Adquisición de los clasificadores numerales en q’anjob’al

This study discusses the acquisition of the numeral classifiers -eb’, -k’on and -wan in Q’anjob’al by eva- luating data from three children of the following ages: Xhuw (1;9-3;0), Xhim (2;3-4;0), and Tum (2;7-3;6). The results demonstrate that within this age range children gradually and sporadically start using these classi- fiers. Although errors in the use of these classifiers reveal that children use the numeral classifier system in a different way from adults, given that they find it difficult to assign semantic value to the classification of human beings, animals, and objects. The low frequency of use of -k’on (classifier for animals) and -wan (clas- sifier for humans), and the frequent use of -eb’ (classifier for objects) form the input could explain why the use of -eb’ prevails in the children’s data. The children also make errors in the use of heb’ (corresponding to human beings) in order to pluralize human beings and animals, which would not be expected among adult speakers of Q’anjob’al.En el presente estudio se discute la adquisición de los clasificadores numerales -eb’, -k’on y -wan en q’anjob’al evaluando datos de tres niños de las siguientes edades: Xhuw (1;9-3;0), Xhim (2;3-4;0) y Tum (2;7- 3;6). Los resultados muestran que en este rango de edades los niños comienzan a usar de forma gradual y esporádica estos clasificadores, aunque los errores de uso muestran que utilizan el sistema de clasificadores numerales de modo diferente a los adultos, dado que tienen problemas al asignar su valor semántico en la clasificación de seres humanos, animales y cosas. La poca frecuencia de -k’on (clasificador para animales) y -wan (para seres humanos), y el uso frecuente de -eb’ (para cosas) en el habla parental podría ser el motivo del uso de -eb’ como una forma dominante en los datos de los niños. También cometen errores en el uso de heb’ (propio de seres humanos) para pluralizar seres humanos y animales, lo cual no se esperaría entre adultos q’anjob’ales

Exploiting virtual globes for ecology and conservation in the Digital Earth era

Letter.Peer Reviewe

THE ACQUISITION OF VERB INFLECTION IN Q'ANJOB'AL MAYA: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Most first language acquisition studies have shown that children frequently omit verb inflections in matrix clauses (e.g. Brown, 1973). This dissertation investigates the acquisition of verb inflection in imperative, indicative, nominalized, and dependent clauses in Q'anjob'al, a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala, the southern part of Mexico, and the United States. The dissertation analyzes original and longitudinal child data from three Q'anjob'al-speaking children (ages 1;9-3;1), who were recorded in the community of Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Each type of clause has a specific verb inflection. In indicative clauses, the verb is inflected for aspect, agreement, and status; in nominalized contexts, intransitive verbs take ergative morphemes instead of absolutive morphemes, while transitive verbs take the suffix -on and the suffix -i instead of the transitive status suffixes -v'/-j. In this clause type, intransitive and transitive verbs lack aspect marking. Dependent and imperative verbs take only a status suffix. The imperative form for intransitive verbs, unlike the dependent form, maintains the imperative status suffix in non-final and final positions. Since the imperative form for intransitive verbs has only a single inflection that does not change with position, it is the simplest form, and the one form that children might acquire early and overextend to indicative, nominalized, and dependent clauses with intransitive and transitive verbs. Analyses of the children's frequency of use in obligatory contexts, verb forms, and inflectional productivity show that while Q'anjob'al children optionally omit inflections on verbs in indicative clauses as shown in other Mayan languages, they produce distinct verb inflections in imperative, indicative, nominalized, and dependent clauses. The frequency analysis shows that these children acquire status suffixes before aspect and agreement prefixes. The verb form analysis shows that they produce bare stems in the four clause types, but they did not produce a default verb form as Salustri and Hyams (2003), or Bybee (1995) suggest. The productivity analysis (Gathercole, et. al, 1999) shows that these children are productive with status suffixes but not with prefixes for aspect or agreement. The findings have significant implications for first language acquisition theories, especially for those theories that predict a default form

Assessing species habitat using Google Street View: A case study of cliff-nesting vultures

The assessment of a species' habitat is a crucial issue in ecology and conservation. While the collection of habitat data has been boosted by the availability of remote sensing technologies, certain habitat types have yet to be collected through costly, on-ground surveys, limiting study over large areas. Cliffs are ecosystems that provide habitat for a rich biodiversity, especially raptors. Because of their principally vertical structure, however, cliffs are not easy to study by remote sensing technologies, posing a challenge for many researches and managers working with cliff-related biodiversity. We explore the feasibility of Google Street View, a freely available on-line tool, to remotely identify and assess the nesting habitat of two cliff-nesting vultures (the griffon vulture and the globally endangered Egyptian vulture) in northwestern Spain. Two main usefulness of Google Street View to ecologists and conservation biologists were evaluated: i) remotely identifying a species' potential habitat and ii) extracting fine-scale habitat information. Google Street View imagery covered 49% (1,907 km) of the roads of our study area (7,000 km2). The potential visibility covered by on-ground surveys was significantly greater (mean: 97.4%) than that of Google Street View (48.1%). However, incorporating Google Street View to the vulture's habitat survey would save, on average, 36% in time and 49.5% in funds with respect to the on-ground survey only. The ability of Google Street View to identify cliffs (overall accuracy = 100%) outperformed the classification maps derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) (62-95%). Nonetheless, high-performance DEM maps may be useful to compensate Google Street View coverage limitations. Through Google Street View we could examine 66% of the vultures' nesting-cliffs existing in the study area (n = 148): 64% from griffon vultures and 65% from Egyptian vultures. It also allowed us the extraction of fine-scale features of cliffs. This World Wide Web-based methodology may be a useful, complementary tool to remotely map and assess the potential habitat of cliff-dependent biodiversity over large geographic areas, saving survey-related costs.PMT was supported by a postdoctoral grant funded by Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha and Fondo Social Europeo.Peer Reviewe

Enseñanza de la mutación en pruebas de software

La mutación es una técnica de prueba de software desarrollada por investigadores y que, habitualmente, se ha utilizado casi de forma exclusiva con propósitos de investigación. Unos treinta y cinco años después de haber sido propuesta, la técnica está hoy suficientemente madura como para ser transferida a la industria y, también, para comenzar a ser introducida en la enseñanza reglada. Desde hace unos años venimos impartiendo mutación en la asignatura “Pruebas y seguridad de sistemas de información”, del Máster Oficial en Tecnologías Informáticas Avanzadas de nuestra universidad, que cuenta con mención de calidad de la ANECA. Lo cierto es que, mientras no introdujimos una metáfora, en la que se comparan los mutantes con faltas de ortografía, y los test suites con revisores ortotipográficos, la mutación era difícil de entender por parte de los alumnos o, tal vez, éramos los profesores los que no la explicábamos suficientemente bien. En este trabajo describimos la metáfora que tan buenos resultados nos ha dado, así como algunos de los otros contenidos que impartimos, relacionados principalmente con la aplicación de la técnica y diversas estrategias para reducción de costes. Utilizamos una herramienta que hemos desarrollado y que se encuentra disponible libremente para su uso en universidades.SUMMARY - Mutation is a software testing technique developed by researchers and usually only applied in research. Around 35 years after its proposal, the technique is today ready for both its transference to industry as for its inclusion in the syllabus of Computer Science. We teach mutation in “Testing and security of information systems”, inside our quality-certified PhD program.The first years we taught mutation, students took too much time in understanding the basic idea of mutation. In some moment, we introduced a metaphor (which compares the artificial faults inserted in programs with text typos, and test suites with typographic correctors) to describe mutation, obtaining excellent results in our explanations (maybe they had not been good enough until that moment) and in their comprehension. This work describes the metaphor that so good results has given us, as well as the remaining contents taught. These are mainly related to the application of the technique and to several strategies for cost reduction. We use a tool we have developed and that is freely available for universities.Peer Reviewe

Tipificación del nombre cavanillesiano Hieracium laniferum (Compositae)

Se discute la tipificación del nombre cavanillesiano Hieracium laniferum. La designación del tipo nomenclatural se basa en la consulta del material original de Cavanilles y la iconografía aportada en el protólogo. Este nombre es lectotipificado usando un espécimen conservado en el herbario de Cavanilles (Typi Cavanillesianum) del Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (MA).Typification of the Cavanillesian name Hieracium laniferum (Compositae). The typification of the Cavanillesian name Hieracium laniferum (Compositae) is here discussed. The designation of the nomenclatural type is based on the consultation of the original material and iconography provided in the protologue. This name is lectotypified using a herbarium sheet preserved in the Herbarium Cavanilles (Typi Cavanillesianum) in the Royal Botanic Gardens Madrid (MA)