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Uporaba oblikoslovnega leksikona pri polavtomatskem pristopu k popravljanju lem in oblikoskladenjskih oznak
No full textIn the paper, we present a new semi-automatic approach to correcting lemmas and morpho-syntactic tags. Unlike previous manual annotation approaches for Slovene corpora, the new method contains an additional step in which tokens and their automatically assigned lemmas and morphosyntactic tags are cross-referenced with the set of forms included in the Sloleks Morphological Lexicon of Slovene. Based on the comparison, each token is classified into one of several annotation scenarios. The new approach has noticeably reduced the time and resources invested into annotation by eliminating a large number of redundant tasks. The advantages of this method include the possibility of dividing annotation tasks into groups consisting of simi-lar annotation problems (e.g. disambiguation of grammatical homographs). With adequate data preparation, it also drastically reduces the necessity for annotators to be familiar with the extensive Multext-East morphosyntactic tag set for Slovene, a restriction that created a bottleneck in the annotation process in similar annotation campaigns. The method was tested during the annotation process for the ROG Training Corpus of Spoken Slovene. In addition, we also test the scenario classification algorithm on the SUK Training Corpus of Written Slovene, which was annotated using the traditional sentence-by-sentence, token-by-token approach. We present the results and argue that the method should be used in future annotation campaigns to save resources and improve overall annotation consistency, while also discussing some of the caveats and disadvantages of the proposed approach.V prispevku smo zasnovali nov polavtomatski pristop k popravljanju lem in oblikoskladenjskih oznak, ki se od predhodnih ročnih pristopov razlikuje po dodatni fazi navzkrižne primerjave s Slovenskim oblikoslovnim leksikonom Sloleks. V tem koraku so pojavnice in njihove strojno pripisane oblikoskladenjske značilnosti ter leme razvrščene v označevalne scenarije, na podlagi katerih je delo mogoče razdeliti v ločene sklope. Na ta način potrebujemo precej manj časa za proučevanje označevalnih smernic po sistemu Multext-East za slovenščino, delitev na sklope podobnih nalog pa omogoča tudi, da različno izkušenih označevalcem dodelimo delo primerne težavnosti. Metodo smo preizkusili pri označevanju Učnega korpusa govorjene slovenščine ROG ter dodatno stestirali na Učnem korpusu pisne slovenščine SUK. Rezultati kažejo, da je novi pristop hitrejši in v primerjavi s predhodnimi metodami zmanjša časovni vložek s približno 500 ur na 105 ur dela (na primeru korpusa ROG), pri čemer je končni odstotek popravljenih lem in oblikoskladenjskih oznak primerljiv (4-5 % za oblikoskladenjske oznake ter 1,3 % za leme). Pri tem so problematične predvsem enakopisnice na eni strani (zlasti če še niso popisane v leksikonu) ter neleksikonske pojavnice na drugi. S posodabljanjem Slovenskega oblikoslovnega leksikona Sloleks bo metoda v prihodnje še zanesljivejša, v prihodnje pa lahko postopek še nadgradimo s proučevanjem posameznih mikronalog – opazujemo lahko, kako se strojno označevanje obnese pri določenih enakopisnicah, ter popišemo, katere so manj verjeten vir napak, kar lahko upoštevamo pri načrtovanju označevanja
Tracing invisible hearths and daily routines through carbonised plant remains and geochemical signals in an Early Iron Age smithy at Pungrt Hillfort, Slovenia
No full textGrowing up with growing uncertainty
No full textMladi odraščajo v vse bolj nepredvidljivem svetu, hkrati pa vse pogosteje poročajo o zaskrbljenosti zaradi različnih vidikov lastne ter družbene prihodnosti. Ta je povezana z nižjim blagostanjem, mlade pa tudi ovira pri že sicer zahtevnem opravljanju razvojnih nalog v mladostništvu, med katere sodijo oblikovanje učne in poklicne identitete ter pričakovanj na obeh področjih. Zato nas je zanimalo, kakšna je povezanost med zaskrbljenostjo glede prihodnosti družbe, optimizmom glede lastne prihodnosti in izobraževalnimi pričakovanji. Uporabili smo nacionalne podatke zbrane v Mednarodni raziskavi državljanske vzgoje in izobraževanja (ICCS 2022), ki zajemajo reprezentativni vzorec odgovorov 4.958 osmošolk in osmošolcev iz Slovenije. Rezultati kažejo, da se večja zaskrbljenost glede evropske prihodnosti povezuje z nižjim optimizmom glede lastne prihodnosti, večja zaskrbljenost glede globalnih groženj pa z nekoliko višjim optimizmom. Rezultati ordinalne logistične regresije so pokazali, da višja zaskrbljenost glede prihodnjih negativnih družbenih izidov na evropski in globalni ravni napoveduje nižja pričakovanja glede izobraževalnih izidov mladostnikov ob statističnem nadzoru družbeno-ekonomskega položaja družine in državljanske vednosti, ki k pričakovanjem prispevata pozitivno. Učinek pričakovanih negativnih družbenih izidov na pričakovane izobraževalne izide učencev je delno posredovan preko optimizma glede lastne prihodnosti, pri čemer imajo bolj optimistični učenci višja izobraževalna pričakovanja. Ugotovitve naše študije kažejo na zaščitno vlogo ugodnega družinskega okolja in optimizma pri soočanju z negotovostjo v družbi. Poleg tega ima lahko pri podpori učencev iz slabših družbeno-ekonomskih okolij pomembno vlogo javno šolstvo, ki lahko izboljša državljansko vednost in samoučinkovitost učencev ter jih opolnomoči za oblikovanje visokih učnih pričakovanj ter učinkovito udejstvovanje v družbi.Young people are growing up in an increasingly unpredictable world, while simultaneously reporting greater concerns about various aspects of their personal and societal future. Concerns about the future are associated with lower well-being and can hinder the completion of already challenging developmental tasks of adolescence, which include shaping of their academic and professional identities and expectations. We were thus interested in the relationship between concerns about the future of society, optimism about personal future, and educational expectations. We used national data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2022), covering a representative sample of responses from 4,958 eighth-grade students in Slovenia. The results show that greater concern about European future is associated with lower optimism about one‘s own future, while greater concern about global threats is associated with slightly higher optimism. The results of the ordinal logistic regression revealed that higher concern about future negative social outcomes at European and global levels predicts lower expectations about students‘ educational outcomes when controlling for family socio-economic status and civic knowledge, which contribute positively to educational expectations. The effect of negative future social outlooks on students‘ expected educational outcomes is partly mediated through optimism about one‘s future, with more optimistic students reporting higher educational expectations. The findings suggest a protective role of a supportive family environment and optimism in coping with social uncertainty. In addition, public education can play an important role in supporting students from lower socio-economic backgrounds by improving students‘ civic knowledge and self-efficacy, empowering them to develop high learning expectations and to participate effectively in the society
CroSloMet
No full textRecent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have opened new avenues for processing figurative language, yet their performance in metaphor interpretation continues to fall short of human-level understanding. One limitation lies in the inadequacy of existing metaphor datasets, which often lack explicit connections to conceptual metaphors and are predominantly monolingual. In this paper, we present CroSloMet, a novel dataset of over 1,120 metaphorical and 1,120 literal sentences in Croatian and Slovene, grounded in the MetaNet.HR framework. Each example is annotated with the corresponding conceptual metaphor, linguistic multi-word expression (MWE), canonical forms, and literal usage, enabling both metaphor identification and explanation tasks. We present preliminary evaluations of the dataset through two experiments: metaphor classification using CroSloEngual BERT, achieving 88.5% accuracy, and metaphor explanation generation with LLama 3-8B, where strict exact-match evaluation yielded low scores despite semantically valid outputs. To address this, we propose a multi-level validation framework combining manual annotation, natural language inference, semantic similarity, and LLM-based judgment. Our findings highlight the importance of capturing generality and specificity in metaphor mappings and call for more nuanced evaluation methods. CroSloMet provides a resource for advancing metaphor understanding in LLMs and contributes to cross-linguistic and cognitively informed metaphor research.Ubrzan razvoj velikih jezičnih modela otvorio je nove mogućnosti za obradu figurativnoga jezika, no njihovo tumačenje značenja metafora i metaforičkih izraza i dalje zaostaje za razinom ljudskoga razumijevanja. Jedno od ograničenja jezičnih modela proizlazi iz nedostatnosti postojećih skupova podataka o metaforama, koji često nemaju jasno izražene veze s konceptualnim metaforama te su uglavnom jednojezični. U ovom radu predstavljamo CroSloMet, novi skup podataka s više od 1120 metaforičkih i 1120 doslovnih rečenica na hrvatskom i slovenskom jeziku, utemeljen na bazi metafora MetaNet.HR. Svaki je primjer označen pripadajućom konceptualnom metaforom, višerječnim jezičnim izrazom, kanonskim oblicima i doslovnom upotrebom, što omogućuje provedbu zadataka određivanja i objašnjavanja metafora. U radu su prikazane preliminarne evaluacije skupa podataka kroz dva eksperimenta: klasifikaciju metafora s pomoću modela CroSloEngual BERT-a, gdje je postignuta točnost od 88,5 %, te generiranje objašnjenja metafora s pomoću modela LLama 3-8B, pri čemu je stroga evaluacija točnoga podudaranja dala niske rezultate unatoč semantički valjanim rezultatima. Kako bismo to prevladali, predlažemo višerazinsku metodologiju validacije koja kombinira ručno označavanje, zaključivanje prirodnim jezikom, semantičku sličnost i prosudbu temeljenu na velikom jezičnom modelu. Naši rezultati naglašavaju važnost obuhvaćanja razina općenitosti i specifičnosti u metaforičkom preslikavanju te pokazuju na potrebu za nijansiranijim metodama evaluacije. CroSloMet je resurs za unaprjeđenje razumijevanja metafora u velikim jezičnim modellima i doprinosi međujezičnom i kognitivno utemeljenom istraživanju metafora
Respondents\u27 understanding of social survey questions
No full textWhen researchers design survey questions, they must, among other things, ensure the comparability of responses from different respondents. This means that all respondents are expected to understand the question in the same way. Precisely how the respondents understand the survey question and how they formulate the answer to it is the subject of this article. Here, we tackle this kind of problem using the example of a survey question about subjective social status (SSS) used in the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). We used a mixed methods design, specifically a sequential exploratory design, where qualitative analyses of data from cognitive interviews were supplemented with quantitative analyses of survey data. Firstly, we conducted a qualitative study in the form of cognitive interviews using the thinking-aloud technique. We conducted a qualitative analysis using open coding to identify general categories that should capture the content of the interviewees’ think-aloud process. Secondly, we used regression analysis to check the correspondence between (objective) socioeconomic status and subjective social status on the data of the ISSP 2019 survey. The results of the regression analyses show that the respondents do take into account their (actual) socio-economic position when self-ranking on the social scale such as education and income. Cognitive interviews show that the respondents differ regarding which dimension of the socio-economic situation they relate to when answering the question on SSS. Furthermore, explanations of self-classification that go beyond the actual socio-economic position are possible as well
Comparison of drawing and sculptural representations of the human figure at different ages of the preschool child
No full textSkozi desetletje dolgo izkušnjo dela s predšolskimi otroki sem vedno znova navdušena nad njihovo izraznostjo in globino pomena pri likovnem ustvarjanju. V diplomskem delu Primerjava risarskega in kiparskega upodabljanja človeške figure v različnih starostnih obdobjih predšolskega otroka sem želela orisati, kako bogato je lahko likovno izročilo predšolskih otrok.
V teoretičnem delu sem zajela pričevanja različnih avtorjev o pomenu likovnega izražanja v predšolskem obdobju. Želela sem predstaviti globino likovnega izražanja, ki bi v vrtcu morala biti predstavljena otrokom z drugačnim pristopom, tj. s pristopom, ki daje poudarek procesu in ne končnemu izdelku. Po orisu likovnega razvoja, ki je narejen predvsem na podlagi otroške risbe, sem se dotaknila tudi likovnega razvoja pri oblikovanju gline. Teoretični del vključuje opis obeh likovnih področij, ki sem ju pri svojem diplomskem delu izpostavila – risanja in kiparstva. Na videz nasprotni likovni področji, katerih eno od otroka zahteva predstavo dvodimenzionalnosti, drugo pa tridimenzionalnosti, imata tudi veliko skupnega, kar sem opisala v poglavju Povezava med risanjem in kiparstvom. Ker sem za raziskovan objekt določila človeško figuro, natančneje mamo, sem razvoj človeške figure pri predšolskem otroku tudi teoretično podkrepila.
Likovni razvoj in značilnosti oblikovanja gline v predšolskem obdobju ter razvoj človeške figure pri kiparjenju je razmeroma slabo raziskano področje z zelo skopim naborom strokovne literature. Ravno to me je vzpodbudilo k izbiri tematike diplomske naloge in načrtovanju raziskave. V empiričnem delu je bil zato moj namen preko oblikovanja gline odkrivati značilnosti človeške figure v predšolskem obdobju in le-to primerjati z značilnostmi, ki se v istem starostnem obdobju pojavljajo pri risanju s svinčnikom. Raziskava je zajemala otroke stare od 2 do 6 let in je vsebovala risarski in kiparski del. Pri risarskem delu so otroci upodabljali mamo s svinčnikom, pri kiparskem delu pa oblikovali mamo iz gline.Through a decade-long experience working with preschool children, I am constantly amazed by their expressiveness and depth of meaning in their artwork. In my thesis, Comparison of Drawing and Sculptural Representations of the Human Figure at Different Ages of the Preschool Child, I wanted to outline how rich the artistic legacy of preschool children can be.
In the theoretical part, I included testimonies from various authors about the importance of artistic expression in the preschool period. I wanted to present the depth of artistic expression that should be presented to children in kindergarten with a different approach i.e., an approach that emphasizes the process rather than the final product. Based on the description of the artistic development, which is primarily based on the child\u27s drawing, I also touched on the artistic development in shaping clay. The theoretical part also includes a description of the artistic fields that I highlighted in my thesis – drawing and sculpture. On the surface, the two artistic fields seem to be opposites, as one requires a representation of two-dimensionality and the other of three-dimensionality, but they have a lot in common, which I described in the chapter "The Connection between Drawing and Sculpting." Since I chose the human figure- specifically the mother- as the research object, I also provided theoretical support for the development of the human figure in preschool children.
Artistic development and characteristics of shaping clay in preschool age and human figure development in sculpture are relatively poorly researched areas with a very limited range of professional literature. This is what inspired me to choose the topic of my thesis and plan the research. In the empirical part, my goal was to discover the characteristics of the human figure in the preschool period through shaping clay and compare them with the characteristics that appear in the same age period when drawing with a pencil. The study included children aged 2 to 6 years and consisted of drawing and sculpting. In the drawing part, children drew their mother with a pencil, and in the sculpting part, they shaped their mother from clay
Experiencing, expressing, and managing anger in deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their hearing peers
No full textV magistrskem delu sem raziskovala, kako gluhi in naglušni učenci doživljajo, izražajo in uravnavajo čustvo jeze v primerjavi s slišečimi vrstniki. V teoretičnem delu sem opredelila pojem in področja čustev, razložila čustvo jeze in predstavila značilnosti gluhih in naglušnih učencev z vidika njihovega govorno-jezikovnega razvoja, izobraževanja in socialno-čustvenega funkcioniranja. V empiričnem delu sem s pomočjo intervjujev s šestimi gluhimi in naglušnimi ter sedmimi slišečimi učenci ugotavljala, katere situacije jim sprožijo jezo, kaj občutijo med doživljanjem jeze ter kako izražajo in uravnavajo jezo. Vsakemu učencu sem prebrala še štiri kratke zgodbe, ki vsebujejo sprožilne situacije jeze, in jih vprašala o njihovem doživljanju, izražanju in uravnavanju jeze, če bi se sami znašli na mestu protagonistov zgodb. Ocenili so tudi intenzivnost svoje jeze. Intervjuje sem izvedla še s šestimi učiteljicami obeh skupin učencev in ugotavljala, kako pogosto zaznavajo jezo pri svojih učencih, katere situacije jo največkrat sprožijo in katere strategije uravnavanja jeze opažajo pri učencih. Pridobljene odgovore sem obdelala z metodo kvalitativne vsebinske analize ter izračunala povprečne ocene intenzivnosti jeze.
Ugotovila sem, da gluhim in naglušnim učencem jezo največkrat sproži izzivanje. Med doživljanjem jeze največkrat občutijo vročico in telesni pritisk, jezo izrazijo preko telesne napetosti, uravnavajo pa prek pogovora s starši. Slišečim učencem jezo največkrat sproži krivica. Med jezo največkrat občutijo telesni pritisk, jezo izrazijo z umikom in zavračanjem komunikacije, uravnavajo pa jo prek različnih oblik samo-pomiritve. Rezultati so pokazali tudi, da bi vsi učenci na mestu protagonistov v vseh zgodbah doživeli jezo zmerne do visoke intenzivnosti, pri čemer med skupinama učencev ni bilo statistično pomembnih razlik. Na mestu protagonistov bi gluhi in naglušni učenci jezo največkrat izrazili s telesno napetostjo, verbalnim nasiljem, zavračanjem komunikacije in odvzemom predmeta, ki je bil tarča posmeha sošolcev, slišeči učenci pa prek pogovora z odgovorno osebo, verbalnega soočenja s povzročiteljem jeze, fizičnega nasilja nad povzročiteljem jeze in zavračanja komunikacije. Gluhi in naglušni učenci so pri uravnavanju jeze največkrat navajali, da bi ponovno narisali uničeno risbo, iskali socialno oporo prek pogovora, se umaknili, umirili dihanje, nadaljevali s tekom kljub spotiku in se posredno soočili s povzročiteljem jeze. Slišeči učenci bi ponovno narisali uničeno risbo, iskali socialno oporo prek pogovora, se umaknili, naknadno oddali pozabljeno nalogo in se sprijaznili s situacijo. Po premisleku o strategijah uravnavanja jeze so učenci znova podali ocene intenzivnosti jeze, pri čemer med skupinama z izjemo ene zgodbe ni bilo statistično pomembnih razlik, saj bi vsi učenci doživeli jezo nizke intenzivnosti. Znižanje intenzivnosti doživljanja jeze po premisleku o strategijah uravnavanja jeze se je za obe skupini učencev izkazalo kot statistično pomembno. Glede pojavnosti jeze pri učencih so učiteljice poročale, da se v splošnem jeza pri vseh učencih pojavlja občasno, pri nekaterih posameznikih pa pogosteje in z bolj izraženimi odzivi. Kot strategije uravnavanja jeze pri vseh učencih so učiteljice največkrat navajale pogovor in umik, pri slišečih tudi samo-pomiritev. Za vse učence so učiteljice izpostavile, da jih je pri samo-pomiritvi največkrat treba usmerjati oziroma voditi.
Rezultati raziskave nudijo vpogled v čustvovanje na področju jeze tako pri gluhih in naglušnih učencih kot pri njihovih slišečih vrstnikih. Dajejo tudi ideje za delo na tem področju v izobraževalnem okolju.In the master\u27s thesis, I researched how deaf and hard-of-hearing students experience, express, and regulate the emotion of anger compared to their hearing peers. In the theoretical part, I defined the concept and fields of emotions, explained the emotion of anger, and presented the characteristics of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in terms of their speech and language development, education, and social-emotional functioning. In the empirical part, I conducted interviews with six deaf and hard-of-hearing students and seven hearing students to identify situations that trigger their anger, what they feel when they experience anger, and how they express and regulate anger. To each student, I read four short stories with anger-triggering situations and asked them about their experience, expression, and regulation of anger if they found themselves in the role of the protagonist of the story. The students rated the intensity of their anger as well. I also interviewed six teachers of both groups of students to determine how often they perceive anger in their students, which situations most often trigger it, and which anger regulation strategies they observe their students use. I analysed the responses using qualitative content analysis and calculated the average ratings of anger intensity.
I found that deaf and hard-of-hearing students are most often triggered by harassment. When experiencing anger, they most often feel heat and physical pressure, express their anger through physical tension, and regulate it by talking with their parents. Hearing students are most often triggered by injustice. When angry, they most often feel physical pressure, express their anger by withdrawing and refusing to communicate, and regulate it through various forms of self-calming. The results also showed that, in the role of protagonists of the stories, all students would experience anger of moderate to high intensity, with no statistically significant differences between the groups. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students would most often express anger through physical tension, verbal aggression, refusing to communicate, and reclaiming the object mocked by their classmates, while hearing students would most often talk to an adult, verbally confront the person who caused them anger, use physical violence against the perpetrator, and refuse communication. When regulating anger, deaf and hard-of-hearing students most often reported that they would redraw the destroyed drawing, seek social support through conversation, withdraw, calm their breathing, continue running despite being tripped, and indirectly confront the person who caused them anger. Hearing students would redraw the destroyed drawing, seek social support through conversation, withdraw, subsequently submit the forgotten assignment, and accept the situation. After considering anger regulation strategies, the students again rated their anger intensity, with no statistically significant differences between the groups except for one story, as all students would experience anger of low-intensity. The decrease in anger intensity after considering anger regulation strategies proved to be statistically significant for both groups of students. Regarding the occurrence of anger among students, teachers reported that, in general, anger occurs occasionally among all students, but more frequently and with stronger reactions among some individuals. Teachers most often cited conversation and withdrawal as anger regulation strategies for all students, and also self-calming in hearing students. Teachers emphasized that all students usually need guidance or direction in self-calming.
The results of the study provide insight into the emotions of anger in both deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their hearing peers. They also provide ideas for work in this field in an educational setting
The Challenges Midwives and Social Workers Face Working with Foreign Speaking Women in Health Care
No full textV teoretičnem delu magistrskega dela sem opredelila priseljevanje migrantov ter delo z njimi na področju zdravstva in socialnega dela. Osredotočila sem se predvsem na izzive, s katerimi se srečujejo babice in socialne delavke, jezikovne ovire ter kulturne kompetence zaposlenih. V empiričnem delu raziskave sem uporabila polstrukturirane intervjuje in s tematsko analizo predstavila izzive, s katerimi se soočajo babice, zaposlene v Porodnišnici Ljubljana, ter socialne delavke, zaposlene v Ginekološki kliniki UKC Ljubljana. V devetih intervjujih sem ugotovila, da se socialne delavke in babice skoraj vsakodnevno srečujejo s tuje govorečimi ženskami, katere najpogosteje prihajajo iz držav bivše Jugoslavije. Delo s tuje govorečimi ženskami jim predstavlja dodatno delovno obremenitev in stres ter številne izzive, med katerimi izstopa komunikacija. Z jezikovnimi izzivi se soočajo na različne načine, najpogosteje z enostavno besedno komunikacijo, neverbalno komunikacijo, s pomočjo spletnih prevajalnikov, s pomočjo partnerjev, ki govorijo slovensko ali z uporabo knjižic s prevodi. Lažjo komunikacijo pa bi jim v največji meri omogočili profesionalni tolmači in prevajalci. Babice in socialne delavke se pri svojem delu zavedajo pomena kulturne kompetentnosti, kar po njihovem mnenju pomeni spoštovanje in sprejemanje drugačne kulture ter njihovih običajev in navad. Ob tem izpostavljajo, da se po njihovem mnenju dobro prilagajajo drugim kulturam, hkrati pa si želijo, da bi bile tudi ženske, uporabnice babiških in socialnih storitev, bolj kompetentne. V razpravi sem pridobljene rezultate povezala s teorijo in tako odgovorila na zastavljena raziskovalna vprašanja. Na koncu sem zapisala še sklepe in oblikovala predloge.In the theoretical part of my master's thesis, I defined immigration and professional
engagement with migrants within the fields of health care and social work. I focused on the
challenges midwives and social workers face, with an emphasis on language barriers and the
cultural competence of the said professionals. The empirical part of the research is based on
semi-structured interviews. I presented the challenges experienced by the midwives at the
Ljubljana Maternity Hospital and social workers at the Gynaecological Clinic of the Ljubljana University Medical Centre using thematic analysis. The findings from nine interviews revealed that both social workers and midwives encounter foreign-speaking women almost daily. The women most frequently originating from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Working with foreign-speaking women poses an additional workload and stress for the workers, as well as numerous challenges, with communication being the most prominent one. The participants reported using various strategies to overcome linguistic barriers, including simplified verbal communication, non-verbal communication, online translation tools, assistance from Slovene-speaking partners and translation booklets. The inclusion of professional interpreters and translators was highlighted as a key measure to improve communication. Midwives and social workers demonstrated a clear awareness of the significance that cultural competence has in their practice. They understand it as the ability to respect and accept diverse cultures, customs and traditions. Although they perceive themselves as well-adapted to intercultural work, they also emphasized the need for greater cultural competence among the women who use their services. In the discussion section, I compared the empirical findings with theoretical frameworks and thus answered the research questions. The thesis concludes with key findings and recommendations for future practice
Using airborne LiDAR to quantify changes in forest structure following an ice storm disturbance and subsequent salvage logging
No full textIce storms are common disturbance agents in temperate forests, often causing complex damage by partially destroying tree crowns. These irregular damage patterns pose challenges in production forests. Post-disturbance management decisions, such as salvage logging, are typically based on hastily collected field data, which is costly, time-consuming, and often fails to capture damage heterogeneity. Remote sensing offers a practical alternative. In 2014, a severe ice storm damaged mixed forests across the northern Dinaric Mountains. We used multitemporal high-density Airborne Laser Scanning data to validate a procedure for quantifying ice storm damage in stands dominated by Norway spruce, silver fir and European beech, using field data as a reference. LiDAR-derived leaf area density profiles and voxel-based biomass loss estimates effectively reflected field-observed patterns. Methods based on individual-tree segmentation underestimated post-disturbance tree density reductions, but basal area and volume loss estimates aligned closely with field measurements, even at low point densities. These methods offer a scalable approach to damage assessment and improve understanding of the spatial variability of ice storm impacts. They also hold considerable promise for land managers with access to regional bitemporal LiDAR datasets
Role of ion size and hydration in competitive adsorption of alkaline earth metals on TiO nanoparticles
No full textInteractions between alkaline earth metal cations (M) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiNPs) critically influence the TiNP surface charge and colloidal stability in biological and environmental systems. Here, we systematically investigate how the cation size, hydration, and concentration affect the interfacial adsorption of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba on TiNPs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy provide direct evidence of cation adsorption on the TiNP surface and reveal ion-specific differences in binding extent and distribution. Zeta potential measurements across a broad pH and concentration range further demonstrate that adsorption increases with cation molar mass and leads to pronounced overcharging of the TiNP surface─an effect that is strongly ion-specific and concentration-dependent. To interpret these experimental findings at the molecular level, molecular dynamics simulations were used to identify binding sites, compute potential of mean force (PMF) profiles, and estimate adsorption free energies, providing insight into ion-specific cation–surface interactions. We find that elevated concentrations of background monovalent salt significantly reduce the level of M adsorption, highlighting the importance of competitive adsorption at the nanoparticle–water interface. These results elucidate key factors governing TiNP surface chemistry in complex aqueous environments and inform the design of nanomaterials for biological and ecological applications