A class of contention-type MAC protocols (e.g., CSMA/CA) relies on random deferment of packet transmission, and subsumes a deferment selection strategy and a scheduling policy that determines the winner of each contention cycle. This paper examines contention-type protocols in a noncooperative an ad-hoc wireless LAN setting, where a number of stations self-optimise their strategies to obtain a ...

Theories of language evolution that separate biological and cultural contributions perpetuate a false dichotomy between nature and nurture. The explanatory power of future theories will depend on acknowledging the reality of gene-culture interaction and how it makes language possible.

This paper discusses aspects of the planning of explanatory texts for logic based systems. It presents a method for deriving Natural Language text plans from Natural Deduction-based structures. This approach allows for the planning of explanatory texts in a general-purpose logic based system framework, ensuring a greater degree of portability across domains.

Thomas Reid distinguished between natural and artificial language and argued that natural language has a very specific sort of priority over artificial language. This paper critically interprets Reid’s discussion, extracts a Reidian explanatory argument for the priority of natural language, and places Reid’s thought in the broad tradition of Cartesian linguistics.

Language and communication deficits are key diagnostic criteria for autism. However, not all aspects of language are equally affected. Here we present evidence of enhanced performance of a critical aspect of language-word processing-in children with autism. The results have implications for explanatory theories of autism and language, and for the development of therapeutic approaches.