Subject-auxiliary inversion errors and wh-question acquisition: what children do know?

The present paper reports an analysis of correct wh-question production and subject–auxiliary inversion errors in one child's early wh-question data (age 2; 3.4 to 4; 10.23). It is argued that two current movement rule accounts (DeVilliers, 1991; Valian, Lasser & Mandelbaum, 1992) cannot explain the patterning of early wh-questions. However, the data can be explained in terms of the child's knowledge of particular lexically-specific wh-word+auxiliary combinations, and the pattern of inversion and uninversion predicted from the relative frequencies of these combinations in the mother's speech. The results support the claim that correctly inverted wh-questions can be produced without access to a subject–auxiliary inversion rule and are consistent with the constructivist claim that a distributional learning mechanism that learns and reproduces lexically-specific formulae heard in the input can explain much of the early multi-word speech data. The implications of these results for movement rule-based and constructivist theories of grammatical development are discussed

Design and evaluation of a filter spectrometer concept for facsimile cameras

The facsimile camera is an optical-mechanical scanning device which was selected as the imaging system for the Viking '75 lander missions to Mars. A concept which uses an interference filter-photosensor array to integrate a spectrometric capability with the basic imagery function of this camera was proposed for possible application to future missions. This paper is concerned with the design and evaluation of critical electronic circuits and components that are required to implement this concept. The feasibility of obtaining spectroradiometric data is demonstrated, and the performance of a laboratory model is described in terms of spectral range, angular and spectral resolution, and noise-equivalent radiance

Performance and evaluation of the Viking lander camera performance prediction program

A computer program is described for predicting the performance of the Viking lander cameras. The predictions are primarily concerned with two objectives: (1) the picture quality of a reference test chart (of which there are three on each lander) to aid in diagnosing camera performance; and (2) the picture quality of cones with surface properties of a natural terrain to aid in predicting favorable illumination and viewing geometries and operational camera commands. Predictions made with this program are verified by experimental data obtained with a Viking-like laboratory facsimile camera

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a ‘Real‐World’ Shared Reading Intervention for Preschool Children and Their Families: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Background Shared reading interventions can impact positively on preschool children's language development and on their caregiver's attitudes/behaviours towards reading. However, a number of barriers may discourage families from engaging with these interventions, particularly families from lower socio‐economic status (SES) backgrounds. We investigated how families from such backgrounds responded to an intervention designed explicitly to overcome these barriers. Methods In a preregistered cluster randomised controlled trial, 85 lower SES families and their 3‐year‐old to 4‐year‐old children from 10 different preschools were randomly allocated to take part in The Reader's Shared Reading programme (intervention) or an existing ‘Story Time’ group at a library (control) once a week for 8 weeks. Three outcome measures were assessed at baseline and post intervention: (1) attendance, (2) enjoyment of the reading groups and (3) caregivers' knowledge of, attitudes and behaviours towards reading. A fourth − children's vocabulary – was assessed at baseline and 4 weeks post intervention. Results Families were significantly more likely to attend the intervention group and rated it more favourably, compared with the control group. However, there were no significant effects on caregivers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours or on children's language. Conclusion The intervention was only successful in engaging families from disadvantaged backgrounds in shared reading. Implications for the use, duration and intensity of shared reading interventions are discussed

Synthesis of calculational methods for the design and analysis of radiation shields for nuclear rocket systems. Volume 1 - Radiation measurements in a nuclear rocket propellant tank mockup using simulated liquid hydrogen

Calculational methods for nuclear rocket radiation shield design - radiation measurements in nuclear rocket propellant tank mockup using simulated liquid hydroge

A feasibility study of signal processing to improve antenna gain Final report

Feasibility of signal processor with phase isolator for adaptive antenna arra

Observational and checklist measures of vocabulary composition: What do they mean?

Observational and checklist measures of vocabulary composition have both recently been used to look at the absolute proportion of nouns in children's early vocabularies. However, they have tended to generate rather different results. The present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between such measures in a sample of 26 children between 1;1 and 2;1 at approximately 50 and 100 words. The results show that although observational and checklist measures are significantly correlated, there are also systematic quantitative differences between them which seem to reflect a combination of checklist, maternal-report and observational sampling biases. This suggests that, although both kinds of measure may represent good indices of differences in vocabulary size and composition across children and hence be useful as dependent variables in correlational research, neither may be ideal for estimating the absolute proportion of nouns in children's vocabularies. The implication is that questions which rely on information about the absolute proportion of particular kinds of words in children's vocabularies can only be properly addressed by detailed longitudinal studies in which an attempt is made to collect more comprehensive vocabulary records for individual children

Evidence of external contact between the Pacific Basin and the east coast of Australia during the Holocene: A review

The prospect that First Nations Australians were in contact with cultures beyond Australia prior to European arrival has fascinated theorists for over a century. Early views tended to see Aboriginal culture as too primitive to have independently developed ‘higher level’ cultural traits. Once this view was abandoned, further enquiry into external contact largely ceased. However, it has been gradually recognised that transformations occurred within Australia not only independently but also through external elements arriving from the north (Macassans and Papuans). This paper offers perhaps the first comprehensive overview of a less studied potential conduit: the eastern seaboard of Australia. Given the vast scale of the eastern seaboard (and its geographic position directly opposite the seafaring cultures of the Pacific Basin it is surprising that the notion of contact between these two realms has received such limited attention. The east coast is a potentially very large target for contact. Queensland and New South Wales mainland and island coastlines comprise in excess of 15,000 km. The Pacific Basin is similarly a huge potential source for contact, covering over one-third of the world’s surface, and containing over 20,000 islands. Our paper first considers the contrast between studies of the eastern and western edges of the Pacific Basin, and then the means (and evidence) by which ‘contact’ is normally discerned. We next consider the potential for contact based on ocean currents and similar factors. The bulk of the paper assesses specific source regions and purported evidence of contact from these regions: Papua New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia and two islands between these areas (Norfolk and Lord Howe). Our study concludes that evidence for Pacific-Australian contact ought to be relatively abundant, given the size of the source area (the Pacific Basin) and the target area (the eastern seaboard). Instead, contact must have been very limited and sporadic, as most evidence has been either inconclusive or requires further substantiation. Equally, the impact of these cultures on the development of Australian First Nations seems to have been negligible. On the other hand, this review accumulated enough evidence to suggest there was considerable potential for such contacts. We conclude that archaeological frameworks should be developed to investigate purported and possible Pacific-Eastern seaboard contacts

Design and evaluation of controls for drift, video gain, and color balance in spaceborne facsimile cameras

The facsimile camera is an optical-mechanical scanning device which has become an attractive candidate as an imaging system for planetary landers and rovers. This paper presents electronic techniques which permit the acquisition and reconstruction of high quality images with this device, even under varying lighting conditions. These techniques include a control for low frequency noise and drift, an automatic gain control, a pulse-duration light modulation scheme, and a relative spectral gain control. Taken together, these techniques allow the reconstruction of radiometrically accurate and properly balanced color images from facsimile camera video data. These techniques have been incorporated into a facsimile camera and reproduction system, and experimental results are presented for each technique and for the complete system