Re: Plural form for "Organization"

Peter Duncanson wrote:
On Tue, 22 May 2007 16:51:26 GMT, "John Briggs"
<john.briggs4@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Mike Stevens wrote:
Michael Preminger wrote:
Hello!

I am writing a thesis within Information Retrieval.

In the thesis I am evaluating retrieval within different ways of
organizing document representations in spaces (axis systems).

I have a number of different types of such ways to organize
document representations, to each of which I refer to as a "data
organization". Recently one of my colleagues said that it would be
wrong to use the
noun "organization" in plural ("organizations"), as organization
has
a plural for the institutional sense only. I am dependent on being
able to talk about those organiztions in plural (as I compare their
properties).
My question is:
1. Is it correct that "organization" has a plural for the
institutional sense only?
2. Would "Arrangements" be any better?
3. Any other suggestions

As a former academic (many years ago), I think that the use of a
word in a new sense defined in an academic paper (which appears to
be what you are doing) stands aside from previous uses of the word
in more familiar settings and may well have its own rules. But,
IMO, you would be better to coin a new phrase that avoids the
problem, or use a word that doesn't present the problem. How about
"data tree"?

I common parlance, the word "algebra" probably doesn't have a
plural. To algebraists it certainly does. My PhD these was called
"On certain varieties of Universal Algebras" and would have been
pretty meaningless without the plural "Algebras".

"these"?

Singular derived from the plural "theses"?

Or from the French? (thèse)
--
John Briggs


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