Language convergence and bilingual acquisition

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 89-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ee San Chen

This study concerns the simultaneous acquisition of conditional constructions in Chinese-English bilingual preschool children in Singapore. Cross-sectional data are obtained from subjects ranging from 2;10 to 6;06. The target languages are Singapore Colloquial English (SCE) and Singapore Colloquial Mandarin (SCM), both of which are contact varieties that are representative of the Low varieties in a diglossic situation. The bilingual acquisition of structural features of conditionals is investigated by adopting the Head-marking and Dependent-marking typological framework (Nichols 1986). Two elicited imitation experiments were conducted, with Experiment 1 aimed at examining if the structural convergence between SCE and SCM that is evident at a societal level is also represented in the developing linguistic repertoires of the bilingual preschool children. Experiment 2 is a follow-up study designed to investigate if convergence between the two languages is also evident at an individual level. Results obtained in Experiment 1 suggest that convergence between the two developing linguistic systems is indeed apparent. Also evident is the influence of Chinese on SCE, while the influence of English on SCM is less apparent. At the individual level, however, a general lack of convergence between the two developing grammars within a single subject is observed in Experiment 2: the marking preferences for SCE and SCM conditionals tend not to coincide for a particular subject, suggesting that the two languages are represented as distinct grammatical systems for the bilingual children.

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 681
Author(s):  
Nora A. Althumiri ◽  
Mada H. Basyouni ◽  
Ali F. Duhaim ◽  
Norah AlMousa ◽  
Mohammed F. AlJuwaysim ◽  
...  

Background: Food waste and food insecurity may co-exist in various balances in developing and developed countries. This study aimed to explore the levels of food waste and food insecurity, the factors associated with them, and their relationships at the household and individual levels in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was a nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted via computer-assisted phone interviews in January 2021. Quota sampling was utilized to generate balanced distributions of participants by gender across all the administrative regions of Saudi Arabia. Data collection included household demographics, food waste and disposal, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Results: Out of the 2807 potential participants contacted, 2454 (87.4%) completed the interview. The mean age was 31.4 (SD = 11.7; range = 18–99) and 50.1% were female. The weighted prevalence of uncooked food waste in the last four weeks was 63.6% and the cooked food waste was 74.4%. However, the food insecurity weighted prevalence at the individual level (FIES) was 6.8%. In terms of food insecurity at the household level (HFIAS), 13.3% were in the “severely food insecure” category. Moreover, this study found that “moderately food insecure” households were associated with an increased likelihood to waste uncooked food (relative risk (RR) = 1.25), and the “mildly food insecure” (RR = 1.21) and “moderately food insecure” (RR = 1.17) households were associated with an increased likelihood to waste cooked food. However, “food secure” households were associated with a decreased likelihood to waste cooked food (RR = 0.56). Finally, this study identified four household factors associated with food waste and three household factors that were associated with “severe food insecurity.” Conclusions: This first national coverage study to explore food waste and food insecurity at the individual level and household level, identified household factors associated with food waste and food insecurity and identified new associations between food waste and food insecurity in Saudi Arabia. The associations found between food waste and food insecurity are potential areas of intervention to reduce both food waste and food insecurity at the same time, toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to food waste and food security.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haithem Zourrig ◽  
Mengxia Zhang ◽  
Kamel El Hedhli ◽  
Imene Becheur

Purpose This study aims to apply McCornack’s (1992) information manipulation theory to the context of fraud and investigates the effects of culture on perceived deceptiveness. Design/methodology/approach In total, 400 Chinese consumers and an equal-size sample of Canadian consumers were recruited to fill an online survey. The survey integrates four scenarios of insurance fraud and measures of perceived deceptiveness, cultural tightness and horizontal-vertical idiocentrism allocentrism, in addition to some control variables. Findings Results show that at the societal level of culture, perceived deceptiveness is higher in individualistic than in collectivistic cultures. When accounting for the level of situational constraint, cultural tightness was found to magnify the perceived deceptiveness. At the individual level of culture, vertical-allocentrism and vertical-idiocentrism were found to weigh against the perception of deceptiveness. Originality/value Understanding cultural differences in perceived deceptiveness is helpful to spot sources of consumers’ vulnerability to fraud tolerance among a culturally diverse public.


Author(s):  
Heather Getha-Taylor ◽  
Alexa Haddock-Bigwarfe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine public service motivation (PSM) and the connection with collaborative attitudes among a sample of homeland security actors representing the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines relationships between measures of PSM and collaboration using original survey data and hierarchical multiple regression. Findings – Findings reveal strong positive relationships between PSM measures and attitudes toward collaboration at the individual and organizational level. Research limitations/implications – Survey results are cross-sectional and are from respondents participating in a single state's homeland security summit. Practical implications – It is expected that results can be used to enhance collaboration at the individual and organizational levels. At the organizational level, results can be used for matching individuals with collaborative opportunities. At the individual level, results can be used for enhanced self-reflection and effectiveness purposes. Originality/value – This study provides insights on the relationship between PSM measures and collaborative attitudes. The research contributes to the body of scholarly work connecting PSM and correlates of interest.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Meryem Grabski ◽  
Jon Waldron ◽  
Tom P. Freeman ◽  
Claire Mokrysz ◽  
Ruben J.J. van Beek ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Monitoring emerging trends in the increasingly dynamic European drug market is vital; however, information on change at the individual level is scarce. In the current study, we investigated changes in drug use over 12 months in European nightlife attendees. <b><i>Method:</i></b> In this longitudinal online survey, changes in substances used, use frequency in continued users, and relative initiation of use at follow-up were assessed for 20 different substances. To take part, participants had to be aged 18–34 years; be from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the UK; and have attended at least 6 electronic music events in the past 12 months at baseline. Of 8,045 volunteers at baseline, 2,897 completed the survey at both time points (36% follow-up rate), in 2017 and 2018. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The number of people using ketamine increased by 21% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in those continuing use increased by 15% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001; 95% CI: 0.07–0.23). 4-Fluoroamphetamine use decreased by 27% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in continuing users decreased by 15% (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001, 95% CI: −0.48 to −0.23). The drugs with the greatest proportion of relative initiation at follow-up were synthetic cannabinoids (73%, <i>N</i> = 30), mephedrone (44%, <i>N</i> = 18), alkyl nitrites (42%, <i>N</i> = 147), synthetic dissociatives (41%, <i>N</i> = 15), and prescription opioids (40%, <i>N</i> = 48). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In this European nightlife sample, ketamine was found to have the biggest increase in the past 12 months, which occurred alongside an increase in frequency of use in continuing users. The patterns of uptake and discontinuation of alkyl nitrates, novel psychoactive substances, and prescription opioids provide new information that has not been captured by existing cross-sectional surveys. These findings demonstrate the importance of longitudinal assessments of drug use and highlight the dynamic nature of the European drug landscape.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina Rebecca Chaiken ◽  
Lisa Han ◽  
Blair G Darney ◽  
Leo Han

BACKGROUND The majority of patients use the internet to search for health information. While there is a vast repository of searchable information online, much of the content is unregulated and therefore potentially incorrect, conflicting, or confusing. Abortion information online is particularly prone to being inaccurate as anti-choice websites publish purposefully misleading information in formats that appear as neutral resources. To understand how anti-choice websites appear neutral, we need to understand the specific website features of anti-choice features that impart trust to viewers. OBJECTIVE We sought to identify characteristics of false or misleading abortion websites that make these websites appear trustworthy to the public. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study using Amazon.com Inc’s Mechanical Turk platform. We used validated questionnaires to ask participants to rate eleven anti-choice sites and one neutral site identified by experts, focusing on site content, creators, and design. We collected socio-demographic data and participant views on abortion. We used a composite measure of “mean overall trust” as our primary outcome. Using correlation matrices, we determined which website characteristics were most associated with overall trust. Finally, we used linear regression to identify participant characteristics associated with overall trust. RESULTS Our analytic sample included 498 participants ranging from ages 22 to 70, 50.1% of whom identified as female. Across eleven anti-choice sites, creator trust (“I believe that the creators of this site are honest and trustworthy”) had the highest correlation coefficient with overall trust (0.70). Professional appearance (0.59), look and feel (0.59), perception that the information is created by experts (0.59), association with a trustworthy organization (0.58), valued features and functionalities (0.54), and interactive capabilities (0.52) all demonstrated strong relationships with overall trust. At the individual level, pro-choice leaning was associated with higher overall trust of the neutral site (B: -0.43, CI: -0.87, 0.01) and lower overall trust of the anti-choice sites (B: 0.52, CI: 0.05, .99). CONCLUSIONS The overall trustworthiness of anti-choice websites is most associated with design characteristics and perceived trustworthiness of the site creator. Those who believe that access to abortion should be limited are more likely to trust anti-choice websites.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110576
Author(s):  
Gordon L. Flett

While the importance of having self-esteem is widely recognized and has been studied extensively, another core component of the self-concept has been relatively neglected—a sense of mattering to other people. In the current article, it is argued that mattering is an entirely unique and complex psychological construct with great public appeal and applied significance. The various ways of assessing mattering are reviewed and evidence is summarized, indicating that mattering is a vital construct in that deficits in mattering are linked with consequential outcomes at the individual level (i.e., depression and suicidal tendencies), the relationship level (i.e., relationship discord and dissolution), and the societal level (i.e., delinquency and violence). Contemporary research is described which shows that mattering typically predicts unique variance in key outcomes beyond other predictor variables. Mattering is discussed as double-edged in that mattering is highly protective but feelings of not mattering are deleterious, especially among people who have been marginalized and mistreated. The article concludes with an extended discussion of key directions for future research and an overview of the articles in this special issue. It is argued that a complete view of the self and personal identity will only emerge after we significantly expand the scope of inquiry on the psychology of mattering.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 592-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Salas Vallina ◽  
Maria D. Moreno-Luzon ◽  
Anna Ferrer-Franco

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine whether inspirational leadership of heads of specialized medical units is related to individual ambidexterity of their dependent physicians; and second, to study the possible mediating role of organizational learning capability (OLC) in the relationship between inspirational leadership and individual ambidexterity.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was used on a sample of 194 medical specialists from Spanish public hospitals.FindingsResults show that inspirational leadership is positively related to individual ambidexterity among healthcare physicians. In addition, the results of the study revealed that the relationship between inspirational leadership and individual ambidexterity is mediated by conditions that facilitate learning, namely, OLC.Research limitations/implicationsThis study uses cross-sectional data, which do not guarantee causality relationships among the examined variables.Practical implicationsThe results of this paper suggest first that heads of healthcare units should inspire followers to achieve both exploration and exploitation. Second, it is also necessary to consider that inspirational leaders promote those conditions that facilitate learning, which should be particularly taken into account to enhance both physician’s exploration and exploitation.Originality/valueIn stressing an evident gap in the relationship between leadership and ambidexterity at the individual level, this paper attempts to advance in the leadership literature by revealing how the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions, and enhancing enthusiasm and confidence, empowers physicians to both explore and exploit knowledge. The results also indicate that the inspiration transmitted by the heads of medical services, facilitate physician’s perceived learning conditions which, in turn, fosters their individual ambidexterity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3471-3491
Author(s):  
Anthony E. Coy ◽  
Jody L. Davis ◽  
Jeffrey D. Green ◽  
Paul E. Etcheverry

A dyadic approach to studying relationship dynamics yields considerably more insights than examining each partner separately. Yet relatively little research has examined dyadic models of commitment, despite commitment being essential to relationship persistence. Accordingly, we tested a dyadic version of the investment model of commitment. In two cross-sectional studies of couples and one experiment, we tested the role of partner investments and perceived partner investments as novel antecedents of commitment. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that greater partner investments were related to greater levels of individuals’ commitment, while controlling for individuals’ own satisfaction with, investments in, and alternatives to the relationship. Study 3 revealed that partner-reported investments predicted commitment independent of perceived partner investments. The findings advance the investment model beyond the individual level, emphasizing the need to examine dyadic elements of relationships.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e036519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mussie Alemayehu ◽  
Araya Abrha Medhanyie ◽  
Elizabeth Reed ◽  
Afework Mulugeta

ObjectiveThe study aimed to identify the effects of the individual-level and community-level factors on the use of family planning (FP) among married women in the pastoralist community of Ethiopia.DesignA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in September 2018. Data were analysed using R software. To determine the fixed effect of individual-level and community-level factors of FP use, a two-level mixed-effects logistic regression was used. The result was described using the Adjusted OR (AOR), and the variance partition coefficient.Setting and participantsAfar, Ethiopia (2018; n=891) married women of reproductive age (15–49) years.Primary outcome measuresFP use or non-use.ResultsThe current use of FP was 18.7% (16.31%–21.43%). Women who need to walk 1 hour and more to the nearest health facility (AOR 0.14, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.3), have ANC visit of 4 and above (AOR 6.02, 95% CI 1.74 to 20.8), had their last birth at a health facility (AOR 2.71 95% CI 1.27 to 5.81), have five and more children (AOR 4.71, 95% CI 1.86 to 11.9), have high knowledge on FP (AOR 2.74, 95% CI 1.11 to 6.74) and had high intentions to use FP (AOR 10.3, 95% CI 3.85 to 27.6) were more likely to report FP use. The magnitude of the effect of for FP use was smaller than that of 9 of the 13 individual factors. Apart from this 19.4% of the total variance in the odds of using FP attributed to between community difference (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.194). Regarding the community-level characteristics, clusters of having higher electronic media possession (AOR 2.84, 95% CI 1.2 to 6.72) and higher women decision making on FP (AOR 8.35, 95% CI 2.7 to 27.1) were significantly associated with increased FP use compared with clusters with lower reports of these aspects.ConclusionFP use among the pastoralist community is influenced by both individual cluster/community-level characteristics or factors. Even though the effect of clustering in FP use was large in comparison with the unexplained between-cluster variation, it was lower than the individual-level factors.Trail registrtion numberNCT03450564


2001 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAULA GRIFFITHS ◽  
ANDREW HINDE ◽  
ZOË MATTHEWS

Using cross-sectional, individual-level survey data from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh collected under the Indian National Family Health Survey programme of 1992–93, statistical modelling was used to analyse the impact of a range of variables on the survival status of children during their first 2 years of life. Attention was focused on the potential impact of the mother’s autonomy. The strongest predictors of mortality were demographic and biological factors, breast-feeding behaviour, and use and knowledge of health services. Variables that can be interpreted as being related to maternal autonomy, such as the presence of a mother-in-law in the household, did not have a significant direct effect on child survival at the individual level, and their indirect effects were very limited.


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