E-readers have been available for many years, yet many people are still hesitant towards reading digitally in their spare time. In previous studies in the field of Human-Computer interaction (HCI), new e-readers have been designed, e-readers have been evaluated, and the attitude towards digital reading have been studied. The need to look at books from a larger perspective have been identified, to understand what properties desirable e-readers should have. Now, e-readers almost exclusively let users read books but fails to enable other actions that paper books allows. In this study, to allow for an analysis of books in different contexts and what roles books play in those contexts,DeLanda’s assemblage theory have been used. The research question this thesis answer is: what material and expressive properties of paper books are important in different contexts and how should these be implemented into e-reader? The study followed an ethnographic approach by collecting data from interviews with eleven book lovers, at home observations, and public observations in places where books were present. From the gathered data, ten assemblages were identified and four of them, namely ‘Evening with friends in the living room’, ‘Time for bed’, ‘Let time fly by during the flight’, and ‘Browsing the library’, were described in depth. After identifying what material and expressive roles of paper books were important in these contexts, seven implications for design of e-readers were presented. Inconclusion, aspects that should be implicated into e-readers are ‘Travel compatible’, ‘Reminding’, ‘Personalized organization’, ‘Display collections’, ‘Encourage nostalgia’, ‘Provide inspiration’, and ‘Security and continuity’ to accommodate for the goals users have when using books in different contexts.

The overlap between the separate fields of philosophy of technology and environmental philosophy can be investigated using the two longest running flagship journals for each field, Environmental Ethics (EE) and Research in Philosophy and Technology, which is now published as Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology (RPT/Techné). By looking at the theoretical and conceptual ideas on nature and the environment expressed in RPT/Techné, at those on technology and artifacts expressed in EE, and at the individuals who contributed them using the principles of social epistemology as developed by Steve Fuller, a stereoscopic view incorporating the insights from both specializations can be constructed. The ideas developed in the articles can be charted like stars within constellations, loosely connected in groupings that are neither clear nor evident. Five constellations can be discerned from the relevant articles in each journal, and while there is some overlap, there is considerable difference. The stereoscopic view is developed in three ways: first, by reviewing the contributions of authors who have published in both journals; second, by utilizing resources in both specializations to add subtlety and depth to the ideas expressed, starting in this case from Jacques Ellul’s “Nature, Technique and Artificiality”; and third, by using W. D. Ross’s ethical theory, which fuses prima facie duties with virtues, to integrate traditional ethical concerns with those raised by philosophers focused on technology and those concerned with the environment.

This thesis paper examines the feasibility of using external-beam PIXE to study the surface enrichment effect in metal artifacts. By varying the energy of the incident proton beam, we penetrated the artifact's surface to different levels and were able to produce a depth profile of the elemental composition of the sample. In this study, the sample set we chose to examine consisted of ancient and modern coins. This paper first describes the surface enrichment effect and theoretically how PIXE can be used to study it. It then details the construction of the components of the external-beam setup. Many of the refinements of the hardware and experimental methods are discussed. It recounts the means of calibration of the detector and analytical tools. Finally, an accounting of the research performed on several coins is set forth, along with data showing the effectiveness of PIXE in complementing other methods of elemental analysis. We found that PIXE revealed statistically significant differences in concentrations of modern coins at the two beam energies we used. Ancient coins did not have similarly significant discrepancies between the two beam energies. The modern coin data suggested depletion in copper in copper-silver and copper-gold alloys, which is consistent with predictions of the theory of the surface enrichment effect. We suggest that the ancient coins are so deeply corroded that the PIXE beam is unable to penetrate adequately to observe surface enrichment. Comparison of our PIXE data to XRF and SEM data suggest that the trends we observed in modern coins are verified by the other methods. We therefore assert that external-beam PIXE is an effective tool for studying the surface enrichment effect, though with the beam energies available at Brigham Young University, the study must be limited to fairly modern coins.

Early human activity in the arid west has been of interest for many researchers over the last century. However, relatively little is known about Paleoarchaic occupants of the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin because stratified Paleoarchaic sites in these regions are rare. Linked with the climatic Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene transition, the Paleoarchaic to Early Archaic transition has also captured interest in the central Great Basin with recent data coming out of Bonneville Estates Rockshelter—a site containing Pre-Archaic and Early Archaic components in eastern Nevada. These new data provide a model for testing differences in the chipped stone assemblage inferring changes in residential mobility at a new Paleoarchaic site on the Northern Colorado Plateau. Recently excavated, North Creek Shelter (42GA5863) is the only known stratified Paleoarchaic site on the Colorado Plateau for which we have data. Located in south-central Utah, this site was occupied during both the Paleoarchaic (~10,000-9,000 rcybp) and Early Archaic (~9,000-8,000 rcybp) time periods. Differences in the chipped stone assemblage inferring residential mobility between these time periods will be evaluated using Ted Goebel's (2007) model from Bonneville Estates Rockshelter. Based upon Bonneville Estates Rockshelter's lithic assemblage, Goebel inferred that the Pre-Archaic occupants exhibited higher levels of residential mobility than subsequent Early Archaic occupants. A similar tendency was expected for the Paleoarchaic occupants of North Creek Shelter; however, it appears that there is little difference between the North Creek Shelter Paleoarchaic and Early Archaic chipped stone assemblages inferring differences in residential mobility. What little difference there is may be the result of multiple factors, but if it is the result of residential mobility, then the data suggest that North Creek Shelter Paleoarchaic occupants were only slightly more mobile than the Early Archaic occupants.

The purpose is to contribute knowledge about how preschool teachers reason about the singing lesson in relation to competence and material and its purpose in preschool teaching. The study therefore investigates how preschool teachers present their musical competence, what material is used in the singing lesson and what are the purposes of the singing lesson in preschool?To provide answers to the above questions, semi-structured interviews have been conducted in two preschools with preschool teachers from four different departments. The study is based on a socio-cultural perspective, a perspective where collective learning, the culture you are in, and what tools are available become central. In the process of analyzing and processing the material collected, this perspective has been fundamental.The results show that the singing time is common in preschool education, and the preschool teachers interviewed saw many advantages of singing and music. However, it emerged that there is uncertainty around the subject. The preschool teachers viewed the use of different materials in the singing lesson positively, and an awareness was demonstrated of how different tools can promote children's learning. The three aims that are in connection with the singing time are joy, community, and language development. The conclusion can be drawn that it is important as preschool teachers to reflect on their work, to raise awareness of how together we can strengthen teaching. Singing time has the potential to develop both intra-musical and extra-musical goals. / Syftet med den föreliggande studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur förskollärare resonerar kring sångstunden i förhållande till kompetens och material och dess ändamål i förskolans undervisning.  För att besvara detta syfte har tre frågor ställts: Hur presenterar förskollärare sin musikkompetens, Vilka material används i sångstunden och vilket ändamål har sångstunden i förskolan? För att ge svar på ovanstående frågeställningar har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts på två olika förskolor med förskollärare från fyra olika avdelningar. Studien utgår från ett sociokulturellt perspektiv, ett perspektiv där det kollektiva lärandet, den kultur man befinner sig i, och vilka redskap som finns att tillgå blir centralt. I arbetet med att analysera och bearbeta det material som samlats in har detta perspektiv varit grundläggande.Resultatet visar att förskollärare känner en osäkerhet runt musikämnet men har samtidigt en medvetenhet om vikten av sångstunden i förskolans utbildning. Förskollärarna ser positivt på användandet av olika material i sångstunden, och en medvetenhet påvisades om hur olika redskap kan främja barns lärande. De tre ändamål som lyfts fram i samband med sångstunden är glädje, gemenskap och språkutveckling. Slutsatsen kan dras att det är viktigt att reflektera över sitt arbete, för att medvetandegöra hur man tillsammans kan stärka undervisningen. Speciellt sångstunden har en potential att utveckla både inommusikaliska och utommusikaliska mål.

[pt] No início de 2020, surgiram notícias de que a Covid-19 se espalhava pelo mundo. Em março a Organização Mundial de Saúde identificou, então, que se tratava de uma pandemia. Em meados do mesmo mês, com os primeiros casos confirmados no Brasil, as autoridades governamentais, diante da falta de tratamento para a doença e com a intenção de não comprometer o sistema de saúde, começaram a adotar o distanciamento social como medida de contenção da propagação do vírus. No Rio de Janeiro, o Governo do Estado determinou que apenas serviços essenciais continuassem a funcionar de forma presencial. Nesse contexto, a TV Globo, maior conglomerado de mídia e comunicação do Brasil, se viu obrigada a paralisar as atividades no setor de entretenimento, nos Estúdios Globo. A produção de conteúdo é uma atividade complexa que envolve a participação de diversos agentes e, com a flexibilização da lei, as rotinas foram retomadas em formato híbrido, envolvendo a realização de etapas em trabalho remoto e presencial. Surgiu então, o interesse em investigar como a pandemia impactou essa operação. Tendo triangulação de dados e métodos como suporte metodológico, a análise dos documentos, o relato dos entrevistados e a observação participante apontaram três categorias relevantes para o entendimento das mudanças: (i) emergência de artefatos orientadores e facilitadores, (ii) imposição de novas competências e (iii) surgimento de novos modelos de produção. Os resultados sugerem que os artefatos desempenharam papel central na nova configuração do trabalho, e o maior desafio para os entrevistados foi desenvolver as competências para trabalhar no cenário de incertezas que se apresentava. Além disso, a busca pela manutenção do negócio, incentivou a inovação em processos. / [en] In early 2020, news emerged that Covid-19 was spreading across the world. In March, the World Health Organization identified that it was a pandemic. In the middle of the same month, with the first confirmed case in Brazil, government authorities, given the lack of treatment for the disease and with the intention of not compromising the health system, began to adopt social distancing as a measure to contain the spread of the virus. In Rio de Janeiro, the State Government determined that only essential services would continue to work in person. In this context, TV Globo, the largest media and communication conglomerate in Brazil, was forced to suspend activities in the entertainment sector, at Estúdios Globo. Content production is a complex activity that involves the participation of several agents and, with the flexibility of the law, the routines were resumed in a hybrid format, involving the realization of steps in remote and in-person work. Then came the interest in investigating how the pandemic impacted this operation. Using data and methods triangulation as methodological support, document analysis, interviewees reports and participant observation pointed out three relevant categories for the understanding of changes: (i) emergence of guiding and facilitating artifacts, (ii) imposition of new skills and (iii) emergence of new production models. The results suggest that artifacts played a central role in the new work configuration, and the biggest challenge for the interviewees was to develop the skills to work in the scenario of uncertainty that was presented. In addition, the quest to maintain the business encouraged innovation in processes.

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This dissertation deals with the religious practices of the settlers in the central highlands of Palestine, during the pre-monarchic period (ca 1200-1000 BCE; the so-called ‘period of the Judges’), as revealed by archaeology (cultic artifacts and sites, as well as burial customs and practices). The religious practices of the settlers have been shown to reflect continuity with, and were practically indistinguishable from, those of the Late Bronze Canaanite cult, suggesting that the majority of the settlers were originally Canaanites, most probably from the coastal city-states (ie, the religious practices have been used as an ‘ethnic marker’). It has also been proposed that one of the motivating factors for the migration of people from the coastal region to the central highlands was a fairly dramatic climatic shift, one which resulted in the area becoming increasingly and significantly drier from the late 13th century BCE until about 900 BCE. / Thesis (M.A. (Biblical Archaelogy))