Little is known about stuttering in signed languages. Although disfluencies are known to occur in deaf users of signed languages, there has been little research suggesting that these disfluencies can be termed "stuttering". Because signed language studies is an emerging field and there are many answers that remain unknown, debate over the appropriate terminology for disfluencies in signed languages persists. While one argument is that stuttering is characterized by disfluencies in oral speech alone, a second argument is that the "stuttering" label can be extended to deaf signed language users as a result of similar neurological activations associated with oral speech and sign. Although not the primary purpose of this report, labeling disfluencies in signed languages as "stuttering" could have several advantages, such that the stuttering label could help individuals qualify for services, and determine the most appropriate ways to go about treating the disorder, clinically. There are several neuropsycholingustic theories which attempt to explain the etiology of stuttering. In this report, I will analyze each of these and suggest ways in which they can be adapted to stuttering in signed languages. The purpose of this report is to explore the idea of stuttering in signed languages and provide a framework and rationale for future studies of similar interest and intent. An examination of stuttering in signed languages will increase our general knowledge and awareness of stuttering, and suggest an alternative modality for which stuttering can be treated clinically. / text

acase@tulane.edu / Let G be a reductive group, B be a Borel subgroup, and let K be a symmetric subgroup of G. The study of B orbits in a symmetric variety G/K or, equivalently, the study of K orbits in a flag variety G/B has importance in the study of Harish-Chandra modules; it comes with many interesting Schubert calculus problems. Although this subject is very well studied, it still has many open problems from combinatorial point of view. The most basic question that we want to be able to answer is that how many B orbits there are in G/K. In this thesis, we study the enumeration problem of Borel orbits in the case of classical symmetric varieties. We give explicit formulas for the numbers of Borel orbits on symmetric varieties for each case and determine the generating functions of these numbers. We also explore relations to lattice path enumeration for some cases. In type A, we realize that Borel orbits are parameterized by the lattice paths in a pxq grid moving by only horizontal, vertical and diagonal steps weighted by an appropriate statistic. We provide extended results for type C as well. We also present various t-analogues of the rank generating function for the inclusion poset of Borel orbit closures in type A. / 1 / Ozlem Ugurlu

Given a signed graph (G, Σ) with an embedding on a surface S, we are interested in "extending" (G, Σ) by adding edges and splitting vertices, such that the resulting graph has no embedding on S. We show (assuming 3-connectivity for (G, Σ)) that there are a small number of minimal extensions of (G, Σ) with no such embedding, and describe them explicitly. We also give conditions, for several surfaces S, for an embedding of a signed graph on S to extend uniquely. These results find application in characterizing the signed graphs with no odd-K_5 minor.

In this thesis we consider two classes of binary matroids, even cycle matroids and even cut matroids. They are a generalization of graphic and cographic matroids respectively. We focus on two main problems for these classes of matroids. We first consider the Isomorphism Problem, that is the relation between two representations of the same matroid. A representation of an even cycle matroid is a pair formed by a graph together with a special set of edges of the graph. Such a pair is called a signed graph. A representation for an even cut matroid is a pair formed by a graph together with a special set of vertices of the graph. Such a pair is called a graft. We show that two signed graphs representing the same even cycle matroid relate to two grafts representing the same even cut matroid. We then present two classes of signed graphs and we solve the Isomorphism Problem for these two classes. We conjecture that any two representations of the same even cycle matroid are either in one of these two classes, or are related by a local modification of a known operation, or form a sporadic example. The second problem we consider is finding the excluded minors for these classes of matroids. A difficulty when looking for excluded minors for these classes arises from the fact that in general the matroids may have an arbitrarily large number of representations. We define degenerate even cycle and even cut matroids. We show that a 3-connected even cycle matroid containing a 3-connected non-degenerate minor has, up to a simple equivalence relation, at most twice as many representations as the minor. We strengthen this result for a particular class of non-degenerate even cycle matroids. We also prove analogous results for even cut matroids.

In this thesis we consider two classes of binary matroids, even cycle matroids and even cut matroids. They are a generalization of graphic and cographic matroids respectively. We focus on two main problems for these classes of matroids. We first consider the Isomorphism Problem, that is the relation between two representations of the same matroid. A representation of an even cycle matroid is a pair formed by a graph together with a special set of edges of the graph. Such a pair is called a signed graph. A representation for an even cut matroid is a pair formed by a graph together with a special set of vertices of the graph. Such a pair is called a graft. We show that two signed graphs representing the same even cycle matroid relate to two grafts representing the same even cut matroid. We then present two classes of signed graphs and we solve the Isomorphism Problem for these two classes. We conjecture that any two representations of the same even cycle matroid are either in one of these two classes, or are related by a local modification of a known operation, or form a sporadic example. The second problem we consider is finding the excluded minors for these classes of matroids. A difficulty when looking for excluded minors for these classes arises from the fact that in general the matroids may have an arbitrarily large number of representations. We define degenerate even cycle and even cut matroids. We show that a 3-connected even cycle matroid containing a 3-connected non-degenerate minor has, up to a simple equivalence relation, at most twice as many representations as the minor. We strengthen this result for a particular class of non-degenerate even cycle matroids. We also prove analogous results for even cut matroids.

No description available.

Este trabalho objetivou dar um primeiro passo em direção a uma descrição das unidades do nível fonético-fonológico da língua de sinais brasileira (libras). Para isso, ele se baseou no modelo de análise sublexical proposto por Liddell (1984) e desenvolvido por Liddell & Johnson (2000 [1989]), segundo o qual, os sinais das línguas sinalizadas, semelhantemente às palavras das línguas faladas, são consituídos por segmentos. Além de oferecer uma análise segmental dos sinais, capaz de capturar os contrastes seqüenciais também possíveis nessas línguas, esse modelo apresenta uma descrição bastante detalhada dos traços que caracterizam cada um de seus segmentos. Por conta disso, neste trabalho, foi possível não apenas levantar alguns traços articulatórios que têm valor distintivo na fonologia da libras, mas também esboçar uma análise segmental para alguns de seus itens lexicais. / This research aimed at doing a first description of the phonetic-phonological units of Brazilian Sign Language (libras). To do so, I assumed Liddell & Johnson (2000 [1989])\'s proposal, according to which signed languages\' lexical items are structured by segments, in the same way as spoken languages\' words. This model not only offers a segmental analysis for the signs, but also makes possible a detailed description of their articulatory features. For that reason, in this research, it was possible to identify some libras\'s features used to distinguish signs, as well as outline a segmental analysis to some of its lexical items.

Este trabalho objetivou dar um primeiro passo em direção a uma descrição das unidades do nível fonético-fonológico da língua de sinais brasileira (libras). Para isso, ele se baseou no modelo de análise sublexical proposto por Liddell (1984) e desenvolvido por Liddell & Johnson (2000 [1989]), segundo o qual, os sinais das línguas sinalizadas, semelhantemente às palavras das línguas faladas, são consituídos por segmentos. Além de oferecer uma análise segmental dos sinais, capaz de capturar os contrastes seqüenciais também possíveis nessas línguas, esse modelo apresenta uma descrição bastante detalhada dos traços que caracterizam cada um de seus segmentos. Por conta disso, neste trabalho, foi possível não apenas levantar alguns traços articulatórios que têm valor distintivo na fonologia da libras, mas também esboçar uma análise segmental para alguns de seus itens lexicais. / This research aimed at doing a first description of the phonetic-phonological units of Brazilian Sign Language (libras). To do so, I assumed Liddell & Johnson (2000 [1989])\'s proposal, according to which signed languages\' lexical items are structured by segments, in the same way as spoken languages\' words. This model not only offers a segmental analysis for the signs, but also makes possible a detailed description of their articulatory features. For that reason, in this research, it was possible to identify some libras\'s features used to distinguish signs, as well as outline a segmental analysis to some of its lexical items.

Consider sequential trials comparing two treatments with binary responses. The goal is to derive accurate confidence sets for the treatment difference and the individual success probabilities of the two treatments. We shall begin with the signed-root transformation as a pivot and then apply the approximate theory of Weng and Woodroofe [11] to form accurate confidence sets of these parameters. The explicit correction terms of the pivots are obtained. The simulation studies agree well with the theoretical results.

This research represents an initial attempt at a linguistic analysis of the grammar of Egyptian Sign Language (LIM). The paper addresses verbal agreement, negation, and aspectual marking in LIM and frames these grammatical features in a typological context. Particular attention is paid to the class of directional verbs, which spatially inflect to agree with their arguments, and the sub-class of backward directional verbs. The agreement structures of these verbs, as well as suppletive imperative verbal forms, generally pattern with directional verbs in other signed languages; this paper analyzes apparent exceptions in relation to similar irregularities in other signed languages. There is an unusually large inventory of negative-marking strategies and an average-sized set of aspectual markers in LIM. Among them are crosslinguistically uncommon patterns such as frustrative (non-success/non-achievement) aspectual marking, a negative imperative, and possibly also morphological negation via either handshape change or palm-orientation reversal. The analyses and questions presented here lay the groundwork for future research in LIM and other signed languages. / text