Letters & Numbers : a vehicle to illustrate mathematical and computing fundamentals

The television quiz program Letters and Numbers, broadcast on the SBS network, has recently become quite popular in Australia. This paper explores the potential of this game to illustrate and engage student interest in a range of fundamental concepts of computer science and mathematics. The Numbers Game in particular has a rich mathematical structure whose analysis and solution involves concepts of counting and problem size, discrete (tree) structures, language theory, recurrences, computational complexity, and even advanced memory management. This paper presents an analysis of these games and their teaching applications, and presents some initial results of use in student assignments.

Leader-follower interactions : relations with OCB and sales productivity

Purpose Based on substitutes for leadership theory, the aim of this study is to examine followers' learning goal orientation as a moderator of relationships among transformational leadership, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and sales productivity. Design/methodology/approach Data came from 61 food and beverage attendants of a casino, and were analyzed using regression analyses. Findings Transformational leadership was positively related to both OCB and sales productivity. Learning goal orientation moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB, such that transformational leadership was more strongly related to OCB among followers with a low learning goal orientation than among followers with a high learning goal orientation. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study include the small sample size and cross-sectional research design. Practical implications Organizations could train supervisors to practice a transformational leadership style and to take followers' learning goal orientation into account. Originality/value The findings of this study suggest that, with regard to OCB, a high learning goal orientation of followers may act as a “substitute” for low levels of leaders' transformational leadership.

New regime for property agents and residential property sales in Queensland : Property Occupations Act 2014

This article examines the new Property Occupations Act 2014 (POA) and relevant provisions of the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 (AFAA) and the impacts for property practitioners. The Acts are due to commence later in 2014 once regulations and relevant forms are drafted. Coinciding with the commencement of the Acts further versions of the REIQ Houses and Land Contract and REIQ Community Title Contract will also be released. The POA introduces changes for licencing of real estate agents, property developers and resident letting agents as well as significant changes for the contract formation process. The AFAA includes the trust account and claim fund provisions of PAMDA, which avoids duplication of these provisions across each of the industry-specific Bills. The most significant change is to the process for making a claim against the fund for the conduct of property agents.

Letters to editor [Letter from Brisbane]

A short memoir piece about the 2011 Brisbane floods. We’re drawing to the close of a day when, thankfully, the water level has peaked lower than forecasts had predicted. In the most extreme emergencies, homes have been picked up and washed away...

Commercial friendships between gay sales associates and straight female customers in luxury settings: A proposed theoretical framework

This study investigates friendships between gay sales associates and heterosexual female customers in luxury retail settings. By employing grounded theory methodology, the study integrates theories and findings from diverse literature streams into an original conceptual framework to illustrate the resources gay sales associates and straight female customers receive from and provide to each other during retail exchanges. The study explains why gay male–straight female friendships are uniquely suited for luxury consumption settings. Female customers characterize their friendships with gay sales associates as providing honesty, security, trust, and comfort, which stems from the absence of sexual interest and a lack of inter-female competition. Gay sales associates receive acceptance for who they are and for their displays of unconventional masculinity in retail settings. They also obtain a temporary rite from their female customers, a so-called mandate of privacy, which permits both parties to ignore the bounds of modesty and accept a degree of intimacy. Such intimacy facilitates transactions that require both personalization and customer–employee closeness, such as the selling of high-end apparel, accessories, and jewelry.

The non-literary Latin letters. A study of their syntax and pragmatics

This dissertation studies the language of Latin letters that were written in Egypt and Vindolanda (in northern Britain) during the period 1st century BC 3rd century AD on papyri, ostraca, and wooden tablets. The majority of the texts is, in one way or another, connected with the Roman army. The focus of the study is on syntax and pragmatics. Besides traditional philological methods, modern syntactic theory is used as well, especially in the pragmatic analysis. The study begins with a critical survey of certain concepts that are current in the research on the Latin language, most importantly the concept of vulgar Latin , which, it is argued, seems to be used as an abstract noun for variation and change in Latin . Further, it is necessary to treat even the non-literary material primarily as written texts and not as straightforward reflections of spoken language. An examination of letter phraseology shows that there is considerable variation between the two major geographical areas of provenance. Latin letter writing in Egypt was influenced by Greek. The study highlights the importance of seeing the letters as a text type, with recurring phraseological elements appearing in the body text as well. It is argued that recognising these elements is essential for the correct analysis of the syntax. Three areas of syntax are discussed in detail: sentence connection (mainly parataxis), syntactically incoherent structures and word order (the order of the object and the verb). For certain types of sentence connection we may plausibly posit an origin in spoken Latin, but for many other linguistic phenomena attested in this material the issue of spoken Latin is anything but simple. Concerning the study of historical syntax, the letters offer information about the changing status of the accusative case. Incoherent structures may reflect contaminations in spoken language but usually the reason for them is the inability of the writer to put his thoughts into writing, especially when there is something more complicated to be expressed. Many incoherent expressions reflect the need to start the predication with a thematic constituent. Latin word order is seen as resulting from an interaction of syntactic and pragmatic factors. The preference for an order where the topic is placed sentence-initially can be seen in word order more generally as well. Furthermore, there appears a difference between Egypt and Vindolanda. The letters from Vindolanda show the order O(bject) V(erb) clearly more often than the letters from Egypt. Interestingly, this difference correlates with another, namely the use of the anaphoric pronoun is. This is an interesting observation in view of the fact that both of these are traditional Latin features, as opposed to those that foreshadow the Romance development (VO order and use of the anaphoric ille). However, it is difficult to say whether this is an indication of social or regional variation.

Language and Letters of the Bluestocking Network : Sociolinguistic Issues in Eighteenth Century Epistolary English

This study deals with language change and variation in the correspondence of the eighteenth-century Bluestocking circle, a social network which provided learned men and women with an informal environment for the pursuit of scholarly entertainment. Elizabeth Montagu (1718 1800), a notable social hostess and a Shakespearean scholar, was one of their key figures. The study presents the reconstruction of Elizabeth Montagu s social networks from her youth to her later years with a special focus on the Bluestocking circle, and linguistic research on private correspondence between Montagu and her Bluestocking friends and family members between the years 1738 1778. The epistolary language use is investigated using the methods and frameworks of corpus linguistics, historical sociolinguistics, and social network analysis. The approach is diachronic and concerns real-time language change. The research is based on a selection of manuscript letters which I have edited and compiled into an electronic corpus (Bluestocking Corpus). I have also devised a network strength scale in order to quantify the strength of network ties and to compare the results of the linguistic research with the network analysis. The studies range from the reconstruction and analysis of Elizabeth Montagu s most prominent social networks to the analysis of changing morphosyntactic features and spelling variation in Montagu s and her network members correspondence. The linguistic studies look at the use of the progressive construction, preposition stranding and pied piping, and spelling variation in terms of preterite and past participle endings in the regular paradigm (-ed, - d, -d, - t, -t) and full / contracted spellings of auxiliary verbs. The results are analysed in terms of social network membership, sociolinguistic variables of the correspondents, and, when relevant, aspects of eighteenth-century linguistic prescriptivism. The studies showed a slight diachronic increase in the use of the progressive, a significant decrease of the stigmatised preposition stranding and increase of pied piping, and relatively informal but socially controlled epistolary spelling. Certain significant changes in Elizabeth Montagu s language use over the years could be attributed to her increasingly prominent social standing and the changes in her social networks, and the strength of ties correlated strongly with the use of the progressive in the Bluestocking Corpus. Gender, social rank, and register in terms of kinship/friendship had a significant influence in language use, and an effect of prescriptivism could also be detected. Elizabeth Montagu s network ties resulted in language variation in terms of network membership, her own position in a given network, and the social factors that controlled eighteenth-century interaction. When all the network ties are strong, linguistic variation seems to be essentially linked to the social variables of the informants.

Productivity of the suffixes -ness and -ity in 17th-century English letters : A sociolinguistic approach

Tässä työssä tutkitaan englannin kielen substantiivijohtimien -ness ja -ity produktiivisuutta 1600-luvulla kirjoitetuissa kirjeissä. Näitä lähes synonyymisiä johtimia käytetään yleensä merkitykseltään abstraktien substantiivien muodostamiseen adjektiiveista (esim. productive 'produktiivinen' > productiveness tai productivity 'produktiivisuus'). Johtimista -ity on lainautunut englantiin ranskasta ja myöhemmin myös latinasta; se on sekä fonologialtaan että semantiikaltaan läpinäkymättömämpi kuin kotoperäinen -ness. Lisäksi -ity-johdinta on käytetty enimmäkseen formaaleissa tilanteissa ja tieteellisissä teksteissä, kun taas -ness on ollut yleiskäyttöisempi. Tutkielman lähestymistapa on sosiolingvistinen: oletetaan, että johtimien produktiivisuus (eli valmius muodostaa uusia johdoksia) voi vaihdella eri sosiaaliryhmissä. Sosiolingvistiikkaa ei ole aiemmin juurikaan sovellettu produktiivisuuden tutkimiseen. Tutkimusaineistona on Helsingin yliopiston VARIENG-tutkimusyksikön laatima Corpus of Early English Correspondence, varhaisista englanninkielisistä kirjeistä koostuva korpus eli elektroninen tekstikokoelma, joka on suunniteltu historiallisen sosiolingvistiikan tarpeisiin. Korpuksen 1600-luvun kirjeitten yhteenlaskettu pituus on noin 1,4 miljoonaa sanaa, ja ne on kirjoitettu vuosina 1600-1681. Tutkielman tärkeimpänä produktiivisuusmittarina käytetään johtimien avulla muodostettujen eri sanojen eli tyyppien lukumäärää. Hypoteesina on, että -ity-tyyppien määrä on keskimääräistä pienempi huonosti koulutettujen sosiaaliryhmien kirjeissä. Näitä olivat 1600-luvulla naiset sekä alhaisimmat yhteiskuntaryhmät, kuten talonpojat ja käsityöläiset. Johtimen -ness tyyppimäärissä ei odoteta esiintyvän sosiolingvististä variaatiota. Tutkielmassa käsitellään myös tyyppimäärien vertailuun liittyviä metodologisia ongelmia. Koska vaikkapa naisilta ja miehiltä on eri määrä dataa, ei heidän tyyppimääriään voida suoraan verrata keskenään. Esimerkiksi tyyppimäärien normalisointi tuhatta sanaa kohti ei myöskään ole mahdollista, koska tyyppien lukumäärä ei kasva lineaarisesti korpuksen kasvaessa. Tutkielmassa esitetään kielitieteessä harvoin käytetty tilastotieteellinen menetelmä, jonka avulla korpuksen eri osista saatuja tyyppimääriä voidaan verrata koko korpukseen ja testata, ovatko ne tilastollisesti merkittävän pieniä tai suuria. Toisin kuin monet yleisemmät menetelmät, tämä tyyppikertymiin ja permutaatiotesteihin perustuva metodi ei vaadi yksinkertaistavien oletuksien tekemistä. Tutkimustulokset vahvistavat hypoteesin oikeaksi: naisten -ity-tyyppien lukumäärä on tilastollisesti merkittävän alhainen, kun taas -ness-tyyppien määrissä ei ole tilastollisesti merkittäviä eroja. Alhaisimpien yhteiskuntaryhmien osalta tuloksia ei saada, koska niiltä on korpuksessa liian vähän dataa. Analyysissä paljastuu myös yllättävä eroavaisuus: korpuksen ajallisesti ensimmäisessä puoliskossa (1600-1639) on merkittävän vähän -ity-tyyppejä. Tämä voidaan tulkita kielelliseksi muutokseksi: -ity-johtimen produktiivisuus kasvaa kirjeissä 1600-luvun aikana. Saattaa olla, että johtimen produktiivisuus on ensin kasvanut formaalimmissa tekstilajeissa, joista lisääntynyt käyttö on sitten levinnyt myös kirjeisiin, ehkäpä 1640-luvun sisällissodan synnyttämien kontaktiverkostojen siivittämänä. Tuloksien perusteella voidaan sanoa, että sosiolingvistinen vaihtelu on merkittävä tekijä ainakin joittenkin johtimien produktiivisuudessa, joten vaihtelua on syytä tutkia enemmänkin. Tutkimuksessa käytetty metodi mahdollistaa osakorpuksien tyyppimäärien luotettavan vertailun melko pienissäkin korpuksissa, joten se soveltuu hyvin niin historialliseen kielitieteeseen kuin sosiolingvistiikkaankin.

Leo Baeck (sitting second from left) on stage at Dropsie College in Philadelphia to receive honorary Doctorate of Hebrew Letters Ceremonies; Commemorative

Page 14 of the "American Jewish Cavalcade" scrapbook of Leo Baeck in New York found in ROS 10 Folder 3

Response: Special communication: Letters to the Editor-in-Chief [Vigorous exercise in clinical practice: balancing risks and benefits]

The effects of different exercise intensities on health have been investigated in several studies in recent years, in which some authors showed greater benefits for vigorous exercise (6) while others did not find any differences (8). An important issue regarding these conflicting results could be the fact that only a few of the studies controlled the effects of different exercise intensities for the overall volume of physical activity, making the evaluation of the available data difficult.

The File Marked "Rita". Selections from the Letters of Herbert Mueller and Rita Klein (1939-1945) 1939-1946

Exchange of letters between Herbert Mueller and Rita Klein after Mueller's emigration to England in 1939; Rita Klein's attempt to obtain divorce; suicide attempt by her husband Leo Klein; correspondence through intermediaries after outbreak of World War II; notice of Rita Klein's deportation to Auschwitz; (translation from original German)

The letters 1938-1945. The Grunwald's journey from oppression to freedom.

The bulk of the correspondence is between Susanne Sommer's parents, Max and Marga Grunwald, and their sponsors in the United States, Paul and Jean Lewinson. Also included are letters from Susanne Sommer's maternal grandparents prior to their deportation from Berlin in 1942 and from her paternal grandfather prior to and after his deportation from Stettin to a ghetto in Poland. A number of letters by Hugo Grunwald, Susanne Sommer's uncle, joined the British army after his immigration to England, are included as well.

Before the Holocaust: Letters to Alice (and Edith) 1939-1941.

Collection of transcribed 32 letters with accompanying notes, photographs and family trees. The letters were written by Flora Mattersheim Kleinmann to her daughter Alice Kleinmann Loewenstein and her granddaughter Edith from Vienna between July 1939 and October 1941. Introduced and edited by Ruth Leeds Love (Inge Ruth Loewenstein), Alice Kleinmann Loewenstein's granddaughter; transcripts by Herbert Weber.

"... I want an Ocean between us!" : Letters from Samuel Kahn, devoted father of one of the thousand children brought from Germany to the United States in 1934.

The manuscript contains letters written by Samuel Kahn to his daughter in the USA between 1934 and 1937.