Input effects on the acquisition of a novel phrasal construction in five year olds

The present experiments demonstrate that children as young as five years old (M = 5;2) generalize beyond their input on the basis of minimal exposure to a novel argument structure construction. The novel construction that was used involved a non-English phrasal pattern: VN1N2, paired with a novel abstract meaning: N2 approaches N1. At the same time, we find that children are keenly sensitive to the input: they show knowledge of the construction after a single day of exposure but this grows stronger after three days; also, children generalize more readily to new verbs when the input contains more than one verb

Constructions: a new theoretical approach to language

A new theoretical approach to language has emerged in the past 10–15 years that allows linguistic observations about form–meaning pairings, known as ‘constructions’, to be stated directly. Constructionist approaches aim to account for the full range of facts about language, without assuming that a particular subset of the data is part of a privileged ‘core’. Researchers in this field argue that unusual constructions shed light on more general issues, and can illuminate what is required for a complete account of language. Constructions – form and meaning pairings – have been the basis of major advances in the study of grammar since the days of Aristotle. Observations about specific linguistic constructions have shaped our understanding of both particular languages and the nature of language itself. Bu

Revisiting Schwarzenberger today: The problem of an International Criminal Law

This article canvasses some of the main points raised by Schwarzenberger in a famous article written in the 1950s. The central objection he had to the idea of an international criminal law arose from the structure of the system of international law itself, which has no central authority to enforce its proscriptions. This article explores the concept of individual and state criminal responsibility and considers the characteristics which all international crimes cumulatively embrace. It considers recent evidence of international criminal law offered by the establishment of the ad hoc Tribunals and the International Criminal Court. It attempts to chart the progress made by the international community in this field since the 1950s but concludes, as did Schwarzenberger, that international criminal law is not universally applicable

Imagining alternative and better worlds:Isabel Fletcher talks with Adele E. Clarke

In this interview, Adele Clarke and Isabel Fletcher discuss the different routes that led Clarke to science and technology studies (STS), the field’s increasing engagement with biomedical topics, and her perspectives on its character today. Clarke describes how women’s health activism and teaching feminist critiques of bioscience/biomedicine led her to participate in academic networks now known as feminist STS and trans-national reproduction studies. She reflects on the importance of inter-/trans-disciplinary collaboration in her work, but also raises concerns that the rapid expansion of the field has resulted in inadequate training for newcomers in the “theory-method packages” of STS, and hence poor quality scholarship. For her, the future of STS lies in approaches analyzing the complex intersections between technoscience, gender, race, (post)coloniality, and indigenous knowledges, and in its expansion beyond Europe and North America, to Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. In her following reflection, Isabel Fletcher considers the importance of inter/trans-disciplinarity for STS and highlights the role a politically engaged STS can play in imagining alternative and better worlds

Engaging Complexities: Working Against Simplification as an Agenda for Qualitative Research Today. Adele Clarke in Conversation With Reiner Keller

En 2005, Adele CLARKE publicó su libro sobre "Análisis situacional", bien recibida elaboración de la metodología de teoría fundamentada. El análisis situacional (AS) combina las tradiciones más viejas así como las más recientes de la sociología pragmática, especialmente las de la Escuela de Chicago y la teoría de mundos/arenas sociales de Anselm STRAUSS, con la perspectiva de FOUCAULT sobre el discurso, el pensamiento feminista y la epistemología post-positivista. En esta entrevista con Reiner KELLER, ella explica los fundamentos teóricos y las motivaciones académicas de este enfoque y describe las estrategias analíticas concretas propuestas por el AS. En el momento oportuno, ella narra sus experiencias pasadas, desde sus primeros encuentros con la investigación cualitativa hasta las influencias más recientes desde los estudios feministas y de ciencias y tecnología. CLARKE también aclara donde se coloca el AS dentro del campo más amplio de las metodologías cualitativas y aborda cuestiones relativas a la contribución del AS para el análisis de cambios sociales complejos. El AS está diseñado para ofrecer una heurística analítica capaz de confrontar estas complejidades con un conjunto amplio de estrategias para hacer investigación cualitativa.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs140212Im Jahr 2005 veröffentlichte Adele CLARKE unter dem Titel "Situational Analysis" (dt. "Situationsanalyse") eine viel beachtete Weiterführung der Grounded-Theory-Methodologie. Darin verbindet sie ältere und jüngere Traditionen der pragmatistischen Soziologie, insbesondere der Chicago School und des Social World/Arena-Ansatzes von Anselm STRAUSS mit diskursorientierten Perspektiven FOUCAULTs, feministischen Positionen und postpositivistischer Epistemologie. Im Interview mit Reiner KELLER erläutert sie die theoretischen Grundlagen und wissenschaftlichen Motivationen, die diesem Ansatz zu Grunde liegen, sowie die darin vorgeschlagenen konkreten Analysestrategien. Dabei spannt sie einen weiten Bogen von ihren ersten Kontakten mit qualitativer Forschung bis hin zu jüngeren Einflüssen aus der feministischen Forschung sowie der Wissenschafts- und Technologieforschung. Zugleich thematisiert sie die Verortung der Situationsanalyse im Feld der qualitativen Methodologien und diskutiert die Frage nach deren Bedeutung in der Analyse komplexer aktueller gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen. Ziel der Situationsanalyse ist die Bereitstellung einer Analyseheuristik, die dieser Komplexität mit entschieden erweiterten qualitativen Forschungsstrategien begegnet.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs140212In 2005, Adele CLARKE first published her book on "Situational Analysis," a well-received elaboration of grounded theory methodology. Situational analysis (SA) combines older as well as more recent traditions of pragmatist sociology, especially those of the Chicago School and social worlds/arenas theory by Anselm STRAUSS, with FOUCAULT's perspective on discourse, feminist thinking, and post-positivist epistemology. In this interview with Reiner KELLER, she explains the theoretical foundations and academic motivations of this approach, and describes the concrete analytical strategies proposed by SA. In due course, she recounts her past experiences, from her very first encounters with qualitative research up to more recent influences from feminist studies and science & technology studies. CLARKE also clarifies where SA is positioned within the broader field of qualitative methodologies, and discusses questions regarding the contribution of SA to the analysis of complex social change. SA is designed to offer an analytical heuristic able to confront these complexities with a considerably expanded set of strategies for doing qualitative research.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs14021

Measuring the Effects of Parental Involvement in Academic and Extracurricular Activities on a Child’s Self-Efficacy

Abstract The purpose of this study was to see what effect parental involvement in both academic and extracurricular activities had on the academic achievement and self-efficacy of students in a parochial middle school class in eastern Tennessee. The researchers hypothesize that parental involvement has a positive effect on a child’s academic achievement and this study was conducted to provide evidence for this hypothesis. In this study, 39 parents and 16 students from an eighth grade classroom were surveyed. Among other things, the parents were questioned about how important they felt it was to do the following: attend extracurricular activities their child was involved in, help their child with homework, communicate to the child that he or she is smart and can succeed in school, and attend parent/teacher conferences. The researchers asked the students if they thought having their parents involved helped them in school, how they felt about their ability to perform well in school, and how motivated they felt to succeed. The results showed that most students felt confident in their ability to succeed in school and that most parents were supportive and involved

Engaging Complexities: Working Against Simplification as an Agenda for Qualitative Research Today. Adele Clarke in Conversation With Reiner Keller

En 2005, Adele CLARKE publicó su libro sobre "Análisis situacional", bien recibida elaboración de la metodología de teoría fundamentada. El análisis situacional (AS) combina las tradiciones más viejas así como las más recientes de la sociología pragmática, especialmente las de la Escuela de Chicago y la teoría de mundos/arenas sociales de Anselm STRAUSS, con la perspectiva de FOUCAULT sobre el discurso, el pensamiento feminista y la epistemología post-positivista. En esta entrevista con Reiner KELLER, ella explica los fundamentos teóricos y las motivaciones académicas de este enfoque y describe las estrategias analíticas concretas propuestas por el AS. En el momento oportuno, ella narra sus experiencias pasadas, desde sus primeros encuentros con la investigación cualitativa hasta las influencias más recientes desde los estudios feministas y de ciencias y tecnología. CLARKE también aclara donde se coloca el AS dentro del campo más amplio de las metodologías cualitativas y aborda cuestiones relativas a la contribución del AS para el análisis de cambios sociales complejos. El AS está diseñado para ofrecer una heurística analítica capaz de confrontar estas complejidades con un conjunto amplio de estrategias para hacer investigación cualitativa.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs140212Im Jahr 2005 veröffentlichte Adele CLARKE unter dem Titel "Situational Analysis" (dt. "Situationsanalyse") eine viel beachtete Weiterführung der Grounded-Theory-Methodologie. Darin verbindet sie ältere und jüngere Traditionen der pragmatistischen Soziologie, insbesondere der Chicago School und des Social World/Arena-Ansatzes von Anselm STRAUSS mit diskursorientierten Perspektiven FOUCAULTs, feministischen Positionen und postpositivistischer Epistemologie. Im Interview mit Reiner KELLER erläutert sie die theoretischen Grundlagen und wissenschaftlichen Motivationen, die diesem Ansatz zu Grunde liegen, sowie die darin vorgeschlagenen konkreten Analysestrategien. Dabei spannt sie einen weiten Bogen von ihren ersten Kontakten mit qualitativer Forschung bis hin zu jüngeren Einflüssen aus der feministischen Forschung sowie der Wissenschafts- und Technologieforschung. Zugleich thematisiert sie die Verortung der Situationsanalyse im Feld der qualitativen Methodologien und diskutiert die Frage nach deren Bedeutung in der Analyse komplexer aktueller gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen. Ziel der Situationsanalyse ist die Bereitstellung einer Analyseheuristik, die dieser Komplexität mit entschieden erweiterten qualitativen Forschungsstrategien begegnet.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs140212In 2005, Adele CLARKE first published her book on "Situational Analysis," a well-received elaboration of grounded theory methodology. Situational analysis (SA) combines older as well as more recent traditions of pragmatist sociology, especially those of the Chicago School and social worlds/arenas theory by Anselm STRAUSS, with FOUCAULT's perspective on discourse, feminist thinking, and post-positivist epistemology. In this interview with Reiner KELLER, she explains the theoretical foundations and academic motivations of this approach, and describes the concrete analytical strategies proposed by SA. In due course, she recounts her past experiences, from her very first encounters with qualitative research up to more recent influences from feminist studies and science & technology studies. CLARKE also clarifies where SA is positioned within the broader field of qualitative methodologies, and discusses questions regarding the contribution of SA to the analysis of complex social change. SA is designed to offer an analytical heuristic able to confront these complexities with a considerably expanded set of strategies for doing qualitative research.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs14021

The effect of tourists’ perceptions of a tourism product on memorable travel experience: Implications for destination branding.

The purpose of this study is to analyse how tourists’ perceptions of a destination’s tourism product influences memorable tourism experiences and how gender differences influence tourists’ perceptions of tourism product. To achieve these objectives, Uganda, one of the developing economies in East Africa, was chosen. The five A’s of tourism product was used as a basis for the questionnaire construction and data was analysed. Explanatory research design within the framework of confirmatory factor analysis - a structural equation modelling technique was adopted using the AMOS 18 program. A sample of 501 respondents consisting of tourists departing Uganda through Entebbe International Airport was used. Results showed that both the measurement and structural models exhibited better model fit indices. Overall, tourists’ perceptions of the retained four dimensions of tourism product (Attractions, ancillary services, amenities and accommodation) had a positive effect on memorable travel experience. Additionally, the independent T-test for gender and tourists’ perceptions of Uganda’s tourism product showed that on average, females had a positive evaluation of Uganda tourism product compared to their male counterparts. However, the observed difference was not significant. It is recommended that destination management organisations pay attention to infrastructure, particularly transport that links potential and actual tourists to key tourism attractions. This is likely to enhance positive perceptions and was found to positively influence memorable travel experience. Other implications for destination branding are discussed

Self-transcendence: An alternative explanation for voluntourism in developing countries

In recent years, travel associated with volunteering activities has attracted a cross section of people with varying demographic characteristics and aspiration to both developing and developed countries and has been on increase. This paper argues for self-transcendence as an alternative altruistic motivation for some individuals who choose to travel to developing nations destinations which are considered risky as VOLUNtourists. A descriptive research design was used to guide the research process. This study was based on a sample of 501 respondents who had completed their visit to Uganda for various reasons. Results indicate that, there was no significant association between gender and purpose of the visit, while age group was significantly associated with the purpose of visiting. Most visitors were seeking that which they perceived to be beyond themselves associated with spirituality. Currently most facilities within tourist attractions in Uganda favour the adult age group and it is recommended that special consideration be given to the development of affordable facilities such as accommodation to cater for all age groups in order to continue realising the positive contribution to the potential of tourism in developing countries

Structural priming: Purely syntactic?

In a series of experiments. Bock and colleagues have demonstrated that subjects show a reliable increase in the use of particular syntactic constructions after having heard and repeated that construction in an unrelated sentence. Aspects of the data seem to indicate that it is syntactic constituent structure, independent of meaning, that underlies the facilitation in these situations. In this study we investigate whether more semantic factors might also lead to priming, and specifically whether the assignment of a semantic role to a particular participant in a prime sentence can increase the probability of a target sentence whose structure allows a similar assignment. To test this we replicate Bock's study and include a further set of primes (provide-with primes) which have the syntactic constituent structure of the dative, but share semantic role assignment with the ditransitive. If syntactic priming were triggered by constituent structure alone, primes like this would lead to more dative responses, relative to a ditransitive prime. If semantic involvement were crucial, on the other hand, this prime should elicit more ditransitive responses. In this study we find significantly more ditransitive responses following the provide-with sentence than following a dative prime, and no difference between the provide-with and ditransitive primes, suggesting that semantic factors indeed play a role