"Natural relations" : a note on X'-structure

With the rise of minimalism, many concepts related to the geometrical relations of phrase structure held fast to in earlier approaches have been reconsidered. This article deals with distinguishing (relational and technical) properties of specifiers and adjuncts in a Bare Phrase Structure framework (X'-Theory). I extend specific aspects of X-structure relevant to the discussion of specifiers vs. adjuncts. I argue that unique specifiers can be derived from the system and that adjunction, possibly multiple, results from Direct Merge only. The final product is a series of relationships in line with recent thoughts and minimalist premises, but formally more similar to earlier conceptions of the X'-schema. I address conceptual, empirical and theoretical arguments against multiple specifiers and related issues next, that is beyond the predictions immediately following from the tripartitional view of clause structure proposed in Grohmann (2000). After laying out my motivations to critically consider the issue, I present a set of data that casts serious doubt over the justifications offered to replace Agr with v as the accusative casemarker. Having conceptual and empirical back-up, I then tackle the theoretical validity of specifiers, and ways to distinguish unique specifiers from (multiple) adjuncts. I introduce a version of Bare Phrase Structure that does so, yet keeps the spirit of defining structural identification over relational rather than categorial properties

Low-Sensitivity Functions from Unambiguous Certificates

We provide new query complexity separations against sensitivity for total Boolean functions: a power $3$ separation between deterministic (and even randomized or quantum) query complexity and sensitivity, and a power $2.22$ separation between certificate complexity and sensitivity. We get these separations by using a new connection between sensitivity and a seemingly unrelated measure called one-sided unambiguous certificate complexity ($UC_{min}$). We also show that $UC_{min}$ is lower-bounded by fractional block sensitivity, which means we cannot use these techniques to get a super-quadratic separation between $bs(f)$ and $s(f)$. We also provide a quadratic separation between the tree-sensitivity and decision tree complexity of Boolean functions, disproving a conjecture of Gopalan, Servedio, Tal, and Wigderson (CCC 2016). Along the way, we give a power $1.22$ separation between certificate complexity and one-sided unambiguous certificate complexity, improving the power $1.128$ separation due to G\"o\"os (FOCS 2015). As a consequence, we obtain an improved $\Omega(\log^{1.22} n)$ lower-bound on the co-nondeterministic communication complexity of the Clique vs. Independent Set problem.Comment: 25 pages. This version expands the results and adds Pooya Hatami and Avishay Tal as author

Roles of Fiscal Policy in New Zealand

Economic growth is one of the objectives of the current government. Fiscal policy, encompassing government expenditure and taxation decisions, can significantly impact on economic growth. This paper proposes a framework which views fiscal policy through three lenses and applies this approach to consider how fiscal policy affects economic growth. The three lenses are: fiscal sustainability, fiscal structure and fiscal stabilisation. The paper reviews international literature pertaining to these three lenses and discusses the extent to which these lenses are incorporated into New Zealand’s current fiscal framework. Contemporary New Zealand fiscal challenges are discussed and, in light of these challenges, the paper concludes with consideration of areas to investigate which may yield improvements to the New Zealand fiscal framework.Fiscal policy, sustainability, stability, structure, taxation, government spending, economic growth

Technology and Trade - an analysis of technology specialization and export flows

This paper examines how technology specialization, measured by citations-weighted patents, affects trade flows. The paper analyzes (i) the relationship between technology specialization and export specialization across regions and (ii) how the technology specialization of origin and destination affect the size and structure of link-specific export flows. We find that the export specialization of a region typically corresponds to the region’s technology specialization, which supports the view that comparative advantages can be created by investments in technology and knowledge. Export flows from regions to destination countries with similar technology specialization as the origin regions consist of commodities of higher quality in the specific technology, as indicated by higher prices. Highly specialized regions export more and charge higher prices. The results of the paper suggest that an understanding of trade ultimately requires an understanding of the spatial pattern of investments in (and creation of) technology and knowledge, as such investments shape export specialization patterns and the corresponding composition of export flows between locations across space.exports; technology; knowledge; specialization; quality; patents

Detection of cochlear hearing loss applying wavelet packets and support vector machines

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the application of the wavelet packet transform (WP) and support vector machines (SVM) to transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) in order to achieve a detection of frequency-specific hearing loss. We introduce a system to determine detection rates between groups of persons with normal hearing, high frequency hearing loss, and pantonal hearing loss. The validity and use of our approach is verified on a different patient group