Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Presentation materials'

La tesi presenta il lavoro di ottimizzazione della material presentation svolto presso l'affiliata bolognese del gruppo Philip Morris International. Obiettivo del progetto è l'efficientamento del processo logistico del flusso dei materiali in una cella di produzione, derivante dall'introduzione di una flotta di carrelli AGV. Nel corso della tesi vengono trattati i temi del calcolo dei flussi di materiale, dell'analisi del carico di lavoro per gli operatori di produzione e della riduzione degli sprechi.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management) Naval Postgraduate School, March 1998.<br>"March 1998." Thesis advisor(s): Douglas E. Brinkley, Frank Barrett. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-54). Also available online.

''À la rencontre de l’œuvre de Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, mise en espace d’une écriture contemporaine’’ est le sujet de cette thèse qui nous a guidé dans nos différentes recherches. Artiste plasticien et ancien étudiant des écoles des beaux-arts d’Abidjan (Côte d’ivoire), et de Marseille (France), notre rencontre avec Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, l’autodidacte, l'artiste et l'inventeur d’une écriture dite purement africaine, a été l’occasion de questionner notre pratique artistique par l’analyse de sa démarche de création. A travers ces recherches, c’est un double hommage rendu à sa personne et à son œuvre. En effet c’est dans l’objectif de conserver les savoirs de son peuple les Bété, et de tout peuple qui ne dispose pas d’une écriture qu’il crée un syllabaire fait de pictogrammes. Partir des sons humains, de différents bruits, des contes et légendes en pays Bété, pour produire des signes graphiques, a été un procédé qui a motivé nos recherches. Il s’agit pour nous dans le questionnement de notre pratique d’une mise en abîme de nos peintures, par le passage de l’espace illusionniste du tableau à un espace tridimensionnel. Des bruits, des sons, et des syllabes qui sont immatériels, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré est arrivé à produire des signes graphiques d'un langage nouveau. Nous inspirant de cette démarche, nous déconstruisons l’œuvre picturale pour en extraire ses constituants qui sont mis en espace pour traduire cette volonté de faire cohabiter différentes techniques, la peinture, l’écriture, la sculpture, et l’installation<br>''At the meeting of the work of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, putting in space of a contemporary writing '' is the subject of this thesis which guided us in our various researches. Visual artist and former student of the Schools of Beaux Arts of Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), and Marseille (France), our meeting with Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, the self-taught artist and inventor of a so-called purely African writing was the opportunity to question our artistic practice by analyzing its approach to creation. Through this research, it is a double homage to his person and his work. Indeed, it is in the objective of preserving the knowledge of his people the Bété, and of all people who do not have a writing he creates a syllabary made of pictograms. Starting from human sounds, different sounds, stories and legends in Bété countries, to produce graphic signs, was a process that motivated our research. It is for us in the questioning of our practice making in an abyss our paintings, by the passage from the illusionist space of the painting to a three-dimensional space. Noises, sounds, and syllables that are immaterial, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré has come to produce graphic signs of a new language. Inspired by this approach, we deconstruct the pictorial work to extract its constituents which are put in space to translate this desire to make different techniques coexist.painting, writing, sculpture, and installation

Information is an extremely important asset in modern society. It is used in most daily activities and transactions, and, thus, the importance of information is acknowledged by both organisational and private home information users. Unfortunately, as with any asset, there are often threats to this asset and, therefore, an information security solution is required to protect information against potential threats. Human beings play a major role in the implementation and governing of an entire information security process and, therefore, they have responsibilities in this regard. Thus, the effectiveness of any information security solutions in either an organisational or a private context is dependent on the human beings involved in the process. Accordingly, if these human beings are either unaware or not knowledgeable about their roles in the security solution they become the weak link in the information security solutions and, thus, it is essential that all these information users be educated in order to combat any threats to the information security. Many of the current information security education programmes and materials are not effective, possibly because the majority of these current approaches have been designed without using a sound pedagogical theory. In addition, many of these programmes also only target organisational users. This, in turn, is problematic as information security education is required by everybody, organisational and private information users alike. This dissertation addressed the lack of a pedagogical basis in the designing of information security educational courses suited to an extremely broad target audience. Accordingly, the dissertation set out to demonstrate how a pedagogy, which is broadly used and accepted for a diverse target audience of learners, could be applied to the design of the presentation of a web based, cyber security educational courses.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001.<br>Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 243-250). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

In the midst of debate over the treatment of culture in foreign language education and the increased exposure to culture in the global economy, the knowledge of other cultures is more significant than ever. In order to improve teaching culture, materials have been examined and revised. The purpose of this exploratory study is to describe how culture is addressed in the fourteen high school EFL reading textbooks in Japan, that were approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) at the time of this study. In previous studies on EFL textbooks in Japan by Kitao (1979, 1988) and Iwata, Ogawa, Wen, Sakamoto, Takarada, Horio, Muto, and Mogi (2001) among others, the findings included the cultural elements categorized by various criteria, defining topics and types of reading texts and illustrations, classifying the student activities regarding culture, the descriptions of societies represented, the unnatural use of the English language that are edited for grammatical correctness, and the lack of elements that are usually present in the natural course of conversations or in the authentic passages. This study of the reading passages and pre- and post-reading activities was guided by several theories and studies: First, the authentic use of a language reflects the writerâ s culture (Brown, 1987; Byrnes, 1990; Gilmore, 2004; Honeyfield, 1977; Kramsch, 1993; Lamie, 1998; McKay, 1982; Shrum & Glisan, 2005; Swaffar, 1985), and the culture is reflected in the vocabulary (Sapir, 1949). Second, the readersâ own cultural knowledge (C1) should be activated in understanding the culture of others (C2), comparing and contrasting C1 and C2 so that the differences and similarities will be more evident (Byrnes, 1990; Kolb, 1984; Kramsch, 1993; National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project [NSFLEP], 2005). The results show 1) that the reading passages were edited mostly by deleting and altering portions of the originals, and thus the culture was not present as in the original passages, and 2) pre-reading and post-reading activities/questions were literal and not designed to foster cultural understanding.<br>Ed. D.

This work is the final part of the Master of Science degree in Industrial Design Engineering towards Production Design, at Luleå University of Technology. This project has been conducted during the spring of 2017 at Alimak Hek. The task has been to analyze material handling, material presentation and why material shortages occur at the industrial hoists final assembly stations. To get an understanding of the system, interviews and observations were conducted. A literature study was carried out to find current knowledge and different solutions. To involve the workers in the process and to check if the problems were understood correctly a workshop was conducted. This was also an opportunity to discuss desired future state and ideas with the workers. Another way to look at potential solutions was through the benchmarkings. These were both conducted internally and at other companies where different solutions for material handling was studied.   The material in focus has been fastening material. This was stored in bins at racks. These racks were placed at the assembly stations and the two big racks have been the focus of this project. The problems at these storages has been that the refilling did not work as it was supposed to. The old system was an order list with which material could be ordered from the main storage at Alimak, this however is not used any more. The system of today is that the empty bins are collected and put on a pallet to be sent to the main storage for refilling. The problem with this is that the workers did not take the bins when they were empty but rather went to a different storage to look there. This meant that the material sometimes got totally emptied at all racks before the bins were sent to refilling. This made for urgent needs where workers had to go to the storage themselves to get something refilled. Another problem was that these storages were placed behind the fixed stations which made them hard to get to and see. The bins used in today’s system were not all marked the same way and an old system for numbering was still partly used. The bigger storages were divided so that one should have the stainless material and the other should have the galvanized/zinc-coated material. This together with the other aspects made it hard to know where the bins should be and sometimes all bins of one kind was put in the same rack.   To fix these problems different suggestions were made. The use of a two-bin system has been suggested because of its simplicity and the potential it has to avoid a lack of material to arise. The two racks of today should be combined into one and moved to a more visible place. This would make the refilling easier and reduce the need to search for material at different places. Two general layouts have been developed, and the open layout has been suggested to be implemented because of the accessibility it would bring to the system. The approximate size of the rack and bins needed have been put forward and different suggestion for order in the rack has been made. The marking of the bins and rack has also been discussed and this should be made distinct so it is easy to see and read.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-71).<br>This thesis focuses on the application of the principles of lean manufacturing at Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (VSEA). The company faces the challenges of highly customized assembly as well as fluctuating demand, both of which cause lead times that are longer than expected. Value Stream Mapping was used to identify the main sources of waste in the VSEA manufacturing plant. After evaluating all factors contributing to longer cycle times, it was found that one of the main problems encountered by VSEA was unorganized presentation of raw material to the shop floor. Using the 5S methodology, a framework was created to appropriately categorize the raw material into smaller groups, and deliver them to the flow line according to Just-in-Time (JIT) principles. After the new presentation method for raw material is implemented, the cycle time will be reduced by 6% due to the elimination of the non value added activity from the process. In addition, the first steps toward kaizen process improvement will be in place.<br>by Moojan Daneshmand.<br>M.Eng.

The effects of the mode of presentation and the preconceived degree of difficulty on the retention of academic content material were measured. The design of the experiment was a 6 x 3 x 2 split-plot factorial. The levels for the mode of presentation were: (a) print-only, (b) pictorial-plus-print, (c) audio only, (d) pictorial-plus-audio, (e) print-plus-audio, and (f) pictorial-plus-print-plus-audio. The levels for the preconceived degree of difficulty were: (a) very easy, (b) neutral, and (c) very difficult. The participants were 112 undergraduate students (24 males, 88 females) randomly assigned to the experimental conditions. The dependent variables were the immediate and delayed retention of content material measured through the use of four criterion tests: a drawing test, an identification test, a terminology test, and a comprehension test. Results for the univariate split-plot ANOVA of the total scores showed that the main effects of mode and preconceived degree of difficulty were found to be significant. All four predicted differences between means were not statistically significant. Only one of the three hypotheses of no significant difference was supported--the hypothesis of no significant difference between the pictorial-plus-print-plus-audio condition and the pictorial-plus-audio condition. No significant mean differences between the easy, neutral, and difficult conditions were found, although there was a significant main effect and the means for these conditions were ordered such that the more difficult the content material was perceived, the lesser was the ability to retain such material. Multivariate analysis of the immediate and delayed tests showed that the major factors contributing to the significant effect of mode were the drawing and identification tests, but subsequent multiple comparison tests did not show significant support for any predictions. For the identification test, a significant main effect for mode showed that the pictorial-plus-audio and pictorial-plus-print-plus audio means were significantly superior to the audio only mean.

Holmen Paper Braviken har nyligen ändrat sitt produktutbud till viss del, deras kundkrets kommer därför förändras. Braviken vill uppdatera det presentationsmaterial som används vid kundbesök för att skapa en mer intressantväckande känsla samt kunna fokusera sin kommunikation på de delar som anses mer viktiga. Syftet med det här arbetet var att undersöka hur olika utformningar av informationsgrafik kan påverka intressenternas upplevelse av presentationsmaterial. Detta görs för att ta reda på om en annan typ av grafik kan uppnå det Braviken vill förmedla. För att kunna besvara detta syfte är tre stycken frågeställningar formulerade. Ett antal undersökningar som ämnar svara på frågeställningarna genomfördes och litteratur inom området samlades in. Först samlades litteratur in, sedan data från uppdragsgivaren och sist gjordes en fokusgrupp för att se vad respondenterna tyckte om den nya respektive den gamla grafiken. Då undersökningarna var avklarade och datan sammanställd och analyserad kunde en slutsats dras som även diskuterades. Utformningen har stor inverkan på upplevelsen, vilken utformning som ansågs bra berodde dock på vilken typ av användningsområde som respondenterna i fokusgruppen diskuterade. Detta tyder på att det finns rum för ytterligare studier inom området för Braviken. Det var möjligt att ta fram ett antal punkter som Braviken böra ta hänsyn till under skapandet av presentationsmaterial, dessa är: • Naturlig och verklighetstrogen färgsättning ökar förståelse och intresse. • Enkelhet uppskattas till en viss grad, den får inte inverka negativt på förståelsen. • Användningsområde styr utformning, a) Beskärning kan vara uppskattat vid utförliga muntliga presentationer b) Ramar är överlag alltid uppskattat c) Formen på ramar styrs av hur bilden ska användas, till exempel om illustrationerna skall vara klickbara uppskattas en bekant form. • Indikatorer för läsriktning bör användas med försiktighet då dessa lätt kan bli störande moment. • Uppfattningen av materialet kan påverkas om det presenteras i samband med ett muntligt framförande. Då den här studien var väldigt inriktad på ett specifikt fall är den svår att generalisera. Det går dock att applicera samma grund på andra studier, till viss del. Det är möjligt att undersöka huruvida eller till vilken grad resultaten i den här studien stämmer överens med lösningar för andra företag. Det kan gälla liknande företag inom samma bransch, företag över en viss storlek eller liknande.

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to propose a framework for standardized workstations with focus on operators work activities and material presentation on a mixed-model assembly line. In order to fulfill the purpose, it was decomposed into three research questions: Research question 1: What problems in existing manual workstations can be identified, regarding work activities and material presentation? Research question 2: What can be considered regarding operators' work activities in creation of standardized workstations for a mixed-model assembly line? Research question 3: What can facilitate the work performance and ergonomics of operators when designing material presentation for standardized workstations for a mixed-model assembly line? Methodology – This study was carried out inductively through analysis of empirical data from a case study against existing theories from a literature study. Theories were in the areas of mixed-model assembly line, workstation design, material presentation, work activities, ergonomics and human aspect, and standardization and flexibility. To gather empirical data, a document study, observations and interviews were conducted at one case company. Findings – The study resulted in a framework for work activities and material presentation in standardized workstations on a mixed-model assembly line within the perspectives of ergonomics, standardization and non-value-added work. Results indicated on decreased efficiency if the involvement of human factor and standardization were insufficient in the workstation design, by increased non-value- added work and decreased ergonomics. Implications – The proposed framework intended to support companies to merge assembly lines into a mixed-model assembly line with low automation. Limitations – The framework in this study only focused on workstations' workactivities and material presentation. Workstations are linked to more than these two areas therefore should more areas be included in merging assembly lines. This framework had the perspectives of ergonomics, standardization and non-value-added work, more perspectives should be considered in a merger.

The eighteenth century saw the slow but steady rise of the middling classes to their nineteenth century social and cultural prominence, reinforced by a changing political landscape and the steadily increasing importance of the market. As the social and cultural power of the city burghers making up the majority of the middling classes grew, so did they start to consume in a manner to reflect to their new status in society. The question that arises then is more exactly how this group consumed, what types of objects that became important and what type of status that became the most paramount. Since status and social groups can differ greatly between both times and places, focus of this investigation is the burgher elite of Stockholm, the social, economical, and cultural centre of Sweden during the whole of the early modern era. By using a combination of Bourdieu's capital theories and Erving Goffman's theories on the presentation of self the inventories of fourteen elite burgher households has been analysed in order to investigate how these individuals constructed their home to present their own perceived social and cultural status. Through a thorough and theoretical investigation of these early modern front regions it can be revealed that the traditional representations of cultural capital, the main form of symbolic status capital, such as paintings and books, albeit important, constituted but a minor part of the capital presentation in the home. Instead it appears as if the most important status capital is presented through sociability, the ability to host social events or, if that option is unavailable, attend social events. Objects with the express function of sociability, such as tea- and dinner-ware, together with chairs, tables, and fashionable interior decoration suggests that sociability indeed stood at the forefront for the presentation of status for the late eighteenth century Stockholm burgher. At the same time, fashionability appears to have been extremely important, with almost all of the investigated households going to great lengths to stay up to date with the most recent trends in both furniture, colours, literature, and china. Much more research is however needed in order to really understand the structures of status and how it was expressed during the early modern times, and especially comparative studies between estate borders is needed in order to understand the status relations between social groups and how this affected status presentations.

Modern manufacturing systems seem to be shifting from mass production to mass customisation, which means that systems must be able to manage changes in customer demands and requirements, new technology as well as environmental demands. This in turn leads to an increase in product variants that need to be assembled. To handle this issue, well designed and presented information is vital for assembly workers to perform effective and accurate assembly tasks. In this thesis the main focus has been to find factors that affect human performance in manual assembly. A literature review was made on the subject of manufacturing and usability as well as basic cognitive abilities used to utilise information, such as memory. This investigation identified applicable factors for assessing human cognitive performance within the research field of manufacturing. The thesis further investigates how some of these factors are handled in manual assembly, using case studies as well as observational studies. The results show that how material and information are presented to the assembler needs to be considered in order to have a positive effect on the assembly operation. In addition, a full factorial experimental study was conducted to investigate different ways of presenting material and information at the workstation while using mixed assembly mode with product variants. The material presentation factor involved the use of a material rack compared to using an unstructured kit as well as a structured kit and the information presentation factor involved using a text and number instruction compared to a photograph instruction. The results showed that using a kit is favourable compared to the traditional material rack, especially when using a structured kit combined with photographic instruction. Furthermore, the use of unstructured kits can lead to better productivity and reduced perceived workload, compared to a material rack. Although they are perhaps not as good as using a structured kit, they most likely bring a lower cost, such as man-hour consumption and space requirements. However, the number of components in an unstructured kit needs to be considered in order to keep it on a manageable level. As a conclusion, several scenarios were developed in order to understand how different assembly settings can be used in order to improve human performance at the assembly workstation.

This study investigates whether the current lack of structure of internal control weakness disclosures (a narrative about the reliability of the financial reporting system) leads nonprofessional investors to make differential investment decisions. Using the non-accelerated filer (smaller public company) setting, where nonprofessional investors are likely to consume unaudited internal control reports in their investing judgments and decisions, I examine two facets of internal control disclosure formats: presentation salience and disaggregation of material weaknesses. A 2 x 2 between-participants behavioral experiment was conducted with internal control presentation salience (bulleted vs. in-text) and disaggregation level (a single material weakness vs. a combination of multiple control deficiencies that is a material weakness). I find that nonprofessional investors reward companies that disclose internal control weaknesses more saliently. The results also indicate that disaggregation interacts with salience in that it increases the effect of salience on investing judgments such that salient (stealth) disclosure of a combination of control deficiencies is viewed more positively (negatively) than salient (stealth) disclosure of a material weakness. These findings are contrary to Rennekamp (2012) who finds that processing fluency in bad news leads to more negative investment judgements. Additional analyses indicated that the results related to management trust and credibility are consistent with prior literature. The findings contribute to academia and practice by shedding light on the importance that needs to be placed on the presentation format of internal control disclosures.

Les cellules iNKT (de l’anglais invariant Natural Killer T) constituent un sous-type particulier de lymphocytes T caractérisé par un profil de type inné. Ces cellules répondent rapidement à des antigènes lipidiques et glycolipidique présentés par le CD1d, une glycoprotéine exprimée par les différentes cellules présentatrices d'antigène. Suite à l’activation, les cellules iNKT sont capables de produire de grandes quantités de cytokines anti-inflammatoires et pro-inflammatoires et elles sont impliquées dans différentes maladies, telles que l'allergie, l'auto-immunité, le cancer et les infections, parmi lesquelles la leishmaniose. Les parasites protozoaires de les espèces Leishmania sont les agents causaux de la leishmaniose, une maladie tropicale négligée dont la manifestation la plus grave affecte les organes viscéraux et qui peut être mortelle si elle n'est pas traitée. Le succès de l'infection dépend de la capacité du parasite à maitriser la réponse immunitaire de l'hôte. Récemment, quelques groupes, y compris le nôtre, ont observé que les parasites Leishmania libèrent des vésicules extracellulaires (VE). Les VE sont formées par une bicouche membranaire lipidique, contenant des lipides, des protéines et du matériel génétique et elles peuvent transmettre des molécules dérivées des pathogènes aux cellules hôte sans contact direct entre les cellules. Les VE produites par les parasites Leishmania et aussi par d’autres protozoaires ont été associés à des effets pro-parasite car elles favorisent un environnement plus permissif à l'établissement de l'infection. Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié l'effet du matériel extracellulaire (ME), correspondant aux VE et aux molécules non-associées aux VE, libéré par les promastigotes de L. infantum sur les cellules iNKT. Dans le début de ce travail, il a été observé que le ME de L. infantum empêche l'expansion ex-vivo des cellules iNKT humaines à partir de cellules mononucléaires du sang périphérique. Cela a mis en évidence la communication entre les cellules iNKT et le ME de L. infantum, ce qui a été exploré par la suite. Le ME de L. infantum module la capacité très importante des cellules iNKT à produire des cytokines. En effet, le ME de L. infantum empêche la production des différentes cytokines par les cellules iNKT, comme par exemple IL-4 et IFNγ. De plus, nous avons aussi démontré que le ME de L. infantum compète avec l’α-GalCer, un agoniste très puissant des cellules iNKT, pour la liaison à la molécule CD1d, ce qui justifie l’effet inhibiteur dans l'activation des cellules iNKT. Nous avons aussi montré que les lipides qui sont présents dans chaque fraction du ME de L. infantum ont un rôle très important dans l’inhibition de l'activation et l'expansion des cellules iNKT. Ainsi, le ME de L. infantum, par ces lipides, peut participer à l’altération de l’activation des cellules iNKT dépendante du CD1d. Cela ajoute une nouvelle évidence de la contribution du ME de L. infantum dans la subversion de la réponse immunitaire de l’hôte. La communication entre le ME libéré par un pathogène et les cellules iNKT a été étudié pour la première fois, ce qui a suggéré un mécanisme de modulation de ces cellules qui n’avait jamais été décrit. Ce travail ouvre des perspectives pour l'étude de l'interaction de ME libéré par d'autres pathogènes avec des cellules iNKT. De plus, l'analyse des lipides contenus dans le ME de L. infantum pourra aboutir à la découverte de nouvelles molécules spécifiques pour inhiber les cellules iNKT. Cela apporterait des avantages significatifs dans les approches cliniques ciblant la modulation de l'activation des cellules iNKT<br>The invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells constitute a particular subset of T lymphocytes characterized by an innate-like profile. These cells rapidly respond to lipid and glycolipid antigens bound by the glycoprotein CD1d expressed by different antigen presenting cells. Once activated, they release large amounts of anti- and proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, iNKT cells are endowed with a remarkable immunomodulatory potential and they have been implicated in different disorders, such as allergy, autoimmunity, cancer and infection, among which is leishmaniasis. Leishmania spp. are a group of protozoan parasites that includes the causative agents of leishmaniasis. This is a neglected tropical disease in which the most severe form of manifestation affects visceral organs and could be fatal if left untreated. Importantly, the success of Leishmania infection relies on the capacity of the parasite to subvert host immune responses. Recently, a few groups, including ours, observed that Leishmania parasites release extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are vesicles formed by a lipid bilayer membrane, containing other lipids, proteins and genetic material on their surface as well as in their lumen. Due to their potential to transmit messages between pathogens and host cells without a direct cell contact, they have been a focus of great interest regarding infection. EVs derived from Leishmania and other protozoan parasites have been associated with pro-parasite effects, by creating a more permissive environment to the establishment of the infection. Herein, we studied the effect of the extracellular material (ExM), which encloses both EVs and vesicle-depleted material, released by L. infantum promastigotes in iNKT cells. In the first steps of this work, it was observed that L. infantum ExM is capable of impairing the expansion of human iNKT cells ex vivo from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This evidenced the cross-talk between iNKT cells and L. infantum ExM that we explored further. L. infantum ExM also modulates the important capacity of iNKT cells to release cytokines, impairing the production of different cytokines, such as IL-4 and IFNγ by these cells. Furthermore, we also show that L. infantum ExM competes with α-GalCer, a potent iNKT cell agonist, for CD1d binding, which justifies its effect in the impairment of iNKT cell activation. Additionally, we also proved the lipids present in each fraction of L. infantum ExM take an important role in the inhibition of iNKT cell activation and expansion. Thus, L. infantum ExM, through their lipids, is suggested to participate in the impairment of CD1d-mediated activation of iNKT cells, adding a new evidence regarding the contribution of the parasite ExM to subvert host immune responses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the cross-talk between the ExM released by a microbe and iNKT cells was assessed, shedding light on a mechanism of iNKT cell modulation that remained unexplored so far. This opens new perspectives regarding the study of the interaction of the ExM released by other pathogens with iNKT cells. Moreover, a further analysis of the lipid content of L. infantum ExM might allow the finding of new inhibitory molecules specific to iNKT cells, which can bring significant advantages in clinical approaches targeting the modulation of iNKT cell activation

Les cellules iNKT (de l’anglais invariant Natural Killer T) constituent un sous-type particulier de lymphocytes T caractérisé par un profil de type inné. Ces cellules répondent rapidement à des antigènes lipidiques et glycolipidique présentés par le CD1d, une glycoprotéine exprimée par les différentes cellules présentatrices d'antigène. Suite à l’activation, les cellules iNKT sont capables de produire de grandes quantités de cytokines anti-inflammatoires et pro-inflammatoires et elles sont impliquées dans différentes maladies, telles que l'allergie, l'auto-immunité, le cancer et les infections, parmi lesquelles la leishmaniose. Les parasites protozoaires de les espèces Leishmania sont les agents causaux de la leishmaniose, une maladie tropicale négligée dont la manifestation la plus grave affecte les organes viscéraux et qui peut être mortelle si elle n'est pas traitée. Le succès de l'infection dépend de la capacité du parasite à maitriser la réponse immunitaire de l'hôte. Récemment, quelques groupes, y compris le nôtre, ont observé que les parasites Leishmania libèrent des vésicules extracellulaires (VE). Les VE sont formées par une bicouche membranaire lipidique, contenant des lipides, des protéines et du matériel génétique et elles peuvent transmettre des molécules dérivées des pathogènes aux cellules hôte sans contact direct entre les cellules. Les VE produites par les parasites Leishmania et aussi par d’autres protozoaires ont été associés à des effets pro-parasite car elles favorisent un environnement plus permissif à l'établissement de l'infection. Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié l'effet du matériel extracellulaire (ME), correspondant aux VE et aux molécules non-associées aux VE, libéré par les promastigotes de L. infantum sur les cellules iNKT. Dans le début de ce travail, il a été observé que le ME de L. infantum empêche l'expansion ex-vivo des cellules iNKT humaines à partir de cellules mononucléaires du sang périphérique. Cela a mis en évidence la communication entre les cellules iNKT et le ME de L. infantum, ce qui a été exploré par la suite. Le ME de L. infantum module la capacité très importante des cellules iNKT à produire des cytokines. En effet, le ME de L. infantum empêche la production des différentes cytokines par les cellules iNKT, comme par exemple IL-4 et IFNγ. De plus, nous avons aussi démontré que le ME de L. infantum compète avec l’α-GalCer, un agoniste très puissant des cellules iNKT, pour la liaison à la molécule CD1d, ce qui justifie l’effet inhibiteur dans l'activation des cellules iNKT. Nous avons aussi montré que les lipides qui sont présents dans chaque fraction du ME de L. infantum ont un rôle très important dans l’inhibition de l'activation et l'expansion des cellules iNKT. Ainsi, le ME de L. infantum, par ces lipides, peut participer à l’altération de l’activation des cellules iNKT dépendante du CD1d. Cela ajoute une nouvelle évidence de la contribution du ME de L. infantum dans la subversion de la réponse immunitaire de l’hôte. La communication entre le ME libéré par un pathogène et les cellules iNKT a été étudié pour la première fois, ce qui a suggéré un mécanisme de modulation de ces cellules qui n’avait jamais été décrit. Ce travail ouvre des perspectives pour l'étude de l'interaction de ME libéré par d'autres pathogènes avec des cellules iNKT. De plus, l'analyse des lipides contenus dans le ME de L. infantum pourra aboutir à la découverte de nouvelles molécules spécifiques pour inhiber les cellules iNKT. Cela apporterait des avantages significatifs dans les approches cliniques ciblant la modulation de l'activation des cellules iNKT<br>The invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells constitute a particular subset of T lymphocytes characterized by an innate-like profile. These cells rapidly respond to lipid and glycolipid antigens bound by the glycoprotein CD1d expressed by different antigen presenting cells. Once activated, they release large amounts of anti- and proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, iNKT cells are endowed with a remarkable immunomodulatory potential and they have been implicated in different disorders, such as allergy, autoimmunity, cancer and infection, among which is leishmaniasis. Leishmania spp. are a group of protozoan parasites that includes the causative agents of leishmaniasis. This is a neglected tropical disease in which the most severe form of manifestation affects visceral organs and could be fatal if left untreated. Importantly, the success of Leishmania infection relies on the capacity of the parasite to subvert host immune responses. Recently, a few groups, including ours, observed that Leishmania parasites release extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are vesicles formed by a lipid bilayer membrane, containing other lipids, proteins and genetic material on their surface as well as in their lumen. Due to their potential to transmit messages between pathogens and host cells without a direct cell contact, they have been a focus of great interest regarding infection. EVs derived from Leishmania and other protozoan parasites have been associated with pro-parasite effects, by creating a more permissive environment to the establishment of the infection. Herein, we studied the effect of the extracellular material (ExM), which encloses both EVs and vesicle-depleted material, released by L. infantum promastigotes in iNKT cells. In the first steps of this work, it was observed that L. infantum ExM is capable of impairing the expansion of human iNKT cells ex vivo from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This evidenced the cross-talk between iNKT cells and L. infantum ExM that we explored further. L. infantum ExM also modulates the important capacity of iNKT cells to release cytokines, impairing the production of different cytokines, such as IL-4 and IFNγ by these cells. Furthermore, we also show that L. infantum ExM competes with α-GalCer, a potent iNKT cell agonist, for CD1d binding, which justifies its effect in the impairment of iNKT cell activation. Additionally, we also proved the lipids present in each fraction of L. infantum ExM take an important role in the inhibition of iNKT cell activation and expansion. Thus, L. infantum ExM, through their lipids, is suggested to participate in the impairment of CD1d-mediated activation of iNKT cells, adding a new evidence regarding the contribution of the parasite ExM to subvert host immune responses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the cross-talk between the ExM released by a microbe and iNKT cells was assessed, shedding light on a mechanism of iNKT cell modulation that remained unexplored so far. This opens new perspectives regarding the study of the interaction of the ExM released by other pathogens with iNKT cells. Moreover, a further analysis of the lipid content of L. infantum ExM might allow the finding of new inhibitory molecules specific to iNKT cells, which can bring significant advantages in clinical approaches targeting the modulation of iNKT cell activation

Active Approaches provide chances for individual, comprehension-oriented learning and can facilitate the acquirement of general mathematical competencies. Using the example of pinboards, which were developed for different areas of the secondary level, workshop participants experience, discuss and further develop learning tasks, which can be used for free activities, for material based concept formation, for coping with heterogeneity, for intelligent exercises, as tool for the presentation of students’ work and as basis for games. The material also allows some continuous movements and can thus prepare an insightful usage of dynamic geometry programs. Central Part of the workshop is a work-sharing group work with learning tasks for grades 5 to 8. The workshop will close with a discussion of general aspects of material-based learning.

Despite significant efforts have been directed toward reducing waste generation and encouraging alternative waste management strategies, landfills still remain the main option for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal in many countries. Hence, landfills and related impacts on the surroundings are still current issues throughout the world. Actually, the major concerns are related to the potential emissions of leachate and landfill gas into the environment, that pose a threat to public health, surface and groundwater pollution, soil contamination and global warming effects. To ensure environmental protection and enhance landfill sustainability, modern sanitary landfills are equipped with several engineered systems with different functions. For instance, the installation of containment systems, such as bottom liner and multi-layers capping systems, is aimed at reducing leachate seepage and water infiltration into the landfill body as well as gas migration, while eventually mitigating methane emissions through the placement of active oxidation layers (biocovers). Leachate collection and removal systems are designed to minimize water head forming on the bottom section of the landfill and consequent seepages through the liner system. Finally, gas extraction and utilization systems, allow to recover energy from landfill gas while reducing explosion and fire risks associated with methane accumulation, even though much depends on gas collection efficiency achieved in the field (range: 60-90% Spokas et al., 2006; Huitric and Kong, 2006). Hence, impacts on the surrounding environment caused by the polluting substances released from the deposited waste through liquid and gas emissions can be potentially mitigated by a proper design of technical barriers and collection/extraction systems at the landfill site. Nevertheless, the long-term performance of containment systems to limit the landfill emissions is highly uncertain and is strongly dependent on site-specific conditions such as climate, vegetative covers, containment systems, leachate quality and applied stress. Furthermore, the design and operation of leachate collection and treatment systems, of landfill gas extraction and utilization projects, as well as the assessment of appropriate methane reduction strategies (biocovers), require reliable emission forecasts for the assessment of system feasibility and to ensure environmental compliance. To this end, landfill simulation models can represent an useful supporting tool for a better design of leachate/gas collection and treatment systems and can provide valuable information for the evaluation of best options for containment systems depending on their performances under the site-specific conditions. The capability in predicting future emissions levels at a landfill site can also be improved by combining simulation models with field observations at full-scale landfills and/or with experimental studies resembling landfill conditions. Indeed, this kind of data may allow to identify the main parameters and processes governing leachate and gas generation and can provide useful information for model refinement. In view of such need, the present research study was initially addressed to develop a new landfill screening model that, based on simplified mathematical and empirical equations, provides quantitative estimation of leachate and gas production over time, taking into account for site-specific conditions, waste properties and main landfill characteristics and processes. In order to evaluate the applicability of the developed model and the accuracy of emissions forecast, several simulations on four full-scale landfills, currently in operative management stage, were carried out. The results of these case studies showed a good correspondence of leachate estimations with monthly trend observed in the field and revealed that the reliability of model predictions is strongly influenced by the quality of input data. In particular, the initial waste moisture content and the waste compression index, which are usually data not available from a standard characterisation, were identified as the key unknown parameters affecting leachate production. Furthermore, the applicability of the model to closed landfills was evaluated by simulating different alternative capping systems and by comparing the results with those returned by the Hydrological Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP), which is the most worldwide used model for comparative analysis of composite liner systems. Despite the simplified approach of the developed model, simulated values of infiltration and leakage rates through the analysed cover systems were in line with those of HELP. However, it should be highlighted that the developed model provides an assessment of leachate and biogas production only from a quantitative point of view. The leachate and biogas composition was indeed not included in the forecast model, as strongly linked to the type of waste that makes the prediction in a screening phase poorly representative of what could be expected in the field. Hence, for a qualitative analysis of leachate and gas emissions over time, a laboratory methodology including different type of lab-scale tests was applied to a particular waste material. Specifically, the research was focused on mechanically biologically treated (MBT) wastes which, after the introduction of the European Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC (European Commission, 1999) that imposes member states to dispose of in landfills only wastes that have been preliminary subjected to treatment, are becoming the main flow waste landfilled in new Italian facilities. However, due to the relatively recent introduction of the MBT plants within the waste management system, very few data on leachate and gas emissions from MBT waste in landfills are available and, hence, the current knowledge mainly results from laboratory studies. Nevertheless, the assessment of the leaching characteristics of MBT materials and the evaluation of how the environmental conditions may affect the heavy metals mobility are still poorly investigated in literature. To gain deeper insight on the fundamental mechanisms governing the constituents release from MBT wastes, several leaching experiments were performed on MBT samples collected from an Italian MBT plant and the experimental results were modelled to obtain information on the long-term leachate emissions. Namely, a combination of experimental leaching tests were performed on fully-characterized MBT waste samples and the effect of different parameters, mainly pH and liquid to solid ratio (L/S,) on the compounds release was investigated by combining pH static-batch test, pH dependent tests and dynamic up-flow column percolation experiments. The obtained results showed that, even though MBT wastes were characterized by relatively high heavy metals content, only a limited amount was actually soluble and thus bioavailable. Furthermore, the information provided by the different tests highlighted the existence of a strong linear correlation between the release pattern of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and several metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, V, Zn), suggesting that complexation to DOC is the leaching controlling mechanism of these elements. Thus, combining the results of batch and up-flow column percolation tests, partition coefficients between DOC and metals concentration were derived. These data, coupled with a simplified screening model for DOC release, allowed to get a very good prediction of metal release during the experiments and may provide useful indications for the evaluation of long-term emissions from this type of waste in a landfill disposal scenario. In order to complete the study on the MBT waste environmental behaviour, gas emissions from MBT waste were examined by performing different anaerobic tests. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential gas generation capacity of wastes and to assess possible implications on gas generation resulting from the different environmental conditions expected in the field. To this end, anaerobic batch tests were performed at a wide range of water contents (26-43 %w/w up to 75 %w/w on wet weight) and temperatures (from 20-25 °C up to 55 °C) in order to simulate different landfill management options (dry tomb or bioreactor landfills). In nearly all test conditions, a quite long lag-phase was observed (several months) due to the inhibition effects resulting from high concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and ammonia that highlighted a poor stability degree of the analysed material. Furthermore, experimental results showed that the initial waste water content is the key factor limiting the anaerobic biological process. Indeed, when the waste moisture was lower than 32 %w/w the methanogenic microbial activity was completely inhibited. Overall, the obtained results indicated that the operative conditions drastically affect the gas generation from MBT waste, in terms of both gas yield and generation rate. This suggests that particular caution should be paid when using the results of lab-scale tests for the evaluation of long-term behaviour expected in the field, where the boundary conditions change continuously and vary significantly depending on the climate, the landfill operative management strategies in place (e.g. leachate recirculation, waste disposal methods), the hydraulic characteristics of buried waste, the presence and type of temporary and final cover systems.

碩士<br>國立交通大學<br>理學院網路學習碩士在職專班<br>93<br>MathPS is a PowerPoint system platform with the function of picture-drawing and interactive design, requiring a minimum of information skill and the most popular software, providing teachers with a way to prepare materials and class instruction, in order to overcome the deficiency in digital technology. The system is easy to learn, with great pinpointing function and can be used as a demonstration platform for teachers in working as well as in teaching. This thesis discusses how to design mathematical digital teaching materials on a mathematical PowerPoint system, introducing the idea of teaching materials design, proceeds with primitive research, and summaries some principles of demonstrating teaching materials, such as, structure, layers, steps, association, comparability, interactivity, randomicity, pinpointing. Visual and live effect can be improved if the principles are used moderately on the right occasion, with different modes of teaching material demonstration. The thesis will also demonstrate the teaching modes whose designs are based on those principles.

Control oriented local area networks (COLANs) are being installed in factories at an increasing rate. Traditionally, process control has operated with a master scheduler (computer) monitoring a number of points in a control grid. As the complexity of today's process control needs grow, the need to process information locally increases. Microcontrollers, networked with a master scheduler, can collect data from a locus of points and make decisions as to whether the master needs to be notified or not. By processing data locally, memory and execution time are freed up for the master scheduler. Task implementation becomes modular in nature, resulting in process control software that is easier to write, and maintain. This structure is the basis for COLAN V, a low cost, real-time, distributed control network developed at Oregon State University. COLAN V was used as the foundation for the creation of a multi-media presentation system. Six microcontrollers were networked together to remotely control the operation of projectors, projector screens, and lighting. Based on the application the master scheduler was replaced by a tape player. This allowed the storage of the audio part of the presentation on one track of the tape and the storage of the synchronized control signals on the other track. This distributed control network supplied a low cost solution to a need that was not addressed by the commercial market at any price.<br>Graduation date: 1992

碩士<br>佛光大學<br>資訊應用學系<br>103<br>Based on Cognitive Load Theory, this study mainly explored the effects of presentation order of three-dimensional and two-dimensional instructional aids on students’ learning performance of star movements and on the perception of cognitive load. The study adopted a single factor experimental design. The participants were 70 fourth and fifth graders of an elementary school in Yi-lan County. They were randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups. The independent variable was "the presentation order of 3D and 2D instructional aids", including “the planisphere followed by the 3D transparent sky simulator hemisphere” and “the 3D transparent sky simulator hemisphere followed by the planisphere”. The learning content was the same for both groups, except that in one group, the 2D instructional aid (planisphere) was used before the 3D instructional aid (3D transparent sky simulator hemisphere) with the astronomy teaching software “Stellarium”. But in the other group, the presentation order was the opposite. The dependent variables were the learning performance (three immediate tests) and the percetion of cognitive load (the level of perceived difficulty, effort devoted, concentration, understanding, and effort needed). The content was about the concept of stars rising in the east and setting the west. The learning objective was to forecast and mark the star positions on the planisphere. In each period, the questionnaire of cognitive load was given right after learning, and then the immediate test was taken. The results of the study were as follows: (A) Learning performance: There were significant differences in the second and third immediate tests between the two groups. That is, the performance of "the 3D transparent sky simulator hemisphere followed by the planisphere" group was superior to "the planisphere followed by the 3D transparent sky simulator hemisphere " group. (B) Cognitive load: There were no significant differences between the two groups in the five indicators of cognitive load, that is, the level of difficulty, effort devoted, concentration, understanding and effort needed.

碩士<br>世新大學<br>傳播管理學研究所(含碩專班)<br>96<br>As the rise of an E-learning trend, studies of forms of Internet teaching material’s multiple media presentation have also been increasingly popular. Thus, how to enhance IT education effect, find out the factors of adult learner’s phobia towards IT learning and reinforce E-learning efficiency through multi-presentation of Internet teaching material combining new and old media with Hyperlink function have become a crucial issue required to be concerned by related teachers, teaching material designer and learners. 　　Based on the course of “E-learning and information literacy” on the Distance Learning website of National Open University, the study analyses and elicits 15 forms of Internet teaching material’s presentation. At the same time, by using the concept of ladder stretch work, 15 adult learners studying in the class were interviewed, and the following results have been concluded. 　　First of all, in terms of cognition design, using “Hyperlink” design with interactive interface may effectively draw learner’s attention. On the other hand, by combining the Internet interactive interface with another kind of media, learner’s learning effect can be enhanced. In the aspect of affection design, adding “Audio” to production of Internet teaching material may facilitate learner’s comprehension. A dynamic briefing using “Text” with audio may effectively stimulate learner’s learning interest. The teaching material presented in the form of “Audio and Visual Stream” may connect learners’ past experiences, in which learning process can be more effective if giving outline-type character description as the complementary tool. Also, the progress of skills may be influenced by the degree of a learner’s involvement in the learning program, and learner’s acceptance of learning on Internet can also influence their skill learning desire. 　　Therefore, the design of forms of Internet teaching material’s presentation shall specifically connect with the teaching goals of respective courses. In so doing, the Internet teaching material can not only effectively help teachers lead learners make headway, but also help learners enhance their information literacy, so learners can gradually grow with their experience in E-learning.

博士<br>國立臺灣師範大學<br>美術學系<br>100<br>Creation is the presentation of an artist’s direct feelings and state of mind, which, by drawing on the canvas and visual sensation, gives one’s soul a sense of belongingness. Through their perception of the external scenery along with the composition, organization and application of different drawing elements, creators bring forth the objective truth in the scenery as observed before their eyes and express the “mind” in their hearts via the “image” they see. Painters do not only paint to portray objects, they do so in order to reflect their emotions via the objects. As the painted object is bestowed with artist’s own feelings, each painting’s uniqueness has become the essence of drawing. Artistic thinking determines depth of creation. Art appreciation of the aesthetics and the conception of oriental Zen have had huge impact on the presentation of oriental poetry and paintings. Even Western artists practicing abstract paintings and art in the 1950’s were influenced by oriental Zen. Therefore, through the transformation of Chinese Zen aesthetics and the development of Zen philosophy, this study and implementation practice will be attempting to discuss the process on how Buddhist Zen was introduced to China and turned into aesthetic Zen as well as the artistic thinking of Zen, as an effort to understand how Buddhist Zen is transformed to aesthetic Zen. Then from the development of image theory in Chinese classic aesthetics, “image”, “artistic conception” and the transformation of “turning scenery into emotion” will be analyzed. Via our ancestors’ rich discussions on aesthetics and examination of aesthetic conception, art appreciation in Chinese classic aesthetics is integrated. And using the studies related to the theories of the realization and emptiness of Zen aesthetics as well as the conception and emotion reflection in Chinese classic aesthetics, academic foundation of my own creation theory is firmly rooted. Moreover, this paper will also be attempting to analyze the impact that aesthetics and the conception of oriental Zen on the arts of East and West, especially those artists who used Western medium (oil painting) in their work. Lastly, I will present the results from my study and implementation. This paper is divided into six chapters: Chapter 1 – Introduction covers the discussion of the study’s motivation and goal, content and range of study, study methodology and steps. Chapter 2 – Transformation of Oriental Aesthetic Zen examines the beginning of Zen and its transformation into aesthetic Zen, from early development of Zen in China to the formation of aesthetic Zen. In Chapter 3 – Rotation of “Mind” and “State”, via our ancestors’ rich discussions on aesthetics and studies of aesthetic conception, from the development of image theory in Chinese classic aesthetics, “image”, “artistic conception” and the transformation of “turning scenery into emotion” are analyzed. Chapter 4 summarizes the development and characteristics of arts from the perspective on how Zen has influenced the arts in the East and West. Chapter 5 covers the layout of personal creative works and implementation of the study. And the final chapter is the Conclusion.

abstract: This action research study primarily examined how educative curriculum materials (i.e., curriculum materials that include supports for teacher learning) can improve a teacher’s knowledge base and ability to succeed in the classroom. The focus was on the impact of one type of educative curriculum material: PowerPoint presentations. Specifically, the study investigated if translating teacher’s manuals into digital presentations was valued by general education teachers responsible for teaching Engage NY math in kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. The study asked teacher participants to describe the impact (if any) of adding a digital presentation component to their lessons and investigated if they self-reported increased Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), which is a teacher’s understanding of how to help students understand specific subject matter. Using questionnaires, interviews, and field notes, the following research questions were examined: 1) How do teachers describe the impact that pre-made digital slide share presentations (i.e., PowerPoint presentations) have on lesson planning, preparation, and pacing and 2) What impact does translating teacher’s manuals into digital slide share presentations (i.e., PowerPoint presentations) have on teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge? Results indicate that teacher participants found the presentations to be helpful and positively impacted their lesson planning, preparation, and pacing, and improved their perception of their own abilities when presenting Engage NY math content.<br>Dissertation/Thesis<br>Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2019

Anotation: Špidlová, Z.: Clothing as a means for self-identification and self-representation and possible didactic applications of the theme in art education. [Diploma thesis] Prague, 2013 - Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education, Art education, 224 p. (Attachements: Diary and file documenting the art part of diploma thesis) This thesis examines the phenomenon of clothing, its semiotic function in the context of postmodern society and social aspects with emphasis on identification with a particular social group. The research brings knowledge about two groups, their clothing and social contexts. The groups are the costume culture of the Alto Minho in Portugal and the goth subculture. The results of the research are directly connected to the art part, the output of which is a clothing model combining elements of both of these groups. Didactic section presents findings on the diversity of interpretation of students from the seventh grade of basic school and the second year of middle school when dealing with the topic of identity and subculture applied on clothing. Key words: clothes, identity, self-presentation, self-identification, subculture, materials creation, postmodern society, art education

This diploma thesis deals with selection, design and creation of new education materials for high school teacher supporting webpage www.studiumchemie.cz. The selection of the proper theme was done on the basis of research and evaluation of recent materials on the mentioned webpage and materials created at the Department of chemical education of Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague. Preliminarily, the themes of synthetic macromolecular materials and new materials were selected. The convenience of the selected themes was confirmed by research and evaluation concerned to the preliminarily selected theme of recent high school textbooks and webpages. Consequently, educational materials in the form of PowerPoint presentations, websites, worksheets, tests, games and experiments focused on the themes of synthetic macromolecular substances and new materials were created. Materials were processed in accordance with the Framework Education Programme for Secondary General Education (Grammar Schools) as well as in accordance with the requirements of the Catalogue of graduation exam requirements from chemistry. The PowerPoint presentation and the webpage on synthetic macromolecular materials were roughly evaluated by group of teachers and the results of the evaluation are also part of the thesis....

碩士<br>國立高雄師範大學<br>華語文教學研究所<br>104<br>This study is a mixed methods research containing a questionnaire survey, experiment, and interview. The main purpose of this research is to find out whether the differences between hierarchical and annotating presentation styles for Chinese digital teaching materials have an influence on the reading comprehension of Chinese learners, and Chinese language teachers and learners’ opinions towards these two styles. Whereas the so-called hierarchical style provides a side navigator that is linked to different learning segments, such as vocabulary, grammar and text in a hierarchical order, the annotating style signals vocabulary and grammar in the text: upon clicking on the highlighted words, users can read the explanations. The content of the teaching materials in this research has been adapted from Taiwan today: An intermediate course. The researcher designed the two layouts and prepared the reading comprehension tests. After administering, the researcher collected the evaluating data and comments about the materials and the tests via an online survey, totaling 44 valid questionnaires. Upon correcting and adjusting the materials and tests according to the survey, the reading comprehension experiment was conducted along with interviews of 22 Chinese learners. The study found out that: (1). The hierarchical style performed best in the “operational functions” aspect of teaching material evaluation, and the differences of scores in this aspect between the hierarchical and annotating style reached the level of significance. (2). Most of the Chinese language teachers surveyed felt that the annotating style would be more helpful for learners in reading. However, many of them preferred to use the hierarchical style when actually teaching. (3). Learners performed better on the reading comprehension test after reading the teaching material in annotating style. The difference in scores reached the level of significance, suggesting that the presentation style does have an influence on the reading comprehension results of Chinese learners. However, this difference decreased in correlation with an increase in the difficulty of the teaching material content. (4). The feeling of effort for learners when reading materials in annotating style was lower. They also preferred to use materials in annotating style for studying Chinese, because the style proved less time consuming and more convenient to use.

Demonstrations are considered an important illustrative tool in chemistry education. Quite often teachers use demonstrations of experiments and multimedia demonstrations. Besides, "non-experimental" demonstrations might also be useful, such as material models and demonstrations based on macroscopic analogy that can be usually carried out only with household items and materials. This dissertation is especially aimed at selecting appropriate demonstrations, at their design, development and use of "non-experimental" demonstrations. Moreover, special attention was paid to the interdisciplinary demonstrations concerning the nanoworld, so called "nanodemonstrations". All "nanodemonstrations" presented are safe, cheap and rather timesaving. Furthermore, they can be carried out in a form of lecture and / or students' demonstration. Newly created as well as adopted (and modified) "nanodemonstrations" were collected into the Czech database of "nanodemonstrations". The database was additionally accompanied with following educational materials concerning "nano": two PowerPoint presentations, worksheets that supplement students' "nanodemonstrations" and worksheets with interdisciplinary tasks. This thesis also deals with the evaluation of "nanodemonstrations" and worksheets in secondary school classes. The...

An area scan colour camera was used to acquire images of single kernels of Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat from different growing locations (nine locations in the year 2007, eight locations in the years 2008 and 2009) in Western Canada. Two sample presentation methods were used. In the first method, fifteen kernels from a single location were imaged in a single image and in the second method one kernel from each location were imaged in the same image. Images of individual kernels of barley and rye were also acquired for a classification study. Bulk images of heaped and flat CWRS samples, heaped and flat barley samples, and images of CWRS wheat mixed with different proportion of foreign materials (0%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20% barley) were acquired. Morphological, colour, and textural features from single kernel images and colour and textural features from bulk grain images were extracted by a program developed by researchers at the Canadian Wheat Board Centre for Grain Storage Research. The top 30 features from the single kernel images of CWRS wheat samples from different growing locations and also different crop years were compared by Scheffe's test. Image features from two types of presentation methods were also compared. Representative of a composite sample which was generated by randomly selecting kernels from each location was compared with individual locations. Three-way classification of CWRS wheat, barley, and rye was done using the top 30 features. For bulk grain image analysis, features from flat bulk grain samples and heaped bulk grain samples were extracted and compared. Image features of CWRS wheat mixed with different percentages of barley were examined, and a cross-validation discriminant classifier was developed to classify CWRS wheat mixed with different percentages of barley. Classifications were also conducted using flat grain as training, flat and heaped grain in testing. Results from this study indicated that most image features from different growing locations and also different crop year samples had significant differences. However, these differences did not influence three-way classification of CWRS wheat, barley, and rye. Features from the composite sample were compared with those from each location. Composite sample features were different from each location. Hence composite samples may not be representative for all locations. However three-way classification using composite sample features gave similar results as in the case of using each location samples. Canada Western Red Spring wheat and barley samples were used in comparing the image features of flat grain and heaped grain. Results indicated that image features from flat grain were different from heaped grain samples. However a two-way classification applied to heaped and flat CWRS wheat, and also heaped and flat barley, gave perfect classification accuracies. Classification models trained using flat grain also gave perfect classification accuracies when tested using flat and heaped grain. A comparison of the top 30 features extracted from images of CWRS wheat mixed with different proportion of barley revealed that grain image features changed after mixing barley. In classification of CWRS wheat mixed with 0, 2, 5, 10, and 20% barley, classification accuracies of 100, 99, 96, 95, and 98% were obtained, respectively.

Topic: The Efficiency of Designing and Applying the Multimedia Study Materials in the Chemistry Instruction at Grammar schools (Transition Elements) Abstract Numerous researches prove, that the computer-supported learning content presentations are frequently applied within the process of instruction but the available results are general, global without focusing on respondents' age structure, detecting their interest in working with presentation programmes or correlation to teachers' computer literacy, i.e. using and designing their own computer-supported presentations of the learning content. These were the main reasons why the dissertation thesis focuses on the frequency of designing and using this type of presentations and multimedia objects according to the computer literacy level and the length of respondents' teaching practice in chemistry at grammar schools in the Czech Republic, mainly in the Moravian-Silesian region. The explorative methods were applied in the pedagogical research, i.e. the questionnaire method (traditional questionnaire and the questionnaire with assessment scales) and the Q-methodology. The research sample consists of 203 chemistry teachers in the traditional questionnaire and 99 ones in the questionnaire with assessment scales from all regions of the Czech Republic; the random...