Данное диссертационное исследование посвящено сравнительному анализу ключевых концептов песенного дискурса группы Pink Floyd на материале альбомов Dark Side of the Moon и The Wall. Работа выполнена в русле актуальных исследований в области когнитивной лингвистики и лингвокультурологии. В работе рассматривается вопрос целесообразности сравнения ключевых ядерных и околоядерных концептов двух альбомов одного автора с разницей написания в 6 лет. На примере анализа языкового наполнения тектов песен рассматриваются конкретные случаи изменения и сохранения авторской картины мира. Отмечается сохранение большинства ядерных концептов, но полностью меняется их ассоциативный ряд. Структура работы состоит из двух глав, теоретической и практической. В теоретической части нами были рассмотрены основные теоретические аспекты понятий концепт и дискурс, методология их изучения и основные характеристики. В практической части нами проведен комплексный анализ языкового наполнения текстов песен на предмет ядерных и околоядерных концептов, а также их ассоциативных связей. Далее нами проведен их сравнительный анализ. На основании теоретической и практической главы данного исследования нами были определены наиболее оптимальные методы для выделения концептов в песенном авторском дискурсе, что обуславливает обозначенную цель, а также был выявлен тот факт, что концептуальный анализ художественных произведений обычно подтверждает тот факт, что наше восприятие часто не совпадает с замыслом автора, а прямые словарные дефиниции не раскрывают суть концепта или же вообще противоречат ей. В результате сравнительного анализа альбомов Dark Side of the Moon и The Wall нами были выявлены как сходства так и различия между ядерными и околоядерными концептами. Большинство ядерных концептов остаётся значимимыми в концептуальной картине мира автора, другие же были видоизменены. / This dissertation research is devoted to a comparative analysis of the key concepts of Pink Floyd’s song discourse on the basis of Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall albums. The work was carried out in line with current research in the field of cognitive linguistics and cultural linguistics. The paper considers the question of the expediency of comparing the key nuclear type of the concepts and near-nuclear concepts of two albums by one author with a difference of six years. On the example of the language content of song texts analysis, specific cases of changing and preserving the author's picture of the world are considered. The preservation of the majority of nuclear concepts is noted, but their associative relations are completely changed. The structure of the work consists of two chapters, theoretical and practical ones. In the theoretical part, we reviewed the main theoretical aspects of the concepts of concept and discourse, the methodology for studying them and the main characteristics. In the practical part, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of the linguistic content of song lyrics on the subject of nuclear and near-nuclear concepts, as well as their associative relations. Next, we carried out their comparative analysis. Based on the theoretical and practical chapter of this study, we identified the most optimal methods for highlighting concepts in the author's song discourse, which determines the stated purpose, and also revealed the fact that the conceptual analysis of works of art usually confirms the fact that our perception often does not match with the intention of the author, and direct vocabulary definitions do not reveal the essence of the concept, or even contradict it. As a result of a comparative analysis of the Dark Side Of the Moon and The Wall albums, we identified both similarities and differences between nuclear and near-nuclear concepts. Most of the nuclear concepts remain significant in the conceptual picture of the author’s world, while others have been modified.

The effects of domestication on animals’ behaviors and morphology are well known and documented. Changes due to domestication include higher sociability, decreased fearfulness, and increased boldness. These changes have been documented in the chicken breed known as White Leghorn (Gallus gallus domesticus), which is a domesticated relative to the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus). Though domestication have altered the chicken’s behavior, its effect on the cognitive learning capabilities of the chicken is still unclear, which is the focus of the study. Two tests were conducted in this study: associative learning and spatial learning. The fowls natural desire to remain close to other fowl was used as the main motivation for completing the tests. The associative learning test was performed by testing the two breeds of associating an item with finding their way to their flock. The spatial learning test was performed by measuring the time needed for an individual to return to their flock from behind an obstacle. For the associative learning test, a significant difference between the cognitive learning capability of the two breeds could be found for part 2 (tests 11-20), as well between part 1 and part 2 within the breed White Leghorn. Between the sexes no significant difference could be seen, but within the females, a significant difference was detected between part 1 and part 2. For the spatial learning test, no significant difference could be found between the two breeds nor the sexes. No correlation could be found between associative- and spatial learning test on an individual level. Due to few significant results, further studies should be conducted to confirm the effects of domestication on learning.

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Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal. / This thesis provides evidence to support the hypothesis that synaptic plasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex is a cellular correlate of associative learning, that the process depends upon acetylcholine and that only certain cortical neurons display this plasticity. In a first series of experiments, single-imit recordings were carried out in the barrel cortex of awake, adult rats subjected to whisker pairing, an associative learning paradigm where deflections of the recorded neuron's principle vibrissa were repeatedly paired with those of a non-adjacent one. On average, this form of sensory preconditioning increased the responses of a recorded unit to the stimulation of the non-adjacent vibrissa. In contrast, following explicitly unpaired control experiments, neuronal responsiveness decreased. The effect of pairing was further enhanced by local, microiontophoretic delivery of NMDA and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME and reduced by the NMDA receptor competitive antagonist AP5. These results and the fact that the influence of the pharmacological agents on neuronal excitability were either transient (liinited to the delivery period) or simply absent indicated that the somatosensory cerebral cortex is one site where plasticity emerges following whisker pairing. In subsequent experiments, using a similar conditioning paradigm that relied on evoked potential rather than single-unit recordings, increases in the responses of cortical neurons to the non-adjacent whisker were blocked by atropine sulfate, an antagonist of muscarinic cholinoreceptors. Administration of norn-ial saline or atropine methyl nitrate, a muscarinic antagonist that did not cross the blood-brain barrier, instead of atropine sulfate, did not affect plasticity. Analysis of the behavioral state of the animal showed that the changes observed in the evoked potential could not be attributed to fluctuations m the behavioral state of the animal. By combining the results described in this thesis with data foimd in related literature, the author hypothesizes that whisker pairing induces an acetylcholine-dependent form of plasticity within the somatosensory cortex through Hebbian mechanisms.

The ability to prioritize information enables us to think and take action without being overwhelmed by external stimuli or internal thoughts and feelings. Neuroticism is associated with altered processing of emotional information but differences in the processing of emotional information may arise from basic differences in information processing, such as altered processes of attention, changes in sensitivity to salient information, or differences in the ability to encode conjunctions of information. Through this thesis, I explore the relationship between neuroticism and processing of non-emotional information, with a particular focus on learning about combinations of information. Associative learning paradigms were used to test ability to learn about combinations of information and neuroticism was observed to be associated with strong non-linear discrimination learning. The tendency to focus on specific details was associated with weak non-linear discrimination learning. A novel model of associative learning is presented, offering an account for how variation in the ability to engage in non-linear discrimination learning might be understood. Mechanisms underlying the association between neuroticism and strong non-linear discrimination learning were explored. Neuroticism was not found to be associated with a tendency to focus on specific details or shifts in attention towards goal relevant information. Neuroticism was not found to be associated with enhanced ability to identify feature conjunctions, altered sensitivity to the relative validity of stimuli or pre-exposure of stimuli. The importance of understanding individual differences in processes of associative and the value of associative learning tasks to look at information processing biases underlying neuroticism are discussed.

In this thesis we study gradings on blocks of group algebras. The motivation to study gradings on blocks of group algebras and their transfer via derived and stable equivalences originates from some of the most important open conjectures in representation theory, such as Broue’s abelian defect group conjecture. This conjecture predicts the existence of derived equivalences between categories of modules. Some attempts to prove Broue’s conjecture by lifting stable equivalences to derived equivalences highlight the importance of understanding the connection between transferring gradings via stable equivalences and transferring gradings via derived equivalences. The main idea that we use is the following. We start with an algebra which can be easily graded, and transfer this grading via derived or stable equivalence to another algebra which is not easily graded. We investigate the properties of the resulting grading. In the first chapter we list the background results that will be used in this thesis. In the second chapter we study gradings on Brauer tree algebras, a class of algebras that contains blocks of group algebras with cyclic defect groups. We show that there is a unique grading up to graded Morita equivalence and rescaling on an arbitrary basic Brauer tree algebra. The third chapter is devoted to the study of gradings on tame blocks of group algebras. We study extensively the class of blocks with dihedral defect groups. We investigate the existence, positivity and tightness of gradings, and we classify all gradings on these blocks up to graded Morita equivalence. The last chapter deals with the problem of transferring gradings via stable equivalences between blocks of group algebras. We demonstrate on three examples how such a transfer via stable equivalences is achieved between Brauer correspondents, where the group in question is a TI group.

Title: Homotopic structures in algebra, geometry and mathematical physics Author: Eva Černohorská Department: Mathematical Institute of Charles University Supervisor: RNDr. Martin Markl, DrSc., Institute of Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Mathematical Institute of Charles University Abstract: The aim of this thesis was to generalize the result that associative algebras on finite dimensional vector spaces can be described using differentials on free algebras. This result is limited by the duality of vector spaces. If we assume that the underlying space has a linear topology, then we can use the duality between discrete and linearly compact (profinite) vector spaces. To generalize the notion of an algebra, we need to recall the completed tensor product on linear vector spaces. Since this topics does not seem to be sufficiently covered by the literature, this thesis could serve also as a comprehensive text on linear vector spaces and their completed tensor products. We prove that also A∞ structures on linearly compact vector spaces could be represented by differentials on a free algebra. Keywords: Strongly homotopy associative algebra, linear topological vector space, Pontryagin duality, completed tensor product, differential