761 research outputs found

    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

    Subjectivity, nature, existence: Foundational issues for enactive phenomenology

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    This thesis explores and discusses foundational issues concerning the relationship between phenomenological philosophy and the enactive approach to cognitive science, with the aim of clarifying, developing, and promoting the project of enactive phenomenology. This project is framed by three general ideas: 1) that the sciences of mind need a phenomenological grounding, 2) that the enactive approach is the currently most promising attempt to provide mind science with such a grounding, and 3) that this attempt involves both a naturalization of phenomenology and a phenomenologization of the concept of nature. More specifically, enactive phenomenology is the project of pursuing mutually illuminative exchanges between, on the one hand, phenomenological investigations of the structures of lived experience and embodied existence and, on the other, scientific accounts of mind and life – in particular those framed by theories of biological self-organization. The thesis consists of two parts. Part one is an introductory essay that seeks to clarify some of enactive phenomenology’s overarching philosophical commitments by tracing some of its historical roots. Part two is a compilation of four articles, each of which intervenes in a different contemporary debate relevant to the dissertation’s project

    (b2023 to 2014) The UNBELIEVABLE similarities between the ideas of some people (2006-2016) and my ideas (2002-2008) in physics (quantum mechanics, cosmology), cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and philosophy (this manuscript would require a REVOLUTION in international academy environment!)

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    (b2023 to 2014) The UNBELIEVABLE similarities between the ideas of some people (2006-2016) and my ideas (2002-2008) in physics (quantum mechanics, cosmology), cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and philosophy (this manuscript would require a REVOLUTION in international academy environment!

    Disadvantaged students' academic performance: analysing the zone of proximal development

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    The aim of the study is to investigate the practical application of Vygotsky's construct of the Zone of Proximal Development to the selection of disadvantaged students in higher education. There is a need in post-apartheid South Africa, with its legacy of inequality in educational experiences, to find accurate and fair predictors of academic performance that would act as alternatives to matriculation marks and static tests. The study relates the students' response to mediation to their academic performance and analyses the role that non-cognitive factors such as motivation, approaches to learning and learning strategies play in cognitive performance. The investigation was done in the form of different studies using over 400 first year students at the Peninsula Technikon as subjects. The first study focused on the effectiveness of the mediated lessons that form part of the two dynamic tests using a Solomon Four Group and a Two Group design. The second study made a comparison between the predictive validity of past academic achievement conventional static tests, several non-cognitive variables as well as the two dynamic tests. In the third study the students' response to a period of mediation was analysed. The fourth study focused on comparing different groups of students according to the following classification: schooling, gender, language, type of course and assessment and level of course to see whether any of the variables would have a moderator effect Finally a differention was made between the profiles of more successful as opposed to less successful students. The weight of evidence of the study indicates that it is possible to find alternatives to matriculation marks and static tests in selecting disadvantaged students by making use of the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development The results further showed that disadvantaged students are not a homogeneous group. Although the matriculation marks seemed to be the best single predictor of academic performance for the total group of students, alternative predictors were identified when looking at different subgroups. Modifiability (students' response to mediation) had a moderator effect on the predictive power of various variables. For the less modifiable group of students, the matriculation marks and, to a certain extent, static tests were good predictors, while for the more modifiable group of students a dynamic test proved to be a significant predictor of academic performance. The implications of the findings for the selection and academic development of disadvantaged students are discussed

    Towards an ecosystem view of legitimacy of third sector organisations

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    The study aims to provide a better understanding of the legitimacy and legitimation of third sector organisations (TSOs). It does so by integrating insights from contemporary legitimacy literature and public administration management literature into the context of Scottish-based TSOs that deliver services to young people. Legitimacy can support the resource acquisition and long-term survival of TSOs. Therefore, legitimacy should not be taken for granted and must be actively managed to gain endorsement, support, and resources from the legitimating environment. However, much of the previous non-profit literature has tended to focus on the study of dyads, where the funder is often viewed as the main constituency who grants legitimacy to TSOs. TSOs are complex organisations because they have multiple constituent groups who may have different interests. The non-profit underpinnings of TSOs, the multiplicity of funding mechanisms and the presence of multiple constituents require expanding the focus to embrace these characteristics into the study of TSO legitimacy. The study employed a qualitative multiple case study approach to explore legitimacy of four TSOs with different funding structures. Major data collection tools included semi-structured interviews with selected organisations and their funding institutions, observations and site visits, and analysis of relevant documents. The data was thematically analysed. The research study was guided by abductive reasoning which allowed for the exploration of the appropriate theoretical framework during the research and identified the relevance of the ecosystem approach in the study of the phenomena. The application of the ecosystem approached has allowed to account for the complexity of TSOs and uncover a range of interlinked processes that contribute to TSO legitimacy. By embracing a holistic view on legitimacy, the study has provided an empirical demonstration that in the TSO context, legitimation of TSOs does not occur in dyadic relationships between the organisation and the funder but requires ongoing interactions with other elements in the wider ecosystem, the role of which becomes apparent only after the whole ecosystem has been explored and understood. Accordingly, the study has proposed a framework of the legitimacy ecosystem of TSOs and offered three different approaches to legitimation based on the core element, which has more legitimising potential than others when viewed within the whole ecosystem

    The Typological Diversity of Morphomes: A Cross-Linguistic Study of Unnatural Morphology

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    This is the first typologically-oriented book-length treatment of morphomes, systematic morphological identities, usually within inflectional paradigms, that do not map onto syntactic or semantic natural classes. In the first half of the book, Borja Herce outlines the theoretical and empirical challenges associated with the identification and definition of morphomes, and surveys their links with related notions such as syncretism, homophony, segmentation, and economy, among others. He also presents the different ways in which morphomic structures in a language have been observed to emerge, change, and disappear. The second part of the book contains its core contribution: a database of 120 morphomes across 79 languages from a range of families, which are presented and analysed in detail. A range of findings emerge as a result, including the idiosyncratic nature of morphomes in the Romance languages, the existence of cross-linguistically recurrent unnatural patterns, and the preference for more natural structures even among morphomes. The database also allows further explorations of other issues such as the effect of learnability and communicative efficiency on morphological structures, and the lexical and grammatical informativity of morphs and their distribution

    Contextualizing Premodern Philosophy

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    This volume brings together contributions from distinguished scholars in the history of philosophy, focusing on points of interaction between discrete historical contexts, religions, and cultures found within the premodern period. The contributions connect thinkers from antiquity through the Middle Ages and include philosophers from the three major monotheistic faiths—Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. By emphasizing premodern philosophy’s shared textual roots in antiquity, particularly the writings of Plato and Aristotle, the volume highlights points of cross-pollination between different schools, cultures, and moments in premodern thought. Approaching the complex history of the premodern world in an accessible way, the editors organize the volume so as to underscore the difficulties the premodern period poses for scholars, while accentuating the fascinating interplay between the Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin philosophical traditions. The contributors cover many topics ranging from the aims of Aristotle’s cosmos, the adoption of Aristotle’s Organon by al-Fārābī, and the origins of the Plotiniana Arabica to the role of Ibn Gabirol’s Fons vitae in the Latin West, the ways in which Islamic philosophy shaped thirteenth-century Latin conceptions of light, Roger Bacon’s adaptation of Avicenna for use in his moral philosophy, and beyond. The volume’s focus on ""source-based contextualism"" demonstrates an appreciation for the rich diversity of thought found in the premodern period, while revealing methodological challenges raised by the historical study of premodern philosophy. Contextualizing Premodern Philosophy: Explorations of the Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin Traditions is a stimulating resource for scholars and advanced students working in the history of premodern philosophy
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