I många sammanhang är det önskvärt att importera data från textfiler, excelfiler och liknande till en databas. För detta krävs att data i något skede översätts till en ER-modell (Entity Relationship), en modell som beskriver relevanta delar i ett databasschema. Modellen för hur denna översättning ser ut varierar från fall till fall. I det här examensarbetet har en applikation tagits fram för import av data till en ER-modell ur ett modellperspektiv i linje med Model Driven Architecture (MDA) ™. Vinsten ligger i att använda en metamodell som beskriver hur olika modeller för transformering från tabelldata till en ER-modell får se ut. Modellerna i sin tur beskriver hur transformeringen ska se ut. På så sätt kan flera olika modeller användas utan att ändringar i källkoden behöver göras. Metamodellen som beskriver transformeringen har visualiserats i ett klassdiagram. Klassdiagrammet beskriver schematiskt sambanden mellan tabeller som data ska importeras ifrån och den ER-modell som data ska överföras till. Metamodellen har transformerats till ett XML-schema.  Modellerna som ska användas har skrivits i en XML-fil som följer den transformerade metamodellen. / In many situations it is desirable to import data from text files, excel files and similar to a database. To do so the data needs to be translated at some stage to an ER model (Entity Relationship), i.e. a model describing relevant parts of a database schema. The approach for this translation varies from case to case. During this thesis an application has been developed to import data to an ER model from a modeling perspective, in line with the Model Driven Architecture (MDA) ™. The gain lies in using a metamodel that describes how different models for transformation from grid tables to an ER mode may look like. The models in turn describe how the transformation will look, thus allowing the usage of several different models without any need of changes to the source code. The metamodel describing the transformation of data can be visualized in a class diagram. The class diagram schematically describes the relationships between tables of data to be imported from and the ER model the data will be transferred to. Preferable is to write a model in an XML that conforms to the metamodel. Therefore the class diagram should be transformed into an XML schema that enables validation of the model in the XML file.

[pt] A caracterização de reservatórios é uma ferramenta importante para a gestão da produção do mesmo. Testes de poços são comumente usados para caracterizar reservatórios, pois são as únicas fontes de dados dinâmicos durante a etapa de exploração. Esses testes medem as respostas de pressão e temperatura nos poços, dadas condições controladas de produção, injeção ou estática. Geralmente, apenas os dados de pressão são pós-processados para caracterizar o reservatório. Entretanto considerar apenas os dados de pressão podem levar a interpretações errôneas devido ao negligenciamento dos efeitos térmicos, causando erros na estimativa de propriedades do reservatório e, consequentemente, um gerenciamento ineficiente do mesmo. Além disso, os dados de pressão possuem diversas fontes de ruído que podem comprometer a precisão dos resultados dos testes. Trabalhos recentes mostram que o uso de dados de temperatura podem melhorar a estimativa de parâmetros do reservatório. Neste trabalho, o método ensemble smoother with multiple data assimilation (ES-MDA) foi aplicado em casos sintéticos criados por um simulador não-isotérmico de fluxo no reservatório-poço que considera o aquecimento de Joule-Thomson e efeitos de resfriamento, expansão / compressão de fluido adiabático, condução e convecção na equação de balanço de energia. Os dados sintéticos medidos foram obtidos adicionandose ruídos gaussianos e harmônicos aos sinais calculados para simular ruídos nas medições e efeitos de maré, respectivamente. Foi realizada uma análise de sensibilidade da matriz CD do método ES-MDA utilizada na atualização dos parâmetros a serem estimados. Os resultados mostram que o acoplamento dos dados de temperatura aos dados de pressão no ajuste de histórico promoveu uma melhora nas estimativas dos parâmetros do reservatório, principalmente para a região de dano e a porosidade do reservatório. Para as análises, nas quais os dados de pressão tiveram a inclusão de ruído harmônico, a adição de dados de temperatura também se mostrou de grande importância para a caracterização precisa do reservatório. / [en] Reservoir characterization is an important tool for production/reservoir management. Well tests are commonly used in reservoir characterization and are the only source of dynamic data during the exploration period. These tests typically measure the pressure, rate and temperature responses at a well during controlled production, injection, or static conditions. Generally, only pressure data is post-processed in reservoir characterization. However, considering only pressure data can lead to misinterpretation associated with the neglected thermal effects, causing errors in reservoir properties estimation and consequently inefficient reservoir management. Besides that, pressure data have several noise sources that may compromise the accuracy of test results. Recent results have shown that temperature data can be used to improve reservoir parameter estimation. In this work, the ensemble smoother with multiple data assimilation method (ES-MDA) was applied in synthetic cases created by an in-house non-isothermal reservoir-well flow simulator that considers the Joule-Thomson heating and cooling, adiabatic fluid expansion/compression, conduction, and convection effects in the thermal energy balance equation. The synthetic measured data was obtained by adding gaussian and harmonics noises to the numerical predictions to simulate equipment and tidal effects, respectively. A sensitivity analysis of the effect of the CD matrix used for updating parameters of the ES-MDA method on the parameters estimations was carried out. The results show that adding temperature data to the observed data in the history matching improves the estimates of the reservoir parameters, especially for the skin region and reservoir porosity. For the analyses in which the pressure data had the addition of harmonic noise, the inclusion of temperature data also proved to be of great importance for an accurate characterization of the reservoir.

In this study, D.P.S. Monyaise’s Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Zakes Mda’s Black Diamond are analysed in relation to narrative perspectives on female characters. The main aim of this study is to show how cultural narrative perspectives apply in the comparative study in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Black Diamond, to determine how female characters, particularly Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, are portrayed. The argument maintained in this study is that, although Monyaise in his Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka gives his female characters an exceptionally strong voice, the social and literary perspectives in his novel still draw very sturdily on traditional frameworks. Monyaise’s narrative style and his narrative investigation of his main themes are evidently influenced by views informed by a traditional frame within which women occupy a culturally marginalized position. Mda, on the other hand, controversially challenges dominant views and consequent modes of behaviour, while also expanding the boundaries of creative writing. Research on the portrayal of female characters in Batswana literature is still lacking. This study makes a contribution in the sense that it is an explorative investigation from the perspective of postclassical cognitive narratology, which therefore attempts to approach Batswana literature from a fresh theoretical point of view. The intention is also to enrich the field of Batswana literature by adopting a comparative approach. In achieving this aim, this work adopts the following structure. Chapter one provides the aim and focus of the study. Chapter two discusses the theoretical framework and crucial key terms. Chapter three establishes a background with regard to traditional Batswana cultural views on Batswana women, with emphasis on stereotypical perspectives on women identified through the application of theoretical insights with regard to frames and scripts. The analysis of these traditional perspectives is carried out with reference to traditional Batswana women and the following: the work place; family life; legislation and leadership roles; education; religious belief; and traditional marriage. Chapter four is a comparative analysis with specific attention to the portrayal of the main female characters, that is Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, through application of the theoretical and cultural framework constructed in chapter two and three respectively. Chapter five provides concluding remarks. / MA (Setswana), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation focuses on the nature and manifestation of tragedy within African experience in selected plays written by black South African playwrights. The plays under discussion are We Shall Sing for the Fatherland (1973) by Zakes Mda, The Hungry Earth (1978) by Maishe Maponya, and Sarafina (1985) by Mbongeni Ngema. The many conflicting statements regarding the "death" and existence of tragedy in contemporary drama lead one to ask the following two fundamental questions: Can there be tragedy in contemporary South African drama and what structural devices are there to account for the manifestation of this elusive phenomenon? This dissertation works towards defining the concept of an African vision of tragedy by examining the nature and form in which tragedy manifests itself in South African drama. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this phenomenon is similar or different from conventional elements and structural forms of Western tragic drama. This dissertation argues that there exists a distinct and viable vision of tragedy in black South African drama which can be called African. It contends that dramatic texts do not all have the same degree of profundity of tragic vision because their subject matter, techniques and depth of artistic exploration differ, and vary according to their cultural roots. The basis on which old forms of tragedy are used to interpret the version of contemporary tragedy is therefore called into question, and as a result, the analysis of structural forms and thematic preoccupations of contemporary tragedy needs a set of criteria different from that of Euro-American drama. The portrayal of a tragic hero as a common man whose tragic stature is measured in terms of his ability to feel, to be aware of forces closing down on him in The Hungry Earth, the manifestation of tragedy as generated not only by individual volition, but by an economic structure established by those in power in We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, and, finally, the mingling of tragicomic elements of entertainment and communication to accommodate both tragedy and comic elements without destroying the integrity of either in Sarafina, indicate a definite development and imitation of tragedy from emphasis on form to meaning. By asking a question like: "What constitutes tragedy in black South African drama, and how are such processes represented and modelled in the selected plays?" this dissertation enters into a dialogue of global and local perspectives of tragedy in order to contribute to our understanding of an African, and specifically South African, concept of tragedy firmly rooted in its socio-cultural context. / Thesis (M.A. (English))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003.

In this study, D.P.S. Monyaise’s Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Zakes Mda’s Black Diamond are analysed in relation to narrative perspectives on female characters. The main aim of this study is to show how cultural narrative perspectives apply in the comparative study in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Black Diamond, to determine how female characters, particularly Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, are portrayed. The argument maintained in this study is that, although Monyaise in his Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka gives his female characters an exceptionally strong voice, the social and literary perspectives in his novel still draw very sturdily on traditional frameworks. Monyaise’s narrative style and his narrative investigation of his main themes are evidently influenced by views informed by a traditional frame within which women occupy a culturally marginalized position. Mda, on the other hand, controversially challenges dominant views and consequent modes of behaviour, while also expanding the boundaries of creative writing. Research on the portrayal of female characters in Batswana literature is still lacking. This study makes a contribution in the sense that it is an explorative investigation from the perspective of postclassical cognitive narratology, which therefore attempts to approach Batswana literature from a fresh theoretical point of view. The intention is also to enrich the field of Batswana literature by adopting a comparative approach. In achieving this aim, this work adopts the following structure. Chapter one provides the aim and focus of the study. Chapter two discusses the theoretical framework and crucial key terms. Chapter three establishes a background with regard to traditional Batswana cultural views on Batswana women, with emphasis on stereotypical perspectives on women identified through the application of theoretical insights with regard to frames and scripts. The analysis of these traditional perspectives is carried out with reference to traditional Batswana women and the following: the work place; family life; legislation and leadership roles; education; religious belief; and traditional marriage. Chapter four is a comparative analysis with specific attention to the portrayal of the main female characters, that is Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, through application of the theoretical and cultural framework constructed in chapter two and three respectively. Chapter five provides concluding remarks. / MA (Setswana), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation focuses on the nature and manifestation of tragedy within African experience in selected plays written by black South African playwrights. The plays under discussion are We Shall Sing for the Fatherland (1973) by Zakes Mda, The Hungry Earth (1978) by Maishe Maponya, and Sarafina (1985) by Mbongeni Ngema. The many conflicting statements regarding the "death" and existence of tragedy in contemporary drama lead one to ask the following two fundamental questions: Can there be tragedy in contemporary South African drama and what structural devices are there to account for the manifestation of this elusive phenomenon? This dissertation works towards defining the concept of an African vision of tragedy by examining the nature and form in which tragedy manifests itself in South African drama. Secondly, it considers the extent to which this phenomenon is similar or different from conventional elements and structural forms of Western tragic drama. This dissertation argues that there exists a distinct and viable vision of tragedy in black South African drama which can be called African. It contends that dramatic texts do not all have the same degree of profundity of tragic vision because their subject matter, techniques and depth of artistic exploration differ, and vary according to their cultural roots. The basis on which old forms of tragedy are used to interpret the version of contemporary tragedy is therefore called into question, and as a result, the analysis of structural forms and thematic preoccupations of contemporary tragedy needs a set of criteria different from that of Euro-American drama. The portrayal of a tragic hero as a common man whose tragic stature is measured in terms of his ability to feel, to be aware of forces closing down on him in The Hungry Earth, the manifestation of tragedy as generated not only by individual volition, but by an economic structure established by those in power in We Shall Sing for the Fatherland, and, finally, the mingling of tragicomic elements of entertainment and communication to accommodate both tragedy and comic elements without destroying the integrity of either in Sarafina, indicate a definite development and imitation of tragedy from emphasis on form to meaning. By asking a question like: "What constitutes tragedy in black South African drama, and how are such processes represented and modelled in the selected plays?" this dissertation enters into a dialogue of global and local perspectives of tragedy in order to contribute to our understanding of an African, and specifically South African, concept of tragedy firmly rooted in its socio-cultural context. / Thesis (M.A. (English))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003.

Software products have been racing against aging problem for most of their lifecycles, and evolution is the most effective and efficient solution to this problem. Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) is a new technique for software product for evolving development and reengineering methods. The main steps for MDA are to establish models in different levels and phases, therefore to solve the challenges of requirement and technology change. However, there is only a standard established by Object Management Group (OMG) but without a formal method and approach. Presently, MDA is widely researched in both industrial and research areas, however, there is still without a smooth approach to realise it especially in electronic learning (e-learning) system due to the following reasons: (1) models’ transformations are hard to realise because of lack of tools, (2) most of existing mature research results are working for business and government services but not education area, and (3) most of existing model-driven researches are based on Model-Driven Development (MDD) but not MDA because of OMG standard’s preciseness. Hence, it is worth to investigate an MDA-based method and approach to improve the existing software development approach for e-learning system. Due to the features of MDA actuality, a MDA-based evolution method and approach is proposed in this thesis. The fundamental theories of this research are OMG’s MDA standard and education pedagogical knowledge. Unified Modelling Language (UML) and Unified Modelling Language Profile are hired to represent the information of software system from different aspects. This study can be divided into three main parts: MDA-based evolution method and approach research, Platform-Independent Model (PIM) to Platform-Specific Model (PSM) transformation development, and MDA-based electronic learning system evolution. Top-down approach is explored to develop models for e-learning system. A transformation approach is developed to generate Computation Independent Model (CIM), Platform-Independent Model (PIM), and Platform-Specific Model (PSM); while a set of transformation rules are defined following MDA standard to support PSM’ s generation. In addition, proposed method is applied in an e-learning system as a case study with the prototype rules support. In the end, conclusions are drawn based on analysis and further research directions are discussed as well. The kernel contributions are the proposed transformation rules and its application in electronic learning system.

BACKGROUND: The type I interferon (IFN) response is a critical component of the innate immune response to infection by RNA viruses and is initiated via recognition of viral nucleic acids by RIG-like receptors (RLR). Engagement of these receptors in the cytoplasm initiates a signal transduction pathway leading to activation of the transcription factors NF-κB, ATF-2 and IRF-3 that coordinately upregulate transcription of type I IFN genes, such as that encoding IFN-β. In this study the impact of poliovirus infection on the type I interferon response has been examined. METHODS: The type I IFN response was assessed by measuring IFN-β mRNA levels using qRT-PCR and normalizing to levels of β-actin mRNA. The status of host factors involved in activation of the type I IFN response was examined by immunoblot, immunofluorescence microcopy and qRT-PCR. RESULTS: The results show that poliovirus infection results in induction of very low levels of IFN-β mRNA despite clear activation of NF-κB and ATF-2. In contrast, analysis of IRF-3 revealed no transcriptional induction of an IRF-3-responsive promoter or homodimerization of IRF-3 indicating it is not activated in poliovirus-infected cells. Exposure of poliovirus-infected cells to poly(I:C) results in lower levels of IFN-β mRNA synthesis and IRF-3 activation compared to mock-infected cells. Analysis of MDA-5 and IPS-1 revealed that these components of the RLR pathway were largely intact at times when the type I IFN response was suppressed. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these results demonstrate that poliovirus infection actively suppresses the host type I interferon response by blocking activation of IRF-3 and suggests that this is not mediated by cleavage of MDA-5 or IPS-1.

This thesis sought to demonstrate that humour and the grotesque are the primary tools by which Mda achieve his postcolonial strategies of &quot / writing back&quot / , that is, of asserting an identity in the face of colonial pressures, apartheid and the growing selfishness of many in the new, post-democratic South African society.

This thesis analyzed Zakes Mda's The Heart of redness in the tradition of South African pastoral and counter-pastoral. It proposed that the novel is a hybrid of both African and European tradition and perspectives. It adduced Northrop Frye's theory of myth and archetypes in literature as a basis for study. It also analysed the novel in its use of irony.