Testing the Predictions of Surprisal Theory in 11 Languages

A fundamental result in psycholinguistics is that less predictable words take a longer time to process. One theoretical explanation for this finding is Surprisal Theory (Hale, 2001; Levy, 2008), which quantifies a word's predictability as its surprisal, i.e. its negative log-probability given a context. While evidence supporting the predictions of Surprisal Theory have been replicated widely, most have focused on a very narrow slice of data: native English speakers reading English texts. Indeed, no comprehensive multilingual analysis exists. We address this gap in the current literature by investigating the relationship between surprisal and reading times in eleven different languages, distributed across five language families. Deriving estimates from language models trained on monolingual and multilingual corpora, we test three predictions associated with surprisal theory: (i) whether surprisal is predictive of reading times; (ii) whether expected surprisal, i.e. contextual entropy, is predictive of reading times; (iii) and whether the linking function between surprisal and reading times is linear. We find that all three predictions are borne out crosslinguistically. By focusing on a more diverse set of languages, we argue that these results offer the most robust link to-date between information theory and incremental language processing across languages.Comment: This is a pre-MIT Press publication version of the pape

Assessing the Accuracy of Complex Refractive Index Retrievals from Single Aerosol Particle Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy

<p>Cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) of single, optically manipulated aerosol particles affords quantitative retrieval of refractive indices for particles of fixed or evolving composition with high precision. Here, we quantify the accuracy with which refractive index determinations can be made by CRDS for single particles confined within the core of a Bessel laser beam and how that accuracy is degraded as the particle size is progressively reduced from the coarse mode (>1 μm radius) to the accumulation mode (<500 nm radius) regime. We apply generalized Lorenz–Mie theory to the intra-cavity standing wave to explore the effect of particle absorption on the distribution of extinction cross section determinations resulting from stochastic particle motion in the Bessel beam trap. The analysis provides an assessment of the accuracy with which the real, <i>n</i>, and imaginary, κ, components of the refractive index can be determined for a single aerosol particle.</p> <p>Published with license by American Association for Aerosol Research</p> <p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/pb-assets/tandf/Migrated/UAST_VideoAbstract_Transcript.pdf" target="_blank">Read the transcript</a></p> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/263371383" target="_blank">Watch the video on Vimeo</a></p

Living with life limiting conditions : A participatory study of people's experiences and needs

This thesis is focused upon experiences of living with life limiting conditions. It aimed to gain accounts from people who, potentially, had palliative care needs, to highlight a range of experiences of their lives and conditions and to identify what these service user needs might be. Establishing any contribution of involving service users in the research and any social or environmental factors that may shape or influence experiences of living with a life limiting condition were further aims. To this end it was pertinent to consider if the social model of disability could contribute new perspectives to palliative care research. This qualitative research utilised a participatory approach. Service users were intrinsically involved in the research within the Service User Research Advisory Group (SURAG). My separate study group comprised of twenty-five participants, sixteen women and nine men, aged thirty eight to eighty five years. Fourteen participants had a cancer diagnosis, ten had non-cancer conditions and one participant had both cancer and another non-cancer condition. Ten participants took part in individual face-to-face interviews, twelve in small discussion groups and three were studied purely in a period of participant observation. Thematic analysis was conducted collectively with SURAG members and identified eight different but interconnected themes. Themes of diagnosis, fear, anger/frustration, grief, relationships, services, difference/individuality and independence/dependence were identified. As well as being a distinct theme in its own right, independent/dependenwt as in fact a central and overarching theme with a negotiation between independence and dependence being evident across all themes. The theme of services is presented as a theme in its own right. The participatory approach revealed themes unlikely to have been identified by myself as a sole researcher. It also led to service user outcomes being identified and largely positive appraisals of their involvement in the research.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceResearch and Development Department, Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS TrustGBUnited Kingdo

Non-invasive respiratory support in the management of acute COVID-19 pneumonia: considerations for clinical practice and priorities for research

Non-invasive respiratory support (NIRS) has increasingly been used in the management of COVID-19-associated acute respiratory failure, but questions remain about the utility, safety, and outcome benefit of NIRS strategies. We identified two randomised controlled trials and 83 observational studies, compromising 13 931 patients, that examined the effects of NIRS modalities-high-flow nasal oxygen, continuous positive airway pressure, and bilevel positive airway pressure-on patients with COVID-19. Of 5120 patients who were candidates for full treatment escalation, 1880 (37%) progressed to invasive mechanical ventilation and 3658 of 4669 (78%) survived to study end. Survival was 30% among the 1050 patients for whom NIRS was the stated ceiling of treatment. The two randomised controlled trials indicate superiority of non-invasive ventilation over high-flow nasal oxygen in reducing the need for intubation. Reported complication rates were low. Overall, the studies indicate that NIRS in patients with COVID-19 is safe, improves resource utilisation, and might be associated with better outcomes. To guide clinical decision making, prospective, randomised studies are needed to address timing of intervention, optimal use of NIRS modalities-alone or in combination-and validation of tools such as oxygenation indices, response to a trial of NIRS, and inflammatory markers as predictors of treatment success

A complete parameterisation of the relative humidity and wavelength dependence of the refractive index of hygroscopic inorganic aerosol particles

Calculations of aerosol radiative forcing require knowledge of wavelength-dependent aerosol optical properties, such as single-scattering albedo. These aerosol optical properties can be calculated using Mie theory from knowledge of the key microphysical properties of particle size and refractive index, assuming that atmospheric particles are well-approximated to be spherical and homogeneous. We provide refractive index determinations for aqueous aerosol particles containing the key atmospherically relevant inorganic solutes of NaCl, NaNO3, (NH4)2SO4, NH4HSO4 and Na2SO4, reporting the refractive index variation with both wavelength (400–650 nm) and relative humidity (from 100 % to the efflorescence value of the salt). The accurate and precise retrieval of refractive index is performed using single-particle cavity ring-down spectroscopy. This approach involves probing a single aerosol particle confined in a Bessel laser beam optical trap through a combination of extinction measurements using cavity ring-down spectroscopy and elastic light-scattering measurements. Further, we assess the accuracy of these refractive index measurements, comparing our data with previously reported data sets from different measurement techniques but at a single wavelength. Finally, we provide a Cauchy dispersion model that parameterises refractive index measurements in terms of both wavelength and relative humidity. Our parameterisations should provide useful information to researchers requiring an accurate and comprehensive treatment of the wavelength and relative humidity dependence of refractive index for the inorganic component of atmospheric aerosol

Optical extinction efficiency measurements on fine and accumulation mode aerosol using single particle cavity ring-down spectroscopy

We report a new single aerosol particle approach using cavity ringdown spectroscopy to accurately determine optical extinction cross sections at multiple wavelengths.</p

Not Exactly Dragon\u27s Den: Enterprise Challenges can Enhance Psychological Literacy.

Enterprise challenges are teaching activities that allow students to develop and pitch a creative idea in response to a real-life challenge, usually posed by a charitable organisation. Students work in teams to develop their ideas and draw on their subject knowledge, as well as entrepreneurial processes, to articulate their product or service that addresses the challenge. These activities have the potential to enhance psychological literacy as they provide an opportunity to utilise psychological knowledge and skills in novel and unfamiliar ways and urges students to find creative solutions to societal problems. This article presents the rationale and structure to design an enterprise challenge in psychology teaching and uses two case studies to show diverse ways of delivering these teaching events. Evaluation data from six previous challenges show that students self-rate their perceived psychological literacy and entrepreneurial orientation higher after having participated in an enterprise challenge. These teaching activities present a propitious way of enhancing psychological literacy in the curriculum and supporting students on their journey to develop as global citizens

Dynamics and Instabilities of Planar Tensile Cracks in Heterogeneous Media

The dynamics of tensile crack fronts restricted to advance in a plane are studied. In an ideal linear elastic medium, a propagating mode along the crack front with a velocity slightly less than the Rayleigh wave velocity, is found to exist. But the dependence of the effective fracture toughness $\Gamma(v)$ on the crack velocity is shown to destabilize the crack front if $(d\Gamma)/(dv)<0$. Short wavelength radiation due to weak random heterogeneities leads to this instability at low velocities. The implications of these results for the crack dynamics are discussed.Comment: 12 page