This paper adopts a communication perspective on public electronic forms (e-forms). By doing so we define forms as instruments for communication and, thus, also instruments through which citizens perform different communicative actions towards government agencies. As such instruments, the forms might be more or less useful. The purpose of this paper is to explore what features of an e-form that increase the communication quality. We conduct a theoretical synthesis of three existing approaches for designing information systems. The result is a combined theory on key features of an e-form that make the establishment of communication quality more likely. The result consists of four key concepts, each of which give rise to one set of design principles for communication from the issuer of the e-form to the user (citizen), and one set of design principles for communication from the user (citizen) to the recipient of the e-form.

Living organisms constantly respond to changing environmental conditions, and some changes can be far from optimal for many organisms. Insects represent the majority of species in many ecosystems and play an important role in bioaccumulation and biotransformation of environmental contaminants such as selenium and arsenic. Some insectivorous predators feeding on these insects are highly sensitive to such elements resulting in reduced growth, reproductive failures and low population numbers. The mechanisms of selenium and arsenic uptake through the food chain are poorly understood. The determination of chemical speciation is a prerequisite for a mechanistic understanding of a contaminants bioavailability and toxicity to an organism. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to identify the chemical form of selenium and arsenic in insects in both the field and laboratory conditions. Insects living in streams near Hinton, Alberta affected by coal mine activities were examined for selenium speciation. Results showed higher percentages of inorganic selenium in primary consumers, detritivores and filter feeders than in predatory insects. Selenides and diselenides constitute a major fraction of selenium in these insects. In another field setting, speciation of selenium was studied in insects attacking selenium hyperaccumulating plant <i>Astragalus bisulcatus</i>. The effect of selenate and arsenate alone and the combined effects of selenate and arsenate on insects and parasitoids were monitored using a laboratory-reared moth (<i>Mamestra configurata</i>). Hosts receiving selenium biotransformed selenate to organic selenides and diselenides, which were transferred to the parasitoids in the third trophic level. Arsenic fed larvae biotransformed dietary arsenate to yield predominantly trivalent arsenic coordinated with three aliphatic sulfurs. Larvae receiving arsenate used a novel six-coordinated arsenic form as an excretory molecule in fecal matter and cast skin. X-ray absorption spectroscopy imaging with micro X-ray fluorescence imaging on selenate and arsenate fed larvae revealed highly localized selenium and arsenic species, zinc and copper within the gut. The results provide insights into how the insects cope with their toxic cargo, including how selenium and arsenic are biotransformed into other chemical forms and how they can be eliminated from the insects. The implication of selenium and arsenic species in the diet of predators and detritivores is discussed.

På uppdrag av Thule Möbler utformades ett designförslag utifrån deras nuvarande katalog. Syftet var att ur ett informationsdesignperspektiv utveckla deras produktkatalog så att användarna lättare skulle kunna hitta i katalogen. Den här rapporten beskriver hela processen från idé till färdigt designförslag. Med hjälp av analyser, enkäter och intervjuer har material tagits fram som sedan testats på målgruppen genom utprovningar. Utifrån resultaten utformades ett designförslag som var anpassat till användarna och som förmedlade ett budskap om Thule Möbler, dess historia och produkter genom en enhetlig grafisk form som finns som en röd tråd genom hela katalogen. Enhetligheten skapas genom en tydlig linjering som stärker igenkänningen hos användaren, genomgående marginaler samt tydligheten mellan ordens, bildernas och den grafiska formens samspel till varandra.

Ambient explores the role of the viewer within an artistic situation. By combining function with sculptural form I am presenting a situation designed for interpretation, whether it is visual, tactile, or purely conceptual. Ambient is an opportunity for the viewer, or reader, to access all aspects of the work I create.

Conventional transportation demand management approaches have had limited success in reducing automobile dependency. As a result, it has become increasingly important to understand the decision-making processes involved in determining travel behaviour. The purpose of this dissertation is to extend research on urban form and travel behaviour beyond adult travel by examining teen travelers aged 13-19 in the Greater Toronto Area. Data from the Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS) survey are used to study four main research questions: 1) How has teen mode choice changed from 1986 to 2006? 2) How do these choices vary as teens transition from the 13-15 age group to being of driving age (16-19)? 3) How do these choices vary across the different urban and suburban regions of the GTA? 4) What are some of the differences between teen travel and adult travel? The issue is further probed through the collection of quantitative and qualitative travel data from first year students at the University of Toronto, and a series of focus groups held in locations in the GTA. The first year survey explores attitudes towards different modes in relation to the locational attributes of the respondent‘s hometown neighbourhood. The focus group sessions involve interviews with 26 teen and a take-home parental questionnaire. Results show that across the GTA, active transportation has decreased while auto passenger mode shares have increased. Younger teens walk more and older teens take transit more for both school and discretionary travel. Jurisdictions with better transit supply and orientation have higher transit mode shares for school trips, but discretionary trips have low transit mode shares. Walk mode shares for both school and discretionary travel are similar across all jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are urban or suburban. Additionally, the survey participants' narratives illustrate that the desire to travel actively and independently is strong. However, the reality of the final travel choice is determined by the presence of supportive infrastructure that facilitates active mode choices while shaping perceptions and attitudes formed as a result of daily travel experiences. Findings illustrate the relevance of qualitative work in advancing transportation research--particularly in understanding human travel decisions.

Dramatic, in the sense of “highly intense,” is a quality we often associate with the music of Beethoven, but no theory has attempted to define drama in any systematic manner. This study therefore explores the idea by constructing a theory that distinguishes between dramatic and non-dramatic passages. At the core of the theory is the notion that drama is the result of several types of tension occurring simultaneously. Dramatic passages have a “High” tension level, whereas non-dramatic ones have a “Low” level. Individual tension types are divided into two categories: rhetorical and syntactical. Rhetorical tension types include such features as a loud dynamic, a fast rhythm, and a thick texture, which need no musical context to be expressed. By contrast, syntactical tension types include such features as chromaticism, metric irregularity, and phrase expansion, which always require a comparison of events to be expressed. Only tension types from the same category may combine to form drama. Because this study examines the relationships between drama and sonata form, the analysis of form is a key issue that receives a separate chapter and additional thought throughout. The methodology combines aspects of William E. Caplin’s theory of formal functions and James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy’s Sonata Theory, and is applied to all of Beethoven’s first-movement sonata forms, a total of eighty-seven movements. Each formal unit is analyzed as one of six dramatic “archetypes” that describe a basic outline of High and/or Low tension levels. These archetypes constitute the dramatic structure of the piece. Percentage frequencies of the archetypes were calculated for each formal unit in the movements as a whole, and as grouped by the categories of key, mode, genre, and style period. The greatest distinctions in dramatic structure occur among the three style periods of early, middle, and late, the early works showing a sectional approach with contrasting tension between phrases and the middle to late works gradually becoming more continuous, maintaining the same tension levels between units. A concluding analysis of Beethoven’s String Trio, op. 3, demonstrates the theory’s ability to enrich the interpretation of an individual work.

Conventional transportation demand management approaches have had limited success in reducing automobile dependency. As a result, it has become increasingly important to understand the decision-making processes involved in determining travel behaviour. The purpose of this dissertation is to extend research on urban form and travel behaviour beyond adult travel by examining teen travelers aged 13-19 in the Greater Toronto Area. Data from the Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS) survey are used to study four main research questions: 1) How has teen mode choice changed from 1986 to 2006? 2) How do these choices vary as teens transition from the 13-15 age group to being of driving age (16-19)? 3) How do these choices vary across the different urban and suburban regions of the GTA? 4) What are some of the differences between teen travel and adult travel? The issue is further probed through the collection of quantitative and qualitative travel data from first year students at the University of Toronto, and a series of focus groups held in locations in the GTA. The first year survey explores attitudes towards different modes in relation to the locational attributes of the respondent‘s hometown neighbourhood. The focus group sessions involve interviews with 26 teen and a take-home parental questionnaire. Results show that across the GTA, active transportation has decreased while auto passenger mode shares have increased. Younger teens walk more and older teens take transit more for both school and discretionary travel. Jurisdictions with better transit supply and orientation have higher transit mode shares for school trips, but discretionary trips have low transit mode shares. Walk mode shares for both school and discretionary travel are similar across all jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are urban or suburban. Additionally, the survey participants' narratives illustrate that the desire to travel actively and independently is strong. However, the reality of the final travel choice is determined by the presence of supportive infrastructure that facilitates active mode choices while shaping perceptions and attitudes formed as a result of daily travel experiences. Findings illustrate the relevance of qualitative work in advancing transportation research--particularly in understanding human travel decisions.

Dramatic, in the sense of “highly intense,” is a quality we often associate with the music of Beethoven, but no theory has attempted to define drama in any systematic manner. This study therefore explores the idea by constructing a theory that distinguishes between dramatic and non-dramatic passages. At the core of the theory is the notion that drama is the result of several types of tension occurring simultaneously. Dramatic passages have a “High” tension level, whereas non-dramatic ones have a “Low” level. Individual tension types are divided into two categories: rhetorical and syntactical. Rhetorical tension types include such features as a loud dynamic, a fast rhythm, and a thick texture, which need no musical context to be expressed. By contrast, syntactical tension types include such features as chromaticism, metric irregularity, and phrase expansion, which always require a comparison of events to be expressed. Only tension types from the same category may combine to form drama. Because this study examines the relationships between drama and sonata form, the analysis of form is a key issue that receives a separate chapter and additional thought throughout. The methodology combines aspects of William E. Caplin’s theory of formal functions and James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy’s Sonata Theory, and is applied to all of Beethoven’s first-movement sonata forms, a total of eighty-seven movements. Each formal unit is analyzed as one of six dramatic “archetypes” that describe a basic outline of High and/or Low tension levels. These archetypes constitute the dramatic structure of the piece. Percentage frequencies of the archetypes were calculated for each formal unit in the movements as a whole, and as grouped by the categories of key, mode, genre, and style period. The greatest distinctions in dramatic structure occur among the three style periods of early, middle, and late, the early works showing a sectional approach with contrasting tension between phrases and the middle to late works gradually becoming more continuous, maintaining the same tension levels between units. A concluding analysis of Beethoven’s String Trio, op. 3, demonstrates the theory’s ability to enrich the interpretation of an individual work.

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La tesis se compone de dos partes. En la primera (capítulo dos) se presenta una extensión de un modelo de entrada "à la Dixit". Se considera un marco en el que las decisiones de entrada del líder pueden revelar información acerca de la rentabilidad de los mercados a un seguidor. En este contexto se caracteriza el comportamiento estratégico del líder. Asimismo, se demuestra que cuando la rentabilidad esperada de los mercados se situa a un nivel intermedio el líder opta por una estrategia de introducción secuencial con el fin de retrasar la entrada del competidor. Por el contrario, cuando la rentabilidad esperada de los mercados es menor, el líder tiende a introducirse en todos ellos al mismo tiempo, con el fin de evitar la entrada de la otra empresa. En la segunda parte de la tesis (capítulos 3 a 6) se estudia la manera en que las empresas organizan sus acuerdos de cooperación. En el capítulo 3 se proporciona una introducción al tema. En los capítulos 4 y 5 se presentan dos modelos teóricos. En el primero se utiliza un marco de contratos incompletos y se analiza el rol que el aprendizaje del know-how del partner juega en el desarrollo de dos modos de organización de alianzas estratégicas, esto es, Joint Ventures y acuerdos de contratos. Se demuestra que cuanto mayor es la asimetría en la capacidad de aprendizaje de las empresas, mejor es la Joint Venture. El modelo presentado en el capítulo 5 combina las herramientas y métodos de dos áreas de la literatura económica: inversión bajo incertidumbre y teoría de la búsqueda. El objetivo principal del modelo consiste en relacionar la forma de gobierno elegida por las empresas involucradas en la alianza con las características del sector en el que la alianza tiene lugar. Se demuestra que cuanto mayor es la incertidumbre a la que se enfrentan las empresas, mayor es la probabilidad de que elijan formas de gobierno más flexibles, como los acuerdos de contratos. El último capítulo se dedica a la investigación empírica del tema. Se contrastan algunas de las predicciones que pueden ser derivadas de los modelos presentados en los capítulos 4 y 5, así como aquellas que han sido destacadas en otros trabajos teóricos. / The thesis is composed of two distinct parts. In the first one (chapter 2), I present an extension of an entry model "à la Dixit". I consider a setting in which the entry decisions of the first mover might reveal information about the markets' profitability to a second entrant. In this context, I characterize the first mover's strategic behavior. I show that when priors about markets profitability are at an intermediate level, then the first mover enters them sequentially trying to delay the competitor's entry. On the contrary, when priors are lower, the first mover tends to enter all the markets at the same time trying to preempt the other firm. In the second part of the thesis (chapters 3,4,5,6), I consider the issue of the governance form of strategic alliances. That is, I study the way in which firms organize their cooperative arrangements. In chapter 3, there is a brief introduction to the topic. In chapters 4 and 5, I present two theoretical models. In the first one, I employ an incomplete contracts setting and I analyze the role of learning the partner's know-how on the performances of two typical modes of organizing strategic alliances, namely Joint Ventures and Contractual Agreements. I show that the more asymmetric firms' absorptive capacities are, the better a Joint Venture performs. The model of chapter 5 combines the tools and methods of two strands of economic literature: investment under uncertainty and search theory. The main objective of the model is that of relating the form of governance that partners choose for their alliance to the typology of the project undertaken and to the characteristics of the sector in which the alliance takes place. It is proved that the larger the uncertainty that partners face, the more likely that they choose more flexible forms of cooperation such as Contractual Agreements. The last chapter is devoted to an empirical assessment of the topic. I test some of the predictions that can be derived from the models of chapters 4 and 5 as well as those that have been put forward by other theoretical studies dealing with the same issue.