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Throughout the early Platonic dialogues, Socrates repeatedly tells his interlocutors that if, as they claim, they truly have knowledge concerning some morally significant property, then they should be able to define the nature of that property. Invariably, the interlocutors fail to furnish him with such definitions, leading him to conclude that they, and all humankind, are ignorant of any knowledge about such property. This leads him to encourage his interlocutors, and us, to adopt a sense of intellectual humility and to dedicate their lives to studying these properties in an effort to gain moral insight. Many scholars have cited Socrates' demand for definition as evidence that he accepts a Priority of Definition principle - an epistemological principle asserting that a person must first know the definition of a property before she can know anything else about the property. Many of the scholars who make this ascription also argue, for various reasons, that such a principle is erroneous. If these scholars are correct and Socrates does accept a flawed Priority of Definition principle, then his epistemology, along with his whole philosophy, suffers devastating harm. Students of the early dialogues must consider whether Socrates does, in fact, accept the principle and, if so, whether the principle is incorrect. The thesis will examine the issues that arise from the ascription of a Priority of Definition principle to Socrates. The study will first examine textual evidence supporting the ascription along with texts that bring the ascription into question. It will then outline three general philosophical criticisms of the principle. Finally, this study will examine a number of different understandings of Socrates' conception of knowledge. Hopefully, an understanding can be discovered that preserves his philosophy by effectively showing that either (1) Socrates does not accept the principle, or (2) he does accept the principle but the principle is not philosophically problematic. If such an understanding can be discovered, then Socrates' conception of knowledge is saved from the criticisms raised by scholars. Otherwise, his whole philosophy will be placed in a very troubling light. / Master of Arts

The Tlinglt people have lived along the southeastern coast of Alaska since 1730. Historically, the highly decorated Tlingit tunics were worn at potlatches, as the first layer of regalia. The tunics were often covered with dance aprons. bibs, and blankets. Potlatches are still held today but with less frequency. Today, Celebration is held every two years, so that the Tlingit may gather to celebrate their heritage through music, dance, and art. The purpose of the research was to define the physical tunic, as well as. to determine meaning associated with the tunics. Models were created to divide the fifty tunics into more manageable sections, which were originally based on DeLong’s (1987) use of Gestalt theory of part-to-whole and whole-to-part viewing. The viewing relationships of interior design lines, silhouette, and surface design readily organized appearance into visual categories. The models were further divided into subsections which displayed information on a particular part of the tunic (for example, side silhouette shapes). Meaning was determined by using form associations. An expressive response scale, which deals specifically with the Tlingit tunics, was adapted from DeLong's (1987) form association scale. The researcher visited six museums along the Inner Passage of Alaska. Twenty-eight relics were viewed at the various museums. Nine old photographs were also viewed at the museums. Celebration "96 In Juneau, as well as a dance event In Haines, were attended and videotaped so that the tunics could be seen in actual use. Thirteen tunics were viewable using the videotape. Definition of the tunics was determined by analyzing the interior design lines, silhouette, and the surface design. The physical tunic had a simple silhouette and interior design lines, while the surface design was found to be much more complex. In other words, the non-complex outline framed a complex surface design. Tunics were placed into four possible categories in the expressive response scale. The tunics distinctly fell into two of the four categories.. Meaning determined that the shape was large with emphasis on the silhouette. Line was discontinuous while the color tended to be bright. The texture was able to fill the surface with coarse areas usually due to beadwork. Group Identity was conveyed through the use of similar silhouettes and interior design lines. Individuality was expressed in the uniqueness of the surface designs - in the type of design, varied location, and use of materials. / Master of Science

This research investigates relationships between undergraduate students' understanding of proof and how this understanding relates to their conceptions of mathematical definitions. Three students in an introductory proofs course were each interviewed three times in order to assess their proof schemes, understand how they think of specific mathematical concepts, and investigate how the students prove relationships between these concepts. This research used theoretical frameworks from both proof and definition literature. Findings show that students' ability or inability to adapt their concept images of the mathematical concepts enhanced and impeded their proof schemes, respectively. / Master of Science

This master thesis "Perspectives of an Art Institution" focuses on the George Dickie's institutional theory of art (thereafter IT). This theory defines "work of art" as a result of the position of an artefact in the institutional framework of the artworld. The author of the thesis pays attention to the historical development of the IT- firstly published in 1969 in the article "Defining Art" and radically revisited in the book The Art Circle in 1984- as well as to the critical discussion based on Dickie's theory. In the first chapter she compares both the earlier and the later version of the theory; in following chapters she concerns with objections formulated against Dickie's IT. IT seems to be problematic in several aspects: the term "institution" is considered to be ambiguous; Dickie fails to give a full description of roles and rules which determine the operations of the artworld; the notion of appreciation seems to be contradictory with Dickie's opinions presented earlier; circularity; and Dickie's unsatisfactory attention to the historical dimension of the artworld. All of these objections are compared with Dickie's theory to prove their legitimacy or to refuse them as illegitimate. Not only aims the thesis to sum up the critical discussion but it aims to answer the question if the theory...

Syftet med denna studie var att skapa förståelse för komplexiteten av att beskriva arbetsplatsrelaterat hot respektive våld mot poliser som arbetar i särskilt utsatta områden, med utgångspunkt i den begreppsmässiga problematiken. Genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer med fem poliser som arbetar i särskilt utsatta områden fann vi att det råder en begreppsförvirring avseende arbetsplatsrelaterat hot respektive våld. Det framkom att hot var mer svårdefinierat än våld samtidigt som det var möjligt att identifiera en ambivalens som påvisade att inget av begreppen erhöll en självklar definition. Definitionen baserades dels på vilka uttryck och handlingar som inkluderades respektive exkluderades, dels på vem som sätter gränserna för hot respektive våld. Definitionen baserades även på vem som utför handlingarna. Studiens viktigaste slutsats var att det inte med säkerhet bör gå att dra slutsatser kring omfattning och karaktär utan att ta hänsyn till den begreppsmässiga problematiken som råder avseende arbetsplatsrelaterat hot respektive våld i särskilt utsatta områden. / The purpose of this study was to create an understanding regarding the complexity of describing workplace violence against police officers who work in particularly vulnerable areas, based on the definitional problem. Through semi-structured interviews with five police officers who work in particularly vulnerable areas, we found that there is a definitional confusion regarding workplace violence. It emerged that threats were more difficult to define than violence, while it was possible to identify an ambivalence that showed that none of the concepts received a definite definition. The definition was based partly on which expressions and actions were included and excluded, respectively, on who sets the boundaries regarding threat and violence, but was also based on who is performing the actions. The main conclusion of the study was that it may not be possible to draw conclusions about range and character with certainty, without taking into account the definitional problem that prevails regarding workplace violence in particularly vulnerable areas.

Försvarets materielverk (FMV) står inför en omfattande ominriktning av verksamheten med tillhörande omorganisation. Den nya verksamheten innefattar att leverera tjänsten försvarslogistik till Försvarsmakten (FM). Då det inte finns någon entydig definition för vad försvarslogistik är så har detta arbete inriktats att utarbeta ett förslag till en sådan definition. Dessutom har en procedur skapats som identifierar relevanta prestandamått för ett godtyckligt försvarslogistiskt system, s.k. Key Performance Indicators (KPI), som kan användas för att påvisa om försvarslogistiken är effektiv eller inte.   För att skapa en definition, så undersöktes först vad teorin säger om tillvägagångssättet för uppbyggandet av definitioner. Därefter gjordes en större litteratursökning för att se hur och vad andra organisationer, verksamheter och teorier avser med försvarslogistik och använder termen försvarslogistik till. Den metod för definition som bedömts mest lämpad är den s.k. Förbättringsmetoden, vilken med litteratursökningen som underlag har används för att skapa ett definitionsförslag.   Sedan har en procedur skapas som identifierar, för försvarslogistik, relevanta KPI. Det utfördes genom att först genomföra en litteratursökning avseende vilka logistiska mått som finns, därefter för att besvara frågan vad KPI är och hur de används. De logistiska måtten, tillsammans med mått framtagna och härledda från definitionen, bildar en "bruttolista" med möjliga Performance Indicators (PI).   Vid utformandet av proceduren uppenbarade det sig att det inte gick att skapa en generisk metod, för alla möjliga försvarslogistiska system. Därför föreslogs ett vidare arbete som innebär att kategorisera system med liknande egenskaper i olika systemtyper. Med förslagsvis en totalkostnadsanalys och annan empirisk erfarenhet som grund kan PI för varje systemtyp väljas, för att på så sätt skapa "nettolistor" av generiska KPI för varje systemtyp. Är systemägaren intresserad av att ytterligare gallra bland dessa generiska KPI, så har ett frågebatteri skapats som sållar på basis av vad som är intressant att mäta. / The Swedish Defence Materiel (Försvarets Materielverk -FMV) faces a major redirection of its activities with an associated with reorganization. The new business is to deliver Defense Logistics Services to the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten - FM). There is no existing Swedish definition for the term Defense Logistics. One purpose of this study has been to provide a proposed definition. FMV also requires a procedure for identifying relevant measurements, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), for arbitrary defense logistics systems, which can indicate whether the Defense Logistics Services delivered are effective or not.   In order to create a definition, the first step in this study is has been to examine what the theory says about methods for crafting definitions. There implied a need for a large literature review, with the purpose of identifying how and what other organizations, business and theories relate to and how they use the term of Defense Logistics. The information from the literature review was used as inspirational input when applying the improvements method, which is one of the methods available when crafting definitions.   The second purpose of this study has been to develop a procedure for identifying KPI:s related to Defense Logistics. This was also solved by a large literature review that identified existing logistical measurements and explained what KPI:s are and how they are used. The above logistical measurements together with measurements developed and derived from the definition were used to form a "comprehensive list" of possible Performance Indicators (PI).   During the design of the procedure it was recognized that it was not feasible to create a generic method for every possible defense logistic system. It was therefore proposed, as future work is, to categorize systems with similar characteristics into system types. With e.g. total cost analysis and other empirical experience as a basis, KPI can be chosen for each system type and thereby forming "net lists" for each generic system type. If the part interested in measuring a defense logistics service is interested in further narrowing the "net list" of KPI, a couple of questions are provided to assist in this, based on the concerns of the interest party.

L’Identification rapide et la classification microbienne précise sont cruciales en microbiologie médicale pour la surveillance de la santé humaine et animale, établir un diagnostic clinique approprié et choisir des mesures thérapeutiques et de contrôle optimales. Cependant, les seuils universels utilisés pour la définition des espèces ne sont pas applicables à de nombreux genres bactériens. C'est notamment le cas des espèces du genre Rickettsia, qui expriment peu de caractéristiques phénotypiques distinctives. Compte tenu de la disponibilité des séquences de près de 100 génomes de Rickettsia, nous avons voulu évaluer une gamme de paramètres taxonomiques basés sur l’analyse des séquences génomiques afin de mettre au point des recommandations pour la classification des isolats au niveau de l’espèce et du genre. En comparant le degré de similarité des séquences de 78 génomes de Rickettsia et 61 génomes de 3 genres étroitement apparentés en utilisant 4 paramètres génomiques, nous avons montré que les outils taxonomiques basés sur les séquences génomiques sont simples à utiliser et rapides, et permettent une classification taxonomique fiable et reproductible des isolats de rickettsies avec des seuils spécifiques. Les résultats obtenus nous ont permis d'élaborer des recommandations pour la classification des isolats de rickettsies au niveau du genre et de l'espèce. À l'aide de la taxono-génomique, nous avons également pu décrire 17 nouvelles espèces bactériennes associées à l'homme. L'utilisation des outils génomiques est donc parfaitement adaptée à la classification taxonomique et peut changer radicalement notre vision de la taxonomie et de l'évolution bactérienne à l'avenir. / Rapid identification and precise microbial classification are crucial in medical microbiology for human and animal health monitoring, appropriate clinical diagnosis and selection of optimal therapeutic and control measures. Indeed, the universal used for the definition of species are not applicable to many bacterial genera. This is particularly true of species of the genus Rickettsia which are strictly intracellular alpha-proteobacteria that express few phenotypic characteristics. Given the availability of genomic sequences of nearly 100 rickettsial genomes, we wanted to evaluate a range of taxonomic parameters based on genomic sequence analysis, to develop guidelines for the classification of Rickettsia isolates at the genus and species levels. By comparing the degree of similarity of the sequences of 78 genomes from Rickettsia species and 61 genomes from 3 closely related genera using several genomic parameters, we have shown that genome-based taxonomic tools are simple to use and fast, and allow for a reliable and reproducible taxonomic classification of isolates within species of the genus Rickettsia, with specific thresholds. The obtained results enabled us to develop guidelines for classifying rickettsial isolates at the genus and species levels. Using taxono-genomics, we have also been able to describe 17 new human-associated bacterial species on the basis of a combination of genomic analysis and phenotypic properties. The use of genomic tools is therefore perfectly adapted to taxonomic classification and can dramatically change our vision of taxonomy and bacterial evolution in the future.

Disertacinio darbo temos aktualumas. Statistiniai duomenys, leidžiantys teigti, kad korupcinių veikų mastas Lietuvoje mažas, prieštarauja sociologinių tyrimų rezultatams, anot kurių, korupcijos faktų Lietuvoje yra labai daug , kas reikalauja šio reiškinio mokslinės analizės. Temos aktualumą grindžia ir korupcijos reiškiniui būdingas latentiškumas, šio reiškinio dinamika, formų, pasireiškimo sričių, subjektų, dalyko kaita, be to, tikslios ir aiškios korupcijos sąvokos, kurią būtų lengviau taikyti teisėkūroje, viešojo administravimo institucijų praktikoje, ją geriau suvoktų visuomenė, lengviau būtų deramai taikyti antikorupcinius įstatymus, stoka. Atsižvelgiant į tai, kad formuojant teisinės sistemos modelį, svarbiausios yra teisės sampratos, teisės doktrinos problemos, disertacijoje pabrėžiama, kad, visų pirma, kuriant nacionalinę antikorupcinių įstatymų bazę ir teisės normose apibrėžiant korupcines veikas, negalima apsiriboti vien tik teisės aktų keitimu kitais, o būtina išsiaiškinti žmonių teisinio mąstymo principus, visuomenės vertybių sistemą ir kriterijus, ir tik po to pereiti prie socialinių reiškinių objektyvizacijos ribų nustatymo teisės normose ir jų įgyvendinimo. Atitinkamai disertacijos įvade konstatuojama, kad efektyvinant korupcinio pobūdžio nusikalstamų veikų tyrimą, ypatingas dėmesys turi būti skiriamas kriminalistikos mokslui, nes suvokimas, jog korupcija yra sudėtinga socialinė, ekonominė, politinė, teisinė, kultūrinė, moralinė problema, kurią reikia spręsti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The Relevance of the Topic of the Dissertation Work. The statistical data allowing stating that the extent of corruption acts is small in Lithuania disagree with the results of the sociology researches according to which there are a lot of facts of corruption in Lithuania , what requires the scientific analysis of this phenomenon. The relevance of the topic is grounded by the latency which is characteristic to corruption, dynamics of this phenomenon, the change of the forms, manifestation spheres and the subject, besides, the lack of the adequate and lucid concept of corruption which could be easier applied in the legislation and the practice of the institutions of public administration, and which could be easier perceived by the society and it would be easier to apply properly anti-corruption laws. In respect that when forming the model of the legal system, the most important are the law concepts, the problems of law doctrine, it is emphasized in the dissertation that, first of all, when creating the national base of the anti-corruption laws and determining the corruption acts in the rules of law, we should not restrict ourselves only to the change of legal acts, but it is necessary to find out the principles of people’s legal thinking, the value system and the criteria of the society, and only then pass on to the determination of the materialization limits of social phenomena in the rules of law and their implementation. Respectively, it is stated in the introduction of... [to full text]