Subjects in Austronesian

In LFG, grammatical functions are primitives of the theory and treated as both fundamental and universal. However, there is a long standing debate in the wider literature as to whether grammatical functions should be considered universal or language specific/construction-specific notions. Western Austronesian languages have played a large role in this debate on account of their unusual verbal morphology and the split in typical subject properties between the actor semantic role and the argument privileged by the verbal morphology. In this chapter, Hemmings addresses the debate in relation to empirical data from the Kelabit language of Northern Sarawak. She argues that the Kelabit data provides a number of arguments for treating the privileged argument as subject, and the actor as an object in non-actor voice constructions. This has important implications for the treatment of subjects crosslinguistically, Western Austronesian verbal morphology and linking theories.

The Semantic-Discursive Status of comme je l’ai dit ‘as I said’

The current paper examines the function of a specific construction comme je l’ai dit and its role in a particular type of oral discourse. The phrase occurs with high frequency in an established discursive genre, namely, debates in the European Parliament (EP). It is presented as a parenthetic construction, including elements with an anaphoric function, and endowed with a specific discursive aim. In order to better understand the raison d’être of this syntactically autonomous form in the specialized corpus, a mixed semantic-discursive approach is adopted. The aim of the study is to highlight the main properties of the construction bearing a particular functionality and to specify its status in discourse from the perspective of the active interlocutor.Given its rather simple morphological paradigm, its rather stereotypical enlargements, and its easy mobility, comme je l’ai dit reveals certain specificities of the referential process. The reference of the anadeictic type causes a sort of “duplication” of the object of discourse and also its reconfiguration. The return to the already said, with the aim of re-modeling it, is in fact accompanied by a re-saying, a repetition of the locutor’s own speech.The interrupting, the going back, the reworking and advancing, involved in the use of the analysed construction, seem to have several implications. The presence of comme je l’ai dit is justified by the speaker’s intention to construct relevant discourse that takes into account intralocutive and interlocutive dialogism. The interruption followed by a relaunch is a signal that redirects the attention of the interlocutor, while the repetition, which is a reminder of the already said, preserves the continuity of the discourse.The two processes set up by comme je l’ai dit, anaphoric reference and repetition, have the function of ensuring the coherence and the continuity of ongoing discourse through the tradeoff between saying, repeating and discursive memory. The importance of adjustments between speaker and interlocutor is the basis of the chosen discursive strategy. The functional perspective brings out the interpersonal aspect of the referential procedure.

Laboratory Investigation of Geobag Revetment Performance in Rivers

Geobag (sand-filled geotextile bags) revetments have recently emerged as long-term riverbank protection measures in developing countries; however, their performance is still not well understood. The hydraulic stability of geobag revetments used for riverbank protection has been studied within an extensive laboratory programme to improve our understanding of the complete failure processes of geobag revetments. A 1:10 scale distorted physical model was tested in a laboratory flume, comparing a range of different construction methods and revetment side slopes, subjected to different flow loading. The results indicate that whilst failure mechanisms are highly dependent on water depth and revetment slope, the construction method had no noticeable impact. It was thus concluded that the dominating factor is the friction between individual geobags, which itself is dependent on bag longitudinal overlap rather than a specific construction method.

Temperature Distribution in the Insulation System of Condenser-Type HV Bushing—Its Effect on Dielectric Response in the Frequency Domain

HV bushings are an important part of the equipment of large power transformers, responsible for their many serious (including catastrophic) failures. Their proper exploitation needs to apply correct and reliable diagnostics, e.g., the use of dielectric response methods, that take into account their specific construction and working conditions. In this article, based on laboratory tests carried out on a real bushing, it has been shown that the significant temperature distribution within its core significantly affects the shape of the dielectric response of its insulation; therefore, the approach to its modeling should be changed. Hence, a new method for interpreting the results, using the so-called the 2XY model, is proposed. Subsequently, based on the measurements made on the insulators in operation, a new modeling method was verified. In conclusion, it can be stated that the 2XY model significantly improves the reliability of the dielectric response analysis, which should be confirmed in the future by tests on withdrawn and revised insulators.

Constructing ‘Canadians’: a discourse analysis of political constructions in the Discover Canada Citizenship Guide

Under Stephen Harper’s leadership, the Conservative government took active steps to maintain a particular Canadian identity. This notion is grounded in changes made to immigration policies and in Discover Canada, “where nation-specific definitions of citizenship” (Winter, 2014, p. 1) are outlined extensively. Discover Canada provides immigrants access to a specific construction of national history, while also highlighting Canada’s pride in its multiculturalism. Thus, when considering Discover Canada as a representation of Canada’s national identity, this MRP will interrogate the underlying discourses on which it is based by critically examining the guidebook. While the guidebook attempts to be inclusive—by including sections on ‘Aboriginal Peoples’ and ‘Diversity in Canada’— it paradoxically provides a romanticized vision of history that fails to recognize persisting social inequalities resulting from a deeply rooted history of colonialism and systemic racism. This problematic portrayal of Canadian history, identity and multiculturalism may significantly disservice immigrants who seek meaningful inclusion and representation in Canada. Key words: Political constructions and representations; national identity; citizenship; racialized immigrants and minorities; multiculturalism.

Constructing ‘Canadians’: a discourse analysis of political constructions in the Discover Canada Citizenship Guide

Under Stephen Harper’s leadership, the Conservative government took active steps to maintain a particular Canadian identity. This notion is grounded in changes made to immigration policies and in Discover Canada, “where nation-specific definitions of citizenship” (Winter, 2014, p. 1) are outlined extensively. Discover Canada provides immigrants access to a specific construction of national history, while also highlighting Canada’s pride in its multiculturalism. Thus, when considering Discover Canada as a representation of Canada’s national identity, this MRP will interrogate the underlying discourses on which it is based by critically examining the guidebook. While the guidebook attempts to be inclusive—by including sections on ‘Aboriginal Peoples’ and ‘Diversity in Canada’— it paradoxically provides a romanticized vision of history that fails to recognize persisting social inequalities resulting from a deeply rooted history of colonialism and systemic racism. This problematic portrayal of Canadian history, identity and multiculturalism may significantly disservice immigrants who seek meaningful inclusion and representation in Canada. Key words: Political constructions and representations; national identity; citizenship; racialized immigrants and minorities; multiculturalism.

Discussion on the Safe and Guaranteed Access of Interchange Widening in Reconstruction and Extension of Highway

In the process of reconstruction and extension of highways, the most important thing is to ensure that the overall level of the widening of interchanges is comprehensively improved to ensure safe traffic. However, due to the heavy and difficult tasks in the widening of interchanges, higher requirements are put forward for the construction quality of the project. In the actual construction of the project, it is necessary to actively analyze and explain the specific construction of the interchange widening project to ensure that the improvement level of the interchange widening in highway reconstruction and extension project is effectively upgraded. This paper gives a detailed introduction to the main construction technology for interchange widening project, clarifies the technical points of safety and guaranteed access, and proposes corresponding safeguard measures to ensure the comprehensive upgrade of the construction quality and standard of interchange widening in highway reconstruction and extension.

DEVELOPMENT OF ALGORITHM FOR CHOOSING A RATIONAL FACADE SYSTEM OF MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS

Purpose. The authors aimed to form an algorithm for choosing a rational facade system for a specific construction site, taking into account climatic, organizational-technological and operational properties, applicable to use by any participant in the construction process. Methodology. The criteria for choosing a rational facade system were determined. The state of choosing and applicability of modern facade systems for new construction and overhaul in Ukraine was analyzed. Based on certain factors influencing the choice of the most rational facade system of a multi-storey residential or public building the authors formed a convenient and objective algorithm for choosing a facade system, taking into account the main features of the construction object, as well as operating parameters. The algorithm was adapted to practical application. Findings. The influence of the parameters of choosing facade system on the process of arrangement, operation and repair of the modern facade system is established. The obtained algorithm for choosing a rational facade system by an estimation of values of influence factors in activity of the leading design organizations of Dnipro was successfully tested. By passing the appropriate algorithms at the joint meetings of the designer, customer and contractor, the most rational facade systems were found for specific construction projects with significant objectivity of choice. The adaptability of the algorithm by discarding minor factors leads to increased visibility of the process of choosing a facade system. Originality. The regularity of the influence of a number of organizational-technological and operational factors on the process of choosing a rational facade system is established. The efficiency of determining the appropriate system for specific construction conditions has been increased, taking into account the peculiarities of operation and purpose of the building. Practical value. The participant of construction by passing a simple algorithm has the opportunity to clearly assess the influence of organizational, technological and operational factors on the choice of a rational facade system. By evaluating the parameters of the corresponding factors, the most rational facade system for a particular object was determined. As a result, the cost of operation of the facade system is significantly reduced while optimizing the duration of repair periods and improving the working conditions of the components of the facade system.

Error Exponents of LDPC Codes under Low-Complexity Decoding

This paper deals with the specific construction of binary low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. We derive lower bounds on the error exponents for these codes transmitted over the memoryless binary symmetric channel (BSC) for both the well-known maximum-likelihood (ML) and proposed low-complexity decoding algorithms. We prove the existence of such LDPC codes that the probability of erroneous decoding decreases exponentially with the growth of the code length while keeping coding rates below the corresponding channel capacity. We also show that an obtained error exponent lower bound under ML decoding almost coincide with the error exponents of good linear codes.