Given today’s social milieu, there is no denying that the nature of the life experiences youth are facing has drastically changed in recent decades. In this study, outdoor adventure education (OAE) was explored as a possible intervention strategy for the development of emotional intelligence during adolescence. This research project consisted of a case study of an event, namely “The Journey”, which is a 23-day outdoor adventure education programme for Grade 10 learners at a private high school for boys in a major South African city. Through this research, which involved collecting, analysing and interpreting data on the topic, an endeavour was made to explore the possible impact of OAE on the development of emotional intelligence, as well as the sustainability of skills acquired, and also on possible design elements that may impact on the facilitation of the development of emotional intelligence. This study was based on a socio-constructivist paradigm, which had developed from an interpretivist world view. This research project represents a multi-method mode of inquiry: both quantitative and qualitative data-gathering techniques were implemented as a process of triangulation to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problem. The research proper (76 participants) was preceded by a pilot study (28 participants). For the research proper, participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i: YV (Bar-On, 2007) questionnaire before embarking on “The Journey” (pre) and again at its completion (post1). This was followed by another post-test three months later (post2). Furthermore, 10 participants had also been randomly selected to form part of a pre- and post- “Journey” focus-group interview and to provide reflective essays post- “Journey”. Another focus-group interview with selected staff members was conducted post-“Journey”. The identified themes generated from the quantitative and qualitative data collected were as follows: emotional intelligence; outdoor adventure education; rites of passage; “Journey” design elements; boarding; the emotional climate of the school; division based on stereotypes; and sustainability of skills acquired. In terms of emotional intelligence as a theme, the results indicated that participation in “The Journey” not only results in an increase in the overall EQ skills of participants, but that the impact also appears to be sustainable.1 As far as the impact of “The Journey” on the various subskills of emotional intelligence is concerned, the findings revealed that there was an increase in all EQ subskills directly after participation (quantitative and qualitative data). However, the results of the research proper, where pre- and post2-“Journey” scores were compared (quantitative data), suggest that increases were maintained in only three of the five subskills mentioned, namely intrapersonal skills, adaptability and general mood. Thus it appears that the initial increase in interpersonal and stress management skills did not have a sustainable effect. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

This thesis deals with the concept of place and its transformation in the context of transatlantic transformations that still till nowadays stood aside the interests of the professional community. Representative place in the thesis is an example of the american bar, where the institution symbolized the newly established cultural elements gradually penetrated into the whole society and to this extent it could be viewed as a passenger concept venue. The main pillar of the thesis is to take into account sociocultural, economic, demographic and political aspects of bar environment as a peculiar manifestation of transatlantic communication. The key question to the concept of place is therefore whether the European continent was in the interwar period under a wave of Americanization, which in various locations showed a totally unique way that reflected the rising standard of living, while within the United States shaped this culture again by different way. On the other side, we meet with the complicated situation in the form of "dry" America and "thirsty" of Europe, or whether it was just an extraordinary manifestation of transatlantic relations and interaction, which would have thus secondarily been demonstrated modifications to the original concept in a European environment. The thesis is designed on...

Blades used on brushcutters and lawn mowers are subjected to a wide variety of working conditions. Besides continuous loads from cutting grass, the blades are also subjected to accidental impacts of branches, stones and structures. Due to exceptionally high rotational velocities, these types of impacts involve blade deformation at high strain rates. This master’s thesis aims to improve understanding and predictability of blade properties for design of future blades. The project is aimed at characterization of the mechanical response of steel used for brushcutter blades and developing a simulation model of a blade impact load case. Thus, the problem was divided into two main parts: firstly, material characterization, and secondly, numerical modeling. The objective of the material characterization part was to determine the rate dependence of the flow stress for two hardened steels. Experimental compression tests were performed at quasi-static strain rates (10-4 - 10-2 s-1) and at high strain rates (102 - 104 s-1) in order to characterize the rate dependence of each material. The objective of the numerical modeling part was to develop simulation models of an impact load case for the purpose of recreating tests performed with an experimental test setup. The simulation models were aimed to include material models for the blade based on the experimental tests performed for the two hardened steels. In preparation for the compression tests, cylindrical specimens were acquired through electrical discharge machining involving material removal from blades intended for brushcutters. Compression tests at high strain rates were performed utilizing a split-Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus which resulted in strain rates in the order of 1000 s-1 and 3000 s-1. Compression tests at quasi-static strain rates were performed with an electro-mechanical loading machine and implementation of two-dimensional digital image correlation for strain measurements. With this method, strain rates in the order of 5 · 10-2 s-1 and 5 · 10-4 s-1 were achieved. The acquired results from the experimental tests included the response of the two materials at four different strain rates in the form of true stress-true strain curves. The results were indicative of small strain rate dependency for each of the two hardened steels with a slight increase in yield stress for increasing strain rates. Both materials exhibited closely similar characteristics. At quasi-static rates, the response of both materials exhibited work-hardening of closely similar characteristics. At high strain rates, the response of both materials exhibited a close to identical decrease in stress for values of strain exceeding 10 %. This behavior was suggested to be a consequence of adiabatic heating. At all four achieved strain rates, the results were indicative of a higher yield stress with higher subsequent stresses for one of the hardened steels in comparison to the other. The impact load case aimed to be simulated involved one swing of a brushcutter against a 25 mm diameter steel rod according to standard SS-EN ISO 11806-1:2011. The steel rod was specified to be impacted horizontally by the blade at an approaching translational velocity of 1 m/s and a blade rotational velocity of 8500 rpm. The multi-physics simulation software LS-DYNA was used to develop simulation models which consisted of two main parts, the blade and the rod and included two different blade geometries. As a result of a study regarding the suitability of different discretization techniques, the decision was made to implement the mesh-free particle method Smoothed Particle Galerkin (SPG) and to perform coupling with the finite element method (FEM). Two material models were developed based on the measured stress-strain response obtained through high strain rate compression testing. Several numerical models of the impact load case were produced, all of which entailed different sets of parameters. These included selection of blade material, failure strain, rod length and blade angle relative to the horizontal plane. Finally, two models were developed which were opposite in terms of assigned element formulation for the blade tip and the rod and otherwise identical. The results of the different models were then compared, namely in terms of resulting material failure of the blade after impact. It was concluded that SPG was the most suitable method of choice for the impact load case aimed to be simulated due to its ability to handle large deformation and the inclusion of the a bond-based failure mechanism. Furthermore, implementation of the SPG method resulted in deformation and failure considered to be of greater agreement to experimental test results compared to FEM.

Grâce à une enquête réalisée auprès de policiers et de magistrats du parquet portant sur le traitement pénal des femmes présumées auteures d’infractions à la législation sur les stupéfiants (ILS), la thèse propose une réflexion sur la place du genre dans les processus de mise en œuvre de la loi pénale. En prêtant attention aux rôles que jouent à la fois le genre des justiciables et celui des acteurs pénaux (en lien avec les représentations sociales sexuées qui traversent leurs cultures professionnelles), ce travail questionne le rôle du genre dans les processus de sélection de la « clientèle policière » et de construction de la population judiciarisée, en faisant dialoguer sociologies des institutions pénales, de la quantification et des rapports sociaux de sexe. La première partie de la thèse montre que les femmes sont très peu visibles dans les affaires d’ILS, à la fois du point de vue de la statistique publique (traitement secondaire de l’état 4001, traitement primaire de données collectées auprès des services spécialisés de police) et dans les discours des acteurs pénaux. En approfondissant l’analyse des représentations des professionnels au sujet des femmes et de leur délinquance, la deuxième partie fait état d’un contraste sexué, professionnellement situé, s’agissant de l’étiologie de la délinquance des femmes et de leur degré de responsabilité pénale : les policiers (majoritairement des hommes) tendent à déresponsabiliser les femmes et contribuent ainsi à les invisibiliser ; en regard, les magistrats (majoritairement des femmes) les responsabilisent plus fortement et forment le vœu de les impliquer. Enfin, une troisième partie, qui s’attache aux facteurs organisationnels et institutionnels, montre dans quelle mesure l’autonomie policière et le carcan temporel de l’appareil pénal viennent renforcer, voire coproduire l’invisibilisation des femmes dans la délinquance. Finalement, le genre apparait comme un registre de normativité œuvrant parmi d’autres dans la mécanique pénale et participant d’une dynamique sexuellement différenciée de mise en visibilité du phénomène délinquant. La thèse étaye donc l’hypothèse selon laquelle il existerait un processus d’invisibilisation des femmes délinquantes en matière d’ILS, qui les écarte des procédures pénales et conséquemment des statistiques publiques, contribuant ainsi à donner un genre (masculin) à la délinquance et par là même, à reproduire les distinctions stéréotypées entre le féminin et le masculin. / Based on a survey conducted among police officers and prosecutors about the penal treatment of women alleged authors of breaches of drug legislation (BDL), the thesis offers a reflection on the role of gender in the process of criminal law enforcement. By paying attention to the effect of litigants’ and penal actors’ gender (linked to the gendered social representations of their professional cultures), this work questions the role of gender in the selection process of “police’s customers” and in the construction process of the judicialized population, by making interact sociologies of penal institutions, quantification and of gender relations. The first part of the thesis shows that women are not much visible in cases of BDL, in a statistical point of view (secondary processing of the database “Etat 4001”, primary processing of data collected from Police specialized services) and in penal actors’ speeches. By deepening the analysis of the professionals’ representations about women and their delinquency, the second part reports a sexed contrast, professionally located, about the sources of women’s delinquency and of their degree of criminal responsibility : police officers (mainly men) tend to remove all responsibilities from women and contribute their invisibility ; on the contrary, prosecutors (mainly women) tend to stress women's responsibilities and wish to show their involvement in cases. The third part, about organizational and institutional factors, shows in which way police autonomy and the shrinking time-frame of the penal system strengthen and even coproduce women’s invisibility in delinquency. Finally, gender appears as a norm register working among others in the penal machine and participating in a sexually differentiated dynamic of putting in visibility on delinquency. Therefore, the thesis supports the hypothesis that a process of invisibilization of delinquent women in BDL exists and that this process excludes women from penal procedures and consequently from public statistics, contributing thereby to giving a gender (masculine) to delinquency and at the same time, to reproducing stereotyped distinctions between the feminine and the masculine.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第21723号 / 工博第4540号 / 新制||工||1708(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 中川 一, 准教授 竹林 洋史, 准教授 川池 健司 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

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En utgångspunkt för denna studie har varit att flera svenska elever har svårigheter att lösa matematiska textuppgifter. I ett försök att utveckla elevers förmågor att lösa matematiska textuppgifter har Singaporemetoden blivit allt mer populär. I Singaporemetoden används blockmodellen för att visualisera textuppgifter. Syftet med följande uppsats är att, utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv, synliggöra hur fem lärare uppfattar att blockmodellen kan stötta elever i att utveckla problemlösningsförmågan när de löser textuppgifter. Uppsatsen syftar även till att synliggöra vilka erfarenheter lärarna har av att arbeta med blockmodellen i matematikundervisningen för årskurserna 1–6. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ metod där syftet besvaras genom fem enskilda semistrukturerade intervjuer med grundlärare som undervisar utifrån blockmodellen i matematikämnet. Studien har utgångspunkt i Vygotskijs sociokulturella teori och har inspirerats av en tematisk metodanalys. Resultatet visar att lärare uppfattar att det finns såväl fördelar som nackdelar med att använda blockmodellen i matematikundervisningen. Lärarna uppfattar att blockmodellen främst är stöttande genom att modellen strukturerar textuppgifter och stödjer elever och lärare att ta sig an textuppgifter. Med stöd av blockmodellen visualiseras dessutom matematiska områden och elever ges möjlighet att utveckla matematisk förståelse. Modellen kan även hjälpa lärare att skapa samtalssituationer för att låta elever utvecklas i den proximala utvecklingszonen. I samtalen får elever möjlighet att utveckla problemlösnings-, begrepps-, resonemangs- och kommunikationsförmåga. Resultatet visar även att främsta utmaningen är att modellen innehåller många steg som kräver att rita och skriva vilket inte passar för alla elever. Blockmodellen ger dessutom upphov till utmaningar när det gäller att differentiera undervisningen, eftersom arbetet oftast sker gemensamt med uppgifter på en specifik svårighetsgrad. Slutsatsen är att blockmodellen kan stötta elever i att utveckla problemlösningsförmågan i textuppgifter i kombination med lärarens kompetens. / The premise for this study has been that swedish upper primary- and lower secondary pupils have been shown to have difficulties in solving textual tasks in mathematics. In an attempt to develop pupils’ abilities in solving these textual tasks, the Singapore model has become increasingly popular. The Singapore model utilizes what is known as the bar model, which is used to visualize the text within these tasks. The purpose of this study is to highlight how five teachers perceive that the bar model can support pupils in developing problem-solving skills in textual tasks, from a socio-cultural perspective. The study also aims to highlight the experiences the teachers have gained from working with the bar model in mathematics teaching for grades 1-6. The study's purpose has been answered through five individual, qualitative and semi-structured interviews, with primary teachers who teach mathematics with the support of the the bar model. The study uses Vygotskij’s sociocultural theory and has been further inspired by a thematic method analysis to present and understand the results. The results show that teachers perceive both advantages and disadvantages in using the bar model in mathematics teaching. The teachers expressed that the bar model is primarily supportive in that the model structures textual tasks and supports pupils and teachers when approaching textual tasks. With the support of the bar model, abstract areas are also visualized and the pupils gain an increased mathematical understanding. The model can also contribute to creating conversational situations in order for pupils to develop in regards to the proximal development zone. In these conversations, pupils are given the opportunity to develop problem-solving, conceptual, reasoning and communicational skills. The results also show that the main challenge is that the model contains many elements that require drawing and writing, which are not suitable for all pupils. The bar model also gives rise to challenges in regard to differentiating the teaching, since the work usually takes place jointly with tasks at a specific degree of difficulty. The conclusion is that the bar model can support pupils in developing problem-solving skills in textual tasks in combination with teacher competence.

The brain is a complex organ and its response to the mechanical loads at all strain rates has been nonlinear and inelastic in nature. Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) high strain rate compressive tests conducted on porcine brain samples showed a strain rate dependent inelastic mechanical behavior. Finite Element (FE) modeling of the SHPB setup in ABAQUS/Explicit, using a specific constitutive model (MSU TP Ver. 1.1) for the brain, showed non-uniform stress state during tissue deformation. Song et al.’s assertion of using annular samples for negating inertial effects was also tested. FE simulation results showed that the use of cylindrical or annular did not mitigate the initial hardening. Further uniaxial stress state was not maintained is either case. Experimental studies on hydration effects of the porcine brain on its mechanical response revealed two different phenomenological trends. The wet brain (~80% water wt. /wt.) showed strain rate dependency along with two unique mechanical behavior patterns at quasi-static and high strain rates. The dry brain’s (~0% water wt. /wt.) response was akin to the response of metals. The dry brain’s response also observed to be strain rate insensitivity in its elastic modulus and yield stress variations. Uncertainty analysis of the wet brain high strain rate data revealed large uncertainty bands for the sample-to-sample random variations. This large uncertainty in the brain material should be taken into in the FE modeling and design stages. FE simulations of blast loads to the human head showed that Pressure played a dominant role in causing blast-related Traumatic Brain Injury (bTBI). Further, the analysis of shock waves exposed the deleterious effect of the 3-Dimensional geometry of the skull in pinning the location of bTBI. The effects of peak negative Pressure at injury sites have been attributed to bTBI pathologies such as Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI), subdural hemorrhage and cerebral contusion.

Cirka 8 mil väster om Stockholm ligger Strängnäs. En mindre stad som har sina rötter i den svenska medeltiden. Då staden under många år inte haft någon egentlig publik samlingsbyggnad så blev idén med att uppföra en stadshall nere vid hamnområdet en positiv och spännande utmaning. De essentiella faktorerna som kom att specifikt ligga till grund för utformandet av "Strengnes stadshall" är därför följande: - Att utmana norrläget genom att låta ljuset/solen nå byggkropparnas "väsentliga" delar, samt omgivningen med boenden som idag har fullt exponerat söder- och västläge. Därför anpassas byggnadens höjd och takvinklar till solens bana. - Att skapa en fysiskt "lätt" och följsam struktur som samtidigt dockar minimalt mot den söderliggande tegelbyggnaden vilket samtidigt skapar en takgårdsplats som öppnar sig mot hamnområdet i väst och kvällssol. - Att arbeta efter en estetisk formel med en exteriör materialitet som allierar sig med den "lilla" staden och det torgliknande hamnområdet. Byggnaden består därav av två sammanlänkade byggkroppar med två huvudsakliga funktioner där begrepp som "nytta och nöje" samspelar i de olika rumsligheterna. Med hänsyn till fastighetens exponering mot bland annat den stora öppna torgytan åt väster har beaktande därför tagits i såväl det invändiga som det utvändiga rummet, både i termer av visuell och funktionell upplevelse. / About 50 miles west of Stockholm is Strängnäs located. A small town that has its roots in the Swedish Middle Ages. Since the city for many years did not have any actual public collection building, the idea of ​​creating a city hall down by the harbor area became a positive and exciting challenge. The essential factors that came to specifically form the basis for designing the "Strengnes City Hall" are therefore the following: - To challenge the northern position by letting the light / sun reach the "essential" parts of the building bodies, as well as the surroundings with accommodation that today has fully exposed sunlight from south and west. Therefore, the height of the building and ceiling angles are adapted to the sun's path. - Creating a physically "light" and compliant structure that at the same time docks minimally against the south-facing brick building, which at the same time creates a courtyard on the roof that opens to the harbor area in the west and evening sun. - Working according to an aesthetic formula with an exterior materiality that alloys itself with the "small" town and the square-like harbor area. The building therefore consists of two interconnected building bodies with two main functions where concepts such as "utility and pleasure" interact in the different spatialities. With regard to the property's exposure to the large open square area to the west, consideration has therefore been taken in both the interior as well as the exterior room, both in terms of visual and functional experience.

An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved study was conducted to investigate the effects of the Tsunami Bar® (TB), a flexible barbell, on ground reaction force (GRF) production and muscle activity in the quadricep, hamstring, and gluteal muscle groups during phases of the squat exercise and compare the effects to the effects to using a rigid barbell (RB). A two-by-two repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was used to compare the results. Descriptive statistics showed significantly higher GRFs for the TB during the unweighting phase, significant differences in GRFs between speeds for each phase, significantly higher forces on average with the RB during the breaking and propulsive phases at the 90 beats-per-minute (bpm) speed, and significantly higher muscle activity with the RB at the 60-bpm speed. A linkage to the beneficial effects of the TB seen in literature was seen with familiarity with the TB.