Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Case control design'
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Zhang, Han. "Information Driven Control Design: A Case for PMSM Control." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1515408555890069.
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鄧國樑 and Kwok-Leung Tang. "Urban design control: case study in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31980491.
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Tang, Kwok-Leung. "Urban design control : case study in Hong Kong /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B25799411.
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Peterson, Lloyd G. "Lean/flow design event a manufacturing cost reduction case study /." Online version, 2004. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2004/2004petersonl.pdf.
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Zammit, A. "Urban design quality through development control : the case of Malta." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2013. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1390793/.
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Taking the island of Malta as a case study, this research questions the role of development control in delivering urban design quality. Authors have acknowledged the significance of this relationship. However, few studies have tried to assess both sides of the story, focusing instead on the study of either the planning process or final design outcome in isolation. These studies have also generally tended to rely exclusively on either qualitative or quantitative research methods. The Maltese plan‐led discretionary planning system is experiencing interesting times. Recent documents produced by the Kamra tal‐Periti, the Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers, together with central Government’s National Environment Policy, point to the need for an informed debate on urban design quality in the built environment. Central Government also initiated a planning reform in 2010, which to date has remained focused on the reform of planning procedures within the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, rather than on quality targets. These are also challenging times. The intense residential development that characterised the past decades occurred at the expense of broader qualitative considerations. Its consequences have been compounded by the restrictive spirit of current policy tools, their inadequacy in addressing urban design issues, and the approach of officers and decision‐makers in their regard. It is thus the optimal time to study the Maltese planning system. This research explores the multifarious debates surrounding development control, urban design quality and the Maltese planning context. Using a mixed four-stage methodology comprising both quantitative and qualitative research tools, it subsequently develops ‘process’- and ‘product’-related analytical frameworks that respectively assess key themes within the planning process and the quality of urban design outcome on the ground. At the concluding stage, the research draws these frameworks together to determine their possible relationship and provide recommendations to stimulate a rethinking of planning practice.
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Hein, Misty. "Occupational Cohort Studies and the Nested Case-Control Study Design." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1250795434.
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Keogh, Ruth Heather. "Several aspects of the design and analysis of case-control studies." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.442567.
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Loizides, Charalambos. "Extensions of the case-control design in genome-wide association studies." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:89e057e5-d30f-4125-b210-14d1f2aa37c1.
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The case-control design is one of the most commonly used designs in genome- wide asociation studies. When we increase the sample size of either the controls or, more importantly, the cases, the power of whatever test we use will certainly increase. However increasing the sample size, means that addi- tional individuals need to be genotyped and this implies extra financial costs. However, nowadays with the emergence of genetic studies, a large number of genetic data are available at low or no extra cost. Even though those data may not be completely relevant to the current study, they can still be used to increase the probability to identify true associations. Furthermore, additional information, non-necessarily genetic, can also be used to improve the power of a method. In this thesis we extend the case-control design in order to take ad- vantage of such types of additional data and/or information. We discuss three designs; the case-cohort-control, the kin-cohort and the super-case– case–control–super-control designs. For each of these, we present methods that are adjusted or modified versions of standard case-control methods but we also propose novel ones developed with those extended designs in mind. Ultimately, we describe how those methods can be used in order to increase the power of association tests, especially compared to similar methods of the case-control design.
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Kara, Mohamed Mohamed. "Design and control of UAV systems : a tri-rotor UAV case study." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2012. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/design-and-control-of-uav-systems-a-trirotor-uav-case-study(2b492c93-6b35-4317-ba6d-4c5e805d38fd).html.
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The field of UAV systems is an active research area with potential for development and enhancement in various perspectives. This thesis investigates different issues related to the design, operation and control of UAV systems with a focus on the application side of each proposed solution where the implementation side and applicability of the proposed solutions are always considered with high priority. The thesis discusses unmodeled actuator dynamics and their effect on UAV systems when using feedback linearisation to linearize nonlinear models of UAVs. The analysis shows potential risk when implementing feedback linearisation and neglecting actuator dynamics even for first order actuator system. A solution algorithm of two stage feedback linearisation is proposed to handle actuator dynamics and linearize the main dynamics of the system. In the field of design and operation of UAVs, this thesis proposes a systematic design procedure for electric propulsion systems that are widely used in UAVs. The design procedure guides the designer step by step to achieve minimum propulsion system weight or maximum flight time or a trade off between the two factors from the supplied solution sets. On the navigation side, the thesis proposes a new indoor navigation system that is easy to implement and less costly compared with other indoor navigation systems. The proposed system can be classified under computer-vision based navigation systems, however, it needs less information and less computational capacity. The thesis also contributes to the structure design of UAV systems by producing a novel tri-rotor UAV platform. The proposed UAV is novel in structure and design and has a centralized control system that stabilizes and tracks both rotational and transitional motion of the vehicle simultaneously.
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Hernandez, Ivan Adolfo Valdovinos. "The Role of Subsidiaries in Control System Design : A Case Based Analysis." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.508824.
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Tachmazidou, Ioanna. "Bayesian statistical methods for genetic association studies with case-control and cohort design." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/4398.
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Large-scale genetic association studies are carried out with the hope of discovering single nucleotide polymorphisms involved in the etiology of complex diseases. We propose a coalescent-based model for association mapping which potentially increases the power to detect disease-susceptibility variants in genetic association studies with case-control and cohort design. The approach uses Bayesian partition modelling to cluster haplotypes with similar disease risks by exploiting evolutionary information. We focus on candidate gene regions and we split the chromosomal region of interest into sub-regions or windows of high linkage disequilibrium (LD) therein assuming a perfect phylogeny. The haplotype space is then partitioned into disjoint clusters within which the phenotype-haplotype association is assumed to be the same. The novelty of our approach consists in the fact that the distance used for clustering haplotypes has an evolutionary interpretation, as haplotypes are clustered according to the time to their most recent common mutation. Our approach is fully Bayesian and we develop Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms to sample efficiently over the space of possible partitions. We have also developed a Bayesian survival regression model for high-dimension and small sample size settings. We provide a Bayesian variable selection procedure and shrinkage tool by imposing shrinkage priors on the regression coefficients. We have developed a computationally efficient optimization algorithm to explore the posterior surface and find the maximum a posteriori estimates of the regression coefficients. We compare the performance of the proposed methods in simulation studies and using real datasets to both single-marker analyses and recently proposed multi-marker methods and show that our methods perform similarly in localizing the causal allele while yielding lower false positive rates. Moreover, our methods offer computational advantages over other multi-marker approaches.
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Lee, Taih-Shyun. "Performance analysis and control design for Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems : matched and mismatched case." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/12102.
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Wan, Ismail Wan Khairuzzaman. "The impact of the new technology of process control on workers : a case study of a Malaysian petrochemical plant." Thesis, University of Derby, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.274063.
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Persson, Emma. "Causal inference and case-control studies with applications related to childhood diabetes." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Statistik, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-94993.
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This thesis contributes to the research area of causal inference, where estimation of the effect of a treatment on an outcome of interest is the main objective. Some aspects of the estimation of average causal effects in observational studies in general, and case-control studies in particular, are explored. An important part of estimating causal effects in an observational study is to control for covariates. The first paper of this thesis concerns the selection of minimal covariate sets sufficient for unconfoundedness of the treatment assignment. A data-driven implementation of two covariate selection algorithms is proposed and evaluated. A common sampling scheme in epidemiology, and when investigating rare events, is the case-control design. In the second paper we study estimators of the marginal causal odds ratio in matched and independent case-control designs. Estimators that, under a logistic regression model, utilize information about the known prevalence of being a case is examined and compared through simulations. The third paper investigates the particular situation where case-control sampled data is reused to estimate the effect of the case-defining event on an outcome of interest. The consequence of ignoring the design when estimating the average causal effect is discussed and a design-weighted matching estimator is proposed. The performance of the estimator is evaluated with simulation experiments, when matching on the covariates directly and when matching on the propensity score. The last paper studies the effect of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on school achievements using data from the Swedish Childhood Diabetes Register, a population-based incidence register. We apply theoretical results from the second and third papers in the estimation of the average causal effect within the T1DM population. A matching estimator that accounts for the matched case-control design is used.
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Bertke, Stephen J. "A Simulation Study of the Cox Proportional Hazards Model and the Nested Case-Control Study Design." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1307321495.
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Durrant, Martyn. "VSC HVDC power transmission control a case study in linear controller design for uncertain nonlinear plants." Aachen Shaker, 2007.
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Liu, Yong. "Asymptotic design of H2[subscript] and H[subscript infinity] control, regional stability problems, and case studies /." The Ohio State University, 1993. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487846354484377.
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Pourbeik, Pouyan. "Design and coordination of stabilisers for generators and FACTS devices in multimachine power systems /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1997. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09php877.pdf.
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Peng, Yanlei. "A retrospective study of dust storms and respiratory hospitalizations in El Paso, Texas using a case-crossover study design." To access this resource online via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses @ UTEP, 2009. http://0-proquest.umi.com.lib.utep.edu/login?COPT=REJTPTU0YmImSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=2515.
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Psaradellis, Eliofotisti. "Comparison of the case-time-control and the case-crossover design in estimating risk of injury for prescription medications using population databases." Thesis, Université Laval, 2011. http://www.theses.ulaval.ca/2011/28794/28794.pdf.
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Aljezawi, Ma'en. "Exploring preventive interventions and risk factors of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers : a retrospective matched case-control design." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/5152.
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Previous literature showed weak and sometimes contradictory evidence regarding the best interventions to prevent pressure ulcers and the best factors that can serve as predictors for ulceration. The aim of this study was to explore effective interventions and associated risk factors in the area of pressure ulcer. A retrospective approach was used to explore such interventions and risk factors in a more natural clinical environment than found in a prospective study. While retrospective studies have their limitations, one problem of prospective studies, the Hawthorn effect, is not present. In order to meet the aims of the study, a matched case-controlled design was employed. A convenience sampling technique was used to select all patients who matched the study criteria. Two groups of patients were selected. The first group developed pressure ulcer during hospitalization, the other did not. In order to have a sound and robust comparison, each patient from the pressure ulcer groups was matched or at least nearly matched with another patient from the non-pressure ulcer group for a number Waterlow sub-scores. Further criteria for selection included a minimum of three days total length of stay in hospital and being initially free of any pressure ulcer on admission for both of the study groups. Electronic medical records for all patients were revised, and multidimensional data were extracted using a data extraction sheet. Data analyses were carried out using univariate analysis (t-test, Mann-Whitney, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test) and multivariate analysis (binary logistic regression). In univariate analysis for preventive interventions, the following interventions were significantly associated with pressure ulcer prevention (P≤ 0.05): standard hospital bed, seating cushion, static pressure redistributing mattress, re-positioning every four hours and helping the patient to sit regularly in a chair. When the effect of all interventions was adjusted through the multivariate model, the following interventions were independently associated with prevention: draw sheet, re-positioning every four hours and helping patient to sit regularly in chair (odds ratio = 0.24, 0.06 and 0.13 respectively; P≤ 0.05). In univariate analysis for risk factors related to physical activity and mobility, the following factors were significantly associated with developing pressure ulcer (P≤ 0.05): moving in bed with help, the ability to take a bath only in bed, needing two helpers in performing activities of daily living and moving outside bed only by a hoist. When adjusting the effect of all variables related to physical activity and mobility through the multivariate model, only two factors were independently associated with developing pressure ulcer: moving in bed with help and the ability to take a bath only in bed (odds ratio = 7.69 and 3.67 respectively; P≤ 0.05). In univariate analysis for risk factors related to pressure ulcer intrinsic risk factors, the following factors were significantly associated with developing pressure ulcer (P≤ 0.05): presence of three underlying medical conditions, dehydration, depression, having a blood transfusion, serum albumin <32mg/dl, haemoglobin <130 g/l in males or <115 for females and systolic blood pressure <113 mmHg. When adjusting the effect of all variables related to intrinsic risk factors through the multivariate model, the following risk factors were independently associated with pressure ulcer: presence of two underlying medical conditions, presence of three underlying medical conditions, cognitive impairment, serum albumin <32mg/dl and haemoglobin <130 g/l in males or <115 for females (odds ratio = 13.3, 143, 4.3, 0.10 and 0.14 respectively; P≤ 0.05). Findings from this study suggest a number of interventions to be effective in PUs prevention, and a number of risk factors that can predict risk of PUs. Findings were based on statistical association between acquiring PUs and the independent variables (preventive interventions and risk factors). This cannot constitute a cause and effect relationship due to the retrospective nature of data analyzed; it only supports the association between a number of interventions and risk factors in preventing or predicting PUs. This can guide further research to investigate these interventions and risk factors by employing the same approach used, but in a prospective manner.
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Palframan, Mark C. "Robust Control Design and Analysis for Small Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Using Integral Quadratic Constraints." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71881.
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The main contributions of this work are applications of robust control and analysis methods to complex engineering systems, namely, small fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Multiple path-following controllers for a small fixed-wing Telemaster UAS are presented, including a linear parameter-varying (LPV) controller scheduled over path curvature. The controllers are synthesized based on a lumped path-following and UAS dynamic system, effectively combining the six degree-of-freedom aircraft dynamics with established parallel transport frame virtual vehicle dynamics. The robustness and performance of these controllers are tested in a rigorous MATLAB simulation environment that includes steady winds, turbulence, measurement noise, and delays. After being synthesized off-line, the controllers allow the aircraft to follow prescribed geometrically defined paths bounded by a maximum curvature. The controllers presented within are found to be robust to the disturbances and uncertainties in the simulation environment. A robust analysis framework for mathematical validation of flight control systems is also presented. The framework is specifically developed for the complete uncertainty characterization, quantification, and analysis of small fixed-wing UAS. The analytical approach presented within is based on integral quadratic constraint (IQC) analysis methods and uses linear fractional transformations (LFTs) on uncertainties to represent system models. The IQC approach can handle a wide range of uncertainties, including static and dynamic, linear time-invariant and linear time-varying perturbations. While IQC-based uncertainty analysis has a sound theoretical foundation, it has thus far mostly been applied to academic examples, and there are major challenges when it comes to applying this approach to complex engineering systems, such as UAS. The difficulty mainly lies in appropriately characterizing and quantifying the uncertainties such that the resulting uncertain model is representative of the physical system without being overly conservative, and the associated computational problem is tractable. These challenges are addressed by applying IQC-based analysis tools to analyze the robustness of the Telemaster UAS flight control system. Specifically, uncertainties are characterized and quantified based on mathematical models and flight test data obtained in house for the Telemaster platform and custom autopilot. IQC-based analysis is performed on several time-invariant H∞ controllers along with various sets of uncertainties aimed at providing valuable information for use in controller analysis, controller synthesis, and comparison of multiple controllers. The proposed framework is also transferable to other fixed-wing UAS platforms, effectively taking IQC-based analysis beyond academic examples to practical application in UAS control design and airworthiness certification. IQC-based analysis problems are traditionally solved using convex optimization techniques, which can be slow and memory intensive for large problems. An oracle for discrete-time IQC analysis problems is presented to facilitate the use of a cutting plane algorithm in lieu of convex optimization in order to solve large uncertainty analysis problems relatively quickly, and with reasonable computational effort. The oracle is reformulated to a skew-Hamiltonian/Hamiltonian eigenvalue problem in order to improve the robustness of eigenvalue calculations by eliminating unnecessary matrix multiplications and inverses. Furthermore, fast, structure exploiting eigensolvers can be employed with the skew-Hamiltonian/Hamiltonian oracle to accurately determine critical frequencies when solving IQC problems. Applicable solution algorithms utilizing the IQC oracle are briefly presented, and an example shows that these algorithms can solve large problems significantly faster than convex optimization techniques. Finally, a large complex engineering system is analyzed using the oracle and a cutting-plane algorithm. Analysis of the same system using the same computer hardware failed when employing convex optimization techniques.Ph. D.
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Roslund, Anton. "Evaluation of Automated Test Generation for Simulink : A Case Study in the Context of Propulsion Control Software." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för innovation, design och teknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-48426.
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Automated Test Generation (ATG) has been successfully applied in many domains. For the modeling and simulation language Simulink, there has been research on developing tools for ATG with promising results. However, most tools developed as part of academic research and are not publicly available, or severely limited in their ability to be integrated into an industrial workflow. There are commercial ATG tools for Simulink, with Simulink Design Verifier (SLDV) as the de-facto standard tool. For this thesis, we perform an empirical comparison of manual tests to those generated by SLDV. For the comparison, we used 180 components from the propulsion control software developed by our industry partner. All except two components are compatible for test generation to some extent. The majority of components are partially compatible, requiring block replacement or stubbing. Approximation of floating-point numbers is the primary reason for block replacement, which can be performed automatically by SLDV. Two components were incompatible, and 14 required full stubbing of blocks. Using a pre-processing step, the generated tests achieve similar coverage as the manual tests. We performed a Mann–Whitney U test with the hypothesis that the generated tests achieve higher coverage than the manual tests. There are no statistically significant differences for either decision coverage (0.0719), or condition coverage (0.8357). However, for Modified Condition/Decision Coverage, the generated tests achieve higher coverage, and the difference is significant (0.0027). The limitations of ATG were explored by looking at the cases where the generated tests achieved lower coverage than the manual test. We found that the use of floating-point arithmetic and temporal logic increases the time required for test generation, and causes the analysis to hit the time limit. The test generation does not support all custom S-functions and perform stubbing of these blocks. This made the tool unable to reason about persistent storage. Configuration constants have limited support, which was the reason for the coverage difference in three cases. We have concluded that while much effort is required for custom tooling and initial setup, ATG can prove useful for early fault detection in an industrial workflow. ATG would prove especially useful in an automated continuous integration workflow for integration-level conformance testing.
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Durrant, Martyn [Verfasser]. "VSC-HVDC Power Transmission Control: A Case Study in Linear Controller Design for Uncertain Nonlinear Plants / Martyn Durrant." Aachen : Shaker, 2008. http://d-nb.info/116434241X/34.
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Mseleku, Erasmus. "Guidelines for Integrated Flood Control Design in the Informal Settlements of Cape Town Municipality : A case study of Kosovo Informal Settlement in Philippi District." Thesis, KTH, Urbana och regionala studier, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-298784.
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Flooding over the last few years has become the most frequent and devastating of the natural disasters. This has accounted for approximately half of the death-rate and a third of economic losses as a result of weather-related events. Though these flooding events affect many cities across the globe, it is often the less fortunate who are disproportionately impacted by such events. There are many factors as to why this is the unfortunate case, with a high number of the underprivileged urban population finding themselves living in informal settlements. These settlements are often developed on environmentally-fragile land on steep sites or floodplains and lack the adequate waste and drainage systems that control the flow of water, further aggravating the flood risk within these areas. These uneven hardships are no different to Cape Town metropolitan region. Flooding has become an annual recurrence for the city during the wet winter months between May and September, with the informal settlements in the Cape Flats low-lying area bearing the brunt of this impact. The research therefore aims to explore how integrated flood control design within urban development can contribute to creating social and environmental sustainable interventions for flood resilience in informal settlements within the Cape Town municipality. One of the most important findings was the strong relation between waste as one of the largest contributors to the flooding events in these settlements, which became a key driver for investigation within the research. Kosovo informal settlement is one of the hardest hit communities during Cape Town’s high rainfall winter seasons and will used as the case study area for the research. The objective of the study is to investigate the existing condition and the involved stakeholders to develop well thought design strategies and toolbox for the municipality, planners, and residents. The design strategies and toolbox provides mechanisms to rethink flood prevention measures by shifting from creating barriers [interrupt], to mechanisms that engage with floodwater [interact] within a case study area. This research has attempted to position the community at the centre. Community participation and collaboration with key stakeholders will allow the residents to contribute with their local knowledge, experience and voices, sharing their views on the design solutions that are required to be integrated into their spaces.
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Iribagiza, Chantal. "Human-Centered Design of an Air Quality Feedback System to Promote Healthy Cooking." PDXScholar, 2018. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4547.
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Household air pollution (HAP) is responsible for almost 4 million premature deaths every year, a burden that is primarily carried by women and children in developing countries. The mortality and morbidity impact of HAP can be significantly alleviated through clean cookstove interventions. However, for these interventions to be effective, the new intervention stove must be a substantially cleaner technology and adoption should be high and sustained over time.
Woody biomass is the fuel of choice in many developing communities, and contributes substantially to HAP. Several organizations have launched clean cooking interventions to address this issue. However, the majority of those interventions do not address adoption related challenges, that they often face.
This thesis explores previous studies on Human-Centered Design (HCD) and the impact of feedback and data access on behavior change. It details a HCD process and methodology applied during the design process of an air quality feedback system, to improve adoption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookstoves in Rwanda. The feedback system is intended to provide real-time air quality information to stove users and potentially encourage them to abandon traditional biomass cookstoves in favor of the cleaner LPG stoves.
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Fennis, Tirza Johanna Maria. "Exploring And Implementing Pleasant Touch In The Interface Of Products For Design Purposes: The Case Of A Bang &." Master's thesis, METU, 2012. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12614627/index.pdf.
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This thesis proposes a design strategy for pleasant touch. Literature is reviewed on the importance of pleasant touch, existing implementations in products and design for tactility. A lack of competence is found on how to design for pleasant touch in the interface of products: functional pleasant tactility. Therefore, a design vision is created by the author as a designer, on how to design functional pleasant tactility. The envisioned design strategy is then implemented through a study where a Bang &Olufsen TV remote control was used as an example case. The study includes three sequential phases: exploring, designing, and evaluating functional pleasant tactility in the given context. Exploring was done through workshops where design students were asked to touch objects with various material properties. Pleasant movements were performed with the objects, and matching functions were imagined, resulting in &lsquo
actions&rsquo
. Those actions were analyzed to discover three underlying themes of inviting, mastery and logic. In the designing phase, those themes were translated into three corresponding design concepts, and worked out into prototypes. In the evaluating phase, those prototypes were tested with that target group, and the results were used to create a final design concept. The study then concludes with a design strategy that is expected to work for the broader context of industrial design, and recommendations for further research with this strategy and different products or companies are also provided.
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İlhan, Özlem Erkarslan Önder. "Analysis of graphical user interface design in the context of human-computer interaction (with a case study on oven control panel)/." [s.l.]: [s.n.], 2005. http://library.iyte.edu.tr/tezler/master/endustriurunleritasarimi/T000319.pdf.
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Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, İzmir, 2005Keywords: Interface, graphical user interface design, interaction, human-computer interaction. Includes bibliographical references (leaves. 95).
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莊景彬 and King-pan Derek Chong. "Environmental and landscape improvements to the engineering orientatedSan Tin East Main Drainage Channel design." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31980818.
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Siljeström, Hansson Eira, and Emil Hellström. "Improving robustness of a PID-controlled measurement system through Design of Experiments : A DMAIC case study at Atlas Copco BLM." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik och samhälle, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-79557.
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Companies within the manufacturing industry are often aiming to increase productivity and simultaneously maintain the quality of their products. To achieve higher productivity and quality it is imperative to have tools with a high speed and accuracy. Atlas Copco BLM's STbench is a measurement system which enables manufacturers to validate their tools during different situations. The purpose of this case study was to improve the robustness of the STbench so it would operate well during situations with both low and high tool speed. To define and investigate how to improve the STbench, a modified DMAIC-approach was used. During the investigation it was found that the area with the largest improvement possibilities was the STbench's PID-controllers. Design of Experiments was used as the method to optimize the P- and I-element of the PID-controllers; hence, increase the robustness. The optimal settings could improve the robustness of the STbench with approximately 50%, but the result has not been verified. This case study presents results that can increase the robustness of the STbench; thus answering the purpose. Furthermore, this master thesis presents several revelations regarding using experimental plans while optimizing control systems, an area that has not been extensively investigated in previous literature.
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Boozula, Aravind Reddy. "Use of Bio-Product/Phase Change Material Composites in the Building Envelope for Building Thermal Control and Energy Savings." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2008. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1248391/.
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This research investigates the bio-products/phase change material (PCM) composites for the building envelope application. Bio-products, such as wood and herb, are porous medium, which can be applied in the building envelope for thermal insulation purpose. PCM is infiltrated into the bio-product (porous medium) to form a composite material. The PCM can absorb/release large amount of latent heat of fusion from/to the building environment during the melting/solidification process. Hence, the PCM-based composite material in the building envelope can efficiently adjust the building interior temperature by utilizing the phase change process, which improves the thermal insulation, and therefore, reduces the load on the HVAC system. Paraffin wax was considered as the PCM in the current studies. The building energy savings were investigated by comparing the composite building envelope material with the conventional material in a unique Zero-Energy (ZØE) Research Lab building at University of North Texas (UNT) through building energy simulation programs (i.e., eQUEST and EnergyPlus). The exact climatic conditions of the local area (Denton, Texas) were used as the input values in the simulations. It was found that the EnergyPlus building simulation program was more suitable for the PCM based building envelope using the latent heat property. Therefore, based on the EnergyPlus simulations, when the conventional structure insulated panel (SIP) in the roof and wall structures were replaced by the herb panel or herb/PCM composite, it was found that around 16.0% of energy savings in heating load and 11.0% in cooling load were obtained by using PCM in the bio-product porous medium.
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Boozula, Aravind Reddy. "Use of Bio-Product/Phase Change Material Composite in the Building Envelope for Building Thermal Control and Energy Savings." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1248391/.
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This research investigates the bio-products/phase change material (PCM) composites for the building envelope application. Bio-products, such as wood and herb, are porous medium, which can be applied in the building envelope for thermal insulation purpose. PCM is infiltrated into the bio-product (porous medium) to form a composite material. The PCM can absorb/release large amount of latent heat of fusion from/to the building environment during the melting/solidification process. Hence, the PCM-based composite material in the building envelope can efficiently adjust the building interior temperature by utilizing the phase change process, which improves the thermal insulation, and therefore, reduces the load on the HVAC system. Paraffin wax was considered as the PCM in the current studies. The building energy savings were investigated by comparing the composite building envelope material with the conventional material in a unique Zero-Energy (ZØE) Research Lab building at University of North Texas (UNT) through building energy simulation programs (i.e., eQUEST and EnergyPlus). The exact climatic conditions of the local area (Denton, Texas) were used as the input values in the simulations. It was found that the EnergyPlus building simulation program was more suitable for the PCM based building envelope using the latent heat property. Therefore, based on the EnergyPlus simulations, when the conventional structure insulated panel (SIP) in the roof and wall structures were replaced by the herb panel or herb/PCM composite, it was found that around 16.0% of energy savings in heating load and 11.0% in cooling load were obtained by using PCM in the bio-product porous medium.
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Vartanian, Joana Figueiredo. "Efeitos da evocação sobre os comportamentos clinicamente relevantes na psicoterapia analítica funcional." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47133/tde-26092017-110243/.
Full textAbstract:
A Psicoterapia Analítica Funcional (FAP) aponta a relação terapêutica como meio de promoção de mudanças clínicas. Os comportamentos do cliente em sessão são classificados como CCR1s (comportamentos problema), CCR2s (comportamentos de melhora) e CCR3 (descrições funcionais a respeito do próprio comportamento). É papel do terapeuta atuar sobre esses CCRs com o intuito de aumentar CCR2 e CCR3, bem como diminuir a emissão de CCR1, o que é planejado por meio das regras: estar atento aos CCRs (regra 1), evocar diretamente CCRs (regra 2), consequenciar CCRs (regra 3), observar os efeitos do seu comportamento sobre o comportamento do cliente (regra 4) e fornecer interpretações analítico-funcionais e implementar estratégias de generalização (regra 5). Compreende-se que a similaridade funcional do contexto terapêutico com outros ambientes do cliente possibilita o acesso do terapeuta à classe de comportamentos alvo de intervenção clínica e que, ainda, é papel do terapeuta evocá-los diretamente, componente da FAP expresso pela regra 2. As pesquisas que investigam o mecanismo de mudança da FAP têm enfatizado o papel da consequenciação (regra 3) sobre a mudança comportamental observada nos clientes, entretanto, há indícios de que tal mudança seja também resultado de um processo evocativo ocorrendo em sessão, responsável por produzir o aumento da emissão de CCR2s e diminuição de CCR1s quando a FAP é conduzida. Sendo assim, o objetivo do presente estudo foi o identificar quais os efeitos da evocação direta pelo terapeuta na FAP (variável independente) sobre os CCRs do cliente em sessão (variáveis dependentes), sendo utilizado delineamento experimental de caso único de reversão, com arranjo A-B1-BC1-B2-BC2 para uma cliente, com controle da inserção da evocação (arranjo A-BC1-B1-BC2-B2) para outro cliente. A fase A foi correspondente à linha de base, com realização de análise de contingências externas, as fases B corresponderam à condução de FAP sem evocação direta e as fases BC, à FAP completa. As sessões foram categorizadas com o Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale (FAPRS) pela terapeuta e aferidoras de concordância, foi aplicado semanalmente o Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2) que possibilitou o acompanhamento da evolução global dos clientes. Após três meses do encerramento do estudo, foi realizada uma sessão de follow-up com cada cliente, a qual indicou a manutenção de progressos com os mesmos. Como resultado no FAPRS, registrou-se o abrupto aumento de CCR2s e diminuição de CCR1s quando a evocação direta foi inserida, o aumento de CCR1 e diminuição de CCR2 quando a mesma foi retirada, bem como a replicação dessas duas fases e de seus efeitos sobre os comportamentos dos dois clientes. Nas fases em que a evocação não esteve presente, as porcentagens de CCRs assemelharam-se às observadas na linha de base. Observou-se também a importância da consequenciação com função evocativa, o que sustenta que a evocação e a consequenciação atuam de forma complementar. Tais resultados solidificam a proposta de que a produção de CCR2 nas sessões FAP tenha também por base a existência de processos evocativos atuantes, já que diante da ausência da evocação, registrou-se imediata diminuição de sua ocorrência. Nesse sentido, a evocação direta pode ser destacada como possuindo impacto relevante no mecanismo de mudança dessa psicoterapiaFunctional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) points to the therapeutic relationship as a way of promoting clinical changes. The client behaviors in session are classified as CRB1s (problem behaviors), CRB2s (improvement behaviors) and CRB3 (functional descriptions regarding any client´s behavior). FAP therapist should act on these CRBs in order to increase CRB2 and CRB3 and to reduce the emission of CRB1, which is planned by using the rules: to be aware of CRBs (rule 1), to evoke CRBs directly (rule 2), to contingently respond to CRBs (rule 3), to observe the effects of therapist´s behavior on client´s behavior (rule 4) and to provide analytic-functional interpretations and implement generalization strategies (rule 5). It is understood that the functional similarity of the therapeutic context to other client environments allows the therapist to access the class of target behaviors of clinical intervention and that it is also the role of the therapist to directly evoke them, a component of FAP expressed by rule 2. Researches focused on investigate the mechanism of change in FAP have emphasized the role of consequence (rule 3) on behavioral change observed in clients, however, there is evidence that such a change is the result of an evocative process occurring in session, which is responsible for producing increased CRB2s and decreased CRB1s emissions when FAP is conducted. Thus, the goal of this investigation was to identify the effects of direct evocation by the therapist in FAP (independent variable) on client CRBs in session (dependent variables), using an experimental design of a single-case experimental procedure, with design A -B1-BC1-B2-BC2 for one client, with control of the insertion of the independent variable (design A-BC1-B1-BC2-B2) to another client. Phase A corresponded to the baseline, without systematic use of FAP, phases B corresponded to FAP without direct evocation and phases BC, to the use of complete FAP. The sessions were categorized with the instrument Functional Analytical Psychotherapy Rating Scale (FAPRS) by the therapist and independent coders. The Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2) was applied weekly, allowing the therapist to monitor the overall evolution of clients and after three months of the end of the phases, a follow-up session was conducted with each client, which indicated the maintenance of the observed effects. As a result in FAPRS, it occurred the abrupt increase of CRB2s and decrease of CCR1s when direct evocation was inserted, the increase of CRB1 and decrease of CRB2 when it was withdrawn, as well as the replication of these two phases and their effects on the behaviors of the two clients. In the phases in which evocation was not present, the percentages of CRBs were similar to those observed in baseline. It was also observed the importance of the consequences with evocative function, which maintains that the evocation and the consequences provided by the therapist act in a complementary way. These results solidify the proposal that the increase of CRB2 in FAP is also based on the existence of evocative processes, since in the absence of evocation it is observed its immediate decrease. Therefore, direct evocation can be highlighted as having a relevant impact on the mechanism of change of this psychotherapy
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Diallo, Aliou Baguissa. "Evaluation of the economic impact of geographical indications : three case studies." Thesis, Université Clermont Auvergne (2017-2020), 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017CLFAD003/document.
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Cette thèse évalue l'impact économique des politiques de qualité liée à l'origine en mobilisant des méthodes d'évaluation que nous adaptons à la spécificité des démarches de certification, notamment à leur dimension spatiale. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons l'effet de l'adoption d’une Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP) sur le prix ainsi que sur les coûts de production des producteurs de lait AOP en Franche-Comté, en exploitant la discontinuité géographique à la frontière (Geographic Regression Discontinuity). Dans un second temps, nous utilisons les méthodes d'appariement statistique pour analyser les hétérogénéités régionales en termes de prix et de coûts de production entre les régions Auvergne, Rhône-Alpes et Franche-Comté avant de nous intéresser aux effets à une échelle nationale. Enfin, nous évaluons l'effet de l'adoption d'une Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) sur les prix payés aux producteurs de Café de Colombie à l'aide des méthodes comparatives (synthetic control methods). En moyenne, les résultats montrent un effet positif de l'adoption de l'indication géographique sur la performance économique des exploitations. Cependant, cet effet est hétérogène entre les filières et les régions d'origine des produitsThis thesis evaluates the economic impact of quality-related-to-origin policies using evaluation methods adapted to the specificity of such certifications, in particular, the spatial dimension. First, we analyze the effect of a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) adoption on price and production costs of PDO milk producers in Franche-Comté using a Geographic Regression Discontinuity (GRD) design. Secondly, we use propensity matching methods to analyze regional heterogeneity in Auvergne, Rhône-Alpes, and Franche-Comté before focusing on the effect of the PDO adoption at a national level. Finally, we evaluate the effect of the adoption of a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) on prices paid to Colombian coffee producers using synthetic control methods. Overall, we find that PDO and/or PGI adoption is associated with positive effects on farmers' economic performances. However, these effects are not homogeneously distributed
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Summerskill, Steve. "The tactile sense as a mechanism for the reduction of visual load elicited by control interactions : an automotive case study approach to the development of generic design recommendations." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2010. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/13604.
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This thesis examines the potential for using tactile feedback to reduce the visual load that can be associated with interacting with controls. Using the automotive context as a case study, the thesis describes the process followed in the design of a prototype tactile interface (PTI) for the control of in-car secondary functionality (navigation, entertainment and climate control). There have been many examples of the use of active and passive tactile feedback to provide information to visually impaired people. There is however a paucity of previous research into the field of tactile feedback in mainstream product design. A literature review was performed examining various issues that are associated with tactile design including cognitive processing of tactile inputs, the use oftactile feedback in products used by visually impaired people and standard control design recommendations. This was followed by the generation of initial concepts and the first study, which examined how visually impaired people interact with electronic products that are unfamiliar to them, and also examined how they used their own equipment. The results from this study, and the literature review findings were combined into a series of design recommendations for the production of tactile interfaces that aim to reduce the visual load on the driver. These design recommendations were the basis for an iterative design process that resulted in the first, non functioning PTI interface model. The first PTI was constructed using rapid prototype technologies. The first iteration PTI was examined in the second study, a user trial in a driving simulator. The study produced encouraging results with a >90% success rate for correct control selection without vision, whilst performing a driving task. The results from this study were used to refine the design of the PTI and a working, hi-fidelity prototype was constructed for use in the final study. This study involved 'on the road' user trials comparing the glance durations made to the PTI and to a baseline system using a 'repeated measures' structure. The data from these user trials were examined to determine if the PTI exhibited a reduced visual load when compared to the baseline system. The results showed the PTI fostered significantly reduced summed glance durations for 7 of the 11 tasks performed when compared to the baseline system. Three of the 11 tasks that were performed in the study produced a reduction of summed glance duration of >50%. The PTI was also shown to foster non-visual interaction, with all participants performing at least one control interaction without looking at the control arrays. The tactile coding and symbolic layout of the PTI have been shown to be beneficial in terms of reducing 'eyes off road time' and therefore reducing the risk of distraction related accidents. A review of the results from the three studies described in this thesis has enabled the development of generic design guidelines for the production of tactile interfaces where a reduction in visual load is required for the safety of the operator. The thesis has made a contribution to the understanding of the use of the tactile sense during product interactions, and highlighting the benefits as well as the limitations of the tactile sense as a feedback mechanism.
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De, Cino Thomas James. "A Usability and Learnability Case Study of Glass Flight Deck Interfaces and Pilot Interactions through Scenario-based Training." NSUWorks, 2016. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/948.
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In the aviation industry, digitally produced and presented flight, navigation, and aircraft information is commonly referred to as glass flight decks. Glass flight decks are driven by computer-based subsystems and have long been a part of military and commercial aviation sectors. Over the past 15 years, the General Aviation (GA) sector of the aviation industry has become a recent beneficiary of the rapid advancement of computer-based glass flight deck (GFD) systems.
While providing the GA pilot considerable enhancements in the quality of information about the status and operations of the aircraft, training pilots on the use of glass flight decks is often delivered with traditional methods (e.g. textbooks, PowerPoint presentations, user manuals, and limited computer-based training modules). These training methods have been reported as less than desirable in learning to use the glass flight deck interface. Difficulties in achieving a complete understanding of functional and operational characteristics of the GFD systems, acquiring a full understanding of the interrelationships of the varied subsystems, and handling the wealth of flight information provided have been reported. Documented pilot concerns of poor user experience and satisfaction, and problems with the learning the complex and sophisticated interface of the GFD are additional issues with current pilot training approaches.
A case study was executed to explore ways to improve training using GFD systems at a Midwestern aviation university. The researcher investigated if variations in instructional systems design and training methods for learning glass flight deck technology would affect the perceptions and attitudes of pilots of the learnability (an attribute of usability) of the glass flight deck interface. Specifically, this study investigated the effectiveness of scenario-based training (SBT) methods to potentially improve pilot knowledge and understanding of a GFD system, and overall pilot user experience and satisfaction.
Participants overwhelmingly reported positive learning experiences from scenario-based GFD systems flight training, noting that learning and knowledge construction were improved over other training received in the past. In contrast, participants rated the usability and learnability of the GFD training systems low, reporting various problems with the systems’ interface, and the learnability (first-time use) of the complex GFD system. However, issues with usability of the GFD training systems did not reduce or change participant attitudes towards learning and mastering GFD systems; to the contrary, all participants requested additional coursework opportunities to train on GFD systems with the scenario-based flight training format.
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ANDREIS, FEDERICO. "The role of HRT exposure in breast cancer etiology: a causal inference approach." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10281/19340.
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Cancer etiology is a topic of great interest in medical research. Assessing
and quantifying causal links between an exposure (e.g. a treatment) and an outcome
of interest (such as cancer prognosis or survival) is often not a trivial task. Methods have been proposed to deal with the problem ofbias in estimation of causal effects. A method is presented here, applied to the field of Hormone Replacement Therapy and Breast Cancer, which allows to obtain an
(at least locally causal) estimate of a continuous exposure effect on an outcome of
interest within the framework of Principal Stratification, under a case-control study
design.
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Pietsch, Susan Mary. "The effective use of three dimensional visualisation modelling in the routine development control of urban environments : a thesis submitted to Adelaide University in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09php626.pdf.
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"June 2001." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 346-352) Investigates technical and cultural issues in using three dimensional computer visualisation modelling in a busy Australian city planning office, the local Council of the City of Adelaide, taking two directions: a modelling approach that emphasizes abstract, quick to create 3D models; and, by examining the social and organizational issues. This dual view paints a broader picture of the potential of 3D modelling within planning practice including the impediments and possible solutions to them.
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Hedin, Albin, and Philip Bowall. "Utformning av belöningssystem som styrningsverktyg i tillverkningsindustri- En kvalitativ fallstudie av Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Sweden AB : Design of Incentive System as a Management Control Tool in a Manufacturing Environment- A Qualitative Case Study of Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Sweden AB." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-148566.
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Many organisations use incentive systems as a management control tool to steer the organisation towards defined goals by generating common incentives for the employees. Previous studies have shown that the design of an incentive system affect what results it may generate. Therefore, this study aims to, within the context of manufacturing industry, investigate a configuration of design choices’ impact on the effect of an incentive system. A literature study has been conducted to map what effect the research shows different design choices and how these impacts the employees and the organisation. This case study of Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Sweden AB investigates how their incentive system is designed and what effects this generates from their organisational specific context. Motivation, participation, cooperation, culture and performance were factors evaluated in the study. Data was mainly gathered through qualitative interviews conducted with employees to gain an understanding of the use and design of the incentive system together with how it fit within the organisational context. The empirical data was then analysed and related to previous studies on the subject. The conclusion and discussion base on the effects of an incentive system and how these effects are affected by the design of the incentive system itself, together with how these effects may be reduced when alternative management control tools hold a stronger presence with the employees. Even when the incentive system is designed by what previous studies has shown to generate the desired effect, the organisational specific context may affect the result. Further, it is discussed that the highest results are achieved when the incentive system is designed to work within a specific context, as it then strives towards the same vision as other management control tools.
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GNOFFO, Salvatore. "ENABLING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGIES THROUGH DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE. A CASE-STUDY OF AN ITALIAN MUNICIPALITY." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Palermo, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10447/514330.
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Lo scopo principale di questa ricerca è quello di inquadrare le possibili relazioni causali fra corruzione negli approvvigionamenti pubblici e performance delle amministrazioni locali. A tal fine, viene adottato un disegno di ricerca che integra dinamicamente metodi quantitativi e qualitativi in ogni fase del processo di studio.
Gli approcci Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) e Governance (DPG), supportati da interviste approfondite non-strutturate, modellazioni formali e simulazioni quantitative, sono qui adottati per analizzare un caso di studio rappresentativo di un piccolo comune italiano in cui si sono verificati alcuni episodi di corruzione nelle attività di approvvigionamento nei primi anni 2000. In particolare, l'Ente locale in questione è stato sciolto due volte per infiltrazioni di stampo mafioso e, attualmente, versa in una situazione di dissesto finanziario.
Il lavoro analizza i possibili esiti di tali fatti sulla performance organizzativa dell'Ente nel suo complesso sulla base di tre fonti: dati primari qualitativi generati da interviste frontali convergenti non-strutturate; dati secondari estrapolati da sentenze passate in giudicato e da archivi ad accesso aperto; ed un'ampia rassegna della letteratura.
All'inizio, una panoramica della letteratura aiuta il lettore a comprendere i contenuti, le teorie ed i confini della corruzione. Successivamente, viene proposto un esame delle strategie di misurazione e delle misure più diffuse per prevenirla e contrastarla. Nel complesso, una particolare attenzione è riservata agli approvvigionamenti nei contesti pubblici locali.
A seguito di una discussione sui possibili vantaggi e svantaggi, in termini di opportunità e deterrenze corruttive, derivanti dall'adozione dei paradigmi di governance nel settore pubblico più diffusi, gli approcci DPM e DPG vengono analizzati per comprendere il loro contributo teorico nel supportare i responsabili politici ed i manager ad arginare i fenomeni di corruzione.
Successivamente, sulla base di alcune tecniche di codifica applicate alle interviste frontali non-strutturate svolte con alcuni Pubblici Ufficiali, un approccio esplorativo-descrittivo del caso-studio selezionato consente di comprendere la misura in cui gli eventi corruttivi investigati in questa sede abbiano inciso nel tempo sulla performance complessiva del Comune preso in esame.
In seguito, viene adottata una prospettiva sistemica e dinamica di performance management per inquadrare le relazioni di causa-effetto emergenti dal caso di studio. L'assunzione di un approccio DPM consente ai politici ed ai dirigenti pubblici di progettare, implementare e valutare strategie anticorruzione fattibili, efficaci ed efficienti a livello di governo locale. Più precisamente, l'utilizzo, in un grafico DPM, di driver di performance adeguati al rischio di corruzione legato alle sue cause strutturali ed individualistiche può porre rimedio non soltanto alle riconosciute ambiguità e carenze derivanti dall'adozione di “bandiere rosse” nei processi di approvvigionamento pubblico, ma anche ai fallimenti dei controlli direzionali meccanicistici nel rilevare l'effettiva presenza di corruzione, fornendo ai decisori tempestivi segnali derivanti dagli effetti deleteri prodotti da siffatte pratiche clandestine. Inoltre, enfatizzare il ruolo della moralità civica comunitaria a livello di sistema può supportare la comprensione di alcuni risultati controintuitivi della passata ricerca sulla corruzione negli approvvigionamenti pubblici e dedurre in che modo gli investimenti nelle tecnologie dell'informazione e della comunicazione (TIC) e la formazione del personale possano migliorare responsabilità e competenza dei governi locali.
Per quanto riguarda la professionalità dei dirigenti e dello staff quale causa individualistica di corruzione, il patronage politico derivante da opportunità legali risulta, per il caso di studio, significativo nello spiegare il cattivo andamento degli approvvigionamenti pubblici nel tempo. All'interno di questo quadro, la visualizzazione DPM consente altresì di distinguere più dettagliatamente la corruzione dallo spreco di risorse dovuto ad azioni non corruttive.
In sintesi, un approccio DPM può consentire ai manager pubblici di mantenere i loro “radar cognitivi” costantemente (re)attivi, in modo da: identificare e sopprimere pratiche illecite negli approvvigionamenti pubblici; rilevare illeciti emergenti che potrebbero essere trascurati dai tradizionali approcci diagnostici e interattivi del controllo direzionale; favorire l'apprendimento etico e migliorare il valore pubblico generato.
Infine, la prospettiva DPG può essere efficace nel supportare la formulazione e la messa a punto di strategie anticorruzione basate sulla collaborazione multistakeholder, nonché nel sondarne la fattibilità e gli impatti nel tempo all'interno di aree locali caratterizzate da strutture di governance carenti. Pertanto, sulla base di precedenti progetti di successo realizzati da governi locali di diverse parti del mondo, nell'ultima parte di questa tesi di ricerca viene utilizzato un approccio DPG per delineare e valutare una strategia anticorruzione per il caso in esame secondo un'impostazione di collaborative governance, così da inquadrare possibili sinergie ed interdipendenze tra i soggetti rilevanti, quali leve critiche per contrastare il rischio sistemico di corruzione a livello locale.The main purpose of this research is to frame the possible causal relationships between corruption in public procurement and performance of local governments. With this aim, a fully-integrated research design is adopted to dynamically mix quantitative and qualitative methods at every phase of the research process. The Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) and Governance (DPG) approaches, supported by in-depth interviews, formal modelling and simulations, are here adopted to analyse a representative case-study of an Italian small Municipality, where some corruption episodes in procurement activities occurred in the early 2000s. In particular, the local Authority in question was disbanded twice for mafia-like infiltrations and is currently facing a financial instability. In the light of that, the overall work studies the possible outcomes of those facts on the organisational performance as a whole, based on three sources: qualitative primary data generated by face-to-face convergent interviews; secondary data retrieved from both documents describing legal cases and open-access repositories; an extensive literature review. At the beginning, a broad and composite literature overview helps the reader become aware about the contents, theories and boundaries of corruption. Thereafter, an examination of the most widespread measurement strategies and measures to either prevent or repress it is proposed. Overall, a special focus is set on procurement in local public contexts. Following a discussion on the possible advantages and disadvantages of the most common public sector paradigms in terms of opportunities and constraints for corruption, the DPM and DPG views are explored to understand their theoretical contribution in supporting policy- and decision-makers to curb corruption phenomena in heterogeneous governance contexts. Afterwards, based on coding techniques, an exploratory-descriptive approach of the selected case-study allows for a better understanding of the extent to which the investigated corruption events impacted on the overall performance of the Municipality under scrutiny over time, by means of non-structured face-to-face interviews held with some Public Officials in 2019. Therefore, a system perspective in performance management is adopted to frame the emerging cause-and-effect relationships of the case-study. Assuming a DPM approach allows politicians and public managers to design, implement and assess feasible, effective and efficient anti-corruption strategies at local government level. More precisely, the use in a DPM chart of performance drivers adjusted for the risk of corruption linked to its structural and individualistic causes may not only put right to ambiguities and flaws deriving from the adoption of ‘red-flags’ in public procurement, but also to failures of mechanistical controls in detecting the actual presence of corruption, thus providing decision-makers with prompt signals arising from the emergent effects of clandestine practices. In addition, emphasising the role of community civic morality at system level may back up the understanding of some counterintuitive results in the past research on corruption in public procurement and deduce to what extent investments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and personnel training may enhance local government accountability and expertise. With regard to managers’ and staff’s professionalism, as individualistic cause of corruption, political patronage stemming from legal opportunities results significant in explaining poor performance in public procurement over time. Within this framework, the DPM view also allows for better singling corruption out from resource waste due to non-corrupt actions. In summary, a DPM approach may lead public managers to constantly maintain their ‘cognitive radar’ reactive, so as to identify and suppress unlawful practices in procurement, detect emerging malfeasances that could be otherwise overlooked by traditional static diagnostical and interactive approaches, foster ethical learning and enhance community outcomes. Finally, the DPG perspective may be effective in supporting formulation and fine-tuning of collaboration-based anti-corruption strategies and probing their feasibility and impacts over time within local areas characterised by poor governance structures. Hence, on the basis of previous successful projects throughout the world, in the last part of this research thesis a DPG approach is used to outline and evaluate an anti-corruption strategy for the case under scrutiny according to collaboration settings, in a way to frame possible synergies and interdependencies among relevant participants as critical levers to hinder systemic risk of corruption at local level.
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Baille, Charlotte. "Un retour aux fondamentaux : Contrôle de gestion-cohérence : Le cas d'un groupe de concessions automobiles." Thesis, Montpellier, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016MONTD009/document.
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Alors même que les outils de gestion et systèmes d’information sont de plus en plus nombreux, certains auteurs en gestion pointent du doigt un manque de cohérence dans l’organisation pouvant conduire à une baisse de performance. La quête de cohérence doit alors être repensée, pour développer un contrôle de gestion capable de remplir à nouveau sa mission.Notre recherche porte sur le cas d’un groupe de concessions automobiles qui présente la particularité d’être multi-marque et en pleine phase de développement. La thèse revisite ainsi les fondamentaux du contrôle de gestion et apporte un nouvel éclairage en mobilisant la notion d’objet-frontière,en tant que médiateur et vecteur de coopération en l’absence de consensus dans l’organisation. Les résultats de la recherche tendent ainsi à montrer que les outils de gestion ayant les propriétés d’un objet-frontière,sont plus aptes à contribuer à la cohérence dans l’organisationAlthough information resource management and management tools are becoming more and more numerous, the management points to a lack of coherence in the organization that could lead to a decrease in performance. The search for coherence should be reconsidered to develop management control to be capable of fulfilling its primary mission. Our research focuses on the case of a group of automotive dealerships who has the distinction of being multi-brand and in full development phase.The thesis revisits the fundamentals of management control and provides new insights by engaging the concept of boundary object, as a mediator and co-vector in the absence of consensus within the organization.The research results thus suggest that the management tools with the properties of a boundary object, are more likely to contribute to the coherence in the organization
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Hansen, Esta. "Die aanpasbaarheidsbehoeftes van 'n ongehude, swanger tiener (Afrikaans)." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/27541.
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Amir, Mohammad. "Semantically-enriched and semi-Autonomous collaboration framework for the Web of Things. Design, implementation and evaluation of a multi-party collaboration framework with semantic annotation and representation of sensors in the Web of Things and a case study on disaster management." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/14363.
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This thesis proposes a collaboration framework for the Web of Things based on the concepts of Service-oriented Architecture and integrated with semantic web technologies to offer new possibilities in terms of efficient asset management during operations requiring multi-actor collaboration. The motivation for the project comes from the rise in disasters where effective cross-organisation collaboration can increase the efficiency of critical information dissemination. Organisational boundaries of participants as well as their IT capability and trust issues hinders the deployment of a multi-party collaboration framework, thereby preventing timely dissemination of critical data. In order to tackle some of these issues, this thesis proposes a new collaboration framework consisting of a resource-based data model, resource-oriented access control mechanism and semantic technologies utilising the Semantic Sensor Network Ontology that can be used simultaneously by multiple actors without impacting each other’s networks and thus increase the efficiency of disaster management and relief operations. The generic design of the framework enables future extensions, thus enabling its exploitation across many application domains. The performance of the framework is evaluated in two areas: the capability of the access control mechanism to scale with increasing number of devices, and the capability of the semantic annotation process to increase in efficiency as more information is provided. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework is fit for purpose.
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Perez-Freije, Javier. "Design of organizational controls for managing innovation : implications for firms in high-velocity environments /." Hamburg : Kovač, 2008. http://www.verlagdrkovac.de/978-3-8300-3512-1.htm.
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Rodrigues, Patrícia Isabel Spencer. "The design of a management control system for a small medium hospitality firm in Cape Verde." Master's thesis, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/17721.
Full textAbstract:
Mestrado em FinançasAtuamente o turismo é um dos mais importantes setores económicos com excelentes taxas de crescimento. Este projeto reflete o caso da Spencer Turismo, uma empresa do sector hoteleiro a operar em Cabo Verde com quatro unidades de negócio já operacionais e um novo projeto em curso que implica a sua expansão para uma nova ilha. Tendo em conta esta importante fase de crescimento e expansão da empresa, este projeto tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um Sistema de Controlo de Gestão capaz de apoiar a empresa através de um controlo eficaz e eficiente da performance quer financeira quer operacional da empresa. Inicialmente será feita uma revisão de literatura para suportar o desenvolvimento do sistema seguido de uma análise cuidada da envolvente externa e das características internas. Em linha com a estratégia e necessidades da Spencer Turismo serão definidos os principais indicadores a serem reportados, bem como a operacionalização e periodicidades a serem aplicadas. O culminar deste percurso serão os relatórios de performance relativos a cada departamento chave bem como os relativos a empresa como um todo, capazes de rapidamente identificar importantes desvios e eventuais necessidades de alteração da estratégia e/ou modo de operação. Este projeto tem como objetivo adicional ter um impacto literário ao recolher e organizar informação relevante relativamente a utilização de Sistemas de Controlo de Gestão a nível empresarial em África, com especial enfâse nas empresas cabo-verdianas. Adicionalmente, o projeto tenciona poder acrescentar valor académico, sendo concebido por forma a facilmente adaptado num estudo de caso.
Tourism is a vital sector for Cape Verde's economic and social development. This project consists in the design of a Management Control System (MCS) for a capeverdean firm operating in the hospitality industry that recognized its potential to thrive in this segment. Spencer Turismo already has two hotels and two restaurants and it is building a third unit in a different island emphasizing its intentions to expand operations. The firm is manifestly going through an important phase of growth and it aims to create an integrated and diversified offer of quality products and services in the hospitality industry. This new phase revealed the need to standardize operations and have a system capable to efficiently monitor operations and constantly inform the company's management about key achievements but also possible deviations from the strategy and consequently give important insights on the performance (financial and operational) and need for shifts in strategy. The design of the MCS implied a thorough literature review and required a careful analysis of the company, both internally and externally. It was important to understand company's operations, organizational structure, strategy and goals. Subsequently it was possible to identify critical areas to control and key performance indicators (KPI's) to be reported, both financial and non-financial, for the company as a whole and for key departments identified by Spencer Turismo. Moreover, this project aims to address the gaps in literature regarding MCS in Africa, especially in Cape Verde, at firm level, and construct the base for an impactful academic case study.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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Yiu, Hor-pui, and 姚可培. "Effective controls for engineering oriented construction project: a case study of Black Point Power StationProject." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1996. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31251432.
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Ozcelik, Derya. "Presenting The Outcomes Of A Participatory User Workshop: A Design Resource Based On The Case Of Tv Remote Controls." Master's thesis, METU, 2007. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12608341/index.pdf.
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This thesis explores participatory design methods and presents the process and the
outcomes of a related case study, carried out in collaboration with Vestel
Electronics, a Turkish consumer electronics manufacturer, on TV remote controls.
The thesis comprises a literature review on participatory design, including its
historical background and evolution, the motivations behind its contemporary
utilization and the methods, techniques and tools utilized within the approach. The
case study comprises two phases. In the first phase, a participatory user workshop
was realized with eight middle-aged Turkish housewives. In the second phase, an
interactive, computer based design resource was developed by the author, which
aims to present the workshop outcomes to designers. The resource was evaluated
by the designers of Vestel Electronics and the outcomes are presented in the thesis.
Through such a case study the approach of a Turkish in-house design team towards
participatory design methods was reached. Moreover, insights about how such a
design resource can be developed were gained through designers’
evaluations.
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Pehlivan, Canan. "Design and flow control of stochastic health care networks without waiting rooms : A perinatal application." Phd thesis, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne, 2014. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00994291.
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In this thesis, by being motivated from the challenges in perinatal networks, we address design, evaluation and flow control of a stochastic healthcare network where there exist multiple levels of hospitals and different types of patients. Patients are supposed urgent; thus they can be rejected and overflow to another facility in the same network if no service capacity is available at their arrival. Rejection of patients due to the lack of service capacity is the common phenomenon in overflow networks. We approach the problem from both strategic and operational perspectives. In strategic part, we address a location & capacity planning problem for adjusting the network to better meet demographic changes. In operational part, we study the optimal patient admission control policies to increase flexibility in allocation of resources and improve the control of patient flow in the network. Finally, in order to evaluate the performance of the network, we develop new approximation methodologies that estimate the rejection probabilities in each hospital for each arriving patient group, thus the overflow probabilities among hospitals. Furthermore, an agent-based discrete-event simulation model is constructed to adequately represent our main applicationarea: Nord Hauts-de-Seine Perinatal Network. The simulation model is used to evaluate the performance of the complex network and more importantly evaluate the strength of the optimal results of our analytical models. The developed methodologies in this thesis are combined in a decision support tool, foreseen under the project "COVER", which aims to assist health system managers to effectively plan strategic and operational decisions of a healthcare network and evaluate the performance of their decisions.
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ARBOLEDA, GIOVANNY ALBERTO MENESES. "DESIGN AND MOTION CONTROL OF AN OMNIDIRECTIONAL ROBOTIC WALKING CANE FOR ASSISTANCE OF MOTOR DISABILITIES." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2015. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=27703@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE EXCELENCIA ACADEMICA
A robótica já é parte importante da vida cotidiana, em especial na grande ajuda que pode promover para melhorar a qualidade de vida, mostrando-se como uma ótima opção, por exemplo, para a reabilitação física no corpo humano. O presente trabalho apresenta um projeto e um estudo de controle de movimento de uma plataforma robótica - uma bengala - controlada por meio de sensores de força nela localizados, fazendo com que o registro dos movimentos do usuário seja feito de forma não-invasiva. O protótipo se desloca por meio de três rodas omnidirecionais, acionadas por motores elétricos de corrente continua. Estes últimos têm facilidade no controle e são de baixo custo. A bengala é fabricada em alumínio para facilitar o seu transporte devido à baixa densidade desse material, além de apresentar uma boa usinabilidade, facilitando a sua fabricação. O sistema eletrônico consiste de três etapas: (i) circuito de aquisição de ponte de Wheatstone para os extensômetros; (ii) amplificação e filtragem feitas com amplificadores de instrumentação e filtros passa baixa Butterworth; e (iii) processamento e controle, implementado em dois microcontroladores PIC. O controle da bengala é baseado em admitância em paralelo com um controle PI linear, o qual pretende promover ao usuário uma sensação de naturalidade ao caminhar, sem esforços adicionais significativos e com rápida resposta. Em particular, o sistema pretende detectar situações de queda iminente do usuário, cenário não incomum no uso por idosos.
Robotics already is an important part of modern daily routine, with a quite unlimited potential for the improvement of life quality. For instance, robotics can be a very attractive technology for physical rehabilitation of the human body. The present work presents a design proposal and study of the stability control of an omnidirectional robotic walking cane for assistance of motor disabilities. Non-invasive force sensors are used to register the user s motions and to control the robotic cane. Three omnidirectional wheels, each of them driven by a continuous electrical current motor, move the prototype in all planar directions without the need for turning. The chosen electrical motors are characterized by their easy control and low cost. The stick is fabricated in aluminum, a low-density material with good machinability, in order to both facilitate the user in transporting the cane and to ease the manufacturing process. The electronic system is comprised of three stages: (i) a Wheatstone bridge circuit for the acquisition of strain-gage signals for force and torque sensing; (ii) amplification and filtering with instrumentation amplifiers and Butterworth-type low pass filters; and (iii) processing and control, implemented on two PIC microcontrollers. The control of the robotics support is performed both by an admittance-based approach in parallel with a linear PI control. The quick response of this integrated control does not demand extra efforts from the user, thus providing a more natural sensation while walking. In particular, the system intends to detect whether the user is in the imminence of falling over, a likely scenario in eldercare.
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Kaul, Maya. "Deconstructing “Deviance” and “Disorder” as Systems of Domination: Chicago Public Schools as a Case Study of the Effects of Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies on Educational Outcomes in US Schools." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/184.
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The rise of “zero tolerance” discipline practices in US primary and secondary schools has become increasingly well documented by the media and empirical studies. Despite the extensive scholarship that has emerged from these conversations, many of these analyses are limited in their scope and do not connect the phenomena of zero tolerance in schools to the diverse, shifting forces at play within American politics and policy today. As such, the goal of this work is to synthesize ideas about zero tolerance across disciplines by integrating historical thought, philosophical frameworks of punishment, shifting policy goals within the US education system, the sociological constructions of “deviance” and “disorder” in the context of the US criminal justice system, and empirical data directly from a school district to develop particular policy recommendations accordingly. The primary research question of this analysis is: What are the effects of zero tolerance discipline policies on educational outcomes? To answer this question, Chicago Public Schools will be employed as a case study from which lessons for the nation at large will be drawn. Ultimately, this analysis ends up revealing the ways in which zero tolerance policies stem from much deeper forces at play between dominant and marginal groups, and what comes to be defined as “deviance” in relation to a socially constructed system of “order.”