The objective of this study is to develop a market sentiment model for financial markets using machine learning, and to illustrate these methods using commodity price data. A market sentiment model may capture the fundamental and crowd psychology of the market, through a variable that uses positive and negative words and phrases. The commodity price used is the daily price of the spot crude oil exchange-traded fund (ETF), United States Oil Fund (USO). The forecasting power of the market sentiment model is compared with a traditional autoregressive model. The results showed that the autoregressive models did not have significant forecasting power for the oil data over the time period examined and the addition of the sentiment model did not improve the forecasting power. Machine learning is a relatively new forecasting method. Therefore, further research on this topic is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of this approach. / February 2017

Cette thèse analyse les politiques à l’égard des minorités ethniques et religieuses sous une perspective comparative entre la Roumanie et la Bulgarie. La première partie s’interroge sur les politiques à l’égard des minorités dès la création des Etats-Nations et ensuite leur situation durant les régimes communistes dans les deux pays. La deuxième partie met l’accent sur l’analyse des deux modèles d’intégration des minorités après 1989 et étudie la question de l’émergence de la représentation politique des Turcs en Bulgarie, des Hongrois en Roumanie et des Roms dans les deux pays. La recherche étudie comment les politiques et les dispositifs sont destinés à favoriser l’intégration des groupes minoritaires dans les deux pays. Une attention est accordée à la genèse et à l’évolution, ainsi qu’à la mise en œuvre de ces projets d’action publique.Cette recherche est enrichie par l’analyse des entretiens semi directifs, des observations ainsi qu’une analyse des statistiques, de la presse nationale et locale, des dispositifs juridiques et des programmes des partis. Quatre hypothèses principales sont défendues dans cette thèse : la transformation des identités ethniques en identités politiques- l'idéologisation des politiques à l'égard de minorités- l'autonomisation du religieux par rapport à l'ethnique et, enfin, de l'impact indirect de l'européanisation sur le traitement des minorités. / This thesis analyzes the politics about national and religious minorities in a comparative perspective between Romania and Bulgaria. The first part examines the policies toward minorities since the creation of Nation-State and their situation during the communist regime in both countries. The second part focuses on the analysis of the two models of minorities’ integration after 1989 and examines the question of emergence of political representation of Turks in Bulgaria, Hungarians in Romania and Roma. The research studies how the policies and the devices are intended to facilitate the integration of the minority groups in both countries. An attention is granted to the genesis and to the evolution, as well as to the implementation of these projects of public action.This research analyzes semi directive conversations, observations as well an analysis of the statistics, the national and local press, the legal devices and the programs of the political parties.

L’idée de la croisade reste présente toute au long du XIVe siècle comme bien le prouvent les projets écrits durant le siècle. Les théoriciens de la croisade décrivent minutieusement les mesures à suivre pour récupérer la Terre sainte. Deux éléments sont nécessaires pour pouvoir entreprendre une nouvelle expédition : la paix entre les princes chrétiens et l’union de l’Église. Au XIVe siècle, un transfert s’opère naturellement, et le mouvement de recuperatio de la Terre sainte se projette contre les ennemis les plus proches de la chrétienté, faisant de toute guerre contre le Turc une guerre sainte. À partir de la deuxième moitié du XIVe siècle, la diplomatie joue un rôle crucial dans la prédication de la croisade. Dans ce contexte idéologique, à l’appel du roi de Hongrie, Sigismond de Luxembourg, les puissances chrétiennes tentent de se coaliser pour arrêter l’avancée ottomane en Europe, mais elles sont défaites à Nicopolis, en 1396. Pour la chevalerie française, la campagne était une opportunité de montrer sa vaillance, mais pour elle la croisade prend une allure de chevauchée plutôt que de guerre sainte. / The idea of the crusade remains present throughout the course of the XIVth century as evidenced by the many projects written during the century. The authors describe in detail the steps to follow to recover the Holy Land. Two elements are needed to undertake a new expedition: peace between Christian princes and church union. In the fourteenth century, a transfer takes place naturally, and the movement of recuperatio of the Holy Land is projected against the closest enemies of the Christianity: the Turks. From the second half of the fourteenth century, diplomacy plays a crucial role in the preaching of the crusade. A new Crusade is preached, at urging of Sigismund of 4 Luxembourg the Hungarian king, and the Christian powers are trying to unite to stop the Ottoman advance in Europe, but they were defeated at Nicopolis in 1396. For the French chivalry, the campaign was an opportunity to show his courage but for them the crusade was a ride and a quest of personal glory rather than holy war.

In the years following the end of the Second World War, the Federal Republic of Germany experienced a "golden age" of economic upturn. Due to the labor shortage in the aftermath of war and the division of Germany, West Germany initially looked to its eastern counterpart, the German Democratic Republic, to meet its labor needs in the immediate postwar years. Once East Germany tightened its border control, the Federal Republic of Germany extended bilateral agreements to Southern Mediterranean countries to meet the nation's labor needs. Italy was the first official nation to have a bilateral work agreement with West Germany in 1955, yet by the end of the labor program, the greatest population of "guest workers" in West Germany were Turkish nationals. The West German public initially heralded the arrival of guest workers as a boon, but by the program's end in November of 1973, the West German press reviled the Turkish migrant worker as they gradually moved out of isolated company employee barracks into single apartments, often with families or spouses joining them from Turkey. In spite of a lack of rights on West German soil, the year of 1973 was witness to a swell in migrant political activity, in the form of unsanctioned labor strikes. Utilizing two of these strikes, this thesis will compare the strategies, support, opposition, and success of the Ford Cologne (Ford Köln-Niehl) Factory strike and the Pierburg factory strike in Neuss. In both instances, the degree of support by ethnic German coworkers and factory management influenced the success of the strike. Additionally, this analysis will demonstrate that gender, in concert with nationality, negatively affected the results of the Ford Cologne Strike by way of public reception, while the negotiation of the Pierburg strike through a gendered lens aided woman migrant workers in the cooperation of factory management, the worker's council, union, and the West German public. Regardless of the strikes' outcomes, the significance of the labor strikes of 1973 is emblematic of both the lack of human rights afforded migrant workers in West Germany at the time and the persistent determination of blue-collar migrant workers to claim space for themselves and their families.

L’idée de la croisade reste présente toute au long du XIVe siècle comme bien le prouvent les projets écrits durant le siècle. Les théoriciens de la croisade décrivent minutieusement les mesures à suivre pour récupérer la Terre sainte. Deux éléments sont nécessaires pour pouvoir entreprendre une nouvelle expédition : la paix entre les princes chrétiens et l’union de l’Église. Au XIVe siècle, un transfert s’opère naturellement, et le mouvement de recuperatio de la Terre sainte se projette contre les ennemis les plus proches de la chrétienté, faisant de toute guerre contre le Turc une guerre sainte. À partir de la deuxième moitié du XIVe siècle, la diplomatie joue un rôle crucial dans la prédication de la croisade. Dans ce contexte idéologique, à l’appel du roi de Hongrie, Sigismond de Luxembourg, les puissances chrétiennes tentent de se coaliser pour arrêter l’avancée ottomane en Europe, mais elles sont défaites à Nicopolis, en 1396. Pour la chevalerie française, la campagne était une opportunité de montrer sa vaillance, mais pour elle la croisade prend une allure de chevauchée plutôt que de guerre sainte. / The idea of the crusade remains present throughout the course of the XIVth century as evidenced by the many projects written during the century. The authors describe in detail the steps to follow to recover the Holy Land. Two elements are needed to undertake a new expedition: peace between Christian princes and church union. In the fourteenth century, a transfer takes place naturally, and the movement of recuperatio of the Holy Land is projected against the closest enemies of the Christianity: the Turks. From the second half of the fourteenth century, diplomacy plays a crucial role in the preaching of the crusade. A new Crusade is preached, at urging of Sigismund of 4 Luxembourg the Hungarian king, and the Christian powers are trying to unite to stop the Ottoman advance in Europe, but they were defeated at Nicopolis in 1396. For the French chivalry, the campaign was an opportunity to show his courage but for them the crusade was a ride and a quest of personal glory rather than holy war.

This qualitative study is a narrative investigation that analyzes the educational experiences of the segregated Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina during the integration movement. Four participants share their stories of how attending an elementary school for Turkish students affected their integration into White high schools. Oral history is the specific research methodology that is used. The theoretical framework that guides this study is critical-narrative theory. Through critical research, the researcher analyzes how “the social institution of school is structured such that the interests of some members and classes of society are preserved and perpetuated at the expense of others” (Merriam, 2001, p. 5). Narrative theory also informs this study. Connelly and Clandinin (1990) explain that the heart of narrative analysis is “the ways humans experience the world” (p. 2). The research questions that guide this study are the following: (1) How do the Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina, who attended public school during the early part of the 20th century, describe their educational experiences?, and (2) What are the perceptions of the Turkish people regarding the integration movement, educational power struggles and oppression? Through in-depth interviews, participants discuss (a) thoughts on being Turkish, (b) feelings of isolation, (c) experiences at the Dalzell School, (d) experiences at the high schools (Edmunds and Hillcrest), (e) attitudes toward other ethnic groups, and (f) perceptions of the integration movement. The overwhelming evidence from interviews supports Freire’s (2006) two stages of the pedagogy of the oppressed. Freire states, In the first, the oppressed unveil the world of oppression and through the praxis commit themselves to its transformation. In the second stage, in which the reality of oppression has already been transformed, this pedagogy ceases to belong to the oppressed and becomes a pedagogy of all people in the process of permanent liberation (p. 54). The educational implications of this study offer insight into how today’s educators are called to “renew our minds so that the way we live, teach, and work can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our passion for justice, and our love of freedom” (bell hooks, 1994, p.34).

Innovative ways to conduct disease surveillance are required to address the complexity of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP). Mixed methods were employed to explore CFP epidemiology and interdisciplinary approaches to its surveillance in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Quantitative analyses of cross-sectional data collected by the TCI’s National Epidemiology and Research Unit in 2010 demonstrated that a low percentage of residents reported lifetime histories of illness following fish consumption (3.9%). Furthermore, gender, age, island, and home remedy use were significantly associated with reported clinic visitation by ill individuals. Next, a multisectoral CFP surveillance model was conceptualized. A qualitative exploration of the model’s hypothetical integration into TCI’s health system revealed that several systemic and contextual factors could influence the future uptake of interdisciplinary CFP surveillance. Targeted interventions are recommended to improve national CFP surveillance and to facilitate the growth of interdisciplinary networks between stakeholders from TCI’s health, fisheries and environment sectors. / Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Ministry of Health and Human Resources of the Turks and Caicos

The topic of dissertation is the view and the understanding of term ?love? in Turkish-German coexistence. The dissertation is divided into two main sections. The first one contains general information about life of Turks in Germany. The history-overview of migration to Germany precedes this description. In the theoretical section there is also described the meaning of intercultural life, intercultural literature and intercultural movie. This section is based especially on the studied literature. The second section of dissertation includes analysis of literature work and movie from the view of characters-characteristic and their understanding of term ?love?. Also we can find here the description, how each character copes with the feeling ?to be in love?. The goal of the dissertation is to show intercultural life in the context of the basic human feeling?in the context of love.

No description available.

Early Modern Perspectives on Islam in the Czech lands by Bartosz Paprocki and his Diadochus This thesis analyses views on Islam in the 16 and 17th century Czech Lands. Its perspective is not religionist, but rather based on confrontation with muslims (mostly Turks) as represented in selected work of Bartosz Paprocki. Specifically, the thesis looks for specific features in the authorʼs approach to the issue and reflects on them from the viewpoint of present-day historiography.