We present an approach to combining three areas of research which we claim are all based on information theory: knowledge representation in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science using prototypes, plans, or schemata; formal semantics in natural language, especially the semantics of the ‘if-then’ conditional construct; and the logic of subjunctive conditionals first developed using a poss...

In Wehmeier (2004) we are presented with the subjunctive modal language, a way of dealing with the expressive inadequacy of modal logic by marking atomic predicates as being either in the subjunctive or indicative mood. Wehmeier claims that this language is expressively equivalent to the standard actuality language, and that despite this the markedunmarked dichotomies are not the same in the tw...

E-learning deals with knowledge management, for sure, and knowledge management very frequently results in learning. So far, there is an obviously close relationship between the two disciplines. However, deeper insights do not arise easily. Here we investigate how one approach to enhancing information-access interfaces may inspire an improvement in knowledge management for e-learning. Subjunctiv...

Consider this picture of the skeptical dilemma: Descartes sits in his armchair, wondering what the world is like, and worried whether it is as it seems to be. He realizes that there are many ways the world could be — many possible ways for the world to be — that he lacks the resources to choose between. Since all the possibilities he’s considering include his having experiences like the ones he...

The Spanish subjunctive has been the focus of much SLA research, largely because it poses difficulties for learners of Spanish whose L1 is English (e.g., Collentine, 1993; Stokes & Krashen, 1990; Terrell et al., 1987). Investigating the same feature in heritage learners of Spanish can provide more information about their linguistic development and also has the potential to inform our knowledge ...

Information exploration often involves specifying alternative values for some set of parameters, and comparing the corresponding results. Some interfaces allow only one scenario, i.e., one set of parameter values, to be handled at a time. To compare results, the user must therefore switch repeatedly among the scenarios of interest and must remember details of the results seen so far. A subjunct...

Yelin, Boris. M.A., Purdue University, May 2014. The case of capaz in Argentina: an epistemic adverb with mood variability. Major Professor: Lori Czerwionka. This thesis examines mood selection in Argentine Spanish with epistemic adverbs considering the independent variables of certainty, temporal reference, and epistemic adverb. It is the first known study to investigate mood selection with th...