scholarly journals How to be Brief: Children’s and Adults’ Application of Grice’s Brevity Maxim in Production

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Kazuko Yatsushiro ◽  
Uli Sauerland

The brevity maxim of Gricean pragmatics states that unnecessary prolixity should be avoided. We report a case in which 5-year-old children’s performance conforms better to Grice’s maxim than adults’ behavior. Our data come from a semi-spontaneous German relative clause production study that we carried out with 5- and 7-year-old children as well as adults. In particular, we focus on the pragmatics of the passive predicates that were produced. These constituted about a third of both child and adult productions in items that targeted an object relative clause structure. Since the expression of the agent is syntactically optional with passive predicates, the brevity maxim predicts that the agent should only be expressed when it is informative. We compare two conditions to test this prediction: one where the agent is informative and one where it is not. We find that 5-year-old children display significantly greater sensitivity to the brevity maxim than adults do. In two follow-up studies, we show that adults’ violations of brevity cannot be explained by priming of by-phrases expressing the agent and that there is an effect of age within children as well.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peiyun Zhou ◽  
Yun Yao ◽  
Kiel Christianson

An ongoing debate in Chinese psycholinguistics is whether subject-relative clauses or object-relative clauses are more difficult to process. The current study asks what happens when structure and plausibility are pitted against each other in Chinese relative clause processing. Chinese relative clause structures and semantic plausibility were manipulated to create both plausible and implausible versions of subject- and object-relative clauses. This method has been used in other languages (e.g., English) to elicit thematic role reversal comprehension errors. Importantly, these errors—as well as online processing difficulties—are especially frequent in implausible versions of dispreferred (noncanoncial) structures. If one relative clause structure in Chinese is highly dispreferred, the structural factor and plausibility factor should interact additively. If, however, the structures are relatively equally difficult to process, then there should be only a main effect of plausibility. Sentence reading times as well as analyses on lexical interest areas revealed that Chinese readers used plausibility information almost exclusively when reading the sentences. Relative clause structure had no online effect and small but consistent offline effects. Taken together, the results support a slight preference in offline comprehension for Chinese subject-relative clauses, as well as a central role for semantic plausibility, which appears to be the dominant factor in online processing and a strong determinant of offline comprehension.


2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 976-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda H Distlehorst
Keyword(s):  

1987 ◽  
Vol 26 (05) ◽  
pp. 206-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Knesewitsch ◽  
N. H. Göldel ◽  
S. Fritsch ◽  
E. Moser

Results of 606 equilibrium radionuclide ventriculographies (ERNV) performed in 348 non-selected patients receiving Adriamycin (ADM) therapy were stored in a data base system. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of a potential cardiotoxic therapy on left ventricular pump function. Increasing ADM doses yielded a significant (p <0.05) decrease of the resting ejection fraction (R-gEF), the peak ejection rate and the peak filling rate. Enddiastolic and endsystolic volumes increased significantly. Stroke volume, heart rate and time to peak filling rate did not change significantly. 368 follow-up studies were performed in 128 patients: 65/128 patients presented a decrease of R-gEF, but only in 45 of these patients R-gEF values fell into the pathologic range. In 44 of these follow-ups, R-gEF remained unchanged. In 19 patients, a R-gEF increase was observed. At the beginning of ADM therapy 14% of the patients had subnormal R-gEF values. With increasing ADM doses pathologic findings increased to 86% in patients with ADM doses higher than 500 mg/m2.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan J. Mills ◽  
Kaylib R. Robinson ◽  
Troy E. Zehnder ◽  
Joshua G. Pierce

The lipoxazolidinone family of marine natural products, with an unusual 4-oxazolidinone heterocycle at their core, represents a new scaffold for antimicrobial discovery; however, questions regarding their mechanism of action and high lipophilicity have likely slowed follow-up studies. Herein, we report the first synthesis of lipoxazolidinone A, 15 structural analogs to explore its active pharmacophore, and initial resistance and mechanism of action studies. These results suggest that 4-oxazolidinones are valuable scaffolds for antimicrobial development and reveal simplified lead compounds for further optimization.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (Supplement3) ◽  
pp. 326-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus D. Hamm ◽  
Gunnar Surber ◽  
Michael Schmücking ◽  
Reinhard E. Wurm ◽  
Rene Aschenbach ◽  
...  

Object. Innovative new software solutions may enable image fusion to produce the desired data superposition for precise target definition and follow-up studies in radiosurgery/stereotactic radiotherapy in patients with intracranial lesions. The aim is to integrate the anatomical and functional information completely into the radiation treatment planning and to achieve an exact comparison for follow-up examinations. Special conditions and advantages of BrainLAB's fully automatic image fusion system are evaluated and described for this purpose. Methods. In 458 patients, the radiation treatment planning and some follow-up studies were performed using an automatic image fusion technique involving the use of different imaging modalities. Each fusion was visually checked and corrected as necessary. The computerized tomography (CT) scans for radiation treatment planning (slice thickness 1.25 mm), as well as stereotactic angiography for arteriovenous malformations, were acquired using head fixation with stereotactic arc or, in the case of stereotactic radiotherapy, with a relocatable stereotactic mask. Different magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequences (T1, T2, and fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery images) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans were obtained without head fixation. Fusion results and the effects on radiation treatment planning and follow-up studies were analyzed. The precision level of the results of the automatic fusion depended primarily on the image quality, especially the slice thickness and the field homogeneity when using MR images, as well as on patient movement during data acquisition. Fully automated image fusion of different MR, CT, and PET studies was performed for each patient. Only in a few cases was it necessary to correct the fusion manually after visual evaluation. These corrections were minor and did not materially affect treatment planning. High-quality fusion of thin slices of a region of interest with a complete head data set could be performed easily. The target volume for radiation treatment planning could be accurately delineated using multimodal information provided by CT, MR, angiography, and PET studies. The fusion of follow-up image data sets yielded results that could be successfully compared and quantitatively evaluated. Conclusions. Depending on the quality of the originally acquired image, automated image fusion can be a very valuable tool, allowing for fast (∼ 1–2 minute) and precise fusion of all relevant data sets. Fused multimodality imaging improves the target volume definition for radiation treatment planning. High-quality follow-up image data sets should be acquired for image fusion to provide exactly comparable slices and volumetric results that will contribute to quality contol.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 2007-2016
Author(s):  
Yoram Reich ◽  
Eswaran Subrahmanian

AbstractDesign research as a field has been studied from diverse perspectives starting from product inception to their disposal. The product of these studies includes knowledge, tools, methods, processes, frameworks, approaches, and theories. The contexts of these studies are innumerable. The unit of these studies varies from individuals to organizations, using a variety of theoretical tools and methods that have fragmented the field, making it difficult to understand the map of this corpus of knowledge across this diversity.In this paper, we propose a model-based approach that on the one hand, does not delve into the details of the design object itself, but on the other hand, unifies the description of design problem at another abstraction level. The use of this abstract framework allows for describing and comparing underlying models of published design studies using the same language to place them in the right context in which design takes place and to enable to inter-relate them, to understand the wholes and the parts of design studies.Patterns of successful studies could be generated and used by researchers to improve the design of new studies, understand the outcome of existing studies, and plan follow-up studies.


Author(s):  
Vilde Schanke Sundet

This article explores the ‘youthification’ of television through real-time storytelling. It draws on a study of the online youth drama blank (2018–2019), NRK’s first follow-up after the hit show SKAM (2015–2017). It finds that real-time drama brings unique opportunities to broadcasters aiming to reconnect with younger audiences, but also substantial challenges. This insight is essential, as previous studies have highlighted the format’s advantages while downplaying its problems and dilemmas. Furthermore, the article emphasises the continuous need for innovation in youth storytelling, especially at public service broadcasters with the mandate and ability to do so.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryn D. Webb ◽  
Irini Manoli ◽  
Elizabeth C. Engle ◽  
Ethylin W. Jabs

AbstractThere is a broad differential for patients presenting with congenital facial weakness, and initial misdiagnosis unfortunately is common for this phenotypic presentation. Here we present a framework to guide evaluation of patients with congenital facial weakness disorders to enable accurate diagnosis. The core categories of causes of congenital facial weakness include: neurogenic, neuromuscular junction, myopathic, and other. This diagnostic algorithm is presented, and physical exam considerations, additional follow-up studies and/or consultations, and appropriate genetic testing are discussed in detail. This framework should enable clinical geneticists, neurologists, and other rare disease specialists to feel prepared when encountering this patient population and guide diagnosis, genetic counseling, and clinical care.


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