The full text will be available at the end of the embargo: 10th April 2027

This study presents a critical investigation into the teaching of computer ethics. A qualitative pluralistic approach (a mixture of qualitative approaches) was used to investigate case studies of teaching computer ethics to university-level students from Bahrain. The main issue was that ethics to Arabs and Muslims is a matter of religion than a matter of philosophy whereas the dominant perception in the academic literature which discussed computer ethics teaching is that computer ethics is a form of practical philosophy and hence separate from religion. In order to shed light on this, the study investigated computer ethic’s perceptions and teaching practices which were occurring in universities in Bahrain. The study found that the issue was not a matter of perception but rather a matter of confusion and a misconception. Computer ethics was being confused with morality, religion, basic computer skills to name just a few. And such confusion was causing computer ethics to gradually disappear from the curriculum and become substituted with concepts which were not necessarily capable of building students’ ethical thinking. The study recommends that computer ethics teachers and policy makers from Bahrain distinguish computer ethics from religion, morality and from any other concept and identify it as an independent field of study, also teachers need to involve their students in social and ethical analysis of various kinds so that students understand that ethics is not a set of rules on what is forbidden and allowed aimed at providing straightforward answers to a given problem but rather ethics is a ‘cognitive tool’; a mechanism through which different competing ethical theories and standards are used to reflect on a given problem.

The main purpose of this work is to prove short-time structural stability of compressible vortex sheets with surface tension. The main result can be summarised as follows. Assume we start with an initial vortex-sheet configuration which consists of two inviscid fluids with density bounded below flowing smoothly past each other, where a strictly positive fixed coefficient of surface tension produces a surface tension force across the common interface, balanced by the pressure jump. We assume the fluids are modelled by the compressible Euler equations in three space dimensions with a very general equation of state relating the pressure, entropy and density in each fluid such that the sound speed is positive. Then, for a short time, which may depend on the initial configuration, there exists a unique solution of the equations with the same structure, that is, two fluids with density bounded below flowing smoothly past each other, where the surface tension force across the common interface balances the pressure jump. The mathematical approach consists of introducing a carefully chosen artificial viscosity-type regularisation which allows one to linearise the system so as to obtain a collection of transport equations for the entropy, pressure and curl together with a parabolic-type equation for the velocity. We prove a high order energy estimate for the non-linear equations that is independent of the artificial viscosity parameter which allows us to send it to zero. This approach loosely follows that introduced by Shkoller et al in the setting of a compressible liquid-vacuum interface. Although already considered by Shkoller et al, we also make some brief comments on the case of a compressible liquid-vacuum interface, which is obtained from the vortex sheets problem by replacing one of the fluids by vacuum, where it is possible to obtain a structural stability result even without surface tension.

Millennials, or Generation Y, represent one of today’s most prominent age cohorts: with their increasingly stronger purchasing power and importance in the global economic landscape, it is no wonder that marketers are striving to find new ways to appeal to the taste of this peculiar generation of consumers. Among the various modern research fields in business, one in particular is offering incredibly interesting insights to both scholars and professional marketers: the concept of nostalgia proneness in consumer behavior. While several studies examine the dynamics of this phenomenon, none of them so far examined the impact of nostalgia proneness in shopping behavior, especially examining the dynamics on a sample of Generation Y consumers. This study was conducted in order to explore the dynamics of nostalgia proneness, linking the constructs to both desire for uniqueness and shopping behavior, using the framework provided by the Consumer Styles Inventory (Sproles & Sproles, 1990). After a theoretical review on the matter, several hypotheses and a conceptual model were developed to serve as the core framework of the quantitative analysis. The data, obtained from a convenience sample of 222 respondents, were subsequently examined using several statistical techniques (ANOVA, correlation and factor analysis), with the intent to test the hypotheses and shed light on the research questions. The outcome was then presented and interpreted using both the theoretical background and other complementary relevant literature. The results showed a positive relationship between nostalgia proneness and desire for uniqueness, with both variables being further connected to several shopping traits of the Generation Y consumer. The cluster and factor analysis eventually showed patterns that could be interpreted using the theory of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations.

Idiolect refers to an individual’s unique use of language. Therefore, the author of a text can be identified by his/her use of language. This study is focused on Joan Hambidge’s recognisable idiolect across the boundaries of genres. It is expected that Hambidge will have a unique and recognisable idiolect, regardless of the genre she writes in. By making use of forensic linguistic principles, methods and applications, it has been shown that it is possible to determine an individual’s idiolect. Even though forensic principles are specifically focused on identifying an author, the methodology used in the research field can be applied to a corpus linguistic study to determine how clearly an individual’s idiolect features across the boundaries of genres. By researching the research subject, explaining her oeuvre, creating a literary background, as well as discussing the literary approaches that Hambidge uses in her respective genres, and what she writes about, the necessary literary background was created, which contributes to the complete image of Hambidge and her influences. By creating this background, it is possible to determine which external factors have an influence on Hambidge's idiolect. Linguistic research was done to determine the origin and background of sociolinguistics; as well as factors that can influence an individual’s idiolect. The background of forensic linguistics was provided, as well as the various corpus linguistic methods that can be used in a study such as this one. After the background was provided, the empirical analysis was executed, in which both stylistic and stylometric analyses were performed by making use of inter- and intra-corpus linguistic research, according to which Hambidge’s idiolect was identified. To identify Hambidge’s idiolect, the Taalkommissie corpus was used as a reference corpus to determine whether the idiosyncratic characteristics that were found in the Hambidge corpus truly are a unique feature or whether they can also be found in the Taalkommissie corpus. The application and execution of the methods made it possible to determine to which extent, if at all, Hambidge has a unique idiolect, and how this idiolect features across the boundaries of genres. The research has determined that Joan Hambidge has a unique idiolect and that the idiolect is especially clear when research is done about her corpus in its entirety. When Hambidge’s separate genres were compared to each other, it was clear that genre influences idiolect, but also that Hambidge did not follow the prescribed genre conventions. Even though the two novels that were compared, did not match as was expected, the other, various genres did agree. Various categories were identified, from which it is clear that distinguishing characteristics can be found in Hambidge’s corpus. It can therefore be said without a doubt that Hambidge has a unique idiolect across the boundaries of genres. / MA (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Suppose L is a complete separable metric topological group (ring, field, etc.). L is topologically unique if the Polish topology on L is uniquely determined by its underlying algebraic structure. More specifically, L is topologically unique if an algebraic isomorphism of L with any other complete separable metric topological group (ring, field, etc.) induces a topological isomorphism. A local field is a locally compact topological field with non-discrete topology. The only local fields (up to isomorphism) are the real, complex, and p-adic numbers, finite extensions of the p-adic numbers, and fields of formal power series over finite fields. We establish the topological uniqueness of the special linear Lie algebras over local fields other than the complex numbers (for which this result is not true) in the context of complete separable metric Lie rings. Along the way the topological uniqueness of all local fields other than the field of complex numbers is established, which is derived as a corollary to more general principles which can be applied to a larger class of topological fields. Lastly, also in the context of complete separable metric Lie rings, the topological uniqueness of the special linear Lie algebra over the real division algebra of quaternions, the special orthogonal Lie algebras, and the special unitary Lie algebras is proved.

<p>Doktorska disertacija naslovljena &ldquo;Srpski<br />roman za decu na početku 21. veka u svetlu<br />književnih nagrada (2001-2010)&rdquo; bavi se<br />analizom romana za decu na srpskom jeziku<br />nagrađenih jednom od tri relevantne nagrade:<br />Nagradom &ldquo;Neven&rdquo;, Nagradom &ldquo;Politikinog<br />Zabavnika&rdquo; i Nagradom &ldquo;Rade Obrenović&rdquo; .<br />Osnovni predmet rada jeste sagledavanje<br />tipolo&scaron;kih odrednica i žanrovskih usmerenja<br />romana za decu u prvoj deceniji 21. veka,<br />njihovih estetskih vrednosti i(li)<br />reprezentativnosti, te utvrđivanje dominantne<br />slike sveta i detinjstva prezentovanih u ovim<br />delima, kao i razmatranje njihove razvojne<br />relevantnosti. Romani su analizirani<br />pojedinačno i u okviru tipolo&scaron;kih odrednica<br />kojima, po na&scaron;em mi&scaron;ljenju pripadaju, ali su,<br />takođe, sagledavani u &scaron;irem kulturolo&scaron;kom<br />kontekstu . Razmatran je odnos nagrađenih<br />romana prema aktuelnim događajima, kao i<br />ukupna uklopljivost u koncept megastrukture<br />modernizma, referencijalnost, prisutnost u<br />medijima, te mogućnost da budu baza za<br />najsavremeniji koncept kulture namenjene deci<br />koji implicira njihovo uključivanje u obrazovni<br />sistem, odnosno kanonizaciju. Sa obzirom da je<br />reč o delima koja nastaju u periodu tranzicije,<br />važan deo istraživanja je bio i odnos ovih<br />romana prema &scaron;irem kontekstu srpskog romana za decu, sa naglaskom na periodu osamdesetih i devedesetih godina. Zaključak koji izvodimo</p><p>nakon istraživanja jeste da je u naznačenom<br />periodu napisano i nagrađeno niz romana koji<br />po estetskoj izuzetnosti odgovaraju najvi&scaron;im<br />zahtevima bogate tradicije srpske književnosti<br />za decu. Takođe, primećena je i potreba za<br />promenama i inovacijama, koja je uslovila da<br />povremeno razlog za nagrađivanje bude<br />reprezentativnost dela i njegov komunikativni<br />potencijal, umesto izuzetnosti. Tri (tada) mlada<br />pisca (Jasminka Petrović, Igor Kolarov, Uro&scaron;<br />Petrović) su sredinom decenije u potpunosti<br />posvetili svoj umetnički i dru&scaron;tveni angažman<br />stvarala&scaron;tvu za decu, te svojim autentičnim<br />autorskim potpisima dragoceno obogatili<br />savremenu dečju književnost. Dakle, umetnička<br />dela nastala u prvoj dekadi 21. veka imaju<br />veliki potencijal da postanu deo budućeg<br />kanona, ali je prethodno neophodna ozbiljna<br />stručna i institucionalna rasprava</p> / <p>The Doctoral Dissertation entitled &ldquo;Serbian<br />Novel for Children at the Beginning of the 21st<br />Century in the Light of Literary Prizes (2001 &ndash;<br />2010)&rdquo; is based on analysis of novels for<br />children in Serbian language that were awarded<br />one of the three relevant prizes: &ldquo;Neven&ldquo;,<br />&rdquo;Politikin zabavnik&rdquo; and &ldquo;Rade Obrenović&rdquo;.<br />The basic focus of the dissertation is analysis of<br />typological characteristics and genre<br />orientations of the novels for children in the first<br />decade of the 21st century, their esthetic values<br />and/or representativity, and determination of a<br />dominant vision of the world and childhood<br />presented in these novels, as well as evaluation<br />of their developmental relevance. The novels<br />have been analyzed individually as well as<br />within typological characteristics to which, in<br />our opinion, they belong, and also they have<br />been seen in a wider culturological context. We<br />have analyzed the relation between the novels<br />that received awards and current events, their<br />potential to fit in the megastructural modernism<br />concept, their reference values, presence in the<br />media and a possibility to be a basis for the<br />most modern culture concept dedicated to<br />children, which implies their inclusion in the<br />educational system, that is, the canonization.<br />Bearing in mind that we speak about works that<br />have come into being in the transition period, an<br />important part of our investigation was oriented towards the relation of these novels with a wider</p><p>context of the Serbian novel for children, with<br />an emphasis on the period of the eighties and<br />ninetieth. The conclusion that we made after the<br />research is that many novels have been written<br />and awarded a prize in the stated period which,<br />judged by esthetic uniqueness, correspond to the<br />highest requirements of the rich tradition of the<br />Serbian literature for children. Also, a need for<br />changes and innovations has been noticed;<br />certain works were awarded prizes because of<br />their representative character and their<br />communicational potential, not because of their<br />uniqueness. In the middle of the decade three<br />(then) young authors (Jasminka Petrović, Igor<br />Kolarov, Uro&scaron; Petrović), dedicated their entire<br />artistic and social engagement to creating books<br />for children, so that they, by their authentic<br />signatures as authors, enriched the modern<br />literature for children.<br />Thus, the works of art created in the first decade<br />of the 21st century have a great potential to<br />become a part of the future canon; however,<br />before it happens, it is necessary to expose them<br />to a serious and institutional discussion.</p>

Given unprecedented shifts in the U.S. demography marked by rapid growth in Hispanic, Asian and other ethnic market segments, marketing scholars and practitioners are confronting ways to cultivate ethnic consumers' brand preference formation, retail patronage and their ensuring consumption choices. Food is cited as a common signifier for consumers’ ethnic/cultural identity because food itself is a cultural symbol. However, little research has examined the influences of ethnic identities on consumers’ patronage behaviors of ethnic-themed restaurants. Thus, this dissertation critically explores the impact of ethnic identity and motivational factors to better understand consumers' choices of ethnic-themed restaurants with a mix-method approach. The present research investigates how ethnic identity and consumers’ need for uniqueness interplay with perceived authenticity in consumers’ patronage intention of ethnic-themed restaurants. The findings advocate the interplay among ethnic identity, consumers’ need for uniqueness, and perceived authenticity of general consumers in decision making choices of patronizing ethnic-themed restaurants. The findings have important implications for market segmentation guiding the owners of ethnic-themed restaurant the choice of environmental cues to encourage patronage intentions among general consumers. Furthermore, this study provides additional insights about motivating factors affecting decision making of patronizing ethnic-themed restaurants and contributes to the stream of research by enhancing understanding of marketing ethnic-themed restaurant in a multi-cultural society.

A caracterização de materiais utilizando a técnica de indentação instrumentada difundiu-se significativamente na última década, devido às melhorias dos instrumentos que permitem ensaios por esta técnica e à necessidade de se fazer ensaios em pequenos volumes de materiais, como, por exemplo, em filmes finos e materiais com superfícies modificadas por tratamentos superficiais. Neste texto, abordou-se a elaboração de um algoritmo que permita o estudo da resposta de indentação de superfícies de diferentes materiais metálicos, durante e após o contato com um indentador agudo, empregando simulações por elementos finitos e análise dimensional. Na obtenção do algoritmo analisaram-se os efeitos da formação de borda (pile-up) ou da retração (sink-in) do material indentado, o coeficiente de atrito indentador-amostra, as deformações elásticas do indentador, a geometria do indentador e a variação experimental. As relações obtidas permitiram identificar uma falta fundamental de relação única entre as propriedades mecânicas e a forma da curva de indentação para curvas com razão d r/dmax>0,9, onde d r é a profundidade residual da indentação e dmax é o deslocamento máximo do indentador durante o ensaio. Da mesma forma, concluiu-se que a relação de Sneddon tem que ser corrigida tanto pela geometria da área de contato indentador-amostra quanto pela razão entre os módulos elásticos do material e do indentador (E/Ei). Como a área de contato indentador-amostra é afetada não só pela geometria do indentador mas também pelo nível de pile-up ou sink-in nos indentadores piramidais, uma relação foi identificada entre o nível de pile-up/sink-in e o fator de correção b da equação de Sneddon para os indentadores Vickers e Berkovich. Adicionalmente, pequenas diferenças foram observadas entre as curvas P-h (onde h é a profundidade de indentação abaixo da superfície original da amostra) e as curvas P-d (onde d é o valor da aproximação mútua entre indentador e amostra durante a indentação) para um mesmo valor de módulo reduzido Er quando a razão E/Ei é grande. Assim, o módulo reduzido pode sobreestimar ou subestimar a rigidez do indentador, dependendo das propriedades do material indentado. As análises neste trabalho permitiram igualmente observar que as principais limitações na obtenção das propriedades elasto-plásticas usando a curva de indentação instrumentada vêm da falta de unicidade, seguida pela geometria do indentador, isto é, diferenças entre o cone equivalente e os piramidais Vickers e Berkovich, assim como desvios em relação à geometria ideal do indentador, o que inclui arredondamento da sua ponta. Quando não há unicidade, sabendo-se informações adicionais à curva P-d, por exemplo, o valor da área residual da indentação ou o módulo elástico, uma solução única das propriedades mecânicas pode ser obtida. Em paralelo, a variação experimental pode limitar de forma significativa a precisão no cálculo das propriedades, enquanto o atrito indentador-amostra e as deformações do indentador têm efeitos menos significativos. Em termos gerais, observa-se que as funções que compõem o algoritmo desenvolvido neste trabalho permitem: (i) predizer as curvas carga-deslocamento (curvas P-d), produto do ensaio de indentação instrumentada, para um conjunto de propriedades elasto-plásticas conhecidas; (ii) identificar quando uma mesma curva P-d pode ser obtida de mais de um conjunto de propriedades do material indentado (iii) calcular as propriedades mecânicas (dureza, módulo elástico, coeficiente de encruamento e limite de escoamento) de um material usando a curva P-d quando d r/dmax<0,8 ou faixas de propriedades de materiais quando d r/dmax>0,8 e (iv) calcular as propriedades mecânicas (dureza, módulo elástico, coeficiente de encruamento e limite de escoamento) de um material usando a curva P-d e a área residual da indentação. / The interest in material characterization using instrumented indentation techniques has significantly increased in the last decade, due to improvements in testing instruments and the need to carry out tests on small volumes of materials, such as thin films or materials with surfaces modified by other surface treatments. This work addresses the development of an algorithm to analyze the indentation response of a group of metallic materials, during and after the contact with a sharp indenter, using finite element simulations and dimensional analysis. The formulation of the algorithm considered the effects of pile-up or sink-in of the indented material around the indentation, the friction coefficient between the indenter and the sample, the elastic deformation of the indenter, and the defects of the indenter tip. An analysis considering algorithm output and experimental variation was also conducted. The results allowed identifying a fundamental lack of unique relationship between the mechanical properties and the shape of the indentation curve for indentation curves with ratio d r/dmax>0,9, where d r is the residual indentation depth and dmax is the maximum indenter displacement in the test. Similarly, results allowed concluding that Sneddons equation requires a correction by both the geometry of the contact area and the ratio between the elastic moduli of the material and the indenter (E/Ei). As the shape of contact area is affected not only by the geometry of the indenter but also by the level of pile-up or sink-in in pyramidal indenters, a relationship was observed between the level of pile-up/sink-in and the correction factor b in the Sneddons equation for Vickers and Berkovich indenters. Additionally, it was found that the deformation of the indenter is not fully incorporated into indentation data analysis by the consideration of a reduced modulus (Er). Small differences between P-h curves (where h is the indentation depth below the original surface) and P-d curves (where d is the indenter/sample mutual approach) were observed for the same Er when the ratio E/Ei is large. Thus, the reduced modulus can overestimate or underestimate the indenter stiffness, depending on the mechanical properties of the indented material. Additionally, the analysis in this work has identified that the most important limitations in mechanical properties estimation using the indentation curve arise from the lack of uniqueness, followed by deviations in indenter geometry, such as differences between equivalent cone and pyramidal Vickers or Berkovich and tip defects. When non-uniqueness is present, unique solution may be obtained with the knowledge of additional information, in conjunction with P-d data, such as the residual indentation area or the elastic modulus. Furthermore, even when a unique solution is available the experimental variation may significantly decrease the accuracy in mechanical properties estimation, whereas friction and indenter deformation have less significant effects. In general, it was observed that the proposed algorithm allows: (i) predicting the load-displacement curves P-d of instrumented indentation tests for a set of known elastic-plastic mechanical properties, (ii) identifying when the same P-d curve can be obtained from more than one set of mechanical properties of the indented material, (iii) calculating the mechanical properties (hardness, elastic modulus, yield stress and strain hardening coefficient) from P-d curves when d r/dmax<0,8 or possible ranges for each mechanical property when d r/dmax>0,8 and (iv) calculating the mechanical properties (hardness, elastic modulus, yield stress and strain hardening coefficient) from P-d curves and the knowledge of the residual indentation area.

Equações diferenciais funcionais em medida podem ser usadas como ferramentas para o estudo de modelos físicos mais próximos da realidade, por exemplo, modelos com fenômeno de \"jump\" e constituem um ramo relativamente novo de equações diferenciais. Embora esse campo tenha se desenvolvido nos últimos anos, a teoria sobre equações diferenciais funcionais em medida é escassa, com algumas classes de equações ainda não pesquisadas. Neste trabalho, vamos explorar as equações diferenciais funcionais neutras em medida com retardo infinito. Usando técnicas conhecidas na literatura, obtemos propriedades qualitativas para sua solução, como existência, unicidade e dependência contínua com relação as condições iniciais. Além disso, estudamos a controlabilidade de um sistema descrito por este tipo de equação. / Measure differential equations is a branch of differential equations area recently discovered that can be used as a tool to study physical models closer to the reality, for example, models with the phenomenon of jump. Although this field has been developed in the recent years, the theory of measure functional differential equations is still scarce, and some classes of these equations have not been described yet. Here, we will explore the neutral measure functional differential equations with infinite delay. Using techniques known in the literature, we obtain qualitative properties of their solutions, such as existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence. In addition, we study controllability for systems described by this type of equation.