To the pair (E,c), where E is a countable Borel equivalence relation on a standard Borel space (X,A) and c a normalized Borel T-valued 2-cocycle on E, we associate a sequentially weakly closed Borel *-algebra Br*(E,c), contained in the bounded linear operators on L^2(E). Associated to Br*(E,c) is a natural (Borel) Cartan subalgebra (Definition 6.4.10) L(Bo(X)) isomorphic to the bounded Borel functions on X. Then L(Bo(X)) and its normalizer (the set of the unitaries u in Br*(E,c) such that u*fu in L(Bo(X)), f in L(Bo(X))) countably generates the Borel *-algebra Br*(E,c). In this thesis, we study Br*(E,c) and in particular prove that: i) If E is smooth, then Br*(E,c) is a type I Borel *-algebra (Definition 6.3.10). ii) If E is a hyperfinite, then Br*(E,c) is a Borel AF-algebra (Definition 7.5.1). iii) Generalizing Kumjian's definition, we define a Borel twist G over E and its associated sequentially closed Borel *-algebra Br*(G). iv) Let a Borel Cartan pair (B, Bo) denote a sequentially closed Borel *-algebra B with a Borel Cartan subalgebra Bo, where B is countably Bo-generated. Generalizing Feldman-Moore's result, we prove that any pair (B, Bo) can be realized uniquely as a pair (Br*(E,c), L(Bo(X))). Moreover, we show that the pair (Br*(E,c), L(Bo(X))) is a complete invariant of the countable Borel equivalence relation E. v) We prove a Krieger type theorem, by showing that two aperiodic hyperfinite countable equivalence relations are isomorphic if and only if their associated Borel *-algebras Br*(E1) and Br*(E2) are isomorphic.

The interplay between spectrum and structure of graphs is the recurring theme of the three more or less independent chapters of this thesis. The first chapter provides a method to relate the eigensolutions of two matrices, one being the principal submatrix of the other, via an arbitrary annihilating polynomial. This is extended to lambda-matrices and to matrices the entries of which are rational functions in one variable. The extension may be interpreted as a possible generalization of other known techniques which aim at reducing the size of a matrix while preserving the spectral information. Several aspects of an application in order to reduce the computational costs of ordinary eigenvalue problems are discussed. The second chapter considers the straightforward extension of the well known concept of equitable partitions to weighted graphs, i.e. complex matrices. It provides a method to divide the eigenproblem into smaller parts corresponding to the front divisor and its complementary factor in an easy and stable way with complexity which is only quadratic in matrix size. The exploitation of several equitable partitions ordered by refinement is discussed and a suggestion is made that preserves hermiticity if present. Some generalizations of equitable partitions are considered and a basic procedure for finding an equitable partition of complex matrices is given. The third chapter deals with isospectral and unitary equivalent graphs. It introduces a construction for unitary equivalent graphs which contains the well known GM-switching as a special case. It also considers an algebra of graph matrices generated by the adjacency matrix that corresponds to the 1-dimensional Weisfeiler-Lehman stabilizer in a way that mimics the correspondence of the coherent closure and the 2-dimensional Weisfeiler-Lehman stabilizer. The algebra contains the degree matrix, the (combinatorial, signless and normalized) Laplacian and the Seidel matrix. An easy construction produces graph pairs that are simultaneously unitary equivalent w.r.t. that algebra.

Syftet med studien är att utifrån en kvalitativ metod, med semistrukturerade intervjuer av gymnasielärare, undersöka hur kostundervisning bedrivs i kursen idrott och hälsa 1. I kursplanens centrala innehåll kan det utläsas att eleverna skall få kunskap om kosthållningens betydelse för hälsa och prestation. Det är därför av intresse att se hur lärare transformerar styrdokumenten. Vidare undersöks även hur undervisningen bedöms och betygssätts. Resultatet analyseras sedan mot läroplansteori och Wiliams nyckelstrategi för att tydliggöra informanternas svar. Resultatet visar att informanterna anser att kostundervisning är ett viktigt moment, men att det inte bör plockas ur sitt sammanhang utan skall ses som en del i en helhet. Detta speglar även bedömningen, vilken oftast integreras med andra moment exempelvis träningslära och hälsa. Informanterna menar att detta är ett nytt arbetssätt och således en effekt av de nya styrdokumenten. Samtliga informanter beskriver att feedback är viktigt i utvecklingssyfte. Det kan skönjas två grupper beträffande hur informanterna väljer att arbeta med sitt lektionsinnehåll. En grupp tar ansats ur framtida yrkesliv och den andra ur idrotts- och fritidsaktiviteter. Informanterna omtalar tiden som en begränsande faktor för sin kostundervisning och uppger att det endast är en av många områden i kursen idrott och hälsa 1. / Based on a qualitative method, with semi-structured interviews of upper secondary school teachers, the study intends to investigate how nutrition education is carried out in the course Physical education and health 1. In the curriculum, it can be inferred that the students will gain knowledge about nutrition’s importance for health and performance. It is therefore of interest to see how the teacher transforms the curriculum. Furthermore the study also investigates how teaching is assessed and graded. The results are then analysed to curriculum theory and the five key strategies to clarify informants' responses. The result shows that the informants think that nutrition education play an important roll in the educations, but it should not be picked out of it´s context but rather be seen as part of a totality. This also reflects the assessment, which is often integrated with other curriculum components such as training theory and health education. All informants describe that feedback is essential for development purposes. The informants believe that this is a new approach and an effect of the new curriculum. It can be discerned two groups regarding how informants choose to work with their lesson content. One group will approach it from the students future work and the other from sports and recreational activities. The informants describe that time is a limiting factor in their nutrition education and state that it is only one of many curriculum components in the course Physical education and health 1.

Query equivalence is a fundamental problem within database theory. The correctness of all forms of logical query rewriting—join minimization, view flattening, rewriting over materialized views, various semantic optimizations that exploit schema dependencies, federated query processing and other forms of data integration—requires proving that the final executed query is equivalent to the original user query. Hence, advances in the theory of query equivalence enable advances in query processing and optimization. In this thesis we address the problem of deciding query equivalence between conjunctive SQL queries containing aggregation operators that may be nested. Our focus is on understanding the interaction between nested aggregation operators and the other parts of the query body, and so we model aggregation functions simply as abstract collection constructors. Hence, the precise language that we study is a conjunctive algebraic language that constructs complex objects from databases of flat relations. Using an encoding of complex objects as flat relations, we reduce the query equivalence problem for this algebraic language to deciding equivalence between relational encodings output by traditional conjunctive queries (not containing aggregation). This encoding-equivalence cleanly unifies and generalizes previous results for deciding equivalence of conjunctive queries evaluated under various processing semantics. As part of our study of aggregation operators that can construct empty sub-collections—so-called “scalar” aggregation—we consider query equivalence for conjunctive queries extended with a left outer join operator, a very practical class of queries for which the general equivalence problem has never before been analyzed. Although we do not completely solve the equivalence problem for queries with outer joins or with scalar aggregation, we do propose useful sufficient conditions that generalize previously known results for restricted classes of queries. Overall, this thesis offers new insight into the fundamental principles governing the behaviour of nested aggregation.

Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire s'inscrivent dans l'étude et l'amélioration des modèles d'endommagement continus régularisés (non locaux), l'objectif étant d'étudier la transition entre un champ d'endommagement continu défini sur l'ensemble d'une structure et un modèle discontinu de fissuration macroscopique.La première étape consiste en l'étude semi-analytique d'un problème unidimensionnel (barre en traction) visant à identifier une famille de lois d'interface permettant de basculer d'une solution non homogène obtenue avec un modèle continu à gradient d'endommagement vers un modèle discontinu de fissuration cohésive. Ce passage continu / discontinu est construit de telle sorte que l'équivalence énergétique entre les deux modèles soit assurée, et reste exacte quelque soit le niveau de dégradation atteint par le matériau au moment où cette transition est déclenchée.Cette stratégie est ensuite étendue au cadre 2D (et 3D) éléments finis dans le cas de la propagation de fissures rectilignes (et planes) en mode I. Une approche explicite basée sur un critère de dépassement d'une valeur " critique " de l'endommagement est proposée afin de coupler les modèles continus et discontinus au sein d'un même calcul quasi-statique par éléments finis. Enfin, plusieurs résultats de simulations menées avec cette approche couplée sont présentés.

The n-solvable filtration of the link concordance group, defined by Cochran, Orr, and Teichner in 2003, is a tool for studying smooth knot and link concordance that yields important results in low-dimensional topology. We focus on the first two stages of the n-solvable filtration, which are the class of 0-solvable links and the class of 0.5-solvable links. We introduce a new equivalence relation on links called 0-solve equivalence and establish both an algebraic and a geometric characterization 0-solve equivalent links. As a result, we completely characterize 0-solvable links and we give a classification of links up to 0-solve equivalence. We relate 0-solvable links to known results about links bounding gropes and Whitney towers in the 4-ball. We then establish a sufficient condition for a link to be 0.5-solvable and show that 0.5-solvable links must have vanishing Sato-Levine invariants.

Query equivalence is a fundamental problem within database theory. The correctness of all forms of logical query rewriting—join minimization, view flattening, rewriting over materialized views, various semantic optimizations that exploit schema dependencies, federated query processing and other forms of data integration—requires proving that the final executed query is equivalent to the original user query. Hence, advances in the theory of query equivalence enable advances in query processing and optimization. In this thesis we address the problem of deciding query equivalence between conjunctive SQL queries containing aggregation operators that may be nested. Our focus is on understanding the interaction between nested aggregation operators and the other parts of the query body, and so we model aggregation functions simply as abstract collection constructors. Hence, the precise language that we study is a conjunctive algebraic language that constructs complex objects from databases of flat relations. Using an encoding of complex objects as flat relations, we reduce the query equivalence problem for this algebraic language to deciding equivalence between relational encodings output by traditional conjunctive queries (not containing aggregation). This encoding-equivalence cleanly unifies and generalizes previous results for deciding equivalence of conjunctive queries evaluated under various processing semantics. As part of our study of aggregation operators that can construct empty sub-collections—so-called “scalar” aggregation—we consider query equivalence for conjunctive queries extended with a left outer join operator, a very practical class of queries for which the general equivalence problem has never before been analyzed. Although we do not completely solve the equivalence problem for queries with outer joins or with scalar aggregation, we do propose useful sufficient conditions that generalize previously known results for restricted classes of queries. Overall, this thesis offers new insight into the fundamental principles governing the behaviour of nested aggregation.

This essay treats some of the problems that often arise when a translator translates texts which could be characterized as "culturally coloured" texts. Some people think that these kind of texts are not translatable. We want to show that, on the contrary, they are possible to translate into another language, even if it is not possible to translate them literally, word for word. First we present the material that our own translations are based on, and we discuss different terms relating to "untranslatable" words. Then we analyse and discuss different theories and approaches to translation, approaches that help us to find an acceptable translation of cultural words. Finally we present and analyse words that caused us problems in our efforts to translate from French into Swedish.

<p>A GL(2,R)-structure on a smooth manifold of dimension n+1 corresponds to a distribution of non-degenerate rational normal cones over the manifold. Such a structure is called k-integrable if there exist many foliations by submanifolds of dimension k whose tangent spaces are spanned by vectors in the cones.</p><p>This structure was first studied by Bryant for n=3 and k=2. The work included here (n=4 and k=2,3) was suggested by Ferapontov, et al., who showed that the cases (n=4,k=2) and (n=4, k=3) can arise from integrability of second-order PDEs via hydrodynamic reductions.</p><p>Cartan--Kahler analysis for n=4 and k=3 leads to a complete classification of local structures into 54 equivalence classes determined by the value of an essential 9-dimensional representation of torsion for the GL(2,R)-structure. These classes are described by the factorization root-types of real binary octic polynomials. Each of these classes must arise from a PDE, but the PDEs remain to be identified. </p><p>Also, we study the local problem for n >= 5 and k=2,3 and conjecture that similar classifications exist for these cases; however, the interesting integrability results are essentially unique to degree 4. The approach is that of moving frames, using Cartan's method of equivalence, the Cartan--Kahler theorem, and Cartan's structure theorem.</p> / Dissertation

Weighted polynomial regression of degree d with weight function Exp(£\ x) on an interval is considered. The D-optimal designs £i_d^* are completely characterized via three differential equations. Some invariant properties of £i_d^* under affine transformation are derived. The design £i_d^* as d goes to 1, is shown to converge weakly to the arcsin distribution. Comparisons of £i_d^* with the arcsin distribution are also made.