bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Additives on Arsenic, Boron and Selenium Leaching from Coal Fly Ash
Authors: Hartuti Sri , Fadhillah Hanum Farrah , Takeyama Akihiro , Kambara Shinji
Published: June 2017

The establishment of an inexpensive leaching control method to prevent the leaching of trace elements from fly ash is required for the utilization of large-scale fly ash as an embankment material. This study examined the effects of the additives on suppressing As, B, and Se leaching from coal fly ash using Ca(OH)2, paper sludge ashes (PS Ash 3, PS Ash 4 and PS Ash 5), and filter cake (FC). PS Ash and FC are waste generated in the papermaking and lime industry processes and contain high levels of calcium. The treated fly ash H (FAH) and the resulting mixtures were subjected to a leaching test as per the Environmental Agency of Japan Notifications No. 13. The results indicate that the leaching concentrations of As, B, and Se could be greatly reduced in FAH with the highest effect given by Ca(OH)2, followed by PS Ash 3 and PS Ash 5. Ca(OH)2 greatly reduced both the leaching concentrations of As, B, and Se by about 91–100%, while PS Ash 3 reduced the As and B leaching concentrations by approximately 89–96% and 83–92%, respectively; and PS Ash 5 reduced the Se leaching concentration by about 87–96%. FC did not have any impact on As and B leaching, but reduced Se leaching by about 58–78%. A reason for the decrease in leaching concentrations of As, B, and Se may be the precipitation with calcium or the formation of ettringite. The presence of leached Ca and Na ions are key factors affecting the decrease of As, B, and Se leaching concentrations from fly ash. The utilization of PS Ash 3 and PS Ash 5 as inexpensive additives is a promising method to control the leaching of As, B, and Se into the environment.
Inhibitory Effects of Diclofenac on Steroid Glucuronidation In Vivo Do Not Affect Hair-Based Doping Tests for Stanozolol
Authors: Zachár Gergely , Deshmukh Naved , Petróczi Andrea , Székely Andrea , Shah Iltaf , Barker James , Naughton Declan
Published: June 2017

In vitro studies show that diclofenac inhibits enzymatic steroid glucuronidation. This study was designed to investigate the influence of diclofenac on the excretion of stanozolol and 3′-hydroxystanozolol via analyses in hair, blood and urine in vivo in a rat study. Brown Norway rats were administered with stanozolol (weeks 1–3) and diclofenac (weeks 1–6). Weekly assessment of steroid levels in hair was complemented with spot urine and serum tests. Levels of both stanozolol and 3′-hydroxystanozolol steadily increased in hair during stanozolol treatment and decreased post-treatment, but remained readily detectable for 6 weeks. In contrast, compared to control rats, diclofenac significantly reduced urinary excretion of 3′-hydroxystanozolol which was undetectable in most samples. This is the first report of diclofenac altering steroid metabolism in vivo, detrimentally affecting detection in urine, but not in hair, which holds considerable advantages over urinalysis for anti-doping tests.
Fluoroalkyl Amino Reagents (FARs): A General Approach towards the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Compounds Bearing Emergent Fluorinated Substituents
Authors: Commare Bruno , Schmitt Etienne , Aribi Fallia , Panossian Armen , Vors Jean-Pierre , Pazenok Sergiy , Leroux Frédéric R.
Published: June 2017

Fluorinated heterocycles are important building blocks in pharmaceutical, agrochemical and material sciences. Therefore, organofluorine chemistry has witnessed high interest in the development of efficient methods for the introduction of emergent fluorinated substituents (EFS) onto heterocycles. In this context, fluoroalkyl amino reagents (FARs)—a class of chemicals that was slightly forgotten over the last decades—has emerged again recently and proved to be a powerful tool for the introduction of various fluorinated groups onto (hetero)aromatic derivatives.
Classification of Personnel Targets with Baggage Using Dual-band Radar
Authors: Yang Le , Chen Gao , Li Gang
Published: June 2017

In this paper, we aim to identify passengers with different baggage by analyzing the micro-Doppler radar signatures corresponding to different kinds of gaits, which is helpful to improve the efficiency of security check in airports. After performing time-frequency analysis on the X-band and K-band radar data, three kinds of micro-Doppler features, i.e., the period, the Doppler offset, and the bandwidth, are extracted from the time-frequency domain. By combining the features extracted by dual-band radar with the one-versus-one support vector machine (SVM) classifier, three kinds of gaits, i.e., walking with no bag, walking with only one carry-on baggage by one hand, and walking with one carry-on baggage by one hand and one handbag by another hand, can be accurately classified. The experimental results based on the measured data demonstrate that the classification accuracy using dual-band radar is higher than that using only a single-band radar sensor.
Convolutional Neural Network-Based Robot Navigation Using Uncalibrated Spherical Images
Authors: Ran Lingyan , Zhang Yanning , Zhang Qilin , Yang Tao
Published: June 2017

Vision-based mobile robot navigation is a vibrant area of research with numerous algorithms having been developed, the vast majority of which either belong to the scene-oriented simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) or fall into the category of robot-oriented lane-detection/trajectory tracking. These methods suffer from high computational cost and require stringent labelling and calibration efforts. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a lightweight robot navigation framework based purely on uncalibrated spherical images. To simplify the orientation estimation, path prediction and improve computational efficiency, the navigation problem is decomposed into a series of classification tasks. To mitigate the adverse effects of insufficient negative samples in the “navigation via classification” task, we introduce the spherical camera for scene capturing, which enables 360° fisheye panorama as training samples and generation of sufficient positive and negative heading directions. The classification is implemented as an end-to-end Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), trained on our proposed Spherical-Navi image dataset, whose category labels can be efficiently collected. This CNN is capable of predicting potential path directions with high confidence levels based on a single, uncalibrated spherical image. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms competing ones in realistic applications.
Prediction of Driver’s Intention of Lane Change by Augmenting Sensor Information Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Kim Il-Hwan , Bong Jae-Hwan , Park Jooyoung , Park Shinsuk
Published: June 2017

Driver assistance systems have become a major safety feature of modern passenger vehicles. The advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is one of the active safety systems to improve the vehicle control performance and, thus, the safety of the driver and the passengers. To use the ADAS for lane change control, rapid and correct detection of the driver’s intention is essential. This study proposes a novel preprocessing algorithm for the ADAS to improve the accuracy in classifying the driver’s intention for lane change by augmenting basic measurements from conventional on-board sensors. The information on the vehicle states and the road surface condition is augmented by using an artificial neural network (ANN) models, and the augmented information is fed to a support vector machine (SVM) to detect the driver’s intention with high accuracy. The feasibility of the developed algorithm was tested through driving simulator experiments. The results show that the classification accuracy for the driver’s intention can be improved by providing an SVM model with sufficient driving information augmented by using ANN models of vehicle dynamics.
Acoustic Emission and Echo Signal Compensation Techniques Applied to an Ultrasonic Logging-While-Drilling Caliper
Authors: Yao Yongchao , Ju Xiaodong , Lu Junqiang , Men Baiyong
Published: June 2017

A logging-while-drilling (LWD) caliper is a tool used for the real-time measurement of a borehole diameter in oil drilling engineering. This study introduces the mechanical structure and working principle of a new LWD caliper based on ultrasonic distance measurement (UDM). The detection range is a major performance index of a UDM system. This index is determined by the blind zone length and remote reflecting interface detection capability of the system. To reduce the blind zone length and detect near the reflecting interface, a full bridge acoustic emission technique based on bootstrap gate driver (BGD) and metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is designed by analyzing the working principle and impedance characteristics of a given piezoelectric transducer. To detect the remote reflecting interface and reduce the dynamic range of the received echo signals, the relationships between the echo amplitude and propagation distance of ultrasonic waves are determined. A signal compensation technique based on time-varying amplification theory, which can automatically change the gain according to the echo arrival time is designed. Lastly, the aforementioned techniques and corresponding circuits are experimentally verified. Results show that the blind zone length in the UDM system of the LWD caliper is significantly reduced and the capability to detect the remote reflecting interface is considerably improved.
Modeling the Error of the Medtronic Paradigm Veo Enlite Glucose Sensor
Authors: Biagi Lyvia , Ramkissoon Charrise , Facchinetti Andrea , Leal Yenny , Vehi Josep
Published: June 2017

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are prone to inaccuracy due to time lags, sensor drift, calibration errors, and measurement noise. The aim of this study is to derive the model of the error of the second generation Medtronic Paradigm Veo Enlite (ENL) sensor and compare it with the Dexcom SEVEN PLUS (7P), G4 PLATINUM (G4P), and advanced G4 for Artificial Pancreas studies (G4AP) systems. An enhanced methodology to a previously employed technique was utilized to dissect the sensor error into several components. The dataset used included 37 inpatient sessions in 10 subjects with type 1 diabetes (T1D), in which CGMs were worn in parallel and blood glucose (BG) samples were analyzed every 15 ± 5 min Calibration error and sensor drift of the ENL sensor was best described by a linear relationship related to the gain and offset. The mean time lag estimated by the model is 9.4 ± 6.5 min. The overall average mean absolute relative difference (MARD) of the ENL sensor was 11.68 ± 5.07% Calibration error had the highest contribution to total error in the ENL sensor. This was also reported in the 7P, G4P, and G4AP. The model of the ENL sensor error will be useful to test the in silico performance of CGM-based applications, i.e., the artificial pancreas, employing this kind of sensor.
The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire: Reliability and Validity in a Nationwide Sample of Greek Teachers
Authors: Kourmousi Ntina , Amanaki Eirini , Tzavara Chara , Merakou Kyriakoula , Barbouni Anastasia , Koutras Vasilios
Published: June 2017

The present study examined the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire’s (TEQ) validity and reliability in a sample of 3955 Greek teachers. In order to test the internal consistency reliability, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used and was found satisfactory at 0.72. The sample was randomly split and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in the even subsample, justifying the one-factor solution, with the only discrepancy of the low loading of an item. In the odd subsample a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm the one-factor model identified by the EFA. The chi square test (χ2) of the model was significant (p < 0.05), while the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative fit index (CFI) and the goodness of fit index (GFI) values were 0.078, 0.969 and 0.960, respectively, further supporting the model’s fit. Student’s t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that women, teachers with children of their own, those working full-time in public schools, those with students who needed special education, and those who had received mental health promotion training, scored higher. Additionally, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that sex, working status, having students who needed special education, and having attended mental health training courses were independently associated with TEQ score. The analyses confirmed that the Greek version of TEQ could be used for researches in Greek educators as a valid and reliable measure of teachers’ empathy.
China’s Rare Earths Production Forecasting and Sustainable Development Policy Implications
Authors: Wang Xibo , Yao Mingtao , Li Jiashuo , Zhang Kexue , Zhu He , Zheng Minsi
Published: June 2017

Because of their unique physical and chemical properties, Rare earth elements (REEs) perform important functions in our everyday lives, with use in a range of products. Recently, the study of China’s rare earth elements production has become a hot topic of worldwide interest, because of its dominant position in global rare earth elements supply, and an increasing demand for rare earth elements due to the constant use of rare earth elements in high-tech manufacturing industries. At the same time, as an exhaustible resource, the sustainable development of rare earth elements has received extensive attention. However, most of the study results are based on a qualitative analysis of rare earth elements distribution and production capacity, with few studies using quantitative modeling. To achieve reliable results with more factors being taken into consideration, this paper applies the generic multivariant system dynamics model to forecast China’s rare earth elements production trend and Hubbert peak, using Vensim software based on the Hubbert model. The results show that the peak of China’s rare earth elements production will appear by 2040, and that production will slowly decline afterwards. Based on the results, the paper proposes some policy recommendations for the sustainable development of China’s—and the world’s—rare earth elements market and rare earth-related industries.
Income Diversification and Rural Consumption—Evidence from Chinese Provincial Panel Data
Authors: Xu Tao
Published: June 2017

In China, income diversification has become a useful method for the rural households to smooth their income and maintain a sustainable mode of consumption. Additionally, income diversification affects rural consumption differently in regions with different income levels. In this paper, I have analyzed the impacts of income diversification on the peasants’ consumption in the Chinese rural areas with the provincial level panel data from 1998 to 2015. The findings indicate that income diversification can increase the Chinese peasants’ consumption, but the consumption of the peasants from the low- and the high- income subsamples of provinces are more sensitive to income diversification while the peasants from the middle-income provinces are not so sensitive to income diversification. Moreover, there is a significant ratchet effect and demonstration effect in the peasants’ consumption, as is stated by the traditional literature. This paper contributes to the research by testing the impact of peasants’ income sources diversification on the rural consumption and investigating its mechanism against the changing social background in China with the latest panel data.
Vision-Based Robot Following Using PID Control
Authors: Pati Chandra , Kala Rahul
Published: June 2017

Applications like robots which are employed for shopping, porter services, assistive robotics, etc., require a robot to continuously follow a human or another robot. This paper presents a mobile robot following another tele-operated mobile robot based on a PID (Proportional–Integral-Differential) controller. Here, we use two differential wheel drive robots; one is a master robot and the other is a follower robot. The master robot is manually controlled and the follower robot is programmed to follow the master robot. For the master robot, a Bluetooth module receives the user’s command from an android application which is processed by the master robot’s controller, which is used to move the robot. The follower robot receives the image from the Kinect sensor mounted on it and recognizes the master robot. The follower robot identifies the x, y positions by employing the camera and the depth by using the Kinect depth sensor. By identifying the x, y, and z locations of the master robot, the follower robot finds the angle and distance between the master and follower robot, which is given as the error term of a PID controller. Using this, the follower robot follows the master robot. A PID controller is based on feedback and tries to minimize the error. Experiments are conducted for two indigenously developed robots; one depicting a humanoid and the other a small mobile robot. It was observed that the follower robot was easily able to follow the master robot using well-tuned PID parameters.
Successes of Restoration and Its Effect on the Fish Community in a Freshwater Tidal Embayment of the Potomac River, USA
Authors: De Mutsert Kim , Sills Amanda , Schlick C. J. , Jones R.
Published: June 2017

After a local wastewater treatment plant significantly reduced phosphorus loading into a phytoplankton-dominated tributary of the Potomac River in the early 1980s, water quality and biological communities were monitored bi-weekly from April to September. After a 10-year time-lag, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), once abundant in this freshwater tidal embayment, returned to the area in 1993. After additional reductions in nitrogen load starting in 2000, the system switched to an SAV-dominated state in 2005. Fish abundance did not change during these distinct phase changes, but the fish community structure did. Increases in SAV provided refuge and additional spawning substrate for species with adhesive eggs such as Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), which is now the most abundant species in the embayment. Other changes observed were a decrease in the relative contribution of open water dwelling species such as White Perch (Morone americana), and an increase of visual predators such as Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides). The 30-year record of data from this Potomac River tributary has revealed important long-term trends that validate the effectiveness of initiatives to reduce excess nutrient inputs, and will aid in the continued management of the watershed and point-source inputs.
Nanotopographical control of surfaces using chemical vapor deposition processes
Authors: Koenig Meike , Lahann Joerg
Published: June 2017

In recent years much work has been conducted in order to create patterned and structured polymer coatings using vapor deposition techniques – not only via post-deposition treatment, but also directly during the deposition process. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures can be achieved via various vapor deposition strategies, for instance, using masks, exploiting surface properties that lead to spatially selective deposition, via the use of additional porogens or by employing oblique angle polymerization deposition. Here, we provide a concise review of these studies.
Linguistic discrimination on campus: Ratings of and attitudes toward student writing with African-American English
Authors: Horton Ho'omana Nathan Andrew
Published: June 2017

Based on empirical evidence, this study identifies a contradiction between attitudes towards the use of African-American English in student writing vs. how such writing is actually rated by university English instructors. Even when instructors expressed highly positive views of the use of stigmatized varieties of English in student essays, a statistically significant difference (p=0.027) was found between their ratings of essays with and without features of African-American English. These findings indicate that university instructors, even those who are consciously aware that linguistic discrimination is problematic, are not immune to the effects of linguistic discrimination. These results highlight the importance of dialect education and awareness programs for university English instructors as well as the need for further research into the prevalence of standard language ideology and linguistic discrimination at the university level.
Semantic/pragmatic factors affecting the salience of transfer verb arguments
Authors: Salomon Meghan , Ward Gregory
Published: June 2017

Rohde et al. (2006) showed that, for transfer verbs, the salience of the recipient argument is a function of the particular coherence relation posited by participants. Using a priming paradigm with transfer verbs and occupation-denoting NPs in isolated sentences, we find that participants are sensitive to the lexical properties of the transfer verb itself as measured by the relative salience of the associated transfer verb arguments. Alternatively, using a sentence completion paradigm—a more strategic task in which participants are guided by discourse-level features—we find participants are sensitive instead to the coherence relations of the relevant event, replicating Rohde et al. (2006). Our findings support the notion that coherence relations drive the interpretation of multi-sentence discourses while sentences considered in isolation are guided by particular features of the linguistic context.
Bilingualism and bimodal code-blending among deaf ASL-English bilinguals
Authors: Herbert Marjorie , Pires Acrisio
Published: June 2017

The audiologically deaf members of the American Deaf community display bilingual competence in American Sign Language (ASL) and English, although their language acquisition trajectories often involve delayed exposure to one or both languages. There is a great deal of variation in terms of production among these signers, ranging from very ASL-typical to productions that seem to display heavy English influence. The latter, mixed productions, coined “Contact Signing” by Lucas & Valli (1992), could be representative of a type of codeswitching, referred to as ‘code-blending’ in sign language-spoken language contexts (e.g. Baker & Van den Bogaerde 2008), in which bilinguals invoke knowledge of their two grammars in concert, or these productions could be more like a mixed language, in which a third grammar, distinct from both ASL and English, constrains them. We argue, based on the analysis of our corpus of naturalistic data collected in an all-deaf sociolinguistic environment, that Contact Signing provides evidence for code-blending, given the distribution of English vs. ASL-based language properties in the production data from the participants in our study.
The distribution of advanced tongue root harmony and interior vowels in the Macro-Sudan Belt
Authors: Rolle Nicholas Revett , Faytak Matthew , Lionnet Florian
Published: June 2017

In this paper we investigate the distribution of vowel systems in the Macro-Sudan Belt, an area of Western and Central Africa proposed in recent areal work (Güldemann 2008, 2011; Clements & Rialland 2008). We report on a survey of 615 language varieties with entries coded for two phonological features: advanced tongue root (ATR) harmony and the presence of interior vowels (i.e. non-peripheral vowels, such as [ɨ ɯ ɜ ə ʌ …]). Our results show that the presence of ATR harmony in the Macro-Sudan Belt is limited to three separated zones: an Atlantic ATR Zone, a West African ATR Zone, and an East African ATR Zone, all geographically unconnected to one another. We additionally show that between the West and East African ATR Zones is a geographically extensive, genetically heterogeneous region of Central Africa where ATR harmony is systematically absent which we term the Central African ATR-less Zone. Our results also show a large region where phonemic and allophonic interior vowels are disproportionately prevalent, which we term the Central African Interior Vowel Zone. This zone noticeably overlaps with the Central African ATR-less Zone, suggesting that ATR and interiority have an antagonistic relationship. Chi-squared tests support the presence of a strong relationship between the two types of vowel contrasts.
A unified approach to Tianjin trisyllabic tone sandhi: Metrical conditions and tonal complexity
Authors: Wang Xiaomei , Lin Yen-Hwei
Published: June 2017

Tianjin (Chinese) exhibits complex interactions among its disyllabic tone sandhi rules, leading to both left-to-right and right-to-left rule applications in trisyllabic sequences (cf. Chen 1986, X. Wang 2003). Which directionality to adopt for each particular trisyllabic sequence is arbitrary and cannot be accounted for by any known principles. Based on data from a recent acoustic study, our phonological analysis demonstrates that the seemingly ungoverned directionality is only apparent and that Tianjin tone sandhi rules apply only from left to right when both metrical and tonal complexity conditions are satisfied, thereby providing a unified account.
Island constraints are not the result of sentence processing
Authors: Goodluck Helen , Tsiwah Frank , Saah Kofi
Published: June 2017

On the basis of a comparison between sentence judgements in English vs. Akan, we argue that island constraints (positions to which a question word can be linked) cannot be reduced to the effects of the sentence processing mechanism.  Questions that violate constraints are judged better in Akan than in English, although the challenge to the sentence processor is the same for the two languages. We argue specifically that the constraints cannot be reduced to the effects of specificity of the question phrase, and must be attributed to two different grammatical mechanisms for the languages.
Prosody and branching direction of phrasal compounds
Authors: Tokizaki Hisao
Published: June 2017

This paper investigates the prosody of phrasal compounds in Japanese, English and German. In a Japanese phrasal compound, a prosodic boundary can occur within a modifier phrase but not between the phrase and the head noun. Japanese phrasal compounds contrast with English and German phrasal compounds, where a pause may occur between the modifier phrase and the head noun but not within the modifier phrase. I argue that the prosodic differences between these languages are due to the branching direction of modifier phrases: Japanese phrasal compounds have left-branching modifiers while English and German phrasal compounds have right-branching modifiers. It is argued that the data of prosodic phrasing in these languages pose some problems for Match Theory (Elfner 2012), the edge-based theory (Selkirk & Tateishi 1988) and Generalized Insertion (Ackema & Neeleman 2004).
Word-final velar place assimilation in English
Authors: Lipani Lisa
Published: June 2017

In English, word-final alveolar consonants assimilate in place. Additionally, there is recent evidence that assimilation can occur in word-final nasals at all places of articulation (Coleman et al. 2016). Some anecdotal evidence exists that word-final velars can assimilate (Barry 1985), but this has not been substantiated. This study uses the Santa Barbara Corpus of American English (DuBois et al. 2000–2005) to examine word-final velar consonant variation, which was measured by the F2 transitions in the preceding vowel. Given the present data, word-final velars do not seem to undergo categorical assimilation or gradient coarticulation processes.
Change of state in Kinyarwanda: A study in root meaning
Authors: Jerro Kyle
Published: June 2017

I investigate the paradigms of change of state verb roots in Kinyarwanda, comparing the simple state, inchoative, causative, and result state members of 81 root paradigms. I show that the morphological shape of the causative/inchoative members of the paradigm and whether there is a simple state term are both contingent upon root semantics. Certain change of state roots in Kinyarwanda lack simple state meanings and always give rise to change entailments; this correlates with the lack of the simple state in the paradigm. I further show that verb meaning also partially determines which of several derivational strategies are used by a given change of state paradigm.
The small matter of the Afrikaans diminutive
Authors: Lamont Andrew
Published: June 2017

The Afrikaans diminutive suffix surfaces as one of four allomorphs determined by complex prosodic and segmental interactions including stem augmentation, stem modification in form of diphthongization, and notably bidirectional place assimilation and segmental deletion. This paper presents an analysis in Harmonic Serialism (Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004, McCarthy 2000) that derives the surface allomorphs from an underlying representation /-ʲki/. The analysis departs from Wissing’s (1971) rule-based treatment in rejecting phonologically-conditioned allomorphs in favor of a single underlying form which is subject to phonological derivation and in treating diphthongization as the realization of underlying palatal features following Bye (2013).
Ergative case assignment in Hindi-Urdu: Evidence from light verb compounds
Authors: Sinha Yash
Published: June 2017

Various accounts have been proposed for ergative/absolutive case-assignment in Hindi-Urdu (HU) within the Minimalist Program. (Ura 2006, Anand & Nevins 2006 etc.) Using facts about subject case-assignment in a particular type of light verb compound in HU as evidence, I propose a syntactic account for subject case-assignment in the language in general. This account relies on two claims: (i) absolutive case can be assigned by some I, V and v heads to the subject, or (in the case of v) to the object, and (ii) ergative case results from a special KP configuration, only grammatical when absolutive case cannot be assigned to the subject. I show that this proposal can also explain facts about verb agreement in the language.
How automatic is convergence? Evidence from working memory
Authors: Heath Jevon
Published: June 2017

Phonetic convergence has been argued to be automatic as well as socially motivated. Previous studies have shown effects of socially-driven factors on working memory (Beilock et al. 2007), suggesting that working memory might mediate the socially-driven and automatic components of convergence. We used Amazon's Mechanical Turk to test convergence toward a voice with lengthened VOT, with short-term and working memory (modified digit span) conditions as well as a control condition. Overall, participants converged in VOT while shadowing, but converged less when working memory was occupied. These results suggest that social factors affect phonetic convergence indirectly, through their effect on working memory load.
At-issueness != anaphoric availability
Authors: Snider Todd
Published: June 2017

The at-issue status of a proposition and its availability for anaphora have been tightly linked in the literature (e.g., Tonhauser 2012; Syrett & Koev 2014). In particular, a frequently used diagnostic for at-issueness crucially relies on propositional anaphora. I argue that two different QUD-based diagnostics from Tonhauser 2012--—which do not rely on anaphora—--more reliably identify at-issueness. I use these diagnostics to show that neither at-issueness nor availability for anaphora reliably determine one another.
Unaccusativity and the syntax of imperatives in East Circassian
Authors: Ershova Ksenia
Published: June 2017

This paper presents novel evidence for the syntactic distinction between unergative and unaccusative verbs in East Circassian (or Kabardian. The evidence concerns a particular strategy of forming imperatives -- simultaneous causativization and reflexivization -- which is only applicable to unaccusative predicates. I argue that this type of imperative involves the promotion of the internal argument to the a higher position through the use of the causative morpheme which has been grammaticalized to mark imperative mood. The observed patterns suggest that imperative mood, while generally associated with the CP-layer, must be sensitive to the structure of vP.
Migration, local identity and change in Tianjin tone sandhi
Authors: Wang Xiaomei
Published: June 2017

Four variable disyllabic tone sandhi patterns are traditionally identified in Tianjin (Li & Liu 1985). The present study focuses on two of these tone sandhi variables, referred to as (FF) and (FL) after their input patterns of ‘falling falling’ (HL.HL) and ‘falling low’ (HL.LL) respectively. The data are drawn from 76 sociolinguistic interviews conducted in Tianjin in 2014-16. In line with other reports (Shi & Wang 2004, Gao & Lu 2003), the study indicates that (FF) has decreased in frequency over time, while (FL) has increased in frequency. But the social motivations for the rise and the decline of these variables have not previously been investigated. I propose that the social motivations of the changes might be interaction of Standardization and Tianjin community’s effort to keep local identity, especially at the period when a large number of migrants rushed into the city. (FF) displays a linear decrease of the local variant in apparent time, probably due to its status as a stereotype (Labov, 1972) of ‘old-fashioned’ Tianjin identity and speech (Han 1993). Different from (FF), (FL) has never been stigmatized, so it is available for ‘recycling’ (Dubois & Horvath 2000) as a positive marker (Labov, 1972) of ‘new’ Tianjin identity.
’n Hermeneutiek vir Teologiese interpretasie van die Bybel: Metodologiese besinning
Authors: Viljoen Anneke
Published: June 2017

The publication of several series of theological commentaries since the year 2000 marked theentrance of the discipline Theological interpretation of the Bible on the hermeneutical front. Alack of well-developed methodological considerations, underlying the practice of Theologicalinterpretation of the Bible has, however, handicapped the theological interpretation of Bibletexts. It is the aim of this article to contribute to the development thereof. Three meta-hermeneutical aspects that make up the broad methodological foundation of Theologicalinterpretation of the Bible, namely metaphysics, epistemology and ethics are explored.
The missionary journey of Mark 6 and the experience of ministry in today’s world: An empirical study in biblical hermeneutics among Anglican clergy
Authors: Francis Leslie J. , Smith Greg , Francis-Dehqani Guli
Published: June 2017

This study explores the connection between dominant psychological type preferences and reader interpretations of biblical texts. Working in type-alike groups (dominant sensing, dominant intuition, dominant feeling and dominant thinking), a group of 40 Anglican clergy (20 curates and 20 training incumbents) were invited to employ their strongest function to engage conversation between Mark’s account of Jesus sending out the disciples (Mk 6: 6b–16) and the experience of ministry in today’s world. The data supported the hermeneutical theory proposed by the SIFT approach to biblical interpretation and liturgical preaching by demonstrating the four clear and distinctive voices of sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking.
The role of relationship in moral formation: An analysis of three tertiary theological education institutions in South Africa
Authors: Kretzschmar Louise , Tuckey Ethel C.
Published: June 2017

This article investigates the teaching and practice of moral formation at three theological education institutions in South Africa. Morality is described in terms of relationship with God, with the self, with others in the church and society and with the environment. Many theological institutions, while acknowledging moral formation in their aims and teaching ethical theory, have difficulty developing and implementing a moral formation programme. The findings of the research suggest that the teaching and practice at the institutions that involve relationships are most effective for moral formation. Hence it is recommended that the institutions foster the students’ relationship with God, with themselves, with others and with the environment. Relational teaching methods and activities are most effective and ways of implementing them are explored, including developing partnerships with local churches.
Ons vier ’n negentigste verjaarsdag
Authors: Steyn Jaap
Published: June 2017

No abstract available.
Front Decorative Lamp
Authors:   Signaling and Marking Devices Stds Comm
Published: June 2017

This SAE Recommended Practice applies to a decorative lamp(s) installed on the front of motor vehicles. This lamp(s) is intended only to be decorative and is not to impair the effectiveness of any required lighting device. This recommended practice establishes uniformity in use guidelines for the performance, installation, activation and switching of a front decorative lamp(s).
A Novel Scenario-Based Interview Tool to Evaluate Nontechnical Skills and Competencies in Global Health Delivery
Authors: Wroe Emily B. , McBain Ryan K. , Michaelis Annie , Dunbar Elizabeth L. , Hirschhorn Lisa R. , Cancedda Corrado
Published: June 2017

Background 

Despite rapid growth in the number of physicians and academic institutions entering the field of global health, there are few tools that inform global health curricula and assess physician readiness for this field.

Objective 

To address this gap, we describe the development and pilot testing of a new tool to assess nontechnical competencies and values in global health. Competencies assessed include systems-based practice, interpersonal and cross-cultural communication, professionalism and self-care, patient care, mentoring, teaching, management, and personal motivation and experience.

Methods 

The Global Health Delivery Competency Assessment Tool presents 15 case vignettes and open-ended questions related to situations a global health practitioner might encounter, and grades the quality of responses on a 6-point ordinal scale. We interviewed 17 of 18 possible global health residents (94%), matched with 17 residents not training in global health, for a total of 34 interviews. A second reviewer independently scored recordings of 13 interviews for reliability.

Results 

Pilot testing indicated a high degree of discriminant validity, as measured by the instrument's ability to distinguish between residents who were and were not enrolled in a global health program (P < .001). It also demonstrated acceptable consistency, as assessed by interrater reliability (κ = 0.53), with a range of item-level agreement from 84%–96%.

Conclusions 

The tool has potential applicability to a variety of academic and programmatic activities, including evaluation of candidates for global health positions and evaluating the success of training programs in equipping practitioners for entry into this field.
Human Rights Education in Foreign Language Learning
Authors: Kukovec Melita
Published: June 2017

Today’s world is marked by numerous violations of human rights. As teachers, we would like to believe that future violations can be prevented through human rights education which empowers individuals to build and promote a universal human rights culture. Young people should be given the chance to practise what it means to live together in an open and free society while at school; they, therefore, need to be equipped with a knowledge of human rights and the skills to put these rights into practice.The paper addresses issues relating to including lessons on human rights into Slovene primary and secondary education as part of the foreign language learning syllabus, as well as the need to empower future teachers to react appropriately if their students reject other people’s perspectives out of hand, or even express radical ideas in class that run contrary to democratic values. It also presents various strategies for enabling future teachers to develop the skills necessary to implement human rights education.
Social Ills of (Global) Capitalism under Scrutiny in American Literature Classes: "Teaching to Transgress"
Authors: Burcar Lilijana
Published: June 2017

The article foregrounds the importance of honing critical literacy through socially engaged literature. Dealing with literature in an engaged and critical way can help students to develop critical  thinking skills and a systemic understanding of burning social issues that inform their own living realities. Critical literary pedagogy and socially engaged literature play a key role in developing students’ understanding of why and how institutional racism and institutional patriarchy constitute key operating mechanisms of capitalist social relations, which is why constructs of race and gender should never be looked upon as mere add-ons, let alone as a matter of mere culture and hence individual prejudice. In this sense, the article directly challenges the prevailing postmodernist approach in mainstream studies and teachings of literature. It calls instead for the restoration of socially engaged literature to school curricula and for a return to the contextually analytical and systemic (materialist) approach towards literature.
Comparing the efficacy of digital flashcards versus paper flashcards to improve receptive and productive L2 vocabulary
Authors: Dizon Gilbert , Tang Daniel
Published: June 2017

Several researchers have compared the efficacy of digital flashcards (DFs) versus paper flashcards (PFs) to improve L2 vocabulary and have concluded that using DFs is more effective (Azabdaftari & Mozaheb, 2012; Başoğlu & Akdemir, 2010; Kiliçkaya & Krajka, 2010). However, these studies did not utilize vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) as a way to support the vocabulary development of those using PFs. This is significant because DFs often offer a range of features to promote vocabulary development, whereas PFs are much more basic; thus, learners who study via paper materials are at a disadvantage compared with those who use DFs. Given the success that VLSs have had in fostering L2 vocabulary enhancement (e.g., Mizumoto & Takeuchi, 2009), their incorporation could have influenced the previous studies. Therefore, one of the primary aims of this study was to find if there were significant differences in receptive and productive L2 vocabulary improvements between students who used PFs in conjunction with 3 VLSs – dropping, association, and oral rehearsal – and those who used the DF tools Quizlet and Cram. Additionally, the researchers examined the learners’ opinions to see if there was a preference for either study method. A total of 52 EFL students at two Japanese universities participated in the 12-week study. Pre- and post-tests were administered to measure the vocabulary gains in the PF group (n = 26) and the DF group (n = 26). Results from a paired t-test revealed that both groups made significant improvements in receptive and productive vocabulary. However, the difference between the gains was not significant, which contrasts with past comparison studies of DFs and PFs and highlights the importance of VLSs. A 10-item survey with closed and Likert-scale questions was also administered to determine the participants’ opinions towards the study methods. Higher levels of agreement were found in the experimental group, indicating that the students viewed DFs more favorably than PFs.
Using Facebook to improve L2 German students’ socio-pragmatic skills
Authors: Harting Axel
Published: June 2017

This study explores ways of using Facebook as a tool to improve the pragmatic competence of German as a foreign language students in Japan. Nine students of a textbook-based German class (CFER level A2) voluntarily participated in this blended learning approach, in which they were assigned weekly online tasks aimed at eliciting speech acts commonly used in online interaction. The tasks required the students write posts concerning their daily routines onto the timeline of a dedicated Facebook Group page and to comment on each other’s posts. In order to find out what difficulties learners face when producing certain speech acts, the students’ posts and comments were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively by determining the frequency, accuracy, and appropriateness of speech acts performed per task. The results suggest that the tasks developed seemed to be appropriate for eliciting a large number of speech acts, while types, frequency, and appropriateness of the speech acts produced varied significantly. As was revealed, difficulties in task performance did not only stem from a lack of L2 (socio-pragmatic) knowledge, but also from inexperience in the use of the network itself. For task performance students strongly relied on the expressions provided in pre-task activities. As the results of a post-course students’ survey indicate, most students agreed that using Social Networking Sites is an appropriate tool for language learning, and that they were able to increase their knowledge and use of German speech acts significantly during this course. However, only those students who frequently used SNS in their everyday lives seemed to be able to reap the full benefits of the project.
Profiling language learners in hybrid learning contexts: Learners’ perceptions
Authors: Lintunen Pekka , Mutta Maarit , Pelttari Sanna
Published: June 2017

This article discusses formal and informal foreign language learning before university level. The focus is on beginning university students’ perceptions of their earlier learning experiences, especially in digital contexts. Language learners’ digital competence is a part of their everyday lives, but its relationship to learning in and outside educational settings is still relatively seldom studied. The article discusses learning in formal and informal (i.e., hybrid) contexts and digital learning profiles −that is, a learner’s own personalized style in acquiring language competence by creating affordances in personalized digital or mobile learning environments− in primary and secondary education identified in a language learning survey. The results are based on an online survey sent to all beginning university students majoring in languages at a Finnish university (N= 87/192), which was complemented by a short narrative task (N=47) a few months later focusing on earlier education and the use of language learning technologies. The results suggest that the use of technologies seems to differ between extramural and in-school language learning. The learners were well aware of various possibilities to create affordances for learning, and their own involvement increased with age. Most participants had positive attitudes towards the use of technologies to enhance language learning, but critical views emphasized the importance of inspiring contact teaching. Three different digital learning profiles were identified: a digiage learner, a hybrid learner, and an in-school learner. These can be useful when planning differentiated foreign language instruction.