Toward a Unified Theory of Development

Toward a Unified Theory of Development PDF Author: John P. Spencer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
This resource defines and refines two major theoretical approaches within developmental science that address the central issues of development-connectionism and dynamical systems theory.

Toward a Unified Theory of Development

Toward a Unified Theory of Development PDF Author: John P. Spencer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
This resource defines and refines two major theoretical approaches within developmental science that address the central issues of development-connectionism and dynamical systems theory.

Toward a Unified Theory of Problem Solving

Toward a Unified Theory of Problem Solving PDF Author: Mike U. Smith
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136467165
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
One of the most active fields of educational research in recent years has been the investigation of problem-solving performance. Two opposing views of current research -- one suggesting that there are more differences than similarities within different domains, and the other stating that there is great similarity -- lead to a variety of questions: * Is problem solving a single construct? * Are there aspects of problem-solving performance that are similar across a variety of content domains? * What problem-solving skills learned within one context can be expected to transfer to other domains? The purpose of this book is to serve as the basis for the productive exchange of information that will help to answer these questions -- by drawing together preliminary theoretical understandings, sparking debate and disagreement, raising new questions and directions, and perhaps developing new world views.

Impoliteness in Language

Impoliteness in Language PDF Author: Derek Bousfield
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110208342
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
The volume addresses the enormous imbalance that exists between academic interest in politeness phenomena when compared to impoliteness phenomena. Researchers working with Brown and Levinson's ([1978] 1987) seminal work on politeness rarely focused explicitly on impoliteness. As a result, only one aspect of facework/relational work has been studied in detail. Next to this research desideratum, politeness research is on the move again, with alternative conceptions of politeness to those of Brown and Levinson being further developed. In this volume researchers present, discuss and explore the concept of linguistic impoliteness, the crucial differences and interconnectedness between lay understandings of impoliteness and the academic concept within a theory of facework/relational work, as well as the exercise of power that is involved when impoliteness occurs. The authors offer solid discussions of the theoretical issues involved and draw on data from political interaction, interaction with legally constituted authorities, workplace interaction in the factory and the office, code-switching and Internet practices. The collection offers inspiration for research on impoliteness in many different research fields, such as (critical) discourse analysis, conversation analysis, pragmatics and stylistics, as well as linguistic approaches to studies in conflict and conflict resolution.

Unified Growth Theory

Unified Growth Theory PDF Author: Oded Galor
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 140083886X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
For most of the vast span of human history, economic growth was all but nonexistent. Then, about two centuries ago, some nations began to emerge from this epoch of economic stagnation, experiencing sustained economic growth that led to significant increases in standards of living and profoundly altered the level and distribution of wealth, population, education, and health across the globe. The question ever since has been--why? This is the first book to put forward a unified theory of economic growth that accounts for the entire growth process, from the dawn of civilization to today. Oded Galor, who founded the field of unified growth theory, identifies the historical and prehistorical forces behind the differential transition timing from stagnation to growth and the emergence of income disparity around the world. Galor shows how the interaction between technological progress and population ultimately raised the importance of education in coping with the rapidly changing technological environment, brought about significant reduction in fertility rates, and enabled some economies to devote greater resources toward a steady increase in per capita income, paving the way for sustained economic growth. Presents a unified theory of economic growth from the dawn of civilization to today Explains the worldwide disparities in living standards and population we see today Provides a comprehensive overview of the three phases of the development process Analyzes the Malthusian theory and its empirical support Examines theories of demographic transition and their empirical significance Explores the interaction between economic development and human evolution

Toward a Unified Ecology

Toward a Unified Ecology PDF Author: Timothy F. H. Allen
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231538464
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 505

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Book Description
The first edition of Toward a Unified Ecology was ahead of its time. For the second edition, the authors present a new synthesis of their core ideas on evaluating communities, organisms, populations, biomes, models, and management. The book now places greater emphasis on post-normal critiques, cognizant of ever-present observer values in the system. The problem it addresses is how to work holistically on complex things that cannot be defined, and this book continues to build an approach to the problem of scaling in ecosystems. Provoked by complexity theory, the authors add a whole new chapter on the central role of narrative in science and how models improve them. The book takes data and modeling seriously, with a sophisticated philosophy of science.

A New Unified Theory of Psychology

A New Unified Theory of Psychology PDF Author: Gregg Henriques
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461400589
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Concern about psychology’s fragmentation is not new, but there has for the past decade been increasing calls for psychologists to acknowledge to the costs associated with fragmentation and to search for ways to unify the discipline. A New Unified Theory of Psychology introduces a new system that addresses psychology’s current theoretical and philosophical difficulties. The new theory consists of four interlocking pieces that together provide—for the first time—a macro-level view that clarifies the nature of psychology’s problems and offers a clear way to unify the various elements of the field. The unified theory provides the field of psychology with a well-defined subject matter, allowing both academic and professional psychologists will be able to develop a shared language and conceptual foundation.

Nexus Analysis

Nexus Analysis PDF Author: Suzie Wong Scollon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134360401
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Nexus Analysis presents an exciting theory by two of the leading names in discourse analysis and provides a practical guide to its application. The authors argue that discourse analysis can itself be a form of social action. If the discourse analyst is part of the nexus of practice under study, then the analysis can itself transform that nexus of practice. Focussing on their own involvement with and analysis of pioneering communication technologies in Alaska they identify moments of social importance in order to examine the links between social practice, culture and technology. Media are identified not only as means of expressing change but also as catalysts for change itself, with the power to transform the socio-cultural landscape. In this intellectually exciting yet accessible book, Ron Scollon and Suzie Wong Scollon present a working example of their theory in action and provide a personal snapshot of a key moment in the history of communication technology, as the Internet transformed Alaskan life.

Toward a Unified Theory of Audiovisual Integration in Speech Perception

Toward a Unified Theory of Audiovisual Integration in Speech Perception PDF Author: Nicholas Altieri
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1599423618
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Auditory and visual speech recognition unfolds in real time and occurs effortlessly for normal hearing listeners. However, model theoretic descriptions of the systems level cognitive processes responsible for integrating auditory and visual speech information are currently lacking, primarily because they rely too heavily on accuracy rather than reaction time predictions. Speech and language researchers have argued about whether audiovisual integration occurs in a parallel or in coactive fashion, and also the extent to which audiovisual occurs in an efficient manner. The Double Factorial Paradigm introduced in Section 1 is an experimental paradigm that is equipped to address dynamical processing issues related to architecture (parallel vs. coactive processing) as well as efficiency (capacity). Experiment 1 employed a simple word discrimination task to assess both architecture and capacity in high accuracy settings. Experiments 2 and 3 assessed these same issues using auditory and visual distractors in Divided Attention and Focused Attention tasks respectively. Experiment 4 investigated audiovisual integration efficiency across different auditory signal-to-noise ratios. The results can be summarized as follows: Integration typically occurs in parallel with an efficient stopping rule, integration occurs automatically in both focused and divided attention versions of the task, and audiovisual integration is only efficient (in the time domain) when the clarity of the auditory signal is relatively poor--although considerable individual differences were observed. In Section 3, these results were captured within the milieu of parallel linear dynamic processing models with cross channel interactions. Finally, in Section 4, I discussed broader implications for this research, including applications for clinical research and neural-biological models of audiovisual convergence.

Cognitive Science

Cognitive Science PDF Author: Harald Maurer
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351043501
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
The Mind and Brain are usually considered as one and the same nonlinear, complex dynamical system, in which information processing can be described with vector and tensor transformations and with attractors in multidimensional state spaces. Thus, an internal neurocognitive representation concept consists of a dynamical process which filters out statistical prototypes from the sensorial information in terms of coherent and adaptive n-dimensional vector fields. These prototypes serve as a basis for dynamic, probabilistic predictions or probabilistic hypotheses on prospective new data (see the recently introduced approach of "predictive coding" in neurophilosophy). Furthermore, the phenomenon of sensory and language cognition would thus be based on a multitude of self-regulatory complex dynamics of synchronous self-organization mechanisms, in other words, an emergent "flux equilibrium process" ("steady state") of the total collective and coherent neural activity resulting from the oscillatory actions of neuronal assemblies. In perception it is shown how sensory object informations, like the object color or the object form, can be dynamically related together or can be integrated to a neurally based representation of this perceptual object by means of a synchronization mechanism ("feature binding"). In language processing it is shown how semantic concepts and syntactic roles can be dynamically related together or can be integrated to neurally based systematic and compositional connectionist representations by means of a synchronization mechanism ("variable binding") solving the Fodor-Pylyshyn-Challenge. Since the systemtheoretical connectionism has succeeded in modeling the sensory objects in perception as well as systematic and compositional representations in language processing with this vector- and oscillation-based representation format, a new, convincing theory of neurocognition has been developed, which bridges the neuronal and the cognitive analysis level. The book describes how elementary neuronal information is combined in perception and language, so it becomes clear how the brain processes this information to enable basic cognitive performance of the humans.

Landscape Architecture Theory

Landscape Architecture Theory PDF Author: Michael Murphy
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610917510
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
For decades, landscape architecture was driven solely by artistic sensibilities. But in these times of global change, the opportunity to reshape the world comes with a responsibility to consider how it can be resilient, fostering health and vitality for humans and nature. Landscape Architecture Theory re-examines the fundamentals of the field, offering a new approach to landscape design. Drawing on his extensive career in teaching and practice, Michael Murphy begins with an examination of influences on landscape architecture: social context, contemporary values, and the practicalities of working as a professional landscape architect. He then delves into systems and procedural theory, while making connections to ecosystem factors, human factors, utility, aesthetics, and the design process. He concludes by showing how a strong theoretical understanding can be applied to practical, every-day decision making and design work to create more holistic, sustainable, and creative landscapes. Students will take away a foundational understanding of the underpinnings of landscape architecture theory, as well as how it can be applied to real-world designs; working professionals will find stimulating insights to infuse their projects with a greater sense of purpose.