Be Sure to Check Your Sources

Be Sure to Check Your Sources Be Sure to Check Your Sources Be Sure to Check Your Sources By Maeve Maddox A reader recently wanted to know if I could corroborate my reflections on certain idioms (Lying in State: Changing Perceptions Change Language). Considering the half-digested information and deliberate hoaxes that abound on the web, the question was a valid one. I know just what kind of thing has made that reader suspicious. A year or so ago, a colleague of mineaware of my areas of expertisesent me an email shed received, wanting to know if the facts presented in it were true. The text purported to explain the origin of various common expressions by linking them to supposed medieval activities. Some of the explanations sounded plausible, but had nothing to do with historical fact. As far as I know, the spurious email is still out there in cyberspace, spreading misinformation. The articles I write for Daily Writing Tips are not made up out of whole cloth. Some of what I write is a matter of opinion and when it is, I say so. Whenever I offer information about grammar or diction, I consult standard works on the subject. When Daniel launched DWT earlier this summer, I wrote my first articles more or less blindly, with little notion of whom I was writing for. Thanks to readers comments, I now know that the site is attracting a wonderful cross-section of English speakers and writers who have questions and insights relating to every aspect of the language. Knowing that my articles are being read gives me great pleasure, but it also keeps me on my toes. I dont want to be guilty of circulating faulty information if I can help it. So far Ive been relying on my considerable experience as a student and teacher of English. Sometimes Ill throw in a literary example from memory, but if I have any doubts about the instructional content of an article, I check with acknowledged printed authorities. Here are the desk references I reach for first: The Oxford English Dictionary (unabridged) Websters New Collegiate Dictionary Modern English Usage by H.W. Fowler English Pronouncing Dictionary by Daniel Jones A History of the English Language by A. C. Baugh Higher English by F. J. Rahtz A Dictionary of Modern American Usage by H. W. Horwill Language: Its Nature, Development, and Origin by Otto Jespersen When I need more specialized information, I go to my nearby university library. TIP: Whether youre gathering information for your latest writing project, or asking questions to improve your craft, it never hurts to double- and triple-check your sources. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcTry to vs. Try andConfusion of Subjective and Objective Pronouns

Real-World Green Chemistry Examples

Reals Green chemistry seeks to develop products and processes that are kind to the environment. This can involve reducing the waste a process creates, using renewable materials, lessening the energy required to form a product, etc. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsors an annual challenge for the most innovative green chemistry inventions, plus you can find examples of green chemistry in many of the products you buy and use. Here are some interesting sustainable chemistry achievements: Biodegradable Plastics Plastics being developed from eco-friendly renewable sources, plus some modern plastics are biodegradable. The combination of innovations reduces our dependence on petroleum products, protects humans and wildlife from undesirable chemicals in old plastics, and reduces waste and impact on the environment. Scientists at  NatureWorks  of Minnetonka, Minnesota, makes food containers from a polymer called polylactic acid, made using  microorganisms to convert cornstarch into a resin. The resulting polymer is used to replace rigid petroleum-based plastic used in yogurt containers and water bottles. Advances in Medicine Pharmaceuticals are expensive to produce in part because of the complicated and exacting synthesis mechanisms required to produce some drugs. Green chemistry seeks to streamline production processes, reduce the environmental impact of drugs and their metabolites, and minimize toxic chemicals used in reactions. Professor Yi Tang, of the University of California,  devised an improved  synthesis process to make  Zocor ®, which is the brand name for  the drug, Simvastatin, used to treat high cholesterol. The previous process used hazardous chemicals and released a large volume of toxic waste. Professor Tangs process uses  an engineered enzyme and a low-cost feedstock. The company Codexis, then took the mechanism and  optimized the enzyme and synthesis process so the drug could be manufactured more safely, less expensively, and with less of an environmental impact. Research and Development Scientific research employs a number of techniques that use hazardous chemicals and release waste into the environment. New greener processes keep research and tech on track while making it safer, cheaper, and less wasteful. Life Technologies  developed a three-step, one-pot synthesis method for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), used in genetic testing. The new process is more efficient, consuming  up to 95 percent less organic solvent and releasing up to 65 percent less waste compared with the conventional protocol. Using the new process, Life Technologies  eliminates about  1.5 million pounds of hazardous waste each year. Paint and Pigment Chemistry Green paints go way beyond eliminating lead from formulations! Modern paints reduce toxic chemicals released as paints dry, substitute safer pigments for some poisonous colors, and reduce toxins when the paint is removed. Procter Gamble and Cook Composites and Polymers formulated a soya oil and sugar mixture to replace petroleum-derived paint resins and solvents. Formulations using the mixture release 50% fewer hazardous volatile compounds.Sherwin-Williams created water-based acrylic alkyd paints that contain low levels of volatile organic compounds  (VOCs). The acrylic paint is made from a mixture of acrylics, soybean oil, and recycled PET bottles. Manufacturing Many of the processes used to make products rely on toxic chemicals or could be streamlined to reduce the use of resources and release of waste. Green chemistry seeks to develop new processes and improve conventional production methods. Faraday has developed a plating process to make high-performance chrome coatings from trivalent chromium instead of highly toxic hexavalent chromium.

TLMT313 WEEK 4 FORUM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TLMT313 WEEK 4 FORUM - Assignment Example The intervention measure for removing oil spills was difficult for the government, as the treatment procedure i.e. ‘in-situ burning’ has negative impact on environment. Finally, skimmers are engaged into the task to remove the oil through the use of sorbents in order to trace the left spills. With regard to adverse effect of it in the ecosystem, it was noticed that the pelicans becomes black due to it, fish belly-up with brown sludge and the turtles were noticed to wash up on beaches. However, this spill does not have a major impact over the global oil pricing, as Mexico was not the key producer of oil. However, with an immediate impact of such an unexpected event, the government of the US was highly concerned regarding public health and significantly, adopted different preventive measures for mitigating such incident and loss in future. In this regard, ‘The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ offered safety measures and advices to the Gulf Coast res idents including the workers involved in the relief program to take precautionary measure and physical examination of toxicity tests on dispersants (The Ocean Portal Team,

Examine the roots of the Russian Mafia and account for its influence Essay

Examine the roots of the Russian Mafia and account for its influence in Russia today - Essay Example The Mafia is an illegal organization which is involved in organized criminal activity. Rigid rules, violence and monopoly of illegal activities are some of its attributes. â€Å"Gambetta defines the Mafia as an industry which supplies private protection (Gambetta, 1991:2). The Mafia produce and sells a very special commodity, trust or protection. Like ‘organized crime’ in general, the Mafia aims to produce, advertise and sell protection in conflict with the state. The Mafia operate in those economic transactions and agreements where protection is either inefficiently supplied or cannot be supplied at all by the state†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Russian Mafia: Do Rational Choice Models Apply?, date ?: p.7-8). Similar to the claims made by Gambetta, Hobsbawn also maintains that the â€Å"Mafia tends to develop in societies in which citizens regard the authorities as hostile. He argues that the Mafia provides a parallel masculine law and organized power in societies in which the o fficial government is not effective, and most of the citizens in the areas under its influence believe that it is the only effective law and power† (The Russian Mafia: Do Rational Choice Models Apply?, date ?: p.7) The Russian Mafia has often been studied in comparison with the Sicilian Mafia. The emergence of the latter in Southern Italy was due to the uneven transition of the market economy. The Italian citizens lost trust in the Italian state due to the fact that property rights and individual protection was not thoroughly given by it. This led to a rise in the demand for ‘protection’ and this protection was in turn provided by the Mafia. Similarly, part of the emergence of the Russian Mafia owes itself to the undefined transition of its market economy wherein there were no exact rules and regulations to govern the producers, sellers and consumers. Citizens were thus bereft of legal protection and

Learning Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Learning Plan - Essay Example On the other hand, many patients presenting in to the emergency department may not have that serious a clinical situation. However, an emergency nurse should be equipped with knowledge, expertise, learning, and clinical skills to handle these alone at her level. There are several varieties of patients that may attend emergency department seeking care. Of these certain categories of patients may need immediate nursing or physician care since they may be potentially life-threatening. These include airway compromise, cardiac arrest, severe hemodynamic shock or compromise, injury or cases of multiple trauma, or altered level of consciousness. Certain other cases are also emergent, but may wait for some time. These are patients sustaining head injuries, severe trauma, lethargy or agitation, conscious overdose, severe allergic reaction, chest pain, chemical exposure to the eyes, severe back pain, gastrointestinal bleeding with unstable vital signs, cerebrovascular accidents with deficits, severe asthma, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea with dehydration, acute psychotic episodes, fever in children, severe headache, severe acute pain of any origin, neonatal diseases, or sexual assault (Fry, 2008). Nurses may encounter cases of head injury pres enting in an alert state but with vomiting, mild to moderate asthma, moderate trauma, cases of abuse or neglect, GI bleeding with stable vital signs, and patients with history of seizure who are alert on presentation. Many other conditions are trivial, which can be really very efficiently treated by the emergency nurses, and these include alert head injury without vomiting, minor trauma, vomiting or diarrhea without dehydration, earache, minor allergic reactions, foreign body in the cornea, and chronic back pain. There may also be cases of sore throat, cases with minor symptoms, or chronic abdominal pain (Schriver et al., 2003). Anticipated Nursing Role To be able to deliver competent care, being a registered nurse, the emergency nurse must be able to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care alone or in collaboration with the emergency physician in order to achieve the goals of care and health outcomes in such patients. This must be either independent or interdependent care delivery within the framework of accountability and responsibility (Hageness et al., 2002; ANMC, 2004). Where possible, according to competency standards, the emergency nurse would also deliver education in order to promote and maintain health with a preventative approach. The nurse would demonstrate critical thinking and analytic abilities for care decision making and would demonstrate satisfactory knowledge base. She would be able to appraise her own knowledge and learning in order to engage in professional development through a pathway of evidence-based care (ANMC, 2004). From this angle, an emergency nurse has certain roles while delivering care to a patient presenting into the emergency department. The initial action is assessment, and a systematic and methodical assessment process through primary and secondary surveys enable the nurse to identify and prioritize the needs of such patients. The primary assessment consists of a rapid

Leadership Behaviour and Tests for Personality Types

Leadership Behaviour and Tests for Personality Types INTRODUCTION Business was created by people for themselves to sell goods and services to which they need but they cannot produce. From the smallest of business arrangements to largest of them, they are meant to meet the goals and objective of human beings. Organizational behavior examines people’s values, beliefs and values and how they influence the manner in which the business is carried out. Leadership and Organizational Behavior Organizational behavior is the study and the application of the particulars about how people behave when in groups a case scenario of working in an organizations. And how their different values, beliefs and behavior influence the organization’s performance and success. Elements of Organizational Behavior All organizations are driven by its mission, vision and goals for its establishment. Organizations are also led using culture which dictates how things are done in the office premises, how the employees relate with each other and code of dressing are part of the stipulations of the culture of the organization. The vision, mission and goal of the organization should be motivational for the employees to improve the company’s performance and success both in the long and short run. Models of Organizational Behavior. Generally, there are four common models that illustrate how organizations are led and run. They are autocratic model, custodial model, supportive model and finally the collegial model. (Cunningham, Eberle, 1990; Davis 1967) Autocratic model, this is the kind of a model that is similar with the dictator method of leadership where the leader is the communicator and the people just follow the leaders instructions without questioning the leader’s authority. The manager in this case rules over the employees and little autonomy or none is allowed for the employees. Performance of the company’s led using this model is generally low since the employees are handled like robots without much say to the running of the organization. The second model is the custodial model; this is whereby the chief manager promises the employees of taking care of their financial needs and the benefits that follow if the take the company to a greater level in terms of performance and Excellency. The employees are remunerated according to the success of the company. The third model is the supportive model. It entails the employees receiving support from the management of the company so as to drive the company to where the vision of the company wants them to be both in terms of goals achievement and customer satisfaction. The fourth and final theory is the collegial theory, which involves a partnership between the employees and the employer with the aim of boosting the company’s performance, through the employee’s innovativeness and creativity by allowing them to do what they perceive is right for the company in their own views. Collegial theory — this is a partnership of the employees to boost performance through autonomous thinking and doing what they perceive is good for the company they are working for. BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TEST. The big five personality test is a set of simple and clear questions whose objectives are to understand individuals personalities and how they act and react when subjected to different situations of decision making and question answering. There are basically five major types of personalities possessed by individuals. They include; neuroticism this re the kind of people that are mainly worried and frighten by unimportant things. The second type of personality is extraversion, this refers to people that are basically social animals. They enjoy outdoors and spending time with other individuals to feel happy and satisfied in life. The third type of personality is agreeableness, this are the individuals that agree to ideas, concepts and suggestions easily, they are usually very gullible and easy to take advantage of. The last type of personality is people that are open to experience. This is optimists that always look at the bright side of every situation. They view life at a good view fo r development and success. For an individual to realize their type of personality, they should run a test that consists of around 30 questions about the self. On things you like, dislike, fear, wish for an the like with the aim of understanding yourself more to identify which kind of personality you possess and how it can be of help to your life’s purpose and goals. The questions are rated to determine the degree and level on the answer. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MYERS-BRIGGS TEST The Myer Briggs theory was devised by the mother and her daughter. Their major goal was to establish the different individual value, attitudes and beliefs. This is the breakthrough to understanding an individual’s strengths and weaknesses of the self for better understanding of the self. Strengths and weaknesses identification is key to unlocking one’s potential in life as one is able to specialize in the line of strengths and take it slow on the weakness side. Overview of the Myers-Briggs Test From the findings of the Myer Briggs theory, it has been established that people basically have 16 types of personality according to (Myer and Briggs, 1997). The test implies that an individual should subject themselves to the test for them to understand their natural strengths and weaknesses so as to concentrate on the areas of endowments in career choice and compatibility with other people. There is no right or wrong personality type or one that that shows superiority or abnormalities. There just show the diversities in the makeup of different individuals. It is basically a test to help people understand themselves better. Thequestionnaire itself is made up of four different scales: There are individuals that fall in the category of extremes of extroverts and introverts. Extroverts are those people that are loud in nature and are social animals. Their happiness and satisfaction lies within the interactions with others. Introverts are the silent people that enjoy their own company compared to that of social interactions. These kind of people find satisfaction in indoors and privacy. We all have that loud side the silent side. But what counts is the preference we choose. There is another group of individuals that are classified by the way they make decisions. The first group is classified according to how they sense things in a situation. The sensors concentrate more to what they can learn from their own thoughts, ideas and senses. The class of people makes decisions based merely on intuitions. They pay more attention to already established concepts, patterns and impressions. They hardly come up with new innovations. They are short on creativity. They enjoy thinking of the future and imagining the possibilities of life. The next classification is for the thinkers and the people whose decisions are based on their feelings. Thinkers tend to pay more attention to existing facts. They are down to earth and in touch with the reality on the ground. They look for sense in situations while their fellow counterpart’s arts that dwell on feelings are into feelings of the heart and emotions. They are mostly more emotionally attached in their decisions than the thinkers.

Motherhood, Otello And The Theatre Experience :: essays research papers fc

The theatre experience can be explained as a measurement of satisfaction that a person attains after attending a theatrical performance. A positive theatre experience should be a truly cathartic event that evokes excitement and delight in the audience. A negative theatre experience, on the other hand, will have little to no impact on the audience and will most likely cause its members to be bored. Two theatrical presentations that provide contradicting theatre experiences are Otello and Motherhood, Madness and the State of the Universe. Otello, which is conducted by Richard Bradshaw, directed by Robin Phillips, written by Giuseppe Verdi (after William Shakespeare's play Othello) and was performed by The Canadian Opera Company on November 3, 2000 at the Hummingbird Centre in Toronto, Ontario, is a century old opera that tells the story of how the Moor of Venice, who has risen from slavery to a position of great power as a general of the Venetian army, falls victim to jealousy. Mother hood, Madness and the State of the Universe, which is written and performed by Kim Renders and was performed on October 13, 2000 in Lower Massey Hall at the University of Guelph, is a contemporary one-woman show which tells a satirical tale of marriage and parenthood via stories about Renders own children intertwined with historic accounts of her mother’s childhood. Three elements that influence how enjoyable a performance will be to an audience member are scenery, costumes and use of music. When compared on these bases, it is conclusive that Motherhood, Madness and the State of the Universe provides a theatre experience which is superior that of Otello. Scenery, by definition, is â€Å"the physical constructions that provide the specific acting environment for a play and that often indicate, by representation, the locale where a scene is set; the physical setting for a scene.† (Cohen, Theatre G-11). Modern scenery is either realistic as in Otello, or metamorphic as in Motherhood. Realistic scenery attempts to illustrate the details of a specific time and place in the real world, while metamorphic scenery favors visual images that insinuate the production’s intended mood and theme. The scenery in Otello depicts the inside of an elaborate castle with winding staircases (see figure 1, appendix A for the simplistic illustration). Desdemona’s bed, the tables, the goblets, etc. are all set pieces used on stage after having been extracted from rooms that would actually exist in a house.

Linguistics and Language Essay

What will be covered in this class? †¢ How do we produce and recognize speech? †¢ How do we perceive words, letters, and sentences? †¢ How do we learn and recall information from texts? †¢ How can we improve texts to make them easier to understand? †¢ How does the brain function to process language? †¢ What are the causes and effects of reading disabilities? †¢ Is there language in other species? Central themes in psycholinguistics 1) What knowledge of language is needed for us to use language? Tacit (implicit) knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ tacit: knowledge of how to perform something, but not aware of full rules †¢ explicit: knowledge of the processes of mechanisms in performing that thing 2) What cognitive processes are involved in the ordinary use of language? How do we understand a lecture, read a book, hold a conversation? Cognitive processes: perception, memory, thinking, learning Some definitions of basic components of language: Semantics: The meaning of words and sentences Syntax: The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence or phrase Phonology: The sound pattern of language Pragmatics: How language is used in a social context  Examples from psycholinguistics Parsing garden path sentences The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush. 1) The defendant examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable 2). The evidence examined by the lawyer turned out to be unreliable The process of parsing is the process of making decisions The effect of prior knowledge on comprehension The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important, but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more, and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life. Bransford & Johnson, 1973 Recall: No context: 2. 8 idea units out of a maximum of 18 Context afterwards: 2. 7 idea units Context before: 5. 8 idea units Child language development How many words do you know? Hint: Dictionary has about: 450,000 entries Test high school graduates: How many words do they know? About 45,000 english words About 60,000 including names and foreign words. The average six year old knows about 13,000 words. Learning about 10 words per day since age 1. (One every 90 minutes) How much do we have to teach children to learn language? Do you have to teach a child to walk? Is it the same way of learning a language? My teacher holded the baby rabbits and we patted them I eated my dinner A brief history of psycholinguistics Wilhem Wundt (early 1900s) Interest in mental processes of language production †¢ Sentence as the primary unit of language †¢ Speech production is the transformation of complete thought processes into sequentially organized speech segments. Behaviorism (1920s-1950s) †¢ Rejected the focus on mental processes †¢ Measurement based on objective behavior (primarily in lab animals) †¢ How does experience (reward and punishment) shape behavior? B. F. Skinner: Children learn language through shaping (correction of speech errors) Associative chain theory: A sentence consists of a chain of associations between individual words in the sentence What’s wrong with the behaviorist approach? Noam Chomsky (1950s – present) 1) Colorless green ideas sleep furiously 2) Furiously sleep ideas green colorless. 3) George picked up the baby. 4) George picked the baby up. Almost every sentence uttered is a new combination of words The Poverty of stimulus argument: There is not enough information in the language samples given to children to account for the richnes and complexity of children’s language The pattern of development is not based on parental speech but on innate language knowledge Linguistic Diversity vs. Linguistic Universals Linguistic diversity There appears to be a lot of diversity among languages Even within languages there is diversity When are two languages different? We speak the same language if we can understand each other  Exceptions: Norwegian and Swedish Cantonese and Mandarin Dialects within languages: The myth of pure language How/why do languages change? Why does there seem to be a â€Å"correct† English? Members of the dominant (most powerful) sub-culture tend to speak one dialect and may punish those who do not Linguistic Chauvinism Belief that one’s own language/dialect is the best of all possible languages Black English Vernacular (BEV) Study by William Labov Interviewed African-American street youth You know, like some people say if you’re good an’ sh*t, your spirit goin’ t’heaven . . . ‘n if you bad, your spirit goin’ to hell. Well, bullsh*t! Your spirit goin’ to hell anyway, good or bad. [Why? ] Why? I’ll tell you why. ‘Cause, you see, doesn’ nobody really know that it’s a God, y’know, ‘cause I mean I have seen black gods, white gods, all color gods, and don’t nobody know it’s really a God. An’ when they be sayin’ if you good, you goin’ t’heaven, tha’s bullsh*t, ‘cause you ain’t goin’ to no heaven, ‘cause it ain’t no heaven for you to go to. †¢ Place holders: â€Å"There† vs. â€Å"It† in the copula †¢ Copula: â€Å"Is†, â€Å"Was† optional †¢ Negatives: â€Å"You ain’t goin’ to no heaven†. BEV just as linguistically complex as Standard American English We don’t see/understand the complexity in other languages Moral: All languages seem to permit as wide range of expressions as others Linguistic Universals What is in common with all languages? Sentences are built from words based on the same physiological processes †¢ All languages have words †¢ All humans have ways of making sounds. †¢ Languages tend to use a small set of phonemic sounds †¢ Phoneme: The minimal unit of sound that contributes to meaning How many phonemes in a language? †¢ English: 40 phonemes †¢ Range: Polynesian 11 to Khoisan 141. Discreteness Messages in human language (e. g. speech sounds) are made up of units of which there is a discrete (limited) number Arbitrariness The relationship between meaningful elements in language and their denotation is independent of any physical resemblance between the two. Words do not have to look or sound like what they describe Openness †¢ New linguistic messages are created freely and easily †¢ Languages are not constrained in a way so that there are a limited number of messages that can be created. †¢ Linguistic Productivity: The ability to understand and create an unlimited number of sentences. The question studied by psycholinguists is â€Å"how to characterize and account for the creativity to construct and create an infinite number of sentences given the limited capabilities of the human brain† Duality of Patterning Language involves relating two different kinds of patterns or forms of representation †¢ A phonological system †¢ A semantic system These two systems use very different types of codes, although there is a phonological representation for each item in the semantic system Phrase structure Information on how a sentence is grouped into phrases. The quiet boy ate the red apple A set of Phrase Structure rules: PS 1 S (sentence) ————-> NP + VP PS 2 NP (noun phrase)————-> det + (adj) + N PS 3 VP (verb phrase) ————-> V +NP PS 4 N (noun) ————-> boy, dog, man, book PS 5 V (verb) ————-> ate, broke, kissed PS 6 adj (adjective ————-> quiet, red, happy, wormy PS 7 det (determiner) ————-> a, the We use â€Å"lexical-insertion rules† to put words into the structure. Phrase-structure rules provide a good account of phrase-structure ambiguity. They are broiling hens Morphology Morphology is the component of grammar that builds words out of units of meaning (morphemes) A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language How many morphemes? bird firetruck undereducated unmicrowaveability Insights from American Sign Language (ASL) Unlike speech, signs are expressed in visual or spatial form Do a lot of the same grammatical concepts hold? Arbitrariness ASL possesses iconicity signs can represent objects or actions to which they refer. However, the degree of iconicity has declined over the years Duality of Patterning signs are composed of smaller elements that are meaningless Example: 3 parameters †¢ 19 values of hand configuration. †¢ 12 values of place of articulation †¢ 24 values of movements Meaningless patterns can be combined in various ways to from ASL signs. What about â€Å"openness† and â€Å"discreteness† within ASL? Transformational Grammar (Chomsky 1950s) Language: an infinite set of well-formed sentences Grammar: A finite set of rules that generates sentences in the language How do we know that a grammar is a good theory of language? Three criteria: Observational Adequacy: A grammar is observationally adequate if it generates all acceptable sequences and no unacceptable sequences. Descriptive adequacy: A grammar must also explain how a sentence relates to other sentences that are similar & opposite in meaning. The ball was caught by John John caught the ball The ball was not caught by John Explanatory adequacy It is possible for multiple grammars to attain observational and descriptive adequacy. Which is the correct/best one? Children learning language are presented with many samples of language and must determine the grammar from these samples. There must be some innate language constraints that help children determine the correct grammar. There exist Linguistic Universals that are common to all languages. The fact that there are similarities in languages is based on the fact that languages are determined by the nature of the mental structures and processes which characterize human beings A Grammar must explain the role of linguistic universals in language acquisition Deep and Surface structure Deep structure: The structure of the sentence that conveys the meaning of the sentence. Surface Structure: The superficial arrangement of constituents Deep structure ambiguity: A single surface structure that is based on two different deep structures Flying planes can be dangerous. Phrase structure rules would not be able to account for the differences in meaning Sentences can have similar phrase structure, although their underlying structure is different: John is easy to please John is eager to please Sentences can different surface structure, but similar deep structure Arlene played the tuba The tuba was played by Arlene Transformational Grammar A two part process to derive a sentence 1) Use Phrase-structure rules to generate the underlying tree structure (deep structure) 2) Apply a sequence of transformational rules to the deep  structure to generate the surface structure of the sentence Transformations occur by adding, deleting or moving constituents John phoned up the woman John phoned the woman up Phrase structure approach: Two different rules VP –> V + (particle) + NP VP –> V + NP + (particle) Each sentence is derived separately, using different phrase structure rules. Transformational grammar approach: One rule V + particle + NP –> V + NP + particle John phoned up the interesting woman John phoned the interesting woman up John phoned up the woman with the curly hair John phoned the woman with the curly hair up. Restrictions on transformations The particle-movement transformation can not be applied to pronouns John called them up *John called up them Example 2: Passive transformation NP1 + V + NP2 –> NP2 + be + V + en + by + NP1 Arlene played the tuba The tuba was played by Arlene Psychological Reality of Transformational Grammar If using language is a process of converting the deep structure to the surface structure, then the number of transformation rules applied should affect how long it takes to process a sentence. However, experiments do not consistently show that this holds true Current theories of grammar Lexical-Function Grammar  Made up of three components: a constituent structure, a functional structure, and lexical entries Constituent Structure: Similar to phrase structure Functional Structure: All the information needed for semantic interpretation John told Mary to leave Bill Predicate tell (subj, obj, V-comp) Tense Past Subj John Obj Mary V-comp predicate leave subj Mary obj Bill Lexical Entries Lexical entries contain information about: †¢ the forms of the word †¢ the kinds of sentences into which they fit, †¢ arguments and semantic roles Mary kissed John John was kissed by Mary Entry for â€Å"kiss† includes underlying semantic structure  kiss: (agent, patient). Forms of the word kiss: agent = subject: patient = object (be) kiss: agent=object: patient = subject Major significance of LFG Most of the explanation of how we process language is based on the lexicon (where we store information about words) . Government-Binding Theory or Universal Grammar Chomsky’s view of innate grammatical mechanisms. In GB theory, grammar is modular. Grammar due to interaction of several independent subsystems, or modules. Each module is fairly simple and performs part of the task But all modules interact in order to constrain the rules made by the other modules in the grammar. Implications We all inherit a universal grammar that can be set to different parameter values. These parameter values correspond to different languages. As we get experience with a language, we acquire these parameter values, and thus the language upon which it is based. Research methods in Psycholinguistics How do we observe, collect information on phenomena related to psycholinguistics? Naturalistic Observation Observing information in a non-experimental setting Slips of the tongue Phonological switching: Crushing blow –> Blushing crow semantic replacements: blond eyes for blond hair. Language Acquisition The use of language over time Data from naturalistic observation Rich, but hard to analyze Controlled experiments Goal: test an empirical hypothesis Hypothesis: A chapter will be easier to understand if each section starts with a summary of what will be said. Independent Variable: Variable that is manipulated to test the hypothesis. Dependent Variable: Variable representing the behavior we want to measure Control Variables: Other variables we need to control in order to see the effect of the independent variable Subjects: Who is going to participate in the experiment? Analysis: How do we know if there are differences bewteen the two chapters? The Human Information Processing System What psychological mechanisms are involved in using language? The Sensory store Processes incoming information from the environment †¢ Individual sensory stores for each sense †¢ Information retained for a short duration The visual sensory store Experiments by Sperling (1960) X M R K C N J P V F L B The partial report technique Auditory sensory store Experiment by Darwin, Turvey & Crowder (1972) 3 digits or letters auditorally presented to each ear and center at the same time. What is the use of the sensory store? It maintains information long enough so that we can do additional processing to it. Working memory or short term memory (STM) STM used to describe the fact that it holds information for a short time, while working memory refers to the processing capacity. STM works as a temporary holding place for intermediate decisions. Limited in size. Chunking Working memory: there is a limited amount of processing capacity that you can use as you perform a problem Long term memory Knowledge of how to do things, things we have learned, grammar rules, personal memories. All knowledge that is not active. Information that becomes active is retrieved from LTM and put in STM. Anything we learn is first processed in STM and some of it is put into LTM Episodic vs. Semantic Memory distinction Semantic memory †¢ Organized knowledge of words, concepts, symbols and objects. motor skills, general knowledge, spatial knowledge , social skills. †¢ All information is organized semantically, but not tagged based on when it was learned. Episodic memory †¢ Holds traces of events specific time and place. †¢ Memory of personal experiences. Interaction between semantic and episodic memory. What does the organization of the information processing system have to do with language processing? Pattern Recognition Parsing/understanding sentences in working memory This is a long sentence and yet somehow you can keep it all in working memory The organization of Long Term Memory That cat plays really cool jazz Serial vs. Parallel Processing Serial processing: One process working at a time Parallel Processing: Multiple processes working at a time In a serial model of language processing, individual modules would work one at a time to process the information. A parallel model would say that the processes happen at the same time. Parallel models as neurally inspired models of cognitive processes Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up processing Cognitive processing occurs at levels Bottom-up processing is done in such a way that all processing occurs starting from the lowest level processes and proceeds onto the higher level processes Higher level processes do not influence any of the processing done at the lower levels Top down processing: Information at the higher levels influences processing at the lower levels. Advantages and disadvantages of Top-Down processing Automatic vs. Controlled processes We have a limited amount of processes that we can do at a time. Controlled processing: Processes that require a substantial amount of cognitive processing. Automatic processing: Processes that do not require a substantial amount of cognitive processing. The role of practice in automatic processing The Stroop effect Putting it all together: Cognitive processes in action The novice accepted the deal before he had a chance to check his finances, which put him in a state of conflict when he realized he had a straight flush. The Internal Lexicon How are words stored? What are they made up of? How are word related to each other? How do we use them? Internal lexicon The representation of words in long term memory Lexical Access: How do we activate the meanings of words? Aspects of Meaning Reference: The relationship between words and things in the world Things in the world are referents of a word My dog has fleas My dog is from Mars But not all reference can be mapped to concrete things Abstract words: Love, Justice, Equality Non existent objects: Unicorn, Martians Meaning is not restricted to the real world, but also imaginary worlds Sense: The relationship of a word with other words in the language Student at NMSU vs. Undergraduate at NMSU Synonymy (same meaning) Car Automobile Antonymy (opposite meaning) Happy Sad Incompatibility (do the words contradict each other? ) John is happy vs. John is sad Hyponymy (are they part of the same class? ) A dog is an animal, Bowser is a dog, Denotation vs. Connotation Denotation: The objective meaning of the word Connotation: The aspect of the meaning beyond its explicit meaning Bachelor Spinster Hungry Starving The Mental Representation of Meaning The representation of the meaning of a word is based on the semantic features of that word. We acquire the meaning of a word by learning its semantic features Children make semantic mistakes Verbs of possession. We understand more than the meaning, we have knowledge of the relations between these words sold vs. paid give vs. receive lose vs. find Prototypes: Some members of a category are better instances of the category than others Apple vs. pomegranate What makes a prototype? More central semantic features What type of dog is a prototypical dog What are the features of it? We are faster at retrieving prototypes of a category than other members of the category Semantic Networks. Words can be represented as an interconnected network of sense relations †¢ Each word is a particular node †¢ Connections among nodes represent semantic relationships Mental models: A model/understanding of how the world works and how pieces of textual information fits in with it. John is sitting in a chair. That chair is on a table. The table is blue and round. John has red hair. The structure of the Internal Lexicon How do these pieces of semantic information relate to each other? Semantic verification task An A is a B An apple is a fruit A robin is a bird A robin is an animal A dog has teeth  A fish has gills A fish has feathers An apple has teeth NMSU is in New Mexico Harvard is in California Use time on verification tasks to map out the structure of the lexicon. Models of the Lexicon Collins and Quillian Hierarchical Network model Lexical entries stored in a hierarchy, with features attached to the lexical entries Representation permits cognitive economy Testing the model Sentence Verification time Robins eat worms 1310 msecs Robins have feathers 1380 msecs Robins have skin 1470 msecs A category size effect: Subjects do an intersection search Problems with Collins and Quillian model . 1) Effect may be due to frequency of association 2) Assumption that all lexical entries at the same level are equal The Typicality Effect Which is a more typical bird? Ostrich or Robin. A whale is a fish vs. A horse is a fish Major conclusions of the model: 1) If a fact about a concept is frequently encountered, it will be stored with that concept even if it could be inferred from a more distant concept. 2) The more frequently encountered a fact about a concept is, the more strongly that fact will be associated with the concept. And the more strongly associated with a concept facts are, the more rapidly they are verified. 3) Verifying facts that are not directly stored with a concept but that must be inferred takes a relatively long time. Spreading Activation Models (Collins & Loftus) †¢ Words represented in lexicon as a network of relationships †¢ Organization is a web of interconnected nodes in which connections can represent: categorical relations degree of association typicality Retrieval of information †¢ Spreading activation †¢ Limited amount of activation to spread †¢ Verification times depend on closeness of two concepts in a network Context effect in spreading activation models Present either: Murder is a crime or Libel is a crime Then get verification time for Robbery is a crime Subjects faster when they see Murder than Libel. Why? Advantages of Collins and Loftus model †¢ Recognizes diversity of information in a semantic network †¢ Captures complexity of our semantic representation †¢ Consistent with results from priming studies Lexical Access What factors are involved in retrieving information from the lexicon? Semantic Priming Meyer & Schvaneveldt (1971) Lexical Decision Task Prime Target Time Nurse Butter 940 msecs Bread Butter 855 msecs Evidence for associative spreading activation. Ratcliff and McKoon (1981) Subjects study and memorize The doctor hated the book Task: â€Å"Was this word from the sentence you memorized? † Prime Target Time None Book 667 msecs Doctor Book 624 msecs Word Frequency Does word frequency play a role in lexical access? Lexical Decision Task: gambastya, revery, voitle, chard, wefe, cratily, decoy, puldow, raflot, oriole, vuluble, booble, chalt, awry, signet, trave, crock, cryptic, ewe, himpola mulvow, governor, bless, tuglety, gare, relief, ruftily, history, pindle, develop, gardot, norve, busy, effort, garvola, match,sard, pleasant, coin, maisle. Lexical Decision is dependent on word frequency Eyemovement studies: Subjects spend about 80 msecs longer fixating on low-frequency words than high-frequency words Morphological Structure So we strip off the prefixes and suffixes of a word for lexical access? Decision = Decide + ion Lexical Decision Tasks: Prime Target Time Nurse Butter 940 msecs Bread Butter 855 msecs Evidence for associative spreading activation Ratcliff and McKoon (1981) Subjects study and memorize The doctor hated the book Task: â€Å"Was this word from the sentence you memorized? † Prime Target Time None Book 667 msecs Doctor Book 624 msecs Word Frequency Does word frequency play a role in lexical access? Lexical Decision Task: gambastya, revery, voitle, chard, wefe, cratily, decoy, puldow, raflot, oriole, vuluble, booble, chalt, awry, signet, trave, crock, cryptic, ewe, himpola mulvow, governor, bless, tuglety, gare, relief, ruftily, history, pindle, develop, gardot, norve, busy, effort, garvola, match,sard, pleasant, coin, maisle. Lexical Decision is dependent on word frequency Eyemovement studies: Subjects spend about 80 msecs longer fixating on low-frequency words than high-frequency words Morphological Structure So we strip off the prefixes and suffixes of a word for lexical access? Decision = Decide + ion Lexical Decision Tasks: Presented subjects with a sequence of words to study Examined the probability of recognizing words over 14 days Performance systematically decays over time Negatively accelerated decay. Bahrick (1984) Student’s retention of spanish-english vocabulary items from 0 to 50 years Power law of decay Review on the internal lexicon Aspects of meaning: Reference and Sense Denotation and Connotation What is the mental representation of meaning? Models of the Lexicon Hierarchical Network Model Spreading Activation Model What factors are involved in retrieving information from the lexicon? Semantic Priming Word Frequency Morphological Structure Lexical Ambiguity Retention of lexical items.

Mental Maps - How We See the World

Mental Maps - How We See the World A persons perception of the world is known as a mental map. A mental map is an individuals own internal map of their known world. Geographers like to learn about the mental maps of individuals and how they order the space around them. This can be investigated by asking for directions to a landmark or other location, by asking someone to draw a sketch map of an area or describe that area, or by asking a person to name as many places (i.e. states) as possible in a short period of time. Its quite interesting what we learn from the mental maps of groups. In many studies, we find that those of lower socioeconomic groups have maps which cover smaller geographic areas than the mental maps of affluent individuals. For instance, residents of lower-income areas of Los Angeles know about upscale areas of the metropolitan area such as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica but really dont know how to get there or where they are exactly located. They do perceive that these neighborhoods are in a certain direction and lie between other known areas. By asking individuals for directions, geographers can determine which landmarks are embedded in the mental maps of a group. Many studies of college students have been performed around the world to determine their perception of their country or region. In the United States, when students are asked to rank the best places to live or the place they would most like to move to, California and Southern Florida consistently rank very high. Conversely, states such as Mississippi, Alabama, and the Dakotas rank low in the mental maps of students who dont live in those regions. Ones local area is almost always viewed most positively and many students, when asked where theyd like to move, just want to stay in the same area where they grew up. Students in Alabama rank their own state as a great place to live and would avoid the North. It is quite interesting that there are such divisions in the mental maps between the northeast and southeast portions of the country which are remnants of the Civil War and a division over 140 years ago. In the United Kingdom, students from around the country are quite fond of the southern coast of England. Far northern Scotland is generally perceived negatively and even though London is near the cherished southern coast, there is an island of slightly negative perception around the metropolitan area. Investigations of mental maps show that the mass medias coverage and stereotypical discussions and coverage of places around the world has a major effect on peoples perception of the world. Travel helps to counter the effects of the media and generally increase a persons perception of an area, especially if it is a popular vacation destination.

Time Transfixed essays

Time Transfixed essays RENE MARGRITTE, TIME TRANSFIXED, 1938 Time transfixed by Rene Margritte is a surrealistic painting. By watching the painting We see a very sharp and clear painting with dark colors close to the red. The painting look so real that fools the eye and the observer has the impression that it is a computer graphic and not a real painting. The composition its ruled by straight diagonal lines. But there are some vertical lines to break the monotony and to relax our eye. Our vision goes straight to the fireplace because its the only object on white and attracts our attention. It is a strange composition. There is a fireplace and a train coming through it. Its the train that travels through the time. But why come through the fireplace? That because is surrealistic. On the top of the fireplace are two candles. The candles are not lit. But the painting is illuminated by natural light coming from the right. The candles symbolize the knowledge. In meddle of two candles is a black watch showing 1 oclock. The watch symbolizes time and the mystery of time! On the back is a mirror. It reflects only the shape of the candle and the watch and nothing else. There is void space on the mirror. Thats because the mirror symbolizes the mystery of the Universe and our ignorance for the mysteries that Universe hides and the forth dimension TIME. By seeing the painting the observers has the impression that there is void space in the room too. The mirror and the fireplace, which looks like an empty box, give that impression. We dont know if there is void space in the room b ecause we see only a part of it. There are also implied lines. Its the painting line that goes from the left to the inside right and the light line that goes from right to inside left. Those lines meet together at an another horizontal line, which passes through the train and the watch. These lines give more focus to the train and ...

Sales Prediction for Northern Household Goods Case Study

Sales Prediction for Northern Household Goods - Case Study Example ion is the commonly used model in management sciences while its application is significantly noted in the areas of social sciences and natural sciences as well. However, in simpler terms, the statistical technique is used in order to determine the level of predicted variable on the basis of each amount of the predictor. Furthermore, the application of bipolar regression is dying out because one outcome variable in indeed influenced by multitude of the inputs such as the level of one’s organizational commitment is influenced by supervisory behaviors of the company, his or her pay-scale and nature of the job. In the given case, an organization is interested in developing a scatter diagram of the relationship between retail sales and disposal incomes of the family then the company is also looking to develop a linear regression model between the abovementioned variables. The 95% confidence interval about population data’s slope and finally, it is required to determine the l evel of sales if income of the household remains constant at the level of $58000. The p-value associated with X as a predictor of Y highlights that the relationship between the two variables is statistically significant. The lower and upper bound values determined in the preceding table for B represent a following 95% confidence interval: - In the light of established linear model, we can assume that the company can sell 23963 units if the household income would be 58000. However, we can establish that sales can be successfully predicted with the help of entering the level of household incomes of the

Trans World Airlines Flight Attendance Case Study

Trans World Airlines Flight Attendance - Case Study Example The strike happened at a time when the airline business was highly competitive (Wallace, n.d.). All airlines were aiming at making huge profit margins. The industry had become deregulated. This case study is a summary of the issues that characterized the strike. It also gives an opinion on the subject supporting it with similar occurrences and common practice. It also makes recommendations on the best way to solve predicaments similar to the one faced by the IFFA and TWA. The recommendations analyze the most favorable solutions to parties embroiled in similar trade disputes. Icahn was faced with the need to cut on costs to bolster TWA’s profits. One way of doing this was by reducing labor costs. It was the easiest way out owing to the fact that other management teams apply it when faced with situations that demand to lower operational costs. Icahn required wage concessions and benefit costs amounting to about 300 million U.S. dollars. This would reduce labor costs and expenses before tax by 20% and 8% respectively. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) were agreeable. The two groups granted Icahn concessions worth $100 million and $50 million respectively, the consideration being profit sharing and worker stock-ownership plans. Icahn was expected to get the remainder from IFFA (Wallace). ALPA and IAM expected the same. If not, he would have to sell the airline because there were some interested parties. IFFA’s leader, Victoria Frankovich, had her reservations about the wage concessions. This was coupled with Icahn’s demands that the flight attendants would be required to put more hours to increase the airline’s productivity and competitiveness. It was intimated that the airline paid a lot more in wages as compared to other airlines with whom it competed; thus justifying these demands.