A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, February 2013. / This case study supports the National Department of Education’s (DoE) strategy of integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into the curriculum delivery in all South African schools to enhance teaching and learning. It examined the influence of a Mindset’s multimedia digital versatile disk (DVD) instruction of chemical systems core knowledge area, a section in the grade 11 Physical Science curriculum. The main emphasis was directed at examining the influence that the DVD material would have on learners’ understanding of scientific processes and concepts in that particular section. Secondary to this objective, it looked at the attitudes and perceptions of learners and their teacher towards the classroom integration of the DVD material, also taking note of the challenges and benefits attributed to the integration itself. This study was based on the distributive cognition framework which has its roots in the socio-cultural and situated learning theories. The framework suggests that the learning process of the scientific concepts by learners is situated in a social learning environment, where learning is mediated by technological tools and artifacts (Valanides & Angeli, 2008). Under this cognitive theory the learner is positioned at the centre of the learning environment that is formulated by other people (i.e. other learners, the teacher and the community), the learning material (i.e. the content) and learning resources (i.e. physical and technological tools).Learning therefore is regarded as a social process where other people and the learning resources actively interact (Hollan, Hutchkins & Kirsh, 2000). Through the DVD’s visuals and explanations, the artificial mining environment was brought into the classroom enabling learners to be exposed to the scientific processes involved in the mining industry as a social real world activity which learners could associate with. That on its own could enhance the comprehension of content. A quasi experimental design was adopted with two grade 11 Physical Science classes from the same school, one used as an experimental group and the other one as a control group. The study sample consisted of 56 learners, 24 in the control group and 32 in the experimental group. Both classes were taught the same content by the same teacher without using the DVD lessons for a period of three weeks. Thereafter, the experimental group was exposed to the multimedia-supported lessons for three more weeks (i.e. the teacher used the DVD lessons to supplement his traditional teaching methods) while during the same period the control group was taught the same content for the same duration using the traditional teaching methods only. The pre-test and post-test measures were administered on both groups using the same instruments in order to check if the difference in the teaching approach had a positive impact or not. In addition, the data was collected in the form of questionnaires and interviews for attitudes and perceptions about using the DVD material for teaching and learning. The null hypothesis tested was: “the mean result of the experimental group would be the same or lower than that of the control group”. The t-test results showed that there was no statistical difference between the performances of the two groups hence upholding the null hypothesis. Descriptively, the results showed that learners regarded a multimedia-supported learning environment as an exciting one. They mentioned that it posed more benefits than challenges. The teacher also displayed positive attitude and perceptions about using the DVD material for teaching and learning as he indicated that it is a useful teaching tool.

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017 / This thesis explores the contribution and significance of Multichoice Nigeria and its Africa Magic channels in the development of the Nigerian film industry. The main objective of the study is an interrogation of the terms of Multichoice contracts with Nollywood content producers as well as a review of the effect of the programmes of Multichoice on content producers. The second key objective is to examine the development impacts of these initiatives on the Nigerian film industry. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with industry practitioners, representatives of the Multichoice and officials of government agencies in Nigeria in addition to analysis of policy documents. The thesis is influenced by critical political economy and the critical media industry studies approach developed by Haves, Lotz and Tinic (2009) whose study of creative and entertainment industries focuses on content producers and cultures of production in media corporations. The study examines Multichoice’s production initiatives as perceived by Nollywood content producers, and provides situated accounts of Nollywood filmmakers’ experiences, encounters, pressures and tensions which undermine Multichoice’s apparent social objectives. It modifies the production culture to the culture of business in the media industry and exposes the need for industry practitioners to engage intellectual property lawyers in their business dealings with Multichoice and other corporate agencies in order to forestall exploitation. While highlighting the complexities, contradictions and ambiguities in the Multichoice-Nollywood relationship, as well as the challenges confronting Nollywood, I argue that contrary to the reservations of the content producers, the industry has benefited from Multichoice in direct and indirect ways. These include improved quality of film production, the increased online presence of Nollywood films, enhancing the local tourism and hospitality industry and promoting professionalism. The study therefore recommends government intervention to address the existing mistrust between Multichoice and Nollywood. The study inspires the “early bird theory” to interpret the Multichoice-Nollywood relationship and experience; studying similar relationships between media corporations and the local film industries in Third World nations. This thesis makes original contribution to knowledge by providing resource material to the scarce literature in critical media industry studies with particular regard to the African film industry. / XL2018

The use of new media technology which refers to digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies such as the Internet, mobile devices, gaming, and social networks, has come to define the music industry today, and it is this technology that has empowered independent artists in such a way that they are now free to pursue heights of success previously only available to major label artists. New media technology has affected the traditional business models of major labels, it has resulted in gross decline in recording costs, given birth to new channels of music marketing, and business models, and has created a new music clientele that requires instant gratification, personalization, and connectivity. In the face of such change, independent artists have been empowered and can access opportunities to distribute music independently, market and promote music effectively to niche markets, secure publishing deals, while building their own community of dedicated fans. / by Simone K. Harris. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

West, Matthew Ellis. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 250-260). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract (in English and Chinese) --- p.ii / Acknowledgments --- p.iv / Table of Contents --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction ´ؤ China and Intellectual Property --- p.1 / Introduction / What is Intellectual Property? / Chenggong Music and Movies / Lost in Translation / Piracy / Copying / An Historical Perspective / "The Past, Sharing, and Censorship" / Methodology and Xi'an's Disc Market / Chapter Breakdown / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Literature Review 一 An Anthropological Approach to IP --- p.37 / The Anthropology of Property / Human Rights Discourses / Economic Pragmatism? / The Return of Power / Toward a Theory of IP / Metaphorical Framing / Stages of IP Advocacy / Local Contextualization / China: Global Pressure and Local Response / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Daoban as a Moral Business --- p.60 / The Commoditization of IP / Price is all that Matters! / Pricing Practices within Stores / Pricing Determinants / Moving Beyond Price and Quality / Consumer Fraud and Fakes: The Breakdown of Price and Quality / Competition and the Disc Business / Is it Zhengban or Daoban? / Doubting the Difference / Relative Morality: Guilt and Stealing / The Ambivalent Position of Chinese Retail Business / Conclusion: Passive Contestation and the Moral Sphere / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Daoban as an Illegal Commodity --- p.104 / Petty Economic Crime / "Cheating, Plagiarism, and Painting" / Petty Economic Illegality / Illegality in China's Context: The Government Connection / Backing (beijing) / Corruption / Structural Issues: Officials and Enforcement / Policing Norms / Norms of Copyright Enforcement / Social Consequences of Enforcement / Action Against Vendors / Action Against Pornography / Justifications and Responses / Conclusion: Daoban and Illegality / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Daoban and Intangible Property --- p.155 / What is Daoban? / Dowloading and the Law / Exceptions: Imported and Destroyed Titles / Blurring the Line: Tom and Jerry / Real or Fake / The Symbolic Importance of Zhengban / A Wider View? New Generations and Smalltime Creators / Conceptions of Intangible Property / The Centrality of Performance / The Nation / Conclusion: A Chinese Conception? / Chapter Chapter 6: --- "Conclusion ´ؤ Cultural Conceptions, Structures, and Agency" --- p.207 / "Structures, Agency, and Daoban" / Practice Theory: Structure and Agency / An Actor-Oriented Approach / Structures and Daoban / Creation / Commoditization / Passive Contestation / The Law as a Tool for Change / Final Thoughts / Bibliography --- p.238 / Appendix I: Chinese Characters Index --- p.248

A presente pesquisa, intitulada A Captura da Paisagem: entre apreensões fotográficas por câmera obscura e registros sonoros, analisa os procedimentos de instauração do trabalho A Captura da Paisagem, abarcando as questões que emergem das práticas com câmeras obscuras fotográficas. Neste contexto, são investigadas as relações conceituais e teóricas envolvidas nas ações de apreensão e registro espaço-temporal que ocorrem nesta produção, que envolvem longas durações nas obtenções fotográficas, bem como a simultânea gravação de registros sonoros. Além disto, a pesquisa trata das questões imbricadas nas possibilidades de junção de tais elementos dentro das proposições de apresentação do trabalho. / The present research, entitled Capture of the landscape: between photographic apprehensions through camera obscura and sonorous records, analyzes the procedures for the instauration of the work Capture of the Landscape, including questions emerging from the practice with camera obscura photography. In this context, the conceptual and theoretical relationships involved in the actions of time-space apprehension and recording that occur in this production are investigated. They involve photographic attainments of long duration as well as the simultaneous recording of sonorous registries. In addition, this research deals with the questions involved in the possibilities of junction of such elements within the presentation propositions of this work.

This thesis is a diachronic account of T. S. Eliot’s speaking voice, which, over fifty years, developed into the meticulously crafted tool of the twentieth-century author and critic and the politically and socially powerful instrument of the public intellectual. Eliot’s voice, although certainly the offspring of the nineteenth-century marriage of authorship as a bona fide profession and oral performance, was, however, unique in its responsiveness to twentieth-century legal and political debates on national identity and stability, copyright, and the powerful potential of recording technologies to both disseminate an author’s words almost exponentially whilst simultaneously encroaching on the traditional material of authorship: print. Indeed, what underpins this thesis is the argument that he was both fascinated by and actively involved in shaping those very discourses on the authority of the spoken voice in the belief that the power of the spoken word, and ultimately of his own voice, held an unrivalled ability to impact on social behaviour and national stability.

This diploma thesis is based on the bachelor thesis Chodské nářečí ve třech generacích. It expands on the topic of the "chod" dialect from the works of Jindřich Šimon Baar aswell as contemporary authors. The basis of this work is formed by a comparison of the current spoken form of the dialect with the dialect's version from the 1950s and comparison of the dialect stylization in Baar's books with todays stylization. The aim is to examine the evolution of the "chod" dialect's stylization and spoken form. This thesis is based on the hypothesis of a slowly disappearing dialect in all aspects and searches for evidence of this occurrence. Basis for the theoretical part are findings about Jindřich Šimon Baar, his life and his work. Furthermore the current knowledge about dialects with a focus on the southwestern dialect "chod". No less important is the part examining text stylization. The practical part is based on the language analysis of Baar's books partly written in a dialect in comparison with books of contemporary authors. And also comparison of audio recordings of the dialect with recordings from the archive of Jindřich Jindřich.

Cette thèse interroge la présence et les métamorphoses du son dans l’œuvre de Seamus Heaney, avec pour perspective la confrontation de l’expérience du texte imprimé à celle d’un corpus audio. En nous penchant sur les essais, les poèmes et les enregistrements commercialisés de l’auteur, nous retraçons le parcours des influx sonores depuis la perception des ondes dans l’environnement jusqu’à l’émission de la voix en passant par leur recréation dans le texte. Parler d’« influx sonores », c’est raviver la métaphore aquatique dans la catachrèse des « ondes », mais aussi inviter à détecter des courants souterrains et à prendre en compte leur réception et leur absorption par l’auditeur autant que leur diffusion.Afin de montrer que chaque poème constitue un événement sonore à part entière, nous analysons le processus par lequel l’environnement sonore est transformé en un paysage sonore poétique, à son tour placé dans de nouveaux environnements par le biais de la performance orale. L’éclairage apporté par les Sound Studies nous permet de souligner le caractère dynamique mais aussi la fugacité du son, d’identifier et de discuter les propriétés conductrices d’une écriture qui accueille aussi le silence en son sein, ainsi que de conceptualiser, avec Heaney, la notion d’écoute. Nos micro-lectures sont aussi des micro-écoutes qui vont jusqu’à tenir compte de la dimension phonétique des textes, notre étude de la voix poétique étant complétée par une analyse de la voix physique. En considérant le graphotexte, le phonotexte et l’audiotexte comme trois modes d’existence non-hiérarchisables d’un même poème, nous cherchons à approfondir et nuancer les recherches sur la prosodie de Heaney, qui dépasse de loin la versification classique, voire formaliste, à laquelle on l’a souvent assimilée. / This thesis questions the presence and metamorphoses of sound in the works of Seamus Heaney, ultimately bringing the experience of the printed text and that of audio recordings into comparison. Based on a study of the author’s essays, poems and commercialised recordings, it retraces the trajectory of sound influxes from the perception of soundwaves in the environment to the emission of the voice, via their recreation in writing. The phrase “sound influx” is meant to revive the aquatic metaphor in the catachretic compound “soundwave.” It also invites to detect undercurrents by ear and study them from the perspective of the listener, taking into account their reception and absoption as much as their broadcasting.In order to show that each poem is a sound event of its own kind, it analyses the process through which the sonic environment is turned into a poetic soundscape which then becomes part of other environments when orally performed. Borrowing concepts from Sound Studies, it highlights the dynamic but elusive nature of sound, identifies and questions the conductive properties of a writing that also makes room for silence, and reflects, along with Heaney, on listening as a notion.The close-readings developed here are also close-listenings that take into account the phonetic dimension of texts, the study of the poetic voice being completed by an analysis of the poet’s physical voice. Considering the graphotext, the phonotext and the audiotext as three equally significant incarnations of one poem, aims at bringing a nuanced perspective on Heaney’s prosody as it is too often reduced to formal – if not formalist – versification.

Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder have significantly delayed motor skills, and deficiencies in reflex development. The reasons underlying these motor deficits are not fully understood. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effect of embryonic exposure to ethanol (EtOH) on motor neuron and muscle fiber morphology and physiology in zebrafish. We observed that EtOH-exposed fish took longer to hatch and exhibited fewer swimming bouts in response to touch. Immunolabelling of motor neurons indicated that EtOH-exposed fish had significantly higher rates of motor neuron axon defects. Examination of muscle fiber morphology revealed that EtOH exposure resulted in significantly smaller muscle fibers. Miniature endplate current (mEPC) recordings from muscle fibers revealed that event amplitudes, rise times, half widths, frequencies and decay times were affected by EtOH exposure. These findings indicate that motor neurons and muscle fibers of zebrafish are affected by embryonic EtOH exposure, which may be related to deficits in locomotion. / Physiology, Cell and Developmental biology

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-138).