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Hartmann, Armin. "Fully mixed strategies in auction games." Berlin dissertation.de, 2006. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2871278&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.
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Puckett, Erin M. "Parking Strategies for Suburban Mixed-Use Developments." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/23293.
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Recent decades have seen many localities revisiting traditional town center-style development as a response to problems caused by sprawl. In some cases, these more compact developments occur in areas that are otherwise primarily suburban in character. Of the many facets of these developments, parking has one of the largest impacts on the compactness, walkability, and accessibility of those developments, but little information, academic or otherwise, exists to inform the planning of parking for mixed-use projects in an otherwise suburban environment. Many localities rely on zoning-based parking minimums, but a lack of situational parking strategies may limit the benefits of these suburban mixed-use projects. In an effort to ascertain trends or best practices in a suburban context, information on eleven mixed-use developments was collected from planners and developers. In addition, quantitative data related to the mix of uses and amount of parking in similar developments was obtained from Urban Land Institute case studies. The analysis revealed that in general, suburban municipalities do not capitalize on potential parking reductions created by mixing uses, do not truly share parking between uses, and do not implement parking regulation in the form of time limits or pricing. In a few cases, there were exceptions to these general trends, with some developments implementing detailed shared parking plans that have thus far been successful in balancing demand and supply. The related quantitative analysis suggests that the most important strategy as it relates to parking is to have a varied mix of uses in the development, with attention to those that have opposite peak times. Based on the case studies and shared parking analyses, recommendations for effective parking strategies for suburban, mixed-use development include: development of a shared parking plan, the use of ULI\'s Shared Parking as a starting point but not a final determinant in those shared parking plans, the use of proffers to require periodic checks on the shared parking supply, and ongoing local parking studies to better understand local need.Master of Urban and Regional Planning
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Berghman, Liselore Ann. "Strategic innovation capacity a mixed method study on deliberate strategic learning mechanisms /." [Rotterdam] : Rotterdam : Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), Erasmus University Rotterdam ; Erasmus University [Host], 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/7991.
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Wszolek, Unislawa M. "Use of mixed signaling strategies in international crisis negotiations." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1173215267.
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Omeni, Okundu Chukwuemeke. "Advanced mixed signal strategies for micropower CMOS system on chip." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.420136.
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Brunton, Kelsey Church. "A Mixed Methods Study Evaluating Strategies used in Organizational Visioning." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/23254.
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The purpose of this case study is to evaluate two methods of strategic planning within organizational visioning: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis and Appreciative inquiry (Ai). SWOT analysis is a method of strategic planning that is popular within companies and organizations due to its simple, yet thorough, approach. Ai has recently emerged as an approach to strategic visioning and planning within organizational development. However, little research has been conducted to evaluate either approach to organizational visioning, and there is a growing need to compare the two techniques. In this case study, participants within one organization were divided, with half of the staff participating in Ai and the other half participating in SWOT. Data for this mixed methods study was gathered through observation, focus group interviews, and pre-test, post-test, and delayed post assessments tests. Through the explanatory sequential design, quantitative data evaluated the change in organizational commitment and vision clarity as a result of the interventions; while, qualitative data further explored participants\' perception of the intervention process and resulting effects. The study found a statistically significant interaction between intervention treatments and the pre-test and post-test scores within the organizational commitment construct. Seven themes emerged from the qualitative data; however, only two themes were specifically associated with an intervention treatment. Participants in the SWOT intervention described the visioning process to be frustrating and negative; while, Ai participants found that the visioning process confirmed many of their beliefs and values about the department. Recommendations for future practice suggest the use of Strengths, Opportunities, Aspiration, Results (SOAR) as an approach that combines and maximizes Ai and SWOT. Suggestions for future research are to explore SWOT as a precursor to di-visioning within the Visioning Process Model.Master of Science in Life Sciences
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Skelton, Claude Eugene II. "Mixed Control Moment Gyro and Momentum Wheel Attitude Control Strategies." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/9677.
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Attitude control laws that use control moment gyros (CMGs) and momentum wheels are derived with nonlinear techniques. The control laws command the CMGs to provide rapid angular acceleration and the momentum wheels to reject tracking and initial condition errors. Numerical simulations of derived control laws are compared. A trend analysis is performed to examine the benefits of the derived controllers. We describe the design of a CMG built using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment. A mixed attitude control strategy is implemented on the spacecraft simulator at Virginia Tech.Master of Science
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Liew, Emily Wan Teng. "Modeling and control of non-ideally mixed bioreactors." Thesis, Curtin University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1433.
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Mixing plays a substantial role in determining the overall performance of a bioreactor. Well mixing in bioreactor, especially for ethanolic fermentation process is important for the homogenization of miscible and immiscible liquids, gas dispersion and suspension of solid particles. Improper mixing will eventually affect the biological and kinetics reactions occurring in the bioreactor and subsequently deteriorate the bioreactor performance. Currently, most modeling and control applications of bioreactors have been devoted to ideally mixed assumption, for simplicity. This is not realistic in practical applications. Furthermore, the strength and accuracy of the bioreactor models reflect their performance and subsequently its control strategy. Therefore, it is vital to consider the imperfect mixing for the control of bioreactor.In this study, a batch, micro-aerobic bioreactor for ethanolic fermentation process will be considered for modeling. Up to date, not much study has been conducted in exploiting the mixing mechanism for controlling this type of bioreactor. Traditionally, only the bioreactor conditions such as temperature and pH are controlled for such a batch bioreactor. Other parameters, such as aeration rate and stirrer speed are not used to control the bioreactor. Thus, it is difficult to improve the bioreactor performance as the bioreactor performance is less sensitive to both temperature and pH than to the mixing mechanism. However, the mixing behaviour of the bioreactor needs to be captured if we are to employ both aeration rate and stirrer speed for the control of such a batch bioreactor.It is known that aeration rate and stirrer speed could significantly affect the biological and kinetics reactions. Therefore, both aeration rate and stirrer speed are suggested in this work as manipulated variables in the modeling of batch bioreactor. Thus, with this approach the ideally mixed assumption will be relaxed.The models proposed will be implemented for control studies. New control strategies will be established for continuous bioreactor, whereby dilution rate and substrate concentration are considered as disturbance variables and both aeration rate and stirrer speed are suggested as manipulated variables. With this approach, the practicability of the proposed models could be investigated.The aims of this research have therefore been as follows: 1. To experimentally study the impact of aeration rate and stirrer speed on the bioreactor performances, i.e. yield and productivity. 2. To develop an integrated bioreactor model to allow us to employ the aeration rate and stirrer speed as manipulated variables for control design. 3. To establish new control strategies for bioreactor without the ideally mixed assumption.A systematic approach has been proposed to develop the non-ideally mixed bioreactor model and to design the control strategy of the lab-scale fermentation process. Three modeling approaches are employed, i.e. data-based, kinetics hybrid and kinetics multi-scale models for the analysis of the impacts of both aeration rate and stirrer speed on the performance of bioreactor. Using the three models, the aeration rate and stirrer speed are also used to analyze the mixing mechanism in the bioreactor.Furthermore, new control strategies are then proposed for the bioreactor. By using the proposed control strategies, the effect of both aeration rate and stirrer speed on the overall performance could be analyzed in the face of disturbances on other process parameters. Furthermore, the stability and achievable performance of the control strategies could be compared for different models. Hence, the proposed control strategies would lead to a better operation of the bioreactor.The study highlighted the following main findings: 1. It is identified that both aeration rate and stirrer speed could affect significantly the overall performance of the bioreactor. Therefore, both aeration rate and stirrer speed rather than temperature and pH could be used as manipulated variables for controlling the bioreactor. The ideally mixed assumption is relaxed where the mixing mechanism of the bioreactor is included in the proposed model.2. The main issue in modeling is the complexity of the microbial reactions and kinetics of the bioreactor performance for the non-ideally mixed behaviour of the bioreactor. Thus, it is important to identify the main reactions and kinetics which actually affect the bioreactor performance. In this study, Monod’s kinetics has been employed with the implementation of both aeration rate and stirrer speed. It is shown that the kinetics multi-scale model demonstrated good predictions of the mixing mechanism of bioreactor. Different conditions of aeration rate and stirrer speed influence the mixing mechanism and thus, contribute to the dynamics and kinetics within the bioreactor. These show that both aeration rate and stirrer speed play important role in studying the non-ideally mixed mechanism of the bioreactor.3. Optimization results, however, suggest that the kinetics hybrid model gives the most comparable values of maximum yield and productivity. Thus, this model is suggested for the determination of the optimum conditions of the bioreactor operation due to its simplicity in model construction, as compared to the kinetics multi-scale model.4. The control strategy of bioreactor using the data-based model does not always produce good performance, especially in the face of large disturbances. This implies that the use of models with ideally mixed assumptions would not always give good overall performance. Therefore, the controllability of the bioreactor performance is further improved with the implementation of the proposed non-ideally mixed bioreactor model. It is observed that both databased and kinetics hybrid models are able to keep the controlled variables in their set-point values by manipulating both aeration rate and stirrer speed for low disturbance changes.Hence, this research contributes on the understanding of mixing phenomena in micro-aerobic fermentation process from which a set of optimal operational conditions and control strategies to enhance its performance are developed.
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Magadzire, Zivayi. "Foraging strategies of cattle and goats in mixed-species grazing systems." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/12541.
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The foraging strategies of cattle and goals were studied in different seasons in order to determine how animals respond to changes in the abundance of food resources in semi-arid rangelands in Zimbabwe. Three different approaches were used to test hypotheses concerning dietary shifts under different resource availability scenarios in the two species. In a field experiment, the foraging behaviour of cattle and goats responded to different cues in their environment: cattle were sensitive to changes in grass biomass while goats responded to browse. However, goats showed more flexibility in their response in changes in range condition by increasing the proportion of time spent on the more available resource. Similar results were found in an observational study of the foraging behaviour of goats and cattle in a communal area. Here the dry season strategy of goats consisted of increasing browsing and expanding their diet breath, while cattle depended more on stover in the fields as a forage supplement in the dry season. key resources such as grass on contour bunds, riverine areas and fallow fields were also important, at the large scale. In both the field experiment and the communal area study; cattle and goats how low diet overlap indices, particularly for browse because cattle avoided species with thorns and selected broad-leaved species. In general, cattle had higher instantaneous intake rates on grass than browse, but matched intake rates on grass when they browsed on broad-leaved species. Goats were equally efficient on grass and browse, and had higher intake rates per metabolic body weight than cattle. Instantaneous intake rate under controlled conditions predicted that cattle would select broad-leaved browse species in preference to species with small leaves and thorns. This concurs with the results of the cattle in a field experiment and communal area study. The instantaneous intake rate of goats was only affected by a reduction in leaf density. Evaluation of range resources for sustainable animal production should take into account the animal species involved. Management interventions should be targeted at the dry season and key resource areas need to be protected so that they can be used strategically.
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Intoy, Ben Frederick Martir. "Pure and Mixed Strategies in Cyclic Competition: Extinction, Coexistence, and Patterns." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51999.
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We study game theoretic ecological models with cyclic competition in the case where the strategies can be mixed or pure. For both projects, reported in [49] and [50], we employ Monte Carlo simulations to study finite systems.
In chapter 3 the results of a previously published paper [49] are presented and expanded upon, where we study the extinction time of four cyclically competing species on different lattice structures using Lotka-Volterra dynamics. We find that the extinction time of a well mixed system goes linearly with respect to the system size and that the probability distribution approximately takes the shape of a shifted exponential. However, this is not true for when spatial structure is added to the model. In that case we find that instead the probability distribution takes on a non-trivial shape with two characteristic slopes and that the mean goes as a power law with an exponent greater than one. This is attributed to neutral species pairs, species who do not interact, forming domains and coarsening.
In chapter 4 the results of [50] are reported and expanded, where we allow agents to choose cyclically competing strategies out of a distribution. We first study the case of three strategies and find through both simulation and mean field equations that the probability distributions of the agents synchronize and oscillate with time in the limit where the agents probability distributions can be approximated as continuous. However, when we simulate the system on a one-dimensional lattice and the probability distributions are small and discretized, it is found that there is a drastic transition in stability, where the average extinction time of a strategy goes from being a power law with respect to system size to an exponential. This transition can also be observed in space time images with the emergence of tile patterns. We also look into the case of four cyclically competing strategies and find results similar to that of [49], such as the coarsening of neutral domains. However, the transition from power law to exponential for the average extinction time seen for three strategies is not observed, but we do find a transition from one power law to another with a different slope.
This work was supported by the United States National Science Foundation through grants DMR-0904999 and DMR-1205309.Ph. D.
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KALLAS, KASSEM. "A Game-Theoretic Approach for Adversarial Information Fusion in Distributed Sensor Networks." Doctoral thesis, Università di Siena, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11365/1005735.
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Every day we share our personal information through digital systems which are constantly exposed to threats. For this reason, security-oriented disciplines of signal processing have received increasing attention in the last decades: multimedia forensics, digital watermarking, biometrics, network monitoring, steganography and steganalysis are just a few examples. Even though each of these fields has its own peculiarities, they all have to deal with a common problem: the presence of one or more adversaries aiming at making the system fail. Adversarial Signal Processing lays the basis of a general theory that takes into account the impact that the presence of an adversary has on the design of effective signal processing tools.
By focusing on the application side of Adversarial Signal Processing, namely adversarial information fusion in distributed sensor networks, and adopting a game-theoretic approach, this thesis contributes to the above mission by addressing four issues. First, we address decision fusion in distributed sensor networks by developing a novel soft isolation defense scheme that protects the
network from adversaries, specifically, Byzantines. Second, we develop an optimum decision fusion strategy in the presence of Byzantines. In the next step, we propose a technique to reduce the complexity of the optimum fusion by relying on a novel nearly-optimum message passing algorithm based on factor graphs. Finally, we introduce a defense mechanism to protect decentralized networks running consensus algorithm against data falsification attacks.
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Rodríguez, López Pedro. "Enzyme-Benzalkonium chloride combined strategies to remove Listeria monocytogenes mixed-species biofilms." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/402269.
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Listeria monocytogenes está considerada una de las bacterias patógenas transmitidas por alimentos de mayor relevancia en Europa. En la naturaleza, se encuentra formando biopelículas multiespecie, estructuras de resistencia constituidas por una matriz extracelular que actúa de barrera protectora frente a agentes externos, dificulta su acción y genera concentraciones subletales en el interior de la biopelícula.
En el ámbito industrial, es habitual que las biopelículas estén expuestas a concentraciones subletales de biocidas, bien debido a que estas se encuentran en ubicaciones de difícil acceso, bien como consecuencia de una aplicación ineficiente. Ello favorece la aparición de bacterias resistentes y persistentes en plantas industriales, lo que ha llevado a un exceso en el uso de biocidas y al consecuente incremento del impacto ambiental.
Es necesario, pues, proponer sistemas de limpieza y desinfección más efectivos y eficientes, que aseguren el control de patógenos, generen menor resistencia y mantengan los cánones de impacto ambiental.
En la presente tesis se propone el diseño de un sistema de limpieza y desinfección específico frente a biopelículas mixtas de L. monocytogenes presentes en la industria alimentaria basado en la aplicación combinada de enzimas y cloruro de benzalconio (CB).
La hipótesis de partida se basa en que la aplicación de las enzimas podría suponer la disrupción de la matriz de la biopelícula que actúa como barrera frente a antimicrobianos facilitando la acción posterior del desinfectante. La especificidad se consigue a partir de la caracterización previa de las biopelículas portadoras de L. monocytogenes presentes en la industria, que permite la selección de las enzimas, el ajuste de las dosis y el estudio del posible desarrollo de tolerancia.
El trabajo se desarrolló en las siguientes etapas:
• Caracterización de las comunidades portadoras de L. monocytogenes presentes en superficies de industrias pesquera, cárnica y láctica. Esto permitió detectar la presencia y subtipos de L. monocytogenes, caracterizar la microbiota acompañante y estudiar las dinámicas de adhesión de los aislados de L. monocytogenes sobre acero inoxidable (AI) así como la capacidad de su asociación y formación de biopelículas en cultivo mixto con las especies acompañantes.
• Efectividad de la combinación de enzimas-CB sobre la eliminación de biopelículas tempranas portadoras de L. monocytogenes. Se estudiaron los efectos de diferentes enzimas solas y combinadas con CB sobre biopelículas tempranas mixtas de L. monocytogenes formadas en AI. Los resultados obtenidos demostraron la efectividad de la aplicación combinada enzima-CB sobre la eliminación de biopelículas mixtas portadoras de L. monocytogenes y pusieron de manifiesto que dicha efectividad varía con la composición y edad de la biopelícula, señalando la importancia de diseñar sistemas específicos de limpieza y desinfección.
• Cuantificación de los efectos de la aplicación combinada de pronasa-CB sobre la eliminación de biopelículas tardías de L. monocytogenes-E. coli. Se cuantificaron los efectos individuales y combinados de la aplicación de pronasa y CB sobre la superficie ocupada por las biopelículas tardías mixtas y el número de células viables adheridas y desprendidas después de la aplicación de los tratamientos. Los resultados demostraron un efecto sinérgico de pronasa-CB sobre la eliminación de biopelículas de L. monocytogenes-E. coli, una mayor efectividad frente a L. monocytogenes y la necesidad de dosificar elevadas concentraciones de BAC para asegurar la ausencia de células viables adheridas y liberadas.
• Desarrollo de tolerancia a tratamientos combinados de pronasa-CB en biopelículas mixtas de L. monocytogenes-E. coli. Se evaluó el efecto de la frecuencia y duración de exposiciones subletales consecutivas de pronasa-CB sobre el desarrollo de tolerancia en biopelículas mixtas de L. monocytogenes-E. coli. Los resultados demostraron que únicamente cuando las exposiciones subletales se acompañan de un periodo de recuperación se produce el desarrollo de tolerancia a la aplicación de los tratamientos combinados pronasa-CB.Listeria monocytogenes is considered one of the major foodborne pathogenic bacteria in Europe. In nature, it is found forming part of multispecies biofilms, resistance structures constituted by an extracellular matrix acting as a protective barrier against external agents, hindering their action and generating sublethal concentrations inside the biofilm. In industrial environments, biofilms are usually exposed to sublethal concentrations of biocides, due to the fact that the biofilm is located in inaccessible locations or because of inefficient application. This can favour the appearance of resistant and persistent bacteria in industrial plants, which lead to an excessive biocide deployment with a subsequent higher environmental impact. Is hence necessary, to propose more effective and efficient cleaning and disinfection systems, able to ensure pathogen control, generate less resistance while maintaining the main environmental impact standards. In the present dissertation, the design of a specific cleaning and disinfection system based on the combined application of enzymes and benzalkonium chloride (BAC) against L. monocytogenes mixed biofilms present in the food industry is proposed. The initial hypothesis is that the application of enzymes might produce the disruption of the biofilm matrix that acts as a barrier to antimicrobials, facilitating the subsequent effect of the disinfectant. The specificity is achieved based on the previous characterisation of the L. monocytogenes-carrying biofilms present in industry that permits the enzyme selection, the dose adjustment and the study of the possible tolerance development. The experimental work was development in the following stages: • Characterisation of the L. monocytogenes-carrying communities present in fish, meat and dairy industry. This allowed detecting the presence and subtypes of L. monocytogenes, to characterise the accompanying microbiota and to study the adhesion dynamics of L. monocytogenes isolates on stainless steel (SS) as well as the association capacity and biofilm formation in mixed culture with the accompanying species. • Effectiveness of the enzyme-BAC combination to remove early-stage L. monocytogenes-carrying biofilms. The effects of different enzymes alone and combined with BAC against early-stage L. monocytogenes mixed biofilms grown on SS was assessed. Results obtained demonstrated the efficacy of the enzyme-BAC combined application to remove L. monocytogenes mixed biofilms and highlighted that this efficacy varies with the composition and age of the biofilm, pointing out the importance of designing strain-specific cleaning and disinfection strategies. • Quantification of the effects of pronase-BAC combined application against L. monocytogenes-E. coli late-stage dual-species biofilms. The individual and combined effects on the occupied surface, and the number of viable adhered and released cells after the application of pronase and BAC against late-stage L. monocytogenes-E. coli dual-species biofilms were assessed. Results demonstrated a synergistic effect of pronase-BAC application against L. monocytogenes-E. coli dual-species biofilms, a higher efficacy against L. monocytogenes, and the need to use high BAC doses to ensure the absence of adhered and released viable cells. • Tolerance development to pronase-BAC combined treatments in L. monocytogenes-E. coli mixed biofilms. The effects of the frequency and duration of consecutive sublethal exposures to pronase-BAC on the development of tolerance in L. monocytogenes-E. coli mixed biofilms was assessed. Results showed that only when sublethal exposures are alternated with recovery periods, a tolerance development to the application of pronase-BAC combined treatments takes place.
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Sepahvand, Mehrdad. "Privatisation, strategic trade policy and order of moves in mixed oligopoly models." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.415601.
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Espinosa, William Robert. "Collaborative Strategic Planning: A Mixed Methods Study of Models and Superintendents’ Perspectives." Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School, 2009. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/255.
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School district leaders use strategic planning as a tool for leading their complex education systems. They may be mandated to prepare a strategic plan or they may elect to use the strategic planning process to adapt, focus, and align their education system to improve student achievement. The challenge comes in the confusion around what constitutes an effective strategic planning model. Using models from other sectors such as business are often unsuccessful when they are modified to deal with the diversity of stakeholders, multi-discipline systems, and complexity unique to school district systems. The purpose of this study was to research the practice of using strategic planning in 269 U. S. school districts. A survey using a nine-step strategic planning model as a conceptual framework was designed to determine the use, nonuse, and prevalence of the steps. A content analysis of 78 school district strategic plan documents and the semi-structured interviews of six district superintendents provided qualitative data and narrative to the analysis. The analysis of the data from this mixed methods approach provided insights into strategic planning models in use in school districts and a perspective of their effectiveness from the point-of-view of the superintendent.
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Ingalls, Victoria A. "A Mixed Methods Comparison Study of Placement Strategies for College Mathematics Courses." Ashland University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ashland1227036887.
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Sadat, Sayed Abdullah. "Optimal Bidding Strategy for a Strategic Power Producer Using Mixed Integer Programming." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6631.
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The thesis focuses on a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for a bi-level mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) considering chance constraints. The particular MPEC problem relates to a power producer’s bidding strategy: maximize its total benefit through determining bidding price and bidding power output while considering an electricity pool’s operation and guessing the rival producer’s bidding price. The entire decision-making process can be described by a bi-level optimization problem. The contribution of our thesis is the MILP formulation of this problem considering the use of chance constrained mathematical program for handling the uncertainties.
First, the lower-level poor operation problem is replaced by Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality condition, which is further converted to an MILP formulation except a bilinear item in the objective function. Secondly, duality theory is implemented to replace the bilinear item by linear items. Finally, two types of chance constraints are examined and modeled in MILP formulation. With the MILP formulation, the entire MPEC problem considering randomness in price guessing can be solved using off-shelf MIP solvers, e.g., Gurobi. A few examples and a case study are given to illustrate the formulation and show the case study results.
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Zhou, Yi. "Enhancing the Understanding of Integration in Mixed Methods Research by Reviewing Integration Strategies in Published Journal Articles: A Systematic Review." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1596032081233456.
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Bester, Carien. "Nitrogen management strategies for mixed pastures in the Winelands sub-region of the Western Cape." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86619.
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Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Three different pasture mixtures were established under irrigation at the Elsenburg research farm with the aim of devising nitrogen (N) management strategies for pastures in the Winelands sub-region of South Africa. The pasture mixtures were as follows: i) a mixed grass pasture consisting of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae) and cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata); ii) a grass-clover pasture consisting of perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, cocksfoot and red and white clover (Trifolium pratense and Trifolium repens); and iii) a grass-lucerne pasture consisting of perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and lucerne (Medicago sativa). The effect of fertiliser N on selected nutritive characteristics was also evaluated. The grass-legume pastures were subjected to two management strategies: the once-off application of N and the consecutive application of N over the autumn-early spring period. The reaction of the mixed grass pasture to applied N was mostly characterised by an interaction between the season of N application and N application rate. The productivity of the pasture in terms of the primary dry matter production (PDMP) and the total dry matter production (TDMP) was highest in spring and summer with the application of 60 – 80 kg N ha-1, and decreased in autumn and winter. There was a strong response of the winter residual dry matter production (RDMP) to N, which indicated that not all applied N was utilised during the first regrowth cycle, which might present a risk of nitrate being leached below the root zone. The botanical composition of the mixed grass pasture was determined by season of N application, and not N application rate. The tall fescue content was low over all seasons, presumably due to poor establishment and strong competition from accompanying species. In the cooler months perennial ryegrass and tall fescue was the dominant species, while in the warmer months cocksfoot was the main species. Nitrogen application also had a significant effect on the quality of the pasture, most notably the crude protein (CP) content. The response of the CP content was characterised by a strong interaction between season of N application and N application rate. Crude protein levels in excess of 22 % were recorded in autumn and winter with the application of 40 – 80 kg N ha-1. Other characteristics remained within the expected range. The response of the grass-clover and grass-lucerne pastures in terms of productivity and nutritive characteristics were mainly determined by the season of N application, and not N application rate. Productivity tended to be highest in autumn and early spring for both the once-off and the consecutive N application strategies, emphasizing the effect of temperature on pasture growth. The effect of season of N application and the N application rate on the botanical composition of the respective pastures were inconsistent over the two years of the study. The clover content tended to decrease in response to increasing rates of N, while the grass fraction was stimulated. Lucerne productivity decreased from autumn through winter and reached minimum levels in early spring, and was unaffected by fertiliser N rate. The legume component in both the grass-clover and grass-lucerne pastures remained above recommended levels of 20 – 40 % for optimum animal production, even when N was applied consecutively. The nutritive characteristics measured (dry matter (DM) content, CP, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD)) remained within the expected range, except the total CP content which was very high in the first year (> 30 %), although N application rate did not have a significant effect. Based on these findings, preliminary recommendations for N fertilisation (on low carbon soils) for a mixed grass pasture is 40 kg N ha-1 during autumn and winter and 60 kg N ha-1 in spring and summer. Based on the poor response of the grass-legume pastures to applied N it is doubtful whether fertilisation will lead to an economical advantage, but low rates of approximately 40 kg N ha-1 could be beneficial in a grass-clover pasture during autumn and late winter/early spring based on the relatively strong response of PDMP to N during this period.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Drie verskillende weidingsmengsels is onder besproeiing te Elsenburg proefplaas gevestig met die doel om stikstof (N) bestuurstrategieë te ontwikkel vir aangeplante weidings in die Wynland distrik van die Wes-Kaap van Suid Afrika. Die weidingsmengsels was as volg: i) ‘n gemengde gras weiding bestaande uit meerjarige raaigras (Lolium perenne), langswenkgras (Festuca arundinaceae) en kropaargras (Dactylis glomerata), ii) ‘n gras-klawer weiding bestaande uit meerjarige raaigras, kropaargras, langswenkgras, wit - en rooi klawer (Trifolium pratense en Trifolium repens), en iii) ‘n gras-lusern weiding bestaande uit meerjarige raaigras, langswenkgras en lusern (Medicago sativa). Die effek van stikstof bemesting op sekere kwaliteitsaspekte van die onderskeie weidings was ook geëvalueer. Die gras-peulplant weidings was onderworpe aan twee bestuurstrategieë, naamlik die eenmalige toediening van N en die agtereenvolgende toediening van N bemesting tydens die herfs – lente periode. Die reaksie van die gemengde gras weiding op N bemesting was hoofsaaklik gekenmerk deur ‘n interaksie tussen die N bemestingspeil en die seisoen van N toediening. Die produktiwiteit van die weidings i.t.v. die primêre droeëmateriaal produksie (PDMP) en die totale droeëmateriaal produksie (TDMP) was die hoogste in die lente en somer met die toediening van 60 – 80 kg N ha-1 en het in herfs en winter afgeneem. Daar was n sterk respons van die winter residuele droeëmateriaal produksie (RDMP) teenoor N, wat aandui dat nie alle toegediende N tydens die eerste hergroei periode benut was nie en dus ‘n moontlike risiko van loging inhou. Die botaniese samestelling van die gemengde gras weiding was deur die seisoen van N toediening bepaal, en nie die N bemestingspeil nie. Die langswenkgras inhoud was baie laag in alle seisoene, vermoedelik a.g.v. swak vestiging en sterk kompetisie van gepaardgaande spesies in die mengsel. Tydens die koeler seisoene van die jaar was meerjarige raaigras en langswenkgras die dominerende spesies, terwyl kropaargras tydens die warmer maande gedomineer het. Stikstof toediening het ook ‘n betekenisvolle effek op die kwaliteit van die weiding gehad, veral die ru-proteien (RP) inhoud. Die respons van RP was weereens gekenmerk deur ‘n betekenisvolle interaksie tussen die seisoen van N toediening en die N peil. Ru- proteien vlakke hoër as 22% was tydens herfs en winter waargeneem met die toedieningspyle van 40 – 80 kg N ha-1. Ander kwaliteits- eienskappe het binne normale perke gebly. Die respons van die gras-klawer en gras-lusern weidings in terme van produktiwiteit en kwaliteitseienskappe was hoofsaaklik deur die seisoen van N toediening bepaal, en nie deur die N bemestingspeil nie. Die produktiwiteit was die hoogste tydens herfs en vroeë lente vir beide die eenmalige en die herhaalde N toedieningsstrategieë. Hierdie bevindinge beklemtoon die belangrike effek van temperatuur op die groei en produksie van weidingsgewasse. Die effek van seisoen van N toediening en N peil op die botaniese samestelling van die gras-peulgewas weidings was inkonsekwent oor die twee jare van die studie. Die klawer-fraksie was geneig om af te neem soos wat die N peil toegeneem het, terwyl die gras-fraksie toegeneem het. Die lusern-inhoud het van herfs tot lente afgeneem en was ongeaffekteer deur die N peil. Die peulgewas-inhoud van beide weidingsmengsels was deurentyd hoër as die voorgeskrewe minimum vlak van 20 – 40%, selfs met opeenvolgende N-toediening. Die kwaliteitseienskappe gemeet in die studie (droeëmateriaal (DM) inhoud, RP en in vitro organiese materiaal verteerbaarheid (IVOMV)) het binne normale perke gebly, behalwe die totale ru-proteien (TRP) inhoud wat baie hoog was tydens die eerste jaar (>30%), alhoewel dit nie deur die N peil beinvloed was nie. Aan die lig van bogenoemde bevindinge is die voorlopige aanbeveling vir N- bemesting (op lae koolstof gronde) van ‘n gemengde grasweiding 40 kg N ha-1 tydens die herfs en winter en 60 kg N ha-1 tydens lente en somer. Gebasseer op die swak respons van die gras-peulgewas weidings op toegediende N, is dit twyfelagtig of N toediening enige ekonomiese voordeel vir die boer sal inhou. Gebaseer op die relatiewe sterk respons van die gras-klawer PDMP op toegediende N tydens herfs en laat winter/vroeë lente kan dit moontlik voordelig wees om lae N-vlakke van ongeveer 40 kg ha-1 tydens hierdie seisoene toe te dien.
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McGough, Erin Patrick. "Analyzing the Relationship Between Player Personnel and Optimal Mixed Strategies in American Football." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1248121168.
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Askarova, Samira H. "Managing Successful Strategic Turnarounds: A Mixed Methods Study of Knowledge-Based Dynamic Capabilities." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case162636803542875.
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Vasquez, Jorge. "Spanish Language Learning and Supporting Strategies in Mixed Classrooms at the Secondary Level." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2018. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6920.
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Students in the United States take language courses for various reasons. Many Spanish heritage language learners (HLLs) and the majority of second language learners (L2Ls) enroll in Spanish classes in the United States. Based on state demographics, sometimes immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries join HLLs and L2Ls in mixed-classrooms. Many times, these groups take classes together, even though their language abilities, motivations, and linguistic needs differ significantly. Such a learning setting presents challenges for them as well as for instructors. This study builds upon and reinforces findings from previous studies regarding teaching mixed-classes. Data were gathered from 41 students taking AP Spanish at the secondary level through pre- and post-questionnaires, journal reflections, observations and interview with four of the participants. Findings reveal that all groups enjoyed working together in a mixed-classroom setting. Additionally, their language learning experience progressed as they worked collaboratively and learned reciprocally. The study found that scaffolded debates and class discussions aided students with their language learning. Furthermore, the study shows the need to help students with reading and literacy skills, listening skills and acquisition of Hispanic cultures. Lastly, the study also shows the importance of instructors' approaches, practices and materials to teaching mixed-classes and the need for focused and individualized instruction for better results with each group.
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Nguyen, Thi Ngoc. "EFL learners in Vietnam an investigation of writing strategies : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Language Studies, AUT University, 2009 /." Click here to access this resource online, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/751.
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Research into second language strategies has started as a result of the shift of focus, from teachers and teaching to learners and learning which has taken place in the field of education over the last few decades. Strategies used by good language learners have been revealed, strategies used by successful and less successful language learners have been compared, and factors influencing the use of learning strategies have also been investigated. As an attempt to contribute to gaining more insights into language learning strategy, this research aims to investigate the writing strategies used by successful and less successful English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners and the relationship between strategy use and the learners’ success. A multi-method approach combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used to answer the research questions. This approach was achieved by means of method triangulation which consisted of structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and learning diaries. Nine female adult native Vietnamese students, who were in their second year of a four-year Bachelor program at Hanoi University in Vietnam, participated in the study. Questionnaires were administered at the beginning of the data collection phase. Guidelines for diary writing were then provided to the participants. Semi-structured interviews which served as the primary method of data collection were finally conducted with each of the participants. Findings from the study showed that the successful writers not only used strategies more frequently but also used more metacognitive, memory, compensation, and cognitive strategies than the less successful writers. The study also found some strategies which were most and least frequently used by both the successful and less successful writers.
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Paramasivan, Ganesh [Verfasser], and Achim [Akademischer Betreuer] Kienle. "Synthesis of plantwide control strategies using mixed integer optimization / Ganesh Paramasivan. Betreuer: Achim Kienle." Magdeburg : Universitätsbibliothek, 2012. http://d-nb.info/1047596105/34.
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Reveny, Stephanie, and Elvira Stafverfeldt. "Career Challenges and Coping Strategies of Swedish Elite Show Jumpers : A mixed-methods study." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för hälsa och välfärd, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-39197.
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The aim of the study was to examine perceived challenges and coping strategies of Swedish elite show jumpers from the holistic perspective. A mixed-methodology was used with a dominant qualitative design and a supportive quantitative design. Semi-structured interviews based on the holistic athletic career model and two surveys developed from the qualitative results were used to collect the data. The participants of the study were 5 Swedish elite show jumpers between the age of 24-29 (M=26.4, SD=2.06). The qualitative findings resulted in two category profiles of perceived challenges and use of coping strategies. The quantitative findings resulted in two individual profile for each participant. The findings identified five higher order themes of perceived challenges (psychological, financial, psycho-social, athletic and vocational) and three higher order themes of coping strategies (social support, problemfocused coping and emotion-focused coping). The individual profiles showed both similar patterns and individual nuances between the participants. Major challenges for the equestrians were financial, injuries and dealing with identity foreclosure. This study represents an effort to highlight the challenges met and coping strategies used by equestrians on elite level, to prevent ineffective coping and negative consequences such as a premature dropout.Syftet med studien var att undersöka svenska elithoppryttares upplevda utmaningar och coping strategier utifrån ett holistiskt perspektiv. En mixad metod användes med en dominant kvalitativ design och en stödjande kvantitativ design. Semistrukturerade intervjuer baserade på den holistiska karriärutvecklingsmodellen samt två enkäter utvecklade ur det kvalitativa resultatet användes för att samla in data. Deltagarna i studien utgjordes av 5 svenska elithoppryttare i åldrarna 24-29 (M=26.4, SD=2.06). Det kvalitativa resultatet gav två kategoriprofiler av upplevda utmaningar och användandet av coping strategier. Det kvantitativa resultatet gav två individuella profiler för varje deltagare. Resultatet identifierade fem överordnade teman av upplevda utmaningar (psykologiska, finansiella, psyko-sociala, idrottsliga och yrkesmässiga) och tre överordnade teman av coping strategier (socialt stöd, problemfokuserad coping och emotionsfokuserad coping). De individuella profilerna visade både liknande mönster samt individuella nyanser mellan deltagarna. De största utmaningarna för ryttarna var finansiella, skador och att hantera en sluten idrottsidentitet. Denna studie representerar ett försök till att belysa vilka utmaningar och coping strategier som används av ryttare på elitnivå, för att undvika ineffektiv coping och negativa konsekvenser så som ofrivilligt avslut av idrottskarriär.
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Isaacs, Katherine W. "Stakeholder engagement for sustainability : a mixed method study of corporate strategies and engagement outcomes." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82722.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2013.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
This dissertation contributes to our understanding of the strategies the companies use to engage external stakeholders, as well as the processes and outcomes of engagement. The first essay proposes a framework for evaluating a firm's stakeholder engagement strategy, comprised of eight dimensions that vary on a spectrum from least to most advanced. This essay also proposes six kinds of engagement outcomes: three involving learning and relationship building, and three involving tangible changes. The essay concludes with preliminary findings about engagement outcomes at the two case companies. The second essay uses the first essay's strategy framework to develop and validate scales for measuring each strategy dimension, and test which of these vary together to comprise a higher-order strategy. This type of analysis has not yet been done in the research on stakeholder engagement, which instead relies on descriptive typologies comprised of elements that are assumed, but not proven, to cluster together. The analysis in this paper generated six first-order factors, five of which combined to form a Strategy factor. This was used to score companies in the oil and gas, electric power, and automotive industries. Together, the first and second essays represent a first step towards more precisely defining and measuring the level of sophistication of a firm's stakeholder engagement strategy. The third essay is a fine-grained social psychological analysis of how negotiation frames, interpersonal trust, and issue characteristics interacted in one long-term engagement between a power company and environmental non-governmental stakeholders. The question motivating the analysis is: What prevented the participants from realizing the possibility they envisioned for engagement? I argue that a combination of issue characteristics and relational ambivalence -- the simultaneous presence of interpersonal trust and distrust -- motivated the company to engage in "quasi-cooperation" with stakeholders. Quasi-cooperation is the simultaneous deployment of cooperative and competitive tactics. The discovery by stakeholders of the company's quasi-cooperation triggered a conflict spiral that led to the destruction of the parties' working relationships, ending their engagement. Theoretical implications and practical lessons drawn from this case expand our knowledge of how practitioners might approach long-term engagements differently in the future.
by Katherine W. Isaacs.
Ph.D.
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Bayer, Cherie Lei. "Adults' Strategic Assistance During Toddler Disputes Occurring in a Mixed-Age Group Care Setting /." The Ohio State University, 1995. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487861396027713.
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Enns, Aganeta. "Strategies and Experiences in Food Banks, Food Insecurity, and Health: A Mixed-Methods Investigation." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/41529.
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Food insecurity is a prevalent and persistent issue that affects communities across Canada. Food banks are currently one of the most common responses to food insecurity in the country. Since they emerged in the 1980s, food banks have proliferated across Canada and the number of people accessing them has risen steeply. While food banks have faced criticisms in their capacity to address food insecurity, there have been shifts in how they operate over recent years. There are a growing number of examples of food banks that changed the types of food that they distribute and the programs and services that they offer on location. However, there is little evidence to explore the impact of shifting food bank operations. In a series of three studies, this dissertation explored operational characteristics and strategies of food banks, experiences with accessing food banks, and associations between food bank access and food insecurity, as well as related dietary and health outcomes.
The first study employed a qualitative methodology to examine staff and volunteer perspectives on the strategies that food banks have adopted and adapted to address the needs of the people that they serve and the factors that enable or impede change. The findings illustrate current food banking practices and revealed examples of how food bank operations have changed over recent years to endeavor to better address the needs of the people who access their services. Moreover, the results illuminate food bank efforts to raise awareness and advocate for policy change to better address issues of poverty and food insecurity.
The second study used qualitative data collected at two time points, six months apart, to explore experiences of food insecurity and food bank access among people who access them. While there was variation in the social and emotional experiences of accessing food banks, a common theme of long-term and regular access due to constrained financial resources arose in the data.
The third study was a quantitative investigation of the associations between the operational characteristics of food banks and changes in food insecurity, diet, and health over a six month period. Results indicated that accessing a food bank that employed a choice model of food distribution was significantly associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption over the study period. Accessing a food bank integrated within a community resource centre was significantly associated with reporting less severe food insecurity at six months compared to baseline.
The findings presented in this dissertation offer novel evidence to elucidate the shifting operations of food banks and the associations between food banking operational characteristics and food insecurity over time. Moreover, these findings may inform decisions to change or adapt food banking operations to better address the needs of the people and communities served. Food banks, though they do not address the root causes of food insecurity, are established community resources, and thus, serve as strategic access points for not only short-term food assistance but also for connecting people with services and advocating for food security and poverty reduction.
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Bokan-Smith, Kate Elizabeth. "A Mixed Methods Study of Motivational Teaching Strategies in the ESL Classroom in Australia." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/15547.
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This thesis has two main purposes: first, to investigate how English as a second language (ESL) teachers identify and implement motivational teaching strategies in their classroom and second, to explore how their students perceive and observe specific teaching strategies. Research participants included native and non-native English speaking teachers and their adult students with English language proficiency skills from pre-intermediate to advanced levels. The students represent a diverse population from several countries throughout the world with different goals for studying English in Australia. The study was conducted at three ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students) language schools in Australia. A combination of mixed methods data collection instruments (Likert-scale questionnaire measuring teachers’ and students’ ranking of teaching strategies inspired by Dörnyei’s motivational strategy framework) and qualitative measures (pre-observation teacher interviews, classroom observations, student interviews and post-observation teacher interviews using stimulated recall) were employed. It was found that on the basis of the quantitative teacher questionnaire, teachers rated thirty-five motivational strategies and considered ‘class goals’, ‘pleasant environment’, ‘relevant curriculum’, ‘providing encouragement’ and ‘presenting motivating tasks’ as the five most important motivational strategies. Qualitative interview and classroom observation results indicated that the motivational strategies that five novice and expert teachers claimed to use in the classroom aligned well with their actual classroom practices and what students reported as motivating; however, the questionnaire ranking order of the same five strategies differed among the teachers and their students. During the post-observation interviews, teachers positively reflected on their observations, noting some parallels between previous strategy claims and actual classroom practices. Observational data revealed that while several motivational teaching strategies among the four novice and one expert teacher overlapped, the expert teacher tended to take more motivational strategy ‘risks’ by implementing a wider range of strategies more spontaneously during classroom observations. Results from this thesis provide new insight into teachers’ motivational strategy use and students’ perceptions of their teachers’ strategic choices. This thesis has offered both a theoretically informed and an empirically grounded framework for future research on language motivation and teaching strategies through mixed methods data analysis for further classroom research.
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Pesarini, Angelica. "Colour strategies : negotiations of black mixed race women's identities in colonial and postcolonial Italy." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2015. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10103/.
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Starting from autobiographical accounts, this thesis represents the first study on black ‘mixed race’ Italian women using ‘race’, ‘gender’ and ‘Nation’ as markers for identity negotiations. It investigates phenomenological experiences of ‘mixed race’ embodiment lived by two generations of women born from a white Italian and a black East-African parent in the ex-Italian East African colonies (1890-1941) and who migrated to Italy in the 1970s. Using black feminist epistemology and qualitative research methods, the thesis interrogates the limits of Fanon’s idea of the ‘white look’ and it develops the ‘white female look’ as a tool to highlight the gendered connotations clearly neglected by Fanon and useful in this thesis to understand the construction of the racialised and gendered ‘mixed race’ body in colonial and postcolonial Italy. Furthermore, the analysis of the white (female) look in relations to the life histories collected, brought about the notion of ‘colour strategies’, which refers to the historical and contingent deployment of the racialised gaze capable of constructing the ‘mixed race’ body and used by ‘mixed race’ subjects themselves in order to build a narrative enabling them to justify their position in the world. The thesis argues that the complexities of ‘mixed race’ identifications for the women interviewed can be traced at the cracks of (post)colonial discourse on: 1) love and intimacy 2) violence and shame 3) home and belonging. The oral testimonies uncovered ambiguities and internal contradictions at the core of the Italian colonial discourse on ‘race’, gender and identity and shed light on everyday life negotiations. The data also reveals transgression of (post)colonial racial discursive boundaries often accompanied by practices of racialisation that may trigger shame, pain and violence. The original contribution to knowledge of this thesis is as follows. Firstly, it fills a gap in ‘critical mixed race studies’ addressing for the first time discussions of mixedness in relation to Italy. Secondly, it contributes to the development of Italian postcolonial studies in which mixedness appears as a severely under-investigated field. Thirdly, the study reveals unexplored negotiations of mixedness and sheds light on some hidden inscriptions of Italian colonial violence and resistance not investigated before.
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Dang, Timothy O'Neill. "Essays in Experimental Games." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195597.
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This dissertation contains three essays describing experiments in game theory and economics. Chapter one studies mixed strategies by asking whether game players are willing to pay for randomization. A natural intuition for mixed strategies is randomization for unpredictability, but this is theoretically fragile. A player should only randomize between strategies if indifferent, and then could choose a disequilibrium strategy. Various theories describe mixed strategies not as random play, but heterogeneous pure-strategy play. I conduct experiments in which players can choose to pay a fee to use a randomization device, applied to O’Neill’s zero-sum game. If subjects did so, it would show a strict preference for randomization over any available pure strategy. In fact, very few chose to use the randomization device. Subjects’ descriptions of their decision process were consistent with the notion of purification. Chapter two also studies mixed strategies, asking whether randomization is a property of individual choice or game play. In two experiments, game players are mirrored by guessers who make predictions about game play, distinguishing best-responding from game playing. In a Matching Pennies game, I find that game players are they are both more interested in unpredictability and actually more random. In an Asymmetric Matching Pennies game, I look at whether players are willing to forgo expected payoff in order to be unpredictable, and find little difference between players and guessers, with players being somewhat better at exploiting disequilibrium play. Chapter three experimentally implements markets for competing goods with network effects. Markets with strong network effects often have multiple equilibria, including winner-take-all equilibria in which one firm has a monopoly. Firms may compete dynamically with the aim of locking-in to a favorable equilibrium. In this paper we create an experimental market with differentiated products and network effects. When lock-in is created by simulating naïve buyers, monopoly does arise with sellers setting high prices. With human buyers, markets without switching costs are extremely competitive, with no support for stories of lock-in and monopoly. Markets with switching costs are inefficient, but this is overwhelmingly due to the individual switching costs rather than monopoly.
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Chin, Fui-Yee Phoebe. "A Study on Retention and Achievement: Assessment of International Students' Resilience and Coping Strategies." OpenSIUC, 2016. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1275.
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The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine and to explore international students’ perceptions of resilience and how they coped with stress during their pursuit of a college degree. This study also explored forms of assistance international students received while studying at the university, how students capitalized on their own qualities to overcome obstacles, and to discover resilience factors that empowered international students despite challenges they encountered during the course of study. The researcher utilized two surveys, namely the Resilience Scale (RS) (Wagnild & Young, 1993) and the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) (Amirkhan, 1990), and a focus group interview to collect data for the study. The sample of the study consisted of 117 students for the RS, 106 students for the CSI, and 6 students for the focus group. All students were internationals from a Midwestern university in the United States. The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant difference in the RS scores for both undergraduate and graduate international students or for females and males respectively. The study also confirmed that there was no significant difference in the CSI scores for undergraduate and graduate international students. However, there was a significant difference between females and males in their CSI scores, suggesting that females were more likely than males to seek social support when they encountered challenges in life. Qualitative data from the focus group yielded meaningful insights on the obstacles that international students had to overcome, assistance international students received while in the United States, and protective factors students possessed in order to be successful in the university. The study also included a factor analysis of the data that confirmed a 3-factor structure of CSI (labeled respectively as Problem Solving, Seeking Social Support, and Avoidance). Even though factor analysis also verified the original 25-item 5-factor structure of RS, yielding a 5-factor structure of resilience (Meaningfulness, Equanimity, Self-Reliance, Perseverance, and Existential Aloneness), due to several cross loadings of the variables onto the factors, the analysis failed to verify the same variables contributed to the original 5-factor in RS. Plausible explanations for the discrepancy of the study of RS were explored.
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Richardson, David. "Breeding density, male age and mixed reproductive strategies in the northern oriole (Icterus galbula bullockii)." Thesis, University of Leicester, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/29763.
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1) This study investigated the relationship between breeding density, male age and the reproductive strategies employed by northern orioles (Icterus galbula bullockii) in central coastal California, USA, 1994-1996.;2) A nesting association was found to occur between northern orioles and yellow-billed magpies (Pica nuttalli). Northern orioles often chose to nest close to magpie nests (< 50m) and, apparently as a result, suffered significantly lower nest predation (13.5%, 5/37) than did northern orioles nesting further away from magpies (43.3%, 13/30). The clumping of northern orioles nests that occurs in some areas is suggested to be largely a result of northern orioles attempting to nest close to the less abundant, semi-colonial magpies to gain from the predator protection they afford.;3) Single-locus DNA profiling revealed that overall 32.2% of chicks were extra-pair young (EPY) and that 46% of nests contained EPY. EPY was shown to be distributed across nests in a highly bimodal fashion. Paternity was assigned for 44.6% (29/65) of EPY. Low levels of intra-specific brood parasitism were also detected (1.0% [2/202] of chicks in 4.6% [2/48] of nests).;4) Male age/plumage status was shown to have a considerable affect on the frequency of extra-pair paternity. On average, first-year (subadult plumage) males lost 55.3% of their paternity while older (adult plumage) males lost only 20.6% of their paternity. Furthermore, paternity assignment indicates that it is nearly always adult males that gain the extra-pair paternity (EPP). The uneven distribution of paternity resulted in adult males having a significantly higher annual reproductive success rate than subadult males (4.3 v 1.9 fledglings, respectively). The bimodal distribution of EPP and the evidence that adult males gain higher levels of both within and extra-pair paternity are, in the light of female control of extra-pair fertilisations (EPFs), best explained by the 'good genes' hypothesis. Females appeared to prefer fertilisations from older 'better quality' males and it is suggested that they base this choice on the plumage differences that occur between adult and subadult males. This result has considerable implications for the evolution of delayed plumage maturation (DPM) and a new hypothesis (the honest plumage hypothesis) is suggested that may explain the evolution of DPM in the northern oriole and other bird species.
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Shneerson, Catherine L. "Self-management strategies of cancer survivors : who does what and why? : a mixed methods study." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5715/.
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This thesis examined self-management (SM) strategies of cancer survivors from pre-diagnosis, through treatment and into survivorship. A healthcare definition of SM as a lifestyle modifying behaviour potentially impacting on cancer survivors’ health, wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) was given. Due to a lack of existing literature, a systematic review and meta-analyses investigating whether complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) improves cancer survivors’ QoL was undertaken, finding moderate to poor quality evidence of this. A mixed methods study explored SM patterns over time. The questionnaire study examined the prevalence and distribution of SM patterns, finding SM uptake was highest in survivorship. Subgroup analyses found SM uptake was highest in breast cancer and chemotherapy respondents, whilst correlation analysis revealed significant associations between SM uptake and both QoL and internal health locus of control (HLC), but none between SM uptake and work ability. The interview study explored how and why cancer survivors made decisions about incorporating SM practices into their daily lives. The concept of normality in survivorship emerged, with cancer survivors assembling a new health-related normality to adapt to their new lives post-cancer. A theoretical framework proposed that cancer survivors use SM as a supportive mechanism to attain their new health-related normality.
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Pan, Yu-Wen. "Analysis and rehearsal strategies for selected renaissance choral music suitable for secondary school mixed choirs." Connect to resource, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1228838498.
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McNamara, Kim H. "Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of Transformative Leadership and Change Strategies." [Yellow Springs, Ohio] : Antioch University, 2008. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?acc_num=antioch1232215313.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2008.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed February 20, 2009). Advisor: Jon Wergin, Ph.D. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2008."--from the title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-246).
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Ahern, Zeke Alexander. "Exact and approximate optimisation for strategic bus network planning." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2020. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/206458/1/Zeke_Ahern_Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis contributes to the area of transportation network design at the strategic level, considering objectives for the passenger and operator. The main goal of the research is to improve the existing methods by developing new and more rigorous approaches to integrating route choice, service frequency and adequately accounting for passenger waiting time. An exact model was developed: providing a concise non-ambiguous description to the problem. Case study problem instances found that exact methods implemented by commercial solvers are not scalable for practical problems. Therefore, meta-heuristics were presented to find near-optimal solutions efficiently and demonstrate the practicality of the model in the real-world.
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Wongchum, Rungrudee. "Family factors influencing violence in Thai adolescents and nursing strategies for prevention : a mixed methods study." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.658712.
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Adolescent violence has been an increasing concern in Thailand. There is evidence from the U.S.A and Europe that there are many contributing factors to adolescent violence. This study examined risk and protective factors associated with the family that influence violent behaviour in Thai adolescents and explored nursing strategies to prevent this. A mixed method study was undertaken using a survey with 400 adolescents, 12 semi-structured interviews with parents, and two focus groups with 5 teachers and 5 nurses in Northern Thailand. Inferential statistics (i.e. correlations, multiple regressions) were used on survey data to identify the association between family factors and violent behaviour and the prediction of adolescent violence. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to examine the data from adult interviews and focus groups identifying factors influencing violence and exploring nursing strategies to prevent adolescent violence. The results were that ineffective parental discipline, negative parental role models, inappropriate parental monitoring, and poor communication within the family were identified as risk factors. Moreover, violent peers, violence in the media, use of alcohol and drugs, positive beliefs about the use of violence, and lack of emotional control also contributed to adolescent violence. In contrast, factors preventing violence in adolescents were effective parental discipline, positive parental role models and monitoring, two-way communication and Buddhist beliefs. Also, pro-social peers, a supportive neighbourhood, and undertaking effective coping prevented adolescents ' from using violence. Nursing strategies which could prevent violence in adolescents included family assessment, health education, facilitating the development of healthy families, and coordinating community action. These need to be developed by providing nurses with specific skills training. The main results of the study demonstrate that factors, such as parental role models, and peer influences were similar to current evidence, however, factors such as Buddhist beliefs and "saving face" were unique to this study of Thai adolescents.
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Banda, Agripina. "Thermophilic mixed culture degradation of Miscanthus x giganteus as a guide to strategies for consolidated bioprocessing." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/23796.
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The successful development of consolidated bioprocessing requires microorganisms capable of degrading lignocellulosic biomass and fermenting the resulting sugars. Commercial cellulases and hemicellulases are currently being used to access these sugars, adding to the cost of producing useful products from lignocellulose. This study reports the enrichment of thermophilic, miscanthus degrading bacterial cultures from a municipal composting facility. The detected and isolated bacteria were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and were mostly Chitinophagaceae family, Meiothermus spp. and Geobacillus spp. Other isolated species included Cohnella spp., Brevibacillus sp., Chelatococcus spp., Thermobacillus spp., Thermoanaerobacterium spp., Thermobispora bispora, Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus sp. and Micrococcus sp. After enrichment, the mixed population was able to degrade greater than 50% of an ammonium hydroxide pre-treated Miscanthus x giganteus sample (1 g) over a six week incubation period at 55oC, with a reduction in the amounts of all components, including acid soluble and acid insoluble lignin. The glycoside hydrolases and other enzymes identified in the culture supernatants included endo-1,4-β-glucanase A, glucoamylase, xylan 1,4-β-xylosidase, xylose isomerase, xylulokinase, superoxide dismutase, transaldolase, Mn-catalase, Δ-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase and endo-β-N-acetylglucoseaminidase H. The HPLC analysis showed that fermentation products formate and lactate were present in the culture supernatant. Expression of an endoglycoside hydrolase (Csac_0137 from Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus) gene in Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius strains, NCIMB 11955 and DL33, improved their β-glucosidase specific activity on cellobiose, and improved glycoside hydrolase activities of recombinant DL33 strain when grown on pre-treated M. x giganteus. Co-culturing of either transformed or wild-type NCIMB 11955 and DL33 with some of the isolated strains improved their glycoside hydrolase activity and growth on pretreated M. x giganteus.
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Kim, R. S. "Mixed methods action research : intervention strategies for employee turnover in ethnic Asian enterprises in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2017. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3010115/.
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Excessive employee turnover can pose a threat to a firm’s growth and survival. This is particularly true for small ethnic Asian businesses that rely heavily on human labour input with cultural and language challenges. This paper sets out to develop effective intervening strategies for the high labour turnover found in ABC (pseudonym), a small ethnic Asian company in New Zealand that provides commercial cleaning and shopping trolley collections services. This study used a multistrand mixed method action research (MMAR) approach that leverages discussions, a survey and interviews for data collection in the cycle of action research (AR) proposed by Coghlan and Brannick: 'constructing' (Phase 1), 'planning action' (Phase 2), 'taking action' (Phase 3), and 'evaluating action' (Phase 4). This design helps cross-validate the gathered data and enhance the rigour and credibility of the research outcomes. In Phase 1, having identified excessively high employee turnover as the research problem, the subsequent literature review revealed three candidate intervening variables: leadership styles, job satisfaction and level of ethnic entrepreneurship (co-ethnic community involvement). In Phase 2, data were collected and analyzed using a mixed method to understand the impact of the intervening variables on turnover and identify the areas for improvement when applying the found-to-be effective variables in ABC. The quantitative data was collected from employees of ethnic Asian companies including ABC. The statistical analyses on 222 usable questionnaires suggested that two variables (leadership styles – supportive and participative, and job satisfaction) were found to be the strong predictors of employee withdrawal intention. Interestingly, it was not possible from the data to claim a moderating effect of ethnic entrepreneurship on the relationships between leadership and turnover propensity. The succeeding qualitative study gathered the data from twelve ABC employees via phone. The interview results were largely aligned with the quantitative findings. They confirmed the beneficial effect of supportive and participative leadership styles on job satisfaction, and highlighted the detrimental effect of the directive style. In phase 3, the meta-inferences gained from merging the outcomes of Phase 2 were validated in ABC’s context through the discussions with ABC executives. These yielded three feasible action plans with six strategies to tackle employee turnover under leadership styles and job satisfaction categories: taking leadership training, facilitating effective communication systems (changing the frequencies and mode of the communications), and providing non-monetary rewards (free snacks, job titles, and celebrating personal and work milestones). In phase 4, the suggested action plans are evaluated and consideration is given for future research. Overall, this MMAR study fulfilled its objective of producing context-specific outcomes to my real work context. At the same time, it has contributed to the body of knowledge by extending the Western and large organisation oriented turnover study, to the small ethnic Asian companies in New Zealand. However, the suggested strategies are not the final solutions to the problem, and measuring their effect remains a task for future research as the second cycle of action research (AR).
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Edwards, Cherie Dionne. "Examining Acculturation Strategies in Immigrant and Refugee Youth: A Mixed Methods Approach to Arts-Informed Research." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/78229.
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Extending far beyond migration to a new home, the cultural, emotional, and mental plight of immigration plagues immigrants and refugees of all ages. Nonetheless, immigrant youth are commonly overlooked in acculturation studies. This mixed methods approach to arts-informed research examined the acculturation strategies adopted by immigrant and refugee youth attending community-based programs. Through the use of participant drawings, the think-aloud technique, and the Acculturation, Habits, and Interests Multicultural Scale for Adolescents (AHIMSA) instrument, this research also examines the ways in which immigrant and refugee participants communicate their cultural paradigms. The findings emerging from this study illustrate that immigrant and refugee youth cope with cultural transitions through varied approaches that integrate expressions of individuality and cultural behaviors. By exploring six key findings, this study contributes to literature examining acculturation in youth populations as it provides an analysis of cultural transition that expands beyond traditional examinations of cultural behaviors, and highlights the importance of expressing individuality, values, and interests, in the acculturation process of immigrant youth.Ph. D.
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Williams, Brian G. "A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding the Effects of Visual Analytic Strategies on Organizational Decision Making." Case Western Reserve University Doctor of Management / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1568628001000644.
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Potter, Kerry L. "Fit Freshmen: A mixed methods approach to developing weight control strategies for 1st year college students." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42181.
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College-age adults gain weight more rapidly than the general population, with a mean weight gain of ~1.8 to 4 kilograms during their first year at college. The purpose of this pilot RCT was to test the efficacy of a semester long internet weight-loss program based upon social cognitive theory for overweight college freshmen. Qualitative focus groups were used to provide feedback on content of the active intervention. Participants (n=27; mage=18.5±.6; mweight=90kg±18; 74% female) were randomly assigned to the active intervention (Fit Freshmen; FF) or a health information control group and completed baseline and 3 month follow-up measurements. When compared to controls FF participants experienced higher improvement in self-regulatory skills for portion control, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity (all pâ s<.05). Consumption of dietary fat and added sugar also decreased significantly for FF subjects when compared to controls (all pâ s<.05) while total energy intake differences were significant (p<.09). Trends in increased physical activity were present, but not significantly different between groups. Finally, FF lost significantly more weight than controls (mdifference=2.2kg; p<0.05) and more fat mass (mdifference=1kg; p<0.09). Themes for content improvement included providing a more detailed meal plan, reducing email contact, and increasing social activity opportunities. Program characteristics that were positively evaluated included the flexible exercise program, incentives for weight loss, and use of an onsite weigh station. This study provides promising outcomes for a scalable internet-based weight loss program for college freshmen and highlights features that could be improved to be more attractive to this population.Master of Science
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Coccaro-Pons, Jennifer. "A Mixed Method Study of Prospective Teachers' Epistemic Beliefs and Web Evaluation Strategies Concerning Hoax Websites." FIU Digital Commons, 2018. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3911.
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Teachers need to be equipped with the tools necessary to evaluate content on the Internet and determine if it is a credible source, or a hoax website since they are expected to instruct and prepare students on how to evaluate the sites which is now a relevant phenomenon. The purpose of the mixed‑method study was to obtain an understanding of the web evaluation strategies of prospective teachers regarding the evaluation of hoax websites and how their epistemic beliefs may influence their evaluation. Another aspect of this study was to find out what outcomes resulted from providing guidance, or not to prospective teachers before evaluating the hoax websites.
Seventy‑two prospective teachers from undergraduate education courses completed an online questionnaire, where they evaluated four websites (two hoaxes and two credible) and completed questions regarding their epistemic beliefs. Two groups of prospective teachers were selected. Group A was the control group and Group B was the experiment group. Group A simply took the online questionnaire. However, Group B was provided with an overview of a specific web evaluation strategy, the WWWDOT Framework, before taking the online questionnaire. Sixteen participants were interviewed. Interestingly, almost half of the participants (48.6%), trusted at least one of the hoax websites.
The study concluded that teaching the WWWDOT Framework helped to increase the number of people that did not trust the aesthetically appealing hoax website in Group B. Regarding epistemic beliefs, prospective teachers, who displayed feeling‑based epistemic beliefs, tended to trust the hoax website that was aesthetically appealing in Group A. The qualitative results provided additional insights and supported the quantitative data. The qualitative research suggests that lateral reading, spending sufficient time to read and evaluate and knowing the definition of a hoax website as being the most important web evaluation strategies displayed by those that did not trust the hoax websites.
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Kongsamutr, Navatasn. "Airline key change drivers and business environmental analysis in the Southeast Asia : strategic planning perspectives." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2010. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/5727.
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This thesis is involved with exploration of key changes drivers and market
phenomena in the Southeast Asia and the development of new conceptual frameworks
for business environmental analysis of airlines. The research is constructed under the
phenomenology paradigm which adopts a coherentism approach and mainly takes
airline industry’s publications, statistics, and executives as units of analysis.
Hermeneutic phenomenology, a single-embedded case study, concurrent triangulation
mixed method, and grounded theory are all used as methodologies. Methods using
document reviews, interviews, and questionnaires are applied to surface the key
changes drivers, market phenomena and the perceptions of the importance of changes
factors. The collected data are analysed by content analysis, thematic analysis,
cognitive mapping analysis, constant comparative analysis and descriptive analysis to
classify, generalise and develop into proper forms.
The research reveals that ‘market’, ‘competition/strategy’, ‘regulation/policy’,
‘infrastructure/resource’, ‘cooperation’, ‘distribution’, ‘technology, and ‘broad’
factors are discovered as key change drivers. Their different importance levels are
measured by occurrences, density, centrality, and tail occurrences as root causes of
changes. The characteristics of their interrelationships are based on directional and
influential dimensions. There are 16 emerged changes/market phenomena and 11
generalised conceptual frameworks and 3 newly developed frameworks for analysing
the airline business environment. The quantitative findings from content analysis are
evaluated by inter-coder analysis which achieves kappa coefficient = 0.87 indicating
high reliability of the analysis. The qualitative findings are qualified through ten
criteria assessment of research quality. The deliverables provide both theoretical and
methodological contributions. The research limitations are found in some sources of
collected data and findings which are caused by scarce data availability and three
types of biases. The recommendations for future research into financial performance,
changes’ leading indicators and comparative in-depth study in other ASEAN
countries and regions are made.
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Gränsmark, Patrik. "Essays on economic behavior, gender and strategic learning." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutet för social forskning (SOFI), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-43820.
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This doctoral thesis consists of four papers. Strategic behavior across gender: A comparison of female and male expert chess players analyzes gender differences in risk behavior in chess. We use a panel data set with 1.4 million games. Most notably, the data contains an objective measure of individual playing skill. We find that women are more risk averse and that men choose riskier strategies when playing against female opponents even though this reduces their winning probability. Gender differences in time preference and inconsistency among expert chess players presents findings on gender differences in time preference and inconsistency in chess. Impatience is estimated by measuring preferences for game durations while inconsistency by exploiting the 40th move time control. The results reveal that men are more impatient while women are more time inconsistent. Moreover, the difference in impatience increases with expertise while the difference in inconsistency decreases. Beauty queens and battling knights: Risk taking and attractiveness in chess explores the relationship between attractiveness and risk taking in chess. We examine whether people use riskier strategies when playing with attractive opponents and whether this affects performance. Our results suggest that male, but not female, chess players choose significantly riskier strategies when playing against an attractive female opponent, although this does not improve their performance. Strategic Learning in Repeated Chess Games, examines if chess players in repeated games with the same opponent, learn about the opponent’s type and adapt future strategies accordingly. It also shows how matching background characteristics affect the choice of strategy. The findings show that chess players learn about the opponent’s type. Players with similar background characteristics coordinate better than players of different gender or nationality but this difference decreases as the players update their beliefs.At the time of doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows:Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.
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Lapersonne, Alexandre. "The hybrid competitive strategy framework : a managerial theory for combining differentiation and low-cost strategic approaches based on a case study of a European textile manufacturer." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2018. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-hybrid-competitive-strategy-framework--a-managerial-theory-for-combining-differentiation-and-lowcost-strategic-approaches-based-on-a-case-study-of-a-european-textile-manufacturer(a7cf3776-4d73-4fc2-9b7b-6b939cd57765).html.
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The fact that we have entered turbulent times has been a central theme in the recent strategy literature. Turbulent environments are commonly described by increased competitive intensity, disruptive changes in the industry structure, volatility of demand, and unpredictability of customer behaviour, alongside instability of economic, social and political factors. In such a context, the adoption of traditional approaches to strategy, which assumes a relatively stable world, have been questioned by new approaches. Mixed strategy, which emerged as a contingency option to Porter's generic strategies model, defends that in a turbulent environment the simultaneous pursuit of the low-cost and differentiation approaches is fundamental for the short-term performance and long-term survival of the firm. A vast corpus of literature supports the benefits of adopting a mixed approach strategy: several empirical studies have proved that a combination of low-cost and differentiation strategic elements establishes a firm's performance superiority over the pure strategy choice. The mixed literature has concentrated on the performance linkage and on the debate countering the pure strategy approach, however very little attention has been paid to the challenges presented by the mixed strategy implementation. In fact, despite the rich empirical literature, it is still not clear how firms that adopt a mixed strategy may successfully integrate the inherent contradiction of the low-cost and differentiation approaches. The aim of this study is to investigate how a firm has been implementing the mixed strategy approach, unveiling its managerial characteristics and to generate a proposed managerial framework that could serve as a guide for further implementation. This study approaches the subject of mixed strategy implementation on three levels: environment, strategy definition and making process, and value chain activity. After having elucidated several ambiguities related to the concept of mixed strategy present in the literature and having proposed a normalized definition, this study investigates through a unique case study approach, an in-depth explorative process using causal process methods the managerial implication of the mixed strategy. Several characteristics are revealed from the unique case study and represent a major contribution to the field of strategy management. Furthermore, a managerial framework is proposed which could serve as support in the implementation of a mixed strategy.
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Fayena, Izak Zahi. "International high-tech entrepreneurship and learning : a mixed methods study on the ways international Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs learn about business opportunities." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2015. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/international-hightech-entrepreneurship-and-learning-a-mixed-methods-study-on-the-ways-international-israeli-hightech-entrepreneurs-learn-about-business-opportunities(3c60b463-77a7-441e-bdb2-d7228ba79e31).html.
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This study focuses on how entrepreneurs learn about international business opportunities and explores the factors that affect the way they do it. The main conclusion of the literature review was that current international entrepreneurship research is still under development and the topic of international entrepreneurial learning about business opportunities yet to receive widespread attention. In addition, entrepreneurs utilise different ways to learn about the opportunities. However, there is a lack of coherence among scholars on what learning strategies are exactly, how many of them exist, and how they should be defined and categorised (Kakkonen, 2010).The research strategy of this study is based on the mixed methods approach. The design is a two-phase, sequential mixed methods study, utilising a qualitative, followed by a quantitative phase (Creswell et al., 2003). The qualitative phase was split into two parts: QUAL1 and QUAL2. Each qualitative phase includes the analysis of interviews and focus group discussions (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998). In the quantitative phase, a web-based questionnaire was the chosen data collection tool (Cobanoglu et al., 2001; Sills and Song, 2002). The study was conducted on a sample of 178 high-tech entrepreneurs in Israel. The results show that international entrepreneurs learn strategically about business opportunities. They utilise different ways, means, and mechanisms to assist in the identification process of entrepreneurial opportunities. These processes can be considered as learning processes, and the way they are enacted can be termed as 'learning strategies'. Based on the findings of the qualitative phases (QUAL1, QUAL2) and prior studies, six learning strategies were identified as relevant to the process of opportunity identification. Furthermore, the quantitative phase showed that business ownership experience and entrepreneurial self-efficacy have a significant influence on prior knowledge on international arena. In addition, prior knowledge was found as the most significant factor, affecting the ways entrepreneurs learn about business opportunities, while the cognitive style was found to moderate the strength of the relationships between prior knowledge and the learning strategies. Social networking ties also had an impact on the ways entrepreneurs learn, however this influence is diverse, and its statistical significance depends on the specific learning strategy. The importance and contribution of the proposed study can be defined as follows: Firstly, the study can help to reveal the underlying logic of opportunity identification as a learning process. Secondly, combining different frameworks into a new conceptual model as has been done in this study, may establish a new outlook, and contribute to the progress of research into entrepreneurship. Thirdly, International entrepreneurs can also benefit from these elements by acknowledging that they have a battery of learning strategies, which are relevant to the opportunity identification process, and most importantly, they can be taught how to learn about an idea throughout the process of opportunity identification.
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Gkonou, Niki. "Dialogue and Sound Effects interaction : Investigating strategies to maintain dialogue intelligibility in 5.1 mixes." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik, konst och samhälle, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-87195.
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Film audiences have expressed continuous criticism about film sound, claiming that in many situations dialogue is difficult to hear. This issue raises questions about the factors that have negative impact on speech intelligibility and points to investigate strategies that maintain dialogue intelligible in a 5.1. This study investigates how listeners, audio engineering students, experience dialogue intelligibility, when different mixing techniques as dynamic equalization and ducking are applied to the sound effect. The results show that both signal processing techniques, dynamic equalization and ducking, are able to improve dialogue intelligibility and furthermore, dynamic equalization has been proved as the most effective.
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Svärd, Ann-Christin. "The challenge of mixed-ability classes : How should upper secondary English teachers work in order to help the weaker students?" Thesis, Jönköping University, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-693.
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The purpose of this essay is to find out how upper secondary English teachers should work in order to reach the weaker students. I am interested in what has been written about mixed-ability classes, the challenges they present and most of all how teachers of English need to work in such classes to reach all students, especially the weaker ones.
I have also interviewed three upper secondary teachers about how they work to reach the weaker students in their classes.
My findings are that, according to the teachers interviewed, the best way to deal with the problem is to bring back ability grouping. The literature I read mostly had negative views on this method and stressed the importance of differentiation and motivation instead. Both the literature and the teachers claimed that a good atmosphere, clear instructions, structure and setting routines were the most important factors when working with mixed ability classes.
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Paget, Mark Frederick. "Genetic evaluation models and strategies for potato variety selection." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Forestry, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/9953.
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A series of studies are presented on the genetic evaluation of cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) to improve the accuracy and efficiency of selection at various stages of a breeding programme. The central theme was the use of correlated data, such as relationship information and spatial and across-trial correlations, within a linear mixed modelling framework to enhance the evaluation of candidate genotypes and to improve the genetic response to selection. Analyses focused on several social and economically-important traits for the enhancement of the nutritional value, disease resistance and yield of potato tubers.
At the formative stages of a breeding scheme, devising a breeding strategy requires an improved understanding of the genetic control of target traits for selection. To guide a strategy that aims to enhance the micronutrient content of potato tubers (biofortification), univariate and multivariate Bayesian models were developed to estimate genetic parameters for micronutrient tuber content from a breeding population generated from crosses between Andean landrace cultivars. The importance of the additive genetic components and extent of the narrow-sense heritability estimates indicated that genotypic 'individual' recurrent selection based on empirical breeding values rather than family-based selection is likely to be the most effective strategy in this breeding population. The magnitude of genetic correlations also indicated that simultaneous increases in important tuber minerals, iron and zinc, could be achieved.
Optimising selection efficiency is an important ambition of plant breeding programmes. Reducing the level of candidate replication in field trials may, under certain circumstances, contribute to this aim. Empirical field data and computer simulations inferred that improved rates of genetic gain with p-rep (partially replicated) testing could be obtained compared with testing in fully replicated trials at the early selection stages, particularly when testing over two locations. P-rep testing was able to increase the intensity of selection and the distribution of candidate entries across locations to account for G×E effects was possible at an earlier stage than is currently practised. On the basis of these results, it was recommended that the full replication of trials (at the first opportunity, when enough planting material is available) at a single location in the early stages of selection should be replaced with the partial replication of selection candidates that are distributed over two locations.
Genetic evaluation aims to identify genotypes with high empirical breeding values (EBVs) for selection as parents. Using mixed models, spatial parameters to target greater control of localised field heterogeneity were estimated and variance models to account for across-trial genetic heterogeneity were tested for the evaluation of soil-borne powdery scab disease and tuber yield traits at the early stages of a selection programme. When spatial effects improved model fit, spatial correlations for rows and columns were mostly small for powdery scab, and often small and negative for marketable and total tuber yield suggesting the presence of interplot competition in some years for tuber yield traits. For the evaluation of powdery scab, genetic variance structures were tested using data from 12 years of long-term potato breeding METs (multi-environment trials). A simple homogeneous correlation model for the genetic effects was preferred over a more complex factor analytic (FA) model. Similarly, for the MET evaluation of tuber yield at the early stages, there was little benefit in using more complex FA models, with simple correlation structures generally the most favourable models fitted. The use of less complex models will be more straightforward for routine implementation of potato genetic evaluations in breeding programmes.
Evaluations for (marketable) tuber yield were extended to multi-location MET data to characterise both genotypes and environments, allowing a re-evaluation of New Zealand MET selection strategies aimed at broad adaptation. Using a factor analytic mixed model, results indicated that the programme’s two main trial locations in the North and the South Islands optimised differentiation between genotypes in terms of G×E effects. There was reasonable performance stability of genotypes across test locations and evidence was presented for some, but limited, genetic progress of cultivars and advanced clonal selections for tuber marketable yield in New Zealand over recent years.
The models and selection strategies investigated and developed in this thesis will allow an improved and more systematic application of genetic evaluations in potato selection schemes. This will provide the basis for well informed decisions to be made on selection candidates for the genetic improvement of potato in breeding programmes.