Implicit causality of action verbs at the interface between conceptual structure and discourse coherence relations

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-35
Author(s):  
Milena Kuehnast ◽  
Eva Meier
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Conceptual Structure ◽  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
Gender Information ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Implicit Causality ◽  
Physical Impact ◽  
Action Verbs

Abstract Implicit causality of interpersonal transitive verbs (IC) pertains to preferences to attribute the cause of a given action to the subject or the object referent in active clauses. Causal attribution is operationalized as the probability of referential continuation in a subsequent explanatory clause. This paper presents an explorative investigation into the causal biases of action verbs, which in contrast to affective verbs have received less attention in IC research. We approach implicit causality as a discourse level phenomenon based on the textual level of discourse representation and enriched by conceptual knowledge. In study 1, we targeted IC effects of German action verbs (N = 52) in sentences containing causal, additive and adversative connectives. Results showed that IC based categories of subject-object-, and non-biasing predicates were clearly discernable in causal contexts only. In study 2, we examined effects of situational knowledge (physical affectedness & social acceptability) and affective appraisals (valence & arousal) represented in the conceptual structure of the verbs on the construal of causality biases and their interplay with immediate contextual information such as gender of referents. Results show that higher degrees of physical affectedness were associated with causal attribution to the object referent. This effect was modulated by the affective properties of the verbs. Our findings revealed the influence of physiological arousal, an affective dimension not considered in previous investigations of IC. Actions with a strong physical impact that were characterized by high arousal, e.g., kick, or tickle were more likely to be explained with reference to the subject. Participants also considered the available contextual information, as indicated by the significant interactions of gender information with arousal. Within the subsample of non-biasing verbs, higher estimates for social behavior increased probabilities of causal attributions to the subject.

Developmental Changes in Word Recognition: An Information-Processing Account

1986 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Pring ◽  
Maggie Snowling
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Context Effect ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Single Word Reading ◽  
First Time

Two experiments examining developmental changes in the use of context in single word reading are reported. The first experiment investigated how effectively children can access conceptual knowledge and use this to help their word recognition. The results indicated that young readers can on demand direct their attention to semantic information, and this allows them to reap a relatively greater benefit from context than older more skilful readers. The second experiment attempted to clarify the way such use of contextual information might help in the specific case when a child attempts to decode a new word for the first time. Skilled and unskilled readers pronounced pseudohomophonic nonwords faster when they were primed by a semantic context, and the context effect was greater for unskilled readers. The nonword's graphemic similarity to a lexical item was also important. In general, the results were consistent with Stanovich's (1980) interactive-compensatory model of reading, and they suggest that in learning to read, several already existing stores of information (e.g. auditory, visual and conceptual) are integrated in order to achieve a solution to the word recognition problem.

Salience and shift in salience as means of creating discourse coherence

Pragmatics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Hannß
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
Pragmatic Function ◽  
The Subject

Abstract The Chipaya language, an endangered isolate of the Bolivian highlands, has a set of three enclitics, =l, =m and =ʐ, which are coreferential with the subject of a clause but are not necessarily attached to it and are not obligatory. In this paper, I investigate the pragmatic function of these forms. The salience-marking enclitics (henceforth SMEs) occur at paratactic and hypotactic discourse transitions, where they indicate a shift in salience, thereby contributing to creating discourse coherence. Discourse transitions without a shift in salience are not accompanied by the enclitics. Those enclitics that occur at paratactic transitions have scope over at least the segment whose beginning and/or end they occur in, whereas SMEs at hypotactic transitions have scope over the clause they appear in. Use of the SMEs is genre-specific.

scholarly journals Innovative Assessment Practice to Improve Teaching and Learning in Civil Engineering

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-80
Author(s):  
Siham G. Farrag ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Total Satisfaction ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Students Satisfaction ◽  
Core Part

The professional skills are essential for engineering student along with conceptual knowledge. The main objective of this paper is to explore an innovative assessment practice that was implemented to enhance teaching and learning for an undergraduate student in Civil Engineering. The practice was developed to increase students’ engagement, and encourage collaboration and critical thinking to achieve sustainable learning. Emerging technology and e-tools were the key of improve this practice. The practice was evaluated through students’ performance during the semester, and through the analysis of student’s feedback, peer review and external feedback. Generally, the feedback demonstrated the effectiveness of this practice in improving students’ understanding of the subject area and their academic performance. The total satisfaction was more than 90% and showed students’ satisfaction with the pedagogy adopted. The results showed a significant improvement in students’ performance in both internal and external marks. The final exam average increased by 20% and the total average increased by 15.4 % from the previous semester. This paper highlights the importance of linking learning and assessment as a core part of the teaching and learning process.

scholarly journals What is 'the subject' the name for? The conceptual structure of Alain Badiou’s theory of the subject

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-80
Author(s):  
Margus Vihalem
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Conceptual Structure ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Concept Of Truth

The present paper outlines some basic concepts of Alain Badiou’s philosophy of the subject, tracking down its inherent and complex philosophical implications. These implications are made explicit in the criticism directed against the philosophical sophistry which denies the pertinence of the concept of truth. Badiou’s philosophical innovation is based on three nodal concepts, namely truth, event and subject, and it must be revealed how the afore-mentioned concepts are organized and interrelated, eventually leading to reformulating the concept of the subject. In its exercise, philosophy is intimately affiliated to the four adjacent procedures of mathematics, art, love and politics that could be understood as overall conditions on the margins of which philosophical thinking takes place. Separating philosophy from ontology and charging philosophy with what exceeds being, Badiou transforms it to the general theory of the event. Consequently the concept of the subject is disconnected from that of the object, the subject being not an instance of knowledge, but always a part of generic procedures and thus definable simply as a finite fragment or an operative configuration of the traces of the event. Therefore, it could be stated that Badiou’s theory of the subject is formal and refuses all essentialist connotations.

Evaluating the Use of Virtual Reality to Teach Introductory Concepts of Additive Manufacturing

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Ostrander ◽  
Conrad S. Tucker ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Nicholas A. Meisel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Real World ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Standard Tool ◽  
Physical Setting ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Lesson Evaluation

Abstract Limited academic course offerings and high barriers to incorporate industrial additive manufacturing (AM) systems into education has led to an underserved demand for a highly skilled AM workforce. In this research, virtual reality (VR) is proposed as a medium to help teach introductory concepts of AM in an interactive, scalable manner. Before implementing VR as a standard tool to teach introductory concepts of AM, we must evaluate the effectiveness of this medium for the subject. We test the hypothesis that VR can be used to teach students introductory concepts of AM in a way that is as effective as teaching the same concepts in a real-world physical setting. The research also explores differences in learning between participants who engage in a hands-on interactive lesson and participants who engage in a hands-off passive lesson. The study assesses participants’ AM knowledge through pre-/post-AM lesson evaluation. AM conceptual knowledge gained and changes in self-efficacy are evaluated to make an argument for the effectiveness of VR as an AM learning tool. Our findings in this research indicate that both interactive and passive VR may be indeed used to effectively teach introductory concepts of AM; we also found advantages to using interactive VR for improving AM self-efficacy.

Subject expression and discourse embeddedness in Emirati Arabic

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Owens ◽  
Robin Dodsworth ◽  
Mary Kohn
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Relevant Parameter ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Single Episode ◽  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Subject Expression ◽  
The One

AbstractSince Prince (1981) and Givón (1983), studies on discourse reference have explained the grammatical realization of referents in terms of general concepts such as “assumed familiarity” or “discourse coherence.” In this paper, we develop a complementary approach based on a detailed statistical tracking of subjects in Emirati Arabic, from which two major categories of subject expression emerge. On the one hand, null subjects are opposed to overt ones; on the other, subject-verb (SV) is opposed to verb-subject (VS). Although null subjects strongly correlate with coreferentiality with the subject of the previous clause, they can also index more distant referents within a single episode. With respect to SV vs. VS, morpholexical classes are found to be biased toward one or the other: nouns are typically VS, pronouns SV. We conclude that the null subject variant is the norm in Emirati Arabic, and when an overt subject is appropriate, lexical identity biases the subject into SV or VS order, generating word order as a discourse-relevant parameter. Overall, our approach attempts to understand Arabic discourse from a microlevel perspective.

scholarly journals Factors of inefficiency of social communication of forced migrants in the host society

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Communication ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Host Society ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Communication Partner ◽  
Sociocultural Differences ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Forced Migrants

The article considers the factors of ineffective social communication between forced migrants and local population in the host society, such as the presence of bias and stereotypes in the relations between communicators; experienced collective trauma, which makes it difficult for forced migrants to create new social contacts, causes a “distrust syndrome” and the adoption of the role of a victim by migrants; the presence of objective differences in needs, which may be perceived differently by the parties of communication as a consequence of different personal experiences; the presence of sociocultural differences between representatives of the host community and forced migrants, which may be caused by the specifics of the local labor market and linguistic traditions. It is emphasized that these factors can affect the perception by forced migrants of several communication contexts, such as physical, social, emotional, thematic ones. It is indicated that in conditions of insufficient awareness of the subjects of communication about each other and about the subject of communication, inference becomes a significant factor in (non)understanding. By “inference” we mean the process of constructing certain knowledge and conclusions about a communication partner (and the subject of discussion) through the use of non-verbal, background channels of communication. Inference can be based both on logical conclusions and on contextual information, sociocultural knowledge, norms and principles of communicative influence. It is concluded that an important factor in successful interaction between migrants and the host community can be a wider involvement of the migrants in solving problems that exist both for themselves and the host community. This can contribute to a deeper understanding of the sociocultural context of life and the needs of each group by representatives of another group.

scholarly journals Lifestyle Interventions Improving Cannabinoid Tone During COVID-19 Lockdowns May Enhance Compliance With Preventive Regulations and Decrease Psychophysical Health Complications

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viola Brugnatelli ◽  
Enrico Facco ◽  
Gastone Zanette
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Affective Change ◽  
Physical Impact ◽  
Health Complications ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Physiologic System

Studies investigating the psychosomatic effects of social isolation in animals have shown that one of the physiologic system that gets disrupted by this environment-affective change is the Endocannabinoid System. As the levels of endocannabinoids change in limbic areas and prefrontal cortex during stressful times, so is the subject more prone to fearful and negative thoughts and aggressive behavior. The interplay of social isolation on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and cannabinoid tone triggers a vicious cycle which further impairs the natural body's homeostatic neuroendocrine levels and provokes a series of risk factors for developing health complications. In this paper, we explore the psychosomatic impact of prolonged quarantine in healthy individuals, and propose management and coping strategies that may improve endocannabinoid tone, such as integration of probiotics, cannabidiol, meditation, and physical exercise interventions with the aim of supporting interpersonal, individual, and professional adherence with COVID-19 emergency public measures whilst minimizing their psycho-physical impact.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality As an Interactive Educational Resource for Additive Manufacturing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Ostrander ◽  
Conrad S. Tucker ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Nicholas A. Meisel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Educational Resource ◽  
Learning Differences ◽  
Standard Tool ◽  
Physical Setting ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Skilled Workforce ◽  
Lesson Evaluation

Demand for a highly skilled workforce in the field of additive manufacturing (AM) is growing but is underserved due to limited academic course offerings and high barriers for incorporating industrial AM systems into education. Virtual reality (VR) is proposed as a medium to help teach introductory concepts of AM to a broader audience in an interactive, scalable manner. Before implementing VR as a standard tool to teach the concepts of AM, we must evaluate the effectiveness of this medium for the subject. Our research aims to answer the question: can VR be used to teach introductory concepts of additive manufacturing in a way that is as effective as teaching the same concepts in a physical setting? The research looks at the learning differences between two groups: (1) students exposed to an interactive AM lesson in a traditional physical setting and (2) students exposed to the same lesson within a virtual environment. The study assesses participants’ AM knowledge through pre-/post-AM lesson evaluation. AM conceptual knowledge gained and changes in self-efficacy are evaluated to make an argument for the effectiveness of VR as an AM learning tool.

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