Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 295-321). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Sociology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-106). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR19642

This paper has three aims: to identify how Islam and Muslims are pictured in Muslim popular music, to examine if the message has been adjusted dependig on the listener, and if the music can be used in the construction of identities. To achieve this aim, music by the artists Sami Yusuf and Maher Zain have been analyzed. The research questions are; which images of Islam and Muslims are being portrayed through the music of Sami Yusuf and Maher Zain? Are there any differences in the images and the messages depending on who the listener is? What meaning can the music have for the constuction of individual and collective forms of identity? The material consists of 52 song lyrics which have been studied using the method of content analysis. The data were analyzed in relation to Mediatization Theory as described by Hjarvard, Schofield Clark and Lövheim, as well as Ammerman's theory on identity and religion. The result of the study shows that Muslim popular music portray Islam as a religion of love that promotes peace. According to the themes that were identified Muslims are pictured as people who have gone through hardships, who have left their old life behind them and found inner peace with the help of Allah. Muslims are portrayed as people who love their families and the Prophet Muhammad, and they worship Allah and believe in an afterlife. Only small differences in the music's message depending on the receiver were found. One difference is that songs in English tend to contain a smaller amount of references to religion than songs that are sung in for example Arabic. The result show that muslim popular music can help the construction of identities because it portrays a different kind of image of Islam compared to the negative image portrayed by the media. The music also provides the listener with biographical stories to identify with and invities people to Islam. Moreover, the songs challenge both Western modernity and traditional Islam.

Nous étudions les bornes sur les distances des racines des polynômes entiers et les applications de ces résultats. La séparation des racines complexes pour les polynômes réductibles normalisés de quatrième degré à coefficients entiers est examinée plus à fond. Différents lemmes sur les racines des polynômes en nombres p-adiques sont prouvés. Sont fournies les familles explicites de polynômes de degré général, ainsi que les familles dans certaines classes de polynômes quadratiques et cubiques avec une très bon separation des racins dans le cadre p-adique. Le reste de la thèse est dédié aux résultats liés aux versions p-adiques des fonctions de Mahler et de Koksma wn et w*n , ainsi qu'aux classifications correspondantes des nombres transcendants dans Cp. Le résultat principal est une construction des nombres pour lesquelles les deux fonctions wn et w*n sont différentes pour tous les n et puis l'intervalle de valeurs possibles pour wn-w*n est élargi. Les inégalités reliant les valeurs des fonctions de Koksma en nombres algébriquement dépendants sont prouvées. / We study bounds on the distances of roots of integer polynomials and applications of such results. The separation of complex roots for reducible monic integer polynomials of fourth degree is thoroughly explained. Lemmas on roots of polynomials in the p-adic setting are proved. Explicit families of polynomials of general degree as well as families in some classes of quadratic and cubic polynomials with very good separation of roots in the same setting are exhibited. The second part of the thesis is concerned with results on p-adic versions of Mahler's and Koksma's functions wn and w*n and the related classifications of transcendental numbers in Cp. The main result is a construction of numbers such that the two functions wn and w*n differ on them for every n and later on expanding the interval of possible values for wn-w*n. The inequalities linking values of Koksma's functions for algebraically dependent numbers are proved.

This master's thesis deals with the implications of metaphorical language, which comedy news programs used to portray Donald Trump as a candidate during the 2016 US presidential election. First, the author outlines the most important moments of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, then introduces the comedy news genre as well as three comedy news programs - The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight and Real Time - which are included in the analytical part of the thesis. The thesis continues with the theoretical and methodological chapters, in which conceptual metaphor analysis based on the works of Lakoff, Johnson and Yanow is presented. The metaphor analysis itself, performed on 73 comedy news episodes, reveals that mostly the same metaphors were used across all three programs and they overwhelmingly portray Donald Trump as non-human. As the election kept approaching, Donald Trump was increasingly portrayed as "a natural disaster," "the apocalypse" or "the Devil." The author suggests that the overall tacit objective of the metaphors used in the three comedy news programs was to dehumanize Donald Trump. Finally, the limitations of the analysis are discussed and suggestions for further research on the implications of metaphorical language are made.

Ce mémoire s’applique à étudier d’abord, dans la première partie, la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à une seule variable. Il commence en donnant des définitions et quelques résultats pertinents pour le calcul de telle hauteur. Il aborde aussi le sujet de la question de Lehmer, la conjecture la plus célèbre dans le domaine, donne quelques exemples et résultats ayant pour but de résoudre la question. Ensuite, il y a l’extension de la mesure de Mahler sur les polynômes à plusieurs variables, une démarche semblable au premier cas de la mesure de Mahler, et le sujet des points limites avec quelques exemples. Dans la seconde partie, on commence par donner des définitions concernant un ordre supérieur de la mesure de Mahler, et des généralisations en passant des polynômes simples aux polynômes à plusieurs variables. La question de Lehmer existe aussi dans le domaine de la mesure de Mahler supérieure, mais avec des réponses totalement différentes. À la fin, on arrive à notre objectif, qui sera la démonstration de la généralisation d’un théorème de Boyd-Lawton, ce dernier met en évidence une relation entre la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à plusieurs variables avec la limite de la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à une seule variable. Ce résultat a des conséquences en termes de la conjecture de Lehmer et sert à clarifier la relation entre les valeurs de la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à une variable et celles des polynômes à plusieurs variables, qui, en effet, sont très différentes en nature. / This thesis applies to study first, in part 1, the Mahler measure of polynomials in one variable. It starts by giving some definitions and results that are important for calculating this height. It also addresses the topic of Lehmer’s question, an interesting conjecture in the field, and it gives some examples and results aimed at resolving the issue. The extension of the Mahler measure to several variable polynomials is then considered including the subject of limit points with some examples. In the second part, we first give definitions of a higher order for the Mahler measure, and generalize from single variable polynomials to multivariable polynomials. Lehmer’s question has a counterpart in the area of the higher Mahler measure, but with totally different answers. At the end, we reach our goal, where we will demonstrate the generalization of a theorem of Boyd-Lawton. This theorem shows a relation between the limit of Mahler measure of multivariable polynomials with Mahler measure of polynomials in one variable. This result has implications in terms of Lehmer's conjecture and serves to clarify the relationship between the Mahler measure of one variable polynomials, and the Mahler measure of multivariable polynomials, which are very different.

Ce mémoire s’applique à étudier d’abord, dans la première partie, la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à une seule variable. Il commence en donnant des définitions et quelques résultats pertinents pour le calcul de telle hauteur. Il aborde aussi le sujet de la question de Lehmer, la conjecture la plus célèbre dans le domaine, donne quelques exemples et résultats ayant pour but de résoudre la question. Ensuite, il y a l’extension de la mesure de Mahler sur les polynômes à plusieurs variables, une démarche semblable au premier cas de la mesure de Mahler, et le sujet des points limites avec quelques exemples. Dans la seconde partie, on commence par donner des définitions concernant un ordre supérieur de la mesure de Mahler, et des généralisations en passant des polynômes simples aux polynômes à plusieurs variables. La question de Lehmer existe aussi dans le domaine de la mesure de Mahler supérieure, mais avec des réponses totalement différentes. À la fin, on arrive à notre objectif, qui sera la démonstration de la généralisation d’un théorème de Boyd-Lawton, ce dernier met en évidence une relation entre la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à plusieurs variables avec la limite de la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à une seule variable. Ce résultat a des conséquences en termes de la conjecture de Lehmer et sert à clarifier la relation entre les valeurs de la mesure de Mahler des polynômes à une variable et celles des polynômes à plusieurs variables, qui, en effet, sont très différentes en nature. / This thesis applies to study first, in part 1, the Mahler measure of polynomials in one variable. It starts by giving some definitions and results that are important for calculating this height. It also addresses the topic of Lehmer’s question, an interesting conjecture in the field, and it gives some examples and results aimed at resolving the issue. The extension of the Mahler measure to several variable polynomials is then considered including the subject of limit points with some examples. In the second part, we first give definitions of a higher order for the Mahler measure, and generalize from single variable polynomials to multivariable polynomials. Lehmer’s question has a counterpart in the area of the higher Mahler measure, but with totally different answers. At the end, we reach our goal, where we will demonstrate the generalization of a theorem of Boyd-Lawton. This theorem shows a relation between the limit of Mahler measure of multivariable polynomials with Mahler measure of polynomials in one variable. This result has implications in terms of Lehmer's conjecture and serves to clarify the relationship between the Mahler measure of one variable polynomials, and the Mahler measure of multivariable polynomials, which are very different.

In Canada’s recent history, the cases of Kanao Inouye, Omar Khadr, and Maher Arar shed light on the relationship between citizen-rights and sovereign power, a problem which this thesis studies through its three-pronged strategy of analysis. First, it takes a postmetaphysical approach to the problem of exceptionality as it has been explored in the works of Jacques Derrida, Gianni Vattimo, and Reiner Schürmann. Their responses to the problem of exceptionality provide a framework that enables this thesis to capture the relationship between citizen-rights and sovereign power in relative detail. Second, it applies Schürmann’s epochal theory in order to offer a historical periodization of citizen-rights in Canada that highlights the effect of sovereign power on citizen-rights. Lastly, in light of its philosophical and theoretical framework, it interprets the Inouye, Khadr, Arar cases in order to account for the effect of Charter rights on sovereign power. / Graduate / 0626 / tsujikt@gmail.com

This thesis is about product and process development. The thesis has been done at ABB Robotics AB in Västerås under 20 weeks with half study pace, which is equivalent to 15 higher education credits (15hp). Thesis purpose was to improve an assembly station for assembling of robot IRB 360. Problems at the assembly station are that there are some non-value-creating activities and assembling methods which correspond to low safety factor for workers. The focus of thesis was to investigate opportunities and to produce solid proposals for how to eliminate these problems. After a written contract with ABB AB, the work started with the planning with the company supervisor and Gantt Schema was created to schedule all steps for this project, to ensure during the process. The project has followed the methods described in the book "Produktutveckling konstruktion och design " by Karl T Ulrich & Steven D Eppinger. Product development tools like Quality function deployment (QFD), functional analysis, specification of requirement and Pugh's analysis matrix have been used in the development process. In the first phase of the project, observation and investigation has been performed to identify and analyse problems. In the later phases, ideas and concepts has created to solve the problems and achieve successful results. The result of the project is an improved material flow at assembling stations which eliminates nonvalue-creating activities and leads to better safety for workers. Another result of the project is an elimination of hand hammering at assembling station and for this purpose a new pressing tool has been developed for pressing down a seals around radial shaft in assembling process. The software Solidworks has been used to create a new 3D layout for the existing assembly station to understand and find the better solution for material flow. Solidworks is also used for doing Finite element method (FEM) analysis to validate the new developed pressing tool. / Detta examensarbete handlar om produkt och processutveckling. Arbetet utfördes hos ABB Robotics AB i Västerås och bedrivs under 20 veckor långt på halvfart vilket motsvarar 15 högskolepoäng. Uppdraget är att förbättra en monteringsstation för plockningsrobot IRB360 FlexPicker. Problem på monteringsstation är att det sker icke värdeskapande aktiviteter, och monteringsprocess som leder till arbetsmiljöproblem. Arbetet fokus var att undersöka möjligheter och ta fram konkreta förslag att hur man kan eliminera dessa problem. Efter skriftligt kontrakt med ABB AB, arbetet började med planeringen med företaget handledare och skapades Gantt Schema. Projektet har följt metoderna som beskrivs i boken ”Produktutveckling konstruktion och design” av författare Karl T Ulrich & Steven D Eppinger. I utvecklingsprocessen har använt produktutvecklingsverktyg, några av dessa är QFD, funktionsanalys, kravspecifikation och Pughs analysmatris. I första fas av projekt gjorde undersökning och observation för att hitta och analysera problem. I senare faserna genererade koncepter för åtgärden och sedan vidare utvecklades utvalda koncept för nå framgångsrikt resultat. Resultatet av arbetet blev förbättrad materialflöde som eliminerar icke värdeskapande aktiviteter. Dessutom utvecklades fram ett nytt pressverktyg som eliminerar arbetsmiljöproblem. Mjukvaran Solidworks har använt för att skapa en ny layout för monteringsstation. Med hjälp av Solidworks gjordes FEM -analys (Finita elementmetoden) för att validera den nya pressverktyg