Showing papers on "Context (language use) published in 1994"

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children

Abstract: Foreword to the New Edition. Preface. The Author. 1. A Dream Deferred. 2. Does Culture Matter? 3. Seeing Color, Seeing Culture. 4. We Are Family. 5. The Tree of Knowledge. 6. Culturally Relevant Teaching. 7. Making Dreams into Reality. Afterword. Appendix A: Methodology. Appendix B: Context. Notes. Index. Discussion Questions.

Context-Aware Computing Applications

Abstract: This paper describes systems that examine and react to an individual's changing context. Such systems can promote and mediate people's interactions with devices, computers, and other people, and they can help navigate unfamiliar places. We believe that a limited amount of information covering a person's proximate environment is most important for this form of computing since the interesting part of the world around us is what we can see, hear, and touch. In this paper we define context-aware computing, and describe four catagories of context-aware applications: proximate selection, automatic contextual reconfiguration, contextual information and commands, and contex-triggered actions. Instances of these application types have been prototyped on the PARCTAB, a wireless, palm-sized computer.

Estimating attributes: analysis and extensions of RELIEF

Abstract: In the context of machine learning from examples this paper deals with the problem of estimating the quality of attributes with and without dependencies among them. Kira and Rendell (1992a,b) developed an algorithm called RELIEF, which was shown to be very efficient in estimating attributes. Original RELIEF can deal with discrete and continuous attributes and is limited to only two-class problems. In this paper RELIEF is analysed and extended to deal with noisy, incomplete, and multi-class data sets. The extensions are verified on various artificial and one well known real-world problem.

Dyadic Business Relationships within a Business Network Context

Abstract: In business-to-business settings, dyadic relationships between firms are of paramount interest. Recent developments in business practice strongly suggest that to understand these business relationships, greater attention must be directed to the embedded context within which dyadic business relationships take place. The authors provide a means for understanding the connectedness of these relationships. They then conduct a substantive validity assessment to furnish some empirical support that the constructs they propose are sufficiently well delineated and to generate some suggested measures for them. They conclude with a prospectus for research on business relationships within business networks.

Facilitating internalization: the self-determination theory perspective.

Abstract: Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) posits that (a) people are inherently motivated to internalize the regulation of uninteresting though important activities; (b) there are two different processes through which such internalization can occur, resulting in qualitatively different styles of self-regulation; and (c) the social context influences which internalization process and regulatory style occur. The two types of internalization are introjection, which entails taking in a value or regulatory process but not accepting it as one's own, and integration, through which the regulation is assimilated with one's core sense of self. Introjection results in internally controlling regulation, whereas integration results in self-determination. An experiment supported our hypothesis that three facilitating contextual factors--namely, providing a meaningful rationale, acknowledging the behaver's feelings, and conveying choice--promote internalization, as evidenced by the subsequent self-regulation of behavior. This experiment also supported our expectation that when the social context supports self-determination, integration tends to occur, whereas when the context does not support self-determination, introjection tends to occur.

A primer on decision making : how decisions happen

Abstract: Building on lecture notes from his course at Stanford University, James G. March provides an introduction to decision making, a central human activity, fundamental to individual, group, organizational, and societal life. March draws on research from all the disciplines of social and behavioural science to show decision making in its broadest context. By emphasizing how decisions are actually made - as opposed to how they should be made - he enables those involved in the process to understand it both as observers and as participants. In addition, March explains key concepts of vital importance to decision makers, such as limited rationality, history-dependent rules, and ambiguity, and weaves these ideas into a full depiction of decision making.

Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research.

Abstract: The understanding of how to reduce risk factors for mental disorders has expanded remarkably as a result of recent scientific advances This study, mandated by Congress, reviews those advances in the context of current research and provides a targeted definition of prevention and a conceptual framework that emphasizes risk reduction Highlighting opportunities for and barriers to interventions, the book draws on successful models for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, injuries, and smoking In addition, it reviews the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse and dependence, depressive disorders, and conduct disorders and evaluates current illustrative prevention programs The models and examination provide a framework for the design, application, and evaluation of interventions intended to prevent mental disorders and the transfer of knowledge about prevention from research to clinical practice The book presents a focused research agenda, with recommendations on how to develop effective intervention programs, create a cadre of prevention researchers, and improve coordination among federal agencies

Marketing Strategy-Performance Relationship: An Investigation of the Empirical Link in Export Market Ventures:

Abstract: The relationship between marketing strategy and performance has been well documented in the domestic marketing context. However, empirical work in the context of export marketing has been fragmente...

Guilt: An interpersonal approach.

Abstract: Multiple sets of empirical research findings on guilt are reviewed to evaluate the view that guilt should be understood as an essentially social phenomenon that happens between people as much as it happens inside them. Guilt appears to arise from interpersonal transactions (including transgressions and positive inequities) and to vary significantly with the interpersonal context. In particular, guilt patterns appear to be strongest, most common, and most consistent in the context of communal relationships, which are characterized by expectations of mutual concern. Guilt serves various relationship-enhancing functions, including motivating people to treat partners well and avoid transgressions, minimizing inequities and enabling less powerful partners to get their way, and redistributing emotional distress.

Evidence that task performance should be distinguished from contextual performance.

Abstract: This study tests the merit of the distinction made by W. C. Borman and S. J. Motowidlo (1993) between task performance and contextual performance. Supervisors rated 421 U.S. Air Force mechanics on their task performance, contextual performance, and overall performance. Data on length of air force experience, ability, training performance, and personality were also available for many of these mechanics. Results showed that both task performance and contextual performance contribute independently to overall performance. Experience is more highly correlated with task performance than with contextual performance, and personality variables are more highly correlated with contextual performance than with task performance. These results support the distinction between task performance and contextual performance and confirm that performance, at least as judged by supervisors, is multidimensional

Development of Reading-Related Phonological Processing Abilities: New Evidence of Bidirectional Causality from a Latent Variable Longitudinal Study.

Abstract: Results from a longitudinal correlational study of 244 children from kindergarten through 2nd grade indicate that young children's phonological processing abilities are well-described by 5 correlated latent abilities: phonological analysis, phonological synthesis, phonological coding in working memory, isolated naming, and serial naming. These abilities are characterized by different developmental rates and remarkably stable individual differences. Decoding did not exert a causal influence on subsequent phonological processing abilities, but letter-name knowledge did. Causal relations between phonological processing abilities and reading-related knowledge are bidirectional: Phonological processing abilities exert strong causal influences on word decoding; letter-name knowledge exerts a more modest causal influence on subsequent phonological processing abilities. In the context of beginning reading, phonological processing refers to making use of the phonological or sound structure of oral language when learning how to decode written language (see Adams, 1990; Brady & Shankweiler, 1991; Crowder &

Strongly Geometrically Frustrated Magnets

Abstract: The study of cooperative phenomena in magnetism has provided fertile ground for testing theories of interacting systems that possess different spatial dimensions, ranges, and sign of interactions, and that exhibit local anisotropy of the basic interacting unit, the magnetic spin. This study has also motivated the development of new classes of materials, from the oldest known type of magnets, namely ferromagnets, to modern substances embodied in the unusual random field and spin glass compounds. In this context, we use the term material class to mean a set of compounds that share both microscopic, as well as macroscopic, or bulk, properties. Thus for example, ferro magnets possess the microscopic uniform ferromagnetic­ type exchange or dipolar interaction between spins, in addition to a bulk low temperature magnetization approaching the theoretical saturated moment value, and characteristic critical behavior at the Curie, or order­ ing, temperature. Among the known classes of magnets, spin glasses are among the most fascinating, displaying in their bulk properties simul­ taneous sharp ordering features in their magnetic response while exhibiting no such anomalies in their thermal response (1). These properties are thought to arise from a ground state characterized not by a single potential well representing the uniform arrangement of perfectly ordered spins, as in a ferromagnet, but rather by an energy landscape with many nearly degenerate ground state configurations separated by barriers of random height ( 1 ). The microscopic parameters empirically associated with spin glass

Space-filling curves

Abstract: The subject of space-filling curves has generated a great deal of interest in the 100 years since the first such curve was discovered by Peano. Cantor, Hilbert, Moore, Knopp, Lebesgue and Polya are among the prominent mathematicians who have contributed to the field. However, there have been no comprehensive treatment of the subject since Siepinsky's in 1912. Cantor showed in 1878 that the number of points on an interval is the same as the number of points in a square, while in 1890 Peano showed that there is indeed a continuous curve that maps all points of a line onto all points of a square, although the curve exists only as a limit of very convoluted curves. This book discusses generalizations of Peano's solution and the properties that such curves must possess. It also discusses fractals in this context.

The Crucible Within: Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem, and Segmented Assimilation Among Children of Immigrants

Abstract: Focusing on the formation of ethnic self-identities during adolescence, this paper examines the psychosocial adaptation of children of immigrants from Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The data are drawn from the CILS survey carried out in the San Diego and Miami metropolitan areas of over 5,000 children of immigrants attending the 8th and 9th grades in local schools. The sample is evenly split by gender and nativity (half are U.S.-born, half foreign-born). The results show major differences in their patterns of ethnic self-identification, both between and within groups from diverse national origins. Instead of a uniform assimilative path, we found segmented paths to identity formation. Detailed social portraits are sketched for each ethnic identity type. Multivariate analyses then explore the determinants of assimilative and dissimilative ethnic self-identities, and of other aspects of psychosocial adaptation such as self-esteem, depressive affect, and parent-child conflict, controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, and national origin. The theoretical and practical implications of these results – especially the effects of acculturation, discrimination, location and ethnic density of schools, parental socialization and family context, upon the psychosocial adaptation of children of recent immigrants to the United States – are discussed.

Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment

Abstract: The first part of this book provides an introduction to the principles of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), and an overview of its development and agency and legislative context. Part two gives a step by step discussion and critique of the EIA process. Part three examines current practice, in the UK and in several other countries, and includes selected UK case studies. Part four considers possible future developments.

The table lens: merging graphical and symbolic representations in an interactive focus + context visualization for tabular information

Abstract: We present a new visualization, called the Table Lens, for visualizing and making sense of large tables. The visualization uses a focus+context (fisheye) technique that works effectively on tabular information because it allows display of crucial label information and multiple distal focal areas. In addition, a graphical mapping scheme for depicting table contents has been developed for the most widespread kind of tables, the cases-by-variables table. The Table Lens fuses symbolic and graphical representations into a single coherent view that can be fluidly adjusted by the user. This fusion and interactivity enables an extremely rich and natural style of direct manipulation exploratory data analysis.

Effect of Clinical Guidelines on Medical Practice: A Systematic Review of Rigorous Evaluations

Abstract: Although interest in clinical guidelines has never been greater, uncertainty persists about whether they are effective. The debate has been hampered by the lack of a rigorous overview. We have identified 59 published evaluations of clinical guidelines that met defined criteria for scientific rigour; 24 investigated guidelines for specific clinical conditions, 27 studied preventive care, and 8 looked at guidelines for prescribing or for support services. All but 4 of these studies detected significant improvements in the process of care after the introduction of guidelines and all but 2 of the 11 studies that assessed the outcome of care reported significant improvements. We conclude that explicit guidelines do improve clinical practice, when introduced in the context of rigorous evaluations. However, the size of the improvements in performance varied considerably.

Lewis A. Conner Memorial Lecture. Mechanisms leading to myocardial infarction: insights from studies of vascular biology.

Abstract: Myocardial infarction is the most frequent cause of mortality in the United States as well as in most western countries. In this review, the processes leading to myocardial infarction are described based on the most recent studies of vascular biology; in addition, evolving strategies for prevention are outlined. The following was specifically discussed. (1) Five phases of the progression of coronary atherosclerosis (phases 1 to 5) and eight morphologically different lesions (types I, II, III, IV, Va, Vb, Vc, and VI) in the various phases are defined. (2) The present understanding of the pathogenesis of each of the phases of progression and of the various lesion types preceding myocardial infarction is described; particular emphasis is placed on the physical, structural, cellular, and chemical characteristics of the "vulnerable or unstable plaques" prone to disruption (types IV and Va lesions). (3) The fate of plaque disruption (type VI lesion) in the genesis of the various coronary syndromes and especially acute myocardial infarction is defined; particular emphasis is placed on the combination of plaque disruption and a high thrombogenic risk profile--local factors (ie, degree of plaque disruption, exposure of lipid-macrophage-rich plaque, etc) and systemic factors (ie, catecholamines, RAS, fibrinogen, etc)--in the genesis of myocardial infarction. (4) Strategies of regression or stabilization of "vulnerable or unstable plaques" for prevention of myocardial infarction are presented within the context of recent favorable experience with risk factor modification and lipid-modifying angiographic trials, beta-blockade and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition, antithrombotic strategies, and the possible role of estrogens. The recent past has been very fruitful in yielding a better understanding of the processes leading to myocardial infarction, and the near future appears very promising in terms of preventing the number 1 killer in the western world.

Electoral Competition and Special Interest Politics

Abstract: We study the competition between two political parties for seats in a parliament. The parliament will set two types of policies: ideological and non-ideological. The parties have fixed positions on the ideological issues, but choose their non-ideological platforms to attract voters and campaign contributions. In this context, we ask: How do the equilibrium contributions from special interest groups influence the platforms of the parties? We show that each party is induced to behave as if it were maximizing a weighted sum of the aggregate welfares of informed voters and members of special interest groups. The party that is expected to win a majority of seats caters more to the special interests.

Estimation, Inference and Specification Analysis

Abstract: This book examines the consequences of misspecifications ranging from the fundamental to the nonexistent for the interpretation of likelihood-based methods of statistical estimation and interference. Professor White first explores the underlying motivation for maximum-likelihood estimation, treats the interpretation of the maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE) for misspecified probability models, and gives the conditions under which parameters of interest can be consistently estimated despite misspecification, and the consequences of misspecification, for hypothesis testing in estimating the asymptotic covariance matrix of the parameters. Although the theory presented in the book is motivated by econometric problems, its applicability is by no means restricted to economics. Subject to defined limitations, the theory applies to any scientific context in which statistical analysis is conducted using approximate models.

Out of mind but back in sight: Stereotypes on the rebound

Abstract: For a variety of reasons, social perceivers may often attempt to actively inhibit stereotypic thoughts before their effects impinge on judgment and behavior. However, research on the psychology of mental control raises doubts about the efficacy of this strategy. Indeed, this work suggests that when people attempt to suppress unwanted thoughts, these thoughts are likely to subsequently reappear with even greater insistence than if they had never been suppressed (i.e., a ''rebound'' effect). The present research comprised an investigation of the extent to which this kind of rebound effect extends to unwanted stereotypic thoughs about others. The results provided strong support for the existence of this effect. Relative to control subjects (i.e., stereotype users), stereotype suppressors responded more pejoratively to a stereotyped target on a range of dependent measures. We discuss our findings in the wider context of models of mind, thought suppression, and social stereotyping.

Innovation and diffusion in small firms: Theory and evidence

Abstract: The article provides an inventory of the strengths and weaknesses of small firms in a dynamic context. To do this it considers verbal accounts of the processes of innovation and diffusion, as well as quantitative studies testing cause-effect relations. It consider both economic and noneconomic factors, concerning issues of motivation, perception and knowledge. First an overall summary is given of the characteristics of small business compared with large business, as a basis for an assessment of strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps the most important characteristic of small business is its diversity, and the article gives the conditions and sources of it. Other core characteristics are small scale, personality and independence of the small firm. From these, derived characteristics, strengths and weaknesses and core strategies can be inferred. From the perspective of the firm, strengths and weaknesses are subsequently analysed for the successive stages of innovation: invention, development, tooling/production, introduction to practice/market. Strengths and weaknesses in diffusion are analysed for the successive stages in the adoption process, as proposed by Rogers. Reference is made to theory and to empirical studies from the literature and from research by the present author.

Deconstructing Developmental Psychology

Abstract: What is childhood and why, and how, did psychology come to be the arbiter of 'correct'or 'normal' development? How do actual lived childhoods connect with theories about child development? In this completely revised and updated edition, Deconstructing Developmental Psychology interrogates the assumptions and practices surrounding the psychology of child development, providing a critical evaluation of the role and contribution of developmental psychology within social practice. In the decade since the first edition was published, there have been many major changes. The role accorded childcare experts and the power of the 'psy complex' have, if anything, intensified. This book addresses how shifts in advanced capitalism have produced new understandings of children, and a new (and more punitive) range of institutional responses to children. It engages with the paradoxes of childhood in an era when young adults are increasingly economically dependent on their families, and in a political context of heightened insecurity. The new edition includes an updated review of developments in psychological theory (in attachment, evolutionary psychology, theory of mind, cultural-historical approaches), as well as updating and reflecting upon the changed focus on fathers and fathering. It offers new perspectives on the connections between Piaget and Vygotsky and now connects much more closely with discussions from the sociology of childhood and critical educational research. Coverage has been expanded to include more material on child rights debates, and a new chapter addresses practice dilemmas around child protection, which engages even more with the "raced" and gendered effects of current policies involving children.

International-Business Political Behavior: New Theoretical Directions

Abstract: Alternative assumptions are advanced regarding the political nature of international business and the role of government as a factor of production, which firms must manage in their international value-added chains. Based on a model of business political behavior, various propositions are developed regarding the interactions among firm, industry, and nonmarket factors as well as the impact they have on various forms and intensities of political behavior, as affected by strategic objectives. Finally, the strategic-theorizing implications of such behavior are discussed in the context of the recent emphasis on resource-based models of strategy management.

How Women Legislate

Abstract: INTRODUCTION 1. Expectations and Natures 2. The Procedural Question: Reform or Adapt? 3. Legislative Products: The Influence of Women 4. The Nature of Support 5. The Context of Institutional Change 6. The Impact of Women 7. Predictions for the Future

Human Reliability Analysis: Context and Control

Abstract: Performance, Reliability, And Unwanted Consequences. The Need for Models of the Reliability of Cognition. The Nature of Human Reliability Assessment. Reliability. Scientific Issues. The Fundamentals of the Model. The Dependent Differentiation Method. Chapter Summaries. Discussion. References. Index.

Negotiating social identity when contexts change: Maintaining identification and responding to threat.

Abstract: The impact of change in context on identity maintenance, the implications of maintenance efforts for group identification, and the effects of perceived threats to identity on self-esteem associated with group membership are examined in a longitudinal study of Hispanic students during their 1st year at predominately Anglo universities. Whereas ethnic identity is initially linked to the strength of the students'cultural background, maintenance of ethnic identity is acoomplished by weakening that link and remooring the identity to the current college context. Results suggest 2 distinct paths by which students negotiate their ethnic identity in a new context. Students with initially strong ethnic identity become involved in cultural activities, increasing the strength of their identification

The pathogenesis of gait hypokinesia in Parkinson's disease

Abstract: To identify the fundaamentall deficit in gait hypokinesia in Parkinson's disease (PD) we conducted a series of experiments that compared PD subjects with age- and height- matched controls in their capacity to regualte either stride length, cadence (steps per minute) or both parameters to three conditions. In the first condition the spatial and temporal parameters of gait were documented for slow, normal and fast walking. The seconde condition compared parkinsonian gait with the walking pattern of elderly controls whilst controlling for two movement speeds: fast (control preferred) speed and slow (PD preferred) speed. In the third condition we examined the ability of PD subjects to regulate one parameter (e.g. stride length) when the other two parameters (e.g. velocity and cadence) were held at control values. A total of 34 PD subjects and 34 matched controls were tested using a footswitch stride analysis system that measured the spatial and temporal parameters of gait for a series of 10 m walking trials. Parkinsonian subjects exhibited marked gait hypokinesia in each of the experiments. Although they retained the capacity to vary their gait velocity in a similar manner to controls, their range of response was reduced. Within the lower velocity range, PD subjects could vary their speed of walking by adjusting cadence and, to a lesser extent, stride length. However, when the speed of walking was controllled, the stride length was found to be shorter and the cadence higher in PD subjects than in controls. Stride length could not be upgraded by internal control mechanisms in response to a fixed cadence set for age and height-matched velocity. In contrast, cadence was readily modulated by external cues and by internal control mechanisms when stride length was fixed to the values obtained for age-and height-matched controls. It was concluded that regualation of stride length is the fundamental problem in gait hypokinesia and the relative increase in cadence exhibited by PD subjects is a compensatory mechanism for the difficulty in regulating stride length. These findings are discussed in the context of the hypothesized role of the basal ganglia in generating internal cues for the maintenance of the gait sequence and in relation to the structuring of movement rehabilitation strategies.