Acquisition of the English article system in SLA and the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis

This paper examines the article system in interlanguage grammar focusing on Japanese learners of English, whose native language lacks articles. It will be demonstrated that for the acquisition of the English article system, count/mass distinctions and definiteness are the crucial factors. Although Japanese does not employ the article system to encode these aspects, it will be argued that they are nevertheless syntactically encoded through its classifier system. Hence, the problem for these learners must be to map these features onto the appropriate surface forms as the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis predicts (Prévost & White 2000). This suggestion will further be supported empirically by a fill-in-the article task. It will be concluded that these Japanese learners understand the English article system fairly well, possibly due to their native language, yet have problems with realizing the relevant features (i.e. count/mass distinctions and definiteness) in the target language.

Is the Australian wool futures market efficient as a predictor of spot prices?

Giles and Goss (1980) have suggested that, if a futures market provides a forward pricing function, then it is an efficient market. In this article a simple test for whether the Australian Wool Futures market is efficient is proposed. The test is based on applying cointegration techniques to test the Law of One Price over a three, six, nine, and twelve month spread of futures prices. We found that the futures market is efficient for up to a six-month spread, but no further into the future. Because futures market prices can be used to predict spot prices up to six months in advance, woolgrowers can use the futures price to assess when they market their clip, but not for longer-term production planning decisions. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Work domain analysis for training-system definition and acquisition

Training-needs analysis is critical for defining and procuring effective training systems. However, traditional approaches to training-needs analysis are not suitable for capturing the demands of highly automated and computerized work domains. In this article, we propose that work domain analysis can identify the functional structure of a work domain that must be captured in a training system, so that workers can be trained to deal with unpredictable contingencies that cannot be handled by computer systems. To illustrate this argument, we outline a work domain analysis of a fighter aircraft that defines its functional structure in terms of its training objectives, measures of performance, basic training functions, physical functionality, and physical context. The functional structure or training needs identified by work domain analysis can then be used as a basis for developing functional specifications for training systems, specifically its design objectives, data collection capabilities, scenario generation capabilities, physical functionality, and physical attributes. Finally, work domain analysis also provides a useful framework for evaluating whether a tendered solution fulfills the training needs of a work domain.

The Saskatchewan Pediatric Bone Mineral Accrual Study: Bone mineral acquisition during the growing years

To investigate bone mineral accretion in growing children, the Saskatchewan Pediatric Bone Mineral Accrual Study was initiated in 1991. The study involves the collection of dietary and physical activity information along with anthropometric growth and maturity measurements every 6 months and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer (DXA) bone scans of the whole body, AP lumbar spine and proximal femur taken annually, The study has now finished its 6th year and 68 males and 72 females from an original sample of 228 elementary schoolchildren are still involved, To investigate how bone mineral at clinically important sites proceeds in relation to maturation we developed distance and velocity growth curves for height and bone mineral content (BMC) for the AP lumbar spine, the femoral neck and the whole body, In both boys and girls, over 35% of total body and AP spine bone mineral and over 27% of the bone mineral at the femoral neck was laid down during the 4-year adolescent period surrounding peak linear growth velocity. The clinical significance of these values can be appreciated by consideration of the fact that as much bone mineral will be laid down during these 4 adolescent growing years as most people will lose during all of adult life.

The role of integrated information acquisition and management in the analysis of coastal ecosystem change

This book chapter represents a synthesis of the work which started in my PhD and which has been the conceptual basis for all of my research since 1993. The chapter presents a method for scientists and managers to use for selecting the type of remotely sensed data to use to meet their information needs associated with a mapping, monitoring or modelling application. The work draws on results from several of my ARC projects, CRC Rainforest and Coastal projects and theses of P.Scarth , K.Joyce and C.Roelfsema.