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Mit dem Wandel des Internets zu einer universellen Softwareplattform sind die Möglichkeiten und Fähigkeiten von Webanwendungen zwar rasant gestiegen. Gleichzeitig gestaltet sich ihre Entwicklung jedoch zunehmend aufwändig und komplex, was dem Wunsch nach immer kürzeren Entwicklungszyklen für möglichst situative, bedarfsgerechte Lösungen entgegensteht. Bestehende Ansätze aus Forschung und Technik, insbesondere im Umfeld der serviceorientierten Architekturen und Mashups, werden diesen Problemen bislang nicht ausreichend gerecht. Deshalb werden in dieser Dissertation neue Konzepte für die modellgetriebene Entwicklung und Bereitstellung von Webanwendungen vorgestellt. Die zugrunde liegende Idee besteht darin, das Paradigma der Serviceorientierung auf die Präsentationsebene zu erweitern. So sollen erstmals – neben Daten- und Geschäftslogik – auch Teile der Anwendungsoberfläche in Form wiederverwendbarer Komponenten über Dienste bereitgestellt werden. Anwendungen sollen somit über alle Anwendungsebenen hinweg nach einheitlichen Prinzipien „komponiert“ werden können. Den ersten Schwerpunkt der Arbeit bilden die entsprechenden universellen Modellierungskonzepte für Komponenten und Kompositionen. Sie erlauben u. a. die plattformunabhängige Beschreibung von Anwendungen als Komposition der o. g. Komponenten. Durch die Abstraktion und entsprechende Autorenwerkzeuge wird die Entwicklung so auch für Domänenexperten bzw. Nicht-Programmierer möglich. Der zweite Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem kontextadaptiven Integrationsprozess von Komponenten und der zugehörigen, serviceorientierten Referenzarchitektur. Sie ermöglichen die dynamische Suche, Bindung und Konfiguration von Komponenten, d. h. auf Basis der o. g. Abstraktionen können genau die Anwendungskomponenten geladen und ausgeführt werden, die für den vorliegenden Nutzer-, Nutzungs- und Endgerätekontext am geeignetsten sind. Der dritte Schwerpunkt adressiert die Kontextadaptivität der kompositen Anwendungen in Form von Konzepten zur aspektorientierten Definition von adaptivem Verhalten im Modell und dessen Umsetzung zur Laufzeit. In Abhängigkeit von Kontextänderungen können so Rekonfigurationen von Komponenten, ihr Austausch oder Veränderungen an der Komposition, z.B. am Layout oder dem Datenfluss, automatisch durchgesetzt werden. Alle vorgestellten Konzepte wurden durch prototypische Implementierungen praktisch untermauert. Anhand diverser Anwendungsbeispiele konnten ihre Validität und Praktikabilität – von der Modellierung im Autorenwerkzeug bis zur Ausführung und dynamischen Anpassung – nachgewiesen werden. Die vorliegende Dissertation liefert folglich eine Antwort auf die Frage, wie zukünftige Web- bzw. Mashup-Anwendungen zeit- und kostengünstig entwickelt sowie zuverlässig und performant ausgeführt werden können. Die geschaffenen Konzepte bilden gleichermaßen die Grundlage für eine Vielzahl an Folgearbeiten.

This classroom ethnography documents the developing critical literacy pedagogy of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructor over the course of several terms. My research, which involved extensive collaboration with the EAP instructor, explores how specific classroom practices and discourses are enacted and mediated through dialogic intertextualities, material objects, and social actions that frame representations about language, literacy, and what Lefebvre (1988) called “le quotidien” – the everyday, and how these affect the students’ meaning-making potential in specific ways. It also traces the contours (and detours) of the instructor’s classroom practices after the researcher’s mediation in the form of collaborative inquiries on functional grammar and critical literacy, and the effects of these classroom practices on making meaning in her EAP classes. I consider several issues from an integrated theory and practice perspective. Because of an urgent need to understand the students’ practices and epistemologies as they engage in ever newer forms of multimodal text productions, I contend that EAP classroom practices must be reshaped to facilitate more (inter)active engagements of the multimodal texts that saturate students’ lives, both inside the class and outside. Related to this, I highlight in my classroom data what actually counts as the ‘critical’ or the ‘uncritical’ in this EAP classroom and argue why these distinctions matter. Lastly, I suggest ways in which the role of a critical multiliteracies education in EAP can meet the pragmatic needs of both students and teachers. My research contributes to a much-needed dialogue between critically oriented researchers and practitioners in the field of TESOL/Applied Linguistics by bridging the gap between theory and practice. The lessons learned from this collaborative classroom praxis point to concrete ways to help EAP teachers and students utilize their meaning-making potential. This involves equipping them with an expanded social semiotic tool-kit that can enable them to not only meet their immediate academic needs, but also help create a more active and possibly transformative role in the social constructions of discourse, language, and society. This doctoral dissertation has implications for those who are involved in EAP teaching and research, curriculum planning, teacher training, and student needs assessment.

This classroom ethnography documents the developing critical literacy pedagogy of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructor over the course of several terms. My research, which involved extensive collaboration with the EAP instructor, explores how specific classroom practices and discourses are enacted and mediated through dialogic intertextualities, material objects, and social actions that frame representations about language, literacy, and what Lefebvre (1988) called “le quotidien” – the everyday, and how these affect the students’ meaning-making potential in specific ways. It also traces the contours (and detours) of the instructor’s classroom practices after the researcher’s mediation in the form of collaborative inquiries on functional grammar and critical literacy, and the effects of these classroom practices on making meaning in her EAP classes. I consider several issues from an integrated theory and practice perspective. Because of an urgent need to understand the students’ practices and epistemologies as they engage in ever newer forms of multimodal text productions, I contend that EAP classroom practices must be reshaped to facilitate more (inter)active engagements of the multimodal texts that saturate students’ lives, both inside the class and outside. Related to this, I highlight in my classroom data what actually counts as the ‘critical’ or the ‘uncritical’ in this EAP classroom and argue why these distinctions matter. Lastly, I suggest ways in which the role of a critical multiliteracies education in EAP can meet the pragmatic needs of both students and teachers. My research contributes to a much-needed dialogue between critically oriented researchers and practitioners in the field of TESOL/Applied Linguistics by bridging the gap between theory and practice. The lessons learned from this collaborative classroom praxis point to concrete ways to help EAP teachers and students utilize their meaning-making potential. This involves equipping them with an expanded social semiotic tool-kit that can enable them to not only meet their immediate academic needs, but also help create a more active and possibly transformative role in the social constructions of discourse, language, and society. This doctoral dissertation has implications for those who are involved in EAP teaching and research, curriculum planning, teacher training, and student needs assessment.

en català:Un camp de recerca important dins del paradigma del Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) és la importància en la gestió eficaç de la informació d'esdeveniments generada durant l'activitat de l'aprenentatge col·laboratiu virtual, per a proporcionar coneixement sobre el comportament dels membres del grup. Aquesta visió és especialment pertinent en l'escenari educatiu actual que passa d'un paradigma tradicional - centrat en la figura d'un instructor magistral - a un paradigma emergent que considera els estudiants com actors centrals en el seu procés d'aprenentatge. En aquest nou escenari, els estudiants aprenen, amb l'ajuda de professors, la tecnologia i els altres estudiants, el que potencialment necessitaran per a desenvolupar les seves activitats acadèmiques o professionals futures.Els principals aspectes a tenir en compte en aquest context són, primer de tot, com dissenyar una plataforma sota el paradigma del CSCL, que es pugui utilitzar en situacions reals d'aprenentatge col·laboratiu complexe i a llarg termini, basades en el model d'aprenentatge de resolució de problemes. I que permet al professor una anàlisi del grup més eficaç així com donar el suport adequat als estudiants quan sigui necessari. En segon lloc, com extreure coneixement pertinent de la col·laboració per donar consciència i retorn als estudiants a nivell individual i de rendiment del grup, així com per a propòsits d'avaluació. L'assoliment d'aquests objectius impliquen el disseny d'un model conceptual d'interacció durant l'aprenentatge col·laboratiu que estructuri i classifiqui la informació generada en una aplicació col·laborativa en diferents nivells de descripció. A partir d'aquesta aproximació conceptual, els models computacionals hi donen resposta per a proporcionar una extracció eficaç del coneixement produït per l'individu i per l'activitat del grup, així com la possibilitat d'explotar aquest coneixement com una eina metacognitiva pel suport en temps real i regulat del procés d'aprenentatge col·laboratiu.A més a més, les necessitats dels entorns CSCL han evolucionat en gran mesura durant els darrers anys d'acord amb uns requisits pedagògics i tecnològics cada cop més exigents. Els entorns d'aprenentatge col·laboratius virtuals ara ja no depenen de grups d'estudiants homogenis, continguts i recursos d'aprenentatge estàtics, ni pedagogies úniques, sinó que exigeixen una forta personalització i un alt grau de flexibilitat. En aquest nou escenari, les organitzacions educatives actuals necessiten estendre's i moure's cap a paradigmes d'ensenyament altament personalitzats, amb immediatesa i constantment, on cada paradigma incorpora el seu propi model pedagògic, el seu propi objectiu d'aprenentatge i incorpora els seus propis recursos educatius específics. Les demandes de les organitzacions actuals també inclouen la integració efectiva, en termes de cost i temps, de sistemes d'aprenentatge llegats i externs, que pertanyen a altres institucions, departaments i cursos. Aquests sistemes llegats es troben implementats en llenguatges diferents, suportats per plataformes heterogènies i distribuïdes arreu, per anomenar alguns dels problemes més habituals. Tots aquests problemes representen certament un gran repte per la comunitat de recerca actual i futura. Per tant, els propers esforços han d'anar encarats a ajudar a desenvolupadors, recercaires, tecnòlegs i pedagogs a superar aquests exigents requeriments que es troben actualment en el domini del CSCL, així com proporcionar a les organitzacions educatives solucions ràpides i flexibles per a potenciar i millorar el rendiment i resultats de l'aprenentatge col·laboratiu. Aquesta tesi proposa un primer pas per aconseguir aquests objectius. / An important research topic in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is to explore the importance of efficient management of event information generated from group activity in collaborative learning practices for its further use in extracting and providing knowledge on interaction behavior. The essential issue here is first how to design a CSCL platform that can be used for real, long-term, complex collaborative problem solving situations and which enables the instructor to both analyze group interaction effectively and provide an adequate support when needed. Secondly, how to extract relevant knowledge from collaboration in order to provide learners with efficient awareness and feedback as regards individual and group performance and assessment. The achievement of these tasks involve the design of a conceptual framework of collaborative learning interaction that structures and classifies the information generated in a collaborative application at several levels of description. Computational models are then to realize this conceptual approach for an efficient management of the knowledge produced by the individual and group activity as well as the possibility of exploiting this knowledge further as a metacognitive tool for real-time coaching and regulating the collaborative learning process.In addition, CSCL needs have been evolving over the last years accordingly with more and more demanding pedagogical and technological requirements. On-line collaborative learning environments no longer depend on homogeneous groups, static content and resources, and single pedagogies, but high customization and flexibility are a must in this context. As a result, current educational organizations' needs involve extending and moving to highly customized learning and teaching forms in timely fashion, each incorporating its own pedagogical approach, each targeting a specific learning goal, and each incorporating its specific resources. These entire issues certainly represent a great challenge for current and future research in this field. Therefore, further efforts need to be made that help developers, technologists and pedagogists overcome the demanding requirements currently found in the CSCL domain as well as provide modern educational organizations with fast, flexible and effective solutions for the enhancement and improvement of the collaborative learning performance and outcomes. This thesis proposes a first step toward these goals.Índex foliat:The main contribution in this thesis is the exploration of the importance of an efficient management of information generated from group activity in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) practices for its further use in extracting and providing knowledge on interaction behavior. To this end, the first step is to investigate a conceptual model for data analysis and management so as to identify the many kinds of indicators that describe collaboration and learning and classify them into high-level potential categories of effective collaboration. Indeed, there are more evident key discourse elements and aspects than those shown by the literature, which play an important role both for promoting student participation and enhancing group and individual performance, such as, the impact and effectiveness of students' contributions, among others, that are explored in this work. By making these elements explicit, the discussion model proposed accomplishes high students' participation rates and contribution quality in a more natural and effective way. This approach goes beyond a mere interaction analysis of asynchronous discussion in the sense that it builds a multi-functional model that fosters knowledge sharing and construction, develops a strong sense of community among students, provides tutors with a powerful tool for students' monitoring, discussion regulation, while it allows for peer facilitation through self, peer and group awareness and assessment.The results of the research described so far motivates the development of a computational system as the translation from the conceptual model into a computer system that implements the management of the information and knowledge acquired from the group activity, so as to be efficiently fed back to the collaboration. The achievement of a generic, robust, flexible, interoperable, reusable computational model that meets the fundamental functional needs shared by any collaborative learning experience is largely investigated in this thesis. The systematic reuse of this computational model permits a fast adaptation to new learning and teaching requirements, such as learning by discussion, by relying on the most advanced software engineering processes and methodologies from the field of software reuse, and thus important benefits are expected in terms of productivity, quality, and cost.Therefore, another important contribution is to explore and extend suitable software reuse techniques, such as Generic Programming, so as to allow the computational model to be successfully particularized in as many as situations as possible without losing efficiency in the process. In particular, based on domain analysis techniques, a high-level computational description and formalization of the CSCL domain are identified and modeled. Then, different specific-platform developments that realize the conceptual description are provided. It is also explored a certain level of automation by means of advanced techniques based on Service-Oriented Architectures and Web-services while passing from the conceptual specification to the desired realization, which greatly facilitates the development of CSCL applications using this computational model.Based on the outcomes of these investigations, this thesis contributes with computational collaborative learning systems, which are capable of managing both qualitative and quantitative information and transforming it into useful knowledge for all the implicated parties in an efficient and clear way. This is achieved by both the specific assessment of each contribution by the tutor who supervises the discussion and by rich statistical information about student's participation. This statistical data is automatically provided by the system; for instance, statistical data sheds light on the students' engagement in the discussion forum or how much interest drew the student's intervention in the form of participation impact, level of passivity, proactivity, reactivity, and so on. The aim is to provide both a deeper understanding of the actual discussion process and a more objective assessment of individual and group activity.This information is then processed and analyzed by means of a multivariate statistical model in order to extract useful knowledge about the collaboration. The knowledge acquired is communicated back to the members of the learning group and their tutor in appropriate formats, thus providing valuable awareness and feedback of group interaction and performance as well as may help identify and assess the real skills and intentions of participants. The most important benefit expected from the conceptual model for interaction data analysis and management is a great improvement and enhancement of the learning and teaching collaborative experiences.Finally, the possibilities of using distributed and Grid technology to support real CSCL environments are also extensively explored in this thesis. The results of this investigation lead to conclude that the features provided by these technologies form an ideal context for supporting and meeting demanding requirements of collaborative learning applications. This approach is taken one step further for enhancing the possibilities of the computational model in the CSCL domain and it is successfully adopted on an empirical and application basis. From the results achieved, it is proved the feasibility of distributed technologies to considerably enhance and improve the collaborative learning experience. In particular, the use of Grid computing is successfully applied for the specific purpose of increasing the efficiency of processing a large amount of information from group activity log files.

Mit der stetigen Konsolidierung der Web Service Standards vollzieht sich in der Diskussion zu serviceorientierten Architekturen ein Wechsel weg von der Implementierung und dem Deployment von Services hin zum Service Management. Die Indikatoren: Anzahl der Standardisierungsanfragen und die Menge großer Forschungsprogramme in diesem Bereich sind evident für einen wachsenden Bedarf an Managementmethoden für die Abbildung von Geschäftsanforderungen auf Servicekompositionen. Die Verwendung von semiformalen Modellen sowie die verteilte Entwicklung von SOA Services machen eine an Konventionen orientierte konstruktive Einschränkung der Freiheitsgrade bei der Prozess- und Servicemodellierung notwendig. In dieser Arbeit wird eine generische Methode vorgestellt, welche durch die Einführung von „Beschreibungsrahmen“ (Description Kits) sowohl eine Einschränkung der Modellierungsfreiheit in Bezug auf natürlichsprachliche Aspekte in fachkonzeptuellen Modellen erlaubt, als auch eine restriktive Benutzung bestehender Modellierungssprachen ermöglicht. Als Anwendungsfall wird die Konfiguration serviceorientierter Architekturen diskutiert. - (Die Dissertation ist veröffentlicht im Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, http://www.logos-verlag.de, ISBN: 978-3-8325-2402-9) / With Service-oriented Architectures (SOA) companies are facing a paradigm shift towards services as the key unit of their enterprise architectures. An exploitation of the potential of Service-oriented Architectures is up to the applicability of semi-formal business models for a transformation into service compositions. However, several conceptual shortcomings prevent semi-formal models from being a suitable resource of an automated transformation process. Problems result from a multitude of modeling aims, objects, and procedures. Enhancements in order to solve these problems require both systematic preparation, and a methodical approach. This thesis provides a modeling method for business process-oriented SOA design using a meta-model based approach. An integrated modeling environment gives an overview of business requirements and allows appropriate assignment of SOA services to the business functions at the same time. The research refers to the example of process-oriented analysis and optimization of administrative procedures in German universities.

Thesis (MA (English Literature))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / In this thesis I examine the presentations of masculinity in several novels published in the post-apartheid period in South Africa, that is, the period after 1994. The novels under discussion are all male-authored texts and include novels by J M Coetzee (1999), André Brink (2000), Phaswane Mpe (2001), K Sello Duiker (2001), Zakes Mda (2002) and Damon Galgut (2003). In the introduction theoretical issues regarding masculinity are discussed on the basis of Morrell (2001) and a broad framework for the thesis is outlined. Subsequently the presentation of masculinity is analysed in each of the respective novels under discussion. Issues such as a definition of masculinity (or rather, masculinities), the interaction between men as friends, as colleagues; as well as issues such as heterosexuality and homosexuality are discussed. What perspectives does the author provide on masculinity? How do the male characters experience the new South Africa? What is the nature of their interaction with the female characters in the novels? Another aspect dealt with is the repression of homosexual desire for another man and the way in which it is suppressed beneath a macho façade. In the conclusion the different perspectives are compared and similarities and differences are briefly pointed out. In the end, an important question that comes to mind is: Do these men present a different type of masculinity emerging in the period after liberation, or do they merely (as depicted by their authors) perpetuate the patriarchal masculinities associated with the period before 1994?

Liver disease is now a leading cause of non-AIDS related morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (PLWH). The present study investigated the interplay between adverse lifestyle factors that are prevalent in PLWH, biological mediators of liver pathogenesis, and a non-invasive measure of liver fibrosis (FIB-4 index) in HIV mono- and HIV/HCV co-infected individuals. The results of this investigation in the Miami Adult Studies of HIV (MASH) cohort show that the odds of liver fibrosis progression significantly increased over two years for HIV mono-infected participants who drank alcohol hazardously (OR 3.038, P=0.048), and had BMI ≥ 28kg/m2 (OR 2.934, P=0.027). Cocaine use reduced the odds of advancing one stage of liver fibrosis (OR 0.228, P=0.038), but an interaction between high BMI and cocaine use slightly raised the odds by 4.8% of liver fibrosis progression (P=0.072). HIV/HCV co-infected participants showed interactions between cocaine use and high BMI with increased FIB-4 stage (OR 4.985, P= 0.034), however no lifestyle factors could independently predict FIB-4 stage in this group. Biological mediators previously associated with liver pathogenesis were associated with higher FIB-4 index over 2 years in a subset of (n=65) HIV mono-infected participants. Plasma measures of oxidative stress (% oxidized glutathione: OR 4.342, P= 0.046), hepatocyte-specific apoptosis (Cytokeratin-18 (CK-18): OR 1.008, P=0.021), and microbial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide (LPS): OR 1.098, P= 0.097) were associated with having higher odds of progressing at least one stage of FIB-4 over 2 years. The same biological mediators were also associated with liver fibrosis within HIV infected people who also had a harmful lifestyle characteristic. FIB-4 index was significantly associated with % oxidized glutathione in obese subjects (β=0.563, P=0.018), TGF-β1 in cocaine users (β=0.858, P=0.027), and CK-18 in HIV infected individuals without any adverse lifestyle factors (β=0.435, P=0.015). Taken together, the findings of these studies describe interrelationships between HIV disease status, lifestyle, and biological mediators of liver fibrosis. The results show interactions between lifestyle conditions and the mediators of liver fibrosis may account for higher rates of liver disease in HIV infection. Research is warranted to develop personalized therapeutics for PLWH to curb the burden of liver disease.

M.A. / This study attempts to trace the interrelationship between literature and its historical contexts in six stories by South African women writers. Six South African writers have been selected because their work foregrounds the theme of oppression and because they are representative of the different groupings of the South African population. In her story "The Sisters", Pauline Smith explores the silencing effects of gender oppression in a patriarchy. In "The Apostasy of Carlina", Bertha Goudvis writes of women-on-women oppression between the white and black races. Jayapraga Reddy explores the complexities of intercultural relationships in "Friends". In "Let Them Eat Pineapples", Lizeka Mda explores the oppressive effects of industrial-development on the tribal system in Transkei. In "Last Look at Paradise Road", Gladys Thomas, like Goudvis before her, focuses on the racial discrimination practised by whites against blacks. Gcina Mhlope reveals women-on-women oppression practised both by white-on-black and black-on-black. A chronological ordering of these short stories reveals certain changes in the extent to which attitudes to oppression are revealed and criticized. This study suggests that while there has not been a significant decrease in the degree of oppression to which South African women have been subjected, the increasing awareness and exposure of gender oppression suggests the promise of self-actualization in the struggle for democracy in South Africa.

This thesis examines ways in which identities have been represented in new South African play texts. It begins by exploring various ways in which identity has been described from various philosophical, psychological and anthropological perspectives. In particular, the thesis describes its methodology in terms of Gilles Deleuze's definition of "rhizomatic" structures. The introduction also elaborates ways in which drama is uniquely suited to represent ¨C as well as to effect ¨C transformations of identity. The thesis then moves on to an examination of specific texts in terms of four broad areas of investigation ¨C gender, political affiliation, ethnicity and syncretism. In these chapters a number of play texts are investigated from different points of view. Firstly, in a chapter on gender, the thesis focuses specifically on issues of masculinity and exile in plays by Athol Fugard, Anthony Akerman and Zakes Mda. This chapter explores orientations of the masculine which have become embedded within notions of nationalism and patriotism. In terms of political affiliations, the thesis looks at what Loren Kruger has called "post-anti-apartheid theatre" (2002: 233) and considers the trend away from protest theatre. With reference to the plays of Mike van Graan it also examines new forms of protest theatre. This chapter also explores plays which were inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and looks in more detail at Ubu and the Truth Commission by Jane Taylor. When considering ethnicities, the thesis reflects on how identity in terms of an ethnic collective is most often premised on laws of exclusion, and on the construction of what Benedict Anderson refers to as an "imagined community" (1991: 15). Representations of ethnic identities are then analysed in Happy Natives by Greig Coetzee. Syncretism seems to present a preferable description of how South African identities can be constructed and the thesis then elaborates attempts to forge a new identity in terms of amalgamation and a creative fusion of cultural resources, with particular reference to the plays of Brett Bailey and Reza de Wet. In the conclusion of this thesis, the thorny issue of racial identities is considered, and in particular the trope of the "rainbow nation", which many writers regard as a problematic blanketing description which cancels out difference. Instead, Ashraf Jamal's "radical syncretism", which does not seek to subsume heterogeneous identities, is suggested as a viable means of approaching definitions of identity. The final chapter also briefly touches on the development of physical theatre in South Africa and describes how the body can be used as a tool for transformation, relying principally on the writings of Mark Fleishman and Eugenio Barba in this regard. Finally, again resorting to a Deleuzian vocabulary which describes identity as constructed in terms of lines operating on particular planes, the thesis considers whether it may not be more beneficial in the post-apartheid context to favour paradoxical processes which relinquish identities, instead of those which attempt to consolidate them. @ 2008 Author Please cite as follows: Krueger, AR 2008, Experiments in freedom : representations of identity in new South African drama : an investigation into identity formations in some post-apartheid play-texts published in English by South African writers, from 1994 - 2007, DLitt thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10282008-141823/ > D497/gm / Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / English / unrestricted