In the course of this dissertation, I will interrogate traditional representations of the heroic figure within the fantasy genre. I will argue that the tropes established by some of the most renowned fantasy texts are undergoing a process of evolution and that Steven Erikson (who is the special focus of my discussion) seeks to revision the heroic mould through his construction of Coltaine of the Crow Clan in Deadhouse Gates (2001). Deadhouse Gates centres on Coltaine, who is tasked with escorting tens of thousands of refugees across four hundred leagues of hostile territory. This re-evaluation of fantasy modes has significant ramifications for the future development of the genre as a whole. In order to explore how Erikson interrogates heroic representation, I briefly establish some of the distinctive characteristics of fantasy. I then explore how some major fantasy texts represent heroism, before investigating Erikson’s particular response to these traditions. / English Studies / M. A. (English)

Thesis (PdD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A Latin square of order n is an n×n array containing an arrangement of n distinct symbols with the property that every row and every column of the array contains each symbol exactly once. It is well known that Latin squares may be used for the purpose of constructing designs which require a balanced arrangement of a set of elements subject to a number of strict constraints. An important application of Latin squares arises in the scheduling of various types of balanced sports tournaments, the simplest example of which is a so-called round-robin tournament — a tournament in which each team opposes each other team exactly once. Among the various applications of Latin squares to sports tournament scheduling, the problem of scheduling special types of mixed doubles tennis and table tennis tournaments using special sets of three mutually orthogonal Latin squares is of particular interest in this dissertation. A so-called mixed doubles table tennis (MDTT) tournament comprises two teams, both consisting of men and women, competing in a mixed doubles round-robin fashion, and it is known that any set of three mutually orthogonal Latin squares may be used to obtain a schedule for such a tournament. A more interesting sports tournament design, however, and one that has been sought by sports clubs in at least two reported cases, is known as a spouse-avoiding mixed doubles round-robin (SAMDRR) tournament, and it is known that such a tournament may be scheduled using a self-orthogonal Latin square with a symmetric orthogonal mate (SOLSSOM). These applications have given rise to a number of important unsolved problems in the theory of Latin squares, the most celebrated of which is the question of whether or not a set of three mutually orthogonal Latin squares of order 10 exists. Another open question is whether or not SOLSSOMs of orders 10 and 14 exist. A further problem in the theory of Latin squares that has received considerable attention in the literature is the problem of counting the number of (essentially) different ways in which a set of elements may be arranged to form a Latin square, i.e. the problem of enumerating Latin squares and equivalence classes of Latin squares of a given order. This problem quickly becomes extremely difficult as the order of the Latin square grows, and considerable computational power is often required for this purpose. In the literature on Latin squares only a small number of equivalence classes of self-orthogonal Latin squares (SOLS) have been enumerated, namely the number of distinct SOLS, the number of idempotent SOLS and the number of isomorphism classes generated by idempotent SOLS of orders 4 n 9. Furthermore, only a small number of equivalence classes of ordered sets of k mutually orthogonal Latin squares (k-MOLS) of order n have been enumerated in the literature, namely main classes of 2-MOLS of order n for 3 n 8 and isotopy classes of 8-MOLS of order 9. No enumeration work on SOLSSOMs appears in the literature. In this dissertation a methodology is presented for enumerating equivalence classes of Latin squares using a recursive, backtracking tree-search approach which attempts to eliminate redundancy in the search by only considering structures which have the potential to be completed to well-defined class representatives. This approach ensures that the enumeration algorithm only generates one Latin square from each of the classes to be enumerated, thus also generating a repository of class representatives of these classes. These class representatives may be used in conjunction with various well-known enumeration results from the theory of groups and group actions in order to determine the number of Latin squares in each class as well as the numbers of various kinds of subclasses of each class. This methodology is applied in order to enumerate various equivalence classes of SOLS and SOLSSOMs of orders up to and including order 10 and various equivalence classes of k-MOLS of orders up to and including order 8. The known numbers of distinct SOLS, idempotent SOLS and isomorphism classes generated by idempotent SOLS are verified for orders 4 n 9, and in addition the number of isomorphism classes, transpose-isomorphism classes and RC-paratopism classes of SOLS of these orders are enumerated. The search is further extended to determine the numbers of these classes for SOLS of order 10 via a large parallelisation of the backtracking treesearch algorithm on a number of processors. The RC-paratopism class representatives of SOLS thus generated are then utilised for the purpose of enumerating SOLSSOMs, while existing repositories of symmetric Latin squares are also used for this purpose as a means of validating the enumeration results. In this way distinct SOLSSOMs, standard SOLSSOMs, transposeisomorphism classes of SOLSSOMs and RC-paratopism classes of SOLSSOMs are enumerated, and a repository of RC-paratopism class representatives of SOLSSOMs is also produced. The known number of main classes of 2-MOLS of orders 3 n 8 are verified in this dissertation, and in addition the number of main classes of k-MOLS of orders 3 n 8 are also determined for 3 k n−1. Other equivalence classes of k-MOLS of order n that are enumerated include distinct k-MOLS and reduced k-MOLS of orders 3 n 8 for 2 k n − 1. Finally, a filtering method is employed to verify whether any SOLS of order 10 satisfies two basic necessary conditions for admitting a common orthogonal mate with its transpose, and it is found via a computer search that only four of the 121 642 class representatives of RC-paratopism classes of SOLS satisfy these conditions. It is further verified that none of these four SOLS admits a common orthogonal mate with its transpose. By this method the spectrum of resolved orders in terms of the existence of SOLSSOMs is improved in that the non-existence of such designs of order 10 is established, thereby resolving a longstanding open existence question in the theory of Latin squares. Furthermore, this result establishes a new necessary condition for the existence of a set of three mutually orthogonal Latin squares of order 10, namely that such a set cannot contain a SOLS and its transpose / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ’n Latynse vierkant van orde n is ’n n × n skikking van n simbole met die eienskap dat elke ry en elke kolom van die skikking elke element presies een keer bevat. Dit is welbekend dat Latynse vierkante gebruik kan word in die konstruksie van ontwerpe wat vra na ’n gebalanseerde rangskikking van ’n versameling elemente onderhewig aan ’n aantal streng beperkings. ’n Belangrike toepassing van Latynse vierkante kom in die skedulering van verskeie spesiale tipes gebalanseerde sporttoernooie voor, waarvan die eenvoudigste voorbeeld ’n sogenaamde rondomtalietoernooi is — ’n toernooi waarin elke span elke ander span presies een keer teenstaan. Onder die verskeie toepassings van Latynse vierkante in sporttoernooi-skedulering, is die probleem van die skedulering van spesiale tipes gemengde dubbels tennis- en tafeltennistoernooie deur gebruikmaking van spesiale versamelings van drie paarsgewys-ortogonale Latynse vierkante in hierdie proefskrif van besondere belang. In sogenaamde gemengde dubbels tafeltennis (GDTT) toernooi ding twee spanne, elk bestaande uit mans en vrouens, op ’n gemengde-dubbels rondomtalie wyse mee, en dit is bekend dat enige versameling van drie paarsgewys-ortogonale Latynse vierkante gebruik kan word om ’n skedule vir s´o ’n toernooi op te stel. ’n Meer interessante sporttoernooi-ontwerp, en een wat al vantevore in minstens twee gerapporteerde gevalle deur sportklubs benodig is, is egter ’n gade-vermydende gemengde-dubbels rondomtalie (GVGDR) toernooi, en dit is bekend dat s´o ’n toernooi geskeduleer kan word deur gebruik te maak van ’n self-ortogonale Latynse vierkant met ’n simmetriese ortogonale maat (SOLVSOM). Hierdie toepassings het tot ’n aantal belangrike onopgeloste probleme in die teorie van Latynse vierkante gelei, waarvan die mees beroemde die vraag na die bestaan van ’n versameling van drie paarsgewys ortogonale Latynse vierkante van orde 10 is. Nog ’n onopgeloste probleem is die vraag na die bestaan van SOLVSOMs van ordes 10 en 14. ’n Verdere probleem in die teorie van Latynse vierkante wat aansienlik aandag in die literatuur geniet, is die bepaling van die getal (essensieel) verskillende maniere waarop ’n versameling elemente in ’n Latynse vierkant gerangskik kan word, m.a.w. die probleem van die enumerasie van Latynse vierkante en ekwivalensieklasse van Latynse vierkante van ’n gegewe orde. Hierdie probleem raak vinnig baie moeilik soos die orde van die Latynse vierkant groei, en aansienlike berekeningskrag word dikwels hiervoor benodig. Sover is slegs ’n klein aantal ekwivalensieklasse van self-ortogonale Latynse vierkante (SOLVe) in die literatuur getel, naamlik die getal verskillende SOLVe, die getal idempotente SOLVe en die getal isomorfismeklasse voortgebring deur idempotente SOLVe van ordes 4 n 9. Verder is slegs ’n klein aantal ekwivalensieklasse van geordende versamelings van k onderling ortogonale Latynse vierkante (k-OOLVs) in die literatuur getel, naamlik die getal hoofklasse voortgebring deur 2-OOLVs van orde n vir 3 n 8 en die getal isotoopklasse voortgebring deur 8-OOLVs van orde 9. Daar is geen enumerasieresultate oor SOLVSOMs in die literatuur beskikbaar nie. In hierdie proefskrif word ’n metodologie vir die enumerasie van ekwivalensieklasse van Latynse vierkante met behulp van ’n soekboomalgoritme met terugkering voorgestel. Hierdie algoritme poog om oorbodigheid in die soektog te minimeer deur net strukture te oorweeg wat die potensiaal het om tot goed-gedefinieerde klasleiers opgebou te word. Hierdie eienskap verseker dat die algoritme slegs een Latynse vierkant binne elk van die klasse wat getel word, genereer, en dus word ’n databasis van verteenwoordigers van hierdie klasse sodoende opgebou. Hierdie klasverteenwoordigers kan tesame met verskeie welbekende groepteoretiese telresultate gebruik word om die getal Latynse vierkante in elke klas te bepaal, asook die getal verskeie deelklasse van verskillende tipes binne elke klas. Die bogenoemde metodologie word toegepas om verskeie SOLV- en SOLVSOM-klasse van ordes kleiner of gelyk aan 10 te tel, asook om k-OOLV-klasse van ordes kleiner of gelyk aan 8 te tel. Die getal verskillende SOLVe, idempotente SOLVe en isomorfismeklasse voortgebring deur SOLVe word vir ordes 4 n 9 geverifieer, en daarbenewens word die getal isomorfismeklasse, transponent-isomorfismeklasse en RC-paratoopklasse voortgebring deur SOLVe van hierdie ordes ook bepaal. Die soektog word deur middel van ’n groot parallelisering van die soekboomalgoritme op ’n aantal rekenaars ook uitgebrei na die tel van hierdie klasse voortgebring deur SOLVe van orde 10. Die verteenwoordigers van RC-paratoopklasse voortgebring deur SOLVe wat deur middel van hierdie algoritme gegenereer word, word dan gebruik om SOLVSOMs te tel, terwyl bestaande databasisse van simmetriese Latynse vierkante as validasie van die resultate ook vir hierdie doel ingespan word. Op hierdie manier word die getal verskillende SOLVSOMs, standaardvorm SOLVSOMs, transponent-isomorfismeklasse voortgebring deur SOLVSOMs asook RC-paratoopklasse voortgebring deur SOLVSOMs bepaal, en word ’n databasis van verteenwoordigers van RC-paratoopklasse voortgebring deur SOLVSOMs ook opgebou. Die bekende getal hoofklasse voortgebring deur 2-OOLVs van ordes 3 n 8 word in hierdie proefskrif geverifieer, en so ook word die getal hoofklasse voortgebring deur k- OOLVs van ordes 3 n 8 bepaal, waar 3 k n−1. Ander ekwivalensieklasse voortgebring deur k-OOLVs van orde n wat ook getel word, sluit in verskillende k-OOLVs en gereduseerde k-OOLVs van ordes 3 n 8, waar 2 k n − 1. Laastens word daar van ’n filtreer-metode gebruik gemaak om te bepaal of enige SOLV van orde 10 twee basiese nodige voorwaardes om ’n ortogonale maat met sy transponent te deel kan bevredig, en daar word gevind dat slegs vier van die 121 642 klasverteenwoordigers van RC-paratoopklasse voortgebring deur SOLVe van orde 10 aan hierdie voorwaardes voldoen. Dit word verder vasgestel dat geeneen van hierdie vier SOLVe ortogonale maats in gemeen met hul transponente het nie. Die spektrum van afgehandelde ordes in terme van die bestaan van SOLVSOMs word dus vergroot deur aan te toon dat geen sulke ontwerpe van orde 10 bestaan nie, en sodoende word ’n jarelange oop bestaansvraag in die teorie van Latynse vierkante beantwoord. Verder bevestig hierdie metode ’n nuwe noodsaaklike bestaansvoorwaarde vir ’n versameling van drie paarsgewys-ortogonale Latynse vierkante van orde 10, naamlik dat s´o ’n versameling nie ’n SOLV en sy transponent kan bevat nie. / Harry Crossley Foundation / National Research Foundation

Liquid chromatography is an essential technique in manufacturing biopharmaceuticals where it is used on all scales from analytical applications in R&amp;D to full-scale production. In chromatography the target molecule, typically a protein, is separated and purified from other components and contaminants. Separation is based on different affinities of different molecules for the chromatographic medium and the physical and chemical properties of the latter determine the outcome. Controlling and designing those properties demand efficient analytical techniques. In this thesis the approach was to develop characterization methods based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for the assessment of various important physico-chemical properties. The rationale behind this strategy was that the versatility of NMR – with its chemical and isotopic specificity, high dynamic range, and direct proportionality between the integral intensity of the NMR signal and the concentration of spin-bearing atomic nuclei (e.g., 1H, 13C, 31P and 15N) – often renders it a very good choice for both qualitative and quantitative evaluations. These characteristics of NMR enabled us to develop two quantification methods for chromatography-media ligands, the functional groups that provide the specific interactions for the molecules being separated. Furthermore, a new method for measuring the distribution of macromolecules between the porous chromatographic beads and the surrounding liquid was established. The method, which we have named size-exclusion quantification (SEQ) NMR, utilizes the fact that it is possible to assess molecular size distribution from corresponding distribution of the molecular self-diffusion coefficient where the latter is accessible by NMR. SEQ-NMR results can also be interpreted in terms of pore-size distribution within suitable models. Finally, we studied self-diffusion of small molecules inside the pores of chromatographic beads. The results provided new insights into what affects the mass transport in such systems. The methods presented in this thesis are accurate, precise, and in many aspects better than conventional ones in terms of speed, sample consumption, and potential for automation. They are thus important tools that can assist a better understanding of the structure and function of chromatography media. In the long run, the results in this project may lead, via better chromatographic products, to better drugs and improved health. / Vätskekromatografi är en viktig teknik för tillverkning av biologiska läkemedel och används för alltifrån småskaliga analytiska applikationer till fullskalig produktion. I kromatografi separeras och renas målmolekylen (oftast ett protein), från andra komponenter och föroreningar genom att utnyttja molekylernas olika affinitet för det kromatografiska mediumet, vars fysikaliska och kemiska egenskaper har stor betydelse för hur separationen fungerar. För att kunna kontrollera och designa dessa egenskaper krävs effektiva analysmetoder. Strategin i den här avhandlingen var att utveckla metoder baserade på kärnmagnetisk resonans (NMR) spektroskopi för att karaktärisera flera viktiga fysikalisk-kemiska egenskaper. Anledningen till denna strategi är att mångsidigheten hos NMR – med dess kemiska och isotopiska specificitet, stora dynamiska omfång och direkta proportionalitet mellan NMR-signalens integralintensitet och koncentrationen av spinnbärande atomkärnor (t.ex. 1H, 13C, 31P och 15N) - ofta gör den till det bästa valet för både kvalitativa och kvantitativa tillämpningar. Dessa egenskaper hos NMR gjorde att vi kunde utveckla två kvantifieringsmetoder för kromatografimedia-ligander, dvs de funktionella grupperna som ger de specifika interaktioner som gör att molekylerna kan separeras. Dessutom har en ny metod för att mäta fördelningen av makromolekyler mellan de porösa kromatografiska pärlorna och den omgivande vätskan tagits fram. Metoden, som vi har valt att kalla size-exclusion quantification (SEQ) NMR, utnyttjar det faktum att det är möjligt att mäta molekylstorleksfördelningen genom att mäta motsvarande fördelning av självdiffusionskoefficienter, där den sistnämnda kan bestämmas med NMR. Resultaten från SEQ-NMR kan tolkas i termer av porstorleksfördelningar genom att använda lämpliga modeller. Slutligen studerade vi självdiffusion av små molekyler inuti porerna i kromatografiska pärlor. Resultaten gav nya insikter om vad som påverkar masstransporten i sådana system. De metoder som presenteras i denna avhandling är noggranna, precisa och på många sätt bättre än konventionella metoder när det gäller hastighet, låg provförbrukning och automatiseringspotential. De nya metoderna är därför viktiga verktyg som kan hjälpa till att ge en bättre förståelse av struktur och funktion hos kromatografimedia. I det långa loppet kan resultat från det här projektet kunna bidra till effektivare kromatografiska produkter, vilket i slutändan kan leda till bättre läkemedel och hälsa. / <p>QC 20170403</p>

This diploma thesis deals with Japanese puzzles and their use in teaching mathematics at primary school. Its main aim is to verify if it is possible for the pupils to achieve comparable results with older pupils and adult Sudoku solvers supposing that these learners are systematically guided through an escalating set of Sudoku puzzles. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on the history of Sudoku, several strategies of its solving, other examples of Japanese puzzles and also on Sudoku in the context of its use at school. The practical part describes a series of experiments with pupils of the first, later second grade of a primary school, which were conducted in order to verify the hypothesis of this thesis.

The author of this dissertation addresses the motif of magic figuring in Spanish medieval short prose. The researched works of art are the following titles: Calila y Dimna, Sendebar, El Conde Lucanor, Libro del Caballero Zifar and Libro de los Gatos. Out of the aforementioned anthologies the author further analyses specific selected short stories which contain the motif of magic. The introduction describes medieval history and literary genres and more closely analyses the interpretation of magic on the basis of both period and current literary works and publications. Author presupposes medieval didactic literature for the most part describes real world which the reader is acquainted with. The motifs of magic are divided into five sections:Devil, Afterlife, Magical Realm, Fake Magic and Medical Superstitions. Each chapter addresses one particular topic, analyzing it in the context of the researched stories but also in the context of medieval culture as a whole. The end of each chapter offers a comprehensive summary. In contrast with publications dealing with the topic of magic in the Spanish literature, the dissertation focuses more closely on the element of magic used as trickery as this view of magic is widely represented in the literature. The conclusion discusses the issue of faith in a life of a...

The aim of this thesis is to present the specific notion of feminism and mythopoetics in the selected works of Angela Carter and demonstrate them on two selected works of Carter's, namely on the collection of re-visited traditional fairy tales The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories and the novel Nights at the Circus. The thesis also deals with chosen features of postmodernism these two works contain. In the first, theoretical part the author and her oeuvre is introduced, followed by the concept of postmodernism and its selected features. The second, practical part is focused on both books' analysis which attempts to establish whether and how the selected works show the features of postmodernism and to which extent it is possible to trace the notions of Carter's feminism and mythopoetics in them.

(in English): Curse tablets are interesting phenomenon in the Ancient world. The curses are usully written on the lead tablet. Totally there are about 1500 curses found, from which one third is written in latin and 309 from that amount were founf in Roman Britain. I focus on this countable group in my Diploma Thesis. Firstly I prefer the archaeological side of the artefact. The context is usually the only way to date and understand the curse tablet itself. I offer all the sites where information about them is given. We can talk also about the so called prayers for justice which are quite numerous in Britannia. They are of the same principle as curses, but they are not made for satisfied selfish ambitions. They ask gods for help. Most often they are made because of the robbery which has not been punished in the world of mortals, because the thief is not known or there are too many suspects.

No description available.

The study examines how the investment strategy Magic Formula (Greenblatt, 2006) has performed on the Swedish stock market. It is also investigated how the performance is affected when the strategy is combined with momentum. Since the expected pension for future generations is expected to decline it is important to have private savings with as high return as possible. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate if simple investment strategies can be used to achieve higher return. The purpose with this study is to find out if the investment strategies Magic Formula and Magic Formula combined with momentum has had a higher risk-adjusted return than the benchmark index OMX30. The results show that both Magic Formula and Magic Formula combined with momentum yielded a higher risk-adjusted return than the benchmark index. The results also showed that Magic Formula yielded an even better risk-adjusted return when it was combined with momentum. We wish that the result that was found in this study will give inspiration to private investors in order to achieve a higher return in their savings and a more satisfactory pension in the future

Em experimentos de Ressonância Magnética Nuclear (RMN) com Rotação da Amostra em Tomo do Ângulo Mágico (MAS), as bandas laterais são um problema comum na obtenção de espectros de alta resolução em sólidos. Em espectrômetros de alto campo magnético ou então, em sistemas que não dispõem de rotores de amostra de freqüência elevada, este problema é mais grave. Para facilitar a interpretação do espectro de alta resolução torna-se necessário suprimir estas bandas laterais. Nesta dissertação descrevemos um método simples de supressão das bandas laterais que consiste em variar a freqüência de rotação da amostra durante a aquisição do sinal, assim como, a instrumentação necessária para realizar esse experimento. Este método, que denominamos de Supressão das Bandas Laterais utilizando-se Freqüência de Rotação Baixa e Variável, baseia-se na dependência da posição das bandas laterais com a freqüência de rotação, reduzindo as coincidências entre suas posições durante a promediação, enquanto o sinal isotrópico permanece estável sempre no mesmo ponto do espectro. Para ilustrar a utilização dessa nova técnica, realizamos experimentos de RMN com o núcleo de 13C em amostras de hexametilbenzeno, tirosina, lignina e ácido húmico, e com o núcleo quadrupolar 79Br em amostras de KBr e NaBr + KBr / Sidebands in Magic-Angle-Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS-NMR) experiments are a common problem for high field spectrometers or low spinning frequency systems. Although these sidebands may be used to gain information after they have been identified, it is necessary to eliminate then to simplify the interpretation of the spectra; we have recently succeeded in suppressing spinning sidebands by continuously varying the speed during the signal acquisition. This method, that we called variable low speed sideband suppression, relies on the speed dependent of the sideband positions. The purpose of this work is to describe a simple method and apparatus to suppress spinning sidebands in MAS-NMR experiments. The method allows a quick acquisition of the isotropic chemical shift spectra and works well even when the highest available spinning cannot clearly resolve the spinning sidebands. To illustrate the method, we present the 13C MAS-NMR spectra of a variety of sample acquired using cross-polarization and high power proton decoupling. Among the samples studied were: hexamethylbenzene, tyrosine, lignin and humic acid. And quadrupolar nuclei 79Br in the samples Kbr and NaBr + KBr