Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mechanism of cost formation'

Процеси формування ринкових відносин в Україні вимагають глибоких перетворень у методах управління витратами промислових підприємств. Посилюється необхідність використання сучасних ринкових критеріїв ефективності, підвищуються вимоги до гнучкості управління. Головним орієнтиром та мірилом успішності функціонування підприємств є обсяги отриманого прибутку. В той же час, проблемі ефективного формування витрат в багатьох випадках приділяється недостатня увага. У зв’язку з цим, для сучасного етапу розвитку вітчизняних підприємств промисловості значною мірою характерні стихійність та непередбачуваність процесів формування витрат виробництва. Потребують більш детальної уваги взаємозв’язки та взаємообумовленість різних видів діяльності та функцій управління у формуванні витрат виробництва, в тому числі: нормування, планування, облік та аналіз. Існуючі недоліки в управлінні витратами ведуть до розбалансування всього процесу їх формування, а в результаті – до надлишкових витрат, чому можна запобігти при раціональній організації відповідного процесу. Наслідком цього став надмірно високий рівень витрат на ряді вітчизняних підприємств у порівнянні з аналогічними підприємствами розвинутих країн. У дисертаційний роботі викладено теоретичні положення, методичні та практичні аспекти щодо особливостей механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах. У дисертаційній роботі здійснено теоретичне узагальнення і розроблено новий підхід до комплексного вирішення важливого науково-практичного завдання щодо застосування механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах. За результатами дослідження наукових підходів вітчизняних та іноземних авторів, які вивчали проблематику механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах дозволили удосконалити тлумачення економічної сутності поняття «механізму формування витрат» як комплексного аналізу поточного стану і перспектив розвитку підприємства з метою прийняття виважених управлінських рішень щодо розв’язання проблем і використання переваг, які виникають та створюються в процесі його діяльності. Наукою розроблено різні підходи до вирішення завдання зниження витрат, однак у сучасних кризових умовах господарювання використання багатьох з них стримується необхідністю вкладення значних інвестицій. Через те пошук малоінвестиційних способів підвищення ефективності використання витрат є надзвичайно актуальним. Великі обсяги інформації про витрати та різноманітність підходів до їх дослідження, які розроблено наукою, потребують певної адаптації для їх ефективного використання в сучасних умовах. Для удосконалення інформаційно-аналітичних основ побудови механізму формування витрат на промислових підприємствах необхідно теоретично обґрунтувати й розробити методичні положення на сучасному етапі економічного розвитку. У ринкових умовах господарювання необхідно визначити економічну сутність та еволюцію поняття витрат підприємств, систематизувати ознаки класифікації витрат та напрямів їх використання, розглянути формування системи нормативного регулювання витрат. Ефективна діяльність промислових підприємств вимагає дослідження концепції управління витратами, аналізу досконалості методичного забезпечення формування витрат, побудови процесів формування витрат в промисловості. Для вирішення проблем управління витратами промислових підприємств використовуються можливості системного підходу для управління витратами та визначення складових системи управління ними. Удосконалено модель оцінювання ефективності управління витратами промислового підприємства на засадах системного підходу, а також обґрунтовано та розроблено механізм формування витрат, вбудований в загальну систему управління витратами промислового підприємства. Використовуючи функціонально-вартісний аналіз за функціями на підприємстві та за центрами витрат, удосконалено багатоступеневу систему визначення рангу функцій у залежності від відсотка витрат, що, на відміну від існуючих, дозволяють їх зменшити за допомогою АВС-методу, заснованого на принципі Парето та експертних оцінках з врахуванням значущості функцій у забезпеченні життєдіяльності підприємств. У процесі дисертаційної роботи було визначено економічну сутність та еволюцію поняття витрат підприємств відповідно до ринкових умов господарювання. Систематизовано ознаки класифікації витрат та напрямів їх використання, формування системи нормативного регулювання витрат. Досліджено концепцію управління витратами та здійснено аналіз досконалості науково-методичного забезпечення формування витрат виробництва. Для потреб управління витратами промислового підприємства розроблено структурно-логічні схеми процесів формування витрат в промисловості. Було обґрунтовано можливості використання системного підходу для управління витратами та визначення складових системи управління ними, а також розроблено механізм формування витрат, вбудований в загальну систему управління промисловими підприємствами. Розроблено модель оцінювання ефективності управління витратами промислового підприємства на засадах системного підходу. Для прийняття управлінських рішень необхідно використовувати механізм формування витрат виробництва, вбудований в загальну систему управління витратами промислового підприємства, який, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяє приймати управлінські рішення на початковому етапі. У процесі дослідження здійснено систематизацію витрат у взаємозв’язку з функціями управління, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, включає використання певного класифікатора витрат для їх ідентифікації та прогнозування, сформовано концепцію управління витратами на засадах синтезу, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, буде враховувати особливості підприємств, та буде чутливою до будь-яких змін стратегії їх діяльності. Проаналізовано теоретико-методичні аспекти систематизації витрат шляхом використання порівняльного аналізу вітчизняних та зарубіжних систем класифікації для визначення відмінностей у напрямах застосування інформації про витрати за різними ознаками і встановлення взаємозв’язку між ними, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, розширює рамки їх дослідження, а також здійснено визначення інструментів, принципів та способів формування витрат для формування системи управління підприємством, що дозволило висунути вимоги, яким повинні відповідати сучасні ефективні системи управління витратами з метою їх використання у практичній діяльності. Здійснено формування та реалізацію заходів оптимізації витрат виробництва, які на етапі планування робіт, на початковому етапі дозволяють спрогнозувати витрати і отримані вигоди, що, на відміну від існуючих, дозволяють достовірно прогнозувати оптимальні значення витрат виробництва. Розглянуто систему моніторингу витрат виробництва, яка включає елементи еластичності і, на відміну від існуючих підходів, використовує кореляційну модель залежності витрат від результатів виробництва. Проаналізовано показники еластичності, які в умовах наявності великої кількості характеристик, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяють здійснювати превентивну перевірку планової обґрунтованості витрат для прогнозування майбутньої вартості та ціни продукції. Удосконалено визначення та реалізацію резервів зниження рівня витрат у промисловості за рахунок виключення в процесах планування неефективних витрат і удосконалення процесу управління ними за системним підходом. За результатами дисертаційної роботи удосконалено механізм формування витрат виробництва, вбудований в загальну систему управління промисловим підприємством, який, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяє приймати управлінські рішення на початковому етапі. Здійснено систематизацію витрат у взаємозв’язку з функціями управління, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, включає використання певного класифікатора витрат для їх ідентифікації та прогнозування, а також запропоновано систему управління витратами на засадах синтезу, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, враховує особливості підприємств, та є чутливою до будь-яких змін стратегії їх діяльності. В роботі розроблено систему аналізу ефективності формування витрат, яка, на відміну від існуючих підходів, враховує оцінку слабких і сильних сторін функціональної структури управління і дозволяє впорядкувати поточну діяльність та розвиток підприємства. Сформульовано теоретико-методичні аспекти систематизації витрат шляхом використання порівняльного аналізу вітчизняних та зарубіжних систем класифікації для визначення відмінностей у напрямах застосування інформації про витрати за різними ознаками і встановлення взаємозв’язку між ними, що, на відміну від існуючих підходів, розширює рамки їх дослідження. Проведено визначення інструментів, принципів та способів формування витрат для формування системи управління підприємством, що дозволило висунути вимоги, яким повинні відповідати сучасні ефективні системи управління витратами з метою їх використання у практичній діяльності. Охарактеризовано показники еластичності, які в умовах наявності великої кількості характеристик, на відміну від існуючих підходів, дозволяють здійснювати превентивну перевірку планової обґрунтованості витрат для прогнозування майбутньої вартості та ціни продукції. Дисертаційна робота є науковою працею, в якій удосконалено механізм формування витрат промислового підприємства. Сформульовані у дисертації наукові результати отримані автором самостійно і є особистим доробком. Наукові результати дисертації опубліковані у фахових та економетричних наукових виданнях.
The processes of forming market relations in Ukraine require profound changes in the cost management methods of industrial enterprises. The need to use modern market performance criteria is increasing, and the requirements for management flexibility are increasing. The main guideline and measure of the success of the enterprise is the amount of profit. At the same time, the problem of cost-effective formation is in many cases receiving insufficient attention. In this regard, the modern stage of development of domestic industrial enterprises is largely characterized by spontaneity and unpredictability of the processes of formation of production costs. They need more attention to the interconnections and interdependencies of the various activities and management functions in generating production costs, including rationing, planning, accounting, and analysis. Existing deficiencies in cost management lead to an imbalance in the whole process of their formation, and as a result, to excess costs, which can be prevented in the rational organization of the process. This resulted in an excessively high level of costs for a number of domestic enterprises compared to similar enterprises in developed countries. The dissertation presents theoretical provisions, methodological and practical aspects regarding the peculiarities of the mechanism of cost formation at industrial enterprises. The thesis generalizes the theoretical generalization and develops a new approach to the complex solution of an important scientific and practical problem on the application of the mechanism of formation of costs at industrial enterprises. According to the results of research of scientific approaches of domestic and foreign authors, who studied the problems of the mechanism of formation of costs at industrial enterprises allowed to improve the interpretation of the economic essence of the concept of «mechanism of formation of costs» as a comprehensive analysis of the current state and prospects of enterprise development in order to make prudent management decisions to solve problems and take advantage of the benefits that arise and are created in the course of its operations. Science has developed different approaches to solving the problem of reducing costs, but in the current economic crisis, the use of many of them is constrained by the need to make significant investments. Therefore, finding low-cost ways to increase cost-effectiveness is extremely important. The large amount of information on costs and the variety of approaches to their research that шы developed by science, need some adaptation for their effective use in today's environment. In order to improve the information and analytical bases of building the mechanism of cost formation in industrial enterprises, it is necessary to theoretically substantiate and develop methodological provisions at the present stage of economic development. In market conditions, it is necessary to determine the economic nature and evolution of the concept of enterprise costs, to systematize the features of the classification of costs and directions of their use, to consider the formation of a system of regulatory costs. Effective activity of industrial enterprises requires the study of the concept of cost management, the analysis of the perfection of methodological support for the formation of costs, the construction of processes of cost formation in industry. To solve the problems of cost management of industrial enterprises, a systematic approach is used to manage costs and identify the components of a management system. The model of estimation of efficiency of cost management of industrial enterprise on the basis of systematic approach is improved, as well as the mechanism of formation of expenses, built into the general system of cost management of industrial enterprise, is grounded and developed. Using feature-based cost-per-enterprise and cost center analysis, the multi-stage percentage ranking system has been defined as a percentage of costs, which, unlike existing ones, allows them to be reduced by ABC-based Pareto method and expert judgment from taking into account the importance of functions in ensuring the livelihood of enterprises. In the course of the dissertation, the economic nature and evolution of the concept of enterprise costs according to market conditions were determined. The signs of cost classification and directions of their use are systematized, formation of the system of normative regulation of expenses. The concept of cost management is researched and the perfection of scientific and methodological support of production cost formation is analyzed. For the needs of cost management of industrial enterprise, structural and logical schemes of processes of cost formation in industry have been developed. The possibility of using a systematic approach to cost management and defining the components of the management system was substantiated, as well as a mechanism of cost formation, integrated into the overall management system of industrial enterprises. A model for evaluating the cost management of an industrial enterprise based on a systematic approach has also been developed. To make management decisions, it is necessary to use the mechanism of formation of production costs, built into the general cost management system of an industrial enterprise, which, unlike the existing approaches, allows to make management decisions at an initial stage. In the process of research systematization of costs in relation to management functions was carried out, which, unlike the existing approaches, includes the use of a certain cost classifier for their identification and forecasting, the concept of cost management on the basis of synthesis was formed, which, unlike the existing approaches, will be taken into account the specificities of enterprises, and will be sensitive to any changes in the strategy of their activities. Theoretical and methodological aspects of cost systematization are analyzed by using comparative analysis of domestic and foreign classification systems to identify differences in the directions of application of cost information on different traits and to establish correlation between them, which, unlike existing approaches, extends the scope of their research, and also identified the tools, principles and methods of cost formation for the formation of an enterprise management system, which allowed to put forward the requirements that accord modern effective cost management system to be used in practice. The formation and implementation of measures for optimization of production costs, which at the stage of work planning, initially allow predicting costs and benefits, which, unlike the existing ones, can reliably predict the optimal value of production costs. The system of production cost monitoring is considered, which includes elements of elasticity and, unlike the existing approaches, uses a correlation model of cost dependence on production results. The elasticity indices are analyzed, which in the presence of a large number of characteristics, unlike the existing approaches, allow to carry out a preventive check of planned reasonableness of expenses for forecasting future value and price of production. The definition and implementation of cost reduction reserves in the industry have been improved by eliminating unnecessary costs in the process of planning unnecessary costs and improving the process of managing them by a systematic approach. According to the results of the dissertation, the mechanism of formation of production costs has been improved, built into the general system of industrial enterprise management, which, unlike the existing approaches, allows to make managerial decisions at an initial stage. Costs have been systematized in conjunction with management functions, which, in contrast to existing approaches, involves the use of a specific cost classifier for their identification and forecasting, and a cost management system based on synthesis, which, in contrast to existing approaches, takes into account the peculiarities enterprises, and is sensitive to any changes in their business strategy. The system of cost-effectiveness analysis is developed in the work, which, unlike the existing approaches, takes into account the assessment of weaknesses and strengths of the functional management structure and allows to streamline the current activity and development of the enterprise. Theoretical and methodological aspects of cost systematization are formulated by using comparative analysis of domestic and foreign classification systems to identify differences in the directions of application of cost information on different traits and to establish correlation between them, which, unlike existing approaches, extends the scope of their research. The definition of tools, principles, and methods of cost formation for the formation of the enterprise management system was carried out, which made it possible to put forward requirements that modern effective systems of cost management must meet in order to be used in practical activity. The indicators of elasticity, which in the presence of a large number of characteristics, unlike existing approaches, allow to carry out a preventive check of planned reasonableness of expenses for forecasting future cost and price of production. The dissertation is a scientific work in which the mechanism of formation of costs of an industrial enterprise is improved. The scientific results formulated in the dissertation are obtained by the author independently and are a personal achievement. The scientific results of the dissertation are published in professional and econometric scientific publications.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(農学)
甲第13127号
農博第1632号
新制||農||942(附属図書館)
学位論文||H19||N4253(農学部図書室)
UT51-2007-H400
京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻
(主査)教授 今村 祐嗣, 教授 矢野 浩之, 教授 杉山 淳司
学位規則第4条第1項該当

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Apr. 25, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Chemistry with Emphasis in Biophysics." Discipline: Chemistry; Department/School: Chemistry.

Biomedical research has shown that one-dimensional nanostructures present many potential advantages as delivery vehicles for drugs and biologics. These elongated structures have high aspect ratios that enable increased drug loading capacities and have been shown to have longer in vivo circulation times than other spherical nanoparticles. The increasing interest in these one-dimensional structures has necessitated the developments of fabrication methods for the precise control of the final morphology. A simple, cost effective means of producing nanotubes and nanorods is known as solution template wetting. While this technique has been used to fabricate many different types of elongated nanostructures, the parameters governing the final morphology remain ambiguous. The objectives of this research are to investigate these critical parameters, and furthermore to develop an understanding of the physical mechanism of nanostructure formation. The effects of the infiltration technique, dipping time, polymer molecular weight and template pore size on the morphology of the resulting nanostructure have been evaluated. Key results have established that the infiltration technique is a critical parameter that can enable the formation of stable nanotubes at very low polymer concentrations. Additionally, a tube to rod transition occurs as the infiltration time is increased over 18 hr. An investigation of the rheological properties of high and low molecular weight solutions also indicates that the capillary flow and infiltration of polymer occurs differently. Finally, the pore size was also shown to affect the ability to form hollow, stable structures, and that relatively large pore sizes are necessary for nanotube formation. The culmination of these results is an understanding of the physical layering mechanism of structure formation, and the tube to rod transition can thus be predicted by researchers investigating the use of elongated nanostructures for biomedical applications.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(農学)
甲第15443号
農博第1828号
新制||農||981(附属図書館)
学位論文||H22||N4542(農学部図書室)
27921
京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生命科学専攻
(主査)教授 植田 和光, 教授 間藤 徹, 教授 阪井 康能
学位規則第4条第1項該当

The control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a swarm or cooperative team scenario has been a topic of great interest for well over a decade, growing steadily with the advancements in UAV technologies. In the academic community, a majority of the studies conducted rely on simulation to test developed control strategies, with only a few institutions known to have nurtured the infrastructure required to propel multiple UAV control studies beyond simulation and into experimental testing. With the Cal Poly UAV FLOC Project, such an infrastructure was created, paving the way for future experimentation with multiple UAV control systems. The control system architecture presented was built on concepts developed in previous work by Cal Poly faculty and graduate students. An outer-loop formation flight controller based on a virtual waypoint implementation of potential function guidance was developed for use on an embedded microcontroller. A commercially-available autopilot system, designed for fully autonomous waypoint navigation utilizing low cost hardware and open source software, was modified to include the formation flight controller and an inter-UAV communication network. A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation was set up for multiple UAV testing and was utilized to verify the functionality of the modified autopilot system. HIL simulation results demonstrated leader-follower formation convergence to 15 meters as well as formation flight with three UAVs. Several sets of flight tests were conducted, demonstrating a successful leader-follower formation, but with relative distance convergence only reaching a steady state value of approximately 35 +/- 5 meters away from the leader.

This thesis describes an experimental study of calixarate overbased detergent oil additives, used to neutralise acidic by-products of engine combustion. Aspects of interest in this study include experimental synthesis of calixarenes and overbased detergents, physical and structural characterisation and monitoring of the synthesis process. Two types of calixarenes were prepared (6 and 8 phenolic units). A synthesis procedure of the calixarate overbased detergent was set up, basedono adaptation of existing procedures used for other classes of overbased detergents. The procedure was also modified to suit a lab-scale. 13C NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy have provided strong evidence for a precursor of the overbased detergent. The ionisation of the surfactants (stearic acid carboxylic group, and phenolic units) was clearly established. The synthesis process was monitored at the molecular and macroscopice level. The use of 13C -labelled compounds enabled a semi-quantitative study of the concentration evolution of each chemical during the synthesis. Langmuir-t rough measurements and dynamic light scattering showed a decrease of particle size during the synthesis of the overbased detergent. The final calixarate overbased detergent was then fully characterised by these two methods. Based on the various information gathered (starting and final material characterisation, monitoring of the process),a mechanism was suggested. This involved a progressive solvation of calcium hydroxide, and breakdown of mixed calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(農学)
甲第13117号
農博第1622号
新制||農||941(附属図書館)
学位論文||H19||N4243(農学部図書室)
UT51-2007-H390
京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生物科学専攻
(主査)助教授 豊原 治彦, 教授 田中 克, 教授 永尾 雅哉
学位規則第4条第1項該当

Many diseases, including Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, are believed to be the result of protein misfolding and aggregation into insoluble, highly ordered Β-sheet structures known as amyloid fibrils. The mechanism of formation of these fibrils is unknown. The work presented in this thesis uses human cystatin B as a model system for the elucidation of the mechanism of fibril formation. Cystatin B, a cysteine protease inhibitor, readily forms amyloid fibrils in vitro. Amyloid fibrils formed from the structurally homologous cystatin C, are associated with a form of cerebral haemorrhage as well as incorporation in amyloid derived from Alzheimer's disease sufferers. The work in this thesis sheds light on the mechanism by which proteins spontaneously change conformation and self associate to form amyloid fibrils. Investigation of the state induced by conditions of fibrillisation and the effects of single point mutations highlight particular regions within the natively folded protein that are involved in the self association process. Studies on Cu2+ and Zn2+ binding to cystatin B highlight the same small regions of importance and show that the effect induced by divalent metals is very metal specific. It is also shown that fibrillisation of cystatin B is preceded by aggregation into a large insoluble structure. This may act to increase local concentration by protein adsorption and involve unknown surface interactions that induce or catalyse the initiation of fibrillisation. The interactions and conformational changes required for fibrillisation are likely to be local rather than global events which require the weakening of the co-operative properties normally associated with protein folding. Alteration of these interactions will promote alternative pathways of assembly resulting in different "strains" of amyloid. Ultimately the high resolution structure of cystatin B fibrils will answer many questions and the initial solid state NMR experiments to achieve this are presented in this thesis.

ABSTRACT Although there is ample evidence linking chronic inflammation with cancer, the cellular mechanisms involved in early events leading to tumor development remain unclear. Myeloid cells are an intricate part of inflammation. They consist of mature cells represented by macrophages, dendritic cells and granulocytes and a population of Immature Myeloid Cells (IMC), which in healthy individuals are cells in transition to mature cells. There is a substantial expansion of IMC in cancer and many other pathological conditions which is associated with pathologic activation of these cells. As a result, these cells acquire the ability to suppress immune responses and are termed Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells (MDSCs). Although the role of MDSC in immune suppression in cancer and tumor progression is well established, their contribution to tumor development is still uncertain. The fact that cells with MDSC phenotype and function are observed in chronic inflammation raised the possibility that these cells can contribute to initial stages of tumor development. To address this question, we used an experimental system where the number of IMC was regulated by the expression of S100A9 protein. In this project, we used two different models of chronic inflammation in S100A9 transgenic (S100A9tg) and S100A9 knock-out (S100A9KO) mice. In the first model, we created the conditions for topical accumulation of these cells in the skin in the absence of infection or tissue damage using S100A9tg mice. Accumulation of IMC in the skin resulted in a dramatic increase in the formation of skin tumors during epidermal carcinogenesis. Conversely, lack of myeloid cell accumulation in S100A9KO mice substantially reduced the formation of skin papillomas. The effect of IMC was not associated with immune suppression but with the recruitment of CD4+ T cells mediated by CCL4 chemokine released by activated IMC. Elimination of CD4+ T cells or blockade of CCL4 abrogated the increase in tumor formation caused by myeloid cells. Thus, this study implicates the accumulation of IMC as an initial step in facilitating of tumor formation, which can mediate the recruitment of CD4+ T cells via the release of CCL4 chemokine. In the second model, we used inflammation-associated lung cancer caused by the chemical lung carcinogen urethane in combination with exposure to cigarette smoke referred to throughout as CS. Exposure of mice to CS alone resulted in a significant accumulation of cells with typical MDSC phenotype in different organs; however, these cells lacked immune suppressive activity and could not be defined as bona fide MDSC. When CS was combined with the single dose of urethane, it led to the accumulation of immune suppressive cells. The expansion of MDSC followed the onset of lung tumors development. This suggests that MDSC in this model is not the preceding factor but rather a consequence of tumor formation. Further studies are necessary to determine the relevance of targeting these cells for cancer treatment and prevention.

The large environmental impact related to the use of fossil fuel has driven the shift toward renewable sourced alternatives. Fossil diesel can be nowadays replaced by biodiesel, obtained from vegetable oils and fats, mostly used as biodiesel blends. However, some drawbacks are related to the use of this bio-fuel, among which the formation of deposit in injectors and filters causing a reduction of engine performances or engine failure. This thesis project focuses on the analysis of the mechanism of formation of soft particles in biodiesel deposits. These particles are constituted mostly of carboxylic metal soaps, and were found in biodiesel engines after using aged biofuel with contaminants, such as engine oil. The role of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) has been investigated, together with the use of three different calcium sources, to analyse the formation mechanism of calcium soaps. Artificial ageing of B10 and B100 test fuels was performed, and in some cases an inert gas was bubbled to remove the formed SCFAs. Calcium sources, namely calcium oxide, calcium carbonate and engine oil, were added to investigatethe formation of soft particles. Ion chromatography, pH measurements, NMR spectroscopy and oxidation stability tests have been performed on the liquid test fuel to verify the presence and effect of SCFAs, while FTIR spectroscopy and GC/MS analyses were used to verify the presence of calcium soaps in the deposit and in solution. In contrast to the expectation, it was found that the presence of SCFAs in the fuel not is fundamental for the formation of carboxylic soap. Moreover, the different calcium sources result in different amounts and textures of metal soaps in deposits and in solution.
Den stora miljöpåverkan relaterad till användningen av fossilt bränsle har drivit övergången till förnybara alternativ. Fossil diesel kan numera ersättas av biodiesel, härledd av vegetabiliska oljor och fetter, oftast används som biodieselblandningar. Vissa nackdelar är emellertid relaterade till användningen av detta biobränsle, bland annat bildandet av avlagring i injektorer och filter som orsakar en minskning av motorprestanda eller motorfel. Detta projekt fokuserar på analysen av mekanismen för bildning av mjuka partiklar i biodieselavlagring. Dessa partiklar består huvudsakligen av karboxylmetall tvålar och hittades i biodieselmotorer efter användning av åldrad biobränsle med föroreningar, såsom motorolja. Rollen för kortkedjiga fettsyror (SCFA) har undersökts, tillsammans med användning av tre olika kalciumkomponenter, för att analysera bildningsmekanismen för kalciumtvålar. Experimentellt åldring av testbränslen B10 och B100 på labbet utfördes, och i vissa fall bubblades en inert gas för att avlägsna de bildade SCFA. Kalcium komponenter, nämligen kalciumoxid, kalciumkarbonat och motorolja, tillsattes för att undersöka bildningen av mjuka partiklar. Jonkromatografi, pH-mätningar, NMR- spektroskopi och oxidations stabilitetstester har utförts på det flytande testbränslet för att verifiera närvaron och effekten av SCFA, medan FTIR-spektroskopi och GC/MS-analyser användes för att verifiera närvaron av kalciumtvålar i sedimentet och i lösning. I motsats till förväntningarna visades det att närvaron av SCFA i bränslet inte är grundläggande för bildandet av karboxyltvål. Dessutom resulterar de olika kalciumkomponenterna i olika mängder och strukturer av metalltvålar i sediment och i lösning.

One of the tools that contribute to the implementation of European standards in the economy of regional nature, recognized environmental innovation, as an indicator of sustainable and balanced development.

This research project constitutes an attempt to improve the construction industry's change management process by introducing the Form 'X' Control Mechanism as the means of establishing an effective method of project control. The traditional practice in the construction industry of appointing the principal designer as team leader has been challenged with the main criticisms on the traditional practice being his, or her, lack of managerial ability and his, or her, failure to control the financial aspects of the project. The traditional approach has remained essentially unchanged for more than a century but it has become increasingly questioned as the primary means of design management. One aim of the research, therefore, was to ascertain whether the traditional practices currently is use in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong could be improved upon. The research began by examining basic systems and project management concepts and noted the development of project management systems and structures for the construction industry. This was illustrated by reference to a number of articles and it was possible to argue that the industry lacked a comprehensive change control methodology. The research also provided evidence that the mechanisms used to exercise control in manufacturing industries could not be used to exercise control over construction projects. This is due, in the main, to the relatively short duration of construction projects and the transient nature of project personnel. Having examined the difficulties, it has been possible to devise a control methodology which couples communication and control and this mechanism has been adapted to fit existing industry practices. Using this criterion it was possible to formulate a control procedure which obviates the difficulties which can arise using the traditional approach to change management. The Form 'X' mechanism requires the design team to quantify, in financial and programme terms, the effect of design or construction changes, and to obtain the client's specific authority prior to revising the works. In doing so the Project Manager is able to determine the magnitude of all changes in terms of time, money and quality. The system is sufficiently flexible to enable it to be used world-wide, on projects of varying contract values and duration, and it requires only minor modifications to meet the provisions of the standard building and civil engineering conditions of contract. A variant of the proposed methodology was introduced by Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway Corporation and utilised on a number of projects. These contracts were examined in detail, as were a number of Mass Transit Railway Corporation contracts which utilised the traditional approach to project control. The analysis showed that all of the projects on which the Form 'X' system had been used had been completed close to their original contract value whilst a number of the projects which did not use the control methodology suffered from significant cost over-runs. It was concluded that the Form 'X' methodology successfully eradicates many of the control problems which permeate the traditional approach to change management embodied in the standard conditions of contract for building and civil engineering works. The Form 'X' control approach was also shown to be popular with the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation's senior management team, as well as with the consultants employed in the construction of the railway. The conclusion of the research project is that the Form 'X' procedure is a highly successful change control methodology which could be used throughout the world on a wide variety of building and civil engineering projects.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005.
Russell, Armistead G., Committee Chair ; Chameides, William L., Committee Member ; Wang, Yuhang, Committee Member ; Noonan, Douglas, Committee Member ; Chang, Michael E., Committee Member. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

In this thesis we study the problem of requiring self-interested agents need to interact with some centralized mechanism where this interaction is costly. To improve their utility, agents may choose to interact with \emph{neighbours} in order to coordinate their actions, potentially resulting in savings with respect to total interaction costs for all involved. We highlight the issues that arise in such a setting for the mechanism as well as for the agents. We use a mechanism-design approach to study this problem and present a model for self-interested agents to form groups with neighbours in order to reduce the total interaction cost. Our model focuses on two aspects: reward-distribution and cost-sharing. We look at two scenarios for reward-distribution mechanisms and proposed a core-stable payoff as well as a fair payoff mechanism. We then propose a cost-sharing mechanism that agents can use to coordinate and reduce their interaction costs. We prove this mechanism to be incentive-compatible, cost-recovery and fair. We also discuss how agents might form groups in order to save on cost. We study how our final outcome (the total percentage of savings as a group) depends on the agents' interaction topology and analyze different topologies. In addition we carry out experiments which further validate our proposal.

碩士
國立中央大學
大氣物理研究所
102
Over the past decade, Arctic Oscillation (AO) has been concerned as an important issue of climate variability during the Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter. It refers to the zonally symmetric seesaw between sea level pressure in polar and mid-latitude, and the character is usually clear in winter. However, there are few researches about the impact of AO in Asia due to the active centers of AO are mainly located near America and Europe region. And its formation mechanism is still not clear. We use stream function budget and wave activity flux method to investigate the wave character and formation mechanism of AO. The results are shown in the following. (1)According to stream function budget analysis result, the major dynamical process in changing general circulation structure is vorticity stretching effect, and we find a new active center at mid-latitude eastern Pacific region (150oW ~ 120oW, 30oN ~ 50oN), which hasn’t been mentioned yet. (2)After analyzing wave activity flux, we noticed that the mid-latitude eastern Pacific is exactly where the wave energy enhanced at first, the energy signal of AO is originated from this region, not come from North Atlantic. The convergence anomaly in lower troposphere is enhanced due to the positive sea surface temperature anomaly on eastern Pacific, and is coordinated with the divergence anomaly in upper troposphere. It induces strong convection, then brings potential heat to upper troposphere to excite wave energy. The general circulation structure changes during the east propagation of wave energy, therefore the energy signal of AO is the response of thermal forcing. The wave energy provides a suitable environment for disturbance development, and interacts with local weather systems, so the weather system could enhance to stimulate more energy.

碩士
國立陽明大學
醫學工程研究所
90
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a well-known disease in elders, especially in those of developed societies. So far, no effective clinical treatment and therapy are established. Many risk factors associated with this disease are being investigated such as daily diet, aging, frequently exposed to UV light and hereditary. Depletion of macular pigment in retina is recognized to have higher risk to get AMD clinically. However, no one fully knew how the macular pigment is formed and lutein and zeaxanthin that are the major components of macular pigment are transported from blood to retina. The goal of this study is trying to understand if there is any protein located in the photoreceptor membrane or inside the cell that is candidated to bind with lutein and zeaxanthin. After preliminary centrifugation and ion exchange chromatography, a lot of candidate proteins were found. By mass spectrometry Micromass M@LDI-TOF (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization — Time Of Flight) analysis, we identified that the candidates probably was one or more than one of the RRA (retinoic acid receptor alpha)、Z222 (zinc finger protein 222)、ACTG (gamma-actin) and ARP2 (actin-like protein 2) proteins. During the study, we also compared the abilities of pig retina cells and hRb cell line in the binding capability with lutein and zeaxanthin. The result shows that human Rb cell have higher ability to bind with lutein and zeaxanthin compared to that of pig retinal cells.

COS and CS₂ are sulfur compounds that are formed in natural waters. These compounds are also volatile, which leads them move into the atmosphere and serve as critical precursors to sulfate aerosols. Sulfate aerosols are known to counteract global warming by reflecting solar radiation. One major source of COS and CS₂ stems from the ocean. While previous studies have linked COS and CS₂ formation in these waters to the indirect photolysis of organic sulfur compounds, much of the chemistry behind how this occurs remains unclear. This study examined this chemistry by evaluating how different organic sulfur precursors, water quality constituents, and temperature affected COS and CS₂ formation in natural waters.

In the first part of this thesis (chapters 2 and 3), nine natural waters ranging in salinity were spiked with various organic sulfur precursors (e.g. cysteine, cystine, dimethylsulfide (DMS) and methionine) exposed to simulated sunlight over varying exposures. Other water quality conditions including the presence of O₂, CO and temperature were also varied. Results indicated that COS and CS₂ formation increased up to 11× and 4×, respectively, after 12 h of sunlight while diurnal cycling exhibited varied effects. COS and CS₂ formation were also strongly affected by the DOC concentration, organic sulfur precursor type, O₂ concentration, and temperature while salinity differences and CO addition did not play a significant role.

To then specifically evaluate the role of DOM in cleaner matrices, COS and CS₂ formation was examined in synthetic waters (see chapters 4 and 5). In this case, synthetic waters were spiked with different types of DOM isolates ranging from freshwater to ocean water along with either cysteine or DMS and exposed to simulated sunlight for up to 4 h. Surprisingly, CS₂ was not formed under any of the tested conditions, indicating that other water quality constituents, aside from DOM, were responsible for its formation. However, COS formation was observed. Interestingly, COS formation with cysteine was fairly similar for all DOM types, but increasing DOM concentration actually decreased formation. This is likely due to the dual role of DOM on simultaneously forming and quenching the reactive intermediates (RIs). Additional experiments with quenching agents to RIs (e.g. ³DOM* and ·OH) further indicated that ·OH was not involved in COS formation with cysteine but ³DOM* was involved. This result differed with DMS in that ·OH and ³DOM* were both found to be involved. In addition, treating DOM isolates with sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) to reduce ketone/aldehydes to their corresponding alcohols increased COS formation, which implied that the RIs formed by these functional groups in DOM were not involved. The alcohols formed by this process were not likely to act as quenching agents since they have been shown to low in reactivity. Since ketones are known to form high-energy-triplet-states of DOM while quinones are known to form low-energy-triplet-states of DOM, removing ketones from the system further supported the role of low-energy-triplet-states on COS formation. This was initially hypothesized by findings from the testes on DOM types. In the end there are several major research contributions from this thesis. First, cysteine and DMS have different mechanisms for forming COS. Second, adding O₂ decreased COS formation, but it did not stop it completely, which suggests that further research is required to evaluate the role of RI in the presence of O₂. Lastly, considering the low formation yields of COS and CS₂ formation from the organic sulfur precursors tested in this study, it is believed that some other organic sulfur precursors are missing which are likely to generate these compounds to higher levels and this needs to be investigated in future research.

碩士
國立成功大學
材料科學及工程學系
87
The requirements of a dielectric resonators are high dielectric constant , low dielectric loss ( high Q factor ) , and low temperature coefficient of resonant frequency . Microwave measurements of Ba2Ti9O20 show that it is uniquely suited for dielectric resonators . BaTi4O9 and TiO2 were used to study the formation mechanism of Ba2Ti9O20 and sintering behavior was also investigated . During process of solid-state reaction , scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the microstructures . It was found that the formation of Ba2Ti9O20 might via the nucleation and growth , which was further supported by lath-shape grain and theoreitical analysis by Johnson-Mehl-Avrami ( JMA ) Equation . By transmission electron microscopy observation , it was found that twinning existed in the grain of BaTi4O9 , which would increase the activation energy of nucleation of Ba2Ti9O20 , and in true would inhibit the nucleation of Ba2Ti9O20 . Using double ball-milling , single-phase of Ba2Ti9O20 could be obtained by calcining at 1200C for 3 h . Not only the difficult of solid-state synthesis could be solved , but also the conventional sintering of there single-phase powder could achieved the theoretical density of 99% ！

碩士
淡江大學
機械與機電工程學系碩士班
99
The compressively stressed elastomer (PDMS film) with sputtered gold can be buckled and thus produced a ripple structure, in comparing the difference of toughness between PDMS film and gold. The instability of stress was observed on the interface between materials with different Young’s modules. During the process of forming the ripple structure, there will be the ripple dislocations, the cracks and the oriented surface cracks simultaneously appearing within the ripple structure. This study also purposed the formation mechanism of the ripple dislocation and explored annihilation methodologies of the ripple dislocation using various annealing treatment.

碩士
國立成功大學
材料科學及工程學系碩博士班
98
BiFeO3 (BFO) is a potential material in the multiferroic materials. It exhibits ferroelectric ordering and antiferromagnetic ordering at room temperature. But there are many problems to overcome, such as second phase and large leakage current. In the previous study by other reseachers point out that the poor hysteresis loop is due to the large leakage current.In this study, we present a simple wet chemical route for obtaining single phase BiFeO3 powders.The influence on leakage current and ferrocelectric behavior by changing process parameter.Moreover ,we compare BFO by three different stoichiometric to discuss the formation mechenism of the second phase.We can see the different results by measuring P-E curve in different frequency and electric field.

碩士
中原大學
化學工程學系
87
In this work, the formation of macrovoids in two membrane formation systems was investigated. The polymer and the coagulant used in these two systems were the same: PMMA and water, but the solvents used to dissolve PMMA were different: NMP for one system and acetone+ 18 vol% Tween 80 solution for the other. According to SEM and AFM analyses, it was found that, although the macrostructures of the membranes fabricated by systems PMMA/NMP and PMMA/acetone+ 18 vol% Tween-80 are similar, the microstructures are different. On basis of the optical observation of the growth of macrovoids, it is proposed that the difference in the microstructure can be explained by the difference in the growth mechanism of macrovoids: the growth of macrovoids is by convection for system PMMA/NMP/water and by diffusion for PMMA/acetone+ 18 vol% Tween-80/water. The difference in the growth mechanism of macrovoids can also account for some other differences between systems PMMA/NMP/water and PMMA/acetone+ 18 vol% Tween-80/water: is more sensitive to the casting thickness than PMMA/NMP/water, and the addition of salt in the coagulation bath can effectively inhibit the growth of macrovoids in PMMA/acetone+ 18 vol% Tween-80/water but not in PMMA/NMP/water.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1989.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-77).

Seven above-knee amputees were fitted with a low-cost prosthetic knee and different low-cost swing-phase setups were clinically assessed. Clinical testing included the 20-meter walk tests utilizing a mobile computer setup connected to a potentiometer and accelerometer mounted on the prosthetic limb. As hypothesized, incorporating friction and a spring system resulted in improved gait function. Of the two spring systems evaluated, the dual spring system performed better than the single spring system resulting in increased walking velocity with decreased maximum flexion and terminal impact. The dual spring system resulted in lower terminal impact because the deactivation of the stiff spring and activation of the less stiff spring during the last 25 degrees of swing-phase before extension allows the shank to decelerate and hit the bumper at a lower velocity. The swing-phase control mechanisms evaluated have the potential to improve prosthetic function and are ideal for use in low-cost and peadiatric prostheses.

碩士
世新大學
資訊管理學研究所(含碩專班)
98
In recent years, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is widely used in many places of enterprise and applications. However, RFID tags is limited in computation power, and suffer from security threats. In order to provide the safe and efficient environment, it's important to apply the identity authentication and data protection in the RFID tags. In this paper, we will introduce the low-cost RFID authentication mechanism for mobile networks. In the paper, readers and server finish the authentication in the third-generation (3G) mobile network environment. It applies the key agreement mechanism to achieve the consistency, integration, legality and safety for data in the RFID tags. In order to provide the low-cost scheme, the authentication mechanism in this paper uses the simple XOR operations and one-way hash function. Although the proposed mechanism is limited in cost and computation, it is still able to prevent the tag cloning , tampering and illegal reading.

碩士
中原大學
化學研究所
90
The formation mechanism has been studied in this work through dynamic light scattering method which can get information about growth and distribution curve of particle size in a period of process. Some conclusions were drawn through the observation of variation at particle size distribution during the formation of MCM-41 and SBA-15 mesoporous molecular sieves. The micelle of surfactants was formed by molecular aggregates above the CMC. The micelle species grew by 3~5 nm during the TEOS dosage. This step in acid synthesis most likely involved the fast incorporation of protonated silicate oligomer into the hydrophilic region of micelle. The silicated micelles were little change of size in induction time. Further process involved two different ways of particle growth. In MCM-41 system, there was a rapid increase in size of the particle species corresponding to a jump growth process. In SBA-15 system, there was another transition state which particle size increased slowly, but viscosity increased very fast. Beyond the transition, The particle size in SBA-15 grew very fast like the formation of MCM-41 system. Finally, the solution appearance became white milk emulsion and particle grew up to 10 μm. The product of inorganic network structure was transformed into solid state by sedimentation force.

碩士
國立交通大學
資訊管理研究所
106
As P2P business model became more popular in the insurance industry, it properly brings out the core function of insurance: risk management in risk-sharing community. Nowadays, P2P insurance platform are prospering through financial technology, but most of them rarely utilize power of social networks to assist insurers to find their co-insurers. In addition, through current online platforms, it is difficult to find suitable co-insurers group without risk considering. In this research, we propose a social-based co-insurers recommendation mechanism through analyzing users’ inclination, posts, background, similarity, and relationship, to further improve the advantage of P2P insurance and reduce the risk in risk-sharing group.

碩士
國立屏東科技大學
幼兒保育系碩士班
93
The purposes of this study were to investigate, the effects of deception motivation and feedback upon children’s deception behavior in five experimental situations, and children’s deception formation mechanism The quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Two classes of students were selected from two preschools in Pingtung. There were 86 six years old children . One class with 43 students was assigned to treatment group and the other class was assigned to control group. The treatment group received five deception experimental situations while the control group didn’t. The instruments used in this study included Deception Motivation Scale, Deception Feedback Scale, Anecdotal reports of deception situations, Children’s Deception Behavior Checklist and Semi-structured Interview. The study employed the two former to conduct pretest and posttest. The statistical methods used to analyze the data were Phi coefficient, Point-biserial correlation, Pearson correlation, Independent-samples t-test, one-way ANCOVA, Johnson-Neyman method, and two-way mixed design ANOVA. According to this research results, the conclusions of this study are as follows:(a) In “Protect Affection People” situation, girls tend to social motivation of deception behavior. (b) The higher of deception feedback children accepted, the higher of deception motivation they got. (c) Children’s deception feedback was effective at “social learning” and “avoiding embarrassed” situations, but it was not effective at “avoiding punishment”, “reap profits” and “protect affection people” situations. (d) The higher of deception motivation in reap profits situation, the higher of opportunity of deception behavior appeared. (e) Children’s deception motivation is promotion in reap profits situation. (f) The feedback that caused children’s deception behavior is promotion in reap profits situation. (g) The children’s deception formation mechanism doesn’t be build up yet. The best intense deception motivation is to reap profits. Children has been appeared deception behavior of altruistic tendency. The findings of this study were discussed, and some recommendations had been presented in relation to school educators and future research.