Inferentials in spoken English

Although there is a growing body of research on inferential sentences (Declerck 1992, Delahunty 1990, 1995, 2001, Koops 2007, Pusch 2006), most of this research has been on their forms and functions in written discourse. This has left a gap with regards to their range of structural properties and allowed disagreement over their analysis to linger without a conclusive resolution. Most accounts regard the inferential as a type of it-cleft (Declerck 1992, Delahunty 2001, Huddleston and Pullum 2002, Lambrecht 2001), while a few view it as an instance of extraposition (Collins 1991, Schmid 2009). More recently, Pusch's work in Romance languages proposes the inferential is used as a discourse marker (2006, forthcoming). Based on a corpus study of examples from spoken New Zealand English, the current paper provides a detailed analysis of the formal and discoursal properties of several sub-types of inferentials (positive, negative, as if and like inferentials). We show that despite their apparent formal differences from the prototypical cleft, inferentials are nevertheless best analysed as a type of cleft, though this requires a minor reinterpretation of “cleft construction.” We show how similar the contextualized interpretations of clefts and inferentials are and how these are a function of their lexis and syntax

Phenotyping the right ventricle in pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease in which the lumen of small pulmonary arteries is narrowed because of vasoconstriction, hyperproliferation, inflammation and remodeling of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells. This leads to an increase in resistance of the pulmonary vascular bed and an therefore an increase in pulmonary artery pressures. As a result the load on the right ventricle (RV) drastically increases, with a subsequent rise in RV wall stress. The RV will initially decrease this wall stress via increasing its wall thickness through hypertrophy and enhancing its contractility. Current PAH-medication decreases the pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and therefore reduce the RV afterload, but seldom normalizes it. As a result, the transition of RV adaptation towards RV failure, characterized by RV dilatation and decreased cardiac output, will be inevitable. To date, lung transplantation is the only cure for PAH-patients. To provide timely referral to a transplantation center, it is of utmost importance to identify ‘adapted’ PAH-patients who are prone to develop RV failure. To do so, key players in the transition from RV adaptation towards RV failure have to be identified. In this thesis, we aimed to further identify factors playing a role in RV adaptation and RV failure by comparing different phenotypes of PAH patients. Secondly, we evaluated the use of RV imaging during follow-up in PAH

Participation in PRSP processes Conditions for Pro Poor Effectiveness

The mandatory participation of civil society in the PRSP is hardly ever questioned. It is on the contrary generally applauded by the experts inside and outside of the aid business. If only there could be more of it, things would even be better than they already are, but any start, however modest, is to be welcomed. But is participation, no matter at what stage, where and with whom, always so precious or relevant? In this paper a more cautionary approach is proposed. A four level readiness assessment framework is being offered to guide donors in deciding when, if at all, such participation must be encouraged.

Poverty Effects from Trade Liberalisation in Argentina

This paper aims at analyzing the linkages between international trade openness and poverty in Argentina. Under a specific-factors setting, a two-step procedure is presented. In the first stage the change in prices of goods and factors in both tradable and non-tradable sectors, after a trade liberalization episode, is considered. In a second step, these variations are applied to assess the changes in poverty and households’ welfare. A micro simulation approach, using households’ survey data, is applied in this last stage. Poverty is reduced as a result of the policy, and the households that benefit from this reduction are those linked to the nontradable sectors.

Enhancing the public provision of education

Educational systems in developing countries show widespread problems that hinder delivering the service in adequate quantity and quality, as well as equity issues are still unresolved in many cases. The paper provides a flexible framework to deal with educational provision and public policies in developing countries, linking the impact of quality-quantity-equity of educational policies on labour markets. It adds to the education production function and human capital accumulation theoretical literature in which it includes the presence of inefficiencies, modelling the role of educational policies on tacking at them. Educational policies designing is discussed, which leads to suggest that more sophisticated educational policies (“multiple targets”) may increase the efficiency of the expenditure in education in terms of the quantity-quality of the output (skills).

Network Formation through a Gender Lens. Insights from rural Nicaragua

This paper examines the relation between gender and network formation in rural Nicaragua. Applying dyadic regression techniques and controlling for individual socio-economic characteristics, we obtain insights into the determinants of the size and density as well as the socio-economic heterogeneity of individual networks. Assuming these network characteristics correlate with one's agency and benefits from network participation, we look for differences between men's and women's networks and its relation with gender. In general, the gendered private/public dichotomy and labor division is replicated in men's and women's networks. Furthermore, consistent with the restricted mobility of poor rural women, we observe that geographic distance limits the networks of women but not men. Next, female education and mobility, and newly-residing men, have a positive influence on the integration between men and women. Finally, clique formation is stronger around women than men.Social network analysis; dyadic regression; gender sorting; social integration

Living the Transition. A Bottom-up Perspective on Rwanda’s Political Transition

Political transitions are dominantly analyzed top-down and focus on a narrow range of political processes and institutions. Critical rethinkings of the ‘transition paradigm’ entail that structural factors, such as historical legacies and ethnic make-up, determine the trajectory of political transitions. In this paper we intend to complement top-down approaches by offering a bottom-up perspective revealing what it means to live through a transition in the ordinary perception. We use the Rwandan transition as case-study. An analysis of over 400 life histories of ordinary Rwandan peasants and their subjective ranking exercises over time on a ‘ladder of life’ portrays the trajectory of the Rwandan transition as perceived from below. The ethnicity of the respondents functions as pivot to shed light on the structural factor underlying the Rwandan transition: the Hutu-Tutsi bi-polarity.