scholarly journals Delineating extravagance: Assessing speakers’ perceptions of imaginative constructional patterns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ungerer ◽  
Stefan Hartmann

The concept of extravagance, commonly used to describe speakers’ use of imaginative language in order to be noticed, has seen a surge in popularity in recent constructionist work. However, researchers have not yet converged on a set of common criteria for identifying extravagant expressions. In this paper, we discuss a variety of existing definitions and combine them into five main characteristics of extravagant language. We then present the results of a pilot rating study in which speakers judged extravagant sentences and their non-extravagant paraphrases regarding some of the previously suggested parameters. Despite the preliminary nature of our investigation, our findings suggest that different constructions vary in their degree of perceived extravagance, and that certain features (e.g. stylistic salience) apply to most extravagant examples while the role of other factors (e.g. the speaker’s emotional involvement) may be restricted to a subset of extravagant patterns. We conclude with some open questions concerning the further demarcation and operationalisation of the concept of extravagance.

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ungerer ◽  
Stefan Hartmann

Abstract While the concept of extravagance, used to describe speakers’ use of imaginative and noticeable language, has seen a surge in popularity in recent constructionist work, researchers have not yet converged on a set of common criteria for identifying extravagant expressions. In this paper, we discuss a variety of existing definitions and combine them into five main characteristics of extravagant language. We then present the results of a small-scale pilot rating study in which speakers judged extravagant sentences and their non-extravagant paraphrases. Our findings suggest that different constructions vary in their degree of perceived extravagance, and that certain features (e.g. stylistic salience) apply to most extravagant examples while the role of other factors (e.g. the speaker’s emotional involvement) may be restricted to a subset of extravagant patterns. We conclude with some open questions concerning the further demarcation and operationalisation of the concept of extravagance.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Alberto Cesarani ◽  
Giuseppe Pulina

The concept of welfare applied to farm animals has undergone a remarkable evolution. The growing awareness of citizens pushes farmers to guarantee the highest possible level of welfare to their animals. New perspectives could be opened for animal welfare reasoning around the concept of domestic, especially farm, animals as partial human artifacts. Therefore, it is important to understand how much a particular behavior of a farm animal is far from the natural one of its ancestors. This paper is a contribution to better understand the role of genetics of the farm animals on their behavior. This means that the naïve approach to animal welfare regarding returning animals to their natural state should be challenged and that welfare assessment should be considered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Ilaria Plantamura ◽  
Alessandra Cataldo ◽  
Giulia Cosentino ◽  
Marilena V. Iorio

Despite its controversial roles in different cancer types, miR-205 has been mainly described as an oncosuppressive microRNA (miRNA), with some contrasting results, in breast cancer. The role of miR-205 in the occurrence or progression of breast cancer has been extensively studied since the first evidence of its aberrant expression in tumor tissues versus normal counterparts. To date, it is known that the expression of miR-205 in the different subtypes of breast cancer is decreasing from the less aggressive subtype, estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor positive breast cancer, to the more aggressive, triple negative breast cancer, influencing metastasis capability, response to therapy and patient survival. In this review, we summarize the most important discoveries that have highlighted the functional role of this miRNA in breast cancer initiation and progression, in stemness maintenance, in the tumor microenvironment, its potential role as a biomarker and its relevance in normal breast physiology—the still open questions. Finally, emerging evidence reveals the role of some lncRNAs in breast cancer progression as sponges of miR-205. Here, we also reviewed the studies in this field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sander van der Linden ◽  
Jon Roozenbeek ◽  
Rakoen Maertens ◽  
Melisa Basol ◽  
Ondřej Kácha ◽  
...  

Abstract In recent years, interest in the psychology of fake news has rapidly increased. We outline the various interventions within psychological science aimed at countering the spread of fake news and misinformation online, focusing primarily on corrective (debunking) and pre-emptive (prebunking) approaches. We also offer a research agenda of open questions within the field of psychological science that relate to how and why fake news spreads and how best to counter it: the longevity of intervention effectiveness; the role of sources and source credibility; whether the sharing of fake news is best explained by the motivated cognition or the inattention accounts; and the complexities of developing psychometrically validated instruments to measure how interventions affect susceptibility to fake news at the individual level.


Author(s):  
Paola Spagnoli ◽  
Cristian Balducci ◽  
Liliya Scafuri Kovalchuk ◽  
Francesco Maiorano ◽  
Carmela Buono

Although the interplay between workaholism and work engagement could explain several open questions regarding the Heavy Work Investment (HWI) phenomenon, few studies have addressed this issue. Thus, with the purpose of filling this literature gap, the present study aimed at examining a model where job-related negative affect mediates the relationship between the interplay of workaholism and work engagement, and anxiety before sleep. Since gender could have a role in the way the interplay would impact on the theorized model, we also hypothesized a moderated role of gender on the specific connection concerning the interplay between workaholism and work engagement, in relation to job-related negative affect. Conditional process analysis was conducted on a sample of 146 participants, balanced for gender. Results supported the mediating model and indicated the presence of a moderated role of gender, such that engaged workaholic women reported significantly less job-related negative affect than disengaged workaholic women. On the contrary, the interplay between workaholism and work engagement did not seem significant for men. Results are discussed in light of the limitations and future directions of the research in this field, as well as the ensuing practical implications.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Sun ◽  
Ruiqi Zhang ◽  
Christopher Lane ◽  
Bahadur Singh ◽  
Johannes Nokelainen ◽  
...  

Abstract Recent discovery of superconductivity in the doped infinite-layer nickelates has renewed interest in understanding the nature of high-temperature superconductivity more generally. The low-energy electronic structure of the parent compound NdNiO2, the role of electronic correlations in driving superconductivity, and the possible relationship betweeen the cuprates and the nickelates are still open questions. Here, by comparing LaNiO2 and NdNiO2 systematically within a parameter free density functional framework, all-electron first-principles framework, we reveal the role Nd 4f-electrons in shaping the ground state of pristine NdNiO2. Strong similarities are found between the electronic structures of LaNiO2 and NdNiO2, except for the effects of the 4f-electrons. Hybridization between the Nd 4f and Ni 3d orbitals is shown to significantly modify the Fermi surfaces of various magnetic states. In contrast, the competition between the magnetically ordered phases depends mainly on the gaps in the Ni dx2-y2 band, so that the ground state in LaNiO2 and NdNiO2 turns out to be striking similarity to that of the cuprates. The d - p band-splitting is found to be much larger while the intralayer 3d ion-exchange coupling is smaller in the nickelates compared to the cuprates. Our estimated value of the on-site Hubbard U is similar to that in the cuprates, but the value of the Hund's coupling JH is found to be sensitive to the Nd magnetic moment. The exchange coupling J in NdNiO2 is only half as large as in the curpates, which may explain why Tc in the nickelates is half as large as the cuprates.


2018 ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Anne Huhtala

This article focuses on how university language students reflect on digitalisation and their own digital skills, and what kinds of benefits and risks they see in the increasing use of digital technology in teaching and learning. The data used for this study are of two kinds: 25 students filled in a questionnaire consisting of open questions about digitalisation, and 10 students wrote an essay where they reflected on the role of digital technology in their lives. The data were analysed by using qualitative content analysis. According to the results, university students experience their digital skills as good, and rely on their ability to learn new skills when needed. They describe the role of ICT in their lives as important, but seem to use digital technology with deliberation. They see several benefits in the use of new technologies, e.g., versatility, but also many risks, including problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Krammer ◽  
Ron A. M. Fouchier ◽  
Maryna C. Eichelberger ◽  
Richard J. Webby ◽  
Kathryn Shaw-Saliba ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNeuraminidase is one of the two surface glycoproteins of influenza A and B viruses. It has enzymatic activity that cleaves terminal sialic acid from glycans, and that activity is essential at several points in the virus life cycle. While neuraminidase is a major target for influenza antivirals, it is largely ignored in vaccine development. Current inactivated influenza virus vaccines might contain neuraminidase, but the antigen quantity and quality are varied and not standardized. While there are data that show a protective role of anti-neuraminidase immunity, many questions remain unanswered. These questions, among others, concern the targeted epitopes or antigenic sites, the potential for antigenic drift, and, connected to that, the breadth of protection, differences in induction of immune responses by vaccination versus infection, mechanisms of protection, the role of mucosal antineuraminidase antibodies, stability, and the immunogenicity of neuraminidase in vaccine formulations. Reagents for analysis of neuraminidase-based immunity are scarce, and assays are not widely used for clinical studies evaluating vaccines. However, efforts to better understand neuraminidase-based immunity have been made recently. A neuraminidase focus group, NAction!, was formed at a Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance meeting at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, to promote research that helps to understand neuraminidase-based immunity and how it can contribute to the design of better and broadly protective influenza virus vaccines. Here, we review open questions and knowledge gaps that have been identified by this group and discuss how the gaps can be addressed, with the ultimate goal of designing better influenza virus vaccines.


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