Perspectives on linguistic documentation from sociolinguistic research on dialects

The goal of the paper is to demonstrate how sociolinguistic research can be applied to endangered language documentation field linguistics. It first provides an overview of the techniques and practices of sociolinguistic fieldwork and the ensuring corpus compilation methods. The discussion is framed with examples from research projects focused on European-heritage English-speaking communities in the UK and Canada that have documented and analyzed English dialects from the far reaches of Scotland to the wilds of Northern Ontario, Canada. The main focus lies on morpho-syntactic and discourse-pragmatic variation; however, the same techniques could be applied to other types of variation. The discussion includes examples from a broad range of research studies in order to illustrate how sociolinguistic analyses are conducted and what they offer for understanding language variation and change.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Multiple description video coding for stereoscopic 3D

In this paper, we propose an MDC schemes for stereoscopic 3D video. In the literature, MDC has previously been applied in 2D video but not so much in 3D video. The proposed algorithm enhances the error resilience of the 3D video using the combination of even and odd frame based MDC while retaining good temporal prediction efficiency for video over error-prone networks. Improvements are made to the original even and odd frame MDC scheme by adding a controllable amount of side information to improve frame interpolation at the decoder. The side information is also sent according to the video sequence motion for further improvement. The performance of the proposed algorithms is evaluated in error free and error prone environments especially for wireless channels. Simulation results show improved performance using the proposed MDC at high error rates compared to the single description coding (SDC) and the original even and odd frame MDC

A Really Interesting Story: The Influence of Narrative in Linguistic Change

The intensifier system is well known for its perpetual recycling of fresh innovations; however, neither qualitative nor quantitative analyses have offered a consensus on which social factors are involved in the increased use of one variant at the expense of another, nor do we know much about sites of innovation. In this paper, we delve deep into the intensifier system by considering the distinction between narrative and non-narrative discourse contexts (Labov and Waletsky 1967) and using a “small-within-large” methodology wherein a subset of data from a broad sociolinguistic study is our foundation (Tagliamonte 2008). Our results reveal that narratives have significantly higher intensification rates than non-narratives, which we interpret as a linguistic resource to increase affective meaning when performing the identity work inherent in storytelling (Schiffrin 1996). Further, the statistically significant predictors for intensifier use in narratives are predominantly semantic, involving adjective type and emotional value with no significant social factors. Yet in non-narrative discourse, syntactic factors predominate and both gender and age are statistically significant effects. Partitioning the data by discourse context uncovers additional sociolinguistic bifurcation. Indeed, a more detailed examination of the interaction of speaker age and gender reveals how critical the narrative/non-narrative contrast is in the ebb and flow of changes within this system. While younger speakers of both genders show an increase in really in narratives, in non-narratives younger women exhibit a heightened usage compared to older women (4% vs. 21%). The results for very are equally suggestive: younger women use less very in both registers but there is a sharp decline in non-narratives in particular. This suggests that innovations rise first in narratives for all speakers and then diffuse to non-narratives lead by younger women. Taken together, the findings from this study support earlier observations that greater care should be placed on the discourse embedding linguistic variation and change (see e.g., Cheshire 2005 et seq). We have demonstrated that language change actually begins and ends in stories

Binding energy of an impurity in polar microspheres

We have examined the binding energy of a polaron bound to a hydrogenic donor impurity located in a spherical quantum dot by means of a variational technique for both finite and infinite potential models. The polaronic effect on the binding energy has been considered taking into account the ion-phonon coupling by using the Lee-Low-Pines variational method. The results we have obtained show that the binding energies are drastically affected by the dot radius, the potential barrier height and the polaronic effects.We have examined the binding energy of a polaron bound to a hydrogenic donor impurity located in a spherical quantum dot by means of a variational technique for both finite and infinite potential models. The polaronic effect on the binding energy has been considered taking into account the ion-phonon coupling by using the Lee-Low-Pines variational method. The results we have obtained show that the binding energies are drastically affected by the dot radius, the potential barrier height and the polaronic effects

Keanekaragaman Jenis Vegetasi pada Hutan Rawa Gambut Sekunder dan Belukar Rawa Desa Sungai Pelang Kabupaten Ketapang

Peat swamp forest has a valuable natural richness in the form of plants. This study aimed to find out the composition and dominance of species, species diversity, and stand structure in secondary peat swamp forest and thicket swamp. The vegetation analysis in secondary peat swamp forest and thicket swamp is done by using combination method. Mentibu (Daetylocladus stenostachys Oliver) is dominant in secondary peat swamp forest of tree growth level, and mempening (Quercus conocarpa OUD) is dominant in pole, sapling, and seedling of growth level (INP = 34,74%, 32,57%, 28,96%, respectively). In thicket swamp, prepat (Combretocarpus rotundatus Danser) is a dominant for the whole of growth level (INP = 261.89%, 126,12%, 98.96%, 64.99%, respectively). The diversity index of Shannon-Wienner (H) in secondary peat swamp forest is abundant (H > 1) and low in thicket swamp (H < 1). The secondary peat swamp forest have a normal stand structure according to de Liocourts law. In thicket swamp, the forest had been fire, but the vegetation development now has led to a succession of normal vertical forest structure and almost reach climax. Keywords: Peat swamp forest, composition and dominance of species, species diversity and stand structure

Accurate SAXS Profile Computation and its Assessment by Contrast Variation Experiments

AbstractA major challenge in structural biology is to characterize structures of proteins and their assemblies in solution. At low resolution, such a characterization may be achieved by small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Because SAXS analyses often require comparing profiles calculated from many atomic models against those determined by experiment, rapid and accurate profile computation from molecular structures is needed. We developed fast open-source x-ray scattering (FoXS) for profile computation. To match the experimental profile within the experimental noise, FoXS explicitly computes all interatomic distances and implicitly models the first hydration layer of the molecule. For assessing the accuracy of the modeled hydration layer, we performed contrast variation experiments for glucose isomerase and lysozyme, and found that FoXS can accurately represent density changes of this layer. The hydration layer model was also compared with a SAXS profile calculated for the explicit water molecules in the high-resolution structures of glucose isomerase and lysozyme. We tested FoXS on eleven protein, one DNA, and two RNA structures, revealing superior accuracy and speed versus CRYSOL, AquaSAXS, the Zernike polynomials-based method, and Fast-SAXS-pro. In addition, we demonstrated a significant correlation of the SAXS score with the accuracy of a structural model. Moreover, FoXS utility for analyzing heterogeneous samples was demonstrated for intrinsically flexible XLF-XRCC4 filaments and Ligase III-DNA complex. FoXS is extensively used as a standalone web server as a component of integrative structure determination by programs IMP, Chimera, and BILBOMD, as well as in other applications that require rapidly and accurately calculated SAXS profiles