Identifying effective translations for cross-lingual Arabic-to-English user-generated speech search

Cross Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) systems are a valuable tool to enable speakers of one language to search for content of interest expressed in a different language. A group for whom this is of particular interest is bilingual Arabic speakers who wish to search for English language content using information needs expressed in Arabic queries. A key challenge in CLIR is crossing the language barrier between the query and the documents. The most common approach to bridging this gap is automated query translation, which can be unreliable for vague or short queries. In this work, we examine the potential for improving CLIR effectiveness by predicting the translation effectiveness using Query Performance Prediction (QPP) techniques. We propose a novel QPP method to estimate the quality of translation for an Arabic-Engish Cross-lingual User-generated Speech Search (CLUGS) task. We present an empirical evaluation that demonstrates the quality of our method on alternative translation outputs extracted from an Arabic-to-English Machine Translation system developed for this task. Finally, we show how this framework can be integrated in CLUGS to find relevant translations for improved retrieval performance

Category- and modality-specificity in semantic dementia.

The experiments presented in this work are aimed at gaining a greater understanding of the semantic impairment in semantic dementia (SD) in terms of modality-specificity and category-specificity, and to consider the implications for the organisation of the semantic system. To this end, the semantic abilities of a group of twelve SD patients with varying impairment severity were examined using a variety of methods - tests from a traditional semantic battery and novel tests, which examined the verbal and nonverbal knowledge of concepts and the semantic attributes of those concepts. The methods of assessment were directly contrasted and relationships between them explored. Throughout this work, comparisons with normal performance were drawn using data collected from age-matched healthy subjects. Longitudinal analyses of the performance of a subset of the patients were also presented to investigate any decline in patient performance over time. The findings suggest a remarkable degree of consistency in semantic performance in the patient group, regardless of stimulus modality or feature type, with few exceptions. However, this consistency was not reflected in the influence of semantic domain. Some patients showed category-specificity while others did not. These differences could not be explained by reference to psycholinguistic variables or evolutionarily determined categories. Differential processing of feature types was more satisfactory as an explanation but required the implication of more fine-grained distinctions than the binary sensory/functional knowledge classification. Recent models of which consider multiple principles of organisation within the semantic system are more likely to be able to account for all the data showing both consistency and inconsistency within the present cohort of SD patients, and the myriad findings in the semantic memory literature

Doing things with words across time. Snapshots of communicative practices in and from the past

Knowing our contextualized (hi)story means being able to understand ourselves and how the world works. This kind of knowledge is key to self-awareness and self-empowerment, which also have a close connection with how we use language to communicate, to develop social interactions, to build relationships, and to project our identity. The diachronic evolution of languages is therefore a crucial part of a social being’s historical situatedness. The account of this evolution, i.e. historical linguistics, has traditionally focused on formal aspects of language as a grammatical system, investigating changes affecting or reflected in orthography, phonetics-phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary. More recently, however, scholarly attention has broadened its scope to include functional aspects of language use, such as strategies and conventions of communicative affordances over time, thus giving rise to historical pragmatics. In this special issue, the contributions encompass three main areas within historical pragmatics: language use in earlier periods (pragmaphilology), the development of language use (diachronic pragmatics) and causes of language change (discourse-oriented historical linguistics). In particular, the papers offer complementary insights into communicative practices, examining interactional strategies in classical languages, politeness phenomena in grammar and discourse, the evolution of discursive practices, the pragmatic use of lexemes and the teaching of sociopragmatics. Significantly, the issue presents a cross-linguistic approach, since it considers pragmatic phenomena in English, Korean, Italian, Slavonic languages, Ancient Greek and Latin, thus helping us understand how current discursive forms are in fact both unique and comparable in several languages and cultures

INTONATION IN CONTACT: PROSODIC TRANSFER AND INNOVATION AMONG YAMI-MANDARIN BILINGUALS

Yami, an Austronesian language spoken on Orchid Island, Taiwan (less than 1,500 fluent speakers), is currently facing endangerment due to heavy contact with Mandarin. This dissertation investigated whether there is contact-induced prosodic variation in Yami-Mandarin bilingual speech, while also describing and documenting the evolution of Yami intonation. I advanced the description of key aspects of Yami intonation, which allowed the examination of Yami-Mandarin bilingual intonation patterns. This permitted identification of potential Mandarin influence in Yami and vice versa. Five sentence types (statement, neutral question, confirmation-seeking question, default statement question (SQ1), and statement question conveying lighter incredulity (SQ2)) were elicited using a new paradigm – the Interactive Card Game. Three acoustic parameters were considered: final boundary tone, F0 slope, and mean pitch height. To gauge the impact of language background, 44 participants were divided into Yami-monolingual, Yami-dominant bilingual, balanced bilingual, Mandarin-dominant bilingual, and Mandarin-monolingual groups. Older fluent Yami speakers distinguished falling statements and neutral questions from rising confirmation-seeking questions and SQ1s, but had no authentic SQ2. Bilinguals, however, transferred this Mandarin question type (SQ2) into Yami. This was then intertwined with Yami intonation to form a hybrid pattern. For Mandarin production, ethnically Yami, linguistically Mandarin-monolinguals patterned exactly with mainland Mandarin speakers by making a three-way distinction among falling, level, and rising intonation patterns. Bilinguals only showed a two-way distinction merging SQ1 and SQ2 into a single SQ category (a Yami substrate effect), which was then realized with a Mandarin-SQ2-like level contour to form another hybrid pattern. The current linguistic ecological context plays a crucial role in determining the evolution of bilingual intonation. Specifically, considering the imbalanced power relationships between the groups and the socioeconomic pressures on Yami speakers, the two innovative hybrid patterns suggest an in-progress asymmetrical convergence of the intonation systems. This research expands the body of work on contact-induced prosodic change underscoring that higher-level prosody is permeable under contact. It also adds to studies on Austronesian/indigenous language intonation features. The broader impacts extend to heritage language education as the study has the potential to help Yami teachers develop new strategies in teaching language prosody

Learning First: A Research Agenda for Improving Learning in Low-Income Countries

In 2011, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution spearheaded the development of a common policy agenda on global education entitled A Global Compact on Learning: Taking Action on Education in Developing Countries. The report recommended a call to action for a diverse group of international stakeholders to come together to work toward achieving quality education for all. As a part of this larger policy agenda, CUE works with various scholars and organizations to address the many issues within the scope of the Global Compact on Learning

Learning, Marginalization, and Improving the Quality of Education in Low-income Countries

Improving learning evidence and outcomes for those most in need in developing countries is at the heart of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal on Education (SDG4). This timely volume brings together contributions on current empirical research and analysis of emerging trends that focus on improving the quality of education through better policy and practice, particularly for those who need improved 'learning at the bottom of the pyramid' (LBOP). This volume brings together academic research experts, government officials and field-based practitioners. National and global experts present multiple broad thematic papers – ranging from the effects of migration and improving teaching to the potential of educational technologies, and better metrics for understanding and financing education. In addition, local experts, practitioners and policymakers describe their own work on LBOP issues being undertaken in Kenya, India, Mexico and Ivory Coast. The contributors argue persuasively that learning equity is a moral imperative, but also one that will have educational, economic and social impacts. They further outline how achieving SDG4 will take renewed and persistent effort by stakeholders to use better measurement tools to promote learning achievement among poor and marginalized children. This volume builds on the second international conference on Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid (LBOP2).* It will be an indispensable resource for policymakers, researchers and government thinktanks, and local experts, as well as any readers interested in the implementation of learning equity across the globe

Learning, Marginalization, and Improving the Quality of Education in Low-income Countries

Improving learning evidence and outcomes for those most in need in developing countries is at the heart of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal on Education (SDG4). This timely volume brings together contributions on current empirical research and analysis of emerging trends that focus on improving the quality of education through better policy and practice, particularly for those who need improved 'learning at the bottom of the pyramid' (LBOP). This volume brings together academic research experts, government officials and field-based practitioners. National and global experts present multiple broad thematic papers – ranging from the effects of migration and improving teaching to the potential of educational technologies, and better metrics for understanding and financing education. In addition, local experts, practitioners and policymakers describe their own work on LBOP issues being undertaken in Kenya, India, Mexico and Ivory Coast. The contributors argue persuasively that learning equity is a moral imperative, but also one that will have educational, economic and social impacts. They further outline how achieving SDG4 will take renewed and persistent effort by stakeholders to use better measurement tools to promote learning achievement among poor and marginalized children. This volume builds on the second international conference on Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid (LBOP2).* It will be an indispensable resource for policymakers, researchers and government thinktanks, and local experts, as well as any readers interested in the implementation of learning equity across the globe

Bio-psycho-social aspects of severe multiple trauma

Subjects with severe multiple trauma present great challenges in rehabilitation, and investigations with a holistic bio-psycho-social point of view have been scarce. In the main part of this investigation all 146 patients with severe multiple trauma (ISS 16) admitted to a regional hospital in 1990. were target. Ten years survival probability for those discharged alive from the Department of Surgery (fl: 91) was 82%. Mortality rates were significantly higher than those of the general population, particularly during the first year after discharge, during which the main cause of death was traumatic brain injury. Later, overuse of alcohol and drugs, were the main causes of death. A principal aim was to analyse the relations between impairments/ functions. disabilities/ abilities and psychological and social well-being. In a three year follow-up investigation of 69 subjects (84% of those available), 80% had one or more residual impairments: 74% had physical and 32°/g cognitive impairment. Very few subjects (n=4) were ADL-dependent. Vocational disability was present in 19% and leisure disability in 76%. Vocational disability was associated with higher age, blue collar work and cognitive impairment. Leisure disability was most prevalent in those with severe physical impairments and residual pain. Cognitive performance was significantly related both to the severity of traumatic brain injury and to degree of psychological distress. A consecutive series of subjects with severe multiple trauma without brain injury (n:26), were investigated at admission to the rehabilitation hospital, at discharge and at follow-up 1- 3.5 year following trauma. Both retrospectively and prospectively, the subjects experienced significant decreases in satisfaction with life as a whole from before to after trauma. Furthermore, compared to before trauma, significantly fewer subjects reported to be satisfied (5-6) with life as a whole, and with the domains: Sexual life. ADL, contact with friends, leisure, vocational situation and financial situation. Among the life satisfaction domains, the most important contributors for global life satisfaction after trauma. were satisfaction with leisure, family life and vocation. In multiple regression analyses, having a sufficient social network, and also a strong sense of coherence, could buffer the negative influence of disabilities on life satisfaction following trauma. Though level of sense of coherence was closely related to simultaneously measured social well-being, the SOC was not stable over time, and the hypothesis about a strong sense of coherence as protective against future distress and reduced satisfaction after stressful life events could not be confirmed, at least not the first years after multiple trauma