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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
281

Os sabores do nome: um estudo sobre a seleção de argumentos e as nominalizações do hebraico / The flavors of the noun: a study of Hebrew argument selection and nominalizations

Minussi, Rafael Dias 22 August 2012 (has links)
O objetivo maior deste trabalho é argumentar em favor de que a informação sobre a estrutura argumental das nominalizações está codificada em núcleos funcionais, os quais podem possuir sabores diferentes, isto é, propriedades diversas como causatividade, eventividade, reflexividade etc., em vez de tal informação estar codificada nas raízes abstratas como assumem autores como: Marantz (1997), Embick (2004), Harley (2008), entre outros. O objetivo específico deste trabalho, por sua vez, é analisar como é formado um grupo de padrões do hebraico, o qual forma nomes de ações (cf. GLINERT, 1989), e mostrar que nem todas as nominalizações são formadas por uma camada verbal, contra Hazout (1995) e Shlonsky (2004). Utilizamos como arcabouço teórico do presente trabalho a Morfologia Distribuída (cf. HALLE; MARANTZ, 1993; MARANTZ, 1997; SIDDIQI, 2009), uma teoria não-lexicalista, a qual propõe que tanto palavras, quanto sentenças são formadas pelas mesmas operações durante a derivação sintática. De modo especial, utilizamos a noção de fase dentro de palavras (cf. MARANTZ, 2001 e ARAD, 2003), para explicar que alguns nominais possuem padrões vocálicos que não são atômicos (contra ARAD, 2005), mas são formados em duas fases: uma fase verbal e outra nominal, enquanto outros nominais são formados em apenas uma fase: a nominal. Em nossa análise, privilegiamos quatro padrões vocálicos formadores de nominais de ação: CCiCa, CiCuC, haCCaCa, hitCCaCut, de modo que encontramos restrições diferentes para cada um dos padrões. Tais restrições dizem respeito a: (i) modificação por adjetivos e advérbios; (ii) possibilidade de alçamento dentro de DPs; (iii) obrigatoriedade de interpretação de um argumento agente e (iv) obrigatoriedade de interpretação reflexiva. Além disso, analisamos os possíveis contextos sintáticos em que são encontrados esse nominais, isto é, analisamos quais são as possibilidades de interação desses nominais com o Construct State, o Free State, a Marca Diferencial de Objeto et e com a presença de uma by phrase. Como resultado da análise, defendemos que o padrão CCiCa seja um padrão formado por apenas uma fase nominal, o que explica a sua impossibilidade de modificação por advérbios genuínos, isto é, advérbios que possuem uma morfologia típica de advérbio. Por sua vez, o padrão CiCuC é formado por duas fases: uma fase verbal, que aceita a modificação por advérbios genuínos; e uma fase nominal, que permite a modificação por adjetivos. Já o padrão haCCaCa foi analisado como formado por apenas uma fase nominal, tanto por causa da sua morfologia, que não apresenta resquícios de uma morfologia verbal, quanto pela sua semântica obrigatoriamente agentiva, que o diferencia do padrão verbal ao qual ele está relacionado. Por fim, consideramos que o padrão hitCCaCut é formado por duas fases, o que está de acordo com a presença de uma morfologia verbal que compõe o padrão e com o tipo de argumento interno que é licenciado. / The main goal of this work is to argue that information over argument structure of nominalizations is coded in functional heads, which can have distinct flavors, that is, distinct properties, such as causativity, eventivity, reflexivity, etc., instead of that information being coded in the abstract roots, as assumed by Marantz (1997), Embick (2004), Harley (2008), among others. The specific object of this work, on the other hand, is to analyze how a certain group of patterns that generates action nouns in Hebrew is formed, and to show that not all nominalizations are formed by a verbal layer, contra Hazout (1995) and Shlonsky (2004). We use, in this work, the theoretical framework of Distributed Morphology (cf. HALLE; MARANTZ, 1993; MARANTZ, 1997; SIDDIQI, 2009), a non-lexicalist theory which claims that both words and sentences are formed by the same operations, within the syntactic derivation. In a special way, we use the notion of phases within words (cf. MARANTZ, 2001 e ARAD, 2003) in order to explain that some nouns possess vocal patterns that are not atomic (contra ARAD, 2005), but are formed in two separate phases: a verbal one, and a nominal one, while other nouns are formed only by the nominal phase. In our analysis, we privilege four noun formation vocal patterns: CCiCa, CiCuC, haCCaCa, hitCCaCut, each one of them bearing a distinct set of restrictions. Such restrictions concern: (i) modification by adjectives and adverbs; (ii) possibility of raising within DPs; (iii) mandatory interpretation of an agentive argument and (iv) mandatory reflexive interpretation. Furthermore, we analyzed the possible syntactic contexts in which these nouns are found, that is, we analyzed which are the possibilities of interaction between these nouns and the Construct State, the Free State, the Differential Object Marker et a the presence of a by phrase. As a result of the analysis, we defend that the pattern CCiCa is formed by only a nominal phase, which explains its impossibility of being modified by genuine adverbs, that is, adverbs that possess adverbial morphology. On the other hand, the pattern CiCuC is formed by two phases: a verbal phase, which accounts for the modification by genuine adverbs; and a nominal phase, which allows for the modification by adjectives. The pattern haCCaCa, in its turn, was analyzes as formed by a nominal phase alone, both because its morphology, which does not present traces of verbal morphology, as for its obligatory agentive semantics, which differentiates it from the verbal pattern to which it is related to. Last, we considered that the pattern hitCCaCut is formed by two phases, which is compatible to the presence of verbal morphology, that composes the pattern, and to the type of argument that is licensed by it.
282

Indicadores de alfabetização científica, argumentos e explicações - Análise de relatórios no contexto de uma sequência de ensino investigativo / Indicators of Scientific Literacy, Arguments and Explanations - Analysis of Reports in the Context of an Inquiry-based science teaching.

Corso, Thiago Marinho Del 12 December 2014 (has links)
Deveria ser esperado que a população fosse ciente de como a ciência, e principalmente, seus conhecimentos e aplicações, chegam até ela e, para isso, tivesse esclarecimento e discernimento suficientes para perceber, entender e julgar as novidades científico-tecnológicas a que tem acesso no que poderíamos chamar de Alfabetização Científica (AC). Sasseron (2008) define a AC como um processo de inserção dos indivíduos dentro da cultura científica. Sasseron e Carvalho (2008), a partir de eixos estruturantes da AC, propõem indicadores que servem como parâmetros que permitam identificar que a AC está em processo. Osborne e Patterson publicam, em 2011, um polêmico trabalho com o intuito de distinguir Argumentos de Explicações, alegando que a falta de distinção entre estes dois conceitos representa uma fraqueza no campo de pesquisa em ensino de Ciências. Tomando a AC como norte para o ensino de ciência, Argumentos e Explicações se valorizam, já que pertencem às práticas da ciência e podem ser um meio de atingir metas cognitivas, epistêmicas e sociais da aprendizagem em Ciências. Os objetivos deste trabalho: a) a partir de apoios da literatura, desenvolver recursos metodológicos para caracterizar e diferenciar argumentos e explicações; b) identificar e analisar argumentos e explicações presentes nas produções escritas de alunos; c) identificar e analisar indicadores de AC presentes nas produções escritas dos alunos. Nossa análise se deu sobre uma das atividades realizadas dentro do contexto de uma sequência de ensino investigativo (SEI), a qual aborda a temática \"Dinâmica Populacional\", aplicada em duas turmas do 1° ano do Ensino Médio da Escola de Aplicação da Faculdade de Educação da Universidade de São Paulo (EAFEUSP) em 2012 e 2013. Os alunos realizaram um experimento sobre a capacidade suporte de um ambiente para a população de Lemna sp (uma planta aquática de pequeno porte que apresenta alta taxa de reprodução por brotamento). Após a realização desse experimento, os alunos produziram relatórios coletivamente com conclusões individuais. Analisamos cada trecho (o qual poderia se constituir de um parágrafo, tabela, gráfico ou figura) de um conjunto de 29 relatórios em busca dos indicadores da AC e de Explicações e Argumentos. Foram encontrados 571 indicadores de AC nos relatórios e 367 nas conclusões individuais, e isso nos permite considerar que a AC está em processo. Também podemos considerar que os alunos envolveram-se com as investigações e as discussões propostas. A proposição de uma metodologia de desambiguação é tanto metodologia como resultado, e a aplicação desta nos permitiu identificar 35 Explicações e 22 Argumentos nos relatórios e respectivamente 21 e 40 nas 52 conclusões individuais que foram produzidas apenas no ano de 2013. No tocante aos objetivos desta pesquisa, acreditamos tê-los respondido na medida em que desenvolvemos uma metodologia que nos permitiu distinguir Argumentos e Explicações em produções escritas de alunos e identificamos os indicadores de Alfabetização Científica presentes nessas produções. Essa última tarefa culminou na proposição de dois novos indicadores em acréscimo aos que usamos como referência (SASSERON 2008; SASSERON e CARVALHO 2008): um deles é o próprio Argumento, e outro, a Listagem de materiais. / Should be expected that the population is aware of how science, especially their knowledge and reach, comes to her and, therefore, had sufficient enlightenment and discernment to perceive, understand and judge the scientific and technological innovations that give access to what may be called the Scientific Literacy (SL). Sasseron (2008) defines the SL as a process of integration of individuals within the scientific culture. Sasseron and Carvalho (2008) from the structural axis of SL propose indicators that serve as parameters that identify that the SL is in process. Osborne and Patterson published a controversial study in 2011 in order to distinguish Arguments from Explanations, claiming that the lack of distinction between these concepts is a weakness in the field of research in science teaching. Taking the SL as north to the teaching of science, Arguments and Explanations are valued, since they belong to the practices of science and can be a way to achieve cognitive, epistemic and social goals of learning in science. The aims of this work: a) supported from the literature, develop methodological tools to characterize and differentiate Arguments and Explanations; b) identify and analyze Arguments and Explanations present in the written production of students; c) identify and analyze indicators of SL present in the students\' written productions. Our analysis was based on one of the activities carried out within the context of a sequence of investigative teaching (SEI), which deals with the \"Population Dynamics\" theme, applied to two classes of the 1st year of high school at the Escola de Aplicação from the Faculdade de Educação from University of São Paulo (EAFEUSP) in 2012 e 2013. Students conducted an experiment on the carrying capacity of an environment for the population of Lemna sp (an aquatic plant that features small high rate of reproduction by budding). After performing this experiment, students collectively produced reports with individual conclusions. We analyzed each passage (which could be a paragraph, table, graph or diagram) of a set of 29 reports in search of indicators of the AC, the explanations and arguments. We found 571 indicators of SL in the reports and the 367 in the individual conclusions, and this allows us to consider that the SL is in progress. We can also consider that the students were involved with the investigation and the proposed discussions. The proposition of a methodology for the disambiguation is both method and result. Applying this methodology allowed us to identify 35 Explanations and 22 Arguments in the reports. We found respectively 21 and 40 in 52 individual conclusions that were produced in 2013 only. Concerning the aims of this study, we believe having them answered, as we developed a methodology that allowed us to distinguish Arguments and Explanations in written production of students, and identify indicators of Scientific Literacy on those productions. This last task culminated in the proposal of two new indicators in addition to those we used as reference (SASSERON 2008; SASSERON e CARVALHO 2008): one is the Argument itself, and another, the Listing of Materials.
283

The impact of argument-based learning environments on early learners multimodal representations

Neal, Ted A. 01 May 2017 (has links)
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an immersive argument based learning environment on students’ multimodal competencies. The objective was to study the impact on students learning as they engage in an ABI classroom, centered on the SWH approach, when compared to students in traditional classrooms. Summary writing samples were collected and coded for informational text features which allowed us to understand cohesion with the learners. Additionally, we were able to study these impacts longitudinally, measuring teacher experience and student exposure to this learning environment. Studies of this nature have been done but only with upper grades, never had it been done with early learners, kindergarten through second grade. These summary writing samples were collected and analyzed in two different groups, the first containing 601 samples and the second 760 samples. A factor analysis was performed to examine the internal structure of the features, resulting in the creation of 3 factors: illustrations, text signals and organizers, and graphics. This allowed us to measure acceleration of the learners multimodal skills and the cohesion related to experience, both of classroom and teacher experience. The results of this study have shown that we are able to significantly impact students rate of usage of informational text features by altering the learning environment. We are able to demonstrate significant rates of growth in usage of higher order skills and cohesion amongst science concepts. This is important as we look to find ways to close achievement gaps, increase interest in science, and help students become more effective learners. The results show great promise for immersive ABI as a means to engage young learners in rigorous, valuable learning experiences.
284

Examining the integration of talk and writing for student knowledge construction through argumentation

Chen, Ying-Chih 01 July 2011 (has links)
The purpose of this study was to examine students' understanding of argumentation when talk and writing were provided as learning tools, as well as to explore how talk and writing can best support students' construction of scientific knowledge. Most current studies have examined discourse patterns over a short interval of only a few class periods or compared only the students' initial and final products to assess the quality of their argument structure. Few studies have examined how students develop their understanding of argumentation over time and how their understanding might result in overcoming those challenges. Moreover, talk and writing have been offered as two critical learning tools to support students' argumentative practice. So far, few studies have explored how those two learning tools could be combined to better support students in constructing scientific knowledge. The research questions that guided this study were: (1) How do students develop an understanding of the components of argumentation for public negotiations over time when participating in an argument-based inquiry classroom? (2) In what ways do talk and writing support scientific knowledge construction in an argument-based inquiry classroom? This sixteen-week study was grounded in interactive constructivism and utilized qualitative design to identify students' understanding of argumentation, trace their learning trajectories, examine potential use of the combination of talk and writing, and analyze the cognitive processes involved when talk and writing were used as learning tools. Due to the lack of studies that focus on the elementary level, this study was conducted in a fifth-grade classroom that used the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach with 22 students participating. Six students were selected for interviewing intensively. Multiple sources of data were collected, including classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, students' writing samples, and the researcher's field notes. To strengthen the interpretations, data analysis was conducted using three different approaches: (1) the constant comparative method, (2) the enumerative approach, and (3) in-depth analysis of knowledge construction trajectory (KCT) episodes. The results showed that as fifth-grade students had more opportunities to practice, they could develop a more sophisticated understanding of argumentation, use talk and writing as learning tools to negotiate their ideas with peers, engage in more complex cognitive processes, and take ownership for their learning in science. Three major findings are discussed: (1) increased understanding of argumentative components in public negotiations, (2) increased ability to craft written arguments, and (3) five patterns in the use of talk and writing for knowledge construction and cognitive processes. The findings have informed theories about argumentative practice, the use of language as a learning tool, and science learning from six aspects: (1) understanding of argumentation, (2) ability to craft written arguments, (3) use of talk and writing, (4) cognitive processes, (5) meaning of negotiation, and (6) methodology consideration. This study provides insights into the design of an argument-based environment in which students can develop successful argumentative practices. A long-term professional development program in the support of teachers implementing argument-based inquiry is suggested.
285

Creating art or vexing nature? : ethics and the manipulation of nature, a critical study of arguments from Nature

Kirkham, Georgina Katharine January 2008 (has links)
This dissertation comprises a series of five separate papers, arranged as chapters, linked thematically and also in their conclusions. The thematic connection between the chapters is that, in each, I investigate some aspect, either historical or contemporary, of how moral limits have been, or might be, applied to the human manipulation of nature through technology. More specifically, I explore how the concept of naturalness has been, and still is, employed in ethical arguments that seek to place limits upon or defend the use of various technologies. In each chapter, I argue that arguments which appeal to nature or naturalness as a normative concept make proper sense only when understood from the perspective of virtue ethics. The conclusions of each chapter are connected, and connected to the conclusions of the dissertation as a whole: firstly, that what I call 'arguments from nature', as they are used in debates about the moral limitations on the use of technology, are defensible only from within a virtue ethics framework; secondly, that such arguments have an important, although limited, role in such debates; and, finally, that virtue ethics more broadly can inform debates about the ethics of technology and the environment. In the first two chapters, by comparing contemporary debates over the ethics of technological manipulation of nature with historical debates over the proper relationship between art and nature, I demonstrate that virtue ethics have played, and still do play, a significant role in our ethical understanding of our relationship with the non-human world. I argue that the ethical issues that arise from our relationship with the non-human world, in response to advances in technology and to problems with the environment, indicate the need for an understanding of ethics that goes further than the mere consideration of rights and utility. In chapters three and four, I argue that virtue ethical theory provides the most promising understanding of the argument from nature as it is applied in attempts to place limits on the human manipulation of nature. In the final chapter, I explore what a modern environmental or technological virtue or vice might be. I explain and defend the environmental and technological virtue of 'living in place' and, in doing so, bring together and validate the claims made in previous chapters that the appeal to human nature does have a role as a normative guide for our ethical evaluations of how we should live and, more generally, that virtue ethical theory can be of guiding and foundational significance in an overarching ethics of the environment and technology.
286

”Vad skulle x kunna vara?” : andragradsekvation och andragradsfunktion som objekt för lärande

Olteanu, Constanta January 2007 (has links)
<p>Algebraic equations and functions play an important role in various mathematical topics, including algebra, trigonometry, linear programming and calculus. Accordingly, various documents, such as the most recent Swedish curriculum (Lpf 94) for upper secondary school and the course syllabi in mathematics, specify what the students should learn in Mathematics Course B. They should be able to solve quadratic equations and apply this knowledge in solving problems, explain the properties of a function, as well as be able to set up, interpret and use some nonlinear functions as models for real processes. To implement these recommendations, it is crucial to understand the students’ way of experiencing quadratic equations and functions, and describe the meaning these have for the students in relation to the possibility they have to their experience of them.</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to analyse, understand and explain the relation between the handled and learned content, which consists of second-degree equations and quadratic functions, in classroom practice. This means that content is the research object and not the teacher’s conceptions or knowledge of, or about this content. This restriction implies that the handled and learned contents are central in this study and will be analysed from different perspectives.</p><p>The study includes two teachers and 45 students in two different classes. The data consist of video-recordings of lessons, individual sessions, interviews and the teachers’/researcher’s review of the individual sessions. The students’ tests also constituted an important part of the data collection.</p><p>When analysing the data, concepts relating to variation theory have been used as analytical tools. Data have been analysed in respect of the teachers’ focus on the lesson content, which aspects are ignored and which patterns of dimensions of variations are constituted when the contents are handled by the teachers in the classroom. Also, data have been analysed in respect of the students’ focus when they solve different exercises in a test situation. It can be shown that the meaning of parameters, the unknown quantity in an equation and the function’s argument change several times when the teacher presents the content in the classroom and when the students solve different exercises. It can also be shown that the teachers and the students develop complicated patterns of variation during the lessons and that the ways in which the teachers open up dimensions of variation play an important role in the learning process. The results indicate that there is a convergent variation leading the students to improve their learning. By focusing on some aspects of the objects of learning and create convergent variations, it is possible for the students to understand the difference between various interpretations of these aspects and thereafter focus on the interpretation that fits in a certain context. Furthermore, this variation leads the students to make generalisations in each object of learning (equations and functions) and between these objects of learning. These generalisations remain over time, despite working with new objects of learning. An important result in this study is that the implicit or explicit arguments of a function can make it possible to discern an equation from a function despite the fact that they are constituted by the same algebraic expression.</p>
287

”Vad skulle x kunna vara?” : andragradsekvation och andragradsfunktion som objekt för lärande

Olteanu, Constanta January 2007 (has links)
Algebraic equations and functions play an important role in various mathematical topics, including algebra, trigonometry, linear programming and calculus. Accordingly, various documents, such as the most recent Swedish curriculum (Lpf 94) for upper secondary school and the course syllabi in mathematics, specify what the students should learn in Mathematics Course B. They should be able to solve quadratic equations and apply this knowledge in solving problems, explain the properties of a function, as well as be able to set up, interpret and use some nonlinear functions as models for real processes. To implement these recommendations, it is crucial to understand the students’ way of experiencing quadratic equations and functions, and describe the meaning these have for the students in relation to the possibility they have to their experience of them. The aim of this thesis is to analyse, understand and explain the relation between the handled and learned content, which consists of second-degree equations and quadratic functions, in classroom practice. This means that content is the research object and not the teacher’s conceptions or knowledge of, or about this content. This restriction implies that the handled and learned contents are central in this study and will be analysed from different perspectives. The study includes two teachers and 45 students in two different classes. The data consist of video-recordings of lessons, individual sessions, interviews and the teachers’/researcher’s review of the individual sessions. The students’ tests also constituted an important part of the data collection. When analysing the data, concepts relating to variation theory have been used as analytical tools. Data have been analysed in respect of the teachers’ focus on the lesson content, which aspects are ignored and which patterns of dimensions of variations are constituted when the contents are handled by the teachers in the classroom. Also, data have been analysed in respect of the students’ focus when they solve different exercises in a test situation. It can be shown that the meaning of parameters, the unknown quantity in an equation and the function’s argument change several times when the teacher presents the content in the classroom and when the students solve different exercises. It can also be shown that the teachers and the students develop complicated patterns of variation during the lessons and that the ways in which the teachers open up dimensions of variation play an important role in the learning process. The results indicate that there is a convergent variation leading the students to improve their learning. By focusing on some aspects of the objects of learning and create convergent variations, it is possible for the students to understand the difference between various interpretations of these aspects and thereafter focus on the interpretation that fits in a certain context. Furthermore, this variation leads the students to make generalisations in each object of learning (equations and functions) and between these objects of learning. These generalisations remain over time, despite working with new objects of learning. An important result in this study is that the implicit or explicit arguments of a function can make it possible to discern an equation from a function despite the fact that they are constituted by the same algebraic expression.
288

Ideologiska mål och utrikesdebatt : Svenska riksdagspartiers argumentation i Vietnam- och Irakfrågan

Norberg, Joakim January 2008 (has links)
It is rather often assumed that Swedish foreign policy debate is largely characterized by consensus and that foreign policy goals often are material (for example security or economic welfare). Despite this, it is possible to identify disagreement among political parties about ideological goals – i.e. the promotion of values – in Swedish foreign policy debates. This raises questions about the nature and importance of these ideological goals in such debates. To study this closer I investigate foreign policy debates about the military conflicts in Vietnam and Iraq. The purpose of the dissertation is to describe and explain the content and relative importance of the ideological goals expressed by Swedish parliamentary parties in both party and public arenas. Four parties are included in the study: the Left, the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Conservatives. The theoretical framework is made up of two main parts. First, I develop a classification scheme to identify and sort the goals found in the empirical material. This scheme includes four goal types: ideological, security, economic, and other. Second, insights from literatures on foreign policy and the behaviour of political parties are used to analyze the content and importance of ideological goals. The research design used in the dissertation is comparative case studies. The empirical material is composed of documents from the internal party arena (meeting minutes, congress material, etc), the parliamentary arena (debate material) and the official arena (press material). The material has been analyzed mainly qualitatively with the help of ideational and argument analysis. In order to estimate the relative importance of ideological goals quantitative content analysis has also been used. As regards the content of ideological goals during debates about Vietnam, the empirical results show all parties discussed the promotion of humanity, democracy and states’ rights to national independence. In the Iraq conflict, all parties expressed goals about humanity, human rights, internal security/safety, democracy and states’ rights to national independence. Beyond these goals, individual or a few parties also expressed other ideological goals. However, a central result is that the parties have linked the ideological goals – which they often agree about – to different ways of reasoning. The empirical analysis also revealed that ideological goals have generally been more important than other types of goals (with the exception of the Conservative Party in the debate about Vietnam). Regarding developments over time, the importance of ideological goals was unchanged for the Social Democrats and the Liberal Party. For the Left there was a slight decrease, and for the Conservatives a significant increase. The overall conclusion about what explains the content and importance of ideological goals in the foreign policy debates studied here is that explanations at the systemic level are inadequate. Variables like the international political structure (polarity) and institutional mechanisms in the EU and the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy had little explanatory power. Instead, explanations like type of foreign policy issue, party ideology and party strategy were more useful. Differences in parties’ fundamental ideological views were also discussed as an important source of difference as regards the positions and arguments that expressed ideological goals.
289

Thick Concepts in Practice : Normative Aspects of Risk and Safety

Möller, Niklas January 2009 (has links)
The thesis aims at analyzing the concepts of risk and safety as well as the class of concepts to which they belong, thick concepts, focusing in particular on the normative aspects involved. Essay I analyzes thick concepts, i.e. concepts such as cruelty and kindness that seem to combine descriptive and evaluative features. The traditional account, in which thick concepts are analyzed as the conjunction of a factual description and an evaluation, is criticized. Instead, it is argued that the descriptive and evaluative aspects must be understood as a whole. Furthermore, it is argued that the two main worries evoked against non-naturalism – that non-naturalism cannot account for disagreement and that it is not genuinely explanatory – can be met. Essay II investigates the utilization of the Kripke/Putnam causal theory of reference in relation to the Open Question Argument. It is argued that the Open Question Argument suitably interpreted provides prima facie evidence against the claim that moral kinds are natural kinds, and that the causal theory, as interpreted by leading naturalist defenders, actually underscores this conclusion. Essay III utilizes the interpretation of the Open Question Argument argued for in the previous essay in order to argue against naturalistic reduction of risk, i.e. reduction of risk into natural concepts such as probability and harm. Three different normative aspects of risk and safety are put forward – epistemic uncertainty, distributive normativity and border normativity – and it is argued that these normative aspects cannot be reduced to a natural measure. Essay IV provides a conceptual analysis of safety in the context of societal decision-making, and argues for a notion that explicitly includes epistemic uncertainty, the degree to which we are uncertain of our knowledge of the situation at hand. Some formal versions of a comparative safety concept are also proposed. Essay V puts forward a normative critique against a common argument, viz. the claim that the public should follow the experts’ advice in recommending an activity whenever the experts have the best knowledge of the risk involved. The importance of safety in risk acceptance together with considerations from epistemic uncertainty makes the claim incorrect even after including plausible limitations to exclude ‘external’ considerations. Furthermore, it is shown that the scope of the objection covers risk assessment as well as risk management. Essay VI provides a systematized account of safety engineering practices that clarifies their relation to the goal of safety engineering, namely to increase safety. A list of 24 principles referred to in the literature of safety engineering is provided, divided into four major categories. It is argued that important aspects of these methods can be better understood with the help of the distinction between risk and uncertainty, in addition to the common distinction between risk and probability. / QC 20100803
290

La modélisation des marqueurs d'arguments de l'arabe standard dans le cadre des grammaires à base de contraintes

Jebali, Adel January 2009 (has links) (PDF)
Les marqueurs d'arguments de l'arabe standard possèdent plusieurs propriétés qui nous permettent de les traiter comme des pronoms. Malgré cette étiquette qui explique les similarités tant distributionnelles que morphologiques entre ces unités, les marqueurs de sujet se distinguent nettement des marqueurs d'objet sur plusieurs plans. Ces différences, qui se reflètent dans les différents niveaux d'analyse, sont reliées aux différences dans le statut morphologique. En fait, si les marqueurs de sujet sont des affixes, les marqueurs d'objet sont des clitiques. Sur un plan purement morphosyntaxique, par contre, les deux sortes d'unités peuvent être des arguments de la tête qui est leur hôte phonologique, mais peuvent également être des non-arguments. Les marqueurs de sujet, plus précisément ceux de la troisième personne du singulier, jouent le rôle de marqueurs d'accord dans certains contextes. Les marqueurs d'objet de troisième personne du singulier peuvent, pour leur part, jouer le rôle d'explétifs ou de thèmes lorsqu'ils sont attachés à certaines têtes fonctionnelles. L'analyse de ces unités dans le cadre de la grammaire syntagmatique endocentrique I-IPSG nous a permis de consolider cette théorie basée sur les contraintes en démontrant que son application sur une langue sémitique ne nécessite pas l'adoption de solutions ad hoc et n'exige pas de modifications notables au formalisme et à la théorie. Cela prouve la flexibilité des grammaires à base de contraintes et leur puissance formelle, qui en font des théories linguistiques capables d'exprimer des analyses linguistiques provenant de plusieurs familles de langues. Nous avons implémenté cette analyse linguistique dans une grammaire LKB pour en tester la validité et nous avons ainsi pu démonter que l'analyse lexicaliste basée sur les structures de traits typées et la hiérarchie de types à héritage multiple sont non seulement possibles mais également souhaitables. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Marqueurs d'arguments, Arabe, Clitiques, Affixes, HPSG, LKB.

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