systems are the individual transformation modules packaged in Docker containers. Program access to each module is carried out using gRPC. Modules loaded into the platform can be built into the transformation pipeline automatically or manually using the built-in third party SciVi data flow diagram editor. Compatibility of individual modules is controlled by automatic analysis of application programming interfaces. The resulting pipeline is combined according to specified data flow into a single multi-container application that can be integrated into other systems, as well as tested on extendable test suites. The expected and actual results of the query transformation are available for viewing in graphical form in the visualization tool developed earlier.

scholarly journals Selective enhancement of object representations through multisensory integration

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Tovar ◽  
Micah M. Murray ◽  
Mark T. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Object Representations ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Living Objects ◽  
Selective Enhancement ◽  
The Brain

AbstractObjects are the fundamental building blocks of how we create a representation of the external world. One major distinction amongst objects is between those that are animate versus inanimate. Many objects are specified by more than a single sense, yet the nature by which multisensory objects are represented by the brain remains poorly understood. Using representational similarity analysis of human EEG signals, we show enhanced encoding of audiovisual objects when compared to their corresponding visual and auditory objects. Surprisingly, we discovered the often-found processing advantages for animate objects was not evident in a multisensory context due to greater neural enhancement of inanimate objects—the more weakly encoded objects under unisensory conditions. Further analysis showed that the selective enhancement of inanimate audiovisual objects corresponded with an increase in shared representations across brain areas, suggesting that neural enhancement was mediated by multisensory integration. Moreover, a distance-to-bound analysis provided critical links between neural findings and behavior. Improvements in neural decoding at the individual exemplar level for audiovisual inanimate objects predicted reaction time differences between multisensory and unisensory presentations during a go/no-go animate categorization task. Interestingly, links between neural activity and behavioral measures were most prominent 100 to 200ms and 350 to 500ms after stimulus presentation, corresponding to time periods associated with sensory evidence accumulation and decision-making, respectively. Collectively, these findings provide key insights into a fundamental process the brain uses to maximize information it captures across sensory systems to perform object recognition.Significance StatementOur world is filled with an ever-changing milieu of sensory information that we are able to seamlessly transform into meaningful perceptual experience. We accomplish this feat by combining different features from our senses to construct objects. However, despite the fact that our senses do not work in isolation but rather in concert with each other, little is known about how the brain combines the senses together to form object representations. Here, we used EEG and machine learning to study how the brain processes auditory, visual, and audiovisual objects. Surprisingly, we found that non-living objects, the objects which were more difficult to process with one sense alone, benefited the most from engaging multiple senses.

Johann Joachim Becher (1635–1682), a little known opponent of Comenius’ Theory of Language and Language Learning

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 73-88
Author(s):  
Werner Hüllen
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Word Classes ◽  
Theory Of Language ◽  
Situational Learning ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

Summary Concerning the methods of language teaching, Johann Joachim Becher (1635–1682), one of the encyclopedic philosophers of the 17th century, stood in opposition to Jan Amos Comenius (1592–1670), the pedagogue of Europewide influence. He published Methodus didactica (1668) and Novum organon (1672), the latter being a universal nomenclator as they were popular in the 17th century. This nomenclator is organised according to Aristotelian categories which Becher saw expressed in word-classes. It assembles groups of synonyms in Latin and German under headwords which were taken as the simple notions, i.e., the building-blocks, of the human mind. Becher demanded didactic principles to be developed out of these linguistic assumptions. Whereas Comenius shaped his teaching methods according to the situational learning abilities of the individual, Becher regarded them as being dominated by the structures of language seen as structures of the mind, thus foreshadowing Cartesian thinking.

Ethology: The Narrative Turn

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Lestel
Keyword(s):  
Field Data ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Cognitive Ethology ◽  
Philosophical Question ◽  
Animal Intelligence ◽  
Narrative Structures ◽  
Methodological Tool ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Strategies

Distinguishing their work from the causalist approaches of objectivist ethology, sociobiology, or cognitive ethology, a growing number of ethologists lay claim to the possibility of describing what animals do through more or less complex narratives. Narration becomes a methodological tool in its own right. Animals thus become characters as in novels. This is an epistemological choice. Our capacity to perceive the complexity of animal lives is tied to our capacity to tell ourselves stories in which animals are the heroes. These animals are not robots. They are subjects, individuals, and even persons. From this results a new and transpecific form of third-person narration. This approach still relies, however, on a set of very carefully collected field data and requires a great familiarity with observed animals. It then becomes possible to concern oneself with the individual strategies of particular animals rather than solely with behaviors that would be common to all members of a given species. The recourse to narrative as a means of understanding animal intelligence is especially pertinent as we become increasingly aware that animals themselves tell stories and that our concepts of narrative must expand beyond the human. Knowing whether animals have narrative structures is a philosophical question before it is a biological one. The desire to extend narrativity to the animal necessarily modifies what narrativity signifies. We perceive in animals a processual narrativity, a behavioral narrativity, and a fictional narrativity. The study of animals forces to rethink what a fiction is and compels one to consider its phylogensis in a rigorous manner without locating its origins in Homo sapiens.

Communicative Doubt

2020 ◽  
pp. 117-139
Author(s):  
Méadhbh McIvor
Keyword(s):  
Good News ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Christ Church ◽  
Conservative Christian ◽  
The Individual

This chapter studies the use of biblically inflected speech in political debate. It begins by examining the arguments raised by conservative Christian activists in their campaign to prevent the passage of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013. Introducing the concept of 'communicative doubt', the chapter argues that there is a sense in which neither 'religious' nor 'secular' arguments are thought to be an appropriate means of conveying Biblical Truth to those who are not (yet) Christian, for what is needed is the intervention of a speaking God. It then explores this doubt as it manifested in the lives of two Christ Church members who had been involved in one of the Christian Legal Centre's earliest cases. Five years on, they remained unsure of whether or not it communicated the Good News they had hoped to share. These doubts, hesitations, and ambivalences speak to the contested place of public Christianity in contemporary England, and to the difficulties faced by those who insist that their faith must go public: the challenge of rendering Christianity legible not only to law and politics, but to the individual men and women who are subject to these worldly institutions.

Firms

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-98
Author(s):  
Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Identity ◽  
Women Professionals ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
International Firms ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Organizational Perspective ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Domestic Law

This chapter extends the analysis of novelty from the individual level to a more organizational perspective. No doubt the advantage of newness played a big part in scripting how individuals were viewed and treated, but equally important were the ways in which novelty moderated how organizations identified and wanted to be seen. In exploring the ways in which this organizational identity was presented and negotiated, the chapter reveals the building blocks for another counter-intuitive finding — that it was domestic law firms, rather than local offices of international firms, where women professionals seemed to flourish. It shows that this unique structural premise forces them to use two distinct logics of emergence. First, firms use a differentiation logic to distinguish themselves from traditional firms that foreign clients are likely to see as “traditional” and kinship based — and therefore not modern and sophisticated enough. Second, they use a mimicking logic that mirrors global processes to aggressively signal compatibility and likeness with their global peers.

What It Is to Reason about Ethics

2018 ◽  
pp. 182-184
Author(s):  
John McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Building Blocks ◽  
Moral Reason ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Argumentative Strategies

Sidgwick claimed that if we want to understand the methods of ethics, we should study the methods by which people reach reasoned convictions about morality. This book has explained how speculative reasons and drawing distinctions are the building blocks of moral reason. Of course, moral principles, concepts and theories have some role to play but it should be much more limited than it currently is and is not the most useful thing to teach those new to bioethics. When bioethics draws upon these argumentative strategies and is empirically engaged, then bioethics can give us normative, practical advice about what we should do.

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