Death, Murder, Manslaughte As a Medial Topic The subject of this diploma thesis is the analysis of the texts which concern violent death. Printed media articles and articles from news portals on the internet are being analysed. The work focuses on the manner death is presented and how the picture of the dead and of the manslayer is created. How the words "murder" and "manslaughter" alternate in various cases, their euphemisms and their relationship to reality is being researched. The method of stylistic and content analysis are being used.

The aim of this study is to collect the recent data about the establishing the lines of pluripotent stem cell and the usage of these cells for biomedical purposes. On this example, we integrated the education in life science and social science. Pluripotent stem cells were used as a key topic. During our project, we completed the PowerPoint presentation which provides the elementary knowledge on the method for establishing of pluripotent cell lines and the usage of these cells for biomedicine. We created the Czech version of didactic game PlayDecide based on the European Union project. Based on the experiences from this didactic game, the students will learn basic information on pluripotent stem cells and their usage in biomedicine. Students will establish their own opinion on ethical aspects of this topic. Students could be able to defend their opinion and to acknowledge all problems which stem from the suggested solutions. We tested this didactic game in schools.

The huge popularity of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and Philip Pullman’s challenging trilogy His Dark Materials flagged up a widening audience and increasing status for children’s literature in the West. As Sandra Beckett (2009) notes, children’s fiction is now being embraced with enthusiasm by adult readers, writers, critics and publishers. From this increased profile there has emerged the distinct publishing category of ‘crossover’ fiction. In contrast to earlier children’s novels with broad audience appeal, contemporary crossover works are noted for their contextually radical resistance to conventions and bold innovations in content, style and form. Whilst this has given rise to greater critical interest, however, the focus in general has been on adult authored fiction, rather than the now growing body of work being produced and promoted by children and adolescents themselves. In effect, adult critics and reviewers either exclude or take for granted young authors’ fictions as being formulaic and/or lightweight. The purpose of this study has been to investigate the implications of this stance. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s (1965) theory of carnival and its associated concepts, I have conducted a comparative analysis of published fiction by adult and teenage authors whose works have been identified as subversive and/or marketed as crossover texts. A Bakhtinian perspective on style, structure and themes in each confirms, or otherwise, their radical status before consideration is given to the implications of any differences in approach. Given John Stephens’ (1999) observation that boundaries between children’s and adults’ fiction are more fundamentally blurred in the fantasy and sub-fantasy modes, the influence of genre has been investigated too. My findings indicate that radical texts with broad audience appeal can, in fact, arise through a variety of narrative forms and writing styles and regardless of authorial age. At the same time, characteristic differences in ‘perspectives’ are shown to mark off adolescent from adult authors’ works. I conclude that the young writers’ near-perspectives can produce hybrid fictions which might be understood as breaking new ground. The fresh insights this study contributes, then, demonstrate that any comprehensive account of the vibrant and ever-shifting contemporary literary scene must encompass broader and altogether more considered critical review of young adults’ input than has been offered to-date.

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Eugene Vasserman / The unprecedented growth of ubiquitous computing infrastructure has brought new challenges for security, privacy, and trust. New problems range from mobile apps with incomprehensible permission (trust) model to OpenSSL Heartbleed vulnerability, which disrupted the security of a large fraction of the world's web servers. As almost all of the software bugs and flaws boil down to programming errors/misalignment in requirements, we need to retrace back Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and supply chain to check and place security & privacy consideration and implementation plan properly. Historically, there has been a divergent point of view between security teams and developers regarding security. Security is often thought of as a "consideration" or "toll gate" within the project plan rather than being built in from the early stage of project planning, development and production cycles. We argue that security can be effectively made into everyone's business in SDLC through a broader exploration of the users and their social-cultural contexts, gaining insight into their mental models of security and privacy and usage patterns of technology, trying to see why and how security practices being satisfied or not-satisfied, then transferring those observations into new tool building and protocol/interaction design. The overall goal in our current study is to understand the common challenges and/or misconceptions regarding security-related issues among developers. In order to investigate into this issue, we conduct a mixed-method analysis on the data obtained from Stack Overflow(SO), one of the most popular on-line QA sites for software developer community to communicate, collaborate, and share information with one another. In this study, we have adopted techniques from mining software repositories research paradigm and have employed topic modeling for analyzing security-related topics in SO dataset. To our knowledge, our work in SO data mining is one of the earliest systematic attempts to understand the roots of challenges, misconceptions, and deterrent factors, if any, among developers while they try to implement security features during software development. We argue that a proper understanding of these issues is a necessary first step towards "build security in" culture in SDLC.

<p>The current study empirically tested a model of sibling caregiving topic avoidance, including privacy rule criteria as predictors of topic avoidance and both relationship satisfaction and depression as outcomes of topic avoidance. Associations between topic avoidance and its predictors and outcomes were compared for primary and non-primary caregivers. Additionally, the study tested privacy expectations, including information ownership and caregiving talk preference, as moderators of the associations between topic avoidance and both relationship satisfaction and depression. The current study is grounded in communication privacy management theory, conceptualizing topic avoidance as a strategy for maintaining privacy (CPM; Petronio, 2002). Findings validate CPM propositions related to privacy rule development and privacy turbulence. Findings also further understanding of informal caregiving, sibling communication, and topic avoidance.</p> <p>Over 75% of all eldercare in the United States is provided by unpaid, non-professionals (Family Caregiver Alliance, n.d.). Providing unpaid care has been linked to diminished well-being, including negative physical and mental health effects (Cooper, Balamurali, & Livingston, 2007). However, some scholars argue that caregiving is only detrimental in particular circumstances with some caregivers experiencing more benefits than burdens (Roth, Fredman, & Haley, 2015). The current study proposes that sibling communication is a key factor in determining when caregiving is harmful. </p> <p>Specifically, the current study examines topic avoidance about parent well-being and sibling’s contributions to parental care, including predictors of topic avoidance and the association of topic avoidance with sibling relationship satisfaction and depression. The current study includes a pilot study of 207 participants to develop CPM measures of caregiving topic avoidance, benefit-risk analysis, and information ownership as well as a measure of caregiving involvement (including personal care, routine tasks, and emotional support). The resulting measures are utilizing in a main study of 415 participants, testing models of middle-aged siblings’ topic avoidance.</p> <p>Findings contribute to understanding of informal care, sibling communication, and CPM. Privacy rule criteria, including context, motivation, and risk-benefit analysis, were associated with topic avoidance. Surprisingly, gender and family culture were not strongly associated with topic avoidance. Topic avoidance resulted in relationship dissatisfaction and greater depression when topic avoidance did not align with privacy expectations, resulting in privacy turbulence. Differences emerged for primary caregivers compared with non-primary caregivers, including predictors of topic avoidance and direct effects of caregiving involvement on relationship satisfaction and depression. For primary caregivers, involvement in personal care was associated with greater depression, and involvement in emotional support was associated with less depression. Overall, findings further understanding of privacy management, caregiving, and sibling communication and provide interesting avenues for future research.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Education, 2012 / Reflection about lessons delivered is a practice widely encouraged in teaching. Reasoning, particularly about transformation of subject matter knowledge of lessons yet to be taught, is an internal process and a speciality evident largely in expert teachers. The study investigates the feasibility of fast-tracking its development in pre-service chemistry teachers. It focuses on developing this specialty within a specific topic, as a theoretical construct called Topic Specific PCK (TSPCK). Five knowledge components of TSPCK are identified as the enablers that transform subject matter knowledge. The components are: (1) students’ prior knowledge, (2) curricular Saliency, (3) what is difficult to teach (4) representations, including powerful analogies, and (5) conceptual teaching strategies. These components are identified, with reference to literature, as aspects specific to the subject matter knowledge of the teacher and useful in its teachability. A new tool to measure the quality of TSPCK is developed. The procedure for developing the tool consists of the following steps: (i) confirming the characteristics of the test items fitting the Topic Specific PCK construct, (ii) production of test items, (iii) judgment of items, (iv) construction of the instrument (v) piloting and (vi) validation of the instrument. Care is taken to ensure presentation of multiple evidence and discussions, addressing the interpretive and arguments as requirements for showing validity of the construct measured by the instrument. The Topic Specific PCK tool is validated with a group of 20 practicing teachers. The tool is scored, using a rubric corresponding to the five components with each being rated on a four point scale, from 1 (Limited) to 4 (Exemplary). The analysis of the generated scores is done using the Rasch statistical model (Winstep, version 3.72.3). The reliability indices as indicated by person reliability and item reliability are found to be high at 0.86 at 0.91, respectively. The persons and item scores reflect measures well inside the conventionally acceptable range of -2 and +2. A further indicator of validity of the tool is the empirically calculated hierarchy of test items’ order of difficulty, found similar to the theoretically predicted pattern for the teacher group. Based on the above analysis and findings, I regard the tool as valid and reliable. My research design is based on mixed-methods research (MM). The research strategy takes the form of a case study. The study is located in a methodology class for final year physical science pre-service teachers. They formed an experimental group (N=16) for this study. I delivered an intervention, targeting understanding of transformation of Chemical Equilibrium concepts, using the above listed five knowledge components. I collected data through a combination of tools, including the newly designed Topic Specific PCK tool in Chemical Equilibrium, an Achievement tool and a science teacher Belief tool. Both the Achievement and the Belief tools were adapted from existing tools, and were thus considered tried and validated. The findings suggest that the quality of Topic Specific PCK in chemical equilibrium may be improved in pre-service teachers by the explicit discussion of the knowledge enabling its transformation. They also suggest that, in the process of discussing aspects of subject matter knowledge related to its transformation, pre-service teachers improve their conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium. Both these improvements were not affected by the shift or lack of shift in teacher beliefs from teacher-centred towards student-centred practices. I acknowledge the small size of the sample as a practical limitation to the generalization of the statistical findings in this study. I suggest that emphasis be placed on the trends displayed, as they are similar to those obtained from the multiple sources of the qualitative component of the study. Finally, I recommend that the development of PCK in pre-service teachers be considered in a topic by topic manner. I urge that the teaching of chemistry topics be explicitly organized in a format in which pre-service teachers would be expected to reason about them, and particularly transform them for teaching.

The lack of teaching experience in uncertified teachers leaves them with little or no understanding of the transformation of Content Knowledge (CK) at their disposal. This transformation of CK is termed Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and it is known to develop through practice. Therefore, reflective analysis of lessons taught by these teachers is important. Research has also shown that they are often not supported as they embark on their teaching career. Therefore, the study investigated the influence of an intervention on novice unqualified graduate teachers’ (NUGTs) Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge within a specific topic – the particulate nature of matter. The construct, Topic Specific PCK was the theoretical framework of my study and it consists of five topic specific categories that collectively enable transformation of content knowledge. The categories are: (1) learner prior knowledge (2) curricular Saliency (3) what is difficult to teach (4) representations and (5) conceptual teaching strategies. For measuring the quality of Topic Specific PCK, a new tool based on the topic of the particulate nature of matter was developed. The Topic Specific PCK tool was then validated using a group of 11 practising science teachers. The tool was scored using a rubric that is in line with the five categories, which are rated on a four point scale, where 1 stands for limited PCK and 4 is exemplary PCK. The research design followed in my study was mixed-methods research (MM). The study involved 16 novice teachers recruited by Teach South Africa working together with the Department of Education. The teachers hold university degrees, have done chemistry for a minimum of one year during the course of their degree and have no teaching qualifications. Four of the teachers who taught the particulate nature of matter were selected as case study teachers. Data was collected through a number of tools, including the newly designed Topic Specific PCK test on particulate nature of matter, a CK test and Content Representations (CoRes) which were all adapted from existing tools and thus considered validated. The case study teachers were observed while teaching particulate nature of matter and their lessons were analysed. All the teachers were tested before and after the professional development intervention (PDI). The findings show that the quality of Topic Specific PCK and CK in particulate nature of matter was improved in all NUGTs. The greatest improvement was observed in the NUGTs who taught the topic directly. This improvement was attributed to the experience of teaching the topic directly or teaching related concepts that need understanding of it. The improvement was observed in all the NUGTs, showing the effect of indirect experience. This can be deduced from their improved CoRe which forced the NUGTs to engage with the construct and also through the positive significant improvement in CK and Topic Specific PCK results. Finally, I suggest that although interventions like PDI have the potential to produce science teachers, care should be exercised in making assumptions about their CK and knowledge for teaching, and training programmes need to pay attention to both CK and Topic Specific PCK.

O objetivo desta dissertação é descrever o comportamento de estruturas com repetição verbal em português brasileiro que apresentam características específicas diferentes de outras construções com repetição verbal já estudas no português brasileiro (Bastos 2001/ Bastos-Gee 2009) e no português europeu (Martins 2007). As estruturas em questão são iniciadas com que, sendo que em cada uma delas o constituinte encabeçado por que aparece em posições diferentes na sentença: quando o que está no primeiro bloco, nomeio a estrutura de que-reportativo; quando o que está no segundo bloco, nomeio a estrutura de que-adversativo. Essas construções apresentam similaridades, como a necessidade dos constituintes verbais serem idênticos, mas também apresentam muitas diferenças entre si além da posição do que: ter necessidade de repetir um antecedente discursivo obrigatoriamente, que só ocorre com que-reportativo, e a presença de uma sentença coordenada adversativa implícita, o efeito-mas (Bastos 2001/Bastos-Gee 2009), que também só ocorre com que-reportativo. Através da comparação com outras estruturas de repetição verbal já estudadas no português, mostro que as construções analisadas nesta dissertação possuem comportamentos diferenciados e envolvem tópicos diferentes, a saber, a estrutura com que-reportativo envolve tópico conversacional, enquanto a estrutura com que-adversativo envolve tópico contrastivo. / The goal of this dissertation is to describe the behavior of finite structures with verbal repetition in Brazilian Portuguese, which present different specific characteristics from other verbal repetition constructions previously studied in Brazilian Portuguese (Bastos 2001/ Bastos-Gee 2009) and in European Portuguese (Martins 2007). The structures in question start with que that, but the constituents headed by que occupy different positions in each structure: when que is in the first block of the sentence, I call the structure reportative-que; when que is in the second block of the sentence, I call the structure adversative-que. These structures present similarities, such as the requirement of identical verbal constituents, but also exhibit many differences besides the position where que appears: the requirement to repeat the previous discourse and the presence of an implicit adversative clause - the but-effect (Bastos 2001/ Bastos-Gee 2009) -, for instance, only happens with reportative-que. Through the comparison with other verbal repetition structures already studied in Portuguese, I demonstrate the structures analyzed in this dissertation have a differentiated behavior. I also demonstrate that they are composed by different topics, namely, reportative-que has a conversational topic, while adversative-que has a contrastive topic.

A necessidade de extrair conhecimento útil e inovador de grandes massas de dados textuais, tem motivado cada vez mais a investigação de métodos para Mineração de Textos. Dentre os métodos existentes, destacam-se as iniciativas para organização de conhecimento por meio de hierarquias de tópicos, nas quais o conhecimento implícito nos textos é representado em tópicos e subtópicos, e cada tópico contém documentos relacionados a um mesmo tema. As hierarquias de tópicos desempenham um papel importante na recupera ção de informação, principalmente em tarefas de busca exploratória, pois permitem a análise do conhecimento de interesse em diversos níveis de granularidade e exploração interativa de grandes coleções de documentos. Para apoiar a construção de hierarquias de tópicos, métodos de agrupamento hierárquico têm sido utilizados, uma vez que organizam coleções textuais em grupos e subgrupos, de forma não supervisionada, por meio das similaridades entre os documentos. No entanto, a maioria dos métodos de agrupamento hierárquico não é adequada em cenários que envolvem coleções textuais dinâmicas, pois são exigidas frequentes atualizações dos agrupamentos. Métodos de agrupamento que respeitam os requisitos existentes em cenários dinâmicos devem processar novos documentos assim que são adicionados na coleção, realizando o agrupamento de forma incremental. Assim, neste trabalho é explorado o uso de métodos de agrupamento incremental para o aprendizado não supervisionado de hierarquias de tópicos em coleções textuais dinâmicas. O agrupamento incremental é aplicado na construção e atualização de uma representação condensada dos textos, que mantém um sumário das principais características dos dados. Os algoritmos de agrupamento hierárquico podem, então, ser aplicados sobre as representa ções condensadas, obtendo-se a organização da coleção textual de forma mais eficiente. Foram avaliadas experimentalmente três estratégias de agrupamento incremental da literatura, e proposta uma estratégia alternativa mais apropriada para hierarquias de tópicos. Os resultados indicaram que as hierarquias de tópicos construídas com uso de agrupamento incremental possuem qualidade próxima às hierarquias de tópicos construídas por métodos não incrementais, com significativa redução do custo computacional / The need to extract new and useful knowledge from large textual collections has motivated researchs on Text Mining methods. Among the existing methods, initiatives for the knowledge organization by topic hierarchies are very popular. In the topic hierarchies, the knowledge is represented by topics and subtopics, and each topic contains documents of similar content. They play an important role in information retrieval, especially in exploratory search tasks, allowing the analysis of knowledge in various levels of granularity and interactive exploration of large document collections. Hierarchical clustering methods have been used to support the construction of topic hierarchies. These methods organize textual collections in clusters and subclusters, in an unsupervised manner, using similarities among documents. However, most existing hierarchical clustering methods is not suitable for scenarios with dynamic text collections, since frequent clustering updates are necessary. Clustering methods that meet these requirements must process new documents that are inserted into textual colections, in general, through incremental clustering. Thus, we studied the incremental clustering methods for unsupervised learning of topic hierarchies for dynamic text collections. The incremental clustering is used to build and update a condensed representation of texts, which maintains a summary of the main features of the data. The hierarchical clustering algorithms are applied in these condensed representations, obtaining the textual organization more efficiently. We experimentally evaluate three incremental clustering algorithms available in the literature. Also, we propose an alternative strategy more appropriate for construction of topic hieararchies. The results indicated that the topic hierarchies construction using incremental clustering have quality similar to non-incremental methods. Furthermore, the computational cost is considerably reduced using incremental clustering methods

Este trabalho investiga os efeitos semânticos e pragmáticos de um tipo específico de foco que chamamos foco sobreinformativo e como ele afeta relações de escopo entre sintagmas quantificadores em português brasileiro. Discutimos como a estrutura informacional e o escopo de quantificadores interagem, com atenção especial a vários tipos de quantificadores, como universais, existenciais, e cardinais. Relações de escopo em português brasileiro foram investigadas em Negrão (1999), que concluiu trata-se de uma língua bastante rígida nesse aspecto, não permitindo inversão de escopo na maioria dos casos. Tal trabalho, entretanto, se restringiu a contextos neutros. Nosso objetivo é investigar como o foco sobreinformativo pode afetar essa aparente rigidez. No decorrer do trabalho fornecemos análises sintáticas e semânticas detalhadas da interação entre quantificação e focalização e uma caracterização pragmática dos contextos em que o foco sobreinformativo é lícito. / This work investigates the semantic and pragmatic effects of a specific kind of focus which we call over-informative focus and how it affects scope relations among quantifier phrases in Brazilian Portuguese. We discuss how information structure and quantifier scope interact paying attention to many types of quantifiers such as universals, existential and cardinals. Scope relations in Brazilian Portuguese were investigated by Negrão (1999), who have concluded that the language is very rigid disallowing scope inversion in most cases. Her work, however, was restricted to neutral (out-of-the-blue) contexts. Our goal is to investigate how over-informative focus affects this apparent rigidity. Throughout this work, we give a detailed syntactic and semantic analysis of the interaction between quantification and focalization and a pragmatic characterization of contexts in which over informative focus is licit.