O objetivo desta dissertação é estudar teorias que utilizam dimensões extras para explicar os problemas que surgem no Modelo Padrão quando a energia atinge valores muito altos chegando à ordem TeV. Trabalhamos especificamente com modelos com mais de 4 dimensões, onde as dimensões extras são espaciais e compactificadas com o procedimento S1/Z2. Sabemos que o Modelo Padrão é consistente com todos os dados experimentais que medimos até hoje, mas existem muitas razões para esperarmos nova física na escala TeV. Iniciamos o trabalho apresentando os aspectos mais importantes do Modelo Padrão. Seguimos especificando alguns problemas que surgem no Modelo Padrão no limite para altas energias que resultaram na motivação para a criação de Teorias Além do Modelo Padrão. Explicitamos alguns de seus problemas, mas entramos em detalhes no estudo de dois principais: o Problema da Hierarquia e o Problema de Massa dos Férmions. Em seguida, definimos os três tipos de teorias que utilizam dimensões extras para solucionar o Problema da Hierarquia e as apresentamos na ordem em que foram idealizadas. As duas primeiras, denominadas \"Large Extra Dimensions\" (LED) e \"Universal Extra Dimensions\" (UED) utilizam uma métrica plana do espaço-tempo total e são diferentes na definição da propagação dos campos em determinadas dimensões. A \"Warped Extra Dimensions\" (WED) utiliza uma uma métrica curva do espaço-tempo 5-dimensional e soluciona o Problema da Hierarquia de maneira diferenciada. Para finalizar definimos especificamente uma teoria WED e calculamos sua correspondência em uma teoria 4-dimensional. Através desta teoria efetiva, estudamos sua fenomenologia no Large Hadron Collider (LHC) e mostramos como ela se relaciona com a origem dos sabores fermiônicos. Como consequência, mostramos que o Problema de Massa dos Férmions é naturalmente solucionado, e propomos um sinal experimental para testar este aspecto da teoria no LHC. / The goal of this dissertation is to study theories that use extra dimensions to solve the problems that appear in the Standard Model at energies of the order 1 TeV. Specifically, we worked with models with more than 4 dimensions, where the spatial dimensions are compactified in an S1/Z2 orbifold. The Standard Model agrees to a great degree with the experimental data we have today but there are several reasons to expect new physics at the TeV scale. We start presenting the most important aspects of the Standard Model. We then specify some of the problems that appear at high energies (higher than the weak scale) and that are the motivation to consider theories beyond the Standard Model. We focus on two such problems: the hierarchy problem and the origin of the fermion masses. We present three types of theories using extra dimensions to address the hierarchy problem. The first two, Large Extra Dimensions (LED) and Universal Extra Dimensions (UED) use a flat metric and only differ on the fields that are allowed to propagate in the extra dimensions. Warped Extra Dimensions (WED) use a curved metric to solve the hierarchy problem in a unique way. Within a WED setup, we study the resulting four-dimensional effective theory. This theories naturally explain the hierarchy of fermion masses. Within this effective theory, we study the phenomenology at the LHC as it relates to the origin of flavor. In particular, we propose a signal that can test this important aspect of the theory.

The diploma thesis is focusing on the contemporary movement called "early start" in the education of the English language. Almost all nursery schools offer today the extra lessons for children. The diploma thesis presents not only the actual negative and positive arguments for the early start lessons but also the theoretical resource for the development of language and communicative competences of children. Also the topic of learning a foreign language and its influences as well as the politics of educating foreign languages in the world and in the Czech Republic are included. The practical part of the thesis will try to enrich the debate about the early start by individual experience and findings of six children who were interviewed. Their information was completed by the acquaintances of their parents that filled the questionnaire.

The geopolitical significance of Pakistan in the Global War on Terror has led to multiple instances of the US acting in an extra-territorial manner. Repeated territorial intrusion by the US strains US-Pakistan relations because extra-territoriality is viewed as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. This study analyzes Pakistani-English political cartoons to examine the ways the US extra-territoriality is represented. Approximately 2940 political cartoons are collected from four Pakistani-English newspapers: Dawn, The Express Tribune, The Nation, and The News. Wallerstein’s world-system theory provides the theoretical backdrop to demonstrate the explicit (military) and implicit (economic, cultural, and political/diplomatic) means a hegemonic-core power can act extra-territorially towards a state in the periphery. A combination of content analysis and social semiotic analysis methodologies is used. Content analysis reveals a total of 323 US-related political cartoons that are classified into themes of economic, cultural, military, and political/diplomatic depictions in political cartoons. A visual social semiotic analysis deconstructs the visual rhetoric of extra-territoriality as expressed in the various themed political cartoons. The outcome of these two methodologies provides a holistic illustration of the ways US extra-territoriality in a sovereign but periphery state like Pakistan is viewed.

This study is an exploration and extension of previous research on the interactive effects of victim-race and victim-gender on death sentence outcomes. Williams and Holcomb's (2004) study suggests that an interactive effect exists between victim-race and victim-gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially singled out for capital punishment. The current study analyzes a sample of death eligible cases at the trial level in North Carolina to determine if Williams & Holcomb's findings hold up for a different sample of cases and in a different state. Logistic regression is used to determine if there are direct and/or interactive effects of victim's race and victim's gender on capital sentencing outcomes, controlling for the variety of other factors that influence that decision. Results suggest that the interactive effects reported by Williams and Holcomb do not exist in North Carolina at the sentencing/penalty processing phase of capital trials.

Fokus för studien ligger primärt på att undersöka hur pedagoger anpassar undervisningen för flerspråkiga elever. Jag har särskilt valt att studera extra anpassningar utifrån ett läroplansteoretiskt synsätt med fokus på flerspråkiga elever i årskurs 1, 3 samt förberedelseklass. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna för studien är ett sociokulturellt perspektiv, där pedagogens didaktiska val kopplas till elevens lärande på realiseringsarenan. Metoden för genomförandet av studien är kvalitativ bestående av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer genomfördes på två av arenorna: transformering- och realiseringsarenan där resultatet av studien jämfördes med skollagen, läroplanen, forskares syn på flerspråkighet, tal – och språkstörning, samt utvecklingsstörning. För att avgränsa studien lades fokus på två rektorer, fyra pedagoger i årskurs 1 och 3, en pedagog från förberedelseklass, två personer ur den lokala elevhälsan, samt två modersmålslärare. Resultatet av studien visar att samarbete och kunskapsutveckling bland pedagoger är något som kan generera ökade förutsättningar i skolframgångar för flerspråkiga elever.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of a 'Reading Recovery' or an 'Extra Lesson' program in comparison to no intervention for children having difficulty reading in their second year at school. 'Reading Recovery' is an intervention program developed by Marie Clay to assist children who are showing signs of having difficulty learning to read after the first year at school. 'Reading Recovery' uses a whole language approach. The assumption is that given a second chance in a 1:1 structured learning environment, with a trained Reading Recovery teacher, the child will learn to read at an age appropriate level. The 'Extra Lesson' intervention is based on the paradigm of Rudolf Steiner's concept of education, which is a holistic developmental approach. The assumption is that there is a relationship between learning and development in the first seven years of the child's life. The 'Extra Lesson' assessment tests for and identifies developmental difficulties within the first seven years of the child's life and skills testing clarifies if the child has any significant learning difficulty. The 'Extra Lesson' intervention is a 1:1 program, based on a holistic developmental perspective of Rudolf Steiner, to work with the child's difficulties. The efficacy of both interventions was evaluated by using a case study design with embedded forms of analysis and a pre-test post-test non equivalent control group quasi-experimental design to measure the changes in the children's reading skills, processing speed, short term auditory memory and awareness of body geography. Follow up tests were administered 10 months after the post-tests. Case studies have been used to present the data collated for individual subjects and graphs were used for the analysis of group data. All the subjects showed an improvement in reading skills from the pre to the post-test. At follow up all the subjects tested continued to show an improvement in reading skills. Both interventions were shown to affect the subjects reading skills. A comparison of groups showed a slight measurable difference between the 'Reading Recovery', 'Extra Lesson' and Control group, with the 'Extra Lesson' showing a slightly larger improvement in sight word recognition. The treatment and Control groups' Writing Vocabulary increased from the pre to the post-test. The 'Reading Recovery' and Control groups' Writing Vocabulary decreased and the Extra Lesson group continued to improve at follow up. All the groups showed an improvement in short term auditory memory at the post-test and the Control and 'Extra lesson' groups continued to increase slightly at follow up and the 'Reading Recovery' group remained relatively constant. All the groups had relatively constant scores on Processing Speed from the pre to the post- test and at follow up. Neither intervention showed a measurable effect on Processing Speed. All the groups showed an improvement in graphical representation of body geography at the post-test and at follow up. The 'Extra Lesson' group showed the largest improvement at the post-test and long-term. The 'Extra Lesson' intervention had a positive and measurable effect on graphical representation of body geography after the intervention and long-term.

This study examined the observed effects of horse-riding which took place as an extra-curricula activity within the school day. The three children in the case study were primary aged students from a Canberra primary school who have an intellectual disability requiring high support. The criteria for selection was on the basis of how long they had taken part in the horse-riding programme. The three children were either just about to start or had just started the programme and had no previous experience with horses or horse-riding. The aim of the study was to explore the effects that the horse-riding programme had on the children's behaviour, attitudes and the way they communicated when riding. The children's behaviour was observed in the different settings of the school and the stables environment. Certain individual behaviours were observed and recorded on a weekly basis for an eight week period. Audio-recordings of behaviour took place as well as interviews both before and after the eight week period, from teachers, riding instructors, helpers, and parents. Whilst the case study could not be said to be large enough to be representative of all children with intellectual disabilities attending this horse-riding programme, in general some common themes relating to counselling emerged which corresponded with other studies referred to in the literature. These include positive effects such as a general sense of well-being and a feeling of success whilst being in control of the horse. An emerging empathy and closeness of each child with their particular horse was observed over time, which appeared to lead to increased communication. This took place whilst the children were talking or communicating to the horse or in the presence of the horse.

La première partie de ce document concerne mes activités dans le domaine de la physique des particules auprès des collisionneurs LEP et LHC et la deuxième est dédiée à mon activité plus récente dans le domaine des ondes gravitationnelles avec l'expérience Virgo.<br /><br />Ma thèse a porté sur la mesure de l'un des paramètres (Rl) de la résonance du boson Z à LEP avec l'expérience ALEPH. J'ai ensuite contribué à la mesure et à la combinaison de l'ensemble des paramètres de la résonance du Z ainsi qu'à l'extraction de paramètres du Modèle Standard de physique des particules à partir de ces mesures (masse du boson de Higgs, masse du quark top, constante de couplage fort). <br />En parallèle avec cette activité j'ai participé aux développements et tests du détecteur de pied de gerbe de l'expérience CMS au LHC. Ce détecteur sera particulièrement utile pour la réduction du bruit de fond dans la recherche du boson de Higgs avec sa désintégration en deux photons. Mon travail a principalement consisté à déterminer les performances du détecteur (résolution en énergie) en faisceau test, à effectuer une étude pour son électronique de lecture, et à décrire ce détecteur et la reconstruction des dépôts d'énergie dans le logiciel de reconstruction d'événements de CMS.<br /><br />J'ai ensuite abordé une autre thématique avec la recherche d'ondes gravitationnelles par interférométrie avec l'expérience Virgo. J'ai tout d'abord eu la charge de l'adaptation du système de détection (système optique, électronique de lecture des photodiodes et contrôle de l'ensemble) lors d'un changement de configuration de l'interféromètre. Je me suis ensuite fortement impliquée dans la phase de mise au point de l'interféromètre dont l'un des buts est d'amener l'interféromètre à sa sensibilité nominale. Je contribue essentiellement à cette phase avec: la responsabilité de sa caractérisation optique, la responsabilité du système de détection ainsi que la compréhension des bruits techniques limitant la sensibilité de l'interféromètre. L'étude des bruits techniques a fait l'objet d'une thèse que j'ai co-encadré.

NIL

L'observatoire Pierre Auger est une expérience de détection du rayonnement cosmique aux plus hautes énergies jamais mesurées. Ce dernier possède deux sous-ensembles de détection différents et complémentaires qui lui confèrent des capacités sans précédents pour l'étude du rayonnement cosmique. Le détecteur est également sensible aux neutrinos de ultra haute énergie, et ce bien qu'il n'ait pas été conçu dans ce but. Au cours de cette thèse, un programme de simulation a été développé afin d'étudier la propagation et l'interaction des neutrinos taus dans la croûte terrestre, travail nécessaire à l'étude du premier des deux canaux de détection possible, mettant en jeu des neutrinos de type tau traversant la terre sur une faible épaisseur, et venant interagir dans la roche à proximité du détecteur. En plus de fournir la probabilité de conversion neutrino-tau, nécessaire pour le calcul de l'acceptance du détecteur, celui-ci a également permis d'étudier en détail des processus liés à la propagation des particules dans la roche, permettant de mieux comprendre leur impact sur les résultats de l'analyse. La seconde partie du travail concerne les neutrinos interagissant directement dans l'atmosphère, à la manière des rayons cosmiques classiques. Pour ce deuxième canal de détection, un critère de sélection a été développé à partir de la comparaison de simulation de gerbes atmosphériques, induites par des neutrinos de ultra haute énergie, avec les données brutes du détecteur. L'étude des neutrinos à l'observatoire Pierre Auger a permis d'obtenir deux limites sur le flux diffus de neutrinos de ultra haute énergie, parmi les plus contraignantes à des énergies de l'ordre de l'EeV.