Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Provoking'

Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 2, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis addresses a research study predicated on practice in order to explore aspects of participation in Performance Art. The study makes a contribution to knowledge in participative performance practice and the positive deployment of using interruptive processes; this is in order to provoke participation within the context of Performance Art as well as gain a better understanding of the operations of power relations at play. Within the discourse of impoliteness study (Bousfield, 2008; Culpeper, 2011 et al.), there is a term that deserves much greater attention: interruption . Examining interruption and exploiting its virtues using practice brings out some productive insights that go beyond abstract theorisation. Working in response to Nicolas Bourriaud s conception (1998) of participation in Relational Aesthetics as a means of attacking power relations, I use my practice as an artist/performance provocateur and amplify consideration of my previous usage of interruption in order to provoke participation and then interrogation of power relations. Slapstick and heckling as extreme versions of interruptive processes that are physical in nature are put forward as tactics of interruption that extend comedy tactics within my practice. Circumventing commentary of interruption that often posits the term and its affiliation with impoliteness and capacity to be disruptive as negative (Bilmes, 1997), interruption is used for the purposes of my study as the key strategy that underpins the performance Lost for Words (2011) and the collaborative project Contract with a Heckler (2013), and are presented as prime examples of the operations of interruption in practice. Lost for Words supports the difficulties of participation when interruptive processes connected to physical and bodily slapstick are structurally engineered into a live performance and Contract with a Heckler supports power relations when live performance is predicated upon physical and linguistic interruptive processes relating to heckling. Both Lost for Words and Contract with a Heckler demonstrate a complex knitting of theory and practice whereby argument is supported by the undertaking of action (by the necessity of experiencing interruption in practice). The written dimension of the thesis operates in conjunction with the accompanying photographs and video recordings included here as documentation serving to deconstruct the examples of practice presented. Writing adds detail in the form of critical analysis, reflective commentary and personal experience to the supplied documentation and is used as a tool to communicate that working with interruption on a theoretical, practical and emotional level can be exciting, provocative and dangerous.

Thesis (Master of Architecture)--University of Cincinnati, 2007.
Title from electronic theses title page (viewed Jul.17, 2007.) Includes abstract. Keywords: Architecture, Engagement, Phenomenology, Remembrance, Contemplation, Death, Cemetery, Funeral, Crypt, Columbarium, Chapel, Presence, Significance, Materiality, Emptiness, Benedikt, Heidegger Includes bibliographic references.

Robotics engineers' ongoing quest to create human-like robots has raised profound questions on their lack of ethical implications. The rapid progress and growth of humanoid robots is said to have a significant impact on society and human psychology in the near future. Interaction Design is a multidisciplinary field in which designers are often encouraged to engage in important conversations and find solutions to complex problems. On the other hand, animators often use animated videos as metaphors to reflect on important matters that are present in our cultural and societal spheres. This study investigates the use of animation in Speculative Design settings as material to bridge two communities together - the animators and roboticists, to foster ethical behaviors and impact future technology. The main result of the design process is a concept for a mobile platform that stimulates discussions on the ethical considerations of human relationships with humanoid robots, through speculative animation. Moreover, the interactive platform enhances imagination, creativity and learning processes between users.

Includes bibliographical references.
This thesis stemmed from the idea that we as a society find it harder and harder to understand even the everyday technologies around us. It is argued that despite the seemingly limitless opportunities for self-learning in the ‘information age’, an interest for the technological is still not fostered within our society. This dissertation is inspired by Cedric Price’s proposal that, “[...]every town should have a space at its disposal where the latest discoveries of engineering and science can provoke an environment for pleasure and discovery[...]”. 1 It started with the search for a spatial models through which people could learn about and experience the essence of technology. The initial research looked at different ways people have learned about technology 1 Stanley Matthews, From Agit-Prop to Free Space: The Architecture of Cedric Price (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007), 66. throughout history, focusing particular on examples where education could successfully be combined with leisure or recreational activities. It was important that the model proposed, not only taught people, but also inspired a sense of marvel and wonder through engagement with technology . Based on principles gleaned from the research a project was proposed which would manifest itself in two different, but interrelated architectural explorations. The first is a sort of ‘headquarters’ or ‘mothership’ for a new model of the education of technology. It finds itself in the Woodstock industrial area, and would serve as a resource to the greater Cape Town. The second is a prototype for mobile, rail-based workshops that would be developed and manufactured within the headquarters. These units would act as ‘satellites’, spreading the spirit of this movement across the country to areas where the resources for such education may not exist.

Background: The placebo effect and the placebo response is a misunderstood phenomenon and their potential is wildly underestimated. Most people, including health care professionals, consider the placebo effect to be a “make believe” effect which only affects gullible people. It is argued that the nurse is in an unusually advantageous position to observe and facilitate the placebo effect and make use of the benefits for the patients. Observation of said response is made by many authors but there is little to no research on the placebo effect from a nursing standpoint. Some of the research results can however be translated to the nurse profession and used in clinical settings. Aim: The purpose is to describe areas where the placebo effect may affect nursing of the patient. Method: A literature review format was chosen to comprise existing knowledge on the placebo effect, which can be applied for nursing. Results: Themes that arose from examination of chosen literature included: Emotional state, Expectation and Conditioning, Conscious and Social learning and Patient-caregiver relationship. Many of the observed interventions could be applied using the nursing philosophy of Hildegard Peplau. Conclusion: The placebo effect can be used by the nurse to improve the result of the patient´s treatment. If placebo becomes a focus in nursing research the results could be more applicable to benefit patients than if researched by other professional groups.

Proteins are the most important molecules in the cell since they take care of most of the biological functions which resemble life. To ensure that everything is working properly the cell has a rigorous control system to monitor the proper function of its proteins and sends old or dysfunctional proteins for degradation. Unfortunately, this system sometimes fails and the once so vital proteins start to misbehave or to accumulate and in the worst case scenario these undesired processes cause the death of their host. One example is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); a progressive and always fatal neurodegenerative disorder that is proposed to derive from accumulation of aberrant proteins. Over 140 mutations in the human gene encoding the cytosolic homodimeric enzyme Cu/Zn-Superoxide Dismutase (SOD1) are linked to ALS. The key event in SOD1 associated ALS seems to be the pathological formation of toxic protein aggregates as a result of initially unfolded or partly structured SOD1-mutants. Here, we have compared the folding behaviour of a set of ALS associated SOD1 mutants. Based on our findings we propose that SOD1 mediated ALS can be triggered by a decrease in protein stability but also by mutations which reduce the net charge of the protein. Both findings are in good agreement with the hypothesis for protein aggregation. SOD1 has also been found to be able to interact with mitochondrial membranes and SOD1 inclusions have been detected in the inter-membrane space of mitochondria originating from the spinal cord. The obvious question then arose; does the misfolding and aggregation of SOD1 involve erroneous interactions with membranes? Here, we could show that there is an electrostatically driven interaction between the reduced apo SOD1 protein including ALS associated SOD1-mutants and charged lipid membrane surfaces. This association process changes the secondary structures of these mutants in a way quite different from the situation found in membrane free aqueous environment. However, the result show that mutants interact with charged lipid vesicles to lesser extent than wildtype SOD1. This opposes the correlation between decreased SOD1 stability and disease progression. We therefore suggest that the observed interaction is not a primary cause in the ALS mechanism.

The aim of this study is to increase understanding about the causes of dysphoria, depression and anxiety by identifying the psychological factors that predict the development or protect the individual from developing mental health problems. A quantitative study, it is conducted over a period of a year and utilises a 3 wave observational longitudinal cohort design to investigate the relationship between the psychological variables and processes leading to mental health or ill health in a community group of female undergraduate students (N=183). Data is collected at 6 montly intervals for a period of a year from 183 female students. The participants are first year undergraduate students at a college of higher education. Characteristics from the students are collected using a battery of paper and pencil self report questionnaires in a group administration for the first wave of data and two postal questionnaires for follow up. Conceptual models are developed and tested statistically using structural equation modelling to explore the relationship between the elements identified for each model retrospectively and prospectively over a period of 12 months. Longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses are conducted for anxiety and depression separately. The elements of the models include positive and negative life events and protective and vulnerability factors for depression and dysphoria. Results from the cross-sectional and logitudinal analysis demonstrate that psychological factors have a significant effect on the development of depression and anxiety, with illness provoking factors explaining between 33-55% of the variance of depression in longitudinal analyses and 59-42% of the variance in cross-sectional analyses. They explain 45-57% of the variance in anxiety in longitudinal analyses and 28-50% in cross-sectional analyses. Health enhancing factors explain 18-19% of the variance in deprssion in longitudinal analyses and 47-49% of the variance in cross-sectional analyses. They explain 15-20% of the variance in anxiety in longitudinal analyses and 12-=20% of the variance in cross-sectional analyses. Health enhancing and illness provoking characteristics for depression and anxiety are identified in this study. They include enduring personality characteristics, cognitive styles and coping strategies and act as predictors for mental health outcomes or mediate or moderate the relationship between predictors and mental health outcomes.

This dissertation wants to understand the church history regarding the divide which resulted in the so called fundamentalist and the liberal movements in the church being birthed in identifying the reasons for the conflict between the aforementioned groups. It then presents principles of conflict transformation and management in order to understand and to help transform and manage potential confrontational situations between the aforementioned groups effectively. It further propose alternative interpretations to potential conflict-generating Bible texts by extrapolating new information from those texts in order to stir the potential of birthing a second naïve love for the discredited texts by offering new meanings to those same texts. Unfortunately, this objective can’t effectively be measured within the scope of this dissertation, but will nevertheless remain as an objective of hope.

Even though the West, or Global North, initiates extensive development policymaking and project activity on the African continent, this study argues that one source of major frustration between different parties entrusted to do the work arises from cognitive differences in their worldviews. These differences affect people's actions and have theological ramifications involving how we all understand meaning and reality. The study employs a case method analyzed through the lens of Alfred Schutz's sociology of knowledge theories and augmented by insights from African scholars to look at basic perceptual differences between Zambians and expatriates working on the Copperbelt Province's mines. After exploring how participants in the study interpreted various experiences, this study concludes that Zambians and expatriates were essentially living in "parallel universes" of meaning regardless of their apparently shared activities and objectives. The study further argues that viewpoints expressed by Zambian participants can be extrapolated into powerful lessons for members of civil society who are concerned about international development and the environment. Such teaching elements could especially help reshape how Americans and other Westerners understand ourselves in relation to physical creation and the cosmos as well as to those from radically different cultures. Lessons learned from the Zambian perspective could also help reinvigorate Western theological thinking, providing much needed critiques of discourses that currently dominate international development policymaking and planning and that determine value principally according to economic strategies and fulfillment of efficient, measurable objectives.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

What understandings are provoked by concepts of dress when related to artist, researcher, and teacher identities? An artist/researcher/teacher recruited a public secondary school art teacher and her students to join this participatory study. Participants were invited to investigate concepts of dress while inquiring through artistic processes. The written rendering of this dissertation is a mashup inquiry—a nondeterministic bricolage or ludic play—of images, text, and diverse theories, which gives rise to understandings of artist, researcher, and teacher identities. A key understanding from this study is the redescription of artist, researcher, teacher, and student identities. For example, redescribing a teacher as one who occasions learning rather than solely transmits fixed bodies of knowledge generates new understandings. Teaching and learning co-exist as neither fully separate roles within the identities of teacher and student nor as perfectly balanced and equal; they are processes that are relational, shifting, and shared. Likewise, as inquiry and research are redescribed alongside artist, teacher, and student identities, spaces of the possible or as-yet-unimagined emerge. The qualitative arts-based research methodology a/r/tography, which is utilized as the primary methodology in this study, is also conceptualized here, as a pedagogical strategy where the teacher becomes teacher-researcher and students become student-researchers. This places inquiry at the center of the curriculum. Participants in this approach to education work as independent and capable a/r/tographers moving toward an emancipatory form of artistic creation and inquiry. This study investigates how a secondary art course centered in inquiry can open perception to new possibilities as opposed to viewing a teaching/learning relationship as simply shaping perception to existing frames. Anti-oppressive forms of pedagogy may surface when the classroom is decentralized and the inquiry is nonlinear and outcomes are not pre-determined. A graphic version of this dissertation was also created and can be found at http://m1.cust.educ.ubc.ca/Artography/phd.php. The juxtaposition of the standardized format alongside this graphic version highlights how knowledge and communication are managed and maintained. Form and structure, like dress and the format of this dissertation, are explored within this study as both potentially liberating and potentially oppressive.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) may respond differently to social stressors due to differences in social conditioning and acquisition of skills. The present study examined whether social worries are more salient for young people ID than their non disabled peers, and whether there are differences in their responses to socially stressful situations. Method: Forty-one participants aged 16 to 22 took part in this study; 20 typically developing young adults and 21 with mild ID were recruited through local further education colleges. The groups participated in an open-ended ‘worry’ interview where they described their worries and rated them in terms of salience. They were then asked how they would cope in a series of 6 ‘social threat’ scenarios, using pictorial vignette stimuli. Responses for worries and coping were content analysed and categorised. Results: It was found that there were some differences between the groups in terms of content of worries reported, with the ID group reporting more worries about maintaining friendships and being bullied, whereas the non-ID group worried more about future aspirations and gaining independence. In terms of coping styles, the control group endorsed more sophisticated responses involving management of social and emotional presentation, but overall coping between the groups was broadly similar. Finally, both groups reported a high rate of ‘emotion-focussed’ responding in response to situations involving risk of social rejection, and this appears to reflect that these situations may be particularly stressful for both groups. Discussion/Implications: This study contributes to the literature on transition and social coping for those with ID, and in particular adds weight to the idea that young adults with ID have a different profile of worries at this life stage, but this does not appear to impair social coping, and those with ID possess a variety of strategies to utilise in situations of social stress, although these strategies may be less sophisticated at times than non-disabled peers.

Curiosity, as a strong motivator for exploration and discovery, has long been an underexplored but important emotional response in relation to technology. This research considers that it has great potential to improve many aspects of the user experience, especially in today’s screen-saturated context. However, engaging curiosity by novelty and uncertainty may exhaust attentional strength and challenge usability. Thus, the purpose of this research is to find ways to foster the human trait of curiosity and avoid its negative effects. To gain an in-depth understanding of curiosity, the first chapter reviews cross-disciplinary literature to expand its role in improving user experience. This ranges from serving as an attention grabber to including the values that contribute to human survival, thriving, emotional resilience, and personal development. The second chapter identifies problems in the current curiosity-provoking design methods. The chapter also emphasises design for supporting active curiosity and avoiding the creation of purely novel stimuli. This approach is to encourage active curiosity to develop. To this end, the research proceeds to conduct observational studies at a museum to broaden our understanding of factors that influence people’s curiosity and exploration within a screen-mediated context. Based on these observations, I identified that there are three conceptual elements: sociability, embodiment, and playfulness. Through theoretical discussion and reflection upon the design examples, subsequent three chapters explore the relationship between curiosity and each conceptual element. The chapters also suggest several design approaches that embrace curiosity in relation to its social, embodied, and playful nature. These include creating a sense of co-curiosity, allowing the use of covert and overt curiosity-satisfying strategies, increasing bodily exploration affordances of the screen for linking curiosity with embodiment, using metaphors of the body-screen relationship, and developing possibilities and adding enchanting effects for eliciting playfulness to enrich curiosity. In essence, this research enhances our understanding of the user experience from the perspective of curiosity, and these design suggestions also help to embrace users’ active curiosity in developing sociable, embodied, and playful well-being in the age of ubiquitous screens.

Frente a reconhecida importância da Teoria da Evolução por Seleção Natural como um tema central na compreensão dos fenômenos biológicos pelos cidadãos, tem sido dada grande atenção à sua inserção no ensino. Um crescente número de pesquisas, tanto na educação formal quanto não formal, tem buscado entender como ocorre o ensino e aprendizagem do tema, quais os obstáculos envolvidos e como os indivíduos compreendem os conceitos evolutivos. No que tange os museus de ciências, pesquisas sobre as concepções de público acerca da Evolução são desenvolvidas principalmente nos cenários europeus e estadunidenses. No contexto nacional, são escassas aquelas que buscam compreender as interações entre públicos e instituição e que poderiam subsidiar o desenvolvimento de atividades educativas para o ensino de Evolução em nossos museus. O presente trabalho buscou investigar como o público da exposição \"Do macaco ao Homem\", apresentada no Catavento Cultural e Educacional, na capital paulista, significa os conceitos evolutivos em suas interações em uma Atividade de Visita, frente aos possíveis obstáculos a esse processo. Com o aporte teórico da Teoria da Atividade, cujo foco de análise se localiza na importância das tensões e contradições dos Sistemas de Atividade para o surgimento e desenvolvimento de Ciclos Expansivos de Aprendizagem, buscou-se compreender como os obstáculos ao ensino de Evolução podem se constituir como oportunidades para o desenvolvimento desses Ciclos na Atividade de Visita. A análise correspondeu, em um nível macro, à caracterização das atividades de concepção, de formação de mediadores e de mediação a fim de compreender como este Sistema de Atividades em interação estruturam a Atividade de Visita. O nível micro se realizou pela categorização das interações conversacionais entre mediadores e visitantes em cinco visitas, a partir dos obstáculos ao ensino e aprendizagem de Evolução levantados pela literatura, bem como de elementos emergentes dos dados coletados. As principais contradições foram localizadas a nível das percepções, concepções e valores dos sujeitos sobre a exposição e a práxis de mediação. Percebeu-se que as escolhas na concepção da exposição e do setor educativo culminaram em uma estrutura da Atividade de Visita que, regulada principalmente pelos valores de mediação no âmbito de suas regras, privilegia a centralidade do discurso do mediador. Foi possível observar o surgimento de Ciclos Expansivos de Aprendizagem a partir de tensões no âmbito dos recursos expográficos, interrompidos por conflitos na significação dos conceitos de variabilidade e de espécie tanto por parte da visitante quanto do mediador. Salientamos, assim, a importância do mediador e da concepção expográfica no desenvolvimento de Ciclos inteiros, tomando os obstáculos como oportunidades no desenvolvimento de abstrações teóricas acerca dos processos evolutivos. Acreditamos que a compreensão das questões levantadas no âmbito desta pesquisa pode ajudar a orientar o desenvolvimento de estratégias para a mediação de temáticas evolutivas em exposições museais. Como contribuição deste trabalho, apresentamos uma categorização de elementos com potencial para promover tensões na Atividade de Visita.
In the face of the acknowledged importance of Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection as central theme in the understanding of biological phenomena by citizens, it has been given great attention to its integration in education. A growing amount of researches, whether formal and informal education, has sought to understand how the evolution teaching and learning process occur; which obstacles are involved; and how people understand the evolutionary concepts. Regarding science museums, researches on public conceptions about evolution are mainly developed in the European and American scenarios. In the national context, there are rarely those who seek to understand the interactions between public and institution and who could subsidize the development of educational activities for the evolution teaching in our museums. This study aimed to investigate how the public of the exhibition \"Do macaco ao Homem\" (From Monkey to Man), presented at Catavento Cultural and Educational in Sao Paulo means evolutionary concepts in their interactions in a Activity of Visitation, in respect of potential obstacles to this process. With the theoretical framework of Activity Theory, which focuses the analysis in the importance of the tensions and contradictions of Activity Systems for the emergence and development of Expansive Learning Cycles, we sought to understand how the obstacles of the evolution teaching can become an opportunities for the development of these Cycles in the Activity of Visitation. The analysis was, on the macro level, the description of the activities of conception, mediators\' training and mediation, in order to understand how this Activity Systems in interaction set up the Activity of Visitation. The micro level was held by the categorization of conversational interactions between mediators and visitors in five visits, from the obstacles to teaching and learning Evolution raised in the literature as well as emerging elements of the collected data. The main contradictions were located at the perceptions level, views and values of the subjects of the exhibition and the mediation praxis. It was noticed that choices related to exhibition\'s concepts and the educational sector resulted in a given structure of Activity of Visitation that is mainly regulated by the values of mediation and their rules, emphasized by the centrality of the mediator\'s speech. It was possible to observe the appearance of Expansive Learning Cycles from tensions within the exhibition resources, disrupted by conflict in the meaning of the concepts of variability and species, both by the visitor as the mediator. We highlight the importance of the mediator and exhibition design in the development of whole cycles, taking obstacles as opportunities to develop theoretical abstractions about evolutionary processes. We believe the understanding of the issues raised in this research can help to guide the development of strategies for mediating the evolution theme in museological exhibitions. As a contribution of this work, we present a categorization of elements with a potential to promote tensions in Activity of Visitation.

Darbe tyrimo objektu pasirinktus mokinių prosocialaus elgesio raišką bei reakcijas ir ketinimus elgtis nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijose buvo siekiama tikslo nustatyti mokinių prosocialaus elgesio raišką bei reakcijų ir ketinimų elgtis nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijoje ypatumus. Siekiant atsakyti į tyrimo tikslą, buvo keliami šie uždaviniai: nustatyti mokinių prosocialaus elgesio raišką lyties aspektu; nustatyti mokinių reakcijas ir ketinimus elgtis nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijose lyties aspektu; išsiaiškinti dalyvavimo popamokinėje veikloje sąsajas su mokinių prosocialiu elgesiu bei reakcijomis ir ketinimais elgtis nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijose; išsiaiškinti savijautos ir požiūrio į mokyklą sąsajas su mokinių prosocialiu elgesiu bei reakcijomis ir ketinimais elgtis nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijose. Tyrime buvo keliamos šios hipotezės: pirma, mergaitėms būdingesnis prosocialus elgesys nei berniukams, jos rečiau reaguotų agresyviai jų nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijose; antra, prosocialus elgesys būdingesnis dalyvaujantiems popamokinėje veikloje mokiniams ir trečia, popamokinėje veikloje dalyvaujantys mokiniai jų nepasitenkinimą sukeliančiose situacijose rečiau reaguotų agresyviai, negu nedalyvaujantys bendraamžiai. Tyrime dalyvavo 544 (289 mergaitės ir 255 berniukai) aštuntų – devintų klasių mokiniai parinkti taikant klasterinę atranką. Tiriant mokinius taikytas apklausos raštu metodas. Tyrimas parodė, kad mergaitėms... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
The object of the paper is the expression of pupils’ prosocial behaviour and their reactions to and intentions to behave in a certain way in discontent-provoking situations. The aim of choosing such an object is to define the expression of pupils’ prosocial behaviour and the characteristic features of their reactions to and intentions to behave in a certain way in discontent-provoking situations. In order to pursue the aim of research, the following objectives were set: to determine the expression of pupils’ prosocial behaviour on the aspect of gender; to outline pupils’ reactions to and their intentions to behave in a certain way in discontent-provoking situations on the aspect of gender; to find a correlation between the participation in after-school activities and pupils’ prosocial behaviour and their reactions to and intentions to behave in a certain way in discontent-provoking situations; to discover links between pupils’ feeling about school, their attitude to school and pupils’ prosocial behaviour and their reactions to and intentions to behave in a certain way in discontent-provoking situations. This research was focused on the following hypotheses: first, prosocial behaviour is more common in girls than in boys. Girls would rarely behave aggressively in discontent-provoking situations. Second, prosocial behaviour is more common in pupils participating in after-school activities. Third, pupils participating in after-school activities would behave aggressively in... [to full text]

Title: Effect of training on the slackline on postural stabilization Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether training on the slackline affects postural stabilization of sample of sport aktive population. The aim was to detect changes in postural stabilization immediately after the first training (30 minutes) on the slackline and after long-term training on the slackline. Another aim was to determine to what extent influenced measurement on Posturomed itself postural stabilization (with help of control probands, who did not train on the slackline between measurements). Methods: The study was attended by two groups of probands with a total amount of n= 16, who are healthy, active sports, sample population in the age od 21-26 (8 men, 8 women equally represented in groups). Probands of training group attended during one month eight sessions on the standard slackline- 2.5 cm wide, 11 m long, stretched at a height of 80 cm. Probands of control group didn't train on the slackline, only underwent measurements of the same intervals. Everyone participated in the 3 measurements (always 3 attempts) at the beggining of the research, immediately after completing the first training session (control group after 1 hour), and after completion of the research (control group after 1 month), always...

The diploma thesis focuses on learning Maths through French language using the CLIL method at a secondary vocational school. The acronym CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), EMILE (Enseignement de Matières par Intégration d'une Langue Etrangère) or e.g. AICL (Apprentissage Intégré d'un Contenu et d'une Langue) refers to integrated learning of a content-based subject through an additional language. There are always two aims of such tuition. The first aim is the content goal (e.g. to gain particular specialized knowledge or skill in mathematics); the second aim is the language goal (e.g. to learn essential vocabulary and sentence structures in order to lead a discussion concerning the solution of a quadratic equation in the French language). Based on a literary research, analysis of educational CLIL materials, and especially in connection with theoretical grounds of the method (constructivism, problem-solving, critical thinking, active and communicative approach) there was established a study plan focusing on the topic of quadratic equations. The experimental tuition was put into practice with the 1st year students of a secondary school, where the French language is taught as the second foreign language. The main objective, apart from the tuition itself and its analysis, was to assess the...