Real Language Users

The idea of a perfectly competent but resource limited language user is the basis of many models of sentence comprehension. It is widely assumed that linguistic competence is a) uniform; b) generative; c) autonomous; d) automatic and e) constant. It is also believed that the free expression of these properties is frustrated by limits in the availability of computational resources. However, no firm experimental evidence for the classical language user appears to exist. Negative evidence for each assumption is reviewed here and the notion of resource limitations is shown to be suspect. An experiment is reported which tested each of the five assumptions underlying the conventional notion of linguistic competence. It was found that native speakers of English a) differed in grammatical skill; b) often failed to display productivity; c) violated syntax in favour of plausibility; d) expended conscious effort to comprehend some sentences and e) appeared to adapt to novel structures as the experiment progressed. In line with previous studies, a relationship was found between comprehension skill and formal education. A new finding is that highly educated non-native speakers of English can outperform less educated native speakers of English in comprehending grammatically challenging English sentences. The results indicate that the classical language user is an inaccurate model of real language users, who appear to differ considerably in linguistic skill. A number of specific questions for further research are raised

Critical Evaluation of AI System Implementation as a Source of Competitive Advantage

Over the years, there has been a gradual change in relation to how businesses conduct their daily business activities. Many of have deviated from the initial old methods to using AI as a means of having competitive advantage. This paper seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating AI as a business strategy, cost effective, more efficient once the program has been set and also helps in effective business management. It also takes over repetitive and dangerous tasks. However, lacks out of the box thinking meaning that it only at times operates within the confines of the specific objectives. This may in turn be a negative aspect when where is need for critical business decisions to be made in business. It also lacks emotion when there is need to do so in addressing some of the customer’s complaints and this may bring about customer dissatisfaction.Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Marketing, Internet of Things, Japan DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/74-02 Publication date: December 31st 202

More individual differences in language attainment: How much do adult native speakers of English know about passives and quantifiers?

This paper provides experimental evidence suggesting that there are considerable differences in native language attainment, and that these are at least partially attributable to individual speakers’ experience. Experiment 1 tested high academic attainment (hereafter, HAA) and low academic attainment (LAA) participants’ comprehension using a picture selection task. Test sentences comprised passives and two variants of the universal quantification construction. Active constructions were used as a control condition. HAA participants performed at ceiling in all conditions; LAA participants performed at ceiling only on actives. As predicted by usage-based accounts, the order of difficulty of the four sentence types mirrored their frequency. Experiment 2 tested whether the less-educated participants’ difficulties with these constructions are attributable to insufficient experience. After a screening test, low scoring participants were randomly assigned to two training groups. The passive training group were given a short training session on the passive construction; and the quantifier training group were trained on sentences with quantifiers. A series of post-training tests show that performance on the trained construction improved dramatically, and that the effect was long-lasting

Crisis of political leadership in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe faces the deepest crisis of its time. The three main impediments to getting out of the crisis are, first, the current kleptocratic and dictatorial rule of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ZANU–PF party; second, the leadership and policies of the largest opposition party, the MDC; and last but not least, the operations of the World Bank and the IMF in Zimbabwe.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/crea202021-10-28hj2021Anthropology and Archaeolog

A transitional justice model for Zimbabwe

LL.M. (International Commercial Law)Abstract: Zimbabwe is in a quagmire. The time for regional and international complacency has passed and it is now in the hands of ordinary masses with a coalition of the wiling regional and international allies to usher in true social, economic and political recovery in Zimbabwe. The nation is replete with past and current human rights violations. The consequence of this state of affairs is a society traumatized by fear, withdrawal and collective depression based on past memories of violence, intimidation and harassment. The skeletons must be unearthed in the interest of accountability and nation building. Even though Zimbabwe has not gone through any real political transition, it is still possible to devise a way of achieving restorative justice. There are many countries to learn from while devising a transitional justice model for Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe must devise a form of transitional justice which will not only look backward- punishing, remembering, discovering the truth, telling the stories- but will also look forward, restoring the rule of law and creating new institutions and new attitudes which will protect from abuse of power and impunity in future

Virtual currency as an inclusive monetary innovation for the unbanked poor

The narrative about the future of money in developing countries is dominated by international financial institutions (IFIs) and their affiliates, multinational payment service providers, mobile network operators and academia. Most have reduced the future of money or monetary needs of the unbanked to the eradication of cash by digitization. In contrast to this techno-centric narrative, in this article, I situate the future of money in a new sociotechnical model which I refer to as the quantity, quality and public authority deficit (QPAD) hypothesis. It recognizes three disadvantages (or deficits) from the use of money: quantitative limits, which relates to the fact that its capacity to act as medium of exchange, is conditional on its availability; a qualitative deficit, involving the failure to embody attributes of transacting parties (identity, reputation etc.); and a public authority deficit, represented by weak central authority involvement in addressing the monetary needs of the unbanked poor. On this basis, any future inclusive monetary innovations which do not address these three deficits will most likely be unsuccessful. These ideas are based on findings from a participatory ethnographic study that draws on a sociology of scientific knowledge framework (Mackenzie, 1996; Pinch and Bijker, 1984; Spinardi, 2008) to evaluate technological properties of the Edinburgh local exchange trading scheme (LETS)-issued virtual currency. This currency is compared and contrasted with the properties of government-issued money.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecra2019-03-01hj2018Anthropology and Archaeolog