Digital Commons Network^™

Regularization Of Dynamic Time Warping Barycenter Averaging, With Applications In Sign Classification, John A.W.B. Costanzo

Theses

Sign language synthesis is a useful tool in addressing many of the issues faced by deaf communities. Sign languages are as different from spoken languages as spoken languages are from each other, and hence deaf persons raised learning sign language are not automatically proficient in communicating in written language. Existing methods of generating signing avatars are clunky and often unintuitive; hence the ability to classify gestures common to sign language using only data recorded by video would simplify the process dramatically.

Methods of gesture classification require a way to compare time series, and often (in particular, for k-means clustering) require …

Cultural Shifts: Putting Critical Information Literacy Into Practice, Alison Hicks

Communications in Information Literacy

This paper uses the example of foreign languages to explore the integration of critical information literacy into the curriculum of various disciplines. By closely examining the practices and values inherent in the foreign language information environment, the paper suggests that a critical vision of information literacy provides the most appropriate approach to help meet campus goals of educating students for transcultural competence. As such, the paper provides an example of the process and role of the librarian in integrating critical information literacy into disciplinary fields and proposes that this approach could be effective in global learning initiatives.

The Development Of A Biblical Hebrew Parser, John D. Crawford, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to produce a phrase-structure grammar for Biblical Hebrew and to determine the best way to apply said grammar in a computerized parser in order to test its durability. Overall I believe this project was a success. Although the parser has only been tested within the first few chapters of Genesis, there is sufficient variety of syntax there to test the parser’s capabilities. In addition, the problems of developing a parser have made the more difficult aspects of the application of linguistic theory to real data much more real and interesting for me.

Eng 4901-001, Timothy Shonk

Fall 2013

No abstract provided.

Eng 2901-001: Structure Of English, Buck

Fall 2013

No abstract provided.

Eng 3009g-001: Myth And Culture, C Wharram

Fall 2013

No abstract provided.

Eng 5091-001: The Call Of Stories: Introduction To Narrative Theory, Daiva Markelis

Fall 2013

No abstract provided.

Eng 5005-001: Graduate Seminar, C Wharram

Fall 2013

No abstract provided.

Nonadjacent Dependency Learning In Typical Development And Autism Spectrum Disorders, Anthony G. Goodwin

Doctoral Dissertations

In order to acquire some aspects of grammar, such as wh-questions and verb tense agreement, children must be able to learn nonadjacent dependencies. This type of learning has been demonstrated in both children and adults, but is reported to be difficult. The current study investigated whether children with autism (ASD) would show a similar pattern of nonadjacent dependency learning as seen in typically developing (TD) children, and whether variation in this ability would relate to language levels, sleep habits or characteristics of ASD.

Ten TD children (M age 21.04 months), and ten children with ASD (M age 43.86 months) were …

Yale Anchor Bible Commentary: Book Of Deuteronomy, Jason Olson, Dr. David R. Seely

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My ORCA project was the experience of a lifetime! I actually had the opportunity to assist Dr. Seely in creating a manuscript for publication to Yale Anchor Bible, the most prestigious and respected Biblical commentary in the world.

Blood And Atonement In The Book Of Mormon From A Near Eastern Perspective, Michael Biggerstaff, Dr. Jared Ludlow

Journal of Undergraduate Research

“Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 11:4). These words of Nephi, concerning the Law of Moses typifying Christ, are echoed by several other Book of Mormon authors, including Lehi, Jacob, Jarom, King Benjamin, Abinadi, Amulek, and Mormon. More authors could be added to this list if it included those who spoke of Christ’s fulfilling of …

Cyprus As A Mixed Legal System, Nikitas E. Hatzimihail

Journal of Civil Law Studies

Cyprus presents us with its own kind of a mixed legal system: its private law is mostly common law, long codified in statutes. Its public law derives from the continental tradition. Procedural law is purely common law—a major factor in the mutation of the “continental” elements of the legal system. The state of play is affected by the split in the legal profession between continental- and English-educated lawyers (a split acquiring generational and subject-matter dimensions). The bulk of legislation and legal institutions have a distinctively colonial and/or post-colonial flavor. However, the country and the legal elites identify with, and are …

Complete V.6 No.1

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Scalia & Garner’S Reading Law: A Civil Law For The Age Of Statutes?, James R. Maxeiner

Journal of Civil Law Studies

In Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and American legal lexicographer Bryan A. Garner challenge Americans to start over in dealing with statutes in the Age of Statutes. They propose “textualism,” i.e., “that the words of a governing text are of paramount concern, and what they convey in their context is what the text means.” Textualism is meant to remedy the American lack of “a generally agreed-on approach to the interpretation of legal texts.” That deficiency makes American law unpredictable, unequal, undemocratic and political. In the book’s Foreword, Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook …

Québec’S Partnership: Une Société Distincte, Alexandra Popovici

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Peña V. Simeon, William Gaskins

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Semantics And Legal Interpretation: A Comparative Study Of The Value Of Embryonic Life Under Argentine And U.S. Constitutional Law, María Del Pilar Zambrano, Estela B. Sacristán

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Sites Of Disquiet: The Non-Space In Spanish American Short Narratives And Their Cinematic Transformations, Ilka Kressner

Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures

Some of the most important writers of the twentieth century, including Borges, Cortázar, Rulfo, and García Márquez, have explored ambiguous sites of a disquieting nature. Their characters face merging perspectives, deferral, darkness, or emptiness. Such a space is neither a site of projection (as utopia or dystopia) nor a neutral setting (as the topos). For the characters, it is real and active, at once elusive and transforming. Despite the challenges of visualizing such slippery spaces, filmic experimentations in Spanish American cinema since the 1960s have sought to adapt these texts to the screen. Ilka Kressner’s Sites of Disquiet examines these …

Errata, Human Biology Editors

Human Biology

"Commentary on Chen et al.'s 'Worldwide Analysis of Genetic and Linguistic Relationships of Human Populations' (1995)," by Paul Heaggerty, Human Biology 84(5):573-580 (October 2012).

Paul Heggarty is the correct spelling for the author of "Commentary on Chen et al.'s 'Worldwide Analysis of Genetic and Linguistic Relationships of Human Populations' (1995)," which was published in the October 2012 issue of Human Biology. With deepest apologies to the author and readers, the spelling of Dr. Heggarty's name has been corrected in all digital versions of the article.

Prosodic Templates And Plural Formation In German Low And Middle Dialects, Jessica Anderson, Dr. Laura Catharine Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My research is to examine the actual structure that dictates the shape of plural formation in German, and why in some dialects we see a failure to consistently form the plural using the method present in the standard language. Using previous research along with new data gathered from the Pfeffer Corpus, our goal was to examine the varying plural forms attested and gather a clearer picture of dialectal differences.

A Corpus-Based Evaluation Of Usage Advice From The Cse And Chicago Style Manuals, Shelsea Van Ornum, Doris Dant

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Writers and editors are constantly faced with decisions about usage (the actual use of language), as opposed to grammar (the theoretical structure of language). To help writers and editors make these decisions, various organizations and language authorities have compiled manuals and handbooks that include advice on and examples of various usage items. However, actual usage may not always reflect what language experts claim is the correct choice. Furthermore, language experts often disagree with each other in their usage recommendations.

Development Of New Malagasy-English Dictionary, Matthew Winterton, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since Madagascar gained its independence from France in 1960, the country’s leaders have tried to promote a unique sense of identity for the Malagasy people and culture. Part of this effort has been spent in preserving the Malagasy language. However, due to the limited extent of vocabulary in the Malagasy language, a high demand for English arose, resulting in English becoming an official language in 2007. Since the first Malagasy-English dictionary was published by British missionaries in 1835, there have been attempts to fabricate a modernized Malagasy-English dictionary, but these efforts have by no means been comprehensive and are often …

The Problem With Chicago’S Possessives, Betsy Snider, Doris Dant

Journal of Undergraduate Research

American English has no official language rules; rather, it has guidelines of what is acceptable and what is not. These guidelines, or prescriptions, are found in grammar books such as usage books, dictionaries, and style guides. Grammar books are created and maintained by editors and grammarians who base their prescriptions on what they observe as acceptable or unacceptable usage based on what occurs in educated texts. Despite the commonality of method, there is great variety and contradiction between what different grammar books prescribe. Nineteenth century grammarian, Goold Brown, once barbed “Grammarians would perhaps differ less, if they read more.”

Text Messaging: An Analysis Of Concise Strategies Of Politeness, Jessica Evans, Dr. Wendy Baker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study helps in expanding our understanding of how new mediums such as texting differ from traditional forms of speech and writing (Baron, 2008). One of the important practical implications of this research is a better understanding of the appropriate uses of texting, which is important especially for non-native English speakers to understand. We hope that the findings of this study will help improve our understanding not only of how such mediums are used (especially how they relate to more traditional forms of speech and writing) but also …

The Etymologies Of Noah Webster: Ridiculous Or Revolutionary?, Dallin Bailey, Dr. Cynthia Hallen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In addition to priceless definition writing, the famed lexicographer, Noah Webster, spent over a decade in research for the etymologies, or word origins, in his dictionary. Unfortunately, scholars and biographers often criticize his etymological work in the literature. The trend in these criticisms seems to be that labeling a few obscure examples of Webster’s etymologies as incorrect is sufficient reason for the entire collection of his etymologies to be ignored. These critics dismiss his etymologies as being too speculative, lacking in scientific rigor, and too Biblical. Surprisingly, no study to date has reported a scientific analysis of his etymologies. My …

Providing Corrective Feedback To Second Language Writers: What Are Educators Currently Doing?, Emily B. Allen, Norman Evans

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Demosthenes, a Greek orator and statesman, affirmed that “small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” I feel that my receipt of an ORCA grant has been one such small opportunity which has been the beginning of many great enterprises for me personally and also for my chosen field. My faculty mentor, Dr. Norman Evans, and I have made great progress and had many remarkable experiences with the pursuits of our ORCA project. Together we have designed and launched a successful online survey, presented in two conferences, and are now in the process of composing several manuscripts for future …

Anglicization: The Rate Of English Borrowings In Pennsylvania German, Micheal Taylor, Dr. Laura Catharine Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My research began as I came across contradicting theories concerning the Anglicization of Pennsylvania German while writing a paper for an advanced modern German course. While researching for that preliminary paper, I found scholars suggesting that English has completely taken over the PA German language. Such scholars stated that the rate of English borrowings was increasing at a record rate and that the language was not an actual language at all, but rather a messy conglomeration of English and Standard German. On the other hand, a handful of scholars argued that such research against PA German individuality had been highly …

How Do The Frequency Of Prosodic Errors In The Speech Of Non-Native English Speakers Influence Comprehensibility Ratings Given By Native Speakers Of English?, Jonathan Porter, Dr. Mark Tanner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to identify the degree to which prosodic features in English (primarily pausing, word stress, and sentence-final pitch) influence native speakers (NS) comprehensibility of non-native speech. Identifying the extent to which particular features of speech influence comprehensibility could have major ramifications on the type of pronunciation instruction that is provided to non-native speakers. It can also have impact on the development of classroom and published materials for non-native speakers.

Creating Hebrewcorpus: A Vast Online Resource For Modern Hebrew, Justin Parry, Dr. Dilworth Parkinson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Hebrew in its present form, called Israeli by some scholars because of its unique modern characteristics, has only existed for about 120 years (Zuckermann 1). Because of this, scholarship in Israeli Hebrew is in many ways still in its infancy. Within this language there is one area of research that needs clear development and better resources. This area is called corpus linguistics, because it deals with corpora. A corpus can be defined as a “systematic collection of speech or writing in a language” (Matthews 78). This area is particularly significant because it allows researchers and language learners to search for …

Critical Factors In Standard English Acquisition, Adam Prestidge, Dr. William Eggington

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The ability to acquire Standard English is requisite for upward mobility in the United States. As English-language-learners are able to acquire command of a higher code, society rewards them with greater opportunities for success.