Which Presuppositions are Subject to Contextual Felicity Constraints?

Some sentences with presupposition triggers can be felicitously uttered when their presuppositions are not entailed by the context, whereas others are infelicitous in such environments, a phenomenon known as Missing Accommodation / Informative Presupposition or varying Contextual Felicity Constraints (CFCs). Despite an abundance of recent quantitative work on presuppositions, this aspect of their behavior has received less attention via experimentation. Here, we present the results from a semantic rating study testing the relative CFC strength of thirteen presupposition triggers, making this the largest cross-trigger comparison reported in the literature to date. The results support a three-way categorical analysis of presupposition triggers, based on imposing strong, weak, or no CFCs. We observe that strong CFC triggers are all focus-associating, suggesting that (at least some of the) variation in behavior arises due to naturally-occurring semantic classes. We compare our results to three previous proposals for CFC variation and argue that none yet account for the full empirical picture.

Contribution des Techniques Andragogiques au Succês de la Formation Continue : Cas de la Mise en Œuvre des Objectifs de Développement Durable au Benin

Dans cet article, le travail a consisté à mesurer l’atteinte des objectifs de la formation et à analyser la perception que les participants ont de leurs acquis de formation. Ainsi, cette recherche a pour but d’apprécier le recours aux techniques andragogiques dans la formation des formateurs d’adultes dans un centre de formation professionnelle continue. La démarche méthodologique adoptée est mixte. Le recensement exhaustif des 12 formateurs en Objectifs de Développement durable (ODD) conviés au renforcement de leurs capacités est fait. Il y en a eu 10 qui ont accepté de participer à l’enquête. La collecte des données a été réalisée grâce à un questionnaire (fiche d’évaluation de la formation) ayant servi à voir leur niveau de satisfaction et un guide d’entretien pour connaître la perception des participants sur l’atelier de formation. L'analyse catégorielle a permis de traiter les données qualitatives et de répartir les différentes réponses dans des ensembles en fonction de leur signification et de leur interprétation contextuelle. Majoritairement, les participants formateurs sont totalement satisfaits des modules de formation en andragogie qui, avec les notions enseignées en ODD, permettront l’amélioration de leurs pratiques. Plus de 70% des participants ont aimé l’organisation matérielle et plus de 80% ont nettement apprécié le déroulement de la formation. Il importe donc de former les formateurs à l’approche andragogique pour renforcer leurs capacités dans la compréhension et l’interprétation des ODD comme stratégie pour l’atteinte des objectifs de formation. In this article, the work consisted of measuring the achievement of training objectives and analyzing participants' perception of their training outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this research is to assess the use of andragogic techniques in the training of adult trainers in a continuing vocational training centre. The methodological approach adopted is mixed. The exhaustive census of the 12 trainers in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) invited to strengthen their capacities is done. There were 10 who agreed to participate in the survey. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire (training score sheet) used to see their level of satisfaction and an interview guide to find out how participants perceived the training workshop. Categorical analysis made it possible to process qualitative data and to divide the different responses into sets according to their meaning and contextual interpretation. For the most part, the training participants are completely satisfied with the training modules in andragogy which, together with the concepts taught in the SDGs, will allow the improvement of their practices. More than 70% of the participants liked the material organization and more than 80% clearly appreciated the course of the training. It is therefore important to train trainers in the andragogic approach to strengthen their capacities in understanding and interpreting the SDGs as a strategy for achieving training objectives.

The Concept of Introducing Eco-Friendly Criteria into The Contract Procurement System

The article analyses the current level of development of the topic of "green" public procurement both in Russian legal acts and in domestic scientific literature. The authors conducted a categorical analysis of the term "green" public procurement, based on which the definition recommended for use in the Russian system was derived. The analysis of international experience in the implementation and development of green procurement was followed by a description of the specifics of legal regulation in several countries. By means of an electronic questionnaire survey of contracting system entities, the current level of application of environmental criteria in procurement was empirically assessed and the attitudes of Russian customers and suppliers towards the introduction of new environmental requirements in procurement legislation were identified. Thus, customers are not motivated to use "green" criteria, as they are not aware of them and their application may be regarded by regulatory authorities as a restriction of competition, and suppliers are not interested in producing such products, since they will not be competitive due to the high price. Based on the results obtained, recommendations were developed for the gradual, step-by-step incorporation of norms and practices related to the greening of the procurement process into the contract system.

Visualizing Person-centered Long-term Care: An Exploratory Scoping Review and Evidence Mapping

Despite decades of professional, academic, and policy interest in person-centered long-term care (LTC), the field continues to be challenged by the absence of a comprehensive depiction of the concept and a lack of consistency reflected across studies and measures. In response, a participatory action, research-focused, partnership between an institution of higher education and an LTC community (the University of Maine Center on Aging and The Cedars), with funding from The Mayer-Rothschild Foundation, is identifying and mapping the landscape of person-centered LTC in nursing homes and assisted living communities. A collaborative, ongoing, exploratory scoping literature review and evidence mapping has compiled a database of 663 academic and 115 grey literature articles through 65 systematic searches reviewing over 4,296 articles. An iterative process from both the resident and organizational perspectives revealed nine core domains (e.g. dining, resident care, environment, quality improvement, identity and personhood, etc.) and two substantive research gaps (the intersection of person-centered long term care with diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, and pandemic considerations). For mapping purposes, domain content was analyzed categorically based on concept, information revealed about resident, family, and staff experience, and operations applicability. The identified person-centered LTC domains, categorical analysis, identified gaps, and visual representation via mapping will contribute to generating research ideas, supporting the development of effective operationalization for LTC settings, and contributing to an understanding of the theoretical scope and concrete elements of a person-centered care model that aims to improve the wellbeing and quality of life of older adults in long-term residential settings.

Association between Serum Lipid Parameters and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults

(1) Background: Previous studies have suggested the association between lipid profiles and cognitive function in older adults. However, they generated inconsistent results. We aim to determine the relationship between lipid profiles and cognitive performance in older adults. (2) Methods: We used the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This study included 2215 participants who were aged more than 60 years old and free of coronary heart disease or stroke. Lipid profiles included total cholesterol (TC), low density lipid cholesterol (LDL), high density lipid cholesterol (HDL), and triglyceride (TG). Cognitive function was assessed using the digit symbol substitution test (DSST). (3) Results: Positive correlations of DSST were observed with TC (r = 0.111; p < 0.0001), HDL (r = 0.127; p < 0.0001), and LDL (r = 0.107; p = 0.0005). However, there was no significant relationship between TG and DSST. A one-unit increase in HDL was associated with an increase in DSST score (beta coefficient: 0.036; p = 0.018); but the association was not significant for LDL, TG, and TC. In the categorical analysis, the high HDL group had a higher DSST score than the low HDL group (beta = 3.113; p < 0.0001) and the low TG group was more likely to show a lower DSST score than the high TC group (beta = −1.837; p = 0.0461). However, LDL and TC showed no statistically significant associations. Moreover, HDL was only associated with a 0.701 times increased risk of cognitive impairment (95% CI = 0.523–0.938) in the logistic regression analysis. (4) Conclusions: Higher blood concentrations of HDL levels were positively associated with DSST scores in older adults. We suggest that the high levels of HDL may be a protective factor against cognitive impairment.

Intra-Tumoral Pharmacokinetics of Pazopanib in Combination with Radiotherapy in Patients with Non-Metastatic Soft-Tissue Sarcoma

There is a lack of understanding whether plasma levels of anticancer drugs (such as pazopanib) correlate with intra-tumoral levels and whether the plasma compartment is the best surrogate for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation. Therefore, we aimed to quantify pazopanib concentrations in tumor tissue, to assess the correlation between tumor concentrations and plasma concentrations and between tumor concentrations and efficacy. In this clinical trial, non-metastatic STS patients were treated with neo-adjuvant concurrent radiotherapy and pazopanib. Plasma samples and tumor biopsies were collected, and pazopanib concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Twenty-four evaluable patients were included. The median pazopanib tumor concentration was 19.2 µg/g (range 0.149–200 µg/g). A modest correlation was found between tumor concentrations and plasma levels of pazopanib (ρ = 0.41, p = 0.049). No correlation was found between tumor concentrations and percentage of viable tumor cells (p > 0.05); however, a trend towards less viable tumor cells in patients with high pazopanib concentrations in tumor tissue was observed in a categorical analysis. Possible explanations for the lack of correlation might be heterogeneity of the tumors and timing of the biopsy procedure.

A Conversation Analytic Study of Laughter in Psychotherapy

<p>This thesis is an investigation into laughter in psychotherapeutic interactions. Conversation analysis was the method used to analyse laughter practices by client and therapist that aid in the business of psychotherapy. Analysing naturally occurring talk is important as it reveals how actions are accomplished, as some past studies on laughter in psychotherapy rely on anecdotal evidence and categorical analysis. Additionally, past psychological literature on laughter can view the phenomenon of laughter as random, and as a by-product of humour. An assumption of conversation analysis is the view of talk being systematic and organised. There is no detail too small that it does not contribute to an interaction (Jefferson, 1985). With this viewpoint in mind conversation analysts have revealed laughter to be an orderly phenomenon that is capable of other actions in talk besides appreciating humour. However, there is a lack of conversation analytical work in laughter during therapy; a gap this thesis sought to address. In particular there were two research questions. If laughter does not have the sole role of appreciating humour, what can it do in psychotherapy? Additionally, past studies in psychotherapy have linked laughter to affiliation in therapy sessions, but do not illustrate the specific sequence of how rapport is achieved in the interaction itself. Psychotherapy can be known as the „talking cure‟ (Perakyla, Antaki, Vehvilainen, & Leudar, 2008), thus, the second question is how does laughter display affiliation in therapeutic talk? Using the fundamental literature of conversation analysis there were two findings regarding laughter in psychotherapy found in this thesis. Firstly, clients would laugh responsively to an action of therapeutic import, the laughter functioned as a marker of dis-preference and an invitation for the therapist to laugh. The therapist would dis-attend the client‟s laughter in order to prompt talk which progressed the therapy from the client. Secondly, therapist could affiliate with the client by display a shared stance towards a matter spoken of by the client. During or after these displays the therapist invited laughter from the client so that the two could laugh together in a further display of shared emotional alignment. These results expanded conversation analytical work on laughter regarding laughter invitations (Jefferson, 1979) and work on psychotherapeutic interactions regarding the prompting of talk (Muntigl, & Hadic Zabala, 2008). The findings also provide empirical evidence for how therapists affiliate with their clients using laughter at the micro-analytical level. The findings of this thesis contribute to psychological, conversation analytical, and psychotherapeutic knowledge on laughter.</p>

A Conversation Analytic Study of Laughter in Psychotherapy

<p>This thesis is an investigation into laughter in psychotherapeutic interactions. Conversation analysis was the method used to analyse laughter practices by client and therapist that aid in the business of psychotherapy. Analysing naturally occurring talk is important as it reveals how actions are accomplished, as some past studies on laughter in psychotherapy rely on anecdotal evidence and categorical analysis. Additionally, past psychological literature on laughter can view the phenomenon of laughter as random, and as a by-product of humour. An assumption of conversation analysis is the view of talk being systematic and organised. There is no detail too small that it does not contribute to an interaction (Jefferson, 1985). With this viewpoint in mind conversation analysts have revealed laughter to be an orderly phenomenon that is capable of other actions in talk besides appreciating humour. However, there is a lack of conversation analytical work in laughter during therapy; a gap this thesis sought to address. In particular there were two research questions. If laughter does not have the sole role of appreciating humour, what can it do in psychotherapy? Additionally, past studies in psychotherapy have linked laughter to affiliation in therapy sessions, but do not illustrate the specific sequence of how rapport is achieved in the interaction itself. Psychotherapy can be known as the „talking cure‟ (Perakyla, Antaki, Vehvilainen, & Leudar, 2008), thus, the second question is how does laughter display affiliation in therapeutic talk? Using the fundamental literature of conversation analysis there were two findings regarding laughter in psychotherapy found in this thesis. Firstly, clients would laugh responsively to an action of therapeutic import, the laughter functioned as a marker of dis-preference and an invitation for the therapist to laugh. The therapist would dis-attend the client‟s laughter in order to prompt talk which progressed the therapy from the client. Secondly, therapist could affiliate with the client by display a shared stance towards a matter spoken of by the client. During or after these displays the therapist invited laughter from the client so that the two could laugh together in a further display of shared emotional alignment. These results expanded conversation analytical work on laughter regarding laughter invitations (Jefferson, 1979) and work on psychotherapeutic interactions regarding the prompting of talk (Muntigl, & Hadic Zabala, 2008). The findings also provide empirical evidence for how therapists affiliate with their clients using laughter at the micro-analytical level. The findings of this thesis contribute to psychological, conversation analytical, and psychotherapeutic knowledge on laughter.</p>

An Examination and Categorical Analysis of Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This article discusses the compository nature and hierarchical metastatic proliferation of Squamous Cell Carinoma. Discussion ranges from the effects of the disease from the cellular level all the way to entirety of the body, including the impact of UV radiation and mutation on cells such as melanocytes and congruent epithelia. Current and potential future cures for the disease, such as immunotherapy and Mohs' Surgery are explained in application to the disease, along with the history behind each practice and how it came into use by physicians. Lastly, hopes for effective recognition and continued research of Squamous Cell Carinoma are laid out, stressing the importance of directing attention to the second most common skin cancer in the medical-research community.