Formalizing graphical notations

The thesis describes research into graphical notations for software engineering, with a principal interest in ways of formalizing them. The research seeks to provide a theoretical basis that will help in designing both notations and the software tools that process them. The work starts from a survey of literature on notation, followed by a review of techniques for formal description and for computational handling of notations. The survey concentrates on collecting views of the benefits and the problems attending notation use in software development; the review covers picture description languages, grammars and tools such as generic editors and visual programming environments. The main problem of notation is found to be a lack of any coherent, rigorous description methods. The current approaches to this problem are analysed as lacking in consensus on syntax specification and also lacking a clear focus on a defined concept of notated expression. To address these deficiencies, the thesis embarks upon an exploration of serniotic, linguistic and logical theory; this culminates in a proposed formalization of serniosis in notations, using categorial model theory as a mathematical foundation. An argument about the structure of sign systems leads to an analysis of notation into a layered system of tractable theories, spanning the gap between expressive pictorial medium and subject domain. This notion of 'tectonic' theory aims to treat both diagrams and formulae together. The research gives details of how syntactic structure can be sketched in a mathematical sense, with examples applying to software development diagrams, offering a new solution to the problem of notation specification. Based on these methods, the thesis discusses directions for resolving the harder problems of supporting notation design, processing and computer-aided generic editing. A number of future research areas are thereby opened up. For practical trial of the ideas, the work proceeds to the development and partial implementation of a system to aid the design of notations and editors. Finally the thesis is evaluated as a contribution to theory in an area which has not attracted a standard approach

The Epistemic Significance of Valid Inference – A Model-Theoretic Approach

The problem analysed in this paper is whether we can gain knowledge by using valid inferences, and how we can explain this process from a model-theoretic perspective. According to the paradox of inference (Cohen & Nagel 1936/1998, 173), it is logically impossible for an inference to be both valid and its conclusion to possess novelty with respect to the premises. I argue in this paper that valid inference has an epistemic significance, i.e., it can be used by an agent to enlarge his knowledge, and this significance can be accounted in model-theoretic terms. I will argue first that the paradox is based on an equivocation, namely, it arises because logical containment, i.e., logical implication, is identified with epistemological containment, i.e., the knowledge of the premises entails the knowledge of the conclusion. Second, I will argue that a truth-conditional theory of meaning has the necessary resources to explain the epistemic significance of valid inferences. I will explain this epistemic significance starting from Carnap’s semantic theory of meaning and Tarski’s notion of satisfaction. In this way I will counter (Prawitz 2012b)’s claim that a truth-conditional theory of meaning is not able to account the legitimacy of valid inferences, i.e., their epistemic significance

Objects and processes: two notions for understanding biological information

In spite of being ubiquitous in life sciences, the concept of information is harshly criticized. Uses of the concept other than those derived from Shannon's theory are denounced as pernicious metaphors. We perform a computational experiment to explore whether Shannon's information is adequate to describe the uses of said concept in commonplace scientific practice. Our results show that semantic sequences do not have unique complexity values different from the value of meaningless sequences. This result suggests that quantitative theoretical frameworks do not account fully for the complex phenomenon that the term “information” refers to. We propose a restructuring of the concept into two related, but independent notions, and conclude that a complete theory of biological information must account completely not only for both notions, but also for the relationship between them

Co-constructionism and development: a socio-historic tradition

The term "co-constructionism" is becoming increasingly used in contemporaiy developmental psychology. Its major function is to unify two conceptual domains - constructionism and sociogeneticism - that have been habitually viewed as if they were irreconcilable opposites. Despite respectable history within psychology and muny contemporary tendencies to move psychology in the social constructivist and discursive directions, most of the critical problems of co-constructionist theoretical system remain hostages either to the common language uses of psychologists, or to the methods-dominated imperatives for "empirical research" practices. Co-constructionism as a general orientation rnay make it possible for psychologists to create novel methodologies that might take into account the open-systemic nature of development.El término "co-construccionismo" aparece citado cada vez con más frecuencia en los trabajos actuales de psicologia del desarollo. Su principal función es unificar dos dominios conceptuales -construccionismo y sociogénesis- considerados habitualmente opuestos e irreconciliables. A pesar de los esfuerzos de orientar la psicologia hacia una dirección constructivista o discursiva, esfuerzos que pueden encontrarse a lo largo de la historia de la psicologia y también actualmente, la mayoría de los problemas críticos del sistema teórico co-construccionista permanecen cautivos del lenguaje común usado por los psicólogos y de los imperativos metodológicos dominantes en las prácticas de investigación empírica. El co-construccionismo, entendido como una orientación general, puede contribuir a que los psicólogos creen nuevas metodologías que puedan tener en cuenta la naturaleza sistémica y abierta del desarrollo

Co-constructionism and development: a socio-historic tradition

The term "co-constructionism" is becoming increasingly used in contemporaiy developmental psychology. Its major function is to unify two conceptual domains - constructionism and sociogeneticism - that have been habitually viewed as if they were irreconcilable opposites. Despite respectable history within psychology and muny contemporary tendencies to move psychology in the social constructivist and discursive directions, most of the critical problems of co-constructionist theoretical system remain hostages either to the common language uses of psychologists, or to the methods-dominated imperatives for "empirical research" practices. Co-constructionism as a general orientation rnay make it possible for psychologists to create novel methodologies that might take into account the open-systemic nature of development.El término "co-construccionismo" aparece citado cada vez con más frecuencia en los trabajos actuales de psicologia del desarollo. Su principal función es unificar dos dominios conceptuales -construccionismo y sociogénesis- considerados habitualmente opuestos e irreconciliables. A pesar de los esfuerzos de orientar la psicologia hacia una dirección constructivista o discursiva, esfuerzos que pueden encontrarse a lo largo de la historia de la psicologia y también actualmente, la mayoría de los problemas críticos del sistema teórico co-construccionista permanecen cautivos del lenguaje común usado por los psicólogos y de los imperativos metodológicos dominantes en las prácticas de investigación empírica. El co-construccionismo, entendido como una orientación general, puede contribuir a que los psicólogos creen nuevas metodologías que puedan tener en cuenta la naturaleza sistémica y abierta del desarrollo