The present approach estimates the strength of intensifiers in Dutch by computing their information values in a language corpus, that is, contextual information content (Cohen Priva, 2008; Piantadosi, Tily, & Gibson, 2011) and Shannon Information (Shannon & Weaver, 1948), to respectively explain the use value and the expressive value of intensifiers when they intensify a predicative adjective. Conflicting strength values help in understanding the high number of intensifiers commonly available in particular languages and the constant need for adding new ones. Our approach underlines the relevance of two measures of information content (IC) for ranking intensifiers: (i) IC in context: the more combinatorial or transitional options an intensifier has, the higher its contextual information content and consequently its use value; and (ii) IC in relation to all alternative intensifiers: the higher the surprisal value that the occurrence of an intensifier evokes, the higher its expressive value. We shall investigate the validity of these two measures by researching a large corpus of Dutch tweets and shall test whether the values of these two measures can predict the stacking order in sequences of intensifiers.

Many land managers are faced with trying to optimize management of invasive plant species based on budget constraints and lack of knowledge of the true potential of the species. Generally, “early detection rapid response” (EDRR) is the assumed best management strategy and tends to drive management regardless of the invasion stage or possible variation in the invasion potential of the population. We created a simulation model to evaluate the optimal management strategy to reduce the rate of invasion of nonindigenous plant species. The strategies were specifically chosen to assess the value of information from monitoring populations. We compared four management strategies and a no-management control over a 20-yr period in the context of a management area: (1) managing a fixed number of populations at random each year (EDRR random), (2) managing an equivalent number of populations along a road each year (EDRR road), (3) managing half of the fixed populations that were determined by monitoring to be sources of new populations (monitoring every year), and (4) managing an equivalent set of source populations only on even years, leaving the odd years for monitoring (monitoring every other year). EDRR random location without regard to population invasion potential, and monitoring every year targeting management on populations determined to be invasive (sources for new populations), were the most successful strategies for reducing the increase in total number of populations. The model simulations suggest that managers could dedicate 50% of their management time to monitoring without risk of accelerating invasions or reducing the impact of their weed management program.