L2 English learners’ knowledge of figurative meaning senses of phrasal verbs

While phrasal verbs (PVs) represent “a problematic feature of English vocabulary” (Garnier & Schmitt, 2016, p. 29) for a large number of learners, research into L2 English PVs remains insufficient. This study examines 150 tertiary-level L2 English learners’ knowledge of figurative meaning senses of PVs and the influence of congruence in the figurative meaning senses between L1 and L2 on their knowledge of the meaning senses. The research instruments consisted of a form-recall and a meaning-recall task, questionnaires, and focus group interviews. The results indicate that the learners’ PV knowledge differed significantly according to proficiency level and task type – production and reception. Further, L1 congruence influenced the learners’ knowledge of PVs differently depending on proficiency levels.

More Than Just Shouting? Distinguishing Interpersonal-Directed and Elite-Directed Incivility in Online Political Talk

Online political talk is often deemed toxic to democracy due to the pervasiveness of incivility. This study challenges this perspective by examining the discursive and contextual conditions related to interpersonal incivility in contrast with incivility targeted at political elites on Facebook comments and news websites. Findings suggest that much of the vitriol online is targeted at politicians and characterized by justified opinions. Interpersonal incivility is associated with disagreement, but less likely to be associated with replies—suggesting that users refrain from uncivil direct confrontation. Taken together, these findings indicate that interpersonal-directed and elite-directed incivility are characterized by distinct discursive features and happen in opposite directions. Incivility is more than just shouting, and it is frequently used to criticize political elites and justify opinions than to attack others in a discussion. As such, it should not be inherently associated with toxic behaviors or be considered a problematic feature of online discussions.

Sharp Interface Limit of a Stokes/Cahn–Hilliard System, Part II: Approximate Solutions

We construct rigorously suitable approximate solutions to the Stokes/Cahn–Hilliard system by using the method of matched asymptotics expansions. This is a main step in the proof of convergence given in the first part of this contribution, [3], where the rigorous sharp interface limit of a coupled Stokes/Cahn–Hilliard system in a two dimensional, bounded and smooth domain is shown. As a novelty compared to earlier works, we introduce fractional order terms, which are of significant importance, but share the problematic feature that they may not be uniformly estimated in $$\epsilon $$ ϵ in arbitrarily strong norms. As a consequence, gaining necessary estimates for the error, which occurs when considering the approximations in the Stokes/Cahn–Hilliard system, is rather involved.

Nietzsche: Metaphysician

Perhaps the most fundamental disagreement concerning Nietzsche's view of metaphysics is that some commentators believe Nietzsche has a positive, systematic metaphysical project, and others deny this. Those who deny it hold that Nietzsche believes metaphysics has a special problem, that is, a distinctively problematic feature that distinguishes metaphysics from other areas of philosophy. In this paper, I investigate important features of Nietzsche's metametaphysics in order to argue that Nietzsche does not, in fact, think metaphysics has a special problem. The result is that, against a long-standing view held in the literature, we should be reading Nietzsche as a metaphysician.

Human Rights without Objective Intrinsic Value

The current predominant conception of human rights implies that human beings have objective intrinsic value. In this paper, we defend that there is no satisfactory justification of this claim. In spite of the great variety of theories aimed at explaining objective intrinsic value, all of them share one common problematic feature: they pass from a non-evaluative proposition to an evaluative proposition by asserting that a certain entity has intrinsic value in virtue of having certain non-evaluative features. This is a step that cannot be justified. In light of this negative result, we offer a radically different approach to intrinsic value. Our proposal reinterprets the claim that human beings have intrinsic value in terms of a commitment to value human beings intrinsically. This commitment provides both objective practical reasons for, and a rational explanation of, efforts aimed at defending and promoting human rights, without need to appeal to the existence of objective intrinsic value.

Unpacking Rumination and Executive Control: A Network Perspective

Rumination is a common and problematic feature of depression and related disorders. It may reflect impairments in executive control. In this project, we used network analysis to explore the conceptualization of rumination in terms of impoverished top-down executive control. A total of 91 participants completed laboratory tasks of executive control, underwent a stressor, and reported on their level of rumination. We computed a regularized partial correlation network, relative importance network, and directed acyclic graph to estimate the functional relations among aspects of rumination and executive control. Results highlighted the centrality of self-criticism in the network. Perseverative thinking (e.g., brooding) predicted poor executive control, which in turn related to greater self-criticism. These complementary network perspectives suggest that multinode loops could be at play. This new approach to visualizing rumination may offer a more informative view of the interplay between problematic cognitive and affective processes, as well as ways of integrating self-report and behavioral variables.

Police culture: individual and organizational differences in police officer perspectives

Purpose Much of the commentary about police culture treats it as a monolithic and problematic feature of the police occupation that inhibits change and progress. The purpose of this paper is to draw on surveys completed by over 13,000 sworn police to describe officers’ occupational outlooks and explore the extent to which they vary across individuals and police agencies. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws upon employee survey data from 89 US police and sheriff departments collected in 2014-2015 to examine police culture through officers’ views of the community, police work, and police administration and to explore the extent to which these beliefs and opinions are affected by personal characteristics and organizational affiliation. Findings Results indicate that officers’ perspectives are more positive than might be expected and do not vary greatly by officer personal characteristics. They differ more substantially across police agencies. This suggests that police culture is to a significant extent an organizational phenomenon, not simply an occupational one. Originality/value Examining the views and perspectives of over 13,000 sworn police employed in 89 different police organizations provides a more representative and generalizable picture of police culture than previous studies that typically analyzed officers in only one police department.

Clitics: Separating syntax and prosody

A problematic feature of clitic positioning attested in a number of languages is the ability of a clitic to appear inside a syntactic unit of which it is not itself a part, apparently due to prosodic restrictions on its positioning. The influence of prosody on syntax presents a challenge for any formal account, particularly any that strives to respect a modular view of the grammatical architecture. I present an account of clitic positioning within a recently proposed model of the syntax–phonology interface that aims at full modularity, showing that it is indeed possible in such an architecture, and showing where and how prosody and syntax interact in this model.

Articulating Design Education

Design as an activity may be conceptualized analytically by saying that it consists, first and foremost, in the ability to create visual images of new structures and products; secondly, in the ability to produce such images in a way that will balance the economic demands of clients with the cultural demands of society; and finally, in the ability to use and control various ICTs for the production of visualizations. At the core of design activity is the phenomenon of creativity, the most mysterious and problematic feature of design, because it is thought to emanate from the imagination in a way that precludes and defies rational choice and control. J. P. Guilford’s concept of divergent thinking helps to explain creativity, as does Donald Schön’s concept of reflection-in-action, contrasted to Herbert Simon’s argument that design thinking is primarily problem solving, but ultimately, creativity and imagination appear to be elusive and uncanny concepts. Aristotle’s insistence on the formally teleological nature of making suggests that there may be a difference between art, or pure creativity, and design, or technical creativity, with its emphasis on utility. Creativity has always been required of designers, but in today’s world cultural awareness is also needed, in order to comply with communitarian ethics, with its emphasis on co-operation and consensus building, directed mainly toward environmental sustainability. Finally, expertise in the use of ICTS is now being universally advocated for all designers.

Space Before God? A Problem in Newton's Metaphysics

My goal in this paper is to elucidate a problematic feature of Newton's metaphysics of absolute space. Specifically, I argue that Newton's theory has the untenable consequence that God depends on space for His existence and is therefore not an independent entity. I argue for this conclusion in stages. First, I show that Newton believed that space was an entity and that God and space were ontologically distinct entities. Part of this involves arguing that Newton denies that space is a divine attribute. I then show that Newton endorsed a principle according to which the existence of space is a necessary condition for the existence of any other entity. Following this, I discuss the ways in which this makes God depend on space for His existence and the reasons why this is unacceptable for traditional conceptions of God. Specifically, I show that it is incompatible with the orthodox position that God be entirely independent and self-determining. Finally, I offer two considerations which, I hope, make the problem seem less serious than it first appears. The first consideration has to do with Newton's polemical context and the second has to do with the nature of his theological thought.