Definition

Les expositions universelles, une utopie touristique toujours d’actualité ? World’s Fair, The Renew of Touristic Utopia? ¿Exposiciones universales, una utopía turística siempre de actualidad? À travers les expositions universelles récentes et passées et plus particulièrement les expositions de Milan 2015 et de Port-au-Prince 1949, nous rappelons que cette pratique touristique du voyage d’agrément dans une grande ville remonte au XIXe siècle, elle accompagne les origines de notre tourisme moderne, tout en devenant un instrument de géopolitique et de marketing touristique de première importance pour les villes et les pays hôtes. Les expositions peuvent être considérées comme un levier urbanistique, mais aussi un moyen de faire voyager et de comprendre notre monde à travers un système de représentation des identités locales et mondiales proposant toujours une mise en valeur de la découverte scientifique et de l’expérience culturelle à travers les pavillons nationaux. Ces manifestations géantes reposent sur une mise en scène et en récit à partir d’un thème universel questionnant généralement le concept du développement durable et de l’attractivité touristique renouvelée de la destination. Notre analyse porte sur la plus récente des expositions universelles et une exposition oubliée appartenant à l’aire culturelle des caraïbes permettant de dégager trois dynamiques associant le tourisme de méga-événement et l’utopie des voyages initiatiques, à savoir : les expositions universelles se réinventent et retrouvent un certain succès de fréquentation impliquant une redéfinition des champs et des usages d’une utopie contrariée. Faire voyager est un acte à la fois scénographique et symbolique à travers le pavillon impliquant des artifices et des déclinaisons de plus en plus numériques, la quête de cette pratique durable du voyage se confronte à son héritage et à son souvenir à différentes échelles et temporalités. Through the recent and past universal exhibitions and more particularly the world’s fair of Milan 2015 and Port-au-Prince 1949, we recall that this tourist practice of the pleasure trip in a large city dates back to the XIXth century, it accompanies the origins of Our modern tourism, while becoming an instrument of geopolitics and tourist marketing of prime importance to cities and host countries. Exhibitions can be seen as an urban lever, but also a way to make travel and understand our world through a system of representation of local and global identities that always emphasizes scientific discovery and cultural experience through the national pavilion. These giant events are based on a staging and narrative based on a universal theme generally questioning the concept of sustainable development and the renewed attractiveness of the destination. Our analysis focuses on the most recent of the universal exhibitions and a forgotten exhibition belonging to the cultural area of the Caribbean, which reveals three dynamics associating mega-event tourism with the utopia of initiatory journeys, namely: reinvent and regain a certain success of frequentation implying a redefinition of the fields and uses of a disrupted utopia; to make travel is an act both scenographic and symbolic through the pavilion involving artifices and more and more digital declensions, the quest for this sustainable practice of travel is confronted with its heritage and its memory at different scales and temporalities. A través de las exposiciones universales recientes y pasados y, especialmente, la Feria de Milán en 2015 y Puerto Príncipe en 1949, recordamos que esta práctica de turismo de viaje de placer a una gran ciudad se remonta al siglo XIX, que acompaña a los orígenes de turismo moderno, mientras que convertirse en un instrumento geopolítico y comercialización del turismo de las principales ciudades y países anfitriones. Las exposiciones pueden considerarse una palanca urbana, sino también una manera de viajar y entender nuestro mundo a través de un sistema de representación de las identidades locales y globales que todavía ofrece el desarrollo de los descubrimientos científicos y la experiencia cultural a través pabellones nacionales. Estas manifestaciones gigantes basados en una puesta en escena y la narrativa de un tema universal en general, cuestionando el concepto de desarrollo sostenible y renovada atractivos turísticos del destino. Nuestro análisis se centra en las últimas exposiciones universales y una exposición olvidado que pertenecen a la zona cultural del Caribe para identificar tres dinámico entre el turismo mega-evento y la utopía de los viajes iniciáticos, a saber: las exposiciones universales reinventar y encontrar un cierto éxito de asistencia que implica una redefinición de campos y utiliza una utopía alterada, para viajar es un acto tanto teatral y simbólico a través del pabellón y declinaciones cada vez más digitales, las la búsqueda de este viaje práctica sostenible se enfrenta a su artificialidad y su memoria en diferentes escalas y marcos de tiempo. Index géographique : Europe, Caraïbes, Italie, Haïti, France, Milan, Port-au-Prince, New York, Osaka Mots-clés : exposition universelle, utopie, tourisme, architecture, urbanisme Palabras claves : expo, utopía, turismo, arquitectura, urbanismo Keywords : world’s fair, utopia, tourism, architecture, city-planning Patrice Ballester, Les expositions universelles, une utopie touristique toujours d’actualité ? World’s Fair, The Renew of Touristic Utopia? ¿Exposiciones universales, una utopía turística siempre de actualidad?, Études caribéennes 37-38, Août-Décembre 2017 Tourismes, voyages, utopies, pp.1-26.

An important strand of research that is often neglected in the field of affective computing is that of how users respond to simulated displays of emotion. We present an overview of the few studies that have explicitly investigated this space and discuss a number of issues related to simulated emotion research. An overview of our own work in this area is then provided, along with forthcoming studies that we plan to conduct. We conclude with a number of suggestions of where future research in this space should focus.

The creation of the definitions it is an important stage of the activity of ontologies construction, insofar as the definitions provides the understanding of the meaning of classes. However, creating definitions is a complex and tiresome task. This study is part of an ongoing research that analyses some fundamental principles with the aim of formulating textual and formal definitions to be used in ontologies. The context of such analysis is a project of knowledge organization within the biomedical domain. The goal is to establish methodological guidelines for formulating the definitions in biomedical ontologies. In general, people building ontologies do not make use of consistent rules for the correct formulation of definitions, which, we believe, make our study a relevant initiative. As partial results, we present a list of topics that corresponds to the aforementioned methodological guidelines.

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Background There are limited data on the epidemiology of adolescent soccer injury across all levels of play. Hypothesis Through implementation and validation of an injury surveillance system in adolescent soccer, risk factors for injury will be identified. Study Design Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods The study population was a random sample of 21 adolescent soccer teams (ages 12-18). A certified athletic therapist completed preseason baseline measurements and did weekly assessments of any identified soccer injury. The injury definition included any injury occurring in soccer that resulted in 1 or more of the following: medical attention, the inability to complete a session, or missing a subsequent session. Results Based on completeness of data in addition to validity of time loss, this method of surveillance has proven to be effective. The overall injury rate during the regular season was 5.59 injuries per 1000 player hours (95% confidence interval, 4.42-6.97). Soccer injury...

Thus, each vertex of a defensive alliance can, with the aid of its neighbors in S, be defended from attack by its neighbors outside of S. An entire set S is secure if any subset X ⊆ S can be defended from an attack from outside of S, under an appropriate definition of what such a defense implies. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a set to be secure are determined. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Biodiversity conservation has become the stated objective of national governments, state agencies, local communities, and scientific organizations. Yet despite this attention the term biodiversity remains poorly defined. One of the unfortunate consequences of this lack of definition is a proliferation of claims that biodiversity can be both used and conserved. This claim is difficult to assess without a more precise way of defining biodiversity. We offer a heuristic framework for measuring the consequences of human use for biodiversity. Our definition of biodiversity includes three components: genetic, population/species, and community/ecosystem. Each component has its own three attributes: composition, structure, and function. Using this definition, we assessed the effects of different types of human use on the different components and attributes of biodiversity. We show that (1) different degrees of human use or alteration result in differential conservation of biodiversity components; (2) some components and attributes of biodiversity are more sensitive to human use than others; and (3) only extremely limited use or virtually no alteration will protect all components. Conservación de la Biodiversidad en un Mundo de Uso Resumen: La conservación de la biodiversidad se ha convertido en en objetivo fijo reconocido por los gobiernos nacionales, agencias estatales, comunidades locales y organizaciones científicas. Sin embargo, a pesar de la atención brindada al término biodiversidad , este aún carece de una buena definición. Como resultado, se ha reclamado en muchas ocasiones que la biodiversidad puede ser utilizada y conservada. Es imposible evaluar esta afirmación sin contar con una forma precisa para definir la biodiversidad. En este artículo ofrecemos un enfoque heurístico para medir las consecuencias del uso humano sobre la biodiversidad. Comenzamos con una definición de la biodiversidad que incluye tres componentes: genético, poblaciones/especies y comunidad/ecosistema. Cada uno de los componentes cuenta con tres atributos: composición, estructura y función. Utilizando esta definición evaluamos los costos de diferentes tipos de usos humanos en los distintos componentes y atributos de la biodiversidad y demostramos que: (1) diferentes niveles de uso humano o alteración resultan en la conservación diferencial de los componentes de la biodiversidad; (2) algunos componentes y atributos de la biodiversidad son más sensibles que otros al uso humano; y (3) solamente el uso estrictamente limitado o virtualmente la ausencia total de actividades de alteración protegerá a todos los componentes.

Timely communication of significant or unexpected findings in surgical pathology can significantly improve patient care. Although surgical pathology critical values have been published, no systematic assessment in pediatric surgical pathology has been published. We surveyed pediatric pathologists and pediatric subspecialists to develop pediatric surgical pathology critical values for verbal reporting before the final pathology report. A policy and process for reporting and documentation was implemented, with retrospective and prospective quality review. Critical values cases constituted 9.4% of surgical pathology accessions. Retrospective analysis revealed that 80% (73/91) had been reported and documented before policy implementation. Following implementation, 97.3% (402/413) were verbally reported and documented. A multidisciplinary group provided valuable information about critical values that might not have been obvious to pediatric pathologists but are important for patient care. Although the term critical values has become embedded in the surgical pathology literature, we would propose an alternative term for significant or unexpected findings that require timely communication and documentation.

This essay explores a conceptual definition of psychological processes. Previous researchers from the fields of psychology and neuroscience have noted that improving the definition of psychological processes may be extremely useful to help current efforts to map the neurobiological basis of psychological phenomena. in this essay i suggest a conceptual path in which psychological processes might be characterized by their material, efficient, formal, and final causes. i briefly explore the potential use of this way of defining psychological processes for neuroscience and psychology, and also comment on the effect it may have for the traditional distinction between basic and higher-order processes.

Occupational balance is a frequently used concept in occupational therapy, but it is complex and differences in content exist. Further knowledge would be valuable for scholars, practitioners, and measurement development. Concept analysis is a way to clarify concepts. The present concept analysis used Walker and Avant's procedure for analysing the concept of occupational balance, with 43 articles included in the analysis. The results showed that occupational balance can be defined as the individual's perception of having the right amount of occupations and the right variation between occupations. Three perspectives of occupational balance were identified: in relation to occupational areas, in relation to occupations with different characteristics, and in relation to time use. The knowledge gained may guide the use of the concept, and some suggestions are made for its use and for further research.

El dominio del empirismo en la sociedad occidental alteró el significado antiguo de la medida. En el caso del estudio de la relación entre el ser humano y la computadora se considera de forma casi exclusiva parámetros físicos o cuantitativos de la interacción; sin embargo, existen aspectos cualitativos de la experiencia humana que se ven empobrecidos por este tipo de análisis.

Students appear to have an almost insatiable appetite for receiving feedback and the scholarly literature has acknowledged its central importance for learning. And yet there is no widely accepted definition of feedback, most definitions reflecting the perspective of the teacher rather than student. When staff at the University of New South Wales who had put a lot of time into providing feedback nevertheless failed to score highly on the course satisfaction survey question on feedback, staff conjectured that their students might not recognize what they are providing as constituting feedback. A study was undertaken to find out just how students would define feedback. This article provides the background to the study, describes its design and presents the definition of feedback as conceptualised by the students, and then considers its significance.

Purpose The aim of this article is to both theoretically and empirically define the concept of Library 2.0. Design/methodology/approach Written answers to question "What is Library 2.0?" given by practitioners and researchers (n=29) interested in Library 2.0 issues were analyzed by using co-word analysis to map the underlying elements of the concept.

Définir l'art numérique, c'est simple comme parler de "cinéma numérique". L'usage est exemplaire dans la caricature : le plus souvent, le critique évoque le cinéma numérique à propos de films qui substituent le support numérique au support chimique. Il est rarement fait mention de spécificités d'une écriture numérique sinon pour prendre en compte l'économie propre à un type d'équipement, à sa facilité d'utilisation et à sa légèreté, telles qu'on les aurait pointé au temps de la nouvelle vague.

Objective To determine prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) among adolescents by using definitions from the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and to compare the populations identified by these definitions.

. Second, a self-reported UI prevalence was calculated by asking respondents if they ever had urine loss. To conform to the International Continence Society standard definition, spouses were also asked to complete a general (Short Form-12) and lower urinary tract disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire, and were asked about their need to seek help.

A clear, concise definition of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is fundamental for reporting, comparison, and interpretation of studies on TBI. Changing epidemiologic patterns, an increasing recognition of significance of mild TBI, and a better understanding of the subtler neurocognitive neuroaffective deficits that may result from these injuries make this need even more critical. The Demographics and Clinical Assessment Working Group of the International and Interagency Initiative toward Common Data Elements for Research on Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health has therefore formed an expert group that proposes the following definition: TBI is defined as an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force. In this article, we discuss criteria for considering or establishing a diagnosis of TBI, with a particular focus on the problems how a diagnosis of TBI can be made when patients present late after injury and how mild TBI may be differentiated from non-TBI causes with similar symptoms. Technologic advances in magnetic resonance imaging and the development of biomarkers offer potential for improving diagnostic accuracy in these situations.

The aim of this study is to introduce in detail the model of descriptive definition of Stephen C. Pepper. After an outline of his analysis of nominal definitions, Pepper’s own conception of descriptive definition is presented. Further on, the study seeks to reveal deeper connections of this model to Pepper’s account of cognitive situation based on the dynamic and reciprocal relation between uncritical knowledge (common sense) and critical knowledge. Finally, the potentially dangerous consequences of ignoring the proper nature and status of definition are discussed.

There is an increased awareness of the needs of vulnerable individuals and populations in the discipline of nursing. In order to meet the healthcare needs of the vulnerable, nurses need to understand the multiple implications of vulnerability. The term “vulnerability” is widely used and embedded in the nursing vocabulary, yet it remains a difficult concept to define. The concept of vulnerability has developed over the last thirty-five years broadening to encompass aspects of risk and resiliency. Theories of vulnerability include personal and societal factors. The definition of vulnerability, grounded in the literature and prevalent theories of vulnerability, is used to describe the role of nursing in the care of the vulnerable. The nursing process is used to assess vulnerability and facilitate a resilient response at the individual and community levels.

This paper proposes a definition of the Japanese vocative. First, we consider the position that referring to words like anata, omae, and watashi as pronouns is inappropriate morphologically, functionally, semantically and lexicologically. We then  discuss the similarities of terms such as koshō ‘name’, yobikakego ‘vocative’, and taishōshi ‘address term’. Finally, we reanalyze former studies from the perspective of a part of speech, sentence structure and speech act. The expressions for addressing a person, such as otōsan and sensei, are categorized as nouns, structurally as freestanding words. Their use as a speech act is considered to initiate and maintain the discourse with the hearer. In order to explain certain interesting phenomena that occur in conversation, we analyze them at the level of discourse. Thus we propose a definition of the vocative in Japanese as an element without particles through which the speaker indicates the hearer.

One area concerned with the impact of information technology which appears to be relatively under-developed is to do with the use of information. The concept of 'information literacy' has been suggested by some to be of some use, but its content is often not defined. The use of the term in literature derived from both Computing and Library Studies is examined but found to be wanting. The areas which such a concept would need to cover are outlined, with an emphasis being placed on links with the process of knowledge creation. Such links, it is argued, make a simplistic conception of little value. Integration with the practice of knowledge formation is emphasised and some suggestions made as to how this might be achieved. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

Prvi pokušaj definiranja terorizma u međunarodnom pravu u vezi je sa Konvencijom za sprečavanje i kažnjavanje terorizma iz 1937. godine (1937 Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism), koja je usvojena pod okriljem Društva naroda (League of Nations). U godinama koje slijede Ujedinjene nacije (United Nations), posebno specijalizirane agencije Ujedinjenih nacija posredstvom usvajanja međunarodnih dokumenata i utvrđivanja međunarodno – pravnih instrumenata za suzbijanje i ograničavanje terorizma rade na definiranju ovog fenomena. Međutim, te aktivnosti su manje ili više uspješne jer se uglavnom svode na definicije koje se razlikuju od slučaja do slučaja. Razlog ovome je, što se terorizam kao pojam povezuje sa pojedinačnim normama u međunarodnom javnom pravu koje se odnose na sigurnost letjelica, hemijsko i biološko oružje, špijunažu, sabotažu i sl. I nije to sve, terorizam općenito odražava interese onih koji ga definiraju i uglavnom terorizam definiraju države svaka za sebe, svaka po svome. Zato je i jedno od osnovnih pitanja ko treba imati ovlaštenje da definira terorizam? Da li to treba da budu države, međunarodne organizacije (poput Ujedinjenih nacija) kao subjekti međunarodnog prava ili neko drugi? Stoga predmet istraživanja treba usmjeriti prema definiranju i shvaćanju terorizma u međunarodnom pravu što vodi razumijevanju ovog fenomena ali i ukazivanju mogućih smjernica i rješenja koji bi doveli do usaglašavanja ali i usvajanja univerzalne i općeprihvaćene definicije terorizma u međunarodnom javnom pravu.

Background: Although the PHQ-9 is widely used in primary care, little is known about its performance in quantifying improvement. The original validation study of the PHQ-9 defined clinically significant change as a post-treatment score of ≤ 9 combined with improvement of 50%, but it is unclear how this relates to other theoretically informed methods of defining successful outcome. We compared a range of definitions of clinically significant change (original definition, asymptomatic criterion, reliable and clinically significant change criteria a, b and c) in a clinical trial of a community-level depression intervention. Method: Randomised Control Trial of collaborative care for depression. Levels of agreement were calculated between the standard definition, other definitions, and gold-standard diagnostic interview. Results: The standard definition showed good agreement (kappa N 0.60) with the other definitions and had moderate, though acceptable, agreement with the diagnostic interview (kappa = 0.58). The standard definition corresponded closely to reliable and clinically significant change criterion c, the recommended method of quantifying improvement when clinical and non-clinical distributions overlap. Limitations: The absence of follow-up data meant that an asymptomatic criterion rather than remission or recovery criteria were used. Conclusion: The close agreement between the standard definition and reliable and clinically significant change criterion c provides some support for the standard definition of improvement. However, it may be preferable to use a reliable change index rather than 50% improvement. Remission status, based on the asymptomatic range and a lower PHQ-9 score, may provide a useful additional category of clinical change.

graduate training programs, and licensing bodies conduct assessments to certify the competence of future practitioners, discriminate among candidates for advanced training, provide motivation and direction for learning, and judge the adequacy of training programs. Standards for professional competence delineate key technical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of practice, including those that may not be measurable. 1,2 However, there is no agreed-upon definition of competence that encompasses all important domains of professional medical practice. In response, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education defined 6 areas of competence and some means of assessing them 3 : patient care (including clinical reasoning), medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement (including information management), interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice (including health economics and teamwork). 3 In this article, we will advance a definition of professional competence of physicians and trainees that expands on these 6 areas, perform an evidencebased critique of current methods of assessing these areas of competence, and propose new means for assessing residents and medical students. DEFINING PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE Building on prior definitions, 1-3 we propose that professional competence is the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served. Competence builds on a foundation of basic clinical skills, scientific knowledge, and moral development. It includes a cognitive functionacquiring and using knowledge to solve

From a strict biological point of view, humans are just one species among other species, albeit one with very special capacities, characteristics, and skills. Among scientists, it is generally acknowledged that we share many features with other animal species, which are certainly relevant when the concepts of health and disease are discussed. The term 'One Health' is used in many different contexts and by people with varying backgrounds. However, there appears to be some confusion as to what the term really means, and it is used in a wide range of contexts, often including or bordering concepts such as infection biology, contagious diseases, zoonotic infections, evolutionary medicine, comparative medicine, and translational medicine. Without claiming to present the one and only true interpretation, we will argue for a wide approach using the 'umbrella' depiction developed by One Health Sweden. We argue that this one should, compared to other demarcations, be more useful to science. We will also analyze the concept of health on different levels: individual, population, and ecosystem health, and describe how these levels inherently influence each other for both humans and animals. Both these choices are normative and have practical consequences for research and education, a way of reasoning which we develop further in this paper. Finally, we conclude that the choice of term for the approach might be normative in deciding which disciplines or parts of disciplines that may be included.

Since Vassily V. Nalimov coined the term 'scientometrics' in the 1960s, this term has grown in popularity and is used to describe the study of science: growth, structure, interrelationships and productivity. Scientometrics is related to and has overlapping interests with bibliometrics and informetrics. The terms bibliometrics, scientometrics, and informetrics refer to component fields related to the study of the dynamics of disciplines as reflected in the production of their literature. Areas of study range from charting changes in the output of a scholarly field through time and across countries, to the library collection problem of maintaining control of the output, and to the low publication productivity of most researchers. These terms are used to describe similar and overlapping methodologies. The origins and historical survey of the development of each of these terms are presented. Profiles of the usage of each of these terms over time are presented, using an appropriate subject category of databases on the DIALOG information service. Various definitions of each of the terms are provided from an examination of the literature. The size of the overall literature of these fields is determined and the growth and stabilisation of both the dissertation and non-dissertation literature are shown. A listing of the top journals in the three fields are given, as well as a list of the major reviews and bibliographies that have been published over the years.

Biodisponibilité et bioaccessibilité des métaux et metalloïdes des sols pollués pour la voie orale chez l'homme Définitions, protocoles de mesure et retour d'expérience international Résumé. Dans la gestion des sols contaminés, la notion de biodisponibilité des polluants des sols est fréquemment évoquée comme permettant d'optimiser l'évaluation du risque sanitaire. Toutefois, une certaine confusion existe entre les notions de biodisponibilité et bioaccessibilité des polluants dans les sols. Cela engendre des difficultés pour, d'une part, intégrer au mieux ces notions dans la gestion des sites et, d'autre part, sélectionner un protocole de mesure. L'objectif de cette synthèse est tout d'abord de définir les notions de biodisponibilité et bioaccessibilité pour l'homme des polluants des sols et d'établir les liens existant entre ces deux paramètres. Dans un second temps, différents protocoles permettant de caractériser ces deux paramètres sont décrits. Enfin, un retour d'expérience international faisant état de l'utilisation de ces deux paramètres dans la gestion effective des sites pollués est exposé.

A central characteristic of the modern world consists of the growing dominance of artificial over natural problems. Human accumulation of power means that we are now capable of creating and destroying many things, including ourselves. Unfortunately, our destructive capacity is out-pacing our creative one; so, the threats to humanity become more awesome than the promises. So, problems multiply faster than we can solve them and the lead-time for making decisions shrinks into nothingness.
With that deteriorating situation in mind, this study initiates a systematic definition of complex problems as the first step in an emerging problemology. This short presentation, can only scratch the surface of that large area and leave for another time an in-depth research into the subject. The present beginning is a prerequisite to any scientific treatment of problems, because it lays down the foundations for further systematic and systemic work by outlining the concept, structure, and process of problems and by doing so answer the questions related to the nature, meaning, type, location, time, and solution of the world’s most critical issues.
Accordingly, the paper consists of three parts of two chapters each, covering successively the systemic, static, and dynamic aspects of problems. The chapters deal with the form and function, content, and context, as well as period and method of this subject. Thus, although the study does not go into any depth; it does cover the field of problem analysis exhaustively and sets the basis for more detailed and specialized research later.

Definitions of the word "gender" were collected from 137 participants, who also completed questionnaires designed to determine aspects of the usage of the words "gender" and "sex." The majority of participants were European American (86.9%), followed by Latino/a (3.6%), Asian/Asian American (2.9%), African American (2.2%), Native American (1.5%), and West Indian (1.5%). Most participants (70.9%) had attended at least some college and occupations included students (43%), professionals (27.8%), health care workers (4.3%), technical workers (5%), sales and service workers (9.4%), maintenance workers (1.4%), and business owners (1.4%). Data were examined to see which common themes emerged from the free form "define gender" question, the amount of interchangeability of "sex" and "gender" in a sentence completion task, and the varieties of beliefs about the relation between the terms "gender" and "sex." Results indicate a variety of understandings and beliefs about gender that range from the common response that "gender" is the same as "sex" to some less common responses that associate gender with females or discrimination. Implications of the ambiguous meaning of "gender" are discussed with an emphasis on the responsibility of researchers to clarify their own understanding of the terms when they discuss gender or sex in their research and publications.

Definitions from an argumentative point of view can be analyzed as endoxa, namely commonly accepted propositions. Definitional endoxa represent the deepest commitments of a community, as they are the basis of the mutual understanding. Definitions become argumentative strategies when they are used as premises in patterns of inference that are commonly called “argument from classification” or “loci a definitione.” In these types of reasoning, the definition is used to name reality, that is, to classify it. Different classifications of the same fragment of reality can lead to noticeably different conclusions, or influence the interlocutor’s process of decision-making. For this reason, conflicts of classifications are often based on conflicting definitions. This type of conflict can be resolved only by establishing first what a definition is, and what the criteria are to assess a definition. In the ancient tradition, the best definition was the definition that could license the strongest inferences, and it coincided with a semantic analysis of the definiendum. The essential definition can be therefore considered from an argumentative point of view the criterion to assess dialogues on definitions.

Keywords: definitions, dialectics, persuasive definition, presupposition