What Predicts Pharyngeal Realizations in Bilingual Palestinians\u27 Hebrew?

Palestinians in Israel are typically bilingual in Palestinian Arabic and Modern Hebrew. Two pharyngeal segments exist in both languages, exhibiting different variation patterns. Most Jewish speakers of Hebrew replace them with non-pharyngeals, whereas Palestinian speakers generally do produce pharyngeals in Arabic. We analyze the Hebrew component of an Arabic/Hebrew bilingual corpus of sociolinguistic interviews with Palestinian speakers from Jaffa, who produce some pharyngeals in their Hebrew. A multivariate analysis of the Hebrew data shows that higher rates of pharyngeal production in Arabic do not predict higher rates of pharyngeals in Hebrew, suggesting that the Hebrew patterns cannot be attributed solely to linguistic transfer. Taking into account social factors such as medium of education, we argue that the use of pharyngeals is not simply a carryover from Arabic, but rather a socially meaningful resource indexically linked to the speakers’ Arab identity

Hearing Hebrew Pharyngeals: Experimental evidence for a covert phonemic distinction

We report a lexical decision task experiment, in which words were manipulated such that two different sounds had been switched with each other: the voiceless pharyngeal and uvular fricatives. The former is a marked sound of some dialects of Modern Hebrew, the latter is a merged category corresponding to both the historical pharyngeal and the uvular in the production of most speakers. The two categories are represented by different letters in the orthographic system and each is associated with unique phonological processes. Socially, the pharyngeal is stereotyped; merging the categories is both more common and more prestigious in most social contexts. Speakers of Modern Hebrew with varied linguistic backgrounds, including Merged speakers who have not been exposed to non-merged dialects during most of their lives, are very good at acoustically distinguishing between these sounds (only slightly underperforming compared with Non-merged speakers). Nevertheless, we found that manipulated stimuli - which were not part of the input for language learners of either dialect - provoke different acceptance rates and reaction times, depending on the listener\u27s home dialect, in certain cases regardless of their production grammar. In particular, Non-merged speakers and Merged speakers who are 2nd generation listeners to non-merged dialects rejected switched category items at much higher rates and took longer to process them compared with Merged speakers who did not have early experience with the categorical distinction. We discuss these findings in the context of models of phonological representation and auditory word recognition

Análisis de la inclusión laboral de discapacitados intelectuales leves en la Ciudad de Guayaquil

No ha existido un plan de inserción adecuado direccionado a personas con capacidades especiales enfocando la situación problémica a la discapacidad intelectual leve. Se estima que son los menos insertados en el mercado laboral. Dando respuesta a la problemática planteada se ha pretendido determinar el motivo por el cual las personas con discapacidad intelectual leve han sido poco contratados en empresas o establecimientos de la ciudad de Guayaquil, la elaboración de un perfil de puesto que permita el acoplamiento adecuado a las personas con discapacidad intelectual leve en empresas o establecimientos de la ciudad de Guayaquil, haber detallado la evolución de contrataciones del personal con discapacidad intelectual leve en empresas de Guayaquil y tener conocimiento de los principales roles que han desempeñado el personal con discapacidad leve en empresas de Guayaquil. La investigación realizada, fue de tipo descriptivo de las competencias, fortalezas y oportunidades del personal con capacidades especiales, enfocadas al personal con capacidades especiales de tipo intelectual leve recolectando información en campo mediante encuestas. Según el propósito la investigación fue de tipo aplicada como proyecto factible. Se indicó que la propuesta consistió en la evaluación de los perfiles de puestos para trabajadores con discapacidad intelectual leve, de esta manera se obtuvieron indicadores de rendimiento y así se validó la eficiencia del trabajo, demostrando de esta manera la hipótesis planteada. Se procedió a crear perfiles de puestos de trabajo que permitan obtener nuevas plazas de empleo para la inserción de las personas con discapacidad leve al sistema productivo laboral.There has not been a suitable insertion plan addressed to people with special capabilities focusing the problem situation to mild intellectual disabilities. It is estimated that are the least inserted in the labor market. Responding to the issues raised was intended determine why people with mild intellectual disabilities have been recently employed in companies or establishments of the city of Guayaquil, the development of a profile as to allow adequate coupling to people with mild intellectual disabilities in companies or establishments of the city of Guayaquil, have detailed the evolution of recruitment of staff with mild intellectual disabilities in companies of Guayaquil and have knowledge of the main roles played by staff with mild disabilities in companies of Guayaquil. The research was descriptive of skills, strengths and opportunities of personnel with special skills, focused staff with special capabilities mild intellectual type field collecting information through surveys. According to the research purpose was applied as feasible project type. It was noted that the proposal involved the evaluation of job profiles for workers with mild intellectual disability, so performance indicators were obtained and thus work efficiency was validated, thus demonstrating the hypothesis. We proceeded to create profiles of jobs that will generate new places of employment for the inclusion of people with mild disabilities in the labor productive system

Styles, standards and meaning

Abstract Style, in the study of variation and change, is intimately linked with broader questions about linguistic innovation and change, standards, social norms, and individual speakers’ stances. This article examines style when applied to lesser-studied languages. Style is both (i) the product of speakers’ choices among variants, and (ii) something reflexively produced through the association of variants and the social position of the users of those variants. In the context of the languages considered here, we ask “What questions do we have about variation in this language and what notion(s) of style will answer them?” We highlight methodological, conceptual and analytical challenges for the notion of style as it is usually operationalised in variationist sociolinguistics. We demonstrate that style is a useful research heuristic which – when marshalled alongside locally-oriented accounts of, or proxies for “standard” and “prestige”, in apparent time – allows us to describe language and explore change. It is also a means for exploring social meaning, which speakers may have more or less conscious control over

Rituximab Maintenance for the Treatment of Patients With Follicular Lymphoma: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials

Background Follicular lymphoma is characterized by slow growth and an initially high rate of response to treatment, but patients typically relapse and experience progressive disease. Rituximab in combination with chemotherapy has been shown to improve overall survival in patients with follicular lymphoma compared with chemotherapy alone, but data from randomized clinical trials evaluating rituximab maintenance treatment in these patients are limited. We aimed to evaluate the effect of maintenance treatment with rituximab on the overall survival of patients with follicular lymphoma. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that compared rituximab maintenance therapy with observation or treatment at relapse (no maintenance therapy). We searched The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, LILACS, conference proceedings, databases of ongoing trials, and references of published trials. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of the trials and extracted data. Hazard ratios for time-to-event data were estimated and pooled. Results Five trials including 1143 adult patients were included in this meta-analysis. Data for 985 patients with follicular lymphoma were available for the meta-analysis of overall survival. Patients treated with maintenance rituximab had statistically significantly better overall survival than patients in the observation arm or patients treated at relapse (hazard ratio [HR] for death = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.45 to 0.79). The rate of infection-related adverse events was higher with rituximab maintenance treatment (HR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.21 to 3.27). Patients with refractory or relapsed (ie, previously treated) follicular lymphoma had a survival benefit with maintenance rituximab therapy (HR for death = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.79), whereas previously untreated patients did not (HR for death = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.37 to 1.25). Conclusions These results suggest that maintenance therapy with rituximab, either as four weekly infusions every 6 months or as a single infusion every 2-3 months, should be added to standard therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory (ie, previously treated) follicular lymphoma after successful induction therapy. The higher rate of infections with rituximab therapy should be taken into consideration when making treatment decision

Impact of Corporate Governance Practices on Firm Capital Structure and Profitability: A Study of Selected Hotels and Restaurant Companies in Sri Lanka.

Corporate governance issues have been a growing area of management research especially among large and listed firms. Good corporate governance practices are regarded as important in reducing risk for investors, attracting investment capital and improving the performance of companies. Companies need financial resources and better earnings to promote their objectives. Therefore, factorsmay affect the capital structure and profitability of companies should be considered carefully. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether there is any relationship among some specific characters of corporate governance, capital structure and profitability of listedHotels &Restaurant companies in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). To do so, 18 companies were selected from those which were listed inCSE during the 2007-2012. The ‘Board Composition(BC)’, ‘Board Size (BS)’ and ‘CEOduality (CEOD)’ were considered as independent variables, whereas,’ Debt Ratio(DR)’,‘Debt-to-Equity Ratio(DER)’,‘Returns on Equity(ROE)’,and ‘Return on Assets(ROA)’ as dependent variable. The results indicate a positive relationship between ‘BS; BC; CEOD; ROE; ROA and DERwhereas negative relationship between BS; BID and DR.in addition CEOD have a positive relationship with DR.In addition, none of the variables have a significant relationship with capital structure and profitability. Key words: Corporate Governance; Capital Structure and Profitability

Rituximab Maintenance for the Treatment of Patients With Follicular Lymphoma: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials

In a previous systematic review and meta-analysis of five randomized controlled trials comparing rituximab maintenance with no maintenance (observation or rituximab at progression) for patients with follicular lymphoma, we reported that rituximab maintenance treatment improved the overall survival of patients. In this study, we did a similar search of the electronic databases updated through December 31, 2010, and included nine trials and 2586 follicular lymphoma patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) for time-to-event data were estimated and pooled using the inverse variance method. Risk ratios for dichotomous data were pooled using a fixed effect model. Patients treated with rituximab maintenance had improved overall survival (pooled HR of death = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62 to 0.92) compared with patients in the no maintenance group. Patients with refractory or relapsed (ie, previously treated) follicular lymphoma treated with rituximab maintenance had improved overall survival (pooled HR of death = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.57 to 0.91), whereas previously untreated patients had no survival benefit (pooled HR of death = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.60 to 1.25). The rate of infection-related adverse events was higher in the rituximab maintenance group (pooled risk ratio = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.40 to 2.00). These results further support the use of rituximab maintenance in the standard of care for refractory or relapsed follicular lymphom

When the checkpoint becomes a counterpoint

This article was born out of a sense of discomfort with the privilege accorded to movement and mobility in critical scholarship in the social sciences and the humanities, including critical work on the relationship between language, sexuality and space. It is our contention in this article that stasis can be deployed as a radical practice of defiance, and therefore can be queer too. In order to argue that stillness can be a form of social action carrying the potential of forging a radical politics of dissent, we take as a case in point the checkpoint in the context of Israel/Palestine. Drawing upon Said’s (1984, 1994) notion of the counterpoint and Stroud’s (2018) theorization of linguistic citizenship, we illustrate how the checkpoint can become a bodily, discursive and material counterpoint that activates the irreconcilable tensions between utopia and dystopia in the pursuit of “thorough resistance to regimes of the normal” (WARNER, 1993, p. xxvi)

Online Educational Outcomes Could Exceed Those of the Traditional Classroom

An axiom of online education is that teachers should not mechanically translate existing courses into an online format. If so, how should new or ongoing courses be reshaped for the online environment and why? The answers come both from the opportunities offered by the structure of online education and from a body of research from cognitive psychology and cognitive science that provides insight into the way people actually learn. Freed from the time and space constraints inherent in face-to-face higher education settings as well as the deeply ingrained expectations of both teachers and students, online education provides a more flexible palette upon which evidence-based ideas about learning can be integrated into course structure and design. As a result, online education can potentially deliver learning experiences and outcomes that are superior to typical face-to-face classrooms. The ability to integrate experiences that stimulate real, long lasting learning represents one of online education’s greatest potential benefits