The dissertation is based on the analysis of thirty episodes of the American television series Friends with the focus on the CSIs (Culture Specific Items) and how these differences have been handled by Chinese translators who produced the subtitles for the English-Chinese translation. The analysis was based on the assumption that Mainland China’s culture is different from the US culture so people in these two countries may have problems in understanding CSIs if they are translated literally and if the subtitle translation is not adapted to the target audience. Such adaptation is normally known as localisation. The cultural differences that are ingrained in CSIs might have to be handled with caution in the production of subtitles. The main objective of the dissertation has been to analyse different translation choices which are currently used by the translators in questions, dealing with CSIs where cultural differences between mainland China and the US arise. The research discovered that repetition of CSIs is a strategy which underperformed, failing to help the Chinese audience to comprehend the cultural connotations associated with the CSIs. The paper has provided some recommendations as to how the subtitle translation of such CSIs might be handled in such a way that the audience will have a better understanding of the same.

Thèse (M.A.)--Université Laval, 2003. / Bibliogr.: f. 64-69. Publié aussi en version électronique.

abstract: This paper discusses the second phase of sustainability in the field of design and identifies the success factors of design innovation in the ethnic craft industry in northern Thailand. This study explored craftspeople’s capital, their means of developing it, and potential routes to sustainable development on the capital. The literature review examines three topics: (1) ethnic identity and craft; (2) northern Thailand and hill tribes; and (3) design thinking, vulnerability, and resilience. Empirical research was conducted with hill tribe craftspeople in northern Thailand. Seven types of capital—human, social, natural, physical, financial, cultural, and emotional capital—were identified through interviews and observation. Those types of capital indicated what the craftspeople wanted and needed. The key findings were as follows: First, social capital has a close relationship with both human capital and emotional capital, indicating that for craftspeople, networks and membership ensure knowledge and increase connections with friends and family. Secondly, emotional capital is affected by financial capital. Financial capital refers to the monetary resources used to achieve craftspeople’s livelihood objectives. The craftspeople required high order volumes to earn to more money and thus improve their economic condition; they experienced more stress when order volumes were low. Third, financial capital is not related to social and cultural capital. Graphs implied certain relationship among them, with the reasons varying depending on the individual craftsperson’s environment. A high level of social and cultural capital does not affect low financial capital, and vice versa. Finally, cultural capital directly influences emotional capital because the happiness of hill tribe craftspeople is related to their identity and dignity as craftspeople. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Design 2017

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第24394号 / 理博第4893号 / 新制||理||1699(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科数学・数理解析専攻 / (主査)准教授 小林 佑輔, 教授 牧野 和久, 教授 長谷川 真人 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

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<p>This thesis is divided into two parts: the Theory of Items, and the Theory of Contexts. The latter is a further elaboration of the former.</p> <p>In the first chapter I argue against the classical doctrine of ontological-referential theory. This classical position may be represented by Russell's and by Quine's position on nonexistent objects.</p> <p>The first position that I propose to reject is the view that in order to say anything true about an object its name or description must have an actual reference. This view is represented by Russell's proposition *14.21: t-:Ψ (rx)(øx) .->. E!(rX)(øx) on which Russell writes: "This proposition shows that if any true statement can be made about (1x)(øx), then (1x)(øx) must exist". (Principia Mathematica)</p> <p>The Theory of Items rejects this view and states that whether a statement about a certain object is true or is false does not depend on the ontic status of that object. Thus, consequently, a true statement about nonexistent objects can be made (without making a distinction between a secondary and a primary occurrence as Russell did).</p> <p>The second position that is to be rejected is the view that nonexistent objects are mere nothings. This is represented by one of Quine's theorems that nonexistent objects are simply empty sets. *197 t- r -(Eβ) (α) (α=β. ≡ ø) ->. (1α)ø = 9¬</p> <p>(Mathematical Logic). For the Theory of Items, nonexistent objects are not nothings, they are somethings for they can be said to have any property whatsoever. Thus if we may have a set that contains existent objects, then we may also have a set that contains nonexistent objects. Nonexistent objects are just as much 'items' as existent ones; this is the reason why I call the theory being proposed here the 'Theory of Items' and not the Theory of Objects. The word 'item' is used instead of 'objects' to indicate the ontic neutrality of the matter that we are talking about.</p> <p>In the second chapter I will present various examples of the classical view and I will try reply to their arguments in the light of the Theory of Items explained previously.</p> <p>In the third chapter I will discuss the Theory of Contexts. I will argue that semantical features (truth and falsity) should be assigned to various statements about various items (existent or nonexistent). I maintain that the assignment of a truth value is very much context-dependent. The characteristics of contexts and various rules that iv. govern them will be discussed. More attention will be given to the fictional items and fictional contexts for no doubt they present some peculiar problems. For example if a fictional item x in a story C1 has a feature that-p, and the same item in a different story C2 has a feature that--~p, then can we validly conclude that the fictional item x is both p and ~p? My argument is based on the analysis of contexts. Only by presenting a satisfactory theory of contexts can that problem (and many other paradoxes) be solved.</p> <p>This thesis is far from being complete. There are some important topics that I do not discuss (due to page and time limitation). For example the problems of: significance and nonsignificance; whether we should take a three value logic (by incorporating significance as the third value) instead of the classical two value system; consistencies; and a possible formal theory for the Theory of Contexts. The last two of these problems are stated very briefly in the Appendix.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

With increasing scrutiny over standards of financial statement transparency, this paper attempts to resolve misconceptions about effects of negative special items on future earnings. Value investor Benjamin Graham advises students to avoid firms that consistently post special items, because it is indicative of the volatility of the business. Using panel data from 2003 to 2014 and a regression structure used by Burghstaler et al. (2002), I find in contrast to Graham’s warning, that negative special items significantly increase earnings in the four quarters following its occurrence. Furthermore, I analyze results by sector and find that negative special items in the Information Technology sector have the most dramatic positive effects on future earnings. This study gives investors more insight as to what negative special items mean for future earnings of a company.

För att språket ska fungera normalt krävs ett samspel mellan uttrycksförmåga och förståelse av språk. Afasi är en språkstörning som kommer sig av en skada i de delar av hjärnan som påverkar språket. Att få afasi kan innebära en stor omställning i livet och ofta uppstår ett behov av anpassning av kommunikationen både för personen som fått afasi och personer i dess omgivning. Detta inkluderar även den vårdpersonal som arbetar nära personen med afasi. För att nå förståelse och kunna ge vård och omsorg av god kvalitet, måste tillräcklig kunskap om afasi finnas hos vårdpersonalen. Tidigare forskning visar att det finns brister hos vårdpersonal i deras kunskap om afasi. Utifrån detta kan det anses viktigt att kunna mäta vårdpersonals kunskap om afasi. Denna studies syfte har varit att ta fram relevanta frågor (items) som kan mäta kunskapsnivån hos vårdpersonal. För att besvara frågeställningarna användes kvalitativ metod för materialinsamling. För att samla erfarenheter av hur vårdpersonalens kunskap om afasi upplevs vara idag, genomfördes intervjuer med tre separata grupper: fem personer med afasi, fem anhöriga till personer med afasi och tre logopeder med erfarenhet av arbete med personer med afasi. Intervjuerna analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade att informanternas erfarenheter var att det hos vårdpersonal existerar kunskapsbrister om afasi, varför studien ansågs vara motiverad. Utifrån det analyserade materialet togs 32 items fram, med syfte att mäta vårdpersonals kunskap om afasi. Som alltid vid kvalitativ forskning finns det risker att olika faktorer, exempelvis forskarnas förförståelse, påverkar informanterna. Största möjliga hänsyn har tagits till detta. Framtida nytta med studien är att de framtagna items kan användas i ett bedömningsinstrument för att mäta vårdpersonals kunskap om afasi. Därmed ges nya möjligheter att kvalitetssäkra vård av personer med afasi, att motivera utbildning för vårdpersonal och att exempelvis mäta vårdpersonals kunskap i relation till rehabilitering.   Nyckelord: afasi, kunskap, vårdpersonal, items, bedömningsinstrument, kommunikation / In order for the language to function normally, the expression- and comprehension of language must work together. Aphasia is a language impairment caused by damage to the language areas of the brain. Getting aphasia can mean a big change in life and often requires adaptation regarding communication both for the person with aphasia and the persons around them. Adaptation regarding communication also includes healthcare staff working close to the person with aphasia. In order to reach understanding and to give care of good quality, knowledge about aphasia is necessary.  Previous research shows that health care staff lacks efficient understanding about aphasia. Considering that, a tool for measuring knowledge about aphasia would be desirable. This study's aim has been to produce questions (items) which can measure the level of knowledge in healthcare personnel. Qualitative research method was used in order to find material for the production of items. In order to gather experiences of how the health care staff's understanding of  aphasia are experienced by interested people today, interviews with three separate groups were performed: five persons with aphasia, five relatives to persons with aphasia and three speech and language pathologists with experience of working with persons with aphasia. The interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The result showed that all the participants' had various experiences of knowledge deficiencies regarding aphasia within the healthcare staff. The analyzed material resulted in 32 items, with the purpose of measuring the understanding of aphasia in healthcare staff. Since the material indicated that a deficiency in knowledge of aphasia exists in healthcare staff, the study was considered to be justified. Within qualitative research method, there are always risks that different elements, for example the researcher´s viewpoint, can affect the participants. Maximum consideration regarding this issue has been considered. Future benefits of this study could be an assessment instrument containing the items produced in this study. The purpose of an assessment instrument could be to measure health care staff´s knowledge about aphasia. Thereby, new opportunities are given to assure the quality of care for persons with aphasia, to justify education for healthcare staff and to evaluate the health care staff´s understanding in relation to the results of rehabilitation.   Keywords: aphasia, knowledge, understanding, healthcare staff, items, assessment instruments, communication, healthcare personnel

Puzzles have always been a central part of games. One of the simplest manifestations of a puzzle in games is an obstruction that prevents the player from progressing and an object that removes the obstruction. The system of unlocking new areas with keys is used in order to provide interesting level design and help build narrative in games. This examination intends to provide knowledge and insight into how this type of system is commonly portrayed visually and thus provide a basis for designers to build upon when creating similar challenges, providing a greater awareness of the design norms that are commonly applied. In the majority of the cases that have been examined during this study, text-based information is used to convey the majority of the essential information given to the players regarding the relationship of the key and the lock. In many cases the graphics serve only to highlight important features of the objects and help the player to quickly tell the different items apart in the inventory.

¿Cuántas opciones de respuesta hay que utilizar para responder un cuestionario de personalidad? Durante más de ochenta años, numerosas investigaciones previas han examinado este tópico sin lograr alcanzar un consenso. El presente trabajo se aborda esta cuestión de forma exhaustiva.MÉTODO:Se aplican dos escalas de personalidad [(Orientación Negativa hacia los Problemas (NPO) del Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R) y la escala Satisfacción con la Vida (SWLS)], cada una a una muestra independiente (Estudio A = 746 participantes y Estudio B = 426 participantes), variando el número de opciones de respuesta en dos, tres y cinco alternativas. Cada sujeto debe responder a los tres tipos de formato de respuesta dentro de una misma sesión. Para evitar que éstos noten que están contestando el mismo cuestionario en más de una ocasión, cada escala experimental se inserta dentro de una batería de "tests". De esta forma, se construyen tres baterías de "test" (una para cada muestra), contrabalanceando la aparición de los distintos formatos de respuesta y manteniendo constante el resto de las condiciones experimentales. Por otro lado, se utiliza como criterio para evaluar el efecto del número de opciones de respuesta sobre las propiedades psicométricas las escalas NPO y SWLS tanto su fiabilidad (consistencia interna y estabilidad temporal) como su validez (evidencia basada en la estructura interna y evidencia basada en el grado de relación con otras variables).Estas se evalúan desde tres modelos psicométricos diferentes: Teoría Clásica de los Tests (TCT), Análisis Factorial de los Ítems (AFI) y Teoría de Respuesta a los Ítems (TRI).APORTE:Tres son los principales aportes de este trabajo de Tesis de Doctorado. En primer lugar, se aplican dos escalas de personalidad diferentes a muestras independientes, manteniendo constante el resto de las condiciones experimentales. Con ello se espera controlar que los resultados observados son producto del efecto ejercido por los distintos formatos de respuesta utilizados y no por otras variables. En segundo lugar, cada sujeto contesta su respectiva escala experimental utilizando los tres formatos de respuesta propuestos. Ello permite disponer de información directa respecto de cómo ha respondido realmente cada sujeto -y no sólo con una estimación indirecta, derivada de la comparación de muestras independientes, como ha sido lo habitual hasta este momento. Finalmente, el análisis de las propiedades psicométricas de las escalas experimentales se aborda por primera vez, simultáneamente, desde tres perspectivas diferentes (TCT, AFI y TRI). Esto permite controlar que los resultados observados no son consecuencia inmediata del modelo psicométrico utilizado, sino producto del efecto ejercido por los distintos formatos de respuesta propuestos. El análisis de la validez de los cuestionarios se realiza aplicando Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales (SEM).RESULTADOS Y DISCUSIÓN:En su conjunto, los resultados observados sugieren que el número de opciones de respuesta afecta de forma leve a moderada la estructura interna y, parcialmente, la consistencia interna de las escalas utilizadas en este trabajo de Tesis de Doctorado. Por el contrario, el número de alternativas de respuesta no afecta aspectos tales como la evidencia basada en la relación con otras variables o la estabilidad temporal (estabilidad test-retest) de las escalas analizadas.PALABRAS CLAVE:Número óptimo de opciones de respuesta, Cuestionarios de personalidad, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R), Teoría Clásica de los Tests (TCT), Análisis Factorial de los Ítems (AFI), Teoría de Respuesta a los Ítems (TRI), Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales (SEM), Propiedades psicométricas, Fiabilidad, Validez, evidencia basada en la estructura interna, evidencia basada en la relación con otras variables, consistencia interna, estabilidad temporal. / Numerous studies have attempted to answer the question of what is the optimal number of response options in personality questionnaires. Some authors argue that the number of response options do not affect at all the reliability or the validity of the measurement tool, whereas others suggest to use from 2- to 25-response alternatives in order to maximize the psychometric properties of the instrument. The present PhD Dissertation work attempts to aboard in an exhaustive manner this question.METHOD:All subjects have responded, within the same session, a questionnaire with two-, three- and five-response options. In order to avoid that the subjects notice that they are responding to the same questionnaire, within a same session, these are applied within a tests battery. Likewise, two independent samples (A and B) and two personality questionnaires [Negative Problem Orientation (NPO) of the Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)] are used, to ensure that the answer does not depend on the instrument investigated. Both, the reliability and validity of the instrument will be used as criteria to determine the optimum number of response alternatives. Finally, the reliability and validity of each response format is analysed using three different psychometric models: "Classical Test Theory" (CTT), "Item Factor Analysis" (IFA), and "Item Response Theory" (IRT). Add, we used Structural Equation Models (SEM) to analyze the validity of the NPO and SWLS scales.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:As a whole, the observed results suggest that the number of response options affects form slight to moderate aspects such as the internal structure and, partially, the internal consistency of the scales analyzed in this work. Contrary, the number of response alternatives does not affect aspects such as the evidence based on the relation with other variables or the temporary stability (test-retest stability) of the examined scales.KEYWORDS:Optimal number of response options, Classical Tests Theory (CCT), Item Factor Analysis (IFA), Item Response Theory (IRT), Structural Equation Models (SEM), Psychometric properties, Reliability, Validity, Personality rating scales, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R), evidence based on the internal structure, evidence based on the relation with other variables, internal consistency, temporary stability.