Implementing the syntax of japanese numeral classifiers

While the sortal constraints associated with Japanese numeral classifiers are wellstudied, less attention has been paid to the details of their syntax. We describe an analysis implemented within a broadcoverage HPSG that handles an intricate set of numeral classifier construction types and compositionally relates each to an appropriate semantic representation, using Minimal Recursion Semantics

Head-initial constructions in japanese

Japanese is often taken to be strictly head-final in its syntax. In our work on a broad-coverage, precision implemented HPSG for Japanese, we have found that while this is generally true, there are nonetheless a few minor exceptions to the broad trend. In this paper, we describe the grammar engineering project, present the exceptions we have found, and conclude that this kind of phenomenon motivates on the one hand the HPSG type hierarchical approach which allows for the statement of both broad generalizations and exceptions to those generalizations and on the other hand the usefulness of grammar engineering as a means of testing linguistic hypotheses

Efficient deep processing of japanese

We present a broad coverage Japanese grammar written in the HPSG formalism with MRS semantics. The grammar is created for use in real world applications, such that robustness and performance issues play an important role. It is connected to a POS tagging and word segmentation tool. This grammar is being developed in a multilingual context, requiring MRS structures that are easily comparable across languages

Parallel Distributed Grammar Engineering for Practical Applications

Based on a detailed case study of parallel grammar development distributed across two sites, we review some of the requirements for regression testing in grammar engineering, summarize our approach to systematic competence and performance profiling, and discuss our experience with grammar development for a commercial application. If possible, the workshop presentation will be organized around a software demonstration

Personality traits and health behaviors as predictors of subjective wellbeing among a multiethnic sample of university-attending emerging young adults

This study examines the relative contributions of individual characteristics of personality and health behaviors to subjective wellbeing among university-attending emerging young adults. Three dimensions of wellbeing were assessed: affective (positive affect), physical/mental (overall health), and cognitive (quality of life). The sample (N=599) consisted of students of various racial/ethnic backgrounds, including White/non-Hispanic, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black/African American from a large public university in Southern California (28% male, 72% female; mean age = 20.85, SD = 1.84). Respondents completed the Student Health Survey, which consisted of items on basic demographics, substance use, health behaviors, Affect Balance Scale, Extraversion and Neuroticism subscales of the Big Five Taxonomy of Personality, Quality of Life scale, and an online food-intake survey for seven days. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were calculated as preliminary analysis and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine how each set of predictors contributes to the overall predictive ability and relative importance on subjective wellbeing. Extraverted individuals reported more positive affect and higher quality of life. Neuroticism was associated with less positive affect, poorer health, and lower quality of life. Physical activity was consistently associated with subjective wellbeing, accounting for 33%, 13%, and 32% of the total variance in positive affect, overall health, and quality of life, respectively. Findings indicate that health behaviors are important correlates of three dimensions of wellbeing over and above the effects of personality traits. Implications for designing health and wellness programs to improve the wellbeing and quality of life among young adults are discussed

Supreme Court Brief Amicus Curiae of Administrative Law Scholars in Support of Neither Party

This brief on behalf of 29 administrative law scholars takes no position on whether Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are employees or inferior officers. It urges the Court to issue an opinion that respects the decision that Congress made unanimously in 1946 to enact numerous statutory safeguards that assure that ALJs have decisional independence from the agencies where they work while assuring that agencies retain control over the policy content and legal basis for any decision made in an adjudication in which an ALJ presides. The brief describes the fifteen years of study and deliberation that led to the unanimous decision of Congress to enact the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946. It describes the particular attention that Congress devoted to the critical task of providing ALJs with the combination of statutory safeguards that minimize the risk that they will favor the agencies for whom they adjudicate cases while assuring that the agencies retain control of the policy content of any decision made in such an adjudication. It then describes the series of opinions the Supreme Court issued during the 1950s in which the Justices unanimously praised the provisions of the APA that assure that ALJs conduct adjudicatory hearings in an unbiased manner, explained the importance of those statutory provisions in protecting the values reflected in the Due Process Clause, and urged Congress to make those safeguards applicable to all agency adjudications. It concludes by urging the Court to issue an opinion that respects the decision that Congress made in 1946 to insulate ALJs from potential sources of pro-agency bias by including in the APA a combination of provisions that confer decisional independence on ALJs

Inconsistent Effects of Iron-Folic Acid and/or Zinc Supplementation on the Cognitive Development of Infants

Despite concerns over the neurocognitive effects of micronutrient deficiencies in infancy, few studies have examined the effects of micronutrient supplementation on specific cognitive indicators. This study investigated, in 2002, the effects of iron-folic acid and/or zinc supplementation on the results of Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII) and the A-not-B Task of executive functioning among 367 Nepali infants living in Sarlahi district. Infants were enrolled in a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of daily supplementation with 5 mg of zinc, 6.25 mg of iron with 25 µg of folic acid, or zinc-iron-folic acid, or placebo. These were tested on both the tasks using five indicators of information processing: preference for novelty (FTII), fixation duration (FTII), accelerated performance (≥85% correct; A-not-B), deteriorated performance (<75% correct and >1 error on repeat-following-correct trails; A-not-B), and the A-not-B error (A-not-B). At 39 and 52 weeks, 247 and 333 infants respectively attempted the cognitive tests; 213 made an attempt to solve both the tests. The likelihood of females completing the A-not-B Task was lower compared to males when cluster randomization was controlled [odds ratio=0.67; 95% confidence interval 0.46-0.97; p<0.05]. All of the five cognitive outcomes were modelled in linear and logistic regression. The results were not consistent across either the testing sessions or the information-processing indicators. Neither the combined nor the individual micronutrient supplements improved the performance on the FTII or the A-not-B Task (p>0.05). These findings suggest that broader interventions (both in terms of scope and duration) are needed for infants who face many biological and social stressors

Aspects of Bunuba grammar and semantics

This thesis is a study of Bunuba, a language spoken around the township of Fitzroy Crossing in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. Chapter 1 introduces Bunuba by discussing the location and sociolinguistic information and providing the reader with background to the language and its speakers. In this Chapter details of different speech registers and dialects are introduced and a brief review is undertaken of the previous research which has been carried out on the language and its speakers. Also included is a discussion of some contemporary uses of Bunuba and a description of my fieldwork methodology. This Chapter also sets this work apart from previous research on Bunuba, particularly that undertaken by Alan Rumsey. The differences between his work and the work presented in this thesis are outlined in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 describes the structure of the language detailing phonology and morphophonological procedures, word classes and nominal morphology. Chapter 3 discusses the formal structure of Bunuba verbal morphology