The papers in this thesis represent a series of attempts — empirical and theoretical — to integrate developmental biology with population level studies of variation; to initiate a "developmental population biology" which would complement the well established fields of population ecology and population genetics. The introductory chapter traces the development of the conceptual ideas from the context of the maturation of a single research group. There follow three empirical chapters based on population studies of yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis). The first of these chapters examines the interdependency of progeny growth variation on parentage and stand structure and argues that parentage, developmental history and environmental contingencies can interact in complex ways to structure the variation observed in natural stands. The second chapter examines time related changes in patterns of variation for mainstem growth and needle initiation data of seedlings, and finds that the majority of the increase in variation with time results from differentiation among individual seedlings. The third chapter examines the nature of intra-individual variation in needle (from seedlings) and scale (from mature trees) data from the perspective of the concept of morphological integration, the amount and structure of covariation within an individual. The results of this chapter demonstrate that the nature of morphological integration changes during the course of development, and that variation in morphological integration — that is the pattern of variable relationships or covariance structure — distinguishes individuals. The final chapter is more theoretically oriented, and demonstrates how the patterns of increasing variation with time, and changing covariation with development (Chapters 2, 3) may be unified and explained in the context of developmental trajectories, where such trajectories represent the development of the form of individual organs through time in terms of point trajectories through a multivariate space. The nature of such developmental trajectories is ultimately a manifestation of cell division and elongation in various planes, resulting in the external form of the organs. Three increasingly complex graphical models of developmental trajectories are presented and it is argued that when developmental trajectories diverge from each other in a nonlinear manner, changes can occur in both correlation and covariance structures, coincident with changes in size. The relation between developmental trajectories and the production of variation within populations is further elaborated from the context of dynamical systems theory. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

Följande studie är baserad på en undersökning med sociolingvistisk inriktning och syftar till att undersöka vad lärare väljer att inkludera i sin undervisning som rör språklig variation. Studien syftar även till att undersöka vad dessa val beror på och vilka konsekvenser dessa val kan tänkas få. Empirin utgörs av en kvantitativ enkätundersökning där lärare har fått delge information om sin undervisning samt sina åsikter och uppfattningar kring begreppet språklig variation. Tidigare forskning visar bland annat att språklig variation, eller snarare brister i kunskap, förståelse och tolerans kring språklig variation kan bidra till att vissa elever inte får samma förutsättningar för lärande. Den bearbetade och analyserade empirin visar att momentet språklig variation ingår i samtliga lärares undervisning i kursen Svenska 1. Det råder en samsyn kring begreppet språklig variation enligt lärarnas definitioner. Det framkommer dock att majoriteten av de tillfrågade anser att momentet får mindre tid och utrymme än andra moment i kursen Svenska 1 och att några av delområdena (lekterna) inom momentet inte inkluderas i samma utsträckning. Valet av stoff påverkas bland annat av elevgrupp, erfarenhet, intresse, aktualitet och den tid man har till sitt förfogande. Momentet språklig variation är en del av alla tillfrågade informanters undervisning och även om momentet inte får lika mycket tid och utrymme som andra moment i kursen Svenska 1, så skattas momentet som viktigt och betydelsefullt. Dessutom kan sägas att informanterna i följande undersökning berör de flest delar av momentet i större utsträckning än vad som först antogs. / The following study is based on a study with a sociolinguistic focus and aims to investigate what teachers choose to include in their teaching regarding linguistic variation. The study also aims to investigate what these choices depend on and what consequences these choices might have.The empirical materialconsistsof a quantitative survey where teachers have been given information about their teaching as well as their opinions about the concept of linguistic variation. Previous research shows, among other things, that linguistic variation, or rather deficiencies inknowledge, understanding and tolerance around linguistic variation can contribute to the fact that some students do not have the same conditions for learning. The worked and analyzed empirical evidence shows that the element of linguistic variation is included in all teachers 'teaching in the course Swedish1. There is a consensus on the concept of linguistic variation according to the teachers' definitions. However, it turns out that the majority of those surveyed consider that the part gets less time andspace than other parts of the course and that some of the sub-areas within the part are not included to the same extent. The choice of material is influenced, among other things, by the group of students, experience, interest, timeliness and the time available to them. The subject linguistic variation is part of all the informants' teaching and although the subject does not get as much time and space as other parts of the course Svenska 1,linguistic variation is considered to be valuable and important. In addition, it can be said that the informants in the following survey includes most parts of thelinguistic variationin their teachingto a greater extent than was initially assumed.

Que serait un bon dictionnaire du dialecte occitan de Nice ? Afin de répondre à cette question, la Réflexion préliminaire articule un propos théorique de nature métalexicographique et linguistique avec une étude ciblée du champ d’application dialectal. Sur le plan théorique, le modèle général d’élaboration et d’analyse des outils lexicographiques que l’on propose est couplé à une étude de la problématique dialectale. Un retour sur les aspects fondamentaux de la linguistique du signe complète le tout. Il montre que le dictionnaire – dialectal en particulier – gagne à adopter le point de vue de la sémantique motivation¬nelle, selon laquelle le caractère essentiellement arbitraire des unités lexi¬cales doit être réfuté. Conformément à la méthode fondamentale suggérée dans la mise au point théorique, le développe¬ment s’intéresse en détail au contexte lexicographique puis aux configurations linguistique et socio¬linguistique du dialecte niçois. L’analyse historico-critique insiste sur la diversité des dictionnaires occitans et sur les limites d’une lexicographie d’oc qui, depuis la fin de son âge d’or (de 1840 au début du XXe siècle) a cessé de développer des méthodes innovantes. Ce panorama lexicographique débouche sur l’inventaire de nou¬veaux besoins. L’étude (socio)linguistique qui le suit s’attache à définir l’espace dialectal niçois, à présenter les modalités de la variation et à circonscrire l’état de langue actuel. Elle aboutit à une proposition de structuration des données protéiformes qui repose sur la désignation (et sur l’élaboration) d’une variété référentielle. L’échantillon du Dictionnaire variationnel du niçois constitue le point d’orgue de la réflexion. / What would characterize a good dictionary of Nice’s Occitan dialect? To answer this question, this PhD dissertation links a theoretical approach of a metalexicographical and linguistic nature with a targeted study of the specific dialectal field of application. On the theoretical level, the thesis proposes a general model for the development and analysis of lexicographical tools that is coupled with a study of the dialectal problematic. A return to the basic aspects of the linguistic sign completes the whole and shows that a dictionary – especially a dialectal one – benefits greatly from the adoption of the motivational semantics point of view, according to which the arbitrary character of lexical units must be refuted. Following the basic method suggested in the theoretical section, the development also examines the lexicographical context and then studies in detail the linguistic and sociolinguistic configurations of the Niçois dialect. The historico-critical analysis insists on the diversity of Occitan dictionaries and on the limits of an Occitan lexicography which, since the end of its golden age (from 1840 to the beginning of the 20th century) has ceased to develop innovative methods. This lexicographical panorama leads to an inventory of new needs. The (socio-)linguistic study which follows sets out to define the dialectal space of Niçois, to present the modalities of variation and to circumscribe the current state of the language. It concludes with a proposal for the structuring of protean data based on the designation (and on the elaboration) of a referential variety. A sample of the Variational Dictionary of Niçois is the culmination of the study.

La variabilité phénotypique existante au sein d’une population est d’une importance cruciale ; elle permet l’adaptation à de nouvelles conditions par la sélection naturelle de traits bénéfiques. La variabilité phénotypique est le résultat du polymorphisme génétique de chaque individu, couplé à l’influence de divers facteurs environnementaux. Ces travaux ont pour objectif d’élucider quels sont les facteurs génétiques responsables de la variabilité phénotypique de chaque individu afin de comprendre comment celle-ci évolue de génération en génération et peut s’accentuer au-delà des prédispositions parentales. Finalement, les résultats obtenus seront utilisés pour prédire un phénotype à partir d’un génotype inconnu. Nous avons utilisé des techniques de phénomique et de génomique de haut débit pour décomposer avec une précision inédite la variabilité phénotypique d’une large population de souches diploïdes de Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Le génotype exact de plus de 7000 souches uniques a ainsi été obtenu via le croisement et le séquençage de souches haploïdes distinctes. Nous avons mesuré la capacité de croissance de ces souches et identifié les composants génétiques influant sur ce trait. De plus, nous avons identifié des « loci de caractères quantitatifs » additifs et non-additifs, et étudié la fréquence du phénomène d’hétérosis et ses mécanismes. Enfin, en utilisant les données phénotypiques et génotypiques de la même population de levures, nous avons pu prédire les traits de chaque individu avec une presque parfaite exactitude. Ces travaux ont ainsi permis d’identifier avec précision les facteurs génétiques modulant la variation phénotypique d’une population diploïde, et de prédire un trait à partir du génotype et de l’ensemble des données phénotypiques. En plus de ce projet, nous travaillons aussi sur l’identification des bases génétiques à l’origine de la non-viabilité des gamètes, ainsi que sur la compréhension des caractères complexes chez des souches hybrides intra-espèce. De par l’étude de 9000 gamètes séquencés issus de six hybrides différents, nous avons pour objectif de caractériser leur profil de recombinaison et d’observer quelle est l’influence du fond génétique sur ce dernier. De plus, nous avons caractérisé la capacité de croissance de ces gamètes dans neuf conditions environnementales différentes et nous prévoyons de disséquer l’architecture génétique de ces traits dans différents fonds génétiques. / The phenotypic variation between individuals in a population is of crucial importance. It allows populations to evolve to novel conditions by the natural selection of beneficial traits. Variation in traits can be caused by genetic or environmental factors. This work endeavors to study the genetic factors that underlie phenotypic variation in order to understand how variation can be created from one generation to the next; to know what genetic mechanisms are most prominent; to learn how variation can extend beyond the parents; and finally, to use this in order to predict phenotypes of unknown genetic constellations. We used large scale phenomics and genomics to give an unprecedented decomposition of the phenotypic variation in a large population of diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Constructing phased outbred lines by large scale crosses of sequenced haploid strains allowed us to infer the genetic makeup of more than 7,000 colonies. We measured the growth of these strains and decomposed the phenotypic variation into its genetic components. In addition, we mapped additive and nonadditive quantitative trait loci, we investigated the occurrence of heterosis and its genetic basis, and using the same populations we used phenotypic and genetic data to predict traits with near perfect accuracy. By using the phased outbred line approach, we succeeded in giving a conclusive account of what genetic factors define phenotypic variation in a diploid population, and in accurately predicting phenotypes from genetic and phenotypic data. Beyond the phased outbred line project, I am currently investigating the genetic basis of gamete inviability and complex traits in intraspecies yeast hybrids. Using 9,000 sequenced gametes from six different hybrids we aim to characterize their recombination landscape and how the genetic background influences it. Furthermore, we have phenotyped these gametes in nine conditions and will dissect the genetic architecture of these traits across multiple genomic backgrounds.

Recent models argue that thermal environments are the major cause of ectotherm life-history clines. However, elevational clines in body size in the mountain dusky salamander Desmognathus ocoee (family Plethodontidae) shift from positive at hatching, to negative at metamorphosis to positive again as adults, and so are not consistent with this explanation. The clinal shift from hatching to metamorphosis was investigated by examining the clinal and seasonal feeding patterns of larval salamanders at high and low elevation sites in rockface and woodland habitats. Repeated cohort sampling was also used to examine clinal and seasonal patterns in body size and to estimate average growth rates. Larval growth in both rockface and woodland habitats was tightly correlated with feeding activity. Although temperature was found to vary between high and low elevation sites, the greatest growth occurred in a cold woodland habitat with a high elevation, and the lowest growth occurred in an adjacent rockface habitat. Because this difference in growth cannot be attributed to thermal differences, we conclude that local food resource levels are the predominant source of local differences in growth. These findings, clinal patterns of variation in other predatory salamanders, and experimental analyses in which both food and temperature are orthogonally manipulated, indicate that general models that single out temperature as the principle cause of ectotherm life-history clines should be viewed with caution.

The family Procyonidae (raccoons, coatis, olingos, ringtails, kinkajous, and their extinct relatives) consists of six extant genera and is restricted to North and South America. Currently recognized fossil species suggest that procyonid diversity was previously much greater, including six extinct genera throughout South America. However, it is unusual that so many confamilial taxa are represented in a relatively brief span of time and restricted geographic region, and, considering that six of ten are based on badly preserved specimens, often fragments of bone with worn teeth, the validity of many of these taxa is suspect. As a step towards reevaluating past procyonid diversity in South America, we sought to identify the degree of intra- and interspecific variation in six molariform teeth of extant Procyon, particularly to identify which teeth are potentially most useful for identifying fossil procyonids. The six molariform cheek teeth analyzed consistently yielded smaller intra- than interspecific variation, permitting high accuracy of taxonomic classification. However, this accuracy varied by tooth, and the upper and lower first molars proved to be the most reliable. Thus, these particular teeth should be preferred, if available, as bases for recognizing extinct species of procyonids or reevaluating currently recognized extinct species, as a means to prevent nomina dubia.

Variations in vehicle noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) response from one vehicle to the next can have significant impact on an automotive company’s profile and profitability. The warranty claims due to excessive NVH response end up costing the manufacturers a large sum of money each year. In addition, the OEM will suffer a larger financial loss due to the poor perception of quality and customer dissatisfaction with their products due to the unacceptable NVH response. Therefore, measures must be taken to ensure less warranty claims and higher levels of customer satisfaction. This research focuses on aspects of design variations that are costly or difficult to be avoided in the design process such as variations with rubber parts and variations due to rotating components. Vibrations induced at the tire/wheel assembly due to variations in the radial and tangential forces and radial runout are responsible for the driverelt vibrations that can lead to a large number of warranty claims. The purpose of this research is to improve the process of determining and analyzing vibration sources in the tire/wheel assembly in order to benefit the automotive manufacturer during the development and manufacturing phases. This research identifies the relationship between non-uniformity forces of the tire/wheel assemblies and the driverelt vibrations during typical highway driving speeds. The contribution from each assembly location is analyzed and sensitivities are determined. A Monte Carlo process is used to predict numerous non-uniformity properties that are statistically representative of the assembly properties that can be expected at the manufacturing plant. The Monte Carlo produced non-uniformity properties are combined with the sensitivities to predict driverelt vibrations that can be expected from vehicles leaving the manufacturing plant. This process provides the tools to determine an acceptable level of non-uniformities based on targets for interior vibration levels or determine if the vehicle sensitivities to non-uniformities need to be improved.

Parameter variations introduced by manufacturing imprecision are becoming more influential on circuit performance. This is especially the case in emerging nanoscale fabrics due to unconventional manufacturing steps (e.g., nano-imprint) and aggressive scaling. These parameter variations can lead to performance deterioration and consequently yield loss. Parameter variations are typically addressed pre-fabrication with circuit design targeting worst-case timing scenarios. However, this approach is pessimistic and much of performance benefits can be lost. By contrast, if parameter variations can be estimated post-manufacturing, adaptive techniques or reconfiguration could be used to provide more optimal level of tolerance. To estimate parameter variations during run-time, on-chip variation sensors are gaining in importance because of their easy implementation. In this thesis, we propose novel on-chip variation sensors to estimate variations in physical parameters for emerging nanoscale fabrics. Based on the characteristics of systematic and random variations, two separate sensors are designed to estimate the extent of systematic variations and the statistical distribution of random variations from measured fall and rise times in the sensors respectively. The proposed sensor designs are evaluated through HSPICE Monte Carlo simulations with known variation cases injected. Simulation results show that the estimation error of the systematic-variation sensor is less than 1.2% for all simulated cases; and for the random-variation sensor, the worst-case estimation error is 12.7% and the average estimation error is 8% for all simulations. In addition, to address the placement of on-chip sensors, we calculate sensor area and the effective range of systematic-variation sensor. Then using a processor designed in nanoscale fabrics as a target, an example for sensor placement is introduced. Based on the sensor placement, external noises that may affect the measured fall and rise times of outputs are identified. Through careful analysis, we find that these noises do not deteriorate the accuracy of the systematic-variation sensor, but affect the accuracy of the random-variation sensor. We believe that the proposed on-chip variation sensors in conjunction with post-fabrication compensation techniques would be able to improve system-level performance in nanoscale fabrics, which may be an efficient alternative to making worst-case assumptions on parameter variations in nanoscale designs.

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Studiens syfte är att få djupare kunskap om förskollärares uppfattningar om hur de utformar inkluderande lärmiljöer i verksamhetens inomhusmiljö, där barnens intressen och behov blir tillgodosedda så det bidrar till fortsatt lärande. I studien har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ metod där vi har genomfört halvstrukturerade intervjuer med tio stycken verksamma förskollärare. För att kunna analysera våra resultat har vi använt oss av en fenomenografisk metodansats och analysmodell. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten är ett sociokulturellt perspektiv där vi använt oss av de teoretiska begreppen artefakter, mediering och närmaste utvecklingszonen. Med hjälp av den teoretiska utgångspunkten samt analysmodellen har vi kunnat genomfört två olika analyser av vårt resultat. Resultatet i studien visar variation på vad förskollärare ser för olika möjligheter och begräsningar i utformningen av inkluderande lärmiljöer samt hur lärmiljön bidrar till lärande och utveckling. Slutsatserna påvisar att förskollärares förhållningssätt är en viktig aspekt vid utformningen av inkluderande lärmiljöer och att det endast är förskollärares egen kreativitet som kan sätta stopp för utformningens arbete. / The aim of this study is to gain deeper knowledge about preschool teachers´ perceptions of how they design inclusive learning environments in the indoor environment, where the children´s interests and needs are confirmed so that it contributes to continued learning. In the study we used a qualitative method where we performed semi-structured interviews with ten active preschool teachers. In order to analyze our results, we used a phenomenographic method approach and analysis model. We used a theoretical perspective, and it was a sociocultural perspective where we have used the concept of artefacts, mediating and the zone of proximal development. With the help of the theoretical perspective and the phenomenographic analysis model, we have been able to make two different analyses of our results. The results of this study showed variation on what preschool teachers see for different opportunities and limitations in the design of inclusive learning environments and how it´s contributes to learning and development. The conclusions show that the approach of preschool teacher is an important aspect in the design of inclusive learning environments and that only preschool teachers ‘own creativity can be an obstacle.