Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Long times of detention'

Recent years there has been a large increase in the worldwide sales of cultured products containing probiotics. The obstacle in the production of fermented products incubated with probiotic strains is its effect on sensory, chemical and physical properties. This Master´s Thesis investigates how extended storage times in fermentation tank as well as buffer tank during production of probiotic yoghurts affect final product quality. Through experimental studies, maximum storage times for probiotic yoghurts were to be recommended. The study includes analyses of pH, viscosity, stability, acetic acid concentration, microbial viability and sensory evaluations.

Design of experiments (DOE) was used to construct a 3²-factorial design for the experiment where different storage times were tested. The analyses showed that:

• pH decreases with both storage time in fermentation tank and buffer tank.
• Viscosity increases with long storage times in fermentation tank, while it decreases with long storage times in buffer tanks.
• Many samples had a sandy/grainy and slimy texture which could be related to high levels of Bifidobacteria or high fermentation temperatures.
• High levels of acetic acid was found in all samples.
• All measurements data where within the specification limits, whereas no recommendation for maximum storage times during production could be given.

Make-to-order and engineer-to-order companies often have few standard products and a demand that is hard to predict. To get orders the company gives quotations and competes for the customers. This thesis aims to identify the factors contribution to the lead time uncertainty at make-to-order companies and then to suggest a methodology to handle or eliminate some of these factors. A case study was conducted at a medium sized company with a combined make-to-order and engineer-to-order manual production system. The company has long lead times in the order process as well as the assembly process. The lead times for the case company are measured in weeks rather than minutes, hours or days. Information was collected during a three month period through interviews with the employees, attendance in meeting and observations at the shop floor. The information was structured and analyzed using for example anity diagrams, inter-relationship digraphs and a mini risk assessment. A solution was chosen through a matrix diagram, comparing different possible solutions in relation to the identified factors. The investigation showed that the problem area of quoting delivery dates was a significant problem. There is a tendency to give quotations for more than what would be possible to produce, to make sure the company get enough orders. This strategy induce uncertainty to the quoted lead times, since more quotations than what is possible might get accepted and the orders then have to wait for others to be completed. The long lead times further increase the problem, since the impact from the quotation phase is not visible until months later. Many times the company end up with too many orders to full and a stressful environment on the shop floor. The proposed improvements are based on the workload control approach and the two decision points; Customer Enquiry & Order stage and the Job Release stage. The goal is for the company to be able to make well informed and motivated planning decisions where priorities are applied in a systematic way. Focus should therefore be on improving the communication between departments. One important step is visualising the capacity utilisation when looking for a new delivery date. The quoted orders should be taken into account since they imply a contingent demand and use of capacity. The expected outcome of the methodology is that the quoted lead times will be more accurate and the company will have better means to deliver on time.
Företag som jobbar enligt tillverkning-mot-order och utveckling-mot-order har ofta få standardprodukter och en efterfragan som är svår att forutsäga. För att fåbeställningar skickar företaget offerter och konkurrerar om kunderna. Uppsatsen syftar till att identiera de faktorer som bidrar till osäkerhet i ledtiden hos tillverkning-mot-order-företag och sedan föreslå en metod för att hantera eller eliminera några av dessa faktorer. En fallstudie genomfördes på ett medelstort finmekanikföretag som kombinerar tillverkning-mot-order och utveckling-mot-order i ett manuellt produktionssystem. Företaget har långa ledtider i både orderprocessen och monteringen. Ledtiderna hos företaget mäts i veckor snarare än minuter, timmar eller dagar. Information samlades in under en tremånadersperiod genom intervjuer med de anställda, närvaro på möten och observationer av monteringen. Informationen strukturerades och analyserades med hjälp av till exempel släktskapsdiagram, relationsdiagram och en miniriskanalys. En lösning valdes genom ett matrisdiagram, som jämför olika möjliga lösningar i förhållande till de identifierade faktorerna. Undersökningen visade att offereringen av leveranstider var ett betydande problem. Det finns en tendens att offerera mer än vad som skulle vara möjligt att producera, för att se till att företaget får tillräckligt med beställningar. Denna strategi orsakar osäkerhet i de ledtider som offereras, eftersom fler offerter än vad som är mojligt kan accepteras och beställningar får sedan vänta på att andra ska bli klara. De långa ledtiderna ökar problemet ytterligare, eftersom effekterna från offertfasen inte märks förrän månader senare. Många gånger resulterar det i att företaget har allt för många beställningar att jobba med och en stressig miljö i monteringen. De föreslagna förbättringarna bygger på arbetsbelastningskontroll, med beslutspunkter vid kundförfrågan & beställning samt orderstart i montering. Målet är att företaget ska kunna göra väl underbyggda och motiverade planeringsbeslut där prioriteringar tillämpas på ett systematiskt sätt. Fokus bör därför ligga på att förbättra kommunikationen mellan avdelningarna. Ett viktigt steg är att visualisera kapacitetsutnyttjandet när vi letar efter ett nytt leveransdatum. Även de offerter som skickats ut men ännu inte accepterats bör beaktas eftersom de innebär en eventuell efterfrågan och användning av kapaciteten. Det förväntade resultatet av metoden är att de offererade ledtiderna kommer att vara mer exakt och bolaget kommer att ha bättre möjligheter att leverera i tid.

Shock-tube experiments are typically performed at high temperatures (>1200K) due to test-time constraints. These test times are usually ~1 ms in duration and the source of this short, test-time constraint is loss of temperature due to heat transfer. At short test times, there is very little appreciable heat transfer between the hot gas and the cold walls of the shock tube and a high test temperature can be maintained. However, some experiments are using lower temperatures (approx. 800K) to achieve ignition and require much longer test times (up to 15 ms) to fully study the chemical kinetics and combustion chemistry of a reaction in a shock-tube experiment. Using mathematical models, analysis was performed studying the effects of temperature, pressure, shock-tube inner diameter, and test-port location at various test times (from 1 – 20 ms) on temperature maintenance. Three models, each more complex than the previous, were used to simulate test conditions in the endwall region behind the reflected shock wave with Ar and N2 as bath gases. Temperature profile, thermal BL thickness, and other parametric results are presented herein. It was observed that higher temperatures and lower pressures contributed to a thicker thermal boundary layer, as did shrinking inner diameter. Thus it was found that a test case such as 800K and 50 atm in a 16.2-cm-diameter shock tube in Argon maintained thermal integrity much better than other cases – pronounced by a thermal boundary layer < 1 mm thick and an average temperature > 799.9 K from 1–20 ms.
M.S.M.E.
Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering;
Engineering and Computer Science
Mechanical Engineering MSME

This thesis examines the use of long-term detention for juveniles convicted of certain grave and very serious crimes (excluding murder). The study incorporates a detailed exploration of the law together with other substantive issues of contemporary criminal and youth justice. Centrally, the research focuses on s.91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (formerly s. 53(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933). This law provides the higher courts with special powers to detain juveniles to longer periods of detention above the usual 24-month limit. This separate system of law and justice for the most serious juvenile offenders is subjected to rigorous theoretical and empirical scrutiny. At its heart, the study seeks to explain the mechanisms and ramifications of sentencing juveniles to long periods of detention. The cumulative research findings are based on a thorough review of the literature combined with an extensive fieldwork project undertaken at six selected young offender institutions. Interviews were conducted with 142 young prisoners (aged 15-21) convicted of violent and other very serious crimes and sentenced to long periods of detention. From a detailed analysis of key index offence and offender characteristics, the study examines the experiences of the respondents from the pre-conviction stage of the legal process and following sentencing. The varying levels of offence-gravity are considered within the context of contemporary sentencing theory and the use of proportionate sentences. In addition, the experiences of a remand to prison custody, trial and sentencing at the crown court, and detention in a young offender institution are described and critically evaluated. The research findings juxtapose the nature and extent of youthful offender vulnerability with the commission of very serious crimes and a system of justice most usually reserved for adult offenders. The tension between these elements represents one of the most complex challenges for contemporary criminal justice and society.

Magister Commercii (Information Management) - MCom(IM)
Long waiting times before receiving a health service, give rise to long queues and congested health facilities, both of which are unnecessary and avoidable. Since patients in part judge the quality of the service by the length of time they spent waiting for it, it is imperative to measure waiting times, and determine and mitigate the immediate and underlying causes of lengthy waits. The facility under investigation was known to have excessively long waiting times. Since the immediate causes of long waiting times were known, it was thus required to research and understand the underlying causes of long waiting times and consequently whether there were any barriers to implementing recommendations to reduce waiting times at this primary health care facility. AIM: The aim of the study was to determine the underlying causes of long waiting times and the barriers to implementing recommendations to reduce waiting times. METHODS: A quantitative cross-sectional analytical study with a small qualitative component was undertaken. The qualitative study took a workshop format by piggy-backing onto feedback sessions held to present the results of the previously conducted waiting time survey to staff. Staff commentary at the workshops on possible underlying causes and barriers to recommendations to reduce them, were then used to develop a questionnaire for the quantitative portion of the study. The population and sample for the qualitative part of the study were all staff working at the facility who attended the feedback sessions. The cross-sectional descriptive quantitative study intended to uncover what underlying causes affected long waiting times, what recommendations could be explored to mitigate long waiting times and improve the patient experience, and if there were any barriers to these recommendations. The quantitative study population and sample were all staff who worked at the facility for more than six months and all patients who had utilised the services at the facility for three or more times. Data was collected using structured questionnaires, which were different for staff and patients. A detailed descriptive analysis was conducted.

Dans le cadre des débats sur la transition énergétique, l'implémentation des Smart Grids est avancée comme une part de la solution pour répondre à la fois aux questions climatiques et aux enjeux énergétiques. Les modèles de prospective constituent des outils d'aide à la décision permettant d'orienter les trajectoires énergétiques afin de satisfaire aux futures demandes en tenant compte de contraintes environnementales et techniques. Ces modèles historiques, caractérisés principalement par l'adéquation de l'offre à la demande doivent désormais évoluer pour intégrer les développements futurs attendus du système électrique. Dans ce travail, nous avons implémenté dans une approche de long terme différentes fonctionnalités propres aux Smart Grids (gestion de la demande, stockage, énergies renouvelables). Cette approche nous permet d'évaluer les bénéfices liés à chacune d'entre elles séparément, ou bien conjointement au travers de bouquets de solutions, tenant ainsi compte des possibles interactions entre ces fonctionnalités. Nous avons également intégré un indicateur reflétant le niveau de fiabilité du système électrique dans notre modèle. Ce paramètre supplémentaire permet de contraindre les futurs systèmes électriques afin qu'ils garantissent un niveau de service en terme de fourniture électrique identique à celui des systèmes existants. Cette étude est illustrée par le cas de l'île de la Réunion, qui s'est donné pour objectif de produire d'ici 2030 son électricité à partir de sources uniquement renouvelables, et pour qui les fonctionnalités de Smart Grids pourraient constituer un levier intéressant.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The objective of the recent research was to evaluate the efficiency of a system of aquatic treatment being used macrophytes Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) and Egeria dense (egeria) in three times of hydraulic detention, the removal of pollutants of the effluent one of organic culture of tilápias of the Nile (Oreochromis niloticus), and to get given of production of biomass of the aquatics macrophytes. The work was carried through in the Paturi farm, Terra Roxa city, state of the Paraná, during the period of 6 weeks. The system was composed for 18 experimental tanks of 2.00 x 1.00 x 0.65m length, width and depth respectively, coated with polypropylene canvas. An entirely randomized 2 macrophytes x 3 hydraulic detention times (HDT) and 3 repetitions. The used HDT had been of 04h, outflow of ≈ 4.15 L.min-1, 08h, outflow of ≈ 2.10 L.min-1 and 12h, outflow of ≈ 1.40 L.min-1. The samples were collected in inlet and outlet of the system, in intervals of five days, being evaluated total nitrogen (NT), total phosphorus (PT), ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, turbidity, DQO, pH and electric conductivity. The temperature was measures daily. The biomass production was evaluated to the end of the experiment. For NT in such a way the water hyacinth and would egeria as it biggest removal (P<0.05) 39.90% and 37.38%, respectively was observed in the HDT of 12 hours, not differing from the HDT of 8 hours. The best removals of PT (P<0.05) 41.57% and 43.42% had been observed in the HDT of 12 hours for the water hyacinth and would egeria respectively. In the case of the turbidez, biggest removal 62.74% (P<0.05) was observed in the HDT of 12 hours for the water hyacinth, not differing from the HDT of 8 hours, already for it would egeria optimum resulted (P<0.05) was observed in the HDT of 12 hours with 81.81%. For the DQO, as much the water hyacinth as it would egeria it, the best ones resulted of removal (P<0.05) 63.61% and 62.64% had been observed in the HDT of 12 not differing from the HDT of 8 hours. For the biomass production the water hyacinth presented the best ones resulted, being greater 8.95 kg.m-2 for the HDT of 4 hours, followed for the HDT of 12 and 8 hours, already for would egeria optimum 0.05kg.m-2 in the HDT of 12 hours result, followed for the HDT of 8 and 4 hours. One concludes that for removal of NT, PT, turbidez and DQO the TDH of 12 hours was what it presented better resulted for both the macrophytes. The water hyacinth produced more biomass that egeria in these conditions in all the TDH.
O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a eficiência de um sistema de tratamento utilizando macrófitas aquáticas Eichhornia crassipes (aguapé) e Egeria densa (egeria) em três tempos de detenção hidráulica, na remoção de poluentes do efluente de cultivo orgânico de tilápias do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) e obter dados sobre a produção de biomassa das macrófitas aquáticas. O trabalho foi realizado na fazenda Paturi, município de Terra Roxa, estado do Paraná, durante o período de 6 semanas. O sistema foi composto por 18 tanques experimentais de 2,00 x 1,00 x 0,65 m de comprimento, largura e profundidade, respectivamente, revestidos com lona de polipropileno. O delineamento foi inteiramente casualizado, 2 macrófitas x 3 tempos de detenção hidráulica (TDH) e 3 repetições. Os TDH utilizados foram de 4 h, vazão de ≈ 4,15 L.min-1, 8 h, vazão de ≈ 2,10 L.min-1 e 12 h, vazão de ≈ 1,40 L.min-1. As amostras foram coletadas na entrada e saída do sistema, em intervalos de cinco dias, avaliando-se o nitrogênio total (NT), fósforo total (PT), amônia, nitrito, nitrato, turbidez, DQO, pH e condutividade elétrica. A temperatura foi medida diariamente. A produção de biomassa foi avaliada ao final do experimento. Para NT, tanto para o aguapé como para a egeria, a maior remoção (P<0,05) foi de 39,90% e 37,38%, respectivamente, observada no TDH de 12 horas, não diferindo do TDH de 8 horas. As melhores remoções de PT (P<0,05) 41,57% e 43,42% foram observadas no TDH de 12 horas para o aguapé e egeria, respectivamente. No caso da turbidez, a maior remoção 62,74% (P<0,05) foi observada no TDH de 12 horas para o aguapé, não diferindo do TDH de 8 horas. Para a egeria o melhor resultado (P<0,05) foi observado no TDH de 12 horas com 81,81%. Para a DQO, tanto o aguapé como a egeria, os melhores resultados de remoção (P<0,05) 63,61% e 62,64% foram observados no TDH de 12 horas, não diferindo do TDH de 8 horas. Para a produção de biomassa o aguapé apresentou os melhores resultados, sendo o maior 8,95 kg.m-2 para o TDH de 4 horas, seguido pelo TDH de 12 e 8 horas. Para a egeria o melhor resultado 0,05 kg.m-2 no TDH de 12 horas, seguido pelos TDH de 8 e 4 horas. Conclui-se que. para remoção de NT, PT, turbidez e DQO, o TDH de 12 horas foi o que apresentou melhor resultado para ambas as macrófitas. O aguapé produziu mais biomassa que a egeria nessas condições em todos os TDH.

Canada’s experience in the war against terrorism goes back to the seventies, and continues to develop nowadays, with the last direct terrorist activity in 2017. The Canadian Government reacted to these terrorist attacks by enacting a number of statutes that reflect a changing international paradigm in relation to the fight against terrorism. Fundamental rights and liberties such as the freedom of expression, the right to private life and to personal freedom have been curtailed by these legislative measures. The practical consequences of these measures are analyzed via a comparative examination of the Inter-American System of Human Rights. In general terms, the war against terrorism produces significant impacts over the human rights.
La experiencia de Canadá en la lucha contra el terrorismo se remonta a inicios de la década de los setenta y se desarrolla hasta la época actual (los acontecimientos más recientes han tenido lugar en el año 2017). Las medidas legislativas fueron la vía adoptada por parte de Canadá para contrarrestar los ataques y reflejar el cambio de paradigma político en la esfera internacional con relación al fenómeno del terrorismo. Derechos fundamentales como el derecho a la libre expresión, a la vida privada y a la libertad personal se encuentran particularmente afectados por estas medidas. Un análisis comparativo del sistema canadiense y el sistema interamericano permite identificar las consecuencias de estas medidas. En términos más amplios, la lucha contra el terrorismo genera impactos significativos sobre los derechos humanos en general.

Management of a Municipal Education System in times of long lasting uncertainty is an autoethnographic report of the events in a small city on the Golan Heights in Israel, at the time that the future existence of the city was negotiated upon, as part of a peace treaty between Israel and Syria for the third time in less than a decade. The threat for the residents was a forced evacuation from their city, homes, work places, social circles, and their way of life, values, and beliefs. The Psycho-social processes which were associated with the situation were described by me, a participant observer, in my role as the city's Director of Municipal Education System. The purpose of the autoethnography was to describe the human aspects of such a unique situation and touch on the implications of a recurring uncertainty on a community, the needs, and ways to relate to those needs, and the relationships between professionals and political leaders in reference to such a process. Another purpose was to bring the issues upfront, to a level of discussion, since population evacuation was, and still is, in the heart of a political debate in Israel, and educational leaders should be ready to take a stand and act for the benefits of their communities when the need arises. The main aim of this research is to analyse the management of a municipal education system in times of long lasting uncertainty. The research question at hand is what were the professional-political perceptions of the role of a director of municipal education system in the Golan Heights during a major political crisis?;As ethnographies often do, it took me to several treks: the first was a somewhat philosophical-theoretical journey into the concepts of ethnography and autoethnography, social time, and educational management theories. The second journey took me into some background materials on the evacuation from Sinai- a precedent that served to study the possible ramifications of forced uprooting, and an overview of the role of a municipal director of education. The third journey was into stress, coping, and resiliency as the manifestations of psycho social behaviour in a crisis, and the issue of emergency preparedness. These journeys were followed by a methodological section, the data presentation and analysis, a discussion and conclusions. The time that passed since the beginning of the writing process allowed me as the autoethnographer to witness and participate in similar incidents, and actually use knowledge, which was accumulated during the process of writing, in future events. It also offered me a unique opportunity to take the later knowledge and infer it, through the writing, on past experience. The event also helped enhancing the need to deal with the narrative of communities in prolonged uncertainties, and strengthened the level of trustworthiness and authenticity (validity and reliability) of the thesis. Conclusions were drawn out of a model that was created through the thematic analysis of the data. The model offered a distinction between professional community orientation which is external and relies on a humanistic approach, and a political community approach, based on political ideology. In a case of a political campaign- the two sides may find themselves on the extreme of this continuum. The role of director of education is to lead the professional humanistic approach. Three main recommendations came out of the conclusions: 1. To create a national multi disciplinary agency that would intervene in situations where the professional and political clashes interfere with the benefit of the community. 2. To negotiate a working paradigm well in advance as part of preparedness plans. 3. To recognise the central place of schools and the entire education system as "islands of resiliency", and use them to work with the entire community. 4. The role of the director of education is a leadership role, and the director is expected to be active in taking this leadership.

Road traffic accidents are a serious burden to the health systems of many countries especially in South Africa. Research aimed at reducing traffic related accidents is of importance as traffic crashes are rated as the second leading cause of fatalities in South Africa and ninth in the world. Despite the extensive efforts into research and development of new technology, driver fatigue still remains a cause of vehicle accidents worldwide. Fatigue plays a role in up to 20% of vehicle accidents with many being serious or fatal. Numerous coping behaviours are employed by drivers to counteract the negative effects of fatigue. The most common coping behaviours include taking short naps, talking to passengers, listening to the radio, opening windows and drinking stimulants. Driving breaks have long been identified as an effective countermeasure against fatigue. Most research done in driving breaks has investigated the duration of the breaks, activity undertaken during the break and the frequency of the breaks taken outside the vehicle. However limited literature is available on the effectiveness of breaks in counteracting the effects of fatigue. The objective of the current study was aimed at assessing whether short duration breaks are an effective countermeasure against fatigue. Physiological, neurophysiological, subjective and performance measures were used as indicators for fatigue. Additional focus of the research was determining whether breaks were more or less effective at counteracting the effects of fatigue at different times of day. Twelve participants were recruited for the study, six males and six females. The participants were required to perform a driving task on a simulator for 90 minutes. The study consisted of four independent conditions, namely driving during the day with breaks, driving during the day without breaks, driving during the night with breaks and driving during the night without breaks. The without breaks conditions were similar except that they occurred at different times of the day, one session at night and the other session during day time, as was the case for the conditions with breaks. The driving task used in the current study was a low fidelity simulator tracking task. The participants were required to follow a centre line displayed on a tracking path as accurately as possible. The measurements that were recorded in this study included physiological, performance, subjective and neurophysiological. Physiological measures included heart rate and heart rate variability (frequency domain) and core body temperature. The ascending threshold of the critical flicker fusion frequency was the only neurophysiological measurement included in the current investigation. Performance was quantified by mean deviation from a centre line participants were meant to track. Two rating scales were used: Karolinska sleepiness scale and the Wits sleepiness scale were used for the measurement of subjective sleepiness. Heart rate, heart rate variability and mean deviation were measured continuously throughout the 90 minute driving task. Critical flicker fusion frequency, temperature and the subjective scales were measured before and after the 90 minute driving task. The results indicated that the short duration breaks during day time had a positive effect on driving performance; however the breaks at night had a negative effect on driving performance. Heart rate was higher during the day compared to night time and the heart rate variability high frequency spectrum values were lower during the day condition, to show the activation of the sympathetic nervous system which is characteristic of day time. The night conditions had lower heart rate values and higher heart rate variability high frequency values, which show the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system which is dominant during periods of fatigue and night time. Subjective sleepiness levels were also higher at night compared to day time.

We investigated the effects of varying ischemia and survival times on CA1 neuronal loss. Histological analysis of the hippocampus was performed at 2, 7, 14, 28 and 90 days following 3, 5, 7, 10 and 13 minutes of global forebrain ischemia. Our results indicate that the ischemic maturation process extends beyond 7 days. Ten and thirteen minutes of ischemia produced a significant degree of cell loss by 7 days (70.53% and 83.25% respectively), while average cell death at 90 days survival was approximately 12% higher. Most strikingly, seven minutes of ischemia produced approximately 30% CA1 cell loss at 90 days compared to only 3% cell loss at 7 days, a nine-fold increase. No cell loss was observed at 2 and 7 days survival following 5 minutes of ischemia, but an average of 5.6% cell loss was observed at 3 months. Three minutes of ischemia produced no cell damage. Data collapsed over ischemic severity suggested that there may 2 rates of cell death evident in this study: (1) a rapid cell loss occurring within the first 7 days of ischemia and (2) a slow progressive cell loss occurring over weeks. Ten and thirteen minutes of ischemia possessed the rapid cell death, while 7 minutes appeared to display only slow progressive cell loss. The fact that the ischemic maturation process extends well beyond 7 days and that mild ischemia severities can produce significant cell loss at long survival times holds important implications for drug trials and our current knowledge of death mechanisms. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Les établissements pour personnes âgées, les centres pénitentiaires et les monastères, trois univers à priori très différents. Et pourtant, nous y avons constaté des similarités qui nous ont amenés à réfléchir sur la problématique suivante : Quelles dynamiques psychiques interagissent dans une institution totale (Goffman, 1968) qui accueille des personnes sur le long terme, d’une part selon que le mode d’entrée principal y soit choisi, contraint ou forcé, et d’autre part selon que le sujet ait la capacité de quitter librement l’institution ou non ? Cette question nous permet de penser les liens mouvants et interdépendants entre le sujet, l’institution et la société. Dans cette étude, c’est à la rencontre de l’humain que nous allons, qu’il soit âgé et dépendant, prisonnier, soignant, surveillant ou moine. Leurs témoignages nous amènent à repenser lesquestions de l’ego, de la paix, de la liberté et de l’amou
Retirement homes, detention centers and monasteries : at first sight, these three institutions seem to be very different. Nevertheless, we noticed similarities which led us to ask ourselves the following question: What are the psychic dynamics involved in a total institution (GOFFMAN, 1968) which receives persons on a long-term basis, depending on whether the main admission mode is chosen, constrained or forced, or whether the subject has the ability to leave the institution freely or not ? This question allow us to think about the shifting and independent links between people, institution and society. This study is about meeting differents humans whether they are old and dependant, prisoner, nurse, prison warder or monks. Their testimonies invite us to reconsider the question of ego, peace, freedom and love

Le travail de thèse consiste à construire un modèle pour une prospective énergétique à long terme dans le but d'estimer l'effet des politiques énergétiques et environnementales sur les choix technologiques futures des secteurs industriels. L'accent a été mis sur les industries grandes consommatrices d'énergie (IGCE), pour 29 pays européen et pour un horizon de temps allant jusqu'à 2050. L'outil de modélisation appliqué dans cette étude est le modèle TIMES (famille du modèle MARKAL, il s'agit d'un générateur de modèle d'optimisation de type Bottom-up basé sur la programmation linéaire). L'étude est réalisée dans le cadre d'un partenariat entre EDF R&D et le Centre de Mathématiques appliquées (CMA) de l'Ecole des Mines de Paris. Dans notre analyse, nous avons identifié pour chaque secteur industriel, plusieurs technologies concurrentes. Elles sont choisies par le modèle sous la base de leur coût global actualisé en intégrant l'ensemble des contraintes (prix d'énergie, taxe sur le CO2, plafond sur les émissions...). La capacité à installer dépend étroitement de la demande finale qu'il faut satisfaire pour chaque période sur l'ensemble de l'horizon de temps considéré. Selon les contraintes imposées, les résultats obtenus permettent de :
- tracer l'image de l'industrie (profil de production technologique),
- calculer les consommations énergétiques et les potentiels d'économies d'énergies réalisables,
- estimer les émissions de dioxyde de carbone résultantes. Ce travail indique qu'il existe encore un important potentiel d'économies d'énergie et de réductions des émissions de dioxyde de carbone dans l'ensemble des secteurs industriels.

Le travail de thèse consiste à construire un modèle pour une prospective énergétique à long terme dans le but d'estimer l'effet des politiques énergétiques et environnementales sur les choix technologiques futures des secteurs industriels. L'accent a été mis sur les industries grandes consommatrices d'énergie (IGCE), pour 29 pays européen et pour un horizon de temps allant jusqu'à 2050. L'outil de modélisation appliqué dans cette étude est le modèle TIMES (famille du modèle MARKAL, il s'agit d'un générateur de modèle d'optimisation de type Bottom-up basé sur la programmation linéaire). L'étude est réalisée dans le cadre d'un partenariat entre EDF R&D et le Centre de Mathématiques appliquées (CMA) de l'Ecole des Mines de Paris. Dans notre analyse, nous avons identifié pour chaque secteur industriel, plusieurs technologies concurrentes. Elles sont choisies par le modèle sous la base de leur coût global actualisé en intégrant l'ensemble des contraintes (prix d'énergie, taxe sur le CO2, plafond sur les émissions…). La capacité à installer dépend étroitement de la demande finale qu'il faut satisfaire pour chaque période sur l'ensemble de l'horizon de temps considéré. Selon les contraintes imposées, les résultats obtenus permettent de : - tracer l'image de l'industrie (profil de production technologique), - calculer les consommations énergétiques et les potentiels d'économies d'énergies réalisables, - estimer les émissions de dioxyde de carbone résultantes. Ce travail indique qu'il existe encore un important potentiel d'économies d'énergie et de réductions des émissions de dioxyde de carbone dans l'ensemble des secteurs industriels
Among the energy users in France and Europe, some industrial sectors are very important and should have a key role when assessing the final energy demand patterns in the future. The aim of our work is to apply a prospective model for the long range analysis of energy/technology choices in the industrial sector, focussing on the energy-intensive sectors. The modelling tool applied in this study is the TIMES model (family of best known MARKAL model). It is an economic linear programming model generator for local, national or multi regional energy systems, which provides a technology-rich basis for estimating energy dynamics over a long term, multi period time. We illustrate our work with nine energy-intensive industrial sectors: paper, steel, glass, cement, lime, tiles, brick, ceramics and plaster. It includes a detailed description of the processes involved in the production of industrial products, providing typical energy uses in each process step. In our analysis, we identified for each industry, several commercially available state-of-the-art technologies, characterized and chosen by the Model on the basis of cost effectiveness. Furthermore, we calculated potential energy savings, carbon dioxide emissions' reduction and we estimated the energy impact of a technological rupture. This work indicates that there still exists a significant potential for energy savings and carbon dioxide emissions' reduction in all industries

Bakgrund: Psykisk ohälsa ökar bland barn och unga, medan väntetiderna på många enheter blir längre och längre. Psykisk ohälsa kan påverka barn och ungas välbefinnande samt hela barnets familj. Grundläggande omvårdnadsbehov kan bli lidande. Det satsas stora pengar inom området, men förändringarna har hittills uteblivit. Kan tidig intervention påverka barns psykiska ohälsa och därmed ge evidens för allvaret med de långa vårdköerna? Syfte: Att undersöka faktorer och dess påverkan på barn och unga samt deras föräldrar i samband med långa väntetider inom barn och ungdomspsykiatrin. Metod: Studien genomfördes genom en litteraturöversikt baserad på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar med båda kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod. Sökningarna genomfördes i databaserna Cinahl, PubMed och PsycINFO. Resultat: Resultat visar flera fördelar med tidig intervention i behandlingsresultatet av psykisk ohälsa hos barn och unga såsom minskad ångest/oro och depressiva symtom. Dessa fördelar har även visat sig hålla sig kvar under en längre tid efter avslutad behandling. Resultatet visar även på att väntetiderna har en betydande påverkan på föräldrarna till barn och unga med psykisk ohälsa. I resultatet framkommer det att korta behandlingstider med tidig intervention ger ett förbättrat mående.  Slutsats: Psykisk ohälsa innebär en utmaning för barn och unga. Det finns stora brister inom barn och ungdomspsykiatrin. Barn och ungas psykiska hälsa måste börja tas på allvar. Barn och unga är landets framtid och bygger en grund för en vidare fungerande samhällsstruktur. Barn och ungdomspsykiatrin är en viktig enhet för främjandet, utvecklandet och bibehållandet av barn och ungas psykiska hälsa.
Background: Mental illness increases among young people, while waiting times for treatments are getting longer. Mental illness can affect the well-being of young people and their family. Basic nursing needs can be suffering. The government is investing money, but so far has no changes been seen. Can early intervention affect children’s mental health and provide evidence for the seriousness with the long care queues? Aim: To investigate factors and their effect on children and adolescents and their parents in connection with long waiting times in child and adolescent psychiatry. Method: A literature review based on 15 scientific articles with qualitative and quantitative methods. The searches were performed in the databases Cinahl, PubMed and PsycINFO. Result: The results shows benefits of early intervention in the treatment outcome of mental illness in children and adolescents such as reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms. These benefits have also been shown to persist for an extended period after completion of treatment. Waiting times has a significant impact on the parents of children with mental illness. Short treatment times with early intervention in mental illness in children and adolescents provides an improved feeling. Conclusion: Mental illness is a challenge for young people. There are shortcomings in treatment for mental illnesses. Mental health of children and adolescents must begin to be taken seriously. Young people is the future of the country and build a foundation for a further functioning society. Psychiatry is an important unit for development and maintenance of young people’s mental health.

L’étude du fonctionnement et de la fabrique de Vendôme du 11e au début du 19e s. propose une lecture différente des villes intermédiaires en montrant toutes la complexité du phénomène urbain dans un type de ville très souvent réduit à son origine castrale. La ville résulte en fait d’une multitude de temporalités et de spatialités où le temps des acteurs et de leurs projets n’est pas celui des structures. Tout d’abord, une approche théorique présente les concepts et la modélisation de l'espace urbain utilisés dans ce travail (1ère partie). Puis, l’étude de Vendôme dans la longue durée met en évidence quatre grandes phases dans le fonctionnement urbain, durant lesquelles les fins poursuivies par les acteurs et leurs répercutions spatiales sont étudiées (2ème partie). Enfin, sont analysées les structures de la ville, tant morphologiques que fonctionnelles, grâce à une modélisation de l’espace urbain prenant en compte la multiplicité des objets de la réalité urbaine (parcelle, réseau de voies, domaine construit…) évoluant chacun dans leur temporalité propre mais interagissant entre eux (3ème partie)
The study of the functioning and of the urban fabric of Vendôme between the 11th and the beginning of the 19th century offers a different interpretation of small towns showing the great complexity of the urban phenomenon in a type of town often regarded as the simple result of the construction of a castle. As a matter of fact, a town is the result of a large number of time and space units in which the time of the people involved in various projects is not the same as the time of structures. To start with, the concepts and the modeling rules of urban fabric used in this research are defined (part 1). Then, the study of Vendôme in the longue durée allows to distinct four main phases in the urban functioning for which the projects fulfilled by various actors are analyzed as well as their impact on urban space (part 2). Finally, urban structures are considered both from a morphological and functional point of view through a model based on the diversity of urban objects such as plots, street system, buildings etc. which have their own timing but interact with each other (part 3)

I denna uppsats undersöks om akutmottagningarnas långa väntetider kan bero på att olämpliga teorier appliceras på vårdmarknaden. Det undersöks med en fallstudie av hälso- och sjukvården i Västra Götaland där vi har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem anställda i kanslierna som ansvarar för att ge politikerna information till sjukvårdsbeslut och för att stödja politikerna i styrandet av hälso- och sjukvården. Det är en kvalitativ studie med en abduktiv ansats.Vår empiri indikerar att en stor orsak till akutmottagningarnas långa väntetider är att de har ett inflöde av patienter med relativt milda symptom som kunde ha omhändertagits inom primärvården. Förklaringar till det är att klienterna ofta har bristfällig kunskap om lämpliga vårdenheter och ofta antar att de får bättre vård på akutmottagningar än inom primärvården. Många av de patienter på akutmottagningarna som kommit till olämplig vårdenhet är äldre och kroniskt sjuka.Den här studien indikerar att olämpliga teorier har applicerats på Västra Götalands vårdmarknad. Inspirationen till vårdmarknaden tycks till stor del härstamma från traditionella nationalekonomiska teorier. Vi anser dock att de är olämpliga på Västra Götalands vårdmarknad på grund av bristande utbud, bristande konkurrens, irrationella klienter och risker för missgynnanden. Vi föreslår istället ett större fokus på sociologiska marknadsteorier.Den här studien begränsas av det relativt låga antalet intervjusubjekt. Vi har dock hittat tecken i vår empiri på ett samband mellan missgynnade klienter inom primärvården och det ökade inflödet till akutmottagningarna. Vår förhoppning är att detta kan bidra med uppslag till framtida, mer omfattande undersökningar.
This paper addresses long waiting times in Swedish emergency units by examining if appropriate theories are applied to the healthcare sector. This is examined with a case study of the healthcare sector in Västra Götaland County where we have conducted semi-structured interviews with five members of the staff responsible for providing the county’s politicians with information for healthcare decisions as well as supporting the politicians in managing the healthcare sector. It is a qualitative study with an abductive approach.The findings from our empirical research indicate that one major reason for the emergency units’ long waiting times is that they have an influx of patients with relatively mild illnesses that could have been handled in the primary care. Explanations for that are that clients often are ill-informed and often expect to get better care at emergency units than in the primary care. Many of the emergency units’ misplaced patients are elderly and chronically ill.This study indicates that inappropriate theories have been applied to the healthcare sector in Västra Götaland County. The inspiration for the healthcare sector seems to be from traditional economics to a large extent. We conclude, however, that traditional economics is inappropriate on the healthcare sector in Västra Götaland County because of the lacking supply, lacking competition, irrational clients and risk for disadvantages. Instead, we suggest a higher focus on sociological market theories.This study is limited by the relatively low amount of interview subjects. We have, however, found indications in our empirical material for a connection between disadvantaged clients in the primary care and the increased influx to the emergency units. We hope that this could provide ideas for future and more elaborate studies.This paper is written in Swedish.

L'exclusion sociale est considérée comme l'une des situations les plus douloureuses pour les êtres humains. Les travaux dans ce domaine montrent que même de brefs épisodes d’ostracisme (paradigme du Cyberball) ont des effets importants aux niveaux neurophysiologique, émotionnel et comportemental, l’impact de cet ostracisme au niveau cognitif néanmoins n'a pas reçu beaucoup d'attention. Des résultats récents mettent en évidence une influence négative de l'ostracisme sur les marqueurs électrophysiologiques du contrôle cognitif, il n'y a cependant à ce jour aucune preuve directe d’une réduction de contrôle cognitif sous l’effet d’une exclusion sociale. Dans nos travaux nous avons étudié l'impact de l'ostracisme (Cyberball) sur le contrôle cognitif avec la tâche standard de Simon couplée à des analyses distributionnelles des temps de réaction auprès de populations caractérisées ou non par des expériences chroniques d’ostracisme (i.e., des étudiants ordinaires dans l’Étude 1, des personnes illettrées dans l'Étude 2 et des chômeurs de longue durée dans l'Étude 3). Dans les trois études, de brefs épisodes d'exclusion sociale suffisent à dégrader le niveau de satisfaction exprimé par les participants à l’égard des besoins fondamentaux (appartenance sociale, existence significative, estime de soi, contrôle des événements). Ces effets, cependant, s’avèrent réduits dans les populations chroniquement frappées d'ostracisme, suggérant leur moindre sensibilité à l'exclusion sociale en jeu dans le Cyberball. Plus important encore, cet ostracisme provoque chez les participants non stigmatisés une diminution du contrôle cognitif (Étude 1), mise en évidence dans nos travaux par un effet Simon stable (plutôt que réduit) sur les temps de réaction les plus longs pourtant les plus sensibles à l’expression d’un processus d'inhibition. Cependant, nos résultats ne montrent aucune différence de sensibilité entre les participants chroniquement ostracisés et leurs groupes contrôle (les Études 2 et 3), suggérant une certaine faiblesse du paradigme Cyberball auprès des personnes en situation d'exclusion sociale dans leur vie quotidienne. Nos résultats remettent donc en question la prédominance de ce paradigme pour la compréhension des effets cognitifs de l’exclusion sociale, au moins chez les individus caractérisés par un ostracisme chronique
Impact on cognitive control, emotions and fundamental needsRésumé : Social exclusion is considered as one of the most painful situations for human beings. Past research showed that even brief episodes of ostracism (the Cyberball paradigm) have strong effects at the neurophysiological, emotional, and behavioral levels, its impact at the cognitive level however did not receive much attention. Recent findings revealed a negative influence of ostracism on electrophysiological markers of cognitive control, yet there is no direct evidence that being socially excluded reduces cognitive control. Here, we investigated the impact of ostracism (using the Cyberball) on cognitive control using a standard Simon task and distributional reaction time analyses with non-chronically-ostracized and chronically-ostracized populations (regular students in Study 1, illiterate people in Study 2, and long-term unemployed people in Study 3). In the three studies, brief episodes of social exclusion had negative effects on participants’ self-reports of fundamental needs' satisfaction (belonging, meaningful existence, self-esteem, and control). These effects, however, were substantially reduced in chronically-ostracized populations, suggesting that ostracism based on the Cyberball is a bit less meaningful for those populations. More importantly, this ostracism caused a transitory reduction in cognitive control in the non-chronically-ostracized participants (Study 1), as indicated by a stable (rather than decreased) Simon effect on longer reaction times where inhibition yet is more likely. However, we found no evidence of a differential sensitivity between the chronically-ostracized participants and their control groups (Study 2 and Study 3), suggesting that the Cyberball paradigm is not powerful enough with people experiencing social exclusion in their ordinary life. Our findings therefore call into question the predominance of the Cyberball paradigm for our understanding of the cognitive effects of ostracism, at least in chronically ostracized-individuals

Thesis (PhD (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis undertakes a comparative examination of South African and Kenyan auto/biographical narratives of crime and imprisonment. Although some attention is paid to narratives of political imprisonment, the study focuses primarily on autobiographical accounts by criminals, confessional narratives, popular fiction about crime and prison experience, and journalistic accounts of prison life. There is very little critical work at this moment that refers to these forms of prison writing in South Africa and Kenya. Popular prison narratives and to a certain extent the autobiographical in general are characterised by an under-theorised dialecticism. As academic concepts, both the popular and the autobiographical form are characterised by an unstable duality. While the popular has been theorised as being both a field of resistance to power and of consent to its demands, the autobiographical occupies a similar precariously divided position, in this case between fact and fiction, a place where the „I‟ that narrates is simultaneously the subject and object of the narrative. In examining an eclectic body of texts that share the prison as common denominator, my study problematises the tension between self and world, popular and canonical, political and criminal, factual and fictional. In both settings, South Africa and Kenya, the prison as a material and discursive space does not only mirror society but effects shifts and changes in society, and becomes a space of dynamic adaptation and also a locus that disturbs certain hegemonic relations. The way in which the experience of prison opens up to a fundamentally unsettling ambiguity resonates with the ambivalence that characterises both autobiography as genre and the popular as a theoretical concept. My thesis argues that during the entire historical period covered by the narratives that I examine there is a certain excess that attends on the social production of criminality and the practice of imprisonment, both as material realities and as discursive concepts, which allows them to have a haunting effect both on individuals‟ notions of „the self‟ and the constitution of national identities and nationhoods. I argue that the distinction between the colonial and the postcolonial prison is hazy. Therefore a comparative study of Kenyan and South African prison literature helps us understand how modern prisons and notions of criminality in contemporary Africa are intertwined with the broad European colonial project, reflecting larger issues of state power and control over the populace. In relation to South Africa, my study begins with Ruth First‟s 117 Days (1963), and makes a selection of other prisons narratives throughout the apartheid era up to the post-apartheid period which was ushered in by Mandela‟s Long Walk to Freedom (1994). Moving beyond Mandela, I examine other forms of South African crime and prison narratives which have emerged since the publication of Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela‟s A Human Being Died that Night (2003) and Jonny Steinberg‟s The Number (2004). In Kenya, I begin with Ngugi wa Thiongo‟s Detained (1981). I then focus on popular narratives of crime and imprisonment which began with the publication of John Kiriamiti‟s My Life in Crime (1984) up to the first decade of the 21st century, marked yet again by the publication of Kiriamiti‟s My Life in Prison (2004). Besides Kiriamiti‟s two narratives, the other Kenyan texts which I examine are John Kiggia Kimani‟s Life and Times of a Bank Robber (1988) and Prison is not a Holiday Camp (1994), Benjamin Garth Bundeh‟s Birds of Kamiti (1991), and Charles Githae‟s, Comrade Inmate (1994).
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: My proefskrif onderneem ‟n vergelykende studie van Suid-Afrikaanse en Keniaanse auto/biografiese narratiewe van misdaad en gevangeneskap. Hoewel aandag tot ‟n mate geskenk word aan verhale van politieke gevangeneskap, is die primêre fokus van die studie eerder op autobiografiese narratiewe deur misdadigers, konfessionele narratiewe, populêre fiksie met betrekking tot misdaad en gevangenis-ondervindinge, sowel as joernalistieke verslae oor gevangenes se lewens agter tralies. Min kritiese werk is tot dusver in verband met hierdie vorme van gevangenis-narratiewe in Suid-Afrika en Kenia gedoen. Populêre prisoniers-narratiewe, en tot ‟n mate autobiografieë oor die algemeen, word deur ‟n onder-geteoriseerde dialektisisme gekenmerk. As akademiese konsepte word beide die populêre en die autobiografiese vorme deur ‟n onstabiele dualisme gekenmerk. Terwyl die populêre tipe geteoretiseer word as sowel ‟n vorm van weerstand teen mag as van toegee daaraan, word aan die autobiografiese tipe ‟n soortgelyke onstabiele, verdeelde rol toegeskryf – in hierdie geval, tussen feitelikheid en fiksie, ‟n plek waar die “ek” wat vertel terselfdertyd die subjek en objek van die verhaal is. Deur middel van ‟n eklektiese versameling van tekste wat die gevangenis as verwysingspunt deel, problematiseer my verhandeling die spanning tussen self en wêreld, die populêre en die gekanoniseerde, die politieke en die kriminele, die feitelike en die fiktiewe. In beide kontekste, Suid-Afrika en Kenia, weerspieël die gevangenis as diskursiewe spasie nie alleenlik die gemeenskapsomgewing nie, maar veroorsaak dit ook veranderings en verskuiwings in die gemeenskap – sodoende word die gevangenis self ‟n ruimte van dinamiese verandering en ‟n plek wat sekere hegemoniese verhoudings versteur. Die manier waarop die ondervinding van gevangeneskap lei tot ‟n fundamentele versteurende dubbelsinningheid resoneer met die dubbelsinnigheid wat beide die autobiografiese as genre en die populêre as teoretiese konsep karakteriseer. My tesis voer aan dat, gedurende die ganse historiese tydperk wat gedek word deur die narratiewe wat ek hier betrag, daar ‟n sekere oormaat is wat die sosiale produksie van misdaad en die toepassing van gevangesetting begelei, beide as stoflike werklikhede en as diskursiewe konsepte, wat hulle toelaat om ‟n kwellende effek uit te oefen beide of individuele mense se sin van „self‟ en die samestelling van nasionale identiteite en nasionaliteite. Ek voer aan dat die onderskeid tussen die koloniale en die postkoloniale gevangenis onduidelik is, en dat ‟n vergelykende studie van Keniaanse en Suid-Afrikaanse gevangenes-narratiewe ons dus help om te verstaan hoe moderne tronke en idees oor misdaad in Afrika deureengevleg is met die breë Europese koloniale projek, en groter kwessies van staatsmag en beheer oor die bevolking weerspieël. In Suid Afrika begin my studie met Ruth First se 117 Days (1963), en maak dan ‟n seleksie van ander gevangenes-narratiewe van die apartheid-era tot en met die post-apartheid oomblik wat deur Mandela se Long Walk to Freedom ingelui word. Ek vestig dan my aandag op ander vorme van Suid-Afrikaanse misdaad- en gevangenes-narratiewe wat sedert die publikasie van Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela se A Human Being Died that Night (2003) en Jonny Steinberg se The Number (2004) verskyn het. In Kenia begin ek met Ngugi wa Thiongo se Detained (1981), en kyk dan ten slotte na populêre narratiewe van misdaad en gevangeneskap wat hulle aanvang vind met die publikasie van John Kiriamiti se My Life in Crime (1984) tot en met die eerste dekade van die 21ste eeu, nogmaals gemerk deur die publikasie van Kiriamiti se My Life in Prison (2004).

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
體育研究所
89
The relationship between motion parameter of long jump and grade was investigated in this study. The results of the study could be useful to athletes and trainers to adjust the motions of long jump. The same squad of experimenters took the test of long jump at different times after training. The motions of the six experimenters were recorded by Peak high-speed camera with 120 HZ to analyze kinetics of the long jump. The experimenters are 23 years old, the average 176-centimeter height and the average 68-kilogram weight. All the tests were carried for three times. The two stages of initial two steps of approach and takeoff in the long jump were studied. We can make some conclusions as shown in below, 1.The experimenters with less variation on horizontal velocity got the higher grade. 2.The “Horizontal velocity of C.G.” and the “Vertical velocity of C.G.” are the most important two parameters for long jump. The experimenters had scope to improve in this study. 3.The experimenters showed slow angular velocity on hock that resulted from the weak pushing on feet. 4.The experimenters with more variation on height of body fulcrum in the stage of approach got the higher grade. 5.The higher grade can be got with the bigger angle of C.G. at takeoff. The other researchers suggested the Horizontal velocity of C. G. was the most important parameter for long jump. However, in this study, the Vertical velocity of C.G. and the variation on height of body fulcrum at takeoff showed more impact. The difference may be caused from the difference on velocity and brawn of the experimenters.

Thesis submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Doctor's Degree in Technology: Electrical Engineering, Technikon Natal, 1999.
This study relates to applications of static artificial neural networks (ANNs) to two basic problems of process control: (a) process model identification, and (b) optimal controller tuning. The emphasis is on model identification, where several novel techniques are introduced. A review of the use of ANNs for determining optimal controller settings is included as a logical adjunct which would make the complete system suitable for realisation as a portable or networked system. Three methods for obtaining good approximations for the parameters of first-order processes with long dead time using artificial neural networks (ANNs) are proposed and described. These are termed in this study: time-domain, frequency-domain and model-based methods. In each case the aim was to develop a brief one-shot test that could be applied with minimal disturbance to a closed loop control system. These methods build on existing techniques, but introduce the following novel aspects: 2. The frequency-domain method makes use of the first 81 components of the FFT without further selection as input to a static ANN to yield process parameter estimates. 3. The model-based method uses a simple single-neuron implementation of an ARX model and uses a static ANN to relate process parameter values to the weights of this neuron. In making the analysis, the process input and output are applied repetitively to the neuron model with delays getting progressively larger. Useful effects arising from this are explored. A technique in which ANN training sets are slightly distorted in a random way during training of a radial basis function is developed as part of the time- and frequencydomain methods. The benefits arising from this technique are demonstrated. These experimental ANN-based control methods are evaluated by means of simulations in which accuracy in the presence of measurement noise and performance with higher order processes is measured and analysed. Although the main theme of this study is first-order-plus-dead-time (FOPDT) processes, the full autotuning scheme is tested with some representative higher order processes. Finally, the composition of a complete autotuning scheme is proposed which includes the automatic generation of controller parameters by means of ANN s.
M

碩士
國立中興大學
獸醫學系暨研究所
105
Malignant mammary tumor (MMT) is still the common neoplasm in female dogs and two-year survival rates after surgery were not high. The aims of this study were to investigate the clinico-pathological variables and treatments that have potentially significant impacts on the survival time, which were grouped to survival time less than one year and greater than two years. Medical records of 198 female dogs with MMT that had complete two-year follow-up were enrolled. Univariate analyses indicated that age, body weight, breed, ovariohysterectomy (OHE) timing, OHE status, tumor type, tumor size, clinical stage, grade, distant metastasis, recurrence, and treatments were significantly associated with the survival time after diagnosis (ST) and overall survival time after treatment (OST). Dogs with simple carcinoma and sarcoma have a higher risk of death in two years, and significantly related with recurrence (P < 0.001) than dogs with complex carcinoma. However the tumor side, location and number were not correlated with survival time. Results of multivariate analyses revealed that clinical stage, tumor grade, size, and treatments were significantly associated with ST and OST. The dogs treated with combined surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy had the higher two-year survival rates (80%) in late stage (stage IV and V), and most of those were simple carcinoma and sarcoma. The OHE performed simultaneously with mammary tumor removal have a reduced risk of death in two years. Moreover, the dogs with MMTs in early stage (stage I, II and III) and OHE performed within five years (P = 0.043) before surgical removal of MMTs, as well as tumor ≤ 5 cm diameter and OHE performed within two years (P = 0.041) before surgical removal of MMTs were closely related to longer OST. The time between diagnosis and treatment ≤10 days (P = 0.05) and the time between observation and treatment ≤ 6 months (P = 0.004) both revealed more likely correlated with longer survival time after surgery in complex carcinoma when compared to dogs with simple carcinoma and sarcoma. In conclusion, the clinical stage, tumor size, grade and treatment protocols are most likely related between short and long survival groups. Moreover, the OHE performed with surgical removal of mammary tumor, and the timing of spayed before MMTs removal were relevant with a longer survival time. The dogs with MMTs in late clinical stage treated with combined surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy could prolong survival time more than two years, especially in simple carcinoma and sarcoma. Furthermore, either dogs with complex carcinoma present for less than half year prior to surgery or surgical removal within two weeks after diagnosis might have better outcome than dogs with simple carcinoma or sarcoma. In veterinary medicine, decided the appropriate treatments according to clinical stage may prolong the two-year survival ratio of the dogs with MMT.

Worldwide, patients who visit health-care facilities generally have to wait very long to be attended by physicians and professional nurses. In South Africa, the Cape Triage Score system was implemented with great success in Emergency departments in the Cape Metropole. In primary health-care clinics the concern is that patients have to wait too long for service delivery, even if they are very ill and need hospitalisation. In this research study the role of triage in reducing waiting times in primary health-care clinics was examined. The Cape Triage Score system that was used in Emergency departments in the private sector and also in public hospitals was adapted for a pilot intervention study. This was done to determine if the utilisation of this system can reduce the waiting times of patients visiting primary health-care clinics. The researcher utilised a quantitative design with an intervention, after measuring the baseline waiting time. The strategies applied included an exploratory, descriptive and contextual strategy. The study was carried out in three steps according to the objectives set for the study. Firstly, the baseline assessment of the current waiting times in two PHC clinics in a sub-district of the North West Province was done. A waiting-time survey checklist was used to determine the baseline waiting time of patients visiting primary health-care clinics. These waiting-time survey checklists consisted of a few components that assessed different aspects of waiting time. The second objective was to explore and describe literature in order to understand primary health-care waiting times, triage and related constructs. The third objective was to pilot an adapted Cape Triage Score system to determine if the intervention contributed to reducing waiting times for patients visiting primary health-care clinics. Data was analysed according to Cohen’s effect sizes. The comparison between the baseline waiting times and pilot intervention waiting-time assessment was done according to Cohen’s effect sizes. The analysis of the data indicated a practical significance for the component where the pilot Cape Triage Score system was applied, as patients were referred to the physician and professional nurse according to the severity of their condition. The outcome of the study indicated no reduction in the overall waiting time of patients visiting primary health-care clinics due to the different components of the waiting-time survey checklist. Finally, the research was evaluated, limitations were identified and recommendations were stipulated for nursing practice, education, research and policy.
MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

A research report presented to the Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfilment of the degree Master of Science in Medicine (Emergency Medicine)
Background: Private health care emergency departments (EDs) are vital components of health care systems and have become increasingly popular due to their accessibility, convenience and proficiency. This popularity has led to overcrowding which in turn has led to increased patient waiting times. Lengthy waiting times have been shown to be a common cause of patient dissatisfaction. Patients, however, often overestimate the passage of time which results in unwarranted dissatisfaction. Study objectives: The purpose of this study was to establish the actual waiting times experienced by patients from the time of triage to first doctor contact at the Dogwood Hospital Emergency Department. Design: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken at the Dogwood Hospital Emergency Department from 1 st January 2009 to the 30th August 2009. All patients (adults and children) of all priority who sought medical attention at the Dogwood Hospital ED were included in the study. Main Results: Priority 3 patients waited the longest out of all patients, particularly on weekday mornings. Overall this study revealed that for 70% of patients the triage-to-doctor waiting time was less than 1 hour. Almost 24% of patients waited between one and two hours and about six percent waited more than two hours. Conclusions: Most patients in this study were seen by a doctor within the target times set by the South African Triage Group (SATG). Numerous studies suggest that patients believe that the acceptable triage-to-doctor waiting time is approximately one hour. In this study 30% of patients waited longer than one hour.

As a social worker practising in long-term residential care for people living with dementia, I am alarmed by discourses in the media and health policy that construct persons living with dementia and their health care needs as a threatening “rising tide” or crisis. I am particularly concerned about the material effects such dominant discourses, and the values they uphold, might have on the collective provision of care and support for our elderly citizens in the present neoliberal economic and political context of health care. To better understand how dominant discourses about dementia work at this time when Canada’s population is aging and the number of persons living with dementia is anticipated to increase, I have rooted my thesis in poststructural methodology. My research method is a discourse analysis, which draws on Foucault’s archaeological and genealogical concepts, to examine two contemporary health policy documents related to dementia care – one national and one provincial. I also incorporate some poetic representation – or found poetry – to write up my findings. While deconstructing and disrupting taken for granted dominant crisis discourses on dementia in health policy, my research also makes space for alternative constructions to support discursive and health policy possibilities in solidarity with persons living with dementia so that they may thrive.
Graduate
0452
0680
0351
macsuz@shaw.ca

A inflação é o processo relativamente generalizado e sustentado de aumento de preços observado numa economia ao longo de um dado período de tempo. É um indicador de extrema importância para as autoridades monetárias por sintetizar a conjuntura económica nacional e internacional, servindo de base de actuação e de definição da política monetária adequada a cada contexto. Não existe contudo para a economia portuguesa uma série de longo prazo que defina o comportamento da inflação e que permita comparações inter-temporais das dinâmicas de preços no consumidor. É na sequência desta necessidade que surge o nosso trabalho de construção de uma série longa de inflação com periodicidade mensal para a economia portuguesa segundo o índice de preços no consumidor, de Janeiro de 1976 a Dezembro de 2010. Nesta dissertação de mestrado está apresentado todo o trabalho de pesquisa e estudo dos aspectos conceptuais da teoria económica e das técnicas estatísticas utilizadas na compilação do índice de preços no consumidor, a história da medição de inflação em Portugal e a metodologia seguida na construção da série. A série construída comporta um elevado grau de detalhe permitindo a compilação de agregados de preços de bens e serviços particularmente úteis para a análise económica. Apresentada a série, e validada estatisticamente, terminamos com uma análise económica da mesma que permite identificar um conjunto de factores tendenciais no comportamento da inflação em Portugal no período temporal abordado pela série.
Inflation is the process, relatively widespread and sustained, of price increases observed in an economy over a given period of time. It is an extremely important indicator for monetary authorities to synthesize the economical conjecture nationally and internationally, as a basis for action and setting of appropriate monetary policies to each context. However, for the Portuguese economy, there has never been a long-term series used to define the inflation behavior and to allow comparisons of inter-temporal dynamics of consumer prices. It was by following this need that we started our work of building a long-term series of inflation on a monthly basis for the Portuguese economy according to the index of consumer prices from January 1976 to December 2010. Throughout this dissertation is presented the research and study of the conceptual aspects of economical theory and statistical techniques used in compiling the index of consumer prices, the history of measuring inflation in Portugal and the methodology used in the construction of the series. The series produced presents a high level of detail and allow de compilation of groups of goods and services prices especially suitable for economic analysis. Once the series is presented, and statistically validated, we conclude with an economical analysis that allows for the identification of a set of factors driving the behavior of inflation in Portugal in the time period covered by the series.

American jurisprudence currently applies two incompatible validity standards to determine which laws are enforceable. The natural law tradition evaluates validity by an uncertain standard of divine law, and its methodology relies on contradictory views of human reason. Legal positivism, on the other hand, relies on a methodology that commits the analytic fallacy, separates law from its application, and produces an incomplete model of law. These incompatible standards have created a schism in American jurisprudence that impairs the delivery of justice. This dissertation therefore formulates a new standard for legal validity. This new standard rejects the uncertainties and inconsistencies inherent in natural law theory. It also rejects the narrow linguistic methodology of legal positivism. In their stead, this dissertation adopts a pragmatic methodology that develops a standard for legal validity based on actual legal experience. This approach focuses on the operations of law and its effects upon ongoing human activities, and it evaluates legal principles by applying the experimental method to the social consequences they produce. Because legal history provides a long record of past experimentation with legal principles, legal history is an essential feature of this method. This new validity standard contains three principles. The principle of reason requires legal systems to respect every subject as a rational creature with a free will. The principle of reason also requires procedural due process to protect against the punishment of the innocent and the tyranny of the majority. Legal systems that respect their subjects' status as rational creatures with free wills permit their subjects to orient their own behavior. The principle of reason therefore requires substantive due process to ensure that laws provide dependable guideposts to individuals in orienting their behavior. The principle of consent recognizes that the legitimacy of law derives from the consent of those subject to its power. Common law custom, the doctrine of stare decisis, and legislation sanctioned by the subjects' legitimate representatives all evidence consent. The principle of autonomy establishes the authority of law. Laws must wield supremacy over political rulers, and political rulers must be subject to the same laws as other citizens. Political rulers may not arbitrarily alter the law to accord to their will. Legal history demonstrates that, in the absence of a validity standard based on these principles, legal systems will not treat their subjects as ends in themselves. They will inevitably treat their subjects as mere means to other ends. Once laws do this, men have no rest from evil.