Detta är ett examensarbete i Informationsdesign, med inriktning Textdesign, på Mälardalens högskola. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur en myndighets informationsmaterial till nyanlända asylsökande kan göras lättillgängligt och utformas så att läsvärdet kan ökas. Målet är att ta fram ett gestaltningsförslag som möter målgruppens behov. Metoden bestod av att göra en läsbarhetsanalys på det befintliga materialet, samt genomföra nio kvalitativa intervjuer. De som intervjuades var två personer från Migrationsverket, sex asylsökande samt en tolk. Studiens resultat visade att det befintliga materialet inte var målgruppsanpassat. Det hade flera olika avsändare, vilket innebar att materialet riktades till olika målgrupper samt att innehållet var olika utformat. Viss information stämde inte och viss information var irrelevant. Språkbruket var på sina ställen komplicerat. Detta gör informationsmaterialet svårtillgängligare för målgruppen. På grund av detta togs ett gestaltningsförslag fram baserat på interkulturell kommunikation, principer för klarspråk och tydlig grafisk utformning.

Cybersecurity has become one of the most pressing issues facing society today. In particular, cybercriminals often congregate within online communities to exchange knowledge and assets. As a result, there has been a strong interest in recent years in developing a deeper understanding on cybercriminal behaviors, the global cybercriminal supply chain, emerging threats, and various other cybersecurity-related activities. However, few works in recent years have focused on identifying, collecting, and analyzing cybercriminal contents. Despite the high societal impact of cybercriminal community research, only a few studies have leveraged these rich data sources in their totality, and those that do often resort to manual data collection and analysis techniques. In this dissertation, I address two broad research questions: 1) In what ways can I advance cybersecurity as a science by scrutinizing the contents of online cybercriminal communities? and 2) How can I make use of computational methodologies to identify, collect, and analyze cybercriminal communities in an automated and scalable manner? To these ends, the dissertation comprises four essays. The first essay introduces a set of computational methodologies and research guidelines for conducting cybercriminal community research. To this point, there has been no literature establishing a clear route for non-technical and non-security researchers to begin studying such communities. The second essay examines possible motives for prolonged participation by individuals within cybercriminal communities. The third essay develops new neural network language model (NNLM) capabilities and applies them to cybercriminal community data in order to understand hacker-specific language evolution and to identify emerging threats. The last essay focuses on developing a NNLM-based framework for identifying information dissemination among varying international cybercriminal populations by examining multilingual cybercriminal forums. These essays help further establish cybersecurity as a science.

This study has two major purposes: (1) to investigate if and how punctuation conventions have been rewritten in text messages to compensate for lack of paralinguistic cues and (2) the sociolinguistic implications of these findings. Data for this study was collected through an online, anonymous questionnaire in which participants gave their judgments about the meanings and function of punctuation used in sample text messages. The results show that punctuation is used to convey differences in meaning in direct and indirect ways and most are dependent on the context. Furthermore, age showed to be a factor in punctuation style and interpretation. The results here challenge the notion that texting is detrimental to one’s literacy skills and is in fact a site of linguistic innovation.

Mobile computing devices are increasingly being utilized to support learning activities outside the traditional classroom environment. The text input capabilities of these devices represent a limiting factor for effective support of user-based interaction. The ability to perform continuous character selection and input to complete course exercises is becoming increasingly difficult as these devices become miniaturized to a point where traditional input and output methods are becoming less efficient for continuous text input. This study investigated the design and performance of a prototype mobile text entry keyboard (MobileType) based on characteristics of the linguistic frequency of character occurrence and increasing key size to minimize visual search time and distance during character selection. The study was designed to compare efficiency, effectiveness, and learning effects of the MobileType to the QWERTY keyboard layouts while performing fixed phrase and course exercise text entry tasks in two separate evaluation sessions. A custom software application was developed for a tablet device to display the two keyboard interfaces and capture text entry interaction and timing information. The results of this study indicated the QWERTY text entry interface performed faster in terms of efficiency, while the MobileType interface performed better in terms of effectiveness. In addition, there was an observable increase in the efficiency of the MobileType interface between the two task sessions. The results indicated that the MobileType interface was readily learnable relating to learning effect. Future research is recommended to establish if the performance of the MobileType interface could be increased with further participant familiarization after completing multiple sessions, which would validate the design of MobileType as a possible alternative to the QWERTY text entry interface for mobile devices.

Speech technology can facilitate human-machine interaction and create new communication interfaces. Text-To-Speech (TTS) systems provide speech output for dialogue, notification and reading applications as well as personalized voices for people that have lost the use of their own. TTS systems are built to produce synthetic voices that should sound as natural, expressive and intelligible as possible and if necessary be similar to a particular speaker. Although naturalness is an important requirement, providing the correct information in adverse conditions can be crucial to certain applications. Speech that adapts or reacts to different listening conditions can in turn be more expressive and natural. In this work we focus on enhancing the intelligibility of TTS voices in additive noise. For that we adopt the statistical parametric paradigm for TTS in the shape of a hidden Markov model (HMM-) based speech synthesis system that allows for flexible enhancement strategies. Little is known about which human speech production mechanisms actually increase intelligibility in noise and how the choice of mechanism relates to noise type, so we approached the problem from another perspective: using mathematical models for hearing speech in noise. To find which models are better at predicting intelligibility of TTS in noise we performed listening evaluations to collect subjective intelligibility scores which we then compared to the models’ predictions. In these evaluations we observed that modifications performed on the spectral envelope of speech can increase intelligibility significantly, particularly if the strength of the modification depends on the noise and its level. We used these findings to inform the decision of which of the models to use when automatically modifying the spectral envelope of the speech according to the noise. We devised two methods, both involving cepstral coefficient modifications. The first was applied during extraction while training the acoustic models and the other when generating a voice using pre-trained TTS models. The latter has the advantage of being able to address fluctuating noise. To increase intelligibility of synthetic speech at generation time we proposed a method for Mel cepstral coefficient modification based on the glimpse proportion measure, the most promising of the models of speech intelligibility that we evaluated. An extensive series of listening experiments demonstrated that this method brings significant intelligibility gains to TTS voices while not requiring additional recordings of clear or Lombard speech. To further improve intelligibility we combined our method with noise-independent enhancement approaches based on the acoustics of highly intelligible speech. This combined solution was as effective for stationary noise as for the challenging competing speaker scenario, obtaining up to 4dB of equivalent intensity gain. Finally, we proposed an extension to the speech enhancement paradigm to account for not only energetic masking of signals but also for linguistic confusability of words in sentences. We found that word level confusability, a challenging value to predict, can be used as an additional prior to increase intelligibility even for simple enhancement methods like energy reallocation between words. These findings motivate further research into solutions that can tackle the effect of energetic masking on the auditory system as well as on higher levels of processing.

The concepts of ‘place’ and ‘identity’ are increasingly being used to understand the relations between people and physical environments. This research utilised ‘place’ and ‘identity’ to examine how people negotiate environmental conditions such as vibration and noise within their talk around ‘place’ and ‘identity’. For the study context, living alongside railways was chosen as an ‘ordinary’ and ‘everyday’ physical feature within residential settings and also due to potential upcoming changes to the UK rail network such as new lines and increases in rail freight traffic. Ten qualitative interviews were generated with twelve residents living alongside the West Coast Main Line (WCML) railway in the North of England. Participants were recruited from the Defra-funded study ‘NANR209: Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments’ (Defra, 2011). Using a discursive psychological approach, railways were portrayed as an insignificant aspect of ‘place’ in relation to the wider contexts of finding somewhere to live. Through the ‘lived ideologies’ of ‘the rural idyll’ and ‘a peaceful and quiet place’ that emerged within participants’ talk, railways could be considered as ‘disruptive’. Participants drew upon interpretative repertoires of adaptation to convey railways as initially ‘disruptive’ and as something ‘you get used to’ over time. Participants positioned themselves as being immune to the ‘disruption’ in that they no longer noticed the railways presence. Living alongside railways was presented as ‘commonplace’, which enabled participants to manage their identities of place and justify their continued residence within the context of ‘disruption’. ‘Place’ and ‘identity’ offer a way to examine how people make sense of living in places of ‘disruption’. Future research on how people make sense of continued residence alongside railways, particularly the role of adaptational repertoires, could assist in policy development.

Knowledge, and its appropriate management, has been increasingly recognised as a critical source of sustainable competitive advantage for companies. Within this context, many companies are developing their strategies and capabilities to effectively create, share and exploit knowledge. This issue has been seen to be particularly important in project-based industries, such as the construction industry. However, in spite of the espoused value of knowledge management approaches they often deliver benefits far below expectations. Research and practice has identified a number of problems and barriers which have depleted the actual benefits of knowledge management in projects and companies. A generic finding is that the major problem is the lack of effective integration of key knowledge management components. Knowledge maps have been promoted as a key solution to bring about this required integrated approach. The knowledge mapping approach has taken root in other sectors (particularly education and manufacturing), but is still at an embryonic state in construction. The starting point for this research is to investigate the potential utility of knowledge mapping as an approach to improving corporate and project performance. First, a concept model for appropriate knowledge mapping within construction project organisations was articulated through a relevant literature review. The model is made up of four key variables: interaction environment, construction actors, construction processes and knowledge transfer technologies. The concept model was tested through a single-holistic case study within a large construction and property consulting practice in South Korea. Data collection was through semistructured interviews and company document review. The primary data was analysed using content analysis and cognitive mapping. The research findings broadly confirmed that knowledge mapping is an effective approach in integrating project resources and technologies for successful knowledge management within the case study firm. The key characteristics of the concept model in practice are identified and illustrated. A contingency approach to knowledge mapping is proposed with appropriate approaches dependent upon the scope of the construction processes and the scope of the construction actors.

國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士在職專班 論文提要 論文名稱 : 透過文學教英語 : 從讀者反應層面探討文學作品在英語教學上之應用 指導教授 : 林茂松 博士 研究生 : 胡碧桃 論文提要內容 : 本論文旨在探討藉由文學教學激發學習者學習英語的動機及對文學的興趣，進而提升其英文閱讀及寫作能力的可能性。 從二十世紀初以來，對於文學教法，學者先後提出各種理論，舉其盈盈大者：如傳統教學法、心理分析法、及新文評主義，對文學教學皆有著墨。近年來，以讀者為中心、重視讀者與文本間的互動、允許不同讀者對同一作品有不同詮釋的讀者反應理論已成為教師們在教授文學時樂於應用的教學法。 本研究採用以Rosenblatt 為首的學者的建議，先引導學生閱讀文學文本，由學生以書面方式，回答老師根據文本提出與學生知識經驗相關的美學問題，最後全班參與討論，分享感受。 受試者為國立三重高中二年級學生。測驗工具為取自全民英檢(1999及2003年)中級閱讀測驗及作文試題、自製英語學習動機問卷以及文學興趣問卷。實驗組於前測後，以六篇文學作品為其教科書外之補充教材；而控制組則給予六篇非文學類文章。實驗時間為時一學期 (自2002年九月至2003年一月) 。 經由問卷調查訪問及前後測實施結果分析，發現實驗組的學生，在接受讀者反應法的文學教學後，可提升其英文學習動機、文學興趣及閱讀能力。至於寫作部分，實驗組的學生使用的字彙量比控制組為多。 本研究結論發現若經過適當設計，文學作品可以做為合適的閱讀教材以提升英語學習動機、激發創造性及批判性思考，甚至培養出終身的文學讀者。 / Abstract This thesis aims to investigate the effects of using literature as supplementary reading material for senior high school students studying English as a foreign language. The study adopts reader response theories, whose critics focus on the reader and the interaction between the reader and the text. An experiment was run for five months on senior high school subjects. Following a pre-test, the experimental group used six literary texts as supplementary reading material and the control group six non-literary ones. After exploring each text, students in the experimental group were assigned to answer reader response questions and those in the control group were asked to answer synthesis /evaluation questions after exploring each text. In addition, a questionnaire was issued to the subjects to investigate whether they liked the texts or not. Oral interviews were also conducted with the subjects to further observe their reactions to each work. After the teaching experiment, a post-test was given to examine the performance differences between the two groups. Throughout the experiment, all class interactions were recorded, then transcribed, and analyzed. The results show that (1) after the experiment, more students in the experimental group liked English than in the control group, (2) literary texts triggerred more interest than non-literary ones, (3) the number of students interested in literature increased after using literary texts as supplementary reading material, and (4) the students given literary texts as supplementary reading material develop better English reading skills and a larger English writing vocabulary than those in the controlled group. In addition, the students in the experimental group were eager to share their ideas about the readings. Key words: reader response, literature instruction, literary text, supplementary reading material.

This dissertation constitutes an interdisciplinary approach to electronic narratives, which explores the impact of recent technological developments in the literary field. The work of theorists and scholars such as Henry Jenkins, Jean Baudrillard, Lev Manovich, Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Erving Goffman, Sherry Turkle, George Landow, Marie-Laure Ryan and Espen Aarseth, among many others, are applied to the study of how key sociological and narratological concepts acquire new meanings when implemented in an electronic environment. More specifically, this research provides evidence of how emerging media culture challenges the traditional concepts of authorship, textuality, fictionality, sequential structure, and readership, with tendencies toward anonimity, pseudonymity, collaborative authorship, hypertextual narrative structures, and the reader's involvement in the creative process. Chapter One lays out the methodology used for the study of blog-fictions. This chapter proposes an interdisciplinary approach to blogging which combines the contributions made in several fields of study within digital humanities: computer-mediated communication theory, hypertext theory, Internet ethnography, social network theory, narratology of hypertext, research on blogging and Web 2.0, ludology and performance studies. The purpose of this chapter is to conceptualize the study of blog-fictions both as an expression of information society in its current state, and as a new fictional genre that challenges traditional narrative concepts. In Chapter Two ("Blogosphere: a network of social convergences"), the center of analysis concerns the study of the blogger as a social type who reproduces its social life on the Internet. This chapter studies the peculiar and new ways in which bloggers communicate with each other and create social networks through the production and distribution of texts, hyperlinks, and multimedia artifacts. Chapter Three presents a theory of the blog-text focussing on its structure and defining features. Finally, Chapter Four analyzes how the socio-aesthetic and narrative concepts studied in previous chapters are reflected in blog-novels written in Spanish by Argentinean author Hernan Casciari. This research contributes to literary studies in general by acknowledging that electronic fictions and blog-fictions constitute an emerging literary genre with its own identifiable features, and are molded by the culture of the information society.

The world is drowning in data. The recent explosion of web publishing, XML data, bioinformation, scientific data, image data, geographical map data, and even email communications has put a strain on our ability to manage the information contained there. In general, the influx of massive data sets for all kinds of data present a number of difficulties with storage, organization of information, and data accessibility. A primary computing challenge in these cases is how to compress the data but still allow it to be queried quickly.In real-life situations, many instances of data are highly compressible, presenting a major opportunity for space savings. In mobile applications, such savings are critical, since space and the power to access information are at a premium. In a streaming environment, where new data are being generated constantly, compression can aid in prediction as well. In the case of bioinformatics, understanding succinct representations of DNA sequences could lead to a more fundamental understanding of the nature of our own "data stream," perhaps even giving hints on secondary and tertiary structure, gene evolution, and other important topics.In this thesis, we focus our attention on the important problem of <i>compressed text indexing<\i>, where the goal is to compress a text document and allow arbitrary searching for patterns in the best possible time <i>without first decompressing the text<\i>. We develop a number of compressed data structures that either solve this problem directly, or are used as smaller components of an overall text indexing solution. Each component has a number of applications beyond text indexing as well. For each structure, we provide a theoretical study of its space usage and query performance on a suite of operations crucial to access the stored data. In each case, we relate its space usage to the <i>compressed size of the original data</i> and show that the supported operations function in near-optimal or optimal time. We also present a number of experimental results that validate our theoretical findings, showing that our methodology is competitive with the state-of-the-art. / Dissertation