This dissertation examines how early modern English playwrights employ absence to enrich their representations of the unknown, including witchcraft and the supernatural. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries magical themes were often dramatized through visual and linguistic excess. Whether this excess was manifested through the use of vibrant costumes, farcical caricatures, or exaggerated dialogue, magic was often synonymous with theatricality. Playwrights such as William Rowley, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare, however, challenge stereotypical depictions of magic by contrasting excessive magic with the subtler power of restrained or off-stage magic. Embedded in the fantastical events and elaborate plots of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, absence, whether as an unstaged thing or person or an absent ideology, becomes a crucial element in understanding how playwrights represented and understood occult issues during the early modern period. Further, when gendered feminine, magical absences serve to combat oppressive silences within scripts and provide female subjects with an unimpeded and inherently magical space from which to challenge pre-established patriarchal systems of control. Each chapter in this dissertation, therefore, appraises the magical possibilities that theatrical absences provide to women as a platform from which to develop their narrative voice. Partnered with a complementary discussion of Jonson’s The Masque of Queens and two thematically linked witchcraft cases, my first chapter argues that Mistress Ford uses the complete stage absence of both a witch and a queen in The Merry Wives of Windsor to reform her community and critique her society’s unjust categorization of women. In chapter two, I examine a series of “vanishing acts” in The Birth of Merlin and argue that Rowley’s female characters use their final moments on stage to contextualize their impending absences for audiences as moments of magical defiance rather than defeat in the face of male tyranny. In my final chapter, I look at how magical objects, such as the handkerchief in Shakespeare’s Othello or the belt in Jonson’s The Sad Shepherd resist the absence of their female creators and continue to provide physically absent or dead women with magical agency. By structuring my dissertation on these three specific gradations of absence, I provide a nuanced analysis of the purposes these dramatic omissions serve by focusing on how these shades of absence subtly alter the ways in which we interpret and define early modern magical belief. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bakgrund: Värdestrategier har historiskt sett ofta genererat överavkastning relativt index. Huruvida en värdestrategi lyckas eller ej återspeglas i dess förmåga att identifiera och utnyttja felprissättningar på aktiemarknaden. Å andra sidan menar den effektiva marknadshypotesen att investeringsstrategier inte kan överavkasta marknaden via strategin i sig, utan att eventuell överavkastning beror på slumpen. Av dessa anledningar blir det intressant att analysera huruvida Greenblatts (2010) The Magic Formula kan generera överavkastning gentemot marknaden. Dessutom blir det intressant att testa om en modifierad strategi har en högre sannolikhet att lyckas med detta.  Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att analysera huruvida The Magic Formula-strategin, och en modifierad The Magic Formula-strategi kan överavkasta den svenska aktiemarknaden över tid.  Metod: Studien har en kvantitativ strategi med en deduktiv ansats och en longitudinell design. Historiska aktiekurser har hämtats för att testa strategierna, där två fiktiva portföljer har skapats. Resultatet av dessa portföljers prestation har sedan analyserats samt testats statistiskt.  Slutsats: Resultatet visade att The Magic Formula mellan 2011–2022 inte lyckades överavkasta index. En modifierad variant av The Magic Formula lyckades dock överavkasta index avsevärt. Skillnaderna i medelavkastning gick dock inte att säkerställa statistiskt, vilket betyder att den genererade över- och underavkastningen mycket möjligt kan ha varit slumpmässig.  Nyckelord: The Magic Formula, EMH, Aktiv portföljförvaltning, Värdeinvestering, Overconfidence, Riskuppfattning, Flockbeteende / Background: Value investing has historically often generated excess returns relative to index. Whether a value strategy succeeds is reflected in its ability to identify and exploit mispricings in the stock market. On the other hand, the effective market hypothesis indicates that investment strategies cannot overperform the market via the strategy by itself, but that any excess return is random. For these reasons, it would be interesting to analyze whether Greenblatt's (2010) The Magic Formula can generate excess returns relative to the market. In addition, it would be interesting to test whether a modified strategy has a higher probability of succeeding.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze whether The Magic Formula strategy, and a modified The Magic Formula strategy can outperform the Swedish stock market over time.  Method: The study has a quantitative strategy with a deductive approach and a longitudinal design. Historical stock quotes have been obtained to test the strategies, where two fictitious portfolios have been created. The result of these portfolios' performance has then been analyzed and statistically tested.  Conclusion: The results showed that The Magic Formula between 2011–2022 failed in overperforming the market. However, a modified version of The Magic Formula managed to outperform the index considerably. Though, the differences in average returns could not be ensured statistically, which means that the generated over- and underperformance may very well have been random.  Keywords: The Magic Formula, EMH, Active portfolio management, Value investing, Overconfidence, Risk perception, Herd behaviour

Due to the recent growth in popularity of hard magic in fantasy literature, the aim of the present study is to analyze how Brandon Sanderson utilizes his Laws of Magic to construct conflict that can be resolved using hard magic systems in Mistborn: The Final Empire. The pursuit of the study is to fill a gap in the field, as prior research on Sanderson’s writing and the function of hard magic is limited. In addition to the Laws of Magic, the study applies narratological theories about plot and conflict to determine whether Sanderson successfully avoids deus ex machina through clear definitions of magical limitations and foreshadowing of exceptions. The study concludes that Sanderson effectively ties the reader’s process of understanding the magic to the relationship of the two protagonists, where the more experienced magic user acts as a mentor for the less experienced one. By only conveying to the reader what characters know, Sanderson leaves room for twists where it is revealed that the characters were operating with an incomplete understanding of their own magic, allowing for unforeseeable, yet foreshadowed, new uses of their magic at the story’s climax. The discoveries of the study provide useful insight into how Sanderson works with his own Laws of Magic, which can be applied by writers that wish to use magic as a similar tool to construct and solve conflict in their own stories.

Serious games have the potential to add value to the teaching and learning environment but are currently not used to its full potential in the Computer Science class. Many reasons why serious games are not used are debated in the literature and a particular problem identified from the literature is that educators find it difficult to select appropriate serious games for use in the classroom environment. The research philosophy adopted for this study included the Critical Social Theory paradigm and action research as the research method. The five phases of the action research process, namely diagnosing, action planning, action taking, evaluating and specifying learning were used to provide educators with a useful model to help with the selection of serious games for the Computer Science class. During the diagnosing phase, the problem for this study was identified and a questionnaire was used to determine educators‘ perceptions of serious games that confirmed the problem identified during the literature survey. During the action planning phase the evaluation of three serious game selection models, namely the four-dimensional framework, the RETAIN model and the Magic Bullet model were planned. Participants were provided with a checklist in the form of tables so that they could familiarise themselves with the models. During the action taking phase participants evaluated the four-dimensional framework, the RETAIN model and the Magic Bullet model using the checklists and examples provided to them. During the evaluation phase the three different models were evaluated by the participants and a questionnaire was used to gather data. The data were analysed and results were reported. A major problem was identified and it was decided to initiate a second cycle of the action research process. This time participants were provided with serious games and in a joint effort of the participants the problem was addressed. During the second cycle the problems identified in the first cycle was resolved. Finally this study is concluded with a reflection on all the research questions identified, a report on the findings, recommendations and a discussion of the limitations of the research project. / MSc (Computer Science)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Serious games have the potential to add value to the teaching and learning environment but are currently not used to its full potential in the Computer Science class. Many reasons why serious games are not used are debated in the literature and a particular problem identified from the literature is that educators find it difficult to select appropriate serious games for use in the classroom environment. The research philosophy adopted for this study included the Critical Social Theory paradigm and action research as the research method. The five phases of the action research process, namely diagnosing, action planning, action taking, evaluating and specifying learning were used to provide educators with a useful model to help with the selection of serious games for the Computer Science class. During the diagnosing phase, the problem for this study was identified and a questionnaire was used to determine educators‘ perceptions of serious games that confirmed the problem identified during the literature survey. During the action planning phase the evaluation of three serious game selection models, namely the four-dimensional framework, the RETAIN model and the Magic Bullet model were planned. Participants were provided with a checklist in the form of tables so that they could familiarise themselves with the models. During the action taking phase participants evaluated the four-dimensional framework, the RETAIN model and the Magic Bullet model using the checklists and examples provided to them. During the evaluation phase the three different models were evaluated by the participants and a questionnaire was used to gather data. The data were analysed and results were reported. A major problem was identified and it was decided to initiate a second cycle of the action research process. This time participants were provided with serious games and in a joint effort of the participants the problem was addressed. During the second cycle the problems identified in the first cycle was resolved. Finally this study is concluded with a reflection on all the research questions identified, a report on the findings, recommendations and a discussion of the limitations of the research project. / MSc (Computer Science)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Im Fokus des vorgestellten Projektes steht die Untersuchung der Verwendung von zwei ägyptischen Kursivschriften in einem homogenen Textkorpus. Hierbei handelt es sich zum einen um Hieratisch, einer Kursivschrift, die etwa zeitgleich mit den Hieroglyphen im 3. Jtd. v. Chr. entstand und für Texte auf Papyrus verwendet wurde. Mit beiden Schriftarten wurde in der Regel dieselbe Phase der ägyptischen Sprache geschrieben. Zum anderen um Demotisch, einer um 650 v. Chr. entwickelten Kursivschrift, die ebenfalls für Texte auf Papyrus verwendet wurde, und eine historisch jüngere Sprachstufe beschreibt. Beide Schriftsysteme erscheinen nebeneinander in den vier magischen Papyri der sog. „Theban Magical Library“ aus dem 3. Jhd. n. Chr., die sich heute in London, Leiden und Paris befinden. Das zu untersuchende Textkorpus umfasst etwa 157 Einzeltexte, die sich auf mehr als 1700 Zeilen Text verteilen. Ein Großteil der Texte ist in demotischer Schrift und Grammatik geschrieben. Daneben finden sich einige Passagen in hieratischer, griechischer und in einer Zauberschrift. Auch sprachliche sind die Texte keineswegs homogen. Kürzere Passagen weisen häufig eine ältere Sprachstufe als das Demotische auf. Auch die Schriftart kann innerhalb eines Satzes, in einigen Fällen sogar innerhalb eines Wortes, wechseln. Die Gründe für die Verwendung von demotischer und hieratischer Schrift sind bisher nicht untersucht worden. Da die einzelnen Sprüche auf unterschiedliche Vorlagen aus verschiedenen Kulturkreisen zurückgehen, liegt der Schwerpunkt des Vorhabens auf der Untersuchung der Beziehung von Schriftart, Sprache oder Sprachstufe und Inhalt. Bisher wird in der Forschung davon ausgegangen, dass hieratische Schrift zur Schreibung von Götterbezeichnungen oder bestimmter Termini, bevorzugt also bei Passagen mit religiösem Inhalt Verwendung fand. Jüngere Überlegungen konnten jedoch zeigen, dass hieratische Schrift in einigen Fällen mit sprachlich altertümlichen Merkmalen einhergeht, wobei es sich wohl um die Reste eines Vorläufers handelt, der nicht vollständig in demotische Schrift und Sprache übertragenen wurde. Um das Quellenmaterial adäquat zu untersuchen, ist eine genaue Analyse von Schrift, Sprache und Inhalt der Einzeltexte nötig. In einem ersten Schritt wird jeder Papyrus unabhängig von den anderen untersucht. Hierfür wird der Text in eine Excel-Tabelle aufgenommen. Jeder Eintrag wird mit verschiedenen Merkmalen versehen, die für die spätere Auswertung von Bedeutung sind. Die Texte werden in Hinblick auf die verwendete Schriftart, Sprachstufe, der zeitlichen Bezeugung eines Wortes oder grammatikalischen Konstruktion, Wortart, Herkunft (ägyptisch, griechisch, jüdisch etc.), Kontext (Vorkommen in Titeln, direkter Rede u. ä.) und, falls vorhanden, Anmerkungen des Schreibers analysiert. In einem ersten Schritt werden die Texte in ägyptologischer Umschrift in eine Exceltabelle eingetragen. Hierbei erhält jedes Wort einen Eintrag und wird mit den für die Analyse benötigten Merkmale versehen. Im Anschluss wird die Tabelle in eine mySQL Datenbank eingelesen. Diese wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit Dr. C. Riepl von der IT-Group Geisteswissenschaften der LMU München erstellt. Anhand dieser Datenbank erfolgt die Analyse der Texte.

The practice of magic was common in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds. Curse tablets, astrology, divination and demonology were all common practices within the Ancient religions, but whether or not we can draw a distinct line between magic and religion in regards to ancient practices is a much more complicated and much discussed question. This study will be concerned with curse tablets in Latin from the Roman world. The time period will be focused on the second to the fourth centuries A.D. The ancient curse tablets can be divided into five categories, depending on what subject they are dealing with. These categories are: litigation curses, competition curses, trade curses, erotic curses and prayers for justice. This study will be looking at ways to define the modern concept of magic and set up a number of criteria that will be applied to different types of curse tablets in order to investigate if or to what degree curse tablets can be said to be dealing with magic. It will also investigate if certain categories of curse tablets can be said to be more magical than others. The study shows that all categories except prayers for justice relates well with the modern criteria for magic.

In this paper, I will explore the rise and fall of the scholar magician or sorcerer, both as a popular dramatic subject and as an arc for individual characters, and the ways in which these figures tied into contemporary fears about the intersection of religion and developing scientific knowledge.

This dissertation will explore the way Philip treats puppets and masks as pseudo-sacred objects in order to maintain control in Angela Carter’s work The Magic Toyshop. To show the implications of the pseudo-sacred, I will use Violence and the Sacred by Rene Girard that examines the way primitive cultures are able to maintain order through particular religious beliefs and collective violence against a scapegoat. My critical reading of the text will look closely at how Philip uses the pseudo-sacred to build up the community. When the pseudo-sacred is finally called into question the community is threatened. Although Philip attempts to deflect blame onto the scapegoat Melanie, he fails as there is no social buy-in, leading to the destruction of the community. While the house is burned down destroying the puppets and masks, presumably along with Philip, the pseudo-sacred still has the chance of being perpetuated through Finn’s own obsession with power and control.

<p>A complex network graphics may be composed of hundreds and thousands of objects, such as nodes and edges. Each object may hold a large number of attributes that might be difficult to explore in the network visualization. Therefore, many visualization tools and approaches have been developed to gain more information from the network graphics. In this paper, we introduce the concept of the Network Lens<em>, </em>a new widget that assists the users to deal with a complex network. The Network Lens is an interactive tool that combines data visualization to a magic lens. With the help of the Network Lens, users can display hidden information of the elements in the network graphics based on their interest. Moreover, the Network Lens supports a series of interactive functions that give the users flexible options to define their own lenses.</p>