Collective nouns are a category of nouns that refer to a group of people or things. This group of nouns has the special characteristic that when in singular form, they can be followed by either a singular or a plural verb. This feature of collective nouns has attracted a great deal of attention from researchers and traditional grammarians, who in the last few decades have tried to explain this phenomenon by investigating different perspectives on it, thereby taking into consideration morphological, syntactic and semantic, as well as variational and discourse-specific differences (Biber et al, 1999; Levin, 2001; Depraetere, 2003). One of the main assumptions that has been suggested in the literature is that collective nouns have specific concord preferences, allowing for either a singular or a plural verb or both. Another assumption that has also been invoked is that when collective nouns are part of a complex noun phrase, as for instance in the phrase the rest of (the) society, in which the collective is part of the of-phrase, the plural tends to be used. Based on these two assumptions, the aim of this thesis is to further investigate, firstly whether a singular or a plural verb is used after expressions where a collective noun is being modified by a quantifying noun expression (e.g. the rest of, part of), secondly whether the concord preferences the collective nouns have an influence on the verbal concord and finally if there is any difference between the two main varieties of English, namely British and American English. Since this is a topic of actual language use, the methods used in corpus linguistic research are also employed in the thesis. More specifically, by looking at the instances of quantifying noun expressions modifying collective nouns as well as the frequency with which such constructions occur in two different corpora, the enTenTen13 and the GloWbE (Corpus of Global Web-Based English), the thesis seeks to answer the aforementioned questions. From the analysis of the data it was concluded that in some cases the concord preferences of the collective nouns influenced the verb form following the complex noun phrases, whereas in others these preferences did not determine the selection of the verb form. Syntactic, semantic as well as contextual factors seem to also influence the selection of the verb form. Furthermore, variational differences occurred, since in British English the plural was more often used with collective nouns that prefer the plural concord over the singular one or that are more variable in their concord patterns, whereas in American English the singular was the preferred choice in all cases.

Students’ interactions can be an influential component of students’ success in an interactive learning environment. From a participation perspective, learning is viewed in terms of how students transform their participation. However, many of the seminal papers discussing the participationist framework are vague on specific details about what student participation really looks like on a fine-grained scale. As part of a large project to understand the role of student participation in learning, this study gathered data that quantified students’ participation in three broad areas of two student-centered introductory calculus-based physics classes structured around the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) philosophy. These three broad areas of classes were in-class learning activities, class review sessions that happened at the beginning of every class, and the informal learning community that formed outside of class time. Using video data, classroom observations, and students’ self-reported social network data, this study quantified students’ participation in these three aspects of the class throughout two semesters. The relationship between behaviors of students’ engagement in various settings of an active learning environment and (a) their conceptual understanding (measured by FCI gain) and (b) academic success in the courses as measured by exam scores and scores on out-of-class assignments were investigated. The results from the analysis of the student interaction in the learning process show that three class components, viz. the Review Session, Learning Activities, and Informal Learning Community, play distinct roles in learning. Students who come in the class with better content knowledge do not necessarily participate more in the learning activities of active learning classrooms. Learning Communities serve as a “support network” for students to finish assignments and help students to pass the course. Group discussions, which are facilitated by students themselves, better help students in gaining conceptual understanding. Since patterns of students’ participation do not change significantly over time, instructors should try to ensure greater participation by incorporating different learning activities in the active learning classroom.

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Completando 100 anos da descoberta da molestia, a Doenca de Chagas, causada pelo agente etiologico Trypanosoma cruzi, ainda e considerada nas Americas Central e do Sul um problema de saude publica, atingindo mais de 8 milhoes de individuos. Sua transmissao ocorre de distintas maneiras, como por vetores, transfusao sanguinea, transplante de orgaos, acidentes em laboratorios, via oral. O parasita e conhecido por sua heterogeneidade no genotipo e fenotipo, baseado em mutacoes cumulativas em diferentes sub-populacoes do parasita. A cepa CL Brener e uma cepa padrao para pesquisa com diversas peculiaridades interessantes como baixa infectividade em animais, resposta aos tratamentos existentes e seus marcadores geneticos serem estaveis. O clone CL B5 de T. cruzi e originado a partir da cepa CL Brener modificada geneticamente. A cepa possui um gene reporter, o LacZ de Escherichia coli que sintetiza uma enzima, a À-galactose que pode catalisar uma reacao colorimetrica com o substrato vermelho de clorofenol À-galactopiranosideo (CPRG). A atividade enzimatica e diretamente proporcional ao numero de parasita. No presente trabalho propomos a introducao de uma tecnica colorimetrica para caracterizacao de parametros para quantificacao do parasitismo tecidual e comparacao com a tecnica histologica e Real Time-PCR. Camundongos Balb/C machos foram divididos em grupos controle (nao infectado) e experimental variando a via de inoculacao, a saber, intraperitoneal (IP), subcutanea (SC) e oral (OR). As curvas parasitemicas foram realizadas por meio da coleta de sangue da cauda do animal. Apos morte dos mesmos, foram estudados os tecidos cardiaco, hepatico, esplenico, enterico e muscular (musculo esqueletico). Os orgaos foram retirados, divididos em tres porcoes equitativas para analise histologica, enzimatica e molecular. Na atividade enzimatica, comparando os tecidos em suas vias de inoculacao, o figado apresentou resultado significativo no grupo inoculado via IP. Tecido cardiaco apresentou diferenca estatistica (P<0,05) entre as vias de inoculacao OR e SC, apresentando maior atividade enzimatica na primeira, o que esta relacionado a uma maior quantidade de parasita tecidual. Nos cortes histologicos o grupo SC mostrou-se mais infectado com grande numero de ninhos de forma amastigota em praticamente todos os tecidos, enquanto nos demais grupos foram observados ninhos de amastigota em sua maioria no coracao e viii musculo esqueletico. A presenca do parasita nos demais tecidos foi confirmada pela eletroforese em gel de agarose 1,5% apos tecnica de PCR convencional. A Real Time-PCR nao se mostrou satisfatoria no trabalho devido a dificuldade na sua padronizacao. Concluindo, a metodologia enzimatica se mostrou favoravel e adequada na quantificacao parasitaria tecidual, podendo ser aperfeicoada para corroborar sua eficacia. / One hundred years after the discovery of Chagas Disease, an illness caused by blood born protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is still consider a public health problem. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Central and South Americas where more than 8 million individuals are already infected. This illness can be contracted by different forms as vector transmission, blood transfusion, tissue transplant, laboratory accidents and oral route. The parasite has a heterogeneous genotype and phenotype due to accumulating mutation in their sub-populations. CL Brener is considered as a pattern strain due to some intrinsic characteristics as low infectivity, good response to therapy drugs and a stable genetic heritage. The CL B5 clone of T. cruzi was originated by a genetic modification of the CL Brener strain which has a reporter gene LacZ of Escherichia coli, which induces the syntesis of â-galactosidase which is able to catalyze a colorimetric reaction using the substrat Chlorophenol red-â-D-galactopyranoside (CPRG). The enzymatic activity is directly related with the number of the parasites. In this study we proposed a new colorimetric assay to quantify T. cruzi load in different animal tissues by comparing with other methodologies such histological and molecular assay (Real Time-PCR). Male Balb/C mice were separated into control and experimental groups according to the route of infection (IP-intraperitoneal, SC-subcutaneous, OR-oral). Parasitemic curves were made by collecting blood samples from the tail of experimental animals. Fifteen days after, animals were euthanized and their tissues removed (heart, liver, spleen, intestine and skeletal muscles) and divided in three portions for the colorimetric analyses, histopathology and molecular assay. The enzymatic activity was performed comparing the number of parasites in different tissues according to the route of infection. Comparing them, it was observed that heart and liver displayed the highest number of parasites as compared with the other studied tissues. In the liver, IP route triggered the highest number of parasites while in the heart OR and SC routes displayed enhanced parasites. The histopathology analysis revealed that SC group presented the highest number of amastigote nests. For IP and OR groups, nests were mostly observed in heart and skeletal muscles. T. cruzi DNA were detected using electrophoreses 1,5 % agarose gel after conventional PCR technique, displaying characteristic bands of DNA. The Real Time-PCR was not a satisfactory x assay for this study due to difficulties on its patronization. To conclude, the enzymatic methodology was advantageous and appropriated on quantifying tissue parasites. Some further experiments will be needed to improve methodology and its efficacy.

The content of this work is to analyze the current information system of the company MTE Ltd. and then present changes which would result to a better efficiency of the company processes and activities.

A subset of 199 Melissotarsus insularis and 130 Diaspididae specimens were analyzed to 1) determine the species status of M. insularis and 2) to explore the relative intimacy of the relationship between M. insularis and Diaspididae. An analysis of molecular variance and the observed lack of association between clades and distinct habitats on the M. insularis phylogeny suggested that while M. insularis exhibits isolation by distance, it does not apparently diversify by habitat. When cryptic COI pseudogenes were accounted for, the majority of the genetic diversity exhibited by M. insularis was limited to a divergence of 3% or less suggesting that M. insularis represents a single, albeit broadly distributed, species. A cophylogenetic reconstruction of the relationship between M. insularis and Diaspididae yielded 14 “cospeciation” events but was not significant unlike reconstructions of host-parasite relationships. Analyses of reduced datasets suggested that incomplete taxon sampling may significantly affect cophylogenetic reconstruction results. / National Science Foundation (grants No. DEB-0072713, DEB-0344731 to BLF and DEB-0842395 to BLF and MAS), a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant to MAS and a Leaders Opportunity Fund grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to MAS

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / This study will focus on conflict within organisations in the attempt to gain clarity on this very common phenomenon and to link conflict to financial cost. By gaining a financial grip on conflict this study attempts to give the reader the tools with which to estimate parameters and calculate financial costs within their own conflict situations. The reader will also be able to motivate the need for management to invest in pre-emptive conflict resolution structures. The study will focus on a sample population from the mining sector in South Africa. A multiple case study approach is used in order to understand the intricacies that make conflict a variable, situation-dependant occurrence after which data is collected to calculate a preliminary estimate of the financial costs incurred by the organisation due to hostilities within the sample population. The results of the study indicate that the samples chosen experience different types of conflict and also manage the conflict in different ways. The calculations reflect that conflict impacts on the organisation in a fiscally prominent way. Each case has its own unique major contributors to monetary costs incurred due to conflict depending on case specific attributes. The results clearly show that the financial cost of conflict has a severe impact on an organisation. The structured analysis provided by the study gives the reader a method with which to calculate the costs of conflict within other cases where conflict is assumed to have a negative impact on performance. In this way it becomes easier for the practitioner to effectively motivate for preventative action.

Sammanfattning Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet med studien var att jämföra ett damallsvenskt lag med det svenska damlandslaget i total belastning, total distans, högintensiva löpningar (HL), mycket högintensiva löpningar (MHL) samt sprints (S). Frågeställningarna var följande: Skiljer sig total belastning och total distans mellan de två lagen? Finns det skillnader i total belastning och total distans mellan olika positioner? Finns det skillnader i HL, MHL samt S i antal genomförda och sträcka mellan lagen och mellan olika positioner? Metod Studien genomfördes på åtta kvinnliga fotbollsspelare (ålder 27±1,8, längd 168±4,7, vikt 65±4,7). Dessa representerar ett damallsvenskt lag som spelade i övre delen av tabellen under år 2017. För att genomföra mätningen användes ett GPS-system (MinimaxX S4). Mätningen genomfördes under match vilken spelades på naturgräs. Vidare har värden från landslagets 12 spelare inhämtats från SvFF (ålder 28±4,5, längd 174±5, vikt 64±4,2). Resultat Resultatet visar att klubblagets totala belastning var 186 större än landslagets. Ingen signifikant skillnad fanns mellan de två lagen. Klubblagets mittfältare belastades 19 % mer än landslagets. Vidare belastades klubblagets anfallare 33 % mer än landslagets medan backarna i klubblaget belastades med 7 % mer än landslagets. Klubblaget sprang 15 % längre än landslaget. Ingen signifikans fanns mellan lagen. Klubblagets totala distans visar att spelarna sprang längre än landslaget på alla positioner. Resultatet visade vidare att det inte fanns någon signifikans mellan lagen för HL, MHL och S. Klubblaget sprang 1 % fler antal meter HL och 13 % fler antal meter MHL än landslaget. Landslaget sprang även 3 % fler antal meter S än klubblaget. Den procentuella skillnaden mellan lagen var 19 % fler antal genomförda HL och 9 % fler antal genomförda MHL samt 17 % fler antal S än klubblaget. Landslaget genomförde fler antal HL, MHL och S på samtliga positioner. Slutsats Studien visar att det inte finns någon signifikant skillnad mellan grupperna. Dock genomförde landslaget fler S i antal och sträcka vilket överensstämmer med tidigare studier som visar att lag som spelar på högre nivå genomför fler högintensiva aktioner under en match. Studiens omfång bör utökas för att vidare undersöka dessa variabler. / Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to compare a Swedish top league soccer team to the Swedish national team during a competitive game. Comparisons included measurements in player load, total distance covered, high-speed running (HL), very high-speed running (MHL) and sprint (S). The research questions were: Is there a difference in player load and total distance covered between the teams? Is there a difference in player load and total distance covered between different playing positions? Is there a difference in HL, MHL and S in performed and meters covered between different positions and between the two teams?     Method The number of participants were eight female soccer players (age 27±1,8, length 168±4,7, weight 65±4,7). They played in the top of the league during the season of 2017. A GPS system (MinimaxX S4) was used to collect data. The game was played on nature grass in the last round of the season. The National team values were supplied by SVFF where 12 players participated (age 28±4,5, length 174±5, weight 64±4,2). Results The Swedish league team had 186 higher player load than the National team where no significant difference was found. Furthermore, the Swedish league team’s midfielders were loaded 19 % more than the national team’s. The Swedish league attackers were loaded 33 % more than the national team’s. The difference in player load between the defenders was 7 % higher for the Swedish league team’s. The Swedish league team covered 15 % more meters in total distance where no significant difference was seen. All players in the Swedish league team covered the longest distance. There were no significant difference between number of performed and meters covered in HL, MHL and S. The Swedish league team covered 1 % more meters HL and 13 % more meters MHL than the National team. The National team covered 3 % more meter S than the Swedish league team. The National team performed 19 % more HL and 9 % more MHL than the Swedish league team. In total, the National team performed more HL, MHL and S than the Swedish league team.      Conclusion No significant difference was found between the two teams. Although, the National team covered higher number of S performed and meters which is in accordance to previous surveys which shows more high-speed actions is performed in higher competition levels during a game. The survey should be expanded to further examine the demands for women’s soccer. / <p>Ämneslärarprogrammet, Specialidrott</p>

The goals of this research project were to identify the various insects observed to visit inflorescences of Echinacea angustifolia DC, and to rank these visitors according to their importance as pollinators of E. angustifolia in Saskatchewan. Studying nectar and the nectary is essential to understanding the interaction of disc florets with pollinators. Nectar-sugar production by disc florets of E. angustifolia and E. purpurea (L. Moench) was quantified from anthesis to cessation with production per disc floret peaking in the afternoon of the staminate phase (191.7 µg) and at midday of the first day of the pistillate phase (156.6 µg), respectively. Morphology of the disc-like floral nectaries of both Echinacea species was studied, as well as the ultrastructure of the nectary of E. purpurea. Modified stomata on the nectary rim are the most likely exits for nectar, but creases in the epidermis may also participate. The nectary of E. purpurea is vascularized by phloem alone, which occurred adjacent to the epidermis. Companion cells possessed wall ingrowths, and these cells may unload arriving sugar destined for either an apoplastic or symplastic pathway. Lobed nuclei were a key feature of secretory parenchyma cells, as was a predominance of mitochondria, suggesting that energy-requiring eccrine secretion predominates in E. purpurea. E. angustifolia exhibited a generalist pollination system, with pollinating insects belonging to the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. The pollination efficiency of visitors was determined by single insect visits to bagged, virgin inflorescences followed by quantifying pollen tubes at the bases of receptive styles and/or calculating the percentage of shrivelled styles. It was determined that bumble bees (Bombus spp.) were efficient pollinators, indicating that they would likely contribute much to the pollination of E. angustifolia. Grasshopper bee flies (Systoechus vulgaris Loew) were plentiful but individually were not efficient pollinators, but taken together, they provided much pollination. Golden blister beetles (Epicauta ferruginea Say) were efficient pollinators but where yellow-petalled flowers occurred, their numbers on E. angustifolia decreased. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) were efficient pollinators and were present in low numbers without managed introduction. Pierid (2003) butterflies were regular visitors and efficient pollinators, and likely contributed significantly to E. angustifolia pollination. When introduced, the alfalfa leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata Fabr.) preferred not to forage on E. angustifolia and as such, these solitary bees were not suitable as managed pollinators. In large agricultural plantings of E. angustifolia, however, native insects may not be capable of providing sufficient pollination for seed production when floral competition occurs.

The goals of this research project were to identify the various insects observed to visit inflorescences of Echinacea angustifolia DC, and to rank these visitors according to their importance as pollinators of E. angustifolia in Saskatchewan. Studying nectar and the nectary is essential to understanding the interaction of disc florets with pollinators. Nectar-sugar production by disc florets of E. angustifolia and E. purpurea (L. Moench) was quantified from anthesis to cessation with production per disc floret peaking in the afternoon of the staminate phase (191.7 µg) and at midday of the first day of the pistillate phase (156.6 µg), respectively. Morphology of the disc-like floral nectaries of both Echinacea species was studied, as well as the ultrastructure of the nectary of E. purpurea. Modified stomata on the nectary rim are the most likely exits for nectar, but creases in the epidermis may also participate. The nectary of E. purpurea is vascularized by phloem alone, which occurred adjacent to the epidermis. Companion cells possessed wall ingrowths, and these cells may unload arriving sugar destined for either an apoplastic or symplastic pathway. Lobed nuclei were a key feature of secretory parenchyma cells, as was a predominance of mitochondria, suggesting that energy-requiring eccrine secretion predominates in E. purpurea. E. angustifolia exhibited a generalist pollination system, with pollinating insects belonging to the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. The pollination efficiency of visitors was determined by single insect visits to bagged, virgin inflorescences followed by quantifying pollen tubes at the bases of receptive styles and/or calculating the percentage of shrivelled styles. It was determined that bumble bees (Bombus spp.) were efficient pollinators, indicating that they would likely contribute much to the pollination of E. angustifolia. Grasshopper bee flies (Systoechus vulgaris Loew) were plentiful but individually were not efficient pollinators, but taken together, they provided much pollination. Golden blister beetles (Epicauta ferruginea Say) were efficient pollinators but where yellow-petalled flowers occurred, their numbers on E. angustifolia decreased. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) were efficient pollinators and were present in low numbers without managed introduction. Pierid (2003) butterflies were regular visitors and efficient pollinators, and likely contributed significantly to E. angustifolia pollination. When introduced, the alfalfa leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata Fabr.) preferred not to forage on E. angustifolia and as such, these solitary bees were not suitable as managed pollinators. In large agricultural plantings of E. angustifolia, however, native insects may not be capable of providing sufficient pollination for seed production when floral competition occurs.