MEd (Curriculum Studies) / Department of Curriculum Studies / Children who cannot read and write are a concern for both parents and teachers. The purpose of the study was to explore the challenges faced by teachers in teaching dyslexic children at intermediate phase in mainstream schools in the District of Vhembe, in Limpopo Province of South Africa. A qualitative research approach was utilised for the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from the teachers in the mainstream schools. The population of this study comprised of teachers who teach dyslexics and other children at intermediate phase in the mainstream public primary schools in the Dzindi Circuit of Vhembe District in Limpopo Province. Purposive sampling was used to select twenty four teachers who had a minimum of three years teaching experience from the eight schools under study. Data was analysed thematically. Major findings of the study are as follow: challenges faced by dyslexic children on identified competencies such as writing, reading, carrying instructions and confidence; their ability to recall information; parental involvement and overcrowded classrooms. The study recommends the effectiveness of teachers in using the differentiation method to help dyslexic children, availability of physical resources in the form of classrooms and learning materials, community awareness, in-service training for teachers and collaboration among the teachers, learners and parents.

Partial denitrification/anammox (PdNA) is an emerging biological nutrient removal (BNR) process that can be used to remove ammonia (NH3) and NOx from wastewater. This process is a combination of partial denitrification (PdN), which serves to reduce nitrate (NO3) to nitrite (NO2), and anaerobic ammonia oxidation, or anammox (AMX), which uses the nitrite as an electron acceptor to oxidize ammonia. PdNA provides significant aeration and external carbon savings when compared to the conventional nitrification/denitrification biological removal process for nitrogen but has been difficult to implement in mainstream treatment conditions due to many factors. One of these factors is the slow growth rate and startup time of anammox bacteria. This research first focused on determining the required startup time and startup optimization methods for a proposed mainstream polishing PdNA MBBR at Hampton Roads Sanitation District's James River Treatment Plant (JRTP). These two MBBRs were started with either virgin carriers or carriers coated with a preliminary biofilm and were fed secondary effluent The MBBRs were dosed with glycerol based on a feedforward carbon control approach and were not seeded with anammox at any point. Anammox activity was detected in the preliminary biofilm and virgin media MBBRs approximately 52 and 86 days after startup, respectively. Based on these results, starting up a mainstream PdNA reactor without seed is possible, and using preliminary biofilm carriers can speed up startup by approximately one month. A second experiment was conducted to determine the carbon demand and nitrogen removal capabilities of a glycerol fed PdNA MBBR and AMX MBBR in series. A nitrifying MBBR was also added to the MBBR train to test how well residual nitrite leaving the MBBRs could be polished off to limit ozone/disinfectant demand downstream. Additionally, a methanol-fed PdNA integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor was also operated to determine the carbon demand and nitrogen removal capabilities for a PdNA process in an IFAS reactor. The PdNA and AMX MBBRs had average effluent TIN concentrations of 3.75 ± 1.25 and 2.81 ± 1.21 mg TIN/L, respectively, with a COD dosed per TIN removed ratio (COD/TIN) of 2.42 ± 0.77 g COD/g TIN for the entire process. The PdNA IFAS reactor had average effluent TIN concentrations of 4.07 ± 1.66 mg/L and 3.30 ± 0.96 mg/L at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 30 and 25 minutes. At these two HRTs, the PdNA IFAS process had a COD/TIN ratio of 1.08 ± 0.38 and 2.18 ± 0.99 g COD/g TIN, respectively. Overall, this indicated that both the PdNA MBBR and IFAS processes could reach low effluent TIN limits in mainstream conditions with low demand for COD, even with relatively low and unstable PdN efficiencies. Additionally, the nitrifying MBBR managed to keep the effluent nitrite concentration consistently below 0.5 mg/L at ammonia and nitrite influent loadings rates of 0.055 ± 0.035 and 0.379 ± 0.112 g N/m2/day. This research demonstrated that starting a PdNA process in mainstream conditions, without seed, can be accomplished within a reasonable timeframe and provides knowledge that can help engineers better understand the advantages of PdNA and design and startup mainstream polishing PdNA MBBRs and IFAS reactors. / Master of Science / As the human population continues to grow and wastewater discharge requirements continue to become more stringent, researchers and engineers have been exploring new technologies and methods to treat wastewater more efficiently. Once such method that is currently being explored is the integration of anaerobic ammonia oxidation, or anammox (AMX), bacteria with a variety of wastewater treatment technologies to remove nitrogen more efficiently from wastewater. AMX synchronously remove ammonia, which exists naturally in wastewater, and nitrite through an oxidation/reduction reaction in which the nitrogen leaves the wastewater in the form of dinitrogen gas. This process greatly reduces the amount of aeration and external carbon needed for the removal of nitrogen from wastewater compared to the commonly used method of full nitrification and denitrification, which are large operational costs at a wastewater treatment plant. While AMX have found use at full-scale plants in treating concentrated sidestreams with the use of partial nitrification (PN) to produce nitrite for the AMX, little progress has been made to integrate AMX into a full-scale mainstream treatment process where the stream is less concentrated and not ideal for consistent PN. Partial denitrification (PdN), however, has shown some promise in reliably producing nitrite in mainstream conditions for AMX usage. On top of the demand for nitrite, AMX bacteria also grow very slowly compared to most bacteria, which means these processes require relatively large amounts of time to get started. A common strategy for decreasing the startup time of AMX processes has been the addition of AMX biomass to a reactor during startup, but this is not feasible in a full-scale mainstream process due to the large amount of biomass that would be required. Therefore, other methods for startup optimization must be evaluated, which this study sought to do through two startup experiments in separate mainstream polishing moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs), which use plastic carriers to develop biofilms of bacteria. These two MBBRs were started with different types of carriers in them, one with carriers coated with a pre-established preliminary biofilm and one with brand-new, virgin carriers, to see what kind of effect these different types of carriers have on AMX startup time. AMX activity was detected in the preliminary biofilm and virgin media MBBRs approximately 52 and 86 days after startup, respectively, which was much quicker than expected. This indicates that starting up a mainstream PdNA reactor without seed is possible and using the preliminary biofilm carriers can speed up startup by approximately one month. After the startup experiment, one of the MBBRs was converted to a PdNA integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor through the addition of activated sludge. This PdNA IFAS reactor was operated alongside a PdNA MBBR and AMX MBBR to test their nitrogen removal and carbon savings capabilities. Operation of these reactors demonstrated that both a PdNA MBBR or IFAS process are capable of consistently removing nitrogen to low levels with relatively low amounts of external carbon addition, even with inconsistent PdN. Overall, this research provided valuable insight into startup methods and design requirements of PdNA MBBRs and IFAS reactors which will make the implementation of these treatment processes more feasible.

Many students who in years past would have been previously referred for special education "pull-out" services are now being served in the regular classroom for as much as an entire school day. While this shift in classroom placement is occurring, the school age population has become more diverse, escalating the problems faced by regular education teachers. This situation is further complicated by a population of regular students who are increasingly characterized as "at-risk," "slow learner," "poor achiever, If or "reluctant learners." Historically, schools have operated within an instructional paradigm which allows for two separate systems of public education--general and special education. However, there is growing pressure on school divisions to serve students with disabilities full time in general education classrooms. The purpose of this study was to identify specific factors that describe the strategies involved in changing the delivery of special education services from traditional "pull-out" services to implementing inclusionary instructional practices among public school teachers and administrators in one urban school division. In addition, the perceptions of administrators and teachers concerning the efficacy of such a change was examined, with its expressed or perceived impact on disabled and non-disabled students who are educated in the regular classroom. Individual case studies regarding three elementary schools that are implementing inclusion in the city of Portsmouth, Virginia have been presented. Grouped data have also been reported in the attempt to investigate the efficacy of the impact of inclusion practices. None of the schools in the study were found to be "full inclusion” Schools. Pull-out special education classroom options continued to be available at each of the schools. Resource allocations for all of the schools remained at the same levels as prior allocations or increased slightly with the implementation of inclusion. The social impact of inclusion on students with disabilities and students without disabilities was reported as positive. Teachers reported concerns when discussing the academic impact of inclusion on higher functioning non-disabled students. The academic impact of inclusion on at-risk students and students with disabilities was reported to be positive. / Ed. D.

Partial denitrification anammox (PdNA) is an emerging wastewater treatment technology with the potential to increase process capacity and save on energy and carbon. PdNA circumvents potential issues with stability of the more familiar mainstream partial nitritation anammox (PNA) process. The PdNA process can be used to effectively remove ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite from mainstream municipal waste streams. To retain slow growing anammox, some sort of retention system is needed with media being a common solution to this problem. PdNA has been successfully implemented in mainstream full-scale systems in sand filters and with moving media. The goal of this study was to assess the denitrifying capabilities, anammox treatment capacity, and effective surface area to volume of two types of fixed media. A nitrifying pilot was set up to assess the effective surface area to volume. To assess the nitrifying and anammox ammonia removal capabilities of the fixed media, a fixed media PdNA system was installed in the second anoxic zone of a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant. The fixed media system consisted of three modules of sheets modified to mimic a plug flow system. After accounting for the estimated nitrate removal from mixed liquor, denitrification rates normalized to media surface area were 0.52 +/- 1.9 g/m2-day in the first module, 0.62 +/- 0.91 g/m2-day for the second module, and 0.56 +/- 0.90 g/m2-day for the third module. In ex situ batch testing it was found that maximum ex-situ anammox ammonia removal rates for the / Master of Science / Urban population growth has created a two-pronged problem for wastewater treatment plants. Plants in populated areas are seeing increases in flow along with growing space restrictions that limit new infrastructure construction. Additionally, rising environmental awareness from the public has spurred regulatory agencies to impose tighter limits on the quality of water leaving plants and entering sensitive watersheds. These factors have driven a need for treatment techniques that allow plants to operate better with their existing equipment. Overall, this concept is known as process intensification. One such method that treatment plants are using to intensify wastewater treatment is the addition of plastic media into their existing tanks. This media provides additional surfaces for the microorganisms that biodegrade the pollutants in the wastewater to grow and allows waste to be treated faster in the same area. It also allows slow growing organisms to be retained in the system that would otherwise not have time to grow. Such slow-growing microbes are especially critical for the removal of ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen that occurs in high concentrations in wastewater. The partial denitrification-anammox process is an intensification process that leverages microbial metabolisms to convert nitrate to nitrite instead of denitrifying the nitrate all the way to nitrogen gas. Plants then let more ammonia pass through the aeration zone, where ammonia is converted to nitrate. The bleed through ammonia and the nitrite generated from partial denitrification is used by microbes called anammox, which denitrify without the addition of carbon. The full denitrification process requires externally added carbon, which is energy intensive to produce and expensive, and aeration requires energy to run the aeration blowers. Bypassing the full denitrification process using PdNA results in two-fold cost and energy savings. The plastic media help slow-growing anammox bacteria attach and grow to achieve this aim. Most of the plants that use plastic media use media that is free floating in the tank. However, certain plants cannot use this floating plastic media because it can either plug up the system, or flow to the end of the treatment tank and have no way to get back to the front. In instances such as these it could be beneficial to use a type of media that is fixed in place. One potential use of fixed media that has never been tried before is with partial denitrification with anammox. This research sets out to evaluate the effectiveness of fixed media with use in a partial denitrification anammox process and compare it to a treatment tank of moving media that is present at the same plant to find out whether it may be a viable option for retrofitting plants that cannot use moving media.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed has seen an increase in population, nutrient loading, and stringent effluent limits; therefore, cost-effective technologies must be explored and implemented to intensify the treatment of regional wastewater. This work describes the bioaugmentation and retention of anammox (AMX) granules in a continuous adsorption/bio-oxidation (A/B) mainstream deammonification pilot-scale process treating domestic wastewater. The AMX granules were collected from the underflow of a sidestream DEMON® process. The bioaugmentation rate was based on several factors including full-scale sidestream DEMON® wasting rate and sidestream vs mainstream AMX activity. The retention of bioaugmented AMX granules required a novel settling column at the end of the deammonification step. The settling column was designed to provide a surface overflow rate (SOR) that allowed dense AMX granules to settle into the underflow and less dense floccular biomass to outselect into the overflow. B-Stage was operated to out-select nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) by maintaining an ammonia residual (>2 mg NH4-N/L), a relatively high dissolved oxygen (DO) (>1.5 mg O2/L) concentration, an aggressive solids retention time (SRT) for NOB washout, and intermittent aeration for transient anoxia. AMX activity was not detected in the mainstream at any time. The settling column AMX retention quantification suggested but did not confirm AMX were maintained in the mainstream. NOB were not suppressed during this study and no nitrite accumulation was present in the mainstream process. It was theorized that AMX granules were successfully settled into the settling column underflow and accumulated in the intermittently mixed sidestream biological phosphorus reactor (SBPR) where they disintegrated. This work also describes optimization of carbon addition to an anoxic partial denitrification anammox (PdN/A) moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) testing glycerol, acetate, and methanol as carbon sources to maximize total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal through the anammox pathway and to minimize effluent TIN. A carbon feeding strategy was developed and was evaluated by the extent of partial denitrification vs full denitrification (partial denitrification efficiency, PdN efficiency). All three carbon sources were capable of high TIN removal, low effluent TIN, and moderate to high PdN efficiency. Average TIN removal for glycerol was 10.0 ± 3.6 mg TIN/L, for acetate it was 8.7 ± 2.9 mg TIN/L, and for methanol it was 11.5 ± 5.6 mg TIN/L. Average effluent TIN for glycerol was 6.0 ± 4.0 mg TIN/L, for acetate it was 5.0 ± 1.1 mg TIN/L, and for methanol it was 4.3 ± 1.5 mg TIN/L. Average PdN efficiency for glycerol was 91.0 ± 9.0%, for acetate it was 88.0 ± 7.7%, and for methanol it was 74.0 ± 8.5%. When PdN efficiency was factored into the cost of each carbon source, methanol was 5.83% cheaper than glycerol per mass TIN removed and 59.0% cheaper than acetate per mass TIN-N removed. / Master of Science / The Chesapeake Bay watershed has seen an increase in population, nutrient loading, and stringent effluent limits; therefore, cost-effective technologies must be explored and implemented to intensify the treatment of regional wastewater. This work involves removing nitrogen from wastewater in a pilot sized modeled from a real wastewater treatment plant. The removal of nitrogen from wastewater can become costly. This cost is due to aeration and chemical demands to remove the nitrogen. This masters work uses a type of microorganism that can remove nitrogen without the need for aeration or chemicals through anaerobic ammonia oxidation (AMX bacteria). A specific environment has been created for AMX bacteria during this study to ensure they perform nitrogen removal optimally. Often times, communities of bacteria can help remove nitrogen more effectively when they work together. Therefore, communities of bacteria were encouraged to grow during this study. We were able to see that nitrogen removal was indeed occurring at high rates and producing high effluent water quality. We used several different metrics to prove this nitrogen removal technology worked well. This research was important because it showed the capabilities of a highly intensified process of successful nitrogen removal at a pilot-scale facility. It is the hope that these findings can be improved upon and implemented at full-scale facilities. These full-scale facilities would be able to achieve low levels of nitrogen in their effluent while saving millions of dollars on operational costs.

A sociedade contemporânea é marcada pelo consumo, pelas estratégias mercadológicas que, muitas vezes, são efêmeras e só tentam satisfazer uma pequena parte da nossa constante procura pela completude. A publicidade está inserida nesse contexto ao expressar os valores vigentes na sociedade e também em mediar as possibilidades de inserção dos consumidores nos mais diversos nichos e estratos sociais. As marcas procuram expressar valores, identidades e imagens dos produtos/serviços por meio de ações e manifestações. Tais ações e manifestações podem vir de diversas maneiras, ou seja, em anúncios de mídia impressa, ou na forma de audiovisual; ações de merchandising como as vitrines, as gôndolas, dentre outras e que têm como intuito a geração de vínculos positivos, de associações prazerosas e levar o potencial consumidor ao ato e usufruto do bem ou serviço. O presente trabalho resulta de uma pesquisa entre as marcas de luxo em comparação das marcas mainstream, um aprofundamento intersígnico procurando identificar os efeitos de sentido de cada, suas semelhanças e distinções. O trabalho tem como objetivo compreender a circulação intersígnica das marcas de luxo e das marcas mainstream no contexto do varejo de moda. Os resultados que aqui compartilharemos é proveniente de uma pesquisa que conta com o intercruzamento dos campos da comunicação com o a antropologia visual. A comunicação, mas precisamente, a publicitária, entrará como sua retórica de consumo por meio dos signos que se relacionam para uma produção de sentido eficaz. Já a antropologia visual ficará por conta da pesquisa fotoetnográfica que nos auxiliará no mapeamento e narrativa do consumo de luxo e do mainstream. Como método de análise nos apoiaremos na Semiótica desenvolvida por Charles Sanders Peirce. O registro fotoetnográfico foi realizado nas cidades de: São Paulo, Fortaleza, Brasília e Florianópolis e buscamos fotografar as vitrines das marcas e luxo e das marcas mainstream que nos possibilitem um estudo sobre a circulação intersígnica entre as mais variadas vitrines. Este trabalho não terá como pretensão a análise de recepção por parte dos consumidores, ficaremos restritos só aos possíveis efeitos de sentido que as marcas se utilizam para ampliar seu escopo imagético e identitário. / ephemeral and only try to satisfy a small part of our constant search for completeness. Publicity is inserted in this context when expressing the values in force in society and also in mediating the possibilities of insertion of the consumers in the most diverse niches and social strata. Trademarks seek to express values, identities and images of products / services through actions and manifestations. Such actions and manifestations may come in a variety of ways, that is, in print media advertisements, or in the form of audiovisuals; Merchandising actions such as shop windows, gondolas, among others and whose purpose is to generate positive bonds, pleasant associations and lead the potential consumer to the act and usufruct of the good or service. The present work results from a research between the luxury brands in comparison of the mainstream brands, a deepening intersígnico looking for to identify the effects of sense of each, its similarities and distinctions. The work aims to understand the intersection of luxury brands and mainstream brands in the context of fashion retail. The results we share here come from a research that relies on the cross-linking of the fields of communication with visual anthropology. Communication, but precisely the advertising, will enter as its rhetoric of consumption through the signs that relate to a production of effective meaning. The visual anthropology will be based on the photoetnographic research that will help us in the mapping and narrative of the consumption of luxury and the mainstream. As a method of analysis we will rely on the Semiotics developed by Charles Sanders Peirce. Photoetnographic registration was carried out in the cities of: São Paulo, Fortaleza, Brasília and Florianópolis, and we sought to photograph the showcases of the brands and luxury and of the mainstream brands that allow us to study the intersection circulation among the most varied shop windows. This work will not have as a pretension the analysis of reception by consumers, we will be restricted only to the possible effects of meaning that the brands are used to expand their image and identity scope.

A sociedade contemporânea é marcada pelo consumo, pelas estratégias mercadológicas que, muitas vezes, são efêmeras e só tentam satisfazer uma pequena parte da nossa constante procura pela completude. A publicidade está inserida nesse contexto ao expressar os valores vigentes na sociedade e também em mediar as possibilidades de inserção dos consumidores nos mais diversos nichos e estratos sociais. As marcas procuram expressar valores, identidades e imagens dos produtos/serviços por meio de ações e manifestações. Tais ações e manifestações podem vir de diversas maneiras, ou seja, em anúncios de mídia impressa, ou na forma de audiovisual; ações de merchandising como as vitrines, as gôndolas, dentre outras e que têm como intuito a geração de vínculos positivos, de associações prazerosas e levar o potencial consumidor ao ato e usufruto do bem ou serviço. O presente trabalho resulta de uma pesquisa entre as marcas de luxo em comparação das marcas mainstream, um aprofundamento intersígnico procurando identificar os efeitos de sentido de cada, suas semelhanças e distinções. O trabalho tem como objetivo compreender a circulação intersígnica das marcas de luxo e das marcas mainstream no contexto do varejo de moda. Os resultados que aqui compartilharemos é proveniente de uma pesquisa que conta com o intercruzamento dos campos da comunicação com o a antropologia visual. A comunicação, mas precisamente, a publicitária, entrará como sua retórica de consumo por meio dos signos que se relacionam para uma produção de sentido eficaz. Já a antropologia visual ficará por conta da pesquisa fotoetnográfica que nos auxiliará no mapeamento e narrativa do consumo de luxo e do mainstream. Como método de análise nos apoiaremos na Semiótica desenvolvida por Charles Sanders Peirce. O registro fotoetnográfico foi realizado nas cidades de: São Paulo, Fortaleza, Brasília e Florianópolis e buscamos fotografar as vitrines das marcas e luxo e das marcas mainstream que nos possibilitem um estudo sobre a circulação intersígnica entre as mais variadas vitrines. Este trabalho não terá como pretensão a análise de recepção por parte dos consumidores, ficaremos restritos só aos possíveis efeitos de sentido que as marcas se utilizam para ampliar seu escopo imagético e identitário. / ephemeral and only try to satisfy a small part of our constant search for completeness. Publicity is inserted in this context when expressing the values in force in society and also in mediating the possibilities of insertion of the consumers in the most diverse niches and social strata. Trademarks seek to express values, identities and images of products / services through actions and manifestations. Such actions and manifestations may come in a variety of ways, that is, in print media advertisements, or in the form of audiovisuals; Merchandising actions such as shop windows, gondolas, among others and whose purpose is to generate positive bonds, pleasant associations and lead the potential consumer to the act and usufruct of the good or service. The present work results from a research between the luxury brands in comparison of the mainstream brands, a deepening intersígnico looking for to identify the effects of sense of each, its similarities and distinctions. The work aims to understand the intersection of luxury brands and mainstream brands in the context of fashion retail. The results we share here come from a research that relies on the cross-linking of the fields of communication with visual anthropology. Communication, but precisely the advertising, will enter as its rhetoric of consumption through the signs that relate to a production of effective meaning. The visual anthropology will be based on the photoetnographic research that will help us in the mapping and narrative of the consumption of luxury and the mainstream. As a method of analysis we will rely on the Semiotics developed by Charles Sanders Peirce. Photoetnographic registration was carried out in the cities of: São Paulo, Fortaleza, Brasília and Florianópolis, and we sought to photograph the showcases of the brands and luxury and of the mainstream brands that allow us to study the intersection circulation among the most varied shop windows. This work will not have as a pretension the analysis of reception by consumers, we will be restricted only to the possible effects of meaning that the brands are used to expand their image and identity scope.

Cette thèse se propose d’étudier la circulation de représentations et de thématiques transgressives entre deux pôles de la production cinématographique américaine contemporaine, le cinéma indépendant et le cinéma mainstream, du début des années 1990 à 2007. Comparer entre elles les œuvres issues de secteurs de production différents a permis d’étudier, sur une période et dans une société données, les fluctuations du seuil de tolérance face à des représentations et des thématiques taboues, ou simplement dérangeantes. On a ici tenté de déterminer, d’une part ce qui peut ou non circuler d’un pôle à l’autre, d’autre part les modifications qui permettent et légitiment la circulation de thématiques. On a opéré un va et vient entre analyses internes, comparaison des œuvres d’un pôle à l’autre, et analyses externes, faisant intervenir des questions génétiques et des enjeux de réception. Décider de la portée choquante d’une représentation nécessite en effet de prendre en compte le contexte de production et de réception qui la place au cœur d’un réseau d’attentes et d’interprétations susceptible d’en atténuer ou à l’inverse d’en amplifier la portée. La notion de transgression a été à la fois définie a priori, dans une perspective éthique, en mettant l’accent sur la permanence de certains grands tabous, catégories universellement susceptibles d’entraîner chez le spectateur un sentiment de malaise, et être replacée dans une histoire culturelle des bienséances, traversée par des courants contradictoires et pas toujours linéaires. Ce travail se situe donc à la croisée du socio-culturel – questions de réception, de contexte culturel, les œuvres s’inscrivant dans un contexte social qui en modifie la portée – et de l’analyse interne – puisque l’horizon de ces recherches reste l’analyse de stratégies esthétiques ou narratives internes aux films. La présente étude est donc divisée en deux – mainstream d’un côté, "indépendant", de l’autre, et conçue pour fonctionner en miroir : s’y font écho des chapitres similaires, construits autour de thématiques qu’on retrouve de part et d’autre, la structure reflétant donc l’approche comparatiste développée plus haut. / The aim of this work is to offer an examination of the way "edgy" images and themes have been "circulating" between mainstream and Independent cinema in the United States, from 1990 to 2007, during which those two distinct economic territories have tended to merge. By comparing films that originate from different industrial locations, I tried to determine the actual boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable themes and representations, and to examine whether and how those boundaries have fluctuated at a particular moment, both diachronically and synchronically. The secondary goal of this work was to analyze "from the inside", through detailed text-centered studies, what textual strategies were used by the films in order to make the transgression more palatable. Both textual and extratextual tools of analysis have been used through this study, which took into consideration both the "texts" and their "paratexts", distribution, promotion, and reception. Laying bare the mechanisms of regulation and tolerance required to consider the films from the stage of their genesis to their distribution and reception. Therefore, I tried to analyze the thresholds of representation through a combination of textual analysis and metatextual analysis, laying bare the process of negotiation that takes place in the contemporary Hollywood as well as in its margins. The notion of "transgression" has been defined by taking into account both "universal" topics, which are not likely to fluctuate much through time, and topics of titillation or scandal that are more specific and linked to a specific cultural or sociological context. This study is divided in two parts, mainstream and Independent, that are meant to echo with each other.

Punk-musiken har fått kritik för att låta smutsig eller skräpig. Men enligt många punkfantaster är det så det ska låta, annars är det inte punk. Vad är det som gör att punken låter skräpigt, och varför? Vissa punkband som växer i popularitet får kritik om att inte längre vara punk när de byter sound, de blir mainstream enligt en del av fantasterna. Vad har soundet för betydelse för vad som är punk och inte? Syftet med undersökningen är att få en djupare förståelse för punkens sound. Dessutom undersöks vad soundet har för betydelse för skillnaden mellan vad som är "riktig punk" och vad som är mainstream. Tidigare forskning tar upp kulturella och tekniska aspekter som påverkar och formar punkens sound, såsom; DIY-kulturen, inspelningsmetod i studio, tekniska begränsningar, och producentrollens påverkan på soundet. Även skillnaden mellan riktig punk och mainstreampunk beskrivs. Teoriavsnittet tar upp teorier om begreppet "noise" och hur det används för att förklara hur individer uppfattar ljudideal. Gullös (2010) tredimensionella modell för musikproduktion används för att förklara producenters beteenden och ageranden under produktion. Kvalitativa intervjuer har använts som metod för att studera respondenternas resonemang och tankar kring punkens sound på ett djupare och friare sätt. Resultatet av intervjuerna genomgår sedan en analytisk fas där teori tillämpas för att uppnå svar på forskningsfrågorna. Analysen visar att punkens rötter är det som formar punkens sound, dvs; tekniska begränsningar och enkla inspelningsmetoder, vilket tillhör en äldre tid som många fantaster gärna förhåller sig till. Hur man förhåller sig till rötterna beror på hur viktiga de är för individen. Punken utvecklas likt all annan musik, och det gör även människans uppfattning av musik som därav skapar nya sorters sound hos punken. Bandet själva styr vilket sound de vill ha. Punkband som ändrar sound kan ibland ses som mainstream då fansen inte längre känner igen soundet eller genren. Det finns ingredienser som behövs för att punk ska vara punk, dock är det individuellt om vad man relaterar till och ser som punk, alltså finns det mer än bara punkens sound som avgör om vad som är riktig punk eller mainstream.

Physical education (PE) for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is an important contemporary issue for primary teachers and other practitioners. In particular, how they are to include pupils with SEN in their classroom activity is a processing concern. This study is concerned essentially with how policy influences the ability of teachers to deal with SEN' pupils in PE. It explores the relationships between education policy on SEN and its implementation within PE when SEN pupils are placed in mainstream school settings. The main aims of this thesis are to explore how 'equality' and 'inclusion' are expressed in legislation, for example the National Curriculum in England and the Grade 1- 9 Curriculum Guidelines in Taiwan, and how teachers, local education authority (LEA) Advisors, pupils with physical disability and their parents interpret policy and engage in practice for SEN. The findings of the study are intended to provide guidance on education policy needed to promote 'inclusion' and connect SEN policy and its implementation within PE. This thesis develops and utilizes a theoretical model to illustrate the 'flow' of policy from government to schools. This framework has followed Bernstein's (1990) assertion that knowledge is produced and reproduced at different sites of practice and that 'discourses' are recontextualized in each. Qualitative research methods were used to explore these relationships. The research fields were located in the Midlands in England and in the North of Taiwan and investigate LEAs and primary schools. The research employed interviews, documentary analysis and observation to explore policy and its implementation for SEN pupils from not only a 'macro' but also a 'micro' perspective. Accordingly, this thesis has explored the relationships between teachers, the learning support assistants (LSA), pupils with physical disability and their activities in PE classrooms in order to throw light on processes of inclusion within PE and the difficulties associated with policy implementation for pupils with physical disability. The findings suggest that the implementation of SEN policy within PE was driven by ideals of inclusion and attempted to achieve equality. However, SEN policy and its implementation was rendered difficult by the production and reproduction of particular understandings of inclusion, and inadequate provision (training and resource) for teachers to deal with SEN pupils in PE. Compared with teachers in England, PE teachers in Taiwan seemed to be more 'able' to include SEN pupils in PE as they were less regulated by National Curriculum texts.