Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Demand supply gap'

"Water is likely to become one of the limiting resources of the next century, as well as one with multiple often conflicting uses." UNCEO NY1994 Presently, at least 1.1 billion of the world's people - about one in five - do not have access to safe water. City of Delhi in India is facing acute water crisis with a current demand supply gap of 236 million gallon per day (MGD) which is expected to widen to 564 MGD by the year 2021.ln view of the growing water crisis, the main objective of the thesis is to look into ways of mitigating the water crises in Delhi by bridging the water demand supply gap using environmental friendly and sustainable methods such as rainwater harvesting in the public green spaces of the region. The thesis begins with a thorough investigation of the Hydrological cycle (natural and urban), contemporary and traditional methods of rainwater harvesting, methods of recharge, and geological, hydro-geological and meteorological data of Delhi region. The regional data is overlaid and analyzed to define priority action areas and a conceptual action plan is recommended for each area. To demonstrate its feasibility, specific study areas are identified in the most stressed zone and investigated across four different scenarios ranging from neighbourhood to regional scale and from minimum to maximum intervention. It is learned through this investigation that public green spaces of Delhi hold great potential in bridging the water demand-supply gap. There are a range of modern and traditional methods available to successfully implement rainwater harvesting projects in these areas. They are technically and financially feasible and can be adopted at various levels depending on the availability of resources. It is found that public green spaces of Delhi which account for about 19% of the total urban area can bridge the water demand-supply gap by a maximum of 12.5%. Cost of the interventions can be amortized within 3 years and there are direct financial and environmental benefits to the local residents. The harvested rainwater can also be successfully used to meet the irrigation demand of the public green spaces partially, resulting in further cost savings to the government.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of
Graduate

This PhD exploits the big datasets from the road transport network to accurately model the transit supply and demand, the knowledge for which is used to identify evidence-based transit gaps. The effectiveness of the proposed novel modelling is demonstrated with the case study on the Brisbane network. The developed tool assists transit stakeholders in identifying regions where transit services can be significantly improved, leading to efficient and reliable transit services.

Master of Science
Department of Communications and Agricultural Education
Shannon G. Washburn
STEM fields represent between 5% and 20% of all employed in the United States (United States Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Many employers of job positions in the STEM field have indicated an ongoing challenge of demand for such employees exceeding supply (Hira, 2010). Literature suggests a skills gap exists in some career fields and labor markets (Sentz, 2013). A topic that falls in many STEM fields in water resources. In Kansas, both supply and demand of water resources vary greatly across the state. A growing trend statewide, however, is a need to focus efforts on preserving the quality and quantity of Kansas’ water supply. Anecdotal evidence suggests the focus on water resources increases the demand for employees prepared for careers in related STEM fields (S. Metzger, personal communication, May 3, 2016). Drawing on both the Human Capital Theory and the Theory of Work Adjustment, descriptive survey research and qualitative interviews based in symbolic interactionism were used to gather data from employers of water-related job positions. The data indicated that a variety of employability and technical skills describe both employers’ ability requirements and employees’ ability sets. The results of the study suggest that, while employers have not recently experienced much challenge filling job vacancies, demand for employees could increase in the near future. Additionally, employers utilize a variety of professional development resources, and would utilize others if available. While levels of correspondence range among ability requirements and ability sets depending on the job position, efforts in education and recruitment could help address the supply of candidates for these positions.

The potential of small and micro-enterprises (SMEs) in promoting economic growth in both developed and developing countries is widely accepted and documented by both scholars and policy makers. Lack of access to sufficient financing for these SMEs, especially in developing countries, has been identified as a major bottleneck in realising this potential. Bank credit is one of the major ways of addressing the challenge of inadequate funding that exists in the SME sector. This study was undertaken in order to explore the experiences of bank loan officers and SME borrowers in credit extension to the SME sector in Uganda. The research methodology used multiple methods of data collection which enabled an element of triangulation to be built into the study design. Data was collected both from the supply-side (bank loan officers) and the demand-side (SME borrowers), and entailed unstructured and semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey of loan officer and SME borrower experience. Further data was collected through direct observation of the interactive interviews between loan officers and borrowers, which enabled a unique opportunity to enhance the understanding of experiences of loan officers and borrowers. This method offers a development of extant methodologies that have been used to assess bank lending to SMEs, typically indirect methods such as verbal protocols and hypothetical business plans. The supply-side findings suggest that, in addition to the bank lending guidelines and procedures, the organisational context in terms of institutional structure, borrower attributes (especially their knowledge of bank lending guidelines and procedures) and level of congruence between loan officers and organisational goals are important determining factors of credit flow to SMEs. This implies that the context in which lending guidelines are implemented is as vital as the application of these guidelines. Banks are, therefore, challenged to ensure a favourable organisational context in order to facilitate loan officer decisions. On the credit demand side, it was found that borrowers seek to play an active role in the lender-borrower relationship which, in turn, influences decisions made by loan officers. It was established that, in pursuit of this role, borrowers deliberately pre-plan loan requests in an effort to influence the results of the evaluation of their loan applications by loan officers. At times, borrowers intentionally manipulate the information they disclose to loan officers in order to enhance their chances of obtaining credit from banks. The findings also suggest that, in most cases, the borrowers with some knowledge of bank lending guidelines and procedures find it easier to access credit than their counterparts who lack this knowledge. With regard to women-owned SMEs, while there little evidence of ‘official’ discrimination against women-owned SMEs by bank lending policies, there are systematic, cultural, social and legal impediments that lead most women-owned SMEs to access lower levels of credit than their male counterparts. The study recommends that banks should design lending guidelines that integrate both supply and demand factors, instead of focusing only on supply factors like project viability and collateral availability. It is also recommended that banks should develop comprehensive training programmes for borrowers about all aspects of the lending transaction in order to positively influence them. It is further recommended that there should be more consultations with loan officers and borrowers in order to develop a mutually acceptable set of lending policies. This approach, which integrates bank management, loan officers and borrowers in drawing up lending guidelines and procedures, is likely to minimise information asymmetry in SME lending decisions and create a more conducive environment for promoting credit availability to the Ugandan SME sector.

Purpose – This study aims to explore, and suggest solutions to, the gap between the supply of information from organic meat producers and the demand of information from consumers regarding traceable characteristics (attributes) of meat in a limited geographical area in order to maximize the utilization and value of collected data. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods research design is applied to collect both quantitative data from consumers and qualitative data from suppliers to produce empirical results of the supply and demand of information. A theoretical framework of organic food purchase intent is used for the quantitative study as well as the correlation between consumers’ perceived importance of attributes and their willingness-to-pay for meat. The results of the empirical studies are compared to each other in an effort to expose a possible gap using a gap analysis. Findings – Meat is shifting from a price based commodity to a product based on characteristics. This study reveals that there is now a gap between the information made available by organic meat producers and the demand of information from consumers that needs to be recognized in order to maximize the value of collected data. Information regarding environmental impact of raising and transporting the animals is not extensively collected. A substantial amount of data about attributes of perceived importance, such as safety and handling, animal welfare and medication or other treatments is collected but not extensively shared with consumers. Research limitations/implications – The small sample size in a unique area and the scope of the survey data does not provide a result that can be truly generalized. It is therefore suggested that future studies produce results from a larger sample that incorporates the perceived accessibility of important information for consumers. Practical implications – This contributes to the emerging literature of organic food production by comparing both the supply and the demand of information regarding attributes of meat. This information is valuable to organic meat producers and marketers as well as developers of agricultural systems and databases that should shift their focus to consumer oriented traceability systems. Originality/value – This study goes beyond the substantial body of literature regarding attributes of organic food and consumers preferences by comparing these factors to the available supply of information by meat producers and by suggesting solutions to bridge the gap between them. Keywords – Organic meat, Organic agriculture, e-Agriculture, Traceability, Traceability systems, Consumer oriented, Consumer behavior, Willingness-to-pay, Supply and demand, Information gap, Gap analysis, Business development, United States of America, Sense-making theory, Mixed methods Paper type – Research paper, Bachelor’s thesis

The use of natural gas as a primary energy source has increased over time and is expected to increase even further in the near future. Cyprus and Israel, two countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, have recently made major offshore discoveries of natural gas, sufficient enough to cover their own needs for at least the next few decades and use an even greater amount for export. In this project, the software MESSAGE was used to conduct modelling of the two countries’ energy systems. Projections were made until 2050 of the electricity generation in each country from each major energy source under different scenarios and the possibility of exporting electricity, liquefied natural gas (LNG) or gas-to-liquid products (GTL) was assessed.

Diese Dissertation besteht aus drei Aufsätzen, welche die sozio-ökonomische Konsequenzen der Verwicklung in Konflikte untersuchen. Der erste Artikel untersucht den Einfluss der “Operation Iraqi Freedom” und des folgenden Bürgerkrieges auf die Beschulung von irakischen Kindern im schulpflichtigen Alter. Einen Schwerpunkt der Studie bildet die Überwindung eines Endogenitätsproblems, welches sich durch nicht-zufällige Verwicklung in Gewalt ergibt. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass in Abhängigkeit von der Intensität des Konfliktes die Schuleinschreibung von Mädchen durch eine Verwicklung in Konflikte zwischen sechs bis zwölf Prozent reduziert wird. Der bei Jungen gemessene Effekt beläuft sich auf eine Reduzierung um ein bis neun Prozent. Im zweiten Artikel werden Lohnzuschläge von hochqualifizierten palästinensischen Arbeitskräften in Zusammenhang mit alternierender Intensität im Nahostkonflikt gestellt. Mit dem Ausbruch der Zweiten Intifada im Jahr 2000 führen erhöhte Grenzkontrollen zu eingeschränkte Mobilität. Dadurch gewinnt Der Dienstleistungssektor in den Besetzten Gebieten an relativer Bedeutung. Dieser beschäftigt anteilig mehr hochqualifizierte Arbeitskräfte als andere Sektoren, was den Anstieg ihrer relativen Löhne erklärt. Im dritten Artikel wird die Entwicklung des Geschlechterlohndifferentials in den Palästinensischen Gebieten untersucht. Während der Lohnunterschied zwischen Mann und Frau bis 1999 ansteigt, lässt sich mit dem Ausbruch der Zweiten Intifada die Umkehrung dieses Trends verzeichnen. Die Verlagerung der palästinensischen Beschäftigung aus Israel in den lokalen Arbeitsmarkt erklärt dabei 57,8 Prozent der schrumpfenden Lohnlücke. Die dadurch veränderte Industriestruktur macht weitere 26,5 Prozent der Lohnkonvergenz aus. Die veränderte Beschäftigung zugunsten der Agrar- und Dienstleistungssektoren, welche sich beide durch einen hohen Anteil an Arbeiterinnen auszeichnen, führt zu einem Anstieg ihrer relativen Löhne.
This thesis consists of three essays that analyze the socio-economic consequences of conflict involvement. The first essay studies the effect of the Operation Iraqi Freedom and the following civil war on schooling outcomes of Iraqi children in mandatory schooling age. Several conflict measures which vary over geographic regions are proposed to capture different traits of conflict involvement. A special focus is laid on overcoming the potential endogeneity arising from non-random involvement into conflicts. I find decreased school enrollment of six-year-old boys and girls. Depending on the intensity of the conflict enrollment of girls is reduced by six to twelve percent. The detrimental effect measured for boys ranges between one and nine percent. The second essay examines wage differentials of high-skilled workers in relation to relaxing and tightening conflict intensity in the Israeli-Palestinian case. After the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000 the relative wage of skilled workers experiences a substantial increase. Regional employment shifts coming along with a change in the sector composition are responsible for a higher skill-intensive labor employment which translates into higher relative wages for skilled workers. The third essay explores the evolution of the gender wage gap in the Palestinian Territories. While the male-female wage differential increases till 1999, this trend is reversed with the outbreak of the Second Intifada. The catch-up of the female wages is mainly driven by relative employment shifts across workplaces and sectors. The shift of employment in Israel to the local labor market explains 57.8 percent of the closing wage gap between men and women. The related change in the industry structure explains another 26.5 percent of the wage convergence. I find relative gains of the service and agricultural sectors located in the Palestinian Territories, both of which rely on high shares of female labor input.

A critical evaluation of the national profile of energy supply and demand and the associated greenhouse gas (OHO) emissions in China has been conducted. The contribution of the transport sector in China, the road transport sector in particular, to China's overall energy demand and OHO emissions has been assessed and compared with values for other countries. Approaches for reducing energy demand and OHO emissions in the road transport sector worldwide have been reviewed. A detailed bottom-up model has been developed using 'LEAP' software, to estimate future energy demand and OHO emissions in China's road transport sector, incorporating China's recent efforts in alternative fuel promotion. Modelling approach and historical data used have been tested and verified to ensure reliability. Two scenarios have been designed to describe the future strategies relating to the development of China's road transport sector between 2005 and 2030. The 'Business as Usual' scenario is used as a baseline reference scenario, in which the government is assumed to do nothing to influence the long-term trends of road transport energy demand. The 'Best Case' scenario is considered to be the most optimized case where a series of available reduction measures are assumed to be implemented. Energy demand and OHO emissions in China's road transport sector up to 2030 are estimated in these two scenarios. The reduction potential and the relative contribution of each measure have been estimated. A 'life cycle assessment' model for the road transport sector has been developed. The life cycle energy demand and OHO emissions in China's road transport sector are estimated using the model. The reduction potential and the relative contribution of each measure have been re-assessed from a life cycle perspective. Potential impacts on global oil resources, availability and prices are discussed. The importance of life cycle assessment in evaluating the effects of different reduction measures is discussed. Policy implications are presented.

Water and energy are two of the most important resources for societal prosperity and economic development. It is clear that water and energy are intrinsically linked together and depend on one another in modern society. To date, however, efforts on water-energy nexus concentrate on quantifying the energy use in water cycle or the water use in energy production. From management perspective, water and energy are still managed separately. Little work has been done to investigate the impacts of the management options associated with one resource on the other and examine the integrated water and energy management options. Accordingly, the overall goal of this study is to examine the integrated management options for long-term regional water and energy resources management with consideration of their interactions through a system dynamics approach. System dynamics is based on systems thinking, which focuses on the system structure and offers a deeper insight into problems. It can link ecological, human, and social elements of water and energy systems in one modeling platform to investigate their interactions A four-step system dynamics modeling process was used in this study, which includes problem articulation, model formulation, model testing, and scenario design and simulation. Tampa Bay region was chosen as the study area, which is located on the west central coast of Florida and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico. This study considered a 100-year time scale with monthly interval, the first 30 years of which are used for model validation and the rest of which are for simulation. In order to investigate the interrelationship between water and energy systems, two sub-models (i.e., water sub-model and energy sub-model) were developed first. The water sub-model is composed of sectoral water demand (agriculture, industry, municipality, and energy sector), water supply (surface water, groundwater, reclaimed water, and water imports), and water quality and energy consumption associated with water supply. The result shows that surface water level increases by 1.32~1.39% when considering water quality and 1.10~1.30% considering both water quality and energy consumption. There is a slight decrease in groundwater storage (0.02~0.08%) compared with the reference behavior. The result also reveals that water conservation education is the most effective option to reduce the freshwater withdrawals (~17.3%), followed by rebates on indoor water-efficient appliances (~15.4%). Water loss control has a high potential to reduce freshwater withdrawals but it is not effective currently due to limited budget. The implementation of minimum surface water level reduces the surface water withdrawal by 26 MGD (million gallons per day) and requires alternative water supply sources to meet the water demands. The energy sub-model consists of sectoral energy demand (agriculture, industry, municipality, and water sector), energy supply (coal, natural gas, oil, and electricity), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water pollution associated with energy supply. The result finds that cost of fuels is the primary concern of determining the energy mix for power generation. The current electricity mix in the study area consists of 35.4% fuels from coal, 44.6% from natural gas, and 20% from oil. When considering the environmental impacts associated with energy supply, this percentage of coal reduces to 10.6%, and GHG emissions and water pollution can be reduced by 22% and 43% accordingly. The result also shows that energy price is most effect of reducing the demand (~16.3%), followed by energy conservation education (~10.6%). Rebates on household appliances are the least effective option (~3.6%) due to consumers' low willingness to pay. Combining the supply decision incorporating environmental impacts and the demand option of energy price increase, the reductions of GHG emissions and water pollution can reach 37% and 55%, respectively. The integrated model is developed by linking the water and energy models through the interactions between water and energy systems identified by the system archetypes. The result shows that water demand is reinforced by energy demand, and vice versa. This growth, however, is limited by water and energy availability. The result also reveals that some decisions to solve the problems of one resource result in the problems of the other resource. The increase of water price is one of these, which decreases the water demand by 24.3% but leads to increase of the energy demand by 1.53% due to the use of reclaimed water. Rebates on indoor water-efficient appliances are effective to reduce both water and energy demands largely due to the household energy use in water heating. In addition, this study demonstrates that integrated management options can improve the uses of water and energy, but decisions without considering each other may lead to more issues. For example, reclaimed water, a supply management option considering the energy, can increase the water balance index by 27.3% and the energy balance index by 0.14%; it can also reduce the water pollution by 11.76% and the GHG emissions by 13.16%. Seawater desalination, a supply management option without integrated consideration, intends to decrease the water shortage but eventually increases the water balance index by 29.7%. It also causes the increases in water pollution and GHG emissions by 89.79% and 14.53%, respectively. Similarly, solar energy presents the advantage in increasing the balance indices and reducing the environmental impacts. This study is an initial attempt to link water and energy systems to explore integrated management options. It is limited by the data availability, assumptions for model simplification, and lack of consideration of climate change. The recommendations for future study include (a) employing a more accurate projection or representation of precipitation, (b) testing the energy model with local data, (c) considering water and energy allocation between different users under shortages, (d) examining the environmental impacts associated with bay water withdrawal for power generation, (e) investigating the water and energy use under climate change, and (f) involving stakeholders early in model development and continuous participation in policy analysis.

Oil and natural gas are the most strategic raw materials to meet the expanding energy requirement in today&rsquo
s world. They have great impact on issues such as economy, national security, development, competition, and political consistency. Being a developing country, Turkey&rsquo
s natural gas requirement is increasing rapidly. However, the production is far from covering the demand. Recent assumptions point out that natural gas demand of Turkey will reach 44 billion cubic meters in 2010 with a financial burden of 10 billion $ to the national economy. Therefore Turkey requires meeting natural gas demand by using its own conventional natural gas resources. The geological researches and global data encourage Turkey to drill more exploration wells in offshore side of Western Black Sea .In early 2007, the production will be started in Western Black Sea Region with 1.42 million cubic meter gas per day. Moreover, further exploration and production activities in the region are still continuing in order to increase the production. In this thesis, issues such as importance of the natural gas for Turkey and the world, Turkey&rsquo
s present energy situation and natural gas supply and demand scenarios for Turkey have been investigated. The possible impact of natural gas exploration and production in Black Sea region on Turkey&rsquo
s economy in near future has been emphasized. An extensive literature survey using related printed and unprinted media has been performed in order to collect the necessary data and information.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The shortage of skilled labour in South Africa and also abroad is well documented and has been discussed and debated in various media and on various stages. For the construction industry, the only response is to increase remuneration in order to attract the required resources from a limited pool. At the completion of a project, these resources are returned to the open market until another project has been secured. The cycle of supply and demand then continues and project capital costs increase. Sasol is small player in a very large and fiercely competitive global petrochemical industry. Its globalisation drive focuses on the establishment on new petrochemical facilities based on its ground breaking Gas-to-Liquids technology. Naturally, this requires many skilled and experience people – both in Sasol’s unique production processes as well as people able to commission and start-up a pioneer plant in a remote location. Due to the fact that the labour pool available to Sasol is insufficient to supply in its needs and that Sasol’s capital expansion plan spans a period of more than 10 years, a long-term view on supplying the required labour should be taken. This includes estimating the demand and then training pro-actively in order to supply the right skills at the right time from internal resources. The objective of this study is to do exploratory research into estimating the manpower requirements from an owner perspective from the initiation of construction through to steady state operation of a new petrochemical facility. The research will culminate in a proposed spreadsheet model that can be used in the estimating process.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tekort aan geskoolde arbeid in beide Suid Afrika en die internasionale mark is al by verskeie geleenthede en in vele media bespreek. Die gevolg van die tekort aan geskoolde arbeid is dat die lone wat deur die konstruksie industrie aan voornemende werkers aangebied moet word om hulle dienste te verseker, al hoër word. Met die voltooiing van ’n projek, keer die werkers dan weer terug na die beperkte arbeidspoel totdat ’n volgende werksgeleentheid aangebied word. Die siklus van aanbod en aanvraag herhaal homself en die koste van projekte verhoog. Sasol is ’n klein speler in die baie mededingende internasionale petrochemiese sektor. Sasol se globaliseringsambisies is geskoei op ’n model wat voorsiening maak vir die duplisering van sy kommersieel beproefde Gas-na-Vloeistof tegnologie soos bedryf in Suid Afrika. Uit die aard van die saak vereis so ’n strategie baie geskoolde arbeid – arbeid wat vertroud is met Sasol se gepatenteerde tegnologie sowel as arbeid wat kennis het van die bou en inbedryfstelling van nuwe aanlegte. Die huidige bronne van geskoolde arbeid tot Sasol se beskikking is onvoldoende vir sy huidige en ook toekomstige behoeftes. Sasol se beplande kapitaal projekte strek tot verby 2015 en daarom is ’n langtermyn oplossing noodsaaklik en ook geregverdig. Die langtermyn plan moet onder meer voorsiening maak vir ’n beraming van die behoefte en dan proaktiewe opleiding inisieer wat die regte tipe geskoolde arbeid op die gegewe tyd sal kan aflewer. Die oogmerk van die studie is om eksploratiewe navorsing te doen in die beraming van mannekrag behoeftes vir die toekomstige eienaar vanaf die inisiëring van konstruksie vir ’n nuwe petrochemiese aanleg tot by bestendige bedryf. Die navorsing sal beslag vind in ’n sigblad model wat as instrument gebruik kan word om die beraming van mannekrag behoeftes te vergemaklik.

Dans un contexte de grandes transformations de la médecine générale, cette thèse s’intéresse aux déterminants de l’offre de soins des médecins généralistes. Nous avons développé différentes stratégies micro-économétriques pour dans premier temps comprendre l’effet de la féminisation sur les revenus des médecins généralistes et plus particulièrement sur leurs comportements d’activité en termes de volume de soins fournis mais également de composition de l’activité. Dans un deuxième temps, nous cherchons à étudier les déterminants du choix du lieu d’installation des jeunes médecins généralistes, au sein d’une région et à identifier les leviers qui pourraient améliorer leur répartition sur le territoire. Nos résultats confirment que les femmes ont d’une part une offre de soins quantitativement plus faible que celle des hommes et que le contenu de leur offre est également différent. Toutefois, ils adoptent des comportements d’installation similaires. Les facteurs qui influencent le choix du lieu d’installation sont plutôt des caractéristiques du lieu, comme les caractéristiques associées à l’offre de soins, à la demande de soins, ou aux équipements. L’objectif de ce projet de recherche est, à travers une approche micro-économétrique, de mieux appréhender les préférences des médecins. Nous souhaitons comprendre ces préférences à travers les arbitrages travail/loisir du médecin et donc l’intensité de l’offre de travail (arbitrage entre nombre d’actes et durée de consultation), mais aussi selon les choix d’installation du médecin tant par le choix du lieu que par les modalités de cette installation, à savoir une activité libérale et ou salariée tout en sachant que ces décisions dépendent fortement des revenus espérés et donc de contextes différenciés de demande de soins
In the context of changes of general practice (uneven distribution of young general practitioners (GPs) across the country, strong feminisation), this thesis focuses on the determinants of the outpatient care supply of general practitioners. Using different micro-econometric analyses, firstly we want to understand the impact of feminization on the incomes of general practitioners and specifically on their private practice behaviours in terms of volume of care provided but also composition of the activity (consultations, home visits). Secondly, we study the determinants of the practice location choice within the region and we identify the levers that could improve the distribution of GPs in the area. Our results confirm that female GPs provide fewer services than male GPs and they also have a different composition of private practice activity. However, we show that male and female GPs adopt a similar practice location choice. Factors characterizing the place of installation as the characteristics associated with the supply of care, the demand for care, or equipment influence the practice location choice

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003.
Title from title page screen (viewed Apr 21, 2004). Thesis advisor: John T. Mentzer. Document formatted into pages (xi, 247 p. : ill. (some col.)). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-174).

碩士
國立高雄師範大學
資訊教育研究所
101
With rapid development and continuing innovation of digital game market, how to satisfy users’ needs becomes a critical research issue. The objective of the research is to explore the priority of the improvement in respect of the users’ requirements of digital game and to identify the engineering characteristics of game design that can be better improved. Focused on the three most popular games (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game, Action Game and Puzzle Game), this paper applies Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to find out the priority of the improvement which customers require, that is, customer attributes (CAs). To find out the correlation matrix of House of Quality (HOQ), this paper analyzes the engineering characteristics of game design and further conducted surveys among the experts. 　　We found that the prioritized customer attributes which needed to be improved first is the personalization in the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Games and Action Game, while the Puzzle Games needs to improve the sociability of the players. In addition, the engineering characteristic of game design is Human-Computer Interface (Body Feeling) that should be improved first. This research identifies customer attributes (service requirement) and engineering characteristics (service quality) of design of digital games. The results provide theoretical and practical contributions that help the manufacturers to improve the game design. Keywords: Digital Game、Game Design、Human-Computer Interface、Quality Attribute Ranking、Quality Function Deployment.

碩士
國立中正大學
勞工所
98
This study aims to find out if the gap between vocational training offered by government institutes and the training needs of new inhabitants exists, and propose measures implementable for reducing the supply and demand gap, through the analyses of training providers and demanders; the former are the Central Training Center and its outsourcing institutes, and the latter, the new inhabitants. For recent years, the Taiwan government has been paying attention to new inhabitants’ employment rights and work rights, which contributes the increase of labor participation rate of new inhabitants. At the same time, the employment at a wage generally less than the legal minimum wage frustrates the new inhabitants. In addition, regarding training priorities, the first and foremost course demanded by the new inhabitants is the “employment training” accounted for 35.3%. While compared to general employed citizens or the employed with special conditions, the new inhabitants show higher employment willingness and stronger needs for vocational trainings, but the actual course-opening rate and employment rate of them are relatively low. In this study, trainees of the vocational training classes specially opened for the new inhabitants by the Central Training Center (C.T.C.), Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, from July 2009 to April 2010 are deeply interviewed, judgment sampling including 13 new inhabitants from Southeast Asia, 9 from Mainland China and external experts of 5. As for training providers, 3 C.T.C. staff in charge of these special training classes are also interviewed. Through dimensions of training objective setting, training trade selection, trainee screening, training program implementation, after-training employment services and administrative supports, this study investigates the existence of the supply and demand gap between vocational training institute and new inhabitants, and it concludes as follows: 1.Regarding “training objective setting”, a gap exists between the training providers and demanders in terms of cognition and implementation. 2.Regarding “training trade selection”, a gap results from the alteration of training providers’ purpose. 3.Regarding “trainee screening”, it is necessary to balance and reduce the gap between accessibility and training effect enhancement of the programs for new inhabitants. 4.Regarding “training program implementation”, new inhabitants’ demand for additional training sites is not totally satisfied due to practical concerns, i.e., trainee recruitment and training performance. 5.The existing employment services offer no substantial assistance for the new inhabitants but lead to an obvious supply and demand gap. 6.Regarding “administrative supports”, the existing regulations, such as subsidiary items, amount and qualifications do not meet new inhabitants’ needs. In other words, a gap does exist.

碩士
世新大學
經濟學系
92
The purpose of this study is to discuss the influence that change in different categories of graduates’ salary and payments have on different categories of occupations’ supply and demand from 1981 to 2001 in the Taiwan region, according to data from “Various Occupational Payment Investigation Report in Taiwan, R.O.C.” by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS) and the Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, R.O.C and ”Educational Statistics” by the Department of Education, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, R.O.C. University education is regarded as the channel of capital accumulation of human resources. In this study, ”different supply and demand of human resource capital” means the application (demand) number and enrollment (supply) number of the first category (Art, Law and Business) and the second category (Science, Engineering, Agriculture and Medicine) in the Joint College Entrance Examination (JOCC). This study shows that the first category and the second category graduates’ salary and payment influence their demand and supply. According to Tobin’s q investment theory, based on the selfishness of humanity, the more salary and payment individuals get, the more he will invest. And “Individual monthly average salary” is taken as a reference indicator in this study. This research utilizes the Special Factor Model (SFM) to divide the first category and the second category of human resource capital. It is shown that the change of enrollment (supply) number leads the government because increasing enrollment number, graduate schools or departments is based on the national human resource requirement, entire construction and social development need constructed by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), Executive Yuan. And the change of demand may be limited and influenced by “non-economic factors”, such as background, talent, interest… and so on. The result of this practical study reveals that the change of salary and payment does not obviously influence the supply and demand of different human resource capital.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology, (Tourism Management) in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism, Durban University of Technology, 2009.
There is a growing demand for professionally educated and trained staff in the tourism sector. However, current literature reveals a significant disparity between the tourism education provided by institutions and the skills required by the industry. A major challenge facing tourism education institutions is the identification of industry needs and requirements and the involvement of industry in curriculum design. The aim of this research is to examine the education, skills and training required of tourism employees and whether the provisions of higher education tourism courses are adequately meeting industry needs. Identifying this „gap‟ will assist in improving the development of tourism education programmes to meet the needs of industry. The research examines the relevance of the tourisms qualification from three stakeholders‟ perspectives, namely, managers from the tourism sector, tourism graduate employees, and tourism academics. Surveys, in the form of structured questionnaires, were used to obtain information from the three groups. The overall findings of the study revealed that gaps do exist in the tourism curriculum according to the perceptions of stakeholder groups that participated in this study. The recommendations are that closer collaboration is required between academics, managers from the industry when designing tourism curriculum and also to sustain the relevance of the curriculum to meet the needs of industry.

In this paper I investigate the energy cooperation between the EU and Russia from the political and economic points of view. The relevance of the issue is due to the growing role of energy sector, the need for security of energy supply and demand and for political and economic balance of power in the region, and closer economic integration. Two theoretical approaches, geopolitical and bureaucratic, guiding the research, explain the behavior of protagonists. To better understand the present level of cooperation I analyze the background and dynamics of EU - Russia energy trade relations. As a case study, I investigate the Nord Stream project as an example of successful cooperation of Germany as an EU member state and Russia in this field. I discuss challenges for the healthy mutual partnership in the energy sector, namely, high politicization of the issue, monopolization of Russian energy sector and low sustainability of Russian economic development, and mistrust between the protagonists. I attempt to identify possible policy changes aimed to improve this cooperation and achieve fruitful partnership, security and stability. Key words: Russia, EU, energy, cooperation, Realpolitik, international relations, oil, gas, energy dialogue, ECT, security, balance of power, geopolitics, interest groups,...