Ubuntu is an African humanist philosophy described by the Nguni aphorism “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” which translates as a person is a person through other people. While Ubuntu has been a domain of extensive scholarly research, to date almost all of this work has been philosophical or conceptual; by contrast, there is a dearth of empirical research examining the nature of Ubuntu. Scholars provide indicator values, namely descriptive abstract nouns, of Ubuntu with no consistency in how the indicator values were derived because the concept lacks a clear definition. The challenges arising from the lack of a clear definition of Ubuntu can be attributed to the fact that there is no empirical research that has been conducted to develop a reliable and valid measure of Ubuntu. This research operationalised Ubuntu by developing a psychometrically reliable and valid scale for measuring Ubuntu. The research established the underlying dimensions of Ubuntu. This thesis develops and validates a scale to measure Ubuntu using a mixed-methods, multiple study approach. First, a literature review identifies 82 indicator values of Ubuntu. Next, using focus groups, depth interviews, and q-sorting, three nascent components of Ubuntu emerge: humanness, interconnectedness, and compassion. Finally, across three quantitative studies, the scale is purified to seventeen items which exhibit a three-factor structure that is psychometrically reliable and valid. The Ubuntu scale has discriminant validity relative to a collectivism scale and demonstrates predictive validity in terms of charitable and altruistic behaviours. This study contributes towards the development of theory through conceptualisation of Ubuntu. The current study utilised large sample sizes to replicate the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of the measure including nomological validity assessment and measurement invariance. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DPhil / Unrestricted

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Mandarin Chinese numeral classifiers receive considerable at-tention in linguistic research. The status of the general classifier 个 gè re-mains unresolved. Many linguists suggest that the use of 个 gè as a noun classifier is arbitrary. This view is challenged in the current study. Relying on the CCL-Corpus of Peking University and data from Google, we investigated which nouns for living beings are most likely classified by the general clas-sifier 个 gè. The results suggest that the use of the classifier 个 gè is motivated by an anthropocentric continuum as described by Köpcke and Zubin in the 1990s. We tested Köpcke and Zubin’s approach with Chinese native speakers. We examined 76 animal expressions to explore the semantic interdepen-dence of numeral classifiers and the nouns. Our study shows that nouns with the semantic feature [+ animate] are more likely to be classified by 个 gè if their denotatum is either very close to or very far located from the anthropo-centric center. In contrast animate nouns whose denotata are located at some intermediate distance from the anthropocentric center are less likely to be classified by 个 gè.

Defining Moments / A Life Portrait In his MFA Thesis Exhibition, Defining Moments / A Life Portrait, Timothy Haerens explores and celebrates our connectedness to one another as members of the human race. “We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.” Haerens chose this quote from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, as the inspiration for his show because it affirms his belief that we are linked to one another by virtue of our humanness. Through his abstract paintings on canvas and plexiglass, as well as through his prints and collagraphs, Haerens reflects on many facets of life – the sweet and sour moments we experience as part of the human condition. His art elicits an internal dialogue in an attempt to better understand himself and the world around him.

Negative characterisations of social groups threaten group members’ social identities evoking various group-protective responses. Drawing on research about the functions of lay conceptions of humanness in social perception, the current research investigated a novel group-protective strategy: believing that an in group’s negative traits (flaws) are fundamental aspects of ‘human nature’ (HN). A similar protective strategy has been documented when acknowledging flaws in the individual self; this was extended to the acknowledgement of in group flaws in the current studies. In Study 1 (N = 77),participants’ in group-descriptiveness ratings of flaws were most strongly predicted by their HN ratings of flaws, suggesting that people may selectively acknowledge HN flaws as in group-descriptive. Study 2 (N = 51) demonstrated that flaws were rated higher on HN when attributed to an in group than to an out group. However, this effect was not found for positive traits, suggesting that it may reflect a motivation to protect a threatened in group-identity. Study 3 (N = 79) replicated this asymmetrical ‘humanising of in group flaws’ effect, and found that it was independent of desirability. In addition in group-identification was measured in Study 3 and found not to moderate the humanising of in group flaws. / Finally, in Study 3 participants also rated traits on an alternative sense of humanness, known as ‘human uniqueness’ (HU). The asymmetrical humanising of in group flaws effect was not found for the HU dimension, indicating that HN may be better suited to the protective function of mitigating flaws. These studies indicate that HN beliefs are systematically related to in group flaw-acknowledgement and suggest that in order to mitigate their in group’s flaws and thus protect the value of their social identities, people may be motivated to (a) selectively acknowledge HN flaws as in group-descriptive; and (b) ‘humanise’ flaws attributed to their in group Further more, the current research supports the claim that HN is an important dimension of social perception (e.g., Haslam et al., 2008); extends the relevance of this dimension to perceptions of in groups; and suggests that the HN concept should be understood as dynamic and flexible, rather than fixed.

James Arthur Baldwin argues that the issue of humanity—what it means to be human and whether or not all people bear the same measure of human worth—supersedes all issues, including socially popular ones such as race and religion. As a former child preacher, Baldwin claims, like others shaped by both the African-American faith tradition and Judeo-Christianity, that human equality stands as a divinely mandated and philosophically sound concept. As a literary artist and social commentator, Baldwin argues that truth in any narrative text, whether fictional or non-fictional, lies in its embrace or rejection of human equality. Truth-telling narrative texts uphold human equality; false-witnessing texts do not. Baldwin shows in four of his novels the prevalence of the latter narrative type. Within the fictional societies of Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), Giovanni’s Room (1956), If Beale Street Could Talk (1974), and Just Above My Head (1979), Baldwin reveals how society’s powerful bear false witness against the marginalized through stereotyping social narratives. However, Baldwin uses his novels to show the humanity of the marginalized. In so doing, he connects his works, as well as the works of contemporary black literary artists, to the concept of Christian spirituality.

Mandarin Chinese numeral classifiers receive considerable at-tention in linguistic research. The status of the general classifier 个 gè re-mains unresolved. Many linguists suggest that the use of 个 gè as a noun classifier is arbitrary. This view is challenged in the current study. Relying on the CCL-Corpus of Peking University and data from Google, we investigated which nouns for living beings are most likely classified by the general clas-sifier 个 gè. The results suggest that the use of the classifier 个 gè is motivated by an anthropocentric continuum as described by Köpcke and Zubin in the 1990s. We tested Köpcke and Zubin’s approach with Chinese native speakers. We examined 76 animal expressions to explore the semantic interdepen-dence of numeral classifiers and the nouns. Our study shows that nouns with the semantic feature [+ animate] are more likely to be classified by 个 gè if their denotatum is either very close to or very far located from the anthropo-centric center. In contrast animate nouns whose denotata are located at some intermediate distance from the anthropocentric center are less likely to be classified by 个 gè.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Artificiell intelligens (AI) sprider sig genom samhället och används mer och mer inom flera olika områden. Chatbotar är en populär form av social AI som använder sig av naturligt språk för att kommunicera med användare. Det finns olika åsikter kring huruvida en chatbot ska prata och bete sig människolikt eller inte. Den ena sidan argumenterar att chatbotar ska fortsätta utvecklas för att kunna simulera mänskligt beteende och intelligens, å andra sidan argumenteras att chatbotar ska vara tydliga med att de är maskiner och att det även kan vara positivt för användarupplevelsen om chatbotar inte är alltför människolika. Dessutom finns det teorier om att ett beteende som är för människolikt kan skapa obehag hos användaren. Detta examensarbete syftar till att undersöka den diskrepans som har observerats i resultaten från vetenskapliga studier för att ge indikationer på vilka faktorer som bidrar till en positiv användarupplevelse i interaktionen med chatbotar i förhållande till hur människolika de uppfattas. Resultatet visar på att det finns en stor bredd i användares preferenser för hur en chatbot bör bete sig vilket gör det svårt att nämna specifika människoliknande faktorer som är tilltalande för en större grupp användare. Om man idag vill designa en chatbot som tilltalar så många användare som möjligt bör man ge den en officiell/formell ton samt låta den svara kort, koncist och med sofistikerade ordval och välkonstruerade meningar. För att gå vidare rekommenderas bland annat att undersöka hur chatbotar kan anpassa sitt beteende efter olika användare för att skapa en positiv användarupplevelse.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal