Fluency in dialogue: Turn‐taking behavior shapes perceived fluency in native and nonnative speech

Fluency is an important part of research on second language learning, but most research on language proficiency typically has not included oral fluency as part of interaction, even though natural communication usually occurs in conversations. The present study considered aspects of turn-taking behavior as part of the construct of fluency and investigated whether these aspects differentially influence perceived fluency ratings of native and non-native speech. Results from two experiments using acoustically manipulated speech showed that, in native speech, too ‘eager’ (interrupting a question with a fast answer) and too ‘reluctant’ answers (answering slowly after a long turn gap) negatively affected fluency ratings. However, in non-native speech, only too ‘reluctant’ answers led to lower fluency ratings. Thus, we demonstrate that acoustic properties of dialogue are perceived as part of fluency. By adding to our current understanding of dialogue fluency, these lab-based findings carry implications for language teaching and assessmen

PFTijah: text search in an XML database system

This paper introduces the PFTijah system, a text search system that is integrated with an XML/XQuery database management system. We present examples of its use, we explain some of the system internals, and discuss plans for future work. PFTijah is part of the open source release of MonetDB/XQuery

Disease suppressive soilless culture systems; characterisation of its microflora

The trend in glasshouse horticulture has always been to start culture systems as aseptic as possible. However, several root diseases still cause problems under these conditions. The present paper shows the importance of the microflora to suppress Pythium aphanidermatum, a fungal root pathogen which is a serious threat in cucumber. Introduced single antagonists as well as the indigenous microflora suppressed pythium root and crown rot. Pseudomonas fluorescens, Streptomyces griseoviridis, Pythium oligandrum, and 2 isolates of Trichoderma harzianum reduced the disease occurrence by 60 ␘r more in several, but not all, of the experiments. The indigenous microflora showed a very constant disease suppression of 50 to 100 &Eth;This was tested in experiments where P. aphanidermatum was added to sterilised and non-sterilised rockwool, and to sterilised rockwool that had been recolonised with the original microflora. Suppressiveness correlated with the number of filamentous actinomycetes present in the nutrient solution in the rockwool slabs. If a beneficial microflora is present in the cropping system, it should not be disturbed or eradicated by treatments such as disinfection of the recirculated nutrient solution. Therefore, the effects of different disinfection procedures on the composition of the microflora were compared. Numbers of filamentous actinomycetes in the nutrient solution in the tank after the disinfection treatment were highest without disinfection, intermediate after slow filtration, and lowest after UV treatment. Numbers of actinomycetes in the slabs, i.e. around the roots, were not distinctly different between the treatments. The implication of potential shifts in the microbial populations due to certain treatments for the disease development is not known. Increased knowledge on the beneficial microflora and the treatments that influence the composition of such a microflora, will stimulate the exploitation of microbially balanced and optimised soilless culture systems

Rapportage bedrijfsinformatie weidevogelgebieden

Op verzoek van LNV-Directie Kennis heeft Alterra in samenwerking met Sovon en Landschap Noord-Holland een helpdeskvraag beantwoord naar de relatie tussen weidevogels en bedrijfskenmerken. In het onderzoek zijn weinig verschillen gevonden tussen bedrijfsstructuurkenmerken van landbouwbedrijven in stabiele en niet-stabiele weidevogelgebieden. Wel lijkt in stabiele weidevogelgebieden het grondgebruik wat minder intensief en het aandeel gespecialiseerde melkveebedrijven iets kleiner. Mogelijk zijn andere dan de onderzochte bedrijfsfactoren meer van invloed

Kaart op maat: thuis percelen intekenen

Bij Alterra ligt de focus normaal gesproken op het uitvoeren van onderzoeksprojecten ten behoeve van overheidsbeleid. Soms blijkt echter dat bepaalde toepassingen uit het onderzoek ook waardevol kunnen zijn voor heel andere processen zoals bijvoorbeeld het inwinnen van data van boeren door de Dienst Regelingen (DR) van LNV. Voor DR heeft Alterra het Kaart op Maat idee ontwikkeld naar een werkproces dat inmiddels ruim 10 jaar een onmisbaar hulpmiddel is voor de uitvoering van regelingen. In dit artikel gaan we in op de achtergrond van het project, de software en hardware oplossingen die zijn gekozen en onze visie op de toekomst van dergelijke toepassingen

Do cannabis and urbanicity co-participate in causing psychosis? Evidence from a 10-year follow-up cohort study

Background Cannabis use is considered a component cause of psychotic illness, interacting with genetic and other environmental risk factors. Little is known, however, about these putative interactions. The present study investigated whether an urban environment plays a role in moderating the effects of adolescent cannabis use on psychosis risk. Method Prospective data (n=1923, aged 14-24 years at baseline) from the longitudinal population-based German Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology cohort study were analysed. Urbanicity was assessed at baseline and defined as living in the city of Munich (1562 persons per km2; 4061 individuals per square mile) or in the rural surroundings (213 persons per km2; 553 individuals per square mile). Cannabis use and psychotic symptoms were assessed three times over a 10-year follow-up period using the Munich version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results Analyses revealed a significant interaction between cannabis and urbanicity [10.9% adjusted difference in risk, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.2-18.6, p=0.005]. The effect of cannabis use on follow-up incident psychotic symptoms was much stronger in individuals who grew up in an urban environment (adjusted risk difference 6.8%, 95% CI 1.0-12.5, p=0.021) compared with individuals from rural surroundings (adjusted risk difference −4.1%, 95% CI −9.8 to 1.6, p=0.159). The statistical interaction was compatible with substantial underlying biological synergism. Conclusions Exposure to environmental influences associated with urban upbringing may increase vulnerability to the psychotomimetic effects of cannabis use later in lif