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This research examines how the contents and structure of a story may be enriched by computational means. A review of pertinent semantic theory and previous work on the structural analysis of folktales is presented. Merits and limitations of several content-generation systems are discussed. The research develops three mechanisms - elaboration, interpolation, and continuity fixes - to enhance story content, address issues of rigid structure, and fix problems with the logical progression of a story. Elaboration works by adding or modifying information contained within a story to provide detailed descriptions of an event. Interpolation works by adding detail between high-level story elements dictated by a story grammar. Both methods search for appropriate semantic functions contained in a lexicon. Rules are developed to ensure that the selection of functions is consistent with the context of the story. Control strategies for both mechanisms are proposed that restrict the quantity and content of candidate functions. Finally, a method of checking and correcting inconsistencies in story continuity is proposed. Continuity checks are performed using semantic threads that connect an object or character to a sequence of events. Unexplained changes in state or location are fixed with interpolation. The mechanisms are demonstrated with simple examples drawn from folktales, and the effectiveness of each is discussed. While the thesis focuses on folktales, it forms the basis for further work on the generation of more complex stories in the greater realm of fiction. / Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2010-10-12 11:24:33.536

Despite the steady growth of coaching science over the last two decades, research on coaches of persons with disabilities is scarce. This study examined how an adaptive sailing coach learned through and from experience using a single case study methodology. Jarvis’s (2009) lifelong learning approach and Gilbert and Trudel’s (2001) reflective conversation model framed the thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the coach, Jenny, was exposed to collaborative environments that optimized her learning process. Social interactions with a number of people (e.g., mentors, colleagues, and athletes) possessing different types of expertise made major contributions to Jenny becoming a coach. As time progressed and Jenny was exposed to a mixture of challenges and learning situations, she advanced from recreational Para-swimming instructor to developmental adaptive sailing coach. This study informs future research in disability sport coaching.

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This series of studies reports on the prospective and concurrent relation of attachment to a narrative based assessment of the five year old child's internal world. It relies on the exploration of a relatively new research measure designed to explore the internal world of the young child. No published studies have yet investigated the validity of this measure in relation to thoroughly tested measures of attachment patterns in infants and parents. Additionally, this study will investigate the independent contributions of mother and father. The first two chapters review the literature and introduce the instruments to be used. The initial chapter examines the theoretical points of view regarding the internal world and mental representations from the perspective of psychoanalytic, cognitive and attachment theory. It then discusses the move to a level of representation in attachment research that has made the current study possible. Chapter Two considers the history of the technique of doll play as a research tool and examines the scant research that has been published using the MacArthur Story Stem Battery. Chapter Three responds to a need for psychometric information regarding the MacArthur Story Stem Battery and the corresponding MacArthur Narrative Coding System by reporting on the construction of reliable and valid factors/scales. Subsequent chapters present these scales associations to demographic variables collected before the birth and during the infancy of the target children. Later chapters report on the longitudinal and concurrent associations between the scales with categories of infant-parent, child-parent and parental representations of attachment security and with parental assessments of child problem behaviours utilizing the reliable and validated Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). In addition, an attempt is made to construct theoretical profiles of secure and insecure children's responses to the story stem battery and to apply these profiles to the four groups of attachment patterns in the sample. The discussion focuses upon the creation of psychometrically valid scales relevant to important aspects of the child's internal world. It also concentrates upon discussing the confirmed and unconfirmed results of the application of these scales to this low-risk, non-clinical sample of the London Parent-Child Project.

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This study took the widely-accepted, ‘industry standard’ Structural Paradigm of feature film plotting, and ‘road tested’ it, assessing its value as a tool in the process of actually writing a feature film script. The methodology employed was to write a feature film script (titled THE ARM THAT DOES THE HARM) and look to apply the Paradigm to the writing process. Journals recording the process were kept and peer assessment undertaken. The data from these sources was then analysed and conclusions drawn. The reason for and value of this study are that, while this Paradigm is widely espoused by screenwriting gurus, taught as part of film courses and applied as a tool of script assessment and review, there is very little documented evidence of its actual value to the practice of writing a script. My findings revealed that, though a useful reference point throughout, the Paradigm is most valuable during the early stages of story structuring and again, most particularly, when editing later drafts. An important outcome of this study was that it identified the Paradigm as a valuable tool, not a rule that must be adhered to, a series of points a narrative must be seen to ‘hit’ in order for it to be considered to have been told correctly. Further, this study demonstrated in practice how this tool can be applied. This study suggests that trying to force an evolving story into the confines of the Paradigm can inhibit the story from developing ‘organically’ from its characters. Rather, the Paradigm should be applied as a tool for helping shape stories that first and foremost should be character-driven.

This project is an exploration of the endless negotiation of the va, the relationships that consistently define and redefine themselves in the space between two cultures. The va consists of relationships between people and things, unspoken expectations and obligations: the inherent and changeable patterns, of obligations and expectations between people and their environment. The va space can be viewed as the stage upon which all patterns and motifs carry meaning. How the patterns and motifs change meanings are subject to other elements in the va. Meaning in my work will evoke the interweaving connections of past and present through oral history, genealogy, and fagogo¹ (story telling) memory and artist sentiment. As participant, the artist reflects through the remembrance of sifting through images, person, family, events, time, and space. An emphasis will be placed on the exploration of pattern and motif as a signifier of events and sign of respect, with a focus on notions of the va. The project explores notions of visual patterns and motifs to be utilized as a vehicle to signify in that all patterns and motifs carry meaning in that they signify an event, person, time, and space. Written from a Samorians² perspective of one who lives in the space between. ¹ See Sean Mallon (2002) for an explanation on fagogo in Samoan Art and Artists O Measina a Samoa p. 163). ² The term ‘Samorians’ refers to a play on words of Samoans and an American treat called ‘samores’ containing a marshmallow that is cooked in the microwave or roasted in the fire and then placed in between two chocolate biscuits. It can also refer to an afakasi (half-caste).

As a member of the Stolen Generations, my objective and design in this dissertation is part of a larger project, involving the reclamation of my Aboriginal identity, taken from me as a child. I will attempt to do this through researching the lives of my grandfather George Shaw and his daughters, Ruby Janie and Maggie. Through a reading of files and documents held by the Department of Indigenous Affairs, Perth, I will show how the 1905 Aborigines Protection Act impacted on the lives of the Shaw family, and on all Aboriginal people who lived under this oppressive regime. Through the disclosure of what life was like for me as a child removed, I attempt to identify the shameful lack of care by the authorities concerned with my removal. The rational behind this piece of work is based on a desire to further my own personal journey of healing by linking my story to the larger Shaw story.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois, 1917. / Introduction signed 1918. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [118]-122).