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Applicability and integration of commercially available sensors in monitoring indoor air quality and animal behaviour in pig farms
No full textIrrigation modernization in Chile : analysis of the on-farm adoption and of the national incentive programme
No full textBy introducing technologies and institutional reforms, irrigation modernization has been at the center
of many agricultural-hydraulic policies worldwide, especially in regions where water is scarce or prone
to water shortages. While water-supply policies, aiming to increase water availability, were
predominant during the last century, the high cost and feasibility of continuing the search for
augmentation opportunities produced a shift in the agricultural water management paradigm, moving
towards water efficiency (savings) policies.
In particular, at the on-farm level, the adoption of improved irrigation technologies has been pointed
out as a strategic instrument to enhance the sustainability of irrigation and water resources. Despite
the diversity of claimed benefits, e.g., rising yields and income, improved resource use efficiency,
improved water quality, the adoption rates have remained low. To stimulate adoption and overcome
the high implementation costs, various subsidy schemes for the modernization of irrigation systems
have been introduced worldwide.
The adoption of irrigation technologies has thoroughly been investigated in the literature, delivering
significant insights. However, the need for better management, the dynamics of the adoption process,
the interactions between farm and basin level, the impact of subsidy schemes, and the new challenges
posed by climate change faced by irrigated agriculture make modernization processes still of interest
for both researchers and make them a key pillar of agricultural policy.
In this context, and like many other countries with a Mediterranean climate, Chile embraced in 1985 a
modernization process supporting the technological upgrading of its agricultural systems through
subsidies. Despite this long period of supporting the modernization of irrigated agriculture, its
particular water policy framework, and the extensive international scientific evidence, the country has
developed little knowledge, where several aspects regarding this process remain unknown.
This thesis aims to advance knowledge and understanding regarding the modernization process of
Chilean irrigated agriculture both from a farmer and a policy perspective. For this purpose, it uses both
a case study and a regional-national scale analysis. The first two research chapters focus on the
Achibueno and Ancoa watersheds belonging to the Maule River Basin, Central Chile., with a relatively
abundant water supply characterizing this basin. The research begins by centering on understanding
the main drivers and the extent and patterns of adoption of irrigation technologies among farmers.
Accordingly, a low and non-diversified level of adoption is identified, where water availability factors
and socioeconomic characteristics (land size, access to credits) tend to hinder the adoption of on-farm
technologies.
Then the thesis complements by investigating the impact of irrigation technologies on socioeconomic
and land-use outcomes. Here, the results show that technologies cause a positive impact on income
and land use but warn that such efficiency improvements (and benefits) at the individual level could
be detrimental at the basin level, affecting the long-term sustainability of water resources.
Furthermore, the thesis analyses the modernization process from a policy perspective by reviewing
the central irrigation modernization policy, Law 18.450. Namely, the analysis focuses on programme
design and functioning of the on-farm component, aiming to understand the triggers-obstacles for
adopting technologies. In terms of access, and despite the flexibility in targeting, the findings show an
uneven allocation with serious entry barriers for smallholders. Besides, the study identifies the inability
to recognize farmers' needs, market concentration, and a bias towards agricultural expansion. The
selection of projects based on agricultural expansion also threatens the sustainability of agriculture
and water resources.
Finally, the modernization programme is analyzed in terms of its suitability to deal with drought
periods, as Chilean authorities and policymakers claim. By matching subsidy allocation and scarcity
declarations at the municipality level, the last research chapter suggests that the current design is an
ineffective way for that purpose because the modernization of farming systems is coupled with
agricultural expansion, which increases the use of water resources. Moreover, after a decade of
drought conditions, results can be taken as a disconnection between policies without internalization
of scarcity conditions by the subsidy programme.
The dissertation ends by providing a synopsis of the research chapters, showing and connecting the
main findings, delivering several policy implications. The chapter also discusses the limitations
regarding the scope of the results, offering a series of future research avenues, complementing and
expanding the knowledge of farming systems modernization in Chile and worldwide
Promoting reading comprehension and reading motivation in Chinese secondary education poor readers
No full textThere is a challenge for the disadvantaged schools in the educational systems in
countries of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as
the disadvantaged schools in China to overcome “educational poverty” in reading (European
Commission, 2019, p. 7). The percentage of low achievers was 21.7% in OECD countries in
2018, which is higher than the Education and Training 2020 benchmark – an
underachievement rate of less than 15% (European Commission, 2019; OECD, 2019).
Similarly, Wang (2011) found that, in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, a relatively rich region,
more than 20.0% of secondary students struggle with reading comprehension, although
Chinese students in developed areas did well in international reading assessment, such as the
Program for International Student Assessment (OECD, 2019). Therefore, it is urgent to
innovate traditional reading teaching to tackle this “educational poverty” in reading in
secondary schools.
Available evidence indicates that reading strategy instruction could be a promising
innovative approach to students’ successful reading (e.g., Lai et al., 2014; Rogiers et al.,
2020). However, relatively little evidence can be found about to what extent reading strategy
instruction could cultivate poor readers at secondary schools in mainland China. In Chapter 1
of this doctoral dissertation, the present research elaboratesconcepts and theories related to
reading strategy instruction, reading comprehension, reading motivation, and metacognitive
awareness of reading strategies (MARS) and brings forwards a conceptual framework for the
empirical studies in Chapters 2 to 5. This framework focuses on students’ master and use of
reading strategies, and on teachers’ reading strategy instruction, which is hypothesized to
directly improve students’ reading comprehension, reading motivation, and metacognitive
awareness of reading strategies, and indirectly improve students’ reading comprehension
mediated by their reading motivation and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. The
framework also stresses the important role of key sociocultural factors associated with
reading comprehension. In the present research, the reading strategies, which were adapted
from McEwan’s (2004, 2007) and McEwan-Adkins and Burnett’s (2013) strategy framework
of seven strategies, included (a) setting reading goals, (b) vocabulary recognition, (c)
scanning text, (d) identifying the main idea, (e) searching-selecting, (f) summarizing, and (g)
predicting. Based on prior studies and the conceptual framework, four general research
questions were proposed to guide the present research:
1. What is the validity and reliability of a Chinese version of the Metacognitive
Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI–CN)?
2. What are the key individual and social factors associated with reading
comprehension in Chinese secondary school students?
3. What are the effects of reading strategy instruction on poor readers’ reading
comprehension, reading motivation, and MARS in Chinese secondary schools,
considering the mediation of MARS and reading motivation on the relation
between reading strategy instruction and reading comprehension?
4. What are the differential effects of reading strategy instruction following the
principle of gradual release of responsibility (GRR; Fisher & Frey, 2021; Pearson &
Gallagher, 1983; Webb et al., 2019) on reading comprehension and reading
motivation for poor, intermediate, and good readers in Chinese secondary schools?
First, a reliable and valid scale (i.e., MARSI–CN) was developed through the processes
of forward translation, backward translation, and adaptation of the Metacognitive Awareness
of Reading Strategies Inventory, which was originally created by Mokhtari and Reichard
(2002), and was further validated among 2,119 Chinese secondary school students. A
three-factor structure of the MARSI–CN resulted from the exploratory factor analysis, and
the consecutive confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the three-factor structure and
reflected good fit indices (χ /df = 1.613, RMSEA = .035, TLI = .959, GFI = .960, CFI = .966).
Internal consistency estimates of the questionnaire were satisfactory. Test-retest reliability
was also high (r = .91, p < .01).
Second, the present research developed a multilevel comprehensive model which shows
critical individual, family, and school correlates of reading comprehension with a random
sample of 1,322 Chinese secondary school students. Based on descriptive statistics calculated
with SPSS and multilevel model analysis with HLM, the results showed that significant
student individual correlates of reading comprehension included student’s gender,
autonomous reading motivation (ARM), controlled reading motivation, MARS, significant
family correlate contained household income, and that significant school correlates
comprised teacher’s qualification and experience. Noticeably, the results indicated that
students’ MARS and ARM were the two most powerful correlates of reading comprehension
among the significant correlates. Furthermore, teacher’s qualification and experience
moderated the relation between MARS and reading comprehension.
Third, using a pretest-posttest control group experimental design, the present research
examined the effects of Chinese reading strategy instruction among poor readers in grades 7
and 8 in mainland China. A sample of 342 poor readers from five Chinese secondary schools
participated in the intervention study. Students in the experimental condition received explicit
teaching of reading strategies, whereas those in the control condition took regular classes.
Results showed that the students in the experimental classes significantly outperformed those
in the control classes not only in reading comprehension but also in ARM and MARS. No
significant effects could be found on their controlled reading motivation. Furthermore, ARM
and MARS partially mediated the effects of this instruction on reading comprehension.
Hence, reading strategy instruction can be an effective approach to help poor readers to
improve their reading performance, with ARM and MARS acting as mediators.
Finally, the present research explored whether explicit teaching of reading strategies
following the principle of GRR improves students’ Chinese reading comprehension and ARM
and whether good, intermediate, and poor secondary-school readers enrolled in mainland
China all benefit from the intervention. A 2 2 crossover experiment was set up, involving
1,688 Chinese secondary school students from 30 classes, which were randomly assigned to
one of two conditions. Students in the experimental condition received reading strategy
instruction following the GRR principle for 18 class periods, while students in the control
condition received conventional reading instruction during the same time period. This study
collected data on the basis of pretest, posttest, and follow-up test. The results indicated that
reading strategy instruction based on the GRR principle significantly improved students’
Chinese reading comprehension and ARM. However, this teaching approach affected good,
intermediate, and poor readers in different degrees. In particular, poor readers seemed to
make greater progress in both reading comprehension and ARM, as compared to the
intermediate and good readers.
In general, this research provides evidence that reading strategy instruction could help
to deal with the “educational poverty” in reading in secondary schools: It can improve poor
secondary-school readers’ reading comprehension and ARM besides MARS. In particular,
given the sizable proportion of poor readers in disadvantaged secondary schools in mainland
China, the GRR-directed reading strategy instruction can be a promising practice, because it
can promote their reading comprehension and reading motivation by creating a supportive,
inclusive, and motivating learning environment, thereby significantly reducing the number of
poor readers
Escribir entre lenguas : dinámicas heterolingües en la literatura autobiográfica latinoamericana y latina del siglo XXI
No full text
A study on idiomatic phrases in Chan texts
No full textChan documents, as an important source for conducting research in Medieval Chinese, contain a large number of colloquial words. Idioms, most of them deriving from the popular expressions, abound in Chan texts reflecting the colloquialisms and regional words of Medieval Chinese and Early Mandarin. Whereas some of the idioms found in medieval Chan texts are inherited or adapted from literary works of previous times, the majority of words reflect the colloquial language of the respective period. Some of these idioms are used only in Chan documents, and some expressions also had a certain impact on the spoken language of subsequent period. In this thesis idiomatic phrases in Chan texts are the main research object, and the contents include the following aspects:
The first chapter consists of the introduction, which briefly discusses the definition, scope and nature of idioms, debates the style of idioms, examines the relationship between Chan texts and idioms, and determines the research method and research content of the thesis.
The second chapter focuses on the origin of idioms. According to the origin of the idioms, the idioms are divided into four groups: secular literature, Buddhist sutras, Chan texts and contemporary colloquialisms.
The third chapter focuses on the diachronic development of idioms, and discusses the relationship between idioms in Chan texts and the previous literary works, as well as their composition and their influence.
The fourth chapter summarizes the linguistic features of Chan idioms, including the various semantic levels, the flexible morphology, and the patterns they occur in.
The fifth chapter discusses the research on the interpretation of idioms, evaluates the interpretation of some entries in relevant dictionaries, and focuses on the interpretation of idioms that are not included in dictionaries and other reference works.
The sixth chapter discusses the relationship between Chan idioms and the compilation of dictionaries, and discusses the deficiencies of existing idiom dictionaries. It also views Chan texts from the angle of compiling word lists, as well as focusing on the identification of dictionary entries and the documentation of reference material
Performing the Anthropocene : climate change, embodiment, and affect in contemporary theatre
No full textLiterary critics have extensively discussed Anthropocene fiction and (to a lesser degree) poetry, but relatively little attention has been paid so far to the strategies used within contemporary narrative based theatre to tackle the challenges the Anthropocene poses to the human imagination
The proposed new geological epoch defined by human impact requires a shift in thinking that decentres human experience and brings non-human scales to the fore. A prominent strand within ecocriticism questions whether linguistic narrative is an appropriate mode for imaginative engagement with the Anthropocene, because it is so closely tied to anthropocentric thinking and human actions and intentions. Theatre seems to face an even bigger challenge than fiction in this regard. Unlike written narrative, performed narrative is dependent not only on human language, but also on human bodies that act out, or at least convey, the story.
Starting from these observations, this PhD thesis explores how the embodied nature of theatre can offer opportunities to think through the pressures and challenges of the Anthropocene. It is situated at the intersection of literary studies and theatre studies, and draws on ecocriticism and affect theory as well as narratology and performance theory.
The corpus consists of plays that deploy innovative formal structures to capture aspects of this epoch, but that simultaneously explore possible affective responses to the friction between the human and more-than- human scales that characterizes the Anthropocene. Alongside two well- known British plays – Lungs by Duncan Macmillan and Oil by Ella Hickson – the thesis discusses several lesser-known plays: Sila by the Canadian playwright Chantal Bilodeau, KillJoy Quiz by the Brazilian-Belgian writer and performer Luanda Casella, and World without Us and Are we not drawn onward to new erA by the Belgian collective Ontroerend Goed.
The aim of this study is twofold: on the one hand, it complements existing literary research on Anthropocene fiction by focusing on theatre instead of novels. On the other hand, it seeks to shed light on how intimate ties to human experience might not be a liability but an asset for narrative modes insofar as they can help bridge the scalar gap between the personal and the geological. The mismatch between scales can easily lead to paralysing affects like climate denial, cynicism, or apathy. This thesis explores how theatre, not despite but because of its embodied nature, might provide unique opportunities to evoke and explore alternative affects like expanded empathy, thoroughgoing irony, or stubborn hope.Literatuurwetenschappers hebben uitvoerig aandacht besteed aan romans en (in mindere mate) poëzie over het antropoceen, maar tot nu toe is er nog weinig onderzoek gedaan naar de strategieën die gebruikt worden in het hedendaags teksttheater om de uitdagingen te tackelen die het antropoceen stelt aan de menselijke verbeelding.
Het antropoceen, het voorgestelde nieuwe geologische tijdperk dat gedefinieerd wordt door de impact die de mensheid heeft op de planeet, vereist een paradigmawisseling die de menselijke ervaring uit het centrum duwt en niet-menselijke schalen voor het voetlicht plaatst. Een prominente stroming binnen de ecokritiek trekt in twijfel of talige verhalen wel een geschikte modus zijn om het antropoceen te verbeelden, omdat ze zo nauw verbonden zijn met antropocentrisch denken en menselijke acties en intenties. Theater lijkt wat dat betreft voor een nog grotere uitdaging te staan. Waar geschreven fictie enkel gebonden is aan de menselijke taal, is live gebrachte fictie daarbovenop ook nog afhankelijk van menselijke lichamen die het verhaal vertolken, of toch op zijn minst vertellen.
Vertrekkend van deze observaties onderzoekt deze dissertatie hoe de belichaamde natuur van theater opportuniteiten kan bieden om na te denken over de problemen en uitdagingen waar het antropoceen ons voor stelt. Het proefschrift situeert zich op het kruispunt tussen literatuur- en theaterwetenschappen, en ent zich op ecokritiek, affect theorie, narratologie en performance theorie.
Het corpus bestaat uit theaterwerken die innovatieve vormelijke structuren gebruiken om aspecten van dit tijdperk te vatten. Daarbovenop verkennen deze werken mogelijke affectieve houdingen ten aanzien van de frictie tussen de menselijke en de bovenmenselijke schalen die eigen is aan het antropoceen. Naast twee bekende Britse theaterstukken – Lungs van Duncan Macmillan en Oil van Ella Hickson – bespreekt dit proefschrift een aantal minder bekende werken: Sila van de Canadese theaterauteur Chantal Bilodeau, KillJoy Quiz van de Braziliaans-Belgische schrijver en performer Luanda Casella, en World without Us en Are we not drawn onward to new erA van het Belgische collectief Ontroerend Goed.
Het doel van de studie is tweeledig: door te focussen op theaterwerken in plaats van romans vormt het een aanvulling op bestaand literatuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek over antropoceenfictie. Daarnaast wil het licht werpen op de manieren waarop de intieme banden met de menselijke ervaring die fictie karakteriseren niet enkel een nadeel, maar ook juist een voordeel kunnen zijn, doordat ze kunnen bijdragen aan het overbruggen van de kloof tussen de persoonlijke en de geologische schaal. De mismatch tussen die schalen kan gemakkelijk leiden tot verlammende affecten zoals ontkenning, cynisme of apathie. Dit proefschrift onderzoekt hoe theater, niet ondanks maar dankzij zijn belichaamde wezen, unieke mogelijkheden zou kunnen bieden om alternatieve affecten zoals verruimde empathie, diepgaande ironie of koppige hoop te kunnen opwekken en exploreren
Analysis of a two-class queueing model with randomly alternating service
No full textIn dit doctoraat bestuderen wij een wachtlijnmodel waarbij onderscheid wordt gemaakt tussen twee verschillende entiteiten (die we aanduiden als klanten van type 1 en type 2) die wachten op één of andere vorm van bediening door eenzelfde bedieningsstation. Het opdelen van klanten in verschillende groepen gebeurt in de praktijk vaak op natuurlijke wijze. Het concept van triage in ziekenhuizen kan men beschouwen als schoolvoorbeeld. In de meeste toepassingen komt het er op neer dat er maar een beperkt aantal middelen zijn om verschillende types klanten te bedienen. De volgorde waarin de twee types klanten bediend worden, kan op verschillende manieren gebeuren. Bijvoorbeeld: men zou er kunnen voor opteren om één type van klanten absolute prioriteit te geven. Echter, in sommige wachtlijnsystemen is een faire verdeling van de beperkte middelen gewenst. In dit doctoraat analyseren we de prestatie van een specifiek bedieningsmechanisme, waarbij één enkel bedieningsstation zijn tijd afwisselend verdeeld over beide types klanten. Hierin worden probabiliteiten toegekend aan de types klanten en elk tijdsinterval kiest het bedieningsstation op basis van de toegekende probabiliteiten welk type klant dat tijdsinterval bediend wordt. In dit doctoraat wordt vooral de nadruk gelegd op de oplossingsmethode om dit twee-dimensionaal wachtlijnmodel te analyseren
Optimization algorithms for the deployment of future network and media services
No full textIn de afgelopen jaren zijn nieuwe telecom-en mediaarchitecturen geïntroduceerd die gebaseerd zijn op goedkope Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. Om de voordelen van deze architecturen echt te kunnen benutten, is een efficiënte toewijzing van middelen van essentieel belang. Dit proefschrift bespreekt algoritmen gericht op het optimaliseren van resource allocation in toekomstige telecom- en medianetwerken. Verder wordt verwacht dat toekomstige netwerken applicaties met uiteenlopende behoeften van het netwerk zullen ondersteunen. Hetzelfde onderliggende netwerk zal naar verwachting zowel het standaardverkeer ondersteunen dat geen beloftes van het netwerk vereist als het tijdsgevoelige verkeer dat timinggaranties van het netwerk verwacht. Hiervoor zijn algoritmen nodig die het verkeer in het netwerk plannen, zodat prestatiegaranties kunnen worden gegeven voor tijdgevoelig verkeer. Dit proefschrift behandelt ook optimalisatiealgoritmen met betrekking tot de planning van tijdgevoelig netwerkverkeer