Directional adposition use in English, Swedish and Finnish

Directional adpositions such as to the left of describe where a Figure is in relation to a Ground. English and Swedish directional adpositions refer to the location of a Figure in relation to a Ground, whether both are static or in motion. In contrast, the Finnish directional adpositions edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) solely describe the location of a moving Figure in relation to a moving Ground (Nikanne, 2003). When using directional adpositions, a frame of reference must be assumed for interpreting the meaning of directional adpositions. For example, the meaning of to the left of in English can be based on a relative (speaker or listener based) reference frame or an intrinsic (object based) reference frame (Levinson, 1996). When a Figure and a Ground are both in motion, it is possible for a Figure to be described as being behind or in front of the Ground, even if neither have intrinsic features. As shown by Walker (in preparation), there are good reasons to assume that in the latter case a motion based reference frame is involved. This means that if Finnish speakers would use edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) more frequently in situations where both the Figure and Ground are in motion, a difference in reference frame use between Finnish on one hand and English and Swedish on the other could be expected. We asked native English, Swedish and Finnish speakers’ to select adpositions from a language specific list to describe the location of a Figure relative to a Ground when both were shown to be moving on a computer screen. We were interested in any differences between Finnish, English and Swedish speakers. All languages showed a predominant use of directional spatial adpositions referring to the lexical concepts TO THE LEFT OF, TO THE RIGHT OF, ABOVE and BELOW. There were no differences between the languages in directional adpositions use or reference frame use, including reference frame use based on motion. We conclude that despite differences in the grammars of the languages involved, and potential differences in reference frame system use, the three languages investigated encode Figure location in relation to Ground location in a similar way when both are in motion. Levinson, S. C. (1996). Frames of reference and Molyneux’s question: Crosslingiuistic evidence. In P. Bloom, M.A. Peterson, L. Nadel & M.F. Garrett (Eds.) Language and Space (pp.109-170). Massachusetts: MIT Press. Nikanne, U. (2003). How Finnish postpositions see the axis system. In E. van der Zee & J. Slack (Eds.), Representing direction in language and space. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Walker, C. (in preparation). Motion encoding in language, the use of spatial locatives in a motion context. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Lincoln, Lincoln. United Kingdo

The Dynamics of Dialogue in a Restricted Reference Domain

This thesis is concerned with the development of interactive communication skills in young school children, that is, skills which depend upon the linguistic interplay between dialogue participants. Semantic negotiation is investigated in the restricted context of a task-oriented game to examine how communicators co-ordinate their use and interpretation of language. The conversations considered were generated from pairs of same-aged 8-, 10-, and 12-year-old children playing a specially designed computer maze-game which elicits spontaneous dialogue, yet within a very restricted domain. The dialogues typically contain a number of location descriptions within a pre-defined spatial network, and such description sequences enable an exploration of the emergence of coordinated description schemes. As well as this, various aspects of problem solving abilty were investigated since the task involved a joint co-ordination problem. Results indicated that all age groups were able to engage in semantic negotiation and develop co-ordinated description schemes to describe locations on the maze, however there were certain developmental differences in their choice of schemes and their ability to increase co-ordination over the games. Furthermore, it appeared that the younger children were co-ordinating on the expressions to use, without fully understanding each other. Yet these results indicate that interactional processes are essential to the establishment of meaning, and that young children are able to infer meaning from the interaction in specific contexts of use. These findings tend to suggest that social-pragmatic factors play a critical role in the development of meaning, and indicate that the general process of co-ordination (in respect to language), may be a basic component of all human interactional dialogue

Practice, principles, and theory in the design of instructional text

This study is concerned with an analysis of the research arising from three quite different perspectives on instructional text - the `physical characteristics' research (legibility, layout, and readability), the `improvement of text' research (visual illustrations, adjunct aids, and typographical cueing), and the `learning theories' research (representation of knowledge, human memory, and quality of learning). From this analysis there is synthesised principles for the design of instructional text against which heuristic practice in text design is evaluated and from which a nascent theory of instructional text design is evolved. The principles derived from the various research perspectives provide a basis for the manipulation of text design elements in order to ensure that (a) existing knowledge in the reader can be activated, and (b) new knowledge can be assimilated in a manner facilitative of comprehension by (i) presentation in a structured and organised way, and (ii) appropriately highlighted through verbal and typographic cueing supported, as required, by verbal illustration and organisation. The emerging theory of instructional text design suggests: a topical analysis to determine the heirarchic relationship of ideas within the topic and the desired learning outcomes or objectives; a consideration of the linguistic aspects of the text; a consideration of the role of visual illustrations; and a consideration of the physical parameters of the text. These activities are concerned, respectively, with the design areas of structure and organisation, readability, visual illustration, and legibility, and are summed up in the acronym SORVIL

The cognitive representation of the large-scale environment

This thesis is concerned with the processes involved in the acquisition and use of cognitive representations of the large-scale environment, or 'cognitive mapping'. The first half of the thesis reviews relevant literature in three main sections. Firstly, the historical roots of the subject are described in chapters on early investigations of wayfinding and orientation, theoretical models of behaviour incorporating the concept of subjective knowledge and multidisciplinary studies of environmental images. Secondly, studies of group differences in cognitive mapping and initial theoretical frameworks are reviewed. Finally, the current state of research evidence is assessed in relation to four research areas. These concern methodological issues, the structure of internal representations, the process of acquiring new representations and individual differences in cognitive mapping.The remainder of the thesis reports and discusses four experimental studies of issues which were judged to be inadequately researched on the basis of the literature review. The first compared the utility of freehand sketch-mapping and three-dimensional modelling with educated, adult subjects. The second investigated the rate of acquisition of cognitive maps, particularly during the first days of environmental experience; using a structured mapping task. Objective accuracy, subjective ratings of accuracy and recall order were examined in relation to building usage and spatial experience. The third experiment compared artificial map learning with spatial relations ability, visual imagery ratings and everyday map usage. Additionally, the effect upon learning of stimulus mode (map or verbal list), response mode and stimulus-response mode compatibility was measured. The final experiment compared performance upon the 'real-life' mapping task of the second study with the map learning and spatial ability measures used in the third study. Evidence was found that cognitive mapping. spatial ability and attitudes to navigational problems are positively related. It was concluded that future work should emphasize the process of cognitive mapping and the relationship between map form and practical needs

Emotional processing and episodic memory.

The research reported within this dissertation investigates how individuals’ capacity to assimilate emotionally disruptive events is associated with particular features of episodic and autobiographical memory formation. It is inspired by Rachman’s (1980, 2001) formulation of emotional processing, and his subsequent proposals to explore the general mechanisms by which emotional disruptions are overcome. The specific rationale is informed by multilevel emotion theories, theories of post-traumatic stress disorder, and models of emotional processing. The research considered whether individuals who exhibit signs of a poor emotional processing style tend to encode events generally in a sensory-perceptual manner, with comparative deficits in their capacity to conceptually process data. Methodologically, the studies identify poor and effective emotional processors by using Baker et al.’s (2009) emotional processing scale as a grouping measure. The studies explore differences between groups of poor and effective emotional processors’ performance over a range of memory tasks drawn from episodic and autobiographical memory studies to detect evidence for a sensory- perceptual style of event and stimulus processing which is presumed to be indicated by a surfeit of perceptual details, heightened reported vividness, and a relative lack in conceptual ordering, narrative coherence and verbal indexing. Three general categories of memory are explored: memory for experimentally presented item lists, memory for extended narrative presentations and memory for naturally occurring events retained in long-term autobiographical memory representations. The evidence suggests a tendency to process in a sensory-perceptual manner amongst poor emotional processors for both experimental item lists, as well as in long term autobiographical memory investigations, whereas few differences between groups emerged for the study of narrative recollection. There was little evidence, by contrast, that effective emotional processors were superior at the conceptual processing of events or data. These results are discussed in terms of providing confirmation for information processing accounts of emotional disruptions and disorders which stress the aetiological significance in psychopathological conditions of how events are encoded, rendering such events accessible to broader autobiographical memory bases and conceptual elaboration. Furthermore, the importance of establishing more robust and testable definitions of conceptual processing is stressed

The relationship between scholastic performance and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of institutionalised children

Bibliography: pages 299-316.Professional staff attached to Child Welfare in Cape Town are aware of the lack of academic attainment of a large number of children in alternative care. The current research investigated the relationship between scholastic performance and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of institutionalised children from culturally deprived families. A multiple case study of 21 children, ranging in age from 6 to 16 years, comprising 10 girls and 11 boys attending the same primary school, provided data on neuropsychological, behavioural and family history dimensions. A multi-model assessment approach tapped diverse sources of evidence, including the following 5 parameters: 1) The Sensory Parameter: Snellen's Visual Acuity test, and either Merryweather & Steenkamp's or Wepman's Auditory Discrimination tests. 2) The Motor Parameter: Denckla's Revised Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs and the Purdue Pegboard fine motor speed and coordination tests. 3) The Language Parameter: The UCT Graded Reading, Speed Reading and Graded Spelling tests. 4) The Integrative Parameter: Visuographic functioning included the Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test and the WISC-R Mazes subtest. General intelligence was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised. Memory function was gauged both by the Benton Visual Retention Test (multiple choice format) and the WISC-R Digit Span subtest. Concentration was examined by combining 3 WISC-R subtest measures (Arithmetic, Digit Span & Coding) to yield a "Freedom from Distractibility" index. 5) The Personal Parameter: This included details of the children's heights and weights, as well as information regarding their self-concepts, measured by the Attitudes Towards Self Scale, a semantic differential self-report scale, developed by Nieuwoldt & Cronje. Written responses to 2 projective techniques, which included Wish fulfilment and Incomplete sentences, provided material for content analyses that yielded insights into attitudes to a variety of topics, including school, family life, hopes and fears

Linguistic Representation of Problem Solving Processes in Unaided Object Assembly

This thesis investigates the linguistic representation of problem solving processes in data recorded during unaided object assembly. It combines traditional approaches of analyzing verbal protocols with the recent approach of Cognitive Discourse Analysis

Research in mathematics education: A contemporary perspective

The twelve chapters in this book-all but two written by researchers in Australian universities-provide ample evidence of the impressive contributions currently being made by Australia to research in mathematics education. The authors\u27 fields of inquiry are diverse: they include discussion of the roles of language and imagery, problem posing and problem solving, students\u27 beliefs and students\u27 thinking, gambling and mental computation. T!1eir methodologies are no less diverse, incorporating descriptions of both quantitative and qualitative research projects, including action research in classrooms, theoretical perspectives and the development of theoretical models, reviews of research, surveys, clinical interviews and descriptions of new research tools