177 research outputs found
What to tell the public?: information design as interpretation in corridor planning
No full textProviding information to the public is a widely recognized function of planning. Yet little attention has been paid to how expert information is characterized for citizens participating in a planning process. The text, maps and images used to tell the story in a planning process can help to bridge the divide between experts and citizens, or act to reinforce it, depending on interpretive design choices. This study examines current practices and norms for designing public information for corridor projects, including open house displays and project websites. Data sources include sample materials from 32 projects and practitioner interviews. A series of tests were devised to gauge the degree to which sample materials show efforts to facilitate citizen inquiry and joint discovery of problems and possibilities. The tests were based on normative criteria drawn from theoretical work by Fischer (2000, 2003, 2009), Forester (1989, 1999), and Healey (1996) and were also used to analyze the interview data. The study found that while information design practitioners take steps to bridge the expert/citizen divide, their efforts are uneven. Most still tend to seek reactions to proposals, rather than encouraging dialogue about options or collaboration on problem definition. Information designs strongly emphasize project features (the "what" and "where" of a project) over the reasons for a project (the "why"). Factors accounting for these limitations include a widespread "project delivery" model of decision-making, procedural constraints, and agency reluctance to disclose tentative information, which inhibits exploration of options. Other factors include the subordinate position of facilitators on many project teams and the lack of standards of practice or training for facilitative information design. Potential means of overcoming these limitations include applied research to develop new models of practice, improved professional guidance, and changes in planning and engineering education.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Pamela M. Lebeau
Language acquisition and the form of the grammar
No full text"Language Acquisition and the Form of the Grammar attempts to re-think the ideal organization of the grammar, given its need to be learned. The book proposes a fundamental connection between the form of the adult grammar and the sequence of grammars which the child adopts in first language acquisition. Challenging the conventional division between language acquisition and syntax, this influential work constructs a new understanding of phrase structure, bringing syntactic data to bear on phrase structure composition. Two new phrase structure composition operations are proposed, Adjoin-[alpha], which adjoins adjuncts into the structure, and Project-[alpha], which fuses open class and closed class structures. The author also introduces the novel concept of subgrammars, successively larger grammars that take the child from the initial state to the adult grammar."--BOOK JACKET
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Relative Clauses, Licensing, and the Nature of the Derivation
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The Grammatical Nature of the Acquisition Sequence: Adjoin-A and the Formation of Relative Clauses
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Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Significantly Reduces the Risk of Nocardiosis in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients: Systematic review and Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis
No full textBackground: Whether trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) prophylaxis prevents nocardiosis in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is controversial. Objectives: To assess the effect of TMP-SMX in the prevention of nocardiosis after SOT, its dose-response relationship, its effect on preventing disseminated nocardiosis, and the risk of TMP-SMX resistance in case of breakthrough infection. Methods: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis. Data sources: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science Core Collection, and Scopus up to 19 September 2023. Study eligibility criteria: (a) Risk of nocardiosis between SOT recipients with and without TMP-SMX prophylaxis, or (b) sufficient details to determine the rate of TMP-SMX resistance in breakthrough nocardiosis. Participants: SOT recipients. Intervention: TMP-SMX prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis. Assessment of risk of bias: Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies-of Exposure (ROBINS-E) for comparative studies; dedicated tool for non-comparative studies. Methods of data synthesis: For our primary outcome (i.e. to determine the effect of TMP-SMX on the risk of nocardiosis), a one-step mixed-effects regression model was used to estimate the association between the outcome and the exposure. Univariate and multivariable unconditional regression models were used to adjust for the potential confounding effects. Certainty of evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: Individual data from three case-control studies were obtained (260 SOT recipients with nocardiosis and 519 uninfected controls). TMP-SMX prophylaxis was independently associated with a significantly decreased risk of nocardiosis (adjusted OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.18-0.52, moderate certainty of evidence). Variables independently associated with an increased risk of nocardiosis were older age, current use of corticosteroids, high calcineurin inhibitor concentration, recent acute rejection, lower lymphocyte count, and heart transplant. Breakthrough infections (66/260, 25%) were generally susceptible to TMP-SMX (pooled proportion 98%, 95% CI 92-100). Conclusions: In SOT recipients, TMP-SMX prophylaxis likely reduces the risk of nocardiosis. Resistance appears uncommon in case of breakthrough infection
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