1,109 research outputs found

    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    A Theistic Critique of Secular Moral Nonnaturalism

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    This dissertation is an exercise in Theistic moral apologetics. It will be developing both a critique of secular nonnaturalist moral theory (moral Platonism) at the level of metaethics, as well as a positive form of the moral argument for the existence of God that follows from this critique. The critique will focus on the work of five prominent metaethical theorists of secular moral non-naturalism: David Enoch, Eric Wielenberg, Russ Shafer-Landau, Michael Huemer, and Christopher Kulp. Each of these thinkers will be critically examined. Following this critique, the positive moral argument for the existence of God will be developed, combining a cumulative, abductive argument that follows from filling in the content of a succinct apagogic argument. The cumulative abductive argument and the apagogic argument together, with a transcendental and modal component, will be presented to make the case that Theism is the best explanation for the kind of moral, rational beings we are and the kind of universe in which we live, a rational intelligible universe

    Comparing the production of a formula with the development of L2 competence

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    This pilot study investigates the production of a formula with the development of L2 competence over proficiency levels of a spoken learner corpus. The results show that the formula in beginner production data is likely being recalled holistically from learners’ phonological memory rather than generated online, identifiable by virtue of its fluent production in absence of any other surface structure evidence of the formula’s syntactic properties. As learners’ L2 competence increases, the formula becomes sensitive to modifications which show structural conformity at each proficiency level. The transparency between the formula’s modification and learners’ corresponding L2 surface structure realisations suggest that it is the independent development of L2 competence which integrates the formula into compositional language, and ultimately drives the SLA process forward

    Ditransitives in germanic languages. Synchronic and diachronic aspects

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    This volume brings together twelve empirical studies on ditransitive constructions in Germanic languages and their varieties, past and present. Specifically, the volume includes contributions on a wide variety of Germanic languages, including English, Dutch, and German, but also Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian, as well as lesser-studied ones such as Faroese. While the first part of the volume focuses on diachronic aspects, the second part showcases a variety of synchronic aspects relating to ditransitive patterns. Methodologically, the volume covers both experimental and corpus-based studies. Questions addressed by the papers in the volume are, among others, issues like the cross-linguistic pervasiveness and cognitive reality of factors involved in the choice between different ditransitive constructions, or differences and similarities in the diachronic development of ditransitives. The volume’s broad scope and comparative perspective offers comprehensive insights into well-known phenomena and furthers our understanding of variation across languages of the same family

    The Realisation of syntactic principles in non-standard Afrikaans: the correspondence of Jan Jonker Afrikaner (1820-1889)

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    This study compares the syntax of nineteenth-century Orange River Afrikaans with Dutch and synchronic Afrikaans varieties, with particular attention to Griqua Afrikaans. It provides an account of the differences that are found between the earliest attestations of an extraterritorial variety of the Dutch language on southern African soil (the so-called Cape Dutch Vernacular) with the present-day outcome. The data collected for this study originate chiefly from an hitherto undisclosed corpus of letters kept in the Namibian State Archives by the so-called Oorlam-Nama, people of mixed descent who lived on the periphery of the nineteenth- century Cape colonial society. This thesis argues that nineteenth-century Orange River Afrikaans is a representative continuation of the earliest developments in the linguistic contact situation that existed at the Cape. The thesis advances that literacy and social class are important factors in the assessment of the written record from the Dutch colony at the Cape. The thesis centers around the letters by one author, Jan Jonker Afrikaner, written over a period of nearly twenty years in the second half of the nineteenth century. This legacy is a unique contribution to the diachronic data concerning the development of Afrikaans. From the data it is shown that this author had the command over different registers, fluctuating between a near perfect metropolitan Dutch and a Hollands that is classified as basilectal Afrikaans. The comparison of the data is set in a framework inspired by the concepts put forward in Generative Grammar. This has precipitated an exciting linguistic comparison of contemporary Afrikaans grammar with the diachronic material. This dissertation challenges the idea that the Khoesan Languages were of no or little influence in the development of Afrikaans. The linguistic analysis of the nineteenth-century data reveal that the developments which took place cannot be attributed to one single origin. It is demonstrated that the innovations and change that can be identified run parallel to regular patterns that are found in other languages generally classified as creole languages. It is argued that the syntax of the Khoesan languages is a major reinforcing factor in the development of the syntactic idiosyncrasies that are identified as un-Germanic characteristics of Afrikaans. Limited to nonstandard varieties of Afrikaans, in the concluding sections the question is raised how these findings are to be addressed in the larger context of language change

    A Case Study of Makerere University in Uganda through the Lens of U.S. Land-Grant Higher Education

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    This case study examines Makerere University through the lens of U.S. land-grant ideal and normative domains in order to provide a deeper understanding of global higher education. A case study uses multiple types of data to create a holistic perspective. As well as interviewing Makerere stakeholders representing diverse sectors, numerous documents and different types of media were analyzed enabling a triangulation of data. Six major themes emerged focusing on Makerere’s aspiration to be a research-led institution, the impact of neoliberalism, challenges in undergraduate education, the importance of reputation and saga, the ever-present role of the Ugandan government, and the continuing effects of colonialism. These findings are discussed in relationship to the land-grant domains, in particular the tensions and contradictions which can result in university instability

    A cross-disciplinary investigation of subject tutor feedback: lessons for the EAP practitioner

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    Studies have demonstrated that academic disciplines can show considerable variation not just in terms of the language forms and structures used, but also in relation to other disciplinary practices, such as the way in which knowledge claims are made and arguments developed (e.g. Lea & Street 1998; Hyland 2013a). Adopting a critical pragmatic approach (Harwood & Hadley 2004), this study first explores variation in what subject tutors from four different disciplines focus on in their written feedback. The data comprises feedback provided on 54 postgraduate assignments drawn from modules in Creative Industries, Biological Sciences, Child Studies, and Applied Linguistics, as well as interviews with each module convener. MaxQDA qualitative software is used to conduct a content analysis of the data. The software not only assists with the coding and categorization of the data leading to the development of a categorization framework, but also enables a search of specific overlapping codes and a corpus search of lexical items to explore the findings still further. The second research question sets out to explore feedback from an alternative perspective, that of the learner. Studies investigating students’ satisfaction with feedback continue to paint a pessimistic picture (e.g., O’Donovan 2020; Clegg & Bryan 2019), reflecting the relatively low satisfaction rates with feedback and assessment in national student surveys (NSS 2021; PTES 2020). The chosen research design to address this second question draws on the method adopted by Winstone et al., (2016) whereby prior research surveying students’ perceptions of feedback is used to generate a list of valued feedback qualities as a methodological point of reference with which to explore the alignment between actual tutor practice and students’ views of effective feedback. The investigation of feedback from these four modules does not represent a sample from which generalisations can be drawn, since commentary provided on students’ work comprises just a small part of a complex intervention (Boud & Molloy 2013). However, examining findings through contrast of disciplines can shed additional light on what subject tutors from different faculties value in a text, and therein assist the writing practitioner when identifying priorities of EAP provision across different disciplines. This investigation, for example, reports on differences in the extent and nature of criticality and contestation across disciplines and genres, how the rhetorical value placed on ‘clarity’ is consistent across all faculties, and how commentary addressing other aspects of student writing, such as register and language, is absent. With respect to the alignment between actual tutor practice and students’ views of effective feedback, this study finds that, by and large, tutor commentary does match students’ expections in regard to the qualities desired in feedback

    Interdisciplinarity in the Scholarly Life Cycle

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    This open access book illustrates how interdisciplinary research develops over the lifetime of a scholar: not in a single project, but as an attitude that trickles down, or spirals up, into research. This book presents how interdisciplinary work has inspired shifts in how the contributors read, value concepts, critically combine methods, cope with knowledge hierarchies, write in style, and collaborate. Drawing on extensive examples from the humanities and social sciences, the editors and chapter authors show how they started, tried to open up, dealt with inconsistencies, had to adapt, and ultimately learned and grew as researchers. The book offers valuable insights into the conditions and complexities present for interdisciplinary research to be successful in an academic setting. This is an open access book

    Recent Advances in Research on Island Phenomena

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    In natural languages, filler-gap dependencies can straddle across an unbounded distance. Since the 1960s, the term “island” has been used to describe syntactic structures from which extraction is impossible or impeded. While examples from English are ubiquitous, attested counterexamples in the Mainland Scandinavian languages have continuously been dismissed as illusory and alternative accounts for the underlying structure of such cases have been proposed. However, since such extractions are pervasive in spoken Mainland Scandinavian, these languages may not have been given the attention that they deserve in the syntax literature. In addition, recent research suggests that extraction from certain types of island structures in English might not be as unacceptable as previously assumed either. These findings break new empirical ground, question perceived knowledge, and may indeed have substantial ramifications for syntactic theory. This volume provides an overview of state-of-the-art research on island phenomena primarily in English and the Scandinavian languages, focusing on how languages compare to English, with the aim to shed new light on the nature of island constraints from different theoretical perspectives

    LIPIcs, Volume 261, ICALP 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 261, ICALP 2023, Complete Volum
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