When viewing ambiguous figures, individuals can exert selective attentional control over their perceptual reversibility behaviour (e.g., Strüber & Stadler, 1999). In the current study, we replicated this finding but we also found that ambiguous figures containing faces are processed quite differently from those containing objects. Furthermore, inverting an ambiguous figure containing faces (i.e., Rubin’s vase-face) resulted in an “inversion effect”. These findings highlight the importance of considering how we attend to faces in addition to how we perceive and process faces. Describing the perceptual reversal patterns of individuals in the general population allowed us to draw comparisons to behaviours exhibited by individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS). The group data suggested that these individuals were less affected by figure type or stimulus inversion. Examination of individual scores, moreover, revealed that the majority of participants with AS showed an atypical reversal pattern, particularly with ambiguous figures containing faces, and an atypical inversion effect. Together, our results show that ambiguous figures can be a very valuable tool for examining face processing mechanisms in the general population and other distinct groups of individuals, particularly those diagnosed with AS.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-10-17T19:20:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 raquelfelletlawall.pdf: 692960 bytes, checksum: c7c7d214bc2a831b82d9f947f407fb80 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-10-25T12:04:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 raquelfelletlawall.pdf: 692960 bytes, checksum: c7c7d214bc2a831b82d9f947f407fb80 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-25T12:04:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 raquelfelletlawall.pdf: 692960 bytes, checksum: c7c7d214bc2a831b82d9f947f407fb80 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-21 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta dissertação diz respeito à identificação de elementos das categorias lexicais N e ADJ, no português do Brasil (PB), no processamento adulto. A hipótese de trabalho assumida é de que, no processamento adulto, a informação estrutural disponibilizada pela língua assume um papel importante na identificação das categorias dos itens ambíguos, sendo a primeira pista a que o falante recorre para mapear determinado elemento como membro de uma dada classe. Assim sendo, informação de natureza prosódica seria um recurso pós-sintático, não interferindo no processamento sintático inicial. A perspectiva teórica adotada visa a conciliar modelos de processamento com uma teoria lingüística. São apresentados resultados de experimentos com sujeitos adultos falantes do PB, dois experimentos de leitura auto-monitorada e um de escuta auto-monitorada. Os resultados são compatíveis com a hipótese apresentada sugerindo a informação de natureza sintática e a freqüência de uso como determinantes no mapeamento de um elemento em uma dada categoria. / This work is concerned with the identification of elements of lexical categories N and ADJ, in Brazilian Portuguese (PB), on language processing. The working hypothesis assumed here is that the syntactic information is the first cue for the recognition of ambiguous elements’ categories used by subjects to map an element on a given class. We assume that the prosodic information does not affect the parsing, it happens after syntactic processing. The theoretical approach adopted here aims at reconciling a procedural account to language processing with a theory of language. Three experiments are presented with adult speakers of PB, two with self-paced reading and one with self-paced listening. The results provide support to the hypothesis and suggest that the syntactic information and the frequency are determinants on mapping an element on a given category.

Goal of a master thesis was to explore connection between aggression and interpretation of ambiguous social situations. In theoretical part of thesis author described theories of aggression, he was dealing with sources of aggression and also with criminal aggression with an overlap to typology of violent offenders. Author also described the problematic of ambiguous social situations and phenomena connected with it. In empirical part of thesis the main goal was to explore interconnection between aggression and interpretation of ambiguous social situations; and to compare group of inmates convicted for committing a violent crimes (n=30) with comparison group (n=30) in external aggression, understanding of ambiguous social situations and perceived social worth. For the purpose of exploring ambiguous social situations, methods DSS and SIP-AEQ were used. For exploring of external aggression were used Rosenzweig's PFT and for perceived social worth the SWS method. Two of four hypotheses were confirmed.

Contemporary urban development seems to, globally and simultaneously, aim for the same results; densification, connections and an active urban life. In Stockholm this is emphasized through the comprehensive plan, The Walkable City. This thesis aims to research the com- plexities of open space, in-between areas and cultural practices on borders of territories. I have visited two neighborhoods, one in Stureby, Stockholm and one in Madison, Wisconsin as part of an art-based research where places for cultural practices have been observed and performed by me as a way to investigate in-between areas and what role they take in everyday lives. I have met with inhabitants for observations and interviews as well as performing an everyday life of my own when staying in Madison for two weeks. I have used a few different pictures of neighborliness to see what exists between the frame of the pictures and the situation, and related this to Miwon Kwon’s notion about places situated next to each other. I have also looked into the concept of territory, the ambiguous space between them and the communication that occurs on interfaces. In Stockholm's comprehensive plan and the research of Alexander Ståhle, I see an aiming for densification through connections, e.g. in walkability. I emphasize on a difference between connections and communication. With this thesis I suggest to change the topic of a planning discussion going on in Stockholm as well as globally, from how to create walkability to how to make use of interfaces of ambiguous open space when densifying cities.

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Refugees from war zones often have missing significant others. A loss without confirmation is described as an ambiguous loss. This physical absence with simultaneous mental persistence can be accompanied by economic, social or legal problems, boundary ambiguity (i.e., uncertainty about who belongs to the family system), and can have a negative impact on mental health. The aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic and loss-related predictors for prolonged grief, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and somatization in treatment-seeking Syrian refugees with post-traumatic stress symptoms in Germany experiencing ambiguous loss. For the present study, data were based on the treatment-seeking baseline sample of the “Sanadak” randomized-controlled trial, analyzing a subsample of 47 Syrian refugees with post-traumatic stress symptoms in Germany experiencing ambiguous loss. Sociodemographic and loss-related questions were applied, along with standardized instruments for symptoms of prolonged grief (ICG), anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), PTSD (PDS-5) and somatization (PHQ-15). Linear regression models were used to predict mental health outcomes. Having lost a close family member and higher boundary ambiguity showed a statistically significant association with higher severity in prolonged grief. The overall model for somatization reached statistical significance, while no predictor independently did. Boundary ambiguity showed a statistically significant positive association with depression, while the overall model showed no statistically significant associations. Boundary ambiguity and missing family members seemed to be important predictors for prolonged grief. These findings support the importance of reunification programs and suggest an inclusion of the topic into psychosocial support structures, e.g., including psychoeducational elements on boundary ambiguity in support groups for traumatized individuals and families experiencing ambiguous loss. Further research is needed for a more detailed understanding of the impact of ambiguous loss on refugee populations.

I performed the role of Brick Pollitt at Lake Mirror Theatre in Lakeland, Florida from April 20- April 30 2006. The role of Brick Pollitt provided me with several acting challenges as well as multiple subjects to research. The most challenging aspects of portraying the character of Brick Pollitt are his alcoholism, issues of sexuality, and tormented familial relationships. Brick Pollitt journeys in the period of one day through major challenges in two key relationships. He moves from dominance in his relationship with Maggie to capitulation and from isolation in his relationship with Big Daddy to mutual understanding. Brick's relationships are further complicated by questions surrounding his recently deceased best friend Skipper and drives (alcoholism) that may be perceived as self destructive. My preliminary work has led me to believe Brick is in search of peace ('the click') in a tormented life (Williams, Cat 2.47). The nature of the torment needs further research for definition. Some critics argue Brick's sexuality is ambivalent, and he is repressing homosexual drives. Equally possible is arguing the homosexuality was restricted to Skipper. Making a decision about the definition of this relationship is key to making choices within the play because the friendship was so important to Brick's perception of himself. Brick believed his relationship was the "one true and pure thing" in a life filled with "mendacity" (Williams, Cat 2.50). 'Mendacity' is Bricks reference to his disgust with "lyin' an' liars' (Williams, Cat 2.50-51). He is lost without this anchor for his life and it has impacted his ability to interact with the world around him. Determining Brick's sexuality in my portrayal will be central to my process while I also embrace research into related areas of behavior. To supplement my research of alcoholism and Brick's sexuality, the following topics: -A Psycho-Analytical study of the character Brick Pollitt and his "archetypal" relationships with Maggie, Big Daddy, Skipper, Gooper, and his place in society. -The evolution of the character Brick Pollitt through various scripts and screenplays. From Williams's first script through to dealing with the Hays Code. A study of Tennessee Williams life history and the influence on the play. -The history of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof from its Morosco Theatre Broadway debut in New York City on March 24, 1955, followed by its film release in 1955 starring Paul Newman, Burl Ives, and Elizabeth Taylor. Any successful portrayal of Brick Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof demands intense focus to individual relationships within the ensemble. The central theme of the play is 'mendacity' (deceit) (Williams, Cat 2.50). Brick uses this word to describe his disgust, but the 'mendacity' of his human relations in the aging and decaying Southern society is what troubles him (Williams, Cat 2.50). Discovering the ties between family, 'mendacity', and society are relevant to the execution of the play (Williams, Cat 2.50). I believe depiction of Brick Pollitt in this Pulitzer Prize winning American Classic will best present my abilities achieved in the Master of Fine Arts Program

Le problème de représentation automatique de la signification logique des énoncés ambigus en langage naturel a suscité l'intérêt des chercheurs dans le domaine de la sémantique computationnelle et de la logique. L'ambiguïté dans le langage naturel peut se manifester au niveau lexical / syntaxique / sémantique de la construction de sens, ou elle peut être causée par d'autres facteurs tels que la grammaticalité et le manque de contexte dans lequel la phrase est effectivement prononcée. L'approche traditionnelle Montagovienne ainsi que ses extensions modernes ont tenté de capturer ce phénomène en fournissant quelques modèles qui permettent la génération automatique de formules logiques. Cependant, il existe un axe de recherche qui n'est pas encore profondément étudié: classer les interprétations d'énoncés ambigus en fonction des préférences réelles des utilisateurs de la langue. Ce manque suggère une nouvelle direction d'étude qui est partiellement explorée dans ce mémoire en modélisant des préférences de sens en alignement avec certaines des théories de performance préférentielles humaines bien étudiées disponibles dans la littérature linguistique et psycholinguistique.Afin d'atteindre cet objectif, nous suggérons d'utiliser / d'étendre les Grammaires catégorielles pour notre analyse syntaxique et les Réseaux catégoriels de preuve comme notre analyse syntaxique. Nous utilisons également le Lexique Génératif Montagovien pour dériver une formule logique multi-triée comme notre représentation de signification sémantique. Cela ouvrirait la voie à nos contributions à cinq volets, à savoir, (i) le classement de la portée du quantificateur multiple au moyen de l'opérateur epsilon de Hilbert sous-spécifié et des réseaux de preuve catégoriels; (ii) modéliser la gradation sémantique dans les phrases qui ont des coercitions implicites dans leurs significations. Nous utilisons un cadre appelé Montagovian Generative Lexicon. Notre tâche est d'introduire une procédure pour incorporer des types et des coercitions en utilisant des données lexicales produites par externalisation ouverte qui sont recueillies par un jeu sérieux appelé JeuxDeMots; (iii) l'introduction de nouvelles métriques sensibles au référent basées sur la localité pour mesurer la complexité linguistique au moyen de réseaux de preuve catégoriels; (iv) l'introduction d'algorithmes pour l'achèvement des phrases avec différentes mesures linguistiquement motivées pour sélectionner les meilleurs candidats; (v)l'intégration de différentes métriques de calcul pour les préférences de classement afin de faire d'elles un modèle unique. / The problem of automatic logical meaning representation for ambiguous natural language utterances has been the subject of interest among the researchers in the domain of computational and logical semantics. Ambiguity in natural language may be caused in lexical/syntactical/semantical level of the meaning construction or it may be caused by other factors such as ungrammaticality and lack of the context in which the sentence is actually uttered. The traditional Montagovian framework and the family of its modern extensions have tried to capture this phenomenon by providing some models that enable the automatic generation of logical formulas as the meaning representation. However, there is a line of research which is not profoundly investigated yet: to rank the interpretations of ambiguous utterances based on the real preferences of the language users. This gap suggests a new direction for study which is partially carried out in this dissertation by modeling meaning preferences in alignment with some of the well-studied human preferential performance theories available in the linguistics and psycholinguistics literature.In order to fulfill this goal, we suggest to use/extend Categorial Grammars for our syntactical analysis and Categorial Proof Nets as our syntactic parse. We also use Montagovian Generative Lexicon for deriving multi-sorted logical formula as our semantical meaning representation. This would pave the way for our five-folded contributions, namely, (i) ranking the multiple-quantifier scoping by means of underspecified Hilbert's epsilon operator and categorial proof nets; (ii) modeling the semantic gradience in sentences that have implicit coercions in their meanings. We use a framework called Montagovian Generative Lexicon. Our task is introducing a procedure for incorporating types and coercions using crowd-sourced lexical data that is gathered by a serious game called JeuxDeMots; (iii) introducing a new locality-based referent-sensitive metrics for measuring linguistic complexity by means of Categorial Proof Nets; (iv) introducing algorithms for sentence completions with different linguistically motivated metrics to select the best candidates; (v) and finally integration of different computational metrics for ranking preferences in order to make them a unique model.

L’œuvre de Juan Carlos Onetti, féconde, diverse et originale, représente un renouveau de la littérature uruguayenne et latino-américaine. C’est dans les pages de la revue Marcha où, entre 1939 et 1941, il était secrétaire de rédaction, qu’il exposera sa vision de la littérature qui nécessite, d’après lui, et avec urgence, un renouvellement. Lui-même va mettre en place ses théories littéraires et, à travers son œuvre et sa ville mythique, Santa María, il va créer une nouvelle littérature urbaine plus en accord avec l’homme et le monde de son époque. En France, pendant les années quarante naît le Nouveau Roman, courant littéraire novateur qui représente une rupture dans les lettres françaises. Souvent appelée « littérature du regard », les textes du Nouveau Roman vont au-delà des formes narratives traditionnelles. Le propos de ce travail est l’étude comparée de l’oeuvre de Juan Carlos Onetti et de certaines oeuvres de deux écrivains du Nouveau Roman : Robbe-Grillet et Claude Simon. À partir de trois axes, l’étude d’un personnage en crise, l’étude des voix narratives, et l’étude des rapports entre l’homme, l’écriture et la fiction, ce travail de recherche interroge et analyse les formules narratives nouvelles qui ont bouleversé les règles du passé. / The work of Juan Carlos Onetti, prolific, diverse and singular, represents the renovation of the Uruguayan and Latin-American literature. When he was assistant editor for the magazine Marcha between 1939 and 1941, he exposed in a series of articles his viewpoint about literature, which needed, as he stated, a renovation urgently. His own work illustrates those theories; and with the mythic city Santa Maria he created, he developed a new kind of urban literature more in accordance with his contemporaries and the world he lived in. In France, the Nouveau Roman, which emerged in about 1940, constitutes a rupture in French literature. This innovative movement, often called "literature of look", went beyond traditional narrative forms. The purpose of this study is to compare Juan Carlos Onetti’s work with certain books written by two representatives of the Nouveau Roman: Robbe-Grillet and Claude Simon. From three axes the study of a character in crisis, the study of different narrative voices and the study of the relationship between man, his writings and fiction, this research work questions and analyses new narrative forms which definitively changed the rules of the Past.

Esta dissertação resulta de uma pesquisa que investigou a interpretação atribuída a orações relativas com um núcleo [+animado], como a fada que molhou, que são ambíguas entre uma leitura de tema (a fada foi molhada) e uma leitura de agente (a fada molhou alguém). A leitura de tema é associada à estrutura absoluta, na qual o verbo transitivo sofre uma mudança de valência: não há argumento agentivo e, consequentemente, não há projeção vP. O verbo não pode checar o Caso acusativo do objeto, forçando o argumento temático a se mover para a posição pré-verbal, onde concorda com o verbo (NEGRÃO; VIOTTI, 2010). Essa estrutura é considerada mais simples do que passivas, por exemplo, uma vez que, nela, o agente não está nem mesmo implícito na sentença. Já a leitura de agente corresponde a uma estrutura em que o objeto não está expresso foneticamente. Em experimentos que eliciaram a produção de relativas de objeto no Português Brasileiro infantil (VIVANCO; PIRES, 2012; GROLLA; AUGUSTO, 2016; RANGEL, 2016), as crianças produziram relativas absolutas para evitar a complexidade estrutural da relativa de objeto. Os adultos raramente as produziram, preferindo as relativas passivas. Dada a alta taxa de produção de relativas absolutas por parte das crianças nesses testes, nosso objetivo foi investigar a preferência das crianças na interpretação de relativas ambíguas. Nós hipotetizamos que a leitura de agente seria preferida, considerando que o parser tende a atribuir lacuna na primeira posição disponível, i.e, a posição de sujeito (PHILLIPS, KAZANINA, ABADA, 2005). Uma vez que a relativa absoluta envolve uma lacuna extra (o tema se move da posição de objeto para a posição pré-verbal: a fada que _ molhou _ ), esta não deverá ser a análise preferida pelo parser. Além disso, o fato de as relativas ambíguas testadas terem um NP [+animado] como núcleo contribui para que este seja interpretado como agente (BECKER, 2014). Foi conduzido um experimento envolvendo a Tarefa de Julgamento de Valor de Verdade, no qual os participantes julgaram relativas de objeto, relativas passivas e relativas ambíguas como verdadeiras ou falsas com base em histórias contadas a eles. Nas relativas ambíguas, ambas as interpretações estavam disponíveis nas histórias, de modo que o julgamento falso se associava à leitura de tema, e o verdadeiro, à leitura de agente. Participaram do teste 46 crianças adquirindo PB (16 3;6-4;6); (30 5;0-5;11) e 26 adultos falantes nativos de PB. Ao contrário do que prevemos, as crianças preferiram a leitura de tema. Já os adultos prefeririam a leitura de agente, embora não tenham rejeitado completamente a leitura de tema. A alta frequência da leitura de tema nos dados das crianças nos leva a descartar a hipótese de que a absoluta seja apenas uma saída à qual as crianças recorrem quando têm de produzir estruturas mais complexas, como as relativas de objeto. O fato de que adultos também acessam essa interpretação evidencia que as absolutas sejam de fato estruturas lícitas no PB. / This dissertation results of a research that has investigated the interpretation of relative clauses with a [+animated] head, as \"the fairy that washed\". These relatives are ambiguous between a theme interpretation (the fairy got washed) and an agent interpretation (the fairy washed someone). The theme interpretation is associated with the absolutive sentence, in which a transitive verb suffers a valence alternation: there is no agent, and consequently, no vP is projected. The verb cannot check the object\'s accusative Case, forcing the theme to move to a pre-verbal position, agreeing with the verb (NEGRÃO; VIOTTI, 2010). The resulting structure is simpler than passives, for example, since the agent is not even implicity expressed in the sentence. The agent interpretation is associated with a structure with the object not expressed phonetically. In experiments eliciting object relative clauses in child Brazilian Portuguese (BrP), children produced absolutive relatives to avoid the structural complexity of the object relative clause (VIVANCO; PIRES, 2012; GROLLA; AUGUSTO, 2016; RANGEL, 2016). Adults rarely produced them, preferring passive relatives instead. Given children\'s high production of absolutive relatives in these experiments, our aim was to investigate children\'s preferences in interpreting ambiguous relative clauses. We hypothesize that the agent interpretation should be preferred, as it enables the parser to assign a gap in the first available position, i.e, the subject position (PHILLIPS, KAZANINA, ABADA, 2005). Since the absolutive relative involve an extra step (the NP theme moves from object to preverbal position: the fairy that _ washed _ ), it should not be the parser\'s preferred analysis. Also, the fact that the ambiguous relatives tested involved a [+animated] NP as the relative head should contribute to this NP will be interpreted as agent (BECKER, 2014). We conducted a truth-value judgment task, in which participants judged object relatives, passive relatives and ambiguous as true or false based on stories told to them. On ambiguous trials, both interpretations were entertained in the stories, with true judgments paired with the theme interpretation and false judgments associated with the agent interpretation. 46 BrP-acquiring children were tested (16 3;6-4;6); (30 5;0-5;11) and 26 adults, native BrP speakers. Contrary to our expectations, children\'s group preferred the theme interpretation. Adults preferred the agent interpretation, although they did not reject theme completely. The high frequency of the theme interpretation in children\'s data leads us to discard the hypothesis that absolutives are just an escape hatch that children resort to when forced to produce more complex structures, as object relatives. The fact that adults also accessed this interpretation brings additional evidence that the absolutive sentences are indeed licit structures in BrP.