A Multi-task Learning Approach to Text Simplification

We propose a multi-task learning approach to reducing text complexity which combines text summarization and simplification methods. For the purposes of this research, two datasets were used: the Simple English Wikipedia dataset for simplification and the CNN/DailyMail dataset for summarization. We describe several experiments with reducing text complexity. One experiment consists in first training the model on summarization data, then fine-tuning it on simplification data. Another experiment involves training the model on both datasets simultaneously while augmenting source texts with a task-specific tag that shows the model which task (summarization or simplification) needs to be performed on a given text. Models with a similar architecture were also trained on each dataset separately for comparison. Our experiments have shown that the multi-task learning approach with task-specific tags is more effective than the fine-tuning approach, and the models trained for both tasks simultaneously can perform as good at each of them as the models that were trained only for that specific task.Peer reviewe

Creating a list of word alignments from parallel Russian simplification data

This work describes the development of a list of monolingual word alignments taken from parallel Russian simplification data. This word lists can be used in such lexical simplification tasks as rule-based simplification applications and lexically constrained decoding for neural machine translation models. Moreover, they constitute a valuable source of information for developing educational materials for teaching Russian as a second/foreign language. In this work, a word list was compiled automatically and post-edited by human experts. The resulting list contains 1409 word pairs in which each “complex” word has an equivalent “simpler” (shorter, more frequent, modern, international) synonym. We studied the contents of the word list by comparing the frequencies of the words in the pairs and their levels in the special CEFR-graded vocabulary lists for learners of Russian as a foreign language. The evaluation demonstrated that lexical simplification by means of single-word synonym replacement does not occur often in the adapted texts. The resulting list also illustrates the peculiarities of the lexical simplification task for L2 learners, such as the choice of a less frequent but international word.Peer reviewe

A Comparative Study of Educational Texts for Native, Foreign, and Bilingual Young Speakers of Russian : Are Simplified Texts Equally Simple?

Studies on simple language and simplification are often based on datasets of texts, either for children or learners of a second language. In both cases, these texts represent an example of simple language, but simplification likely involves different strategies. As such, this data may not be entirely homogeneous in terms of text simplicity. This study investigates linguistic properties and specific simplification strategies used in Russian texts for primary school children with different language backgrounds and levels of language proficiency. To explore the structure and variability of simple texts for young readers of different age groups, we have trained models for multiclass and binary classification. The models were based on quantitative features of texts. Subsequently, we evaluated the simplification strategies applied to readers of the same age with different linguistic backgrounds. This study is particularly relevant for the Russian language material, where the concept of easy and plain language has not been sufficiently investigated. The study revealed that the three types of texts cannot easily be distinguished from each other by judging the performance of multiclass models based on various quantitative features. Therefore, it can be said that texts of all types exhibit a similar level of accessibility to young readers. In contrast, binary classification tasks demonstrated better results, especially in the R-native vs. non R-native track (with 0.78 F1-score), these results may indicate that the strategies used for adapting or creating texts for each type of audience are different.Peer reviewe

Dividing Lines between Positive Theories

We give definitions of the properties OP, IP, $k$-TP, TP$_1$, $k$-TP$_2$, SOP$_1$, SOP$_2$ and SOP$_3$ in positive logic, and prove various implications and equivalences between them. We also provide a characterisation of stability in positive logic in analogy with the one in full first-order logic, both on the level of formulas and on the level of theories. For simple theories there are the classically equivalent definitions of not having TP and dividing having local character, which we prove to be equivalent in positive logic as well. Finally, we show that a thick theory $T$ has OP iff it has IP or SOP$_1$ and that $T$ has TP iff it has SOP$_1$ or TP$_2$, analogous to the well-known results in full first-order logic where SOP$_1$ is replaced by SOP in the former and by TP$_1$ in the latter. Our proofs of these final two theorems are new and make use of Kim-independence.Comment: 23 page

Positive Modal Logic Beyond Distributivity

We develop a duality for (modal) lattices that need not be distributive, and use it to study positive (modal) logic beyond distributivity, which we call weak positive (modal) logic. This duality builds on the Hofmann, Mislove and Stralka duality for meet-semilattices. We introduce the notion of $\Pi_1$-persistence and show that every weak positive modal logic is $\Pi_1$-persistent. This approach leads to a new relational semantics for weak positive modal logic, for which we prove an analogue of Sahlqvist correspondence result

INCREASE OF INDICATORS OF VEHICLES’ SMOOTH RUNNING BY INTERNAL SUSPENSION OF WHEELS

The article discusses the relevance of increasing the smoothness of the movement of vehicles, and also substantiates the feasibility of using internal suspension of wheels in conjunction with a suspension and as an independent system.

Easy language in Russia

Peer reviewe

INFLUENCE OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION PARAMETERS ON ITS BRAKING PROPERTIES

The paper focuses on the study of the performance of elastic and damping parameters of the car suspension. The problem of arising vibrations of the sprung and unsprung vehicle masses on the braking process is considered. The article presents theoretical models of vehicle braking taking into account the oscillations of the vehicle's sprung masses. The research results will make it possible to establish the relationship between the suspension parameters and the estimated parameters of braking properties, to supplement the "driver - car - road" system, and also to more accurately assess the active safety of vehicles associated with braking dynamics