A Tool for Encoding Controlled Natural Language Specifications as ASP Rules.

Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a popular declarative programming language for solving hard combinatorial problems. Albeit ASP has been widely adopted in both academic and industrial contexts, it might be difficult for people who are not familiar with logic programming conventions to use it. In this paper, we propose a translation of English sentences expressed in a controlled natural language (CNL) form into ASP. In particular, we first provide a definition of the type of sentences allowed by our CNL and their translation as ASP rules, and then exemplify the usage of CNL for the specification of well-known combinatorial problems

A behavioural analysis of "choking" in self-paced skills

This thesis is about "choking" in self-paced skills. Choking refers to ''the occurrence of inferior performance despite striving and incentives for superior performance" (Baumeister and Steinhilber, 1986, p. 361). Self-paced skills are skills in which performance is initiated by the athlete. This research set out to investigate the cause of choking in self-paced skills within the theoretical framework of behaviour analysis. The main focus of the research relates to the distinction between behaviour under the control of verbal antecedents (rule-governed behaviour) and behaviour that is shaped by its consequences (contingency-shaped behaviour). It was originally hypothesised that the insensitivity of rule-governed behaviour to changes in the contingencies of reinforcement could he beneficial in situations where these changes led to greater performance pressure. Specifically, it was predicted that performance under the control of verbal antecedents would be less susceptible to choking. In the first experiment, no support was found for the hypothesis and, furthermore, rule-governed performance appeared to be inferior to contingency-shaped performance in the early stages of acquisition. In light of these results, and after a detailed examination of the behaviour analysis distinction between these two forms of behaviour, evidence was presented which suggested that verbal control of the topography, or form, of behaviour would be likely to disrupt performance in self-paced skills. In subsequent experiments, it was found that using simple verbal cues was an effective means of preventing choking under pressure. It was hypothesised that the function of these cues was in preventing reinvestment of too many technical instructions in the moments before performance initiation. The assumptions upon which the reinvestment theory of choking is based were also examined with results providing general support for the theory but also suggesting that it needs to be refined to account for verbal antecedents that do not disrupt performance

A cognitive model of the roles of diagrammatic representation in supporting unpractised reasoning about probability

Cognitive process accounts of the advantages conferred by diagrams in problem solving and reasoning have typically attempted to explain an idealised user or a reasoning system that has equivalent to practised knowledge of the task with the target representation. The thesis investigates the question of how diagrams support users in the process of solving unpractised problems in the domain of probability. The research question is addressed by the design and analysis of an empirical study and cognitive model. The main experiment required participants (N=8) to solve a set of unpractised probability problems presented by combined text and diagram. Think-aloud and eye-movement protocols together with given solutions were used to infer the content and process of problem interpretation, solution interpretation and task execution strategies employed by participants. The data suggested that the diagram was used to facilitate problem solving in three different ways by: (a) supporting sub-problem identification, (b) supporting prior knowledge of diagrammatic sub-schemes used for interpreting a solution and (c) supporting the process of interpreting and testing the specific meaning of given problem instructions and self-generated solution instructions. These empirical data were used to develop cognitive models of canonical strategies of the three identified phenomena: • Sub-problem identification advantages are accounted for by proposing that the spatial semantics of diagrams coupled with competences of the visual-spatial processing system and opportunities for demonstrative interpretation strategies increase the probability of goal-relevant data being made available to central cognition for further processing. • Framing advantages are accounted for by proposing that represented diagrammatic sub-schemes (e.g. part-whole portions, icon-arrays, 2D containers etc.) facilitate access to existing prior knowledge used to frame, derive, and reason about information analogically within that scheme. • Advantages in instruction interpretation are related to the specificity of diagrams which support the opportunity to demonstratively test and evaluate the referential meaning of an instruction. The cognitive model also investigates and evaluates assumptions about the prior knowledge for solving unpractised probability problems; a representational scheme for addressing the co-ordination of sub-goals; a deictic problem representation to support online processing of environmental information, a meta-cognitive processing scheme to address self-argumentation and intention tracking and visual and spatial competences to address the requirements of diagrammatic reasoning. The implications of the cognitive model are discussed with regard to existing accounts of diagrammatic reasoning, probability problem solving (PPS), and unpractised problem solving

Vocabulary learning strategies : an empirical study of their use and evaluation by Saudi EFL learners majoring in English

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The impact of CAAD on design methodology and visual thinking in architectural education.

This thesis aims to explore the potential impact of Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) as a conceptual design tool on the design methodology of final year students. Many design studies have focused on sketching and its relationship with creative thinking to validate CAAD programs as a design tool. On the contrary, this study argues that the continued primacy of traditional tools as the predominant conceptual tools needs more evidence in the contemporary design practices. That is to say, the relative importance of CAAD alongside other media, such as sketching, model making and verbalisation must be recognised before the forthcoming leap in CAAD programs development. To illustrate these ideas, the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment was used as a case study to explore CAADs role in the educational context, the studio in general and the final year studio in particular. A mixed methods approach was employed to carry out two studies: a case study and a protocol study. A case study approach was utilised to understand the modern context whereby CAAD is used by the students despite CAAD not being an integrated part of the project model. The case study was also used to document the reasons behind students tendency of using CAAD at the conceptual phases of the design process. Mixed methods were used to collect data at three different intervals of the two semesters; before starting the studio project, while working on the project and after submitting the final project. The methods used include a questionnaire survey, structured reflection interviews, and a focus group. A protocol study was conducted to understand the impact of CAAD on selfcommunication using the think aloud method under the same experimental conditions using CAAD program(s) as the only external representation. The case study findings clarified the effects of the traditional context of the studio and the project model on CAADs utility within students design processes and identified the lack of CAAD professional skills, and the integration of CAAD as a knowledge base. The protocol study findings provided a greater understanding of the cognitive processes in designing and design performance while using CAAD, as well as acknowledging the possibility of a cyclic conceptual process. The potential impact of CAAD on the design process was further categorised. The empirical exploration provides CAAD research with new insights, instigating more useful ways of teaching and learning by an appropriate integration of CAAD programs and design methods in a situated manner where students can enhance their design processes creatively. It is proposed that a more measured and disinterested approach is now required to investigate CAAD and their implications for education

Students´ language in computer-assisted tutoring of mathematical proofs

Truth and proof are central to mathematics. Proving (or disproving) seemingly simple statements often turns out to be one of the hardest mathematical tasks. Yet, doing proofs is rarely taught in the classroom. Studies on cognitive difficulties in learning to do proofs have shown that pupils and students not only often do not understand or cannot apply basic formal reasoning techniques and do not know how to use formal mathematical language, but, at a far more fundamental level, they also do not understand what it means to prove a statement or even do not see the purpose of proof at all. Since insight into the importance of proof and doing proofs as such cannot be learnt other than by practice, learning support through individualised tutoring is in demand. This volume presents a part of an interdisciplinary project, set at the intersection of pedagogical science, artificial intelligence, and (computational) linguistics, which investigated issues involved in provisioning computer-based tutoring of mathematical proofs through dialogue in natural language. The ultimate goal in this context, addressing the above-mentioned need for learning support, is to build intelligent automated tutoring systems for mathematical proofs. The research presented here has been focused on the language that students use while interacting with such a system: its linguistic propeties and computational modelling. Contribution is made at three levels: first, an analysis of language phenomena found in students´ input to a (simulated) proof tutoring system is conducted and the variety of students´ verbalisations is quantitatively assessed, second, a general computational processing strategy for informal mathematical language and methods of modelling prominent language phenomena are proposed, and third, the prospects for natural language as an input modality for proof tutoring systems is evaluated based on collected corpora

The Language XChange

The research topic investigated by this thesis is reactivity on the Web. Reactivity on the Web is an emerging research issue covering: updating data on the Web, exchanging information about events (such as executed updates) between Web sites, and reacting to combinations of such events. Following a declarative approach to reactivity on the Web, a novel reactive language called XChange is proposed. Novelties of the language are represented by the proposed data metaphor intended to ease the language understanding and the supported reactive features tailored to the characteristics of the Web. Realising this pressuposed refining, extending, and adapting to a new medium some of the concepts on which active database systems are built upon. Reactivity is specified in XChange by means of reactive rules (or event-condition-action rules) having the following components: the event part is a query against events that occurred on the Web, the condition part is a query against Web resources (expressed in the Web query language Xcerpt), and the action part is a transaction specification (specifying updates to be executed and events to be raised in an all-or-nothing manner). Novel in XChange is its ability to detect composite events on the Web, i.e. possibly time related combinations of events that have occurred at (same or different) Web sites. XChange introduces a novel view over the Web data by stressing a clear separation between persistent data (data of Web resources, such as XML or HTML documents) and volatile data (event data communicated on the Web between XChange programs). Based on the differences between these kinds of data, the data metaphor is that of written text vs. speech. XChange's language design enforces this clear separation and entails new characteristics of event processing on the Web. After motivating the need for a solution to reactivity on the Web, this thesis introduces the design principles and syntax of the language XChange accompanied by use cases for demonstrating the practical applicability of its constructs. Important contributions of the thesis are the specification of the language semantics and the description of an algortihm for evaluating XChange programs

Cognitive demands of science curricula: a case study of alignment between intention and practice

Claudia Johnson studied the cognitive demands of science curricula in high school. She found that classroom teaching overemphasised retrieval and analysis of knowledge, while underemphasising comprehension and knowledge utilisation when compared to curriculum intentions. Findings can inform teacher education aimed at increasing students' higher-order thinking and their engagement with science