Thesis (doctoral)--Universiẗat Köln, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-204).

This is a study of the kinship terminology used for one’s parents and their siblings in the languages in the greater Hindu Kush area (GHK). GHK stretches over the mountainous borderlands of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and India and homes a range of various languages from six different genera, Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Nuristani, Turkic, Tibeto-Burman, and the language isolate Burushaski. The study is based on questionnaires from native speakers of 55 language varieties collected in 2015-2017. The main distinction is one between descriptive and merging systems. The descriptive system have separate terms for all six relations and are found in the outer areas of GHK. The merging systems have terms that refer to two or more relations, and these are found in the center of the area. Within this center-area the languages are then further divided into six different terminologies depending on which relations are merged with one term. Semantic clusters can be observed, based on systematic and lexico-semantic parallels, both within and across family lines. The distribution is discussed from a historical, geographical and social point of view. / Language contact and relatedness in the Hindukush region. Vetenskapsrådet (421-2014-631)

A teoria da mente é definida como a capacidade de atribuir estados mentais ao outro, como desejos, crenças e intenções e, assim, prever o comportamento. A literatura destaca a potencialidade das narrativas e histórias para favorecer conversas sobre estados mentais e para a consideração de diferentes pontos de vista, aspectos importantes para o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente e do discurso narrativo. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi verificar a relação entre a teoria da mente e o discurso narrativo de mães e crianças, especificamente, quanto à coerência, avaliação e emprego de termos mentais, no contexto da contação de histórias. A amostra foi constituída por 25 duplas de mães e de crianças, de nível socioeconômico médio, tendo as crianças idades entre quatro e cinco anos. Foram realizados três estudos: o primeiro objetivou verificar a relação entre os termos mentais utilizados pelas mães nas histórias contadas aos seus filhos e o desempenho destes em uma escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e na tarefa de crença falsa; o segundo estudo teve como foco as histórias contadas pelas mães e pelas crianças, as quais foram analisadas quanto à coerência narrativa, quanto ao uso de termos mentais e de explicações destes termos; o terceiro estudo enfoca o desenvolvimento sociocognitivo da criança, no que concerne à teoria da mente e à habilidade narrativa, buscando correlações entre teoria da mente, termos mentais e os indicadores de coerência e de avaliação narrativa. Quanto ao primeiro estudo, os resultados mostraram que o emprego de cognições clarificadas pelas mães em suas narrativas, isto é, termos ligados à cognição seguidos de explicação, apresenta relação significativa com a teoria da mente, avaliada através da escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e da tarefa de crença falsa. Os resultados do segundo estudo mostraram que as crianças cujas mães apresentaram indicadores elevados de coerência, também se mostraram mais coerentes em suas narrativas. Além disso, o emprego de cognições clarificadas pela mãe correlacionou-se com a habilidade narrativa da criança, quanto à coerência. Tanto no primeiro quanto no segundo estudo, as cognições clarificadas maternas mostraram-se como fator explicativo para a teoria da mente e para coerência narrativa das crianças. Os resultados do terceiro estudo indicaram que o emprego de termos mentais pelas crianças em suas narrativas não se correlacionou com o desempenho das crianças na escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e na tarefa de crença falsa. Por outro lado, o discurso de termos mentais das crianças correlacionou-se de forma significativa com os indicadores de coerência. Ao longo dos três estudos, os resultados mostram a importância do discurso de termos mentais seguidos de explicações para o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente e da habilidade narrativa. A contação de histórias mostrou-se como uma ferramenta efetiva para o desenvolvimento, tanto da teoria da mente como da habilidade narrativa da criança. / Theory of mind is defined as the ability to attribute mental states like desires, beliefs and intentions, to ourselves and others, and thus to predict behavior. The literature stresses the potential of narratives and stories in favoring conversations about mental states and for the consideration of different points of view, important aspects for the development of theory of mind and narrative discourse. The central aim of this study was to verify the relation between theory of mind and the narrative discourse of mothers and children, specifically concerning coherence, evaluation and the use of mental terms, in the context of telling stories. 25 middle-class mothers and their four to five old children composed the dyads used as sample. Three studies were carried out: the first study aimed to verify the relation between mental terms used by mothers in their stories while telling them to their children and children’s performance in the theory of mind scale and in the false belief task; the second study focused on the stories told by mothers and children, which were analyzed with reference to narrative coherence, mental terms use, and mental terms explanations; the third study dealt with children’s socio-cognitive development, relative to theory of mind and narrative ability. Correlations were searched among theory of mind, mental terms, and indicators of narrative coherence and narrative evaluation. Concerning the first study, the results showed that the mothers’ use of clarifying cognitions in their narratives, i.e., cognitive terms followed by explanations, related significantly with theory of mind ability, evaluated by the theory of mind scale and the false belief task. Results of the second study showed that children whose mothers presented high levels of coherence also produced more coherent narratives. Moreover, the mother’s use of clarifying cognitions correlated with the child’s narrative ability, with respect to coherence. In both, the first and the second studies, clarifying cognitions showed themselves as the explanatory factor for the theory of mind ability and narrative discourse. Results of the third study evinced that children’s use of mental terms in their narratives does not correlated with children’s performance in the theory of mind scale and the false belief task. On the other hand, children’s mental terms discourse displayed a significant correlation with coherence indicators. Throughout the three studies, the results revealed the importance of the mental terms discourse followed by explanations for the development of theory of mind and narrative ability. Telling stories were shown as an effective tool for the development of both, theory of mind and narrative discourse.

The complex concept of the ageing woman must be viewed in relation to both what it means to be a woman and what it means to age. Both women and the elderly are discriminated against in different respects; therefore it could be argued that the ageing woman is discriminated against in a double sense. This study investigates how women over the age of 50 are portrayed linguistically in fashion and lifestyle magazines with the aim to reveal the underlying attitudes as well as social and cultural ideologies regarding the topic today. Based on Wodak (2001), I employed critical discourse analysis (CDA) methodology, with a particular focus on terms of address and attributes identified in selected fashion and lifestyle magazines. The findings revealed that although the women were addressed mainly in terms of their professional titles, the emphasis was put on them as ageing women by a continuous mentioning of their age, their past and physical consequences from the process of ageing.        Further, personality traits and emotional and physical attributes were evaluated in terms of negative and positive associations, revealing positive attitudes (e.g. happy, curious, experienced) regarding emotions and personality traits, but negative associations (e.g. weight gain, grey hair, old) in relation to their ageing bodies and their appearances.

1 Abstract Commercial Terms and Clauses in Business Transactions This diploma thesis is focused on the topic of commercial terms and clauses in business transactions. Legislation of commercial terms remains concise, but it contains some news in comparation with the previous legislation valid until January 1st 2014. A major novelty is the issue of conflicts of commercial terms (the battle of forms), the rules for unilateral change and also newly grounded content corrections in the form of surprising arrangements. This fact provides a space for professional literature to create a variety of views and answers to the questions that legal practice provides. Today, commercial terms are a common part of contracts. Using the terms greatly accelerates the contracting process and reduces the costs. Commercial clauses contained in some interpretative rules are also frequently used, mainly in the international business. The aim of this thesis is to analyse how business law experts respond the questions regarding to commercial terms and clauses. As a part of my work, I have also looked at the legislative solutions in the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods CIGS, the Principles of international trade agreements UNIDROIT and the Principles of European contract law PECL. In the first chapter I defined the...

A teoria da mente é definida como a capacidade de atribuir estados mentais ao outro, como desejos, crenças e intenções e, assim, prever o comportamento. A literatura destaca a potencialidade das narrativas e histórias para favorecer conversas sobre estados mentais e para a consideração de diferentes pontos de vista, aspectos importantes para o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente e do discurso narrativo. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi verificar a relação entre a teoria da mente e o discurso narrativo de mães e crianças, especificamente, quanto à coerência, avaliação e emprego de termos mentais, no contexto da contação de histórias. A amostra foi constituída por 25 duplas de mães e de crianças, de nível socioeconômico médio, tendo as crianças idades entre quatro e cinco anos. Foram realizados três estudos: o primeiro objetivou verificar a relação entre os termos mentais utilizados pelas mães nas histórias contadas aos seus filhos e o desempenho destes em uma escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e na tarefa de crença falsa; o segundo estudo teve como foco as histórias contadas pelas mães e pelas crianças, as quais foram analisadas quanto à coerência narrativa, quanto ao uso de termos mentais e de explicações destes termos; o terceiro estudo enfoca o desenvolvimento sociocognitivo da criança, no que concerne à teoria da mente e à habilidade narrativa, buscando correlações entre teoria da mente, termos mentais e os indicadores de coerência e de avaliação narrativa. Quanto ao primeiro estudo, os resultados mostraram que o emprego de cognições clarificadas pelas mães em suas narrativas, isto é, termos ligados à cognição seguidos de explicação, apresenta relação significativa com a teoria da mente, avaliada através da escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e da tarefa de crença falsa. Os resultados do segundo estudo mostraram que as crianças cujas mães apresentaram indicadores elevados de coerência, também se mostraram mais coerentes em suas narrativas. Além disso, o emprego de cognições clarificadas pela mãe correlacionou-se com a habilidade narrativa da criança, quanto à coerência. Tanto no primeiro quanto no segundo estudo, as cognições clarificadas maternas mostraram-se como fator explicativo para a teoria da mente e para coerência narrativa das crianças. Os resultados do terceiro estudo indicaram que o emprego de termos mentais pelas crianças em suas narrativas não se correlacionou com o desempenho das crianças na escala de tarefas de teoria da mente e na tarefa de crença falsa. Por outro lado, o discurso de termos mentais das crianças correlacionou-se de forma significativa com os indicadores de coerência. Ao longo dos três estudos, os resultados mostram a importância do discurso de termos mentais seguidos de explicações para o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente e da habilidade narrativa. A contação de histórias mostrou-se como uma ferramenta efetiva para o desenvolvimento, tanto da teoria da mente como da habilidade narrativa da criança. / Theory of mind is defined as the ability to attribute mental states like desires, beliefs and intentions, to ourselves and others, and thus to predict behavior. The literature stresses the potential of narratives and stories in favoring conversations about mental states and for the consideration of different points of view, important aspects for the development of theory of mind and narrative discourse. The central aim of this study was to verify the relation between theory of mind and the narrative discourse of mothers and children, specifically concerning coherence, evaluation and the use of mental terms, in the context of telling stories. 25 middle-class mothers and their four to five old children composed the dyads used as sample. Three studies were carried out: the first study aimed to verify the relation between mental terms used by mothers in their stories while telling them to their children and children’s performance in the theory of mind scale and in the false belief task; the second study focused on the stories told by mothers and children, which were analyzed with reference to narrative coherence, mental terms use, and mental terms explanations; the third study dealt with children’s socio-cognitive development, relative to theory of mind and narrative ability. Correlations were searched among theory of mind, mental terms, and indicators of narrative coherence and narrative evaluation. Concerning the first study, the results showed that the mothers’ use of clarifying cognitions in their narratives, i.e., cognitive terms followed by explanations, related significantly with theory of mind ability, evaluated by the theory of mind scale and the false belief task. Results of the second study showed that children whose mothers presented high levels of coherence also produced more coherent narratives. Moreover, the mother’s use of clarifying cognitions correlated with the child’s narrative ability, with respect to coherence. In both, the first and the second studies, clarifying cognitions showed themselves as the explanatory factor for the theory of mind ability and narrative discourse. Results of the third study evinced that children’s use of mental terms in their narratives does not correlated with children’s performance in the theory of mind scale and the false belief task. On the other hand, children’s mental terms discourse displayed a significant correlation with coherence indicators. Throughout the three studies, the results revealed the importance of the mental terms discourse followed by explanations for the development of theory of mind and narrative ability. Telling stories were shown as an effective tool for the development of both, theory of mind and narrative discourse.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Brazil is one of the largest consumer of pesticides in the world, and to make these products reach the desired biological target are used different types of machines. In grain crops, the usual is the agricultural sprayers. Actually, there are different models of hydraulic sprayers, and maintenance of the machines inside the boundaries of acceptable quality is essential to ensure efficient spraying. The technical inspection sprayer is a way to monitor and assist the producers to keep these machines with acceptable error levels. Reinspections techniques were performed on machines that had participated in a diagnosis in 2008 and the results were contrasted with the aim of analyzing the possible evolution. Alongside this were audited in each property participating in order to verify compliance with regulatory norm 31 of the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Among the differences noted, there is an increase in the number of tractors under five years of use, which rose from 12.9% to 32.8%, a result of the supply of credit provided by public policies, such as the Program More Food which facilitated the acquisition of new machines. This development contributes directly to increased safety and comfort to the operator during the spraying process. The tractors that do not present any non-compliance increased from 13.04% in 2008 to 39.13% in 2011. Meanwhile, the 69 sprayers inspected in 2008, only 4.34% reached all requirements to be able to use this diagnosis. In 2011, sprays were 13.04% who met the requirements and were able to work without requiring any changes. That is, an improvement of three times the number of machines that were all evaluated items within the standards established by the project. Therefore, there was a great evolution in machines used for spraying. In relation to the care of rural properties for NR-31, none of them had full compliance with all regulatory requirements. / O Brasil é um dos maiores consumidores de agrotóxicos do mundo e, para fazer com que esses produtos atinjam o alvo biológico desejável, são utilizados diferentes tipos de máquinas. Em culturas de grãos, o mais usual é o pulverizador agrícola de barras. Atualmente, existem diferentes modelos de pulverizadores hidráulicos, e a manutenção dessas máquinas dentro de limites de qualidade aceitáveis é fundamental para assegurar pulverizações eficientes. A inspeção técnica de pulverizadores é uma forma de monitorar e auxiliar os produtores a manter essas máquinas com níveis de erro aceitáveis. Foram realizadas reinspeções técnicas em máquinas que haviam participado de um diagnóstico em 2008 e os resultados foram contrastados com o objetivo de analisar a possível evolução. Paralelamente a isto foram realizadas auditorias em cada propriedade participante no sentido de verificar o atendimento à norma regulamentadora 31 do Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego. Entre as diferenças constatadas, destaca-se o aumento do número de tratores com menos de cinco anos de uso, que passaram de 12,9% para 32,8%, resultado da oferta de crédito proporcionada por políticas públicas, como o Programa Mais Alimentos, que facilitaram a aquisição de máquinas novas. Essa evolução contribui diretamente para o aumento da segurança e do conforto ao operador, durante o processo de pulverização. Os tratores que não apresentaram nenhum tipo de não conformidade passaram de 13,04%, em 2008, para 39,13%, em 2011. Enquanto isso, dos 69 pulverizadores inspecionados no ano de 2008, apenas 4,34% atenderam a todas as exigências para serem aptos ao uso, neste diagnóstico. Já em 2011, foram 13,04% os pulverizadores que atenderam às exigências e que estavam aptos a trabalhar sem necessitar de nenhuma alteração. Ou seja, houve uma melhora de três vezes no número de máquinas que tiveram todos os itens avaliados dentro dos padrões estabelecidos pelo projeto. Portanto, foi observada uma grande evolução nas máquinas utilizadas para pulverização. Em relação ao atendimento das propriedades rurais à NR-31, nenhuma delas teve cumprimento pleno de todas as exigências da normativa.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has taken over every aspect of our daily lives, from commerce to leisure and even culture. Today, mobile phones, desktop computers, hand-held devices, emails and the use of the internet have become a central part of our culture and society. ICT has made us a global society, where people can interact and communicate efficiently. In order for South Africa to be competitive in the global economy, it will need to develop a workforce with appropriate Information Technology skills. Of necessity, these skills will extend to using a computers and developing appropriate software and technical support skills (DOE, 2008). This thesis represents a critical analytical study in that it explores the online Sesotho Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It aims at analysing terminology development in this area. The study aims to determine how Sesotho and ICT correlate and how the linguistic aspect plays a role in online ICT terminology. The focus is not on creating new terms but to analyze the already existing ICT terms available, with regards to linguistic rules and principles and to critique if they are of quality. Furthermore, the thesis explores whether there are other strategies that can be used in the development of this terminology. It also seeks to determine if the terms are easily accessible to students and if they are used at all. Terms will be sourced from the Department of Arts and Culture ICT term list, and the focus will be on extracting only terms that have to do with computer literacy. Other online sources that list Sesotho equivalents will also be considered. The study also assesses the quality of the terms created by the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) together with the Department of Communications (DOC) for a multilingual ICT terminology list. Furthermore, the thesis explores whether the Sesotho equivalents adhere to the linguistic rules and principles of the language. The other question asked is whether the terms are used by the intended users and if they are easily accessible to the speakers of the language. This entire aspect of the thesis speaks to the notion of the intellectualization of African languages and in this case Sesotho in particular. Not only does the thesis engage with computer literacy terminology, it also presents a detailed literature review of studies and work that has been done in this field. The thesis engagement is also done by linking the backdrop of the history of Sesotho and the Basotho peoples.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen M. Featherstone / The Agriculture Equipment Manufacturing industry is a $42 billion dollar industry in the United States. The Agricultural Equipment industry is very competitive across all market segments, especially in the less than 100 horsepower category (<100hp). This tractor category consists of 4 sub categories: <20hp, 20-40hp, 40-60hp, and 60-100hp. The <100hp tractor segment accounted for 170,547 of the 207,833 tractors that were sold during the 2014 year. Compared to the over 100 horsepower category (100+hp) that has fewer competitors, the <100hp segment is more competitive with more manufacturers competing for market share. Company XYZ is a full line manufacturer of agricultural equipment, harvesters, and construction equipment. Company XYZ lost some ground in market share due to the increased competition from new entrants into the market place as well as established manufacturers increasing their presence. To be more competitive, Company XYZ is looking at industry best practices to see how they can increase market share. One of these practices is a terms bank. A terms bank allows a dealer to stockpile unused months of terms to be used at a later date on tractors with expired terms. This minimizes financial risk for dealers to stock inventory. The cost to stock inventory is a large expense that dealers must carefully manage. One of the biggest costs of stocking inventory is the interest paid for tractors that have exhausted their interest free terms. A terms bank may lower the amount of interest that a dealer pays. It also lowers the cost to stock inventory and allows the dealership to manage and reduce these costs and risks. Evaluating the factors associated with stocking inventory, especially interest rate, will help manage inventory costs and stocking levels. This thesis uses regression analyses to analyze the costs of stocking units and the effect it has on dealership revenues. A regression analysis will test the hypothesis that lowering the interest portion of the cost of stocking inventory will increase sales. Data were gathered for dealership groups in the Western United States on a monthly basis for the years 2008 – 2014. The results supported the hypothesis that lowering the interest rate at dealerships was positively correlated with revenues. The reduced interest cost lowers the carrying cost of inventory and point to a terms bank being an effective tool for increasing Company XYZ’s market share.

El principal objetivo de la presente Tesis es evaluar y analizar la influencia de los Términos de Referencia establecidos por el Ministerio de Transporte y Comunicaciones (MTC) para el cumplimiento de los Cronogramas de ejecución de los Estudios de Ingeniería correspondientes a la fase de Preinversión a nivel de factibilidad de obras viales en el Perú. En los primeros Capítulos se presenta la teoría del Estudio de Factibilidad, así como también la definición del Sistema Nacional de Inversión Pública donde consideramos el Anexo 7 y el Anexo 10 donde se desarrollan los Contenidos Mínimos que debe tener el estudio de Factibilidad para un Proyecto de Inversión Pública y los Parámetros de Evaluación, después de ello se presentan los 3 Proyectos que vamos a analizar y la descripción de los estudios con sus respectivos porcentajes de avance según los informes a presentar y los plazos establecidos por los Términos de Referencia. A partir de esta información, se procede a evaluar mediante rendimientos obtenidos de las experiencias de Especialistas, para la ejecución de los estudios de las diferentes especialidades de Ingeniería, estos rendimientos fueron usados para elaborar un cronograma Gantt para el Proyecto “Rehabilitación y Mejoramiento de la Carretera Ciudad de Dios – Cajamarca” y así determinar la influencia de los TDR en el cumplimiento de los Cronogramas. La presente Tesis se ha enfocado en determinar la interdependencia de cada una de las Especialidades de los estudios de Ingeniería y evaluar los plazos establecidos en los Términos de Referencia para la entrega de los informes que contienen estos estudios. The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate and analyze the influence of the Terms of Reference established by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) for compliance schedules execution of engineering studies at the preliminary stage level feasibility of road works in Peru. In the early chapters the theory of the Feasibility Study is presented, as well as the definition of the National Public Investment System where we consider Annex 7 and Annex 10 where the minimum content that should be a feasibility study for a project to develop Public investment and the evaluation parameters thereafter presented the 3 projects that will analyze and description of studies with their respective percentage of progress reported at present and the deadlines set by the Terms of Reference. From this information, we proceed to evaluate by yields from the experiences of specialists for the execution of studies of different engineering specialties, these returns were used to develop a Gantt schedule for the "Rehabilitation and Improvement Project City of God road - Cajamarca "and determine the influence of TDR in compliance with schedules. This thesis has focused on determining the interdependence of each of the specialties of engineering studies and evaluate the terms established in the Terms of Reference for the submission of reports containing these studies.