Cette thèse aborde la relation entre le mormonisme et la société américaine, à travers une étude détaillée de matériaux médiatiques. Plus précisément, les stratégies de légitimation des groupes mormons et les stratégies de délégitimation utilisées par les détracteurs de ces groupes religieux marginaux sont analysées. Depuis la naissance du mormonisme, en terre américaine, ce courant a entretenu des relations tendues avec la culture mainstream. La thèse décrit tout d’abord l'évolution des rapports entre les mormons et la société américaine dominante, du 19e siècle à aujourd'hui, puis s’attarde à une analyse des productions médiatiques récentes mettant en scène des mormons monogames et polygames, avec une insistance particulière sur la série télévisée de fiction Big Love (HBO 2006-2011). Mais plus qu'une étude de cas à propos des tensions entre mormons et société américaine, la thèse nous informe sur les notions de déviance et de normalité et sur leur évolution temporelle, et offre une relecture de l’histoire du mormonisme à partir de son articulation avec la sphère médiatique. L'analyse permet de faire ressortir la manière dont le discours public influence la position des groupes minoritaires. La thèse met également en lumière les effets positifs de l'utilisation des médias de masse par les petits groupes sociaux ou religieux. En montrant comment un groupe religieux d’une période à l'autre de son existence se retrouve tour à tour stigmatisé, toléré et même parfois célébré, la thèse ouvre des perspectives pour l’analyse d’autres groupes minoritaires. Un modèle théorique, qui expose les stratégies de légitimation et de délégitimation publiques des différents groupes mormons, est central à la thèse. Il est issu d'un processus de théorisation ancrée. / This thesis addresses the relationship between Mormonism and American society, through a detailed analysis of media materials. Specifically, legitimation strategies, put forward by Mormons communities, and delegitimation strategies, used by opponents of these marginal religious groups, are considered. Since the inception of Mormonism, in the United States, this religious movement has maintained tense relationships with mainstream culture. First, this thesis describes the evolution of relationships between Mormons and mainstream society, from the 19th century to the present era, and then includes an analysis of recent media productions presenting Mormons, with an emphasis on the fiction TV series Big Love (HBO 2006-2011). More than a case study about tensions between Mormons and mainstream society, this thesis informs us about the notions of deviance and normality and their temporal evolution, and offers a reinterpretation of the history of Mormonism through its articulation with the media. The analysis sheds light on the way public discourse influences the position of minority groups, and on the positive effects of mass media use by small religious or social groups. By explaining how a religious group can, from one period of its existence to another, be stigmatised, tolerated and even sometimes celebrated, this thesis opens perspectives for the analysis of other minority groups. A theoretical model, exposing the legitimation and delegitimation strategies of Mormon groups, is central to the thesis. This model was derived from a grounded theory analysis.

[pt] A presente tese analisa a relação entre os direitos constitucionais dos povos indígenas brasileiros e a efetivação desses direitos em juízo, enfocando a garantia do acesso à justiça e o reconhecimento da diversidade cultural. Situada na contemporaneidade, a pesquisa destaca a necessidade de um sistema de justiça mais justo e inclusivo para todos os cidadãos, assegurando que os direitos dos povos indígenas sejam efetivamente protegidos e respeitados, especialmente nas ações de guarda de infância e juventude na Comarca de Miracema do Tocantins, envolvendo crianças e adolescentes indígenas do povo Akwẽ-Xerente. O principal objetivo é verificar se os magistrados consideram as especificidades étnicas e culturais dos Akwẽ-Xerente em suas decisões judiciais. Utilizando uma abordagem metodológica que combina revisão teórica e análise de casos concretos, a tese examina a relação entre o reconhecimento dos direitos culturais e territoriais dos povos indígenas e a garantia de acesso à justiça. O estudo revisa a visão dos povos indígenas sobre os direitos conferidos pela Constituição, a tutela jurídico-normativa desses direitos no Brasil, os valores culturais, a organização sociopolítica e as ordenações jurídicas dos Akwẽ-Xerente, bem como as manifestações dos atores processuais nas ações de guarda de infância e juventude. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que, embora a Constituição Federal de 1988 tenha representado um avanço significativo no reconhecimento dos direitos dos povos indígenas, a efetivação desses direitos enfrenta obstáculos, particularmente devido à prevalência de uma visão preconceituosa e discriminatória no sistema de justiça. Indicam também que, o Ministério Público atua, principalmente, na defesa dos direitos dos povos indígenas, como guardião da legalidade e dos direitos humanos, a equipe multidisciplinar contribui para uma compreensão mais ampla e profunda das questões culturais e sociais envolvidas, auxiliando o juiz na tomada de decisões e a Funai fornece suporte técnico e jurídico, embora sua atuação se revele inconsistente. A análise das decisões judiciais da Vara de Família, Sucessões, Infância e Juventude de Miracema/TO evidencia que os magistrados, muitas vezes, levam em consideração os relatórios da equipe multidisciplinar, respeitando as tradições culturais dos Akwẽ-Xerente, contudo, privilegiam o ordenamento jurídico oficial em detrimento das ordenações deste povo. Esses resultados demonstram a necessidade de adoção de diversas medidas para superar os obstáculos ao acesso à justiça dos Akwẽ-Xerente, entre elas, destaca-se a necessidade de formação continuada dos magistrados e demais operadores do direito sobre a cultura e os direitos dos povos indígenas, a inclusão de elementos pluralistas no sistema de justiça, a participação de tradutores na equipe multidisciplinar e o fortalecimento da atuação da Funai. Além disso, recomenda a criação de mecanismos de consulta prévia aos povos indígenas em processos judiciais que os envolvam e a implementação de políticas públicas que promovam a inclusão social e o respeito à diversidade cultural. Em suma, a pesquisa contribui para uma compreensão mais profunda da importância do reconhecimento das especificidades etnoculturais e o respeito às culturas indígenas para garantia de um efetivo acesso à justiça a esses povos e reforça a necessidade de um sistema de justiça que seja verdadeiramente justo e inclusivo. / [en] This thesis analyzes the relationship between the constitutional rights of Brazilian indigenous peoples and the enforcement of these rights in court, focusing on the guarantee of access to justice and the recognition of cultural diversity. Set in contemporary times, the research highlights the need for a fairer and more inclusive justice system for all citizens, ensuring that the rights of indigenous peoples are effectively protected and respected, especially in child custody cases in the Comarca of Miracema do Tocantins, involving indigenous children and adolescents of the Akwẽ-Xerente people. The main objective is to verify whether judges consider the ethnic and cultural specificities of the Akwẽ-Xerente in their judicial decisions. Using a methodological approach that combines theoretical review and case analysis, the thesis examines the relationship between the recognition of cultural and territorial rights of indigenous peoples and the guarantee of access to justice. The study reviews the perspective of indigenous peoples on the rights granted by the Constitution, the legal protection of these rights in Brazil, the cultural values, the sociopolitical organization, and the legal norms of the Akwẽ-Xerente, as well as the statements of procedural actors in child custody cases. The research results indicate that, although the 1988 Federal Constitution represented a significant advance in recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples, the enforcement of these rights faces obstacles, particularly due to the prevalence of a prejudiced and discriminatory view in the justice system. They also indicate that the Public Prosecutor s Office primarily acts in the defense of the rights of indigenous peoples, as the guardian of legality and human rights, the multidisciplinary team contributes to a broader and deeper understanding of the cultural and social issues involved, assisting the judge in making fairer and more appropriate decisions, and Funai provides technical and legal support, although its performance proves to be inconsistent. The analysis of the judicial decisions from the Family, Probate, Childhood, and Youth Court of Miracema/TO reveals that judges often consider the reports of the multidisciplinary team, respecting the cultural traditions of the Akwẽ-Xerente, yet prioritize the official legal framework over the norms of this people. These results demonstrate the need for various measures to overcome the obstacles to justice access for the Akwẽ-Xerente, including the need for continuous training of judges and other legal professionals about the culture and rights of indigenous peoples, the inclusion of pluralistic elements in the justice system, the participation of translators in the multidisciplinary team, and the strengthening of Funai s role. Furthermore, it recommends the creation of prior consultation mechanisms with indigenous peoples in judicial processes involving them and the implementation of public policies that promote social inclusion and respect for cultural diversity. In summary, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the importance of recognizing ethnocultural specificities and respecting indigenous cultures to guarantee effective access to justice for these peoples and reinforces the need for a justice system that is truly fair and inclusive.

No presente estudo, salienta-se a necessidade por um referencial teórico destinado à compreensão de um fenômeno empírico recorrente no mundo real: as formas plurais de governança. Mais especificamente, ressalta-se a incapacidade da ECT em explicá-las. Essa limitação, aliada à ausência de um consenso teórico relativo à opção pelas formas plurais, motivaram o desenvolvimento do presente estudo, cujo principal objetivo consiste da exposição de uma nova abordagem relativa ao estudo das formas plurais de governança. Particularmente, pretende-se determinar a influência dos custos de informação quando da configuração dessas formas organizacionais. A abordagem teórica utilizada no presente estudo baseia-se na hipótese de que as firmas selecionariam simultaneamente duas ou mais das três tipologias organizacionais definidas por Williamson (1985) como um instrumento de monitoramento e incentivo, destinado à redução de assimetrias de informação, tanto no âmbito hierárquico quanto naquele contratual. Assim, desenvolve-se um modelo conceitual de decisão, didaticamente segmentado em duas etapas. Na primeira etapa, propõe-se que as formas plurais sejam motivadas pela existência simultânea de vantagens de custos de produção no mercado e de elevados custos de mensuração (BARZEL, 1982). Já na segunda, propõe-se a ocorrência de um tradeoff entre os custos de mensuração e os de agência, o que determinaria o grau ótimo de integração verical no contexto das formas plurais. Como objeto empírico, apresenta-se o caso da empresa Korin, que é interessante, pois a sua cadeia produtiva é caracterizada pela presença das formas plurais, tanto na produção quanto na distribuição de diversos produtos. Além disso, cada um dos produtos analisados - tomate, ovos e milho verde - apresenta diferentes arranjos organizacionais na governança de sua produção, na medida em que seus processos de produção requerem particularidades distintas. A análise empírica deste caso corrobora a primeira etapa do modelo conceitual apresentado no presente estudo, embora não permita avaliar o tradeoff entre os custos de agência e de mensuração e nem a existência de um grau ótimo de integração vertical. Independentemente das limitações apresentadas pelo presente trabalho, ele certamente constitui mais um avanço das teorias da firma em direção ao campo das formas plurais. / In this paper, it is highlighted the need for a theoretical framework aimed at understanding an empirical phenomenon that is recurrently observed in the real world: the plural forms of governance. More specifically, it is emphasized TCE\'s inability to explain them. This limitation, along with the absence of a theoretical concensous relative to the choice of a plural form, motivated the development of this study, whose main objective is that of exposing a new approach to the study of the plural forms of governance. In particular, it is intenteded to determine the influence of information costs on the configuration of those organizational forms. The thoeretical approach that is used in the present paper is based on the hypothesis that firms would simultaneously select two or more of the organizational forms defined by Williamson (1985) as a monitoring device and to proportion incentives aimed at reducing information asymmetries, both within the hierarchy and in contractual relations. Thus, a conceptual decision model is developed and diditically segmented into two steps. In the first step, it is proposed that plural forms are motivated by the simultaneous existence of production cost advantages at the marketplace and high measurement costs (BARZEL, 1982). Whereas in the second, a tradeoff between measurement and agency costs is proposed, determining the optimal vertical integration degree in the context of plural forms. As empirical object, we present the case of Korin company, which is interesting because its production chain is characterized by the presence of plural forms both when producing and distributing various products. In addition, each of the analysed products- tomato, eggs and corn - presents different organizational arrangements in the governance of its production, to the extent that their production processes require different particularities. The empirical analysis of this case supports the first stage of the conceptual model presented in this study, although ramaining unable to assess the tradeoff between agency and measurement costs, as well as the existence of an optimal vertical integration degree. Regardless of the limitations presented by this work, it certainly constitutes an advance of theories of the firm into the field of plural forms.

Submitted by PPG Educa??o (educacao-pg@pucrs.br) on 2018-03-15T13:36:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ENRIQUE S?RGIO BLANCO.pdf: 1651602 bytes, checksum: 911b280a30856fc481fa03c8a5cb0eb4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lopes (tatiana.lopes@pucrs.br) on 2018-03-23T12:40:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ENRIQUE S?RGIO BLANCO.pdf: 1651602 bytes, checksum: 911b280a30856fc481fa03c8a5cb0eb4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-23T12:45:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ENRIQUE S?RGIO BLANCO.pdf: 1651602 bytes, checksum: 911b280a30856fc481fa03c8a5cb0eb4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-18 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / Can the philosophy textbook support high-school students succeed in developing critical debates supported by plausible arguments about contemporary issues? Critical debates that cover the different ways of understanding reality and include the voice of the other and the heterogeneity of the ways of being and thinking in a plural society. Critical debates involving the principles of plurality, identity, difference and diversity. I will try to answer this question investigating how the philosophy textbook develops its contents as a possibility that its readers, the high-school studentes, can develop critical debates about contemporary issues. I understand that the textbook can contribute to the students: i) develop their knowledge bases on possible understandings of reality; ii) develop plausible arguments through reasoning about possible understandings on reality in order to participate on critical debates; iii) make solidarity social proposals, based on respect for the values of the other and your different understandings of reality. Based on that understanding, I will undertake an interpretative investigation research in order to understand how the didactic book of philosophy for high-school, "Filosofia: experi?ncia do pensamento", philosophically develops the concepts of culture, plurality, identity, difference and diversity, and if that didactic-pedagogical development can help students to partipated on critical debates about contemporary social themes involving these concepts. / O livro did?tico de filosofia pode contribuir para que os alunos do Ensino M?dio consigam desenvolver debates cr?ticos sustentados por argumentos plaus?veis acerca de temas contempor?neos? Debates cr?ticos que contemplem as diferentes formas de compreender a realidade e incluam a voz do outro e a heterogeneidade de modos de ser e de pensar em uma sociedade plural. Debates cr?ticos que envolvam os princ?pios da pluralidade, da identidade, da diferen?a e da diversidade. Para tentar responder a este questionamento, investigarei como o livro did?tico de filosofia desenvolve seus conte?dos tendo em vista a possibilidade de que seus leitores, os estudantes do Ensino M?dio, possam construir debates cr?ticos acerca de quest?es contempor?neas. Entendo que o livro did?tico pode contribuir para que o aluno: i) desenvolva seu repert?rio acerca das poss?veis compreens?es da realidade; ii) construa argumenta??es plaus?veis tendo em vista a participa??o de debates cr?ticos, a partir de seus conhecimentos adquiridos acerca da realidade; iii) elabore propostas de interven??o social solid?ria, a partir do respeito aos valores do outro e as diferentes compreens?es acerca da realidade. Partindo deste entendimento, empreenderei uma investiga??o interpretativa de car?ter explorat?rio a fim de compreender como o livro did?tico de filosofia para o Ensino M?dio, ?Filosofia: experi?ncia do pensamento?, desenvolve filosoficamente os conceitos de cultura, pluralidade, identidade, diferen?a e diversidade e se este desenvolvimento did?tico-pedag?gico contribuiria para que os alunos pudessem desenvolver debates cr?ticos acerca temas sociais contempor?neos que envolvem esses conceitos.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-03-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:48:43Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 fiamengui_ahr_me_sjrp.pdf: 596311 bytes, checksum: b8e894f003eee92f2103df18db92947e (MD5) / A sílaba átona em final de palavra é a posição mais sujeita à perda de segmentos consonantais no Português do Brasil, afetando tanto palavras monomorfêmicas quanto bimorfêmicas. No caso das últimas, essa perda ocasiona a não-concordância entre todos os elementos do sintagma nominal, contrariando, assim, as normas prescritas pela gramática. Ainda que fatores fonéticos de natureza articulatória contribuam para a perda de marcas explícitas de pluralidade, a queda dessas marcas está certamente sujeita a outros fatores internos ao sistema e também externos (fatores sociais e situacionais). A esse respeito, já foi documentado (SCHERRE, 1988; SCHERRE e NARO, 1993, 1998), principalmente em relação à oralidade, que a marcação de pluralidade no sintagma nominal representa uma regra variável em diversos dialetos do território nacional. A partir disso, o presente estudo submete dados de marcação variável de plural no sintagma nominal a um tratamento variacionista, de base quantitativa. Os dados de análise foram obtidos a partir de subamostras de dois córpus, um representativo de língua escrita e um representativo de língua falada, compostos por informantes de idades e níveis de escolaridade equivalentes, coletados na região de São José do Rio Preto. O trabalho procura examinar se as modalidades escrita e falada apontam para comportamentos diversos em relação à marcação de pluralidade e se os fatores linguísticos e sociais que a condicionam são distintos para cada uma delas. A análise geral dos resultados mostra que os fatores extralinguísticos “modalidade”, “gênero” e “idade” são selecionados para as duas perspectivas – atomística e não-atomística e para ambas as modalidades – fala e escrita. Já o fator linguístico “posição linear e classe gramatical” é relevante, na perspectiva atomística, para ambas as modalidades... / Weak syllable at the end of word is the most susceptible position to consonantal segment loss in Brazilian Portuguese. This loss affects monomorphemic and bimorphemic words. In the case of the last ones, this loss causes the non-agreement among the noun phrase constituents, opposing normative grammar rule. Although phonetic factors of articulatory nature contribute to the loss of explicit marks, this loss is certainly subject to other linguistic and extralinguistic factors (social and situational factors). About this, it was documented (SCHERRE, 1888; SCHERRE e NARO 1993, 1998), mainly to the orality, that plurality marking in noun phrase represents a variable rule in different dialects of the national territory. Start from this variability, this research employs a variationist and quantitative method to analyse noun phrase data taken from two corpora collected in the area of São José do Rio Preto. The sample of these corpora employed comprehends informants with the same age and education level. This work aims to investigate if the writing and oral modalities point to different behaviors in relation to plurality marking, and if linguistic and social factors that regulate the variation are diverse for each one of the modalities. The general analysis shows that extra-linguistic factors “modality”, “gender” and “age” are selected to both atomic and nonatomic perspectives and to both modalities. The linguistic factor “linear position and grammatical class” is relevant in atomic perspective for the two modalities. The writting also selected “education level” and “noun and adjective formality”, and the talk selected “syllable number of singular lexical item” and “analysed constituent precedent marks”. In nonatomic perspective, “plurality context” was selected to the two modalities; “syntagmatic cohesion” and “education level” were... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Submitted by Rosina Valeria Lanzellotti Mattiussi Teixeira (rosina.teixeira@unisantos.br) on 2015-12-14T16:00:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 F¿bio Barbosa da Silva.pdf: 499214 bytes, checksum: 31002052c9d4e594cbb4a757888679bf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-14T16:00:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 F¿bio Barbosa da Silva.pdf: 499214 bytes, checksum: 31002052c9d4e594cbb4a757888679bf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-28 / This paper starts from the examination of the national reform of the curriculum of economics in 1984 that brought significant changes in the way in which economics was taught in the country. Teaching has become plural from the point of view of presenting the various theoretical paradigms of the Economic Science. It also emphasized understanding the Brazilian social reality and dialogue with the other disciplines of the humanities. This new curriculum was implemented in the economics course at the Catholic University of Santos, also in 1984, with the necessary adaptations but with the very essence of major proposal. This paper follows the curricular reforms in the economics course at the Catholic University of Santos between 1984 and 2011 and verifies if they've kept the plural, humanist character of the course and the concern in understanding the social issues of the Brazilian reality. The conclusions indicate that the economics course has kept the features of the reform of 1984, but with change in its trend, apparently to a path of training the students for the professional market but in a insecure way and without clarity, standing apart from the academic community who thinks the future of economics teaching in Brazil and worldwide. / Este estudo parte do exame da reforma nacional da matriz curricular do curso de Economia de 1984 que significou uma mudança no modo de ensinar economia no país. O ensino tornou-se plural do ponto de vista de apresentar os diversos paradigmas teóricos da Ciência Econômica. Também passou a enfatizar a necessidade de entender a realidade social brasileira e o diálogo com outras Ciências Humanas. Esse novo currículo foi implantado no curso de economia da Universidade Católica de Santos, também em 1984, com as necessárias adaptações mas com a essência da proposta maior. Este estudo acompanhou as reformas curriculares do curso de economia da Universidade Católica de Santos ocorridas entre 1984 e 2011 e constatou que, durante este período, ele continuou plural do ponto de vista teórico, de caráter humanista e preocupado em entender a realidade brasileira. A conclusão indica que o curso de economia da Universidade Católica mantém princípios da reforma de 1984, mas com mudanças em curso aparentemente voltadas para a formação dos alunos para o mercado de trabalho mas de forma insegura e sem clareza, estando distanciado da comunidade acadêmica que pensa o futuro do ensino da economia no Brasil e no mundo.

Pregnancy, a human phenomenon experienced throughout the world and throughout history, has been largely ignored by the philosophical community. A preference for the abnormal and the extraordinary has left this common yet challenging process on the sidelines of philosophical discussion. Pregnancy stands as a significant challenge to many of our intuitions about the self, particularly those concerning the boundaries, plurality and diachronic identity of the self. Because of this, pregnancy necessitates a theory of the self which does not merely uphold our usual assumptions about the self. Daniel Dennett presents a theory of the self which meets this criterion. He argues that the self is a centre of narrative gravity: an abstract, theoretical entity which is useful for the explanation and prediction of an individual’s behaviour. Dennett’s theory, though provocative, lacks a basis in typical human experience. He relies primarily on thought experiments and extraordinary conditions to support his theory. To demonstrate the applicability and generality of this theory, it must be tested against a common, natural human occurrence like pregnancy. In this paper we explore the application of Daniel Dennett’s theory of the narrative self to the experience of pregnancy. This application yields a double result. Dennett’s theory is bolstered by a demonstration of its generality and applicability, and the experience of pregnancy is placed into a context in which it can be validated and understood.

Pregnancy, a human phenomenon experienced throughout the world and throughout history, has been largely ignored by the philosophical community. A preference for the abnormal and the extraordinary has left this common yet challenging process on the sidelines of philosophical discussion. Pregnancy stands as a significant challenge to many of our intuitions about the self, particularly those concerning the boundaries, plurality and diachronic identity of the self. Because of this, pregnancy necessitates a theory of the self which does not merely uphold our usual assumptions about the self. Daniel Dennett presents a theory of the self which meets this criterion. He argues that the self is a centre of narrative gravity: an abstract, theoretical entity which is useful for the explanation and prediction of an individual’s behaviour. Dennett’s theory, though provocative, lacks a basis in typical human experience. He relies primarily on thought experiments and extraordinary conditions to support his theory. To demonstrate the applicability and generality of this theory, it must be tested against a common, natural human occurrence like pregnancy. In this paper we explore the application of Daniel Dennett’s theory of the narrative self to the experience of pregnancy. This application yields a double result. Dennett’s theory is bolstered by a demonstration of its generality and applicability, and the experience of pregnancy is placed into a context in which it can be validated and understood.

This dissertation explores, within the general framework of Distributed Morphology, the licensing conditions of empty nouns in Persian, a Western Iranian language, and the issues that arise within this context for the distribution of plural marking and the insertion of the Ezafe vowel. With respect to the licensing of the empty noun, the proposal made in this thesis is along the lines of those that link ellipsis to information structure (e.g. Rooth 1992a, 1992b; Gengel 2007, among others). It is suggested that the Empty Noun Construction (ENC) is derived through the interaction between the following two information-structural features: (i) the E(llipsis)-feature, which ensures that the head noun is identical with its counterpart in the antecedent and specifies the head noun for non-pronunciation; (ii) the F(ocus)-feature, which specifies the remnant modifier as an element which is in some kind of contrastive relationship with its corresponding element in the antecedent. The interaction between these two features is implemented in the syntax in a phase-based derivation. Plural marking and Ezafe insertion in the ENC are accounted for within an articulated derivational model of PF (Embick & Noyer 2001; Embick 2003 et seq.; Pak 2008). It is proposed that the displacement of the plural marker in the ENC is motivated by the non-pronunciation of the head noun and is handled early in the PF derivation by Local Dislocation operation. Adopting Pak's (2008) model of syntax-phonology interface, the rule responsible for the insertion of the Ezafe linker -e is argued to be a phonological rule that applies at the Late-Linearization stage to connect [+N] heads to their following modifiers/complements.

This dissertation explores, within the general framework of Distributed Morphology, the licensing conditions of empty nouns in Persian, a Western Iranian language, and the issues that arise within this context for the distribution of plural marking and the insertion of the Ezafe vowel. With respect to the licensing of the empty noun, the proposal made in this thesis is along the lines of those that link ellipsis to information structure (e.g. Rooth 1992a, 1992b; Gengel 2007, among others). It is suggested that the Empty Noun Construction (ENC) is derived through the interaction between the following two information-structural features: (i) the E(llipsis)-feature, which ensures that the head noun is identical with its counterpart in the antecedent and specifies the head noun for non-pronunciation; (ii) the F(ocus)-feature, which specifies the remnant modifier as an element which is in some kind of contrastive relationship with its corresponding element in the antecedent. The interaction between these two features is implemented in the syntax in a phase-based derivation. Plural marking and Ezafe insertion in the ENC are accounted for within an articulated derivational model of PF (Embick & Noyer 2001; Embick 2003 et seq.; Pak 2008). It is proposed that the displacement of the plural marker in the ENC is motivated by the non-pronunciation of the head noun and is handled early in the PF derivation by Local Dislocation operation. Adopting Pak's (2008) model of syntax-phonology interface, the rule responsible for the insertion of the Ezafe linker -e is argued to be a phonological rule that applies at the Late-Linearization stage to connect [+N] heads to their following modifiers/complements.