Formal Context Research Articles

The Connections Between Attribute-Induced and Object-Induced Decision Rules in Incomplete Formal Contexts

For a given incomplete context, object-induced approximate concepts have been defined, and this type of approximate concept can induce a type of decision rule. Based on the duality principle, another set of approximate concepts can be defined from the perspective of attributes, i.e., attribute-induced approximate concepts. Although object induced approximate concepts and attribute induced approximate concepts are symmetrical by duality principle, their induced decision rules exhibit different properties and the connections between attribute induced decision rules and object induced decision rules in incomplete formal contexts are not clear. To this end, a type of attribute-induced approximate concept and a method of extracting attribute-induced decision rules are presented. More importantly, it is revealed that given a type of decision rules, there must be corresponding decision rules of the other type, and both of them can provide some useful information, but they are not equivalent to each other. In other words, each type of decision rule can provide some unique and irreplaceable information.

Semiconcept and concept representations

In FCA, we often deal with a formal context K=(G,M,I) that is only partially known, i.e. only the attributes that belong to an observable set N⊂M are known. There must also exist a part H of the object set G – called a training set – that consists of elements with all attributes known. The concepts of K have to be determined using the subcontexts corresponding to the training object set H and to the observable attribute set N. In our paper, this problem is examined within the extended framework of the semiconcepts of the original context, which are generalizations of its concepts. Each semiconcept of the original context induces a semiconcept in both subcontexts. In this way, each semiconcept of the context is represented by an induced pair of semiconcepts, which can also be considered its approximations — as in the case of rough sets. We describe the properties of the mapping defined by this representation and prove that the poset formed by these semiconcept pairs is a union of two complete lattices. We show that these induced semiconcept pairs can be generated by using a simplified representation of them. As the number of semiconcepts grows exponentially with the size of the training set and the observable attribute set, an algorithm that selects the representation pairs for which their support and relevance reach a certain threshold is also presented.

Playful Citizens: How Children Develop and Integrate News-Related Practices in Their Daily Lives

ABSTRACT This paper studies children’s (aged 8–12) news-related practices and subsequent acts of lived citizenship in formal and informal social contexts. While children in this age group are increasingly exposed to various types of news that shape their understanding of the world, little is understood about their interactions with news. We employ the concept of “news-related practices’ to analyze how news is integrated into or excluded from their daily routines. Based on longitudinal participant observations of children (N = 256) at four afterschool care locations and five primary schools in the Netherlands in combination with semi-structured interviews with teachers (N = 9), we find that children employ a wide range of playful news-related practices that allow for light-hearted explorations of news and create opportunities for acts of lived citizenship. Play allows children to explore societal issues with peers and form moral opinions. However, conceptualizations of news as serious’ hindered primary school teachers” recognition of playful news-related practices. Following these findings, we argue that the acknowledgement of such practices as an effective tool for civic education, may support children in their development of news practices and foster their first steps into becoming informed citizens.

Three-Valued Concept Analysis for 2R Formal Contexts

Three-Valued Concept Analysis for 2R Formal Contexts

Understanding global citizenship education in the classroom: A case study of teaching practices

The complexity of supporting teachers for Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in formal education contexts is widely recognised. Informed by classroom practice, this article documents a case study of three teachers to interrogate GCE pedagogy, and to contribute new insights to inform support for teachers. Previous research identifies factors that influence GCE teaching and learning, specifically teacher values, GCE orientations, and cultural and structural tensions. However, further insights drawn directly from teacher practice are required to understand more fully these complex and dynamic processes. Based on a qualitative study of upper secondary classroom practice, we analyse distinctive aspects of GCE and illustrate how and why GCE manifests differently across various classroom settings. Specifically, we consider the role of teacher’s ideological stances regarding the participatory nature of GCE and, consider how teachers can move from traditional, teacher-led approaches to more empowering experiences for students.

Using Duolingo in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: A Systematic Review

This systematic review examines the extant literature on the efficacy of the Duolingo application for vocabulary development in instructed second language (L2) contexts. Drawing on several empirical studies, the review synthesises findings related to (a) the comparative effectiveness of Duolingo versus traditional pedagogies, (b) the impact of Duolingo on learner motivation and engagement, and (c) practical implications for classroom integration. While the majority of evidence attests to measurable gains in receptive vocabulary knowledge, the findings must be interpreted with caution due to methodological limitations, including small sample sizes, short intervention periods, and construct underrepresentation. The motivational appeal of Duolingo's gamified interface emerges as a prominent theme, corroborated by self-report data. However, the limited research employing psychometrically robust motivational measures precludes definitive conclusions about the temporal stability and transferability of this motivational effect. Theoretically, the provision of individualised feedback aligns with interactionist theories, yet the restricted opportunities for the negotiation of meaning raise doubts about the depth of lexical engagement. Pedagogically, the reviewed studies advocate the careful integration of Duolingo as a supplementary tool within formal instructional contexts. However, optimal implementation strategies remain unspecified, necessitating further classroom-based research employing mixed-methods designs. Significant gaps are identified, including the lack of investigations into the differential impacts of Duolingo's features, vocabulary transfer to authentic communication, and the development of self-regulated learning strategies.

Postdigital Game-Based Learning: Complexity, Continuity, and Contingency

AbstractDiscourses that establish the potential learning benefits of digital games for schooling too often focus on learning as a product of relations between student and gameplay, adopting overly deterministic positions that have long been associated with digital technologies and education. This paper draws on ideas from postdigitalism to problematise such narrow conceptualisations of digital game-based learning (DGBL). The analysis of one Australian school’s experience of incorporating digital games into their senior English curriculum provides a break from broad generations and allows a focus on the web of relations within which digital games exist when deployed in formal school contexts. An analytical framework which draws on three ideas emerging from postdigital studies is utilized to explore relations of power through which digital games interact as they are played and studied in schools. This analysis suggests that unitary logics about learning and digital games are insufficient and highlights the importance of engaging with the complexity, continuity and contingency in DGBL contexts to combat the hyperbole that surrounds digital games and education. Postdigital attention on actual instances of digital game deployment reveals the fragility of all knowledge claims about these technologies, contributing to a more critical discourse regarding their potential to impact school learning.

Politically Correct English Language and Gender in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the present study, we investigated the responses provided by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s male and female respondents in regards to their usage of politically correct English language across various categories. Those categories include gender, disability, age, work, socioeconomic status, and race terminology. We hypothesized that significant differences would be present between respondents based on their gender. As the results suggest, female respondents were more inclined to use politically correct terminology in comparison to their counterparts, male participants. The distinctions were found to be present in all categories but mostly related to gender, where female respondents showed a higher preference for politically correct English language, while male respondents showed a tendency to select less politically correct English language terminology. Furthermore, categories related to disability and race showed mixed results to some extent. Therefore, we conclude that the findings point towards the importance of comprehending gender-specific tendencies when it comes to the adoption and usage of politically correct English language, as such differences can have significant influence on inclusion and communication within varied social and formal contexts.

Two-way concept-cognitive learning method: a perspective from progressive learning of fuzzy skills

ABSTRACT Concept-cognitive learning and two-way concept-cognitive learning have been widely used to learn concepts from given cues, and fruitful results have been obtained. However, there are still some limitations: (i) The existing two-way concept-cognitive learning methods based on competences focused on dichotomous skills, but they did not consider the proficiency of skills in the concept-cognitive learning process and ignored the dynamic learning of skills. (ii) The existing necessary and sufficient information granules based on competences cannot be learned directly from any information granule. (iii) Most of the other existing two-way concept-cognitive learning models in fuzzy formal context have been studied through an antitone Galois connection, but they cannot directly deal with an isotone Galois connection between items and fuzzy skills. To overcome these issues, we propose a novel two-way concept-cognitive learning model based on fuzzy skills to learn fuzzy skill-based cognitive concepts (i.e. necessary and sufficient fuzzy skill-based information granules) from a perspective of skill proficiency. And we optimize the two-way concept-cognitive learning model to learn directly fuzzy skill-based cognitive concepts from any information granule and save time for learning concepts. Furthermore, a progressive learning mechanism is explored to deal with dynamic data. The experimental results of 12 UCI data sets show that the proposed concept-cognitive learning models in this paper are feasible and effective.

Exploring the philosophical perspectives of future robots

If computers or robots were to replace human scientists, should they adhere to our established principles of the Philosophy of Science? We have been taught to value consistency, Popperian falsifiability, and Occam’s razor (also known as the principle of parsimony). While these traditional philosophical principles are valuable, they might limit the exploration of complex phenomena that require more nuanced or multifaceted approaches. Specific formal contexts exist where these principles falter when confronted with reality, as traditional scientific methods may reduce cognitive power. This paper formally highlights the limitations of traditional scientific and philosophical principles through the mathematics of computability (which will be considered softly).

Extracting attribute implications from a formal context: Unifying the basic approaches

There have been several pioneering approaches to the extraction of attribute implications from a formal context, dating from the 1980's: the one of Guigues and Duquenne based on so-called non-redundancy nodes, another one proposed by Ganter highlighting the concept of pseudo-closed set, and the best-known one relying on the recursive computation of so-called pseudo-intents in the book by Ganter and Wille. The Guigues and Duquenne approach has never been compared in detail in the literature with the other two, although they turn out to be equivalent. This paper tries to fill this gap, proposing a unified view, hopefully more easy to grasp.

Three-way concept lattice based on Boolean formal context

The theory of formal concept analysis(FCA) is an important mathematical method for knowledge representation and knowledge discovery. The Boolean formal context is proposed by introducing Boolean matrices and logical operations into FCA. Based on the concept lattice of the Boolean formal context and the column vector(row-vector)-oriented concept lattice of the Boolean formal context, this paper proposes the column vector(row vector)-induced three-way concept lattice of the Boolean formal context and the column vector(row vector)-induced three-way column vector(row vector)-oriented concept lattice of the Boolean formal context, and proves their rationality. Then, the isomorphism between the three-way concept lattice of the Boolean formal context and the three-way concept lattice of the general formal context is proved.

Graph Classification Method Based on Fuzzy Entropy Causality in a Network Formal Context

Graph Classification Method Based on Fuzzy Entropy Causality in a Network Formal Context

AI, heritage and critical thinking development: an education experience within university context

Educational policy makers identify Critical thinking (CT) as an essential driver for development and knowledge growth in any field and in the broad society. Even in the post-pandemic era, CT continues to be defined as one of the skills to be most promoted at the various levels of formal education and training contexts. In particular, with the raise of AI, it is crucial for educational institutions to encourage a critical approach to technology in students, especially in the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of information in order to make decisions and solve problems, also in digital contexts. Art experiences, literary stimuli and writing activities are helpful pedagogical strategies for CT enhancement especially when supported by the use of technologies. Starting from the above-mentioned evidence, a university module was designed by combining collaborative and creative writing sessions based on critical analysis of literary texts and the experience of figurative arts. More than 100 students worked in groups and their CT level was assessed at different times of the course. In particular, AI and machine learning tools were used to identify indicators of critical thinking in the texts produced by the students and to assess the relationship between the production of written texts and the development of CT and reasoning within students taking part in the educational experience. The research results could be used to improve university course design or professional development training courses for CT teaching and learning.

Three-way concept lattice from adjunctive positive and negative concepts

Three-way concept lattices (TCLs) have been widely explored due to their clear hierarchical structures, concise visual description and good interpretability. In contrast to classic formal contexts, lattice-valued fuzzy contexts exhibit great capability in describing and representing concepts with uncertainty. Different from conventional approaches to research of TCLs, this paper focuses on investigating the algebraic structure and properties of three-way concept lattice (TCL) stemmed from the positive concept lattice and negative concept lattice in a lattice-valued formal context. Several associated concept lattices such as the Cartesian product of positive concept lattice and negative lattice (i.e., pos-neg lattice), lattices induced from the partition of the pos-neg lattice, and their relationship are explored. Specifically, the isomorphism, embedding and order-preserving mappings between them are built. The quotient set of pos-neg lattice when being defined a specific equivalence relation on it is a complete lattice and each equivalence class is a lower semi-lattice. It is further declared that the structure of TCL is intrinsically and determined wholly by the pos-neg lattice. A practical application of the built theory of TCL is provided to sort alternatives in multi-criteria decision making.

КӨРКӨМ КОТОРМОДО САНАРИПТИК ТЕХНОЛОГИЯЛАРДЫ КОЛДОНУУ

In today's world, digital technologies play a key role in the field of translation, especially in a formal business context. However, their use in the translation of fiction remains less common. This article explores the possibilities of using digital methods in pre-translation activities and evaluates their effectiveness in the context of translating literary works. Special attention is paid to the issues of introducing digital technologies into the work of a translator of literary texts and their potential application in teaching. Using the example of the translation of Kyrgyz poetry, the problems arising from the use of digital means, including machine translation, are considered. This article offers an analysis of the possibilities and limitations of digital technologies in the context of translating literary texts in order to improve the quality and speed of translation. Digital technologies are actively being introduced into the work of a translator, especially in such areas as written translation in official business discourse. Digital technologies are used less often in the translation of fiction, but such techniques allow for pre-translation activities. In other words, it provides a literal translation of the text and helps to find the literal meaning of each word in the dictionary. However, some digital methods can be successfully used in the translation of literary works.

Bridging the Gap in Learning: Differentiated Learning to Enhance the Students' Reading Comprehension of Explanatory Texts and Writing Skills

Text-based language learning in senior high school aims to introduce students to different kinds of text: fiction and non-fiction. The teaching of an explanation text as a non-fiction text aims to make students understand and be able to write it. Teachers can use various techniques to achieve the goals, such as differentiated instruction during the teaching process. This research scrutinizes how differentiated instruction helps students enhance their understanding and writing skills in explanation texts, particularly for students of junior high school level. Employing a pre-experimental One-Group Pretest-Posttest design, the data in this research were collected using observations, surveys, and tests. The data analysis compared the pre-test and post-test results with some criteria and percentages. The result shows an improvement in the student's understanding of explanatory texts, with an average score of 60,67 to 87,00 and a percentage of 60%. This study is expected to shed light on the teacher's use of differentiated instruction in teaching various kinds of text in formal and informal contexts.

The effectiveness of refutation text in confronting scientific misconceptions: A meta-analysis

Misinformation around scientific issues is rampant on social media platforms, raising concerns among educators and science communicators. A variety of approaches have been explored to confront this growing threat to science literacy. For example, refutations have been used both proactively as warning labels and in attempts to inoculate against misconceptions, and retroactively to debunk misconceptions and rebut science denialism. Refutations have been used by policy makers and scientists when communicating with the general public, yet little is known about their effectiveness or consequences. Given the interest in refutational approaches, we conducted a comprehensive, pre-registered meta-analysis comparing the effect of refutation texts to non-refutation texts on individuals’ misconceptions about scientific information. We selected 71 articles (53 published and 18 unpublished) that described 76 studies, 111 samples, and 294 effect sizes. We also examined 26 moderators. Overall, our findings show a consistent and statistically significant advantage of refutation texts over non-refutation texts in controlled experiments confronting scientific misconceptions. We also found that moderators neither enhanced nor diminished the impact of the refutation texts. We discuss the implications of using refutations in formal and informal science learning contexts and in science communications from three theoretical perspectives.

A RACIO-LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF LANGUAGE DISCRIMINATORY INSTANCES IN SCOTLAND

Racism has evolved to include not only skin colour but also linguistic discrimination, specifically targeting the use of the English language. Hence, educators and scholars have started acknowledging the language encounters of immigrants in Western society. This study intends to broaden the understanding of language discrimination experienced by immigrants in Scotland by examining the concepts of 'Linguistic strategy of resistance', 'ethnic accent bullying', and 'linguistic stereotyping'. The study uses questionnaires to elicit responses from 40 respondents and adopts a quantitative analytical approach for its analysis. Findings reveal that a significant proportion of migrants have encountered linguistic racism in many forms, including both explicit and implicit instances and in both formal and informal contexts. Some individuals can devise strategies to fight being abused or discriminated against linguistically, while others admit to allowing it to go unchallenged, resulting in psychological consequences. In conclusion, the study postulates that racism has indeed extended to the use of language, and despite the Western world's assertion of being post-racial, migrants in Scotland still face language-related discriminatory experiences daily.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0770/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

DIALECT PREFERENCES AMONG THE SYRIAN REFUGEES IN JORDAN: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY

Background and Purpose: Taking into account the scarcity of research on Syrian refugees from the perspective of sociolinguistics, this research explored Syrian refugees’ reasons for dialect preferences when they communicate in various domains of life in Jordan. Methodology: The study employed a sequential mixed-methods design, which involved collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire of 20 items. Qualitative data were collected using the semi-structured interviews which were conducted with 18 Syrian refugees. While the quantitative data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, the transcripts of the semi-structured interviews were coded and analysed thematically. Findings: The results of the study showed that the majority of Syrian refugees use the Syrian Dialect with family members, Syrian friends, and colleagues at work, and Syrian neighbours. Further, the results revealed that most of the Syrian refugees prefer to use the Jordanian Dialect when they communicate with Jordanian neighbours and friends, and with Jordanians at the workplace and in educational contexts. The study revealed that the major reasons for dialect preferences among Syrian refugees are a desire for integration, close connection to their families, a sense of cultural familiarity, comfort in communication, interlocutors, and the importance of the formal context. Contributions: The findings of this research can contribute to research in sociolinguistics in terms of understanding the Syrian refugees’ dialect preferences. Keywords: Syrian refugees, sociolinguistics, dialect preferences, Jordan, integration. Cite as: Samaher, F., & Salasiah, C. L. (2024). Dialect preferences among the Syrian refugees in Jordan: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(2), 106-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss2pp106-130