3,772 research outputs found
‘That’s unscientific!’: Science as the arbitrator of ‘truth’ in (German) feminist linguistic debates
The feminist critique of language has been contested from its very inception. Opponents have distanced themselves from feminist proposals by arguing, for example, that language and reality are separate entities; that linguistic disparity is insignificant in comparison to other forms of discrimination; and most of all, that feminist approaches are ‘unscientific’. In this paper, I explore the late 1970s dispute between Senta Trömel-Plötz, Hartwig Kalverkämper and Luise F. Pusch as a particular example of the feminist vs. ‘scientific’ position. These three linguists are prominent voices in the German-language context and their arguments provide a valuable insight into the nature of gender and language debates in general. As I aim to show in the following, even empirical evidence does not necessarily bring a close to the discussions
Single-spin-flip dynamics of the Ising chain
We consider the most general single-spin-flip dynamics for the ferromagnetic
Ising chain with nearest-neighbour influence and spin reversal symmetry. This
dynamics is a two-parameter extension of Glauber dynamics corresponding
respectively to non-linearity and irreversibility. The associated stationary
state measure is given by the usual Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution for the
ferromagnetic Hamiltonian of the chain. We study the properties of this
dynamics both at infinite and at finite temperature, all over its parameter
space, with particular emphasis on special lines and points.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figure
Nonequilibrium dynamics of the zeta urn model
We consider a mean-field dynamical urn model, defined by rules which give the
rate at which a ball is drawn from an urn and put in another one, chosen
amongst an assembly. At equilibrium, this model possesses a fluid and a
condensed phase, separated by a critical line. We present an analytical study
of the nonequilibrium properties of the fluctuating number of balls in a given
urn, considering successively the temporal evolution of its distribution, of
its two-time correlation and response functions, and of the associated \fd
ratio, both along the critical line and in the condensed phase. For well
separated times the \fd ratio admits non-trivial limit values, both at
criticality and in the condensed phase, which are universal quantities
depending continuously on temperature.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur
Metastable states of the Ising chain with Kawasaki dynamics
We consider a ferromagnetic Ising chain evolving under Kawasaki dynamics at
zero temperature. We investigate the statistics of the metastable
configurations in which the system gets blocked (statistics of energy, spin
correlations, distribution of domain sizes). A systematic comparison is made
with analytical predictions for the ensemble of all blocked configurations
taken with equal a priori weights (Edwards approach).Comment: 22 pages, 3 Tables, 6 Figure
Statistics of the occupation time for a class of Gaussian Markov processes
We revisit the work of Dhar and Majumdar [Phys. Rev. E 59, 6413 (1999)] on
the limiting distribution of the temporal mean M_{t}=t^{-1}\int_{0}^{t}du
\sign y_{u}, for a Gaussian Markovian process depending on a parameter
, which can be interpreted as Brownian motion in the scale of time
. This quantity, for short the mean `magnetization', is
simply related to the occupation time of the process, that is the length of
time spent on one side of the origin up to time t. Using the fact that the
intervals between sign changes of the process form a renewal process in the
time scale t', we determine recursively the moments of the mean magnetization.
We also find an integral equation for the distribution of . This allows
a local analysis of this distribution in the persistence region ,
as well as its asymptotic analysis in the regime where is large. We
finally put the results thus found in perspective with those obtained by Dhar
and Majumdar by another method, based on a formalism due to Kac.Comment: latex, 31 page
Rewriting Language
Inclusive language remains a hot topic. Despite decades of empirical evidence and revisions of formal language use, many inclusive adaptations of English and German continue to be ignored or contested. But how to convince speakers of the importance of inclusive language? Rewriting Language provides one possible answer: by engaging readers with the issue, literary texts can help to raise awareness and thereby promote wider linguistic change.
Christiane Luck analyses five iconic texts from a literary, linguistic and sociological perspective. She shows how Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and Verena Stefan’s Häutungen highlight the issues inherent in the linguistic status quo; Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time and June Arnold’s The Cook and the Carpenter explore the possibilities and challenges of linguistic neutrality; and Gerd Brantenberg’s Egalias døtre reverses linguistic norms to illustrate the link between language and imagination. A focus group study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of the literary approaches and shows how literary texts can sensitise readers to the impact of biased language. Particularly in the context of education, Luck concludes, literary texts can be a valuable tool to promote inclusive language use
Analysis of the Movement of Chlamydomonas Flagella: The Function of the Radial-spoke System Is Revealed by Comparison of Wild-type and Mutant Flagella
The mutation uni-1 gives rise to uniflagellate Chlamydomonas cells which rotate around a fixed point in the microscope field, so that the flagellar bending pattern can be photographed easily . This has allowed us to make a detailed analysis of the wild-type flagellar bending pattern and the bending patterns of flagella on several mutant strains. Cells containing uni-1, and recombinants of uni-1 with the suppressor mutations, sup(_pf)-1 and sup(_pf)-3, show the typical asymmetric bending pattern associated with forward swimming in Chlamydomonas,
although sup(_pf)-1 flagella have about one-half the normal beat frequency, apparently as the result of defective function of the outer dynein arms. The pf-17 mutation has been shown to produce nonmotile flagella in which radial spoke heads and five characteristic axonemal
polypeptides are missing. Recombinants containing pf-17 and either sup(_pf)-1 or sup(_pf)-3 have
motile flagella, but still lack radial-spoke heads and the associated polypeptides . The flagellar
bending pattern of these recombinants lacking radial-spoke heads is a nearly symmetric, large
amplitude pattern which is quite unlike the wild-type pattern . However, the presence of an
intact radial-spoke system is not required to convert active sliding into bending and is not
required for bend initiation and bend propagation, since all of these processes are active in the
sup(_pf) pf-17 recombinants. The function of the radial-spoke system appears to be to convert the
symmetric bending pattern displayed by these recombinants into the asymmetric bending
pattern required for efficient swimming, by inhibiting the development of reverse bends during
the recovery phase of the bending cycle
Integrating Information Literacy into the Virtual University: A Course Model
published or submitted for publicatio
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