Abiotic and biotic variation has been shown to be important in regulating nutrient cycling and belowground communities in natural systems. However, genetic variation in dominant plants as a driver of rates of nutrient cycling is still poorly understood and few studies have looked at genotype interactions across multiple environments. Using Populus angustifolia and a common garden approach, we hypothesized that all three factors: tree genetic variation, environmental conditions and genetic by environment (G x E) interactions would affect soil carbon (C) storage and nitrogen (N) cycling. Replicated copies of five different reciprocally planted Populus genotypes were studied in three separate 18-21 year old common gardens at different elevations (1300m, 1384m and 1587m) in northern Utah, to measure the genotype and environmental effects on pools of soil C and N as well as rates of soil net N nitrification and net mineralization. Our results indicate that genotypes influence pools of soil C, total N and C:N, but genotype did not influence net rates of nitrogen mineralization. Environmental variation significantly influenced pools of soil C, total N, soil C:N and rates of net nitrification and net N mineralization. As predicted, G x E interactions significantly influenced both pools and processes of soil C and N cycling. Overall, we found that genetic variation in plant traits (tree diameter and leaf/root chemistry) as well as soil texture across gardens were significant predictors of soil C and N pools and fluxes across seasons. These data help us understand the relative role of genotypic variation on above- and belowground interactions in different environments and the consequences of these interactions on ecosystem processes. The results from this study show that across an environmental gradient Populus angustifolia genotypes can influence nitrogen mineralization through feedbacks between environmental variation, tree phenotype and soils.

One of the tools a clinician has in disease diagnosis and treatment is genetic testing. To generate value in genetic testing, the link between genetic variants and disease must be discovered, documented, and shared within the community. Working with two existing genomic variation tools, Kafeen and Cordova, a new set of features referred to as Variant-Curation and Database Instantiation (Variant-CADI) was identified, designed, implemented and integrated into the existing Cordova system to unite data collection, management and distribution into one cohesive tool accessible through user interfaces. This eliminates the user needing specialized knowledge of the underlying implementation, data pipeline or data management to collect desired disease specific genetic variations. Using this tool, new disease-specific variation database instances have been initialized and created as demonstrations of the utility of these applications.

Personality is one of the most broad and complex areas in psychology. This has led to many researchers attempting to reduce this complexity by focusing solely on how habitual personality differs between each individual (inter-individual differences). This is important to study, but it has been focused on so heavily that research into how each individual personality varies within the person (intra-individual differences) has been neglected in comparison. Recent research has started to examine intra-individual variation in personality more thoroughly. One research aim of this programme was to establish the nature of several different types of within person variability including inter-item variation (variation within the test responses for a personality trait), and cross-contextual variation in personality (variation according to context), to see whether these types of variability are associated with psychological outcomes. Three research questions were examined to this end: 1) What is the extent of meaningful variability in personality trait test responding? 2) What are the predictors of intra-individual variability in personality? 3) What is the relative importance of the person and situational factors in personality variability? The first question was developed to try and determine whether the individual can display meaningful inter-item variation in ratings of specific behaviours within personality trait measures. Trait questionnaires are usually only analysed at the between subject level, and within subject variation in inter-item ratings have not been extensively examined in relation to meaningful psychological outcomes. The second and third questions were developed to look into the nature of cross-contextual personality, and establish whether within person personality differences are influenced more strongly by the person or situation. The studies conducted towards answering these questions demonstrated a person-based capacity to display intra-individual variability. A second aim of the research programme was to see whether the capacity to display these types of variability can be utilised in behaviour change. The fourth research question was developed to try and understand how a person can display intra-individual variability, yet still be resistant to changing negative habits: 4) How do the different aspects in personality variability help explain why some people are resistant to change, especially with regard to behaviours that are bad for them? This question was answered by theoretically discussing the findings from the three previous studies which proposed that positive or problematic behaviour could be interpreted with a simple path to understand the process of behavioural action: The individual receives feedback from a behaviour response which either validates or invalidates their action in the situation context (does or does not receive a desired outcome). Reinforcement of the behaviour happens if it is validated by positive feedback. Alternately reconstruction of the situation happens if the behaviour is invalidated. This allows for two types of intra-individual variability. One is flexibility in behaviour responses to different situations under the individual’s control. The other is change according to the situation, where the behaviour is invalidated and an alternative is attempted. A problematic behaviour may have benefit in stopping something invalidating, but if repeated it may become a habit needed for psychological functioning. As part of the second research aim a behaviour change strategy was developed and piloted to try and bring the individual closer to their construct of the ideal self. Instructions were provided for the individual to experiment with that differed from their disposition. The programmes had varied degrees of success depending on the participant. The implications for personality research and behaviour change are discussed.

This dissertation is a comparative investigation of the work of two subtitlers of Swedish films translated into French in the last decade of 20th century. It is a look at how they try to render the illusion of spoken language in the written line that is a subtitle. This effect has to be created despite the constraints of time, synchronisation, readability, and the limited number of characters available to work with. We have shown that the subtitles examined in this work include many of the characteristics typical of spoken French. These characteristics can be classified as belonging to the Phonetic, the Lexical or the Syntactic level. At the lexical level we can see that the translators use expressions with a lower style-level than the originals but manage to avoid being too shocking, innovative or destabilizing for the audience. We have also shown diastratic language differences in translation: our subtitlers strengthen characters of social differences by using a different language style depending on the status that the person in question has. Because of the polysemiotic nature of film it is not the primary purpose of a subtitler to translate everything. Typically verbal speech characteristics such as repetition, hesitation, incomplete phrases and non-informational expressions that are often seen as less acceptable in the written word are normally sacrificed in subtitles. On the other hand, we could not show that the original language (Swedish) had a sizable impact on the style and construction of the subtitles. We also looked at possible stylistic differences between the two subtitlers translations and tried to find out if the “voice” of the subtitler shone through. If so, we were interested in attempting to see if a difference could be caused by the fact that one of the subtitlers has French as her native language while the other translates from his second language. We were not able to relate the cause of the difference of style we observed to anything other than the original dialogue’s changing style-levels. In which direction the verbal content in subtitles will develop is an interesting and relevant question. In this work we have identified a development of style that has taken place during recent years in French subtitles to Swedish films. This development goes from a previous situation where the style of the spoken word was practically unused compared to today’s more frequent and systematic use.

Originalmente, a teoria de nicho ecológico fundamenta-se em indivíduos de uma espécie sendo ecologicamente equivalentes por utilizarem os recursos de forma similar. Portanto, o nicho de uma espécie é definido em termos do uso médio de recursos. Porém, a qualidade e abundância de recursos consumidos, sexo, idade ou morfotipo do consumidor influenciam o comportamento alimentar individual. Estudos recentes sobre forrageamento ótimo tem foco de interesse na variação interindividual no uso de recursos. Ao longo da sua área de distribuição são reconhecidas populações da toninha Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea) e no litoral paulista, possivelmente hajam três subpopulações dessa espécie: norte, centro e sul. Meu primeiro objetivo foi investigar se há variação na dieta entre essas três subpopulações de toninha. Adicionalmente, investiguei quais fatores entre sazonalidade, sexo e idade dos indivíduos poderiam estruturar a dieta em uma dessas subpopulações (central). Utilizei 58 indivíduos provenientes de captura acidental no litoral paulista, com representantes das regiões norte, centro e sul. A amostra incluiu juvenis e adultos de ambos os sexos, capturados em todas as estações do ano. Identifiquei as espécies nos conteúdos estomacais usando os otólitos de peixes e os bicos de lulas. Estimei o tamanho das presas utilizando regressões com as medidas dessas estruturas e investiguei a estruturação da dieta usando um índice de variação da dieta. Houve uma clara variação na dieta ente as subpopulações paulistas, possivelmente devido à diferença espacial na disponibilidade de presas. Para a subpopulação central não houve variação na dieta decorrente da sazonalidade ou do sexo. A ausência de variação sazonal pode ser devido à pouca alteração na abundância da principal presa, P. harroweri, no ambiente ao longo do ano. A ausência de variação decorrente do sexo pode ser devido a seleção de presa estar mais relacionada a características de corpo mole e fácil digestão e não ao tamanho da presa, sendo essa seleção comum para ambos os sexos. Indivíduos de idades diferentes possuem dietas distintas, com juvenis consumindo mais espécies que os adultos. Essa mudança de nicho alimentar pode ser devida ao período de aprendizado. Finalmente, mesmo descontando os efeitos da disponibilidade temporal e espacial de presas, do sexo e da idade, houve variação interindividual da dieta na subpopulação central. Somente estudos com marcadores isotópicos poderão investigar se essa variação é devida à especialização individual em toninhas / Ecological niche theory is originally based on the assumption that individuals of a species use similar resources and therefore are ecologically equivalents. Under this framework, the niche of the species can be defined in terms of average resource use. However, factors such as quality and quantity of prey resources in the environment, consumer gender, age or morphotype may influence the individual feeding behavior. Considering that possible interindividual variation, recently studies under optimal foraging theory have variation among individuals as a focus of interest. The species P. blainvillei is partionated in populations along its range and probably, subpopulations can be found in the Sao Paulo state coast: northern, central and southern. Hence, my first goal was to investigate if there is diet variation among the three franciscana subpopulations from Sao Paulo coast. Additionally, I searched for which factors would be the diet structure defined within one of the subpopulations (the central one). I have considered the seasonality, individual gender and sex as possible factors influencing the diet structure within the central subpopulation. I had 58 franciscana specimens obtained from bycatch in the Sao Paulo coast, being them from northern, central and southern regions. They were juveniles and adults of both genders and bycaught in all the seasons. I identified the prey species from the gut contents with fish otholits and squid beaks. I estimated prey length and weight using regressions with that structures measures and I investigated the diet structure using a diet variation index. Within the central subpopulation I found no diet variation based on seasonality or individual gender, instead I found diet variation for individuals from different ages. Probably, most of the diet variation among subpopulations is due to prey availability spatial difference. The lack of diet variation based on seasonality may be due to little seasonal variation in the abundance of the main prey, P. harroweri. The lack of variation due to gender is probably related to the prey selection on soft body and easy digestion instead of prey size, being this type of selection common for both genders. Juveniles franciscana preyed on more species than the adults and that niche shift as an age effect can be consequence of forraging skills development. Enclosing, even discarding the effects of the spacial and temporal prey availability, individual gender and age, I found interindividual-level diet variation within the central subpopulation, which can points out to franciscana individual specialization, but isotopic studies are required to infer that specialization

Originalmente, a teoria de nicho ecológico fundamenta-se em indivíduos de uma espécie sendo ecologicamente equivalentes por utilizarem os recursos de forma similar. Portanto, o nicho de uma espécie é definido em termos do uso médio de recursos. Porém, a qualidade e abundância de recursos consumidos, sexo, idade ou morfotipo do consumidor influenciam o comportamento alimentar individual. Estudos recentes sobre forrageamento ótimo tem foco de interesse na variação interindividual no uso de recursos. Ao longo da sua área de distribuição são reconhecidas populações da toninha Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea) e no litoral paulista, possivelmente hajam três subpopulações dessa espécie: norte, centro e sul. Meu primeiro objetivo foi investigar se há variação na dieta entre essas três subpopulações de toninha. Adicionalmente, investiguei quais fatores entre sazonalidade, sexo e idade dos indivíduos poderiam estruturar a dieta em uma dessas subpopulações (central). Utilizei 58 indivíduos provenientes de captura acidental no litoral paulista, com representantes das regiões norte, centro e sul. A amostra incluiu juvenis e adultos de ambos os sexos, capturados em todas as estações do ano. Identifiquei as espécies nos conteúdos estomacais usando os otólitos de peixes e os bicos de lulas. Estimei o tamanho das presas utilizando regressões com as medidas dessas estruturas e investiguei a estruturação da dieta usando um índice de variação da dieta. Houve uma clara variação na dieta ente as subpopulações paulistas, possivelmente devido à diferença espacial na disponibilidade de presas. Para a subpopulação central não houve variação na dieta decorrente da sazonalidade ou do sexo. A ausência de variação sazonal pode ser devido à pouca alteração na abundância da principal presa, P. harroweri, no ambiente ao longo do ano. A ausência de variação decorrente do sexo pode ser devido a seleção de presa estar mais relacionada a características de corpo mole e fácil digestão e não ao tamanho da presa, sendo essa seleção comum para ambos os sexos. Indivíduos de idades diferentes possuem dietas distintas, com juvenis consumindo mais espécies que os adultos. Essa mudança de nicho alimentar pode ser devida ao período de aprendizado. Finalmente, mesmo descontando os efeitos da disponibilidade temporal e espacial de presas, do sexo e da idade, houve variação interindividual da dieta na subpopulação central. Somente estudos com marcadores isotópicos poderão investigar se essa variação é devida à especialização individual em toninhas / Ecological niche theory is originally based on the assumption that individuals of a species use similar resources and therefore are ecologically equivalents. Under this framework, the niche of the species can be defined in terms of average resource use. However, factors such as quality and quantity of prey resources in the environment, consumer gender, age or morphotype may influence the individual feeding behavior. Considering that possible interindividual variation, recently studies under optimal foraging theory have variation among individuals as a focus of interest. The species P. blainvillei is partionated in populations along its range and probably, subpopulations can be found in the Sao Paulo state coast: northern, central and southern. Hence, my first goal was to investigate if there is diet variation among the three franciscana subpopulations from Sao Paulo coast. Additionally, I searched for which factors would be the diet structure defined within one of the subpopulations (the central one). I have considered the seasonality, individual gender and sex as possible factors influencing the diet structure within the central subpopulation. I had 58 franciscana specimens obtained from bycatch in the Sao Paulo coast, being them from northern, central and southern regions. They were juveniles and adults of both genders and bycaught in all the seasons. I identified the prey species from the gut contents with fish otholits and squid beaks. I estimated prey length and weight using regressions with that structures measures and I investigated the diet structure using a diet variation index. Within the central subpopulation I found no diet variation based on seasonality or individual gender, instead I found diet variation for individuals from different ages. Probably, most of the diet variation among subpopulations is due to prey availability spatial difference. The lack of diet variation based on seasonality may be due to little seasonal variation in the abundance of the main prey, P. harroweri. The lack of variation due to gender is probably related to the prey selection on soft body and easy digestion instead of prey size, being this type of selection common for both genders. Juveniles franciscana preyed on more species than the adults and that niche shift as an age effect can be consequence of forraging skills development. Enclosing, even discarding the effects of the spacial and temporal prey availability, individual gender and age, I found interindividual-level diet variation within the central subpopulation, which can points out to franciscana individual specialization, but isotopic studies are required to infer that specialization

Bianshi har under en lång tid tillämpats i Shanghais matematikundervisning. Forskaren GuLingyuan gav denna typ av undervisning en definition med benämningen Bianshi år 1981. Eleverna i Shanghai har visat goda resultat i matematik. Därav är det relevant för lärare att undersöka Bianshi och reflektera över om den kan tillämpas samt bidra till en positiv utveckling av elevernas matematiska kunskaper.  Syftet med litteraturstudien är att lyfta vad Bianshi är och dess påverkan på elevernas lärande i matematik. Detta kommer besvaras genom frågeställningarna: hur beskriver forskningBianshi som grund i undervisningen? Vilka positiva och negativa aspekter med Bianshipresenteras i forskning? Litteraturstudiens vetenskapliga källor inhämtades genom sökningar i databaserna ERIC, Primo och Google Scholar. Sökningarna resulterade i 6 vetenskapliga artiklar, 1 vetenskaplig rapport, 1 konferens publikation och 2 kapitel ur antologier. Litteraturen är internationell och skriven på engelska. Vidare analyserades materialet genom inkluderings- och exkluderings kriterier samt en översiktsmatris.  Resultatet visade att Bianshi är ett sätt att undervisa där man använder olika strategier för att variera lektionsinnehållet. Bianshi-undervisning definieras olika i forskning. Även om denna typ av undervisning benämns olika visar resultatet stora likheter, bland annat att forskare lyfter variation av exempeluppgifter, lösningsstrategier och vikten av att använda förkunskaper som bärande delar i Bianshi. Resultatet visar också att Bianshi främjar elevernas matematiska utveckling och skapar ett meningsfullt samt utforskande klassrum. Ytterligare anses bristen på forskning och kravet på goda kunskaper inom den teoretiska ramen vara ett hinder för tillämpningen av Bianshi.

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Två forskargrupper utvecklade, oberoende av varandra, två olika teoretiska ramverk som bygger på användandet av variation och invarians. Det ena ramverket, variationsteorin, grundas i att se skillnader genom variation. Det andra ramverket, bianshi, grundas i att se likheter genom variation. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om bianshi kan användas i en cyklisk interventionsstudie för att utveckla matematikundervisning. Syftet uppfylls genom att besvara följande forskningsfrågor: hur påverkas planeringsprocessen när bianshi används som teoretiskt ramverk (istället för variationsteorin) i en interventionsstudie med komponenter från learning study? och hur ställer sig bianshi som teoretiskt ramverk i förhållande till variationsteorin i en interventionsstudie med komponenter från learning study? Studien baseras på två cykliska interventionsstudier med komponenter från learning study, en med variationsteorin som utgångspunkt och en med bianshi som utgångspunkt. Variationsteorin har tidigare visat sig vara väl fungerande i sådana arrangemang. För att kunna använda bianshi i en interventionsstudie har en egen tolkning gjorts av process och undervisning. I de två interventionsstudierna deltog tio respektive tolv elever i årkurs 2. Det matematiska innehållet som behandlas i studien är likhetstecknets betydelse. Resultatet visar att bianshi skulle kunna användas i en interventionsstudie med komponenter från learning study på ett likvärdigt sätt som variationsteorin. Det framkom även en hypotes om att variationsteorin och bianshi skulle kunna användas som ett integrerat ramverk i en interventionsstudie. / Two groups of researchers, independent from each other, developed two different theoretical frameworks describing the use of variation and invariance. One framework, the variation theory, is based on seeing differences through variation. The other framework, bianshi, is based on seeing similarities through variation. The aim of this study is to investigate if bianshi can be used in a cyclical intervention study to develop mathematics teaching. The aim is fulfilled by answering the following research questions: how is the planning process affected when bianshi is used as a theoretical framework (instead of variation theory) in an intervention study with components from learning study? and how does bianshi work as a theoretical framework compared to variation theory in an intervention study with components from learning study? The study is based on two cyclical intervention studies with components from learning study, one using variation theory and one using bianshi. Variation theory has previously been shown to be well-functioning in such arrangements. To be able to use bianshi in an intervention study, we have made an interpretation of the process for analysis and lesson planning. In the two intervention studies, ten and twelve students respectively in grade 2 participated. The mathematical content addressed in the study is the meaning of the equal sign. The results show that bianshi could be used in an intervention study with components from learning study just as effectively as the variation theory. A hypothesis also emerged suggesting that the variation theory and bianshi could be used as an integrated framework in an intervention study.