<p>The purpose of this thesis was to investigate different concepts and tools which could support the development of a middleware which persists a temporal and versioned relational data model in an enterprise environment. Further requirements for the target application was that changes to the data model had to be facilitated, so that a small change to the model would not result in changes in several files and application layers. Other requirements include permissioning and audit tracing. In the thesis the reader is presented with a comparison of a set of tools for enterprise development and object/relational mapping. One of the tools, a code generator, is chosen as a good candidate to match the requirements of the project. An implementation is presented, where the chosen tool is used. An XML-based language which is used to define a data model and to provide input data for the tool is presented. Other concepts concerning the implementation is then described in detail. Finally, the author discusses alternative solutions and future improvements.</p>

The main purpose of this study was to develop and administer a four-tier test for assessing Turkish pre-service physics teachers&rsquo / misconceptions about geometrical optics. Sixteen pre-service physics teachers, who were selected by maximum variation and convenience sampling methods from three state universities in Ankara, were interviewed in the contexts of plane mirrors, spherical mirrors, and lenses. From these interviews and the studies in the literature, the Open-Ended Geometrical Optics Test was developed. It was administered to 52 pre-service physics teachers from three state universities selected by purposive and convenience sampling. The responses of each subject for each item were categorized in order to determine the alternatives of the multiple-tier multiple-choice misconception test. The initial form of the test, the Three-Tier Geometrical Optics Test (TTGOT), was administered to 53 pre-service physics teachers from three state universities selected by purposive and convenience sampling as a pilot study. The analysis of the results of the TTGOT was used to revise the test items. Finally, the Four-Tier Geometrical Optics Test (FTGOT) was developed and administered to 243 pre-service physics teachers from 12 state universities in Turkey. The validity of the FTGOT scores was established by means of some qualitative and quantitative methods. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients were calculated for different test scores. Those for the total correct scores and standardized misconception scores (SUMM4) were found to be .59 and .42, respectively. Some misconceptions, which were held by more than 10 % of the pre-service teachers, were identified and considered to be significant.

In this dissertation I analyze how the postwar German writers Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Günter Eich, and Ilse Aichinger negotiate anthropocentric and speciesist discourses via animal figures by drawing on such posthumanist thinkers as Derrida, Agamben, and Deleuze & Guattari. The literary texts question a world view and discourse organized around the establishment of power that utilizes animal metaphors to turn living beings into objects (and could thus be called “carno-phallogocentric”). They thus react to the strict hierarchy of (gendered) man over animal and respond - in the aftermath of the Second World War – by highlighting instead the similarities between man and animal, such as creaturely existence and shared trauma. The analysis is guided by questions such as: How do the literary texts reflect and subvert the power discourses which surround man and animal? What is the role of language in this context? How does the animal, which is usually assumed to be mute, relate to the categories that are established in language? Does its place outside of language grant it capabilities the human cannot realize? Can the literary encounter between man and animal establish a space of the “Open” in which language can be re-evaluated and, after World War II, be saved? Is there a unique “animal poetology” which correlates to post-anthropocentric conceptions of the human? Because these writers disorient the reader’s perception of reality via figures of the animal, i.e., animals as both metaphors and as subjects, I develop what I would like to call an “animal poetology” that is unique to them. This animal poetology, which redefines Agamben’s concept of the open by giving it a postwar, language-critical dimension, includes a thorough critique of human language with regard to power structures and a speciesist language which, during the early 20th century, was a vehicle for ideology and discrimination. The encounter with the animal leads the human being to reflect on the limits of language and thus enables the establishment of a mode of being in which the encounter with the other – beyond a space of judgement and hierarchies –is once again possible.

This dissertation is an empirical study of the political benefits of decentralization. It examines the effects of decentralization on citizens’ evaluations of the political system. Despite the large number of empirical studies on the costs and benefits of decentralization, most studies focus on economic benefits (typically in terms of fiscal efficiency) and pay little attention to potential political benefits. This dissertation seeks to fill these gaps by explicitly modeling the role decentralization plays in shaping citizens’ attitudes toward a political system. Drawing on work in political behavior and decentralization, a theoretical framework is developed to explain the manner in which citizens’ attitudes are shaped by election outcomes and their post-electoral win-loss status in multi-tier government. This dissertation not only offers a general argument with which to understand how a decentralized political structure may lead to greater stability in a democratic regime, but also offers guidance to policymakers on whether decentralization should be pursued as an option for institutional reform.

The reason for performing this project work is to develop a Web application for the Student Union of Mid Sweden University applying the modern and comprehensive Microsoft .NET framework platform architecture. At present, the existing web application is divided into several modules which are built of server‐side scripting language technique and an open source database. The customer would like to develop the entire web applications using the Microsoft development tools and technologies in order to determine the possible benefit which could be obtained in terms of cost, maintenance, flexibility and the security perspective issues and also in terms of user friendly interactions options for all the involving partners in an effective way. The primary aim for the project is to start building a bookstore module for the Students Union that is responsible for selling literature to the students at the University. The module will also be integrated into a database system into which an administrator, a member of staff working in the Student Union, will be able to add a new book when it arrives and also update or delete if necessary later on. In addition to this module application all the book’s details belong to a certain category viewable to the students. The other part of this project work is aiming at finding a pattern similar to the bookstore module in which ordinary users can authenticate them towards a database and be able to add their curriculum vitae data entry and update it at a later stage as required.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gender and reasoning ability on the 8th grade students&rsquo / understanding of ecological concepts and attitude toward science. All 8th grade students from public elementary school in Tosya participated in the study. Students&rsquo / understanding, attitude toward science and reasoning ability were also measured by means of the Test of Ecology Concept (TEC), the Attitude Scale toward Science (ASTS) and the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) respectively. In order to investigate students&rsquo / understanding deeply, interview was conducted. Results of the TEC and interview show that students have many misconceptions concerning ecosystem, population, community, decomposers, food chain, food web, energy pyramid and energy flow. Students&rsquo / understanding for the first tier (M= 55.8), combination of first two tiers (M= 27) and combination of all three tiers (M= 21.2) were calculated according to TEC results. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) conducted to determine the effect of gender on students&rsquo / understanding of ecological concepts and attitude towards science when reasoning ability was controlled. The results indicated that there was significant gender difference in favor of girls with respect to students&rsquo / understanding of ecological concepts and attitude towards science when reasoning ability was controlled (Wilks&rsquo / Lambda=0.97 / p=.00).

The main purpose of this study was to develop a three-tier test for assessing tenthgrade students&rsquo / difficulties about kinematics graphs. In a three-tier test, first tier is classical multiple-choice question, the second tier is also classical multiple-choice question but presents reasons for answers given to the first tier and the third tier asks existence of confidence about the first two tiers. To develop a three-tier test, Turkish translation of the Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics (TUG-K) developed by Beichner (1994) was used. One more essay type question of asking students&rsquo / reasons of their answers and blank alternatives to write any suggestion different from choices were added to the each item of Turkish translation of this test translated by Delialioglu (2003). Finally, Kinematics Graphs Test Requesting Reasoning (KGTRR) was developed and administered to 253 students. To determine the distracters of the second-tiers of the Kinematics Graphs Three-Tier Test (KGTTT), answers on each item in KGTRR were categorized according to similarities in their meanings. Considering the frequency of these categories, the KGTTT was developed and administered to 495 students. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to determine the validity of the KGTTT. A positive correlation coefficient was calculated between student scores for the first two tiers and confidence levels for the third tiers. Also, percentages of false positives and false negatives were estimated. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients of correct answers and difficulties of the students for all three tiers together were calculated as 0.84 and 0.69, respectively.

The goal of development of sound database for marine fishes in Taiwan not only preserves data, but also wants to provide a common ground of data sharing to increase the efficiency for the study of fish behavior, automatic recognition, localization, and tracking. In order to provide the sound quality in terms of signal-to-noise ratio to users, the fish sound recording will be analyzed before uploading. Because most available data were recorded either in the field or in fish tank, the fish sounds were extracted by using two different automatic detection methods. If fish sound recordings were from the field, the Time Endpoint Detection was applied by the processing a 0.5-s time frame with 50 % overlapping. Then the energy of the time frame was obtained by the sum of square of amplitude and the median of the energy plus a standard deviation was established as the threshold to extract fish sounds. If the recording was made in the fish tank, the Frequency Endpoint Detection was applied by 0.5-s time frame with 50 % overlapping. Then each time frame will be transformed into spectrum and the energy ratio of each frequency will be calculated from the spectrum. Finally the information entropy was obtained from the energy ratio and the detection threshold was set on standard deviation above the median of the information entropy. From two different automatic detection methods, the sound quality was presented in the signal-to-noise ratio, which was the average power of signal divided by average power of the background noise. The fish sound database was a 3-Tier system and developed by PHP and MySQL. In order to reduce the storage size and maintain the integrity of data, the Relational Model was applied. Firstly, the recording data were conceptually represented as Entity-Relationship Diagram(ERD). Secondly, the ERD was transformed to relational schemas. Thirdly, the schemas was normalized by first, second, and third forms. To improve the users¡¦ efficiency the sound database provides three interfaces. One was data uploading, another was data searching according to the keyword of creature name, recording area, and recording time, the other was data comparing by recording number.

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tiered framework that focuses on the early identification and support of students who are struggling to learn. In the problem-solving model of RTI, where a multidisciplinary team uses data to drive decision making, much remains unknown about how RTI should be implemented when struggling English language learners (ELLs) are the focus of team deliberations. The development of the multidisciplinary problem-solving team (PST) is grounded in the assumption that professionals from different disciplines such as school psychology, special education, and counseling would make less biased decisions than a single individual. However, a group of professionals may still make biased decisions based on stereotypes of ethnicity (Orosco, 2010), social class (Knotek, 2003), and inadequate knowledge of second language acquisition and bilingualism (Orosco, 2010). Not much is known about the process of team decision-making; in fact, no research to-date has examined how a PST deliberates about struggling ELLs. A qualitative case study approach was utilized to investigate how one school’s multidisciplinary problem-solving team used data in their deliberations about struggling ELLs in early primary grades. Ten members of a PST at an elementary school in an urban area of Texas participated in this study; seven ELLs were the focus of the observed team meetings. Data were generated from the discourse of the team meetings, interviews, and school documents, including students’ cumulative folders and language proficiency assessment records. Data were analyzed using discourse analysis, content analysis, and pattern-matching logic. Findings revealed that the Tier 3 problem-solving process was not aligned with the district’s expressed intent. In addition, a hierarchy of control constrained the problem-solving process and restricted the PST’s ability to freely discuss the cases of struggling ELLs. Implications for implementing RTI with ELLs and suggestions for future research are presented. / text

Tre tydliga svagheter kunde identifieras i den globala banksektorn under den stora finanskrisen år 2007. Dessa tre svagheter var brist på kapital av tillräcklig kvalitet för att kunna hantera förluster, en för tätt sammankopplad finansmarknad samt otillräcklig likviditetshantering och för små likviditetsbuffertar. I syfte att främja en banksektor med starkare motståndskraft togs regelverket Basel III fram för att reglera bland annat bankernas likviditet, kapitaltäckning och riskhantering. De nya kapitaltäckningskraven från Basel III innebär bland annat att kärnprimärkapitalrelationen ska uppgå till minst sju procent senast år 2019, Sverige och Storbritannien har dock valt att ställa högre krav på sina storbanker. Kärnprimärkapitalet är den del av primärkapitalet som håller högst kvalitet och har bäst förmåga att absorbera förluster. Europeiska bankmyndigheten (EBA) genomför årligen stresstester på bankerna inom Europeiska unionen (EU) med syfte att se hur bankerna kan hantera ogynnsamma scenarier. På liknande sätt genomför även Finansinspektionen stresstester på de svenska storbankerna.Syftet med denna studie är att ur ett internationellt perspektiv undersöka vilka resultat storbankerna i Sverige, Storbritannien och Tyskland uppnår i EBA:s stresstester för två olika år. Studien syftar även till att ur ett nationellt perspektiv studera hur de fyra svenska storbankerna Handelsbanken, SEB, Nordea och Swedbank klarar sig i Finansinspektionens egna stresstester över en fyraårsperiod. Slutligen syftar studien till att studera hur väl de fyra svenska storbankerna lever upp till de nya kraven som Basel III medför med avseende på kärnprimärkapitalrelation för åren 2006, 2011 och 2014 samt hur bankernas riskrapportering har förändrats sedan år 2011. För att besvara våra frågeställningar studerades tryckt material i form av bland annat årsredovisningar och vi genomförde även två intervjuer med en respondent från Finansinspektionen respektive två respondenter från Sveriges Riksbank.Studiens resultat för den internationella frågeställningen visar att det är de svenska storbankerna som har den lägsta genomsnittliga procentuella differensen mellan ett normalscenario och ett stressat scenario. Det är även de svenska storbankerna som har de högsta genomsnittliga kärnprimärkapitalrelationerna i EBA:s stresstester för åren 2011 respektive 2014. De brittiska och de tyska storbankerna uppnår lägre resultat än de svenska storbankerna. Det finns banker i dessa länder som det krävs ytterligare arbete ifrån för att de vid ett normalscenario ska uppnå Basel III:s grundkrav där kärnprimärkapitalrelationen ska uppgå till minst sju procent. Utifrån vår analys kan vi dra slutsatsen att de svenska storbankerna är de banker som klarar sig bäst med avseende på EBA:s stresstester och bankernas kärnprimärkapitalrelationer.Studiens resultat för den nationella frågeställningen visar att Handelsbanken och Swedbank är de svenska storbanker som klarar sig bäst i Finansinspektionens stresstester. SEB och Nordea däremot uppvisar något sämre resultat och vid något tillfälle når de inte upp till de formella eller de individuella kraven under ett mycket stressat scenario. Vid analys av bankernas årsredovisningar kan vi se en positiv utveckling av deras kärnprimärkapitalrelationer då samtliga svenska storbanker når upp till de strängare formella kraven på 10 respektive 12 procent och även når upp till Finansinspektionens strängare individuella krav för respektive storbank. Vi kan även se en positiv utveckling av de svenska storbankernas riskrapportering och vi kan se att många av bankerna offentliggör mer riskinformation än vad som krävs. Vi kan konstatera att de svenska storbankerna över lag är välkapitaliserade och har inga problem med att nå upp till de nya kraven i Basel III. / Three weaknesses were identified in the global banking sector during the great financial crisis in 2007. These three weaknesses were a lack of capital of sufficient quality to cope with losses, a too closely linked financial market and finally an insufficient liquidity management and too small liquidity buffers. In order to promote a banking sector with stronger resistance Basel III regulations was established to regulate the banks' liquidity, capital adequacy and risk management. The new capital requirements of Basel III means that the core Tier I capital ratio must at least reach seven percent by the year 2019, Sweden and the UK have, however, chosen to set higher standards for their largest banks. Core Tier I capital is the part of Tier I capital that keeps the highest quality and has the best ability to absorb losses. The European Banking Authority (EBA) conducts annual stress tests on banks in the European Union (EU) in order to study how banks can handle adverse scenarios. In a similar way, Finansinspektionen also conducts stress tests on the major Swedish banks.The purpose of this study is from an international perspective to examine what results the major banks in Sweden, the UK and Germany achieve in the EBA's stress test for two years. The study also aims to study from a national perspective how the four major Swedish banks, Handelsbanken, SEB, Nordea and Swedbank achieve in Finansinspektionens own stress tests over a four year period. Finally, the study aims to examine how well the four major Swedish banks live up to the new requirements under the Basel III, with regard to core Tier I capital ratio for the years 2006, 2011 and 2014, as well as how banks' risk reporting has changed since the year 2011. In order to answer our questions, printed material in the form of e.g. annual reports were studied and we also conducted two interviews with respondents from Finansinspektionen and Sveriges Riksbank (the Swedish national bank).The study's results of the international perspective shows that it is the major Swedish banks that have the lowest average percentage difference between a normal scenario and a stressed scenario. It is also the Swedish banks that have the highest average core tier 1 ratios in the EBAs' stress tests for the years 2011 and 2014. The British and German banks achieved lower results than the Swedish banks. There are banks in these countries where further work is needed in order for them at a normal scenario to reach a core Tier 1 capital ratio of at least seven percent. Based on our analysis, we can conclude that the major Swedish banks have the best results both regarding EBAs' stress tests and the banks' core Tier 1 capital ratio.The study's results of the national perspective shows that Handelsbanken and Swedbank are the major Swedish banks with the best results in Finansinspektionens stress tests. SEB and Nordea present slightly lower results and at some time during the test they do not reach the formal or individual requirements in a highly stressed scenario. In the analysis of banks' annual reports, we observe a positive development of their core tier 1 ratios and all major Swedish banks reach the stricter formal requirements of 10 and 12 percent. All the banks also reach Finansinspektionens stricter individual requirements for each major bank. We also observe a positive development of the Swedish banks' risk reporting and we can also see that many of the banks disclose more risk information than is required. We can conclude that the major Swedish banks are well capitalized and have no problems reaching up to the new requirements of Basel III.This essay is written in Swedish