Notre questionnement autour des politiques linguistiques familiales au sein des familles plurilingues vivant dans l’environnement multilingue et multiculturel luxembourgeois est motivé par le trilinguisme qui caractérise le Luxembourg, la forte mixité de la population, l’intérêt que suscite les questions linguistiques des enfants issus de l’immigration et scolarisés au Luxembourg ainsi que notre expérience personnelle avec les langues au quotidien. À cet effet, nous cherchons à comprendre comment les parents issus de divers socles linguistiques ou ayant la même langue d’origine communiquent entre eux avant la naissance des enfants et comment la naissance des enfants reconfigure les usages linguistiques familiaux. Entre autres, nous cherchons à comprendre les motivations des choix linguistiques parentaux, les stratégies de communication mises en place par les parents pour établir un climat de communication en famille et l’influence des enfants sur l’environnement linguistique familial. Pour ce faire, sur le plan méthodologique, en couplant les entretiens ethnographiques avec les enregistrements des conversations familiales, nous avons eu accès aux pratiques linguistiques déclarées et effectives de dix familles aux profils linguistiques très variés et dont la résidence des parents au Luxembourg varie entre sept et quarante-deux ans. La méthodologie de l’analyse de contenu nous a permis de comprendre que l’expérience migratoire de chaque parent, les conditions d’acquisition/d’apprentissage et d’utilisation des langues qu’offre l’environnement luxembourgeois et le désir de développer le capital linguistique des enfants sont certaines des raisons qui poussent les parents à adopter une attitude positive envers le plurilinguisme. Plus loin, nos résultats suggèrent que bien que les enfants ne participent pas activement aux prises des décisions sur les choix des langues à véhiculer en famille, ils exercent cependant une influence sur l’environnement linguistique familial. Dans la même lignée, nous avons découvert que dès les premiers contacts des enfants avec des langues autres que celles de la famille, ces enfants ont tendance à avoir une préférence pour les langues dominantes de l’extérieur. En outre, nos résultats suggèrent qu’il n’y a pas de stratégie de communication parentale standard pour la transmission des langues familiales, mais que dans chaque famille, en fonction des objectifs que les parents se sont fixés, ces derniers peuvent adopter diverses stratégies face aux usages linguistiques de leurs enfants. En somme, nos travaux ouvrent de nouvelles pistes de recherche en politiques linguistiques familiales dont la dimension éducative des enfants issus de l’immigration nous semble particulièrement importante. / The importance of investigating the family language policies within multilingual families living in Luxembourg is primarily based the trilingualism that characterizes Luxembourg, the heterogeneity of its population, problems faced by immigrant children schooling in Luxembourg’s school and individual’s personal experience with everyday language use as well. Hence, this thesis’s aim is to investigate how parents from different linguistic backgrounds or having the same language of origin communicated with each other prior to the birth of their children and how the birth of these children reshapes the family language environment. Specifically, we aim to understand the parents’ motivations with regard to their language choices and the communication strategies they implement in order to establish a family communication environment. In addition, considering the effects of language contact, we focus on the school languages and their influence on the children’s language at home. In order to achieve this, from a methodological point of view, by combining ethnographic interviews with the recordings of a family conversation, we gained access to the declared and real linguistic practices of ten families with highly diverse linguistic profiles. These families reside between seven and forty-two years in Luxembourg. Further, content analysis was used to examine the migratory experience of each parent. Some of the major reasons why parents adopted a positive attitude towards multilingualism were (a) the language learning and use opportunities offered by Luxembourg and (b) the desire to develop the linguistic capital of their children. Our results later suggest that although children do not participate actively in the language use decision-making process they actively influence the family language environment. Because the languages they learn in school impact the ways in which they speak at home. Moreover, we discovered that once these children have contact with the officially recognised languages in Luxembourg, which might be different from that of the family, they tend to shift their preference towards these dominant languages. In addition, we discovered that there is no standard parental communication strategy for passing the family languages on to the children. Rather, depending on the parents' objectives, they can adopt different strategies. Overall, this thesis opens new perspectives for research that investigates the family language policies of multilingual families byhighlighting the relevance of educational dimensions of children with immigrant backgrounds. / Die Relevanz der Untersuchung der Sprachenpolitik von mehrsprachigenFamilien im Großherzogtum Luxemburg gründet sich vor allem auf die vorhandene Dreisprachigkeit als einzigartiges Charakteristikum von Luxemburg, die gesellschaftliche Heterogenität, die schulischen Probleme von Kindern mit Migrationshintergrund, sowie auf die individuelle Sprachnutzung von Personen im Alltag. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es daher zu untersuchen in wie fern die Geburt eines Kindes und der Austausch mit den eigenen Kindern den Sprachgebrauch von Eltern mit unterschiedlichen Herkunftssprachen beeinflusst. Ein großes Interesse galt dabei insbesondere der Untersuchung der persönlichen Motive der Eltern bezüglich der Auswahl von Sprachen und der Entwicklung dazugehöriger familiärer Kommunikationsstrategien. Zusätzlich wurde der schulische Sprachkontakt der Kinder betrachtet sowie dessen Einfluss auf den Sprachgebrauch der Kinder zuhause untersucht. Die Kombination von ethnographischen Interviews und Tonaufzeichnungen von Gesprächen der Familien zuhause ermöglichte die Gegenüberstellung des explizit angegebenen und des tatsächlichen Sprachgebrauchs von zehn Familien mit äußerst vielfältigen Sprachprofilen. Zum Zeitpunkt der Untersuchung wohnten diese Familien zwischen sieben und 42 Jahre in Luxemburg. Darüber hinaus wurde eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse durchgeführt, um die Migrationserfahrungen beider Elternteile genauer zu beleuchten. Die Hauptgründe, welche zu einer Entwicklung einer positiven Einstellung der Eltern gegenüber Mehrsprachigkeit geführt haben, waren demnach (a) das (eigene) Erlernen der Sprachen und die Möglichkeiten zum vielfältigen Einsatz dieser Sprachen in Luxemburg sowie (b) ihr Wunsch sich das sprachliche Repertoire ihrer Kinder anzueignen. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Sprachen der Kinder, welche sie in der Schule gelernt haben einen Einfluss auf den familiären Sprachgebrauch haben, obwohl die Kinder keine aktive Rolle im Entscheidungsprozess bezüglich der familiären Sprachennutzung trugen. Des Weiteren konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Kontakt mit den offiziellen Sprachen in Luxemburgs Schulen dazu führte, dass Kinder eine Präferenz für diese dominanteren Sprachen entwickelten, selbst wenn die Familie eine andere Sprache spricht. Bezüglich des von denEltern initiierten Sprachenlernens konnten keine standardisierten Kommunikationsstrategien festgestellt werden. Vielmehr scheint es so, dass verschiedene Strategien in Abhängigkeit der individuellen Ziele der Eltern angepasst werden können. Insgesamt zeigt diese Arbeit neue Perspektiven zur Erforschung der familiären Sprachenpolitik in mehrsprachigen Familien auf, indem die Bedeutung der Bildungsinstitutionen in den Vordergrund gestellt wird.

Wie können Theodor W. Adornos medienkritische Thesen – als wohl prominentester Beitrag gilt das in Zusammenarbeit mit Max Horkheimer entstandene Kapitel „Kulturindustrie. Aufklärung als Massenbetrug (1944)“ – in ihrer Gesamtheit mit heute auf Basis algorithmischer Transformationen prozessierenden zeitkritischen Medien in Bezug gesetzt werden? Wo lässt sich der Begriff der „Manipulation“ erweitern, oder neu verorten, wenn Mediensysteme als „nicht-menschliche Akteure“ (Bruno Latour) im mikrotemporalen Bereich prozessieren, entscheiden und im technikepistemologisch orientierten medienwissenschaftlichen Diskurs eine Akzentverschiebung und gar Aktualisierung des Begriffs „Medien-Kritik“ beziehungsweise „Zeit-Kritik“ anregen? Und mit welchen Abhandlungen hat womöglich Adorno selbst bereits ein Denken eröffnet hinzu der Erörterung von Funktions- und Zeitwe(i)sen von Medien als Basis von Manipulation menschlicher Wahrnehmung auf subliminaler Ebene? / How can the aggregate of Theodor W. Adornos media-critical hypotheses be relativised to todays time-critical media which effect processes on the basis of algorithmic transformations – the most prominent contribution arguably being constituted by the chapter “The Culture Industry. Enlightenment as Mass Deception” (1944), formulated in collaboration with Max Horkheimer? Within which sphere can the concept of “manipulation” be expanded, or re-contextualised, if media systems – essentially “non-human actors” (Bruno Latour) – effect processes and decisions in the micro-temporal sphere and, thus, trigger a shift in emphasis and a re-definition of the concept of “critique of media” or “critique of time” even within technologically and epistemologically orientated scholarly media discourse? And which are the treatises by means of which Adorno may have himself already opened up a school of thought, supplementing the debate on the methods (and systems) of media functioning and media-specific temporal considerations as the basis for the manipulation of human perception at a subliminal level?

Non-monetary deprivation indicators are now widely used for studying and measuring poverty in Europe. However, despite their prevalence, the empirical performance of existing deprivation scales has rarely been examined. This thesis i) identifies possible conceptual problems of existing deprivation scales such as indexing, missing dimensions and threshold; ii) empirically assesses the extent of possible error in measurement related to these conceptual problems; and iii) offer an alternative way for constructing deprivation measures to mitigate the identified conceptual problems. The thesis consists of four stand-alone papers, accompanied by an overarching introduction and conclusion. The first three papers provide empirical evidence on the empirical consequences of the missing dimensions and threshold problems for the measurement and analysis of poverty, while the fourth paper exemplifies a concept-led multidimensional design that can reduce the error introduced by these conceptual problems. The analysis is generally held for 25 EU countries using European Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC); only in the second paper, the analysis is done for the UK using British Household Panel Survey (BHPS).

Thesis (M. Tech. (Engineering Electrical)) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, [2014] / This dissertation evaluates the software and hardware components used to develop a Reconfigurable Assembly System with an Integrated Information Management System. The assembly system consists of a modular Cartesian robot and vision system. The research focuses on the reconfigurability, modularity, scalability and flexibility that can be achieved in terms of the software and hardware components used within the system. The assembly system can be divided into high-level control and low-level control components. All information related to the product, Cartesian positioning and processes to follow resides in the Information Management System. The Information Management System is the high-level component and consists of a database, web services and low-levelcontrol drivers. The high-level system responds to the data received from the low-level systems and determines the next process to take place. The low-level systems consist of the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and the vision system. The PLC controls the Cartesian robot’s motor controllers and handles all events raised by field devices (e g. sensors or push buttons). The vision system contains a number of pre-loaded inspections used to identify barcodes and parts, obtain positioning data and verify the products’ build quality. The Cartesian robot’s positioning data and the vision system’s inspections are controlled by the Information Management System. The results showed that the high-level control software components are able to add more modularity and reconfigurability to the system, as it can easily adapt to changes in the product. The high-level control components also have the ability to be reconfigured while the assembly system is online without affecting the assembly system. The low-level control system is better suited to handling the control of motor controllers, field devices and vision inspections over an industrial network.

This dissertation consists of three independent essays addressing several key issues related to the empirical application of optimum currency area. The first essay explores the features of the CFA franc zone by operationalizing Robert Mundell’s (1952) criteria for an optimum currency area. A vector autoregression method is used in modeling national outputs as determined by global, regional and country-specific shocks. It finds that domestic outputs of the CFA franc zone countries are strongly influenced by country-specific shocks. These results suggest that the CFA franc zone countries are structurally different from each other and the monetary union may have been a costly arrangement for the member countries. The second essay focuses on the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). A 2-vairable vector autoregressive model is estimated to investigate the extent of symmetric shocks in the small open economies of the ECCU. The paper finds that domestic outputs of the ECCU countries are strongly influenced by regional shocks. These results indicate that the ECCU countries are structurally similar to each other and exchange arrangements appear to have well served the region and the group of countries is more likely to be an optimum currency area. The third essay explores the possibility of a currency union in East Asia. In this essay, the extent of global and regional integration in East Asia is investigated using the stock price index as a measure of economic performance. A similar VAR model is employed to separate the underlying shocks into global, regional and country-specific shocks. The estimation results show that country-specific shocks play a dominant role in East Asia although their role appears to have declined over time, especially after the 1997 financial crisis. Global and regional shocks are responsible for small but increasing shares of stock price fluctuations in most countries. The results indicate that, despite years of liberalization and regional integration, economies in East Asia remain dissimilar and are subject to asymmetric shocks and it might be costly for East Asian countries to abandon monetary policy independence to form a monetary union and that a more flexible exchange rate regime might be desirable.

一般研究外匯波動均以現貨的波動為主，但理論上衍生性金融商品由於成本低、市場限制較少，並且隱含波動度為「事前」波動度，隱含「預期」的意涵，因此衍生性金融商品的波動應該比現貨更能反映市場的資訊，市場資訊透過市場參與者的投資策略反映在市場，將會造成市場上的波動，且影響是不對稱和具有反轉現象的，所謂的「反轉」是指當價格變動幅度很大時，負向的價格變動比正向對波動度的影響要大，但當價格變動很小時，影響方向便會出現反轉 (reversal)，即小幅度的正向價格變動比負向價格變動對波動度的影響要大。 本研究以英磅、歐元、日圓及瑞士法郎四種外匯選擇權作為研究標的，探討外匯波動是否具有不對稱效果以及不對稱效果是否因價格變動幅度而有反轉現象，並且發展類似double-threshold GARCH模型的VS-VOLUME-GARCH模型，在控制交易量變數後，檢視不對稱及反轉的現象是否有所改變。實證結果發現市場訊息對英磅、歐元、日圓與瑞士法郎波動具有不對稱效果與反轉，但是方向與影響程度剛好與一般股市波動相反，即小幅度正向價格變動對波動度的影響較負向小，大幅度的正向價格變動對波動度的影響較負向大，其次，交易量的確可以用來解釋波動度不對稱及反轉但是僅能解釋部份原因，並且由實證結果可知交易量的確可以減輕波動度不對稱及反轉的程度，另外，實證結果也指出交易量只是造成不對稱及反轉效果的一個原因，除了交易量之外應該還存在其它重要因素。

The application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as supportive tool in teaching and learning within the framework of the radical change that Outcomes Based Education (OBE) has created, pervades and consequently alters the pedagogy and methodology of Geography teaching. Geography Is a subject in which ICT can make a definite and worthwhile contribution and it is, therefore, important that Geography educators know how to harness the benefits of ICT for their learners. Apart from the general availability of ICT to fulfil the requirements of the curricula, there are pressures from the world outside the classroom in the form of professionals who utilize Geography in their profession, such as town planners and meteorologists, who utilise new technology such as GIs, GPS, satellite images, radar summaries, air charts and meteograms as an integral part of their work. The Internet, the World Wide Web and CD-Rom are used progressively as resource-based and communication tools in teaching and learning throughout the world. The challenge to utilise ICT in Geography teaching and learning occurs in a world experiencing increasing disparities between the rich and poor, among and within nations. For example, while 72.7% of Americans currently use the Internet, only 6.4% of South Africans have access to and use the Internet. A solution for sufficient ICT support in teaching and learning for developing countries is to focus on ICT variants that are affordable and that will sustain movement toward fulfilling development objectives. Developing countries (such as the RSA) need to consider alternatives to ICT that maximise the Impact of ICT and that entail balancing investment in computers with investment in other technologies that might be cheaper and equally effective. The use of alternative ICT variants must, however, be globally competitive, but at the same time be cost-effective. The ability, versatility and low cost of an ICT variant such as the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) suggest that it can serve this purpose. ICT supports teaching and learning in Geography in many ways and has an impact on the quality of learners' learning experience and the depth of their learning. It can be a tool for inquiry learning, a resource for obtaining secondary source material, an aid in measuring physical events and situations, models real-world situations, helps to communicate and present information, improves efficiency and pace of workload, provides resources and structure to support learning independently of the educator and improves the quality of task outcomes for learners. The introduction of OBE in South Africa since 1994 has also encouraged learner-centred teaching and learning and has required a paradigm shift away from the traditional content-based transmission model of teaching and learning. The purpose of this study is to: • determine whether or not the DVD method can support the teaching and learning of Geography teacher students effectively; • determine how the DVD alters the format, structure and number of traditional formal Geography lectures; • determine what the nature of the information on the DVD must be in order to be perceived by the students effectively; • Investigate the effect of the utilisation of the DVD on the academic performance of Geography teacher students; and • develop a model for the effective integration and utilisation of the DVD in fulltime Geography teaching and learning. An action research method constituted the backbone of this study. The action research included a combined qualitative and quantitative research method in the form of a cross-sectional study as part of a developmental research method, in order to develop and evaluate a proposed model for the effective integration and utilisation of the DVD in Geography teaching and learning. The participants in this study included the entire population of the full-time, second-year students of the Economic Geography module, GEOH251 of 2004, 2005 and 2006 of the B.Ed (teaching degree) of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). The results of the study can be summarised as follows: This study indicated that the majority of the GEOH251 students were positive regarding the integration of the DVD in Geography teaching and learning. The DVD-method teaching approach challenges lecturers and students to fulfil new roles within the teaching and learning environment. The results of this study indicate the following: The integration of the DVD method can support the teaching and learning of Geography teacher students effectively. The utilisation of the DVD, together with a seminar format with a specific procedure, enhances the teaching and learning of Geography. The DVD with all the different types of information included thereon was well received by the Geography students and was deemed effective. The integration of the DVD into Geography teaching and learning evidently did not result in poorer academic performances of students in the GEOH251 module. The proposed model provides clear guidelines on how to integrate the DVD In Geography teaching and learning. It explains how the DVD should be compiled, what to include and how to employ it effectively in conjunction with seminars. It also describes the transition of formal contact sessions to seminars, which occur less frequently than traditional contact sessions, but with regular weekly intervals, as well as explains the seminar proceedings, interactions and timeframes. The DVD can be integrated into Geography teaching and learning effectively if the procedures, steps, and actions, as expounded in the proposed model, are applied. The advantages of the DVD as ICT variant in Geography teaching and learning can be clearly seen, especially if it can be implemented in developing countries. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Studies have shown a discrepancy between what journalism education provides and what the industry desires. The root of this problem lies in the absence of providing procedural knowledge to students in classrooms. To provide a solution to this issue, this study examined the Self-Directed Learning (SDL) interactive model adopted by the Student Sports Union. Employing a semi-structured in-depth interview, this study examined the process through which eight journalists in the Student Sports Union (SSU) became experts. The results show that the SSU journalists’ SDL model promotes theoretical knowledge, hands-on experience, and an applied skill set for journalism, which are useful for transforming student journalists from novice to expert.

Die vorliegende Arbeit verknüpft die Theorie der Interaktion psychischer Systeme von Kuhl (2000, 2001) mit dem Modell beruflicher Arbeitsleistung von Tett und Burnett (2003). Unter Anwendung reizorientierter arbeitspsychologischer Stressmodelle werden Hypothesen über einen durch das subjektive Bedrohungs- und Belastungspotenzial der Arbeitssituation moderierten Zusammenhang zwischen dem berufsbezogenen und nach Maßgabe der Item Response Theorie skalierbaren Persönlichkeitsmerkmal Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung und beruflicher Arbeitsleistung aufgestellt. In drei Befragungen an N = 415, N = 331 sowie N = 49 Berufstätigen wurden querschnittliche Daten zur Hypothesenprüfung erhoben. Berufsbezogene Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung zeigt sich als valides Subkonstrukt der allgemeinen Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung, welches gemäß Graded Response Modell von Samejima (1969, 1997) mit 14 Items skalierbar ist. Prospektive berufsbezogene Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung erklärt in multiplen hierarchischen Regressionsanalysen, im Gegensatz zu allgemeiner Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung, inkrementell zu Gewissenhaftigkeit, Extraversion und Neurotizismus Anteile kontextueller und aufgabenbezogener Arbeitsleistung. Hypothesenkonträr werden diese Zusammenhänge nur marginal vom subjektiven Belastungspotential der Arbeitssituation moderiert. Die Prädiktorfunktion prospektiver berufsbezogener Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung für berufliche Arbeitsleistung bleibt auch unter pfadanalytischer Kontrolle eines vorhandenen Common Method Bias erhalten. Die dispositionelle Fähigkeit, durch berufliche Hindernisse gehemmten positiven Affekt vorbewusst gegenregulieren zu können, scheint demnach ein bedeutender Prädiktor beruflicher Arbeitsleistung zu sein, insbesondere bei Führungskräften. Für die berufliche Eignungsbeurteilung ist es damit von diagnostischem Mehrwert, Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung kontextualisiert zu erheben. Der Einsatz probabilistisch- testtheoretisch konstruierter Skalen steigert dabei die Effizienz des Beurteilungsprozesses. / The current paper combines personality systems interaction theory (Kuhl, 2000, 2001) with the model of job performance by Tett and Burnett (2003). Using established stress models from work psychology it is hypothesized that there is a relation between occupational action state orientation, scalable by means of items response theory, and job performance, which is moderated by the subjective stress level of job characteristics. Three surveys among samples of N = 415, N = 331, and N = 49 professionals yielded cross sectional data for investigating the hypotheses. Occupational action state orientation proves a valid construct which is compatible with Samejima’s (1969, 1997) Graded Response Model using a 14-item scale. As a result of multiple hierarchical regression analyses, the hesitation dimension of specifically occupational, in contrast to general action state orientation is a predictor of both contextual and task performance, incremental to conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism. Contrary to expectations this relation is only marginally moderated by stress-relevant job characteristics. Even when controlling for an occurring common method bias by means of path analysis the occupational hesitation dimension’s predictor role perseveres. Therefore, the dispositional ability in subconsciously regulating inhibited positive affect due to occupational obstacles, seems to be a crucial predictor of job performance, especially regarding leaders. Hence, professional aptitude assessment benefits from assessing action state orientation in a contextualized manner. Application of item response theory-based scales further enhances assessment process efficiency.

Autor: Daniel Kadlec Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Tamara Bučková, Ph.D. Univerzita Karlova v Praze Název práce: K vymezení žánru fantastiky na příkladu románové trilogie Inkoustový svět od Cornelie Funkeové Počet stran: 77 Název: K vymezení žánru fantastiky na příkladu románové trilogie Inkoustový svět od Cornelie Funkeové Abstrakt: Práce se zabývá fantastickou literaturou a na příkladu románové trilogie "Inkoustový svět" od CORNELIE FUNKEOVÉ poukazuje na některá specifika dvoudimenzionálních příběhů. V teoretické části je nejprve na základě rešerše definován pojem fantastická literatura / fantastika a posléze blíže popsány čtyři k ní náležející žánry - fantasy, science fiction, pohádka a fantastická povídka resp. fantastický román. Vlastní analýza trilogie "Inkoustový svět" je zaměřena na pojetí dvoudimenzionality a roli osudu v tomto díle. Předpoklad, že v "Inkoustovém světě" vytváří autorka dvě rovnocenné autonomní roviny světa reality a světa fantasie, se podařilo prokázat, stejně jako premisu výrazné role osudu, jenž lze změnit jen za pomoci vlastností jako jsou láska, přátelství a ochota k sebeobětování. Klíčová slova: fantastická literatura / fantastika; fantasy; dimenze reality vs. dimenze fantasie; Inkoustový svět; Cornelia Funkeová Author: Daniel Kadlec Supervisor: PhDr. Tamara Bučková, Ph.D. Charles...