Are normative properties descriptive properties?

Some philosophers think that normative properties are identical to descriptive properties. In this paper, I argue that this entails that it is possible to say which descriptive properties normative properties are identical to. I argue that Frank Jackson’s argument to show that this is possible fails, and that the objections to this argument show that it is impossible to say which descriptive properties normative properties are identical to. I conclude that normative properties are not identical to descriptive properties. I then show that if we combine this conclusion with the conclusion of a different argument that Jackson has given to show that there are no irreducibly normative properties, it follows that there are no normative properties at all.

A framework for graphic description in book design

This project is concerned with the way that illustrations, photographs, diagrams and graphs, and typographic elements interact to convey ideas on the book page. A framework for graphic description is proposed to elucidate this graphic language of ‘complex texts’. The model is built up from three main areas of study, with reference to a corpus of contemporary children’s science books. First, a historical survey puts the subjects for study in context. Then a multidisciplinary discussion of graphic communication provides a theoretical underpinning for the model; this leads to various proposals, such as the central importance of ratios and relationships among parts in creating meaning in graphic communication. Lastly a series of trials in description contribute to the structure of the model itself. At the heart of the framework is an organising principle that integrates descriptive models from fields of design, literary criticism, art history, and linguistics, among others, as well as novel categories designed specifically for book design. Broadly, design features are described in terms of elemental component parts (micro-level), larger groupings of these (macro-level), and finally in terms of overarching, ‘whole book’ qualities (meta-level). Various features of book design emerge at different levels; for instance, the presence of nested discursive structures, a form of graphic recursion in editorial design, is proposed at the macro-level. Across these three levels are the intersecting categories of ‘rule’ and ‘context’, offering different perspectives with which to describe graphic characteristics. Contextbased features are contingent on social and cultural environment, the reader’s previous knowledge, and the actual conditions of reading; rule-based features relate to the systematic or codified aspects of graphic language. The model aims to be a frame of reference for graphic description, of use in different forms of qualitative or quantitative research and as a heuristic tool in practice and teaching.

New legal texts from the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana

Several previously unnoticed texts concerning ancient lawcourts can be found in the Colloquia of the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana, a set of bilingual dialogues composed for language learners during the Roman empire. The texts describe court cases, both criminal and civil; their writers probably taught in law schools between the second and fourth centuries ad. Editions, translations, and summary information about these texts are provided.

Evaluation and revision of inferential comprehension in narrative texts: an eye movement study

We investigated the processes of how adult readers evaluate and revise their situation model during reading by monitoring their eye movements as they read narrative texts and subsequent critical sentences. In each narrative text, a short introduction primed a knowledge-based inference, followed by a target concept that was either expected (e.g., “oven”) or unexpected (e.g., “grill”) in relation to the inferred concept. Eye movements showed that readers detected a mismatch between the new unexpected information and their prior interpretation, confirming their ability to evaluate inferential information. Just below the narrative text, a critical sentence included a target word that was either congruent (e.g., “roasted”) or incongruent (e.g., “barbecued”) with the expected but not the unexpected concept. Readers spent less time reading the congruent than the incongruent target word, reflecting the facilitation of prior information. In addition, when the unexpected (but not expected) concept had been presented, participants with lower verbal (but not visuospatial) working memory span exhibited longer reading times and made more regressions (from the critical sentence to previous information) on encountering congruent information, indicating difficulty in inhibiting their initial incorrect interpretation and revising their situation model

Descriptive Sensory Analysis and Acceptance of Stingless Bee Honey

Stingless bee honey samples were evaluated by sensory descriptive analysis using free choice profile methodology. Appearance, flavor, and aroma were described and the data were treated with Generalized Procrustes Analysis. Individual descriptive terms ranged from 8 to 20. Plotting the samples in a bidimensional plan indicated that appearance attributes (color and viscosity) and sweet, sour and acid flavor were strongly correlated with x axis (Dimension 1) while coconut, wood, acid, sour, and sweet flavor aroma attributes were correlated with y axis (Dimension 2). The affective test was also performed and with the exception of the Melipona scutellaris honey, all the other samples showed good acceptance. Honeys that were described as sweeter and less acid were preferred by nontrained assessors, indicating that the regular consumer recognizes honey produced by Apis mellifera bee as a standard.

The functions of Japanese Sound Symbolic Words in Different Types of Texts and Their Translation

Though sound symbolic words (onomatopoeia and mimetic words, or giongo and gitaigo in Japanese) exist in other languages, it would not be so easy to compare them to those in Japanese. This is because unlike in Japanese, in many other languages (here we see English and Spanish) sound symbolic words do not have distinctive forms that separate them immediately from the rest of categories of words. In Japanese, a sound symbolic word has a radical (that is based on the elaborated Japanese sound symbolic system), and often a suffix that shows subtle nuance. Together they give the word a distinctive form that differentiates it from other categories of words, though its grammatical functions could vary, especially in the case of mimetic words (gitaigo). Without such an obvious feature, in other languages, it would not be always easy to separate sound symbolic words from the rest. These expressions are extremely common and used in almost all types of text in Japanese, but their elaborated sound symbolic system and possibly their various grammatical functions are making giongo and gitaigo one of the most difficult challenges for the foreign students and translators. Studying the translation of these expressions into other languages might give some indication related to the comparison of Japanese sound symbolic words and those in other languages. Though sound symbolic words are present in many types of texts in Japanese, their functions in traditional forms of text (letters only) and manga (Japanese comics)are different and they should be treated separately. For example, in traditional types of text such as novels, the vast majority of the sound symbolic words used are mimetic words (gitaigo) and most of them are used as adverbs, whereas in manga, the majority of the sound symbolic words used (excluding those appear within the speech bubbles) are onomatopoeias (giongo) and often used on their own (i.e. not as a part of a sentence). Naturally, the techniques used to translate these expressions in the above two types of documents differ greatly. The presentation will focus on i) grammatical functions of Japanese sound symbolic words in traditional types of texts (novels/poems) and in manga works, and ii) whether their features and functions are maintained (i.e. whether they are translated as sound symbolic words) when translated into other languages (English and Spanish). The latter point should be related to a comparison of sound symbolic words in Japanese and other languages, which will be also discussed.

Maternal health care professionals perspective on the provision and use of antenatal and delivery care : a qualitative descriptive study in rural Vietnam

Background. High quality maternal health care is an important tool to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. Services offered should be evidence based and adapted to the local setting. This qualitative descriptive study explored the perspectives and experiences of midwives, assistant physicians and medical doctors on the content and quality of maternal health care in rural Vietnam. Method. The study was performed in a rural district in northern Vietnam. Four focus group discussions with health care professionals at primary health care level were conducted. The data was analysed using qualitative manifest and latent content analysis. Result. Two main themes emerged: "Contextual conditions for maternal health care" and "Balancing between possibilities and constraints". Contextual conditions influenced both pregnant women's use of maternal health care and health care professionals' performance. The study participants stated that women's uses of maternal health care were influenced by economical constraints and cultural norms that impeded their autonomy in relation to childbearing. Structural constraints within the health care system included inadequate financing of the primary health care, resulting in lack of human resources, professional re-training and adequate equipment. Conclusion. Contextual conditions strongly influenced the performance and interaction between pregnant women and health care professionals within antenatal care and delivery care in a rural district of Vietnam. Although Vietnam is performing comparatively well in terms of low maternal and child mortality figures, this study revealed midwives' and other health care professionals' perceived difficulties in their daily work. It seemed maternal health care was under-resourced in terms of staff, equipment and continuing education activities. The cultural setting in Vietnam constituting a strong patriarchal society and prevailing Confucian norms limits women's autonomy and reduce their possibility to make independent decisions about their own reproductive health. This issue should be further addressed by policy-makers. Strategies to reduce inequities in maternal health care for pregnant women are needed. The quality of client-provider interaction and management of pregnancy may be strengthened by education, human resources, re-training and provision of essential equipment.

Learning by Reading : A literature study on the use of authentic texts in the EFL upper elementary classroom

The English language is widely used throughout the world and has become a core subject in many countries, especially for students in the upper elementary classroom. While textbooks have been the preferred EFL teaching method for a long time, this belief has seemingly changed within the last few years. Therefore, this study looks at what prior research says about the use of authentic texts in the EFL upper elementary classroom with an aim to answer research questions on how teachers can work with authentic texts, what the potential benefits of using authentic texts are and what teachers and students say about the use of authentic texts in the EFL classroom. While this thesis is written from a Swedish perspective, it is recognized that many countries teach EFL. Therefore, international results have also been taken into consideration and seven previous research studies have been analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of the use of authentic texts in the EFL classroom. Results indicate that the use of authentic texts is beneficial in teaching EFL. However, many teachers are still reluctant to use these, mainly because of time constraints and the belief that such texts are too difficult for their students. Since these findings are mainly focused on areas outside of Sweden, additional research is needed before conclusions can be drawn on the use of authentic texts in the Swedish upper elementary EFL classroom.

Professional and Non-Professional Written Travel Texts – Do They Have Common Features? : A Comparative Investigation on Travel Texts on Trysil, Norway

This study aims to investigate possible distinctions between professional and non-professional written travel texts all treating the same destination: the Norwegian ski resort Trysil. The study will investigate to what extent the different texts correlate with the genre of travel texts, as the travel texts are treated as personal narratives, and how they conform to a given structure for narratives and with guidelines for professional writers. Furthermore, the investigation aims to explore to what extent there are similarities and differences between the texts regarding the given structure. The texts will first be analysed and organized separately by macrorules and a news schema that are constructed specifically for these sorts of texts, in order to reveal their discourse structure, and then compared to each other. As the discourse structure of the different texts is revealed, it is seen that there are certain differences between the two different text types. Finally, seen that the text types differ in their structure, this study will show that despite the fact that journalists write stories, and that non-professional written stories are narratives, they do not share the same structure, and are constructed in different ways.