Ordering biases in cross-linguistic perspective: The interaction of serial order and structural level

Capitalizing upon the typological fact that the same content may be coded in different positions and at different structural levels, this study examines whether the syntactic and the morphological levels exhibit different serial-order preferences. A large-scale comparison of word and morpheme order across six grammatical categories including definiteness and negation reveals that all six categories document the same interaction effect: the syntactic level shows a significantly higher preposing rate than the morphological level does. A morphological postposing bias is observed for five categories, a syntactic preposing bias for four and a syntactic postposing bias for two. This interaction effect is not affected by a genealogical or areal bias. The empirical patterns are mainly shaped by a predilection for lexical material to precede grammatical material. Early placement may also be brought about by ultra-high token frequency. The fact that the postposing bias does occur sporadically at the syntactic level casts some doubt on the well-known suffixing preference as the appropriate level of generalization.

Front loading the curriculum: early placement experiences enhance career awareness and motivation

Deciding which career path is right for undergraduate students can be challenging and positive outcomes are linked to early work placements. The aim of the current study was to explore the student experience following the introduction of early career-based awareness-raising and reflective learning opportunities in first-year sport and exercise science-based students. Students met with the first-year coordinator to discuss career progression and career aspirations. From this meeting, students were allocated a placement. Following the placement visit, students submitted a reflection piece addressing their experiences at the placement site with six themes identified including: 1) positive experience; 2) degree selection; 3) exposure and reinforcement of practices; 4) career awareness; 5) supervisor impact; and 6) negative experience. The provision of early placement for students in an observational capacity appears to be beneficial to first year experience to assist in consolidating their choice of degree.