Sort Of Variation Research Articles

Richardson on moral innovation

Richardson on moral innovation

Dealing with Variation in Audio Description Scripts

Audio description scripts represent a text type structured into several parts helping the speaker produce their recording. The heterogeneous composition and formatting of these parts makes it difficult to describe the linguistic features of audio description (AD) scripts in one go. Hence, it seems useful to implement them into a corpus tool enabling the analysis of the specificities of each AD section. In this paper, the AD scripts of 69 episodes from a German television show serve as a sample to explore a method for dealing with variation when preparing AD scripts for corpus processing. In our article, we offer a short overview of existing research on AD script corpora and on variation, and we present our dataset and the tools we used to prepare and explore the data. We then outline the features of the analysed AD scripts and the treatments applied. In the last section of the article, we discuss our results. Our analysis leads us to conclude that modifying original data for the sake of corpus implementation (e.g. changing formatting features) is a weighty step which may have unforeseen consequences: formal variation in AD scripts conveys more meaning than expected. Lay summary Audio description (AD) is a cultural technique helping blind people to enjoy going to the movies despite their disability. An additional soundtrack provides them with the information necessary to understand the essential action of the film. The scripts of such soundtracks are mostly written by authors specialising in audiovisual translation. We were interested in the formatting features of such texts, called AD scripts, e.g. the use of bold print or of words entirely written in capital letters. We conducted the study reported in this article because we wanted to know which sorts of variation can be identified in AD scripts. We also wanted to understand to which extent some of the varying features should be modified to improve text quality. That is why we collected the AD scripts of 69 episodes of a German TV show (we got the rights to use them for our research). These texts were written by 13 AD authors over a period of 6 years. The broadcaster is the only stable parameter. With the help of text statistics tools, we found out that these AD scripts vary a lot from one author to another and even over time in the scripts written by one and the same author. We modified our texts in order to unify some of their formatting features. However, we understood that reducing variation in AD scripts is not in any case a good option: the voice talents responsible for recording these scripts need clear and sufficient information to know how to proceed. In addition, AD script writing is a creative activity which should not be locked into strict rules.

On the semantics of number morphology

This paper develops a semantic account of morphological number marking, specifically in the presence of numerals. In addition to accounting for number marking on basic nouns like book in English, the account handles variation in patterns of number marking along two dimensions: cross-linguistically, between languages that either necessitate or prohibit singular morphology in the presence of numerals greater than ‘one’; and within one and the same language on the various nominal elements in English. Building off the presuppositional approach to morphological number from Sauerland (Proc SALT 13:258–275, 2003), the proposed semantics accounts for both sorts of variation by assuming flexibility in the selection of the measure relevant to the one-ness presupposition of the morphological singular form.

RoleModelVis: A Visualization of Logical Story Models

In this demo we present a visualization of formalized representations of story. Introducing the interactive to storytelling requires the management of experiences that a user creates by their decisions. These sorts of variations can have impact on not only the user, but also the retrievable content appropriate to present to the user. The overall contribution of this work is to identify the player impact of story variation by modeling supplementary variations, and systematically responding to player interaction through supplementary variation, while respecting the author’s intentions by maintaining the integrity of the core story skeleton.

Maslow Theory Revisited-Covid-19 - Lockdown Impact on Consumer Behaviour

The current study is attempting to derive the reference to the hierarchy of Maslow, where the consumers were placed before the arrival of Covid-19 and during the lockdown time. Consumer behavior consists of cognitive, emotional or physical activities in which people pick, purchase, consume and dispose of products and services to satisfy their choices and expectations. Abraham Maslow defined hierarchy of needs in different forms viz Physiological, Safety,Social,Esteem and Self-actualization needs. A multiplicity of competing factors influences human behaviour and thereby needs and requirements.Recognition of needs is essential as the initial step for market participants in the supply chain. At the same time recognising where the needs of consumers will alter is parallelly significant for smooth functioning of market processes and securing profitability along with capturing the trend. In the present study with the help of primary survey need recognition or any sort of variation therein, pre and during the Covid-19 lockdown periodare traced within the conceptual framework of Maslow Hierarchy of needs theory.

Visualizing'omic feature rankings and log-ratios using Qurro.

Many tools for dealing with compositional ‘ ’omics’ data produce feature-wise values that can be ranked in order to describe features’ associations with some sort of variation. These values include differentials (which describe features’ associations with specified covariates) and feature loadings (which describe features’ associations with variation along a given axis in a biplot). Although prior work has discussed the use of these ‘rankings’ as a starting point for exploring the log-ratios of particularly high- or low-ranked features, such exploratory analyses have previously been done using custom code to visualize feature rankings and the log-ratios of interest. This approach is laborious, prone to errors and raises questions about reproducibility. To address these problems we introduce Qurro, a tool that interactively visualizes a plot of feature rankings (a ‘rank plot’) alongside a plot of selected features’ log-ratios within samples (a ‘sample plot’). Qurro’s interface includes various controls that allow users to select features from along the rank plot to compute a log-ratio; this action updates both the rank plot (through highlighting selected features) and the sample plot (through displaying the current log-ratios of samples). Here, we demonstrate how this unique interface helps users explore feature rankings and log-ratios simply and effectively.

MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE FOR ALPHABET-SWITCHING IN THE WORKS OF CICERO: COMMON NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

Of the hundreds of Greek common nouns and adjectives preserved in our MSS of Cicero, about three dozen are found written in the Latin alphabet as well as in the Greek. So we find, alongside συμπάθεια, alsosympathia, and ἱστορικός as well ashistoricus.This sort of variation has been termed alphabet-switching; it has received little attention in connection with Cicero, even though it is relevant to subjects of current interest such as his bilingualism and the role of code-switching and loanwords in his works. Rather than addressing these issues directly, this discussion sets out information about the way in which the words are written in our surviving MSS of Cicero and takes further some recent work on the presentation of Greek words in Latin texts. It argues that, for the most part, coherent patterns and explanations can be found in the alphabetic choices exhibited by them, or at least by the earliest of them when there is conflict in the paradosis, and that this coherence is evidence for a generally reliable transmission of Cicero's original choices. While a lack of coherence might indicate unreliable transmission, or even an indifference on Cicero's part, a consistent pattern can only really be explained as an accurate record of coherent alphabet choice made by Cicero when writing Greek words.

Approaches to Macroevolution: 2. Sorting of Variation, Some Overarching Issues, and General Conclusions

Approaches to macroevolution require integration of its two fundamental components, within a hierarchical framework. Following a companion paper on the origin of variation, I here discuss sorting within an evolutionary hierarchy. Species sorting—sometimes termed species selection in the broad sense, meaning differential origination and extinction owing to intrinsic biological properties—can be split into strict-sense species selection, in which rate differentials are governed by emergent, species-level traits such as geographic range size, and effect macroevolution, in which rates are governed by organism-level traits such as body size; both processes can create hitchhiking effects, indirectly causing the proliferation or decline of other traits. Several methods can operationalize the concept of emergence, so that rigorous separation of these processes is increasingly feasible. A macroevolutionary tradeoff, underlain by the intrinsic traits that influence evolutionary dynamics, causes speciation and extinction rates to covary in many clades, resulting in evolutionary volatility of some clades and more subdued behavior of others; the few clades that break the tradeoff can achieve especially prolific diversification. In addition to intrinsic biological traits at multiple levels, extrinsic events can drive the waxing and waning of clades, and the interaction of traits and events are difficult but important to disentangle. Evolutionary trends can arise in many ways, and at any hierarchical level; descriptive models can be fitted to clade trajectories in phenotypic or functional spaces, but they may not be diagnostic regarding processes, and close attention must be paid to both leading and trailing edges of apparent trends. Biotic interactions can have negative or positive effects on taxonomic diversity within a clade, but cannot be readily extrapolated from the nature of such interactions at the organismic level. The relationships among macroevolutionary currencies through time (taxonomic richness, morphologic disparity, functional variety) are crucial for understanding the nature of evolutionary diversification. A novel approach to diversity-disparity analysis shows that taxonomic diversifications can lag behind, occur in concert with, or precede, increases in disparity. Some overarching issues relating to both the origin and sorting of clades and phenotypes include the macroevolutionary role of mass extinctions, the potential differences between plant and animal macroevolution, whether macroevolutionary processes have changed through geologic time, and the growing human impact on present-day macroevolution. Many challenges remain, but progress is being made on two of the key ones: (a) the integration of variation-generating mechanisms and the multilevel sorting processes that act on that variation, and (b) the integration of paleontological and neontological approaches to historical biology.

Approaches to Macroevolution: 1. General Concepts and Origin of Variation

Approaches to macroevolution require integration of its two fundamental components, i.e. the origin and the sorting of variation, in a hierarchical framework. Macroevolution occurs in multiple currencies that are only loosely correlated, notably taxonomic diversity, morphological disparity, and functional variety. The origin of variation within this conceptual framework is increasingly understood in developmental terms, with the semi-hierarchical structure of gene regulatory networks (GRNs, used here in a broad sense incorporating not just the genetic circuitry per se but the factors controlling the timing and location of gene expression and repression), the non-linear relation between magnitude of genetic change and the phenotypic results, the evolutionary potential of co-opting existing GRNs, and developmental responsiveness to nongenetic signals (i.e. epigenetics and plasticity), all requiring modification of standard microevolutionary models, and rendering difficult any simple definition of evolutionary novelty. The developmental factors underlying macroevolution create anisotropic probabilities—i.e., an uneven density distribution—of evolutionary change around any given phenotypic starting point, and the potential for coordinated changes among traits that can accommodate change via epigenetic mechanisms. From this standpoint, “punctuated equilibrium” and “phyletic gradualism” simply represent two cells in a matrix of evolutionary models of phenotypic change, and the origin of trends and evolutionary novelty are not simply functions of ecological opportunity. Over long timescales, contingency becomes especially important, and can be viewed in terms of macroevolutionary lags (the temporal separation between the origin of a trait or clade and subsequent diversification); such lags can arise by several mechanisms: as geological or phylogenetic artifacts, or when diversifications require synergistic interactions among traits, or between traits and external events. The temporal and spatial patterns of the origins of evolutionary novelties are a challenge to macroevolutionary theory; individual events can be described retrospectively, but a general model relating development, genetics, and ecology is needed. An accompanying paper (Jablonski in Evol Biol 2017) reviews diversity dynamics and the sorting of variation, with some general conclusions.

Music education: Why bother?

One of the common questions asked of music educators is some sort of variation on ‘music education – why bother?’

Voicing the real Self

Voicing the real Self

Accounting for counting: A unified semantics for measure terms and classifiers

This paper develops and extends the semantic account of morphological number marking in the presence of numerals from Scontras (2013). The account handles variation in patterns of number marking along two dimensions: cross-linguistically, between languages that either necessitate or prohibit singular morphology in the presence of numerals greater than ‘one’, and within one and the same language: English. The proposed semantics accounts for both sorts of variation by assuming flexibility in the selection of the measure relevant to the one-ness presupposition of the morphological singular form. The system also provides an explanation for the Slobin-Greenberg-Sanches Generalization, which states that no classifier language has obligatory number marking: by aligning the semantics of counting in both number marking and classifier languages, and by assuming that nouns in classifier languages denote kinds, the semantic contribution of number marking is necessarily redundant in classifier languages. A system of obligatory number marking only surfaces in languages where it delivers otherwise unrecoverable information about the number of intended referents.

PL8 * GENETIC VULNERABILITY OF DRUG ADDICTION

Drug addiction displays strong familial and genetic influences in family and twin studies. Elucidating which genetic variants enhance individuals' vulnerability should increase our understanding of drug dependence and psychosis. In recent years, genetic studies of the mechanisms underlying drug actions has broadened substantially in scope, addressing multiple brain systems associated with drug actions. As this field has developed it has been necessary to consider carefully how genetic models may be used as tools to elucidate drug mechanisms, and what those models tell us about underlying genetic mechanisms. Indeed, although genetically modified mice have been very useful in elaborating mechanisms of drug actions, including interactive and alternative mechanisms, they have been less useful as models of human genetic variation that may underlie addiction. We organized multi-institutional joint research project, Japanese Genetics Initiative for Drug Abuse (JGIDA) for studying the genetic vulnerability of drug addiction. The number of genes with variants that contribute to individual differences in drug addiction vulnerability will continue to grow. In the near future we will have to more specifically and intentionally model the sort of variation seen in humans, including more subtle polygenic effects that appear to underlie most human variation in addiction liability.

Accounting for counting: A unified semantics for measure terms and classifiers

This paper develops and extends the semantic account of morphological number marking in the presence of numerals from Scontras (2013). The account handles variation in patterns of number marking along two dimensions: cross-linguistically, between languages that either necessitate or prohibit singular morphology in the presence of numerals greater than ‘one’, and within one and the same language: English. The proposed semantics accounts for both sorts of variation by assuming flexibility in the selection of the measure relevant to the one-ness presupposition of the morphological singular form. The system also provides an explanation for the Slobin-Greenberg-Sanches Generalization, which states that no classifier language has obligatory number marking: by aligning the semantics of counting in both number marking and classifier languages, and by assuming that nouns in classifier languages denote kinds, the semantic contribution of number marking is necessarily redundant in classifier languages. A system of obligatory number marking only surfaces in languages where it delivers otherwise unrecoverable information about the number of intended referents.

Beyond the tree of texts: Building an empirical model of scribal variation through graph analysis of texts and stemmata

Stemmatology, or the reconstruction of the transmission history of texts, is a field that stands particularly to gain from digital methods. Many scholars already take stemmatic approaches that rely heavily on computational analysis of the collated text (e.g. Robinson and O’Hara 1996; Salemans 2000; Heikkila 2005; Windram et al. 2008 among many others). Although there is great value in computationally assisted stemmatology, providing as it does a reproducible result and allowing access to the relevant methodological process in related fields such as evolutionary biology, computational stemmatics is not without its critics. The current state-of-the-art effectively forces scholars to choose between a preconceived judgment of the significance of textual differences (the Lachmannian or neo-Lachmannian approach, and the weighted phylogenetic approach) or to make no judgment at all (the unweighted phylogenetic approach). Some basis for judgment of the significance of variation is sorely needed for medieval text criticism in particular. By this, we mean that there is a need for a statistical empirical profile of the text-genealogical significance of the different sorts of variation in different sorts of medieval texts. The rules that apply to copies of Greek and Latin classics may not apply to copies of medieval Dutch story collections; the practices of copying authoritative texts such as the Bible will most likely have been different from the practices of copying the Lives of local saints and other commonly adapted texts. It is nevertheless imperative that we have a consistent, flexible, and analytically tractable model for capturing these phenomena of transmission. In this article, we present a computational model that captures most of the phenomena of text variation, and a method for analysis of one or more stemma hypotheses against the variation model. We apply this method to three ‘artificial traditions’ (i.e. texts copied under laboratory conditions by scholars to study the properties of text variation) and four genuine medieval traditions whose transmission history is known or deduced in varying degrees. Although our findings are necessarily limited by the small number of texts at our disposal, we demonstrate here some of the wide variety of calculations that can be made using our model. Certain of our results call sharply into question the utility of excluding ‘trivial’ variation such as orthographic and spelling changes from stemmatic analysis.

Dynamics, Risk, and Vulnerability

Recent research on household ‘vulnerability’ has led to an increased appreciation of the welfare costs of risk. Measuring the risk borne by a particular household has generally involved the use of panel data, and in particular the use of time series variation in household expenditures to estimate the risk borne by the household in any given period. This has led researchers to focus on static measures of vulnerability, since once used to identify the distribution of consumption expenditures in a single period the time series variation can no longer be used to describe the inter-temporal profile of the distribution of consumption expenditures - simultaneous estimation of inequality, risk, and time series variation in household vulnerability requires the additional structure of a dynamic model. Unfortunately, our present understanding of the economic circumstances in which most households are situated seems too limited to permit general agreement on what the right dynamic model is. We show that simple restrictions on households’ inter-temporal smoothing can be used to simultaneously estimate household risk preferences in a manner which is robust to a variety of different assumptions about the economic environment. Further, these simple restrictions and estimated preferences can then be used to robustly characterize the welfare costs of different sorts of variation in consumption expenditures.

Great Meaningless Questions in Urology: Which Is Better, Open, Laparoscopic, or Robotic Radical Prostatectomy?

Great Meaningless Questions in Urology: Which Is Better, Open, Laparoscopic, or Robotic Radical Prostatectomy?

Dynamics, risk, and vulnerability

Recent research on household `vulnerability' has led to an increased appreciation of the welfare costs of risk. Measuring the risk borne by a particular household has generally involved the use of panel data, and in particular the use of time series variation in household expenditures to estimate the risk borne by the household in any given period. This has led researchers to focus on static measures of vulnerability, since once used to identify the distribution of consumption expenditures in a single period the time series variation can no longer be used to describe the intertemporal profile of the distribution of consumption expenditures--simultaneous estimation of inequality, risk, and time series variation in household vulnerability requires the additional structure of a dynamic model. Unfortunately, our present understanding of the economic circumstances in which most households are situated seems too limited to permit general agreement on what the right dynamic model is. We show that simple restrictions on households' intertemporal smoothing can be used to simultaneously estimate household risk preferences in a manner which is robust to a variety of different assumptions about the economic environment. Further, these simple restrictions and estimated preferences can then be used to robustly characterize the welfare costs of different sorts of variation in consumption expenditures.

The Evaluation of Emergency Admissions

The concept of an “emergency room” is undergoing change. While the emergency room in the past frequently was a not particularly well-liked appendage of the major disciplines in hospital medicine to which on-duty physicians had to provide services on the side, today an increasing number of independent emergency admission clinics are being established and their advantages are being praised. Within this group of concepts there are all sorts of variations (1– 3). Much time and effort is taken to explain the advantages of one concept versus another. It is understandable that frequently cost considerations also play an important role in selecting a particular model (4, 5). However, not much attention has been given to adequate studies that compare the quality of the structure, the process and the results of the individual emergency admission models with one another (6, 7). Both prehospital and hospital emergency medicine still exhibit significant deficits with regard to their research activities (8). Therefore, any form of emergency medicine research is most welcome; this also holds for the contribution made by Dormann and co-authors in this issue of the Deutsches Arzteblatt International (9).

The variations of human sex ratio at birth during and after wars, and their potential explanations

Data on wartime sex ratios (proportions male at birth) are reviewed. Two sorts of variation are empirically well supported viz. (a) rises during and just after both World Wars and (b) a fall in Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. Potential explanations are offered here for these rises and fall. The fall seems plausibly explained by psychological stress causing pregnant women disproportionately to abort male fetuses. The rises may be explained by either or both of two different forms of hypothesis viz. (i) Kanazawa's “returning soldier” hypothesis and (ii) variation in coital rates. The coital rate hypothesis potentially accounts, in slightly different ways, for the rises both during, and just after, some wars. The argument that coital rate affects sex ratio just after wars seems to be supported by evidence that in some combatant countries, dizygotic (DZ) twinning rates (which also reportedly vary with coital rate) peaked after the World Wars. The suggestion that war is associated with rises in sex ratio at birth was first made more than two centuries ago. However, I have been unable to locate direct supporting sex ratio data relating to any conflict before World War One. So it would be useful if historical demographers were to search for such data relating to these earlier wars.