Thesis (MDram)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The actor's work consists of communication, in other words the transfer of intellectual and emotional ideas. The voice is undoubtedly the most important means of auditory communication. The development and maintenance of the actor's voice is, therefore, an essential requirement for effective communication. The vocal development of actors and singers is aimed at releasing the breathing process, the passage of sound through the body and the organs of articulation, as well as the elimination of obstructive psychophysical inhibitions. The same body parts are used for the production of sound in both speaking and singing. The vocal instrument may be divided into three parts, namely the respiratory system, the glottic system and the resonators. The structure and functioning of the voice as an instrument is in many respects somewhat complex. Knowledge of the structure and functioning of the vocal system facilitates the prevention and elimination of speech problems. Speech and singing, as subdivisions of voice production, are both closely linked to the functioning of certain body parts, and it is for this reason that singing helps to improve speech. For instance, because singing demands a larger breath capacity and greater breath control, singing techniques contribute positively to the development of the actor's voice. Various voice production errors and problems encountered in actors, such as breathing-related problems, defective resonance adaptations and defective projection, can be eliminated by means of technical exercises. An analysis of the techniques for speech and singing reveal such a strong coincidence that they can both be classed as voice production techniques. A singing-based approach to vocal training will, therefore, have only a positive effect on the actor's voice production. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die akteur se werk behels kommunikasie, dit wil sê die oordra van intellektuele en emosionele idees. Die stem is meestalonontbeerlik as ouditiewe kommunikasiemiddel. Daarom is die ontwikkeling en instandhouding van die akteur se stem van wesenlike belang. Die fokus van stemontwikkeling by akteurs en sangers word gerig op die bevryding van die asemhalingsproses, die klankgang deur die liggaam, die artikulasieorgane en die uitwissing van stremmende psigo-fisiese inhibisies. In spraak en sang word dieselfde liggaamsdele vir klankproduksie aangewend. Die vokale instrument kan in drie verdeel word, naamlik die asemhalingstelsel, die glottale stelsel en die resonators. Die bou en werking van die stem as instrument is in vele opsigte kompleks. Kennis van die bou en werking van die vokale instrument kan egter tot die voorkoming of verbetering van stem- en spraakprobleme lei. Spraak en sang as onderafdelings van stemproduksie skakelonderling met betrekking tot die betrokkenheid van sekere liggaamsdele en hul funksies, en derhalwe ondersteun sangoefeninge spraakproduksie. Aangesien sang egter 'n groter asemkapasiteit en sterker asembeheer verg as spraak, kan sangtegniese oefeninge positief bydra tot die akteur se stemontwikkeling. Verskeie stemfoute en stemprobleme van die akteur kan verbeter word met behulp van tegniese oefeninge, naamlik asemverwante probleme, gebrekkige resonansie-aanpassings en gebrekkige projeksie. 'n Ontleding van die tegnieke van spraak en sang dui op so 'n sterk ooreenkoms dat beide as stemtegnieke geklassifiseer kan word. Daarom sal 'n sangtegniekmatige benadering tot stemopleiding die spraakstem van die akteur positiefbeïnvloed.

This paper examines a fragment of the evident cultural exthange occurring along the U.S. — Mexico border in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Many Nogales youth are absorbing American popular culture through purchasing American popular culture commodities, such as music. The paper raises questions of how and why the Nogales youth purchase their pop culture commodities, and of the interpretations the Nogales youth make of said commodities' symbolic significance. After methodologies and context of the study are discussed, the paper defines popular culture and its relationship to commodity production. It then focuses on how the youth access their pop culture products and the factors that influence their buying decisions. At its end, the paper compares the interpretations of the Nogales youth with those of American youth in terms of pop culture goods.

Tepary (Phaseolus actifolius Gray) beans perform better than common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) under drought conditions. The mechanism of drought tolerance in tepary bean seedlings was explored by determining the water potential (WP), osmotic potential (OP), relative water content (RWC), free sugar concentration, and the level of K ion within the expanding leaves. Two week old tepary bean seedlings were subjected to a gradual water stress with sorbitol solutions exhibiting OP values of -0.19 MPa and -0.47 MPa. Turgor remained constant whereas WP, OP and RWC declined following the stress treatment. Osmotic adjustment (OA) occurred in each treatment but the contribution of sucrose and fructose was minor. Some sorbitol was translocated to leaves and contributed to OA. The decrease of K ions in leaves indicated that these ions did not contribute to the OA. A significant decrease in cell size was observed as determined by decrease in TW/DW ratio.

No description available.

This study examines the organisational culture of the Scottish Fire Service, and the political pressures for change emanating from the modernisation agenda of both the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments. Having completed a preliminary analysis of the Fire Service‟s culture, by examining the cultural history of the Scottish Fire Service and the process through which individuals are socialised into the Service, the study analyses the contemporary culture of the Service through research in three Scottish Fire Brigades. This research concludes that there is a clearly defined Fire Service culture, which is predicated on the operational task of fighting fire, based on strong teams and infused with masculinity at all levels. In these circumstances, the Service‟s cultural realities attempt to exclude women and are derisive in their regard for other more marginalised males. Following an analysis of Government driven imperatives for change, being applied to the Fire Service, it is further concluded that the resistance to change, evident within the cultural realities of the Service, can be defined as an attempt to defend one of the last bastions of male identification in the workplace.

This thesis explores representations of British youth culture and adolescent identity formation in the ‘first generation’ (seasons 1-2) of the British television teen drama Skins (2007-8). Like its peers in the Teen TV genre, Skins focuses on normative teenage angst and rebellion that results in ‘naughty behavior’: sex, drug and alcohol use, and conflict with and alienation from parents. Skins sets itself apart from genre standards by heightening and glamorizing the way these behaviors are visually depicted. Furthermore, the characters experience very few substantial consequences or repercussions from parents or other authority figures, but rather repercussions come from within their own close-knit group. The primary source of tension in the series occurs during the moments when the group of friends challenge the cultural, biological and ideological constraints under which they find themselves when their preoccupied, self-involved, neglectful, and otherwise overbearing parents directly contribute to the conditions that fuel their excessive ‘naughtiness.’ The series creators, writers, producers and actors promote Skins as an authentic representation of teenage experience and this thesis ultimately seeks to explore the implications of this representation in order to gain a better understanding of British youth culture in the new millennium.

La cardiomyopathie associée à la DMD est une atteinte pour laquelle il n’existe pas actuellement de traitement. Les cellules souches embryonnaires humaines (hES), par leurs propriétés d’autorenouvellement et de différenciation, sont envisagées comme outil thérapeutique. Pour une recherche sur l’implantation de cellules, il n’existait pas de modèle in vitro au long cours. Nous avons ainsi développé un modèle de culture organotypique de tranches de cœur dans lequel nous avons, plusieurs mois après transplantation, retrouvé les cellules hES greffées, différenciées en cardiomyocytes. Par ailleurs, nous avons optimisé la différenciation cardiaque pour améliorer le rendement en cardiomyocytes, en induisant la différenciation cardiaque et en cultivant les cellules hES en bioréacteur. Le modèle d’étude au long terme permettant le suivi des cellules greffées dérivées de cellules hES nous permettra de valider les premières étapes précédant les études in vivo dans des modèles pathologiques. / Cardiomyopathy associated with DMD is a frequent occurrence with no treatment. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC), because of their self-renew differentiation properties are the best candidates to cardiac cellular therapy. To investigate cells implantation, there was no long term in vitro model. Thus, we have developed an organotypic model of heart slices in which we have, several months after transplantation, found grafted hES cells with evidence of cardiac differentiation. In addition, we have optimised cardiac differentiation to improve cardiac yield, inducing cardiac differentiation and cultivating hES cells in bioreactors. During long term culture model allows the study of grafted hES cells, combines to hESC-derived cells in reasonable number and purity, will constitute validation of the first steps before in vivo studies in pathological models.

Globalisation has always been researchers' main concern and interest over a long period of the time. One effect of globalisation is that the composition of project teams had become increasingly diverse. The differing national cultural backgrounds of members increases the complexity of team composition, which regulates the success of the project performance. Research has shown that diverse teams outperform homogenous ones. Other studies have investigated the impact of national culture on projects. But our knowledge of how effectively companies can manage a complex, multicultural team project is inadequate and limited. Furthermore, theoretical and empirical studies concerning how the national cultural diversity of teams can impact project performance are limited. Most of the studies are qualitative, either focusing on one country or discussing one aspect of culture, and mainly considering team performance. To fill this gap, this study investigates the national cultural factors that influence multicultural project teams and determine the cultural dimensions that impact on project performance. In particular, it examines the influence of five national culture dimensions developed by Hofstede on multicultural team complexity variables including integration, communication, trust and knowledge-sharing, and to recognise how these factors are related to project performance. The territory chosen for this study was the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, as all of these nations rely intensely upon an expat workforce because of the lack of both skilled and unskilled manpower in the local market. A survey instrument was extracted and developed from previously validated questionnaire scales. Pilot testing was conducted to ensure the scales, format and contents of the survey instrument were appropriate. A range of project team members were targeted, and 329 valid questionnaires were returned. The data obtained was analysed by using two widely used statistical software tools, SPSS and AMOS. The data analysis steps included reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and validity (Confirmatory Factor) analysis. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the entire model. By using SEM, it was possible to test the parsimonious nature of the model, identify the model, determine whether it makes theoretical sense, and examine its fit to the data. The relationship between national culture, team performance and project performance was analysed using path analysis as part of the SEM. The research outcome showed that national culture has a significant impact on the team performance, especially on integration, communication, trust and knowledge sharing, which will also moderate the relationship between national culture and project performance. The finding of this research study confirmed that there is a relationship between national cultural differences and project success. Understanding the cultural differences among team members, who are from different national cultural backgrounds, is an essential aspect of managing projects successfully. Moreover, mismanaging or ignoring cultural differences of the team members may lead to project failures. Furthermore, the outcomes have obviously shown that the optimal project performance is accomplished when the entire project team is thoroughly integrated and incorporated with the project purpose. This study contributes to the literature by delivering a deeper understanding of the cultural issues that influence the performance of multicultural project teams in GCC countries. In addition, it provides greater insight into national culture within projects context, in particular providing empirical evidence that different nationalities have different cultural orientations and that these different cultural orientations are associated with different levels of performance. In practice, the findings will assist project directors and managers in similar countries to further recognise the role of national culture in the context of enhancing project performance. In particular, project directors and managers can undertake an assessment of their teams' national cultural background and based on that, forecast the probable team and project performance. Where necessary, action can be taken to manage or even change the cultural orientation in terms of the attitudes and behaviours of project teams. This research expressed the views of professionals who work in a multicultural environment on the extent to which national cultural dimensions may affect the outcome of a project.

Montague, Melody Grace. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-148). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgments --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii-v / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction: Why Sanyuan? --- p.1-3 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- "Surveying the Field and Mapping the Course: Historiography, Methodology and Sources" --- p.4-21 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Setting the Stage: The Sanyuan Mission Story --- p.22-57 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Meeting the Chinese Church: Sanyuan Christians Up Close --- p.58-113 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Reevaluating the Big Picture: Portrait of a Chinese Church --- p.114-139 / Appendix Maps --- p.140-141 / Bibliography --- p.142-148

Les Amazighs sont un ensemble de populations actuellement fragmentées dans plusieurs territoires d’Afrique du Nord. En utilisant la méthode de la visualisation de l’information, cette recherche vise à analyser le territoire numérique amazigh. L’internet fait partie des moyens qui ont permis à aux différentes composantes régionales de ce peuple de nouer des liens malgré toutes ces fragmentations. Dans un premier temps, cette étude analyse les différentes sortes de frontières et de territoires afin d’élucider cette notion qui est au centre des fragmentations des Amazighs. Dans un second temps, Elle met l’accent sur le cyberespace amazigh. À l’aide des outils numériques de la visualisation de données, nous analysons, d’abord, les liaisons numériques nouées par les différentes composantes ethniques de ce peuple. Ces liaisons s’illustrent dans les liens hypertextes des sites web et ceux tissés entre les pages publiques sur le réseau social Facebook. Ensuite, nous étudions, à l’aide d’un outil d’analyse du corpus textuel, le contenu des sites web et des pages Facebook amazighes. / The Amazighs are a set of population currently fragmented in several territories of North Africa. Using the visualization’s method of the information, this research aims to analyze the Amazigh digital territory. The internet is one of the ways that allowed this population to form ties despite all fragmentation Initially, this study analyzes the different kinds of borders and territories in order to elucidate this notion, which is at the center of the Amazigh’s fragmentation. Secondly, it focuses on the Amazigh cyberspace. Using the digital tools of data visualization, we analyze, first, the digital connections made by the different ethnic components of this community. Those connections are illustrated by the hypertext links in websites and those created between the public pages on the social network Facebook. Then, using a textual analysis tool, we study the content of Amazigh websites and Facebook pages