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Unlocking the Mystery of Dialect B: A Note on Incipient/aI/-Raising in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Get PDFThis article addresses incipient/aI/-raising in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Acoustic analysis of word list data from 27 participants targets both typical items (e.g., write, writing) and monomorphemic trochaic words often overlooked in previous research (e.g., Nike, bison, cyber, tiger). It reports four major/aI/production patterns in the Fort Wayne data, which range on a continuum from no/aI/-raising to phonological raising of/aI/(i.e., raising before t-flaps, a pattern of Canadian raising referred to as Dialect A). In the middle of the continuum is found the elusive Dialect B, a pattern of Canadian raising first documented by Martin Joos in 1942 in which raising occurs in write but not before t-flaps. The authors find that speakers of this type of raising tend not to raise in any trochaic words. In fact, raising in monomorphemic trochaic words, such as Nike or bison, is exceedingly rare in the Fort Wayne data. In tandem with the variation observed within Fort Wayne, the fact that raising has not yet extended into monomorphemic trochaic words further suggests that raising is incipient in this variety. The authors propose that Dialect B is not a separate dialect at all but an incipient variety of Dialect A
Somatosensory changes associated with motor skill learning
No full textTrial-and-error motor adaptation has been linked to somatosensory plasticity and shifts in proprioception (limb position sense). The role of sensory processing in motor skill learning is less understood. Unlike adaptation, skill learning involves the acquisition of new movement patterns in the absence of perturbation, with performance limited by the speed-accuracy trade-off. We investigated somatosensory changes during motor skill learning at the behavioral and neurophysiological levels. Twenty-eight healthy young adults practiced a maze-tracing task, guiding a robotic manipulandum through an irregular two-dimensional track featuring several abrupt turns. Practice occurred on days 1 and 2. Skill was assessed before practice on day 1 and again on day 3, with learning indicated by a shift in the speed-accuracy function between these assessments. Proprioceptive function was quantified with a passive two-alternative forced-choice task. In a subset of 15 participants, we measured short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) to index somatosensory projections to motor cortex. We found that motor practice enhanced the speed-accuracy skill function ( = 32.15, P < 0.001) and was associated with improved proprioceptive sensitivity at retention ( = 24.75, = 0.0031). Furthermore, SAI increased after training ( = 5.41, = 0.036). Interestingly, individuals with larger increases in SAI, reflecting enhanced somatosensory afference to motor cortex, demonstrated larger improvements in motor skill learning. These findings suggest that SAI may be an important functional mechanism for some aspect of motor skill learning. Further research is needed to test what parameters (task complexity, practice time, etc.) are specifically linked to somatosensory function
Design of biocatalysts for efficient catalytic processes
No full textBiocatalysts based on immobilized enzymes received considerable attention due to important applications in syntheses of value-added chemicals, pharmaceuticals and drug intermediates with great catalytic efficiency and high yields of target molecules. The important advantages of such biocatalysts are enhanced stability in tolerant pH and temperature range, separation from reaction solutions, stability in repeated use, etc. In this review, we discuss recent findings in biocatalyst design, in particular, types of promising supports, the biocatalyst surface modification, and incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles for facilitated magnetic recovery. Furthermore, we highlight the development of multienzyme and enzyme/nanoparticle catalysts for cascade reactions, which are carried out in a one-pot process and allow elimination of isolation and purification of intermediates
How Competitive Action Mediates the Resource Slack - Performance Relationship: A Meta-Analytic Approach
No full textThe fungibility of organizational slack provides firms significant latitude in addressing both internal and market pressures. A vast literature suggests slack influences firm performance; however, the empirical record is mixed, and the underlying mechanism linking slack to performance remains ambiguous. We address these issues by theoretically expanding the slack-performance model to include mediation. Specifically, we develop and test a model in which a firm’s competitive behaviors direct the utilization of slack toward the realization of firm performance. Our meta-analytic-based structural equation model supports partial mediation, showing that competitive behaviors provide some resolution to the conflicted understanding of how slack affects performance. Further, we provide value to the slack literature by consolidating the evidence for the effects of various types and forms of organizational slack. Beyond providing robustness to our theoretical model, doing so offers a more complete understanding of how operationalizations of slack and performance outcomes matter
Learning to Do Qualitative Data Analysis: A Starting Point
Get PDFGiven the vast and diverse qualitative analytic landscape, what might be a generative starting point for researchers who desire to learn how to produce quality qualitative analyses? This question is particularly relevant to researchers new to the field and mentors who regularly introduce students to qualitative research practices. In this article, we seek to offer what we view as a useful starting point for learning how to do qualitative analysis. We begin by discussing briefly the landscape of qualitative research methodologies and methods. To contextualize our suggestions, we review the qualitative analytic practices commonly used in HRD. Following this, we describe thematic analysis in detail, including why we believe it is a useful analytic approach to consider when first learning about qualitative analysis. We share seven common practices or considerations for carrying out a thematic analysis and conclude by highlighting key considerations for assuring quality when conducting a thematic analysis
Undercover Boss's Travels: Comparing the US and UK Reality Shows
Get PDFFor some time now, television studies scholars have found the global circulation of television formats to be a productive research site. How different countries choose to produce similarly structured television shows reveals much about country-specific industry practices, culturally-specific quandaries of format adaptation, and longstanding histories of global cultural circulation (see Aveyard, Moran, and Jensen 2016 for a recent introduction to the topic, and Lukacs 2010 for an anthropological approach). In turning to television formats, a range of disciplinary scholars are specifically focusing on “an interconnected parcel of particular knowledges that are activated in the production, financing, marketing broadcasting, circulation and consumption of a TV programme” (Aveyard, Moran, and Jensen 2016, 3). In general, however, anthropologists have not yet fully turned their attention to the production and circulation of television formats as a productive ethnographic site for exploring different cultural perspectives, which overlooks objects of study rich with potential for examining, among other things, cultural differences and problems of translation (for some exceptions, see Ball and Nozawa 2016, Ganti 2002 on film, and Mandel 2002)
Numbers that Matter: Right to Health and Peruvian Maternal Strategies
No full textThe rights to health and to culturally respectful care are inextricably linked in the documents supporting Peruvian Maternal Health Policy. Strategies of Intercultural Birthing and Maternal Waiting Houses were purported to reduce maternal deaths, while extending the right to health to marginalized indigenous women. Based on seventeen months of field research in Peru, I argue that the narrow focus on achieving “good numbers” creates and sustains coercive modes of strategy applications. As a result, the on-the-ground implementation of these innovative strategies made them incompatible with right to health and culturally respectful care approaches
The case for studying criminal nonfatal shootings: Evidence from four Midwest cities
No full textUsing law enforcement data from four Midwestern communities, we document the similarities and differences between criminal nonfatal and fatal shooting incidents, including the spatial dimensions of the events. We present a definition for a nonfatal shooting incident that guides our victim and incident characteristic comparisons. Our work suggests that law enforcement agencies should build capacity for standardized data collection surrounding gun violence to include nonfatal shootings especially for use in evaluations of gun violence prevention strategies
Addressing Monotone Likelihood in Duration Modeling of Political Events
Get PDFThis article provides an accessible introduction to the phenomenon of monotone likelihood in duration modeling of political events. Monotone likelihood arises when covariate values are monotonic when ordered according to failure time, causing parameter estimates to diverge toward infinity. Within political science duration model applications, this problem leads to misinterpretation, model misspecification, and omitted variable biases, among other issues. Using a combination of mathematical exposition, Monte Carlo simulations, and empirical applications, this article illustrates the advantages of Firth’s penalized maximum likelihood estimation in resolving the methodological complications underlying monotone likelihood. Our results identify the conditions underwhich monotone likelihood is most acute and provide guidance for political scientists applying duration modeling techniques in their empirical research
c-Jun N terminal kinase signaling pathways mediate cannabinoid tolerance in an agonist-specific manner
No full textTolerance to the antinociceptive effects of cannabinoids represents a significant limitation to their clinical use in managing chronic pain. Tolerance likely results from desensitization and downregulation of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CBR), with CB1R desensitization occurring via phosphorylation of CB1Rs by a G protein-coupled receptor kinase and subsequent association with an arrestin protein. Previous studies have shown that (1) desensitization-resistant S426A/S430A mice exhibit a modest delay in tolerance for -THC and CP55,940 but a more pronounced disruption in tolerance for WIN 55,212-2 and (2) that c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling may selectively mediate antinociceptive tolerance to morphine compared to other opioid analgesics. In the current study, we found that pretreatment with the JNK inhibitor SP600125 (3 mg/kg) attenuates tolerance to the antinociceptive and anti-allodynic effects of -THC (6 mg/kg) in wild-type mice using the formalin test and in mice with cisplatin-evoked neuropathic pain, respectively. We also find that SP600125 causes an especially robust reduction in tolerance to the antinociceptive effects of -THC (30 mg/kg) but not WIN 55,212-2 (10 mg/kg) in the tail-flick assay using S426A/S430A mice. Interestingly, SP600125 pretreatment accelerated tolerance to the antinociceptive and anti-allodynic effects of CP55,940 (0.3 mg/kg) in mice with acute and neuropathic pain. These results demonstrate that inhibition of JNK signaling pathways delay tolerance to -THC, but not to CP55,940 or WIN55,212-2, demonstrating that the mechanisms of cannabinoid tolerance are agonist-specific