Baldwinian accounts of language evolution

Since Hinton & Nowlan published their seminal paper (Hinton & Nowlan 1987), the neglected evolutionary process of the Baldwin effect has been widely acknowledged. Especially in the field of language evolution, the Baldwin effect (Baldwin 1896d, Simpson 1953) has been expected to salvage the long-lasting deadlocked situation of modern linguistics: i.e., it may shed light on the relationship between environment and innateness in the formation of language.However, as intense research of this evolutionary theory goes on, certain robust difficulties have become apparent. One example is genotype-phenotype correlation. By computer simulations, both Yamauchi (1999, 2001) and Mayley (19966) show that for the Baldwin effect to work legitimately, correlation between genotypes and phenotypes is the most essential underpinning. This is due to the fact that this type of the Baldwin effect adopts as its core mechanism Waddington's (1975) "genetic assimilation". In this mechanism, phenocopies have to be genetically closer to the innately predisposed genotype. Unfortunately this is an overly naiive assumption for the theory of language evolution. As a highly complex cognitive ability, the possibility that this type of genotype-phenotype correlation exists in the domain of linguistic ability is vanishingly small.In this thesis, we develop a new type of mechanism, called "Baldwinian Niche Construction (BNC), that has a rich explanatory power and can potentially over¬ come this bewildering problem of the Baldwin effect. BNC is based on the theory of niche construction that has been developed by Odling-Smee et al. (2003). The incorporation of the theory into the Baldwin effect was first suggested by Deacon (1997) and briefly introduced by Godfrey-Smith (2003). However, its formulation is yet incomplete.In the thesis, first, we review the studies of the Baldwin effect in both biology and the study of language evolution. Then the theory of BNC is more rigorously developed. Linguistic communication has an intrinsic property that is fundamentally described in the theory of niche construction. This naturally leads us to the theoretical necessity of BNC in language evolution. By creating a new linguistic niche, learning discloses a previously hidden genetic variance on which the Baldwin 'canalizing' effect can take place. It requires no genetic modification in a given genepool. There is even no need that genes responsible for learning occupy the same loci as genes for the innate linguistic knowledge. These and other aspects of BNC are presented with some results from computer simulations

Climate and plant community diversity in space and time.

Climate strongly shapes plant diversity over large spatial scales, with relatively warm and wet (benign, productive) regions supporting greater numbers of species. Unresolved aspects of this relationship include what causes it, whether it permeates to community diversity at smaller spatial scales, whether it is accompanied by patterns in functional and phylogenetic diversity as some hypotheses predict, and whether it is paralleled by climate-driven changes in diversity over time. Here, studies of Californian plants are reviewed and new analyses are conducted to synthesize climate-diversity relationships in space and time. Across spatial scales and organizational levels, plant diversity is maximized in more productive (wetter) climates, and these consistent spatial relationships are mirrored in losses of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity over time during a recent climatic drying trend. These results support the tolerance and climatic niche conservatism hypotheses for climate-diversity relationships, and suggest there is some predictability to future changes in diversity in water-limited climates

Examining the complex relationship between innovation and regulation through a survey of wastewater utility managers

Despite pressures to increase performance and decrease costs, innovation has been slow to emerge in the municipal wastewater sector. The relationship between regulation and innovation in this sector is a particularly interesting aspect of this conundrum, given the degree to which public utility decision-making is influenced by regulation. Using a national survey, this paper examines US wastewater utility managers’ perceptions of how regulation influences the adoption of new technologies. Recognizing that the relationship between innovation and regulation is complex, we develop the concept of regulation as multifaceted and examine three interrelated aspects of regulation: (1) regulatory requirements, (2) regulators and relationships, and (3) the broader regulatory environment. Specifically, we seek to understand whether and in what ways wastewater utility managers perceive these aspects of regulation as hindering or encouraging the adoption of new technologies. We find that, although stringent effluent limitations are perceived to be a moderate barrier to innovation, most survey respondents did not identify weakening them as a way to encourage innovation. Instead, respondents generally identified factors related to regulatory relationships and factors related to the broader regulatory environment as barriers to innovation, and indicated that addressing these aspects of regulation would encourage innovation. We conclude that loosening or tightening regulatory requirements is not the most effective way to promote innovation in the municipal wastewater sector. Rather, those parties with an interest in innovation can focus on helping utilities and regulators build relationships and better navigate the processes that influence decisions about new technologies

User producer interaction in context: a classification

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies show that intensified user producer interaction (UPI) increases chances for successful innovations, especially in the case of emerging technology. It is not always clear, however, what type of interaction is necessary in a particular context. This paper proposes a conceptualization of contexts in terms of three dimensions – the phase of technology development, the flexibility of the technology, and the heterogeneity of user populations – resulting in a classification scheme with eight different contextual situations. The paper identifies and classifies types of interaction, like demand articulation, interactive learning, learning by using and domestication. It appears that each contextual situation demands a different set of UPI types. To illustrate the potential value of the classification scheme, four examples of innovations with varying technological and user characteristics are explored: the refrigerator, clinical anaesthesia, video cassette recording, and the bicycle. For each example the relevant UPI types are discussed and it is shown how these types highlight certain activities and interactions during key events of innovation processes. Finally, some directions for further research are suggested alongside a number of comments on the utility of the classification