Browsing by Subject "Comparative analysis"

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A comparative analysis of semantic frames and constructions in the English and German translations of Le Petit Prince
(2021-05-04) Ahn, Ji Hyun, M.A.; Boas, Hans Christian, 1971-
The goal of my Master’s Report is to gain a better understanding of how the semantics of the frames are realized syntactically by applying the theories of Frame Semantics and Construction Grammar to parallel texts. The report seeks answers to the following research questions. First, do the English and German translations of the same source text evoke “maximally comparable frames” (Čulo 2013: 142)? Second, to what degree is the assignment of semantic frames realized with different morpho-syntactic constructions? Chapter 1 introduces the topic of the report and the research questions. In Chapter 2, I review prior research on multilingual lexical databases using semantic frames, text analysis and translations through semantic frames and constructions, FrameNet, and the Berkeley constructicon (a repository of grammatical constructions). In Chapter 3, I introduce my methodology for annotation and analysis as well as my data. In addition to the phrase type construction layers and the frame layers developed by Ziem et al. (2014), my annotations consist of the lemma layer, part of speech layer, and layers for other grammatical/schematic constructions including word order construction, tense constructions, number constructions, subject-predicate agreement constructions, and subject-auxiliary-inversion constructions. The data in my Master’s Report consists of five pairs of English and German sentences translated from the French source Le Petit Prince. In Chapter 4, I provide annotations of each of the five sentences from the English translation and the German translation, using annotations I created with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. After I provide the annotation of the first English sentence, I provide a prose description followed by the annotation of the German translation and its prose description. Then, I discuss similarities and differences in how the semantic frames are evoked by different LUs and to what degree the realizations of constructions diverge between the two sentences. Chapter 5 summarizes my results and discusses future research on the topic.
Distances and proximities : Havana and San Juan from the point of view of literature and oral histories
(2015-05) Mercado Diaz, Mario Edgardo; Salgado, César Augusto; Merabet, Sofian, 1972-
Cuba y Puerto Rico have for long been considered sister islands, fighting together against the influences of the Spanish Empire and the United States. The decade of the 1950s, however, proved to be the splitting point for both islands, sending them into very different trajectories of development. In their shared experience of Spanish colonization and USA interventions, how do San Juan and Havana residents perceive and use space today in their particular socio-political contexts and how does this affect the resident's sense of citizenship? I closely engage with the different urban spaces using ethnographic data and photographs taken during my recent fieldwork, creative texts describing said spaces and case studies examining the formation of racial, gender and class identities. Focusing on a specific place on the Malecón, Havana's iconic esplanade, I examine how practices of leisure, intimacy (e.g. erotic homosexual and heterosexual encounters), and self-expression challenge the revolutionary rhetoric of "sameness" (i.e. absence of race, class, crime or gender violence). As for San Juan, I dissect the layers of significance in public visual representation, as exemplified in the artwork painted over an abandoned house in Santurce, the site for queer, artistic and marginal expression. The scene, two black women drinking on the porch, rescues a sense of citizenship lost to the class and racial polarization, fragmentation, and the "ruination" of San Juan. Finally, I argue that an archipelagic city, composed of the descriptions of specific places in different cities, has been created in the sea, a space of crossing, endurance and death, within these inter-capillary exchanges of people, cultures and habits. This archipelagic city, not spoken about directly but referenced semantically, aids in the construction of trans-national identities and perspectives, specific perceptions on time and space, and the production of media and cultural forms of expression. My goal is to tie together these narrative strands linking trans-oceanic places into an urban map surpassing its own geographical context.
Improving secondary structure prediction with covariation analysis and structure-based alignment system of RNA sequences
(2013-12) Shang, Lei, active 2013; Gutell, Robin
RNA molecules form complex higher-order structures which are essential to perform their biological activities. The accurate prediction of an RNA secondary structure and other higher-order structural constraints will significantly enhance the understanding of RNA molecules and help interpret their functions. Covariation analysis is the predominant computational method to accurately predict the base pairs in the secondary structure of RNAs. I developed a novel and powerful covariation method, Phylogenetic Events Count (PEC) method, to determine the positional covariation. The application of the PEC method onto a bacterial 16S rRNA sequence alignment proves that it is more sensitive and accurate than other mutual information based method in the identification of base-pairs and other structural constraints of the RNA structure. The analysis also discoveries a new type of structural constraint – neighbor effect, between sets of nucleotides that are in proximity in the three dimensional RNA structure with weaker but significant covariation with one another. Utilizing these covariation methods, a proposed secondary structure model of an entire HIV-1 genome RNA is evaluated. The results reveal that vast majority of the predicted base pairs in the proposed HIV-1 secondary structure model do not have covariation, thus lack the support from comparative analysis. Generating the most accurate multiple sequence alignment is fundamental and essential of performing high-quality comparative analysis. The rapid determination of nucleic acid sequences dramatically increases the number of available sequences. Thus developing the accurate and rapid alignment program for these RNA sequences has become a vital and challenging task to decipher the maximum amount of information from the data. A template-based RNA sequence alignment system, CRWAlign-2, is developed to accurately align new sequences to an existing reference sequence alignment based on primary and secondary structural similarity. A comparison of CRWAlign-2 with eight alternative widely-used alignment programs reveals that CRWAlign-2 outperforms other programs in aligning new sequences with higher accuracy. In addition to aligning sequences accurately, CRWAlign-2 also creates secondary structure models for each sequence to be aligned, which provides very useful information for the comparative analysis of RNA sequences and structures. The CRWAlign-2 program also provides opportunities for multiple areas including the identification of chimeric 16S rRNA sequences generated in microbiome sequencing projects.
Improving the prediction of RNA secondary structure and automatic alignment of RNa sequences
(2012-05) Gardner, David Paul; Gutell, Robin; Ren, Pengyu; Browning, Karen; Russell, Rick; Makarov, Dmitrii E.; Miranker, Daniel
The accurate prediction of an RNA secondary structure from its sequence will enhance the experimental design and interpretation for the increasing number of scientists that study RNA. While the computer programs that make these predictions have improved, additional improvements are necessary, in particular for larger RNAs. The first major section of this dissertation is concerned with improving the prediction accuracy of RNA secondary structures by generating new energetic parameters and evaluating a new RNA folding model. Statistical potentials for hairpin and internal loops produce significantly higher prediction accuracy when compared with nine other folding programs. While more improvements can be made to the energetic parameters used by secondary structure folding programs, I believe that a new approach is also necessary. I describe a RNA folding model that is predicated on a large body of computational and experimental work. This model includes energetics, contact distance, competition and a folding pathway. Each component of this folding model is evaluated and substantiated for its validity. The statistical potentials were created with comparative analysis. Comparative analysis requires the creation of highly accurate multiple RNA sequence alignments. The second major section of this dissertation is focused on my template-based sequence aligner, CRWAlign. Multiple sequence aligners generally run into problems when the pairwise sequence identity drops too low. By utilizing multiple dimensions of data to establish a profile for each position in a template alignment, CRWAlign is able to align new sequences with high accuracy even for pairs of sequence with low identity.
Unraveling the pedestrian environments of high-speed rail station areas : a comparative case study from Japan and lessons for America's urban walkability
(2023-08) Pope, Noah Allen; Zhang, Ming, 1963 April 22-
This professional report presents a comparative case study analysis of walkable environments in high-speed rail station areas, focusing on the lessons that Japan can offer for urban development in America. Walkability has emerged as a crucial aspect of sustainable urban planning, promoting active transportation, reducing congestion, and fostering vibrant communities. By examining high-speed rail station areas in Japan, renowned for their efficient and pedestrian-friendly designs, this research aims to unravel the key factors that contribute to their success. The study utilizes primarily site observations as a means to break apart the various elements contributing to walkability within the station area, such as connectivity, accessibility, design, and amenities. The findings highlight the significance of comprehensive planning, integrated transportation networks, pedestrian-oriented infrastructure, and the incorporation of public spaces in creating walkable environments. Drawing lessons from the Japanese model, this research provides valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing walkability in American urban development, ultimately striving towards more sustainable and livable cities.