Effects of NP type on the resolution of word-order ambiguities

Locally ambiguous NP₁ NP₂ V clauses in Dutch are preferably assigned a subject-object rather than an object-subject interpretation, presumably on the basis of structurally based principles such as the Active-Filler Strategy. The present study investigates whether this preference can be affected by a nonconfigurational factor, namely the nature of NP₂. The type of an NP (indefinite NPs, full definite NPs, pronouns) conveys information about the discourse status of the NP referent, which, in turn, is associated with a specific syntactic position. More specifically, pronouns are used to refer to given, salient entities in the discourse (topics); and NPs with such referents are generally encoded in subject position. A self-paced reading experiment shows that NP₁ NP₂ V relative clauses are preferably interpreted as subject-object when NP₂ is a full definite NP (e.g., de vrouwen the women), but not when NP₂ is the second person pronoun jullie (you-PL). This suggests that the structural bias for a subject-first order is not as strong as has been previously assumed, but is influenced by discourse information encoded in the NPs. Implications for parsing models are discussed.     

Pragmatic post‐structuralism (II): an outcomes evaluation of a stopping violence programme

This paper reports features of a distinctly post‐structuralist ‘outcome evaluation’ of a New Zealand stopping violence programme for men who have assaulted their spouses. Through analysis of pre‐ and post‐programme interviews it was found that the men's accounts of their violence shifted as a consequence of their participation in and exposure to the programme's discursive resources. Overall the men's accounts demonstrated movement towards taking greater ownership and responsibility for their actions. However this trend was not universal and was mitigated through other pre‐programme discursive resources. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing Uncertainty: Obesity Discourses and Physical Education in a Risk Society

This paper considers the role of physicaleducation researchers within current publicconcerns about body shape and weight. UsingUlrich Beck's notion of `risk' it examines howcertainty about children, obesity, exercise andhealth is produced in the contexts of `expert'knowledge and recontextualised in the academicand professional physical education literature.It is argued that the unquestioning acceptanceof the obesity discourses in physical educationhelps to construct anxieties about the body,which are detrimental to students and silencesalternative ways of thinking and doing physicaleducation.     

Psychotherapy for lesbians: The influence of therapist sexuality

This study explored the influence of therapist sexuality upon lesbian experiences of therapy, and particularly the influence of marginal and dominant discourses within the process. It is argued that explorations of discourses of sexuality should be a necessary feature of a psychotherapist's training. A postmodern feminist methodology — Bungay and Keddy's adaptation of Reinharz's experiential analysis — was used in the study. This method involved triangulation of interview, literature analysis and reflective diary methods, with analysis drawing upon a discourse analytic perspective. Two sites of contradiction were explored, indicating the possible emergence of resistant lesbian discourses against the dominant patriarchal, heterosexist and homophobic discourses. The study illustrates the discursive and contextual nature of psychotherapy with lesbians.     

Is T<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">u</Emphasis> Wei-ming Confucian?

Tu Wei-ming’s discourse has been badly understood by some Western philosophers who study Confucianism. I suggest that this misunderstanding stems from the fact that these philosophers fail to realize that Confucian discourse is in an entirely different register from Western philosophical discourse. I then propose my own preliminary definition of Confucian discourse in five points and present a structural analysis of a text by Tu Wei-ming. Finally, I consider which features of Tu’s discourse can properly be called Confucian. The answer to this question reflects not only on Tu but also on Confucian discourse and the study of Confucianism in general.     

Black holes, uncanny spaces and radical shifts in awareness

The 'black hole' is a signifier that pervades contemporary experience, conveying the 'gaps' and 'voids' in Western culture and psyche. Depth psychology stemmed from the growing uncanniness of city and psychic spaces during the 19(th) century. There was an emerging fascination with the 'dark Thing'--the 'It' of many names. Like a pandemic, depictions of the 'black hole' experience have continually emerged in the tragic events and cultural malaise of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Art, philosophy, science, psychoanalysis, literature, and cultural studies have variously articulated this frighteningly potent, yet endlessly elusive signifier. A many-sided, dialogical process best provides acquaintance with such a complex phenomenon. Multiple examples and perspectives, as well a detailed case study, will delineate some of its dimensions. They will show that such 'black hole' encounters are not merely negative, but are often the enigmatic source of new awareness and creation.     

阅读中文时信息整合的即时性

通过两个实验对中文语篇理解中相关背景信息的激活与整合到底是即时发生抑或延时进行这一问题进行了探讨。研究所用的阅读材料都包含一个目标句,它与局部语境一致,但与前文提供的背景信息冲突或无关。实验一采用自定步速逐行阅读技术,考察了一致性条件以及句子结束的标记（即句号）是否存在对目标句阅读时间的影响。结果发现,句子结束的标记是否存在并不影响目标句整合加工的进行。实验二运用眼动追踪技术着重探讨信息整合加工能否在目标句关键区中即时进行,实验条件仍为当前信息与背景信息的一致性,重点考察其对目标句中关键前区、关键区及关键后区的作用。结果表明,自变量的操纵导致关键区中反映初次加工的指标产生可靠的效应。这一结果表明中文语篇理解中整合加工的过程开始得非常迅速,是一个即时引发、而非延时进行的过程     

Accused for Involvement in Collective Violence: The Discursive Reconstruction of Agency and Identity by Perpetrators of International Crimes

This study explores discourses about involvement in violent intergroup conflict and international crimes from the perspective of perpetrators. Through a critical discourse analysis of 12 personal interviews carried out with individuals accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes committed during the Yugoslav conflicts, we uncover how their discourse reveals conceptions of lacking agency and powerlessness during the conflict, how it reconstructs power relationships within and between ethnic groups, and how it reflects identity management strategies destined to elude blame and responsibility. Our findings demonstrate how discourses are tainted by the legitimizing framework in which the conflict unfolded but also how they are shaped by the particular context of the communicative situation. Findings are discussed in terms of their significance for international criminal justice and its stated objectives.