Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Contact (The word)'
To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Contact (The word).
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Contact (The word).'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Bekos, Michael A., Dijk Thomas C. van, Martin Fink, Philipp Kindermann, Stephen Kobourov, Sergey Pupyrev, Joachim Spoerhase, and Alexander Wolff. "Improved Approximation Algorithms for Box Contact Representations." Springer, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/623076.
Full textAbstract:
We study the following geometric representation problem: Given a graph whose vertices correspond to axis-aligned rectangles with fixed dimensions, arrange the rectangles without overlaps in the plane such that two rectangles touch if the graph contains an edge between them. This problem is called Contact Representation of Word Networks (Crown) since it formalizes the geometric problem behind drawing word clouds in which semantically related words are close to each other. Crown is known to be NP-hard, and there are approximation algorithms for certain graph classes for the optimization version, Max-Crown, in which realizing each desired adjacency yields a certain profit. We present the first O(1)-approximation algorithm for the general case, when the input is a complete weighted graph, and for the bipartite case. Since the subgraph of realized adjacencies is necessarily planar, we also consider several planar graph classes (namely stars, trees, outerplanar, and planar graphs), improving upon the known results. For some graph classes, we also describe improvements in the unweighted case, where each adjacency yields the same profit. Finally, we show that the problem is APX-complete on bipartite graphs of bounded maximum degree.
2
Dold, Simon [Verfasser]. "Basque - Spanish Language Contact : an empirical study on word order in interrogatives / Simon Dold." Konstanz : Bibliothek der Universität Konstanz, 2018. http://d-nb.info/116496934X/34.
Full text
3
Barrera-Tobon, Carolina. "Contact-induced changes in word order and intonation in the Spanish of New York City bilinguals." Thesis, City University of New York, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3601855.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation is a variationist sociolinguistic analysis of the variable word order and prosody of copular constructions (Nicolás es feliz versus Feliz es Nicolás, Es Nicolás feliz, Es feliz Nicolás, ‘Nicolas is happy’) in the Spanish of first- and second-generation Spanish-English bilinguals in New York City (henceforth NYC). The data used for the study come from a spoken corpus of Spanish in NYC based on 140 sociolinguistic interviews (details of the corpus will be presented in Chapter Three). This dissertation addresses the question of whether second-generation bilinguals have a less flexible word order in Spanish as a result of their increased use of, and contact with, English, where a more fixed order prevails.
We will show that the informants in the present study, like their peers in Los Angeles and other parts of the US, exhibit a more rigid word order compared to their first-generation peers. We have established that this increase in rigidity of word order among the second-generation can be attributed in large part to their increased use of and contact with English. The studies mentioned above have interpreted their results to mean that these speakers are losing or have lost the discourse pragmatic constraints that govern word order. However, the data here show that the first- and second-generation speakers in the present study share many of the same conditioning variables and constraints for word order, although these variables appear to account for a smaller amount of variance among the second-generation. In this way, we have established that the second-generation is not losing the discourse pragmatic constraints that govern word order, but that they are differently sensitive to these constraints. In fact, we show that second-generation speakers are very capable of communicating the pragmatic functions that the first-generation speakers do using word order because they maintain the prosodic details of their first-generation counterparts. In other words, the second-generation communicates these functions in ways that are slightly different from the first-generation, relying more on prosodic resources than syntactic ones. Furthermore, the data indicate that their prosodic patterns are not modeled after the prosody of English. In general terms we show that the second-generation does not have a different grammar from their first-generation counterparts, as is claimed by other researchers. Instead we show that these speakers favor certain first-generation strategies over others.
4
Lau, Ngar-wai. "A study of Chinese depictive constructions in finance related discourse word order, discourse force and contact-induced changes /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B3168774X.
Full text
5
Elias, Troy R. C. "E-Fluence at the Point of Contact: Impact of Word-Of-Mouth and Personal Relevance of Services on Consumer Attitudes in Online Environments." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=osu1243885230.
Full text
6
Lance, Yoko. "Unique variety of Japanese language developed through language contact on the Gold Coast, Australia in first-generation Japanese communities." Thesis, Griffith University, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/416045.
Full textAbstract:
To investigate how minority groups such as the Japanese speaking communities on the Gold Coast in Australia have developed a variety of the Japanese language, a survey was conducted with 31 first-generation Japanese immigrants. Among the unique 216 words collected, 26 new words, 45 catachrestic loanwords that bring new concepts of ideas or things into the Japanese language, 101 non-catachrestic loanwords co-existing with semiotically-matching other Japanese words, nine words with phonological modifications and 35 interjections were recorded. As a result, the most used unique words were non-catachrestic loanwords. Most words were related to their everyday lives; however, some were related to politics or of a more conceptual nature, unlike similar research conducted in Brazil before WWII. Nouns were the most popular unique words collected in terms of word classes. The names of things, shops, facilities, and occupations are often used in loanwords, as it is easier to use the same names in Japanese and English conversations. All the loanword verbs collected were formed with the suffix ‘-suru (to do)’. Some loanword adjectives were formed with the suffix ‘-na’. No ‘Taigen + -ru’ verbs or ‘loanwords + -i’ adjectives were confirmed. Among 26 new words used/developed on the Gold Coast, most were shortened nicknames of places and shops, such as ‘Hanja (Hungry Jacks)’, ‘Debijo (David Jones)’, ‘Raria (Australia)’, ‘Ōsu (Australia)’, ‘Wāsu (Woolworths)’, ‘Sushitore (Sushitrain)’, ‘Pashi (Pacific Fair)’, ‘Robitan (Robina Town Centre) and ‘Imigure (former Department of Immigration and Border Protection)’. Most of the words were clippings and compound clippings such as ‘Buri (Brisbane)’ and ‘Burobi (buro+bi, Broadbeach)’, and one loanblend ‘Japasen (for people who only date Japanese)’, one calque ‘Kokumin (National Australia Bank)’, one native creation ‘Donishī (Sydney)’, and two words ‘Ūru’ and ‘Ōru’ (both from the airport code ‘OOL’) from the Japanese tourism industry register were collected. For catachrestic loanwords, most of them were direct loans; however, some loanshifts such as ‘pikkingu (picking, meaning fruit picking)’ and ‘raundo (around, travelling around in Australia)’ were observed. For non-catachrestic loanwords, some names of places and occupations and things in their everyday lives were often used. Some words were used because they have slightly different impressions from the standard Japanese words, such as ‘yaoya’ and ‘vege shop’. For both catachrestic and non-catachrestic loanwords, some influence in shortenings from the local English slang/dialect was found as well, such as ‘Burijī (Brissie: Brisbane)’, ‘Ūrī (Woolies: Woolworths)’, ‘Bābī (Barbeque)’ and ‘mojī (mozzie: mosquito)’.
Some phonological modifications influenced by English were found, such as ‘aikea’ instead of ‘ikea’ for the name of the interior shop IKEA, and ‘garāji’ instead of ‘garēji’ for garage. Some uncommon loanwords in Japan, such as ‘petorōru’, ‘petorō’, ‘petoro’, ‘petororu’, and 'petoraru’ for petrol, showed various phonological adaptations.
Many loanwords for interjections were recorded, such as ‘oh my god’, ‘oh dear’, ‘oops’ and ‘awesome’. They often show code-switching behaviour for interjections with English accenting and pronunciation done unconsciously. More intentional code-switching behaviour is also observed to soften the situation, make it humorous, or dodge a straight answer. This code-switching is natural and easier to use for smooth communication in their life with two languages. Most participants had a positive attitude towards integrating English into their Japanese language. They think it is unavoidable living in an English-dominated society, and many of them speak English more often than Japanese. Although some words can only be expressed in English, this research found that people on the Gold Coast tend to integrate English into their Japanese conversations mainly for their convenience. It is not from the loss of their Japanese proficiency as their language skills are constantly updated through frequent return trips to Japan and access to online content in Japanese. It is considered embarrassing to mix languages too often in Japan, but it is very hard to avoid it in their life on the Gold Coast. However, they still try to avoid it in a formal or semiformal situation and outside their community.
This research contributes new data to the field of Japanese language variation through language contact. There is no previous research conducted in this field, especially on Japanese people in Australia. It is significant to research and record the living language at the present time on the Gold Coast, Australia.Thesis (Professional Doctorate)
Doctor of Visual Arts (DVA)
School of Hum, Lang & Soc Sc
Arts, Education and Law
Full Text
7
Fristedt, Emma. "Irish loanwords in English varieties." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för lärande, humaniora och samhälle, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-27603.
Full textAbstract:
This essay will discuss and research the width and frequency of Irish loanwords in contemporary English varieties. The meanings, uses, differences, similarities and collocations of selected words will be discussed and analyzed in order to find answers to the research questions asked. The methods used are quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative method will measure the frequency of the selected words in each of the selected varieties and the qualitative method will discuss the meanings and uses of the words in the different varieties. Each word has its own section which discuss meanings, developments and instances in which the words can be found in the different varieties. These sections are summarized at the end of the essay and the conclusion states that Irish loanwords in contemporary English varieties are not greatly widespread compared to the frequency of the same words in Irish English. A few of the words have been able to develop their meaning and use through time, but most instances of the words show the original meaning and use.
8
Riha, Helena. "Lettered Words and Roman Letter Characters in Chinese Writing: A Study Of Alphabetic Writing in Chinese Newswires." The Ohio State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1222045556.
Full text
9
Rolleri, Saavedra Aldo Evandro. "Characterization of wood based panels surfaces by contact and non-contact methods." [S.l. : s.n.], 2003. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=968509053.
Full text
10
Ekman, Linn, and Isabel Heilborn. "Serviceförväntningar hos kunder : En jämförande studie mellan Acne och H&M." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Textilhögskolan, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-16834.
Full textAbstract:
Denna uppsats behandlar service, ett fenomen som har växt sig starkare de senaste årtiondena och som har kommit att bli ett avgörande verktyg för många företag för att kunna skapa marknadsfördelar. Att ett företag förvaltar mötet dem och kunden emellan på bästa sätt är ofta en kritisk faktor för att få kunden att återvända till butiken även nästa gång. Vissa företag är mer och andra är mindre beroende av ett bra servicesystem och därför är syftet med denna uppsats att undersöka huruvida serviceförväntningarna hos två olika kundgrupper liknar eller skiljer sig från varandra. Kundgrupperna som valts ut tillhör konfektionsföretagen, H&M som är en kedja i lågprissegmentet och Acne som är ett företag i högprissegmentet. Frågeformuleringen som besvaras i uppsatsen gäller som följer: Hur skiljer sig H&M-kunden från Acne-kunden i sina förväntningar på service i butik? För att besvara frågeställningen används en kvantitativ metod en så kallad muntlig strukturerad intervju som är riktad mot de två kundgrupperna. Undersökningen är gjord på totalt sett 100 personer med en jämn föredelning mellan kundgrupperna.I teorikapitlet får läsaren ta del av en litteraturöversikt och olika studier som bedrivits inom service. En fördjupning av service som fenomen presenteras sedan för att ytterligare fördjupas inom en rad viktiga delar som utgör stommen i servicebegreppet. Dessa är bland annat word of mouth, butiksatmosfär, sanningens ögonblick och självfallet gapmodellen som beskriver gapet mellan kundens förväntningar på service och upplevd service.Datainsamlingen visar att nästan alla som tillfrågats är återkommande kunder hos företagen och att Acne:s kunder i större utsträckning är tillfredsställda med kötid, hjälp från butiksbiträde och antal provrum än vad H&M:s kunder visar sig vara. Datainsamlingen visar också att kunderna som handlar hos Acne spenderar mer pengar än kunderna som handlar hos H&M. Majoriteten av H&M:s kunder ligger i intervallen 0-499 kronor samt 500-999 kronor per månad medan majoriteten av Acnes-kunder handlar för 1500- 1999 kronor och uppåt.Slutsatsen som presenteras är således att Acne-kunderna har högre krav på företaget, då vi ser att H&M-kunder återvänder trots att de inte är nöjda med mycket hos företaget. Ett företag som Acne som ligger i högprissegmentet kan också vara mer tvungna att erbjuda god service då de säljer mycket dyrare plagg. H&M-kunderna verkar dock förvänta sig en högre servicenivå än den rådande standarden men förmodligen är den inte lika hög somAcne-kundens förväntningar.This thesis deals with the concept service. It is a phenomenon that has grown stronger the last decades and is today a vital tool for many companies to create market advantages. That a company manages the meeting between them and their customer in the best way possible is often a critical factor to get the customer to return to the store. Some companies are more than others dependent on a good service system and therefore are the purpose of this paper to examine whether the service expectations of two different customer groups are similar or different from each other. The customer groups that are chosen belong to a store chain in the lower price segment, H&M and one in the higher price segment, Acne. Both companies are active in the Swedish clothing industry. The query formulation that this paper aims to answer is: How do an H&M customer and an Acne customer vary in their expectations on service in a store? To answer this question a quantitative method is used, were an oral structured interview directed to the two customer groups are performed to collect data. Altogether 100 customers got interviewed, with an even division between the customer groups.In the theory chapter the reader gets to take part of a literature review and different studies that has been done on service. A recess of service as a phenomenon are presented and further recessed through a row of important parts that is the body of service, such as word of mouth, store atmospheric, moment of truth and the Gap-model that describes the gap between what the customer expects in service and what the customer are experiencing.The collected data shows that almost every respondent are a returning customer at the companies and that the customers at Acne in general are more satisfied with the store’s queuing time, help from the shop assistant, and number of fitting rooms than the customers at H&M proves to be. The collected data also shows that the customers that shop at Acne are spending more money on clothes every month than the H&M-customers do. The majority of H&M’s customers are in the intervals 0-499 SEK and 500-999 SEK each month, while the majority of the Acne-customers are shopping for 1500-1999 SEK and up.The conclusion that is presented is that the Acne-customers have higher expectations on the service provided by the company, as we can see that the H&M-customers are returning customers although if they not are satisfied with a lot at their store. A company as Acne that is in the higher price segment may also be more forced to provide a good service when the customers are paying a notable larger amount of money for their clothes. The H&M-customers seems to expect a higher service level at H&M than received but probably are these expectations not as high as the Acne-customer’s expectations.Program: Textilekonomutbildningen
11
Проняєва, Вікторія Едуардівна, Виктория Эдуардовна Проняева, and Viktoriia Eduardivna Proniaieva. "The word as a unit of meaning. The role of context in words meaning." Thesis, Sumy State University, 2015. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/40196.
Full textAbstract:
A unit of meaning is a word plus all those words within its contextual context that are needed to disambiguate this word to make it monosemous. A lot of research were made to study the influence of the context. They testify that there is usually in each word a hard core of relatively stable meaning and can be modified by the context within certain limits.
12
Kurz, Claudia. "Function words and simplification in contact varieties of German /." The Ohio State University, 1998. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487949150071939.
Full text
13
Brown, Heather. "Biological control of wood decay in ground contact timbers." Thesis, Abertay University, 2002. https://rke.abertay.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/404b141f-ed6c-4363-a96a-27ba3ab1f68a.
Full textAbstract:
Wood placed in ground contact situations is susceptible to attack by a wide range of soil micro-organisms which degrade the wood structure, causing significant deterioration of the mechanical properties of the timber such as strength and elasticity. Chemical preservatives such as CCA (copper-chrome-arsenic) and CCB (copper-chrome-boron) are currently used to prevent the decay of wood exposed to biodeteriogens. However, increasing concerns regarding the long-term environmental effects of the toxic chemicals applied to ground contact timbers has resulted in the investigation and development of a number of alternatives to chemical preservation. This project examined the use of biological control as a means of protecting ground contact timbers from fungal decay. Trichoderma spp. are soil-inhabiting fungi with broad-spectrum antagonistic properties, and have been extensively investigated as potential biocontrol agents in agriculture and forestry. A small-scale wood-based screening system was developed for the rapid assessment of biocontrol potential. The screening system used non-sterile soil as a test medium to provide a natural environment for the evaluation of potential biocontrolagents. A number of Trichoderma isolates were tested using the developed system, andone Trichoderma viride isolate, (T60) demonstrated an initial protective effect against non-sterile soil. This isolate has previously been shown to be totally effective against basidiomycete decay fungi. The isolate was therefore selected as a potential biocontrol agent for ground contact timber, and a field trial was designed to assess the isolate on a larger scale. Development of the field trial included the formulation of an appropriate delivery system. The biocontrol agent was applied to wood as a fungal spore suspension prepared in water. Wood was pressure impregnated with spores using a pilot preservation plant, integrating biological control strategies with current industry processes. Spore viability was retained, as indicated by the germination of Trichoderma spores on the wood surface. Field trial and fungal cellar testing of the biocontrol agent on ground contact was based on European Standard test methods for chemical wood preservatives. T60-treated stakes, CCA-treated stakes and untreated control stakes of 2 softwood species were uplifted after 9 and 18 months exposure to soil. Recommended subjective assessmentswere supplemented with biological examinations of decay. Results indicated partial protection of T60-treated wood. However, the study highlighted the influence of test system and wood species on the activity and behaviour of the applied biocontrol agent. To assess the distribution of the biocontrol agent in wood following the novel application procedure, a molecular-based method for the specific detection and quantification of T60 in treated wood was investigated. DNA was extracted from wood and amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A random primer was used to detect T60 DNA in extracted material, and image analysis software was utilised to assess the relative abundance of amplified DNA indicating a non-uniform distribution of detected spores. In summary, results from the field and fungal cellar testing of a selected biocontrol isolate showed a variation in the degree and constancy of protection against wood decay fungi. Standard testing guidelines were used as a basis for a field trial, with modifications designed to provide a more comprehensive assessment of biological control in ground contact timbers. The research presented in this thesis highlights the importance of field testing with regard to the biological control of wood decay, and indicates the influence of environmental factors on the overall performance of fungal biocontrol agents.
14
Fargion, Silvia. "Theories and practices in social work : practitioners' representations of contract work." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22202.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation analyses the relationship between theory and practice in social work, focusing on practitioners' accounts of a particular methodology, contract work. It revisits scholarly debates in the social work discipline (ch. 1) and elaborates an alternative approach, based on Wittgenstein's notion of "language game" and its re-elaboration by the Edinburgh "strong programme" in the sociology of knowledge. This perspective (ch. 2) posits that the meaning of categories and concepts corresponds to the use that concrete actors make of them as a result of on-going negotiating processes in specific contexts. Therefore, meanings may vary dramatically across social groups moved by different interests and holding different cultures. Accordingly, we may reformulate the issue of theory and practice in terms of the connections between different language games. The main research question becomes, how does theoretical language relate to practitioners' broader frames, and how does it shape their making sense of their own experience. This broad analytical strategy is applied to a specific empirical case, representations of the concept of contract. Focusing on contract is appropriate as this concept has become common currency in practitioners' language, while at the same time establishing itself as a crucial concept in scholarly literature in the field (ch. 3). As such, it allows the analyst to identify different uses of the same term among social work practitioners as well as to contrast practitioners' representations to academic ones. The empirical material comes from accounts by twenty-two social workers based on services for family and children in Milan and Turin (ch. 4). Two in-depth interviews were conducted with each practitioner. One explored their images of contract as a concept. The other analysed "critical incidents", i.e., specific instances of applications of contract work. Data presentation follows the same logic. Two main general interpretations of the word "contract" are identified, which both refer to the same formal definition, yet stress very different elements of it. One sees contract as an instrument providing the work process with a clear structure, the other relates contract to the process through which an agreement is reached between practitioners and their clients (ch. 5). This distinction is found to correspond to two different concrete uses of the label. One focuses on contract as a tool to secure client's commitment to a clearly defined work plan (ch. 6), the other on contract as an on-going negotiation (ch. 7). Finally, the systematic analysis of differences in concepts and applications leads to the identification of two broader cultural landscapes. Rather than by available dichotomies in social work literature, their trails are best captured by Mannheim's classic distinction between "Romantic" and "Enlightenment" styles of thought (ch. 8).
15
Molnar, Sonia. "Performance of preservative-treated wood exposed out of ground contact." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.286717.
Full text
16
Williams, J. N. "The effective context for priming word recognition." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.377233.
Full text
17
Edlund, Marie-Louise. "Durability of wood in ground contact tested in field and laboratory /." Uppsala : Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniv.), 1998. http://epsilon.slu.se/avh/1998/91-576-5615-0.gif.
Full text
18
Coleman, Nigel. "E-social work : a preliminary examination of social services contact centres." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2011. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/51364/.
Full textAbstract:
The use of technology has been a feature of public sector managerialism since its introduction by the Conservative government in the 1990s. Subsequently, New Labour's modernisation agenda embraced and promoted the use of information and communication technology (ICT) through its drive towards 'electronic government' ('e-government'). The target set for all services to be 'e-accessible' by 2005 put pressure on local authorities for their services to be 'open all hours' and encouraged them to utilise call centre technology to achieve this. As a result, 'contact centres' (as they were re-designated) are now in use by local authorities to deliver a diverse range of services including social services. Call centres emerged as one of the most widely adopted organisational forms in the private sector in the last two decades of the twentieth century, and have been utilised in a number of ways, primarily in the communications and service industries. The working conditions in call centres gained a reputation for being harsh and exploitative of employees in the pursuit of efficiency and economy and the labour process in them has attracted a considerable amount of academic interest and research. The principal approach underpinning this research has been Braverman's (1974) labour process perspective. The use of call centre environments and technology for social services was pioneered by Liverpool City Council in 2001 in partnership with British Telecom. The introduction of contact centres in this context epitomised 'new public management'. The use of contact centres to deliver social services is now widespread and the thesis presents an in-depth case study of one such contact centre, 'Northshire Care Direct' (NCD) in the North East of England. It identifies how social work practice has been affected by an organisational form, which, until recently, had not been utilised in this context. In addition to its being used to underpin call centre research, Braverman's (1974) labour process perspective has also been used to analyse the social work labour process and, in this sense, was apposite as a means of shedding light on a setting that conjoined social work and call centre technology. The thesis therefore uses Braverman's labour process perspective as an overarching conceptual framework to shed light on the labour process at NCD and how it impacted on social workers from professional and personal perspectives. The findings challenge the dominant view of call centre environments, which represents them as highly controlled and inherently stressful settings that inevitably damage employees' well-being. The thesis argues that contact centre social work represents a new (and, thus far, neglected) development that further extends the incursion of ICT into the organisation and management of social work practice. The emergence of the twin phenomena of 'e-social work' and 'e-management' is identified. The thesis argues that the contact centre context takes the role of ICT in social work further than before. In acknowledging that it is a snapshot of only one such centre, and that different practices may exist elsewhere, it argues that the findings can only be indicative of the direction of travel. It concludes that the social work profession needs to engage with further developments in order to mitigate potentially negative effects for service users.
19
McLoughlin, Claire. "Scottish commercial contacts with the Iberian world, 1581-1730." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/4525.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis analyses the commercial relations between Scotland and the geo-political area known as the Iberian world in the early modern period. Despite being geographically one of the largest areas of Europe, as well as arguably the politically most weighty, there has, until this thesis, been no scholarly research on Scottish trade relations with this area. Though the archives suggest regular and sustained contact, very little is known about Scottish-Iberian connections beyond the overtly political. When compared to northern Europe the region of Iberia and its dominions differed significantly, not only due to a different branch of Christianity being practised there but also due to the influence of the Habsburg empire and the power it was perceived to give the Spanish Habsburgs. Looking predominantly at Scottish commercial contacts with Spain, the Spanish Netherlands and Portugal, this project considers a number of angles such as England's impact on Scottish commercial relations with Iberia. For example, very little would be known about Scottish commercial relations with Iberia in the late-sixteenth century if it were not for the Anglo-Spanish war of that period. The central role of conflict in Scottish-Iberian relations continues into the seventeenth century, with the Cromwellian/Stuart struggles with the Dutch Republic and later disputes between the new state of Great Britain and Habsburg Spain all affecting trade. This thesis demonstrates the important role of triangular and entrepôt trade, which was popular with Scottish merchants who wished to obtain Iberian goods without the risks of sailing into North African corsair territory. Scots did not merely pick up Iberian goods from the entrepôt markets of London and the Dutch Republic they also organised trade to Iberia and its dominions via other Scots, providing evidence of a complex trade network. Further, this thesis has sought to ascertain that, despite the lack of a large Scottish community such as those seen in Poland-Lithuania and Scandinavia, Scottish commercial relations with Iberia were valuable both to the Scottish economy and its merchants. This thesis which continues the work of the Scotland and the Wider World Project, addresses a lack of scholarly work regarding Scottish commercial connections with this key geo-political area.
20
Karlsson, Yvette. "Att bo och arbeta på samma plats : Gränslöst arbete och psykologiska kontrakt." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för hållbar samhälls- och teknikutveckling, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-10346.
Full textAbstract:
To work and live in the same place where ones employer also is the landlord, can create a situation with many special requirements for the individual. Constrains regarding time, space and impact on social life is likely to appear. Based on theory and empirical research about the Boundaryless work and the Psychological contract the purpose of this report is to examine employees who live and work at the same place. This is done by studying the regulation regarding time and space factors and the psychological contracts in expectations and in violation of the psychological contract and the risks associated with this like Locked-in factors. The study includes interviews with managers and employees (n=9). The result shows the difficulties to set standards for the constrains of the factors concerning time and space. The expectations from both employees and the organization goes beyond what can be considered as formal work boundaries. The results are discussed in relation to the risks of stress, health and Lock-in.
21
Reid, Lennox Errol Jr. "Surface characterization of hard disks using non-contact work function capacitance probe." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/18875.
Full text
22
Essa, Irfan A. (Irfan Aziz). "Contact detection, collision forces and friction for physically based virtual world modeling." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/14054.
Full text
23
Lewis, Juan David. "Sensory processing and work performance of contact centre agents in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/886.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The primary objective of this study was to establish if the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile questionnaire (AASP) could be used as a recruitment tool in selecting contact centre agents with a higher predictability for success and hence higher productivity. Contact centres around the globe face the challenge of high staff turnover and absenteeism, reducing profitability. It seems that work performance related to the way in which adults process sensory input has not been well researched. A model was developed by Dunn (Brown et al., 2001) based on the intersection of a neurological threshold continuum and a behavioural continuum and yielding four quadrants: Quadrant 1, Low Registration (of stimuli); Quadrant 2, Sensation Seeking; Quadrant 3, Sensory Sensitivity, and Quadrant 4, Sensation Avoiding. Forty-eight contact centre agents employed by Liberty Life were selected and assessed on the AASP. Performance data for each contact centre agent were collected: available time, auxiliary time, log-in time, quality assurance, absenteeism and length of service. Spearman rank correlations were conducted to test if relationships exist between any of the four quadrants and the performance measures. As an additional investigation, a Suitability Score (based on clustering of scores with a percent assigned) was derived for each contact centre agent and also correlated with the above performance measures. Significant relationships were found between Quadrant 2 scores and three of the performance measurement criteria. As the Quadrant 2 scores increase, the average available time of the agents will decrease and their average log-in time will increase. Absenteeism increased as well, which is expected to have a negative effect on the productivity of the contact centre. The Quadrant also had a high predictability for Suitability Ratings indicating that as the Quadrant 2 score increases, the suitability of the contact centre agents increases as well. Regarding Quadrant 3 (sensory sensitivity) scores, quality assessment, total days of absenteeism and average absenteeism relate negatively. It seems that contact centre agents with high sensory sensitivity are less suitable for the job. As the score increases the quality assessment scores decrease, which is not what is required in terms of quality standards. A negative relationship exists between Quadrant 3 scores and the Suitability Rating scores, indicating that the higher the quadrant scores the less suitable the contact centre agents are to work in the contact centre environment. Quadrant 4 (sensation avoiding) has a negative relationship with Suitability Rating scores, which indicates that the higher the quadrant score the less suitable the contact centre agent is to work in the contact centre environment. No significant relationships were recorded between the performance measurements and Quadrant 1 (low registration) and Quadrant 4 (sensation avoiding), even though, logically, one would expect agents with less distraction to be more productive. Further studies are recommended before the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile questionnaire is used as a recruitment tool. Future studies could categorise the quadrant scores into clusters and then test for relationships with the set performance measurements. The Suitability Rating was used in a first attempt to match individuals in a specific job according to specific sensory profiles. This measure has not yet been tested for validity and reliability, which must be done prior to further study using it.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die primêre doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel of die Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP) vraelys gebruik kan word as ‘n hulpmiddel vir die werwing en seleksie van kontaksentrum agente, met ‘n hoër waarskynlikheid van sukses en, dus, hoër produktiwiteit. Kontaksentrums op elke vasteland kom te staan voor die probleem van hoë personeelomset en werksafwesigheid wat winsgewendheid verlaag. Die manier waardeur volwasse mense hul sensoriese insette verwerk, in verband met werkprestasie, is nog nie goed ondersoek nie. ‘n Model is deur Dunn (Brown et al., 2001) ontwikkel wat gebasseer is op die kruispunt van ‘n neurologiese drumpel kontinuum en ‘n gedragskontinuum wat tot vier kwadrante lei: Kwadrant 1, Lae Registrasie (van stimuli); Kwadrant 2, Sensasie Soekend; Kwadrant 3, Sensoriese Sensitiwiteit, en Kwadrant 4, Vermyding van Sensasie. Agt-en-veertig kontaksentrum agente wat in diens van Liberty Life is, is geselekteer en beoordeel volgens die AASP. Prestasiedata is saamgestel vir elke kontaksentrum agent: beskikbare tyd, oortollige tyd, teenwoordige tyd, kwaliteitsversekering, werksafwesigheid en jare diensplig. Spearman rang korrelasies is onderneem om te toets of daar verbande bestaan tussen enige van die vier kwadrante en die prestasiemaatstaf. In ‘n addisionele ondersoek is ‘n geskiktheidsmaatstaf ontwikkel wat gebasseer is op trosvorming van tellings met ‘n toegekende persentasie. Dit is gedoen vir elke kontaksentrum agent en hierdie tellings is ook gekorreleer met bogenoemde prestasiemaatstawwe. Statisties-beduidende positiewe verbande is gevind tussen Kwadrant 2 (sensasie soekend) tellings en drie van die prestasiemetingskriteria. As die telling van Kwadrant 2 toeneem, neem die gemiddelde beskikbare tyd af en die teenwoordige tyd van agente toe. Werksafwesigheid het ook toegeneem, wat moontlik negatief kan inwerk op die produktiwiteit van die kontaksentrum. Die kwadrant het ook ‘n hoë waarskynlikheid openbaar in die geval van die Gekiktheidsmaatstaf, wat aandui dat, namate die Kwadrant 2 telling toeneem, die gekiktheid van die kontaksentrum agent ook toeneem. Wat Kwadrant 3 (sensoriese sensitiwiteit) tellings betref, bestaan daar ‘n negatiewe verband tussen kwaliteitsversekering, totale aantal dae van werksafwesigheid en gemiddelde werksafwesigheid. Dit blyk dat kontaksentrum agente met hoë sensoriese sensitiwiteit dalk minder geskik is vir die pos. Soos wat die telling vir sensoriese sensitiwiteit toeneem, neem die telling vir kwaliteitsversekering af, wat nie in terme van kwaliteitstandaarde aanvaarbaar is nie. Daar bestaan ‘n negatiewe verband tussen Kwadrant 4 (sensasie vermyding) tellings en die tellings vir die Geskiktheidsmaatstaf, wat aandui dat hoe hoër die kwadrant telling, hoe minder geskik is die agent. Geen statisties-beduidende verbande is gevind tussen die prestasietellings van Kwadrant 1 (lae registrasie) en Kwadrant 4 (sensasie vermyding) nie. Normaalweg sou mens verwag dat agente met minder afleiding, meer produktief sou wees. Daar word voorgestel dat verdere studies onderneem word voordat die Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile as ‘n werwingsmaatstaf gebruik word. Toekomstige studies kan die kwadrant tellings saamvoeg in trosse en dan toets vir verbande met die vooropgestelde prestasiemaatstawwe. Die Geskiktheidsmaatstaf is gebruik as ‘n eerste poging om individue saam te voeg in ‘n spesifieke pos, volgens ‘n spesifieke sensoriese profiel. Hierdie maatstaf moet vir toepaslikheid en betroubaarheid in verdere studie getoets word, voordat dit gebruik kan word.
24
Brisolari, André. "Estudo da molhabilidade em madeiras tropicais ou de reflorestamento por medidas de ângulo de contato e de permeabilidade." Universidade de São Paulo, 2008. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/88/88131/tde-17062009-145256/.
Full textAbstract:
Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar a molhabilidade e a permeabilidade para quatro espécies de madeiras tropicais (Pinus elliottii, Araucaria angustifolia, Eucalyptus grandis e Eucalyptus citriodora). A molhabilidade é um parâmetro importante para a caracterização de diferentes espécies de madeira e, portanto, depende de fatores como o estado de limpeza da superfície da madeira, orientação das fibras, tipo de amostra (alburno ou cerne), secagem, tratamentos térmicos e químicos, rugosidade superficial, etc. Primeiramente, investigamos a molhabilidade para as quatro espécies tropicais por medida de ângulo de contato aparente para diferentes solventes na superfície da madeira As amostras foram tratadas termicamente no intervalo 100 200º C, por 8h e foi utilizado o método da gota séssil e um goniômeto. Os valores dos ângulos de contato foram maiores para as amostras submetidas aos tratamentos térmicos, indicando um aumento no caráter hidrofóbico da madeira. A técnica de ângulo de contato não foi eficiente para tratamentos térmicos superiores a 200º C, devido a sua degradação. No experimento de permeabilidade foi utilizado um fluxo de ar através das amostras com poros fechados e abertos. Foi verificado um acréscimo de 82 % na vazão para as situações de poros abertos no Eucalyptus citriodora. Nossos resultados permitem detectar mudanças consideráveis na molhabilidade e permeabilidade da madeira, sendo informações valiosas para a conservação e utilização destas madeiras.This work aims to study wettability and permeability for tropical wood species (Pinus elliotti, Araucaria angustifolia, Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus citriodora).The adhesive wettability is an important parameter for characterizing different wood species and depends on factors such as cleaning state of the wood surface, orientation of the wood fibers, type of sample (sapwood or heartwood), drying, thermal and chemical treatments, surface roughness, etc. First, we investigated the wettability of the four tropical wood species by measuring the apparent contact angles of different solvents on the wood surfaces. The samples were heat treated from 100 to 200 °C for 8 h, and the contact angles measured by the sessile drop method with a home-made goniometer. For samples heat-treated below 200 °C, higher values of contact angles were obtained, indicating a hydrophobic character for thermal treated woods. After this temperature, the wood degradation took place. For permeability experiments, a flow of air was used for wood samples with closed and open pores. An increase of 82% in flow was verified for open pores woods such as Eucalyptus citriodora. Our results allowed us to detect considerable changes on wood wettability and permeability and that are powerful information for conservation and use of these woods.
25
Behroozy, Ali. "Validation of a monitor to measure exposure to wet-work." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2011. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=165821.
Full textAbstract:
Wet-work exposure has been recognized as a main risk factor for developing Irritant contact dermatitis of the hand. Duration and frequency of wet-work exposure are the key risk determinants, but there is still no reliable objective method to assess these factors in the workplace. The current study aimed to further validate a newly invented wet-work exposure monitor (WWEM) among four high risk occupational groups of hairdressers, florists, caterers and nurses. The WWEM, which consists of two similar thermocouples provides a real-time indication of the wetness of the finger by measuring the temperature changes when the finger is wet and subsequent cooling when the water evaporates from the skin. A suitable data analysis routine was constructed and direct observation was employed as the gold standard. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare the results. In laboratory experiments, the most suitable wet-event threshold value, as a criterion to distinguish the wet and dry exposure periods was identified as 1.6°C (Mean+5SD of the “dry” data). Using this value sensitivity and specificity were 70% and 78%, respectively. An area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78 demonstrated a “high” accuracy for WWEM in lab experiments. Field testing in real occupational fields identified varying degrees of user acceptability and different wet-event threshold values to produce maximal sensitivity and specificity of the instrument. Among hairdressers, the WWEM showed a “moderate” accuracy at the threshold value of 1.37°C with an AUC of 0.62. For florists, the most suitable threshold value in the range of examined thresholds was 1.14°C with a “good” accuracy. Among a cohort of caterers, a threshold value of 1.6°C demonstrated a “hi gh” accuracy with an AUC of 0.72. The WWEM demonstrates the minimum value of the largest AUC for nurses. This is the minimum amount of accuracy among the four occupational groups. The figure is 0.52, achieved at a threshold value of 2.5°C. The WWEM enables the frequency and duration of wet-work exposure to be assessed in an objective manner rather than the current costly and unreliable subjective methods of direct observation and questionnaire. The results indicate that the WWEM has good sensitivity and high specificity in detecting exposure to wet-work. This device provides new experimental data on wetwork exposure and may be used in future as an educational tool to highlight the importance of wet-work exposure to both employees and employers.
26
Bourret, Christelle. "La question de l'existence d'un contrat de travail ou d'entreprise relatif à la prostitution." Thesis, Montpellier 1, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011MON10050/document.
Full textAbstract:
La prostitution est une activité exercée par de nombreuses personnes prostituées afin de pouvoir subvenir à leurs besoins, comme c'est le cas pour toutes les personnes exerçant une activité professionnelle. Cette activité qui est imposable comme les autres activités professionnelles, n'est pas reconnue comme une profession. Malgré la reconnaissance de l'existence d'une prostitution volontaire, le législateur français ne permet pas aux personnes prostituées de conclure un contrat de travail ou d'entreprise relatif à la prostitution. Cependant, ces contrats leurs permettraient de bénéficier des régimes de protection sociale de la population active, donc d'améliorer leurs conditions de vie, car la santé des personnes prostituées est mise en péril par la nature de leur activité. L'étude des éléments constitutifs du contrat de prostitution, permet de constater que si l'évolution des mentalités s'accompagnait d'une réforme des textes relataifs aux actes liés à la prostitution, la conclusion de ces contrats serait envisageableProstitution is an activity exercised by many people, in order to meet their needs, as it is for any person exercising any professional activity. Although this activity is taxable, as for any other work, it is not recognized as a profession. Despite the recognition of volunteer prostitution, French law does not allow prostitutes to conclude a work or buisness contract relative to prostitution. However, this type of contract waould allow them to enjoy the benefits of general social protection programs, and therefore to improve their life conditions, as the health of prostitutes is somehow endangered by the inner nature of this activity. The study of the components of the prostitution contract shows that, if the change the attidudes was accompagnied by a reform of laws relating to acts associated with prostitution, then the conclusion of these contracts would be possible
27
Pelser-Carstens, Veruschka. "The employment, social and psychological contract and work outcomes in a private security organisation / V. Pelser-Carstens." Thesis, North-West University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/10176.
Full textAbstract:
Employment relations literature is concerned with what is exchanged between the employer and the employee via an employment contract, a social contract or a psychological contract, with perceived mutual obligations (Rousseau, 1995; Capelli, 1999; Kalleberg, 2001). The psychological contract finds its foundation in the perceptions of the employee, that is, what the employee believe the employer has offered the employee in terms of their work relationship and the social contract refers to the expectations and obligations employers and employees have for their work and the employment relationship (Grahl, & Teague, 2009). The new employment contract differs from the old employment contract in that it is largely informal and even unwritten (Gilbert, 1996). This is in line with the new trend of business management as used by people-driven world-class organisations with a globalised focus (Gilbert, 1996). A research need exists to examine the potentially different or redundant effects of promises and expectations on the development of the obligations that are perceived to constitute the employment, the social and the psychological contracts (Martocchio, 2004; Shore, Tetrick, Taylor, Coyle-Shapiro, Liden, McLean-Parks, et al. 2004). The primary objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between the social- and the psychological contracts of private security employees (N=217) in the Vaal Triangle in terms of employability, job insecurity, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and intention to quit. This study is submitted in article form. The research method for each of the two articles consists of a brief literature review and an empirical study. Factor analyses, as well as Cronbach alpha coefficients were computed to assess the reliability of the research. Validity, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients as well as regression analysis were utilised to examine the relationship between the constructs employed in this research. The Employment Contract Scale (ECS) was also utilised as a research instrument, as the questionnaire-method proves to be largely reliable. Reliability analysis confirmed sufficient internal consistency of the subscales. The observed correlations were found to be comparable with the values reported in previous research by Edward and Karau (2007). By using multiple regression analysis, it was established that by investigating the relationship between the social- and the psychological contracts of private security employees (N=217) in the Vaal Triangle in terms of employability, job insecurity, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and intention to quit (the primary objective of this research) that job satisfaction and intention to quit predicted the social contract and that job satisfaction and life satisfaction predicted the psychological contract. No relationship however exists between employability, intention to quit and the psychological contract. Recommendations are advanced for future research.MA (Labour Relations Management) ,North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013
28
Bottorff, Laura M. "Work Attribute Importance and Loyalty Intention: Millennial Generation Psychological Contract." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2011. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/110.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated the importance that junior and senior job-seeking undergraduates (Millennial generation members) place on transactional and relational work attributes; how ratings vary by gender, experiences with layoff, and intended loyalty; and how well ratings match with actual attributes offered by organizations. Results are discussed in context of psychological contract theory. Students (n = 199) and recent graduates working full-time (n = 180) took separate online survey. Students indicated the importance of various work attributes (Ng, Schweitzer, & Lyons, 2010), loyalty intentions, and other related questions. Graduates answered only work attribute questions related to their current employer. Work attributes were factored into new transactional (IMP-T; µ = .78) and relational scales (IMP-R; µ = .91). Key results indicated that students rated relational work attributes more highly than transactional attributes (p < .001); gender had no effect on importance ratings or intended loyalty; and students’ importance ratings were above the workplace reality.
29
Yang, Feng. "Numerical analysis and three dimensional modelling of worm gearing with localised tooth contact." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.302638.
Full text
30
Miller, Katherine. "Nonnative-Accented Word Recognition: Children’s Use of Sentence Context." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523361813502827.
Full text
31
Lecheminant, Amanda Lorraine. "The change political world : how and why young people vote." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2010. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1443.
Full textAbstract:
This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Sciences
Political Science
32
Hellwig, Sigrun. "Sibling contact among children placed in different foster homes : mainly a literature study." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15951.
Full textAbstract:
Bibliography: pages 120-135.Sibling relationships, sibling separation and the implications thereof have received secondary consideration compared to parent/child relationships in social work practice. This exploratory study examines sibling relationships and the separation of siblings in foster care. The researcher mainly made use of a literature survey and included a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of the 'Sibling Contact Day', a project run by Child Welfare Society, Cape Town. The researcher interviewed twenty siblings and their caregivers who participated in the project using a structured questionnaire. The literature available proved that sibling ties are important and have positive influences on human development. Sibling loyalties take years to develop and are stronger when the parental system is weak and sibling accessibility is high. Being separated from brother(s) and/sister(s) requires that sibling relationships have to be re-negotiated. It frequently implies the loosening of sibling ties and the reduction of closeness, which can severely affect the child's identity formation. Results of the pilot study revealed that 55% of the children were separated when they entered into foster care. Only 20% keep in regular contact with each other and 40% did not have contact with their sibling(s) before the 'Sibling Contact Day'. Most children responded positively to meeting their sibling(s). Although only 5% of the children kept in contact as a result of the 'Sibling Contact Day', it seems to justify the continuation of the project on a yearly basis.
33
Andrews, Cathy Joanne. "Bridging the divide : an exploration of Ian Macneil's relational contract theory and its significance for contract scholarship and the lived world of commercial contract." Thesis, Birkbeck (University of London), 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.534705.
Full textAbstract:
In recent years commentators have suggested that the law of contract is experiencing something of a legitimation crisis. Whilst the classical contract paradigm remains a compelling default model underpinning contract law it is seen as increasingly remote from commercial practice. Legal scholars have variously described contract theory and doctrine as incoherent, piecemeal or in a state of flux. In spite of these issues having been well aired by academics, and the judiciary, no compelling alternative model seems to have emerged. This thesis explores these issues through a unique in-depth examination and application of lan Macneil's relational contract scholarship and the literature upon which he drew. Through a holistic reading of his opus and an innovative interrogation of his ideas in the context of the development of the classical contract model and real-life commercial contracting practice, I reveal how the outstanding explanatory force of Macneil's ideas can be applied to the widest possible range of contemporary contract problems and give doctrine a new intellectual coherence. I go on to present one of the first practical demonstrations of how relational contract ideas can be applied to contract formation and implication doctrines in the English jurisdiction by showing how a key commercial contract case could have been decided differently using relational reasoning. My research concludes that Macneil offers a distinct, robust method to analyse contract that poses a serious and credible challenge to the classical contract idea(l). In order to be conceptually unified, doctrinally consistent, and thus widely credible contract law must more effectively reflect the wide vista of commercial contract behaviour. I submit that contract law can no longer be legitimate when underpinned solely by the insignificant number of transactions that may vaguely fit discrete transactional concepts. Contract can be reunified by reconceptualising principles, doctrine, legal reasoning and contracting practice as relational.
34
Brewerton, Paul. "The nature of the psychological contract at work : content and characteristics." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2000. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/787/.
Full text
35
Xie, Yongsong. "The generation of worn surfaces in sliding contacts with hard asperities." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.336435.
Full text
36
Carter, Kristopher (Kristopher W. ). "Analysis of email and phone queuing systems in a world-wide contact center network." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/43832.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 50).
Contact centers are operated by companies to answer customer inquiries via phone calls or email. Customers often equate the service they are provided while interacting with a contact center to the quality of a company's product offering. Therefore, a major concern is what service level the company should choose to provide. One means of measuring service level is speed of response (how quickly a customer inquiry is answered). In general, faster response requires more customer service agents for a given volume of inquiries. Phone response times are usually measured in minutes or seconds. Email response times are usually measured in hours or days. This paper examines customer expectations regarding email and phone inquiry response time, and examines various models for planning staffing requirements to meet these response times. The expectations for response time to phone calls are found to be stable, having not changed much in the last few decades. The expectations for response time to email inquiries have been increasing though, with customers demanding much faster response in the last few years. Many customers now expect response to their emails within hours rather than days, with a significant number now expecting response as quickly as one hour. The challenges of implementing faster response times to email are examined using a case study at a major online retailer. A model is also introduced for email service level planning, that allows for the fact that typical response times are much longer than for phone calls.
by Kristopher Carter.
S.M.
M.B.A.
37
Le, Roux Charles Hendrik. "The idiosyncratic deal of employees and work outcomes at an academic institution / C.H. Le Roux." Thesis, North-West University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/10289.
Full textAbstract:
Every society has jobs that need to be done in order to survive and to improve its members’ subjective well-being. Work is an important source of individuals’ subjective well-being. Employees within higher education institutions face a complex environment and play an important role in the reconstruction and development in South Africa. Employees are experiencing more challenges in the workplace than ever before. They spend more time at work and because they have less leisure time, they have fewer opportunities of seeking meaning in their lives. These factors have an impact on the well-being and happiness of employees in higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between employees’ work experience, type of contract and work outcomes of employees at a higher education institution. A cross-sectional survey design was used with 483 employees at a higher education institution and a response rate of 62% (N = 300) was obtained. The measuring instruments used in this study included the Psychological Contract Across Nations (PSYCONES), Employment Contract Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, Mental Health Continuum - Short Form and Intention to Quit Scale. Exploratory factor analyses and Cronbach alpha coefficients were computed to determine the construct validity and reliability of the measures. Pearson correlation coefficients, multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the constructs in this study. Bootstrap-estimated confidence intervals were used to assess the significance of indirect effects. The results of study 1 confirmed the validity and reliability of measures (except for the social contract). Age, tenure and gender had statistically significant effects on the fulfilment of one dimension of the psychological contract, namely work conditions. Younger people with less tenure experienced more fulfilment of the psychological contract (regarding work conditions). Tenure also impacted psychological contract violation. Type of contract (permanent versus temporary) impacted the fulfilment of the psychological contract (specifically work conditions). Males (compared to females) experienced more fulfilment of the psychological contract (regarding work conditions) and less violation of the psychological contract. Tenure and type of contract were also related to experiences of the employment contract. The results of study 2 showed that psychological contract violation, job dissatisfaction and lack of flourishing directly impacted turnover intention. Lack of psychological contract fulfilment indirectly impacted job dissatisfaction and languishing via psychological contract violation. The employment contract did not have a statistically significant effect on job satisfaction, flourishing and turnover intention of employees in a higher education institution. Psychological contract violation indirectly impacted turnover intention via job dissatisfaction and languishing of employees. The results of this study confirmed the important role of fulfilment of the psychological contract and non-violation of the psychological contract regarding job satisfaction, flourishing and retention of employees in a higher education institution. Recommendations were made for future research.MCom, Labour Relations Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012
38
Spano, Cheryl Oslinker. "Central California's Juvenile/Dependency and Criminal Courts' Treatment of Parent-Child Contact." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6742.
Full textAbstract:
Parties to a legal action of child abuse can be prosecuted criminally as well as charged with allegations within the jurisdiction of juvenile/dependency court. This can lead to seemingly conflicting goals regarding contact and visitation between the two parties (victim and defendant; child and parent). In essence, restraining orders or visitation orders from one court can contradict the case goals of another court. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to (a) determine if there is a pattern of inconsistent goals in cases of concurrent jurisdictional child-abuse cases, (b) evaluate the effect of conflicting court orders on each jurisdiction's cases, and (c) examine the ability of these courts to process cases in a timely manner in light of both courts' goals and concerns. Previous to this study, scholarly literature surrounding no-contact orders was limited to domestic violence and criminal contexts. There is no current scholarly research addressing the treatment of no-contact orders in concurrent jurisdiction cases. This study utilized standardized surveys, one-on-one interviews, and observations to evaluate and examine the areas of inquiry. Participants were chosen for their extensive knowledge and professional duties regarding both the juvenile/dependency and criminal court systems. The results of this research indicate that many participants considered these two jurisdictions to maintain contradictory goals, which is particularly problematic in contact/no-contact orders. Participants found the issue of restraining orders in this context to manifest in unfairness, confusion, and delay. A myriad of recommendations are offered in an effort to assist this county, as well as others, in its promotion of fairness to court participants and parties of these concurrent cases.
39
Anstee, Cameron Alistair Owen. "Make Contact: Contributive Bookselling and the Small Press in Canada Following the Second World War." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/36041.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation examines booksellers in multiple roles as cultural agents in the small press field. It proposes various ways of understanding the work of booksellers as actively shaping the production, distribution, reception, and preservation of small press works, arguing that bookselling is a small press act unaccounted for in existing scholarship. It is structured around the idea of “contributive” bookselling from Nicky Drumbolis, wherein the bookseller “adds dimension to the cultural exchange […] participates as user, maker, transistor” (“this fiveyear list”). The questions at the heart of this dissertation are: How does the small press, in its material strategies of production and distribution, reshape the terms of reception for readers? How does the bookseller contribute to these processes? What does independent bookselling look like when it is committed to the cultural and aesthetic goals of the small press? And what is absent from literary and cultural records when the bookseller is not accounted for?
This dissertation covers a period from 1952 to the present day. I begin by positing Raymond Souster’s “Contact” labour as an influential model for small press publishing in which the writer must adopt multiple roles in the communications circuit in order to construct and educate a community of readers. I then examine the bookseller catalogue as a bibliographic, critical, and pedagogical genre of publication that mediates productive encounters between readers and books. I next position the material, affective, and effective labour of the bookseller within the small press gift economy. Finally, I theorize the bookstore as a potential small press archive that functions as a viable counterweight to institutional collection and preservation. My reconsideration of the labour of the bookseller realigns relations between production, distribution, reception, documentation, and preservation of small press publications, making possible a more complete accounting of the histories of the book and of the small press in Canada.
40
Haskell, Rachael A. "Evaluating Social Work Students’ Attitudes Toward Physical Disability." Scholar Commons, 2010. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1655.
Full textAbstract:
Given the social work profession's commitment to serving individuals with disabilities and cultural competence, the promotion of favorable attitudes toward persons with disabilities within social work education is critical. This study examined the question: "what are the attitudes of undergraduate social work students at three universities toward individuals with physical disabilities as measured by responses on the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale Form B (ATDP-Form B; Yuker et al., 1960, 1966) and Interactions with Disabled Persons Scale (Gething, 1991)?" It explored the following hypotheses, that participants who: 1) have had prior positive contact with persons with physical disabilities; 2) have higher perceived levels of knowledge about issues affecting persons with physical disabilities; and 3) have had more social work classes will respond with more positive attitudes than other participants.
Sociodemographic data about gender, ethnicity, country of origin, religion, and university affiliation was also collected to measure the possible impact of these characteristics on student attitudes. The primary aim is to learn more about the way undergraduate social work students generally view individuals with physical disabilities and feel about interactions with this population.
41
Bernhard-Oettel, Claudia. "Alternative employment and well-being : Contract heterogeneity and differences among individuals." Doctoral thesis, Stockholm : Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-8030.
Full text
42
Xu, Xian. "Explaining the Impact of Work Interference with Family: The Role of Work-Family Psychological Contract and Cultural Values." [Tampa, Fla] : University of South Florida, 2008. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0002541.
Full text
43
Bryne, Lars-Elof. "Aspects on wettability and surface composition of modified wood." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Civil and Architectural Engineering, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-4735.
Full textAbstract:
Wood is often combined with other materials such as thermoplastics, adhesives and coatings. In general, combinations of wood and polymers especially in outdoor exposure have poor long-term durability. This behaviour can be related to an insufficient wood-polymer adhesion due to the low intrinsic compatibility between the wood substance and the polymers used. Another source for woodpolymer de-bonding is the high hygroscopicity of wood and great difference in hygro-thermal properties between the components.
The basic conceptual idea related to this work is to reduce the hygrosensitivity of wood by applying different wood modification methods, in particular, acetylation, furfurylation and heat treatment. The effects of such chemical modifications of wood, also accompanied with ageing effects, on its adhesion properties with commonly used synthetic polymers are, however, not well understood. In this context, the over-all purpose of this thesis is to achieve a better understanding of wood-polymer adhesion and interfacial forces which also may guide us to tailor the interaction between modified wood and e.g. thermoplastics and adhesives. The main focus of this thesis is therefore to apply contact angle analysis based on the Chang-Qin-Chen (CQC) Lewis acid-base model in order to estimate the work of adhesion (Wa) between the wood, modified wood and certain polymers. Contact angle measurements on wood samples were performed based on the Wilhelm plate principle. Related to this, an effort was also made to characterize the studied modified wood surfaces according to morphology and chemical composition. The methods that have been used are low vacuum scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS).
Results show that so-called interaction parameters can be successfully estimated for prediction of Wa between wood and polymers using the applied CQC model. Furthermore, such wetting analysis was successfully related to spectroscopic findings of the chemical composition of the wood samples surface. Ageing effects, i.e. the time after preparation of the wood surface, play a central role for the surface characteristics. In most cases, ageing resulted in a significant decrease of Wa between wood and water and a moderate decrease between wood and thermoplastics. The surface characteristics of acetylated wood were, however, more stable over time compared to unmodified, furfurylated and heat treated wood. The predicted Wa with the adhesives for heat treated and acetylated wood was increased due to ageing. Future work is planned to involve studies in order to relate such predicted adhesion properties with the actual performance of various wood-polymer systems.
44
Fulford, Cynthia Naneva. "Preparing Students to Work in a Globally Diverse World: The Relationship of College Students' Backgrounds and College Experiences to Their Orientation Toward Diversity." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1245687600.
Full text
45
Koubek, Radek, and Karolina Dedicova. "Friction of wood on steel." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för byggteknik (BY), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-35094.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis deals with the experimental description of friction between steel and wood materials, specifically laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and pine wood with two types of annual rings. It studies the influence of a number of different parameters on the coefficient of friction such as contact pressure, moisture content, fiber orientation in relation to the load direction, steel surface roughness, and horizontal load rate. First, the theoretical mechanical and physical properties as well as the coefficient of friction itself are described. This is followed by the description of the test setup including the test method and how the obtained data is exported, handled and processed and how the coefficient of friction is determined. The results study the influence of different parameters and show that the coefficients of friction for the smooth sliding plate tests vary in between 0.1 and 0.3, whereas tests with the rough sliding plate vary around 0.7. Factors influencing the coefficient of friction were found to be the different moisture content under all tested pressures, the different fiber direction under low contact pressure, the contact pressure itself, though under higher pressures the influence was found to be low, and the horizontal load rate under low pressures. The outcomes are further discussed in the discussion chapter.
46
Sutton, Gigi. "An integrated model of job satisfaction : expectations, experiences and psychological contract violation." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2000.
Find full text
47
Baumann, Gerald. "Contacting families an intentional project to contact new families moving to the Smithville area /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1993. http://www.tren.com.
Full text
48
White, Sally A. "The Effect of Work of Adhesion on Contact of a Pressurized Blister With a Flat Surface." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32291.
Full textAbstract:
The ability to accurately measure surface and interfacial energies affects our understanding of friction, wear, bonding and adhesion. Although there are accurate ways to measure the surface energies of liquids, the surface energies of solids have been harder to characterize. In order to broaden the knowledge of adhesion of solids, a modification to the constrained blister test is proposed. Most of the previous work on constrained blisters has examined the debonding of the blister from the surface underneath as pressure is applied from below. In this thesis, the contact of the constrained blister with the flat surface above it is considered. In addition, the blister is given specified boundary conditions at its outer radius, which has a fixed value.
Three models of the blister behavior are considered: linear plate, nonlinear plate, and membrane. The contact of the blister with the substrate above it is modeled with no adhesion, the JKR-type of adhesion, and the DMT-type of adhesion. Several substrate heights are considered, along with several values for the work of adhesion in the JKR analysis, and several combinations of force magnitude and gap size in the DMT analysis. The effect of adhesion on the contact radius is investigated. Sometimes the contact radius changes discontinuously as the pressure is increased or decreased. Results from the three models of blister behavior and the different models of adhesion are compared.Master of Science
49
Koskina, Aikaterini. "Management and organisation of customer service work in Greece : patterns of diffusion in contact centre environments." Thesis, Keele University, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.699678.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores and explains customer-service work in contact-centre environments of different national origin} size, and sector in Greece, It has a pragmatist philosophical orientation and stands on a methodologically pluralist position that is framed with a case-study design, Evidence is drawn from six contact-centres in the Greek telecommunications and insurance sectors, Analysis takes places at three levels (country) sector, company) with the aid of a hybrid institutional framework that merges macro and micro theories and concepts of labour management, This is supplemented by within-case analyses and cross-case comparisons, which provide examinations of the ways in which contact-centre work is managed and organised in the case-studies in line with justifications for the observed findings, The research findings extend and challenge some of the existing accounts in the contact-centre literature, The study illuminates the functioning of industrial-employment and work-social relations, It suggests that voice-to-voice work can be visualised in a high-low commitment' management and high discretion rubric under certain circumstances. To this end} the exploratory aim of the thesis induced the descriptive and prescriptive 'neo-professional model' of management and organisation of customer-service work. The explanatory part of the research pointed to three sets of effects (macro; national/pan-national, meso: sector, micro: company) on the management and organisation of contact-centre work. These effects are captured in the 'contact-centre diffusion framework', which derived from a deductive~ inductive analytical reasoning. Macro and meso effects were also found to pose barriers to the forward diffusion of certain policies and practices in the foreign-owned case-studies. In specific, the results stress the significance of the host-country's background and proximate institutions in the transfer of employment, industrial, and work relations in multinational subsidiaries. At theoretical level, the thesis contributes to a number of disciplines, most notably the emerging field of international contact-centre work. At practical level, the study offers an understanding to organisational stakeholders on the management and organisation of customer-service work in one European Mediterranean country, where both cross-border diffusion and contact-centre research is underdeveloped.
50
Engel, Kathryn L. "The influence of one's social network on psychological contract formation." Fairfax, VA : George Mason University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/3413.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008.Vita: p. 92. Thesis director: Jose M. Cortina. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 9, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-91). Also issued in print.