Vague Language Research Articles

Social justice in Canadian nursing professional documents: A Foucauldian discourse analysis.

Social justice is widely advanced as a central nursing value, and yet conceptual understandings of social justice remain inconsistent and vague. Further, despite persistently articulated commitments to upholding social justice, the profession of nursing has been implicated in perpetuating inequities in health and health care. In this context, it is essential to establish both conceptual clarity and tangible guidance for nurses in enacting practices to advance social justice-particularly through regulatory, education and accreditation documents that shape the nursing profession. This Foucauldian discourse analysis examines how social justice is discursively positioned within nursing professional documents in Canada, and illustrates that social justice was largely discursively excluded from these texts. Where social justice discourses were invoked, we identified that four central discursive patterns obscured and de-centred this nursing value: (i) Vague language undermined professional commitments to social justice; (ii) Constructions of knowledge and awareness de-emphasized practice; (iii) Individualism discourses minimized institutional/professional responsibility; and (iv) Aspirational language obscured present action. Extending from this analysis, we contend that the nursing profession must re-examine how social justice is understood and articulated, and call for a re-conceptualization of social justice grounded in nursing practice toward remediating inequities in health and health care.

Multi-Derivational Parsing of Vague Languages- The New Paradigm of Syntactic Pattern Recognition.

The new paradigm of syntactic pattern recognition, SPR, which uses multi-derivational parsing of vague languages is introduced in the paper. The methodology proposed addresses the issue of the recognition of vague/distorted patterns which is one of the important open problems in the area. The concept of the vague language of patterns and the efficient parsing method based on the class of dynamically programmed grammars are introduced. A vague language is defined with vague primitives which are vectors of "neighboring" primitives associated with measures of distance, probability, fuzziness, etc. The use of vague primitives allows us to identify b best structural templates during multi-derivational parsing that can be used for getting more adequate final result. The generic architecture of SPR system based on the approach proposed together with the system's applications for short-term electrical load forecasting and for analysis of ultrasound images in order to diagnose congenital defects of fetal palates are presented. The results of the experimental studies are discussed.

Black-Tie Optional Sorites

Sorites is the paradox which exploits the tolerance of vague language to get an absurd conclusion. The present note argues that, contrary to some other approaches, formalizing the antinomy does not serve the purpose of elucidation.

Examining the Doctrine of Causation in Anti-Dumping Investigations: An Analysis of the EU Court of Justice Interpretations in Case C-638/11

This research paper assesses the interpretations of Article 3(7) of the basic regulation by the General Court and the EU Court of Justice in Case C-638/11. The study highlights that the broad and non-exhaustive nature of Article 3(7) has led to divergent interpretations by the two courts. The General Court’s approach, applying the ‘Mischief Rule’ of interpretation, suggests that institutions should distinguish between the injury caused by dumped imports and that caused by other known factors. The court further posits that the list of factors in Article 3(7) should be considered illustrative rather than definitive, thus necessitating an evaluation of all relevant factors, which can vary with each case. Conversely, the EU Court of Justice rejected the inclusion of legislative amendments, such as the grant of GSP status, as other known factors affecting the Union industry, arguing they should be assessed only in their impact on the dumped imports. The paper challenges this stance by asserting that legislative changes and GSP status should be recognized as significant factors under Article 3(7) because they directly impact the Union market. It is argued that the EU institutions should have conducted a non-attribution analysis considering these factors, given their known effect on trade dynamics. The findings reveal that the vague and broad language of Article 3(7) has led to inconsistent applications and interpretations. The paper concludes with a recommendation for a more detailed and comprehensive list of factors to enhance clarity and consistency in causal link analyses.

Standardised cookie banner: a solution to the cookie consent problem

ABSTRACT Cookies are an essential part of today's internet. In the EU, the ePrivacy Directive (read with the EU GDPR) requires prior informed consent for using cookies. Usually, websites use cookie banners to meet the informed consent requirement. However, due to a lack of harmonisation of cookie law across the EU, varying cookie guidelines by data protection authorities of different member states, and varying implementation of cookie consent requirements by websites, users face differing cookie banners on different websites. Having to face differing cookie banners requires additional cognitive effort and time to read, understand, evaluate, and select options on each banner. Moreover, the way consent is sought remains deceptive. Websites use dark patterns, vague language, positive framing, and nudging to elicit user consent. This paper proposes standardised cookie banners to solve the various problems with cookie consent banners. The paper suggests that the standardised banner must have standardised timing of display, position on the website, text and language, presentation, consent options, and way of consenting.

Potentials and challenges of artificial intelligence-supported greenwashing detection in the energy sector

Fossil fuel actors have been using greenwashing strategies to enhance their public image by making ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ claims, which can be misleading for the investing public. This is particularly concerning as it can lead to the unwitting investment in carbon-intensive businesses and investments. The challenge lies in verifying the accuracy of environmental practices due to the vague language used in environmental reporting and disclosures. This Perspective proposes the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-supported greenwashing detection tools to help identify and scrutinise greenwashing practices, especially through web scraping, natural language processing, and life cycle assessments to assess the claims made in environmental reports and disclosures using examples from three cases to detect deceptive practices and promote transparency in the industry. However, for AI to be effective in detecting greenwashing practices, it is essential to have trustworthy and readily available databases, as well as human expert involvement to check for any biases in the AI's analysis.

“É importante que não tome mais comprimidos do que lhe foi indicado”: estratégias linguísticas de desresponsabilização da indústria farmacêutica em folhetos informativos

Legally, pharmaceutical companies are responsible for any damage, injury or harm caused to the user by their products. However, the language present in product warnings (Dumas, 1990; Shuy, 1990; Tiersma, 2002) and in patient information leaflets (PIL) (van der Waarde, 2008; Hagemeyer & Coulthard, 2017) seem to protect manufacturers from possible litigation, transferring responsibility to the consumer or user. Therefore, using both a pragmatic and discoursive analysis approach, we aim to investigate which linguistic strategies in European Portuguese (EP) acquit pharmaceutical companies from holding liability for the users’ actions. The qualitative analysis of a corpus of 20 PIL in EP reveals that the use of passive voice, impersonal constructions, attenuation of directive acts, declarative sentences with imperative value and vague language represent intentional strategies for pharmaceutical companies to protect themselves from possible litigation. Additionally, the comprehensibility of the text is further compromised by grammatical inconsistencies, the constant calculation of inferences and the presence of technical terms, “medicalese”.

Book Censorship in Public Schools: Examining Florida HB 1467 (2022)

Several pieces of legislation have sprung up in recent years in Florida aiming to restrict public school library books and curricular materials. Notably, this coincides with other state legislative moves to restrict what students read and learn in school with partisan purposes. Library associations have reported that nationally, removed books disproportionately contain LGBTQ and racial minority themes. One law at the heart of these restrictions, Florida HB 1467 (2022), empowers community members to challenge and remove public school books and adds bureaucratic obstacles to the access of previously allowable materials. The vague and broad language of the Florida law leads to erratic application by school districts across the state, resulting in the suppression of protected speech. This article examines a key constitutional tension: Under what circumstances does the students’ right to receive information under the First Amendment outweigh school officials’ authority, and, by extension, parental authority over local education under the Tenth Amendment? The U.S. Supreme Court in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982) offers one answer, holding that political orthodoxy is an unacceptable rationale for removal, but pervasive vulgarity and educational unsuitability are acceptable. These three standards are useful, yet entangle in ways Pico is not fully suited to address. This article argues HB 1467 (2022) is unconstitutional under the political orthodoxy Pico standard, strict scrutiny analysis of content-based regulations, and the vagueness and overbreadth doctrines of the 1st Amendment.

Vagueness, Conditionals and Context Sensitivity

AbstractI argue that practically all vague language is context sensitive in a covert and unfamiliar way. I first outline a novel puzzle concerning the interaction of conditionals and vagueness. I then argue that the best way of resolving the puzzle is by positing context‐sensitive penumbral connections between sundry parts of language. I argue that these penumbral connections shift through a distinct form of Lewisian accommodation. The upshot is that meaning is a far shiftier thing than has typically been thought.

Nanjing Yunjin intelligent question-answering system based on knowledge graphs and retrieval augmented generation technology

Nanjing Yunjin, a traditional Chinese silk weaving craft, is celebrated globally for its unique local characteristics and exquisite workmanship, forming an integral part of the world's intangible cultural heritage. However, with the advancement of information technology, the experiential knowledge of the Nanjing Yunjin production process is predominantly stored in text format. As a highly specialized and vertical domain, this information is not readily convert into usable data. Previous studies on a knowledge graph-based Nanjing Yunjin Question-Answering System have partially addressed this issue. However, knowledge graphs need to be constantly updated and rely on predefined entities and relationship types. Faced with ambiguous or complex natural language problems, knowledge graph information retrieval faces some challenges. Therefore, this study proposes a Nanjing Yunjin Question-Answering System that integrates Knowledge Graphs and Retrieval Augmented Generation techniques. In this system, the ROBERTA model is first utilized to vectorize Nanjing Yunjin textual information, delving deep into textual semantics to unveil its profound cultural connotations. Additionally, the FAISS vector database is employed for efficient storage and retrieval of Nanjing Yunjin information, achieving a deep semantic match between questions and answers. Ultimately, related retrieval results are fed into the Large Language Model for enhanced generation, aiming for more accurate text generation outcomes and improving the interpretability and logic of the Question-Answering System. This research merges technologies like text embedding, vectorized retrieval, and natural language generation, aiming to overcome the limitations of knowledge graphs-based Question-Answering System in terms of graph updating, dependency on predefined types, and semantic understanding. System implementation and testing have shown that the Nanjing Yunjin Intelligent Question-Answering System, constructed on the basis of Knowledge Graphs and Retrieval Augmented Generation, possesses a broader knowledge base that considers context, resolving issues of polysemy, vague language, and sentence ambiguity, and efficiently and accurately generates answers to natural language queries. This significantly facilitates the retrieval and utilization of Yunjin knowledge, providing a paradigm for constructing Question-Answering System for other intangible cultural heritages, and holds substantial theoretical and practical significance for the deep exploration and discovery of the knowledge structure of human intangible heritage, promoting cultural inheritance and protection.

Content Analysis of Official Public Health Communications in Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Effective communication by governmental organizations is essential to keep the public informed during a public health emergency. Examining the content of these communications can provide insight into their alignment with best practices for risk communication. We used content analysis to determine whether news releases by the Ontario government contained key elements of effective risk communication, as outlined by the Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada Strategic Risk Communication Framework. News releases between 25 January 2020 and 31 December 2022 were coded following the five elements of the framework: situational transparency, stakeholder-centered content; evidence-based rationales for decisions; continuous improvements in updating information; and descriptions of risk management. All 322 news releases contained at least one element of the framework, and all five elements were identified at least once across the dataset. Risk management, transparency, and stakeholder-centered content were the most frequently identified elements. News releases near the beginning of the pandemic contained most elements of the framework; however, over time, there was an increase in the use of vague language and lack of evidence-based rationales. Increasing transparency regarding evidence-based decisions, as well as changes in decisions, is recommended to improve risk communication and increase compliance with public health measures.

Overpopulation of Animals in India: Analyzing Legislative Shortcomings

The overpopulation of animals in India is a critical issue with far-reaching consequences, impacting animal welfare, public health, and community safety. This legal research paper examines the root causes of this problem and the inadequacies in India's current legislative framework governing animal welfare. It explores how vague language, lax enforcement, and gaps in coverage have contributed to the unchecked growth of stray animal populations, resulting in suffering, public health risks, and safety concerns. Comparative analysis with regions known for effective animal welfare legislation reveals best practices and strategies that can be adapted to the Indian context. The paper proposes a series of legal reforms tailored to the Indian context, including mandatory spaying and neutering, comprehensive registration and microchipping, stricter licensing and breeding regulations, public education and awareness campaigns, strengthened animal cruelty penalties, and the introduction of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs for feral animals. Addressing challenges, objections, and ethical considerations, these recommendations aim to strike a balance between personal freedoms and the need for responsible pet ownership. Through case studies and a contextualized approach, this research underscores the importance of addressing legislative shortcomings in India to safeguard animal welfare, protect public health, and ensure community safety. The proposed reforms seek to harmonize India's rich cultural diversity with modern animal welfare standards, ultimately creating a more compassionate and secure environment for both animals and humans in the Indian context.

What Does Bla Bla Mean? Gibberish As Fictional Language In Larva Island, Masha and The Bear, and Rabbid Invasion


 
 
 
 Gibberish is a term for nonsense language commonly found in animated films with anthropomorphic characters. This research is limited to analyzing the gibberish anthropomorphic characters that interact with non-gibberish characters. In this study, the authors examine how interactions between animals and humans by analyzing how humans, as non-gibberish characters, can understand what animals, as gibberish characters, convey with vague language and no identifiable meaning, such as sounds, expressions, and movements made by anthropomorphic characters. In analyzing the film and solving problems, the writer uses several theories, such as Thomason's hypnosis, Jasper's fluidity, and Arguby Purnomo's fictional language. Based on the theory used in this study, the writer can understand anthropomorphic characters in animated films like the Rabbid in Rabbids Invasion, the animals in Masha and The Bear, and also the interactions between Yellow, Red, and his friends with a man who was stranded in Larva Island, which only makes a faint sound, expression and body movements. By doing this research, we can prove that gibberish is used by anthropomorphic characters is functioned as a fictional language and proven by its aspects. This study can be used by future researchers in the fields of language and literature as a guide to reveal how gibberish in animal characters has functioned as fictional language.
 
 
 

Too little, too vague: How populist parties talk about deliberation in Europe

Populist parties place the people at the centre of polity and politics. Such parties refer to direct democracy as a suitable avenue to involve people in the decision-making process but much less is known about their approaches towards deliberation. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature and analyses how populist parties talk about deliberation in their election manifestos. It tests empirically how much they speak about deliberation and whether they have a generic discourse as opposed to specific references to forms of deliberation and levels of implementation. Our qualitative content analysis draws on the election manifestos of 84 political parties from the Manifesto Project Dataset in 23 European democracies in the national elections between 1996 and 2021. The results indicate that populists talk considerably less and use vague language about the levels of implementation compared to non-populists.

Learners' Perceived Development of Spoken Grammar Awareness after Corpus‐Informed Instruction: An Exploration of Learner Diaries

AbstractDeveloping spoken grammar awareness is a crucial first step in fostering noticing habits (Schmidt, 1990) in second language learners. Classroom instruction using corpus‐informed materials is an ideal way to assist this development, given that these materials are based on research which informs us about the most frequent forms and uses of spoken grammar and thus materials can help us to make frequent forms more salient to learners. However, as Badger (2018) notes, few studies seek to investigate what students actually notice outside of the classroom, following instruction. In this qualitative study, we aimed to address this gap by giving four intermediate learners instruction sessions using corpus‐informed materials to teach three aspects of spoken grammar which corpora show are very frequent (vague language, ellipsis, and discourse markers). Following instruction, learner diaries were submitted over a three‐week period to track (a) whether learners noticed the spoken grammar forms focused upon during the instruction in their day‐to‐day conversations in the UK, (b) whether they used any of the forms, and (c) the extent to which they perceived that this awareness helped them to have more successful conversations. The diaries were supported by a qualitative questionnaire administered 2 weeks after the final diary was submitted. Results show that learners reported noticing the forms in a variety of conversations, although this awareness was not always accurate. They also reported making some use of the forms themselves and the general perception was that the language taught was useful to them.

Structural and functional indicators in freshwater ecosystem monitoring programs

SummaryEcosystem function is a foundational part of ecosystem health, but it is often neglected in the practice of ecosystem monitoring. We conducted a review of freshwater ecosystem management literature, analysing 60 documents across multiple organisations to understand the prevalence of function in conceptualisations and measures of ecosystem health. Only 28% (n = 13) of analysed documents included definitions of waterway health that included function, and only 30% (n = 18) integrated function into their conceptualisations of waterway health. More generally, we observed noticeable deviation in analysed documents from management best practices advocated for by contemporary ecosystem science – including unclear rationales, vague language, and imprecise metrics for assessing waterway health. We discuss these findings in broader ecosystem management contexts. Our findings support previous observations of a strong structural bias in current ecosystem health monitoring and suggest the need for closer examinations into the processes and rationales by which such an important factor could be absent from monitoring programs.

Technology-Enhanced Student Success Program Short Report

This paper presents an LLM-generated “Short Report'' on designing technology-enhanced first-year success programs for first-generation college students at large, public universities. We describe the three-phase process used to generate the report, and the process evolution as we came to understand the LLM’s tendencies, while also highlighting the opportunities and challenges of integrating LLMs in the scholarly practitioner discourse. We explore whether Generative AI can serve as a valuable tool for educational and scholarly contexts. The current iteration of Large Language Models (LLMs) exhibits several critical shortcomings for reliably producing an article fit for publication, including imprecise information, overt hallucinations, problematic oversights, and vague language that would typically render it unsuitable for rigorous academic discussion. However, Generative AI can present us with viable, impactful ideas for improving learning. It is incumbent on us as educators to recognize, evaluate, and develop those ideas for our campuses and communities.

How to consolidate quickly: The cases of Algeria and Tunisia

Several governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have used pandemic measures to silence opposition voices and curb human rights. This article delvers deeper into this dynamic in Algeria and Tunisia by systematically analyzing regime use of preexisting authoritarian legal frameworks to target perceived regime opponents. Notably, unlike other regimes in the MENA, COVID-19 pandemic-specific laws (such as curfew violations) were not heavily relied on to arrest and prosecute prominent opponents. Instead, foundational laws that restrict free speech and assembly with intentionally vague language, which often date back decades, were reused. Several of these laws were enhanced during the pandemic to grant the executive more leeway in their use and expanded fines and prison sentences. Interestingly, despite the very public use of these laws, regimes in both countries have maintained relatively high public approval ratings. This is remarkable, given that past autocrats were overthrown for similar abuses. This demonstrates that pandemics grant aspiring authoritarian regimes greater leeway in the use of general legal mechanisms to restrict free speech and assembly. These kinds of crises can help maintain approval ratings despite extensive oppressive action by the state. This was especially true for Tunisia, where it appears that the pandemic created a rally-’round-the-flag effect that allowed the executive to consolidate his power in a dramatic democratic backslide.

Integrating Equity Considerations in an International Pandemic Instrument

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic is widely regarded as a catastrophic failure of global governance with far-reaching consequences. Actions from wealthy countries severely limited access to essential medicines and supplies for the majority of the world's population. While the World Health Assembly has established an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft an instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and equity considerations have been positioned as central to this process, there remains a danger that international power imbalances sabotage meaningful equity action. What priorities should an equity-centred pandemic instrument reflect? Methods Using a sequential deliberative dialogue (DD) methodology, international participants were purposefully selected for expertise, life experience, and spheres of influence. Two Fall 2022 dialogues were virtually convened to coincide with the study's official representation at the INB process and participants were engaged to respond specifically to the instrument's development. Dialogue findings were synthesized with a Systematic Equity Action-Analysis1 and participants were invited to review and respond. Results Alongside specific recommendations to prevent future inequitable pandemic responses, three overarching equity-centred approaches were identified as crucial: (1) consistently align stated intentions with operational proposals; (2) openly acknowledge causes and contexts of global inequity; and (3) create mechanisms for accountability and enforcement. Conclusions Achieving equity in international instruments is possible, but vague language threatens this potential. Beyond aspirational rhetoric, deliberate and coherent equity-promoting mechanisms are needed throughout the pandemic instrument in order to avoid the next catastrophic failure of global governance. 1. Plamondon et al. Turning the tide on inequity through systematic equity action-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):890. Key messages • Despite a rhetoric of ‘virtuous’ equity statements by the world's power and resource-wealthy countries, global contexts of inequity will continue or worsen without mitigation. • Given future pandemics are likely, the cost of not mitigating inequities through this treaty poses risks to global public health.

‘From there everything changed’: conversion narrative in the biomimicry movement

ABSTRACT An increasingly influential approach to solving human ecological problems is an innovative design practice known as biomimicry. The Biomimicry Institute, a major stakeholder in the Biomimicry Movement, promotes biomimicry as a practice that mimics nature’s genius to solve human challenges and provides hope of sustainable futures. Despite increasing global interest in the practice, so far little is known about the value placed on biomimicry within practitioner communities. Employing a corpus-assisted discourse-analytic approach, this paper explores the ways video narratives shared by practitioners affiliated with and curated by the Biomimicry Institute position biomimicry as a sacred practice. Drawing on Stibbe’s ecolinguistic approach and Hobbs’ functional religious language framework, we observe an overarching discursive pattern of conversion narrative (incorporating both personal and collective storylines) which highlights the sacred significance of the movement. We explore how the linguistic strategies underlying these conversion narratives centre human experience, mark group identity and attract new converts, while constructing an ecologically ambivalent discourse. In particular, we find that use of vague language obscures the precise nature of involvement in the movement and blurs the lines between member and non-member, contributing to the conversion narratives’ potential as powerful proselytising tools.