Compiling a Lexicon of Pornography Using Web,WordNet and FrameNet to Develop an Individual Pornographic Index

Online pornography, hypersexuality, sexual compulsivity or impulsivity as well as preoccupation of sexual thoughts and behaviors are measured using diverse psychometric scales. The construct validity and applicability vary vastly among these scales. This paper introduces, therefore, a new index for measuring individual pornographic interests and underpins the literature of pornography. It also defines the necessary procedures required for compiling a dynamic lexicon of pornography, based on linguistic, cognitive and ontological facets, to allow for the development and evaluation of an Individual Pornographic Index (IPI). Such an index is ushered to replace the fidelity of a speaker (patient/applicant) by the fidelity of the spoken/written discourse (e.g., tweets and posts). WordNet and FrameNet are used to introduce all the semantically-related content words; boosting the selectional restrictions. Web-based exploration of online writings and database is also enabled to fetch the pertinent colloquial and slang pornographic lexical entries. Having compiling such a set of data, a working definition of ‘pornography’ is suggested. Results suggest that computational linguistics can be useful in measuring pornographic indices of individual written discourses. Moreover, WordNet’s definition of pornography needs to be revisited and so do its ontolexical relations. Interoperability between Web, WordNet and FrameNet is fruitful in enriching the ontolexical seeds of this introduced lexicon and in suggesting several missing frames in FrameNet. More important, the proposed IPI can interestingly help psychiatrists assess the (hyper)sexuality status of individuals through their free writings.     

Impact of “Signal Ahead” pavement marking on driver behavior at signalized intersections

When drivers are approaching a signalized intersection at the onset of yellow signal, they may hesitate to decide whether to stop or cross the intersection due to the dilemma zone. As defined in the Traffic Engineering Handbook [Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). (1999). Traffic engineering handbook, Washington, DC: Institute of Transportation Engineers], the dilemma zone for an intersection is a specific road segment, prior to the intersection in which a vehicle approaching the intersection during the yellow phase can neither safely clear the intersection, nor stop comfortably at the stop line. In this study, a pavement marking countermeasure is proposed to reduce the dilemma zone and improve traffic safety at signalized intersections. A pavement marking with word message ‘Signal Ahead’ that is placed on the pavement upstream of a signalized intersection may have a potential to assist drivers in stop/go decisions and improve driver performance during the signal change. This paper presents a simulator-based study that was designed to test the impact of the pavement marking countermeasure on driving behaviors, including driver’s stop/go decision, red-light running violation, brake response time, and deceleration rate of the stopping vehicle. The experiment results indicated that the marking had positive effects on drivers’ behaviors at signalized intersections. It was found that the marking can reduce the probabilities of both conservative-stop and risky-go decisions, contribute to a lower red-light running rate, and result in a lower deceleration rate for stopping drivers at higher speed limit intersections. These findings suggest that the marking countermeasure may have a potential to reduce the probabilities of both rear-end and angle crashes.     

How Do Arab Tweeters Perceive the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research - Language reflects several cognitive variables that are grounded in cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics. This paper examines how Arab...     

Nizarre Qabbani’s Original Versus Translated Pornographic Ideology: A Corpus-Based Study

Nizarre Qabbani, the modern Arabic poet, has evoked a firestorm of controversy. Some consider him a stunning feminist poet, while others consider him an abysmal anti-feminist erotic one. This study allows his literary works to speak up loud, statistically revealing the dominant genre of his original work and his translated work. This enables the reader to evaluate objectively the original ideology of the poet and the rendered ideology of the translators. A corpus of Qabbani’s complete works is created; the keywords and their concordance are processed automatically and are reviewed manually. A lexicon of his poetic images and symbols is created to focus the light on his filtered-version poems that appeared in the Arabic media. Basic findings are tabulated and compared to the findings of his translated works in order to judge the objectiveness versus subjectiveness and the representativeness versus selectiveness of the translated works.     

Posttraumatic Symptoms, Functional Impairment, and Coping among Adolescents on Both Sides of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: A Cross-Cultural Approach

This study assessed the effects of the ongoing violence on the mental health of Palestinian and Israeli youths. Parallel instruments were developed and adapted, as part of a collaborative project, in order to assess, in each society: (1) differential rates of exposure to the conflict, (2) the association between exposure and the severity of posttraumatic symptoms (PTS), and (3) the inter‐relationships among PTS, functional impairment, somatic complaints, and coping strategies. Participants were 1,016 Israeli and 1,235 Palestinian adolescents. A self‐report questionnaire assessed exposure. PTS was measured using the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, functional impairment and somatic complaints were measured with the DISC, and coping strategies were assessed with Brief Cope. In both societies, greater exposure to conflict‐related violence was associated with more PTS and more somatic complaints, with girls reporting more distress than boys. A total of 6.8 per cent of the Israeli students and 37.2 per cent of the Palestinian students met criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In both societies, but more pronounced in the Palestinian Authority, adolescents reported significant levels of functional impairment, mainly in the area of school functioning. Students with PTSD reported more somatic complaints as well as greater functional impairment. The results show the serious psychological impact of the ongoing violent conflict on Israeli and Palestinian students and point to the need to develop appropriate school‐based interventions to address their mental health needs. Cette étude évalue les effets de la violence continuelle sur la santé mentale des jeunes palestiniens et israéliens. Des instruments analogues ont été développés et adaptés, dans le cadre d’un projet de collaboration, afin d’évaluer dans chaque société: (1) les différences de taux d’exposition au conflit, (2) l’association entre l’exposition et la sévérité des symptômes post‐traumatiques (PTS) et (3) les interrelations entre les PTS, les troubles fonctionnels, les plaintes somatiques et les stratégies de faire‐face. 1016 adolescents israéliens et 1235 adolescents palestiniens ont participéà cette étude. Un questionnaire auto‐administré mesure l’exposition au conflit. Les PTS sont mesurés par l’utilisation de l’UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, les troubles fonctionnels et les plaintes somatiques sont approchés par le DISC, et les stratégies de faire‐face par le Brief Cope. Dans les deux sociétés, une plus grande exposition au conflit et à ses violences est associée à des PTS plus importants et à plus de plaintes somatiques, les filles manifestant plus de détresse que les garçons. Un total de 6.8% des étudiants israéliens et 37.2% des étudiants palestiniens répondent à des critères du Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Dans les deux sociétés, mais de façon plus prononcée dans l’Autorité palestinienne, les adolescents rapportent des niveaux significatifs de troubles fonctionnels, principalement dans le domaine du fonctionnement scolaire. Les étudiants avec PTSD manifestent plus de plaintes somatiques, il en va de même pour les troubles fonctionnels. Les résultats montrent le sérieux impact psychologique d’un conflit violent et continuel sur les étudiants israéliens et palestiniens et signale le besoin de développer des interventions scolaires appropriées à leurs besoins en matière de santé mentale.