773 research outputs found
Usage-based and emergentist approaches to language acquisition
It was long considered to be impossible to learn grammar based on linguistic experience alone. In the past decade, however, advances in usage-based linguistic theory, computational linguistics, and developmental psychology changed the view on this matter. So-called usage-based and emergentist approaches to language acquisition state that language can be learned from language use itself, by means of social skills like joint attention, and by means of powerful generalization mechanisms. This paper first summarizes the assumptions regarding the nature of linguistic representations and processing. Usage-based theories are nonmodular and nonreductionist, i.e., they emphasize the form-function relationships, and deal with all of language, not just selected levels of representations. Furthermore, storage and processing is considered to be analytic as well as holistic, such that there is a continuum between children's unanalyzed chunks and abstract units found in adult language. In the second part, the empirical evidence is reviewed. Children's linguistic competence is shown to be limited initially, and it is demonstrated how children can generalize knowledge based on direct and indirect positive evidence. It is argued that with these general learning mechanisms, the usage-based paradigm can be extended to multilingual language situations and to language acquisition under special circumstances
Three fermions with six single particle states can be entangled in two inequivalent ways
Using a generalization of Cayley's hyperdeterminant as a new measure of
tripartite fermionic entanglement we obtain the SLOCC classification of
three-fermion systems with six single particle states. A special subclass of
such three-fermion systems is shown to have the same properties as the
well-known three-qubit ones. Our results can be presented in a unified way
using Freudenthal triple systems based on cubic Jordan algebras. For systems
with an arbitrary number of fermions and single particle states we propose the
Pl\"ucker relations as a sufficient and necessary condition of separability.Comment: 23 pages LATE
TSH suppression in the long-term follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer
Differentiated thyroid cancer is the commonest form of thyroid cancer, and its prognosis is favourable in the majority of cases. Suppression of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) by supra - physiological thyroid hormone replacement has been the mainstay of long - term management for over 60 years. However, evidence for a beneficial outcome of TSH suppression is conflicting and intervention must be balanced against adverse effects, particularly affecting the cardiova scular system and skeleton. Here we discuss the role of TSH suppression in the long - term management of differentiated thyroid cancer in the context of risk - stratification for disease recurrence and the latest clinical guidelines
Generalized spacetimes defined by cubic forms and the minimal unitary realizations of their quasiconformal groups
We study the symmetries of generalized spacetimes and corresponding phase
spaces defined by Jordan algebras of degree three. The generic Jordan family of
formally real Jordan algebras of degree three describe extensions of the
Minkowskian spacetimes by an extra "dilatonic" coordinate, whose rotation,
Lorentz and conformal groups are SO(d-1), SO(d-1,1) XSO(1,1) and
SO(d,2)XSO(2,1), respectively. The generalized spacetimes described by simple
Jordan algebras of degree three correspond to extensions of Minkowskian
spacetimes in the critical dimensions (d=3,4,6,10) by a dilatonic and extra
(2,4,8,16) commuting spinorial coordinates, respectively. The Freudenthal
triple systems defined over these Jordan algebras describe conformally
covariant phase spaces. Following hep-th/0008063, we give a unified geometric
realization of the quasiconformal groups that act on their conformal phase
spaces extended by an extra "cocycle" coordinate. For the generic Jordan family
the quasiconformal groups are SO(d+2,4), whose minimal unitary realizations are
given. The minimal unitary representations of the quasiconformal groups F_4(4),
E_6(2), E_7(-5) and E_8(-24) of the simple Jordan family were given in our
earlier work hep-th/0409272.Comment: A typo in equation (37) corrected and missing titles of some
references added. Version to be published in JHEP. 38 pages, latex fil
Linking working memory and long-term memory: A computational model of the learning of new words
The nonword repetition (NWR) test has been shown to be a good predictor of childrenâs vocabulary size. NWR performance has been explained using phonological working memory, which is seen as a critical component in the learning of new words. However, no detailed specification of the link between phonological working memory and long-term memory (LTM) has been proposed. In this paper, we present a computational model of childrenâs vocabulary acquisition (EPAM-VOC) that specifies how phonological working memory and LTM interact. The model learns phoneme sequences, which are stored in LTM and mediate how much information can be held in working memory. The modelâs behaviour is compared with that of children in a new study of NWR, conducted in order to ensure the same nonword stimuli and methodology across ages. EPAM-VOC shows a pattern of results similar to that of children: performance is better for shorter nonwords and for wordlike nonwords, and performance improves with age. EPAM-VOC also simulates the superior performance for single consonant nonwords over clustered consonant nonwords found in previous NWR studies. EPAM-VOC provides a simple and elegant computational account of some of the key processes involved in the learning of new words: it specifies how phonological working memory and LTM interact; makes testable predictions; and suggests that developmental changes in NWR performance may reflect differences in the amount of information that has been encoded in LTM rather than developmental changes in working memory capacity.
Keywords: EPAM, working memory, long-term memory, nonword repetition, vocabulary acquisition, developmental change
Magic Supergravities, N= 8 and Black Hole Composites
We present explicit U-duality invariants for the R, C, Q, O$ (real, complex,
quaternionic and octonionic) magic supergravities in four and five dimensions
using complex forms with a reality condition. From these invariants we derive
an explicit entropy function and corresponding stabilization equations which we
use to exhibit stationary multi-center 1/2 BPS solutions of these N=2 d=4
theories, starting with the octonionic one with E_{7(-25)} duality symmetry. We
generalize to stationary 1/8 BPS multicenter solutions of N=8, d=4
supergravity, using the consistent truncation to the quaternionic magic N=2
supergravity. We present a general solution of non-BPS attractor equations of
the STU truncation of magic models. We finish with a discussion of the
BPS-non-BPS relations and attractors in N=2 versus N= 5, 6, 8.Comment: 33 pages, references added plus brief outline at end of introductio
Common Representation of Information Flows for Dynamic Coalitions
We propose a formal foundation for reasoning about access control policies
within a Dynamic Coalition, defining an abstraction over existing access
control models and providing mechanisms for translation of those models into
information-flow domain. The abstracted information-flow domain model, called a
Common Representation, can then be used for defining a way to control the
evolution of Dynamic Coalitions with respect to information flow
Using tasks to explore teacher knowledge in situation-specific contexts
This article was published in the journal, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education [© Springer] and the original publication is available at www.springerlink.comResearch often reports an overt discrepancy between theoretically/out-of context expressed teacher beliefs about mathematics and pedagogy and actual practice. In order to explore teacher knowledge in situation-specific contexts we have engaged mathematics teachers with classroom scenarios (Tasks) which: are hypothetical but grounded on learning and teaching issues that previous research and experience have highlighted as seminal; are likely to occur in actual practice; have purpose and utility; and, can be used both in (pre- and in-service) teacher education and research through generating access to teachersâ views and intended practices. The Tasks have the following structure: reflecting upon the learning objectives within a mathematical problem (and solving it); examining a flawed (fictional) student solution; and, describing, in writing, feedback to the student. Here we draw on the written responses to one Task (which involved reflecting on solutions of x+xâ1=0 of 53 Greek in-service mathematics teachers in order to demonstrate the range of teacher knowledge (mathematical, didactical and pedagogical) that engagement with these tasks allows us to explore
Size effects in statistical fracture
We review statistical theories and numerical methods employed to consider the
sample size dependence of the failure strength distribution of disordered
materials. We first overview the analytical predictions of extreme value
statistics and fiber bundle models and discuss their limitations. Next, we
review energetic and geometric approaches to fracture size effects for
specimens with a flaw. Finally, we overview the numerical simulations of
lattice models and compare with theoretical models.Comment: review article 19 pages, 5 figure
Representations of the exceptional and other Lie algebras with integral eigenvalues of the Casimir operator
The uniformity, for the family of exceptional Lie algebras g, of the
decompositions of the powers of their adjoint representations is well-known now
for powers up to the fourth. The paper describes an extension of this
uniformity for the totally antisymmetrised n-th powers up to n=9, identifying
(see Tables 3 and 6) families of representations with integer eigenvalues
5,...,9 for the quadratic Casimir operator, in each case providing a formula
(see eq. (11) to (15)) for the dimensions of the representations in the family
as a function of D=dim g. This generalises previous results for powers j and
Casimir eigenvalues j, j<=4. Many intriguing, perhaps puzzling, features of the
dimension formulas are discussed and the possibility that they may be valid for
a wider class of not necessarily simple Lie algebras is considered.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure, 9 tables; v2: presentation improved, typos
correcte
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