Generating semantic maps through multidimensional scaling: linguistic applications and theory

This paper reports on the state-of-the-art in application of multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques to create semantic maps in linguistic research. MDS refers to a statistical technique that represents objects (lexical items, linguistic contexts, languages, etc.) as points in a space so that close similarity between the objects corresponds to close distances between the corresponding points in the representation. We focus on the use of MDS in combination with parallel corpus data as used in research on cross-linguistic variation. We first introduce the mathematical foundations of MDS and then give an exhaustive overview of past research that employs MDS techniques in combination with parallel corpus data. We propose a set of terminology to succinctly describe the key parameters of a particular MDS application. We then show that this computational methodology is theory-neutral, i.e. it can be employed to answer research questions in a variety of linguistic theoretical frameworks. Finally, we show how this leads to two lines of future developments for MDS research in linguistics.

Historical Research on International Business, Management and Strategy

History matters. Recently, there has been an increase of interest in the use of historical research in the fields of international business, management and strategy; however, the use of this approach is still underexplored when compared to the use of more quantitative methodologies. Historical research seeks the identification, location, evaluation, and synthesis of data from the past to unveil previous events and, also, to relate them to both present and future, contributing to the understanding and explanation of theories. This chapter reviews the foundations of the historical research method in international business, management, and strategy and proposes a framework to guide historical research in these fields. Contrariwise to the traditional argument that history is theory resistant, at least from an independent-dependent and a context-invariant standpoint that so often characterizes economic approaches, historical research can contribute to a better understanding of the business phenomena.

FROM HYBRID INSTITUTIONAL LOGICS TO SOLIDARITY CAPITAL

The aim of the paper is to analyse the process of the creation of the hybrid organizational form and the mechanisms of its action. The paper is theory oriented and is based on new institutionalism and hybridity. The research question is how a hybrid organization efficiently functions while simultaneously drawing on three different and partially contradictory institutional logics: commercial (profit-oriented activities), social (non-profit activities), and public (focused on the provision of high-quality social services). We argue that the core mechanism of action of the new organizational form is the solidarity capital.

My interest for agriculture and COVID-19 emotions as graduate student

<p>My name is Agustin Gonzalez Cruces, I am an agronomist, specialized in Agricultural Parasitology, and I graduated from the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo. My grandfather is a kind, sensitive, old-fashioned man with a firm hand. He is an example of perseverance and determination in the farming vocation. He pointed me towards my decision to study agronomy. In this teenage phase of my life, with the rebelliousness that characterizes that moment in life, he told me: <em>‘If you stay to study in Chapingo, I’ll leave you my lands and tech you the secrets of agriculture’</em>. I remember that as being my initial motivation to enter that prestigious university. Love for the countryside was not an unknown feeling for me, since he always took us to work his fields, sometimes for weeding, irrigating, or other times for harvesting, with his typical saying: ‘<em>To know how to order you have to know how to get things done’. </em>I write “he took us” because my cousin, Ángel Campos, who happens to study the same career as I in the Universidad Agraria Antonio Narro, came along. Due to this, I dare to say it was my grandfather who turned us into men with a peculiar love for the countryside. After graduating I began setting up orchards for sale and giving technical consultation to farmers, including my grandfather, Mr. Bernardino Cruces, who has honestly been the most reluctant and stubborn farmer I have met, with his saying: <em>‘One thing is theory and another, very different thing is practice’</em>, referring to his experience as a farmer and defending his empirical knowledge from being undermined. My grandfather was one of the first farmers to establish asparagus crops in the area of Atenco, State of Mexico, which is why I decided to specialize in that very kind and gentle plant. Whenever I’m immerse in its luscious foliage, it makes me think. I think about the way we plant, with all its stages and the goal of farming, which is to contribute to feeding society. I reflect upon the teachings of my grandfather, who has been my only fatherly figure. The COVID-19 pandemic meant a drastic change in my daily routine. When the infections began I became alert and got scared. I tried to tell my family what a virus was in the simplest way possible, because they did not understand the nature of the pathogen. I was about to finish my first term of my Master’s Degree in Phytopathology in the Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo. I was restless, motivated and excited to take a lesson and learn from the best phytopathologists. Now, with video lessons, although the motivation to learn is still there, it isn’t the same. My way of learning is visual and practical, and I think video lessons do not fulfill my expectations. When I took a lesson on Agricultural Epidemiology with Dr. Gustavo Mora Aguilera, my vision of the pandemic changed. In his course, which was in-person, by the way, he told us about working on the psychology of fear, he encouraged us to face the pandemic with science, and would not let us freeze out of fear of getting infected, reaffirming the idea that the knowledge of the pathogen and its spread was the key to its prevention and management. That course broadened my perspective as a plant pathologist towards SARS-CoV-2. I understood that by taking the measurements to prevent contagion we could carry out certain activities to bring us closer to normality. I have not allowed the ongoing situation to interfere too much with my personal and emotional lives. I try to go about my daily routines, I haven’t stopped doing research or exercising, let alone going to the fields, always taking the adequate preventive measures. I trust that scientific progress with make the pandemic situation better. I have no fear of getting infected, although I do look after myself as much as possible so I don’t infect my mother or grandparents. History has marked us with similar pandemic situations, with unknown pathogens, and it is the knowledge of these that has helped us pull forward as a species. We know that a system in entropy always tends towards balance. My hope lies with producers, farmers and cattle breeders; that primary sector that fills me with pride and motivation, since they carry the most important responsibility on their shoulders: human nutrition.</p>

The Framework of Action for Teachers in Integration Classes at Secondary Level on the Example of Reading/Writing Difficulties – A (Re-) Constructionist Educational Research

Background: Reading/writing difficulties are embedded in a broad discourse that is related to dyslexia. Therefore, this discourse serves as the basis for the presented study. Because of the results from the scientific community, one of the questions of this study is of possible interdependencies or differences to the pedagogical discourse of teachers. Teachers in Austria, where the study was conducted, are confronted with those scientific findings. The term reading/writing difficulties in the Austrian context refers to the criticism of the discrepancy criterion and is used there in the pedagogical context. Furthermore, this contribution assumes that teachers construct their framework of action. Linked to this is an epistemological perspective on social constructivism. Aim: The aim of this piece of research is to reconstruct the framework of action for teachers in integration classes at secondary level. In integration classes in Austria can teach up to three teachers. In this context, the question arises as to how these human resources are used by three teachers (teacher for German, the special education needs teacher and the support teacher) regarding reading/writing difficulties. Methodology: Methodologically, the work is based on reconstructive social research according to Bohnsack. Associated with this is theory formation from the data material. The narrative-based interviews (n=8) were evaluated using the documentary method. The reconstructed action framework enables a differentiated presentation of the orientations and options for action of teachers in integration classes at secondary level. Results: In conclusion, different options of action in connection with difficulties in reading/writing are discussed due to the orientation framework. Regarding the question of possible interdependencies or differences to the pedagogical discourse of teachers, the study shows that the statements made by the teachers are only partially compatible with current findings of the scientific discourse.

Metaphors in Adele's Song Lyrics: A Linguistic Perspective

Metaphor is one of the figurative languages that takes two different things by identifying one with another. By using metaphor, it helps speakers or writers to give a clear description through comparison or contrast. Music is the attribute of sound in every background of human. To investigate the form and the meaning of metaphor found in the lyrics of the songs of Adele aims at the readers, especially the students of English Literature Major to use lyrics of the songs as a media in studying meaning. The method which is used in this research is descriptive method. In collecting data, the writer focused on identifying the words, phrases or noun. The result shows in terms of the identified metaphors, the writer found that the lyrics of the songs can be categorized as metaphor nominative subjective, metaphor nominative objective, metaphor predicative and metaphor sentence. The parts of sentences identified as metaphors are analyzed based on Lakoff is theory about tenor and source. Tenor refers to the underlying idea or principal subject of metaphor while source conveys the underlying; the borrowed idea, or the thing that has been resembled. The result of this study shows that the metaphor contains a certain meaning based on the context and each of them refers to a certain object of tenor and source.

Assessing prospective teachers’ soft skills curriculum implementation: Effects on teaching practicum success

Soft skills encompassing conscientiousness, lifelong learning, communication, creativity, and teamwork are beneficial to success in work and life. The education policy in Nigeria on teacher education stipulates that students should learn basic soft skills at universities as performance improvement tools for teaching, but for the most part teacher education programmes do not include such skills. The aim of the study reported on here was to assess whether the soft skills curriculum and instruction course has been effectively implemented in university teacher education programmes. This course is theory based designed to inculcate soft skills in would-be teachers within 2 semesters. We used paper questionnaires and performed data analysis by way of partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS software in a non-experimental procedure with a total of 722 prospective teachers. The analysis revealed that prospective teachers gained moderate soft skills, which, in turn, benefited them in classroom control and, ultimately, teaching success in terms of lesson planning, development, and results. It is fair to suggest that the PLS-SEM model shows that participation in the curriculum and instruction course generates different kinds of benefits to teachers at the same time.

Is Theory Useful for Conflict Prediction? A Response to Beger, Morgan, and Ward

Beger, Morgan, and Ward (BM&W) call into question the results of our article on forecasting civil wars. They claim that our theoretically-informed model of conflict escalation under-performs more mechanical, inductive alternatives. This claim is false. BM&W’s critiques are misguided or inconsequential, and their conclusions hinge on a minor technical question regarding receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves: should the curves be smoothed, or should empirical curves be used? BM&W assert that empirical curves should be used and all of their conclusions depend on this subjective modeling choice. We extend our original analysis to show that our theoretically-informed model performs as well as or better than more atheoretical alternatives across a range of performance metrics and robustness specifications. As in our original article, we conclude by encouraging conflict forecasters to treat the value added of theory not as an assumption, but rather as a hypothesis to test.

Nest architecture is linked with ecological success in songbirds

Bird nests are essential structures that directly determine the fitness of an organism. While there is theory and evidence predicting an association between species nest traits and their habitat, few studies have comprehensively examined the macroevolutionary patterns driving nest evolution, species niche and their interrelation. Using information on 3174 species of songbirds, we show that species that build domed nests (i.e. nests with a roof) have smaller ranges, narrower thermal niches, are less likely to colonise urban environments and have potentially higher extinction rates compared to species that build open nests. Moreover, we show that these macroevolutionary patterns could be driven by the higher energetic demands when building domed nests, which consumes more time and might restrict breeding opportunities. These diverse strands of evidence suggest that the transition from domed to open nests in passerines represents an important evolutionary innovation behind the success of the largest radiation of birds.