Aspectuo-Temporal Underspecification in Anindilyakwa: Descriptive, Theoretical, Typological and Quantitative Issues

So-called ‘zero’ or ‘null’ tenses have often been characterized as functionally deficient forms, deprived of any inherent content. In this paper, we will focus on the semantics of a morpho-phonologically null inflectional verbal paradigm in Anindilyakwa (Groote Eylandt, N.T., Australia, which is both temporally and aspectually underspecified. Through a quantitative corpus study conducted in the paper, we establish that ‘zero inflection’ in this language, contra prior works on such tenses in general (e.g. Bybee 1990) and in Anindilyakwa in particular (Bednall 2019), presents various degrees of sensitivity to traditional Vendlerian aspectual parameters. We show that while telicity is not a significant predictor for the temporal interpretation of zero-inflected Anindilyakwa verbs, and dynamicity is a good but not very good predictor, only a very broad opposition between change-of-state (including qua boundedness) and non-change-of-state, or perfective/imperfective, gives very significant biases towards past vs. present anchoring. We also show that atomic telicity is the only categorical Aktionsart predictor for temporal anchoring in this context correctly predict the temporal anchoring of such verbs, and stativity is not biased towards present interpretations, thereby questioning currently received typological theories of the semantics of so-called ‘zero-tenses’ / aspectuo-temporally underspecified tenses.

SRAM-Based PUF Reliability Prediction Using Cell-Imbalance Characterization in the State Space Diagram

This work proposes a methodology to estimate the statistical distribution of the probability that a 6T bit-cell starts up to a given logic value in SRAM memories for PUF applications. First, the distribution is obtained experimentally in a 65-nm CMOS device. As this distribution cannot be reproduced by electrical simulation, we explore the use of an alternative parameter defined as the distance between the origin and the separatrix in the bit-cell state space to quantify the mismatch of the cell. The resulting distribution of this parameter obtained from Monte Carlo simulations is then related to the start-up probability distribution using a two-component logistic function. The reported results show that the proposed imbalance factor is a good predictor for PUF-related reliability estimation with the advantage that can be applied at the early design stages.

Visual Discomfort and Variations in Chromaticity in Art and Nature

Visual discomfort is related to the statistical regularity of visual images. The contribution of luminance contrast to visual discomfort is well understood and can be framed in terms of a theory of efficient coding of natural stimuli, and linked to metabolic demand. While color is important in our interaction with nature, the effect of color on visual discomfort has received less attention. In this study, we build on the established association between visual discomfort and differences in chromaticity across space. We average the local differences in chromaticity in an image and show that this average is a good predictor of visual discomfort from the image. It accounts for part of the variance left unexplained by variations in luminance. We show that the local chromaticity difference in uncomfortable stimuli is high compared to that typical in natural scenes, except in particular infrequent conditions such as the arrangement of colorful fruits against foliage. Overall, our study discloses a new link between visual ecology and discomfort whereby discomfort arises when adaptive perceptual mechanisms are overstimulated by specific classes of stimuli rarely found in nature.

A comparison of two methods for estimating critical swimming speed (UCRIT) in larval fathead minnows: the laminar flow assay and the spinning task assay

Critical swimming performance (UCRIT) is considered a good predictor of swimming capabilities in fish. To estimate UCRIT, a fish is exposed to an incrementally-increasing laminar flow of water until it cannot maintain its position against the current. The spinning task assay has been proposed as an alternative method to traditional laminar flow methods; however, these methods have not been directly compared. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine whether the spinning task assay is a suitable alternative to traditional laminar flow assays. To that end, the performance of fathead minnows in each assay was compared at three time points (14, 19 and 24 days post fertilization, dpf). In 14 dpf fish, UCRIT estimates were similar regardless of the assay used. However, at 19 and 24 dpf, UCRIT estimates derived from the two assay types were significantly different. This indicates that the assays are not equivalent to one another and that the spinning task assay is not a suitable alternative to the laminar flow assay for the determination of UCRIT.

Jurisdictional Integration: How Economic Globalisation Is Changing State Sovereignty

<p>Despite intense debate over the impact of globalisation on state sovereignty, there is a gap in the literature on conceptualisation, measurement, and research on the depth of international policy cooperation. This thesis introduces a new concept, jurisdictional integration, defined as international agreements that constrain, to varying degrees, a state's jurisdiction to make or enforce policies free from external involvement. State jurisdiction - the recognized authority to govern by domestic law - is a more coherent and tractable concept than the traditional concept of Westphalian sovereignty. A generic spectrum of points of increasing integration of state jurisdiction is presented, together with a taxonomy of points of increasing depth of international economic policy cooperation. The practicality and value of the framework is illustrated in two ways. First, an empirical analysis is presented of the depth of jurisdictional integration in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), using WTO data, to test hypotheses of the relationship between economic integration and the depth of policy cooperation in RTAs. The results indicate that the average frequency of occurrence of the deep policy cooperation provisions increased by 118% in RTAs signed 1990-1998 compared to those signed prior to 1990. Secondly, international cooperation in competition policy is analysed through compilation of a new database of stand-alone Competition Enforcement Agreements (CEAs), and the provisions in the Competition Policy Chapters of RTAs. Ordinal indices of increasing depth of jurisdictional integration with respect to competition policy are developed. New families of agreements are identified through vector analysis. Ninety-two international agreements are ranked on an enforcement cooperation index, and are used to test descriptive propositions about international competition policy cooperation. There are an increasing number of North-South agreements; and there has been both a widening and deepening of enforcement cooperation over time. Contingency table analysis is conducted of the relationship, given the existence of an agreement, between depth of enforcement cooperation and predictor variables. Whether all signatories are OECD members is a very good predictor of deep enforcement cooperation. A lack of similarity between substantive competition laws is a very good predictor of low enforcement cooperation. The level of trade integration is a moderately good predictor of the depth of enforcement cooperation; while geographic proximity is a good predictor for RTAs but not for CEAs. The depth of cooperation is almost independent of the level of economic asymmetry between signatories. These results are consistent with theories of regulatory competition and elite norm diffusion as causal mechanisms of increased international economic policy cooperation. The depth of enforcement cooperation is also found to be a very good predictor of whether agreements are "intergovernmental" or transgovernmental. The thesis suggests that the concept of jurisdictional integration can make a significant contribution to measuring the depth of all types of international economic cooperation agreements, and potentially also to cooperation in noneconomic domains; to research on the causes and consequences of international policy cooperation; and to policy development and public debate on the management of globalisation.</p>

Jurisdictional Integration: How Economic Globalisation Is Changing State Sovereignty

<p>Despite intense debate over the impact of globalisation on state sovereignty, there is a gap in the literature on conceptualisation, measurement, and research on the depth of international policy cooperation. This thesis introduces a new concept, jurisdictional integration, defined as international agreements that constrain, to varying degrees, a state's jurisdiction to make or enforce policies free from external involvement. State jurisdiction - the recognized authority to govern by domestic law - is a more coherent and tractable concept than the traditional concept of Westphalian sovereignty. A generic spectrum of points of increasing integration of state jurisdiction is presented, together with a taxonomy of points of increasing depth of international economic policy cooperation. The practicality and value of the framework is illustrated in two ways. First, an empirical analysis is presented of the depth of jurisdictional integration in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), using WTO data, to test hypotheses of the relationship between economic integration and the depth of policy cooperation in RTAs. The results indicate that the average frequency of occurrence of the deep policy cooperation provisions increased by 118% in RTAs signed 1990-1998 compared to those signed prior to 1990. Secondly, international cooperation in competition policy is analysed through compilation of a new database of stand-alone Competition Enforcement Agreements (CEAs), and the provisions in the Competition Policy Chapters of RTAs. Ordinal indices of increasing depth of jurisdictional integration with respect to competition policy are developed. New families of agreements are identified through vector analysis. Ninety-two international agreements are ranked on an enforcement cooperation index, and are used to test descriptive propositions about international competition policy cooperation. There are an increasing number of North-South agreements; and there has been both a widening and deepening of enforcement cooperation over time. Contingency table analysis is conducted of the relationship, given the existence of an agreement, between depth of enforcement cooperation and predictor variables. Whether all signatories are OECD members is a very good predictor of deep enforcement cooperation. A lack of similarity between substantive competition laws is a very good predictor of low enforcement cooperation. The level of trade integration is a moderately good predictor of the depth of enforcement cooperation; while geographic proximity is a good predictor for RTAs but not for CEAs. The depth of cooperation is almost independent of the level of economic asymmetry between signatories. These results are consistent with theories of regulatory competition and elite norm diffusion as causal mechanisms of increased international economic policy cooperation. The depth of enforcement cooperation is also found to be a very good predictor of whether agreements are "intergovernmental" or transgovernmental. The thesis suggests that the concept of jurisdictional integration can make a significant contribution to measuring the depth of all types of international economic cooperation agreements, and potentially also to cooperation in noneconomic domains; to research on the causes and consequences of international policy cooperation; and to policy development and public debate on the management of globalisation.</p>