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Abstract Concepts (abstract + concept)
Selected AbstractsContent Differences for Abstract and Concrete ConceptsCOGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 5 2005Katja Katja Wiemer-Hastings Abstract Concept properties are an integral part of theories of conceptual representation and processing. To date, little is known about conceptual properties of abstract concepts, such as idea. This experiment systematically compared the content of 18 abstract and 18 concrete concepts, using a feature generation task. Thirty-one participants listed characteristics of the concepts (i.e., item properties) or their relevant context (i.e., context properties). Abstract concepts had significantly fewer intrinsic item properties and more properties expressing subjective experiences than concrete concepts. Situation components generated for abstract and concrete concepts differed in kind, but not in number. Abstract concepts were predominantly related to social aspects of situations. Properties were significantly less specific for abstract than for concrete concepts. Thus, abstractness emerged as a function of several, both qualitative and quantitative, factors. [source] Testing and Measuring the Role of Ideas: The Case of Neoliberalism in the International Monetary FundINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2007JEFFREY M. CHWIEROTH How much weight should be assigned to a particular factor in explaining an outcome? How should an abstract concept be linked to empirical indicants? These methodological problems,known as the "how much" and "how to" problems, respectively,have raised serious obstacles for ideational researchers. However, they have generally failed to deal with these problems adequately. To offset the limitations of existing studies, this paper provides new methodological guidance to researchers confronting these problems. In particular, quantitative methods are suggested for managing the "how much" problem, and a new indicator based on an individual's organizational background is proposed to deal with the "how to" problem. To develop the argument, this guidance is applied to examine the effect and measurement of the emergence within the International Monetary Fund of neoliberal ideas prescribing liberalization of capital controls. [source] Accounting for Social Value in Nonprofits and For-ProfitsNONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 1 2001Jack Quarter The authors argue that social value can serve as a bridge between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. They further propose that social value is not simply an abstract concept but can be measured by applying social accounting methods. The authors argue that nonprofits are founded on a social mission but that traditional accounting approaches do not properly assess their social products. They illustrate the centrality of social value, both to nonprofits and for-profits, in two ways: (1) a discussion of for-profit firms that behave much like nonprofits and (2) an application of the social accounting model. The authors discuss two types of firms: (1) for-profits whose shares are held in a trust and therefore operate much like corporations without shareholdersor like nonprofits and (2) for-profits whose owners do not exercise the rights associated with their property. They then apply a social accounting model to nonprofit employment training programs to illustrate how the inclusion of social variables changes the assessment of an organization's value. They conclude with a discussion of a social accountability framework that embraces both nonprofits and for-profits. [source] Characteristics of Australia's rangelands and key design issues for monitoring biodiversityAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2004ANITA K. SMYTH Abstract We explored the key issues that are most likely to influence any set of guiding principles for developing biodiversity monitoring programmes in Australia's rangelands. We defined the Australian rangelands and came up with an overview of their climate extremes, land-use pressures and biodiversity loss, and then focussed on issues underpinning the design phase of any monitoring programme. Using Noss's 1990 framework of compositional, structural and functional attributes of biodiversity and its new revisions by others, we showed how the elusive, abstract concept of biodiversity can be used to identify many measurable attributes that can form a minimum and necessary set of indicators for any biodiversity monitoring task. We then described the steps in the monitoring process, with a particular focus on the reasons for monitoring biodiversity as they strongly influence the selection of indicators. We concluded by compiling a table of key issues as background information for developing guiding principles (Table 4). The list is by no means an exhaustive list for the design phase but it does indicate that considerable attention needs to be given to this phase when developing monitoring programmes. We have intentionally not addressed the equally important issues associated with the planning and delivery phases of developing a monitoring programme, as Wallace et al. and Watson and Novelly cover these in their papers in the present issue of Austral Ecology. [source] Understanding complex systems: Defining an abstract conceptCOMPLEXITY, Issue 5 2007Alfred W. Hübler No abstract is available for this article. [source] Using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Teaching: One Criteria, Several Perspectives,DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 2 2004James A. Belohlav ABSTRACT The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) has influenced the thinking and operations within organizations from all sectors of the American economy. This paper presents the experiences of three faculty members who have used the Criteria for Performance Excellence and the underlying concepts of the MBNQA to enhance the learning experiences of their students. The authors discuss how Dale's Cone of Experience is employed, by means of concrete exercises and experiences, to better leverage the student's ability to understand the abstract concepts. The formal, end-of-term student evaluations indicate that the described approach has led to a higher level of student engagement in the learning process, as evidenced by more abundant and higher-quality feedback to the instructors. [source] Seeing the big picture: map use and the development of spatial cognitionDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2000David H. Uttal This paper considers the relation between the development of spatial cognition and children's use of maps and models. A new theoretical perspective is presented that takes into account the influences of maps on the development of spatial cognition. Maps provide a perspective on spatial information that differs in important ways from the perspective gained from direct experience navigating in the world. Using and thinking about maps may help children to acquire abstract concepts of space and the ability to think systematically about spatial relations that they have not experienced directly. In addition, exposure to maps may help children to think about multiple spatial relations among multiple locations. The results of previous studies that have demonstrated developmental differences in children's cognition of large-scale environments are examined from this theoretical perspective. This review suggests that the development of spatial cognition consists partly of the acquisition of models of large-scale space, and that maps influence the development of the modern Western model. [source] Perspectives of multi-modal contribution of honeybee resources to our lifeENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2008Hidehiro HOSHIBA Abstract The European honeybee, Apis mellifera, has been introduced to all continents and their products like honey, propolis, royal jelly and beeswax are well known. However, its contribution is not restricted to such direct products but extends into a much wider area. For example, the economic value of seed production by pollination exceeds the above-mentioned bee products. The application of F1 hybrid is increased to as much as 70% of commercial crops and flowers in Japan and honeybees are important pollinators in the F1 seed production. Incorporation into the large-scale biodiesel fuel production system by culturing rape and sunflower seeds etc. is relied on because it is good to construct possible zero-emission systems that reduce carbon dioxide and increase the rich by-products like honey and royal jelly. Bees' higher brain function and sophisticated social system of the colony opens new perspectives as a model system. Their individual ability to recognize even abstract concepts is comparable to that of higher primates. Rats or mice have no such ability. High performance learning ability of bees associated with proboscis extension reflex can be used to detect drugs at the airport. Function of the colony, on the other hand, is an excellent model for social physiology or a self-organization system. After the whole genome of A. mellifera was read in 2006 by the world consortium, consisting of more than 90 institutions from all over the world, many molecular biologists are coming into bee world. Nobody has yet succeeded in the challenge to make transgenic honeybee, so far, because of the difficulty in controlling the reproductive system headed by the queen. However, if someone succeeded in a breakthrough we will have stingless honeybees and a disease-resistant strain in the future. [source] PHOTOGRAPHS, SYMBOLIC IMAGES, AND THE HOLOCAUST: ON THE (IM)POSSIBILITY OF DEPICTING HISTORICAL TRUTHHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 2 2009JUDITH KEILBACH ABSTRACT Photography has often been scrutinized regarding its relationship to reality or historical truth. This includes not only the indexicality of photography, but also the question of how structures and processes that comprise history and historical events can be depicted. In this context, the Holocaust provides a particular challenge to photography. As has been discussed in numerous publications, this historic event marks the "limits of representation." Nevertheless there are many photographs "showing" the Holocaust that have been produced in different contexts that bespeak the photographers' gaze and the circumstances of the photographs' production. Some of the pictures have become very well known due to their frequent reproduction, even though they often do not show the annihilation itself, but situations different from that; their interpretation as Holocaust pictures results rather from a metonymic deferral. When these pictures are frequently reproduced they are transformed into symbolic images, that is, images that can be removed from their specific context, and in this way they come to signify abstract concepts such as "evil." Despite being removed from their specific context these images can, as this essay argues, refer to historical truth. First, I explore the arguments of some key theorists of photography (Benjamin, Kracauer, Sontag, Barthes) to investigate the relationship between photography and reality in general, looking at their different concepts of reality, history, and historical truth, as well as the question of the meaning of images. Second, I describe the individual circumstances in which some famous Holocaust pictures were taken in order to analyze, by means of three examples, the question what makes these specific pictures so particularly suitable to becoming symbolic images and why they may,despite their abstract meaning,be able to depict historical truth. [source] Using Role-Play Scenarios in the IR Classroom: An Examination of Exercises on Peacekeeping Operations and Foreign Policy Decision MakingINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2004Carolyn M. Shaw Use of role-play scenarios in the classroom is just one of a number of active learning techniques that are being used more and more frequently to convey the more abstract concepts of international relations (IR) to students in a meaningful way. This paper examines the value of two specific role-play exercises used in an introduction to international relations course on the topics of peacekeeping and foreign policy decision making. The value of such interactive exercises is laid out in a section examining what learning objectives can be achieved by using role-play scenarios. These include promoting student interaction and input, and promoting student curiosity and creativity. The preparations necessary for conducting such an exercise are laid out, followed by a description of the exercises as they were conducted in the classroom. Finally, an assessment of the exercises provides useful feedback on the degree to which specific learning objectives were achieved, and how such exercises can be modified to be even more effective. [source] Gesture Gives a Hand to Language and Learning: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology and EducationLINGUISTICS & LANGUAGE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2008Spencer D. Kelly People of all ages, cultures and backgrounds gesture when they speak. These hand movements are so natural and pervasive that researchers across many fields , from linguistics to psychology to neuroscience , have claimed that the two modalities form an integrated system of meaning during language production and comprehension. This special relationship has implications for a variety of research and applied domains. Gestures may provide unique insights into language and cognitive development, and also help clinicians identify, understand and even treat developmental disorders in childhood. In addition, research in education suggests that teachers can use gesture to become even more effective in several fundamental aspects of their profession, including communication, assessment of student knowledge, and the ability to instill a profound understanding of abstract concepts in traditionally difficult domains such as language and mathematics. This work converging from multiple perspectives will push researchers and practitioners alike to view hand gestures in a new and constructive way. [source] Content Differences for Abstract and Concrete ConceptsCOGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 5 2005Katja Katja Wiemer-Hastings Abstract Concept properties are an integral part of theories of conceptual representation and processing. To date, little is known about conceptual properties of abstract concepts, such as idea. This experiment systematically compared the content of 18 abstract and 18 concrete concepts, using a feature generation task. Thirty-one participants listed characteristics of the concepts (i.e., item properties) or their relevant context (i.e., context properties). Abstract concepts had significantly fewer intrinsic item properties and more properties expressing subjective experiences than concrete concepts. Situation components generated for abstract and concrete concepts differed in kind, but not in number. Abstract concepts were predominantly related to social aspects of situations. Properties were significantly less specific for abstract than for concrete concepts. Thus, abstractness emerged as a function of several, both qualitative and quantitative, factors. [source] Manifestation of depressive tendency in color perception and colors utilized in creating a self-portraitCOLOR RESEARCH & APPLICATION, Issue 1 2009Fong-Gong Wu Abstract There are a large number of studies on color and its influence upon human emotions, but there have been only a few studies on the correlation between color and depressive mental disorders. This study used color preference, association, and creation of self-portraits to explore the relationship between color and depressive tendency. In this study, 337 freshman design students participated in the experiment, and the center for epidemiologic studies-depression scale (CES-D) was used to determine the extent of depression in the subjects. After classifying the subject as "depressive tendency" and "no depressive tendency," the semantic differential scale and color association methods were used to explore the subjects' emotional, cognitive, and perceptive responses to Munsell 14 colors. In the final portion of the study, the 233 subjects created a colored self-portrait. The main conclusions found by this study are: (1) when color is used to determine whether subjects have depressive tendency, then the three colors of Yellowish Red, Purple, and Dark Gray are important discriminant variables. (2) those who have depressive tendency (DT) or do not have depressive tendency (NoDT) have similar results in color association, except when viewing dark Gray in association with abstract concepts, wherein DT subjects chose more negative emotional words such as "hopeless," "fear," and "depression"; (3) among the 233 self-portraits, the existence of depressive tendency correlated with the colors used on the face in the self-portrait. From the above conclusions, this study finds that there is much association between depressive tendency and color perception. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 34, 84,92, 2009. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||