General Tendency Research Articles

Lexico-stylistic features of the expression of indignation in a fiction and its film version: comparative analysis

The subject of the study is the lexical means of expressing indignation. The object of the study is statements with the intention of indignation. The theoretical basis of the study is the idea of perturbation as an integral part of conflict communication. The study reveals the most general patterns of changes in statements with the intention of indignation during the screening of fiction. The analysis is carried out in the comparative aspect of the statements of the characters of the literary work with the statements of the characters of the film adaptation of the literary work. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as lexical changes in the text of a work of fiction during its film adaptation. Special attention is paid to the reasons for changing the literary text in its screen version. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time a comparative analysis of statements with the intention of indignation is carried out, the analysis is carried out in comparison of the text of fiction with its film adaptation. The following transformations were identified: verbatim preservation of lexical composition, omission of lexical units, addition of lexical units and their replacement. The main conclusions of the study are the reasons for the identified transformations, which are due to the desire of the creators of the film adaptation to have a greater emotional impact on the audience - for this reason, the characters of the film adaptation are more emotional in expressing their feelings and experiences, their statements are more categorical, and there is more speech aggression in the film adaptation. Transformations occur due to changes in the details of the content of situations. Finally, the film adaptation has more features peculiar to oral colloquial speech: there is more colloquial vocabulary in the film adaptation, and the characters speak more briefly, since this is due to the general tendency of oral colloquial speech to save speech resources.

4 Neuropsychological Functioning in an Active Duty Service Member with Partial Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum and Bilateral Ventriculomegaly.

Objective:Partial agenesis of the corpus callosum (PACC) is a rare brain birth defect characterized by incomplete development of the corpus callosum, the primary white matter bundle that connects the right and left hemispheres. PACC can be associated with other congenital abnormalities, including malformation of the brain’s ventricular system, such as colpocephaly or ventriculomegaly, and it is typically considered a pediatric diagnosis. Clinically, this condition may present with a broad continuum of cognitive and socioemotional difficulties ranging from significant day-to-day impairment to relative independence. Newly diagnosed PACC with ventriculomegaly in adults is very rare (0.0200.025%) and little is known about neuropsychological functioning in adults with this condition. The aim of this case study is to add to the literature base for better PACC neuropsychological conceptualization.Participants and Methods:This case study involves neuropsychological evaluation of cognitive and behavioral health functioning of a 37-year-old active duty service member (ADSM) with recently identified PACC and ventriculomegaly (via incidental imaging finding). The ADSM reported a history of learning difficulty, though she was able to earn rank of sergeant first class in a low density military occupation specialty (i.e., Mortuary Affairs) over an 18.5 year active duty career.Results:Cognitive testing was notable for consistently low to exceptionally low attention and processing speed scores. Mild executive dysfunction was also noted in the areas of planning and inhibition. Emotionally, she endorsed mild somatic and depression symptoms. Interpersonally, she was shy and avoidant with longstanding characterological traits characterized by worry, insecurity, and general tendency to catastrophize.Conclusions:This case adds to the broad clinical presentation of PACC with ventriculomegaly, and highlights that even in the context of a significant congenital brain deformity and longstanding cognitive deficits, independent functioning can be achieved.

What are patterns of rise and decline?

The notions of change, such as birth, death, growth, evolution and longevity, extend across reality, including biological, cultural and societal phenomena. Patterns of change describe how success and composition of every entity, from species to societies, vary across time. Languages develop into new languages, music and fashion continuously evolve, economies rise and decline, ecological and societal crises come and go. A common way to perceive and analyse change processes is through patterns of rise and decline, the ubiquitous, often distinctively unimodal trajectories describing life histories of various entities. These patterns come in different shapes and are measured according to varying definitions. Depending on how they are measured, patterns of rise and decline can reveal, emphasize, mask or obscure important dynamics in natural and cultural phenomena. Importantly, the variations of how dynamics are measured can be vast, making it impossible to directly compare patterns of rise and decline across fields of science. Standardized analysis of these patterns has the potential to uncover important but overlooked commonalities across natural phenomena and potentially help us catch the onset of dramatic shifts in entities' state, from catastrophic crashes in success to gradual emergence of new entities. We provide a framework for standardized recognizing, characterizing and comparing patterns of change by combining understanding of dynamics across fields of science. Our toolkit aims at enhancing understanding of the most general tendencies of change, through two complementary perspectives: dynamics of emergence and dynamics of success. We gather comparable cases and data from different research fields and summarize open research questions that can help us understand the universal principles, perception-biases and field-specific tendencies in patterns of rise and decline of entities in nature.

Predicting rock-paper-scissors choices based on single-trial EEG signals.

Decision prediction based on neurophysiological signals is of great application value in many real-life situations, especially in human-AI collaboration or counteraction. Single-trial analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is a very valuable step in the development of an online decision-prediction system. However, previous EEG-based decision-prediction methods focused mainly on averaged EEG signals of all decision-making trials to predict an individual's general decision tendency (e.g., risk seeking or aversion) over a period rather than on a specific decision response in a single trial. In the present study, we used a rock-paper-scissors game, which is a common multichoice decision-making task, to explore how to predict participants' single-trial choice with EEG signals. Forty participants, comprising 20 females and 20 males, played the game with a computer player for 330 trials. Considering that the decision-making process of this game involves multiple brain regions and neural networks, we proposed a new algorithm named common spatial pattern-attractor metagene (CSP-AM) to extract CSP features from different frequency bands of EEG signals that occurred during decision making. The results showed that a multilayer perceptron classifier achieved an accuracy significantly exceeding the chance level among 88.57% (31 of 35) of participants, verifying the classification ability of CSP features in multichoice decision-making prediction. We believe that the CSP-AM algorithm could be used in the development of proactive AI systems.

Toward French and Italian language validations of the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CMS)

The growing scientific interest in conspiracy beliefs calls for validated measures of conspiracy mentality, the tendency to believe any conspiracy theory. In this study, we validate a French and Italian version of the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CMS). French (N = 160) and Italian (N = 114) speaking residents of Switzerland filled out a questionnaire, including measures of the need for social validation, compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures, perceived severity of the pandemic, and functional literacy. The two-dimensionality of the scale (conspiracy theory ideation and skepticism) was validated by confirmatory factor analysis. As predicted, conspiracy theory ideation was negatively related to functional literacy and compliance with pandemic control measures, and positively related to social validation. Measurement invariance indicated metric, scalar, residual and strucutral equivalence across the two samples. We conclude that the French and Italian versions of the CMS lend a valid assessment of people’s general tendency to believe conspiracy theories.

COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF HYDROPHYTE COMMUNITIES IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER BODIES IN THE CITY OF POLTAVA

The article highlights the results of studying the composition and structure of the true aquatic plant communities in different types of water bodies of the city of Poltava (artificial and natural reservoirs, the urban section of the middle River Vorskla), where, according to the ecological and floristic classification, 21 associations (including 8 subassociations) of eight alliances, three orders and two classes were identified. Of these, only association Ceratophylletum demersi is the most typical in urban area. The class POTAMETEA differs in the relatively higher coenotic diversity (13 associations), and the class LEMNETEA differs in the lower diversity (8 associations). 
 The studied plant associations are characterized by a low species richness, the absolute majority of them represents a simplified version of the original natural associations. Communities of class POTAMETEA, observed in urban reservoirs, are especially depleted (1–3 species in the descriptions). There is a general tendency to increase the coenotic activity of the floristic elements that are tolerant to anthropogenic load and eutrophication.
 In the rank of associations there are 18 communities in urban lentic water bodies and 9 communities on the urban section of the middle river. Most of the identified associations (12) are confined exclusively to urban reservoirs, while only 3 associations are specific to the urban section of the river. Of those 6 associations found both in urban reservoirs and in the urban section of the middle river, it is the river coenoses that are more diverse and better developed.
 In the conditions of an urbanized environment, the middle river ecosystems show a higher resistance to anthropogenic influence compared to ecosystems of artificial urban water bodies, which is evidenced, in particular, by a more complex coenotic structure of common associations, as well as the presence of sozologically valuable communities specifically in the river hydroecotopes.

Yazılı Bağlama Öğretimi Materyallerinde Bedensel Kurulum Öğretiminin İncelenmesi

In instrumental teaching, which is a psychomotor skill area, the first and most important stage that the student must master in order to perform with the quality and in the time expected of him/her is the bodily setup stage. In instrumental teaching, the principles of bodily setup vary according to the bodily setup of each instrument. The basic bodily setup principles of the bağlama (Turkic traditional lute) instrument are formed under the headings of sitting, posture, and grip, and teaching and performance are carried out. However, the number of scientific studies on the taxonomy and other principles of posture to be adopted in teaching the instrument is quite insufficient. It is not yet possible to say that there is a common understanding of this. The aim of this study is to reveal the general tendency in accordance with the basic principles adopted in the materials regarding the teaching of body posture by analyzing the teaching content related to body posture in the written teaching materials prepared for the teaching of bağlama from various aspects. In the study, data was collected using the method of document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods. The data obtained were then subjected to content analysis. The sample of the study consists of 32 written teaching materials prepared for teaching the bağlama instrument. The sample was selected by using the purposive criterion sampling method. In the research, firstly, the place of the concept of the body structure in the related materials, its importance, and the way it is treated were analyzed. In addition, details such as the taxonomy in which the teaching of the body structure is realized in the documents and the visual tools used to convey it were described. The materials were compared with each other in terms of general information about body construction, related units and titles, the ratio of the number of pages related to body construction to the total number of pages, and gradualisation preferences. As a result of the research, the general contours of teaching the body structure stage in the materials in the sample were determined and the tendencies towards this concept in the materials were presented to the reader. It is envisaged that the research data can be used in future related studies and in the creation of taxonomies that will increase the quality of the teaching process of the bodily setup.

Ohlédnutí za Velkou Prahou

The paper deals with the legal aspects of the establishment of the so-called Greater Prague, i.e., the merger of neighbouring municipalities with the capital of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1922. The introduction briefly outlines the efforts to merge Prague with its suburbs dating from the mid-19th century until 1918. The following section focuses on the activities of the National Assembly on the establishment of Greater Prague. In addition to the establishment and the membership of the Greater Prague Committee, parliamentary papers related to the creation of Greater Prague are described and analysed. Parliamentary papers 719 and 1216, which included government bills to merge neighbouring municipalities and settlements into the City of Prague, a bill on elections to the Metropolitan Council and a bill on the organisation and powers of the Metropolitan Council and local committees, are discussed in detail. From a comparison of the government proposals, the amendments proposed by parliamentary committees and the text of the laws adopted, it is possible to deduce the general tendencies of the relationship between the state administration and local government at the beginning of the Czechoslovak Republic. The issues of financing the establishment and operation of the new capital of Czechoslovakia have not gone unnoticed.

Four’s a crowd: social preferences for larger groups in golden mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) tadpoles

Group living results in various benefits and costs, which often depend on group size and ontogenetic state of the individual. Therefore, certain group sizes are favourable over others, often depending on individual age or intrinsic state. Under natural conditions many amphibians can be found in aggregations, especially during the larval stage. Yet, whether these aggregations are the result of active social preferences or are driven by environmental factors has only been tested in a limited number of taxa. This study explores social preferences and group size discrimination in golden mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) tadpoles. We gave tadpoles the choice between different numbers of conspecifics using a two-choice design. To test for general social tendency, tadpoles could either join a group of three or remain solitary (3 vs. 0). To test for group size preferences, we tested tadpoles in two different ratios: 2 vs. 1 and 4 vs. 2 conspecifics. We repeated the trials weekly until metamorphosis to determine potential shifts in preference through ontogeny. Tadpoles preferred being with a group over being alone, and the strength of this preference declined with increasing age. Furthermore, tadpoles preferred to be close to the larger of two groups. This preference was stronger in the 2 vs. 1 treatment. Mantella aurantiaca tadpoles, therefore, show clear social tendencies and possess the ability to spontaneously discriminate between group sizes. The lower preference at higher group sizes might indicate cognitive limitations or lower benefits of choosing the larger of two groups when overall group size is high. These findings are one of the few showing social preferences depending on group size in tadpoles and contribute to our understanding of social behaviour in amphibians in general.

Coercion or Privatization? Crisis and Planned Economies in the Debates of the Early Frankfurt School

AbstractThe 1930s–1940s underwent profound structural economic and political turmoil following the collapse of the nineteenth century liberal market economies. The intellectual debates of the time were dominated by the question of whether Marx’s theory of the tendency of rate of profit to fall was true, or what consequence could be imagined in the survival of capitalist societies. Placed in the middle of such debates was also the reorganization of national productions into war economies. By means of reconstructive analysis, the paper provides a critical overview of the debates that took place within the circle of the Frankfurt School during those years. It also advances an interpretive thesis suggesting that remedies to capitalist crises of the time turned state powers into privatized, illiberal coercive entities. Coercion and privatization reinforced each other. This general tendency is well illustrated by the famous Pollock-Neumann debate. These intellectuals expressed views not only intended to shed light on the historical period of time, but also to formulate long-term considerations on the authoritarian trends embedded in our contemporary democracies. Through historical reconstruction, the paper’s aim is to identify a long-term structural thread of transformation starting from the transformation of the German economy in 1930s and touching upon post Second World War problems of states’ restructuring along privatization/coercion divides.

Australian English listeners' perception of Japanese vowel length reveals underlying phonological knowledge.

Speech perception patterns are strongly influenced by one's native phonology. It is generally accepted that native English listeners rely primarily on spectral cues when perceiving vowels, making limited use of duration cues because English lacks phonemic vowel length. However, the literature on vowel perception by English listeners shows a marked bias toward American English, with the phonological diversity among different varieties of English largely overlooked. The current study investigates the perception of Japanese vowel length contrasts by native listeners of Australian English, which is reported to use length to distinguish vowels unlike most other varieties of English. Twenty monolingual Australian English listeners participated in a forced-choice experiment, where they categorized Japanese long and short vowels as most similar to their native vowel categories. The results showed a general tendency for Japanese long and short vowels (e.g., /ii, i/) to be categorized as Australian English long and short vowels (e.g., /i:, ɪ/ as in "heed," "hid"), respectively, which contrasts with American English listeners' categorization of all Japanese vowels as tense regardless of length (e.g., /ii, i/ as both "heed") as reported previously. Moreover, this duration-based categorization was found not only for Australian English categories that contrast in duration alone (e.g., /ɐ:, ɐ/ as in "hard," "hud") but also for those that contrast in both duration and spectra (e.g., /o:, ɔ/ as in "hoard," "hod"), despite their spectral mismatch from the corresponding Japanese vowels (e.g., /aa, a/ and /oo, o/). The results, therefore, suggest that duration cues play a prominent role across all vowel categories-even nonnative-for Australian English listeners. The finding supports a feature-based framework of speech perception, where phonological features like length are shared across multiple categories, rather than the segment-based framework that is currently dominant, which regards acoustic cues like duration as being tied to a specific native segmental category. Implications for second and foreign language learning are discussed.

Soil toposequences, soil erosion, and ancient Maya land use adaptations to pedodiversity in the tropical karstic landscapes of southern Mexico

The soil mantle of the tropical karst landscapes of southern Mexico was a key resource for ancient Maya agriculture and experienced deep transformation due to long-term human impacts under changing environmental conditions. We conducted a comparative analysis of three compound soil toposequences in mountainous (Sierra de Chiapas/Middle Usumacinta Valley, Busiljá, and Chinikihá archaeological sites) and platform (NE Yucatán Peninsula, Yalahau region) karst landscapes to reconstruct general tendencies and regional variations in pedodiversity development and soil–human interactions since the Early Preclassic Period. Toposequence characterization is based on macro- and micromorphological observations, accompanied by a suite of laboratory data. Calcareous upland geoforms of all toposequences have similar soil combinations consisting of shallow Rendzina and deep red clayey Terra Rossa types of profiles. We argue that Rendzinas, now dominant in the upland soil cover, in most cases, are not a product of incipient pedogenesis on limestone; they have developed from the residues of Terra Rossa soils after their advanced erosion. Pedosediments generated by ancient soil erosion have been found in the piedmont and depression positions in the mountainous landscapes of Chiapas, as a result of lateral downslope soil removal, and in the subsurface karstic cavities in the platform of NE Yucatán, indicating vertical “soil piping.” The soils of the lowland domains show contrasting differences between the toposequences: gleyic clay–rich soils and humic alluvial soils prevail in Chinikihá and Busiljá, whereas hydromorphic carbonate soils have formed in Yalahau karstic depressions. These differences in the lowland soil properties led to divergent ancient Maya land use strategies; in Chinikihá and Busiljá, the major agricultural domain was developed in the lowlands, implying largescale artificial drainage. On the contrary, in Yalahau, mostly upland Rendzinas were cultivated, implying “precision agriculture” and “container gardening.”

The overlooked threat of land take from wind energy infrastructures: Quantification, drivers and policy gaps

Wind harnessing is a fast-developing and cost-effective Renewable Energy Source, but the land impacts of wind power stations are often overlooked or underestimated. We digitized land take, i.e., the generation of artificial land, derived from 90 wind power stations in Greece constructed between 2002 and 2020 (1.2 GW). We found substantial land take impacts of 7729 m2/MW (3.5 m2/MWh) of new artificial land, 148 m/MW of new roads and 174 m/MW of widened roads on average. Models showed that the number and size of wind turbines, the absence of other existing infrastructures and the elevational difference across new access roads increased artificial land generation. The elevational difference across new and widened access roads also increased their length. New wind power stations in Greece are planned to be installed at higher elevations and in terrains facing higher risks for soil erosion and soil biodiversity. The general tendency in the European Union is to sit fewer wind power stations in mountainous and forested land. Still, this pattern is inversed in several countries, particularly in Southern Europe. After screening 29 policy and legal documents, we found that land take is indirectly inferred in the global policy but more directly in the European policy through five non-legally binding documents and three Directives. However, the current European energy policies seem to conflict with nature conservation policies, risking land take acceleration. The study provides insights for reducing land take when planning and constructing wind power stations. We underline the need for better quantification of land take and its integration in the complex process of sustainable spatial planning of investments.

Dialect divergence at the state border: the case of Alsatian and German Alemannic

This paper summarizes recent research on the German/French border in the Upper Rhine Region, where the state border cuts across a traditional Alemannic dialect area. It is argued that the present-day divergence of the dialects is due to different repertoire types and different language ideologies in France and Germany, which counteract the positive effects of border permeability. Despite this general tendency for the dialects to diverge at the state border, it is also shown that traditional regional affiliations with and orientations to Alsace continue to impact the speed of dialect levelling on the German side.

Policy instruments attitudes and support for government responses against Covid‐19

AbstractAn individual's political attitudes have been documented as the most important predictor of acceptance of government measures against the COVID‐19 pandemic. Their effect, however, is somewhat unclear and cannot be reduced to one dimension. In this article, we test whether general attitudes toward policy instruments might, together with left–right orientation, authoritarianism, social liberalism, and attitudes to state intervention, explain attitudes to policy instruments used to combat COVID‐19. The predictiveness of models of attitudes toward three different types of policy instruments to address the COVID‐19 pandemic was tested using a study of Czech university students). We found that individuals' general attitudes toward policy instruments are best measured by posing direct survey questions. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the independent effects of general attitudes toward three different types of policy instruments on attitudes toward specific policy instruments for combating COVID‐19. We found that an individuals' general tendency to prefer an information, regulatory, or economic instrument significantly affects their attitude toward specific policy solutions, even after controlling for political orientation. These results provide novel empirical evidence for the autonomy of policy instruments attitudes (APIA) theory. The general attitudes toward policy instrument types are reflected in individuals' attitudes toward specific policy instruments, such as those used to combat COVID‐19.

The effect of sleep deprivation on postural stability among physically active young adults

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of sleep deprivation on postural stability among physically active young adults. The study involved 22 physical education students. Average velocities and spatial distribution of the center of pressure displacements were taken as indicators of postural stability (double and one-leg standing). Two-way ANOVA with two factors of repeated measurements—“session” (control-experimental) and “daytime” (evening-morning)—was used. For indicators of the spatial distribution of the center of pressure in double stance with eyes open and eyes closed, and for average velocities for measurements with eyes closed, statistically significant interaction effects were found (at least p < 0.01, ƞ2 > 0.36, power statistics > 0.90) with the general tendency of higher results in the morning in the session with sleep deprivation than in the control session. In one-leg standing, an increase of average velocities was observed in the control session, and no differences in the session with sleep deprivation (interaction effect: at least p < 0.01, ƞ2 > 0.37, power statistics > 0.90). Besides spatial distribution indicators in double stance, there were no statistical differences between evening-morning tests in the session with sleep deprivation. Despite significant interaction effects, only the results of spatial distribution indicators in double stance were higher in the morning than in the evening in the session with sleep deprivation. So, no clear decline in postural stability after sleep deprivation was observed. This may suggest that sleep deprivation prevents natural regeneration rather than significantly worsening postural stability among physically active adults. It’s possible that systematic physical activity might be one of the factors decreasing the risk of accidents among people exposed to sleep deprivation.

Screw preload loss under occlusal load as a predictor of loosening risk in varying dental implant designs

PurposeScrew loosening is a critical aspect of an implant design, as it can lead to implant failure. This study proposes a methodology and qualitatively assesses the potential of screw loosening risk for various types of screw heads and implant fixture-abutment connections. It is assumed that the risk of screw loosening is related to the drop in loosening moment under occlusal loads. The methodology and an assumption is verified by confronting the results with laboratory tests. MethodsNumerical simulations supplemented with semi-empirical equations were employed to estimate a loosening moment change under occlusal loads. The loosening risk was estimated by comparing the value before and after application of a compressive occlusal load of 150N. The procedure was carried out for 289 implant designs with smooth transition between flat to tapered shape of a screw head and an fixture-abutment connection. All analyses were conducted using Abaqus software. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients for normalised change in a screw loosening moment drop has been computed for numerical and laboratory tests. ResultsThe statistical analysis (Pearson, ρ = 0.8, Spearman, rs = 0.85) indicates very high correlation and confirms that the general tendencies observed in laboratory tests are reflected in the proposed procedure. The procedure was used for various geometries and the following results are presented: a screw loosening drop, implant stiffness and a tightening moment. The loosening moment drop achieves the extreme values of 6% and 24%. The biggest drop is an effect of a conical implant-abutment connection and a flat screw head while the lowest was recorded for a flat implant-abutment interface regardless of a screw head type. A low drop is also observed for a strongly conical screw head. ConclusionsThe proposed methodology exhibited very good correlation when confronted with laboratory tests, supporting a screw preload reduction under occlusal load as a key factor in screw loosening. Analysis across a wide spectrum of implant designs revealed geometry significantly impacts loosening potential under occlusal loads. Two key features were identified as favourable - an abutment-fixture butt joint and a tapered screw. The results also enable prediction of qualitative geometry effects on loosening risk.

The Flower Colour Influences Spontaneous Nectaring in Butterflies: a Case Study with Twenty Subtropical Butterflies.

Butterflies have a wide spectrum of colour vision, and changes in flower colour influence both the visiting and nectaring (the act of feeding on flower nectar) events of them. However, the spontaneous behavioural response of butterflies while foraging on real flowers is less characterised in wild conditions. Hence, this study intends to investigate flower colour affinity in wild butterflies in relation to nectaring frequency (NF) and nectaring duration (ND). Six distinct flower colours were used to study spontaneous nectaring behaviour in 20 species of subtropical butterflies. Both NF and ND greatly varied in the flower colours they offered. Yellow flowers were frequently imbibed by butterflies for longer durations, followed by orange, while red, pink, white and violet flowers were occasionally nectared in shorter bouts. Though butterflies have a general tendency to nectar on multiple flower colours, the Nymphalids were more biased towards nectaring on yellow flowers, but Papilionids preferred both yellow and orange, while the Pierids were likely to display an equal affinity for yellow, orange and violet flowers as their first order of preference. Even if the blooms are associated with higher nectar concentrations or a significant grade reward, the butterfly may prefer to visit different-coloured flowers instead. Flower colour choice appears to be a generalist phenomenon for butterflies, but their specialist visiting nature was also significant. Nymphalid representatives responded to a wider variety of floral colour affinities than Pierid and Papilionid species. The colour preference of butterflies aids in the identification of flowers during foraging and influences subsequent foraging decisions, which ultimately benefits pollination success. The current information will support the preservation and conservation of butterflies in their natural habitats.

Antifocal Anaphoras in Hip-Hop Vocals

Abstract This article examines the pitch content of the delivery of anaphoric lyrics in hip-hop. Anaphoric lyrics consist of lines with a reiterated beginning and a novel ending. Because new information is presented at the ends of lines, the “linguistic focus” of the line is at the end. Therefore, from the standpoint of intonational phonetics, pitch height would tend to rise to highlight the new information. However, from the standpoint of hip-hop delivery, lines tend to descend toward the end. Using a corpus approach, I document a general tendency toward “focally consistent” delivery in which pitch height supports new information. Then, I explore the afforded meanings of “antifocal” delivery—delivery in which the repeated text is pitched higher—in examples from B-Real, the poet Najee Omar, and Kendrick Lamar. I hope that these examples will attract other scholars to view vocal performances simultaneously through lenses of intonational phonology and music analysis and, further, that correspondences between pitch contours and principles of phonology might prove useful as singing, reciting, and rapping increasingly coexist under the banner of “hip-hop.”

Monitoring of Anthropogenic Impact on the Baikal Natural Territory: munisipal Level

The purpose of the presented study is to develop a methodology for assessing the anthropogenic impact on the environment in the municipalities of the Baikal Natural Territory (BNT) and applying the obtained methodology to the studied territory. The article analyzes the existing methodological approaches to the assessment of anthropogenic impact on the environment. To carry out a comprehensive integrated assessment, the authors proposed an algorithm for calculating the anthropogenic impact index based on 22 indicators integrated into 7 subindexes (impact on the atmosphere, water and forest resources, agricultural impact, solid waste, disturbed lands and objects of accumulated harm, as well as background impact).The weight of the indicators was determined by interviewing experts representing the scientific community (leading experts in the field of integrated assessments of certain types of impacts or specialists in the field of environmental problems of the BNT), the expert community (leading analytical agencies developing environmental ratings), as well as the environmental management system of the regions included in the BNT. The inertial nature of the anthropogenic impact characteristic of municipalities within the boundaries of the BNT, as well as the general tendency to reduce the impact, has been revealed. At the same time, the absence of positive changes in the environmental state was noted, especially characteristic of the largest impact centers with their inherent unfavorable environment, which suggests the need to take measures to reduce the impact. The advantage of the methodology proposed by the authors can be considered the possibility of extending monitoring in the future, which opens up the possibility of using this algorithm to assess the environmental situation and form environmental policy priorities. The analysis of the results confirmed the quality of the integrated assessment methodology and showed that the districts, cities and towns of the BNT are highly polarized in terms of the level of anthropogenic impact concentrated in certain areas, primarily in the zone of atmospheric influence. The main strengthening of the AI is characteristic of municipalities located along transport corridors, the axis of which is the Trans-Siberian Railway, The Baikal–Amur Mainline and the «Power of Siberia» gas pipeline.