Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Logical and ethical reasoning'
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Dias, M. G. "Logical reasoning." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.233533.
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Leevers, Hilary Janet. "Children's logical reasoning." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.362050.
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Berreby, Fiona. "Models of Ethical Reasoning." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Sorbonne université, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018SORUS137.
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Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre du projet ANR eThicAa, dont les ambitions ont été : de définir ce que sont des agents autonomes éthiques, de produire des représentations formelles des conflits éthiques et de leurs objets (au sein d’un seul agent autonome, entre un agent autonome et le système auquel il appartient, entre un agent autonome et un humain, entre plusieurs agents autonomes) et d’élaborer des algorithmes d’explication pour les utilisateurs humains. L’objet de la thèse plus particulièrement a été d’étudier la modélisation de conflits éthiques au sein d’un seul agent, ainsi que la production d’algorithmes explicatifs. Ainsi, le travail présenté ici décrit l’utilisation de langages de haut niveau dans la conception d’agents autonomes éthiques. Il propose un cadre logique nouveau et modulaire pour représenter et raisonner sur une variété de théories éthiques, sur la base d’une version modifiée du calcul des événements, implémentée en Answer Set Programming. Le processus de prise de décision éthique est conçu comme une procédure en plusieurs étapes, capturée par quatre types de modèles interdépendants qui permettent à l’agent d’évaluer son environnement, de raisonner sur sa responsabilité et de faire des choix éthiquement informés. En particulier, un modèle d’action permet à l’agent de représenter des scénarios et les changements qui s’y déroulent, un modèle causal piste les conséquences des décisions prises dans les scénarios, rendant possible un raisonnement sur la responsabilité et l’imputabilité des agents, un modèle du Bien donne une appréciation de la valeur éthique intrinsèque de finalités ou d’évènements, un modèle du Juste détermine les décisions acceptables selon des circonstances données. Le modèle causal joue ici un rôle central, car il permet d’identifier des propriétés que supposent les relations causales et qui déterminent comment et dans quelle mesure il est possible d’en inférer des attributions de responsabilité. Notre ambition est double. Tout d’abord, elle est de permettre la représentation systématique d’un nombre illimité de processus de raisonnements éthiques, à travers un cadre adaptable et extensible en vertu de sa hiérarchisation et de sa syntaxe standardisée. Deuxièmement, elle est d’éviter l’écueil de certains travaux d’éthique computationnelle qui directement intègrent l’information morale dans l’engin de raisonnement général sans l’expliciter – alimentant ainsi les agents avec des réponses atomiques qui ne représentent pas la dynamique sous-jacente. Nous visons à déplacer de manière globale le fardeau du raisonnement moral du programmeur vers le programme lui-mêmeThis thesis is part of the ANR eThicAa project, which has aimed to define moral autonomous agents, provide a formal representation of ethical conflicts and of their objects (within one artificial moral agent, between an artificial moral agent and the rules of the system it belongs to, between an artificial moral agent and a human operator, between several artificial moral agents), and design explanation algorithms for the human user. The particular focus of the thesis pertains to exploring ethical conflicts within a single agent, as well as designing explanation algorithms. The work presented here investigates the use of high-level action languages for designing such ethically constrained autonomous agents. It proposes a novel and modular logic-based framework for representing and reasoning over a variety of ethical theories, based on a modified version of the event calculus and implemented in Answer Set Programming. The ethical decision-making process is conceived of as a multi-step procedure captured by four types of interdependent models which allow the agent to represent situations, reason over accountability and make ethically informed choices. More precisely, an action model enables the agent to appraise its environment and the changes that take place in it, a causal model tracks agent responsibility, a model of the Good makes a claim about the intrinsic value of goals or events, and a model of the Right considers what an agent should do, or is most justified in doing, given the circumstances of its actions. The causalmodel plays a central role here, because it permits identifying some properties that causal relations assume and that determine how, as well as to what extent, we may ascribe ethical responsibility on their basis. The overarching ambition of the presented research is twofold. First, to allow the systematic representation of an unbounded number of ethical reasoning processes, through a framework that is adaptable and extensible by virtue of its designed hierarchisation and standard syntax. Second, to avoid the pitfall of some works in current computational ethics that too readily embed moralinformation within computational engines, thereby feeding agents with atomic answers that fail to truly represent underlying dynamics. We aim instead to comprehensively displace the burden of moral reasoning from the programmer to the program itself
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Romo, Maria Susanna 1968. "Cultural differences in memory and logical reasoning." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/291706.
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The focus of this study was to manipulate factors to determine whether mental representations of logical problems differed by culture. The cultural differences hypothesis suggests that Anglo students would be more likely to have a linear representation (e.g. arranging objects that differ in a "line" mentally) whereas Hispanic and Native American students would have a nonlinear (pivot) organization. The results indicated that Hispanic children solved questions better if they appeared in a pivotal format, whereas, Native American and Anglo children performed better if the stimuli were presented in a linear method. With grade level, Hispanic children shifted to the linear format and Anglo and Native American children improved upon the pivot presentation. This suggests that there may be differences in mental representations of objects for Hispanic children that is influenced by acculturation.
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Carbin, Michael (Michael James). "Logical reasoning for approximate and unreliable computation." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99813.
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Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-350).
Improving program performance and resilience are long-standing goals. Traditional approaches include a variety of transformation, compilation, and runtime techniques that share the common property that the resulting program has the same semantics as the original program. However, researchers have recently proposed a variety of new techniques that set aside this traditional restriction and instead exploit opportunities to change the semantics of programs to improve performance and resilience. Techniques include skipping portions of a program's computation, selecting different implementations of program's subcomputations, executing programs on unreliable hardware, and synthesizing values to enable programs to skip or execute through otherwise fatal errors. A major barrier to the acceptance these techniques in both the broader research community and in industrial practice is the challenge that the resulting programs may exhibit behaviors that differ from that of the original program, potentially jeopardizing the program's resilience, safety, and accuracy. This thesis presents the first general programming systems for precisely verifying and reasoning about the programs that result from these techniques. This thesis presents a programming language and program logic for verifying worst-case properties of a transformed program. Specifically the framework, enables verifying that a transformed program satisfies important assertions about its safety (e.g., that it does not access invalid memory) and accuracy (e.g., that it returns a result within a bounded distance of that of the original program). This thesis also presents a programming language and automated analysis for verifying a program's quantitative reliability - the probability the transformed program returns the same result as the original program - when executed on unreliable hardware. The results of this thesis, which include programming languages, program logics, program analysis, and applications thereof, present the first steps toward reaping the benefits of changing the semantics of programs in a beneficial yet principled way.
by Michael James Carbin.
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Kouri, Teresa. "Logical Instrumentalism." The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1472751856.
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Rajaratnam, David Computer Science & Engineering Faculty of Engineering UNSW. "Logical approximation and compilation for resource-bounded reasoning." Publisher:University of New South Wales. Computer Science & Engineering, 2008. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/41296.
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Providing a logical characterisation of rational agent reasoning has been a long standing challenge in artificial intelligence (AI) research. It is a challenge that is not only of interest for the construction of AI agents, but is of equal importance in the modelling of agent behaviour. The goal of this thesis is to contribute to the formalisation of agent reasoning by showing that the computational limitations of agents is a vital component of modelling rational behaviour. To achieve this aim, both motivational and formal aspects of resource-bounded agents are examined. It is a central argument of this thesis that accounting for computational limitations is critical to the success of agent reasoning, yet has received only limited attention from the broader research community. Consequently, an important contribution of this thesis is in its advancing of motivational arguments in support of the need to account for computational limitations in agent reasoning research. As a natural progression from the motivational arguments, the majority of this thesis is devoted to an examination of propositional approximate logics. These logics represent a step towards the development of resource-bounded agents, but are also applicable to other areas of automated reasoning. This thesis makes a number of contributions in mapping the space of approximate logics. In particular, it draws a connection between approximate logics and knowledge compilation, by developing an approximate knowledge compilation method based on Cadoli and Schaerf??s S-3 family of approximate logics. This method allows for the incremental compilation of a knowledge base, thus reducing the need for a costly recompilation process. Furthermore, each approximate compilation has well-defined logical properties due to its correspondence to a particular S-3 logic. Important contributions are also made in the examination of approximate logics for clausal reasoning. Clausal reasoning is of particular interest due to the efficiency of modern clausal satisfiability solvers and the related research into problem hardness. In particular, Finger's Logics of Limited Bivalence are shown to be applicable to clausal reasoning. This is subsequently shown to logically characterise the behaviour of the well-known DPLL algorithm for determining boolean satisfiability, when subjected to restricted branching.
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Bennett, Brandon. "Logical representations for automated reasoning about spatial relationships." Thesis, University of Leeds, 1997. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1271/.
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This thesis investigates logical representations for describing and reasoning about spatial situations. Previously proposed theories of spatial regions are investigated in some detail - especially the 1st-order theory of Randell, Cui and Cohn (1992). The difficulty of achieving effective automated reasoning with these systems is observed. A new approach is presented, based on encoding spatial relations in formulae of 0-order ('propositional') logics. It is proved that entailment, which is valid according to the standard semantics for these logics, is also valid with respect to the spatial interpretation. Consequently, well-known mechanisms for propositional reasoning can be applied to spatial reasoning. Specific encodings of topological relations into both the modal logic S4 and the intuitionistic propositional calculus are given. The complexity of reasoning using the intuitionistic representation is examined and a procedure is presented with is shown to be of O(n3) complexity in the number of relations involved. In order to make this kind of representation sufficiently expressive the concepts of model constraint and entailment constraint are introduced. By means of this distinction a 0-order formula may be used either to assert or to deny that a certain spatial constraint holds of some situation. It is shown how the proof theory of a 0-order logical language can be extended by a simple meta-level generalisation to accommodate a representation involving these two types of formula. A number of other topics are dealt with: a decision procedure based on quantifier elimination is given for a large class of formulae within a 1st-order topological language; reasoning mechanisms based on the composition of spatial relations are studied; the non-topological property of convexity is examined both from the point of view of its 1st-order characterisation and its incorporation into a 0-order spatial logic. It is suggested that 0-order representations could be employed in a similar manner to encode other spatial concepts.
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Swanson, Jacqueline V. (Jacqueline Viola). "Ethical Reasoning Among Baccalaureate Female Nursing Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1989. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332287/.
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The focus for this study was ethical reasoning among baccalaureate female nursing students. This descriptive and correlational study examined the ethical reasoning of freshmen and senior students at a large southwestern university for women.
The research instrument used was the Defining Issues Test developed by Rest. The senior nursing students differed significantly (p < ,05) from the freshmen nursing students in ethical reasoning. However, nursing majors did not differ significantly from the non-nursing majors.
A multiple regression analysis was performed that identified two factors associated with ethical reasoning (viz., age and GPA), The correlation coefficients were r= .377 for age and P_ score and r= .315 for GPA and P score. Older students were found to be significantly more advanced in ethical reasoning than were younger students. Students with higher GPAs used principled reasoning significantly more often than did students with lower GPAs.
Of interest are the findings related to demographic characteristics, ethnicity, and religious preference. The sample was predominantly white, but a significant difference in use of principled reasoning between whites and non-whites was found. In the sample, whites used ethical reasoning more often than did non-whites.
The students in the sample who labeled themselves as Baptists were significantly different from Traditional Christians (Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and members of the Church of Christ) and Other Christians (all others, excluding Baptists, Catholics, and the Traditional Christians). The Baptist group used principled reasoning less often than did the other two groups of Christians. The Catholics were not significantly different from the Baptist, Traditional Christian, or Other Christian groups. The results are ambiguous and may reflect only a conservative philosophy or a conservative theological ideology rather than cognitive processing.
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Grimaud, Christel. "Logical modelling of reasoning and learning : a bio-inspired approach." Thesis, Lille 3, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016LIL30026/document.
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Dans ce mémoire, on s’inspire des sciences cognitives pour aborder la question de la modélisation logique du raisonnement et de l’apprentissage. Notre principale conviction est qu’il faudrait, pour traiter ce problème, prendre modèle sur la manière dont les agents naturels (c’est à dire les humains et les animaux) procèdent lorsqu’ils raisonnent ou apprennent. Considérant que le raisonnement fait appel à un grand nombre de facultés cognitives distinctes, et qu’il ne serait donc pas raisonnable d’espérer modéliser d’un seul coup l’ensemble du raisonnement humain, on se concentre ici sur un type d’inférences très simples dont on soutient qu’elles constituent le coeur du raisonnement chez tous les animaux à cerveau. On identifie un processus sous-jacent plausible pour ces inférences, d’abord au niveau mental de description, puis au niveau neuronal, et on développe une famille de modèles logiques permettant de le simuler. On s’attache ensuite à produire un ensemble de règles d’inférence caractérisant les relations d’inférence induites par ces modèles. Ces règles résultent du processus suggéré, et doivent donc être vues comme des règles qui, d’après le modèle, émergent fonctionnement des cerveaux. Enfin, on analyse les processus d’apprentissage attachés aux inférences considérées, et on montre comment le formalisme proposé permet de les modéliser. Pour conclure on évoque brièvement les possibles développements futurs du modèle, et notamment on donne quelques indications quant à la manière dont la modélisation d’un certain nombre de facultés additionnelles pourrait être envisagéeIn this dissertation, we take inspiration in cognitive sciences to address the issue of the logical modelling of reasoning and learning. Our main thrust is that to address these issues one should take inspiration in the way natural agents (i.e., humans and animals) actually proceed when they draw inferences and learn. Considering that reasoning incorporates a wide range of cognitive abilities, and that it would thus be unreasonable to hope to model the whole of human’s reasoning all at once, we focus here on a very basic kind of inferences that, we argue, can be considered as the primary core of reasoning in all brained animals. We identify a plausible underlying process for these inferences, first at the mental level of description and then at the neural level, and we develop a family of logical models that allow to simulate it. Then we tackle the issue of providing sets of rules to characterise the inference relations induced by these models. These rules are a by-product of the posited process, and should thus be seen as rules that, according to the model, result from the very functioning of brains. Finally we examine the learning processes attached to the considered inferences, and we show how to they can be modelled within our framework. To conclude we briefly discuss possible further developments of the framework, and in particular we give indications about how the modelling of some other cognitive abilities might be envisioned
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Pardi, Beth Ann. "Logical reasoning: an examination of age, schooling, and gender differences." The Ohio State University, 1996. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407486118.
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Richmond, Kelly Ann. "Ethical Reasoning, Machiavellian Behavior, and Gender: The Impact on Accounting Students' Ethical Decision Making." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27235.
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This research is designed to gain an understanding of how accounting students respond to realistic, business ethical dilemmas. Prior research suggests that accounting students exhibit lower levels of ethical reasoning compared to other business and non-business majors. This study uses the Defining Issues Test, Version 2 (Rest, et al., 1999) to measure accounting studentsâ ethical reasoning processes. The Mach IV scale (Christie and Geis, 1970) is used to measure moral behavior. Eight ethical vignettes adapted from prior ethics studies represent realistic, business ethical scenarios.
A total of sixty-eight undergraduate accounting students are used to examine three hypotheses. Literature suggests that individuals with lower ethical reasoning levels are more likely to agree with unethical behavior. Therefore, hypothesis one investigates the relationship between ethical reasoning and ethical decision making. Literature also suggests that individuals agreeing with Machiavellian statements are more likely to agree with questionable activities. Hypothesis two investigates the relationship between Machiavellian behavior and ethical decision making. Prior gender literature suggests that gender influences ethical decision making, with females being more ethical than males. Therefore, hypothesis three examines whether female accounting students agree less with questionable activities compared to males.
Results indicate that ethical reasoning is significantly correlated with studentsâ ethical ratings on the business vignettes. Similarly, Machiavellian behavior is significantly correlated with studentsâ ethical ratings. Consistent with prior gender literature, females agree less with questionable activities compared to male accounting students.Ph. D.
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Boaheng, Paul B. "Skepticism and practical reasoning in Hume's ethical theory." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ51302.pdf.
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Daniels, Dianne M. "Ethical Leadership And Moral Reasoning: An Empirical Investigation." NSUWorks, 2009. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/hsbe_etd/25.
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The study of ethical behavior and moral reasoning is an important area of concentration in a period of changing technology and with the dynamics of globalization. Shareholder wealth, profitability, and organizational success have been linked to successful leadership. Corporate success can be found through strategies that capitalize on the opportunities globalization provides, and yet can be eroded by unethical behavior or poor moral decision-making. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between ethical leadership and levels of moral reasoning.
Through the use of the Ethical Leadership Scale and the Managerial Moral Judgment Test, an empirical investigation of ethical leadership and moral reasoning is made. There is a very small element of literature on ethics that discusses leadership in the context of moral decision-making. There is little testing of ethical leadership as a construct (Brown, Trevino, & Harrison, 2005), and it generally is assumed in the literature that an ethical leader exhibits conventional or post-conventional levels of moral reasoning when faced with an ethical dilemma.
This study finds the internal reliability of the Ethical Leadership Scale to be significant (r = 0.998). This research does not support the general assumption that ethical leaders exhibit conventional or post-conventional levels of moral reasoning. The Ethical Leader's age, gender, level of education, and amount of ethics training is not shown to be related to level of moral reasoning in this study.
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Shet, Vinay Damodar. "Bilattice based logical reasoning for automated visual surveillance and other applications." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/6715.
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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2007.Thesis research directed by: Computer Science. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Dean, Robyn K. "Sign language interpreters' ethical discourse and moral reasoning patterns." Thesis, Heriot-Watt University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10399/3074.
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This study investigates the ethical reasoning abilities of sign language interpreters in the US using two data sources, one that is qualitative and one that is quantitative. The twenty-five participants involved in this study were recruited after their completion of an online training session on interpreting ethics (unrelated to this study or the author). Their responses to six ethical scenarios (e.g., what would you do and why) were analysed through the lens of James Rest’s three tacit moral schemas: personal interest schema, maintaining norms schema, and post-conventional schema. These data were then compared to the results of Rest’s standardised instrument of moral reasoning, the Defining Issues Test, also based on these three schema preferences. These data show that the interpreter participants have a preference for a maintaining norms schema on both qualitative and quantitative data sources. This moral reasoning pattern found in the interpreter cohort is more typical of adolescent reasoning – a much younger profile than the actual age and education level of the participant pool. Furthermore, this reasoning preference does not coincide with the justice claims often made in the profession (e.g. the ally model). Justice as defined by collaboration by both moral psychologists and translation scholars is only weakly evident in the ethical discourse of the interpreter participants. These reasoning patterns that reveal an adolescent and non-collaborative approach are also evident in ethical documents and literature of the sign language interpreting profession. How the profession has come to conceive of and articulate ethics is explored as a potential limiting factor on the study participant’s abilities to express more sophisticated reasoning. In addition to moral judgement patterns evident in the quantitative and qualitative data, the study cohort’s qualitative data are examined for other psychological aspects of Rest’s Four Component Model (FCM). Findings indicate that sign language interpreters make many assumptions about service users’ needs, actions, and intentions. Further, they are more concerned for how decisions might impact them than the potential impact on service users. As a result, education interventions are indicated particularly for moral sensitivity and moral judgement.
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Browning, Amanda. "The Impact of Culture on Accounting Students' Ethical Reasoning." Ohio University Honors Tutorial College / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1461147696.
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Oljar, Elizabeth Ann. "Moral reasons and motivation : prospects for ethical externalism /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/5704.
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Videla, Santiago. "Reasoning on the response of logical signaling networks with answer set programming." Phd thesis, Universität Potsdam, 2014. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2014/7189/.
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Deciphering the functioning of biological networks is one of the central tasks in systems biology. In particular, signal transduction networks are crucial for the understanding of the cellular response to external and internal perturbations. Importantly, in order to cope with the complexity of these networks, mathematical and computational modeling is required. We propose a computational modeling framework in order to achieve more robust discoveries in the context of logical signaling networks. More precisely, we focus on modeling the response of logical signaling networks by means of automated reasoning using Answer Set Programming (ASP). ASP provides a declarative language for modeling various knowledge representation and reasoning problems. Moreover, available ASP solvers provide several reasoning modes for assessing the multitude of answer sets. Therefore, leveraging its rich modeling language and its highly efficient solving capacities, we use ASP to address three challenging problems in the context of logical signaling networks: learning of (Boolean) logical networks, experimental design, and identification of intervention strategies. Overall, the contribution of this thesis is three-fold. Firstly, we introduce a mathematical framework for characterizing and reasoning on the response of logical signaling networks. Secondly, we contribute to a growing list of successful applications of ASP in systems biology. Thirdly, we present a software providing a complete pipeline for automated reasoning on the response of logical signaling networks.Deciphering the functioning of biological networks is one of the central tasks in systems biology. In particular, signal transduction networks are crucial for the understanding of the cellular response to external and internal perturbations. Importantly, in order to cope with the complexity of these networks, mathematical and computational modeling is required. We propose a computational modeling framework in order to achieve more robust discoveries in the context of logical signaling networks. More precisely, we focus on modeling the response of logical signaling networks by means of automated reasoning using Answer Set Programming (ASP). ASP provides a declarative language for modeling various knowledge representation and reasoning problems. Moreover, available ASP solvers provide several reasoning modes for assessing the multitude of answer sets. Therefore, leveraging its rich modeling language and its highly efficient solving capacities, we use ASP to address three challenging problems in the context of logical signaling networks: learning of (Boolean) logical networks, experimental design, and identification of intervention strategies. Overall, the contribution of this thesis is three-fold. Firstly, we introduce a mathematical framework for characterizing and reasoning on the response of logical signaling networks. Secondly, we contribute to a growing list of successful applications of ASP in systems biology. Thirdly, we present a software providing a complete pipeline for automated reasoning on the response of logical signaling networks.
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Nelson, Mark J. "Representing and reasoning about videogame mechanics for automated design support." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53875.
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Videogame designers hope to sculpt gameplay, but actually work in the concrete medium of computation. What they create is code, artwork, dialogue---everything that goes inside a videogame cartridge. In other materially constrained design domains, design-support tools help bridge this gap by automating portions of a design in some cases, and helping a designer understand the implications of their design decisions in others. I investigate AI-based videogame-design support, and do so from the perspective of putting knowledge-representation and reasoning (KRR) at the front. The KRR-centric approach starts by asking whether we can formalize an aspect of the game-design space in a way suitable for automated or semi-automated analysis, and if so, what can be done with the results. It begins with the question, "what could a computer possibly do here?", attempts to show that the computer actually can do so, and then looks at the implications of the computer doing so for design support.
To organize the space of game-design knowledge, I factor the broad notion of game mechanics mechanics into four categories: abstract mechanics, concrete audiovisual representations, thematic mappings, and input mappings. Concretely, I investigate KRR-centric formalizations in three domains, which probe into different portions of the four quadrants of game-design knowledge: 1. using story graphs and story-quality functions for writing interactive stories, 2. automatic game design focused on the "aboutness" of games, which auto-reskins videogames by formalizing generalized spaces of thematic references, and 3. enhancing mechanics-oriented videogame prototypes by encoding the game mechanics in temporal logic, so that they can be both played and queried.
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Coleman, Renita. "The effects of visuals on ethical reasoning : what's a picture worth to journalists making ethical choices? /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3025613.
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Ryan, Patrice M. (Patrice Marie). "Revision of the Logical Reasoning Subtest of the California Test of Mental Maturity." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1986. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc501061/.
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The purpose of the study was to develop a revision of the logical reasoning section of the California Test of Mental Maturity which increases its discriminative ability while maintaining an acceptable measure of reliability. Subjects were 102 students of general psychology classes at North Texas State University. All were administered the Logical Reasoning section of the California Test of Mental Maturity in its original form and an experimental revision of it (LRTR). The Wesman Personnel Classification Test was administered at the same time to demonstrate the tests' construct validity. Pearson product-moment correlations, item and homogeneity analyses were run. Results indicated that the revised test correlated significantly with the original test and the WPCT. Internal validity of the revised test was satisfactory, showing an improvement over the original test in terms of clarity, reliability and homogeneity.
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Mays, III Larkey. "Perceptions of Business School Students About Character Development and Ethical Reasoning." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2219.
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Character development in higher education is essential for enhancing ethical awareness and moral reasoning. However, inconsistent perspectives exist concerning the impact of ethics education on students' ethical awareness and moral reasoning. This phenomenological study examined the perceptions of senior-level undergraduate business students on their own ethical belief systems and changes in ethical awareness. Astin's student development theory on the environmental effects on learning formed the conceptual framework. The research questions explored how the 4-year undergraduate business school experience changed the students' ability to recognize and evaluate ethical concerns in relation to the ethical aspects of coursework. Thirteen undergraduate seniors pursuing a business degree from a Catholic college were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were used to obtain data about ethical self-awareness, recognition of ethical issues, understanding ethical concepts, and assessing core values. The study followed Moustakas' recommendation for phenomenological analysis, a modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method. Emergent themes included the meaning of moral character development, the perception of the college business curriculum in relation to students' core values, and the approaches used to affect ethical situations. The findings suggest that the business curriculum increase the students' exposure to ethical situations and introduce decision tools that could be useful in ethical dilemmas. Recommendations involve considering a pretest and posttest design and Astin's entire inputs-environment-outcomes model as the theoretical framework. The implications for positive social change include the development of character education toward moral competencies and ethical decision-making skills of future business leaders.
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Cockerton-Turner, Tracey. "Child-computer interaction and the value of help facilities in promoting logical reasoning performance." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.292509.
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Martín, Salguero Ana María. "Behavioral and neural correlates of logical inferences." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/671350.
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The aim of the dissertation is to explore behavioral and neuropsychological correlates of elementary
deductive processes in infants and adults. To this purpose, we introduce a novel non-verbal task
presenting scenes containing an ambiguity which could be resolved by the application of an
elementary logical rule (A or B, not A, therefore B). In a series of studies we identified oculomotor
responses associated with logical inference processing, substantially stable across development,
indicating that some logical rules may be at the core of human cognition and occur independently of
language. Second, to further address the nature of this process, we conducted imaging studies to
describe the brain networks involved in elementary nonverbal deduction.In adults, an fMRI study
revealed activity in the prefrontal and occipital cortices associated to a logical representation, and a
left fronto-parietal activity associated to a logical inference, indicating that also non-verbal
reasoning is made by a cascade of process of different nature. A fNIRS study in 12-month-olds
revealed a more extended and bilateral activation with respect to adults, with oculomotor data
indicating the cost associated to both logical components. Our results show that non-verbal
reasoning is a multiple component process substantially similar across development, perhaps
undergoing a neural reorganization from infancy to adulthood.El objetivo de esta tesis es el de explorar correlatos conductuales y neuropsicológicos de procesos deductivos básicos en bebés y adultos. Para ello diseñamos un tarea no verbal novedosa que consiste en la presentación de escenas que contienen una ambigüedad y puede ser resulta mediante la aplicación de una regla lógica básica (A o B, no A, entonces B). A través de varios estudios, identificamos respuestas oculomotoras asociadas a la realización de una inferencia lógica sustancialmente estables a lo largo del desarrollo, esto indica que algunas reglas lógicas pueden ser parte del núcleo de la cognición humana y ocurrir independientemente del lenguaje. Segundo, para aclarar la naturaleza de este proceso, realizamos estudios de imagen funcional para describir las areas cerebrales implicadas en procesos elementales de deducción no verbal. En adultos, un estudio basado en fMRI, mostró actividad en áreas prefrontales and occipitales asociada a los procesos de representación lógica, y actividad fronto-parietal asociada a la realización de inferencias lógicas, indicando que incluso el razonamiento no verbal está compuesto por una cascada de procesos de naturaleza diferente. Un estudio de fNIRS en bebés de 12 meses reveló un perfil de activación bilateral y más extendido en relación a los adultos, con respuestas oculomotoras que señalan el coste asociado a los dos componentes lógicos. Nuestros resultados muestran que el razonamiento no verbal es un proceso con múltiples componentes en gran medida similar a lo largo del desarrollo, quizá sometido a una reorganización neuronal desde la infancia a la edad adulta.
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Ho, Ngoc Duc. "Resource-Bounded Reasoning about Knowledge." Doctoral thesis, Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, 2004. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-36935.
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Der Begriff ``Agent'' hat sich als eine sehr nützliche Abstraktion erwiesen, um verschiedene Problembereiche auf eine intuitive und natürliche Art und Weise zu konzeptualisieren. Intelligente Agenten haben daher Anwendung gefunden in verschiedenen Teilbereichen der Informatik. Zur Modellierung werden intelligente Agenten meist als intentionale Systeme aufgefaßt und mit Hilfe von mentalistischen Begriffen wie Wissen, Glauben (oder Überzeugung), Wunsch, Pflicht, Intention usw. beschrieben. Unter diesen mentalen Begriffen gehören die epistemischen Begriffe (d.h., Wissen und Glauben) zu den wichtigsten und wurden auch am intensivsten untersucht. Zur Modellierung von Wissen und Glauben werden in der Regel modale epistemische Logiken verwendet. Solche Systeme sind aber nicht geeignet, um ressourcenbeschränkte Agenten zu beschreiben, weil sie zu starke Annahmen bezüglich der Rationalität von Agenten machen. Zum Beispiel wird angenommen, daß Agenten alle logischen Wahrheiten sowie alle Konsequenzen seines Wissens kennen. Dieses Problem ist bekannt als das Problem der logischen Allwissenheit (``logical omniscience problem''). Da alle Agenten grundsätzlich nur über begrenzte Ressourcen (wie z.B. Zeit, Information, Speicherplatz) verfügen, können sie nur eine begrenzte Menge von Informationen verarbeiten. Daher müssen alternative Modelle entwickelt werden, um Agenten realistisch modellieren zu können (siehe Kapitel 2). Daß modale epistemische Logik für die Formalisierung des ressourcenbeschränkten Schließens (``resource-bounded reasoning'') nicht geeignet ist, wird als ein offenes Problem der Agententheorien anerkannt. Es gibt bisher aber keine brauchbaren Alternativen zur Modallogik. Die meisten Ansätze zur Lösung des logischen Allwissenheitsproblems versuchen, Wissen und Glauben mit Hilfe schwacher Modallogiken zu beschreiben. Solche Versuche sind nicht befriedigend, da sie eine willkürliche Einschränkung der Rationalität der Agenten zur Folge haben (siehe Kapitel 3). Mein Ziel ist es, einen Rahmen für das ressourcenbeschränktes Schließen über Wissen und Glauben zu entwickeln. Damit soll eine solide Grundlage für Theorien intelligenter Agenten geschaffen werden. Als Nebenergebnis wird das logische Allwissenheitsproblem auf eine sehr intuitive Art und Weise gelöst: obwohl Agenten rational sind und alle logischen Schlußregeln anwenden können, sind sie nicht logisch allwissend, weil ihnen nicht genügend Ressourcen zu Verfügung stehen, um alle logischen Konsequenzen ihres Wissens zu ziehen. Im Kapitel 4 wird eine Reihe von Logiken vorgestellt, die den Begriff des expliziten Wissens formalisieren. Es wird eine Lösung des Problems der logischen Allwissenheit der epistemischen Logik vorgeschlagen, die die Rationalität der Agenten nicht willkürlich einschränkt. Der Grundgedanke dabei ist der folgende. Ein Agent kennt die logischen Konsequenzen seines Wissens nur dann, wenn er sie tatsächlich hergeleitet hat. Wenn ein Agent alle Prämissen einer gültigen Schlußregel kennt, kennt er nicht notwendigerweise die Konklusion: er kennt sie nur nach der Anwendung der Regel. Wenn er den Schluß nicht ziehen kann, z.B. weil er nicht die notwendigen Ressourcen dazu hat, wird sein Wissen nicht um diese herleitbare Information erweitert. Die Herleitung neuer Informationen wird als die Ausführung mentaler Handlungen aufgefaßt. Mit Hilfe einer Variante der dynamischen Logik können diese Handlungen beschrieben werden. Im Kapitel 5 werden Systeme für das ressourcenbeschränkte Schließen über Wissen und Glauben entwickelt, die auch quantitative Bedingungen über die Verfügbarkeit von Ressourcen modellieren können. Mit Hilfe dieser Logiken können Situationen beschrieben werden, wo Agenten innerhalb einer bestimmten Zeitspanne entscheiden müssen, welche Handlungen sie ausführen sollen. Der Ansatz besteht darin, epistemische Logik mit Komplexitätstheorie zu verbinden. Mit Hilfe einer Komplexitätsanalyse kann ein Agent feststellen, ob ein bestimmtes Problem innerhalb vorgegebener Zeit lösbar ist. Auf der Grundlage dieses Wissens kann er dann die für die Situation geeignete Entscheidung treffen. Damit ist es gelungen, eine direkte Verbindung zwischen dem Wissen eines Agenten und der Verfügbarkeit seiner Ressourcen herzustellenOne of the principal goals of agent theories is to describe realistic, implementable agents, that is, those which have actually been constructed or are at least in principle implementable. That goal cannot be reached if the inherent resource-boundedness of agents is not treated correctly. Since the modal approach to epistemic logic is not suited to formalize resource-bounded reasoning, the issue of resource-boundedness remains one of the main foundational problems of any agent theory that is developed on the basis of modal epistemic logic. My work is an attempt to provide theories of agency with a more adequate epistemic foundation. It aims at developing theories of mental concepts that make much more realistic assumptions about agents than other theories. The guiding principle of my theory is that the capacities attributed to agents must be empirically verifiable, that is, it must be possible to construct artificial agents which satisfy the specifications determined by the theory. As a consequence, the unrealistic assumption that agents have unlimited reasoning capacities must be rejected. To achieve the goal of describing resource-bounded agents accurately, the cost of reasoning must be taken seriously. In the thesis I have developed a framework for modeling the relationship between knowledge, reasoning, and the availability of resources. I have argued that the correct form of an axiom for epistemic logic should be: if an agent knows all premises of a valid inference rule and if he performs the right reasoning, then he will know the conclusion as well. Because reasoning requires resources, it cannot be safely assumed that the agent can compute his knowledge if he does not have enough resources to perform the required reasoning. I have demonstrated that on the basis of that idea, the problems of traditional approaches can be avoided and rich epistemic logics can be developed which can account adequately for our intuitions about knowledge
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Lewis, John Goddard. "Looking for life : the role of theo-ethical reasoning in Paul's religion." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f9eea823-a877-4926-8ed8-c47517b31646.
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This dissertation challenges the adequacy of three interrelated foci of twentieth- century Protestant Pauline interpretation. Interpreters regularly: (1) distinguish Paul's theology from his ethics, (2) emphasise his preaching as the sole or primary vehicle for gospel proclamation and divine revelation, and (3) deny that Paul engages in reasoned, ethical reflection. This study offers a new proposal for understanding how Paul does theology and ethics as a former Pharisee and first-century pastoral theologian a Christian community-builder with an apocalyptic (i.e. revelatory) perspective. Paul integrates Christian thinking and living, combining what interpreters frequently separate as theology and ethics. This becomes evident in Paul's complex process of theological, moral reasoning for which we have coined the phrase 'theo-ethical reasoning'. This characterisation captures both the divine and human elements of Paul's behavioural reasoning grounded in the revelation of the risen Christ to Paul and in Paul. According to theo-ethical reasoning, Paul associates specific acts of Christ-conforming conduct with the power of God that becomes manifest in community experiences of new life. Since this reasoning often lies beneath the surface of the texts, the study explores the underlying logic of Paul's arguments. This highlights the consistent pattern of reasoning by which Paul analyses and responds to behavioural issues. The study also argues that Paul encourages his churches to practise spiritual discernment by engaging in theo-ethical reasoning a dialogical, comparative process of reasoned reflection on the links between behaviour and experience. In this practice of looking for life, the Spirit leads community members to associate experiences of new life with conduct that conforms to Christ's cruciform pattern of self-giving love for others. This correlation grounds both Paul's proclamation of Jesus Christ by word and deed and believers' faith in the power of God. We conclude that theo-ethical reasoning lies at the centre of Paul's religion.
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Stockton-Tillman, Karen J. "The Relationship of Moral Reasoning and Ethical Decision Making Among IT Employees." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3543.
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There has been a rise in the last decade of documented unethical business behavior by information technology (IT) employees. Over the last several years, business managers have tried to address this area of concern to find a solution to this growing problem, but they have struggled with the metrics to identify unethical behavior in IT employees. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of 3 employee constructs-ethics training (ET), education level (EL), and employee's perception of their organizations' ethical leadership (EP)-on whether an IT employee would behave in an unethical manner. The theoretical framework for the study was Kohlberg's moral development model. Seventy IT personnel within the Maryland metropolitan area who work for businesses with DOD contracts completed the Defining Issues Test and the Ethical IT survey. Multiple regression analysis with Pearson's r was used to examine the relationship between ET, EL and EP, moral development, and ethical decision making. No constructs were significant. The study multiple regression model with F (3, 66) = .570, p = .637, R-² = .028 failed to demonstrate a significant correlation between moral development and ethical decision making and ET, EL, and EP. Given these findings, business leaders should consider other IT employee variables that may lead to unethical business behavior. When so identified, DOD business managers will be able to promote the positive social change that arises from ethical business behavior, such as continued contractual profits, increased employee morale, sustained productivity, and a decreased unemployment rate.
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Thorne, Linda 1956. "The influence of social interaction on auditors' moral reasoning /." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34471.
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Although auditors engage in considerable social interaction (Gibbins & Mason, 1988; Solomon, 1987), little is known about how social interaction influences an auditor's moral reasoning process. In order to address this gap, this study used an experiment to examine the effect of social influence on 288 auditors' moral reasoning on realistic moral dilemmas. The results of this study indicate that social interaction influences the moral reasoning of auditors. Auditors' level of prescriptive reasoning appears to increase after engaging in discussion of a realistic moral dilemma, particularly for those which discuss dilemmas with others at high levels of moral development, while auditors' level of deliberative reasoning appears to decrease after engaging in discussion of a realistic moral dilemma. At a practical level, these findings suggest that auditors should be encouraged to prescriptively discuss moral dilemmas with others of high levels of moral development as this tends to result in the use of more principled moral reasoning. In contrast, auditors should avoid deliberative discussion of moral dilemmas, as this tends to result in the use of less principled moral reasoning than would be used in the absence of discussion.
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Esterhuizen, H. L. "Linguistics + Mathematics = twins." Interim : Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol 7, Issue 1 :Central University of Technology Free State Bloemfontein, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/379.
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Published ArticleLanguage and Mathematics are both so-called "tools" that are used by other disciplines to explain / describe phenomena in those disciplines, but they are scientific disciplines in their own right. Language is a system of symbols, but so is Mathematics. These symbols carry meaning or value. Both originate in the human mind and are then translated into messages of logic. What is important are the relationships between units that are inherent to both disciplines. In practicing the two disciplines, there are elements that correspond. These are a vocabulary, grammar, a community and meaning. Psycholinguists and psychologists are interested in the role that language might have in enabling other functions in the human cognitive repertoire. Some argue that language is a prerequisite for a whole range of intellectual activities, including mathematics. They claim that mathematical structures are, in a way, parasitic on the human linguistic faculty. Some evidence for the language: maths connection comes from neurology. Functional imaging studies of the brain show increased activation of the language areas as certain mathematical tasks / challenges are performed. Lesions to a certain part of the brain impair both the linguistic as well as the mathematical ability. We are looking at a fundamentally shared enterprise, a deeply interwoven development of numerical and linguistic aspects. This co-evolution of number concepts and number words suggests that it is no accident that the same species that possesses the language faculty as a unique trait, should also be the one that developed a systematic concept of number.
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Loch-Dehbi, Sandra [Verfasser]. "Algebraic, logical and stochastic reasoning for the automatic prediction of 3d building structures / Sandra Loch-Dehbi." Bonn : Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn, 2021. http://d-nb.info/1227990502/34.
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Videla, Santiago [Verfasser], and Torsten [Akademischer Betreuer] Schaub. "Reasoning on the response of logical signaling networks with answer set programming / Santiago Videla. Betreuer: Torsten Schaub." Potsdam : Universitätsbibliothek der Universität Potsdam, 2014. http://d-nb.info/1058253263/34.
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Brennan, Sean Campbell. "Method in legal-ethical reasoning, the criminal lawyer's conscience, the client and the court." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ53095.pdf.
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Williamson, Stanley G. (Stanley Greer). "Ethical reasoning and risk propensity: a comparison of hospital and general industry senior executives." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1990. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332603/.
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This research explores whether differences in ethical reasoning levels exist between senior hospital managers and top level general industry executives. Similar comparisons are made between not-for-profit hospital managers and their peers in for-profit hospitals. Also examined are the ethical reasoning levels used most often by practicing executives, regardless of industry affiliation.
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Rosa, Leandro Viana da. "Jogos lógicos no Ensino Fundamental." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/157534.
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Esta pesquisa se dedicou à introdução dos jogos lógicos na sala de aula, em específico, ela busca a investigação das dificuldades encontradas pelos alunos com os diferentes estilos de jogos apresentados e quais são os raciocínios lógicos utilizados para a resolução dos problemas propostos. Buscamos os benefícios que estes jogos podem trazer para o ensino e a aprendizagem na sala de aula. Aliado a isso também trabalhamos a parte geométrica dos tabuleiros, e com isso os alunos utilizaram como ferramentas a régua e o compasso para a construção dos tabuleiros apresentados.. Para tanto, a metodologia de pesquisa escolhida foi o Estudo de Caso, de acordo com Fiorentini e Lorenzato (2006), Ventura (2007) e Gil (2002). O referencial teórico é baseado nos trabalhos de Macedo (2007), Grando (2011), Skovsmose (2000), Huizinga (2000), Kishimoto (2006), Zuin (2001), bem como os PCNs e outros artigos/livros relacionados aos jogos lógicos e as construções geométricas com a régua e o compasso. As atividades foram desenvolvidas com uma turma do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental de em uma Escola Municipal de Porto Alegre, no ano de 2015. Em especial sugerimos que é possível a inserção desses materiais a fim de serem usados como ferramentas de auxílio no ensino aprendizagem de matemática contribuindo positivamente para a formação dos alunos. Os registros coletados no estudo de caso possibilitaram a validação da proposta.The present research has focused on the introduction of the logical games in the class. It aims to pin point difficulties presented by the students on the different styles of games proposed and a logical ratiocination is required to solve the tasks proposed. The benefits of the games along with the teaching and learning in the classroom was the goal. Additionally, the geometric segment of board games have been investigated and students used tools as ruler and compass to the construction of the boards presented. Therefore, the chosen researching methodology was the Case Study, according to Fiorentini e Lorenzato (2006), Ventura (2007) e Gil (2002). The theoretical referential is based on Works from Macedo (2007), Grando (2011), Skovsmose (2000), Huizinga (2000), Kishimoto (2006), Zuin (2001), along with the PCNs and others articles/books related to logical games and geometric constructions with a ruler and a compass. The activities were performed by a 9th grade group of the Elementary School in a Municipal School in Porto Alegre, in 2015. We showed in particular that is possible the insertion of these materials in order to be used as a sustenance tool on Mathematics Learning contributing positively to students formation. The data collected in the case study enabled the authentication of the proposal.
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Stevenson, Stacy Elizabeth. "Double Effect: Measuring the Ethical Beliefs and Practices of Social Media Users." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1290021237.
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Chaplin, Clifford John. "What is best for the patient : the ethical experiences, reasoning and decision making of nurses." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2002. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/what-is-best-for-the-patient--the-ethical-experiences-reasoning-and-decision-making-of-nurses(92467daf-7c72-4be3-8b5f-b0af491e8fac).html.
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Vander, Wood Melissa Ann. "Actual and self-assessed performance on a logical reasoning task after a night of total or partial sleep deprivation." Connect to this title online, 2008. http://etd.lib.clemson.edu/documents/1211388594/.
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Nguyen, Vinh Thi Kim. "Semantic Web Foundations for Representing, Reasoning, and Traversing Contextualized Knowledge Graphs." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1516147861789615.
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Sternäng, Li. "Ethical and normative reasoning on climate change : Conceptions and solutions among students in a Chinese context." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-56033.
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Previous research in environmental education and learning has mainly concerned students’ understanding of natural scientific knowledge, whereas research on the influence of other knowledge in learning environmental issues is marginal. Also, the interest in most studies investigating students’ natural scientific knowledge has been to capture constraints in students’ understanding, hence investigations of students’ meaning making are rare. The main objective of this thesis was to explore individual students’ reasoning regarding climate change, and the influence of knowledge on their reasoning. In Study I, students’ conceptions of the enhanced greenhouse effect (EGHE) were investigated. The results showed that students incorporated different pieces of information from different problem areas into the conceptualization of the EGHE. Setting up causal links between diversely different pieces of information seems to be a way to make meaning, and thus a necessary step in the learning process. Study II is an investigation of students’ solutions to climate change. The results indicated that students contextualized problems and solutions by addressing the individual(s), where the individual(s) was either “myself” or “someone else”. The different notions of the individual(s) became crucial as the students’ views of the environment, as well as society, changed according to the different contexts. To further study students’ conceptions of “me” and “others”, Study III examined students’ conceptualized solutions to the dilemma between economic development and mitigating climate change. The findings suggested that students’ conceptualized nature as a “box” of resources, and that economic development would sustain and improve nature. Therefore, the dilemma between economic development and mitigating climate change or dealing with environmental problems did not exist. Results from all three studies were discussed with respect to theoretical implications.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.
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Lu, Wei-Hsin. "Understanding the effect of computer-supported, case-based instruction on third-year medical students' ethical reasoning." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/4658.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on February 20, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.
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Crocker, Curtis J. "The Relationship between Community Service Hours and Ethical Reasoning Capabilities: An Empirical Study of Accounting Students." NSUWorks, 2013. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/hsbe_etd/21.
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The Financial Crisis of 2007-2010 is the latest of a cycle of scandals that involved questionable ethics in accountants. The costs were extraordinarily large this time. Once again there is a focus on the ethical training of the future accounting professionals, accounting instructors, and business leaders. Traditional methods have not been successful. Service-learning is presented as an alternative. In this study, community service hours are used as a proxy for the "service" component of service-learning. This research extends the research of Weber and Glyptis (2000) by examining the relationship between community service hours and ethical reasoning capabilities. Since the most community service studies in business education have been descriptive rather than empirical (Sneider, Gillmor, & Rabinowicz, 2011), this study also adds to the paucity of empirical data on the impact of community service on students.
Their research provided evidence that students participating in community service activities scored higher DIT scores than students who did not. This study explores the relationship between DIT scores and hours of community service, hours of accounting-related community service hours, age, gender, number of accounting courses, and ethics education. The study found a strong relationship between the variables, community service hours, accounting-related community service hours, and DIT scores. There was also a relationship between DIT scores and gender as well as previous ethics education. No relationship was found between DIT scores and age and the number of accounting courses taken. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used to measure the ethical reasoning capabilities of 233 accounting students in several colleges in the state of Georgia.
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Howarth, Elizabeth. "New rationality principles in pure inductive logic." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2015. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/new-rationality-principles-in-pure-inductive-logic(e23d028f-c3e9-47b1-a5a0-289027f4d97f).html.
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We propose and investigate several new principles of rational reasoning within the framework of Pure Inductive Logic, PIL, where probability functions defined on the sentences of a first-order language are used to model an agent's beliefs. The Elephant Principle is concerned with how learning, modelled by conditioning, may be uniquely `remembered'. The Perspective Principle requires that, from a given prior, conditioning on statistically similar experiences should result in similar assignments, and is found to be a necessary condition for Reichenbach's Axiom to hold. The Abductive Inference Principle and some variations are proposed as possible formulations of a restriction of C.S. Peirce's notion of hypothesis in the context of PIL, though characterization results obtained for these principles suggest that they may be too strong. The Finite Values Property holds when a probability function takes only finitely many values when restricted to sentences containing only constant symbols from some fixed finite set. This is shown to entail a certain systematic method of assigning probabilities in terms of possible worlds, and it is considered in this light as a possible principle of inductive reasoning. Classification results are given, stating which members of certain established families of probability functions satisfy each of these new principles. Additionally, we define the theory of a principle P of PIL to be the set of those sentences which are assigned probability 1 by every probability function which satisfies P. We investigate the theory of the established principle of Spectrum Exchangeability by finding separately the theories of heterogeneous and homogeneous functions. The theory of Spectrum Exchangeability is found to be equal to the theory of finite structures. The theory of Johnson's Sufficientness Postulate is also found. Consequently, we find that Spectrum Exchangeability, Johnson's Sufficientness Postulate and the Finite Values Property are all inconsistent with the principle of Super-Regularity: that any consistent sentence should be assigned non-zero probability.
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Jansson, Lilian. "Ethical reasoning among experienced registered nurses in relation to communication with severely ill patients disclosing personal knowledge." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för omvårdnad, 1993. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-101292.
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Personal knowledge was disclosed amongst a group of experienced registered nurses in relation to feeding severely ill patients with cancer and dementia (I,II,III), communicating with severely demented patients (IV,V), and receiving group supervision (VI). Principled ethics did not seem an adequate model for describing the ethical reasoning of experienced RNs. For the twenty RNs working in oncological care the question of whether or not to accept active euthanasia was the most urgent. The twenty RNs working in dementia care emphasized the difficulty they had in understanding the meaning of communicative cues in severely demented patients. Both groups of nurses saw themselves as advocates for their patients and seemed to reason mainly in accordance with the Golden Rule. Through a phenomenological hermeneutic analysis of video recordings of two RNs' interaction with each of four severely demented patients, it was possible to interpret the patients' vague and unclear communicative cues. But observations based on an assessment of facial muscle movements showed that it was very difficult (the FACS). Group supervision based on a narrative framework was carried out in order to support nurses working in dementia care. Interviews with the fifteen RNs showed that they experienced recognition and reassurance of worth, an increased repertoire of actions, gained new perspectives, an increased awareness of their professional role, and interdependence. It is proposed that the care of severely ill patients can be improved by the use of a narrative approach both as regards understanding patients and encouraging RNs to develop their clinical knowledge through reflecting on their own and their coworkers' narrations about care.Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1993, härtill 6 uppsatser.
digitalisering@umu
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Schreiner, Martin. "Managing purchasing efficacy through reasoning : an action research on the impact of the TOC logical thinking processes to increase purchasing efficacy." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2018. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/849842/.
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This action research thesis was conducted at a Philippine based entity of a multinational semiconductor corporation. It was motivated by a strong interest in developing a method to increase the human component in purchasing efficacy to facilitate the integration of the purchasing function with other areas of the corporation as well as to gain strategic influence in this business-critical area. Recent research findings have reinforced the importance of uncovering the full strategic potential of the purchasing function within corporations. Literature widely acknowledges that the degree of purchasing efficacy to drive integration is seen as a major success factor in establishing cross functional alignment between the purchasing functions and their related interfaces. This in turn represents the internal dimension of purchasing strategy. Consequently, there is an ongoing practical need, as well as strong research interest, to provide a tool to assist in this integration process. Transformative learning theory argues that learning mainly occurs at the moment when meaning perspectives and meaning schemes change. It further postulates that transformation of meaning is initiated by reinterpreting past experiences and reframing them based on new experiences. Such a learning process is often activated by a "distorting dilemma" where previous meanings are suddenly no longer valid. The theory of constraints provides a framework for problem solving which includes methods to facilitate logical thinking processes and contains a tool named the current reality tree. This tool facilitates interpreting reality through a guided and rules based reasoning process which is based on methods of validity testing to prove assumptions of reality. This thesis is concerned with the increase of purchasing efficacy through a transformative learning process facilitated by the application of the logical thinking processes. Ultimately, the study presents a methodology to increase purchasing efficacy by transforming mind-sets and to increase the level of consciousness by utilizing a logical thinking process framework. However, some limitations, such as a regional and cultural focus on the Philippines, as well as the specific context in which this research was carried out, should be considered. These shortcomings are mentioned to motivate scholars to enter future research avenues in purchasing and supply management, in organizational change processes and in the application of the logical thinking process framework.
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White, Judith Anne. "The role of individual characteristics and structures of social knowledge in ethical reasoning using an experiential learning framework." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1056728836.
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Ahn, Ki Yung. "The Nax Language: Unifying Functional Programming and Logical Reasoning in a Language based on Mendler-style Recursion Schemes and Term-indexed Types." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2088.
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Two major applications of lambda calculi in computer science are functional programming languages and mechanized reasoning systems (or, proof assistants). According to the Curry--Howard correspondence, it is possible, in principle, to design a unified language based on a typed lambda calculus for both logical reasoning and programming. However, the different requirements of programming languages and reasoning systems make it difficult to design such a unified language that provides both. Programming languages usually extend lambda calculi with programming-friendly features (e.g., recursive datatypes, general recursion) for supporting the flexibility to model various computations, while sacrificing logical consistency. Logical reasoning systems usually extend lambda calculi with logic-friendly features (e.g., induction principles, dependent types) for paradox-free inference over fine-grained properties, while being more restrictive in modeling computations.
In this dissertation, we design and implement a language called Nax that embraces benefits of both. Nax accepts all recursive datatypes, thus, allowing the same flexibility of defining recursive datatypes as in functional languages. Nax supports a number of Mendler-style recursion schemes that can express various kinds of recursive computations and also guarantee termination. Nax supports term-indexed types to support specifications of fine-grained properties. In addition, Nax supports a conservative extension of Hindley--Milner type inference.
The theoretical contributions of this dissertation include theories for Mendler-style recursion schemes and term-indexed types, which we developed to establish strong normalization and logical consistency of Nax.
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Powell, Wardell Anthony. "The Effects of Emotive Reasoning on Secondary School Students' Decision-Making in the Context of Socioscientific Issues." Scholar Commons, 2014. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5385.
Full textAbstract:
The discrepancy between what students are being taught within K-12 science classrooms and what they experience in the real world has been well documented. This study sought to explore the ways a high school biology curriculum, which integrates socioscientific issues, impacts students' emotive reasoning and their ability to evaluate evidence, make informed decisions on contemporary scientific dilemmas, and integrate scientific content knowledge in their reasoning on SSI. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine differences within and between an SSI treatment group and a comparison group as well as individual differences among students' responses over a semester of high school biology. Results indicated students used emotions largely to evaluate evidence and make decisions on contentious scientific dilemmas. In addition, the results showed students used newly gained scientific content knowledge to make logical predictions on contentious scientific issues. Statistical significance was found between groups of students in regard to their interest in the use of embryonic stem cell treatments to restore rats' vision, as well as students' abilities to evaluate evidence. Theoretical implications regarding the use of SSI in the classroom are presented.
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Riechel, Morgan E. Kiper. "An investigation of relationships among school counselors' ethical professional identity development, moral reasoning, and attitudes toward confidentiality with minors." W&M ScholarWorks, 2013. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1550154153.
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Gottardis, L. "Deaf primary school children's achievement in mathematics." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:13f90aa3-c27e-46e2-a6b6-3db04de3712f.
Full textAbstract:
The present research aims to evaluate the extent of deaf children’s delay in mathematics, identifying the moderators of this delay and determine the longitudinal predictors of their mathematical achievement. For five decades, studies have reported that deaf children lag behind their hearing peers in mathematics (Gottardis, Nunes and Lunt, 2011). Background factors such as age, degree of hearing loss, presence of cochlear implant and types of educational provision were previously hypothesised to be moderators of the extent of this delay but, up to now, they have not been tested. Pagliaro (2010) argued that number knowledge, working memory and degree of hearing loss could be possible causes of deaf children’s difficulties in mathematics but no clear conclusions were reached. The present investigation aims to provide insight into the causes of deaf children’s delay in mathematics. The survey study addressed the first aim of the present study. The maths test of the Performance Indicators for Primary School (PIPS) was used as outcome measure. Factors related to deaf children (degree of hearing loss, age, years in education, presence of cochlear implant, gender, causes of deafness) and background factors (highest maternal education, language used at home, type of educational provision) were assessed as possible predictors and moderators of the extent of deaf children’s delay in mathematics. The overall extent of deaf children’s delay in mathematics was of -1.76 SDs. The older the children get and the more years they spend in special schools for the deaf or in units for hearing impaired, the wider is their gap in mathematics achievement compared with their hearing peers. It is, therefore, necessary to intervene in their mathematical learning in the early years of schooling in order to create pathways for improvement. The second aim of the present study was addressed through a longitudinal design. Logical-mathematical reasoning, working memory and counting ability were chosen as predictors of deaf children’s mathematical attainment on the basis of theoretical framework, evidence from longitudinal studies and from the analysis of the difficulties that deaf children have in these factors compared with hearing peers. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to assess the independence of the contributions of logical-mathematical reasoning, working memory and counting ability to the prediction of deaf children’s mathematical achievement measured through the PIPS. Age, years in education, type of educational provision and non-verbal intelligence were used as controls. Counting ability and working memory did make independent contributions to the prediction of deaf children’s mathematical success but logical mathematical reasoning was by far the strongest predictor. When the predictors were entered in the model, none of the control variables predicted significantly deaf children’s mathematical achievement. This study makes several empirical contributions. First, it established age, years in education and types of educational provision as moderators of the extent of deaf children’s delay in mathematics. Second, it determined the plausibility of a causal link between logical-mathematical reasoning, counting ability, working memory and deaf children’s mathematical achievement. The implication is that schools must explicitly plan to improve deaf children’s mathematical reasoning, counting ability and working memory when they are in kindergarten and in the first years of school in order to help the children’s mathematical development.