The topic of this dissertation is agreement and case assignment, with particular reference to conjoined noun phrases. The initial chapters look at the different possibilities available in such contexts, including agreement with the features of each individual conjunct, agreement with the features of only one conjunct, or agreement with features computed on the basis of those of the individual conjuncts but not necessarily possessed by them. We propose a way of handling all of these patterns with a single formal mechanism, later applying the same intuitions to the assignment (or non-assignment) of case values by a head to its dependents. Attempts are also made to explore in greater depth some of the factors that might influence the choice of alternative agreement configurations, as well as to extend the scope of the model which we elaborate as we go along to non-conjoined environments where variable agreement occurs. Special emphasis is laid throughout on fluctuations in agreement, either because the controller has mismatched attributes or because the syntactic structure and/or the semantic interpretation allow variation. The final conclusion is that a modular approach to grammar is best placed to deal with the empirical facts. The complexities of the data call for bringing together purely morpho-syntactic, declensional information, syntactic hierarchy, order and constituency, coupled with semantics and pragmatics. The successful, appropriately regulated, interaction of these modules is shown to offer a satisfactory explanation which is difficult to obtain by exclusively relying on syntax or semantics alone.

In Arabic inna wa-aḫawātu-hā ‘inna and its related sisters’ are traditionally considered as verb-like particles. They are specified as introducing equational sentences and change their constituents’ case to a different pattern from what verbs do. Therefore, they are called nawāsiḫ in Arabic, or words that cause a shift to the accusative case (Ryding 2005). The medieval grammarians’ treatment of inna and its sisters as verb-like particles and of the equational sentence in general is based on the theory of ‘amal, ‘government’ which Sībawayhi has described it in his book Al-kitab. The theory presumes a grammatical operation (‘amal) in which an operator (‘āmil) assigns to a unique operand (ma’mūl) a grammatical function (Carter, 1973, 151). However, in modern linguistics, government is realized as a syntactic relation that imposes case agreement between the syntactic elements in the sentential structure. And this structure has a deep representation and surface representation. The Medieval treatment for the equational sentence introduced by inna is problematic, because it attributes to inna a verbal power to resolve the issue of the case assignment to the equational sentence which lacks an overt syntactic operator. Modern approaches to equational sentence differ totally from the traditional account. Some modern approaches propose a copula for the equational sentence; this copula is either covert or deleted. Other modern approaches propose a tense projection in deep structure that determines an equational sentence’s surface form. Neither sort of approach gives a reasonable explanation for the case assignment pattern, for the general properties of equational sentences, or for the status of inna. In this study, I propose a new approach focusing on the role of semantics in the assignment of case in equational sentences in Arabic. My hypothesis is based on a new interpretation to Sībawayhi’s description of the ‘ibtida’ sentence; according to this new interpretation ibtida’ is not a syntactic operator but rather a semantic one. I also propose that a sentence’s syntactic properties are sensitive to its semantic MODE, a specification of whether it expresses a topic-based proposition; or an event-based proposition. My new hypothesis is intended to apply to all varieties of Arabic including Classical Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic, as well as the regional dialects of Arabic.

This study used an explanatory research model that determined the effect on caseworker time and therefore workload caused by specific characteristics of cases assigned after the child abuse investigation is complete. The purpose of this study was to explain the relationship between child protection case characteristics and the time an assigned caseworker devotes to a case. With this knowledge an informed methodology to assess the current workload of a caseworker could be used to assure that the caseworker is able to successfully complete the tasks required for each child assigned. Further, the knowledge of the amount of time spent on a case with specific characteristics allows supervisors to assess and properly assign cases. Utilizing focus groups and a secondary data analysis of the Florida State Automated Child Welfare Service Information System (SACWSIS) the case characteristics of race/ethnicity, living arrangement, placement, removal and prior removal were found to significantly affect caseworker time spent on a case. Additionally, the case characteristics of gender, age, type of maltreatment, and disability were not found to affect caseworker time spent on a case.

One of the most important and challenging questions in the area of clustering is how to choose the best-fitting algorithm and parameterization to obtain an optimal clustering for the considered data. The clustering aggregation concept tries to bypass this problem by generating a set of separate, heterogeneous partitionings of the same data set, from which an aggregate clustering is derived. As of now, almost every existing aggregation approach combines given crisp clusterings on the basis of pair-wise similarities. In this paper, we regard an input set of soft clusterings and show that it contains additional information that is efficiently useable for the aggregation. Our approach introduces an expansion of mentioned pair-wise similarities, allowing control and adjustment of the aggregation process and its result. Our experiments show that our flexible approach offers adaptive results, improved identification of structures and high useability.