A primary goal of foreign language instruction today is to increase opportunities for authentic communication among students. One way to accomplish this is through synchronous computer-mediated classroom discussion (CMCD). While this electronic medium is highly interactive and beneficial for second language acquisition (SLA) on many levels, studies have noted that learner output in CMCD is often inaccurate. In order to heighten students' attention to features of the target language (TL), SLA research suggests integrating a focus on form (FonF) within meaning-based activities. In the CMCD literature, however, FonF has not been widely treated. The current study addresses this gap by documenting the linguistic and interactional features present in intermediate, university-level French students' synchronous discussions. Furthermore, students' perceptions of their general experience with CMCD are qualitatively examined.In this study, students participated in CMCD once a week, for 16 weeks. Discussion prompts encouraged them to use their French meaningfully to communicate with each other while paying attention to accuracy. To make form salient, students set pre-chat language goals; their transcripts were graded on both content and accuracy; they received whole-class and personalized feedback on their transcripts; and they corrected a percentage of their errors. Results show that balancing the concurrent pressures of form and content was challenging for the students. Likely determined by their proficiency level as well as the medium of CMCD itself, students produced mainly short and simple messages in the present tense; used an average range of vocabulary; and wrote with variable grammatical accuracy. As for being accountable for their language usage, students responded very well. Most importantly, focusing on form was not found to be incompatible with students' ability to engage in rich, meaningful, and enjoyable communication. While focusing on accuracy, students shared their opinions and aspects of their personal lives while remaining in the TL. Moreover, they used French for a range of social, strategic and interactional functions. Students also reported the overall experience as highly motivating and rewarding. These findings point to CMCD as a valuable means of increasing authentic classroom communication and indicate that attention to form need not be sacrificed in the process.

Syftet med min studie var att undersöka hur bildlärare på gymnasiets estetiska program uppfattade begreppet personligt uttryck samt hur de resonerade kring metoder för att utveckla det personliga uttrycket hos eleverna. Begreppet, som förekommer på flera håll i skolans styrdokument, upplevs av många pedagoger som diffust. Undersökningen bygger på litteraturstudier samt kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer, med fyra stycken bildlärare. Resultat visade, att de deltagande lärarna, hade varierande föreställningar kring begreppet. Samtliga lärare bedömde att de arbetade med att utveckla det personliga uttrycket hos eleverna och deras resonemang kring metoder resulterade i olika tillvägagångssätt. Jag anser att min studie har relevans för läraryrket, då ämnet i sin karaktär förvaltar elevens konstnärliga utveckling. Resultatet från diskussionerna kring metoder, kan även bidra till förfaringssätt för bildpedagoger, att eventuellt förhålla sig till i arbete med eleverna.

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This study examines the problem of form and substance in Canadian tax jurisprudence, which has been characterized by a troubling equivocation between formalistic and substantive approaches in cases involving tax avoidance transactions with the current period of jurisprudence dominated by formalism. The vacillation of Canadian jurisprudence contrasts with the consistently substantive tax jurisprudence of the United States. The latter situation discloses an unresolved doctrinal tension in Canadian tax jurisprudence between two viable doctrinal alternatives. This study seeks to resolve the problem of form and substance by finding the right answer to the problem by examining the tax policy, political, and legal philosophical implications of formalistic jurisprudence along with the manner in which the legal system as a whole (i.e. jurisprudence outside of tax law) rationally employs both form and substance for distinct purposes to solve distinct kinds of legal problems. Using the principles that are implied in the practices of the legal system as a whole, a right answer to the form and substance problem — one that is horizontally consistent or integral with the whole — suggest itself, namely that substantive, judge-made standards are the right solution to the problem of form and substance in Canadian tax jurisprudence and that formalism in tax jurisprudence is a legal aberration in the Canadian legal system.

Performance-based earthquake engineering is an emerging field of study that complements the prescriptive methods that the design codes provide to ensure adequate seismic performance of structures. Accounting for uncertainties in the performance assessments forms an important component in this area. In this context, the present study focuses on two broad themes; first, treatment of uncertainties and the application of the first-order reliability method (FORM) in finite-element reliability analysis, and second, the seismic risk assessment of reinforced concrete structures for performance states such as, collapse and monetary loss. In the first area, the uncertainties arising from inherent randomness (“aleatory uncertainty”) and due to the lack of knowledge (“epistemic uncertainty”) are identified. A framework for the separation of these uncertainties is proposed. Following this, the applicability of FORM to the linear and nonlinear finite-element structural models under static and dynamic loading is investigated. The case studies indicate that FORM is applicable for linear and nonlinear static problems. Strategies are proposed to circumvent and remedy potential challenges to FORM. In the case of dynamic problems, the application of FORM is studied with an emphasis on cumulative response measures. The limit-state surface is shown to have a closed and nonlinear geometric shape. Solution methods are proposed to obtain probability bounds based on the FORM results. In the application-oriented second area of research, at first, the probability of collapse of a reinforced concrete frame is assessed with nonlinear static analysis. By modelling the post-failure behaviour of individual structural members, the global response of the structure is estimated beyond the component failures. The final application is the probabilistic assessment of monetary loss for a high-rise shear wall building due to the seismic hazard in the Cascadia subduction zone. A 3-dimensional finite-element model of the structure with nonlinear material models is subjected to stochastic ground motions in the reliability analysis. The parameters for the stochastic ground motion model are developed for Vancouver, Canada. Monetary losses due to the damage of structural and non-structural components are included.

Bendradarbiavimo formos tarp šeimos ir ikimokyklinės ugdymo įstaigos. Literatūros šaltinių analizė; Anketinė apklausa. Klausimynai paruošti tyrėjos, remiantis specialia literatūra: S. Dapkienė, 2002, p. 34; O. Tijūnėlienė, 1999, p. 152-155. Kiekybinė duomenų analizė, atlikta kompiuteriniu pagrindu, rezultatai apskaičiuoti statistinės analizės programa PAULA; Kokybinė duomenų analizė; Lyginimas. Nustatyta, kad kuo aktyvesnės bendradarbiavimo formos yra taikomos tarp ikimokyklinės ugdymo institucijos ir šeimos, tuo glaudesnis bendradarbiavimas yra pasiekiamas. Aktyvus bei abipusiu pasitikėjimu grįstas bendradarbiavimas sukuria palankias sąlygas vaikų ugdymuisi bei padeda pagrindą asmenybės tolesniai socialinei sklaidai. / Forms of Co-operation Between the Family and Pre-school Educational Institution. Analysis of literature; Anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared self on the basis of the special literature: S. Dapkiene, 2002, p. 34; O. Tijuneliene, 1999, p. 152-155. Quantitative analysis of data was carried out with PC statistical analyses software PAULA; Qualitative analysis of data; Comparison. It has been determined that the more active co-operation forms are applied between a pre-school educational institution and the family, the closer co-operation is achieved. Active and based on mutual confidence co-operation creates favourable conditions for children’s education and lays the foundations for further social dispersion of individuals.

This thesis explores the use of small diameter, round timber in the construction of lightweight gridshell structures. The project intention is to develop a simple and accessible construction method, based on locally available material that embraces a diverse range of technology. The design is developed using a material based approach, which first explores the behavior and limits of the material through testing at full scale. This information is used in a rapid prototyping process of scale modeling which focuses on material and construction sequence to develop a structural system. Using available materials as a design parameter, the work is an exploration of how the gridshell system can be adapted to the specific context of rural Nova Scotia. This design method is explored through the design of a craft school at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in Ross Creek, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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