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For qualitative data analysis (QDA), researchers assign codes to text segments to arrange the information into topics or concepts. These annotations facilitate information retrieval and the identification of emerging patterns in unstructured data. However, this metadata is typically not published or reused after the research. Subsequent studies with similar research questions require a new definition of codes and do not benefit from other analysts' experience. Machine learning (ML) based classification seeded with such data remains a challenging task due to the ambiguity of code definitions and the inherent subjectivity of the exercise. Previous attempts to support QDA using ML rely on linear models and only examined individual datasets that were either smaller or coded specifically for this purpose. However, we show that modern approaches effectively capture at least part of the codes' semantics and may generalize to multiple studies. We analyze the performance of multiple classifiers across three large real-world datasets. Furthermore, we propose an ML-based approach to identify semantic relations of codes in different studies to show thematic faceting, enhance retrieval of related content, or bootstrap the coding process. These are encouraging results that suggest how analysts might benefit from prior interpretation efforts, potentially yielding new insights into qualitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is substantial evidence that affectively charged words (e.g., party or gun) are processed differently from neutral words (e.g., pen), although there are also inconsistent findings in the field. Some lexical or semantic variables might explain such inconsistencies, due to the possible modulation of affective word processing by these variables. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which affective word processing is modulated by semantic ambiguity. We conducted a large lexical decision study including semantically ambiguous words (e.g., cataract) and semantically unambiguous words (e.g., terrorism), analysing the extent to which reaction times (RTs) were influenced by their affective properties. The findings revealed a valence effect in which positive valence made RTs faster, whereas negative valence slowed them. The valence effect diminished as the semantic ambiguity of words increased. This decrease did not affect all ambiguous words, but was observed mainly in ambiguous words with incongruent affective meanings. These results highlight the need to consider the affective properties of the distinct meanings of ambiguous words in research on affective word processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine whether different conceptions (Populist, Patrician) and operationalizations of "white-collar crime" produce different substantive conclusions, using the applied case of sentencing in federal criminal court. Method: Federal Justice Statistics Program data are used to identify white-collar and comparable crimes referred for prosecution in 2009 to 2011 that were also sentenced through 2013. Five different operational strategies are used to identify "white-collar crime" and are employed in separate hurdle regressions jointly capturing incarceration and sentence length. Differences in model coefficients and case composition are discussed across definitions. Results: There are differences in the relationship between "white-collar crime" and incarceration both between and within Populist and Patrician conceptions. These differences are most pronounced at the in/out decision but are also present for sentence length. Conclusions: Contradictory findings from past research are largely able to be replicated within a single sample simply by changing the conception and operationalization of white-collar crime used. This demonstrates that debating what is "truly" white-collar crime is not just an exercise in semantics—it is a conceptual and methodological choice that can have dramatic consequences on what (we think) we know about the treatment of white-collar crime in the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most words are ambiguous: Individual word forms (e.g., run) can map onto multiple different interpretations depending on their sentence context (e.g., the athlete/politician/river runs). Models of word-meaning access must therefore explain how listeners and readers can rapidly settle on a single, contextually appropriate meaning for each word that they encounter. I present a new account of word-meaning access that places semantic disambiguation at its core and integrates evidence from a wide variety of experimental approaches to explain this key aspect of language comprehension. The model has three key characteristics. (a) Lexical-semantic knowledge is viewed as a high-dimensional space; familiar word meanings correspond to stable states within this lexical-semantic space. (b) Multiple linguistic and paralinguistic cues can influence the settling process by which the system resolves on one of these familiar meanings. (c) Learning mechanisms play a vital role in facilitating rapid word-meaning access by shaping and maintaining high-quality lexical-semantic knowledge throughout the life span. In contrast to earlier models of word-meaning access, I highlight individual differences in lexical-semantic knowledge: Each person's lexicon is uniquely structured by specific, idiosyncratic linguistic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments investigated the effects of domain knowledge on the resolution of ambiguous words with dominant meanings related to baseball. When placed in a sentence context that strongly biased toward the non-baseball meaning (positive evidence), or excluded the baseball meaning (negative evidence), baseball experts had more difficulty than non-experts resolving the ambiguity. Sentence contexts containing positive evidence supported earlier resolution than did the negative evidence condition for both experts and non-experts. These experiments extend prior findings, and can be seen as support for the reordered access model of lexical access, where both prior knowledge and discourse context influence the availability of word meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambiguity of the sacred combines two opposite modes, the pure and the impure, as its fundamental feature. Present in the work of Durkheim and most scholars of the sacred, as well as in actual social practice, the impure sacred is not the profane, the sphere that opposes the sacred. However, in most interpretations of Durkheim, and even in aspects of his own argument, the ambiguity of the sacred is neglected and, in several important cases, treated as if it were profane: this has negative consequences for cultural sociology and the study of culture in contemporary society. In certain cases, the impure sacred and the profane can be hard to tell apart. Yet, if the boundaries between the sacred (pure and impure) and the profane are not clearly distinguished, the overall approach to culture in terms of distinctions and boundaries loses its logical and theoretical coherence. This article elucidates the ambiguity of the sacred and reintegrates that ambiguity into cultural sociology. The model proposed here treats the impure as a transient result of violation of the sacred/profane border with no independent status of its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psycholinguistic research using the visual world paradigm has shown that the processing of sentences is constrained by the visual context in which they occur. Recently, there has been growing interest in the interactions observed when both language and vision provide relevant information during sentence processing. In three visual world experiments on syntactic ambiguity resolution, we investigate how visual and linguistic information influence the interpretation of ambiguous sentences. We hypothesize that (1) visual and linguistic information both constrain which interpretation is pursued by the sentence processor, and (2) the two types of information act upon the interpretation of the sentence at different points during processing. In Experiment 1, we show that visual saliency is utilized to anticipate the upcoming arguments of a verb. In Experiment 2, we operationalize linguistic saliency using intonational breaks and demonstrate that these give prominence to linguistic referents. These results confirm prediction (1). In Experiment 3, we manipulate visual and linguistic saliency together and find that both types of information are used, but at different points in the sentence, to incrementally update its current interpretation. This finding is consistent with prediction (2). Overall, our results suggest an adaptive processing architecture in which different types of information are used when they become available, optimizing different aspects of situated language processing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Semantic ambiguity often occurs within a language (e.g., the word “organ” in English means both a body part and a musical instrument), but it can also cross a language boundary, such that a given word form is shared in two languages, but its meanings are different (e.g., the word “angel” means “sting” in Dutch). Bilingual individuals are therefore faced not only with ambiguity in each of their languages, but also with ambiguity across languages. The current review focuses on studies that explored such cross-language ambiguity and examines how the results from these studies can be integrated with what we have learned about within-language ambiguity resolution. In particular, this review examines how interactions of frequency and context manifest themselves in ambiguity that crosses a language boundary and call for the inclusion of language context as a contributing factor. An extension of the monolingual reordered access model (Duffy, Morris, & Rayner, 1988) is outlined to discuss the interactions between these factors. Furthermore, the effects of the similarity between the two meanings, task differences, and individual differences are explored. This review highlights the need for studies that test within- and cross-language ambiguity in the same individuals before strong conclusions can be made about the nature of interactions between frequency, semantic context, and language context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lexical ambiguity resolution was examined in children aged 7 to 10 years and adults. In Experiment 1, participants heard sentences supporting one (or neither) meaning of a balanced ambiguous word in a cross-modal naming paradigm. Naming latencies for context-congruent versus context-incongruent targets and judgements of the relatedness of targets to the sentence served as indices of appropriate context use. While younger children were faster to respond to related targets regardless of the sentence context, older children and adults showed priming only for context-appropriate targets. In Experiment 2, only a single-word context preceded the homophone, and in contrast to Experiment 1, all groups showed contextual sensitivity. Individual working-memory span and inhibition ability were also measured in Experiment 2, and more mature executive function abilities were associated with greater contextual sensitivity. These findings support a developmental model whereby sentential context use for lexical ambiguity resolution increases with age, cognitive processing capacity, and reading skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternative account of Merton to that provided by Turner is sketched. It shows strong similarities to some quite plausible contemporary understandings of science in general. Given this reading, it would seem that Merton did not drastically change his position nor does it suffer from the ambiguities that Turner describes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of ambiguity in games is discussed, and a class of ambiguous games is identified. A total of 195 participants played strategic-form games of various sizes with unidentified co-players. In each case, they first chose between a known-risk game involving a co-player indifferent between strategies and an equivalent ambiguous game involving one of several co-player types, each with a different dominant strategy, and then they chose a strategy for the preferred game. Half the players knew that the ambiguous co-player types were equally likely, and half did not. Half expected the outcomes to be known immediately, and half expected a week's delay. Known-risk games were generally preferred, confirming a significant strategic ambiguity aversion effect. In the delay conditions, players who knew that the ambiguous co-player types were equally likely were significantly less ambiguity averse than those who did not. Decision confidence was significantly higher in 2 × 2 than in larger games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research considers the importance of pragmatic motivation in the diffusion of grammaticalized forms, focusing upon the changes in meaning of the construction be+supposed to and the ambiguity that emerges when multiple interpretations become available. The passive form of the main verb to suppose develops into a grammaticalized semimodal construction with deonth: and epistemic senses. This work examines the ways that the ambiguity that develops when the pregrammaticalized and the grammaticalized forms coexist can itself propel the change: assisting in the initial spread of the grammaticalized usage and then suppressing the older pregrammaticalized form. Using the British National Corpus, the Chadwyck-Healey Database of Nineteenth-Century Fiction, and the ARCHER corpus. I find that the influences of genre and frequency can create pragmatic conditions which encourage the diffusion of grammaticalized forms between text types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avoidance of ambiguity can be examined by both text analytic and self-report methods. In previous studies using text analytic methods, clinical groups showed a higher avoidance of ambiguity than nonclinical subjects. In nonclinical subjects, however, higher avoidance of ambiguity did not correlate with emotional processes. in these studies, higher avoidance of ambiguity was assessed by a text analytic method (DoTA), which was applied to the Holtzman Inkblot Technique. However, the Inkblot Technique may not activate those cognitive-affective structures in nonclinical subjects required to elicit higher avoidance of ambiguity. Thus, the following discrepant results can be predicted: in nonclinical subjects, DoTA indicators of higher avoidance of ambiguity based on Holtzman Inkblot Technique do not show correlations with self-report measures of higher avoidance of ambiguity such as the Ambiguity Tolerance Questionnaire, the Inventory for the Measurement of Tolerance of Ambiguity (Reis inventory), or self-report measures of related traits of personality such as the Giessen Test. Self-report measures of higher avoidance of ambiguity should show such correlations. Two studies were carried out to test these hypotheses. in Study 1, 80 nonclinical subjects (48 women, M age=34.5 yr.) were examined using the DoTA text analytic method, the Ambiguity Tolerance Questionnaire-14 and the Giessen Test. In Study 2, 82 nonclinical subjects (43 women, M age= 34.0 yr.) were tested using the Reis inventory. The results obtained in these subjects are consistent with the hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments evaluated the role graph schemata play in potentiating trepidation related responses to static and dynamic graphical depictions of increasingly threatening trends. Rational and experiential processing systems' role in responding to the graphic depictions was examined. High rationals reported significantly less trepidation than lows when concrete trends exhibited attenuated recent growth but equal amounts when the trends showed linear or recent explosive growth. Low experientials were more apprehensive than highs when graphs were presented dynamically (Experiment 1). The same functions were presented as undefined threats in Experiment 2. High rational low experientials were significantly less apprehensive than high rational-high experientials when the trend exhibited attenuated recent growth. Low rationals were more apprehensive than highs when graphs were presented dynamically. Graph schemata do not map graphical information on to trepidation-related metrics in any simple way and stimulus ambiguity may activate experiential processing to the point that it dominates the rational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to tell a different, perhaps a ‘truer,’ story about coaches and coaching through presenting an autoethnography of the author as a dysfluent coach. The author's tale, which depicts a typical pregame scenario, explores issues associated with maintaining ‘face’ and others' respect in a context characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, and power. In addition, within the endnotes, the applicability of the storied genre to coaching research is discussed, with Goffman's works on stigma, interaction, and impression management offered as theoretical signposts to help readers better interpret the author's account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When faced with the noun phrase (NP) versus sentence (S) coordination ambiguity as in, for example, The thief shot the jeweller and the cop ..., readers prefer the reading with NP-coordination (e.g., “The thief shot the jeweller and the cop yesterday”) over one with two conjoined sentences (e.g., “The thief shot the jeweller and the cop panicked”). A corpus study is presented showing that NP-coordinations are produced far more often than S-coordinations, which in frequency-based accounts of parsing might be taken to explain the NP-coordination preference. In addition, we describe an eye-tracking experiment investigating S-coordinated sentences such as Jasper sanded the board and the carpenter laughed , where the poor thematic fit between carpenter and sanded argues against NP-coordination. Our results indicate that information regarding poor thematic fit was used rapidly, but not without leaving some residual processing difficulty. This is compatible with claims that thematic information can reduce but not completely eliminate garden-path effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on our approach to complex dynamic systems, ambiguity of heuristics is a necessary tool to deal with objective ambiguity and complexity of the real world. I discuss various aspects of ambivalence of heuristics aimed to (a) decrease and (b) increase uncertainty in complex social worlds. Different kinds of asymmetry, paradoxes and contradictions in the creation and use of heuristics for diagnosis, prognosis, and control in social worlds are considered in such socially meaningful areas as stimulation and inhibition of others' development, translation of knowledge and masteries vs. keeping secrecy and ignorance, evaluation of humans' potential to create novelty, etc. Ambiguity of developmental paths related to objective uncertainty of real world, and to ambiguity of the heuristics used in main human activities is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a critical analysis of the definition of globalization in sociological studies. It argues that sociologists, unlike economists, have not achieved a commonly accepted definition of globalization. This seriously hinders the development of empirical studies. The ambiguity of the concept of globalization is rooted in three dialectics: globalization-as-a-process vs globalization-as-a-condition; globalization-as-reality vs globalization-as-futurology and one-dimensional globalization vs multi-dimensional globalization. These dialectics are rarely made explicit in different studies on globalization, which contributes to an accumulation of confusion rather than an accumulation of knowledge. The article aims to provide a theoretical framework in which concepts of globalization can be positioned through the formal analysis of a commonly used definition. Conceptual limitations that arise from the choice of a specific concept are highlighted, such as the underestimation of the present when globalization is considered a process, the neglect of internal contradictions when globalization is seen as a multidimensional concept; and the dangers of determinism and ignorance of unique features when the processes of globalization are defined by their sole destination. It challenges the sociological community to position research on globalization within this proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the power of ambiguous metaphors to present scientific novelty. Its focus is a series of papers by the prominent population biologist W. D. Hamilton in which he redefined the meaning of biological altruism. In particular, the article draws on Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad to examine why suggestions of motive are so pervasive in Hamilton's representation of genetic evolution and what epistemological consequences result from this rhetorical choice. Specifically, the metaphorical language of motive allows Hamilton to represent genes ambiguously and simultaneously as both the agents of evolutionary action and as the agency or mechanism by which organism agents act. The textual ambiguity generated by the agent-agency metaphors both reflects and constructs a conceptual ambiguity in the way evolutionary processes are theorized. Analysis of Hamilton's rhetoric thus suggests the productive function of ambiguous metaphors in highly technical scientific texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to determine athletes `perceptions of the sources of role ambiguity in interactive sport teams. Athletes (N = 151; 97 females and 54 males) were asked to identify why ambiguity might exist in relation to the scope of their role responsibilities, the behaviors necessary to fulfill those responsibilities, the evaluation of their role performance, and the consequences of not successfully fulfilling their role responsibilities. Results revealed an extensive set of possible sources for each dimension of role ambiguity that emerged from the responses that included factors associated with the role sender (e.g., coach), the focal person (e.g., the athlete), and the situation. The types and frequency of factors differed among the various dimensions of ambiguity thereby lending support to the necessity of considering role ambiguity in sport as a multidimensional construct. The relevance of the results to sport and future intervention research is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What affects speakers' production of ambiguous utterances in dialogue? They might consider ease of production for themselves, or ease of comprehension for their addressees. Previous research has demonstrated that ease of production plays a role in speakers' syntactic choices, but that ease of comprehension does not. However, such studies have not employed dialogues that involve role swapping on a turn-by-turn basis. In our experiment, participants alternated in giving and following instructions to move objects around on a grid. They tended to repeat the syntactic form just used by their interlocutor, reflecting sensitivity to ease of production. More interestingly, they were more likely to disambiguate their utterances when the visual context was potentially ambiguous than when it was not, reflecting sensitivity to ease of comprehension. We conclude that speakers pay attention to their beliefs about their addressees' ease of comprehension, in addition to considering ease of production for themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent interdisciplinary interest in the problems of metaphor has had a mixed effect on political studies. Some writers have stressed the creativity of metaphorical utterances, others their ambiguity and vagueness. This difference has arisen because the meaning of a metaphor is the product of an interpretation of an utterance in a given context. Its meaning is thus inherently unstable given the variety of possible contexts. On pragmatic grounds it is suggested that the student of politics is best served by seeking historical contexts for metaphorical meaning, where political metaphors are located in a 'field' of meanings composed of previous interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]