Otitis media, commonly known as middle ear inflammation, demonstrated a high prevalence rate in history. This trend also persists today. This condition is influenced by a combination of...Show moreOtitis media, commonly known as middle ear inflammation, demonstrated a high prevalence rate in history. This trend also persists today. This condition is influenced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors, of which the most important for the context of this thesis are urbanization and air pollution, joined by overcrowding. Mastoiditis is closely associated with otitis media, as it often arises as a consequence of untreated otitis media. In the field of osteology, various diagnostic methods are used to identify otitis media, leading to a problem in comparison and verification of results obtained through different methods. So, what is the interrelationship of these methods? Do they produce similar results? The main aim of this thesis was to answer this question. To investigate the interrelationship of these diagnostic methods, a sample of 97 individuals from post-medieval Arnhem, the Netherlands, was analyzed. The methods selected for the analysis were chosen from diverse case-studies, with each method focusing on the analysis of a specific skeletal element. These elements included auditory ossicles, the temporal bone around the external auditory meatus, and the mastoid process. The method focusing on the mastoid process is utilized for diagnosing mastoiditis, rather than otitis media. In addition to the three primary methods, two other diagnostic approaches were included in the analysis. These methods involved the utilization of computed tomography (CT) scans to assess mastoid air cells pneumatization and endoscopic examination of the cochlear promontory. Dataset collected by Casna et al. (2023a) was used, as they were the ones utilizing these two methods. The findings of this study revealed relatively low concurrence rates among the three primary diagnostic methods, and even lower rates when all five methods were compared. The presence of such results called for an exploration of explanatory models that would aim to explain such low concurrence rates. Additionally, factors possibly influencing the results were also considered. This research underscores the need for developing a universal and standardized method for diagnosing otitis media. The lack of agreement among the diagnostic methods suggests not all of them are linked to the same underlying cause, therefore signifying the need for a better approach. While this research provided valuable insight into the interrelationship of some of the diagnostic methods, further research that would compare other methods that have not been compared here is necessary for better understanding of the complexity of situation surrounding otitis media diagnosis in osteoarchaeology.Show less
The suicide note is a piece of text that often evokes emotional reactions within the reader, as it contains elements that are heavily personal. These feelings can be so “complex or overpowering”...Show moreThe suicide note is a piece of text that often evokes emotional reactions within the reader, as it contains elements that are heavily personal. These feelings can be so “complex or overpowering” that they “may require reflection and interpretation” (Boden, Gibson, Owen, and Benson, 2016). Boden et al. examined that “researchers will engage in some form of reflexivity, but fewer will examine how their feelings influence their analysis” (p. 1081). Feelings as a component of research is just an example of why qualitative research on the suicide note is important and necessary, as current research on this subject has mostly been quantitative. For instance, current research has shown that linguistic analysis of suicide notes can lead to a broader understanding of the suicidal mind, as “suicidal individuals are more self-focused, express more negative emotion and sometimes use more death-related words” (Tausczik and Pennebaker, 2010). However, the question is whether mere quantitative research is expedient enough to broaden our understanding of suicide, as purely quantitative methods lead to generalised results, which is undesirable (Stack & Rockett, 2018). In my thesis, I will review the relevant literature on how the suicide note as a text type is researched and argue that qualitative components should be incorporated in quantitative research to broaden our understanding of suicide.Show less
This thesis contributes to methodology in metaphor research by adjusting the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) (Steen et al., 2010) to the German language. MIPVU was...Show moreThis thesis contributes to methodology in metaphor research by adjusting the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) (Steen et al., 2010) to the German language. MIPVU was developed to provide a reliable tool to detect linguistic metaphors and therefore to contribute to the comparability of results within the research field (Steen et al., 2010). It was initially designed for English and is currently in the process of being adjusted to several languages other than English. After outlining the core of Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), which is the dominant theory in this field, the guidelines of MIPVU as well as its predecessor Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) will be introduced. The thesis then discusses operationalization issues and how to handle them, such as the implications of the reference tool, the German dictionary Duden, which poses challenges mainly because of different forms of cross-referencing. Afterwards, language-specific issues in respect to demarcate lexical units are demonstrated and accompanied by guidelines how to treat them for analysis, e.g. for compositional verbs in distanced position, infinitival constructions with a verb component, reflexive verbs, and novel compositions. Overall, MIPVU is applicable to German by taking into account additional guidelines caused by the dictionary used and the nature of the more inflected language German.Show less
