On the relationship between morphological and semantic markedness

This paper explores two possible connections between the diagnostics for morphological and semantic markedness. One possibility, a positive correlation, predicts that if a grammatical feature is diagnosed as being morphologically marked then it should also be semantically marked. This possibility follows from the assumption that features are interpreted as restrictions on denotations. The second possibility, a negative correlation, predicts that if a grammatical feature is diagnosed as being morphologically marked then it should be semantically unmarked. This systematic inconsistency follows from the assumption that features are interpreted as augmenting functions. In our exploration of number marking, we find that the negative correlation is not only theoretically consistent with the semantic literature (in particular Link, in: Bartsch et al. (eds.) Semantics and contextual expressions, 1983), but it is also more consistent with the empirical landscape (as noted by Sauerland, in: Young and Zhou (eds.) Proceedings of Semantics and linguistic theory SALT XIII 2008). As a result, the morphological diagnostics lend support to the view that plural features are interpreted as augmenting functions.     

Investigations on markedness,syncretism and zero exponence in morphology

The inventories of subject clitics in northern Italian varieties are affected by widespread morphological changes. One of these changes is syncretism. In addition, many dialects display defective paradigms where some of the clitics are missing. The clitics that undergo syncretism and the clitics that are missing tend to be the same: the first person singular and plural, the second plural, and, less frequently, the third plural. Working in the framework of Distributed Morphology, I argue that these clitics are the target of markedness constraints that trigger repair operations leading to either syncretism or the removal of forms from a paradigm. In particular, I propose two such operations: one is feature deletion, which deletes a marked feature specification. This operation is always followed by feature insertion, which inserts the opposite value of the deleted feature specification (this operation leads to syncretism). The other one is obliteration, which deletes a morphosyntactic node and leads to underspecified morphosyntactic representations (this operation leads to paradigmatic gaps). I investigate how these operations affect the morphological exponents in PF, creating syncretisms and gaps in exponence.     

Gender markedness: the anatomy of a counter-example

The morphological expression of gender on nouns displays a puzzling behaviour under ellipsis of nominal predicates. In some instances, it appears that gender can be ignored in the calculation of the identity/parallelism requirement. With other nouns, gender seems relevant and mismatch engenders parallelism violations. With yet a third group of nouns, there is an asymmetry—an overt masculine noun licenses ellipsis of the corresponding feminine, but not vice versa. The difference between the last two groups is exemplified by the English contrast in: John is a {waiter/#prince} and Mary is too (compare #Mary is a waitress/princess, and John is too). We examine six languages, and show that nouns for nobility/titles and kinship nouns form a systematic exception to an otherwise stable marked: unmarked opposition, and that when this class of nouns is factored out, the remaining two classes reflect the inflection/derivation distinction in the morphological realization of gender.     

Truth and explanatory power in biology

Responses

Truth and explanatory power in biology     

Innateness as an explanatory concept

Although many of the issues surrounding innateness have received a good deal of attention lately, the basic concept of token innateness has been largely ignored. In the present paper, I try to correct this imbalance by offering an account of the innateness of token traits. I begin by explaining Stephen Stich's account of token innateness and offering a counterexample to that account. I then clarify why the contemporary biological approaches to innateness will not be able to resolve the problems that beset Stich's account. From there, I develop an alternative understanding of the innateness of token traits, what I call a causal/explanatory account. The argument to be made is that token innateness is both a causal, and an explanatory, concept. After clarifying this understanding of innateness, and showing how it handles several counterexamples to other accounts, I end with some comments on what the causal/explanatory account suggests for our understanding of innateness in general.     

Rational men and the explanatory model approach

The previous issue of Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry (Vol. 5, N. 4) included my article When Rational Men Fall Sick: An Inquiry into Some Assumptions Made by Medical Anthropologists together with a series of comments. This paper consists of my replies to some of the commentators and a case study illustrating my points.My collaborators in this research were two physicians, Dr. Robert Like, of the Department of Family Practice of Case Western Reserve University and Dr. Rivka Plotkin of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Also, I want to thank Avraham Blidstein for his invaluable assistance.     

Probabilistic causation and the explanatory role of natural selection

The explanatory role of natural selection is one of the long-term debates in evolutionary biology. Nevertheless, the consensus has been slippery because conceptual confusions and the absence of a unified, formal causal model that integrates different explanatory scopes of natural selection. In this study we attempt to examine two questions: (i) What can the theory of natural selection explain? and (ii) Is there a causal or explanatory model that integrates all natural selection explananda? For the first question, we argue that five explananda have been assigned to the theory of natural selection and that four of them may be actually considered explananda of natural selection. For the second question, we claim that a probabilistic conception of causality and the statistical relevance concept of explanation are both good models for understanding the explanatory role of natural selection. We review the biological and philosophical disputes about the explanatory role of natural selection and formalize some explananda in probabilistic terms using classical results from population genetics. Most of these explananda have been discussed in philosophical terms but some of them have been mixed up and confused. We analyze and set the limits of these problems.     

Patient factors and glycaemic control - associations and explanatory power

Diabet. Med. 29, e382-e389 (2012) ABSTRACT: Aims To investigate the association between glycaemic control and patient socio-demographics, activation level, diabetes-related distress, assessment of care, knowledge of target HbA(1c) , and self-management behaviours, and to determine to what extent these factors explain the variance in HbA(1c) in a large Danish population of patients with Type 2 diabetes. Methods Cross-sectional survey and record review of 2045 patients from a specialist diabetes clinic. Validated scales measured patient activation, self-management behaviours, diabetes-related emotional distress, and perceived care. The electronic patient record provided information about HbA(1c) , medication, body mass index, and duration of diabetes. Data were analysed using multiple linear regression models with stepwise addition of covariates. Results The response rate was 54% (n?=?1081). Good glycaemic control was significantly associated with older age, higher education, higher patient activation, lower diabetes-related emotional distress, better diet and exercise behaviours, lower body mass index, shorter duration of disease and knowledge of HbA(1c) targets (P?相似文献   

An explanatory framework for adaptive personality differences

We develop a conceptual framework for the understanding of animal personalities in terms of adaptive evolution. We focus on two basic questions. First, why do behavioural types exhibit limited behavioural plasticity, that is, behavioural correlations both across contexts and over time? Second, how can multiple behavioural types coexist within a single population? We emphasize differences in 'state' among individuals in combination with state-dependent behaviour. Some states are inherently stable and individual differences in such states can explain stable differences in suites of behaviour if it is adaptive to make behaviour in various contexts dependent on such states. Behavioural stability and cross-context correlations in behaviour are more difficult to explain if individual states are potentially more variable. In such cases stable personalities can result from state-dependent behaviour if state and behaviour mutually reinforce each other by feedback mechanisms. We discuss various evolutionary mechanisms for the maintenance of variation (in states and/or behaviour), including frequency-dependent selection, spatial variation with incomplete matching between habitat and phenotype, bet-hedging in a temporally fluctuating environment, and non-equilibrium dynamics. Although state differences are important, we also discuss how social conventions and social signalling can give rise to adaptive personality differences in the absence of state differences.     

Odor-associated health complaints: competing explanatory models

Physical symptoms may be reported in workplace and community settings in which odorous airborne chemicals are present. Despite the relative frequency of such reports, clinicians, public health authorities and sensory scientists often experience difficulty interpreting odor-associated symptoms. The approach to interpretation advocated in this review involves: (i) understanding the toxicology of the agent(s) involved (in particular their relative irritant and odorant potencies); (ii) assessing exposure parameters (i.e. concentration and duration). Depending upon exposure concentration, duration and relative irritant and odorant potencies, a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms may be invoked in explaining odor-associated health symptoms. Some of these imputed mechanisms fall under the traditional scope of toxicology and others involve attitudinal and/or behavioral responses to odors.     

Seed dormancy distribution: explanatory ecological factors

Background and Aims

Knowledge of those traits that vary with latitude should be helpful in predicting how they may evolve locally under climate change. In the sea beet Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima, seed dormancy largely controls the timing of germination, is highly heritable and varies geographically; it is therefore thought to be selected by climate. The aim here was to characterize the variation in seed dormancy among sea beet populations across the French distribution area, as well as the ecological factors in situ that are correlated with and that could therefore select for seed dormancy. The relative importance of genetic inheritance vs. non-genetic variation is also evaluated.

Methods

The proportions of dormant seeds from 85 natural populations encompassing different climates over the whole French distribution area were measured under controlled conditions. Germination phenology was observed in a common garden experiment. Dormancy variation of seeds collected in situ was compared with that of seeds collected on plants grown in the greenhouse.

Key Results

The proportions of dormant seeds in the greenhouse were highly variable, covering almost the entire range from 0 to 1, and followed a geographical pattern from lower dormancy at high latitudes to high dormancy at low latitudes. The distribution of dormancy was positively correlated with yearly temperatures, especially summer temperatures. Minimum temperatures in winter did not significantly explain the trait variation. The genetic component of the total variation was significant and is probably completed by an important adjustment to the local conditions brought about by maternal adaptive phenotypic plasticity.

Conclusions

Dormancy in sea beet could be interpreted as a way to limit summer germination and spread germination over the first autumn and spring or following autumns. This highly heritable trait has the potential to evolve in the relatively near future because of climate change.