This study investigated the efficiency of learning the Chinese numeral classifiers by L2 Chinese learners by means of an alignment-oriented task. Participants were a total of 96 intermediate learners of L2 Chinese, wh...This study investigated the efficiency of learning the Chinese numeral classifiers by L2 Chinese learners by means of an alignment-oriented task. Participants were a total of 96 intermediate learners of L2 Chinese, who were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group, with each group consisting of 32 participants. The continuation task used in this study consisted of a picture-based Chinese text depicting a room with an array of objects, which necessitates the use of classifiers. The two experimental groups were both required to first read the text and then write to describe their own rooms in comparison with the one in the text. One group was instructed to use the classifiers from the text as much as possible in their writing, whereas the other was not required to do so. Participants in the control group were first given the picture to look at in the absence of the text and then asked to describe their own rooms. The results showed that the continuation task significantly enhanced participants’ retention of the Chinese numeral classifiers, suggesting that the alignment-based approach is an effective way to learn difficult linguistic categories such as the Chinese classifiers.展开更多
The preservation/restoration of natural environment is frequently entailing excessive cost （paid by people through taxation） while it is a source of additional income for both, the State and the people, due to touri...The preservation/restoration of natural environment is frequently entailing excessive cost （paid by people through taxation） while it is a source of additional income for both, the State and the people, due to tourism. Since the evaluation of this good cannot be in market terms, it is applied here in a modified version of the CVM （Contingent Valuation Method）, which is used in experimental economics in order to investigate the significance that people put on this good and how much they might be WTP （Willing to Pay） for supporting activities concerning the preservation/restoration of Lake Kastoria. The WTP dependence on （i） external diseconomies; （ii） the expectations for property values＇ rise as a result of the restoration; （iii） the proximity of interviewees＇ residence to the lake; （iv） the opinion of the interviewee on the time and money spent to visit the lake; （v） the time and money the interviewees spent to visit the lake, as well as other dependencies （all taken as independent variables） are estimated by means oflogit, probit, logistic and linear regression models. The optimal concentration Copt of a pollutant in the environment can be determined as an equilibrium point in the tradeoff between （i） environmental cost, due to impact on man/ecosystem/economy; and （ii） economic cost for environmental protection, as it can be expressed by Pigouvian tax. These two conflict variables are internalized within the same techno-economic objective function of total cost, which is minimized. In this work, the first conflict variable is represented by a WTP index. A methodology is developed for the estimation of this index by using fuzzy sets to count for uncertainty. Implementation of this methodology is presented, concerning odor pollution of air round an olive pomace oil mill.展开更多
Objective:The aim of the study was to investigate the adaptive response of low-dose radiation-induced apoptosis in mouse spleen cells and its related proteins control mechanism. Methods: Kunming male mice were randoml...Objective:The aim of the study was to investigate the adaptive response of low-dose radiation-induced apoptosis in mouse spleen cells and its related proteins control mechanism. Methods: Kunming male mice were randomly divided into sham-irradiation group, attacking dose irradiation group (D2) and low-dose radiation + attacking dose irradiation group (D1+D2). After a week the D1+D2 group was given low-dose radiation (doses were 25,50,75 and 100 mGy, dose rate of 12.5 mGy/min), after 6 hours the D2 group and the D1+D2 group were given attacking dose of radiation (Dose of 1.5 Gy, dose rate of 287 mGy/min). After 18 hours all mice were killed. The spleen cell apoptosis and Caspase-3 expression's changes were detected by flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, and the changes of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by immunohistochemical staining semi-quantitative method. Results: The rate of apoptosis, the fluorescence intensity of Caspase-3, and the semi-quantitative results of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax in every group were significantly different. Of all groups, the apoptosis rate and Caspase-3 fluorescence intensity of D2 group were the highest. Compared with the sham-irradiated group, Bcl-2 protein level of D2 group decreased significantly, and Bax protein level of D2 group increased significantly. But compared with D2 group, the apoptosis rates, the fluorescence intensities of Caspase-3 expression and the Bax protein levels in D1+D2 group were lower in different doses, and the Bcl-2 protein levels in D1+D2 group were higher in different doses. Conclusion: 25-75 mGy low-dose radiation can induce the adaptive response of mouse spleen cells' apoptosis, the expression of Caspase-3, and the apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2 expression increased, Bax reduced, and it leads to the apoptosis of the spleen cells decreased.展开更多
Chinese noun-classifier compound words show different properties in lexical meaning and syntactic collocation. The complexity of these compounds lies in the grammaticalization of classifiers’ system. Some nouns used...Chinese noun-classifier compound words show different properties in lexical meaning and syntactic collocation. The complexity of these compounds lies in the grammaticalization of classifiers’ system. Some nouns used as classifiers in the position of classifier are not grammaticalized into real classifiers which are temporary classifiers. So some of them are real noun-classifier compounds and some belong to noun-noun compounds. This paper attempts to analyze the structural relation between noun morpheme and classifier morpheme within the word. It also explains that the noun and the classifier compound in the position of light noun in the nP structure.展开更多
English and Chinese both belong to satellite-flamed languages in lexicalizing motion events. However, they are not entirely identical in Path encoding. Path comprises Vector, Conformation, and Deictic. Vector comprise...English and Chinese both belong to satellite-flamed languages in lexicalizing motion events. However, they are not entirely identical in Path encoding. Path comprises Vector, Conformation, and Deictic. Vector comprises Arrival, Departure and Traversal. English and Chinese use different forms （prepositions vs. verbs） to represent Traversal. The Arrival component in Chinese can denote ＂realized arrival＂ while that in English cannot. English is not fine-grained as Chinese in the specification of Conformation. The use of Deictic in Chinese is more pervasive than that in English. Satellite elements in English are realized as particles and prepositions while those in Chinese are realized as directional verbs.展开更多
Based on the Involvement Load Hypothesis, the present study investigated the differential effects of three post-listening output tasks(gap-filling, translation, and sentence-making) on immediate acquisition and retent...Based on the Involvement Load Hypothesis, the present study investigated the differential effects of three post-listening output tasks(gap-filling, translation, and sentence-making) on immediate acquisition and retention of such vocabulary dimensions as productive knowledge of orthography,receptive recall of meaning and form, and productive knowledge of grammatical functions. Ninety second-year English majors were divided into three groups to finish listening plus one of the postlistening tasks. The results showed that the post-listening output tasks had positive effects on immediate acquisition of productive vocabulary knowledge, partially in agreement with the Involvement Load Hypothesis. However, the effects on vocabulary knowledge retention were found to be largely inconsistent with the Involvement Load Hypothesis. The finding thus challenges this hypothesis in that involvement load is not the only determining factor and suggests that the theoretical construct of involvement load should be constructed with more caution.展开更多
In order to improve Chinese overlapping ambiguity resolution based on a support vector machine, statistical features are studied for representing the feature vectors. First, four statistical parameters-mutual informat...In order to improve Chinese overlapping ambiguity resolution based on a support vector machine, statistical features are studied for representing the feature vectors. First, four statistical parameters-mutual information, accessor variety, two-character word frequency and single-character word frequency are used to describe the feature vectors respectively. Then other parameters are tried to add as complementary features to the parameters which obtain the best results for further improving the classification performance. Experimental results show that features represented by mutual information, single-character word frequency and accessor variety can obtain an optimum result of 94. 39%. Compared with a commonly used word probability model, the accuracy has been improved by 6. 62%. Such comparative results confirm that the classification performance can be improved by feature selection and representation.展开更多
This paper attempts at an in-depth exploration of lexical mismatching, a pattern of vocabulary errors. In this paper, errors per se were collected from 107 writing samples of Chinese college students, and then investi...This paper attempts at an in-depth exploration of lexical mismatching, a pattern of vocabulary errors. In this paper, errors per se were collected from 107 writing samples of Chinese college students, and then investigated from a variety of linguistic perspectives. Traditional theoretical approaches, i.e. CA and EA, are incorporated in the source analysis for a more comprehensive interpretation. Hopefully, the findings of the study will shed lights on lexical instruction and acquisition in the field of SLA.展开更多
EFL （English as a Foreign Language） speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners＇ socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role...EFL （English as a Foreign Language） speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners＇ socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role in this process. However, few studies have investigated how both EFL teachers and learners view and analyze situations in which learners are not producing enough spoken language in class, and the reasons behind them. The present study will pinpoint the significant role of lexis in Moroccan learners＇ speaking production. To this end, 40 EFL teachers and 200 Moroccan high school students are surveyed and interviewed to reveal their perceptions of the speaking skill and the corresponding high significance of lexis in this instance. Results show that both teachers and learners identify vocabulary deficiency as the main factor behind students＇ inability to speak English. In the present paper, among the many suggestions that could be proposed to deal with this situation, it is argued that one efficient way would be to assist the students during the process of L2 （second language） vocabulary learning through vocabulary learning strategy instruction. Pedagogical and research implication will be given in response to the difficulties encountered in this area as have been identified by the EFL teachers and learners surveyed.展开更多
This paper focuses on manifestations of negative transfer of native language at lexical level reflected in Chinese college students＇ English writing. A classification as well as its exemplification is offered concern...This paper focuses on manifestations of negative transfer of native language at lexical level reflected in Chinese college students＇ English writing. A classification as well as its exemplification is offered concerning all these lexical transfer errors. And the cause of formation is analyzed for the corresponding class of lexical transfer.展开更多
Baishideng's goal over the next few years is to edit and publish high-quality articles through the open-access model, to maximize the benefits to members of the editorial board, authors and readers, as well as ach...Baishideng's goal over the next few years is to edit and publish high-quality articles through the open-access model, to maximize the benefits to members of the editorial board, authors and readers, as well as achieving social and economic benefits.展开更多
This research proposes and implements an Arabic Sub-Words Recognition System （ASWR）. The system focuses on employing a combination of statistical and structural features to provide complete pattern＇s description an...This research proposes and implements an Arabic Sub-Words Recognition System （ASWR）. The system focuses on employing a combination of statistical and structural features to provide complete pattern＇s description and enhances the recognition rate. Support Vector Machines （SVMs） is utilized as a promising pattern recognition tool. In addition to that, the problems of dots and holes are solved in a completely different way from the ones previously employed. The proposed system proceeds in several phases as follows： （1） image acquisition, （2） binarisation, （3） morphological processing, （4） feature extraction, which includes statistical features, i.e., moment invariants, and structural features, i.e., dot number, dot position, and number of holes, features, and （5） classification, using multi-class SVMs and applying a one-against-all technique. The proposed system has been tested using different sets of words and subwords and has achieved a nearly 98.90% recogiaition rate. Comparative results with NNs are also presented.展开更多
As teachers of EFL （English as a Foreign Language） in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are sometimes flabbergasted by the errors that the/earners make in their English scripts. Apparently, there was no pattern to the...As teachers of EFL （English as a Foreign Language） in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are sometimes flabbergasted by the errors that the/earners make in their English scripts. Apparently, there was no pattern to these errors. However, when the researcher observed the frequency of similar error over a few years of her experience as an EFL faculty for Saudi learners, the theory of Lexical Relations appeared to offer an answer. Therein also lies the genesis of the current study. In a positive development, the study did bring to light certain factors that directly played a role in the Saudi EFL learners＇ English errors. These have been presented in this paper with the hope that with the diagnosis in hand, it will be easier for the EFL teachers to find a solution to the dearth of English proficiency among the Saudi EFL learners.展开更多
Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force （ADF） is increasingly concerned with susta...Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force （ADF） is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area （SWBTA） as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park （GBRMP）, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area （GBRWHA）, and abutting Queensland＇s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System （EMS） is widely used by the ADE This paper exanlines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber （TS） exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.展开更多
文摘This study investigated the efficiency of learning the Chinese numeral classifiers by L2 Chinese learners by means of an alignment-oriented task. Participants were a total of 96 intermediate learners of L2 Chinese, who were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group, with each group consisting of 32 participants. The continuation task used in this study consisted of a picture-based Chinese text depicting a room with an array of objects, which necessitates the use of classifiers. The two experimental groups were both required to first read the text and then write to describe their own rooms in comparison with the one in the text. One group was instructed to use the classifiers from the text as much as possible in their writing, whereas the other was not required to do so. Participants in the control group were first given the picture to look at in the absence of the text and then asked to describe their own rooms. The results showed that the continuation task significantly enhanced participants’ retention of the Chinese numeral classifiers, suggesting that the alignment-based approach is an effective way to learn difficult linguistic categories such as the Chinese classifiers.
文摘The preservation/restoration of natural environment is frequently entailing excessive cost （paid by people through taxation） while it is a source of additional income for both, the State and the people, due to tourism. Since the evaluation of this good cannot be in market terms, it is applied here in a modified version of the CVM （Contingent Valuation Method）, which is used in experimental economics in order to investigate the significance that people put on this good and how much they might be WTP （Willing to Pay） for supporting activities concerning the preservation/restoration of Lake Kastoria. The WTP dependence on （i） external diseconomies; （ii） the expectations for property values＇ rise as a result of the restoration; （iii） the proximity of interviewees＇ residence to the lake; （iv） the opinion of the interviewee on the time and money spent to visit the lake; （v） the time and money the interviewees spent to visit the lake, as well as other dependencies （all taken as independent variables） are estimated by means oflogit, probit, logistic and linear regression models. The optimal concentration Copt of a pollutant in the environment can be determined as an equilibrium point in the tradeoff between （i） environmental cost, due to impact on man/ecosystem/economy; and （ii） economic cost for environmental protection, as it can be expressed by Pigouvian tax. These two conflict variables are internalized within the same techno-economic objective function of total cost, which is minimized. In this work, the first conflict variable is represented by a WTP index. A methodology is developed for the estimation of this index by using fuzzy sets to count for uncertainty. Implementation of this methodology is presented, concerning odor pollution of air round an olive pomace oil mill.
文摘Objective:The aim of the study was to investigate the adaptive response of low-dose radiation-induced apoptosis in mouse spleen cells and its related proteins control mechanism. Methods: Kunming male mice were randomly divided into sham-irradiation group, attacking dose irradiation group (D2) and low-dose radiation + attacking dose irradiation group (D1+D2). After a week the D1+D2 group was given low-dose radiation (doses were 25,50,75 and 100 mGy, dose rate of 12.5 mGy/min), after 6 hours the D2 group and the D1+D2 group were given attacking dose of radiation (Dose of 1.5 Gy, dose rate of 287 mGy/min). After 18 hours all mice were killed. The spleen cell apoptosis and Caspase-3 expression's changes were detected by flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, and the changes of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by immunohistochemical staining semi-quantitative method. Results: The rate of apoptosis, the fluorescence intensity of Caspase-3, and the semi-quantitative results of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax in every group were significantly different. Of all groups, the apoptosis rate and Caspase-3 fluorescence intensity of D2 group were the highest. Compared with the sham-irradiated group, Bcl-2 protein level of D2 group decreased significantly, and Bax protein level of D2 group increased significantly. But compared with D2 group, the apoptosis rates, the fluorescence intensities of Caspase-3 expression and the Bax protein levels in D1+D2 group were lower in different doses, and the Bcl-2 protein levels in D1+D2 group were higher in different doses. Conclusion: 25-75 mGy low-dose radiation can induce the adaptive response of mouse spleen cells' apoptosis, the expression of Caspase-3, and the apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2 expression increased, Bax reduced, and it leads to the apoptosis of the spleen cells decreased.
文摘Chinese noun-classifier compound words show different properties in lexical meaning and syntactic collocation. The complexity of these compounds lies in the grammaticalization of classifiers’ system. Some nouns used as classifiers in the position of classifier are not grammaticalized into real classifiers which are temporary classifiers. So some of them are real noun-classifier compounds and some belong to noun-noun compounds. This paper attempts to analyze the structural relation between noun morpheme and classifier morpheme within the word. It also explains that the noun and the classifier compound in the position of light noun in the nP structure.
文摘English and Chinese both belong to satellite-flamed languages in lexicalizing motion events. However, they are not entirely identical in Path encoding. Path comprises Vector, Conformation, and Deictic. Vector comprises Arrival, Departure and Traversal. English and Chinese use different forms （prepositions vs. verbs） to represent Traversal. The Arrival component in Chinese can denote ＂realized arrival＂ while that in English cannot. English is not fine-grained as Chinese in the specification of Conformation. The use of Deictic in Chinese is more pervasive than that in English. Satellite elements in English are realized as particles and prepositions while those in Chinese are realized as directional verbs.
文摘Based on the Involvement Load Hypothesis, the present study investigated the differential effects of three post-listening output tasks(gap-filling, translation, and sentence-making) on immediate acquisition and retention of such vocabulary dimensions as productive knowledge of orthography,receptive recall of meaning and form, and productive knowledge of grammatical functions. Ninety second-year English majors were divided into three groups to finish listening plus one of the postlistening tasks. The results showed that the post-listening output tasks had positive effects on immediate acquisition of productive vocabulary knowledge, partially in agreement with the Involvement Load Hypothesis. However, the effects on vocabulary knowledge retention were found to be largely inconsistent with the Involvement Load Hypothesis. The finding thus challenges this hypothesis in that involvement load is not the only determining factor and suggests that the theoretical construct of involvement load should be constructed with more caution.
文摘In order to improve Chinese overlapping ambiguity resolution based on a support vector machine, statistical features are studied for representing the feature vectors. First, four statistical parameters-mutual information, accessor variety, two-character word frequency and single-character word frequency are used to describe the feature vectors respectively. Then other parameters are tried to add as complementary features to the parameters which obtain the best results for further improving the classification performance. Experimental results show that features represented by mutual information, single-character word frequency and accessor variety can obtain an optimum result of 94. 39%. Compared with a commonly used word probability model, the accuracy has been improved by 6. 62%. Such comparative results confirm that the classification performance can be improved by feature selection and representation.
文摘This paper attempts at an in-depth exploration of lexical mismatching, a pattern of vocabulary errors. In this paper, errors per se were collected from 107 writing samples of Chinese college students, and then investigated from a variety of linguistic perspectives. Traditional theoretical approaches, i.e. CA and EA, are incorporated in the source analysis for a more comprehensive interpretation. Hopefully, the findings of the study will shed lights on lexical instruction and acquisition in the field of SLA.
文摘EFL （English as a Foreign Language） speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners＇ socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role in this process. However, few studies have investigated how both EFL teachers and learners view and analyze situations in which learners are not producing enough spoken language in class, and the reasons behind them. The present study will pinpoint the significant role of lexis in Moroccan learners＇ speaking production. To this end, 40 EFL teachers and 200 Moroccan high school students are surveyed and interviewed to reveal their perceptions of the speaking skill and the corresponding high significance of lexis in this instance. Results show that both teachers and learners identify vocabulary deficiency as the main factor behind students＇ inability to speak English. In the present paper, among the many suggestions that could be proposed to deal with this situation, it is argued that one efficient way would be to assist the students during the process of L2 （second language） vocabulary learning through vocabulary learning strategy instruction. Pedagogical and research implication will be given in response to the difficulties encountered in this area as have been identified by the EFL teachers and learners surveyed.
文摘This paper focuses on manifestations of negative transfer of native language at lexical level reflected in Chinese college students＇ English writing. A classification as well as its exemplification is offered concerning all these lexical transfer errors. And the cause of formation is analyzed for the corresponding class of lexical transfer.
文摘Baishideng's goal over the next few years is to edit and publish high-quality articles through the open-access model, to maximize the benefits to members of the editorial board, authors and readers, as well as achieving social and economic benefits.
文摘This research proposes and implements an Arabic Sub-Words Recognition System （ASWR）. The system focuses on employing a combination of statistical and structural features to provide complete pattern＇s description and enhances the recognition rate. Support Vector Machines （SVMs） is utilized as a promising pattern recognition tool. In addition to that, the problems of dots and holes are solved in a completely different way from the ones previously employed. The proposed system proceeds in several phases as follows： （1） image acquisition, （2） binarisation, （3） morphological processing, （4） feature extraction, which includes statistical features, i.e., moment invariants, and structural features, i.e., dot number, dot position, and number of holes, features, and （5） classification, using multi-class SVMs and applying a one-against-all technique. The proposed system has been tested using different sets of words and subwords and has achieved a nearly 98.90% recogiaition rate. Comparative results with NNs are also presented.
文摘As teachers of EFL （English as a Foreign Language） in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are sometimes flabbergasted by the errors that the/earners make in their English scripts. Apparently, there was no pattern to these errors. However, when the researcher observed the frequency of similar error over a few years of her experience as an EFL faculty for Saudi learners, the theory of Lexical Relations appeared to offer an answer. Therein also lies the genesis of the current study. In a positive development, the study did bring to light certain factors that directly played a role in the Saudi EFL learners＇ English errors. These have been presented in this paper with the hope that with the diagnosis in hand, it will be easier for the EFL teachers to find a solution to the dearth of English proficiency among the Saudi EFL learners.
文摘Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force （ADF） is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area （SWBTA） as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park （GBRMP）, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area （GBRWHA）, and abutting Queensland＇s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System （EMS） is widely used by the ADE This paper exanlines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber （TS） exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.
