O objetivo desse trabalho é o estudo dos operadores p-compactos e da propriedade de p-aproximação. Estes conceitos estão relacionados a importantes resultados de A. Gröthendieck sobre compacidade e a propriedade de aproximação que foram generalizados em [21] e estudados em [3], [6] e [7]. / The purpose of this work is the study of p-compact operators and the p-approximation property. These concepts are connected with important results by A. Gröthendieck about compactness and approximation property that were generalized in [21] and studied in [3], [6] and [7].

by Lee-Shing Ma. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaves 119-122. / Chapter 1) --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 2) --- P-ADIC DIRICHLET L-FUNCTION --- p.5 / Chapter §1. --- P-ADIC INTERPOLATION --- p.5 / Chapter §2. --- THE POWER SERIES METHOD --- p.11 / Chapter §3. --- MEASURE AND DISTRIBUTION --- p.18 / Chapter §4. --- IWASAWA' S METHOD --- p.29 / Chapter 3) --- P-ADIC L-FUNCTION OVER TOTALLY REAL FIELD --- p.40 / Chapter §1. --- COATE'S STATEMENTS --- p.40 / Chapter §2. --- P-ADIC L-FUNCTION OVER REAL QUADRATIC FIELD --- p.49 / Chapter §3. --- P-ADIC MODULAR FORM --- p.58 / Chapter §4. --- P-ADIC L-FUNCTION OVER TOTALLY REAL FIELD 。 --- p.65 / Chapter 4) --- GAMMA TRANSFORM AND P-ADIC L-FUNCTION --- p.79 / Chapter §1. --- FOURIER TRANSFORM AND r-TRANSFORM --- p.79 / Chapter §2. --- THE u-INVARIANT OF r-TRANSFORM --- p.84 / Chapter §3. --- THE RADIUS OF CONVERGENCE --- p.92 / Chapter 5) --- P-ADIC ARTIN L-FUNCTION --- p.100 / Chapter §1. --- THE MAIN CONJECTURE --- p.100 / Chapter §2. --- THE P-ADIC ARTIN CONJECTURE --- p.104 / Chapter §3. --- MORE ABOUT THE P-ADIC ARTIN CONJECTURE --- p.113 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.119

by Tung Wai Lin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaves 110-123. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT / LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS / ABSTRACT --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1 --- TAURINE IN THE CNS --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- General metabolism of taurine --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Release and uptake of taurine by neurons and glia --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1.2.1 --- Taurine uptake --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1.2.2 --- Taurine release --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2 --- FUNCTIONS OF ASTROCYTES --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Potassium homeostasis --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Water homeostasis --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3 --- NEURON-GLIA COMMUNICATION : NEUROTRANSMITTER RECEPTORS AND SECOND MESSENGER SYSTEMS IN ASTROCYTES --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Adenylate cyclase pathway --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Inositol lipid pathway --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3.2.1 --- "Ins(l,4,5)P3/Ca2+ pathway" --- p.13 / Chapter 1.3.2.2 --- DAG/PKC pathway --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.2.3 --- Dual actions of PKC --- p.16 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Interaction between second messenger systems --- p.17 / Chapter 1.4 --- SUBSTANCE P RECEPTOR ON ASTROCYTES --- p.18 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- SP and SP receptors --- p.18 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- Evidence for the existence of SP receptor in glial cell --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- METHODS --- p.23 / Chapter 2.1 --- IN VITRO CULTURE OF HUMAN ASTROCYTOMA CELLS (U-3 7 3 MG) --- p.23 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Preparation of reagents --- p.23 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Culture of astrocytoma cells --- p.24 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Cell plating in 24-well plastic trays --- p.25 / Chapter 2.2 --- DETERMINATION OF [3H]-TAURINE RELEASE --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Physiological salt solution (PSS) --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- r> Preparation of working [ H]-taurine solution --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Assay of [ H]-taurine release --- p.26 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Drug pretreatment --- p.27 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Data analysis --- p.27 / Chapter 2.3 --- DOWN REGULATION OF PKC ACTIVITY BY PROLONGED PMA PRETREATMENT --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Preparation of working Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) solution --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Pretreatment of cells with PMA --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4 --- DETERMINATION OF CAMP --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Drugs effects on cAMP --- p.30 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Data analysis --- p.30 / Chapter 2.5 --- MEASUREMENT OF INOSITOL PHOSPHATES --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Downx column preparation --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Determination of total inositol phosphates accumulation --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- Column separation --- p.33 / Chapter 2.5.4 --- Determination of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) --- p.34 / Chapter 2.6 --- MEASUREMENT OF PKC --- p.34 / Chapter 2.6.1 --- Preparation of cytosolic and membrane bound PKC --- p.34 / Chapter 2.6.1.1 --- Reagent preparation --- p.34 / Chapter 2.6.1.2 --- Preparation of DEAE-cellulose column --- p.35 / Chapter 2.6.1.3 --- Protocol of preparing cytosolic and membrane bound PKC --- p.36 / Chapter 2.6.2 --- PKC assay --- p.37 / Chapter 2.6.2.1 --- Reagent preparation --- p.37 / Chapter 2.6.2.2 --- PKC activity assay protocol --- p.38 / Chapter 2.7 --- STATISTICAL METHOD --- p.39 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- RESULTS --- p.40 / Chapter 3.1 --- SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF TAURINE TRANSPORT IN U-373 MG ASTROCYTOMA CELLS --- p.40 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Time and sodium dependence of taurine uptake --- p.40 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Time dependence of SP-stimulated taurine release --- p.42 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Effect of ions on SP-stimulated taurine release --- p.42 / Chapter 3.1.3.1 --- Effect of sodium on taurine release --- p.42 / Chapter 3.1.3.2 --- Effect of potassium on taurine release --- p.42 / Chapter 3.1.3.3 --- Effect of calcium and magnesium on taurine release --- p.46 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Temperature-dependence of [H]-taurine release --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1.5 --- Comparison of chemical-induced release of taurine and GABA from U-373 MG astrocytoma cells --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2 --- PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES OF SP-STIMULATED TAURINE RELEASE --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Effect of mammalian tachykinins and their analogues on the release of [3H]-taurine --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Antagonistic effect of spantide on SP-stimulated [3H]-taurine release --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- The interaction between SP- and IPR- stimulated taurine release --- p.55 / Chapter 3.2.3.1 --- Concentration dependence of IPR-induced release of [ H]-taurine --- p.55 / Chapter 3.2.3.2 --- Effect of 100 nM IPR on SP-stimulated taurine release --- p.55 / Chapter 3.3 --- SECOND MESSENGER SYSTEMS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF TURINE RELEASE BY SP AND IPR --- p.55 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- The role of cAMP --- p.58 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The role of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2) metabolism --- p.58 / Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- Time course of SP-induced inositol phosphates accumulation --- p.61 / Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Pharmacological studies of SP-induced IPs accumulation --- p.61 / Chapter 3.3.2.3 --- Effect of SP on inositol trisphosphate --- p.65 / Chapter 3.3.2.4 --- Effect of IPR on IPs accumulation --- p.65 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- The role of Ca2+ mobilization --- p.65 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- The role of protein kinase C (PKC) --- p.69 / Chapter 3.3.4.1 --- Concentration dependence of PMA-stimulated taurine release --- p.70 / Chapter 3.3.4.2 --- Effect of H7 on the release of taurine --- p.70 / Chapter 3.3.4.3 --- Effect of staurosporine on taurine release --- p.73 / Chapter 3.3.4.4 --- Effect of chronic PMA pretreatment --- p.76 / Chapter 3.3.4.5 --- Measurement of PKC activity --- p.80 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- DISCUSSIONS --- p.90 / Chapter 4.1 --- A COMPARISON OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TAURINE RELEASE FROM ASTROCYTOMA CELLS AND NEURONS --- p.90 / Chapter 4.2 --- SP-INDUCED [3H]-TAURINE RELEASE FROM U-3 7 3 MG ASTROCYTOMA CELLS --- p.93 / Chapter 4.3 --- THE ROLE OF SECOND MESSENGER SYSTEMS IN THE SP-INDUCED [3H]-TAURINE RELEASE --- p.95 / Chapter 4.4 --- BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SP-INDUCED TAURINE RELEASE --- p.103 / CONCLUSIONS --- p.107 / REFERENCES --- p.110

Although second language spoken fluency has long been recognized as a major component of language proficiency, it has never been clearly defined. It has been shown that fluency is a complex phenomenon, with a host of relevant factors, and it has been suggested that it might be better separated into multiple concepts, such as cognitive fluency and utterance fluency. There is also evidence that fluency has a dialogic aspect, that is, that the fluency of a conversation is a co-construction of the two speakers, rather than simply alternating monologues. This can be observed in the confluence created by smooth turn exchanges, which results in minimizing gaps and avoiding overlap. The present study seeks to examine the co-construction of dialogic fluency through a parallel case study of two Japanese learners of English. One learner was of lower-intermediate proficiency, and the other was of higher proficiency, but both were able to create good impressions of fluency in conversations with native speakers of English. The case study design was semi-experimental in that it involved a story-retelling task done in monologue and dialogue, which was repeated to take into account the effect of practice. The case study allowed the close examination of the construction of fluency in the story-retelling task moment-by-moment through the course of the retellings, taking into account all relevant factors. The semi-experimental, parallel case study design allowed the findings to be compared (1) between monologue (where the learner recorded herself telling the story alone) and dialogue (where the learner told the story to a native speaker interlocutor), and (2) between the two learners of differing proficiency. This study was also mixed-methods in that it combined a qualitative, grounded theory approach to data analysis involving discourse analytic techniques, with quantitative comparisons of temporal variables of fluency. It was also multi-modal in that video was employed to take into account gaze, gesture, and head nods. Results of quantitative analyses revealed that the dialogues were comparatively more fluent than the monologues in terms of speech rate, articulation rate, and length of silences, for both speakers, although the higher-proficiency subject had faster speech and articulation rates than the lower-proficiency learner. This implies that narrative in dialogue is not just a listener occasionally backchanneling while the speaker delivers a monologue. The qualitative analyses revealed that the co-construction of smooth conversation was facilitated by the alignment of rhythm between the speaker and listener, supported by gaze, gestures, and head nods. The learners in these case studies were able to employ different fluency techniques for stressing words in phrases to create rhythm in spite of lower speech rates, and were able to adjust those techniques to maintain rhythm with even lower speech rates at difficult points of the story. These results confirm previous research that some apparent “dysfluencies” in speech should be considered as speech management phenomena, that positively contribute to the co-construction of fluent conversation. They also suggest that alignment between the speakers in terms of rhythm of speech and gaze are important in conversation, confirming previous research showing alignment at these and other levels of interaction. Finally, it appears that fluency is a multi-level construct, and that dialogic fluency should be considered a separate construct from cognitive fluency, of equal or more importance. This has implications for language testing, such that fluency may not be able to be captured with single test types, and for language teaching and learning more generally.

When young migrants enter a new community, are they able to acquire the community’s sociolinguistic norms? In this thesis, I examine the speech of 14 adolescents who were born in Poland, and who now attend a high school in the East End of Glasgow. I spend two years in this high school, conducting ethnographic analysis and collecting speech recordings. The linguistic behaviour of these young migrants is compared to that of a matched group of seven of their classmates who were born in Glasgow. Focusing on several sociolinguistic variables from different levels of the grammar, I use quantitative analysis to ask whether the Polish speakers are matching the local patterns of use shown by their Glaswegian peers. I use quantitative and qualitative analysis to explore why some individuals are matching these patterns to a greater extent than others. The results show that as a group, the Polish speakers come close to matching the rates of use shown by the Glaswegian speakers. They have successfully replicated some of the native constraints on the variation, although not all. They have also innovated some constraints on use which are not significant for the Glaswegian speakers. I suggest that these innovations represent a type of hypercorrection in some cases, and a lexical diffusion effect in others. I find that the individual learners are not all acquiring sociolinguistic variation to the same extent or in the same way. The individual differences observed are not explained by the length of time an individual has spent in Glasgow. Neither are they explained by the age at which an individual arrived in Glasgow, or by an individual’s gender. Instead, I suggest that friendship networks may play a role in the acquisition of more highly-constrained, ‘under-the-counter’ variables, and individual speaker agency and identity may play a role in the acquisition of the variables which are higher in speaker awareness.

This thesis uses a multimodal approach to explore how three lower primary teachers manage dialogic space in their respective classrooms during the Shared Book Approach (SBA) lessons, where they read big books to their students while holding whole class discussions. Against the backdrop of recent policies and initiatives by Ministry of Education, Singapore and the aims of the 2010 English Language Syllabus, interactions between teacher and students have received much attention. The body of work on classroom discourse in Singapore mostly focuses on speech, to the exclusion of other semiotic resources that make meaning in the classroom. This study finds that during SBA lessons in the lower primary, teachers use a variety of other semiotic resources such as gestures, space, written words and images. Through a detailed consideration of these semiotic resources, the aims of this research are to investigate how three teachers manage dialogic space during whole class discussions in SBA lessons, the issues arising from their practice and insights specifically given by the use of the Systemic Functional - Multimodal Discourse Analysis or SF-MDA (O’Halloran, 2007, 2011) adopted in this study. The employment of the SF-MDA has proven to be productive in establishing the way the teachers combine the different semiotic resources of speech and gesture to expand dialogic space by asking open-ended questions while gesturing with the supine hand position; and contracting dialogic space by, for example, asking seemingly open-ended questions while pointing to the answers in the big books. This could be seen as a scaffolding technique in reducing the options available to students. Teachers are found to be less reliant on the prone hand gesture in contracting dialogic space.

This thesis uses the tools and methods of corpus linguistics to study the process of knowledge encoding in a corpus of texts from the scientific discipline of genetics. It is argued here that the approach taken fits into the tradition of corpus-driven approaches to linguistic questions in that no assumption is made about the linguistic form that this knowledge encoding will take. Instead the study proceeds by identifying a set of keywords using the concept of lexical chains to identify items of terminology. The investigation of these uses the cluster function of WordSmith Tools (Scott 2004) and is qualitative, following Sinclair (1991; 2004) in attempting to develop a picture of the typical linguistic nature of the patterns surrounding these clusters inductively through a process of studying collocation and colligation patterns and identifying phraseology. It is argued here that such an approach is required to discover linguistic aspects of epistemic encoding that have as yet not been identified by those working in the related fields of discourse analysis or corpus linguistics.

This is the second of three modules concerned with narrative and identity in English language teaching. In Module 1, I introduced conversational narrative and examined ways in which descriptions of conversational narrative might be applicable to the development of pedagogic models for teaching English to learners in Japan. I concluded that there was a need to further explore narrative in the local context. This module does this, but takes a step back from the concern with pedagogical descriptions to consider narrative in the teaching context. It focuses on the native speaker as a central narrative concept within English language education, and explores the theoretical and practical role of the native speaker in Japan today. This module (Part 1) introduces theoretical perspectives, and considers the appropriation of the native speaker in Japanese high school textbooks. I argue that the ideological emphasis on the native speaker has been most significantly undermined by the development of English as an international language, and that the cultural discourse of the native speaker in Japanese textbooks implies a narrow brand of internationalisation that is closely related to nationalistic concerns with Japan’s status in the world today. Part 2 focuses on native English speaking teachers (NESTs) in Japan. I consider the ways in which theoretical notions of the native speaker are reflected in the experience and attitudes of NESTs.

This is the first of three modules concerned with narrative and identity in English language teaching in Japan. This module makes the case for developing a pedagogical model of spoken discourse, particularly spoken narrative, to aid the teaching of English in foreign language contexts such as Japan. It is proposed that this model should take account of the learners L1, in this case Japanese. Rather than teaching the model, however, it is suggested that the model would ideally be applied using a task-based approach.

This thesis is the third of three modules, and explores narrative identity in interviews with English language teachers. It offers an analysis of how speakers used linguistic resources to construct identities for themselves during life story interviews. Both interviewer (the author) and interviewees (21 native English speakers and 21 native Japanese speakers) taught English in Japan. All interviews were conducted in the interviewee’s native language. The analysis therefore consists of a contextualised cross-linguistic description of the linguistic resources employed by speakers for expressing identity. I use this analysis to address the role of the ‘native speaker’ in English language teaching in Japan (introduced in Module 2) through a fresh analysis that includes the perspectives of ‘non-native’ teachers. In terms of theory, this module offers a response to the general question: ‘What differences are there between narratives told in Japanese and English?’ (posed in Module 1). In turn, my answers to this are used to inform pedagogic proposals (the principal focus of Module 1) on the development of a pedagogic model of narrative suitable for Japanese learners of English.