It is agreed upon by many philosophers that perception represents the world to be in a certain way. However, there is disagreement among those philosophers about whether perceptual content is conceptual or not. The aim of this thesis is to provide a clear presentation of the debate and to propose an account of nonconceptual perceptual content that can tackle many philosophical problems related to the issue. Conceptualism about perceptual content is the view that perceptual content is wholly conceptual. Proponents of this view claim that a subject cannot be in a contentful perceptual state without possessing concepts that fully characterize the content of his experience. The main motivation behind conceptualism is the justificatory role perception is supposed to play in forming perceptual beliefs. It is claimed that if perceptual content provides rational ground or reason for forming perceptual beliefs, it has to be conceptual just like the belief it is a reason for. However, there are several philosophical problems that arise from such an understanding of perceptual content. Most of them mainly derive from the implausibility of the claim that a subject needs to possess every concept that figures in the characterization of the content of his perceptual state. So, nonconceptualism is based on the assumption that a contentful perceptual state can occur albeit the absence of all or some concepts that characterize the content. Therefore, in this thesis I aim to provide a notion of nonconceptual perceptual content that is epistemically relevant, i.e. that can ground perceptual beliefs in spite of its nonconceptual character.

Visually, Baldessari’s art mirrors the schoolroom chart, the cinematic storyboard, the Surrealist collage, the sensationalist graphics of the tabloid, and the grid format of the textbook. Black and white photography, performance, collage, bright prints, film, drawing, and painting: Baldessari has done it all. The artist has consistently demonstrated an inventiveness and sense of play in his work, and it is unlikely that he would stick to any one mode of artmaking for an extended period of time. It is probable that the explicit critique of contemporary Conceptualists of the text paintings mellowed because Baldessari had moved on to new questions. While he continues to examine the trope of the artistic outsider despite his commercial success, it is always with a wink. As Baldessari’s use of his own image in Portrait (Self) demonstrates, he has encouraged his audience to interrogate any artistic self-representation as a purposeful construct. Unlike the majority of his fellow Conceptualists, Baldessari’s serious goals are couched in a selfmocking attitude and in the colorful, playful style he has made his own.

This thesis offers a new approach to mind modelling in modernist narratives. Taking Nietzsche’s work as exemplary of modernist ideas about cognition’s relational basis, I argue that conceptual blending theory, a particularly cogent model of a fundamental cognitive process, has roots in modernism. I read inscriptions of relational cognition in modernist narratives as “conceptual blends” that invite cognitive mobility as a central facet of reader response. These blends, which integrate conceptual domains, invite similarity-seeing and difference-seeing, exposing the reader to new conceptual content and new cognitive styles; she is thus better able to negotiate the reading-related complexities of modernist narrative’s formal innovations and the real-world complexities of modernity’s local and global upheavals. Chapter One considers blending’s interrelated rhetorical motivations and cognitive effects in Chiang Yee’s Silent Traveller narratives: bringing together English and Chinese domains, Chiang’s blends defamiliarize his readers’ culturally entrenched assumptions, invite collaborative reading strategies, and thus equip his readers for relating flexibly to a newly globalized world. Moving away from blends in a text’s narration, Chapter Two focuses on blends as textual structuring principles. I read Virginia Woolf’s The Waves as a thinking mind with fundamentally relational cognitive processes; I consider the mobile cognitive operations we perform reading about a text’s mind thinking and thinking along with it. Chapters Three and Four cross the nebulous text-peritext border to examine blends in modernist prefaces. Chapter Three focuses on blends in Joseph Conrad’s and Henry James’s prefaces, relating them, through the reading strategies they invite, to the narratives they accompany. Chapter Four considers allographic prefaces to Arthur Morrison’s Tales of Mean Streets and two of Chiang’s narratives: blends in these prefaces invite the cognitive mobility necessary for reconceptualizing both allographic preface-text and East-West relations. All four chapters treat the modernist narrative text as a textual system whose blends, often interacting and borderless, signal reciprocal, mutually permeable relations among its textual levels. Dialogic relations also underwrite the interaction between these blends and blends the reader performs when engaging with them. Modernist narratives model (bear inscriptions of) cognition’s relational processes in order to model (shape) the reader’s mind.

A successful information system is the one that meets its design goals. Expressing these goals and subsequently translating them into a working solution is a major challenge for information systems engineering. This thesis adopts the concepts and techniques from goal-oriented (software) requirements engineering research for conceptual database design, with a focus on data quality issues. Based on a real-world case study, a goal-oriented process is proposed for database requirements analysis and modeling. It spans from analysis of high-level stakeholder goals to detailed design of a conceptual databases schema. This process is then extended specifically for dealing with data quality issues: data of low quality may be detected and corrected by performing various quality assurance activities; to support these activities, the schema needs to be revised by accommodating additional data requirements. The extended process therefore focuses on analyzing and modeling quality assurance data requirements. A quality assurance activity supported by a revised schema may involve manual work, and/or rely on some automatic techniques, which often depend on the specification and enforcement of data quality rules. To address the constraint aspect in conceptual database design, data quality rules are classified according to a number of domain and application independent properties. This classification can be used to guide rule designers and to facilitate building of a rule repository. A quantitative framework is then proposed for measuring and comparing DQ rules according to one of these properties: effectiveness; this framework relies on derivation of formulas that represent the effectiveness of DQ rules under different probabilistic assumptions. A semi-automatic approach is also presented to derive these effectiveness formulas.

Investigamos la evolución de los conceptos científicos desde una perspectiva multidimensional que integra aspectos cognitivos, lingüísticos, metacognitivos, motivacionales y conceptuales, e identificamos posibles obstáculos para el aprendizaje del concepto de respiración.En la enseñanza de los conceptos científicos reconocemos la existencia de diferentes modelos explicativos, considerados como hipótesis que relacionan los fenómenos y los marcos conceptuales y procedimentales de los alumnos. Observamos cambios conceptuales débiles caracterizados por la mayor precisión en el uso de las ideas sobre la respiración ya existentes en la estructura cognitiva de los estudiantes y, en menor grado, con el empleo de otras nuevas. Se proponen secuencias evolutivas hipotéticas para el aprendizaje del concepto de respiración.Lograr que los estudiantes se desempeñen mejor frente al aprendizaje de los conceptos científicos supone integrar en la clase las diferentes dimensiones estudiadas. Se debe tratar que los estudiantes: reconozcan los diferentes modelos que utilizan para explicar los fenómenos, que encuentren semejanzas y diferencias entre los distintos modelos explicativos, que puedan expresarse de manera coherente y consistente con los diferentes modelos, que tomen distancia de los textos que analizan y puedan criticarlos tanto en su forma como en su contenido. Los diferentes aspectos antes mencionados exigen una intervención didáctica en la cual se reconozca la importancia de las dimensiones conceptuales y metaconceptuales en el aprendizaje de las ciencias. Es decir, en la enseñanza de los conceptos científicos se requiere no sólo propiciar la reflexión acerca del concepto per se, también es necesario vincular la enseñanza de los conceptos científicos con los intereses y motivaciones de los estudiantes, con el reconocimiento de que los modelos adquieren mayor significatividad según los distintos contextos en los cuales se utilicen, con la necesidad de hacer uso adecuado del discurso por parte de los estudiantes. Consideramos que el vínculo entre las dimensiones conceptuales y metaconceptuales es crucial para el logro de la evolución conceptual de los estudiantes y, por extensión, para el aprendizaje de las ciencias. / We researched the evolution of the scientific concepts since a multidimensional perspective that integrates cognitive, linguistic, metacognitive, motivational and conceptual aspects and we also identified possible obstacles for learning of the concept of breathing in students from 16 to 18 years.In this group we recognized the existence of different explicative models, considered as hypothesis that relate the phenomena and the conceptual frameworks of the students. We observed weak conceptual changes characterized by the greatest accuracy in the use of previous ideas about breathing in the cognitive structure of the students and, in a minor extent, by the integration of new points of view studied in class. Hypothetical evolutive sequences are proposed for learning the concept of breathing.To achieve a better students´ performance towards learning of scientific concepts supposes to integrate, among other things, the different studied dimensions in class.. It´s necessary to try that students: recognize the different models they used to explain the phenomena; find similarities and differences between the different explicative models; that they can express themselves with coherence and consistency with the different learned models and that they grow apart from the textbooks they analize, and that they can review them both in the form and the contents.The different aspects we mentioned before require a didactical intervention in which it is recognized the importance of the conceptual and metaconceptual dimensions in the learning of science. That is, in the taught of scientific concepts it is required, not only to promote the reflection about the concept per se, but also to link teaching of concepts with the interests and motivations of the students, recognizing that models acquire greater significance according to the different contexts they are used, the studentes´ need of making an adequate use of the speech. We consider that the link between conceptual and metaconceptual dimensions is crucial to achieve the conceptual evolution of the students and, by extent, for teaching and learning of science.

Per tal de garantir la qualitat final d'un sistema d'informació, és imprescindible que l'esquema conceptual que representa el coneixement sobre el seu domini i les funcions que ha de realitzar sigui semànticament correcte.La correctesa d'un esquema conceptual es pot veure des de dues perspectives. Per una banda, des del punt de vista de la seva definició, determinar la correctesa d'un esquema conceptual consisteix en respondre la pregunta "És correcte l'esquema conceptual?". Aquesta pregunta es pot respondre determinant si l'esquema satisfà certes propietats, com satisfactibilitat, no redundància o executabilitat de les seves operacions.D'altra banda, des de la perspectiva dels requisits que el sistema d'informació ha de satisfer, l'esquema conceptual no només ha de ser correcte sinó que també ha de ser el correcte. Per tal d'assegurar-ho, el dissenyador necessita algun tipus de guia i ajut durant el procés de validació, de manera que pugui entendre què està representant l'esquema exactament i veure si es correspon amb els requisits que s'han de formalitzar.En aquesta tesi presentem una aproximació que millora els resultats de les propostes anteriors adreçades a validar un esquema conceptual en UML, amb les restriccions i operacions formalitzades en OCL. La nostra aproximació permet validar un esquema conceptual tant des del punt de vista de la seva definició com de la seva correspondència amb els requisits.La validació es porta a terme mitjançant un conjunt de proves que s'apliquen a l'esquema, algunes de les quals es generen automàticament mentre que d'altres són definides ad-hoc pel dissenyador. Totes les proves estan formalitzades de tal manera que es poden tractar d'una manera uniforme,independentment de la propietat específica que determinen.La nostra proposta es pot aplicar tant a un esquema conceptual complet com només a la seva part estructural. Quan es pretén validar només la part estructural d'un esquema, oferim un conjunt de condicions que permeten determinar si qualsevol prova de validació que es pugui fer sobrel'esquema acabarà en temps finit. Per aquells casos en els quals aquestes condicions de terminació se satisfan, també proposem un procediment de raonament sobre l'esquema que s'aprofita d'aquest fet i és més eficient que en el cas general. Aquesta aproximació permet validar esquemes conceptuals molt expressius, assegurant completesa i decidibilitat al mateix temps.Per provar la factibilitat de la nostra aproximació, hem implementat el procés de validació complet per a la part estructural d'un esquema. A més, per a la validació d'un esquema conceptual que inclou la definició del comportament, hem implementat el procediment de raonament estenent un mètode existent. / To ensure the quality of an information system, it is essential that the conceptual schema that represents the knowledge about its domain and the functions it has to perform is semantically correct.The correctness of a conceptual schema can be seen from two different perspectives. On the one hand, from the point of view of its definition, determining the correctness of a conceptual schema consists in answering to the question "Is the conceptual schema right?". This can be achieved by determining whether the schema fulfills certain properties, such as satisfiability, non-redundancy or operation executability.On the other hand, from the perspective of the requirements that the information system should satisfy, not only the conceptual schema must be right, but it also must be the right one. To ensure this, the designer must be provided with some kind of help and guidance during the validation process, so that he is able to understand the exact meaning of the schema and see whether it corresponds to the requirements to be formalized.In this thesis we provide an approach which improves the results of previous proposals that address the validation of a UML conceptual schema, with its constraints and operations formalized in OCL. Our approach allows to validate the conceptual schema both from the point of view of its definition and of its correspondence to the requirements.The validation is performed by means of a set of tests that are applied to the schema, including automatically generated tests and ad-hoc tests defined by the designer. All the validation tests are formalized in such a way that they can be treated uniformly, regardless the specific property they allow to test.Our approach can be either applied to a complete conceptual schema or only to its structural part. In case that only the structural part is validated, we provide a set of conditions to determine whether any validation test performed on the schema will terminate. For those cases in which these conditions of termination are satisfied, we also provide a reasoning procedure that takes advantage of this situation and works more efficiently than in the general case. This approach allows the validation of very expressive schemas and ensures completeness and decidability at the same time. To show the feasibility of our approach, we have implemented the complete validation process for the structural part of a conceptual schema.Additionally, for the validation of a conceptual schema with a behavioral part, the reasoning procedure has been implemented as an extension of an existing method.

The traditional focus for Information Systems (IS) quality assurance relies on the evaluation of its implementation. However, the quality of an IS can be largely determined in the first stages of its development. Several studies reveal that more than half the errors that occur during systems development are requirements errors. A requirements error is defined as a mismatch between requirements specification and stakeholders¿ needs and expectations. Conceptual modeling is an essential activity in requirements engineering aimed at developing the conceptual schema of an IS. The conceptual schema is the general knowledge that an IS needs to know in order to perform its functions. A conceptual schema specification has semantic quality when it is valid and complete. Validity means that the schema is correct (the knowledge it defines is true for the domain) and relevant (the knowledge it defines is necessary for the system). Completeness means that the conceptual schema includes all relevant knowledge. The validation of a conceptual schema pursues the detection of requirements errors in order to improve its semantic quality. Conceptual schema validation is still a critical challenge in requirements engineering. In this work we contribute to this challenge, taking into account that, since conceptual schemas of IS can be specified in executable artifacts, they can be tested. In this context, the main contributions of this Thesis are (1) an approach to test conceptual schemas of information systems, and (2) a novel method for the incremental development of conceptual schemas supported by continuous test-driven validation. As far as we know, this is the first work that proposes and implements an environment for automated testing of UML/OCL conceptual schemas, and the first work that explores the use of test-driven approaches in conceptual modeling. The testing of conceptual schemas may be an important and practical means for their validation. It allows checking correctness and completeness according to stakeholders¿ needs and expectations. Moreover, in conjunction with the automatic check of basic test adequacy criteria, we can also analyze the relevance of the elements defined in the schema. The testing environment we propose requires a specialized language for writing tests of conceptual schemas. We defined the Conceptual Schema Testing Language (CSTL), which may be used to specify automated tests of executable schemas specified in UML/OCL. We also describe a prototype implementation of a test processor that makes feasible the approach in practice. The conceptual schema testing approach supports test-last validation of conceptual schemas, but it also makes sense to test incomplete conceptual schemas while they are developed. This fact lays the groundwork of Test-Driven Conceptual Modeling (TDCM), which is our second main contribution. TDCM is a novel conceptual modeling method based on the main principles of Test-Driven Development (TDD), an extreme programming method in which a software system is developed in short iterations driven by tests. We have applied the method in several case studies, in the context of Design Research, which is the general research framework we adopted. Finally, we also describe an integration approach of TDCM into a broad set of software development methodologies, including the Unified Process development methodology, MDD-based approaches, storytest-driven agile methods and goal and scenario-oriented requirements engineering methods. / Els enfocaments per assegurar la qualitat deis sistemes d'informació s'han basal tradicional m en! en l'avaluació de la seva implementació. No obstan! aix6, la qualitat d'un sis tema d'informació pot ser ampliament determinada en les primeres fases del seu desenvolupament. Diversos estudis indiquen que més de la meitat deis errors de software són errors de requisits . Un error de requisit es defineix com una desalineació entre l'especificació deis requisits i les necessitats i expectatives de les parts im plicades (stakeholders ). La modelització conceptual és una activitat essencial en l'enginyeria de requisits , l'objectiu de la qual és desenvolupar !'esquema conceptual d'un sistema d'informació. L'esquema conceptual és el coneixement general que un sistema d'informació requereix per tal de desenvolupar les seves funcions . Un esquema conceptual té qualitat semantica quan és va lid i complet. La valides a implica que !'esquema sigui correcte (el coneixement definit és cert peral domini) i rellevant (el coneixement definit és necessari peral sistema). La completes a significa que !'esquema conceptual inclou tot el coneixement rellevant. La validació de !'esquema conceptual té coma objectiu la detecció d'errors de requisits per tal de millorar la qualitat semantica. La validació d'esquemes conceptuals és un repte crític en l'enginyeria de requisits . Aquesta te si contribueix a aquest repte i es basa en el fet que els es quemes conceptuals de sistemes d'informació poden ser especificats en artefactes executables i, per tant, poden ser provats. Les principals contribucions de la te si són (1) un enfocament pera les pro ves d'esquemes conceptuals de sistemes d'informació, i (2) una metodología innovadora pel desenvolupament incremental d'esquemes conceptuals assistit per una validació continuada basada en proves . Les pro ves d'esquemes conceptuals poden ser una im portant i practica técnica pera la se va validació, jaque permeten provar la correctesa i la completesa d'acord ambles necessitats i expectatives de les parts interessades. En conjunció amb la comprovació d'un conjunt basic de criteris d'adequació de les proves, també podem analitzar la rellevancia deis elements definits a !'esquema. L'entorn de test proposat inclou un llenguatge especialitzat per escriure proves automatitzades d'esquemes conceptuals, anomenat Conceptual Schema Testing Language (CSTL). També hem descrit i implementa! a un prototip de processador de tes tos que fa possible l'aplicació de l'enfocament proposat a la practica. D'acord amb l'estat de l'art en validació d'esquemes conceptuals , aquest és el primer treball que proposa i implementa un entorn pel testing automatitzat d'esquemes conceptuals definits en UML!OCL. L'enfocament de proves d'esquemes conceptuals permet dura terme la validació d'esquemes existents , pero també té sentit provar es quemes conceptuals incomplets m entre estant sent desenvolupats. Aquest fet és la base de la metodología Test-Driven Conceptual Modeling (TDCM), que és la segona contribució principal. El TDCM és una metodología de modelització conceptual basada en principis basics del Test-Driven Development (TDD), un métode de programació en el qual un sistema software és desenvolupat en petites iteracions guiades per proves. També hem aplicat el métode en diversos casos d'estudi en el context de la metodología de recerca Design Science Research. Finalment, hem proposat enfocaments d'integració del TDCM en diverses metodologies de desenvolupament de software.

This study explored the development of student’s conceptual understanding of limit and derivative when specific computational tools were utilized. Fourteen students from a secondary Advanced Placement Calculus AB course explored the limit and derivative concepts from calculus using computational tools in the Maple computer algebra system. Students worked in pairs utilizing the pair-programming collaborative model. Four groups of student pairs constructed computational tools and used them to explore the limit and derivative concepts. The remaining four student pairs were provided similar tools and asked to perform identical explorations. A multiple embedded case design was utilized to explore ways students in two classes, a programming class P and a non-programming class N, constructed understandings focusing upon their interactions with each other and with the computational tools. The Action-Process-Object-Schema (APOS) conceptual model and Constructionist framework guided design and construction of the tools, outlined developmental goals and milestones, and provided interpretive context for analysis. Results provided insights into the effective design and use of computational tools in fostering conceptual understanding. The study found the additional burden of programming redirected students’ attention away from the intended conceptual understandings. The study additionally found, however, that pre-constructed tools effectively promote conceptual understanding of the limit concept when coupled with a mature conceptual model of development. Four themes influencing development of these understandings emerged: An instructional focus on skills over concepts, the instructional sequence, the willingness and ability of students to adopt and utilize computational tools, and the ways cognitive conflict was mediated.

This report develops a method for probabilistic conceptual sensor modeling. The idea is to generate probabilities for detection, recognition and identification based on a few simple factors. The focus lies on FLIR sensors and thermal radiation, even if discussions of other wavelength bands are made. The model can be used as a hole or some or several parts can be used to create a simpler model. The core of the model is based on the Johnson criteria that uses resolution as the input parameter. Some extensions that models other factors are also implemented. In the end a short discussion of the possibility to use this model for other sensors than FLIR is made.

Sweden is a multicultural country and because of this the Swedish school-system should be adapted so that all pupils can develop their linguistic skills so that they can participate andunderstand the education. By using scientific work from other researchers and my own experiences from a general point of view, I noticed that pupils with foreign origin perform less good in mathematics than pupils with Swedish origin, in the Swedish education system. The purpose of this research is to find out if communication and interplay between the pupils makes it easier for them to understand mathematics and its’ concepts. My research involves acertain school class were all pupils have another etnicity then the Swedish one. My aim was to find out if the pupils reached the knowledge-goals for mathematics in the third grade. Especially in the areas of solution solving and the understanding of mathematical texts. I wanted to find out if communication and interplay between the pupils lead to increasedprogress in the Swedish language and increased understanding of mathematical texts. I also examined what possibilities the pupils have to absorb and understand the education and how favourable the conditions are in their teaching process. My starting points were Vygotskijs’ sociocultural perspective. The main research questions were: Is the language a barrier for the pupils in my research group when they develop their mathematical knowledge? Which approach may enhance the pupils knowledge in mathematics? The research is based on interviews with the teacher and observations of the pupils during mathematic lessons. With the help of the empirical material I wanted to increase myunderstanding about the process of learning and development in the class and about how the teacher labours and reflects around the situation. She practiced silent and individual studies in the class. The result of this research showed that the pupils were not benefited by the teachersmethods and that they did not reach the main goals in Swedish and mathematics for the earlier years in Swedish compulsory school. The reason to this result is mainly that language and learning go hand in hand and that mathematics requires a good vocabulary and good reading comprehension.