Atmospheric Flight Mechanics (AFM) is one of the cornerstones of aeronautical engineering and includes subjects like aerodynamic prediction, stability and control, dynamics, and vehicle design. These topics are critical to the success of aircraft development, so AFM is considered one of the most important foundational knowledge areas for aerospace engineering. Unfortunately, students graduating from aerospace engineering programs are often underprepared to perform in AFM jobs. This ongoing research focuses on developing a blueprint for assessing conceptual understanding of AFM concepts. Since existing literature suggests that novices and experts organize knowledge differently, comparing students' and experts' mental models can shine a light on the alternative conceptions that students retain post-instruction. As such, framing the study around synthetic mental models can be advantageous. To explore these mental models, three types of data have been collected and analyzed. Document analysis was done on course documents to identify what concept relationships were being presented to the students. Class observations were conducted to analyze how concepts are introduced to students and what relationships are highlighted by the instructor. Finally, a concept mapping activity was facilitated to study the mental models that the students built after instruction. The results show a lack of synthetization between the knowledge introduced in the classroom and students' prior knowledge which translated into student mental models that do not meet some of the expectations of the course. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of the instructor's awareness of their own expectations for learning and knowledge synthetization in the design of an AFM course. / Doctor of Philosophy / Conceptual understanding research has often focused on how students develop their understanding of scientific concepts that are difficult to grasp. Through this research, many assessment techniques have been developed and implemented in the design of STEM courses. However, many of these techniques and implementations have been limited to K-12 or introductory engineering courses. Atmospheric Flight Mechanics (AFM) is an important part of the aerospace curriculum that has yet to be studied under the conceptual understanding lens. The goal of this study was to investigate how students develop AFM conceptual understanding using a synthetic mental model framework. This study focused on answering three questions, how are students being introduced to AFM concepts?, how do students' mental models develop throughout the semester?, and how do the students' and instructor's mental models compare?. Through the exploration of class documents, class observations, and concept mapping activities, this research found that students are having a hard time making sense of new knowledge based on their previous understanding of similar topics. By trying to integrate this new knowledge with their previous mental models, students are developing synthetic mental models that do not align with the scientific explanations of the topic. This study also found that instructors are often unaware of their own knowledge and expectations for learning which makes knowledge synthetization harder for the students. Therefore, addressing these issues during course design could make an AFM course easier to understand for students.

Many bodies of modern scientific theory (such as both Newtonian and relativistic physics) have proven to be remarkably successful at predicting future observable phenomena. Some philosophers have seen this success as calling for deeper explanation: what is it about these theories that makes them so predictively reliable, when, presumably, not just any theory would enjoy such success? This question has often motivated philosophers (such as Richard Boyd) to adopt a realist stance towards scientific theories, wherein the entities and mechanisms postulated by a successful theory are understood as referring to real entities and mechanisms in the world. However, as Nicholas Rescher has argued, a close look at the concepts employed in scientific theorizing reveals that they are not of the right kind for such a realist explanation to work. His arguments show that at the root of the meaning of each key element of our standard scientific framework is a reference to mental functionings. This being so, an explanation such a Boyd's ceases to be viable, as an approximately accurate picture of the external world would presumably be free of reference to mental functioning. I thus attempt to provide a plausible explanation for the success of science bearing in mind that a straightforward correspondence between the world described by our theories and the world itself does not obtain. Such an explanation relies not only on the features of the external world that our theories might approximate, but also on the ability of mental processes to enrich this world, both in theorizing and in experience. / Master of Arts

The topic of students’ application of conceptual knowledge in physics is constantly being researched. It is a common occurrence that students are able to solve numerical problems without understanding the concepts involved. The primary focus of this dissertation is to investigate the extent to which a group of first year physics students are able to identify and use the correct physics concepts when solving problems set in different contexts. Furthermore, this study aims to identify underlying factors giving way to students not applying appropriate physics concepts. A questionnaire was designed in test-format in which all the problems dealt with two objects whose movement had to be compared to each other. The physical quantities describing or influencing the objects’ movement differed in each consecutive problem; whilst the nature of the concept under consideration remained the same. The problems were set in various contexts namely: i. Formal conceptual questions, some with numeric values; ii. Questions set in every day context with/without numeric values; iii. Questions on vertical upward, vertical downward and horizontal motion. The questionnaire was distributed to 481 students in the first-year physics course in 2014 at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North West University. It was expected that the percentage of correct answers would reveal discrepancies in the responses to contextual, numeric and formal conceptual questions. The outcome of the statistical analysis confirmed this expectation. In addition, it seemed that only a few students were able to correctly identify the appropriate variables when considering vertical and horizontal movement while the majority of the students did not apply the same physics principle in isomorphic vertical upward and vertical downward problems. It appears that the context in which the question was posed determined whether the problem was seen as an item that would require “physics reasoning” or as a setting where physics reasoning did not apply. The results revealed students inability to relate physics concepts to appropriate mathematical equations. Two important results from this work are: (1) the presentation of a questionnaire that can be implemented to investigate various aspects regarding the contexts of physics problems; and (2) expanding the concept of context to include the direction of movement as a separate context. / MSc (Natural Science Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The topic of students’ application of conceptual knowledge in physics is constantly being researched. It is a common occurrence that students are able to solve numerical problems without understanding the concepts involved. The primary focus of this dissertation is to investigate the extent to which a group of first year physics students are able to identify and use the correct physics concepts when solving problems set in different contexts. Furthermore, this study aims to identify underlying factors giving way to students not applying appropriate physics concepts. A questionnaire was designed in test-format in which all the problems dealt with two objects whose movement had to be compared to each other. The physical quantities describing or influencing the objects’ movement differed in each consecutive problem; whilst the nature of the concept under consideration remained the same. The problems were set in various contexts namely: i. Formal conceptual questions, some with numeric values; ii. Questions set in every day context with/without numeric values; iii. Questions on vertical upward, vertical downward and horizontal motion. The questionnaire was distributed to 481 students in the first-year physics course in 2014 at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North West University. It was expected that the percentage of correct answers would reveal discrepancies in the responses to contextual, numeric and formal conceptual questions. The outcome of the statistical analysis confirmed this expectation. In addition, it seemed that only a few students were able to correctly identify the appropriate variables when considering vertical and horizontal movement while the majority of the students did not apply the same physics principle in isomorphic vertical upward and vertical downward problems. It appears that the context in which the question was posed determined whether the problem was seen as an item that would require “physics reasoning” or as a setting where physics reasoning did not apply. The results revealed students inability to relate physics concepts to appropriate mathematical equations. Two important results from this work are: (1) the presentation of a questionnaire that can be implemented to investigate various aspects regarding the contexts of physics problems; and (2) expanding the concept of context to include the direction of movement as a separate context. / MSc (Natural Science Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Nesta pesquisa, nosso propósito consistiu em examinar o papel retórico e referenciador da metáfora e em observar como se constituem e se articulam os processos referenciais promovidos pela associação de domínios díspares nas várias etapas dos discursos presidenciais, dirigidos a líderes políticos mundiais especificamente. Para alcançar esse propósito, propusemo-nos aos seguintes passos de investigação, a partir do tratamento qualitativo dos dados: examinamos as metáforas centrais selecionadas e detectamos o momento em que elas apareceram nos pronunciamentos; observamos as redes referenciais relacionadas a essas metáforas; analisamos a função argumentativa da articulação dessas redes metafóricas, na organização discursiva, levando em conta as condições específicas de produção de cada discurso. Nosso corpus constitui-se de dez discursos do ex-presidente da República Federativa do Brasil Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, proferidos: em Davos (2003 e 2005), na Assembleia Geral das Organizações das Nações Unidas, em Nova Iorque (2004), na China (2004), em Portugal (2003 e 2005), na Índia (2004), no Quênia (2010) e na 39º Reunião de Cúpula do Mersocul, na Argentina (2010). As análises permitiram detectar a existência de metáforas centrais inter-relacionadas e articuladas à argumentação dos discursos. Depreendemos ter havido muitas ocorrências de redes referenciais específicas dessas metáforas, que foram, principalmente, estruturadas pela lógica dos contêineres. Tais resultados levaram-nos a entender que a metáfora conceptual é tanto recurso de referenciação, que pode ser selecionado estrategicamente para fins argumentativos, quanto elemento estruturado e estruturante dos processos referenciais. Nosso trabalho adotou como referencial teórico: i) estudos sobre a referenciação, a partir de Mondada e Dubois (2003), Apothéloz (2003), Marcuschi e Koch (1998), ii) reflexões em torno da argumentação, em que se destacam os trabalhos de Perelman e Olbrechts-Tyteca (2002 [1958]) e Aquino (1997); iii) investigações sobre a metáfora conceptual, realizadas por Lakoff e Johnson (1980, 2003), Kovecses, (2005), e a respeito do discurso político, a partir de Charteris-Black (2011), Chilton (2004). / The aim of this research was to examine the rhetorical and referential role of metaphors, and to analyze the constitution of the referential processes promoted by the association of different domains in the various stages of presidential speeches given to world political leaders. In order to achieve such a goal, the following research steps were carried out, subsequent to the qualitative analysis of the data: selected central metaphors were examined and the moment when they occurred in the speeches were detected; the referential networks related to those metaphors were observed; the argumentative role of the articulation of those metaphorical networks in the discursive organization were observed, taking into account the production conditions that are specific to each speech. The corpus is formed by ten speeches by the former president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, which were given in Davos (2003 and 2005), at the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, in New York (2004), in China (2004), in Portugal (2003 and 2005), in India (2004), in Kenya (2010) and at the 39th Mercosul Summit, in Argentina (2010). The analyses have allowed the detection of central metaphors inter-related and articulated to the argumentation of the speeches. Specific referential networks of those metaphors have been noticed to be pervasive and structured according to the container logic. These results suggest that conceptual metaphors are both a referential resource, which might be used for argumentative purposes, and an element that structures and is structured by the referential processes. This work has as its theoretical reference: i) the studies on referentiation by Mondada and Dubois (2003), Apothéloz (2003), Marcuschi and Koch (1998); ii) reflections on argumentation by Perelmand and Olbrechts-Tyteca (2002 [1958]), and Aquino (1997); iii) research on conceptual metaphors carried out by Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 2003), Kovecses, (2005), and on political discourse, by Charteris-Black (2011), Chilton (2004).

Em Metaphors we live by, Lakoff e Johnson apresentam uma nova perspectiva de metáfora. Esta não é apenas um recurso lingüístico, mas estrutura conceitual determinada culturalmente. Nosso pensamento está estruturado com base em metáforas conceituais que nos possibilitam compreender um tipo de coisa em termos de outra; noções abstratas por meio da nossa experiência física. Com base nesta perspectiva de metáfora, analisamos quatro raízes hebraicas, ??? (rdl), ??? (tsv\"), ??? (yrd) e ??? (\"lh), dando ênfase às suas formas verbais, cujos sentidos passam de uma experiência concreta para outras mais abstratas. Nosso objetivo é demonstrar em que medida metáforas orientacionais e ontológicas contribuem para a ampliação lexical por ampliação semântica de uma palavra em hebraico. Para tanto, fizemos uma análise dos sentidos das raízes selecionadas, acompanhando parte de sua evolução semântica. Partimos de exemplos do texto bíblico, principal referência da língua hebraica, e contrastamos com exemplos de textos jornalísticos modernos disponíveis no site do jornal israelense Ha\'arets. / In Metaphors we live by, Lakoff and Johnson present a new perspective on metaphors. Metaphor is not merely viewed as a linguistic resource, but as a conceptual cultural structure culturally determined. Thinking is structured through conceptual metaphors which enable the comprehension of a certain thing in terms another; abstract notions through physical experience. Based on this view of metaphor, we analyzed four hebrew roots: ??? (rdl), ??? (tsv\"), ??? (yrd) and ??? (\"lh), emphasizing their verbal forms, whose meanings change from concrete experience to abstract ones. Our aim is show to which extent orientational and ontological metaphors contribute to lexical expansion through semantic expansion of a word, in hebrew. With this objective, we analyzed the meanings of roots selected, observing part of their semantic evolution. We started from examples from biblical text, the main reference of the Hebrew language, and contrasted them with modern journalistic texts available on the website of Israeli newspaper Ha\'arets

This thesis aims to construct a semantic system for the disparate uses of peh in TSM and peh¡¦s pragmatic functions in actual language uses in terms of cognitive accounts. Firstly, based on the data collected from dictionaries of the Ministry of Education, the present study divided the various meanings of peh into two main types, i.e., prototypical meaning and extended meanings. Prototypical meaning is further classified into perception-based type. How peh is perceived in perception-based type is in close relationship with the actual environment where we interact with. On the other hand, the main category under extended meanings is conception-based type, which is divided into four subcategories of cognitive mechanisms. That is, the diverse meanings of peh in conception-based type will be interpreted in the perspective of four subcategories of cognitive mechanisms. They are metonymic extension, metaphorical extension, the interaction of metaphor and metonymy, and culturally-related extension. Then, to better understand peh¡¦s pragmatic functions in TSM, the study shifts its foucus to the examination of the interrelationship between peh and the shared Taiwanese cultural background knowledge in actual language uses. Basically, the function which peh serves in discourse depends mainly on the context where it is used, and the world or the community will determine and pick up the most appropriate wordings for us (Mey, 2008). There is no definite answer as to which linguistic expression bears which meaning or interpretation when we try to sort out all possible interpretations and meanings for each linguistic expression containing peh. We need both contextual clues and cultural background knowledge to decipher peh¡¦s underlying meanings. The encodings of color perception do not lie in our biology; instead, it is structured socially (Lucy, 1997). In addition, certain uses of peh, e.g., pe̍h-pau (¥Õ¥]), pe̍h-thiap-á (¥Õ©«¥J), etc., in real life discourse make the function of peh more than a representation of the color itself but bridge the gap and create interpersonal relationship between their language users at the same time. On the whole, this research may shed light on the cognitive understanding of peh in TSM not only semantically but also pragmatically.

The simulation world defines conceptual modeling as a tool that provides a clear understanding of the target domain or problem. Although there are some approaches offering useful insights on conceptual modeling in the simulation development lifecycle, they do not provide adequate guidance on how to develop a conceptual model. This thesis study presents a framework for developing conceptual models for simulation systems that is based on the idea that the modelers will develop conceptual models more effectively by following a defined conceptual modeling method, using a domain specific notation and a tool. The conceptual model development method is defined in a step-by-step manner and explanations about the notation and tool are provided when required. A multiple-case study involving two cases is conducted in order to evaluate the applicability of the method for conceptual modeling and validate the expected benefits.

Conceptual models were introduced in the simulation world in order to describe the problem domain in detail before any implementation is attempted. One of the recent approaches for conceptual modeling of the military mission space is the KAMA approach which provides a process description, a UML based notation, and a supporting tool for developing conceptual models. The prominence of the approach stems from availability of guidance and applications in real life case studies. Although the credibility of a conceptual model can be leveraged through use of a structured notation and tools, the verification and validation activities must be performed to arrive at more credible conceptual models. A conceptual model includes two categories of information: static and dynamic. The dynamic information describes the changes that occur over time. In this study, the dynamic characteristics of the conceptual models described in KAMA notation are explored and a verification approach based on these is proposed. The dynamical aspects of KAMA notation and example conceptual models provide the necessary information for characterization of the dynamical properties of conceptual models. Using these characteristics as a basis, an approach is formulated that consists of formal and semiformal techniques as well as supporting tools. For description of additional properties for dynamic verification, an extended form of KAMA is developed, called the KAMA-DV notation. The approach is applied on two different real-life case studies and its effectiveness is compared with earlier verification studies.

I conduct a series of experiments culminating in a gallery exhibition, I Never Stopped Being A Curator, which investigate and reinterpret what it means to ‘care’ and ‘profane’ in the context of an expanded notion of curatorial practice. I call what I’m doing ‘performative micro-curating,’ a playfully performative practice with precedents dating back to Marcel Duchamp and The Richard Mutt Case. More specifically, I’m interpreting and practising performative micro-curating as a relational, meta-conceptual art practice that uses mirroring and repetition as a method for posing questions, making knowledge and forging social bonds, while, at the same time, dissolving the boundaries that customarily distinguish artmaking from curating.