The current thesis addresses the use and origin of logograms in Hittite cuneiform, be they of Sumerian or Akkadian origin. It is intended as a contribution to the history of Hittite cuneiform writing. It is divided into four parts and an introduction. The introduction deals with issues of definition, education, palaeography and textual criticism as key factors in establishing contexts for logographic writings. Part One addresses the context of the origin of Hittite cuneiform and the framework of scribal education at Hattusa, with particular attention to the lexical lists. Part Two investigates selected logograms as they are used in the "Historical Texts", touching on issues of reading, dating and relationship to the rest of the cuneiform world. An appendix (I) provides a catalogue of all logograms occurring in a substantial number of historical texts. Part Three investigates further selected logograms, that are characterised either by being restricted to Hittite cuneiform or by being used differently in Hittite cuneiform to Mesopotamia. An appendix (II) provides a catalogue of all logograms that are defined as being thus different to Mesopotamian usage, as well as a documentation of attestations for most of these. Part Four presents summaries of general themes arising from the previous chapters: the phonetic pronunciation of logograms, the Akkadian of the Akkadograms, palaeography and orthography and the lines of transmission leading Hittite cuneiform culture to Hattusa in as far as it is possible to ascertain these.

No description available.

This thesis presents a descriptive and critical analysis of a representative corpus of picturebooks (52 picturebooks containing 58 stories with a total of 55,319 words) written for children and published in the English language between 1983 and 2012 that feature representations of families with same-sex - i.e. gay or lesbian - parents/caregivers. The majority of these books were published in the USA and UK, but others were also found published in Canada, Australia, or online without details of the country in which they were published. I refer to this unique corpus of rare and controversial picturebooks as the same- sex parent family (SSPF) corpus. The picturebook is a kind of text produced and socially linked specifically to children that combines written language and images in novel ways in order to construct and convey meaning. In their short history of publication SSPF picturebooks have become some of the most requested-to-be-banned books of modern times and have attracted a great deal of controversy. In this thesis I investigate how gay and lesbian sexualities are constructed and represented in SSPF picturebooks, and how those representations and constructions relate to the wider social situation of gay and lesbian sexualities. In doing so, this thesis gives, for the first time, a representative account of the ways in which lesbian and gay sexualities are represented in SSPF picturebooks. The thesis draws on a range of theory and methods from the areas of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Multimodality, Social Semiotics, and Corpus Linguistics (CL), and proposes a novel multimethodological approach to the study of a fairly large collection of multimodal texts. Combining approaches from CDA, Multimodality and Social Semiotics in the analysis of multimodal texts has already proven extremely effective in the analysis of multimodal texts - especially political texts - and are all rooted in the traditions of critical linguistics. This thesis thus situates itself in relation to Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) and Multimodal Corpus Linguistics as emergent analytical approaches. The major innovation of the thesis is the presentation of cullustration as an innovative theoretical and methodological approach to collocation between semiotic elements in multimodal texts. Whereas the core CL method of collocation is used to analyse consistent co-occurrence between i various linguistic units, collustration aims to widen the focus of CL methods to multimodal texts and take into account consistent co-occurrence of features occurring in several modes in the same text. Findings of the research suggest that SSPF picturebooks attempt to challenge and counter dominant negative stereotypes of gay and lesbian people and related homophobic discourses that lead to social exclusion and opposition to the books. They also include discourses intended to celebrate differences in (family) identity. However, the findings also suggest that SSPFs are represented in largely (homo)normative ways, upholding traditional notions of the nuclear family, as well as perpetuating some gender stereotypes. While the books thus aim to counter homophobia, in presenting gay and lesbian care-givers as 'normal' and barely different from heterosexual care-givers, the books could be viewed as backgrounding a potentially wider range of gay and lesbian identities.

There has recently been a lack of judicial confidence in the evidence provided by handwriting analysis which has highlighted the need for objective research to be conducted in this area. In response this study has examined the principles and practices of two of the field’s most complex areas of analysis: disguised and artificially assisted (traced) handwriting. Any claims and observations made in the literature have been reviewed and empirically tested. A body of controlled data was collected from sixty volunteers who produced samples of disguised handwriting and traced signatures. A rigorous examination of these samples has been described and quantitative evidence found to support the conclusion that the act of disguising or tracing handwriting will have a negative influence upon the appearance and structure of that writing. Results have shown that disguised and traced writings are intimately related in that they share common characteristics that are indicative of the artificial manner by which they have been produced. Other features are also identified that can be directly associated with specific types of deviant writing to allow for distinctions to be made between them. The analysis is expressed in the form of a comprehensive taxonomy of the distinctive features of deviant writing.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to identify, describe, and examine the aspirations of Goessel stakeholders for USD 411 and their community using an appreciative inquiry research perspective and the theoretical frameworks of social capital. The data revealed seven aspirations. (1) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders aspire to a unique and independent identity for USD 411. (2) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders aspire to maintain a unique and independent school system with high academic standards. (3) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders shared their aspirations to maintain their high degree of quality of life and sense of safety that they perceive to exist in the community. (4) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders aspire to maintain a positive relationship between USD 411 and the churches within the community. (5) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders aspire to embrace diversity. (6) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders have aspirations for community improvements. (7) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders hold a positive view toward meeting the challenges they perceive to face the community of Goessel and USD 411. The data also revealed three challenges. (1) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders recognize the challenges that exist in sustaining a small town atmosphere and are willing to work together to seek a viable community based solution. (2) The Community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders recognize the inherent challenges of sustaining high academic standards in USD 411 due to potential changes in the community’s demographics if population growth is encouraged. (3) The Community of Goessel stakeholders provided evidence of social capital in the community as expressed through high levels of bonding capital and the need to generate more bridging capital. The findings also suggest that the community of Goessel stakeholders and USD 411 stakeholders are willing to work cooperatively to overcome the challenges they face to sustain the community of Goessel and USD 411. Social capital can be found throughout the community of Goessel and USD 411. The data revealed an abundance of bonding capital. The data also revealed evidence of bridging capital. Establishing linkages and bridging capital to outside resources will help the community of Goessel stakeholders achieve their aspirations. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership. / "May 2005."

Die akute Lungenarterienembolie stellt eine häufige Erkrankung dar, welche mit einer hohen Letalität einhergeht. Die Risikostratifizierung und Therapieplanung beruht derzeit primär auf klinischen Parametern, Biomarkerbestimmungen und den Ergebnissen der Echokardiographie. Fr¨¹here Untersuchungen zeigten einen möglichen Nutzen von Heart-type Fatty-Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP) als Prognosemarker. Hierbei wurden allerdings unselektierte Patientenkollektive verwendet. Der Nutzen von H-FABP in der Risikostratifizierung normotensiver Patienten mit einer akuten Lungenarterienembolie ist bislang nicht untersucht. H-FABP ist ein Enzym des Myokards, welches eine tragende Bedeutung im Fettstoffwechsel der Myozyten spielt. Es wird bei einer Schädigung des Herzmuskels ins Blutplasma freigesetzt und ist dort innerhalb kurzer Zeit als Marker einer Myokardischämie nachweisbar. Insgesamt wurde in dieser Studie die prognostische Aussagekraft von H-FABP bei 126 normotensiven Patienten mit einer akuten Lungenarterienembolie im Hinblick auf 30-Tages-Komplikationen sowie ihr Langzeit¨¹berleben untersucht. Innerhalb von 30 Tagen kam es bei 9 (7%) Patienten zu Komplikationen. In dieser Subpopulation zeigten sich signifikant (p<0,001) erhöhte H-FABP-Spiegel (median 11,2 ng/ml; IQR 8,0-36,8) im Vergleich zu der Patientengruppe, in der keine Komplikationen auftraten (median 3,4 ng/ml; IQR 82,1-4,9). 29 Patienten zeigten bei Aufnahme einen H-FABP-Wert oberhalb des mittels ROC-Analyse ermittelten cut-offs von 6 ng/ml. Hiervon entwickelten 8 (28%) Patienten Komplikationen. Von 97 Patienten mit einem normwertigen H-FABP-Wert kam es in einem Fall zu Komplikationen (negativer prädiktiver Wert 0,99; p<0,001). Damit lag bei einem erhöhten H-FABP-Spiegel ein 36,6-fach erhöhtes Komplikationsrisiko vor. Die etablierten Marker Troponin T und NT-proBNP waren hingegen nicht mit dem vermehrten Auftreten von Komplikationen assoziiert. Die Kombination von H-FABP mit einer Tachykardie erscheint ein äußerst n¨¹tzlicher und praktikabler Prognosemarker f¨¹r Komplikationen zu sein (OR 33,4; p<0,001). H-FABP zeigte sich außerdem als ein signifikanter Parameter f¨¹r ein verk¨¹rztes Langzeit¨¹berleben (HR 4,5; p<0,001). Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie deuten darauf hin, dass H-FABP ein n¨¹tzlicher Biomarker in der Risikostratifizierung hämodynamisch stabiler Patienten mit einer akuten Lungenarterienembolie ist.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.