Many traditional Internet forums have not adapted to the development of the web and their usability standard is low. In order to satisfy this unexplored market segment Zoorum AB is working on a project with the goal to develop a new kind of Internet application for topic oriented discussions. The goal of this master thesis is to design a usable Internet forum, in association with Zoorum AB and Teknikhuset AB. Our challenge was to manage the designprocess, contribute with competence in interaction and usability and functionas a connection between the technology and the users. The result is presented as guidelines for design and visualized in the shape of mock-ups.

Zugl.: Regensburg, Univ., Diss., 2007

Zugl. Kurzfassung von: Budapest, Kath. Univ. Pázmány Péter, Diss.

Since the passing of No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, the United States' secondary education system has undergone significant changes. In this study, I discuss the ways in which the law has encouraged the normalization of standardized testing and aim to answer two primary research questions. RQ1: What do college students and their instructors identify as the key challenges that arise as students educated under NCLB begin college coursework, and how does each group address these challenges? RQ2: What strategies do the actors and spect-actors in a Forum Theatre production arrive at for addressing the challenges faced by college instructors and their students who have completed their secondary education under No Child Left Behind? To answer the initial research question, I conducted focus group interviews with instructors and students at the University of North Texas to understand the challenges each faces in the classroom. To answer the second research question, I compiled narratives from the focus group interviews along with other materials into a performance script that concluded with scenarios based in Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre techniques. In live performance events audience members rehearsed strategies for addressing the challenges that instructors and students face in classrooms through performance. Following descriptions of the performances, I analyze the scenarios through theories of Michel Foucault and Paulo Freire, to understand the productive power of the banking model reflected in the suggestions from the audience.

No description available.

No description available.

This report investigates the relationship between demonstrations and the built environment of the Forum Romanum. As one of the chief loci for the creation of public discourse in Rome, the Forum Romanum was a prime target for demonstrations. An in-depth evaluation of late Republican demonstrations within the Forum reveals how demonstrations sought to create alternative discourses. Late Republican demonstrators often incorporated the topography of the Forum into their demonstrations, either for strategic or symbolic reasons. Demonstrators were particularly concerned with the occupation of the Forum and restricting access to the speaker’s platforms. In doing so, demonstrations attempted to legitimate their own goals and objectives by equating them with the will of the people. The Augustan transformation of the Forum Romanum disrupted this established Republican topography of demonstration. Changes in the built environment limited the effectiveness of a demonstration’s ability to occupy the Forum. Entrances to the Forum were narrowed to impede the movement of demonstrators. Speaker’s platforms were insulated from the assembled crowd. A number of redundant measures, including surveillance and legal remedies, ensured that a new topography of demonstration did not form. These changes to the Forum Romanum participated in Augustus’s larger ideological program by prohibiting the creation of discourses opposed to the Augustan message. / text

Oceania is an example of a region where traditional security theory based on historical enmity and competition does not fit. A history of amity and cooperation has evolved through regionalism and the region's pre-eminent organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum (the Forum). In 2004, the Forum was tasked to develop the 'Pacific Plan' (the Plan) to facilitate closer cooperation and deeper integration. Security is one of the four pillars of the Plan. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the institutions of the Forum as facilitators of regional security cooperation. The Forum is reviewed and the idea of a logic of action is introduced. To help explain security in an environment with a history of cooperation, traditional security theory is re-defined. A security environment equation is created as a framework to help analyse the Forum's structures and security mechanisms. The Forum Regional Security Committee is examined closely resulting in suggestions to strengthen the region's security environment.

[pt] Em linhas gerais, e sob um ponto de vista mais amplo, esta pesquisa, que se baseia nos pressupostos teóricos da sociolingüística interacional e da abordagem desenvolvida por Kneser, Pilkington, e Treasure-Jones das análises das estruturas de troca, visa contribuir para uma maior compreensão das dificuldades de se estabelecer um bom relacionamento entre alunos e professores em ambientes de ensino/aprendizagem mediados por computador, assim como investigar o quanto este problema pode estar relacionado ao modus operandi do professor. Para tal procurouse investigar as ações da tutora - a forma como ela lidava com as expectativas e críticas dos alunos em relação à sua atuação, a maneira como reagiu aos atos de ameaça à sua face e, finalmente, até que ponto os princípios que regem a ação docente na EaD afetaram sua performance e, consequentemente, sua relação com os alunos. Um outro ponto que nos chama a atenção é que, aparentemente, os alunos parecem ter maior facilidade em se fazer uso da impolidez e ameaçar a face do professor em ambientes mediados pelo computador, já que, em uma situação em que não há o componente presencial, tanto a impolidez quanto os atos de ameaça à face parecem menos comprometedores. Portanto, esta pesquisa objetivou, através das análises das interações, contribuir para uma docência mais reflexiva, principalmente no que concerne aos papéis que espera-se que os professores desempenhem nos ambientes de ensino-aprendizagem on-line. / [en] Seen from a broad point of view, this research, based on the theoretical frame of interactional sociolinguistics and the ESA (Exchange Structure Analysis) approach developed by Kneser, Pilkington and Tresure-Jones, aims at contributing to a growing understanding of the difficulties in establishing a good relationship between teachers and students in computer mediated environments, as well as investigating to what extent this problem is related to the teacher’s modus operandi. In order to do so, we sought to investigate the teacher’s actions - the way she dealt with the student’s criticism and expectations in relation to her performance, the way she reacted to face threats and, at last, to what extend the distance education principles affected her performance and, consequently, her relationship with the students. Another point that draws our attention is that, apparently, it seems easier for the students to make use of impoliteness and to threat the teacher’s face in computer mediated environments. Since there is no face to face interaction, both impoliteness and face threats seem to be less compromising. Therefore, this research intended, through the analysis of the interactions, to contribute to a more reflexive teaching, especially in what concerns the roles that teachers are supposed to perform in teaching and learning online contexts.

Bakgrund: Närstående till patienter med emotionell instabil personlighetsstörning (EIPS) har visat sig påverkas negativt i sitt mående, och de upplever brist på stöd från sin omgivning. Vissa närstående vänder sig till internetforum för råd och stöd från andra i liknande situationer. Ett emotionellt engagemang och stöttning från den närstående är betydelsefullt för patienten men mår de själva dåligt kan förmågan att ge stöd minska och det gynnar varken dem eller patientens välbefinnande. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka upplevelsen att vara närstående till en patient som har emotionell instabil personlighetsstörning.  Metod: Kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. Analys av latent och manifest innehåll. Resultat: Analysen av innehållet i forumen resulterade i fyra teman. “Att leva i en negativ spiral ” beskriver upplevelsen av lidande, otrygghet i relationen och orkeslöshet. “Att vilja stödja men känna sig oförmögen”, beskriver upplevelsen av att känna osäkerhet, otillräcklighet och ensamhet. “Behovet av att anpassa sitt beteende” beskriver upplevelsen av att anpassa sitt beteende, att låta sig själv stå tillbaka och att behöva finnas till hands. “Att känna meningsfullhet” är upplevelsen av att kunskap leder till bättre förståelse, hanterbarhet och empati, samt att känna sig betydelsefull. Diskussion:Resultatet går i linje med tidigare forskning som visar att det på olika sätt är påfrestande att vara i relation med patienten. Mer tid och resurser på omhändetagandet av närstående för att främja deras välbefinnande skulle i längden kunna bidra till bättre behandling för patienten och därmed kunna leda till en bättre hälso- och sjukvård. Resultatet pekar även på betydelsen av sjuksköterskans förmåga att identifiera närståendes resurser och vägleda dem till hjälpinsatser och organisationer.