A qualidade das hipóteses induzidas pelos atuais sistemas de Aprendizado de Máquina depende principalmente da quantidade e da qualidade dos atributos e exemplos utilizados no treinamento. Freqüentemente, resultados experimentais obtidos sobre grandes bases de dados, que possuem muitos atributos irrelevantes, resultam em hipóteses de baixa precisão. Por outro lado, muitos dos sistemas de aprendizado de máquina conhecidos não estão preparados para trabalhar com uma quantidade muito grande de exemplos. Assim, uma das áreas de pesquisa mais ativas em aprendizado de máquina tem girado em torno de técnicas que sejam capazes de ampliar a capacidade dos algoritmos de aprendizado para processar muitos exemplos de treinamento, atributos e classes. Para que conceitos sejam aprendidos a partir de grandes bases de dados utilizando Aprendizado de Máquina, pode-se utilizar duas abordagens. A primeira realiza uma seleção de exemplos e atributos mais relevantes, e a segunda ´e a abordagem de ensembles. Um ensemble ´e um conjunto de classificadores cujas decisões individuais são combinadas de alguma forma para classificar um novo caso. Ainda que ensembles classifiquem novos exemplos melhor que cada classificador individual, eles se comportam como caixas pretas, no sentido de n˜ao oferecer ao usuário alguma explicação relacionada à classificação por eles fornecida. O objetivo deste trabalho é propor uma forma de combinação de classificadores simbólicos, ou seja, classificadores induzidos por algoritmos de AM simbólicos, nos quais o conhecimento é descrito na forma de regras if-then ou equivalentes, para se trabalhar com grandes bases de dados. A nossa proposta é a seguinte: dada uma grande base de dados, divide-se esta base aleatoriamente em pequenas bases de tal forma que é viável fornecer essas bases de tamanho menor a um ou vários algoritmos de AM simbólicos. Logo após, as regras que constituem os classificadores induzidos por esses algoritmos são combinadas em um único classificador. Para analisar a viabilidade do objetivo proposto, foi implementado um sistema na linguagem de programação lógica Prolog, com a finalidade de (a) avaliar regras de conhecimento induzidas por algoritmos de Aprendizado de Máquina simbólico e (b) avaliar diversas formas de combinar classificadores simbólicos bem como explicar a classificação de novos exemplos realizada por um ensemble de classificares simbólicos. A finalidade (a) é implementada pelo Módulo de Análise de Regras e a finalidade (b) pelo Módulo de Combinação e Explicação. Esses módulos constituem os módulos principais do RuleSystem. Neste trabalho, são descritos os métodos de construção de ensembles e de combinação de classificadores encontrados na literatura, o projeto e a documentação do RuleSystem, a metodologia desenvolvida para documentar o sistema RuleSystem, a implementação do Módulo de Combinação e Explicação, objeto de estudo deste trabalho, e duas aplicações do Módulo de Combinação e Explicação. A primeira aplicação utilizou uma base de dados artificiais, a qual nos permitiu observar necessidades de modificações no Módulo de Combinação e Explicação. A segunda aplicação utilizou uma base de dados reais. / The hypothesis quality induced by current machine learning algorithms depends mainly on the quantity and quality of features and examples used in the training phase. Frequently, hypothesis with low precision are obtained in experiments using large databases with a large number of irrelevant features. Thus, one active research area in machine learning is to investigate techniques able to extend the capacity of machine learning algorithms to process a large number of examples, features and classes. To learn concepts from large databases using machine learning algorithms, two approaches can be used. The first approach is based on a selection of relevant features and examples, and the second one is the ensemble approach. An ensemble is a set of classifiers whose individual decisions are combined in some way to classify a new case. Although ensembles classify new examples better than each individual classifier, they behave like black-boxes, since they do not offer any explanation to the user about their classification. The purpose of this work is to consider a form of symbolic classifiers combination to work with large databases. Given a large database, it is equally divided randomly in small databases. These small databases are supplied to one or more symbolic machine learning algorithms. After that, the rules from the resulting classifiers are combined into one classifier. To analise the viability of this proposal, was implemented a system in logic programming language Prolog, called RuleSystem. This system has two purposes; the first one, implemented by the Rule Analises Module, is to evaluate rules induced by symbolic machine learning algorithms; the second one, implemented by the Combination and Explanation Module, is to evaluate several forms of combining symbolic classifiers as well as to explain ensembled classification of new examples. Both principal modules constitute the Rule System. This work describes ensemble construction methods and combination of classifiers methods found in the literature; the project and documentation of RuleSystem; the methodology developed to document the RuleSystem; and the implementation of the Combination and Explanation Module. Two different case studies using the Combination and Explanation Module are described. The first case study uses an artificial database. Through the use of this artificial database, it was possible to improve several of the heuristics used by the the Combination and Explanation Module. A real database was used in the second case study.

Thesis (M A. (African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2009 / The study evaluates the communicative aspects of the Vhavenḓa female traditional attire in the Vhembe region, Limpopo Province. Chapter one carries an introduction and background to the study, aim of the study, rationale and objectives of the study, significance of the study, literature related to the study and data analysis thereof. Chapter two carries the detailed investigation of the Vhavenḓa Traditional attire as well as the relevant times to wear that attire, where and their uses. Chapter three carries the Vhavenḓa Traditional attires that are not allowed to be worn in some occasions. Chapter four carries the findings and the recommendations of the study. Chapter five is the summary of the study.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, and continue to breastfeed throughout the first year of life and as long after as is mutually desired. Recent survey data suggests that initiation rates of breastfeeding are high; according to the CDC, 75.0 percent of children in the U.S. have been breastfed. Although initiation rates of breastfeeding are high, breastfeeding duration rates consistent are much lower; 33.0 percent of infants were exclusively breastfed at three months, and only 13.3 percent of infants were exclusively breastfed at six months. Additionally, only 22.4 percent of infants were still breastfeeding at twelve months. Social and behavioral research has identified social support received from the infant's father to be one of the most important predictors of breastfeeding initiation and duration. Although several prior studies have identified paternal attitudes and support to be important influences of breastfeeding duration, few studies have been conducted to understand the specific forms of paternal support that are most important to mothers, and the forms of paternal support that are most predictive of breastfeeding duration. Also, to the author's knowledge, this was the first study to investigate negative forms of paternal support that may discourage breastfeeding. This mixed-methods study sought to better understand the perceived forms of positive and negative paternal support for breastfeeding amongst a cohort of first-time parent couples. A longitudinal study design was utilized, in which each parent participated in an in-depth interview at four time points: prenatally, and at one, three, and six month post-partum. At each time point, mothers and fathers also completed a quantitative survey; breastfeeding intention was assessed at the prenatal period, and information about current breastfeeding status was collected at the post-natal time points. A final sample of fourteen parent couples was recruited from Champions for Children prenatal classes, and all interviews took place between June 2013 and February 2014. The quantitative portion of this study found that at one month post-partum, mothers with higher prenatal breastfeeding intention scores were more likely to still be breastfeeding (85.7%), with the largest percentage of mothers still exclusively breastfeeding (50.0%); additionally, mothers with lower prenatal breastfeeding intention scores were more likely to be exclusively formula feeding (14.3%) (p = 0.03). In general, mothers with higher prenatal breastfeeding intention scores also identified more types of positive paternal support for breastfeeding; however, the only association found to be statistically significant was appraisal support (p=0.03). For the qualitative portion of this study, expectant mothers and fathers identified forms of paternal support that they perceived to be either positively or negatively supportive of breastfeeding. More often than any other type of positive support, mothers and fathers mentioned a father providing instrumental support as helpful to sustain breastfeeding, and at the post-natal time points, almost every mother identified help with household chores as being the support they receive most often which helps them to sustain breastfeeding. Whereas mothers mentioned instrumental support most often when asked to identify forms of paternal support for breastfeeding, after delivery mothers indicated that emotional support was truly most valuable; almost every mother identified words of encouragement and motivation as being the support they receive from their partner that is most important, and which helps to sustain breastfeeding. At the post-natal time-points very few mothers or fathers identified any forms of negative support actually received from their partner; mothers and fathers instead elaborated on examples of support that they perceived as negative for a mother to receive from her partner including failure to provide positive support, indifference to infant feeding method, a negative attitude towards breastfeeding or preference for formula, and negative or discouraging comments. At the post-natal time points, the majority of mothers perceived a father being verbally negative about breastfeeding as the worst form of negative support for breastfeeding. This study primarily used qualitative methods to gather rich, in-depth personal accounts of first-time mothers' and first-time fathers' perceptions of paternal support for breastfeeding. This provided valuable insight and allowed for an emic perspective of the participants' personal experiences which led to a more in-depth understanding of the specific forms of paternal support most important to mothers. Unlike previous studies conducted to better understand paternal support for breastfeeding, this study utilized a longitudinal design which allowed for the collection of data at four time points, both pre- and post-natal. A longitudinal design strengthened this study as perceived forms of paternal support were compared at different time points, and shifts in perceptions over time amongst mothers and fathers were captured. This study contributes new knowledge to the field of breastfeeding promotion regarding the specific forms of paternal support that mothers and fathers perceive as positive or negative of breastfeeding. It is imperative to improve our understanding of the precise forms of paternal support which are most positively associated with breastfeeding exclusivity and duration, so that future efforts to increase positive paternal support and decrease negative paternal support are most effective. The findings of this study can be used to help engage fathers in the breastfeeding process, including educating them on the specific ways that they can offer meaningful support to their breastfeeding partner.

Orientador: Adrián Oscar Dongo Montoya / Resumo: Este trabalho tem como principal objetivo o estudo do desenvolvimento moral e da troca simbólica junto à crianças de bairros marginalizados, ou seja, crianças que vivem na pobreza e sofrem opressão social. Por serem crianças que vivem essa condição social, sofrem relações de opressão e vivem uma "cultura do silencio" que dificulta o desenvolvimento das suas capacidades cognitivas e dos seus sentimentos morais. Deste modo, nos perguntamos: de que modo esse meio social influi no desenvolvimento moral dessas crianças, particularmente dos seus julgamentos morais? Para responder a essa questão, estudamos as relações de crianças de 7 a 12 anos com os membros que as rodeiam. A pesquisa se cumpre em uma instituição social localizada em um bairro de periferia da cidade do interior de São Paulo. Por meio de entrevistas, verificamos os julgamentos morais em função da mentira das crianças, a partir de histórias elaboradas por Piaget e levantamos as trocas simbólicas no seio familiar e institucional. No ambiente familiar, estudamos o seu cotidiano onde se produz o cumprimento de obrigações e deveres, brincadeiras, conflitos com autoridades e iguais. No ambiente institucional, estudamos o modelo de relação existente, se há a possibilidade de trocas simbólicas e reflexão sobre as atividades feitas. O referencial teórico principal foi o de Jean Piaget. Nossas conclusões apontam para uma relação entre os julgamentos morais e as trocas simbólicas. As crianças que apresentaram uma tendência de ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This work has as its mainly objective the purpose of studying the moral development and the symbolic exchange among marginalized neighborhoods children, in other words, children living in poverty and suffering social opression. For being children living under this social condition, they suffer opression relationships and abide by what they call "Culture of the Silence", making things harder for the development of their cognitive abilities and their moral feelings. Thus, we ask ourselves: in which way this social enviroment influences these children moral development, particularly their moral judgement? To answer that question, we have been studying the relationships of children from 7 to 12 years old among the members surrounding them during daily life. The survey has been acomplished in a social institution located in a suburban neighborhood of a city in the countryside of São Paulo state. Through interviews, we have verified the moral judgements in function of the children's lies, as of histories elaborated by Piaget; we were able to bring up the symbolic exchanges among the family and institutionally. In the family enviroment, we have study their daily life where the acomplishment of obligations and chores, children's play, conflicts towards authorities and equals could be seen. In the institutional enviroment, we have study the relationship model existent, if there is the possibility of symbolic exchanges and reflection about the activities that just have been done. The m... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Les services Web sont des logiciels qui offrent des fonctionnalités à des autres machines à travers l'Interent. Les services Web sont basés sur l'Architecture Orientée Services (SOA, pour son nom en anglais). Ils peuvent être invoqués en utilisant des standards pour le Web (normalement, SOAP, UDDI, XML, HTTP, WSDL). Dan les dernières années, l'utilisation des services Web s'est incrémentée à cause de la flexibilité qu'ils offrent, ainsi comme de l’intégration des systèmes hétérogènes. En plus, SOA ajoute de la valeur dans le sens où les services peuvent être réutilisés et partagés; cela fait les systèmes plus flexibles et adaptables en cas où il y a des changements dans les processus de l’entreprise, et améliore l'intégration des systèmes. Aussi, des nouvelles façons d'utiliser les services Web se sont développées, en combinant pour créer des services plus complets et complexes. Le processus de réutiliser les services Web pour créer des nouveaux s'appelle composition des services Web, et son but principal est de permettre la réutilisation des fonctionnalités proposées par les services Web. C'est pour cette raison que l'architecture SOA a été bien acceptée par les entreprises partout dans le monde: elle aide à réduire le coût et le temps qu'il faut pour créer des solutions, et c'est la composition des services Web qu'on étudie dans cette thèse. Plus spécifiquement, on veut assurer leur correct comportement en utilisant des techniques du test pour détecter des possibles erreurs. / Web services are pieces of software offering functionalities to other (remote) machines over the Internet that work based on the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). They can be invoked by means of Web related standards (usually, SOAP, UDDI, XML, HTTP, WSDL. In the recent years, the usage of Web services has increased due to the flexibility and interoperability among heterogeneous platforms and operative systems that they provide. SOA adds value in terms of low coupling, re-usability of services and sharing; it makes the systems flexible and adaptive in case of changes in the business process and improves the integration of heterogeneous systems. Besides, new ways of using Web services have emerged, by combining them in order to create more complete (and complex) services. This process of re-using and combining Web services is called Web service composition, and its main objective is to allow the re-usability of the functionalities proposed by the Web services. This is why this architecture has been widely accepted by the companies all over the world: it helps reducing the cost and time to create business processes, and this is the type of systems we work with in this thesis, more specifically, we aim at ensuring their correct behavior by using testing techniques in order to detect possible errors.

Parenthood is a role that shapes the lives of parents and children. According to the sociology of families and marriages, criminology, and the sociology of punishment, the most alienated individuals in unequal America practice parenthood in fragile families struggling with poverty, the code of the street, and under correctional supervision. In attempts to connect and contribute to these literatures, this research project examines how individuals' delinquent/criminal role performance on the street stage and client/inmate role performance on the correctional stage influence their parent role performance on the home stage. To do so, this qualitative study collected 57 semi-structured interviews (12 mothers and 45 fathers) and analyzes participants' parent role, delinquent/criminal role, and client/inmate role. The findings suggest that a cross-generational role conflict shapes participants' parent role performance throughout their life course. Although conflicting roles (roles with conflicting expectations) can coexist in the self, limited resources (time, energy, and money) and problematic boundaries (weak or impenetrable) between social situations bring role conflict to the center of role performance. In this case, the role conflict between participants' ideal parent role on the home stage, delinquent/criminal role on the street stage, and client/inmate role on the correctional stage shapes participants' parent role performance throughout their life course.

The study and measurement of attitudes toward racial and ethnic groups are important parts of the field of cross-cultural psychology. The present study examined a theory of racial attitudes, that of symbolic racism, and several demographic variables. The sample population consisted of 575 Caucasians and 122 Far-East Asian college students. Results indicated that Symbolic Racism is a unique theoretical construct, that Caucasian students were less racially biased than their Asian peers, and that group differences in racial attitudes existed across religious affiliation, number of reported interracial friendships, and gender.

Despite the long history of stand-up comedy as a distinct form of popular entertainment, there has been little sociological attention given to its cultural significance. Comedians have arguably become legitimate and visible voices in many public conversations about social issues and social justice. This dissertation explores the cultural work of women’s comedy in popular culture. Specifically, I examine narrative representation and audience reception of women’s stand-up comedy through multi-method qualitative inquiry. First, I analyze stand-up performances by popular U.S. comedians Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Margaret Cho. Through narrative analysis, I focus on the ironic performativity of Schumer and the charged styles of Sykes and Cho, and I discuss how these women use humor (in different but overlapping ways) to challenge dominant cultural narratives pertaining to gender, race, and sexuality. Second, I conduct an audience reception analysis using focus groups in order to better understand how people consume and interpret stand-up comedy. Due to the polysemic nature of comedy and satire, audiences decode these texts in a myriad of ways. My analysis shows how different audiences perceive the comedian as unpacking social “truths” in comedy. I elaborate these audience decoding positions, discuss the layers of interpretation (i.e., intersectional positionality and interpretive frameworks), and discuss how participants negotiate symbolic boundaries around what is deemed funny or topically appropriate for comics to say. My findings further highlight the importance of identity in critical referential viewing by incorporating standpoint epistemologies. In particular, audience members of marginalized social groups experience a “bifurcated consciousness” (Smith 1974) in their interpretations compared to those from dominant identity groups, and women and minority audience members are more likely to interpret these performances as counterhegemonic texts.

Abstract not available

Doctor of Philosophy / Using the Wood Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service in 1994 as its major case study, this thesis hypothesises that, although this inquiry had a far reaching impact on both the personal and working lives of police officers in the organisation itself, it proved ineffectual in its attempt to control corruption. It argues that corruption, and the subsequent inquiries into this corruption, can be seen to have a cyclic nature and the failure of such inquiries has a long and international history. It contends that the nature of the public inquiry itself can be seen to contribute to the continuation of the cycle of corruption. Clearly, putting an end to corruption requires more than the investigation, public exposure and punishment of a few corrupt police, followed by a generalised tightening of the chain of command. Instead, this thesis demonstrates that the problem is primarily an organisational one and it is important to look at management reforms. This thesis contends that the cycle of corruption involves the nature of police work; the catalyst that triggers the inquiry; the inquiry itself and the issue of the report; and the police and community responses. An examination of all these factors is crucial to understanding the cycle’s dynamics. The final report of the Wood Royal Commission was in 1996 and this thesis specifically analyses the cycle of corruption in relation to the response of the police executive to this inquiry. It shows how the police response focused on the tactical crisis response central to operational policing — in this case appeasing official censure and community fears. As little more than a public relations exercise, senior management strategically addressed the specific recommendations of the report rather than creatively considering the implications exposed during the inquiry. The idea that corruption is a symptom of an ineffective system and not simply a slackening of effective control by senior management was never considered. In the aftermath of the Wood Royal Commission there was much discussion about ‘police culture’ being ‘a culture of corruption’. The forgotten casualties of the inquiry has been individual police officers, many of whom see policing as a vocation. This thesis has allowed many voices to be heard and used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse a wide range of information and data, which included personal interviews with serving police officers and members of external organisations, as well as printed material from Royal Commission Reports, Hansard and other government documents, internal Police Service documents and media reports.It has used Bourdieu’s theoretical approach which allows an analysis of the complex relationships involved between police officers as individuals who operate within the wider networks of a specific organisation and the way the personal is important as an explanatory tool of what happens within a policing culture and how this culture is perceived differently from within and without. Bourdieu’s theory also facilitates analysis of the interactions of this network with the wider community, putting in context the responses of both the police service and the community. The connection with the personal is important as an explanatory tool of what happens within a policing culture and how this culture is perceived differently from within and without. Bourdieu constructs an understanding of the ‘nature of the game’ of policing and the shaping of the individual within police culture, giving insight into the source of moral dilemmas, personal beliefs and personal behaviour. As the current management system of command and control is at the heart of this response, this thesis has also analysed the assumptions inherent in this management philosophy, considering both necessary operational strengths as well as organisational weaknesses. A central theme of the thesis is that open dialogue will reduce the incidence of corruption and risk within policing institutions. This thesis argues that there must be an integrative approach to reform — accountable, active leadership combined with critically constructed practical approaches that tackle the complexity of the dynamics embedded in the ‘nature of the game’ of policing itself.