Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Dracula is a novel that has been said to have flat and uninteresting characters. Only two characters have been acknowledged as having depth, Wilhelmina Harker and Abraham Van Helsing. However, no extensive research has been done to determine what it is that makes them complex, leaving a gap in the understanding of Dracula. This essay will appraise the significance of the two characters to the novel by examining how they are characterised and by studying their importance to the plot. This allows for a new perspective on Dracula that revises the standard generic definition of the novel as Gothic. The stereotypical characters in Gothic novels are replaced with more intricate characters and subtleties. For instance, this essay argues that one can find Mina an ambiguous character who is stuck following rules she despises, and Van Helsing might be hiding his fear of Mina behind the mask of appreciation. Furthermore, the importance of Mina and Van Helsing to the plot, shown in several ways where the most prominent one is their associations with knowledge, changes what characters are the real protagonists of Dracula and shows another difference to the traditional Gothic novel. This essay reveals that there are holes in the Dracula research, and that many new readings can still be found. If one resists looking at the novel as purely Gothic, there are nuances that show that it does not quite fit the genre, and characterisation is one aspect that clearly differs.

The purpose of this research project was to examine representations of male characters and masculinity in Disney animated feature films. Social learning theory, gender and hegemonic masculinity were used to theoretically frame this study. Twenty-two movies were examined; a total of ninety-one characters were included in the analysis. The movies included in the sample were produced between 1930 and 2007. This study sought to examine the dimensions of character descriptions, physical descriptions, socioeconomic status, sexuality, family structures and practices, and aggression as well as to understand how constructions of masculinity in Disney films changed over time. The results of the present study regarding character role indicate that good characters were most often middle aged, slender and fit but not muscular, single, royalty, and had community as family. They were most often heterosexual, equally likely to be romantically involved as to be not romantically involved, were sexual in nature, and were most often the victims of physical aggression. Evil characters were most often middle aged, slender and fit but not muscular, single, royalty, had community as family, and were well dressed. Evil characters were most likely to trap other characters and to steal. Neutral characters were most often old/elderly, overweight and not muscular, and were most often employed as inventors, royalty, and diamond miners. They were also most often single and to have community as family. The results regarding character centrality indicated that central characters were most often white, slender and fit but not muscular, single, middle aged, showed physical strength, and were well dressed compared to peripheral characters. Central characters were heterosexual, romantically involved, sexual in nature, engaged in hand to hand fighting, and engaged in social isolation and name calling. Peripheral characters were most often white, slender and fit but not muscular, single, and also more likely than central characters to be old/elderly. For the analysis of masculinity across time, it was found that the types of masculinity shown in Disney films did not match with hegemonic masculinity historically. Overall, the most common theme of masculinity that was observed throughout all decades was the fatherhood movement.

Software projects face a common problem that time is always not enough, and only a few projects can be finished on schedule and within budget. Projects often need to accelerate the progress to compensate the laggard portion, or to compress schedule to accommodate to the market competition. Opposite to the generality of the problem, researchers didn¡¦t focus on this field, and the quantitative studies had low degree of explanation. To study the issue, this thesis used the qualitative case study to interview four development teams. It is to understand how the compression methods of the teams work, and induce to three dimensions, including management, development process, and team structure. These teams have fundamentally different characters in order to find the most representative cases in limited samples. Finally, this thesis comprehends how the compression methods work, and how the teams use compression methods under which project characters. In addition to comparing the results with prior literature, new compression methods are also discovered. The final results of this research could serve as guidelines to the development teams that face the problem of schedule compression.

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The taxonmic study of Spirobolida in Taiwan can be traced to the works done by Takakuwa and Wang from the 1940s, with most specimens collected from the plain. After their works, no other studies were done for the Taiwan millipede ever since. According to Korsós (2004) and unpublished information, there are 10 species in 7 genera and 6 families of spirobolids from Taiwan. However descriptions and illustrations of these species are insufficient and specimens are lacking for comparison. This study of Spirobolida is based on specimens collected from Taiwan recently and adjacent islands recorded color photos, and allocated in museums. Diagnostic Morphological characters include collum, coxae of legs, position of ozopore and gonopod. Four new species and 1 new subspecies of Spirobolus were designated in this study, S. panmaus sp. nov., S. taimalius sp. nov., S. redpodus sp. nov., S. lienhuachihus sp. nov. and S. formosae semiflavus subsp. nov.; a species revived and reassigned to other genus: Leptogoniulus takahasii (Takakuwa, 1940) stat. rev., comb. nov.; and 3 species reported earlier were not found, Salpidobolus oceanicus, Spirobolus walkeri and Spirobolus bungii. So far, there are 12 species, 5 genera, 4 family of Spirobolida in Taiwan.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-166).

The author's inaugural dissertation, Hamburg. / "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 7-14.

Thesis--Ph. D., University of Hong Kong, 1986.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Text in English and Chinese in appendix. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-219).