Capitalization interacts with syntactic complexity

We investigated whether readers use the low-level cue of proper noun capitalization in the parafovea to infer syntactic category, and whether this results in an early update of the representation of a sentence’s syntactic structure. Participants read sentences containing either a subject relative or object relative clause, in which the relative clause’s overt argument was a proper noun (e.g., The tall lanky guard who alerted Charlie/Charlie alerted to the danger was young) across three experiments. In Experiment 1 these sentences were presented in normal sentence casing or entirely in upper case. In Experiment 2 participants received either valid or invalid parafoveal previews of the relative clause. In Experiment 3 participants viewed relative clauses in only normal conditions. We hypothesized that we would observe relative clause effects (i.e., inflated fixation times for object relative clauses) while readers were still fixated on the word who, if readers use capitalization to infer a parafoveal word’s syntactic class. This would constitute a syntactic parafoveal-on-foveal effect. Furthermore, we hypothesised that this effect should be influenced by sentence casing in Experiment 1 (with no cue for syntactic category being available in upper case sentences) but not by parafoveal preview validity of the target words. We observed syntactic parafoveal-on-foveal effects in Experiment 1 and 3, and a Bayesian analysis of the combined data from all three experiments. These effects seemed to be influenced more by noun capitalization than lexical processing. We discuss our findings in relation to models of eye movement control and sentence processing theories

Reading sentences of uniform word length II: very rapid adaptation of the preferred saccade length

In the current study we investigated whether readers adjust their preferred saccade length (PSL) during reading on a trial-by-trial basis. The PSL refers to the distance between a saccade launch site and saccade target (i.e., the word center during reading) when participants neither undershoot nor overshoot this target (McConkie, Kerr, Reddix, & Zola, 1988). The tendency for saccades longer or shorter than the PSL to under or overshoot their target is referred to as the range error. Recent research by Cutter, Drieghe, and Liversedge (2017) has shown that the PSL changes to be shorter when readers are presented with thirty consecutive sentences exclusively made of three letter words, and longer when presented with thirty consecutive sentences exclusively made of five letter words. We replicated and extended this work by this time presenting participants with these uniform sentences in an unblocked design. We found that adaptation still occurred across different sentence types despite participants only having one trial to adapt. Our analyses suggested that this effect was driven by the length of the words readers were making saccades away from, rather than the length of the words in the rest of the sentence. We propose an account of the range error in which readers use parafoveal word length information to estimate the length of a saccade between the centre of two parafoveal words (termed the Centre-Based Saccade Length) prior to landing on the first of these words

Do readers maintain word-level uncertainty during reading? A pre-registered replication study

We present a replication of Levy, Bicknell, Slattery, and Rayner (2009). In this prior study participants read sentences in which a perceptually confusable preposition (at; confusable with as) or non-confusable preposition (toward) was followed by a verb more likely to appear in the syntactic structure formed by replacing at with as (e.g. tossed) or a verb that was not more likely to appear in this structure (e.g. thrown). Readers experienced processing difficulty upon fixating verbs like tossed following at, but not toward. Levy et al. argued that this suggests readers maintained uncertainty about previously fixated words’ identities. We argue that this finding has wide-ranging implications for language processing theories, and that a replication is required. On the basis of a Bayes Factor Design Analysis we conducted a replication study with 56 items and 72 participants in order to determine whether Levy et al.’s effects are replicable. Using Bayesian statistical techniques we show that in our dataset there is evidence against the existence of the interaction Levy et al. found, and thus conclude that this study is non-replicable

Syntactic prediction during self‐paced reading is age invariant

Controversy exists as to whether, compared to young adults, older adults are more, equally, or less likely to make linguistic predictions while reading. While previous studies have examined age effects on the prediction of upcoming words, the prediction of upcoming syntactic structures has been largely unexplored. We compared the benefit that young and older readers gain when syntactic structure is made predictable, as well as potential age differences in the costs involved in making predictions. In a self-paced reading study, 60 young and 60 older adults read sentences in which noun-phrase co-ordination (e.g. large pizza or tasty calzone) is made predictable through inclusion of the word either earlier in the sentence. Results showed a benefit of the presence of either in the second half of the co-ordination phrase, and a cost of the presence of either in the first half. We observed no age differences in the benefit or costs of making these predictions; Bayes factor analyses offered strong evidence that these effects are age-invariant. Together, these findings suggest that both older and younger adults make similar strength syntactic predictions with a similar level of difficulty. We relate this age-invariance in syntactic prediction to specific aspects of the ageing process

Online representations of non-canonical sentences are more than good-enough

Proponents of good-enough processing suggest that readers often (mis)interpret certain sentences using fast-and-frugal heuristics, such that for non-canonical sentences (e.g. The dog was bitten by the man) people confuse the thematic roles of the nouns. We tested this theory by examining the effect of sentence canonicality on the reading of a follow-up sentence. In a self-paced reading study 60 young and 60 older adults read an implausible sentence in either canonical (e.g. It was the peasant that executed the king) or non-canonical form (e.g. It was the king that was executed by the peasant), followed by a sentence that was implausible given a good-enough misinterpretation of the first sentence (e.g. Afterwards, the peasant rode back to the countryside), or a sentence that was implausible given a correct interpretation of the first sentence (e.g. Afterwards, the king rode back to his castle). We hypothesised that if non-canonical sentences are systematically misinterpreted then sentence canonicality would differentially affect the reading of the two different follow-up types. Our data suggested that participants derived the same interpretations for canonical and non-canonical sentences, with no modulating effect of age group. Our findings suggest that readers do not derive an incorrect interpretation of non-canonical sentences during initial parsing, consistent with theories of misinterpretation effects that instead attribute these effects to post-interpretative processes

Comparing index-based vulnerability assessments in the Mississippi Delta: Implications of contrasting theories, indicators, and aggregation methodologies

There are many index-based approaches for assessing vulnerability to socio-natural hazards with differences in underlying theory, indicator selection and aggregation methodology. Spatially explicit output scores depend on these characteristics and contrasting approaches can therefore lead to very different policy implications. These discrepancies call for more critical reflection on index design and utility, a discussion that has not kept pace with the impetus for vulnerability assessments and respective index creation and application following the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015. Comparing index outputs is an effective approach in this regard. Here, the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI®) and the vulnerability component of the Global Delta Risk Index (GDRI) are applied at census tract level in the Mississippi Delta and visually and quantitatively compared. While the SoVI® is grounded in the hazard/risk research paradigm with primarily socio-economic indicators and an inductive principal component methodology, the GDRI incorporates advancements from sustainability science with ecosystem-based indicators and a modular hierarchical design. Maps, class rank changes, and correlations are used to assess the convergence and divergence of these indexes across the delta. Results show that while very different theoretical frameworks influence scores through indicator selection, methodology of index calculation has an even greater effect on output. Within aggregative methodology, the treatment of inter-indicator correlation is decisive. Implications include the need for an increased focus on index methodology and validation of results, transparency, and critical reflection regarding assessment limitations, as our results imply that contradictory risk reduction policies could be considered depending on the assessment methodology used

Costs of Investors in People and related activities : case studies

This report presents detailed contextual information and data used to generate the summarised costs, models and discussion contained in the main, companion report “Research On The Costs Of Investors in People And Related Activities.

Risk of heart failure in survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma: Effects of cardiac exposure to radiation and anthracyclines

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy are known to have increased risks of heart failure (HF), but a radiation dose-response relationship has not previously been derived. A case-control study, nested in a cohort of 2617 five-year survivors of HL diagnosed before age 51 years during 1965 to 1995, was conducted. Cases (n 5 91) had moderate or severe HF as their first cardiovascular diagnosis. Controls (n 5 278) were matched to cases on age, sex, and HL diagnosis date. Treatment and follow-up information were abstracted from medical records. Mean heart doses and mean left ventricular doses (MLVD) were estimated by reconstruction of individual treatments on representative computed tomography datasets. Average MLVD was 16.7 Gy for cases and 13.8 Gy for controls (Pdifference 5 .003). HF rate increased with MLVD: relative to 0 Gy, HF rates following MVLD of 1-15, 16-20, 21-25, and ≥26 Gy were 1.27, 1.65, 3.84, and 4.39, respectively (Ptrend < .001). Anthracycline-containing chemotherapy increased HF rate by a factor of 2.83 (95% CI: 1.43-5.59), and there was no significant interaction with MLVD (Pinteraction 5 .09). Twenty-five–year cumulative risks of HF following MLVDs of 0-15 Gy, 16-20 Gy, and ≥21 Gy were 4.4%, 6.2%, and 13.3%, respectively, in patients treated without anthracycline-containing chemotherapy, and 11.2%, 15.9%, and 32.9%, respectively, in patients treated with anthracyclines. We have derived quantitative estimates of HF risk in patients treated for HL following radiotherapy with or without anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. Our results enable estimation of HF risk for patients before treatment, during radiotherapy planning, and during follow-up

Subsurface Eddy Facilitates Retention of Simulated Diel Vertical Migrators In a Biological Hotspot

Diel vertical migration (DVM) is common in zooplankton populations worldwide. Every day, zooplankton leave the productive surface ocean and migrate to deepwater to avoid visual predators and return to the surface at night to feed. This behavior may also help retain migrating zooplankton in biological hotspots. Compared to fast and variable surface currents, deep ocean currents are sluggish, and can be more consistent. The time spent in the subsurface layer is driven by day length and the depth of the surface mixed layer. A subsurface, recirculating eddy has recently been described in Palmer Deep Canyon (PDC), a submarine canyon in a biological hotspot located adjacent to the West Antarctic Peninsula. Circulation model simulations have shown that residence times of neutrally buoyant particles increase with depth within this feature. We hypothesize that DVM into the subsurface eddy increases local retention of migrating zooplankton in this feature and that shallow mixed layers and longer days increase residence times. We demonstrate that simulated vertically migrating zooplankton can have residence times on the order of 30 days over the canyon, which is five times greater than residence times of near-surface, nonmigrating zooplankton within PDC and other adjacent coastal regions. The potential interaction of zooplankton with this subsurface feature may be important to the establishment of the biological hotspot around PDC by retaining food resources in the region. Acoustic field observations confirm the presence of vertical migrators in this region, suggesting that zooplankton retention due to the subsurface eddy is feasible

United States contributions to the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (US IIOE-2)

From the Preface: The purpose of this document is to motivate and coordinate U.S. participation in the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2) by outlining a core set of research priorities that will accelerate our understanding of geologic, oceanic, and atmospheric processes and their interactions in the Indian Ocean. These research priorities have been developed by the U.S. IIOE-2 Steering Committee based on the outcomes of an interdisciplinary Indian Ocean science workshop held at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on September 11-13, 2017. The workshop was attended by 70 scientists with expertise spanning climate, atmospheric sciences, and multiple sub-disciplines of oceanography. Workshop participants were largely drawn from U.S. academic institutions and government agencies, with a few experts invited from India, China, and France to provide a broader perspective on international programs and activities and opportunities for collaboration. These research priorities also build upon the previously developed International IIOE-2 Science Plan and Implementation Strategy. Outcomes from the workshop are condensed into five scientific themes: Upwelling, inter-ocean exchanges, monsoon dynamics, inter-basin contrasts, marine geology and the deep ocean. Each theme is identified with priority questions that the U.S. research community would like to address and the measurements that need to be made in the Indian Ocean to address them.We thank the following organizations and programs for financial contributions, support and endorsement: the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the U.S. Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry program funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the NASA Physical Oceanography Program; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum