Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'HASH METHODS'

Let A and B be finite sets with |A|=n and |B|=m. An (n,m,w)-perfect hash family is a collection F of functions from A to B such that for any X ⊆ A with |X|=w, there exists at least one ? ∈ F such that ? is one-to-one when restricted to X. Perfect hash families are basic combinatorial structures and they have played important roles in Computer Science in areas such as database management, operating systems, and compiler constructions. Such hash families are used for memory efficient storage and fast retrieval of items such as reserved words in programming languages, command names in interactive systems, or commonly used words in natural languages. More recently, perfect hash families have found numerous applications to cryptography, for example, to broadcast encryption schemes, secret sharing, key distribution patterns, visual cryptography, cover-free families and secure frameproof codes. In this thesis, we survey constructions and applications of perfect hash families. For constructions, we divided the results into three parts, depending on underlying structure and properties of the constructions: combinatorial structures, linear functionals, and algebraic structures. For applications, we focus on those related to cryptography.

My Master's thesis deals with the problems of flow compression in network devices. Its outcome should alleviate memory consumption of the flows and simplify the processing of network traffic. As an introduction I provide a description of protocols serving for data storage and manipulation, followed by discussion about possibilities of compression methods that are employed nowadays. In the following part there is an in-depth analysis of source data that shows the structure and composition of the data and brings up useful observations, which are later used in the testing  of existing compression methods, as well as about their potential and utilization in flow compression. Later on, I venture into the field of lossy compression and basing on the test results a new approach is described, created by means of flow clustering and their subsequent lossy compression. The conclusion contains an evaluation of the possibilities of the method and the final summary of the thesis along with various suggestions for further development of the research.

As global location systems offer only restricted availability, they are not suitable for a world-

wide tracking application without extensions. This thesis contains a goods-tracking solution,

which can be considered globally working in contrast to formerly developed technologies. For

the creation of an innovative approach, an evaluation of the previous efforts has to be made.

As a result of this assessment, a newly developed solution is presented in this thesis that uses

the Global Positioning System (GPS) in connection with the database correlation method

involving Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) fingerprints. The database

entries are generated automatically by measuring numerous GSM parameters such as Cell

Identity and signal strength involving handsets of several different providers and the real

reference position obtained via a high sensitivity GPS receiver.

The lifetime of the built environment depends strongly on the severity of local climatic conditions. A well-functioning and reliable infrastructure is a precondition for economic growth and social development. The climate and topography of Norway puts great demands on the design and localization of buildings. The relationship between materials, structures and climatic impact is highly complex; illustrating the need for new and improved methods for vulnerability assessment of building envelope performance in relation to externally imposed climatic strains. Historically, major variations in climatic impact have led to corresponding large variations in building practice throughout the country - often well suited to local conditions. Today it is fair to say that sound building traditions and practice to some extent are being rejected in the quest for cost-effective solutions. Furthermore, projected changes in climatic conditions due to global warming will enhance the vulnerability within the built environment.

The primary objectives of the present dissertation are to increase the knowledge about possible impacts of climate change on building envelope performance, and to analyse and update methods for the planning and design of external envelopes in relation to climatic impact. This is accomplished through the development of integrated approaches and improved methods for assessing impacts of external climatic parameters on building envelopes, combining knowledge on materials, structures and relevant climate data, applicable for both historical data and scenarios for climate change. The results will contribute to more accurate building physics design guidelines, promoting high-performance building envelopes in harsh climates.

Approaches to assessments of the risks associated with climate change and buildings are suggested, identifying main areas of vulnerability in the construction industry. It is shown that there are benefits to be gained from the introduction of risk management strategies within a greater extent of the construction industry. A way of analysing the building economics of climate change is also proposed

Analyses of building defects are necessary in order to further develop tools, solutions and preventive measures ensuring high-performance building envelopes. To illuminate the vulnerability of different building envelope elements under varying climatic exposure, a comprehensive analysis of empirical data gathered from process induced building defect assignments is carried out. The amount of building defects in Norway clearly illustrates that it is not only the extreme weather events that need to be studied as a foundation for adaptation towards a changing climate. Furthermore, the analyses of defects reveal a fundamental need for climate differentiated design guidelines.

New and improved methods for geographically dependent design of building envelopes are proposed:

- A method for assessing the relative potential of frost decay or frost damage of porous, mineral building materials exposed to a given climate is developed.

- A national map of the potential for decay in wood structures is developed. Detailed scenarios for climate change for selected locations in Norway are used to provide an indication of the possible future development of decay rates.

- A method for assessing driving rain exposures based on multi-year records of synoptic observations of present weather, wind speed and direction is also presented.

These climate indices can be used as a tool for evaluation of changes in performance requirements or decay rates due to climate change under global warming incorporating data from regional- and local-level climate change scenarios. Historical records of climate data have finally been used to illuminate challenges arising when introducing international standards at the national level, without considering the need for adjustments to reflect varying local climatic conditions.

At present, building standards and design guidelines presuppose use of historic weather data. Historically, location-specific climate data have only to a very limited extent been applied systematically for design purposes, life cycle assessments, and climate differentiation of the suitability of a given technical solution in a given climate. The work is a first step towards methods and approaches allowing for geographically dependent climate considerations to be made in the development of design guidelines for high-performance building envelopes, and also approaches to assess the risks associated with the future performance of building envelopes due to climate change.

The dissertation focuses on methods for assessing impacts of external climatic parameters on a local scale, but with the use of daily and monthly averages of climate data. The reliability of climate indices or climate differentiated design guidelines is strongly dependent on the geographical spreading of the observing station network. The Norwegian network is not optimally distributed to fully embrace local variations, but provides a solid platform for the development of methods for geographically dependent design and guidelines on the appropriateness of different solutions in different climates.

Climate indices (using geographic information systems technology)allowing for quantitative assessment of building envelope performance or decay potential may be an important element in the development of adaptation measures to meet the future risks of climate change in different parts of the world. Finally, the work offers a conceptual point of departure for the development of a vintage model of the robustness of the Norwegian building stock.

Paper VII, IX, XI and XII reprinted with kind permission of Elsevier, sciencedirect.com

Sono ormai molti anni che si discute riguardo la possibilità di uniformare il sistema domotico, ovvero quello relativo all'automazione della casa e sembra che si stia progredendo verso un periodo in cui potrebbero esserci tutti i fattori necessari per il corretto sviluppo delle tematiche relative all'Home Automation, in particolar modo l'amministrazione e lo studio della logica che governa i dispositivi che popolano le abitazioni. La domotica, ovvero l'insieme delle tecnologie impiegate nell'automazione delle abitazioni, è considerata pronta per il salto di qualità che la possa condurre fuori dalle applicazioni più tradizionali, anche con grandi ripercussioni economiche. Il mercato attuale dell'industria mondiale dell'Home Automation si aggira sui 2,5 miliardi di dollari, ma entro il 2014 dovrebbe raggiungere i 13,4 miliardi (fonte ING Direct). La casa intelligente, o Smart Home, utilizzando la dicitura corretta insieme al concetto di Smat Grid, gurano nell'ultimo rapporto annuale della Consumer Electronics Association tra le cinque tecnologie da tenere d'occhio. C'è però da considerare una differenza tra quello che le tecnologie promettono e ciò che un end-user può oggettivamente pensare di installare in questo momento. Dal primo punto di vista, teoricamente è già tutto pronto per la realizzazione di uno scenario in cui gli impianti di casa sono interconnessi, dialogano tra loro e con gli abitanti, segnalano guasti e in qualche caso anticipano gli stessi desideri del proprietario. D'altro canto però è tuttavia vero che i maggiori produttori di elettrodomestici e dispositivi non hanno trovato un accordo circa lo standard di comunicazione da adottare per far dialogare questi dispositivi, men che meno sono state de nite uniformemente delle politiche di controllo relativamente alla coordinazione degli stessi per soddisfare i bisogni dell'end-user. Questo lavoro di tesi si inserisce nella suddetta tematica, a rontando i prob- lemi appena citati, che caratterizzano e limitano lo sviluppo della Smart Home nel contesto del programma Smart grid, de nito e sviluppato sia in Europa che negli Stati Uniti. Le tematiche aff rontate sono state descritte distinguendole in due macroaree: la prima riguarda lo studio e l'analisi dei protocolli di comunicazione per dotare la casa di un'infrastruttura di rete necessaria a sopperire tutte le richieste relative all'Home Automation. Si è quindi proceduto in una prima fase ad analizzare quelli erano i requisiti richiesti ad un'infrastruttura di questo tipo, quali, ad esempio, il consumo energetico, il costo di installazione, il raggio di copertura e la velocità di trasferimento dati. In seguito è stata fatta un'analisi esauriente di diversi protocolli di comunicazione legati al mondo dell'Home Automation, focalizzandoci in particolar modo a quelli candidati a diventare lo HAN (Home Automation Network), aderendo alle speci che de nite dai vari consorzi Smart Grid. Ognuno di questi protocolli è stato ra rontato con i requisiti individuati in precedenza, creando una sorta di classi cazione in base all'attinenza o meno a queste speci fiche. Al termine di questa analisi le tecnologie candidate a ricoprire il ruolo di HAN sono state 3 e nello specifi co il Bluetooth, lo ZigBee e il protocollo LonWorks. Alla fine lo ZigBee è riuscito a prevalere tra questi tre, o rendo una migliore rispondenza alle speci che Smart Grid (Energy Pro le 2.0) ed essendo già accolto molto bene dal mercato come infrastruttura di rete per l'Home Automation. La seconda fase di questa analisi si è quindi concentrata sulla seconda prob- lematica, relativa alla logica di controllo e coordinamento tra i vari dispositivi che compongono un tipico scenario domestico. In particolar modo, la prima sezione si è concentrata sulla definizione e sulla determinazione dell'impianto teorico necessario alla trattazione dei due metodi sviluppati: si è mostrato quindi l'approccio di Woolridge alla trattazione dei MASs, modi candone alcuni aspetti per rendere più conformi tali concetti alla classe degli HASs. L'analisi si è quindi concentrata nello studio dello Stato dell'Arte esistente, sia per quanto concerne la Teoria dei Sistemi Multi Agente che quella riguardante le problematiche relative all'allocazione delle risorse. Questi due metodi sviluppati hanno quindi lo scopo di risolvere i conflitti che si possono venire ad instaurare sull'utilizzo concorrenziale delle risorse condivise che si trovano all'interno di una tipica installazione domestica, come ad esempio la corrente elettrica e l'acqua calda. L'obiettivo nella risoluzione di tali con itti tende ad ottimizzare l'intero sistema, cercando di trovare un regime di funzionamento dei vari dispositivi che possa soddisfare e esigenze e i desideri dell'end-user. Entrambi i metodi sviluppati, chiamati GT-HAS (Game Theoretic-HAS) e MKP-HAS (Multiperiod Knapsack Problem-HAS) utilizzano dei funzionali la cui massimizzazione permette di ottenere, localmente e, date le proprietà dei sistemi costruiti, anche globalmente, delle performance che soddisfano le preferenze dell'end-user. L'analisi di questa problematica si conclude con la validazione dei due metodi prendendo alcuni scenari di esempio in esame e facendo un confronto delle prestazioni relative ed assolute fornite dai GT-HASs e dai MKP-HASs.La fase conclusiva del lavoro si concentra su alcune considerazioni riguardanti la teoria elaborata e alcune proposte riguardanti gli sviluppi futuri, come il miglioramento dei metodi GT-HAS e MKP-HAS e la possibilità di estendere l'ottimizzazione anche ad una famiglia di risorse. In attesa che il mercato si evolva verso una soluzione convergente e standard.
There were many years that the possibility of uniforming the domotic system has been discussed, or rather the one relative to the automation of the house and it seems that we are proceeding to a period in which all the necessary factors for developing the Home Automation problematic will be available, in particular for those concerning the administration and the study of the logic that manages the house devices. The domotic, that is the set of technologies implemented to automate the house, is considered ready for the quality leap that would lead it out of the more traditional applications, also with big economical repercussions. The present worldwide market of the Home Automation industry has a total turnover of about 2.5 dollar billions, but within the 2014 it will be reach a value of 13.4 billions (source ING Direct). The smart home in addition with the concept of the Smart Grid appear, on the last annual report of the Consumer Electronics Association, as one of the rst ve technology to keep an eye on. However, it is necessary to consider a di erence between what the technologies allow to do and what an end-user could e ectively think to install at the moment. From the rst point of view, theoretically, it is all already done to realize a scenario in which the house installations are interconnected, dialogue with each other and with the users, eventually signal faults and, in some cases, anticipate the wishes of the owner. On the other hand, it is nevertheless true that the major white goods and home devices producers have not jet found an agreement about the communication standard to use for the data exchange among these appliances and, furthermore, the control policies relative to the coordination of the devices that have the objective of satisfying the end-user needs have not jet been de ned. This PhD thesis enters in the aforementioned topic, facing the just cited problems that characterize and limit the development of the Smart Home in the framework of the Smart grid programme, de ned and currently developed in Europe and United States. The approached thematics have been described distinguish them in two macro-areas: the rst one concerns the study and the analysis of the communication protocols to endow the house with a network in- frastructure needed to provide all the requests relative to the Home Automation. Thus, in a rst phase, the requisites for an home network infrastructure have been analyzed, such, for example, the energy consumption, the installation cost, the coverage range and the data transfer rate. In the following, an exhaustive analysis of the various communication protocols for the Home Automation has been done, focusing in particular in those ones candidate to become the HAN (Home Automation Network), complying with the speci cations de ned by the various Smart Grid consortium. Each one of these protocols has been compared with the requisites identi ed in the previous steps, creating a sort of classi cation on the basis of the accordance or less with these speci cations. At the end of this study, the candidate technologies for the role of HAN were three and, more speci cally, they were Bluetooth, ZigBee and the Lonworks protocol. After further tests, ZigBee prevailed among the two opponents, o ering a better correspondence with the Smart Grid requirements (Energy Pro le 2.0) and being already well accepted in the market as network infrastructure for the Home Automation. The second phase of this analysis was focused on the second problematic, relative to the control logic and coordination of the various devices that composes a typical household scenario. In particular, the rst section was concentrated on the de nition and determination of the needed theoretical framework for managing the two developed methods: it was showed the Woolridge approach to handle the MASs, modifying some aspects and concepts to comply them with the HASs class. Then, the analysis was focused on the study of the existent State of the Art, both for what concerns the the Multi Agent theory and that regarding the problematics relative to the resource allocation. These two developed methods have the purpose of resolving conflicts which can occur when the devices are trying to use shared resources in a typical household installation like, for example, the electricity and the hot water. The objective in resolving such conflicts consists in optimizing the whole system, trying to nd a functioning scheme of the various devices that can satisfy the demands and wishes of the end-user. Both the developed methods, called GT-HAS (Game Theoretic-HAS) and MKP-HAS (Multiperiod Knapsack Problem-HAS), use functions whose maximization permits to obtain locally and, given the properties of the built frameworks, also globally, performances that satisfy the preferences of the end-user. The analysis of this kind of problematic ends with the validation of the two methods, taking in exam some exemplifying scenarios and comparing the relative and absolute performances provided by GT-HAS and MKP-HAS.

Background Serious liver disease in infancy causes significant morbidity. Up to 80% of children will eventually require transplantation. This study aims to investigate parent and family responses to the diagnosis of serious liver disease in infancy and to identify family factors that are predictive of the infants’ emotional and behavioural outcomes. Methods The study uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Parents of infants recently diagnosed with serious liver disease completed validated measures of parent stress, family function, impact of the illness on the family, and father engagement, as well as an interview about their experience of the infants’ illness. The measures were repeated after one year, with the addition of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results Parents of 42 infants enrolled, and parents of 37 infants completed the study. Illness severity, liver diagnosis other than Biliary Atresia and parent perceptions of greater impact of the infants’ illness on the family predicted poorer infant outcomes. For mothers, the final best-fit model explained 32% of the variation in CBCL (P = .001). Fathers’ best-fit model explained 44% of the variation in CBCL (P < .001). Thematic analysis of the parent interviews revealed six major themes: uncertainty; awareness of the infant’s vulnerability; feelings of isolation; dealing with other aspects of life; the importance of shared experience; and adjustment. The integrated data analysis demonstrated that lack of extended family support, poor family adjustment to the illness, and financial stress are related to greater impact of the illness on the family. Conclusions The study identifies early risk factors for poor emotional and behavioural outcomes for infants with serious liver disease, providing an opportunity for early intervention. Parents who lack support from extended family, who have financial stress, or who report a high impact of the illness on the family, should be referred for psychosocial assessment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the methods and strategies teachers in Malmö and Lund, Sweden, use to overcome issues faced when working with newly arrived students in teaching English. There was a need to explore this further since there is a lack of previous research in the area, as well as a lack of education on how to teach these students. Our two research questions investigate what specific difficulties teachers report facing when working with newly arrived students in English, and what teaching strategies/methods these teachers utilize to overcome these difficulties. To answer this, we conducted five semi-structured interviews with teachers who have experience in teaching English to newly arrived students. Our results show teachers feel a general feeling of unpreparedness through the lack of official support and measures in coping with these challenges. Moreover, the teachers employ several different types of coping strategies to help the newly arrived students, and they also report on the issues which can arise due to cultural contrasts. The implications of our findings is that there is a lack of a centralized, coherent approach among teachers on how to work with this population, as well as a lack of education in how to do so. Teachers require more training and more resources to better meet the needs of these students.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the potential use of Sandplay psychotherapy with an adolescent who presented with poor self-esteem. In conducting my research I assessed one adolescent’s selfesteem by means of quantitative and qualitative measures and identified potential aspects that might require intervention, related to self-esteem. After the initial assessment, Sandplay psychotherapy was implemented as intervention, after which the participant’s self-esteem was re-assessed, comparing the results with those obtained during the initial assessment (baseline data). For the purpose of my study, I fulfilled the role of researcher, involving an intern educational psychologist in assessing the participant and conducting the intervention, thereby fulfilling the role of therapist. I followed a triangulation mixed methods intervention research approach, primarily relying on the interpretivist paradigm yet being informed and elaborated upon by a post-positivist component. I studied a single clinical case situated within the context of psychotherapy outcome research. This enabled me to draw conclusions on how suitable and helpful Sandplay psychotherapy might be (or not) for an adolescent who presented with poor self-esteem. In collecting quantitative data, I employed the Self-Esteem Index (Brown&Alexander, 1991) both prior to and after the intervention had been completed. In support, a qualitative post-modern assessment was included in the form of the Rosebush technique (Oaklander, 1988). Other qualitative data collection and documentation measures include observations, semi-structured interviews (with the participant and her parents), photographs of the sand trays and a semi-structured reflection journal (of the participant), as well as reflection journals of the researcher and therapist. Based on the pre- and post-assessments I was able to compare results of the participant’s self-esteem before and after the Sandplay psychotherapy intervention had been completed. Subsequent to thematic qualitative data analysis and my comparison of the quantitative results I obtained, three main themes emerged. Firstly, the self-esteem of the participant seemed to have improved following the intervention, since her limited self-knowledge, feelings of inferiority and her uncertainty in unknown situations seemingly changed into age-appropriate self-knowledge, feelings of self-worth and facing the unknown. Secondly, she displayed changes in the emotional domain of development post-intervention. She seemed more content with her situation, reportedly feeling more safe and secure as opposed to feeling academically pressured, as was the case at the onset of my study, and having a positive future perspective. Thirdly, changes in her social domain of development occurred as she displayed age-appropriate skills, acted more assertively and felt more accepted and ready to establish relationships. Based on the findings of my study, I can conclude that it seems possible to facilitate the improvement of adolescents’ self-esteem by conducting Sandplay psychotherapy. Besides an improvement in terms of overall self-esteem, the participant in my study seemingly displayed improvement in the areas of relationships and social skills, as well as conflict resolution skills.
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Educational Psychology
unrestricted

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 97-99).
Working within a large defense company has shown me the vast array of process that is created by contractors as a response to the numbers of requirements and processes that the Department of Defense has levied on the industry. These industry processes are geared towards very large defense development projects ($100M+) and, in my experience, do not work well for smaller (<$10M) rapid developments. The process does not enable contractors to get new products into the hands of warfighters expeditiously. The United States Government is aware of this and has been taking steps to create rapid procurement organizations that are empowered to develop and field new capabilities faster than the traditional process permits. These new organizations have exposed a new problem; large defense companies are so encumbered by the process they have matured that they have lost their agility and are unable to develop rapidly. How can that agility be restored within an industry where traditional process isn't fast enough anymore? Thesis Statement: An alternative process can be created within large defense companies that, when followed, allows fast and agile performance on rapid developments. This thesis explores the origin of the defense industry process, provides data showing that the current process isn't optimized and suggests an updated process that is streamlined for rapid development.
by John H. Koltookian.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

Changing or creating an organisation means creating a new process. Each process involves many risks that need to be identified and managed. The main risks considered here are procedural and legal risks. The former are related to the risks of errors that may occur during processes, while the latter are related to the compliance of processes with regulations. Managing the risks implies proposing changes to the processes that allow the desired result: an optimised process. In order to manage a company and optimise it in the best possible way, not only should the organisational aspect, risk management and legal compliance be taken into account, but it is important that they are all analysed simultaneously with the aim of finding the right balance that satisfies them all. This is the aim of this thesis, to provide methods and tools to balance these three characteristics, and to enable this type of optimisation, ICT support is used. This work isn’t a thesis in computer science or law, but rather an interdisciplinary thesis. Most of the work done so far is vertical and in a specific domain. The particularity and aim of this thesis is not to carry out an in-depth analysis of a particular aspect, but rather to combine several important aspects, normally analysed separately, which however have an impact and influence each other. In order to carry out this kind of interdisciplinary analysis, the knowledge base of both areas was involved and the combination and collaboration of different experts in the various fields was necessary. Although the methodology described is generic and can be applied to all sectors, the case study considered is a new type of healthcare service that allows patients in acute disease to be hospitalised to their home. This provide the possibility to perform experiments using real hospital database.

Freud wrote to Fliess on 24 January 1897: 'I ... understand the harsh therapy of the witches' judges'. This thesis tries to make that statement intelligible. It takes further the argument of my MA thesis: 'Freud and Wier: Transitional Figures?'. Freud appears to have been implicitly comparing his new method, psychoanalysis, with the procedures of the inquisitors and judges in the medieval witch trials. This thesis presents evidence that Freud meant this comparison seriously. It is known that Freud made a deep study of the literature on the witch trials. This thesis examines the literature that we know he read and what was available to him that he most likely read. I have systematically examined Freud's attitude to the witch trials in his remarks at a meeting of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. I have done systematic comparisons of Freud's methods with the methods in the witch trials as described in the literature that Freud is known to have studied as well as in the medieval works on witch trials that were being prepared for re-publication in the Bibliot6que Diabolique under the sponsorship of the School of Charcot in the 1880's. I have also examined in detail the methods that Freud used in treating his patients beteen 1892 and 1900.1 have compared the methods of the witches' judges with Freud's methods. The thesis demonstrates, in significant respects, namely in terms of interrogating, pressure and extracting information, that the methods are similar. My research findings, therefore, strongly confirm my hypothesis. The thesis raises the question of the implications of this for psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.

Throughout the last few years, Flygskam, a norm against air travel, has grown steadily in Sweden due to its emissions. Flygskam is a Swedish word referring to the shame that follows air travel since it runs counter to the norm behavior. This thesis investigates the effect of Flygskam on demand for domestic flights in Sweden using synthetic control and panel data for 2003-2019. The results indicate that Flygskam seems to affect the domestic passengers in Sweden, estimated to be approximately 22% lower in 2019 than the counterfactual, significant on a 1% level.

Industrial processes have for a long time become more and more automated, this is no different in the mining industry. When excavating during mining operations special drill rigs are used to drill holes in the rock walls to be used for either explosives or bolts to support the structure. The study aimed to find out if it was possible to create an algorithm that would use the drill rigs telemetry data to estimate the number of holes it had created over specific time period. The main approach would be to see if machine learning could be used for the problem or if some other method could be theorised. Without the groundwork needed to create a proper machine learning algorithm a basic statistical approach was used to solve the problem, however since there were no actual reports containing the amount of holes a rig drilled the final solution is highly conjectural.

Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, there remain large gaps in academic achievement between children of color and White students (Darling-Hammond, 2007). It is estimated that by 2050, the population of the United States will increase by 50%; 90% of which will be accounted for by minorities (Vanneman, Hamilton, Anderson, & Rahman, 2009). In less than 50 years, our citizenry will be comprised of "groups that are over represented among low achievers, and under represented among high achievers" (Ferguson, 2005, p. 4). Nationwide, districts are addressing the issue of the achievement gap through implementing formal equity professional development opportunities at their school sites. While formal equity training leaves participants transformed, they leave with little to no support in how to change their practice in order to teach more equitably. Therefore, based on Bridges' and Hallinger's (1995) problem based learning approach, the handbook, Keeping Equity in Mind, was developed, field tested and revised using Borg and Gall's (2003) research and development cycle. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the usefulness of the handbook, Keeping Equity in Mind, in supporting teacher leaders in continued equity work in their classrooms once formal equity training had ended at their school sites. Participants implemented the strategies presented in the handbook in order to determine its usefulness in supporting teacher leaders in continued equity work in their classrooms. The findings of this study determined Keeping Equity in Mind is a useful tool for teachers attempting to close the achievement gap in their classrooms and the administrators who support them.

The thesis seeks to examine the competitiveness of the methods by which beer has been distributed in the UK, particularly the beer tying agreement, with the objective of setting out recommendations for the future. In order to fulfil this objective, the thesis aims firstly to engage in a scholarly exercise of clarifying the role and purpose of the beer tie; the application of the EU competition law provisions to the brewing industry; and the UK Government’s approach to regulating it. Secondly, the thesis engages in comparative research and will consider how other non-UK markets have dealt with the distribution of beer, and more specifically the issue of the beer tie. In doing so, the thesis seeks to ascertain how competitive the UK market is in the context of these other geographical markets. The thesis will also compare the UK beer market with another UK market in which the use of tying agreements is prevalent in order to ascertain whether the same issues have been faced in this market as in the beer market. The intention of the comparative research in the thesis is to provide assistance to legal policy makers on the future regulation of beer distribution in the UK. The thesis does not however undertake to propose measures to achieve a state of perfect competition. Rather, it undertakes, as the third aim of the thesis, to propose informed recommendations that address better the ongoing anti-competitive concerns associated with the operation of the beer tie today and ensure a socially acceptable level of workable competition.

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) is one of eight mandated learning areas in the Australian Curriculum and its adaptation for Western Australian (WA) schools, the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline. This learning area has undergone considerable change over the past 20 years, with little accompanying research. In 2000, a single case study examined lower secondary students’ (Year 8 to Year 10) attitudes to a previous version of the curriculum that used different nomenclature, Social Studies, in one metropolitan co-educational Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) school (Thiveos, 2000). The results of that research established that students valued and were moderately positive towards Social Studies; however, their liking for the subject area declined by 13.3% over the course of lower secondary schooling. At that time, Social Studies was ranked eleventh out of 14 school subjects and its low status was attributed to teacher-centred delivery of the curriculum and limited learning activities (Thiveos, 2000). Those results are now outdated and do not take into account the multitude of curricular, pedagogical and assessment developments over the two decades since, therefore motivating the current research. This mixed methods research investigated lower secondary students’ (Year 7 to Year 10) perspectives towards the HASS learning area and identified the factors influencing those perspectives at three metropolitan co-educational CEWA schools. One of the participating schools was also the original case study in the historical research, allowing for comparisons with the current research. The two other schools enlarged the sample of students that enabled generalisation of the findings to other, similar CEWA schools. A survey of 1,425 lower secondary students involved the completion of a Student Perspectives of Humanities and Social Sciences (SPHASS) questionnaire that measured their perspectives of teaching and learning in HASS, the frequency of learning activities in HASS and the status of HASS and other school subjects by means of subsequent descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Students’ feedback in semistructured focus group interviews with each year level at the three sample schools, in combination with their responses to two open-ended questions in the SPHASS questionnaire, were coded to identify emergent themes in the data. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data measured overall responses across the three CEWA schools, with a particular focus on gender (male and female) and age (year level) differences. The findings revealed a positive perspective towards teaching and learning in HASS at the three CEWA schools; however, this declined by 3.8% from Year 7 to Year 10. HASS was ranked the eighth most popular subject out of 15 surveyed, and of the four mandated HASS subjects (Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History), History was the most preferred and Civics and Citizenship the least preferred, with students signifying a negative view of the subject. Furthermore, there were significant differences in students’ liking for HASS based on gender (male and female) and age (year level), with males and Year 8 students the most positive, and Year 9 students the least positive. The inclusion of Year 7 students in secondary school had a positive impact on students’ perspectives of HASS, contradicting the findings of earlier research (Moroz, 1995) and signalling a much-improved status for the HASS learning area. Students considered the HASS classroom a positive learning environment; valued and considered HASS useful; were positive about their abilities and success in HASS; and indicated strong parental support for the learning area. The centrality of the teacher was a major finding of this research. Students had positive views of their HASS teachers; however, were more enthusiastic about interactive, collaborative and studentcentred pedagogical approaches in lessons. Despite recent reforms to the HASS curriculum, advancements in digital technology and the endorsement of 21st century pedagogical practices, teachers at the three CEWA schools appeared to rely upon teacher-centred pedagogical practices, particularly the use of textbooks. Although the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was more prevalent in HASS classrooms compared to two decades ago, it became evident that teachers missed opportunities to integrate digital technology effectively and meaningfully into student learning. This research concluded that curriculum, teachers, the learning environment, students and parents were all factors that influenced students’ perspective of HASS at the three CEWA schools. The insights gained have significant implications for administrators and teachers at these schools and beyond, to decision makers in other education sectors and school contexts. To impact and improve students’ perspectives of HASS further, this research found that teacher practice, and particularly the choice of student-centred teaching and learning activities, is necessary.

Background

Non coding RNAs are the RNA molecules that do not code for proteins but play structural, catalytic or regulatory roles in the organisms in which they are found. These RNAs generally conserve their secondary structure more than their primary sequence. It is possible to look for protein coding genes using sequence signals like promoters, terminators, start and stop codons etc. However, this is not the case with non coding RNAs since these signals are weakly conserved in them. Hence the situation with non coding RNAs is more challenging. Therefore a protocol is devised to identify U1 RNA in species not previously known to have it.

Results

It is sufficient to use the covariance models to identify non coding RNAs but they are very slow and hence a filtering step is needed before using the covariance models to reduce the search space for identifying these genes. The protocol for identifying U1 RNA genes employs for the filtering a pattern matcher RNABOB that can conduct secondary structure pattern searches. The descriptor for RNABOB is made automatically such that it can also represent the bulges and interior loops in helices of RNA. The protocol is compared with the Rfam and Weinberg & Ruzzo approaches and has been able to identify new U1 RNA homologues in the Apicomplexan group where it has not previously been found.

Conclusions

The method has been used to identify the gene for U1 RNA in certain species in which it has not been detected previously. The identified genes may be further analyzed by wet laboratory techniques for the confirmation of their existence.

4

Students entering the high school mathematics classroom are not prepared to learn Algebra 1. In this study, four years of basic skill math data was collected from students on their first full day of high school after summer break. The study shows how much basic math they knew and analyzes the incorrect responses on a Basic Skills Test developed by the researcher. This analysis attempts to discover how the students were processing the math on the test. The study also looks at the shift of the standards over the past ten years in the State of Tennessee. This study answers the question of whether or not this shift has enabled students to know more basic math.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mobility and the standardized testing environment. The project focused on nine students who had a pronounced need for movement while learning and/or being tested. The study was conducted to determine whether the achievement scores of these nine students would be influenced by the denial or availability of movement while they were administered a standardized reading test. Twenty-one second grade students were the subjects. Two forms of Level B of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test were used. All subjects were tested in a traditional environment with no movement allowed. The same subjects were then tested at a later time in a mobile environment with movement and change of location permitted. The Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Rank Test was used as the statistical base. Results showed a .05 significance. Of the nine mobile students, six scored equally as well or better when placed in a mobile testing environment.

Educators strive to improve student learning outcomes and there are numerous theories suggesting how this is best achieved. However, application of these theories to the coal face of a classroom is often fraught with obstacles resulting in poor outcomes. Constraints imposed by educational policy, school systems, structures and the individual students themselves, realistically require adaptation of theoretical techniques if genuine learning is to be imparted to students. This paper discusses some of the issues surrounding the practical implementation of new methodologies into the classroom and identifies important factors that affect teenagers in their learning of mathematics. Working within the constraints, constantly confronted with obstacles, can be frustrating and demoralising. This paper reflects on twenty years of classroom teaching of mathematics to students with relatively poor socio-economic backgrounds and the lessons learnt from them that may assist teachers to remain enthusiastic and creative with the energy to truly improve mathematics education. Key issues explored in the paper include: ‘Realities of a teacher’s working day’, ‘The learning of mathematics within a government secondary system’, and ‘What can be done to ensure mathematical learning takes place?’

Les méthodes optiques passives de mesures de température comme la thermographie ou la pyrométrie optique sont intéressantes car elles permettent une mesure non intrusive de l’objet cible à condition de connaître le facteur d’émission. La connaissance de ce facteur est critique pour déterminer la température de surface par le rayonnement thermique émis dans un domaine spectral. Le pyromètre bichromatique impulsionnel permet de surmonter la connaissance de ce paramètre à condition que le choix des valeurs de longueurs d’onde soit fait avec précautions. Lorsque l’objet à mesurer est situé dans un environnement industriel, de telles méthodes optiques sont fortement perturbées par la présence d’un milieu optiquement absorbant. C’est également le cas pour des objets situés dans des environnements très chauds qui émettent d’intenses radiations interférentes. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons une méthode radiométrique active bichromatique pour mesurer la température d’une surface en milieu industriel. Cette méthode est basée sur une excitation locale par une source laser modulée dans l’infrarouge. La détection de la température qui est corrélé avec l’excitation permet d’extraire par détection synchrone le signal modulé noyé dans un bruit jusqu’à un million de fois supérieur. Travailler à courtes longueurs d’onde (domaine visible et proche infrarouge) offre une grande dynamique et minimise l’erreur induite par les variations d’émissivité avec la longueur d’onde. Ce système collecte le rayonnement émis par l’objet à distance, de quelques mètres à plusieurs dizaines de mètres selon la configuration du système optique. Le principe de la méthode de mesure, le système optique et l’appareillage sont présentés dans ce rapport ainsi que les études théoriques et expérimentales sur la sensibilité, sa calibration et les résultats obtenus sur différents sites industriels
Optical passive methods of temperature measurements such as thermography or optical pyrometry are very interesting because they allow a non-intrusive measurement with the target object provided to know the emission factor. The knowledge of this factor is critical for determining the actual temperature of a surface from the thermal radiation emitted in a wavelength band. The bichromatic pulsed pyrometer allows to overcome the knowledge of this parameter provided that precautions are taken in the choice of the values of wavelengths. When the object to be measured is placed in industrial environments, such passive optical methods are greatly disturbed by the presence of an optically absorbing medium. It is also distorted for objects located in very hot environments emitting intense interfering radiation. In this thesis, we present an active bichromatic radiometric method for measuring the temperature of a surface in harsh environments. The method is based on a localized excitation by a modulated laser source in the infrared range. Detecting the temperature range which is correlated with the excitation allows a synchronous detection to extract the signal embedded in a noise up to 106 times superior. Working at short wavelengths (visible range and near infrared range) offers a large dynamic range and minimizes the error due to variations in emissivity with the wavelength. This system collects the radiation emitted by the object at a distance from a few meters up to dozens of meters depending on the configuration of the optical system. The principle of the measurement method, the optical wavelength separation system and the telemetry apparatus are presented in this report as well as the theoretical and experimental study of the sensitivity of the device, its calibration and the results obtained in different industrial sites

The gap that exists between English language learners and English speaking students’ achievement in mathematics continues to grow. Moreover, students are now required to show evidence of their mathematics knowledge through writing in standardized assessments and class assignments. The purpose of this study was to analyze students’ writing in mathematics and the metacognitive behaviors they portrayed through their writing as they solved mathematics problems. The instruments included a pretest, two biweekly tests, and a posttest. The writing instruction encompassed students learning to solve problems by using Polya’s four phases of problem solving which was completed in 12 sessions over a period of 6 weeks. Garofalo and Lester’s framework which renamed Polya’s phases into orientation, organization, execution, and verification, was used to look at the metacognitive behaviors students used. The participants included 67 students enrolled in four third grade classes, who were English language learners and English speakers. This research followed a quasi-experimental design, with a treatment group and a control group. A one-way repeated ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The findings showed no significant difference between the mathematics achievement scores of treatment and control. However, growth trends in achievement scores revealed that the treatment group scores were increasing faster than the control group scores across the four tests during the 6-week study. Moreover, significant differences were found between the treatment and the control groups when the problem solving with metacognitive behaviors scores were analyzed. Descriptive statistics showed the frequency of occurrence of each of the problem solving phases increased steadily across the four tests for the students in the treatment group. During the posttest, 100% of treatment group students wrote about metacognitive behaviors they used during the orientation and organization phases, 91.4% wrote about their metacognition for executing the solution, and 80% wrote about the verification process they followed. These findings are useful to education professionals who are interested in creating programs for teaching mathematics at the elementary level that include effective problem solving practices. This evidence-based method may be adopted in school districts with large populations of ELLs in order to assist these students when solving problems in mathematics.

Tendering is a method for entering into a sales contract. Numerous electronic tendering systems have been established with the intent of improving the efficiency of the tendering process. Although providing adequate security services is a desired feature in an e-tendering system, current e-tendering systems are usually designed with little consideration of security and legal compliance. This research focuses on designing secure protocols for e-tendering systems. It involves developing methodologies for establishing security requirements, constructing security protocols and using formal methods in protocol security verification. The implication is that it may prove suitable for developing secure protocols in other electronic business domains. In depth investigations are conducted into a range of issues in relation to establishing generic security requirements for e-tendering systems. The outcomes are presented in a form of basic and advanced security requirements for e-tendering process. This analysis shows that advanced security services are required to secure e-tender negotiation integrity and the submission process. Two generic issues discovered in the course of this research, functional difference and functional limitations, are fundamental in constructing secure protocols for tender negotiation and submission processes. Functional difference identification derives advanced security requirements. Functional limitation assessment defines how the logic of generic security mechanisms should be constructed. These principles form a proactive analysis applied prior to the construction of security protocols. Security protocols have been successfully constructed using generic cryptographic security mechanisms. These protocols are secure e-tender negotiation integrity protocol suite, and secure e-tender submission protocols. Their security has been verified progressively during the design. Verification results show that protocols are secure against common threat scenarios. The primary contribution of this stage are the procedures developed for the complex e-business protocol analysis using formal methods. The research shows that proactive analysis has made this formal security verification possible and practical for complex protocols. These primary outcomes have raised awareness of security issues in e-tendering. The security solutions proposed in the protocol format are the first in e-tendering with verifiable security against common threat scenarios, and which are also practical for implementation. The procedures developed for securing the e-tendering process are generic and can be applied to other business domains. The study has made improvements in: establishing adequate security for a business process; applying proactive analysis prior to secure protocol construction; and verifying security of complex e-business protocols using tool aided formal methods.

Tendering is a method for entering into a sales contract. Numerous electronic tendering systems have been established with the intent of improving the efficiency of the tendering process. Although providing adequate security services is a desired feature in an e-tendering system, current e-tendering systems are usually designed with little consideration of security and legal compliance. This research focuses on designing secure protocols for e-tendering systems. It involves developing methodologies for establishing security requirements, constructing security protocols and using formal methods in protocol security verification. The implication is that it may prove suitable for developing secure protocols in other electronic business domains. In depth investigations are conducted into a range of issues in relation to establishing generic security requirements for e-tendering systems. The outcomes are presented in a form of basic and advanced security requirements for e-tendering process. This analysis shows that advanced security services are required to secure e-tender negotiation integrity and the submission process. Two generic issues discovered in the course of this research, functional difference and functional limitations, are fundamental in constructing secure protocols for tender negotiation and submission processes. Functional difference identification derives advanced security requirements. Functional limitation assessment defines how the logic of generic security mechanisms should be constructed. These principles form a proactive analysis applied prior to the construction of security protocols. Security protocols have been successfully constructed using generic cryptographic security mechanisms. These protocols are secure e-tender negotiation integrity protocol suite, and secure e-tender submission protocols. Their security has been verified progressively during the design. Verification results show that protocols are secure against common threat scenarios. The primary contribution of this stage are the procedures developed for the complex e-business protocol analysis using formal methods. The research shows that proactive analysis has made this formal security verification possible and practical for complex protocols. These primary outcomes have raised awareness of security issues in e-tendering. The security solutions proposed in the protocol format are the first in e-tendering with verifiable security against common threat scenarios, and which are also practical for implementation. The procedures developed for securing the e-tendering process are generic and can be applied to other business domains. The study has made improvements in: establishing adequate security for a business process; applying proactive analysis prior to secure protocol construction; and verifying security of complex e-business protocols using tool aided formal methods.

A comercialização de produtos florestais não madeireiros (PFNMs) popularizou-se como atividade promotora do desenvolvimento socioeconômico de comunidades florestais com baixo impacto ambiental. Há evidências, contudo, de que a exploração possa produzir efeitos ecológicos e socioeconômicos negativos, sugerindo que é necessário monitorar tais iniciativas. A comercialização frequentemente ocorre em áreas remotas e em contextos de pobreza, como é o caso de muitas daquelas da Amazônia brasileira. Desta forma, é necessário que o monitoramento restrinja-se a avaliar os efeitos evidenciados como mais comuns em estudos anteriores. Este estudo revisa e sintetiza as evidências científicas dos efeitos da exploração de PFNMs sobre parâmetros ecológicos e socioeconômicos e, a partir daí, indica aqueles mais relevantes ao monitoramento. O estudo também levanta até que ponto o monitoramento é implementado no contexto da Amazônia brasileira e avalia quais os parâmetros importantes e viáveis de monitoramento neste caso específico. Para isso, foram realizadas revisões sistemáticas da literatura e a consulta a profissionais da área através do método Delphi. Os resultados indicam que efeitos ecológicos negativos são frequentes, principalmente quando se coletam folhas ou cascas. Alterações em órgãos ou processos fisiológicos e a taxa de sobrevivência dos espécimes explorados são parâmetros que devem ser monitorados, em particular quando se coletam frutos e partes vegetativas. Para todos os tipos de PFNMs, o tamanho e a estrutura populacional são parâmetros prioritários ao monitoramento. A riqueza de espécies da comunidade explorada merece atenção, principalmente quando se coletam frutos. Para os aspectos socioeconômicos, efeitos positivos foram mais frequentes que negativos. A contribuição da renda monetária obtida com o comércio na renda total, a regularidade de ingresso desta renda e o papel dos PFNMs como recursos de salvaguarda são parâmetros do capital financeiro prioritários ao monitoramento. Para o capital social, o empoderamento feminino, a coesão de grupo e o acesso aos benefícios gerados pela comercialização devem ser monitorados. Na Amazônia brasileira são poucas as iniciativas de implementação do monitoramento da comercialização de PFNMs. Embora este seja considerado importante, existem dificuldades que derivam principalmente da falta de apoio institucional, políticas de incentivo e de recursos financeiros. Os profissionais participantes do Delphi consideram que os parâmetros ecológicos mais importantes a monitorar neste contexto são o tamanho e a estrutura populacional do recurso explorado, o aumento da taxa de mortalidade, a quantidade total de recurso extraída e a técnica de coleta utilizada. Para os parâmetros econômicos, aspectos do mercado, como o preço pago ao coletor, a demanda e a qualidade do produto, bem como a renda monetária obtida pelos indivíduos são os parâmetros considerados mais importantes. Por fim, para os aspectos sociais, os efeitos na cultura, na qualidade de vida e na organização interna da comunidade foram priorizados. Os profissionais indicam que é viável estabelecer o monitoramento dos parâmetros levantados.
Amazon, non-timber forest products, ecological effects, socioeconomic effects, monitoring.

Telemetry system, Optimisation, Sensoric networks, Smart Grid, Internet of Things, Sensors, Information security, Cryptography, Cryptography algorithms, Cryptosystem, Confidentiality, Integrity, Authentication, Data freshness, Non-Repudiation.

Blossom filters are basic randomized information structures that are greatly valuable practically speaking. Truth be told, they are useful to the point that any noteworthy lessening in the time required to play out a Bloom channel operation instantly means a considerable speedup for some functional applications. Sadly, Bloom filters are simple to the point that they don't leave much space for advancement. At the point when space is an issue, a Bloom channel might be an astounding contrasting option to keeping an express rundown. The disadvantage of utilizing a Bloom channel is that it permits false positives. Their impact must be painstakingly considered for every particular application to decide if the effect of false positives is adequate. In this research work it is shown that the false positive performance of a standard Bloom filter implementation strongly relies on the selection of hash functions, even if these hash functions are considered good. The three hashing methods implemented for the ideal bloom filter are compared on the grounds of their relative time consumption, false positive and number of collisions.

碩士
逢甲大學
資訊工程學系
89
The association rule mining can be divided into two steps. The first step is to find out all frequent itemsets, whose occurrences are greater than or equal to the user-specified threshold. The second step is to generate reliable association rules based on all frequent itemsets found in the first step. Identifying all frequent itemsets in a large database dominates the overall performance in the association rule mining. In this paper, we propose an efficient hash-based method, HMFS, for discovering the maximal frequent itemsets. The HMFS method combines the advantages of both the DHP (Direct Hashing and Pruning) and the Pincer-Search algorithms. The combination leads to two advantages. First, the HMFS method, in general, can reduce the number of database scans. Second, the HMFS can filter the infrequent candidate itemsets and can use the filtered itemsets to find the maximal frequent itemsets. These two advantages can reduce the overall computing time of finding the maximal frequent itemsets. In addition, the HMFS method also provides an efficient mechanism to construct the maximal frequent candidate itemsets to reduce the search space. We have implemented the HMFS method along with the DHP and the Pincer-Search algorithms on a Pentium III 800 MHz PC. The experimental results show that the HMFS method has better performance than the DHP and the Pincer-Search algorithms for most of test cases. In particular, our method has significant improvement over the DHP and the Pincer-Search algorithms when the size of a database is large and the length of the longest itemset is relatively long.

The ‘Demarcation Problem’ is to mark the boundary between things that are scientific and things that are not. Philosophers have worked on this problem for a long time, and yet there is still no consensus solution. Should we continue to hope, or must we draw a more sceptical conclusion? In his paper, ‘The Demise of the Demarcation Problem’, Larry Laudan (1983) does the latter. In this thesis, I address the three arguments he gives for this conclusion.
The Pessimistic Induction: From the failure of many specific past attempts at demarcation, Laudan infers that all future attempts at demarcation will fail. For his argument to be fully convincing, Laudan needs to show that each attempt has been a complete failure, and that these failures have never led to progress in the theory of demarcation. I argue that many past attempts at demarcation have only resulted in partial failure, and many of these failures have led to some cumulative progress. So I think we can draw a more optimistic conclusion: future attempts at demarcation may be even more successful than past attempts.
The Pseudo-Problem: Laudan argues that the demarcation problem presupposes an ‘epistemic invariant’: something common to all and only the sciences, which makes them epistemically special. But, says Laudan, this presumption is false – so, by definition, the issue is merely a pseudo-problem. I find Laudan’s argument unconvincing. I present reasons for thinking that the demarcation problem does not, in fact, presuppose an extremely simple epistemic invariant. Furthermore, there may still be a satisfactory, moderately complex epistemic invariant to be found. So I do not think any false assumption is presupposed.
The New Problem: Laudan argues that we should replace the original demarcation problem with a new demarcation problem. I take this to be the problem of demarcating between well-confirmed and ill-confirmed theories. I argue that scientific status is relevant to the confirmation of theories, so the two problems are closely related. I also argue that science has other purposes; so scientific status indicates other virtues besides well-confirmedness. Thus we do want to know which theories and activities are scientific, because this will help us to decide which theories and activities to pursue. So this new demarcation problem is not a suitable replacement for the original problem.
My central question is ‘Has Laudan killed the demarcation problem?’, and my answer is ‘No!’.

Real-time media streams are a common application on the Internet today. For many such streams, it is necessary to provide authentication, data integrity, and non-repudiation. Some applications where this type of security may be necessary include voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls, transmission of sensitive data such as medical records or personal information, or financial data that needs to be updated in real-time. It is important to be able to balance the need for security with the constraints of the environment, where data must be delivered in a limited amount of time. This thesis examines and classifies the different types of authentication based on a number of factors, mainly the type of authentication (user or data), the way in which authentication information is transmitted (embedded or appendix), and the secrecy of the authentication information (covert or overt). This thesis then presents a specific real-time communication system, and develops a novel method of achieving data authentication for the system, based on previous work done in the area of hash-chaining authentication schemes. Theoretical and simulated results are presented, showing that the new method, the modified butterfly scheme, outperforms the original method, the butterfly scheme, using the same amount of overhead.

碩士
國立臺東大學
進修部暑期諮商心理碩士專班
106
This study aims to investigate the effects of Pop-Music Teaching Method on the junior high school seventh-graders’ emotional intelligence. Forty-four students of a junior high school in Kaohsiung are divided into two groups, twenty-three in the experiment group, and the other twenty-one in the control group. The students in experiment group take six classes of Pop-Music Teaching Method, each class lasting forty-five minutes, while the students of the control group don’t. The Nonequivalent Pretest-Posttest Design is taken in the study with Emotional Intelligence Scale for junior high school students as the measure tool. A week before and after the experiment, two groups take a pre-test and a post-test. Statistics are mainly analyzed with the feedback sheets used for supporting data. The major findings are as the following: 1. The Pop-Music teaching Method has significant counselling effects on the seventh graders’ “High school Emotional Intelligence ”, “Emotional Expression”, “Positive Inspiration”, and “Emotional Control.” 2. The Pop-Music Teaching Method has no significant counselling effects on the seventh graders’ “Emotional Cognition ” and “Emotional Reflection”. 3. The students feel satisfied with the “Pop-Music Teaching Method”, and give it positive feedbacks.

The rapid economic growth in many developing countries results in a high demand for infrastructure and governments find that they are unable to fund the vital infrastructure or to maintain the existing ones (Gupta and Sravat, 1998). To remedy this they are increasingly opting for an alternative source of funding through the large international companies which have considerable credit standing for concession contracts such as Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) since those companies have a much larger capacity to fund the large scale projects than the recipient country. The objective of this research project is to provide a brief review of the South African experience with the utilisation of the BOT approach for infrastructure developments, examining the risks and the measures used to mitigate them. This is so as to draw lessons for policy makers on how to improve the use of this strategic instrument for infrastructure provision. The emphasis will be on overall risks associated with the scheme as well as the mitigating factors in light of the current social, political and economic context of the country and the region. Data was collected using the Delphi survey method and the study targeted individuals who were knowledgeable and experienced with the issues under investigation and from different sectors involved with execution of BOT infrastructure development projects in South Africa. These included contractors, lenders, operators as well as some from the host government. The questionnaire was designed to identify the perceptions of the individuals regarding risk management in BOT projects as well as identify significant risk associated with the scheme. The 10 most critical risks were ranked based on the ratings of the respondents in the final phase of the Delphi survey. The risk that was rated the most critical turned out to be ‘Political instability in the host country’. This is defined as the danger of political or financial instability in the host country caused by events such as insurrections, strikes, creeping expropriation and outright nationalization.

碩士
國立陽明大學
食品安全及健康風險評估研究所
107
Heterocyclic amines (HAs) are cyclic organic compounds with unsaturated double bonds. These compounds are often found in high-protein foods during the period of hot-processing. HAs can be synthesized by the action of glucose, amino acids, creatine, and creatinine; they can also be formed directly by thermal pyrolysis of a single amino acid or protein. HAs are mutagenic and carcinogenic, and if an excessive intake has adverse effects on human health. In Asian countries, in addition to meat products, the intake of soybean products is also very impressive, and soybeans are rich in protein, so it is necessary to investigate the formation of HAs in soybean products. This work studied the effects of different processing methods, temperature and time on the formation of HAs in the soybean products. In the past, the traditional extraction method was time consuming. This experiment used QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) to develop conditions for rapid extraction of HAs in soybean products; meanwhile, UPLC-MS-MS with Core shell C18 column was used to develop conditions for rapid simultaneous separation of many HAs. The results showed that 21 HAs and one internal standard (4,7,8-TriMeIQx) were simultaneously separated in 15 minutes using a gradient solvent system composed of 10 mM ammonium formate and acetonitrile (ACN). Regarding the comparison of various extraction solvents (ACN, ACN+1% acetic acid, acetone and acetone+1%), ACN used in QuEChERS extraction presented better HAs recoveries from dried bean curd (62~91%) and soymilk (64~93%). For dried bean curd matrix, the limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.008-0.15 ng/g and 0.025-0.5 ng/g, respectively; the values of coefficient of variation (CV) for the analytical repeatability and intermediate were 4~28% and 4~23%, respectively. For soymilk matrix, LOD and LOQ were 0.003-0.5 ng/ mL and 0.01~0.5g/mL, respectively; the values of CV for the analytical repeatability and intermediate precision were 1~19% and 4~25%, respectively. These developed methods presented good sensitivity, accuracy and precision. The content of HAs was the highest when the dried bean curd was cooked by the mean of frying. The formation of HAs in dried bean curd and soymilk was increased with heating temperature and time, and the result was similar to previous reports on processed meat products. This study further evaluated the degree of health concerns of adults and the elderly who were exposed to HAs due to the consumption of soybeans or soymilk (assuming all types of HAs have the same toxicity as PhIP). The margin of exposure (MOE) values calculated for all samples were higher than 10,000 (low risk), but the risk matrix results showed that the health risk of the two groups for HAs exposure through a consumption of the dried bean curd was higher than that of boiled and baked bean curds; therefore, HAs exposure through consumption of the dried bean curd was more important to pay attention. HAs produced in the boiled soymilk (100 °C) was higher, and the longer the hot storage (60 ° C) time results in the higher the HAs exposure.

The thesis of this study is that both Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal churches can grow at a time when only the Pentecostal churches have grown. The stagnation that has occurred in many ''mainline" churches.need not be allowed to increase or continue. In Venda (Northern Province) both the Lutherans and the Pentecostals have enjoyed visible growth. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis, the choice of the study area, the objectives of the study, and the typology, methodology and relevance of the study. Chapter 2 looks at the history and socio-economic backgrowtd of the Vhavenda. Chapter 3 describes traditional Vhavenda beliefs and rituals. The Vhavenda world-view is different from that of the West but closer to that of the East and the Bible. Chapter 4 concentrates on missionary Christianity in Venda and briefly discusses the missionary methods adopted by the Berlin Missionary Society. Chapter 5 discusses the coming of Pentecostalism to South Africa and Venda. Chapter 6 examines how the Lutherans and the Apostolic Faith Mission church conducted their mission during the "maturation of Apartheid'' in Venda. Major events in the collision between apartheid and the Vhavenda are highlighted. Chapter 7 discusses the unfinished work of the church in Venda. Chapter 8 examines the challenge for Christian mission in the twenty-first century.
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
D.Th (Missiology)