Reading films through political classics : genres of politics in popular cultures

Abstract: Readin films through political classics

Automatic meter reading – benefits and applications

In liberalized electricity markets, which have taken place in many countries over the world, the electricity distribution companies operate in the competitive conditions. Therefore, accurate information about the customers’ energy consumption plays an essential role for the budget keeping of the distribution company and for correct planning and operation of the distribution network. This master’s thesis is focused on the description of the possible benefits for the electric utilities and residential customers from the automatic meter reading system usage. Major benefits of the AMR, illustrated in the thesis, are distribution network management, power quality monitoring, load modelling, and detection of the illegal usage of the electricity. By the example of the power system state estimation, it was illustrated that even the partial installation of the AMR in the customer side leads to more accurate data about the voltage and power levels in the whole network. The thesis also contains the description of the present situation of the AMR integration in Russia.

Den talande bokens poetik : en studie med fokus på olika unga vuxnas reception av tre fiktiva texter inlästa på band

The purpose of the research project The poetics of the talking book is to contribute to the knowledge about patterns of understanding in young adults’ reception of fiction, which they listened to through audio books. The problem explored was: How do different groups of listeners receive fictive text presented as a talking book with variations regarding use of voice, engagement and sound effects? The problem formulation rendered four specific research questions: 1. What patterns can be identified in the listeners’ answers regarding story structure and cognitive content in a comparative perspective comprising different reading styles in the taped versions of the text? 2. What patterns of understanding in interpretative reading can be identified in different listeners? 3. Which thoughts do the listeners have about what the talking book should sound like? 4. What affordances for young adults with the functional disability of mild mental retardation can be made visible through guided literature conversations? The theoretical frame of reference was formed by text–reader-oriented literary theory, psychological schema theory, and research regarding voice quality and communication. The project was carried out in two steps. The first phase was to produce the audio books with two variations of reading practice of three short stories with an existential theme in each text. The second step comprised interviewing of 32 young adults (a special group with a reading handicap in form of mild mental retardation, and a reference group with no handicap). The interviews formed as literary conversation were carried out three times during one year. The phenomenological-hermeneutic approach focused on the life worlds of the participants as meaning seeking beings. The analysis was carried out using method triangulation, mainly using phenomenological meaning concentration. The double hermeneutics in use when interpreting the interpretations of the participants revealed a capacity for aesthetic reading of fiction in the special group as well as in the reference group. The aesthetic qualities were found sufficient in all variations of reading by the professional readers of the audio book they listened to. The young adults also could describe how they wanted the audio book to sound: just as if you were reading yourself. A model describing the analytical steps and concepts in use was a result that can serve as an outline of a poetics for the talking book. Unexpected research results were how important the guided literary conversation turned out to be in order to realise the affordances given by the texts regarding exploration of existential themes in the young adults’ life worlds. Thus the result of the research project can be positioned as a piece of emancipatory research stressing the importance of including this group of young adults in the society’s conversation about culture and meaning.

Utilization of Automatic Meter Reading in the Improvement of a District Heating System

A district heating system comprises production facilities, a distribution network, and heat consumers. The utilization of new energy metering and reading system (AMR) is increasing constantly in district heating systems. This heuristic study shows how the AMR system can be exploited in finding optimization opportunities in district heating system. In this study, the district heating system is mainly considered from the viewpoint of operational optimization. The focus is on the core processes, heat production and distribution. Three objectives were set to this study. The first one was to examine general optimization opportunities in district heating systems. Second, to figure out the benefits of AMR for general optimization opportunities. Finally, to define a methodology for process improvement endeavors. This study shows, through a case study, the usefulness of AMR in specifying current deficiencies in a district heating system. Based on a literature review, the methodology for the improvement of business processes is presented. Additionally, some issues related to future competitiveness of district heating are concerned. As a conclusion, some optimization objectives are considered more desirable than others. Study shows that AMR is useful in the specification of optimization targets in the district heating system. Further steps in optimization process were not examined in detail. That would seem to be interesting topic for further studies.

Reading Development During Elementary School Years. Evidence from Eye Movements

The present dissertation examined reading development during elementary school years by means of eye movement tracking. Three different but related issues in this field were assessed. First of all, the development of parafoveal processing skills in reading was investigated. Second, it was assessed whether and to what extent sublexical units such as syllables and morphemes are used in processing Finnish words and whether the use of these sublexical units changes as a function of reading proficiency. Finally, the developmental trend in the speed of visual information extraction during reading was examined. With regard to parafoveal processing skills, it was shown that 2nd graders extract letter identity information approx. 5 characters to the right of fixation, 4th graders approx. 7 characters to the right of fixation, and 6th graders and adults approx. 9 characters to the right of fixation. Furthermore, it was shown that all age groups extract more parafoveal information within compound words than across adjectivenoun pairs of similar length. In compounds, parafoveal word information can be extracted in parallel with foveal word information, if the compound in question is of high frequency. With regard to the use of sublexical units in Finnish word processing, it was shown that less proficient 2nd graders use both syllables and morphemes in the course of lexical access. More proficient 2nd graders as well as older readers seem to process words more holistically. Finally, it was shown that 60 ms is enough for 4th graders and adults to extract visual information from both 4-letter and 8-letter words, whereas 2nd graders clearly needed more than 60 ms to extract all information from 8- letter words for processing to proceed smoothly. The present dissertation demonstrates that Finnish 2nd graders develop their reading skills rapidly and are already at an adult level in some aspects of reading. This is not to say that there are no differences between less proficient (e.g., 2nd graders) and more proficient readers (e.g., adults) but in some respects it seems that the visual system used in extracting information from the text is matured by the 2nd grade. Furthermore, the present dissertation demonstrates that the allocation of attention in reading depends much on textual properties such as word frequency and whether words are spatially unified (as in compounds) or not. This flexibility of the attentional system naturally needs to be captured in word processing models. Finally, individual differences within age groups are quite substantial but it seems that by the end of the 2nd grade practically all Finnish children have reached a reasonable level of reading proficiency.

Identifying first graders at risk of reading and writing difficulties : creating a group-based screening tool in kiswahili in Tanzania

Early identification of beginning readers at risk of developing reading and writing difficulties plays an important role in the prevention and provision of appropriate intervention. In Tanzania, as in other countries, there are children in schools who are at risk of developing reading and writing difficulties. Many of these children complete school without being identified and without proper and relevant support. The main language in Tanzania is Kiswahili, a transparent language. Contextually relevant, reliable and valid instruments of identification are needed in Tanzanian schools. This study aimed at the construction and validation of a group-based screening instrument in the Kiswahili language for identifying beginning readers at risk of reading and writing difficulties. In studying the function of the test there was special interest in analyzing the explanatory power of certain contextual factors related to the home and school. Halfway through grade one, 337 children from four purposively selected primary schools in Morogoro municipality were screened with a group test consisting of 7 subscales measuring phonological awareness, word and letter knowledge and spelling. A questionnaire about background factors and the home and school environments related to literacy was also used. The schools were chosen based on performance status (i.e. high, good, average and low performing schools) in order to include variation. For validation, 64 children were chosen from the original sample to take an individual test measuring nonsense word reading, word reading, actual text reading, one-minute reading and writing. School marks from grade one and a follow-up test half way through grade two were also used for validation. The correlations between the results from the group test and the three measures used for validation were very high (.83-.95). Content validity of the group test was established by using items drawn from authorized text books for reading in grade one. Construct validity was analyzed through item analysis and principal component analysis. The difficulty level of most items in both the group test and the follow-up test was good. The items also discriminated well. Principal component analysis revealed one powerful latent dimension (initial literacy factor), accounting for 93% of the variance. This implies that it could be possible to use any set of the subtests of the group test for screening and prediction. The K-Means cluster analysis revealed four clusters: at-risk children, strugglers, readers and good readers. The main concern in this study was with the groups of at-risk children (24%) and strugglers (22%), who need the most assistance. The predictive validity of the group test was analyzed by correlating the measures from the two school years and by cross tabulating grade one and grade two clusters. All the correlations were positive and very high, and 94% of the at-risk children in grade two were already identified in the group test in grade one. The explanatory power of some of the home and school factors was very strong. The number of books at home accounted for 38% of the variance in reading and writing ability measured by the group test. Parents´ reading ability and the support children received at home for schoolwork were also influential factors. Among the studied school factors school attendance had the strongest explanatory power, accounting for 21% of the variance in reading and writing ability. Having been in nursery school was also of importance. Based on the findings in the study a short version of the group test was created. It is suggested for use in the screening processes in grade one aiming at identifying children at risk of reading and writing difficulties in the Tanzanian context. Suggestions for further research as well as for actions for improving the literacy skills of Tanzanian children are presented.

The effectiveness of short-term literacy skills intervention on children at risk of reading and writing difficulties in Tanzania : a study of grade one children with dynamic assessment approach

The aim of the study was to create and evaluate an intervention programme for Tanzanian children from a low-income area who are at risk of reading and writing difficulties. The learning difficulties, including reading and writing difficulties, are likely to be behind many of the common school problems in Tanzania, but they are not well understood, and research is needed. The design of the study included an identification and intervention phase with follow-up. A group based dynamic assessment approach was used in identifying children at risk of difficulties in reading and writing. The same approach was used in the intervention. The study was a randomized experiment with one experimental and two control groups. For the experimental and the control groups, a total of 96 (46 girls and 50 boys) children from grade one were screened out of 301 children from two schools in a low income urban area of Dar-es-Salaam. One third of the children, the experimental group, participated in an intensive training programme in literacy skills for five weeks, six hours per week, aimed at promoting reading and writing ability, while the children in the control groups had a mathematics and art programme. Follow-up was performed five months after the intervention. The intervention programme and the tests were based on the Zambian BASAT (Basic Skill Assessment Tool, Ketonen & Mulenga, 2003), but the content was drawn from the Kiswahili school curriculum in Tanzania. The main components of the training and testing programme were the same, only differing in content. The training process was different from traditional training in Tanzanian schools in that principles of teaching and training in dynamic assessment were followed. Feedback was the cornerstone of the training and the focus was on supporting the children in exploring knowledge and strategies in performing the tasks. The experimental group improved significantly more (p = .000) than the control groups during the intervention from pre-test to follow-up (repeated measures ANOVA). No differences between the control groups were noticed. The effect was significant on all the measures: phonological awareness, reading skills, writing skills and overall literacy skills. A transfer effect on school marks in Kiswahili and English was found. Following a discussion of the results, suggestions for further research and adaptation of the programme are presented.

Witness is presence : reading Stanley Hauerwas in a Nordic setting

I en postsekulär situation har förutsättningarna för att förstå och kommunicera en kristen tradition förändrats. De etablerade religionerna kan inte längre anta att de har monopol på den ”religiösa marknaden”. Ett centralt påstående i denna studie är att en postsekulär situation, som kännetecknas av minskande medlemskap i etablerade kyrkor och en ny synlighet av alternativa religiösa uttryck, medför ett behov av att reflektera över alternativa förståelser av kristenheten i sin kontext. Denna studie frågar hur man kan meningsfullt kommunicera en kristen tradition i en postsekulär situation. Traditionellt uttryckt: hur kan man förstå kristet vittnesbörd i vår situation? Det är till denna problematik som denna studie hävdar att Stanley Hauerwas ecklesiologi tillför ett viktigt perspektiv. Hauerwas ses som ett kritiskt korrektiv till vissa synsätt som ofta möter hos Nordiska, i denna studie främst finska och svenska, lutherska teologer. Det perspektiv som utvecklas i denna studie anses vara relevant eftersom kristna kyrkor i en postsekulär situation inte längre kan anta en makt- eller majoritetsposition. Därmed uppstår ett behov av att fråga sig hur man kan förstå kristenhet som en gemenskap i en minoritetsposition som bär vittnesbörd utan samhällelig makt. Denna studie hävdar att förkroppsligande av kristna övertygelser intar en central roll i en meningsfull postsekulär förståelse av vittnesbörd.

Winning time in land warfare : a reading of the classical strategists prior to the age of mechanization

We live in an age where rationalization and demands of efficiency taint every aspect of our lives both as individuals and as a society. Even warfare cannot escape the increased speed of human interaction. Time is a resource to be managed. It has to be optimized, saved and won in military affairs as well. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the dogmatic texts of military thought to search for answers what the classics of strategy saw in the interrelations of temporality and warfare and if their thoughts remain meaningful in the contemporary conjunction. Since the way a society functions is reflected in the way it conducts its wars, there naturally are differences between an agrarian, industrial and information society. Theorists of different eras emphasize things specific to their times, but warfare, like any human interaction, is always bounded by temporality. Not only is the pace of warfare dependent on the progress of the society, but time permeates warfare in all its aspects. This research paper focuses on two specific topics that arose from the texts themselves; how should time be managed and manipulated in warfare and how to economize and “win” it from the enemy. A method where lengthy quotations are used to illustrate the main point of the strategists has been chosen for this research paper. While Clausewitz is the most prominent source of quotations, thoughts from ancient India and China are represented as well to prove that the combination of right force in the right place at the right time is still the way of the victorious. Tactics change in the course of time but the principles of strategy remain unaltered and are only adapted to suit new situations. While ancient and pre-modern societies had their focus on finding auspicious moments for battle in the flow of kronos-time based on divinities, portents and auguries, we can trace elements of manipulation of time in warfare from the earliest surviving texts. While time as a fourth dimension of the battlespace emerged only in the modern era, all through the history of military thought it has had a profound meaning. In the past time could be squandered, today it always has to be won. This paper asks the question “why”.

Skill Development in Music Reading. The Eye-Movement Approach

This dissertation examined skill development in music reading by focusing on the visual processing of music notation in different music-reading tasks. Each of the three experiments of this dissertation addressed one of the three types of music reading: (i) sight-reading, i.e. reading and performing completely unknown music, (ii) rehearsed reading, during which the performer is already familiar with the music being played, and (iii) silent reading with no performance requirements. The use of the eye-tracking methodology allowed the recording of the readers’ eye movements from the time of music reading with extreme precision. Due to the lack of coherence in the smallish amount of prior studies on eye movements in music reading, the dissertation also had a heavy methodological emphasis. The present dissertation thus aimed to promote two major issues: (1) it investigated the eye-movement indicators of skill and skill development in sight-reading, rehearsed reading and silent reading, and (2) developed and tested suitable methods that can be used by future studies on the topic. Experiment I focused on the eye-movement behaviour of adults during their first steps of learning to read music notation. The longitudinal experiment spanned a nine-month long music-training period, during which 49 participants (university students taking part in a compulsory music course) sight-read and performed a series of simple melodies in three measurement sessions. Participants with no musical background were entitled as “novices”, whereas “amateurs” had had musical training prior to the experiment. The main issue of interest was the changes in the novices’ eye movements and performances across the measurements while the amateurs offered a point of reference for the assessment of the novices’ development. The experiment showed that the novices tended to sight-read in a more stepwise fashion than the amateurs, the latter group manifesting more back-and-forth eye movements. The novices’ skill development was reflected by the faster identification of note symbols involved in larger melodic intervals. Across the measurements, the novices also began to show sensitivity to the melodies’ metrical structure, which the amateurs demonstrated from the very beginning. The stimulus melodies consisted of quarter notes, making the effects of meter and larger melodic intervals distinguishable from effects caused by, say, different rhythmic patterns. Experiment II explored the eye movements of 40 experienced musicians (music education students and music performance students) during temporally controlled rehearsed reading. This cross-sectional experiment focused on the eye-movement effects of one-bar-long melodic alterations placed within a familiar melody. The synchronizing of the performance and eye-movement recordings enabled the investigation of the eye-hand span, i.e., the temporal gap between a performed note and the point of gaze. The eye-hand span was typically found to remain around one second. Music performance students demonstrated increased professing efficiency by their shorter average fixation durations as well as in the two examined eye-hand span measures: these participants used larger eye-hand spans more frequently and inspected more of the musical score during the performance of one metrical beat than students of music education. Although all participants produced performances almost indistinguishable in terms of their auditory characteristics, the altered bars indeed affected the reading of the score: the general effects of expertise in terms of the two eye- hand span measures, demonstrated by the music performance students, disappeared in the face of the melodic alterations. Experiment III was a longitudinal experiment designed to examine the differences between adult novice and amateur musicians’ silent reading of music notation, as well as the changes the 49 participants manifested during a nine-month long music course. From a methodological perspective, an opening to research on eye movements in music reading was the inclusion of a verbal protocol in the research design: after viewing the musical image, the readers were asked to describe what they had seen. A two-way categorization for verbal descriptions was developed in order to assess the quality of extracted musical information. More extensive musical background was related to shorter average fixation duration, more linear scanning of the musical image, and more sophisticated verbal descriptions of the music in question. No apparent effects of skill development were observed for the novice music readers alone, but all participants improved their verbal descriptions towards the last measurement. Apart from the background-related differences between groups of participants, combining verbal and eye-movement data in a cluster analysis identified three styles of silent reading. The finding demonstrated individual differences in how the freely defined silent-reading task was approached. This dissertation is among the first presentations of a series of experiments systematically addressing the visual processing of music notation in various types of music-reading tasks and focusing especially on the eye-movement indicators of developing music-reading skill. Overall, the experiments demonstrate that the music-reading processes are affected not only by “top-down” factors, such as musical background, but also by the “bottom-up” effects of specific features of music notation, such as pitch heights, metrical division, rhythmic patterns and unexpected melodic events. From a methodological perspective, the experiments emphasize the importance of systematic stimulus design, temporal control during performance tasks, and the development of complementary methods, for easing the interpretation of the eye-movement data. To conclude, this dissertation suggests that advances in comprehending the cognitive aspects of music reading, the nature of expertise in this musical task, and the development of educational tools can be attained through the systematic application of the eye-tracking methodology also in this specific domain.

Language-specific aspects of reading acquisition: the case of Russian

We have investigated Russian children’s reading acquisition during an intermediate period in their development: after literacy onset, but before they have acquired well-developed decoding skills. The results of our study suggest that Russian first graders rely primarily on phonemes and syllables as reading grain-size units. Phonemic awareness seems to have reached the metalinguistic level more rapidly than syllabic awareness after the onset of reading instruction, the reversal which is typical for the initial stages of formal reading instruction creating external demand for phonemic awareness. Another reason might be the inherent instability of syllabic boundaries in Russian. We have shown that body-coda is a more natural representation of subsyllabic structure in Russian than onset-rime. We also found that Russian children displayed variability of syllable onset and offset decisions which can be attributed to the lack of congruence between syllabic and morphemic word division in Russian. We suggest that fuzziness of syllable boundary decisions is a sign of the transitional nature of this stage in the reading development and it indicates progress towards an awareness of morphologically determined closed syllables. Our study also showed that orthographic complexity exerts an influence on reading in Russian from the very start of reading acquisition. Besides, we found that Russian first graders experience fluency difficulties in reading orthographically simple words and nonwords of two and more syllables. The transition from monosyllabic to bisyllabic lexical items constitutes a certain threshold, for which the syllabic structure seemed to be of no difference. When we compared the outcomes of the Russian children with the ones produced by speakers of other languages, we discovered that in the tasks which could be performed with the help of alphabetic recoding Russian children’s accuracy was comparable to that of children learning to read in relatively shallow orthographies. In tasks where this approach works only partially, Russian children demonstrated accuracy results similar to those in deeper orthographies. This pattern of moderate results in accuracy and excellent performance in terms of reaction times is an indication that children apply phonological recoding as their dominant strategy to various reading tasks and are only beginning to develop suitable multiple strategies in dealing with orthographically complex material. The development of these strategies is not completed during Grade 1 and the shift towards diversification of strategies apparently continues in Grade 2.