How phonetic features project more talk

Investigations into the management of turn-taking have typically focussed on pitch and other prosodic phenomena, particularly pitch-accents. Here, non-pitch phonetic features and their role in turn-taking are described. Through sustained phonetic and interactional analysis of a naturally occurring, 12-minute long telephone call between two adult speakers of British English, sets of talk-projecting and turn-projecting features are identified. Talk-projecting features include the avoidance of durational lengthening, articulatory anticipation, continuation of voicing, the production of talk in maximally close proximity to a preceding point of possible turn-completion, and the reduction of consonants and vowels. Turn-projecting features include the converse of each of the talk-projecting features, and two other distinct features: release of plosives at the point of possible turn-completion, and the production of audible outbreaths. We show that features of articulatory and phonatory quality and duration are relevant factors in the design and treatment of talk as talk- or turn-projective

Repetition and the prosody-pragmatics interface

Repetition poses certain problems for pragmatics, as evidenced by Sperber and Wilson’s claim that ‘‘the effects of repetition on utterance interpretation are by no means constant’’. This is particularly apposite when we examine repetitions produced in naturally occurring talk. As part of an ongoing study of how phonetics relates to the dynamic evolution of meaning within the sequential organisation of talk-in-interaction, we present a detailed phonetic and pragmatic analysis of a particular kind of self- repetition. The practice of repetition we are concerned with exhibits a range of forms: ‘‘have another go tomorrow . . . have another go tomorrow’’, ‘‘it might do . . . it might do’’, ‘‘it’s a shame . . . it’s a shame’’. The approach we adopt emphasises the necessity of exploring participants’ displayed understandings of pragmatic inferences and attempts not to prejudge the relevance of phonetic (prosodic) parameters. The analysis reveals that speakers draw on a range of phonetic features, including tempo and loudness as well as pitch, in designing these repetitions. The pragmatic function of repetitions designed in this way is to close sequences of talk. Our findings raise a number of theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the prosody– pragmatics interface and participants’ understanding of naturally occurring discourse

Studies towards a description of the development and functioning of children's awareness of linguistic variability

PhD ThesisChildren's language acquisition does not consist solely of the mastery,, of linguistic form and structure, children must also acquire the rules for appropriate use of that form and structure. To become competent speaker-hearers children must learn how to handle linguistic variability. Almost nothing is knoýnabout how children acquire the' sociolinguistic skills'and patterns of sociolinguistic variability which have been reported for adult speakers. This thesis therefore investigates some aspects of'the structure and functioning of linguistic variability in children's speech. It is shown that non-segmental variability-in children's speech constitutes an area of primý, importance for study. Children systematically employ the resources of non-segmental variability for a variety of social and affective purposes. The structured nature of this non-segmental variability is revealed by a quantitative analysis of the prosodic and-paralinguistic features in children's speech

The Big Society and the Conjunction of Crises: Justifying Welfare Reform and Undermining Social Housing

The idea of the “Big Society” can be seen as culmination of a long-standing debate about the regulation of welfare. Situating the concept within governance theory, the article considers how the UK coalition government has justified a radical restructuring of welfare provision, and considers its implications for housing provision. Although drawing on earlier modernization processes, the article contends that the genesis for welfare reform was based on an analysis that the government was forced to respond to a unique conjunction of crises: in morality, the state, ideology and economics. The government has therefore embarked upon a programme, which has served to undermine the legitimacy of the social housing sector (most notably in England), with detrimental consequences for residents and raising significant dilemmas for those working in the housing sector

In and out of home care decisions:The influence of confirmation bias in developing decision supportive reasoning

The aims of this study were to identify the themes Social Workers regard as important in supporting decisions to remove children from, or return them to, the care of their parents. To further elicit underlying hypotheses that are discernible in interpretation of evidence. A case study, comprising a two-part vignette with a questionnaire, recorded demographic information, child welfare attitudes and risk assessments, using scales derived from standardised instruments, was completed by 202 Social Workers in Northern Ireland. There were two manipulated variables, mother’s attitude to removal and child’s attitude to reunification2 years later. In this paper we use data derived from respondents’ qualitative comments explaining their reasoning for in and out of home care decisions. Some 60.9% of respondent’s chose the parental care option at part one, with 94% choosing to have the child remain in foster care at part two. The manipulated variables were found to have no significant statistical effect. However, three underlying hypotheses were found to underpin decisions; (a)child rescue, (b) kinship defence and (c) a hedged position on calculation of risk subject to further assessment. Reasoning strategies utilised by social workers to support their decision making suggest that they tend to selectively interpret information either positively or negatively to support pre-existing underlying hypotheses. This finding is in keeping with the literature on ‘confirmation bias.’ The research further draws attention to the need to incorporate open questions in quantitative studies, to help guard against surface reading of data, which often does not ‘speak for itself.

Public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer in England in 2015: A population-based survey

Background: Public knowledge of the association between alcohol and cancer is reported to be low. We aimed to provide up-to-date evidence for England regarding awareness of the link between alcohol and different cancers and to determine whether awareness differs by demographic characteristics, alcohol use, and geographic region. Methods: A representative sample of 2100 adults completed an online survey in July 2015. Respondents were asked to identify which health outcomes, including specific cancers, may be caused by alcohol consumption. Logistic regressions explored whether demographic, alcohol use, and geographic characteristics predicted correctly identifying alcohol-related cancer risk. Results: Unprompted, 12.9% of respondents identified cancer as a potential health outcome of alcohol consumption. This rose to 47% when prompted (compared to 95% for liver disease and 73% for heart disease). Knowledge of the link between alcohol and specific cancers varied between 18% (breast) and 80% (liver). Respondents identified the following cancers as alcohol-related where no such evidence exists: bladder (54%), brain (32%), ovarian (17%). Significant predictors of awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer were being female, more highly educated, and living in North-East England. Conclusion: There is generally low awareness of the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer, particularly breast cancer. Greater awareness of the relationship between alcohol and breast cancer in NorthEast England, where a mass media campaign highlighted this relationship, suggests that population awareness can be influenced by social marketing

Self-reported knowledge, correct knowledge and use of UK drinking guidelines among a representative sample of the English population

Aims: Promotion of lower risk drinking guidelines is a commonly used public health intervention with various purposes, including communicating alcohol consumption risks, informing drinkers' decision-making and, potentially, changing behaviour. UK drinking guidelines were revised in 2016. To inform potential promotion of the new guidelines, we aimed to examine public knowledge and use of the previous drinking guidelines, including by population subgroup. Methods: A demographically representative, cross-sectional online survey of 2100 adults living in England in July 2015 (i.e. two decades after adoption of previous guidelines and prior to introduction of new guidelines). Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions examined associations between demographic variables, alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C), smoking, and knowledge of health conditions and self-reported knowledge and use of drinking guidelines. Multinomial logistic regression examined the same set of variables in relation to accurate knowledge of drinking guidelines (underestimation, accurate-estimation, overestimation). Results: In total, 37.8% of drinkers self-reported knowing their own-gender drinking guideline, of whom 66.2% gave an accurate estimate. Compared to accurate estimation, underestimation was associated with male gender, lower education and AUDIT-C score, while overestimation was associated with smoking. Few (20.8%) reported using guidelines to monitor drinking at least sometimes. Drinking guideline use was associated with higher education, overestimating guidelines and lower AUDIT-C. Correctly endorsing a greater number of health conditions as alcohol-related was associated with self-reported knowledge of guidelines, but was not consistently associated with accurate estimation or use to monitor drinking. Conclusions: Two decades after their introduction, previous UK drinking guidelines were not well known or used by current drinkers. Those who reported using them tended to overestimate recommended daily limits. SHORT SUMMARY: We examined public knowledge and use of UK drinking guidelines just before new guidelines were released (2016). Despite previous guidelines being in place for two decades, only one in four drinkers accurately estimated these, with even fewer using guidelines to monitor drinking. Approximately 8% of drinkers overestimated maximum daily limits

A survey of people with foot problems related to rheumatoid arthritis and their educational needs

Background Up to 50% of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have foot symptoms at diagnosis, hence early foot health intervention is recommended and this should include patient education. This study identifies, for the first time, the foot health education (FHE) needs of people with RA. Methods An online survey of people with RA (n = 543) captured quantitative data in relation to the aims, methods of delivery, content, timing and accessibility of FHE. Results The majority concurred about the aims of FHE. Verbal delivery and websites were the most common methods. Written and verbal FHE were perceived to be the most effective methods. The point of diagnosis was the preferred time to receive it. Lack of access to FHE included minimal focus on foot health during consultations by both health practitioners and patients with RA. Participant gender, age, disease duration and living situation had a statistically significant influence on the results. Conclusion Foot health education is rarely considered within the medical consultation. There is a lack of patient and/or health professional awareness of this need with a detrimental impact on foot health. Patients require health professionals to identify their foot education health needs. Tailored foot health education should begin at initial diagnosis

UA66/8/2 The Climate of Bowling Green & Warren County

Climate analysis of Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky from 1958 to 1987

Citizenship, Community Participation and Social Change: The Case of Area Coordinating Teams in Cape Town, South Africa

Social change does not roll in under the wheels of inevitability On the contrary; we have to organize for it, mobilize for it, struggle for it and indeed, plan for it. This is especially so in a country such as South Africa, where centuries of colonial-cum-apartheid thought and practices have led planning bureaucracies to create and perpetuate socioeconomic patterns of uneven development and neglect. Amidst the geographies of largely "white" affluence, fear and collective "othering", those others, i.e. predominantly "black", unemployed, homeless, destitute, angry and alienated, are increasingly demanding their basic rights, rights that are enshrined in the post-apartheid Constitution (RSA 1995). One of the many structures that have been created in order to make available constitutionally guaranteed opportunities for participation in governance has been Areas Coordinating Teams (ACTs), established in the late 1990s as a vehicle through which government agencies could engage local communities in development planning. The ACTs were established in order to encourage consensus among politicians, bureaucrats and communities with regard to specific planning issues such as housing, health care and overall infrastructure at grassroots level. This article addresses the question of whether the ACTs, as spaces for participation in development planning available to the local communities of Cape Town, do indeed contribute towards grassroots- oriented, bottom-up programmers in post-apartheid South Africa. It draws on two complementary studies. The first consists of informal interviews with councilors and officials. In these interviews, the politicians and the bureaucrats expressed their views and understanding of ACTs. The second study was based on a structured questionnaire directed at community-based organizations (CBOs) attending the ACTs initiated/coordinated meetings. My focus here is on the relationships between the official, "invited" spaces of the ACTs and other spaces within the community and on the relationships that officials and elected representatives have with these spaces, in order to assess their potential for democratizing the development planning process.International Bibliography of Social Science