The Conference on Computational Natural Language Learning (CoNLL) features a shared task, in which participants train and test their learning systems on the same data sets. In 2017, one of two tasks was devoted to learning dependency parsers for a large number of languages, in a realworld setting without any gold-standard annotation on input. All test sets followed a unified annotation scheme, namely that of Universal Dependencies. In this paper, we define the task and evaluation methodology, describe data preparation, report and analyze the main results, and provide a brief categorization of the different approaches of the participating systems.

This paper examines the decision-making behaviour adopted by candidates hoping to gain entry into Higher Education. Whether or not the potential students operate a systematic process, thinking logically throughout each step and choosing the alternative with the most favourable ranking, is worthy of discussion. Secondary research confirms the many variables influencing this process, particularly within the USA. However, in-depth knowledge concerning the criteria that British students employ and their thoughts regarding decision-making is limited. Hence an exploratory study incorporating Sixth Form pupils of a High School in the NW of England and students from across the UK attending an open-day at a university also in the NW was undertaken. Results indicate that applicants do follow the sequential stages from 'problem recognition' to 'evaluation of alternatives' using parents' as well as teachers' advice throughout, although there seems to be a gap in the information needs of potential students, which many universities are not currently satisfying.

This article contributes, in two ways, to our understanding of the nature, scope, and significance of conversations between strangers in service environments. First, a framework is introduced that provides both academics and practitioners with a summary of the key issues associated with the stimuli, manifestations, and consequences of such conversations. Second, the article reports a market-oriented ethnography of a specific service—rail travel—that locates stranger conversations within a broader categorization of consumer travel behaviors. This has resulted in the identification of a stabilizing effect of conversations between strangers through consumer anxiety reduction, the enactment of the partial employee role, and the supply of social interaction. The stabilizing effect can act as a “defuser” of dissatisfaction in services where consumers are in close proximity for prolonged periods in the service setting and regularly express dissatisfaction with service provision.

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Universal dependencies (UD) is a framework for morphosyntactic annotation of human language, which to date has been used to create treebanks for more than 100 languages. In this article, we outline the linguistic theory of the UD framework, which draws on a long tradition of typologically oriented grammatical theories. Grammatical relations between words are centrally used to explain how predicate–argument structures are encoded morphosyntactically in different languages while morphological features and part-of-speech classes give the properties of words. We argue that this theory is a good basis for cross-linguistically consistent annotation of typologically diverse languages in a way that supports computational natural language understanding as well as broader linguistic studies.

Purpose – To critically examine the current definitions of key constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a consumer technology-based service. \ud Design/methodology/approach – Two qualitative research studies were undertaken that encouraged consumers to reflect upon their text message (short message service – SMS) behaviour. \ud Findings – The research highlights the inadequacy of a concentration on simple acceptance of technology where technology is embedded in a consumer community of practice. The existence of counter-intuitive behaviours, technology paradoxes and intense social and emotional elements in actual text message usage all point to the need for a review of the definition of the key TAM constructs. \ud Research limitations/implications – There is a need to re-examine the construct of use behaviour in the context of the practice of technology-based services that owe much to consumer creativity. Theory development of the constructs of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment should not be constrained by adherence to the existing (well developed) quantitative models of technology acceptance. There is a methodological potential of employing consumers as practical authors. \ud Practical implications – Where there is evidence of counter-intuitive consumer behaviour in the marketplace for technology-based products or services, a study of practice, with a view to the subsequent derivation of adapted theory constitutes worthwhile research. This may be of special importance to cell phone operators promoting SMS to US consumers. \ud Originality/value – The approach offers a method of complementing the dominant quantitative modelling research on technology acceptance. The findings are relevant to an era where consumer co-creation of value is of increasing interest

The authors would like to thank Andrew Walne and his colleagues at IKEA, Warrington, UK for their cooperation with the survey, and Dianne Phillips for providing expertise with the analysis.

PurposeProposes exploring the opportunities for reciprocal learning between the fields of crisis management and services marketing, and stimulating research on crises experienced by service organisations through the adoption of an interdisciplinary approach.Design/methodology/approachInitially, an overview and summary are given of a crisis management approach by organisations, in order to demonstrate the contrast between the research perspectives adopted in the fields of crisis management and services marketing. To demonstrate the potential for reciprocal learning, a key construct from each field is identified and its potential contribution to learning in the other field is critically evaluated.FindingsThe comparison between the approaches of crisis management and services marketing highlights that a concentration, in services marketing, on service failures and recoveries at individual service encounters draws attention away from the “bigger picture” and the multiple stakeholder roles that may trigger a crisis and, while a crisis management approach acknowledges customers as key stakeholders in a crisis, it fails to give enough attention to the roles adopted by customers in service organisations, especially through customer participation in service production.Research limitations/implicationsThe selection of one construct from each field is a limitation in itself, and the suggestions for further research are not exhaustive. The paper should stimulate new direction in services research.Practical implicationsThe interdisciplinary approach has provided implications for both services marketers and crisis managers.Originality/valueThe paper is breaking new ground by linking the disciplines of services marketing and crisis management as a means of furthering an understanding of crises experienced by service organisations.