ABSTRACT A LABORATORY MODEL STUDY ON SETTLEMENT REDUCTION Effect OF STONE COLUMNS IN SOFT CLAY S&uuml / nnetcioglu, Mehmet Emrah M.Sc., Department of Civil Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ufuk Ergun August 2012, 177 pages An experimental study was conducted in order to examine settlement reduction ratios of footing supported by both floating and end bearing type of stone columns. For the floating types, tests were done with varying column lengths of one and two widths of footing (L=B,2B). Tests were conducted in 200 mm* 200 mm* 200 mm cubic loading tanks. The reinforcement effect was achieved by the installation of four stone columns with 20 mm diameter under 70 mm* 70mm model footing. Parameters such as area replacement ratio (a_s), loading plate dimensions, consolidation and vertical pressures applied, and the relative density (D_R) of the granular column were kept constant, the column length (L) was set as the only variable in the experimental tests conducted. In the tests, footing settlements together with subsurface settlements at depths equal to footing width (B) and two times the footing width (2B) were measured by specially designed telltales. The settlement reduction ratios both at surface and subsurface were evaluated in order to determine the effect of column length on settlement improvement. It has been found out that as the column length increases the settlement reduction ratios decrease for all depth intervals. However, there exists a threshold column length (L=2B), beyond which the composite ground demonstrates little settlement improvement.

[pt] A tese Teoria Queer e estigma: a construção de performances homoafetivas em narrativas de histórias de vida investiga a construção de performances homoafetivas a partir de histórias de vida narradas por quatro indivíduos, nas faixas etárias de 20-30 anos e 40-50 anos, de nível superior, pertencentes às camadas média e média alta, moradores da zona sul da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. As narrativas são analisadas através da articulação da Teoria Queer e dos Estudos Feministas, da Análise da Narrativa, dos conceitos de posicionamento e alinhamento, e de estigma. A perspectiva do trabalho é interdisciplinar, incluindo conceitos oriundos da Psicologia Social, da Sociologia, da Antropologia e da História. A pesquisa procura demonstrar que os indivíduos constroem performances homoafetivas através do deslocamento e da manutenção da matriz cultural de inteligibilidade, que estabelece uma relação mimética entre sexo-gênero-prática sexual. Tais deslocamentos e manutenções são revelados pelos posicionamentos e alinhamentos assumidos no ato de narrar histórias de vida. Buscou-se observar, ainda, como o estigma afeta o cotidiano dos sujeitos entrevistados, sobretudo no que se refere a questões afetivas, principalmente aquelas relativas à família. O estudo realizado traz contribuições relevantes no que tange os estudos de gênero, sobretudo aqueles que se propõem a investigar indivíduos cujas práticas sexuais sejam estigmatizadas socialmente. / [en] The dissertation Queer Theory and Stigma in the Construction of Homoaffection Performances in Life Stories Narratives investigates the construction of homoaffection performances through life stories narrated by four subjects, 20-30 years old and 40-50 years old, with university degree, belonging to middle and high middle class, living in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro. The narratives are analysed through the articulation of Queer Theory and Feminist Studies, Narrative Analysis, positioning and alignment concepts, and stigma. The perspective of this work is interdisciplinary, including concepts given by Social Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and History. The research aims at demonstrate that the subjects construe gay performances by displacing, and preserving the cultural matrix of inteligibility, which establishes a mimetic relation among sex-gender-sexual practice. Such displacements and preservations are revealed through positionings and alignments assumed in the act of telling life stories. I also tried to show how stigma affects the interviewer´s daily routine, particularly in terms of emotions, mainly those related to affection in the family. The study brings relevant contributions to gender studies, above all the ones which purpose is the investigation of subjects whose sexual practices are socially stigmatized.

[pt] Neste estudo, são analisados encontros de serviço desempenhados na central de reservas por telefone de uma companhia aérea brasileira. A análise realiza-se com base no arcabouço teórico da Sociolingüística Interacional em relação de interface com a Análise da Conversa. As interações foram coletadas no âmbito de uma metodologia de pesquisa etnográfica. Focaliza-se a manifestação de diferentes dinâmicas de enquadres e alinhamentos bem como a variação nos padrões de organização e construção de turnos de fala. Procura-se mostrar que esses aspectos (i) estão relacionados a diferentes tipos de atendimento e (ii) refletem uma realidade interacional complexa na central de reservas estudada. Tais fatos, conseqüentemente, dificultam a elaboração prévia de comportamento lingüístico na central de reservas, bem como o gerenciamento e controle desse comportamento através da prescrição de scripts de atendimento a clientes. / [en] This study analyzes service encounters held through the telephone in the reservation center of a Brazilian airline company. The analysis was conducted based on the Interactional Sociolinguistics framework interfaced with Conversational Analysis and the data collection was ethnographically oriented. Different dynamics of frames and footings are looked at, as well as the variation in organizational patterns and construction of discourse turns. This study aims to show that these aspects (i) are related to different kinds of attendance, (ii) reflect a complex interactional reality within the reservation center. Thus, these aspects make difficult the management process and as well as the previous control of sequences of linguistic behavior suggested by attendance scripts to clients.

Tabletop roleplaying games are a type of social, narrative game driven by a group conversation in which a narrative which is co-created by the participants and propelled forward by some mechanical component (for example dice rolls used to determine the narrative outcomes of actions). As mode of spontaneous conversation that has a unique set of specific characteristics, it might be fair to claim that TTRPGs constitute a unique oral genre (or, in conversation analytic terms, a unique speech-exchange system).  One of the most notable characteristics of TTRPGs as conversations is the intensive use of footing shifts. As the players alternate between orienting toward the conversation as players of a game with mechanical components and as co-creators of a joint narrative, various different resources are used to signal what footing a particular turn-at-talk is produced from. Using video from Critical Role, a live-streamed Dungeons & Dragons show, this paper examines the use of footing in TTRPGs and what resources are used to signal these.  The results of the study showed that several different types of footing were used in this material, with a large amount of overlap between them. Though it was possible to identify the primary resources for signalling some of them, for others it was not clear.

Les inclusions souples, telles que les colonnes ballastées, sont constituées de matériaux granulaires purement frottants et réalisées à partir de différentes méthodes, afin d’entraîner des améliorations des performances du sol (réduction des tassements, augmentation de la capacité portante, etc.). Dès leur origine, fin des années 1950, ces colonnes ont été employées en maillages réguliers sous des ouvrages de grandes dimensions (remblais, réservoirs, dallages…) apportant des surcharges uniformément réparties. Depuis plusieurs années, les colonnes sont souvent mises en œuvre de manière isolée ou en groupe d’éléments limités (2 à 6 unités) et coiffées par une semelle rigide. Il est donc important de prévoir le comportement mécanique de ces inclusions sous des semelles rigides compte tenu de leur application à de nombreuses structures (logements, bâtiments industriels…). L’objectif principal du travail présenté ici est : (1) d’analyser et de quantifier l’amélioration du sol obtenue par la mise en place des colonnes ballastées, dans un sol argileux, sous semelles rigides et (2) de développer une méthodologie numérique permettant de valider les résultats d’essais en grandeur réelle. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, une importante campagne d’essais en grandeur réelle a été élaborée puis mise en œuvre. Il s’agit d’une campagne de sondages de pénétration statique réalisés avant et après la mise en place des colonnes (isolées ou en groupe de 3 de 1,8 m d’entre-axe), ainsi que d’essais de chargement comparatifs en grandeur réelle pendant 77 jours, de semelles (1,2 x 1,2 x 0,5 m) sur une colonne ballastée et sur le sol naturel, et de semelles (2,3 x 2,5 x 0,5 m) sur trois colonnes et sur le sol naturel. Une importante instrumentation du sol et des colonnes (inclinomètres, sondes de pression interstitielle, capteurs de pression totale verticale) a été mise en place avant la réalisation des colonnes afin de déterminer l’amélioration du sol et le comportement à la rupture de ces inclusions. Puis, les résultats expérimentaux (déplacements horizontaux et verticaux, et contraintes totales verticales) ont été confrontés aux résultats de modélisations numériques en 2 (PLAXIS 2D V8) et 3D (FLAC 3D). Ont notamment été étudiés en 2D les outils numériques permettant de simuler le processus de mise en œuvre d’une colonne par refoulement latéral du sol / Flexible inclusions, such as stone columns, are made up of purely frictional granular material and are constructed using a variety of methods, in order to improve the soil (settlement reduction, increase in bearing capacity…). At their beginning, end of the 1950’s, stone columns were placed in a regular mesh under great structures (embankments, tanks, slabs…) bringing uniformly distributed loads. Since several years, these columns are often constructed as isolated elements or in groups of a certain number (generally 2 to 6) on top of which is placed a rigid footing. It is thus important to predict the stone column’s mechanical behavior under rigid footings knowing that they can be used under a broad variety of structures (accomodation, industrial buildings…). The main purpose of the work presented in this thesis is to: (1) analyse and quantify the soil’s improvement thanks to the construction of stone columns, in a clayey soil, under rigid footings and (2) to develop a numerical methodology allowing us to validate full scale experimental results. In order to achieve this, an important full scale load test campaign was first conceived and then set up. Cone penetration tests were carried out before and after stone column construction (in isolated elements or in groups of three columns located at the corners of a 1,8 m faced triangle). Another part of this campaign deals with comparative full scale load tests carried out during 77 days: two rigid footings of 1.2 x 1.2 x 0.5 m, one on the natural soil and one placed on top of a stone column, and two rigid footings of 2.3 x 2.5 x 0.5 m, one on the natural soil and the other one placed on three stone columns. An important soil and column monitoring (inclinometers, pore pressure cells, total vertical load pressure cells) was set up before column construction in order to measure the soil’s improvement and the column’s failure behavior. The the experimental results (lateral and vertical displacements, and total vertical pressures) were compared to numerical ones in 2 (PLAXIS 2D V8) and 3D (FLAC 3D). In 2D, part of the work was focused on simulating the installation process of a stone column by lateral displacement of the soil

This thesis examines a new genre in Bible publishing: the BibleZine, a combination of the Bible with the formatting and visual elements of a teenage fashion magazine. The first BibleZine, Revolve: The Complete New Testament, appeared in the summer of 2003 and sold all of its 40,000 copies in a matter of months. This success has inspired a new line of Bible products, as several follow-up editions of Revolve and other BibleZines have flooded the marketplace. While the publisher and editors of Revolve claim that their modern creation is meant to inspire young readers to connect with the text of the New Testament, the forceful combining of the two disparate genres has produced an artifact whose form undermines and trivializes biblical content.<p> The significance of the BibleZines message extends beyond its updated magazine format. This thesis uses the theories of Kenneth Burke, George Dillon, Edwin Black, and several other rhetorical critics to reveal and critique the editorial influence found in this updated New Testament. The analysis is divided into three chapters that examine specific elements of the carefully orchestrated BibleZine, from the impact of Revolves prominent magazine-like features to the pseudo-friendships the editors create to influence its young target audience. Revolve does not represent a unique way of interpreting the Bible for a new generation. It may look contemporary in its format, but Revolve masks a materialistic and highly conservative ideology that will negatively influence its young readers in how they approach matters of identity and spirituality. My analysis will reveal the numerous ways the editors of the BibleZine use and manipulate biblical sanction in order to convey a consumeristic ideology.

This thesis focuses on the ways in which theoretical models based in rhetorical studies can be used to enhance both the understanding and the practice of communication. In particular, my project shows that rhetoric and communication theory can provide a foundation for improving communication practice. <p>Every communicative act takes place within a context, as Lloyd F. Bitzer established. This same understanding of the centrality of situation to communicative effectiveness permeates the work of several other theorists whose work is discussed in this thesis, among them Wayne C. Booth, Kenneth Burke, George L. Dillon, Barnett Baskerville, and Donald Schon. <p>Using Bitzers conception of the rhetorical situation as the theoretical focus, two main concerns are addressed in the thesis: the relationship between rhetoric and the practice of technical communication, and the integration of theory and practice as the foundation of rhetorical understanding. The first three chapters present a series of theoretical models, and the practical use of this theory is tested by an exercise in writing a public speaking handbook for engineering undergraduates (presented as Chapter Four of the thesis). The audience for this handbook is specific and the purpose is narrow to give advice on preparing, practising, and presenting design presentations to professors and clients. This experiment is then followed by a reflection on the writing process and some conclusions about the relationship between rhetorical theory and communicative practice.<p> The key result of this research and case study is a deepened understanding of how rhetoric operates or how it should be studied. As a rhetorician, I found it discouraging even at times humiliating to discover how much difficulty I had in adapting my discourse to a specific audience. This research makes clear that an understanding of theory without a solid grounding in practice is insufficient for rhetorical mastery. While my original goal was to demonstrate the usefulness of theory to improving practice, this thesis shows as well the extent to which rhetorical theory also depends on an understanding of the demands and constraints of actual practice.

Understanding the bearing response of the footings on layered soils has always been a challenge for researchers. Due to the limitations of analytical and empirical solutions it had been difficult to understand the true bearing behavior. Some researchers have tried solving this problem by numerical analysis and have found some success. In this study the numerical analysis approach has been applied using a commercial tool FLAC (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua) to study the bearing response of surface footings on layered clays. First, small deformation analyses were taken up to study the undrained bearing response of strip and circular footings resting on a horizontally layered strong over a soft clay foundation, and then over soft over strong clay foundation. In the end application of large strain mode of FLAC was explored to investigate the large deformation behavior of the strip footing resting on the surface of a strong over soft clay foundation. All models were run by applying velocity loading and a elastic-perfectly plastic Tresca yield criterion has been used. The results are compared with published Finite Element Method (FEM) results, and with analytical, empirical and semi-empirical solutions. It was found that bearing capacity results from the present small-strain FLAC analyses agree well with the FEM results. However, these results in most of the cases tend to differ (as much as 49% for certain layered clay foundations) from those predicted with analytical, empirical and semi-empirical solutions, mainly due to the assumptions made in these solutions. Since no such assumptions are made in the present FLAC analyses, the results and the methodology of this thesis can be applied to predict the bearing capacity of the practical problems. Application of the large-strain mode of FLAC to study the large deformation of shallow foundations has pointed out a limitation of FLAC in completing such analyses. However, it is observed from the early trends of these analyses that whereas the small deformation analysis may under estimate the ultimate bearing capacity for certain cases of layered foundations where the upper clay is moderately stiffer than the lower clay layer, it might also over predict the ultimate bearing capacity for other cases when the upper clay is very stiff in comparison to the lower clay layer. / February 2007

This thesis focuses on the ways in which theoretical models based in rhetorical studies can be used to enhance both the understanding and the practice of communication. In particular, my project shows that rhetoric and communication theory can provide a foundation for improving communication practice. <p>Every communicative act takes place within a context, as Lloyd F. Bitzer established. This same understanding of the centrality of situation to communicative effectiveness permeates the work of several other theorists whose work is discussed in this thesis, among them Wayne C. Booth, Kenneth Burke, George L. Dillon, Barnett Baskerville, and Donald Schon. <p>Using Bitzers conception of the rhetorical situation as the theoretical focus, two main concerns are addressed in the thesis: the relationship between rhetoric and the practice of technical communication, and the integration of theory and practice as the foundation of rhetorical understanding. The first three chapters present a series of theoretical models, and the practical use of this theory is tested by an exercise in writing a public speaking handbook for engineering undergraduates (presented as Chapter Four of the thesis). The audience for this handbook is specific and the purpose is narrow to give advice on preparing, practising, and presenting design presentations to professors and clients. This experiment is then followed by a reflection on the writing process and some conclusions about the relationship between rhetorical theory and communicative practice.<p> The key result of this research and case study is a deepened understanding of how rhetoric operates or how it should be studied. As a rhetorician, I found it discouraging even at times humiliating to discover how much difficulty I had in adapting my discourse to a specific audience. This research makes clear that an understanding of theory without a solid grounding in practice is insufficient for rhetorical mastery. While my original goal was to demonstrate the usefulness of theory to improving practice, this thesis shows as well the extent to which rhetorical theory also depends on an understanding of the demands and constraints of actual practice.

This thesis examines a new genre in Bible publishing: the BibleZine, a combination of the Bible with the formatting and visual elements of a teenage fashion magazine. The first BibleZine, Revolve: The Complete New Testament, appeared in the summer of 2003 and sold all of its 40,000 copies in a matter of months. This success has inspired a new line of Bible products, as several follow-up editions of Revolve and other BibleZines have flooded the marketplace. While the publisher and editors of Revolve claim that their modern creation is meant to inspire young readers to connect with the text of the New Testament, the forceful combining of the two disparate genres has produced an artifact whose form undermines and trivializes biblical content.<p> The significance of the BibleZines message extends beyond its updated magazine format. This thesis uses the theories of Kenneth Burke, George Dillon, Edwin Black, and several other rhetorical critics to reveal and critique the editorial influence found in this updated New Testament. The analysis is divided into three chapters that examine specific elements of the carefully orchestrated BibleZine, from the impact of Revolves prominent magazine-like features to the pseudo-friendships the editors create to influence its young target audience. Revolve does not represent a unique way of interpreting the Bible for a new generation. It may look contemporary in its format, but Revolve masks a materialistic and highly conservative ideology that will negatively influence its young readers in how they approach matters of identity and spirituality. My analysis will reveal the numerous ways the editors of the BibleZine use and manipulate biblical sanction in order to convey a consumeristic ideology.