A phonological and tonal analysis of Samue using Optimality Theory

The topic of the present doctoral dissertation is the analysis of the phonological and tonal structures of a previously largely undescribed language, namely Samue. It is a Gur language belonging to the Niger-Congo language phulym, which is spoken in Burkina Faso. The data were collected during the fieldwork period in a Sama village; the data include 1800 lexical items, thousands of elicited sentences and 30 oral texts. The data were first transcribed phonetically and then the phonological and tonal analyses were conducted. The results show that the phonological system of Samue with the phoneme inventory and phonological processes has the same characteristics as other related Gur languages, although some particularities were found, such as the voicing and lenition of stop consonants in medial positions. Tonal analysis revealed three level tones, which have both lexical and grammatical functions. A particularity of the tonal system is the regressive Mid tone spreading in the verb phrase. The theoretical framework used in the study is Optimality theory. Optimality theory is rarely used in the analysis of an entire language system, and thus an objective was to see whether the theory was applicable to this type of work. Within the tonal analysis especially, some language specific constraints had to be created, although the basic Optimality Theory principle is the universal nature of the constraints. These constraints define the well-formedness of the language structures and they are differently ranked in different languages. This study gives new insights about typological phenomena in Gur languages. It is also a fundamental starting point for the Samue language in relation to the establishment of an orthography. From the theoretical point of view, the study proves that Optimality theory is largely applicable in the analysis of an entire sound system.

Extreme Observables and Optimal Measurements in Quantum Theory

Optimization of quantum measurement processes has a pivotal role in carrying out better, more accurate or less disrupting, measurements and experiments on a quantum system. Especially, convex optimization, i.e., identifying the extreme points of the convex sets and subsets of quantum measuring devices plays an important part in quantum optimization since the typical figures of merit for measuring processes are affine functionals. In this thesis, we discuss results determining the extreme quantum devices and their relevance, e.g., in quantum-compatibility-related questions. Especially, we see that a compatible device pair where one device is extreme can be joined into a single apparatus essentially in a unique way. Moreover, we show that the question whether a pair of quantum observables can be measured jointly can often be formulated in a weaker form when some of the observables involved are extreme. Another major line of research treated in this thesis deals with convex analysis of special restricted quantum device sets, covariance structures or, in particular, generalized imprimitivity systems. Some results on the structure ofcovariant observables and instruments are listed as well as results identifying the extreme points of covariance structures in quantum theory. As a special case study, not published anywhere before, we study the structure of Euclidean-covariant localization observables for spin-0-particles. We also discuss the general form of Weyl-covariant phase-space instruments. Finally, certain optimality measures originating from convex geometry are introduced for quantum devices, namely, boundariness measuring how ‘close’ to the algebraic boundary of the device set a quantum apparatus is and the robustness of incompatibility quantifying the level of incompatibility for a quantum device pair by measuring the highest amount of noise the pair tolerates without becoming compatible. Boundariness is further associated to minimum-error discrimination of quantum devices, and robustness of incompatibility is shown to behave monotonically under certain compatibility-non-decreasing operations. Moreover, the value of robustness of incompatibility is given for a few special device pairs.

Explaining the intention to play and behavior of playing sports betting games of young Finnish adults : an application of the theory of planned behavior

The aim of this Master’s Thesis was to examine the determinants of intention and behavior of playing sports betting games in order to explain the intention to play in a more precise way and to be able to understand the behavior of playing. The theory of planned behavior was applied in explaining the intention of young Finnish adults aged 18 to 34. A quantitative research method was applied and an online survey was sent to the students of Lappeenranta University of Technology and to the subscribers of Urheilulehti in order to reach a sample that present the young population of Finland. The theory of the study focused on the theory of planned behavior and its antecedents, attitude towards behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control as well as motivation. By analyzing the data, causal relationships were found through which the explanation of intention was possible. The results showed that attitude towards playing, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and motivation impact the formation of intention significantly. The results also indicated that intention impacts significantly to the playing frequency.

A substantive theory of the realization of stroke patients’ dignity in hospital care

Dignity is seen important in health care context but considered as a controversial and complex concept. In health care context, it is described as being influenced by for example autonomy, respect, communication, privacy and hospital environment. Patient dignity is related to satisfaction with care, reduced stress, better confidence in health services, enhanced patient outcomes and shorter stay in a hospital. Stroke patients may struggle for dignity as being dependent on other people has impact on the patients’ self-image. In all, stroke patients are very specific patient group and considered vulnerable from emotional aspect. Therefore study findings from other patient groups in the area of ethical problems cannot be transferred to the stroke patients. This master’s thesis consists of two parts. The first part is the literature review of patients’ dignity in hospital care. The literature defined dignity and described factors promoting and reducing it. The results were ambiguous and thus a clear understanding was not able to create. That was the basis for the second part of the master’s thesis, the empirical study. This part aimed to develop theoretical construction to explore the realization of stroke patients’ dignity in hospital care. The data of the second part was collected by interviewing 16 stroke patients and analyzed using the constant comparison of Grounded Theory. The result was ‘The Theory of Realization of Stroke Patients’ Dignity in Hospital Care’ which is described not only in this master’s thesis but also as a scientific article. The theory consists of the core category, four generic elements and five specific types on realization. The core category emerged as ‘dignity in a new situation’. After a stroke, dignity is defined in a new way which is influenced by the generic elements: life history, health history, individuality and a stroke. Stroke patient’s dignity is realized through five specific types on realization: person related dignity type, control related dignity type, independence related dignity type, social related dignity type and care related dignity type. The theory points out possible special characteristics of stroke patients’ dignity in control related dignity type and independence related dignity type. Before implementing the theory, the relation between the core category, generic elements and specific types on realization needs to be studied further.

Litteracitet i fem högstadieungdomars en-till-en-datorpraktiker

The study focuses on five lower secondary school pupils’ daily use of their one-toone computers, the overall aim being to investigate literacy in this form of computing. Theoretically, the study is rooted in the New Literacy tradition with an ecological perspective, in combination with socio-semiotic theory in a multimodal perspective. New Literacy in the ecological perspective focuses on literacy practices and place/space and on the links between them. Literacy is viewed as socially based, in specific situations and in recurring social practices. Socio-semiotic theory embodying the multimodal perspective is used for the text analysis. The methodology is known as socio-semiotic ethnography. The ethnographic methods encompass just over two years of fieldwork with participating observations of the five participants’ computing activities at home, at school and elsewhere. The participants, one boy and two girls from the Blue (Anemone) School and two girls from the White (Anemone) School, were chosen to reflect a broad spectrum in terms of sociocultural and socioeconomic background. The study shows the existence of a both broad and deep variation in the way digital literacy features in the participants’ one-to-one computing. These variations are associated with experience in relation to the home, the living environment, place, personal qualities and school. The more varied computer usage of the Blue School participants is connected with the interests they developed in their homes and living environments and in the computing practices undertaken in school. Their more varied usage of the computer is reflected in their broader digital literacy repertoires and their greater number and variety of digital literacy abilities. The Blue School participants’ text production is more multifaceted, covers a wider range of subjects and displays a broader palette of semiotic resources. It also combines more text types and the texts are generally longer than those of the White School participants. The Blue School girls have developed a text culture that is close to that of the school. In their case, there is clear linkage between school-initiated and self-initiated computing activities, while other participants do not have the same opportunities to link and integrate self-initiated computing activities into the school context. It also becomes clear that the Blue School girls can relate and adapt their texts to different communicative practices and recipients. In addition, the study shows that the Blue School girls have some degree of scope in their school practice as a result of incorporating into it certain communicative practices that they have developed in nonschool contexts. Quite contrary to the hopes expressed that one-to-one computing would reduce digital inequality, it has increased between these participants. Whether the same or similar results apply in a larger perspective, on a more structural level, is a question that this study cannot answer. It can only draw attention to the need to investigate the matter. The study shows in a variety of ways that the White School participants do not have the same opportunity to develop their digital literacy as the Blue School participants. In an equivalence perspective, schools have a compensational task to perform. It is abundantly clear from the study that investing in one-to-one projects is not enough to combat digital inequality and achieve the digitisation goals established for school education. Alongside their investments in technology, schools need to develop a didactic that legitimises and compensates for the different circumstances of different pupils. The compensational role of schools in this connection is important not only for the present participants but also for the community at large, in that it can help to secure a cohesive, open and democratic society.