The Influence of Bloomfield's Linguistics on Skinner

Bloomfield''s “Linguistics as a Science” (1930/1970), Language (1933/1961), and “Language or Ideas?” (1936a/1970), and Skinner''s Verbal Behavior (1957) and Science and Human Behavior (1953) were analyzed in regard to their respective perspectives on science and scientific method, the verbal episode, meaning, and subject matter. Similarities between the two authors were found. In particular both asserted that (a) the study of language must be carried out through the methods of science; (b) the main function of language is to produce practical effects on the world through the mediation of a listener; and (c) a physicalist conception of meaning. Their differences concern the subject matter of their disciplines and their use of different models for the analysis of behavior. Bloomfield''s linguistics and Skinner''s functional analysis of verbal behavior are complementary approaches to language.     

自然语言处理中的哲学问题

分析了哲学上的理性主义和经验主义及其在自然语言处理的研究中的影响,对比了自然语言处理中基于规则的理性主义方法和基于统计的经验主义方法的优点和缺点,主张把这两种方法结合起来以推动自然处理研究的发展。本文还分析了哲学中知识本体的概念发展到知识本体工程的过程,说明了哲学对于自然语言处理的深刻影响。     

The Self’s Symbolic Role in Implicit Approach/Avoidance: Movement Time Evidence

Theories of self-regulation emphasize the special role that the symbolic self may play in approach and avoidance movements, but experimental evidence is lacking. In two experiments (total N = 157), participants moved either a self-relevant (e.g., “me”) or non-self (e.g., “not me”) agent to one of two locations, one occupied by a positive word and the other occupied by a negative word. In both experiments, the movement agent interacted with the destination valence such that it was only the symbolic self that moved more quickly to positive rather than negative locations. These results established a role for the symbolic self in approach/avoidance that had been questioned, thereby supporting both classic and contemporary self-related theories of approach and avoidance.     

Self-realisation and meaning making in the face of adversity: a eudaimonic approach to human resilience

This article considers a eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being built on the integration of developmental, existential and humanistic formulations as well as distant writings of Aristotle. Eudaimonia emphasizes meaning-making, self-realisation and growth, quality connections to others, self-knowledge, managing life and marching to one's own drummer. These qualities may be of particular importance in the confrontation with significant life challenges. Prior formulations of resilience are reviewed to underscore the unique features of a eudaimonic approach. Empirical findings on meaning making and self-realisation are then reviewed to document the capacity of some to maintain high well-being in the face of socioeconomic inequality, the challenges of aging, and in dealing with specific challenges (child abuse, cancer, loss of spouse). Moreover, those who sustain or deepen their well-being as they deal with adversity, show better health profiles, thereby underscoring broader benefits of eudaimonia. How meaning is made and personal capacities realised in the confrontation with challenge is revealed by narrative accounts. Thus, the latter half of the article illustrates human resilience in action via the personal stories of three individuals (Mark Mathabane, Ben Mattlin and Victor Frankl) who endured unimaginable hardships, but prevailed and grew in the face of it. The essential roles of strong social ties and the capacity to derive meaning and realise personal growth in grappling with adversity are unmistakable in all three cases.     

Recasting Stigma as a Dialogical Concept: A Case Study of Rural‐to‐Urban Migrants in China

The present study explores stigma against rural‐to‐urban migrants in China, drawing on a dialogical approach. It investigates the processes of stigmatization from two sides: that of the stigmatizer and that of the stigmatized. Open‐ended individual interviews were conducted with 138 participants (60 urban residents and 78 rural‐to‐urban migrants) in Tianjin, China. Findings from this study indicate that migrants were stigmatized by urban residents as having an unattractive physical appearance, potential perils of disease or crime, and discredited places of origin. Such stigma was embedded in China's unique hukou system and generated from a social categorization of superior and inferior groups. Migrants reported a number of coping strategies to counter such stigma: blaming fate, stigma reversal and upward mobility. However, migrants did not view themselves contemptuously and expressed positive feelings about their lives as migrants. They regarded internal migration as a way of pursuing happiness. Overall, urban residents stigmatized migrants legitimated by the hukou system, while migrants were surprisingly resilient against stigma, and did not internalize it, due to their economics‐driven internal migration. This study underscores that stigma in a given society is dialogically interdependent with its socio‐cultural context and that the perspectives of both the stigmatizer and the stigmatized need to be taken into consideration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Interactive Approach for Multicriteria Decision Making Using a Tchebycheff Utility Function Approximation

Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) can provide an efficient mean for considering various and conflicting objectives to reveal the alternative that maximizes the decision maker's (DM) utility. In this paper, we propose a new interactive MCDM method for implicit alternatives to help a DM obtain a most preferred solution. We employ a Tchebycheff function to generate weights for objectives consistent with the DM's responses to pairwise comparisons between alternatives and present a mixed integer linear programming formulation to generate these weights. Thus, we approximate the DM's utility function by a Tchebycheff function and generate weights consistent with the DM's responses. We test our approach with different true utility functions on various sized multiple criteria linear programming problems. The computational results show that even with non‐Tchebycheff true utility functions, our method can generate alternatives very close to the optimal solution with few questions. The comparison of our results with other methods reveals its advantages. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A phonetic approach to consonant repetition in early words

The goal of this study was to evaluate movement-based principles for understanding early speech output patterns. Consonant repetition patterns within children's actual productions of word forms were analyzed using spontaneous speech data from 10 typically developing American-English learning children between 12 and 36 months of age. Place of articulation, word level patterns, and developmental trends in CVC and CVCV repeated word forms were evaluated. Labial and coronal place repetitions dominated. Regressive repetition (e.g., [gag] for “dog”) occurred frequently in CVC but not in CVCV word forms. Consonant repetition decreased over time. However, the children produced sound types available reported as being within young children's production system capabilities in consonant repetitions in all time periods. Findings suggest that a movement-based approach can provide a framework for comprehensively characterizing consonant place repetition patterns in early speech development.