Over the past several years, much research has investigated the role of pre-task planning, including solitary, group, and teacher-led planning, on the variables of complexity, fluency, and accuracy in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research. (Foster & Skehan, 1996; Gaillard, 2013; Geng & Ferguson, 2013). Additionally, other studies have investigated L2 learners' use of paragraphs and/or the role of conjunctions, i.e. transition words and expressions, in developing ideas and increasing cohesion (Mendelson, 2012; Rass, 2015). A gap remains, however, in seeing how pre-speaking and transition word activities together can promote proficiency in terms of text type, i.e. the move from word level speech and producing strings of sentences to paragraph level discourse. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining two teaching methods, namely Prelude to Conversation, or pre-speaking (Thompson, 2009), and transition word activities, to investigate the effect that these teaching methods have on increasing complexity and fluency among Intermediate-level learners of French. Complexity was measured by investigating the sub-components of total transition words, taught transition words, total clauses, words per clause, and total words. Fluency was measured by investigating the sub-components of time duration (total minutes) and words per minute. Furthermore, a case study illustrates the implications of increases in complexity and fluency for text type. Subjects were recruited from third semester French courses at Brigham Young University and were subsequently divided into three groups with each group receiving a different teaching method: Group 1 received transition word pre-activities, Group 2 received pre-speaking with a focus on content and forms needed to respond to the task, and Group 3 received a combination of both teaching methods. The study lasted four weeks with a Pre-Test in week one, followed by two weeks of treatments before completing the Post-Test in the fourth week. During the second and third weeks, each group received their respective treatments before responding to prompts that were identical for each group. Following the data collection, the speech samples were transcribed and analyzed for the sub-components of complexity and fluency. Results show, when comparing the Pre-Test to the Post-Test, that pre-speaking has a broader impact on complexity and fluency, either alone or when combined with transition word activities, impacting in particular total clauses, total words and response duration. When transition word activities were taught alone, there were greater gains in the use of taught transition words. The findings also demonstrate that even simply practicing providing oral responses regardless of treatment did help learners make overall increases that led to Post-Test responses (without scaffolding) that did not return to Pre-Test levels.

Orientadora: Maria Eunice Quilici Gonzalez / Banca: Vivian Grace Fernández-Dávila Urquidi / Banca: Maria Claudia Broens / Resumo: Nesta dissertação investigamos a relação entre a Filosofia e a prática de escrita de textos de maneira a tratar dos seguintes problemas: Existem formas alternativas de expressão e desenvolvimento da Filosofia além daquelas relacionadas aos recursos da linguagem verbal? Em caso afirmativo, através de que formas a Filosofia poderia se expressar? Como parece haver, na tradição filosófica Ocidental, uma vinculação necessária entre a Filosofia e a linguagem verbal, temos como objetivo repensar as práticas filosóficas dentro da universidade e analisar a potencialidade de pensamentos existente em diversos formatos de pensar. Inicialmente apresentamos as contribuições de uma abordagem inter/multidisciplinar para a Filosofia, de modo a apontar o paradigma da complexidade como um recurso apropriado para investigar problemas filosóficos da contemporaneidade. Entendemos que o paradigma da complexidade tem se delineado de forma a proporcionar uma virada na Filosofia que extrapola o domínio da linguagem verbal. Como um estudo de caso, discutimos características centrais da Filosofia brasileira no contexto da universidade pública. A partir da caracterização da Filosofia na universidade brasileira, analisamos os limites da linguagem verbal como forma de expressão de pensamentos. Por fim, discutimos o potencial de formas não verbais na reflexão filosófica, analisando suas contribuições e limites para o desenvolvimento de um filosofar genuíno. / Mestre

This thesis is focused on analyzing a particular notion of complexity of real valued functions through the lens of analog computers. This report features design changes to Pour-El’s notion of an analog computer that reflect this question of complexity in a concrete way. Additionally, these changes to the analog computer allow an extension of Pour-El’s work in which the complexity of a function can be identified with the order of a differentiably algebraic equation that the function satisfies.

Orientador: Marizilda dos Santos Menezes / Resumo: A complexidade é uma propriedade com reconhecimento emergente dentro das ciências, e sua presença está cada vez mais valorizada no desenvolvimento de projetos interdisciplinares. Tratando de lidar com princípios evolutivos e as regras de organização dos sistemas complexos, a complexidade traz conceitos que podem aportar inovações para a área do design e dos métodos de composição de formas e geometrias. Nesse cenário, o design de superfícies é uma especialidade que pode se beneficiar desses novos métodos, principalmente com o avanço das tecnologias digitais e o uso de algoritmos computacionais. Buscando entender a importância da complexidade para o design de superfícies complexas, este trabalho investiga a relação da programação de dados com as metodologias de design envolvidas. Por meio de um estudo de caso, foram pesquisados os projetos que envolvessem os princípios do desenvolvimento de padrões aplicados à área têxtil, estabelecendo a conexão de superfícies bidimensionais e tridimensionais com os sistemas complexos e a utilização de softwares de programação algorítmica, como o Processing e o Grasshopper. Foram realizadas também experimentações que reproduzissem alguns algoritmos de padronagem. Deste modo, o projeto abrange novos caminhos para a concepção do design de superfícies e busca estabelecer parâmetros para o uso de novos processos digitais. / Abstract: Complexity is a property with emerging recognition within the sciences, and its presence is increasingly valued in the development of interdisciplinary projects. Trying to deal with evolutionary principles and the rules of organization of complex systems, complexity theory carry concepts that can bring innovations to the area of design with methods of composition of shapes and geometries. In this scenario, surface design is a specialty that can benefit from these new processes, especially with the advancement of digital technologies and the use of computational algorithms. Seeking to understand the importance of complexity for the design of complex surfaces, this work investigates the relationship of data programming with the design methodologies involved. Through a case study, were analyzed projects involving the development of textile design with pattern principles, establishing the connection of two-dimensional and three-dimensional surfaces with complex systems and the use of algorithmic programming software, such as Processing and the Grasshopper. As a consequence of the research, were also performed experiments that reproduced some algorithms for pattern design. In this way, the project covers new ways of improving surface design and establishes parameters for the use of new digital processes. / Mestre

This present study investigates the development of second language (L2) Chinese learners’ writing by 1) subjective ratings of essay quality, 2) a battery of objective measures representing the general syntactic complexity as well as specific syntactic features, and 3) the sources of verb phrase complexity used by learners of different institutional levels. This study first compares the subjective ratings of the essays written by learners across four institutional levels and then uses Cumulative Linked Model to examine the contribution of the objective measures of linguistic features to the essay ratings. This study further identifies a number of sources used by learners to construct complex verb phrases, which is an important contributor of the essay rating, and compares the amount of usages by learners at different institutional levels. The purpose of the study is to better understand L2 Chinese learners’ syntactic development in writing from multi-dimensional perspectives, and to identify the most crucial elements that determine the quality of writing. This study recruits 105 L2 Chinese college learners to write a narrative essay and an argumentative essay according to the prompts. Each of the writing sample is rated by two independent raters according to the holistic ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, as well as the analytic rubric which was adapted from the ESL Composition Profile for this study. The derivation of syntactic complexity measures was based on the rank scales of lexicogrammar in Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014), involving 12 features at the levels of clause complex, clause, and verb phrase, some of which represent constructions unique to Chinese. A series of statistical tests, including Kruskal-Wallis tests, Dunn’ tests, Spearman’ correlation tests, and CLM are performed to answer that research questions. The findings show that 1) learners’ overall writing quality measured by holistic and analytic ratings do not show significant differences across the first several academic years; 2) higher-level learners are more heterogeneous in writing ability than lower-level learners; 3) phrasal complexity contributes more to the essay quality than clausal complexity; 4) syntactic complexity features that learners develop fastest hardly overlap with those that contribute most to the essay rating; 5) complex verbal phrases come from 10 different sources and the composition of complex verbal phrases remain stable across the groups; and 6) essay types makes significant differences in terms of holistic and analytic ratings, use of syntactic complexity features, as well as their contribution to the essay ratings. From the pedagogical view, this study points out that instruction should focus more on complexity at the phrasal level, especially nominalization and complex verb phrases, that play a more important role to determine the writing quality. Some of the current focus in instruction may not necessarily lead to better quality or higher proficiency in Chinese writing.

This naturalistic exploratory multiple case study of the academic writing activity of L2 writers enrolled in an introductory Spanish literature course reveals the complex dynamicity of intertextual activity and L2 development. The writing tasks, designed for communicative practice rather than for mastery of a genre, required students to upload Microsoft Word documents to the learning management software’s dropbox, thus necessitating their engagement with multiple digitally mediated resources. Participants completed the assignment outside of class in a computer lab, where data were collected, including observational field notes, screen recordings, and stimulated recall, and semi-structured interviews about the participants’ use and perception of digital resources. Findings show that these students employed many strategies with a variety of resources, including online dictionaries, translators, and original and translated texts, when experiencing a lexical gap while writing. A close examination of second language writers’ intertextual engagement with the affordances provided by these digitally mediated resources through an analytical frame informed by dynamic systems theory (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008a) reveals idiosyncratic use and evidence of emergent word and strategy learning. Pedagogical implications, including the need to start where students are, are discussed.

Cette thèse propose une exploration synchronique du paradigme des quotatifs en anglais oral, suite à l’avènement dans ce groupe fonctionnel de deux nouvelles formes, GO et BE LIKE, apparues il y a moins de cinq décennies. Elle s’inscrit dans la continuité de plusieurs études antérieures visant à rendre compte du système quotatif de l’anglais depuis les phases précoces de ce changement linguistique désormais avéré. À partir d’un corpus de données originales, cette thèse examine les différentes fonctions pragmatiques, interactionnelles et discursives des quotatifs afin de mettre au jour certains facteurs de distribution de ces marqueurs en discours. L’approche adoptée est à la fois polysystémique, pluri-théorique et multimodale : la langue est un système complexe, dans lequel plusieurs sous-systèmes interagissent pour participer à la construction de l’interaction. Afin de rendre compte de cette multiplicité, l’application conjointe de plusieurs systèmes d’analyse et de plusieurs approches théoriques est indispensable. Cette thèse tient également compte de la dimension multimodale de la langue orale. Elle examine, qualitativement et quantitativement, les fonctions accomplies par les quotatifs en termes de représentation, de réitération d’événements antérieurs et de performance. Elle propose également un tour d’horizon des diverses stratégies narratives attribuables aux quotatifs lorsqu’ils participent conjointement à la construction de séquences dialoguées. Ce travail montre qu’en définitive, ce n’est que par la combinaison de plusieurs grilles d’analyse qu’il est possible de réduire le nombre d’événements imprévisibles dans les productions de la langue orale en interaction. / This thesis gives a synchronic account of the quotative paradigm in oral English, subsequently to the recent arrival of the new introducers GO and BE LIKE less than five decades ago. It stands in the wake of earlier studies that have aimed at analysing the quotative system of English since the earliest phases of this recently attested change in progress. The study was carried out on a corpus of original data, the Cambridge Student Corpus, which contains semi-guided dyadic conversations between British and Irish native speakers. This thesis examines, from an empirical point of view, the various pragmatic, interactional and discourse functions of quotatives in order to shed light on their complementary distribution in oral interaction. The chosen approach is polysystemic, multi-theoretic and multimodal. Language is a complex system, within which several sub-systems interact to participate in building spoken interaction. In order to account for this complexity, it is necessary to apply several methods of analysis and various linguistic theories simultaneously. This thesis also takes into account the multimodal aspects of oral interaction. It gives a qualitative and quantitative account of quotatives with respect to their functions of representation, reiteration of prior events and multimodal performance. It also examines various narrative strategies that these markers may implement as they participate together in the elaboration of sequences of dialogue. This work illustrates the notion that only through a combination of different methods can the analyst reduce the number of unexplained events that occur in oral interaction.

School leaders are expected to make decisions that improve student mathematics achievement. However, one difficulty for school leaders has been the limited amount of research concerning content-specific (e.g., mathematics) school leadership and its effects on student achievement. School leaders do not make decisions in isolation; rather, they make decisions as part of a complex adaptive system (CAS), as proposed by complexity theory. The purpose of this study was to explore the role the school leader plays in students’ mathematics achievement through the lens of complexity theory. The researcher collected survey data from K-12 school leaders and conducted focus group interviews to answer the research questions. The researcher found a significant regression equation predicting the school-wide average SAGE mathematics proficiency scores based on several characteristics of the school leader and student demographics. Distinctive patterns emerged in the decisions and actions made by school leaders based on school-wide SAGE mathematics proficiency. Results suggest that the school leaders’ first role in promoting higher student mathematics achievement is to directly and indirectly facilitate a shared vision of mathematics education between stakeholders in the CAS. The school leader’s second role is to actively work to recruit and retain the highest quality teachers possible.

Many students claim that they can study well while listening to music (Anderson & Fuller, 2010; Patton, Stinard, & Routh, 1983), but how does listening to music affect students’ ability to encode and recall studied information? Previous research on background music and attention has revealed mixed results, with some studies indicating that background music can help reduce inattentional blindness (Beanland, Allen, & Pammer, 2011), while others suggest that music may hinder the attention of the listener (by Shih, Huang, & Chaing, 2012). Additionally, individual differences in working memory capacity impact one’s ability to store and retrieve information, as well as to suppress any intrusive thoughts and ignore distractions (Cowan et al., 2005; Rosen & Engle, 1998). The purpose of the present study was to determine if the musical components of polyphony and homophony impact students’ ability to encode and recall information, while accounting for the impact of working memory capacity. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five musical conditions: simplistic without lyrics, simplistic with lyrics, complex without lyrics, complex with lyrics, or control (silence). In each condition, participants studied Swahili English word pairs, then completed a verbatim recall test. Higher working memory capacity was associated with recalling more items correctly. The results of the study indicated that there were no significant differences in recall performance due to music condition when accounting for working memory capacity. Potential explanations for the results of this study, as well as implications for future research, are examined.

This thesis deals with infrastructure network vulnerability analysis in the natural disaster context. It starts from the observation that infrastructure such as water supply or power grid has significant influence on natural disasters’ indirect consequences. The aim is to model the vulnerability to take efficient actions. The scientific approach is divided into two complementary parts. The first one deals with the vulnerability assessment, while the second one focuses on the decision aiding process to be implemented for the assessed vulnerability reducing. The proper vulnerability analysis is based on the analysis objects modelling. In order to achieve this, we will adopt a graph theory representation. A literature review will allow us to identify the graph structure which best suits the context of the thesis. In a multi network analysis environment, interdependences, i.e. relationships between components of the same network or different networks - are a determining factor for any vulnerability model. We have thus proposed an approach to model interdependence compatible with the graph theory. There are two types of relationships: the one first is functional (dependence), while the second one is dysfunctional (influence). The vulnerability is assessed by a simulation-based approach. It is composed of one part relating to the system ability to resist the feared event; and the other part relative to its ability to be back on its nominal state after the disaster. When the vulnerability is determined, the next step will be to take the necessary decisions to manage it. This part on the decision aiding is itself divided into two sub parts: first of all the process to be used for the crisis management is established. Then a methodology for decision aiding is proposed and results on a Decision Support System development. In the age of the internet and social networks, it is possible to deploy the application on the internet.