Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'ANALYSIS ON CHALLENGES'
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Chung, Sooduck, and Michael Farrey. "Biofuel supply chain challenges and analysis." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60830.
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Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2010.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-86).
Liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel are traditionally derived from petroleum. Since petroleum has the potential to be exhausted, there is interest in large scale production of fuels from renewable sources. Currently, ethanol and bio diesel are liquid fuels that are mainly derived from field crops. This paper examines the supply chain challenges and issues that exist for bringing biofuel production up to scale. One major challenge that exists is how to transport the feedstock from a farm to a refinery in the most cost efficient manner. One way to improve transportation efficiency of feedstock is to increase the energy density of the feedstock. However, increasing the density of a feedstock comes with a cost. We use switchgrass as a case study and examine the tradeoff between higher transportation costs in transporting a less energy dense feedstock to processing a feedstock to increase its energy density. We show that creating ethanol from switchgrass in the United States is not competitive in price to gasoline without government subsidies, but as the supply chain matures, efficiencies gained will narrow the gap.
by Sooduck Chung [and] Michael Farrey.
M.Eng.in Logistics
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Shaw, Edward Alan. "Weir management : challenges, analysis and decision support." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.578054.
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If humanity is to make the best of this planet then it is crucial that we develop the capacity to implement the most effective environmental management practices. Essential is a holistic approach to management, as is advocated by integrated catchment management (ICM), which proposes that catchment management issues will be best dealt with when interventions are planned together at the catchment scale and all stakeholder interests are given consideration during decision making. The issue of weir modification is a good example of a problem that would benefit from these principles. Many stakeholder interests are affected by weir modification, and if effective and fair weir modification decisions are to be made, all must be used to evaluate alternative weir modification options. So that decision makers can make the most of the synergies and avoid the conflicts that can occur between interventions, they need to know how multiple weir modifications interact. To do this decision makers must be able to manage and utilise a large amount of information and use it to help them make effective decisions. The objective of the research presented in this thesis is to develop an approach to the management of weirs in the Don Catchment that is holistic both a spatial sense and in terms of the assessment of alternative management options. An evaluatory framework for weir modifications is formulated by adapting published typologies of river ecosystem services (ESs). The prediction of how catchment interventions affect sociocultural ESs is recognized as a particularly challenging to the application of this framework because their qualitative and subjective nature makes them hard to predict. Bayesian Networks (BNs) are identified as a potential solution as they use probabilities to describe the relationships between variables. A BN was built to predict how weir modification affected weir danger and weir fun for canoeists by utilising the knowledge of canoeing groups. It is concluded that despite a number of caveats, BNs offer a potentially important method for allowing sociocultural ESs to be predicted in decision making processes. The consideration ofthe complex interdependencies multiple weir modifications can have is recognised as another of the challenges facing weir management decision making. A spatially explicit modelling approach is developed that can account for the interactive effect multiple weir modifications have on river connectivity for several river species in the Don Catchment. Expert judgement and hydrological modelling are used to discriminate between different levels of habitat quality for European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and Atlantic salmon (Safrna safar). Several strategies to increase connectivity in the Don Catchment were explored. It was found that each had its own set of winners and losers, indicating trade-offs between species need to be considered when planning connectivity enhancements. The modelling approach shows the interdependent effects of weir modifications are vet: important in determining habitat accessibility, particularly the cumulative effect of multiple fish passes.
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Zhang, Qiang S. M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Analysis study of Chinese SMEs financing challenges." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98983.
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Thesis: S.M. in Management Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-58).
Financing small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) is a prevalent challenge for most of countries, especially developing countries. Chinese SMEs have been suffering from difficulty in financing themselves for long. This thesis presents an overview of China's financial system development and current status and explains different financing sources for SMEs in China. Basing on the understanding of China's financial landscape, I described and summarized the financing challenges that are faced by Chinese SMEs and analyzed both the fundamental and temporary causes behind the challenges. In the end, I proposed a number of solutions to cope with Chinese SMEs financing challenges. Both statistical data and empirical studies are introduced in the thesis for demonstration and analysis.
by Qiang Zhang.
S.M. in Management Research
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Tsimpli, Dimitra. "Analysis and challenges in Bubble Curtain Technologies." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2022.
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The increasing demand for renewable energy has incited an increase in the evolveing rate of offshore wind energy. To meet the demands, more offshore wind power generators are being installed in the sea, where the air currents are stronger. The majority of the foundation of wind turbines uses mono piles.The installation process of the mono-piles supporting the wind turbines often includes foundation piles,driven into the seabed, using hydraulic impact hammers or vibratory devices. The pile in-
stallation, that is an essential component in the erection of wind farms,has a thwarting by-product : the underwater noise pollution. Continuous high frequency sounds produced by the deformation of the shell of the pipe while it is being hammered to
the sea bottom, can exceed 200 dB re 1μ Pa . Pile driving using impact hammers in open water increases the likelihood that marine mammals suffer disturbance or even instantaneous death, which lead to the implementation of new legislation. The aim of this thesis is to asses: (key points)
1. State of the art in sound attenuation during pile driving operations.
2. Sound characteristics, Attenuation, Soil Models, Response.
3. Perforated Pipe Analysis.
4. Macro, Micro, Nano bubbles.
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Muench, Marius. "Dynamic binary firmware analysis : challenges & solutions." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Sorbonne université, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019SORUS265.
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Les systèmes embarqués sont un élément clé de la vie moderne. Par conséquent, le code fonctionnant sur ces systèmes, appelé "firmware", doit être soigneusement évalué et testé. L'analyse dynamique est un moyen courant d'évaluer la sécurité des firmwares, en particulier en l'absence de code source. Malheureusement, comparée à l'analyse et aux tests sur les ordinateurs de bureau, l'analyse dynamique des firmwares reste à la traîne. Dans cette thèse, nous identifions les principaux défis empêchant l’analyse dynamique et les techniques de test d’exploiter pleinement leur potentiel sur les firmware. Nous avons développé avatar2, un framework d'orchestration multi-cibles capable d'exécuter des firmware dans un émulateur à la fois de manière partielle et totale. À l’aide de ce framework, nous adaptons plusieurs techniques d’analyse dynamique pour pouvoir fonctionner avec succès sur des firmwares binaires. Notamment nous utilisons ses possibilités de script pour reproduire facilement une étude précédente. Nous montrons qu’elle permet d’enregistrer et de rejouer l’exécution d’un système embarqués et de mettre en œuvre des méthodes heuristiques pour une meilleure détection des pannes. En outre, la structure sert de base à une évaluation expérimentale des tests fuzz sur des systèmes intégrés et est utilisée dans un moteur d’exécution concolique évolutif pour les firmwares. Enfin, nous présentons Groundhogger, une nouvelle approche de décompression du micrologiciel des périphériques intégrés qui, contrairement à d’autres outils de décompression, utilise l’analyse dynamiqueEmbedded systems are a key component of modern life and their security is of utmost importance. Hence, the code running on those systems, called "firmware", has to be carefully evaluated and tested to minimize the risks accompanying the ever-growing deployment of embedded systems. One common way to evaluate the security of firmware, especially in the absence of source code, is dynamic analysis. Unfortunately, compared to analysis and testing on desktop system, dynamic analysis for firmware is lacking behind. In this thesis, we identify the main challenges preventing dynamic analysis and testing techniques from reaching their full potential on firmware. Furthermore we point out that rehosting is a promising approach to tackle these problems and develop avatar2, a multi-target orchestration framework which is capable of running firmware in both fully, and partially emulated settings. Using this framework, we adapt several dynamic analysis techniques to successfully operate on binary firmware. In detail we use its scriptability to easily replicate a previous study, we demonstrate that it allows to record and replay the execution of an embedded system, and implement heuristics for better fault detection as run-time monitors. Additionally, the framework serves as building block for an experimental evaluation of fuzz testing on embedded systems, and is used as part in a scalable concolic execution engine for firmware. Last but not least, we present Groundhogger, a novel approach for unpacking embedded devices' firmware which, unlike other unpacking tools, uses dynamic analysis to create unpackers and evaluate it against three real world devices
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Chen, Zhiwen. "Challenges in the spectrochemical analysis of complex materials." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/52303.
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Raman and infrared spectroscopy offer characteristic molecular vibrational information that enables a rapid quantitative and qualitative analysis of many types of samples. Easy to operate and requiring little sample preparation, these techniques offer great potential for the classification and quantification of complex materials. The research described in this thesis has sought to apply vibrational spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis to tackle a variety of challenging analytical problems.
In vitro fertilization has relied purely on embryo morphological appearance to select viable embryos. We explore the potential of Raman spectroscopy to profile embryo metabolism. By analyzing blank culture media, patient samples and bacteria spent media, we establish that Raman spectroscopy does not offer sufficient sensitivity to differentiate used culture media from control. Even using liquid core Teflon-AF 2400 fibre to enhance the Raman signal of aqueous solution, analytical information still lies beneath the sensitivity limit.
Turning to a classification problem relative to variance on a larger scale, we investigate olive oil as a complex biomaterial. The adulteration of extra virgin olive oil with cheaper vegetable oils presents a serious food integrity problem. We demonstrate Raman spectroscopy can detect corn, canola, grape seed and walnut oil in extra virgin olive oils from various countries and cultivars, but only at levels greater than 20%. This contrasts with conclusions of many limited studies, suggesting Raman spectroscopy reliably detects a 5% adulterant. Our analysis shows that such high sensitivity relies on olive oils limited to a specific geographic region or cultivar.
Bleached kraft pulps represent important economic resources. By referring to wet chemistry, we apply infrared spectroscopy to study alkaline treated bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp. Infrared spectroscopy shows how alkaline treatment modifies hardwood pulp structure. It also classifies bleached hardwood pulps based on species. Despite the natural biological variance presented by this material, we establish that spectroscopic analysis can accurately quantify the contents of hemicelluloses in a large variety of bleached kraft pulps (softwood, hardwood and their mixture) in industry.Science, Faculty of
Chemistry, Department of
Graduate
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Turner, Elizabeth 1978. "Analysis of prostate specific antigen "trajectories" : statistical challenges." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=29483.
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Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a biochemical marker used to monitor prostate cancer following treatment. We have analyzed serial PSA data for a cohort of men who underwent radical surgery for prostate cancer in the early 1990s. We first describe the development of a statistical model that reflects the characteristics of these data. It accommodates, via a mixture model with constrained parameters, two sub-populations of men who are and are not cured, along with the biologic pattern in the latter. We then describe how we fit this model using Gibbs Sampling. We describe how the output can be converted into parameters of interest to patients and their physicians.
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Holmgren, Rachelle. "Challenges Involved in the Automation of Regression Analysis." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1405.
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Extracting meaningful insights from massive datasets to help guide business decisions requires specialized skills in data analysis. Unfortunately, the supply of these skills does not meet the demand, due to the massive amount of data generated by society each day. This leaves businesses with a large amount of unanalyzed data that could have been used to support business decision making. Automating the process of analyzing this data would help address many companies' key challenge of a lack of appropriate analytical skills. This paper examines the process and challenges in automating this analysis of data. Central challenges include removing outliers without context, transforming data to a format that is compatible with the analysis method that will be used, and analyzing the results of the model.
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Weldu, Hailay Gidey. "Analysis of Lattice Reduction Algorithms : Solving SVP Challenges." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för matematik (MA), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-75552.
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Lattice-based cryptography which holds a great promise for post-quantum cryptographyis naturally concerned by lattice reduction algorithms, the essential tools in the algorithmicstudy of lattices and its applications. In order to precisely estimate the securityparameters of these cryptosystems, it is a necessity to assess the practical diculty of theshortest vector problem (SVP) by analyzing the known ecient algorithms for solvingit.In this thesis project, we revisit a recursive lattice reduction methodology going back toPlantard & Susilo's work (SCN 2010) and analyze practicality of an SVP algorithm byCheon and Lee (Cryptology ePrint Archive 2015). We show that the SVP algorithm is,in general, a theoretical progress, with little practical implications in somehow. Moreover,we have performed experimental analysis of a recent progressive BKZ algorithmproposed by Aono et al. (Eurocrypt 2016) on the Darmstadt's SVP Challenge (TUD10).From our experiments, using its open source library, we found that the simple blocksizestrategy of the algorithm is better in terms of output quality than the optimized strategy.Applying the recursive reduction methodology to the simple blocksize strategy andsome heuristics to the LLL preprocess, we have improved all of the previous records inthe SVP Challenge that are obtained by the algorithm. Moreover, our improved resultsin dimensions 117, 119 and 121 are the current best records published in the Hall ofFame of the challenge that outperformed previous records by other algorithms.
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Soligo, Lorenzo <1996>. "Secure deployment of HTTPS: Analysis and open challenges." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/17659.
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Users on the Internet unknowingly rely on HTTPS, a protocol whose goal is to cryptographically secure the communication between users and websites by providing confidentiality and integrity. HTTPS relies on the SSL/TLS protocols, but many versions and implementations of these protocols exist and some of them have been proven to be vulnerable to malign attackers. Furthermore, the communication's security depends on other key factors related to a wider application of security best-practices on the web pages: restrictions on the entities that can run code or access cookies, enforcement of the usage of HTTPS, and many more.
In this thesis we analyze the state and security of the HTTPS deployment of the most visited websites for different categories, considering the overall quality of the deployment by evaluating many key aspects.
We carry out an analysis that takes into account the usage of HTTPS itself, the quality of HTTPS certificates, the security of the SSL/TLS implementation used, the presence of server-side cryptographic vulnerabilities, and the adoption of other modern techniques to enforce security.
Finally, we analyze the obtained results and draw some conclusions on the overall state of the HTTPS deployments analyzed.
One of the main goals of this work is to raise awareness on the importance of a careful deployment of HTTPS, thus encouraging site operators to keep cryptographic stacks updated and enforce strict security guidelines.
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SI, JIA CHEN, and GU JING. "The Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities in Brand Extension." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för ekonomi och teknik (SET), 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-18090.
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Over the decades, brand extension has been a core marketing strategy for a great number of companies. Brand extension enjoys a good reputation for bringing practical advantages to companies whilst it faces disputation at the same time because of a relatively high percentage of failures. Using modified Aaker’s brand equity model as the theoretical framework, the authors undertake a comparative case study to analyze the opportunities and challenges a company might face while using brand extension strategy, particularly in category brand extension: Yamaha Corporation as a successful example, and Virgin Group as a failure one. The analysis mainly focuses on the four elements in the modified Aaker’s brand equity model: brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand associations and perceived quality. The findings show that a company faces challenges when consumers have a more solid loyalty towards the competitor’s brand and when consumers are confused about brand associations. On the contrary, a company acquires opportunities in brand extension as long as a strong brand loyalty and a related connection between the parent brand and the extended brand exist.
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Rogers, P. Clint. "Cross-cultural online instruction analysis of challenges and solutions." Saarbrücken VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2007. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=3006376&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.
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Badua, Reginald, and Shalanda Warr. "Canes implementation: analysis of budgetary, business, and policy challenges." Thesis, Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/44517.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimitedTo reduce cost and effectively manage afloat networks, the Navy is adopting current industry best practices, including the use of a common computing environment and open architecture. The Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise System (CANES) was designed to employ these frameworks. CANES will combine five existing shipboard networks by utilizing commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and SOFtware. The use of CANES is expected to reduce overall cost by eliminating redundant information technology infrastructure and migrating to service-oriented architecture. This report focuses on acquisition strategy and policy, technological influences, and economic factors that could affect the ongoing implementation process of the CANES program. These factors directly impact the decisions being made in fielding the application of CANES. An analysis of these approaches in the context of these factors shows a negative effect of deficit-driven budgeting on schedule and performance.
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Arnesson, Erik. "Analysis of sustainable building materials, their possibilities and challenges." Thesis, KTH, Energiteknik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-244462.
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Sweden has as the first welfare state signed the petition of having net zero GHG emissions 2045. The construction industry is a large contributor to Sweden’s current GHG emissions and an action plan signed by several construction companies, including Veidekke, has stated several partial goals and one end goal of a construction industry with net zero emissions 2045. At the same time the demand of new residential houses is high. The choice of material affects the GHG emissions during the entire lifetime, making it a key parameter when planning a construction. 80 % of the emissions during a construction origin from the production of the materials used. The R&D intensity in the construction industry is low and the sector is ruled by a high level of competition and low margins. This thesis aimed to investigate more sustainable building materials for bearing parts of multifamily houses, how they compare with conventional materials and challenges facing them. The materials investigated was compared to a reference wall with KPI:s from one construction made by Veidekke. The GHG emission from the reference wall was calculated to be 107 kg CO2-eq/m2wall. The materials were evaluated with the method of Industrial Dynamics to investigate salient and reverse salient properties, lock-ins and important stakeholders. The materials investigated were Cross-laminated timber (CLT) and different types of sustainable concretes. Creating timber concrete hybrids were also explored. CLT currently has a small market share but is a promising material with several beneficial properties. The current development of more sustainable concrete resulted in the investigation of Recycled Aggregates Concrete, Alkali Activated Concrete and the Eco-concrete with reduced amount of cement in favor for limestone powder. A second step was to explore the social and economic challenges for integrating new building materials into the construction industry. As the industry is heavily project based, the timeframe and lack of budget to explore new options acts as barrier. The processes also tend to be repetitive. As of now the industry has made itself path dependent to concrete in a large extent. However, the social acceptance towards CLT is rising and making sustainability a strategic business goal is becoming more important to appeal to the customers. Interviews at Veidekke showed the rising interest of mixing timber and concrete, but also the difficulties of pushing development forward in the industry. The materials and their KPI:s resulted in the further investigation of CLT and Eco-concrete. By stating the salient and reverse salient properties of the materials further analysis could be done. CLT showed the greatest reduction of GHG emissions due to the embodied carbon resulting in a negative GHG emission of -66.2 kg CO2-eq/m2wall. In addition to this the construction time and several other beneficial properties were found. The reduction of GHG emissions of the Eco-concrete is great too, about 50 % comparing with the concrete used in the reference wall. As a concrete the Eco-concrete should also face less barriers as the industry is familiar with the product. Further analysis with tools from industrial dynamics showed the importance of creating incitements for developing the knowledge of a sustainable construction industry. Results also showed that new networks between the manufactures and the building sector is of essence to find and use new materials. Timber and concrete industries have the main responsibility of developing new and more sustainable products. The building sector also have a responsibility of choosing sustainable options. Advocating a diversity of solutions will create a more robust and resilient industry with fewer lock-ins and path dependencies occurring today. The key stakeholders identified from stakeholder mapping was the business developers, the department of purchase, the timber and concrete industry and lastly the customers. Business developers need to pursue projects with clear and tough goals of sustainability. This will increase the chance of succeeding. The department of purchase need to have incitements for mapping sustainable materials and the ability to explore new subcontractors. The results of the analysis show that not a single innovation will solve the goal of having a construction industry with net zero emissions 2045. The key innovation opportunities for CLT is to develop a standardization and modularization comparable with the concrete industry. Improving the fire safety of CLT is also of essence and the development of fire proofing plasterboards and insulation could be a solution. Further research on modified design mixing and the usage of pozzolanic materials like limestone in concrete is also an important way forward. Constructing timber concrete hybrids have also raised great potential both in the literature, analysis and from the interviews to simplify the integration of timber into the market.Sverige har som första välfärdsland skrivit under avtalet om att ha netto-noll utsläpp av växthusgaser 2045. Byggsektorn bidrar till en betydande del av Sveriges nuvarande utsläpp. En färdplan utformad och godkänd av flera byggbolag, däribland Veidekke, innehåller flera delmål och det slutgiltiga målet av en byggsektor med netto-noll utsläpp 2045. Samtidigt är behovet av nya bostäder stort. Valet av byggmaterial påverkar utsläppet från en byggnad under hela livstiden vilket gör det till en nyckelparameter vid planeringen av en nybyggnation. 80 % av utsläppen under konstruktionsfasen har sitt ursprung från tillverkningen av byggnadsmaterialen. Samtidigt är forsknings- och utvecklingsintensiteten i byggsektorn låg, marginalerna små och konkurrensen hög. Denna rapport hade avsikt att undersöka mer hållbara byggmaterial för de bärande delarna av flervåningshus, hur de mäter sig med konventionella material samt utmaningar som möter dem. Undersökta material jämfördes med en referensvägg från ett av Veidekkes byggen med hjälp av nyckeltal. Denna referensvägg beräknades att ha ett CO2-utsläpp på 107 kg CO2e/m2vägg. Med hjälp av metodik från industriell dynamik kunde sen materialen utvärderas baserat på deras egenskaper, flaskhalsar i byggsektorn undersökas samt viktiga parter för att implementera nya material analyseras. Material som undersöktes var korslimmat trä samt olika typer av miljövänlig betong. Möjligheterna till hybrider av betong och trä inspekterades också. Korslimmat trä har i nuläget en liten marknadsandel men är ett lovande material med flera positiva egenskaper. Forskning kring mer miljövänlig betong förde analysen till att undersöka återvunnen betong, alkaliaktiverad betong och en Eko-betong med lägre andel cement till fördel av kalksten. Efter detta undersöktes sociala och ekonomiska barriärer för att integrera mer hållbara material i byggsektorn. Då byggsektorn till stor del är projektbaserad, med begränsad tid och budget, försvåras integrationen av nya material. Processerna i projekten tenderar också att bli repetitiva med låg nivå av återkoppling. Som sektorn är utformad idag är den till stor del beroende av betong. Däremot ökar ständigt den sociala acceptansen kring korslimmat trä och analysen visade vikt vid att transformera hållbarhet till ett strategiskt affärsmål för att behaga kunder med ökande miljömål. Intervjuer genomförda på Veidekke visade det ökande intresset av hybrider av trä och betong, men också svårigheterna i att driva utveckling framåt i byggsektorn. Analys av materialen och deras nyckeltal resulterade i en vidare analys av korslimmat trä samt Eko-betongen. Korslimmat trä gav den största reduktionen av växthusgaser. En yttervägg producerad i korslimmat trä beräknades till att ha ett negativt utsläpp på -66.2 CO2e/m2vägg. Förutom detta påvisades flera positiva egenskaper för materialet gällande konstruktionstid, livstid och tekniska egenskaper. Reduktionen av CO2-utsläpp från Eko-betongen var också god, drygt 50 % mindre jämfört med den betong som användes i referensväggen. Eftersom Eko-betongen är just en betongvariant bör den möta färre barriärer än korslimmat trä då hela värdekedjan i byggsektorn är bekant med betong, dess egenskaper och möjligheter. Vidare analys med hjälp av industriell dynamik påvisade behovet av incitament för att utveckla kunskap kring vad hållbart byggande är samt behovet av att utveckla nya nätverk mellan tillverkare och beställare för att hitta och använda nya material i processen. Timmer- och betongindustrier har det största ansvaret att utveckla nya och mer hållbara material. Samtidigt läggs stor vikt på byggsektorn att välja mer hållbara material. Att förespråka en byggsektor med en mångfald av lösningar kommer att utveckla en mer robust och anpassningsbar miljö med färre flaskhalsar än idag. Nyckelparterna för integrationen är affärsutvecklare, inköpare, trä- och betongindustrierna samt kunderna. Affärsutvecklare måste bedriva projekt med klara och höga miljömål för att öka chansen att lyckas. Inköpare behöver incitament för att kartlägga hållbara material och få utrymme att undersöka nya underleverantörer. Resultatet av analysen visar att ingen enskild innovation kommer kunna lösa problematiken och uppnå en byggsektor med netto-noll utsläpp 2045. Nyckelmöjligheterna för korslimmat trä är att utveckla en standard och modularisering gällande produkten. Förbättra brandskyddet för korslimmat trä är också av hög prioritet och där kan utvecklingen av brandskyddande gipsskivor och isolering vara en lösning. Vidare forskning på modifierad blandning av betong och egenskaper för puzzolana material är också en viktig del framåt. Byggnation av hybrider i trä och betong har också visat stor potential både i litteraturstudien, analysen och från intervjuer på Veidekke. Detta ses som en god möjlighet för att förenkla integrationen av trä till byggsektorn.
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KURZ, ELISA. "Analysis on fashion design entrepreneurship : Challenges and supporting models." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Textilhögskolan, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-20115.
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Entrepreneurship in the fashion industry is a substantial issue since the fashionbusiness landscape consists of many small actors that compete on the fashion market.On their way to a distinct position in the textile and fashion world, many fashion designentrepreneurs, who start up an own label, are confronted with personal challenges anda multitude of external obstacles. These companies need a structured venture launchand strong business foundations to survive the always troublesome first years of a newentrepreneurial venture. To run a sustained venture within the apparel industry may bemore complex and demanding than one would believe. In the fashion sector severalconcepts exist in order to support entrepreneurial companies’ growth. Three selectedsupportive concepts received by fashion entrepreneurs at early stage have beenexamined and analysed. The supportive models are business incubators for creativeentrepreneurs, the partnership of a designer and business partner and the concept ofan external professional management.Program: Magisterutbildning i fashion management med inriktning modemarknadsföring
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Nqadini, Mlungisi Patrick. "Development challenges in Khayelitsha : an analysis of related issues." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/51684.
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Thesis (MAdmin)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Apartheid statutes like the former Group Areas Act created what is referred as "Apartheid Dormitory Cities". Khayelitsha is a typical creation of apartheid. As a result Khayelitsha faces many socio-economic challenges such as poverty, low standard of living characterised by low income distribution or no income, high rate of unemployment, illiteracy, education problems, housing problems, health problems and poor economic conditions. Attempts were made to create civic associations and development structures to deal with socio-economic challenges in Khayelitsha, but all those attempts never brought about development solutions. The Khayelitsha community tends to have a poor participatory planning role in development related issues. Khayelitsha as an apartheid legacy city will take a long time to dismantle in social, economic and purely practical terms. Rebuilding Khayelitsha equitably will be a tough exercise. The government strives to develop South Africa from a society of racially based compartmentalisation into a non-racial, developed country with equal opportunities, better education, health, housing and employment.These challenges are Khayelitsha's major problems which cannot be solved overnight. The problem faced is the re-integration of the separated zones of the former group areas. This makes it difficult to share the economic resources that are needed in Khayelitsha in order to solve its socio-economic problems. The integration of cities will only come about if the restructuring is in accordance with specific needs of the Khayelitsha community. People of Khayelitsha should be involved in the planning of their own city and be able to make informed decisions. The objective of this thesis is to analyse related development issues and challenges in Khayelitsha and to provide possible solutions contributing to development. Government and development agencies can draw lessons from the recommendations of this thesis and come up with sustainable and people-centred development-related strategies.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Eertydse Apartheidswetgewing soos die herroepte Groepsgebiedewet as een van die wetgewende elemente van die Apartheidsperiode, was verantwoordelik vir die skepping van sogenaamde "apartheidslaapdorpe". Khayelitsha kan beskou word as 'n tipiese voorbeeld en skepping van so 'n "slaapdorp" as gevolg van Apartheid. As direkte resultaat hiervan ervaar Khayeltisha talle sosio-ekonomiese uitdagings soos armoede, lae lewenstandaarde gekenmerk deur huishoudings met lae inkomste verdelings en in sommige gevalle geen inkomstes, hoë werkloosheid, ongeletterdheid, onderwysprobleme, behuisingsprobleme, gesondheidsprobleme en algemene swak ekonomiese omstandighede. Pogings is wel in die verlede aangewend om burgerlike organisasies in Khayelitsha van stapel te stuur, maar hierdie pogings het daarin gefaal om werklike en meetbare ontwikkelingsoplossings te bewerkstellig. Die Khayelitsha gemeenskap vervul 'n beperkte deelnemende beplanningsrol in ontwikkelinggebaseerde aangeleenthede. In praktyk sal Khayelitsha, as apartheidstad, lank neem om volwaardig te ontluik in terme van sosiale-, ekonomiese-, en verwante aanwysers en sal die regverdige en verteenwoordigende heropbouingsproses nie sonder struikelblokke ervaar word nie. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Regering strewe daarna om die land te ontwikkel vanaf 'n samelewing gekenmerk deur rasgebaseerde kompartementalisering na 'n nie-rasgebonde gemeenskap met gelyke geleenthede in terme van onderwys, gesondheid, behuising en werksgeleenthede. Hierdie aangeleenthede vorm deel van die uitdagings wat Khayelitsha in die oog staar. Oplossings sal nie sommer oornag gevind word nie. Die probleem wat oorkom moet word is die herintegrasie van aparte sones as gevolg van eertydse geskepte groepsgebiede. As gevolg hiervan is dit moeilik om ekonomiese hulpbronne, wat dringend in Khayelitsha benodig word, te herverdeel en te versprei ten einde die omvangryke sosio-ekonomiese probleem te verlig. Die integrasie van stede en spesifiek Khayelitsha, sal alleenlik suksesvol wees indien die herstruktueringsproses plaasvind met inagneming van die spesifieke benodighede en tekortkominge van die gemeenskap. Die gemeenskap van Khayelitsha moet betrek word in die beplanning van hul eie stad en deurgaans deel vorm van effektiewe konsultasie ten einde ingeligde besluite te kan maak, iets wat tans ontbreek.
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Moyer, Steven K. "Modeling challenges of advanced thermal imagers." Diss., Available online, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006, 2006. http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-02272006-144729/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007.Dr. William T. Rhodes, Committee Co-Chair ; Dr. John Buck, Committee Member ; Dr. William Hunt, Committee Member ; Dr. Stephen P. DeWeerth, Committee Member ; Dr. Ronald G. Driggers, Committee Member ; Dr. Gisele Bennett, Committee Chair.
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Mendling, Jan, Henrik Leopold, and Fabian Pittke. "25 Challenges of Semantic Process Modeling." Gitice, 2014. http://epub.wu.ac.at/5983/1/6%2D11%2D1%2DSM.pdf.
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Process modeling has become an essential part of many organizations for documenting, analyzing and redesigning their business operations and to support them with suitable information systems. In order to serve this purpose, it is important for process models to be well grounded in formal and precise semantics. While behavioural semantics of process models are well understood, there is a considerable gap of research into the semantic aspects of their text labels and natural language descriptions. The aim of this paper is to make this research gap more transparent. To this end, we clarify the role of textual content in process models and the challenges that are associated with the interpretation, analysis, and improvement of their natural language parts. More specifically, we discuss particular use cases of semantic process modeling to identify 25 challenges. For each challenge, we identify prior research and discuss directions for addressing them.
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Feilhauer, Diana. "Measuring Emotions in Dreams: Methodological Challenges." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för biovetenskap, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-11294.
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Although emotions are a natural component of dream experiences, a lack of consensus prevails in research literature concerning the specific characteristics of emotional dream experiences. The aim of this study was to investigate if and to what extent this lack of convergence among studies stems from whether dream emotions are self- or externally rated - forty-four healthy participants (16 males and 28 females; mean age = 26.93, range = 19 - 40) kept a home dream diary for three consecutive weeks, and daily rated their emotional experiences in dreams with the Swedish modified Differential Emotions Scale (smDES; Fredrickson, 2013). Two external judges rated emotions in the same 552 home dream reports using the same scale. Results obtained with the two methods differed in that the self-ratings, compared to external ratings, revealed: (a) more emotional dreams; (b) more positive than negative emotions per dream (with the ratio being relatively balanced); (c) a relatively more balanced proportion of positive and negative emotions, while the external ratings revealed more negative than positive emotions per dream. The results suggest that this is mostly due to the underrepresentation of positive emotions with external ratings. Thus, the results continue to question the extent of convergence between self- and external ratings when investigating emotional dream contents, and bring to attention the importance of methodological aspects when investigating dream emotions.
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Bengtsson, Anna-Karin. "CONSTANTLY NEW CHALLENGES FOR NURSES." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-26003.
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ABSTRACT Introduction: The number of patients treated in inadequate hospital wards is increasing. Elderly and fragile patients with medical conditions are particularly vulnerable for being placed in inadequate hospital wards. They also run a twice as high risk of health-related complications and increased mortality. RNs obtain specific knowledge by working on specific wards. However, RNs’ experience of caring for outliers seems relatively unexplored, as few studies explore RNs’ experiences in giving nursing care to outliers. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore RNs’ experience of giving care to outliers with medical conditions at a university hospital in Sweden. Method: An interview study with 14 RNs from medical and surgical wards were conducted by semi-structured interviews. The inclusion criteria were that they had worked as an RN for minimum two years and had experience of outliers. Data were collected between December 2016 and January 2018. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis to identify categories and themes according to the aim of the study. Result: One overarching theme emerged: The interviewed nurses experienced that outliers’ medical and nursing care was delayed and therefore hospitalization was prolonged. The informants’ experience is substantiated by five main categories: Inadequate information from ER to the ward leads to concern, Nursing interventions are performed later and lead to a sense of powerlessness, Unavailable drugs lead to delayed or no drug administration, Patients on inadequate wards do not receive proper information, and The RN does not know when the patient is ready for discharge planning. Conclusion: RNs described their experience of caring for outliers as an obstacle course and that this risks prolonged hospitalization. They are not equipped to make the most appropriate decisions, as they have other specific knowledge than the specific needs of outliers, and as a result, care is not given. Keywords: outlier, registered nurse, experience, qualitative study, conventional content analysis, care undone, patient safety.
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Njongi-Ndleleni, Nomthandazo. "An analysis of challenges facing basic education in South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4598.
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The study seeks to analyse challenges facing Basic Education in South Africa. There is a major emphasis on the education of the South African people to become responsible, participatory and reflective citizens that contribute to an emerging democracy. However, the government of SA is faced with many challenges that hinder the South African people from becoming an educated nation. This is based on the assumption that education plays a major role in improving the economic status of the nation. The education in South Africa is categorized into sectors, primary, secondary and tertiary which are interlinked through a fine thread that determines the success of individuals. It has been established that a number of factors or problems hinder learners from receiving a good standard of education. These include: parents’ lack of participation in their children’s education and the weak functioning of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) especially in the area of finance and general administration of the school, poor infrastructure and shortage or non-delivery of textbooks. Good leadership in schools is also needed to make sure that teachers attend to their classes diligently and learners take the importance of education seriously. Government needs to ensure that teachers are trained accordingly and schools have adequate basic resources. The qualitative research method was used and no interviews and survey were made during this study. This research will discuss these factors that have been identified as causing the drop in the standard of education in South Africa. The research concludes with an attempt to make some recommendations to improve this situation.
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GRÖNWALL, JAKOB, and HENNING SÄLL. "An Empirical Analysis Explainingthe Challenges of Using a CONWIP System." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-224207.
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Woldegiorgis, Emnet Tadesse. "Cost sharing in Ethiopia : an analysis of challenges and prospects." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/3374.
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Mestrado em Ensino SuperiorO financiamento do ensino superior é um dos aspectos mais relevantes da análise económica dos sistemas de ensino superior. A importância deste tema tem sido enfatizada pelos constrangimentos financeiros observados quer em países desenvolvidos quer em vias de desenvolvimento, os quais suscitaram a discussão entre investigadores e agentes políticos sobre modos alternativos de suportar financeiramente o ensino superior. Neste trabalho são discutidos os fundamentos teóricos para o desenvolvimento de políticas de partilha de custos e os modos de partilhar esses custos, nomeadamente através de diversos sistemas de empréstimos. Pretende-se também analisar a relevância do contexto político e do grau de desenvolvimento sócio-económico e das implicações destes no sucesso relativo dessas medidas de medidas de partilha dos custos do ensino superior. Estas questões serão analisadas tomando por objecto central deste estudo o sistema de ensino superior da Etiópia. o qual. Este sistema de ensino superior tem sido caracterizado pelo seu padrão de acesso elitista, pelo facto de tradicionalmente excluir a maioria dos potenciais estudantes que poderiam frequentar o sistema e assim contribuir para o desenvolvimento económico e social daquele país. Este sistema de ensino superior enfrenta actualmente um conjunto de desafios importantes, entre os quais se destacam os relativos ao seu modo de financiamento. Desde as medidas de reforma iniciadas em 1994, o sistema tem apresentado um conjunto de mudanças importantes. Umas das principais medidas constitui a adopção de políticas de partilha de custos, a qual se iniciou em 2003 com um conjunto de objectivos. Este estudo pretende analisar os desafios e as perspectivas futuras que se colocam a esta política de partilha custos no ensino superior na Etiópia, nomeadamente tomando em consideração as condições específicas daquele país. ABSTRACT: Higher education finance is one of the main issues in the economic analysis of higher education systems. The financial difficulties witnessed in both developed and developing countries have led researchers and policy makers to discuss about different alternatives of sustaining higher education systems. In this study are discussed the basic theoretical foundations of cost sharing and the different forms of implementing it, namely through student loan systems. This study also aims at discussing the relevance of the political and socio-economic context for the relative success of the adoption of cost-sharing. These aspects will be analysed by focusing in the Ethiopian higher education system. This system has been characterized by an elite enrolment pattern, since it has traditionally excluded the majority of potential students who could join the system and therefore contribute to the development of the country. The Ethiopian system has been facing a number of challenges throughout its recent history, and financing the sector is certainly one of the major ones. Since the reform measures that have started in 1994, that system of higher education has been going through a number of important developments. Cost sharing is one of the main policy changes and has been adopted in 2003 to meet a specific set of objectives. This study investigates the challenges and prospects of cost sharing in Ethiopia, namely by taking into consideration the political and social reality of the country.
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ZHANG, YANG. "Data Challenges and Data Analytics Solutions for Power Systems." Doctoral thesis, Politecnico di Torino, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2842489.
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Duvenage, Magdalena Adriana. "Intelligence analysis in the knowledge age : an analysis of the challenges facing the practice of intelligence analysis." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/3087.
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Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The intelligence community throughout the world is still reeling after several intelligence failures. Proposals to improve Intelligence Analysis have had little impact as analysts, their managers and their organisations continue to cling to outdated threat perceptions, methodologies and organisational structures and cultures. This thesis looks through the lens of Knowledge Management at the various challenges that the Intelligence Analysis practice is faced with in the Knowledge Age. Firstly, theories and concepts from Intelligence Analysis are challenged when compared with those in Knowledge Management and the possibility of applying new vocabularies in intelligence is discussed. The second challenge intelligence analysts face is to understand and adapt to the changed world with its connected, non-linear and rapidly enfolding events and patterns which broadens their scope to a multi-faceted, complex and multi-disciplinary threat picture. The third challenge is to re-look the existing analytical methodologies, tools and techniques, realising that these are most probably inadequate in a complex environment. The fourth challenge Intelligence Analysis faces is to reach out to other disciplines and assess how new analytical techniques, both intuitive and structured, as well as cognitive models, collaborative and organisational structure concepts from within the Knowledge Management discipline can improve Intelligence Analysis’ grasp of the Knowledge Age. In conclusion, it is argued that intelligence analysts might be ready to reinvent themselves to address Knowledge Age issues, but that intelligence organisations are not able to support a new intelligence paradigm while still clinging to threat perceptions and structures befitting the Cold War.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die internasionale intelligensie gemeenskap steier steeds na verskeie intelligensie terugslae die afgelope dekade. Voorstelle om intelligensie analise te verbeter het weinig impak terwyl analiste, hulle bestuurders en organisasies voortgaan om vas te hou aan uitgediende bedreigingsperspesies, analitiese metodes en organisatoriese strukture en kulture. Deur die lens van Kennis Bestuur, poog hierdie verhandeling om die verskeie uitdagings wat die Intelligensie Analise praktyk in die Kennis Era in die gesig staar, te identifiseer. Eerstens word bestaande teorieë en konsepte in Intelligensie Analise met dié in Kennis Bestuur vergelyk en die moontlikheid van ‘n nuwe woordeskat vir intelligensie word bespreek. Die tweede uitdaging vir intelligensie analiste is om by die nuwe wêreld en versnellende verandering aan te pas. Hulle word nou gekonfronteer met ‘n bedreigingsprent wat veelvlakkig, kompleks en multi-dissiplinêr is. Die derde uitdaging is om die bestaande analitiese metodologiëe, hulpmiddels en tegnieke te herwaardeer in die lig van hierdie nuwe wêreld. Die vierde uitdaging is om na ander dissiplines, insluitend dié van Kennis Bestuur, uit te reik sodat Intelligensie Analise verbeter kan word deur die toepassing van hierdie dissiplines se analitiese metodes (beide intuitief en gestruktureerd), hul kognitiewe en samewerkings modelle, sowel as organisasie struktuur konsepte. Laastens word geargumenteer dat Intelligensie Analiste dalk gereed is om hulself te vernuwe, maar dat hul intelligensie organisasies nie ‘n nuwe intelligensie paradigma kan ondersteun terwyl hulle voortgaan om bedreigingspersepsies, strukture en bestuurbeginsels toe te pas wat eerder by die Koue Oorlog tuis hoort nie.
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Sandnes, Erik Skarstein. "WISA vs. WLAN: Co-existence challenges : Analysis of frequency-hopping sequences." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-8795.
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Wireless Interface for Sensors and Actuators (WISA) is ABBs proprietary wireless protocol for industrial automation. It operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, as do nearly allWireless LAN systems. WISA does frequency-hopping (FH) over most of the ISM band, but has currently no means of avoiding parts of the band occupied by other wireless systems. The objective of the diploma project was to create a Matlab based simulation tool that can (i) analyze cross-correlation between FH sequences in two closely spaced WISA cells, and (ii) generate new FH sequences which avoid a user-selectable portion of the frequency band. New frequency-hopping sequences were designed using Galois field computations for creating periodic sequences with minimum correlation. The developed Matlab simulation module did indeed meet the objectives. However the algorithm for subband-allocation is not optimal and will for some cases not give maximum utilization of the available frequency band. Analysis of the existing FH algorithm confirmed that some sequence pairs are non-ideal in the sense that their inevitable frequency collisions are not spread evenly over all relative shifts between the sequences, but concentrated to a few of these shifts. It was also pointed out that not all cell ids met the desired requirement of large separation between transmissions occurring on consecutive frames. Analysis of the new FH sequences, which avoid a user-selected portion of the frequency band, showed that these had many of the same properties as the existing algorithm. It was possible to find sequence pairs with low correlation and thus allow multiple cells to operate in the same radio space.
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Yanos, Susan B. "A rhetorical analysis of the current challenges to the evolutionary paradigm." Virtual Press, 1990. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/720347.
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This study explores the establishment of the paradigm of evolution by means of natural selection, asserting that Darwin's theories were not scientifically revolutionary because he established rather than overthrew the existing paradigm in biology. Actually Darwin made three more important contributions than the theory of natural selection. He delivered a blow to essentialism, changing the universe from a product into a process. He established the hypothetico-deductive model of the physical sciences for natural history. And he demonstrated that teleological problems could be studied by scientists. The recent controversies in biology are continuations of the old debate over whether evolution is orderly or irregular, controlled by external or internal forces, continuous or discontinuous. The controversies can be separated into four separate challenges to neo-Darwinism: empirical, epistemological, methodological, and teleological. The study concludes that the empirical and teleological challenges do not pose serious threats to the existing paradigm, but unless the epistemological and methodological challenges can be met satisfactorily, the paradigm may be overthrown.This study also explores the differences between the rhetorical and scientific methods of inquiry. Modern science is considered as predominantly empirical, progressing because of the scientists' system of shared, rational values. Actually both metaphysician and physician ponder the same questions, embrace truth with the same assumptions, and operate with the same epistemology. Science is puzzle solving. Rhetoric deals with ill-defined problems, while science turns ill-defined problems into well-defined ones. The danger in separating the scientific and rhetorical methods is that Western man is split into two irreconcilable points of view: the moral and the scientific. The dichotomy arose because of the two fountainheads of Western culture. Plato "solved" the dichotomy by proposing two worlds of Becoming and Ideas. Darwin's solution depends on a different metaphysical pathos which is only now being realized, due to the rethinking of the paradigm as a result of the challenges. Rather than giving us two worlds, Darwin separated the forces of one, completely naturalistic world into a two-step process: chance and necessity. The problem is that many thinkers focus on only one of the processes, sometimes to the exclusion of the other.Department of English
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Majatame, James. "Legal analysis of the challenges and prospects of the SADC Tribunal." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12906.
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Includes bibliographical references.The primary purpose of the Tribunal is to ensure adherence to and the proper interpretation of the provisions of the SADC Treaty and its subsidiary instruments and to adjudicate upon such disputes as may be referred to it. It has been pronounced by the Treaty that the Protocol to the Tribunal is an integral part of the Treaty and this distinguishes the Tribunal as playing a significant role within the region. The basis of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction lies in both the Treaty and the Protocol respectively. Article 32 of the SADC Treaty permits reference to the SADC Tribunal of '…any dispute arising from the interpretation, application or validity of Protocols or other subsidiary instruments made under this Treaty, which cannot be settled amicably’. More so, Article 16(1) of the SADC Treaty states that the Tribunal shall be constituted to ensure observance of and the appropriate interpretation of the SADC Treaty and other subsidiary instruments and to decide upon such matters as may be referred to it. Furthermore, Article 14 of the SADC Tribunal Protocol gives the SADC Tribunal jurisdiction over 'all disputes and all applications referred to it in accordance with the Treaty and this Protocol which relate to various SADC instruments. In terms of Article 15 the Tribunal has jurisdiction over legal and natural persons and member states and Article 15(2) subsequently contains an exhaustion of local remedies rule, in regard to natural persons. The Tribunal also functions as a labour tribunal. More so, it has an appellate function in relation, for instance, to the trade panels established in terms of Article 31(b) of the SADC Protocol on Trade. The Tribunal also plays a role of advisory function as stipulated in Article 20 of the Tribunal Protocol. In more general terms it is conspicuous that the SADC Tribunal is expected to serve as a key institution in the SADC legal and institutional integration process. On the 18th of August 2005, The Summit of Heads of State which is the Supreme Policy Institution of SADC, pursuant to Article 4(4) of the Protocol on the Tribunal, appointed the members of the Tribunal during its Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Gaborone, Botswana.48 On 18 November 2005 the Tribunal was inaugurated and the judges were sworn in. The Tribunal received its first cases in 2007 among which most of them were related to labour disputes. The Campbell case was the first matter brought before the Tribunal which dealt with issues of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Tribunal ruled against Zimbabwe in this matter and ordered Zimbabwe to, among other things, compensate the applicants for their confiscated farms. Zimbabwe refused to comply with the decision of the Tribunal. The Tribunal referred the matter to the Summit of the Heads of States and Governments for them to impose appropriate sanctions on Zimbabwe. The summit responded by a de facto suspension of the Tribunal. The suspension of the Tribunal and the refusal of Zimbabwe to enforce the Tribunal decisions indicate that the Tribunal is plagued by various problems, especially in relation to the enforcement of its decisions. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Tribunal is pivotal for the pursuit of sub-regional integration of SADC members as it constitutes an integral part of the Treaty. Therefore, the de facto suspension of the Tribunal may have a negative effect on the goals of SADC to '…promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socioeconomic development that will ensure poverty alleviation with the ultimate objective of its eradication, enhance the standard and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration.’ Hence, it is the primary objective of this dissertation to conduct an analysis of the various aspects of the Tribunal and its decision in the Campbell case in order to generate recommendations for the strengthening of this judicial institution of SADC pursuant to regional integration.
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Trent, Stoney A. "A study of the cognitive challenges and vulnerabilities of intelligence analysis." The Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1413473549.
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Katz, Amy Wallk. "Teaching prayer in liberal supplementary schools : an analysis of the challenges /." Ann Arbor, MI : University Microfilms, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview/3075026.
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Maataoui, Hajar <1997>. "Global Diffusion of Intellectual Property Rights: Analysis on Challenges and Benefits." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/20510.
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Throughout history, we experienced the development of many legal approaches with the aim to preserve and safeguard intellectual property rights, granted to individuals over their intellectual work. This dissertation examines the overall efficiency of the system, the mechanisms employed to enforce IPRs, as well as the countries’ evolution when it comes to their roles in this changing international policy environment. The research covers also the importance of intellectual property rights in economic activity and highlights some emerging trends in the IPRs field through a brief econometric analysis, which demonstrates the significance of IPRs in both the production of intellectual assets and the application of private knowledge for the overall business performance. Intangible resources have become more crucial for companies as a method to differentiate themselves from their competition, therefore, the intellectual property system is now desirable and vital for all economic players, particularly small and medium-sized companies. However, observed data shows that small and medium-sized enterprises have major problems in properly exploiting the IPRs, which might limit their capacity to leverage their creative and innovative talents; thus, the paper looks into some of the barriers and techniques used to overcome them. Worldwide, countries have coordinated and aligned to a significant degree their legislation protecting intangible goods.
A substantial harmonization of intellectual property laws is best seen as form of policy diffusion, which means that states generally do not develop such laws to respond to domestic policy concerns. The study then examines the difficulties that developing countries face in changing their intellectual property rights regimes while minimizing the negative consequences of increased protection by focusing on foreign direct investment and trade. Finally, the analysis underlines the importance of developing an exit strategy to adopt during the pandemic, which necessitates financial organization, judgment, collaboration and a rigorous approach. Exit options must be offered in a transparent and timely way to give banks and governments time and flexibility to address economic activities and intellectual property issues that arise during the development of new medications, vaccines, and general technologies to tackle COVID-19's dangers.
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Thabot, Arnaud Henri. "Porosity Analysis in Starch Imbued Handsheets - Challenges using impulse drying and methods for image analysis." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/19804.
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In about 30 years of experiments and development, impulse drying is now considered as a well known technology and a good candidate in the constant effort to save energy in the paper industry. The drying section is indeed the most expensive section in the process of paper production. However, this potential technology has a major disadvantage, stopping its implementation in the industry. Paper, which is a porous material with a variable compressibility, experienced a sudden release of energy at the nip opening during impulse drying. Under these conditions of high intensity process (both in temperature and pressure), the fiber mat has a tendency to delaminate. This web disruption is a critical issue against impulse drying.
This thesis comes up with a new approach to the problem. These last years, the technology itself has been addressed in this issue and many improvements have been reached in terms of energy release (heat transfer control, material coating ). The novel idea is then to investigate the inner structure of the paper once it has been coated with starch to a large extent (up to 10 or 20% of the relative basis weight). Starch is known for its large use in industry, but also its capability to expand under high temperature. Hence, both relative strength and bulking effects are investigated in this thesis, using numerous experiments with variable temperatures and pressures, along with ultrasonic testing and image analysis. We have the opportunity to appreciate the phenomenon of heat transfer and mass transport in the coated medium, while reaching promising results in terms of strength and bulk. These are finally investigated using scanning electron microscopy as a first step toward a pore expansion model for starch imbued handsheets.
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Shand, Corinne Margaret. "Investigating data standardisation and modelling challenges to enable advanced power systems analysis." Thesis, Brunel University, 2018. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/16362.
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As the power industry moves towards more active distribution networks there is an increased requirement for greater analysis and observability of the current state of the network. There are a number of challenges for utilities in realising this including the quality and accuracy of their network models; the lack of integration between network models and the large quantities of sensor data being collected; the security and communication challenges posed when installing large numbers of sophisticated sensors across distribution networks; and the exponential increase in computing power required to fully analyse modern network configurations. This thesis will look at these challenges and how cloud computing can be used to provide novel solutions by providing secure platforms on which to deploy complex data collection and network analysis applications. One of the main research contributions is the use of remote data collection from Micro Phasor Measurement Units (μPMUs), which collect synchronised information about the state of the distribution network. Impedance equations are applied to network data recorded from μPMUs and the results are compared to network models. This identifies areas of the distribution network as requiring resurveying or upgrading, potentially impacting planning for installation of generation or load. Triggers can be used to reduce the bandwidth of data being sent by a μPMU; these were tested with real world data to highlight how a combination of local intelligence and cloud-based analysis can be used to reduce bandwidth requirements while supporting the use of detailed measurement data for cloud-based analysis in a fault detection system. Power flow analysis is an important tool for both operations and planning engineers, and as computing power has increased the time required to run individual power flow analysis cases has decreased rapidly. However there has also been a corresponding increase in the complexity of the data as utilities seek to model and analyse distributed energy resources attached on the medium and low voltage networks. This has made network models more complex, exponentially increasing the number of contingencies that need to be analysed in an emergency situation. Another main research contribution is a demonstration of the challenges faced when using a commercial cloud platform to inexpensively solve computationally intensive power flow problems and the time, costs and feasibility of performing N-1 and N-2 analysis on a 21,000-bus network. It includes a full analysis and comparison of execution times and costs for different commercial cloud system configurations as well as the extrapolated costs required to run a full N-2 analysis of over 420 million contingencies in under 10 minutes. This includes a demonstration of a cloud client and server application developed as part of this research that leverages a commercial power flow engine. Finally, this thesis will summarise how each of these research outputs can be combined to provide utilities with a commercial, open, standards-based cloud platform for continuous, automated contingency analysis using real-time sensor data based on current network conditions. This would better inform control engineers about areas of vulnerability and help them identify and counter these in real-time.
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Ingham, Esther. "A Foucauldian phenomenological analysis of psychological challenges experienced following spinal cord injury." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2018. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-foucauldian-phenomenological-analysis-of-psychological-challenges-experienced-following-spinal-cord-injury(abe8140c-9683-4584-b53b-10d081902977).html.
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This study explores potential therapeutic needs of people who have recently incurred a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and consequently live with an acquired disability. There are currently more people living with SCI than ever, yet there is still apparently little awareness or understanding of the complexity of the many potential psychological challenges caused by the injury. Despite disability being an inevitable part of existence, it is not consistently theoretically conceptualized other than to involve issues of power and vulnerability, and therapeutic literature relating to physical disability is scant. An inductive approach to the study was taken in order to focus on personal experiences of SCI, and more than one epistemological framework is mobilized in order to more comprehensively understand issues relating to disability and SCI. Using the (apparently conflicting) works of Foucault and Merleau-Ponty to inform a discourse analysis, both the cultural and historical social constructions, and the phenomenologically embodied aspects of disability are balanced to create a more holistic understanding of the experiences of acquired disability as a result of SCI. Seven participants were recruited for the study from an NHS specialist Spinal Injury Unit. Semi-structured interviews were conducted twice - once whilst participants were in-patients of the Unit, and once soon after they had been discharged. The main body of analysis is divided into three thematic sections: the Ecological - focusing on the roles of power relationships, institutions and culture through language and behavior, The Phenomenological - identifying the body as the primary site of 'knowing-in-the-world' and the implications to the sense of self of altered bodily experiences as a result of a new physicality, and The Existential - exploring how SCI can force a reconsideration of the possible significance or purpose(meaning) to be found in living. Trauma is acknowledged but not addressed as a primary focus, while the temporal element to the experience of SCI is identified. Focusing on the recently injured person's perspective at two significant points post-injury, this study aims to challenge the static concept of disability, and reconceptualise it as something experienced as fluid and context-dependent. The importance and affect of reflexivity in the study is also explored, as well as issues/implications of researcher positioning. The inter-relatedness of identified dominant themes is discussed in an attempt to illustrate the complex fluid interactions between SCI/acquired disability and individual life contexts. Identified themes are developed using critical disability theory, feminist literature, disability studies and Buddhist thought in order to advance understanding and conceptualisation of disability and the psychological experience of SCI. Education and reflexive awareness particularly regarding the machinations of widespread and embedded power relations relating to disability, as well as their consequences, are indicated as ethically necessary requirements (as an issue of social justice) for counselling psychologists to be able to practice appropriately, Ultimately, it is hoped that by investigating accounts of what affected individuals feel the dominant psychological challenges and difficulties are within their first year of injury, it may be possible for therapeutic services to become more effectively tailored to their specific needs.
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Petersson, Erik V. "Analysis of Acrylamide and Anthocyanins in Foods : Extraction Optimization for Challenging Analytes." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Analytisk kemi, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-109752.
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In this thesis, the main concern has been to improve the reliability of different parts of the analytical workflow (Paper I, II, IV &V). Additionally, one of the resulting optimized methods was used in a real application (Paper III). Paper I-II concerned the extraction of acrylamide (AA) from foods. In Paper I different parameters such as sample particle size, extraction solvent, extraction time and extraction temperature were optimized, leading to a method that showed good agreement with the assigned AA levels of several proficiency test samples. Later, after the publication of the paper, the method showed good performance in a collaborative trial validation, in terms of trueness, repeatability and reproducibility figures. It was labeled “undoubtedly fit for the purpose”. In Paper II, it was shown that the ‘extra’ amounts of AA obtained during extraction of foods with an alkaline aqueous solution was not due to improved extractability of AA from the food matrix. Strongly alkaline conditions seemed to rather induce net formation of AA from water-soluble precursors formed during thermolysis. This phenomenon should therefore be regarded as an extraction artifact. Paper III was an application of the optimized method from Paper I, where it was used to study the reduction of AA in potato chips (crisps) by using pre-treatments and frying at reduced pressure. There were significant reductions in AA, down to below the limit of quantification (5 µg/kg) for the method. Paper IV-V concerned analysis of anthocyanins (AC) in red onion. In Paper IV, a new separation method using capillary electrophoresis was developed, and its rapidness combined with an acidic background electrolyte helped in preventing AC degradation. Furthermore, its alternative separation mechanism is a complement to that of the more commonly used liquid chromatography technique. In Paper V, simultaneous extraction and degradation of anthocyanins from red onion was studied in a static batch reactor at 110ºC. The extraction and degradation kinetics were successfully separated, and an ideal theoretical extraction curve was constructed by compensating mathematically for degradation effects, showing that more anthocyanins, 21 to 36% depending on different species, could be extracted if no degradation occurred. The results give important information about the different kinetics competing during an extraction procedure, and also show that quantitative extraction is not to recommend in the batch system used in the study.
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Gretak, Alyssa P., Jill D. Stinson, Lydia L. Eisenbrandt, and Carrie C. LeMay. "Challenges in Rural Offender Reentry: A Qualitative Analysis of Treatment Provider Perspectives." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7936.
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Channing, Jill. "Challenges and Opportunities: Community Colleges in the Coming Decade." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/4877.
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In a time of great social and political change, what are the major challenges and opportunities that community colleges and their leaders will face in the coming decade? How can leaders lead through changes involving enrollment, shifts in populations, new funding models, new student success definitions, and accountability measures?
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França, Cesar L., Kate Maddigan, and Kyle White. "Sustainability Opportunities and Challenges of the Biofuels Industry." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Avdelningen för maskinteknik, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-2301.
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Liquid biofuels are being produced to displace fossil fuels for transportation, with bioethanol and biodiesel being the primary biofuels produced for this purpose in the world today. While there is consensus on the need for a sustainable biofuels industry, there is little consensus on how to proceed to avoid environmental and social degradation with global biofuel production. A literature review of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data, and the generic Strategic Life-Cycle Management (SLCM) and Template for Sustainable Product Development (TSPD) approaches, helped to inform the creation of a specific tool for sustainable industrial biofuels development, called the TSPD for biofuels. Other data collection involved expert and industry dialogue, as well as stakeholder feedback, on the content of the TSPD. Results showed a variety of sustainability challenges and opportunities, the most significant of which concerns agricultural production. Compelling measures for a sustainable biofuels industry include: cooperation among all stakeholders using a systems approach based on strategic sustainable development, sustainable biofuels certification; and government policies to stimulate research into new technologies and feedstocks, as well as to reduce consumption and increase efficiency.skiingkyle@yahoo.ca, csrlevy@terra.com.br, Kate_maddigan@yahoo.com
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Walaza, Robert Letsholo. "A thematic analysis of the challenges experienced by those living with tuberculosis." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61850.
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Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) in his study, The condition of the working class in England, argued that the cause of illness and death amongst the working class was due to their living conditions such as poor housing, over-crowding, poor sanitation, food shortage, low paying jobs and a lack of material resources. The objective of the study was to understand the experiences of six South African individuals who have shared their experiences and challenges of living with TB on the TB&ME blog, and to show how TB is linked to the living conditions of these individuals. The study found that the challenges experienced by TB patient bloggers are of a social nature and confirms Engel’s study findings on the conditions of the working class in England. For example, a disease such as TB has a direct association with the living conditions of people, especially the poor. Thus, socio economic status of TB patient bloggers plays a role in the escalation of their ill health. Further, the study found that gender is central in understanding non-compliance to treatment. This is significant as it highlights the need to not only focus on issues of socioeconomics, but gender issues in fighting TB. Despite the negative consequences associated with living with TB, the bloggers have noted that the support from loved ones and other stakeholders in the fight against TB alleviates the challenges inherent in living with TB.
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Santos, Rivera Juan De Dios. "Data Analysis on Hadoop - finding tools and applications for Big Data challenges." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för informationsteknologi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-260557.
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With the increasing number of data generated each day, recent development in software, provide the tools needed to tackle the challenges of the so called Big Data era. This project introduces some of these platforms, in particular it focuses on platforms for data analysis and query tools that works alongside Hadoop. In the first part of this project, the Hadoop framework and its main components, MapReduce, YARN and HDFS are introduced. This is followed by giving an overview of seven platforms that are part of the Hadoop ecosystem. In this overview we exposed their key features, components, programming model and architecture. The following chapter introduced 12 parameters that are used to compare these platforms side by side and it ends with a summary and discussion where they are divided into several classes according to their usage, use cases and data environment. In the last part of this project, a web log analysis, belonging to one of Sweden's top newspapers, was done using Apache Spark, one of the platforms analyzed. The purpose of this analysis was to showcase some of the features of Spark while doing an exploratory data analysis.
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Ghosh, Rajib. "Rock Mass Characterisation Using Drill Performance Monitoring : Problems, Analysis challenges and Limitations." Licentiate thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Drift, underhåll och akustik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-26678.
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In open pit mining, it is important to know as much information as possible about rock masses to be mined for more cost-effective mining operation. In rock engineering perspective, information about rock mass characteristics usually includes hardness of the rock, geological features, fractures, faults, ore contacts, water bearing stratum. The information about large scale rock mass characterisation is still based on traditional methods such as widely spacedcore drillings, geological mapping of exposed walls, analysis of drill cutting, etc but these methods involve uncertainty about rock mass characteristics in uncored areas. In addition, they are expensive and time consuming. The need for more inexpensive methods providing high resolution rock mass characterisation over large mining areas is therefore a priority forfuture mining industry. Measurement While Drilling (MWD) is a well-established drill monitoring technique which provides information about the rock mass in each production hole. This technique is inexpensive and also ensures high resolution information. By using this technique, drill parameters such as penetration rate, feed force, rotation speed, rotation torque and air pressure are recorded during production drilling which can be used to characterise the penetrated rock mass. However, recorded parameters are not only influencedby the variation of rock mass characteristics; they are also affected by the operators, rig control system interventions, bit wear and measurement errors. In order to use this large amount of data on recorded parameters for the purpose of rock mass characterisation, it is necessary to improve our existing understanding about the contribution of all the influencingfactors and to develop the techniques for identifying and minimising the effect of those factors on rock mass characterisation. The focus of this thesis is to evaluate Measurement While Drilling (MWD) system as a tool for large scale rock mass characterisation in rotary blast hole drilling. In this thesis, researchmethods mainly include literature review, data collection, processing, integration, and analysis. The data have been collected from one of the operating open pit mines in Sweden. Multivariate analysis has been performed to assess the wear of the bit. This thesis presents an attempt to evaluate recorded penetration rate and calculated specific energy for rock mass characterisation. Penetration rate is considered as resistance to crushingof the rock while the calculated specific energy is taken as an index of the mechanical efficiency of a rock working process. The analysis shows that horizontal maps of penetration rate and specific energy (hole average) value reflects the variation of rock mass characteristics in a bench. The areas in the bench which have comparatively higher penetration rate and lower specific energy reflect possible interaction between the bit and soft or weak rock orheavily jointed rock. In contrast some areas in the bench have a relatively lower penetration rate and higher specific energy, indicating possible interaction between the bit and hard rock. In addition, using penetration rate and specific energy values between two subsequent benches indicate similar boundaries among the penetrated zones. When plotting specific energy against penetration rate in each bench, a clear inverse non-linear relationship has beenfound between those parameters. This correlation indicates that penetration rate and specific energy can indicate rock mass behaviour. Further, statistical analysis is done to observe the statistical significance of penetration rate and specific energy values among the different penetrated areas in the bench. The results indicate that penetration rate and specific energy can be used for characterizing large scale rock masses. In addition, information about the rockmass in the upper bench can possibly be used in the next bench to improve production planning. However, hole by hole analysis shows penetration rate and specific energy are influenced by bit wear, hole depth variables, flushing system, operator influence, drill control system, etc.Principal Component Analysis (PCA) shows that penetration rate and specific energy reflecting the change of rock mass characteristics basically are not correlated to bit life length. The bit life length seems instead to be well correlated to the operational parameters such as rotation torque, rotation speed and to a minor extent feed force. Conclusions from PCA analysis must be conservative since the explanation rate for the first two components islimited to 56.5%. Further, the analysis shows that recorded penetration rate has a negative trend with the increasing hole depth. The calculated specific energy has a positive trend with the increasing hole depth. This means that recorded parameters are influenced by hole depth variables.The flushing system also influences recorded parameters. The analysis shows that constant air pressure from the collaring point to the end does not give a clear indication of better flushing system as frequent joints and regular water ingression usually cause fluctuation of pressure.Some of the above mentioned problems can be handled to minimise the effect of influencing factors on recorded parameters. The direct effect of bit wear and hole depth dependency can be minimised by generating a horizontal map of recorded data (e.g. penetration rate) over a large area in the bench. Hole depth dependency on recorded parameters can also be neutralised by performing normalisation based on a regression line using simple geometry. Inshort, the effect of influencing factors on the recorded parameters obtained by using the Measurement While Drilling technique can be minimised and, this technique, in turn, can become a useful tool for large scale rock mass characterisation.Godkänd; 2015; 20150423 (rajgho); Nedanstående person kommer att hålla licentiatseminarium för avläggande av teknologie licentiatexamen. Namn: Rajib Ghosh Ämne: Drift och underhållsteknik/Operation and Maintenance Engineering Uppsats: Rock Mass Characterisation Using Drill Performance Monitoring Examinator: Håkan Schunnesson Institutionen för samhällsbyggnad och naturresurser Avdelning Geoteknologi Luleå tekniska universitet Diskutant: Professor Piyush Rai Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Indien Tid: Tisdag 9 juni 2015 kl 10.00 Plats: F1031, Luleå tekniska universitet
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Vesterlund, Mattias. "District heating system analysis and challenges within the urban transformation of Kiruna." Doctoral thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Energivetenskap, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-63091.
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There is currently an ongoing urban transformation in a small Swedish town named Kiruna, it is located in the very north of Sweden well above the Arctic Circle in a sub-arctic climate. Large part of the town will be relocated due to the ground deformation that is caused by the progressing iron ore mining activity and it is affecting all infrastructures of the town. This thesis aims to accomplish a holistic analysis on the district heating (DH) system for the town of Kiruna and its future challenges. Energy companies with a DH system recognize the importance in having a good understanding about the network characteristics, for obtaining an efficient and stabile heat delivery to the end-users. In this thesis, a method for modeling and simulation of meshed DH networks is described, that makes it possible to study and analyze the flow pattern in order to locate non-obvious paths, bottlenecks and overloaded pipes. For carrying out the DH simulations a fundamental input is to set the thermal losses for each pipe segment in the model, a fictitious series with all pipe diameters is created which corresponds to the annual losses in the real network. In comparison with the pipes series manufactured today the created one is best described by the series with least insulation and highest thermal losses. The studied network has its origin in the 60th and is the sum of the different piping technics that has been valid over time, this mixture is positioning the thermal performance as a close to a worst-case scenario. To the meshed DH network a number of heat production sites are connected for delivering the thermal requested by the end-users, each site consisting of several boilers and using different resources. A hybrid evolutionary-Mixed Integer Linear Programing (MILP) optimization approach is developed and applied for finding the cost-optimal heat production for three scenarios in combination of two heating demand levels. It is stated that no matter the geographically location of the site the cheapest resource should always be favorable as fuel, in the case when the same resource is viable at different sites a differentiated heat production is obtained. The supply temperature from each site is found to be the one lowest possible in order to serve all site-concerned end-users with a temperature level high enough for hot water production. The findings recommend a network temperatures reduction with the consequence in higher cost related to pumping work, but is lower than the savings due to the reduction in thermal losses. In order to provide the relocated part of the town with DH the hybrid evolutionary-MILP optimization routine is reshaped for finding different alternatives for network expansion layouts. The result is presented as a multi objective analysis between the operation cost and installation cost, showing the complete spectra of all optimal possible solutions and how the different cost correlate to each other. In this way, the outcome can be used for support in decision making, helping network owners is their planning and pipe sizing for new areas. For constructing the buildings that will populate the new city-area the Swedish government has stated a number of recommendations for achieving livable thermal indoor climate. An investigation is carried out analyzing the impact from the usage of three different heating system; air/air heat pump, air heating and floor heating in a low energy family house, where the first two system are aimed to use heat from the DH network. The analysis show that only the floor heating system satisfies the recommendations stated, but with carefully planning an air heating system could also fulfill the recommendations. Further, a techno-economical evaluation declares that the cheapest heating cost over 30 years is by using an air/air heat pump. In order to make DH competitive as heating source the needed price reduction is found for the hydronic floor and air heating system. Finally, three different building energy performance scenarios are studied in conjunction with the urban transformation in combination with the suggested energy measures from the Energy Performance certificates (EPC). In order to reach the national target entailing a reduction of 50% until 2050 all re-built buildings have to be built with passive standard and all advised measures in the EPC has to be carried out. Wort noticing is that the scenarios is analyzed as part of a 3-D City Model, which is found to be a worthwhile working tool for staff dealing with energy related issues.
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CABBOI, ALESSANDRO. "Automatic operational modal analysis: challenges and applications to historic structures and infrastructures." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11584/266404.
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The core of the work turns around the capability to automate Operational Modal Analysis methods for permanent dynamic monitoring systems. In general, the application of OMA methods requires an experienced engineer in experimental dynamics and modal analysis; in addition, a lot of time is usually spent in manual analysis, necessary to ensure the best estimation of modal parameters. Those features are in contrast with permanent dynamic monitoring, which requires algorithms in order to efficiently manage the huge amount of recorded data in short time, ensuring
an acceptable quality of results. Therefore, the use of parametric identification methods, like SSI methods, are explored and some recommendations concerning its application are provided. The identification process is combined with the automatic interpretation of stabilization diagrams based on a damping ratio check and on modal complexity inspection. Finally, a clustering method for the
identified modes and a modal tracking strategy is suggested and discussed. The whole procedure is validated with a one-month and a one-year set of "manually-identified" modal parameters. This constitutes a quite unique set of validation data in the literature. Two monitoring case studies are studied: a railway iron arch bridge (1889) and a masonry bell-tower (XII century). Within this framework, classical and new strategies to handle the huge amount of recorded and identified data are proposed and compared for structural anomaly detection. The classical strategies
are mainly based on the inspection of any irreversible frequency variation. To such purpose, it is mandatory an extensive correlation study with environmental and operational factors which affect the frequency of the vibration modes. Conversely, one of the proposed strategy aims to use alternative dynamic features that are not sensitive to environmental factors, like mode shape or
modal complexity, instead of frequency parameters in order to detect any structural anomaly. In addition, a further strategy has the goal to eliminate the environmental-induced effects on frequency without the knowledge and the measurements of such factors. The procedure is mainly based on the combination of a simple regression model with the results obtained by a Principal Component
Analysis. Furthermore, two automated Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) procedures are compared for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) purposes: the first one is based on SSI methods, while the second one involves a non-parametric technique like the Frequency Domain Decomposition method
(FDD). In conclusion, a model updating strategy for historic structures using Ambient Vibration Test
and long term monitoring results is presented. The main goal is to integrate the information provided by a FE model with those continuously extracted by a dynamic monitoring system, basing so any detection of structural anomalies on the variation of the uncertain structural parameters.
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Moon, Miri. "Journalistic challenges and international news dynamics in the Korean peninsula." Thesis, Brunel University, 2015. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/11221.
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This thesis explores national and international news reporting of a major controversial news story – the sinking of South Korean corvette, Cheonan in March 2010. The thesis draws upon a comparative analysis of major news coverage pertaining to the incident with a sample of US/UK and South Korean media (AP, CNN, The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, Yonhap,The Hankyoreh Shinmun, The DongA Ilbo). In addition 18 semi-structured interviews with foreign correspondents and Korean journalists were conducted in order to explore news gathering practices concerning the incident and to investigate factors that influence news production. There has been a growing debate that a paradigm shift in journalism theory is necessary in the post-Cold War era. This study examines how a new paradigm shift might be applicable in the case of North Korea. This study also addresses international news flow and explores the propaganda model by Herman and Chomsky (2002) in light of media influence in foreign policy. Specifically, this study attempts to investigate the applicability of some filters in the propaganda model in the context of the North and South Korea’s conflict coverage, concentrating on the use of news sources and the impact of new media on journalism practices. This is contextualised by addressing journalistic challenges of covering South and North Korean conflicts. Key findings are that the dominant news frames identified were conflict frames in international news media and human interest frame in national news respectively. The primary factor that influenced journalism practices at a national and an international level include a journalist’s ideology - one of the most significant factors in news framing. Moreover, a routinized journalism practice, and inaccessibility to North Korea that entailed limited news sources also influenced the ways in which news relating to the Cheonan incident was reported. Some filters of the propaganda model, which are routinized news sources relying on officials and ideological convergence such as anti-communism were operationalised in the case of the Cheonan. The international news agencies also played a pivotal role as primary definer and seemed to influence national and international mainstream media. Correspondents perceived that the Korean news media’s ideological cleavage hampered Korean social integration. On a global scale, South Korea’s security is under the influence of geopolitical power control with peripheral countries. Given the impact of newsmaking on society and policy making, this study highlights that investigative journalism practices based on gathering ‘facts’ and the personal ethics of journalists themselves are indispensable.
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Chandramoulee, Sriranjini. "A story and an analysis of Indian Cities." Thesis, KTH, Urbana och regionala studier, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-218297.
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Indian cities are where some of the highest concentrations of people live. The high concentrations of people coupled with constant migration to the urban area makes it important to assess the urban environment. The cities are composed of a population of a minimum of 1 million to a maximum of 25 million. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the perspectives of the people and their take on the main issues that plague Indian cities. This will inturn help in deciphering the question of does the priorities of the Government align with that of the people?
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Oliveira, Maria de Fatima. "Multicultural Environments and their Challenges to Crisis Communication." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2010. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/92288.
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Mass Media and CommunicationPh.D.
In a global business environment, cultural understanding is an essential tool for successful communication and relationship building between organizations and audiences. However, the power of cultural values to modify individuals' ways of thinking and communicating is not well understood in terms of crisis communication management. Therefore, this study applied Sue's (1991, 2001) theory of cultural competence to examine the effect of cultural values on crisis communication planning, using three methodological approaches. First, grounded theory analysis was applied to qualitative interviews with 25 communication professionals concerning cultural influences on crisis. Second, a national online survey (N=172) assessed communication practitioners' attitudes toward, and knowledge about, other cultures, and their skills to respond to diverse cultures. Third, media portrayals of corporate crises were examined with semantic network analysis of news articles from the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal between January 1, 2007 and December, 31, 2008, to identify whether cultural aspects were mentioned. These approaches yielded five main findings. First, PR practitioners had difficulties in defining multiculturalism, often equating cultural diversity with communicating with Latinos. Second, interviewees saw cultural differences as just one aspect of diversity, emphasizing that age, religion, and education differences also affect corporate discourse. Third, although professionals considered culture a key element of crisis management, they did not feel prepared to handle the challenges of a multicultural crisis, nor did they report that they used culturally adjusted crisis strategies often. Fourth, regression analyses conducted on the survey data showed that skills to manage multicultural situations and openness to diverse knowledge significantly predict the relevance professionals attributed to culture when designing crisis communication strategies. Fifth, media accounts of crises did not mention cultural elements in the three newspapers investigated. By integrating cultural competence and crisis management frameworks, this study provides the foundation for an in-depth understanding of crises, where scholars can pair crisis strategies with audiences' cultural expectations. Instructors can incorporate this framework to their courses, preparing PR students to new demands of the profession. Finally, training initiatives focused on increasing levels of cultural competence can make organizations ready to the challenges of a global market.
Temple University--Theses
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Tsakopoulou, Myrto. "Clients' experience of recovery from borderline personality disorder in dialectical behaviourial therapy : an interpretative phenomenological analysis." Thesis, University of East London, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.532973.
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The present study examined client perspectives on recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). It aimed to investigate recovery meant to people diagnosed with BPD, whether people at the advanced stages of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) considered themselves to be in recovery and what are the specific elements of therapeutic treatment that facilitate or hinder recovery from BPD, from a client perspective.
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Nyarambi, Arnold, Pamela Mims, and James Fox. "Using Applied Behavior Analysis to Effectively Address the Learning and Behavior Challenges of Young Children With Autism: An Effective Science-Based Approach." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2012. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/8273.
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Gates, Maureen Carolyn. "Controlling endemic disease in cattle populations : current challenges and future opportunities." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/9378.
Full textAbstract:
The British cattle population hosts a diverse community of endemic pathogens that impact the sustainability of beef and dairy production. As such, there has been a tremendous amount of ongoing research to develop more cost-effective strategies for controlling disease at the industry level. Cattle movements have come under particular scrutiny over the past decade both because of their role in spreading many economically important diseases and because the movements of individual cattle in Great Britain have been explicitly recorded in a centralized electronic database since 1998. Numerous studies have shown that these cattle movements organize into complex networks with key structural and temporal features that influence transmission dynamics. Building on previous work, this thesis used a variety of epidemiological and statistical models to highlight limitations in the current approaches to controlling disease as well as opportunities for reducing endemic disease prevalence through targeted interventions. Empirical disease data from the national bovine tuberculosis (bTB) control programme and from two seroprevalence studies of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) in Scottish cattle herds were used in conjunction with movement data from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) database. Endemic diseases are often challenging to control due to lack of affordable and accurate diagnostic tests as well as the presence of subclinically infected carriers that can easily escape detection. There was evidence that combined issues with the sensitivity and specificity of routine surveillance methods for bTB were contributing to a low level of disease transmission within and between Scottish cattle herds from 2002 to 2009. For BVDV, herds that purchased pregnant beef dams, beef dams with a calf at foot, and open dairy heifers were significantly more likely to be seropositive even though these movements were responsible for only a small number of network contacts. In both cases, targeting the subset of high risk movements with disease specific biosecurity measures may be a more cost-effective use of limited national disease control resources. Other researchers have suggested that control strategies should target multiple diseases simultaneously to reduce trade-offs in resource allocation. Using key indicators of herd reproductive performance derived from the CTS database, it was shown that improving the reproductive management of herds operating below industry standards could reduce endemic disease prevalence by reducing the movements of replacement breeding cattle. A series of network generation algorithms were also developed to study the effects of restricting contact formation based on key demographic and network characteristics of actively trading cattle farms. Strategies that increased network fragmentation either by forcing highly connected farms to form contacts with other highly connected farms or preventing the formation of movements with a high predicted betweenness centrality were found to be particularly effective in limiting disease transmission. For these models to be useful in guiding future policy decisions, it is important to incorporate financial and behavioural drivers of dynamic network change. Following the introduction of pre- and post-movement testing requirements for cattle imported into Scotland from endemic bTB regions, there was a significant decline in cross-border movements, which has likely contributed to the decreasing risk of bTB outbreaks as much as testing itself. Many endemic cattle diseases such as BVDV also spread through local transmission mechanisms, which may undermine the success of disease control programmes that exclusively target cattle movements. There was also evidence that in the absence of national animal legislation, few farmers were likely to adopt biosecurity measures against BVDV. This may be related to the perceived inefficacy of recommendations as well as general unawareness of farm disease status due to the non-specific clinical signs of BVDV outbreaks. Although the CTS database was originally intended for use in slaughter traceback investigations, results from this thesis show how the basic records of births, deaths, and movements can be used to generate valuable insights into the epidemiology of endemic cattle diseases. The findings also emphasize that the management decisions of individual herds can have a substantial impact on industry level transmission dynamics, which offers unique opportunities to develop novel and more cost-effective disease control programmes.
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Lamond, Catherine. "Young people leaving care : plans, challenges and discourses." Thesis, University of Wolverhampton, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2436/621224.
Full textAbstract:
This small-scale study explored plans for four young people leaving care and the perspectives of twelve key adults supporting them. Using Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis, the rationale for this research was concern about the difference in outcomes between care leavers and young people in general. Aims were to explore if contradictions in plans and ideas contributed to problems for the young people, and to examine explanations and justifications made by the adult participants. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews from an opportunistic sample. Findings indicated that the established problem of young people having to leave care too early persists in spite of initiatives to prevent this happening. Theories drawn from the psychology of child development influence the professionals’ constructions of the young people, thereby limiting the responses which adults can offer. It is proposed that neoliberal discourses of individual responsibility and continuous self-improvement constrain systems which encourage young people to leave care before they are ready. Two concepts of chop (abrupt change, such as end of school phase) and churn (disruption, such as staff turnover) are used to examine how frequent disturbance in the life of a looked after child is exacerbated by points of rupture which are caused by the structures of children’s services. This study adds to calls for increased stability for young people, and recommends earlier planning for the future of young people in care. Implications for educational practice are presented, including the need to ensure that leaving mainstream education for segregated provision is not an irreversible decision. It is suggested that educators should consider critically the labelling of looked after children as having Special Educational Needs, as this can lead to practices which encourage compliance by young people, and pathologise resistance which could instead be re-framed as self-reliance.