Effects of manipulating Task Complexity on self-repairs during L2 oral production

This paper analyses the effects of manipulating the cognitive complexity of L2 oral tasks on language production. It specifically focuses on self-repairs, which are taken as a measure of accuracy since they denote both attention to form and an attempt at being accurate. By means of a repeated measures de- sign, 42 lower-intermediate students were asked to perform three different tasks types (a narrative, and instruction-giving task, and a decision-making task) for which two degrees of cognitive complexity were established. The narrative task was manipulated along +/− Here-and-Now, an instruction-giving task ma- nipulated along +/− elements, and the decision-making task which is manipu- lated along +/− reasoning demands. Repeated measures ANOVAs are used for the calculation of differences between degrees of complexity and among task types. One-way ANOVA are used to detect potential differences between low- proficiency and high-proficiency participants. Results show an overall effect of Task Complexity on self-repairs behavior across task types, with different be- haviors existing among the three task types. No differences are found between the self-repair behavior between low and high proficiency groups. Results are discussed in the light of theories of cognition and L2 performance (Robin- son 2001a, 2001b, 2003, 2005, 2007), L1 and L2 language production models (Levelt 1989, 1993; Kormos 2000, 2006), and attention during L2 performance (Skehan 1998; Robinson, 2002).

Using music as a signal for biofeedback

Studies on the potential benefits of conveying biofeedback stimulus using a musical signal have appeared in recent years with the intent of harnessing the strong effects that music listening may have on subjects. While results are encouraging, the fundamental question has yet to be addressed, of how combined music and biofeedback compares to the already established use of either of these elements separately. This experiment, involving young adults (N = 24), compared the effectiveness at modulating participants' states of physiological arousal of each of the following conditions: A) listening to pre-recorded music, B) sonification biofeedback of the heart rate, and C) an algorithmically modulated musical feedback signal conveying the subject's heart rate. Our hypothesis was that each of the conditions (A), (B) and (C) would differ from the other two in the extent to which it enables participants to increase and decrease their state of physiological arousal, with (C) being more effective than (B), and both more than (A). Several physiological measures and qualitative responses were recorded and analyzed. Results show that using musical biofeedback allowed participants to modulate their state of physiological arousal at least equally well as sonification biofeedback, and much better than just listening to music, as reflected in their heart rate measurements, controlling for respiration-rate. Our findings indicate that the known effects of music in modulating arousal can therefore be beneficially harnessed when designing a biofeedback protocol.

When does charisma matter for top-level leaders? Effect of attributional ambiguity

One stream of leadership theory suggests leaders are evaluated via inferential observer processes that compare the fit of the target to a prototype of an ideal (charismatic) leader. Attributional theories of leadership suggest that evaluations depend on knowledge of past organizational performance, which is attributed to the leader's skills. We develop a novel theory showing how inferential and attributional processes simultaneously explain top-level leader evaluation and ultimately leader retention and selection. We argue that observers will mostly rely on attributional mechanisms when performance signals clearly indicate good or poor performance outcomes. However, under conditions of attributional ambiguity (i.e., when performance signals are unclear), observers will mostly rely on inferential processes. In Study 1 we tested our theory in an unconventional context-the U.S. presidential election-and found that the two processes, due to the leader's charisma and country economic performance, interact in predicting whether a leader is selected. Using a business context and an experimental design, in Study 2 we show that CEO charisma and firm performance interact in predicting leader retention, confirming the results we found in Study 1. Our results suggest that this phenomenon is quite general and can apply to various performance domains.

Trust as a source of sustainable competitive advantage

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää, miten luottamus vaikuttaa yrityksen kilpailuetuun. Luottamus on monitieteellinen ilmiö joka on saanut varsin paljon huomiota viimeaikaisissa tutkimuksissa. Myös jatkuvasti kehittyvässä yrityksen teoriassa yrityksen kilpailukyky ja sen pysyvyys ovat olleet mielenkiinnon kohteena. Luottamuksen ja kilpailuedun suhdetta on tästä huolimatta tutkittu vain vähän. Luottamus on nähty ikään kuin implisiittisesti yrityksen teoriassa, mutta ei eksplisiittisesti. Tämä tutkielma analysoi luottamuksen ja yrityksen kilpailukyvyn teorioita sekä näiden yhtymäkohtia. Tutkimuksen lopputuloksena esitellään nämä teoriat toisiinsa yhdistävä malli. Tutkielma on teoreettinen ja osin käsiteanalyyttinen, tutkimusote on syntetisoiva ja exploratiivinen, sillä se pyrkii osoittamaan aiemmin erillisten teorioiden yhtymäkohdat. Esiteltävä malli osoittaa, että luottamuksen ja yrityksen pysyvän kilpailuedun teoriat voidaan liittää toisiinsa, tärkeimmän yhdistävän tekijän ollessa yhteistyökyvykkyys. Luottamus on yhteistyökyvykkyyden välttämätön ennakkoedellytys. Kyky tehdä yhteistyötä on, paitsi jo itsessään erittäin tärkeä dynaaminen kyvykkyys, myös muiden dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien luomista ja hyväksikäyttöä edesauttava tekijä. Sikäli yhteistyö voidaan nähdä yrityksen teoriassa muut dynaamiset kyvykkyydet mahdollistavana meta-kyvykkyytenä ja luottamus sen edellytyksenä.

Reuse of information for selection of methods and operating conditions for drying of pharmaceutical materials

Drying is a major step in the manufacturing process in pharmaceutical industries, and the selection of dryer and operating conditions are sometimes a bottleneck. In spite of difficulties, the bottlenecks are taken care of with utmost care due to good manufacturing practices (GMP) and industries' image in the global market. The purpose of this work is to research the use of existing knowledge for the selection of dryer and its operating conditions for drying of pharmaceutical materials with the help of methods like case-based reasoning and decision trees to reduce time and expenditure for research. The work consisted of two major parts as follows: Literature survey on the theories of spray dying, case-based reasoning and decision trees; working part includes data acquisition and testing of the models based on existing and upgraded data. Testing resulted in a combination of two models, case-based reasoning and decision trees, leading to more specific results when compared to conventional methods.

L’orquestra inclusiva dintre del context escolar

Aquest treball d’investigació pretén conèixer els factors que condicionen una pràctica instrumental inclusiva en el context escolar i d’aula; un tema poc treballat amb consciència d’universalitat en l’àrea curricular d’Educació Musical. En primer lloc, a la fonamentació teòrica, s’han extret les principals idees de diferents autors que tracten sobre el Disseny Universal, l’Ensenyament Multinivell, el treball cooperatiu i el treball musical amb instrumentació Orff. De cada un d’aquests blocs s’ha realitzat una relació entre aquestes teories i l’aplicació al context musical. Posteriorment, treballant des de la base teòrica, s’ha aplicat una intervenció a nivell escolar de dues setmanes on es pretén identificar els ítems que dificulten o afavoreixen la pràctica instrumental a l’aula i idear alternatives de pràctica instrumental inclusiva.

Genomic and transcriptomic analysis of the streptomycin-dependent Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain 18b.

The ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to establish a latent infection (LTBI) in humans confounds the treatment of tuberculosis. Consequently, there is a need to discover new therapeutic agents that can kill M. tuberculosis both during active disease and LTBI. The streptomycin-dependent strain of M. tuberculosis, 18b, provides a useful tool for this purpose since upon removal of streptomycin (STR) it enters a non-replicating state that mimics latency both in vitro and in animal models. The 4.41 Mb genome sequence of M. tuberculosis 18b was determined and this revealed the strain to belong to clade 3 of the ancient ancestral lineage of the Beijing family. STR-dependence was attributable to insertion of a single cytosine in the 530 loop of the 16S rRNA and to a single amino acid insertion in the N-terminal domain of initiation factor 3. RNA-seq was used to understand the genetic programme activated upon STR-withdrawal and hence to gain insight into LTBI. This revealed reconfiguration of gene expression and metabolic pathways showing strong similarities between non-replicating 18b and M. tuberculosis residing within macrophages, and with the core stationary phase and microaerophilic responses. The findings of this investigation confirm the validity of 18b as a model for LTBI, and provide insight into both the evolution of tubercle bacilli and the functioning of the ribosome.

El aprendizaje reflexivo en la formación inicial del profesorado: un modelo para aprender a enseñar matemáticas = Reflective learning in the early formation of teachers: a model to learn to teach maths

In this study we analize the application of the reflective learning during initial formation mathematics teachers. This model is based on the sociocultural theories of the human learning and assumes that the interaction and the contrast make possible the coconstruction and the active reconstruction of knowledge.In order to make the study, it was left from a sample of 29 teaching students. The qualitative analysis allowed to identify factors that facilitate the incorporation of the reflective learning in university teaching, as well as the degree of effectiveness of this model to learn to teach mathematics

Concepts and Reference. Defending a Dual Theory of Natural Kind Concepts

In this thesis I argue that the psychological study of concepts and categorisation, and the philosophical study of reference are deeply intertwined. I propose that semantic intuitions are a variety of categorisation judgements, determined by concepts, and that because of this, concepts determine reference. I defend a dual theory of natural kind concepts, according to which natural kind concepts have distinct semantic cores and non-semantic identification procedures. Drawing on psychological essentialism, I suggest that the cores consist of externalistic placeholder essence beliefs. The identification procedures, in turn, consist of prototypes, sets of exemplars, or possibly also theory-structured beliefs. I argue that the dual theory is motivated both by experimental data and theoretical considerations. The thesis consists of three interrelated articles. Article I examines philosophical causal and description theories of natural kind term reference, and argues that they involve, or need to involve, certain psychological elements. I propose a unified theory of natural kind term reference, built on the psychology of concepts. Article II presents two semantic adaptations of psychological essentialism, one of which is a strict externalistic Kripkean-Putnamian theory, while the other is a hybrid account, according to which natural kind terms are ambiguous between internalistic and externalistic senses. We present two experiments, the results of which support the strict externalistic theory. Article III examines Fodor’s influential atomistic theory of concepts, according to which no psychological capacities associated with concepts constitute them, or are necessary for reference. I argue, contra Fodor, that the psychological mechanisms are necessary for reference.

Individual Differences in Music Reward Experiences

Music is one of the most pleasant human experiences, even though it has no direct biological advantage. However little is known about individual differences in how people experience reward in music-related activities. The goal of the present study was to describe the main facets of music experience that could explain the variance observed in how people experience reward associated with music. To this end we developed the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ), which was administrated to three large samples. Our results showed that the musical reward experience can be decomposed into five reliable factors: Musical Seeking, Emotion Evocation, Mood Regulation, Social Reward, and Sensory-Motor. These factors were correlated with socio-demographic factors and measures of general sensitivity to reward and hedonic experience. We propose that the five-factor structure of musical reward experience might be very relevant in the study of psychological and neural bases of emotion and pleasure associated to music.

Competencias creativas en el aula de música = Creative competences in music classes

En el marco de las competencias profesionales del educador musical, la creatividad ocupa una posición que a menudo ha sido definida como sistémica. La labor del educador y/o formador en el aula de música requiere, de forma genérica, el despliegue de competencias que incorporen la creatividad. En este artículo se presentan los resultados de un trabajo realizado con dos muestras de alumnos, de tercer curso de magisterio y de un curso postgrado. Se ofrecen y se analizan los datos recogidos con la finalidad de desplegar un mapa que integre competencias creativas genéricas, específicas y disciplinares

Romanssien ja runouden aikakausi. Thomas Warton keskiaikaa määrittelemässä 1750–1790

Tutkimukseni käsittelee keskiajan nousua historian tärkeäksi periodiksi 1700-luvun Englannissa näkökulmanaan Thomas Wartonin (1726–1790) kirjoitukset. Warton oli Oxfordin yliopistossa toiminut oppinut antikvaari. Wartonin pääteos History of English Poetry (1774–1781) ei nimestään huolimatta ollut moderni kirjallisuushistoria vaan 1000–1500-luvun kirjoitettua kulttuuria laajasti käsitellyt vernakulaariin kirjallisuuteen pohjautunut esitys. Warton ja hänen lähipiiriinsä kuuluneet tutkijat tarjoavat erityisen mahdollisuuden tarkastella, miten käsitys keskiajasta omana aikakautenaanmuodostui 1700-luvun lopulla. Tutkin Wartonin ja hänen aikalaistensa toisen vuosituhannen alusta kirjoittamia arvioita Michel de Certeaun historiografisen operaation käsitteen avulla. Se koostuu kolmesta vaiheesta: Alue määrittelee sosiaaliset riippuvuussuhteet ja vaikuttimet, jotka ohjaavat tutkimusta. Käytäntö viittaa siihen, miten historioitsija valitsee materiaalinsa ja muokkaa siitä historiankirjoituksena hahmottuvan kokonaisuuden. Lopuksi kirjoitus konkreettisena ja fyysisenä ilmiönä luo illuusion lopullisuudesta ja huonosti sopivien osien yhteenkuuluvuudesta. de Certeaun teoria soveltuu paremmin vanhemman historiankirjoituksen ja oppineisuuden tarkasteluun kuin historiantutkimuksen narratiiveja analysoivat teokset, koska se kontekstualisoi laajemmin historiankirjoitukseen vaikuttavat ilmiöt. Thomas Warton ja muut 1700-luvun puolivälin oppineet määrittelivät keskiajan fiktiivisten tekstien avulla. Warton tutustui tarkasti romansseihin ja kronikoihin. Erityisen suuri merkitys keskiajan hahmottamisen kannalta oli Geoffrey Monmouthilaisen kronikalla Historia regum britanniae, joka esitteli Englannin myyttisen varhaisen historian yhdistämällä Rooman ja oman kansallisen perinteen. Geoffreyn kronikan avulla Warton huomasi keskiaikaisten tarinoiden laajan vaikutuksen; hän kirjoitti erityisesti kuningas Arthuriin liittyneiden kertomusten merkityksestä, joka jatkui aina 1500-luvulle asti. Näin Warton löysi antiikin perinteelle haastajan keskiaikaisesta kulttuurista. Wartonin tapa esitellä keskiaikaa perustui osittain valistusajan sulavasti kirjoitetuille universaalihistorioille, osittain oppineelle luettelomaiselle esitystavalle. Käytännössä Wartonin pitkät johdantotutkielmat kuitenkin johdattavat lukijaa keskeisiin teemoihin. Niitä ovat mielikuvituksen väheneminen uusimmassa kirjallisuudessa ja toisaalta hienostuneisuuden ja tiedon kasvu. Warton ei missään vaiheessa kerro, liittyvätkö nämä teemat yhteen, mutta tulkintani mukaan ne liittyivät. Warton ajatteli kirjallisuuden menettäneen olennaisen mielikuvituksen samaan aikaan, kun yhteiskunta oli kehittynyt. Tämä auttaa hahmottamaan koko kirjallisuuden historiaa: Warton etsi alkuperäistä mielikuvitusta niin antiikin Kreikasta, Orientista kuin muinaisesta Skandinaviasta. History of English Poetry ei pohtinut vain kirjallisuuden ja yhteiskunnan suhdetta, sillä Warton ajatteli voivansa tutkia keskiajan yhteiskuntaa kronikoiden ja romanssien avulla. Hänen käsityksensä feodalismista, hovien elämästä ja keskiaikaisista tavoista perustuivat niihin. Warton ei huomannut, että hänen käyttämänsä lähteet olivat tietoisia kirjallisia konstruktioita vaan hän piti niitä totuudenmukaisina kuvauksina. Toisaalta Wartonin tulkintaan heijastuivat myös 1700-luvun käsitykset yhteiskunnasta. Keskiajan lähteiden kuvaukset ja 1700-luvun ideaalit vaikuttivat lopulta siihen, millaiseksi populaari kuva keskiajasta kehittyi.

Regularity and counterfactuality in Hume's treatment of causation

Of the several theories of causation current in our days, Hume is said to be the inspiration of two of the most influential and accepted: the regularity theory, first clearly formulated by Thomas Brown in 1822, and the counterfactual theory, proposed by David Lewis in 1973. After a brief outline of the comparative merits and difficulties of these two views, I proceed to examine whether Hume's own treatment of causation actually corresponds to any of them. I will show that his first definition of cause, coupled with his rules by which to judge about causes and effects, contains elements that, properly developed, allow us to address successfully some traditional difficulties of the regularity view of causation, without resorting to the conceptual resources employed in the counterfactual approach. Therefore, we can properly classify Hume as an advocate of the conception of causation as regularity, noting however that his primary goal in his research and definitions of the concept was to provide not so much an analysis of causation as such, but of causation as we apprehend it, in the form of our ability to make causal inferences and refine them to reach the more sophisticated causal reasonings that are required in the theoretical and practical issues of life.

THE FORMAL AND THE FORMALIZED: THE CASES OF SYLLOGISTIC AND SUPPOSITION THEORY

As a discipline, logic is arguably constituted of two main sub-projects: formal theories of argument validity on the basis of a small number of patterns, and theories of how to reduce the multiplicity of arguments in non-logical, informal contexts to the small number of patterns whose validity is systematically studied (i.e. theories of formalization). Regrettably, we now tend to view logic 'proper' exclusively as what falls under the first sub-project, to the neglect of the second, equally important sub-project. In this paper, I discuss two historical theories of argument formalization: Aristotle's syllogistic theory as presented in the "Prior Analytics", and medieval theories of supposition. They both illustrate this two-fold nature of logic, containing in particular illuminating reflections on how to formalize arguments (i.e. the second sub-project). In both cases, the formal methods employed differ from the usual modern technique of translating an argument in ordinary language into a specially designed symbolism, a formal language. The upshot is thus a plea for a broader conceptualization of what it means to formalize.

Finnair’s “New Silk Road” in the New Millennium: An Analysis of the Construction of Asia and of the Company

During the past century, an increasingly diverse world provided us with opportunities for intercultural communication; especially the growth of commerce at all levels from domestic to international has made the combination of the theories of intercultural communication and international business necessary. As one of the main beneficiaries in international business in recent years, companies in airline industries have developed their international market. For instance, Finnair has developed its Asian strategy which responds to the increasing market demand for flights from Europe to Asia in the new millennium. Therefore, the company manages marketing communication in a global environment and becomes a suitable case for studying the theories of intercultural communication in the context of international marketing. Finnair implemented a large number of international advertisements to promote its Asian routes, where Asia has been constructed as a number of exotic destinations. Meanwhile, the company itself as a provider of these destinations has also been constructed contrastively. Thus, this thesis aims at research how Finnair constructs Asia and the company itself in the new millennium, and how these constructions compare with the theories of intercultural communication. This research applied the theories of international marketing, intercultural communication and culture. In order to analyze the collected corpora as Finnair’s international advertisements and its annual reports in the new millennium, the methods of content analysis and discourse analysis have been used in this research. As a result, Finnair has purposefully applied the essentialist approach to intercultural communication and constructed Asia as an exotic “Other” due to the company’s market orientation. Meanwhile, Finnair has also constructed the company itself two identities based on the same approach: as an international airline provider between Europe and Asia, as well as a part of Finnish society. The combination of intercultural communication and international marketing theories, together with the combination of the methods of content analysis and discourse analysis ensure the originality of this paper.