Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Role modelling'
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1
Morgenroth, Thekla. "How role models affect role aspirants' motivation and goals." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/18483.
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Role models are often suggested as a means of motivating people to set and reach ambitious goals, especially for members of stigmatised groups in achievement settings. Yet, findings in relation to the effectiveness of role model are mixed and the literature on role models suffers from a number of limitations: (1) it lacks a clear definitional consensus of role models, (2) there is a lack of an integrated theoretical framework around role modelling, (3) very little of our current understanding of role models draws on the motivational literature to explain how role models can influence motivation and goals, and (4) the focus of the extant role model literature has been mainly on the attributes that make role models effective at the expense of understanding how this occurs. In this thesis, we first review the literature on role models (Chapter 1) and present two studies highlighting the limitations of the extant understanding of role modelling (Chapter 2). We then address these limitations by developing a theoretical framework of role modelling where we integrate different definitions of role models into a new conceptualisation in which we propose that role models influence goals and motivation in three distinct ways: by acting as behavioural models, by representing the possible, and by being inspirational. We then draw on expectancy-value theories of motivation to build a theoretical framework for understanding not only when but also how role models can effectively influence motivation and goals in these three functions (Chapter 3). This new theoretical framework, the Motivational Theory of Role Modelling, highlights how the power of role models can be harnessed to increase role aspirants’ motivation, reinforce their existing goals, and facilitate their adoption of new goals. We present four empirical studies supporting the ideas put forward in this theoretical framework, namely that role models in their three functions increase expectancy and value and, in turn, motivation and goals (Chapters 4,5, and 6). Finally, we integrate and summarise our findings and discuss theoretical and practical implications (Chapter 7).
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Ding, Chenghua. "Role based modelling in support of configurable manufacturing system design." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2010. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/5981.
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Business environments, in which any modern Manufacturing Enterprise (ME) operates, have grown significantly in complexity and are changing faster than ever before. It follows that designing a flexible manufacturing system to achieve a set of strategic objectives involves making a series of complex decisions over time. Therefore manufacturing industry needs improved knowledge about likely impacts of making different types of change in MEs and improved modelling approaches that are capable of providing a systematic way of modelling change impacts in complex business processes; prior to risky and costly change implementation projects. An ability to simulate the execution of process instances is also needed to control, animate and monitor simulated flows of multiple products through business processes; and thereby to assess impacts of dynamic distributions and assignments of multiple resource types during any given time period. Further more this kind of modelling capability needs to be integrated into a single modelling framework so as to improve its flexibility and change coordination. Such a modelling capability and framework should help MEs to achieve successfully business process re-engineering, continuous performance development and enterprise re-design. This thesis reports on the development of new modelling constructs and their innovative application when used together with multiple existing modelling approaches. This enables human and technical resource systems to be described, specified and modelled coherently and explicitly. In turn this has been shown to improve the design of flexible, configurable and re-usable manufacturing resource systems, capable of supporting decision making in agile manufacturing systems. A newly conceived and developed Role-Based Modelling Methodology (R-BMM) was proposed during this research study. Also the R-BMM was implemented and tested by using it together with three existing modelling approaches namely (1) extended Enterprise Modelling, (2) dynamic Causal Loop Diagramming and (3) Discrete Event Simulation Modelling (via software PlantSimulation ®). Thereby these three distinct modelling techniques were deployed in a new and coherent way. The new R-BMM approach to modelling manufacturing systems was designed to facilitate: (1) Graphical Representation (2) Explicit Specification and (3) Implementation Description of Resource systems. Essentially the approach enables a match between suitable human and technical resource systems and well defined models of processes and workflows. Enterprise Modelling is used to explicitly define functional and flexibility competencies that need to be possessed by suitable role holders. Causal Loop Diagramming is used to reason about dependencies between different role attributes. The approach was targeted at the design and application of simulation models that enable relative performance comparisons (such as work throughput, lead-time and process costs) to be made and to show how performance is affected by different role decompositions and resourcing policies. The different modelling techniques are deployed via a stepwise application of the R-BMM approach. Two main case studies were carried out to facilitate methodology testing and methodology development. The chosen case company possessed manufacturing characteristics required to facilitate testing and development; in terms of significant complexity and change with respect to its products and their needed processing structures and resource systems. The first case study was mainly designed to illustrate an application, and benefits arising from application, of the new modelling approach. This provided both qualitative and quantitative results analysis and evaluation. Then with a view to reflecting on modelling methodology testing and to address a wider scope manufacturing problem, the second case study was designed and applied at a different level of abstraction, to further test and verify the suitability and re-usability of the methodology. Through conceiving the new R-BMM approach, to create, analyse and assess the utility of sets of models, this research has proposed and tested enhancements to current means of realising reconfigurable and flexible production systems.
3
Subedi, Harendra. "Mathematical Modelling of Delegation in Role Based Access Control." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för informations- och kommunikationsteknik (ICT), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-222381.
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One of the most widespread access control model that assigns permissions to a user is Role Based Access Control (RBAC). The basic idea is to limit the access to resources by using the indirection of roles, which are associated both to users and permissions. There has been research conducted with respect to clarifying RBAC and its components, as well as in creating mathematical models describing different aspects of its administrative issues in RBAC. But, till date no work has been done in terms of formalization (Mathematical Modelling) of delegation and revocation of roles in RBAC. Which provides most important extensions of the policy and provides flexibility in the user to user delegation of roles, especially in the environment where roles are organized in a hierarchy. The process allows a user with a role that is higher in the hierarchy to assign a part of the role to someone who is lower in the hierarchy or at the same level. This can be done for a limited time or permanently. The reverse process is called revocation and it consists of ending different types of delegations. This thesis has found the answer to the following research question i.e. how different mathematical Modelling for delegation and revocation of Roles in RBAC can be performed? This thesis presents different types of delegation and techniques for revocation with a comprehensive mathematical Modelling of both processes. As this can be clearly visible that this thesis objective is to derive a mathematical models for delegation and revocation of roles in RBAC policy, for deriving mathematical models formal method is applied. The mathematical models developed include grant and transfer delegation with and without role hierarchy, time based revocation, user based revocation and cascading revocation. The case scenario of an organization using RBAC is used to illustrate and clarify the mathematical models. The mathematical models presented here can serve as a starting point for developing, implementations of delegation and revocation on top of existing authorization modules based on the RBAC model.
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Hua, Lingling. "Modelling UNIX system security with a role graph." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ32485.pdf.
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Breslin, G. "The role of relative motion information during modelling." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.426961.
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Muhammad, Syamsul A. "A role-based method for business process modelling." Thesis, University of Reading, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.421631.
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Quinn, Paul F. "The role of digital terrain analysis in hydrological modelling." Thesis, Lancaster University, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.331974.
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McNamara, Les. "The role of water quality modelling in decision-making." View thesis, 2007. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/18899.
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Thesis (Ph.D) -- University of Western Sydney, 2007.A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney, College of Health and Science, School of Natural Sciences, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliography.
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Grein, Matthias. "The role of the financial sector in macroeconomic modelling." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.608269.
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Drysdale, Lewis A. "Arctic fjords : simplified modelling and the role of freshwater." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2017. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=237133.
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Defining the role of freshwater in a fjord is important to further the understanding of seasonal physical variability in fjordic systems because the variability of freshwater flux is a key control on fjord oceanography, yet information on freshwater inputs to Svalbard fjords is currently lacking. In this study, two methods of studying fjords are utilised. Firstly, seawater samples and oceanographic profiles were collected from four fjords and shelves around the high-Arctic Svalbard archipelago between September 2013 and April 2015. Analysis of the seawater samples showed that surface meteoric water in a glaciated west-Svalbard fjord was present in quantities up to four times as much (∼18%) assea-ice melt (∼5%). In comparison, a north-Svalbard fjord had more than twice as much sea-ice melt (∼5%) as meteoric water (∼2%). Four contrasting regions of freshwater infuence around the Svalbard archipelago were established, defined by their freshwater processes. Further analysis of data suggest that coastal currents act as an upstream freshwater source, and are also enhanced by freshwater along their path. Upper layer circulation, meanwhile, was seen to be an important mode of dispersal of freshwater inputs from smaller inlets. Secondly, a box model was modified by the inclusion of a sea ice model and was run to understand the leading-order processes and mechanisms observed in Arctic fjords. Model results were successfully validated against four years of oceanographic data from a mooring deployed between 2008–2013 in a restricted exchange fjord on Svalbard and represented the seasonal cycle of a high-Arctic fjord including sea-ice growth and convection. The model showed that varying the sill geometry of a high-Arctic fjord impacts the formation of sea-ice and the dominant modes of exchange. The model also showed that warming of the sub-surface temperature causes excess heat inside fjords, which impacts on sea-ice production and (although not shown) is highly likely to cause accelerated melting of tidewater glaciers.
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Evertsz, Rick. "The role of the crucial experiment in student modelling." Thesis, Open University, 1990. http://oro.open.ac.uk/56448/.
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As the range of models which tutoring systems can capture is extended, efficient diagnosis becomes more difficult. This thesis describes a solution to this problem based on the generation of 'Critical Problems'; their role in student modelling is analogous to that of the 'Crucial Experiment' in science. We argue that great diagnostic power can be obtained by generating discriminatory problem examples. In general, efficient diagnosis is just not possible without such an hypothesis-testing capability. We describe a program, PO, which given a pair of production rule models and a description of the class of problems which the student must solve, generates an abstract specification of the problems which discriminate between those two hypotheses. Through a process termed 'Abstract Interpretation', PO tips the balance in favour of diagnostic measurement. The key to this problem lies in the realisation that we are only interested in the abstract mapping between a model's inputs and outputs; from the point of view of generating a Critical Problem, the intermediate processing of the model is irrelevant.
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Catherall, Mark. "Modelling the role of nitric oxide in cerebral autoregulation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c15a49be-791f-47d5-91a0-f507f5856063.
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Malfunction of the system which regulates the bloodflow in the brain is a major cause of stroke and dementia, costing many lives and many billions of pounds each year in the UK alone. This regulatory system, known as cerebral autoregulation, has been the subject of much experimental and mathematical investigation yet our understanding of it is still quite limited. One area in which our understanding is particularly lacking is that of the role of nitric oxide, understood to be a potent vasodilator. The interactions of nitric oxide with the better understood myogenic response remain un-modelled and poorly understood. In this thesis we present a novel model of the arteriolar control mechanism, comprising a mixture of well-established and new models of individual processes, brought together for the first time. We show that this model is capable of reproducing experimentally observed behaviour very closely and go on to investigate its stability in the context of the vasculature of the whole brain. In conclusion we find that nitric oxide, although it plays a central role in determining equilibrium vessel radius, is unimportant to the dynamics of the system and its responses to variation in arterial blood pressure. We also find that the stability of the system is very sensitive to the dynamics of Ca2+ within the muscle cell, and that self-sustaining Ca2+ waves are not necessary to cause whole-vessel radius oscillations consistent with vasomotion.
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Colman, Alan Wesley, and n/a. "Role oriented adaptive design." Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20070320.110756.
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Software systems are becoming inexorably more open, distributed, pervasive, mobile and
connected. This thesis addresses the problem of how to build adaptive software systems.
These systems need to reliably achieve system-level goals in volatile environments, where
the system itself may be built from components of uncertain behaviour, and where the
requirements for the software system may be changing. This thesis adopts the systemtheoretic
concept of ontogenic adaptation from biology, and applies it to software
architecture. Ontogenic adaptation is the ability of an individual system to maintain its
organisational integrity by reconfiguring and regulating itself. A number of approaches to
adaptive software architecture have been recently proposed that, to varying degrees, enable
limited adaptive behaviour and reconfiguration, but none possess all the properties needed
for ontogenic adaptation. We introduce a meta-model and framework called Role Oriented
Adaptive Design (ROAD) that is consistent with the concept of maintaining organisational
integrity through ontogenic adaptation.
The ROAD meta-model defines software applications as networks of functional roles
which are executed by players (objects, components, services, agents, people, or rolecomposites).
These flexible organisational structures are adaptive because the relationships
(contracts) between roles, and the bindings between roles and players, can be regulated and
reconfigured at run-time. Such flexible organisational role-structures are encapsulated into
composites each with its own organiser. Because self-managed composites are themselves
role-players, these composites can be distributed and recursively composed. The organisers
of the composites form a management system over which requirements and performance
data pass. Rather than being monolithic constructions, ROAD software applications are
dynamic, self-managed compositions of loosely-coupled, and potentially, distributed
entities.
The concepts in the ROAD meta-model have been implemented in a programming
framework which can be extended by the application programmer to create adaptive
applications. Central to this framework are dynamic contracts. These contracts define the
role structure, control interactions between the role instances, and measure the performance
of those interactions. Adaptivity is achieved by monitoring and manipulating these
contracts, along with the role-player bindings. Contracts have been implemented using the
mechanism of �association aspects�.
The applicability of the ROAD framework to the domain of Service-Oriented
Computing is demonstrated. The framework is further evaluated in terms of its ability to
express the concept of ontogenic adaptation and also in terms of the overhead its runtime
infrastructure imposes on interactions.
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Lewis, Nicola Dawn. "Modelling the infochemical role of dimethylsulphide in pelagic multitrophic interactions." Thesis, University of Essex, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.654526.
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Dimethylsulphide (DMS) is a climate-relevant trace gas derived from the algal secondary metabolite dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP). DMS and DMSP have been shown to act as infochemicals (information-conveying chemicals) for a variety of organisms over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Grazing by microzooplankton increases the production of DMS, which in turn may act as an infochemical cue to attract carnivorous copepods that preferentially prey on herbivorous microzooplankton. This extra copepod predation on microzooplankton could release excessive grazing pressure on phytoplankton. Such infochemical-mediated multitrophic interactions are poorly understood in pelagic systems, but may be important for the structuring and functioning of marine food webs. Experimenting with several trophic levels of plankton in laboratory microcosms is challenging and, as a result, empirical data confirming the roles of DMS and DMSP in trophic interactions is lacking. Mathematical models provide a suitable tool to gain insight into such complex interactions. The mathematical models analysed in this thesis show DMS-mediated interactions to have a stabilising effect on food web dynamics and to promote the formation of phytoplankton blooms. Food web models with two species of phytoplankton constituting the first trophic level were analysed. The key result of this analysis was that chemoattractants, which increase the susceptibility of the producer to grazing, enhance the persistence of the producing phytoplankton species by attracting carnivorous copepods to consume microzooplankton grazers. Analysis of a Nutrient-Phytoplankton-Microzooplankton-Zooplankton (NPMZ) model showed the ability of phytoplankton to bloom to be a combination of both top-down (DMS-mediated predation) and bottom-up (nutrient limitation) processes. Analysis of a model simulating these interactions in a vertically heterogeneous environment showed foraging through chemodetection to provide fitness benefits to copepods and to enhance copepod persistence. Overall the results presented indicate that infochemicals have important consequences for the dynamics of marine food webs
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Snowdon, James. "Modelling driver experience and its role in influencing diversion behaviour." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2015. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/388114/.
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Traffic assignment, the process by which vehicle flows are loaded on to paths traversing a road network for the purpose of spatial demand forecasting, has been traditionally approached as a mathematical optimisation problem. However, this assumes typical highway network conditions, yielding ‘average day’ traffic forecasts only. Such approaches fail to account for time-dependent variability caused by infrequent events such as traffic accidents, vehicle breakdowns or road works which result in sub-optimal network performance. On any day, especially when incidents cause abnormal congestion patterns, drivers can only choose routes and diversion strategies according to the best of their own subjective knowledge and experience which is unique to each traveller. Ensuring that knowledge, both within-day and between days, is represented adequately and with realistic assumptions within models is key to forecasting traffic flows in all situations and their resulting network phenomena accurately. This thesis explores how drivers react under these irregular conditions, termed ‘states’, with a goal of understanding route choice and consequently advancing demand forecasting techniques. To this end, a simulator based survey is used in order to gain further knowledge of driver learning and diversion behaviour, then an agent based simulation modelling approach is developed using this insight to explore the network and traffic flow effects of drivers reacting to uncertain network conditions by altering their route choices. This work argues that representing driver knowledge and choices from a disaggregate agent based perspective, rather than a traditional aggregate approach, is more appropriate for modelling the impact of variable travel conditions. Results demonstrate that the possibility of incidents occurring and the potential for diverting can have a significant effect on network characteristics and the decisions of drivers, even on incident-free ‘clear’ days. Importantly, results show that drivers diverting can temporarily alleviate congestion but ultimately cause more delays and suboptimal network performance. These results have significant implications for demand forecasting practitioners and policy makers who try to minimise disruption through traffic management systems or effective network design.
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Byer, Nikita Alicia. "Team systems engineering and the role of enterprise modelling technologies." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2003. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34849.
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Teams have significant potential. When an organisation gets its teamworking 'right' significant benefits can accrue. Team experts, consultants and academics advance a plethora of tools, theories, techniques and concepts to inform and facilitate successful design, development and implementation of teams. Yet, despite a significant body of thoughtful research on team-based approaches and a variety of potential benefits that can be realised by effectively deploying teams, the literature is populated with examples of teams that fail to produce desired results. Teams are complex systems. Therefore they are characterised by interdependent processes that incorporate an entire spectrum of activities commencing with the initial identification of need and extending through to the realisation of that need and in some cases dissolution of the team. This research has identified a team systems engineering life cycle, which envelop team system activities from 'conception' to 'grave'. The team systems engineering life cycle (DBOM) was observed to include four main groupings of activities which correspond to: 'design', 'build', 'operate' and 'maintain' (DBOM) life phases through which a typical team system progresses.
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Simpson, Julie Ann. "The role of population pharmacokinetic- pharmacodynamic modelling in antimalarial chemotherapy." Thesis, Open University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.367218.
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Wijesekera, Dhammika Harindra, and n/a. "A form based meta-schema for information and knowledge elicitation." Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20060904.123024.
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Knowledge is considered important for the survival and growth of an enterprise.
Currently knowledge is stored in various places including the bottom drawers of
employees. The human being is considered to be the most important knowledge
provider. Over the years knowledge based systems (KBS) have been developed to
capture and nurture the knowledge of domain experts. However, such systems were
considered to be separate and different from the traditional information systems
development. Many KBS development projects have failed. The main causes for such
failures have been recognised as the difficulties associated with the process of
knowledge elicitation, in particular the techniques and methods employed. On the other
hand, the main emphasis of information systems development has been in the areas of
data and information capture relating to transaction based systems. For knowledge to be
effectively captured and nurtured it is necessary for knowledge to be part of the
information systems development activity.
This thesis reports on a process of investigation and analysis conducted into the areas of
information, knowledge and the overlapping areas. This research advocates a hybrid
approach, where knowledge and information capture to be considered as one in a
unified environment. A meta-schema design based on Formal Object Role Modelling
(FORM), independent of implementation details, is introduced for this purpose. This is
considered to be a key contribution of this research activity. Both information and
knowledge is expected to be captured through this approach.
Meta data types are provided for the capture of business rules and they form part of the
knowledge base of an organisation. The integration of knowledge with data and
information is also described. XML is recognised by many as the preferred data
interchange language and it is investigated for the purpose of rule interchange. This
approach is expected to enable organisations to interchange business rules and their
meta-data, in addition to data and their schema. During interchange rules can be
interpreted and applied by receiving systems, thus providing a basis for intelligent
behaviour. With the emergence of new technologies such as the Internet the modelling of an
enterprise as a series of business processes has gained prominence. Enterprises are
moving towards integration, establishing well-described business processes within and
across enterprises, to include their customers and suppliers. The purpose is to derive a
common set of objectives and benefit from potential economic efficiencies. The
suggested meta-schema design can be used in the early phases of requirements
elicitation to specify, communicate, comprehend and refine various artefacts. This is
expected to encourage domain experts and knowledge analysts work towards describing
each business process and their interactions. Existing business processes can be
documented and business efficiencies can be achieved through a process of refinement.
The meta-schema design allows for a ?systems view? and sharing of such views, thus
enabling domain experts to focus on their area of specialisation whilst having an
understanding of other business areas and their facts. The design also allows for
synchronisation of mental models of experts and the knowledge analyst. This has been a
major issue with KBS development and one of the main reasons for the failure of such
projects. The intention of this research is to provide a facility to overcome this issue.
The natural language based FORM encourages verbalisation of the domain, hence
increasing the understanding and comprehension of available business facts.
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Magrini, Stefano. "Modelling regional economic growth : the role of human capital and innovation." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1998. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/868/.
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This thesis investigates the role of human capital and innovation activity in the process of economic growth within a system of regions. It starts by reviewing existing theories of economic growth paying particular attention to the literature on “endogenous growth”, the large body of empirical literature addressing economic growth and that has investigated the “convergence issue”. A methodology based on the direct analysis of cross-sectional distributions of per capita income is then developed and applied to per capita income data for 122 European Union (EU) functionally defined regions over the period 1979-1990. The results show a clear tendency for some of the richest European regions to grow away from the others. The comparison of these results with those derived from a similar analysis for the commonly used administrative regions of the EU reveals some significant distortions imposed by adopting an administrative definition. A formal theoretical explanation of these results is then offered. In particular, it is argued that regional disparities in per capita income owe their existence to the pattern of specialisation between ‘knowledge creating’ and ‘knowledge applying’ regions. Specialisation is explained in terms of differences in the availability of useful knowledge at different locations. In the perfect foresight, stable equilibrium of the two-region model developed here, therefore, the region that specialises in innovation related activities (knowledge creating) enjoys a permanently higher level of per capita income. Moreover, it is shown that, on reasonable assumptions, a process of integration that reduces the cost of physical distance leads to faster growth in the long-run for the system as a whole, but at the expense of an increase in regional disparities. Finally, some predictions are derived and tested empirically. Using cross-sectional regressions, the fundamental determinants of the growth rate of a region are investigated. The results are supportive of the model, confirming the role played by the concentration of innovative activities and spatial spillovers of knowledge.
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Bord, Sharyn. "The role of matrix metalloproteinases in human bone modelling and remodelling." Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.243631.
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Khayat, Etienne J. "Role-based access control (RBAC) : formal modelling and risk-based administration." Thesis, London South Bank University, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.435233.
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Exter, Kristin den. "Integrating environmental science and management the role of system dynamics modelling /." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://thesis.scu.edu.au/adt-NSCU/public/adt-NSCU20041214.143956/.
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Flint, Jonathan Allen. "Strategic restraint : modelling the role of moral weight in modern conflicts." Thesis, University of Hull, 2017. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:16887.
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Strategic Restraint: Modelling the Role of Moral Weight in Modern Conflicts is a PhD thesis that seeks to make the argument that restraint has a strategic purpose. It begins with a discussion of an understanding of ethics as the negotiation of hierarchies of 'goods' and develops an idea of Primary and Contingent goods, how those goods are decided and the role of morality, ethics and the law in human affairs. Following that is a consideration of strategy, and the nature of war. These discussions begin to form the basis of the following chapters. It develops a model for understanding the nature of war, and using this model makes suggestions about the controlled application of force and the effects of overapplication of force. The construction of the model is supported by examination of military history, concentrating on conflicts in the latter part of the of the 20th century to more recent conflicts. In considering the difficulties the model indicates in this overapplication, the work argues that there is need for the 'artificial' application of perceived mass, and suggests that it is here that the utility of ethical behaviour in warfare can be found for strategy. In using restraint, guided by higher ethical choices which necessarily reduce efficacy, it is argued that there is strategic advantage to be found. This is supported by analyses from modern Counter Insurgency campaigns, where such activity has been undertaken by commanders independently, while attempting to provide a theoretical explanation for the seeming success of these decisions. The work also considers outcomes from applying such strategic choices, from operational and policy concerns to the consequences in interstate relations before, during and after armed conflict.
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Stott, Iain Michael. "Modelling transient population dynamics and their role in ecology and evolution." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3733.
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Population projection matrix (PPM) models are a central tool in ecology and evolution. They are widely used for devising population management practises for conservation, pest control, and harvesting. They are frequently employed in comparative analyses that seek to explain demographic patterns in natural populations. They are also a key tool in calculating measures of fitness for evolutionary studies. Yet, demographic analyses using projection matrices have, in some ways, failed to keep up with prevailing ecological paradigms. A common focus on long-term and equilibrium dynamics when analysing projection matrix models fits better with the outmoded view of ecosystems as stable and immutable. The more current view of ecosystems as dynamic and subject to constant extrinsic disturbances has bred new theoretical advances in the study of short-term "transient" dynamics. Transient dynamics can be very different to long-term trends, and given that ecological studies are often conducted over short timescales, they may be more relevant to research. This thesis focuses on the study of transient dynamics using population projection matrix models. The first section presents theoretical, methodological and computational advances in the study of transient dynamics. These are designed to enhance the predictive power of models, whilst keeping data requirements to a minimum, and borrow from the fields of engineering and systems control. Case studies in this section provide support for consideration of transient dynamics in population management. The second section applies some of these new methods to answer pertinent questions surrounding the ecology and evolution of transient dynamics in plants. Results show that transient dynamics exhibit patterns according to life form and phylogenetic history. Evidence suggests that this can be linked to the stage-structuring of life cycles, which opens up the possibility for new avenues of research considering the evolution of transient dynamics in nature.
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Kendrick, John. "The Supporting Role of Molecular Modelling and Computational Chemistry in Polymer Analysis." Elsevier, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4743.
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Clarke, Christopher B. A. "An investigation into the role of water in protein-carbohydrate complexation." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.368787.
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Mallet, Daniel Gordon. "Mathematical Modelling of the Role of Haptotaxis in Tumour Growth and Invasion." Queensland University of Technology, 2004. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15941/.
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In this thesis, a number of mathematical models of haptotactic cell migration are developed. The modelling of haptotaxis is presented in two distinct parts - the first comprises an investigation of haptotaxis in pre-necrotic avascular tumours, while the second consists of the modelling of adhesion-mediated haptotactic cell migration within tissue, with particular attention paid to the biological appropriateness of the description of cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. A model is developed that describes the effects of passive and haptotactic migration on the cellular dynamics and growth of pre-necrotic avascular tumours. The model includes a description of the extracellular matrix and its effect on cell migration. Questions are posed as to which cell types act as a source of the extracellular matrix, and the model is used to simulate the possible effects of different matrix sources. Simulations in one-dimensional and spherically symmetric geometry are presented, displaying familiar results such as three-phase tumour growth and tumours comprising a rim of proliferating cells surrounding a non-proliferating region. Novel effects are also described such as cell population splitting and tumour shrinkage due to haptotaxis and appropriate extracellular matrix construction. The avascular tumour model is then extended to describe the internalisation of labelled cells and inert microspheres within multicell tumour spheroids. A novel model of adhesion-receptor mediated haptotactic cell migration is presented and specific applications of the model to tumour invasion processes are discussed. This model includes a more biologically realistic description of cell adhesion than has been considered in previous models of cell population haptotaxis. Through assumptions of fast kinetics, the model is simplified with the identification of relationships between the simplified model and previous models of haptotaxis. Further simpli.cations to the model are made and travelling wave solutions of the original model are then investigated. It is noted that the generic numerical solution routine NAG D03PCF is not always appropriate for the solution of the model, and can produce oscillatory and inaccurate solutions. For this reason, a control volume numerical solver with .ux limiting is developed to provide a better method of solving the cell migration models.
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Briggs, Ann R. J. "Modelling aspects of role among middle managers in English Further Education colleges." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/8426.
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Appendices 12 to 14 (p. 280-325) have been removed from the electronic copy of this thesis due to third party copyright restrictions. The full version can be consulted at the University of Leicester Library.
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Hoefler, Stefan H. "Modelling the role of pragmatic plasticity in the evolution of linguistic communication." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/3283.
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For a long time, human language has been assumed to be genetically determined and therefore the product of biological evolution. It is only within the last decade that researchers have begun to investigate more closely the domaingeneral cognitive mechanisms of cultural evolution as an alternative explanation for the origins of language. Most of this more recent work focuses on the role of imperfect cultural transmission and abstracts away from the mechanisms of communication. Specifically, models developed to study the cultural evolution of language—both theoretical and computational—often tacitly assume that linguistic signals fully specify the meaning they communicate. They imply that ignoring the fact that this is not the case in actual language use is a justified idealisation which can be made without significant consequences. In this thesis, I show that by making this idealisation, we miss out on the extensive explanatory potential of an empirically attested property of language: its pragmatic plasticity. The meaning that a signal comes to communicate in a specific context usually differs to a certain degree from its conventional meaning. This thesis (i) introduces a model of the cultural evolution of language that acknowledges and incorporates the fact that communication exhibits pragmatic plasticity and (ii) explores the explanatory potential of this fact with regard to language evolution. The thesis falls into two parts. In the first part, I develop the model conceptually. I begin by analysing the components of extant models of general cultural evolution and discuss how models of language change and linguistic evolution map onto them. Innovative use is identified as the motor of cultural evolution. I then conceptualise the cognitive mechanisms underlying innovative language use and argue that they originate in pre-linguistic forms of ostensive-inferential communication. In a next step, the identified mechanisms are employed to provide a unified account of the two main explananda of evolutionary linguistics, the emergence of symbolism and the emergence of grammar. Finally, I discuss the implications of the presented analysis for the so-called proto-language debate. In the second part of the thesis, I propose a computational implementation of the developed conceptual model. This computational implementation allows for the simulation of the cultural emergence and evolution of symbolic communication and provides a laboratory-like environment to study individual aspects of this process. I employ such computer simulations to explore the role that pragmatic plasticity plays in the development of the expressivity, signal economy and ambiguity of emerging and evolving symbolic communication systems. As its main contribution to the study of language evolution, this thesis shows that a model of linguistic cultural evolution that incorporates the notion of pragmatic plasticity has the potential to explain two crucial evolutionary puzzles, namely (i) how language can emerge from no language, and (ii) how language can come to exhibit the appearance of design for communication. The proposed usage-based model of language evolution bridges the evolutionary gap between no language and language by identifying ostensive-inferential communication as the continual aspect present in both stages, and by demonstrating that the cognitive mechanisms involved in ostensive-inferential communication are sufficient for the transition from one stage to the other.
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Edwards, Claire. "Modelling Staphylococcus aureus biofilms : the role of the sae virulence regulatory locus." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.420332.
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Deakin, Niall Ewan. "Mathematical modelling of cancer growth and spread : the role of matrix metalloproteinases." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2015. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/eadbebd1-2d73-4204-a22d-375344fb82b1.
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A mass of cells that grow without normal bounds is termed a benign tumour if it does not invade locally into the tissue and malignant when it invades into its surrounding tissue. Benign tumours are often harmless unless the pressure they exhibit onto the tissue surrounding it causes trouble to the functioning of the human body as is often the case in brain tumours (gliomas) or other vital organs of the body. It is malignant tumours that are deemed to be made up of cancer cells and it is this process of invasion that defines them and will be studied in this thesis. We do this by considering two scales of interest in cancer cell invasion. In Chapters 4 and 5, we focus on tissue scale dynamics of a cancerous mass and the processes by which the cancerous mass is able to invade the surrounding tissue. Correspondingly, we focus on a continuum, deterministic approach to protease-dependent invasion where matrix degrading enzymes cleave collagen fibrils and other ECM components. Specifically, in Chapter 4 we formulate a PDE model of cancer cell invasion primarily through haptotaxis as the result of degradation of tissue from the proteolytic activity of the membrane bound MT1-MMP protein and the soluble MMP-2 protein in addition to the complexes formed, and consequences thereof, from interactions they have with one another and their endogenous inhibitor TIMP-2. In Chapter 5 we develop the PDE model of cancer cell invasion to incorporate additional dynamics of the tissue and how these may hamper cancer cell invasion and tissue degradation. Further, we investigate how the tissue may be reconditioned by MT1-MMP proteins to allow for additional cancer cell movement and tissue degradation. In Chapter 6, we consider how small protrusions from the cell termed invadopodia can affect the production of MMP-2 proteins and the focussing of ECM degradation, which has the consequence of allowing cancer cells to overcome barriers in the extracellular matrix.
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Magwaza, L. T. "The role of Principals as Instructional Leaders: the case of Umlalazi Inspection Circuit in South Africa." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1574.
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A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies
at the University of Zululand, 2017This qualitative study explored the roles of principals as instructional leaders. Several models of instructional leadership were briefly discussed, and a theoretical framework for the present study was outlined. Individual interviews were conducted with principals, deputy principals, heads of department and post-level 1 educators. Qualitative data were collected using interviews and questionnaires. Themes and sub-themes emerged from the study. It was found that the quality of the role of the principal posed a challenge to principals. The participants reported that principals were expected to manage the school in terms of day-to-day functionality, buildings and grounds maintenance, managing of finances and human resources, and many other matters. On the other hand, the principal was also expected to be an instructional leader, which involved setting clear goals, allocating resources to instruction, managing the curriculum, monitoring teaching and learning, and creating opportunities that were conducive to learning. It was found that most secondary school principals concentrated on management instead of instructional leadership.
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Van, der Westhuizen Frederick Jacques. "Lifetime value modelling / Frederick Jacques van der Westhuizen." Thesis, North-West University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/2521.
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Given the increase in popularity of Lifetime Value (LTV), the argument is that the topic will assume an increasingly central role in research and marketing. As such, the decision to assess the state of the field in Lifetime Value Modelling, and outline challenges unique to choice researchers in customer relationship management (CRM). As the research has argued, there are an excess of issues and analytical challenges that remain unresolved. The researcher hopes that this thesis inspires new answers and new approaches to resolve LTV. The scope of this project covers the building of a LTV model through multiple regression. This thesis is exclusively focused on modelling tenure. In this regard, there are a variety of benchmark statistical techniques arising from survival analysis, which could be applied, to tenure modelling. Tenure prediction will be looked at using survival analysis and compared with "crossbreed" data mining techniques that use multiple regression in concurrence with statistical techniques. It will be demonstrated how data mining tools complement the statistical models, and show that their mutual usage overcomes many of the shortcomings of each singular tool set, resulting in LTV models that are both accurate and comprehensible. Bank XYZ is used as an example and is based on a real scenario of one of the Banks of South Africa.Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.
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Chia, Crystal Ying. "The role of transcription factor GATA6 in the development of the human pancreas." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2018. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/271836.
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While there has been an opulence of data and studies surrounding the study of the developing pancreas in mammals and other vertebrates, the focus has largely been in mice. The paucity of research in the development of the human pancreas has led to diminished knowledge in the area, compared to other species. Recent discoveries provide growing evidence for discrepancies between mouse and human pancreatic development and diseases and highlight the fact that developmental studies of the pancreas in humans are imperative. The need to develop therapies for diabetes, a growing and one of the leading health problems worldwide, further compels more exploration in this area to deepen our understanding in the different aspects of diabetes in humans and its underlying causes. Research involving modelling human diseases in vitro enables the investigation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases as well as the development of therapies for treating them. The availability of hPSCs brings with it the advantage of overcoming the limitations of animal models for certain disorders such as pancreatic agenesis, the focus of my project. The use of site-specific nucleases such as TALENs for such a purpose represents a paradigm shift in disease modelling, where TALENs are capable of directly correcting disease-causing mutations, therefore permanently eliminating the symptoms with precise genome modifications. Alternatively, TALENs can also be used to inactivate specific genes by inducing site-specific mutations. Using these tools, I found that GATA6 is required for the formation of the definitive endoderm (DE) and pancreas in humans; hPSCs harbouring homozygous GATA6 mutations fail to form the definitive endoderm, and consequently the pancreas, whereas hPSCs harbouring heterozygous GATA6 mutations exhibited impairment in definitive endoderm development, although it remains unclear if this is a protocol dependent defect. At the pancreatic stage, heterozygous GATA6 mutations consistently compromised pancreas formation regardless of protocol used. I also found that GATA6 transcriptionally activates the development of the definitive endoderm and pancreatic endoderm, and possibly represses the development of mesoderm. Furthermore, I also established that GATA6 directly interacts with key definitive endoderm markers CXCR4 and SOX17, and pancreatic marker PDX1. Taken together, the work herein demonstrates the successful use of hPSCs coupled with the TALEN genome editing technology as a unique in vitro system for disease modelling. These findings also establish two developmental windows, the DE and pancreatic progenitor stages, where GATA6 haploinsufficiency can result in the impairment of pancreatic development leading to pancreatic hypoplasia observed in human GATA6 heterozygous patients. Lastly, my work also provides the molecular mechanism by which GATA6 regulates pancreatic development. Overall, this study provided new insights in the role of GATA6 during development of the human pancreas. These results will be important in developing new methods of differentiation for hPSCs and understanding the interconnection between early organogenesis and late onset of diabetes.
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Yiġit, Erdal. "Modelling atmospheric vertical coupling : role of gravity wave dissipation in the upper atmosphere." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2009. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/17972/.
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Recently, an increasing number of modelling and observational studies have looked at the signatures of small-scale waves, such as gravity waves (GWs) of meteorological origin, in the upper atmosphere. General circulation models require an appropriate GW parameterisation to reproduce a realistic global circulation. Existing schemes implemented into GCMs lack a physically proper wave dissipation mechanism above the turbopause. For more self-consistent wave propagation in GCMs, and to estimate their dynamic and energetic importance in the upper atmosphere, it is crucial to account for realistic upper atmospheric dissipation processes. The UCL Coupled Middle Atmosphere-Thermosphere-2 (CMAT2) general circulation model was developed in order to investigate atmospheric vertical coupling. This model is an updated version of its predecessor CMAT. Three GW parameterisations of different characteristics have been implemented into CMAT2. While they all, to some extent, reproduce the necessary mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) dynamics, artificial dissipation above the turbopause is a problem in all these schemes. Therefore, an extended spectral non-linear GW parameterisation, which incorporates more physically realistic GW dissipation, has been developed. Using an offline column model, the sensitivity of GW propagation and dissipation in the thermosphere-ionosphere has been studied. Considerable GW propagation into the upper atmosphere is demonstrated. The associated wave forcing and heating are significant. This new extended scheme has been implemented in CMAT2. Its dynamical effects on the circulation of the upper atmosphere have been investigated. Results demonstrate the importance of GW momentum flux divergence in the thermosphere-ionosphere. The extended scheme improves the model simulations markedly with respect to an empirical model.
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Angelopoulos, Nikolaos G. "Exploring the mitigation potential role of legumes in European agriculture : a modelling approach." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/16472.
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The increasing atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) has direct consequences on humans and threatens the sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems. The European Union has set high targets for reducing their emissions by 80‐95% of the 1990 levels by 2050 and is working progressively to achieve these reductions. Legumes are an important group of crop species as they have the potential to reduce N2O emissions. Biogeochemical modelling can provide a valuable tool to explore options for mitigating GHG emissions and especially N2O from European agriculture by simulating novel legume based rotations. UK‐DNDC is a process based, biogeochemical model that can be used towards that goal. The model was tested for various regions in Europe and showed that it can simulate the N dynamics within crop rotations across a range of pedoclimatic zones. It is a useful tool in 1) identifying where and when high emissions occur, 2) highlighting the effects of the management practices on emissions and 3) exploring the impact of alternative managements on emissions. New rotations, which include legumes, have been proposed in order to assess the sustainability of the legumes in European agriculture and the effect that they will have on N2O production. Five regions in Europe, namely Sweden, Germany, Italy, Scotland and Romania, were selected in order to test the differences between legume based rotations and non‐legume based. These regions represent a wide range of pedo‐climatic zones in Europe. In most case studies, legumes showed that they can make an important contribution to mitigating N2O emissions. However, there were cases in which legumes enhanced the production of N2O. Modelling can help to understand system dynamics and it can also help to explore mitigation options for European agriculture in terms of N2O production. An important element of environmental modelling is to understand the uncertainty and sensitivity of model parameters in relation to the model outputs. The sensitivity testing of the model showed that clay content, initial soil organic carbon content and atmospheric background CO2 concentration are three key input parameters Nitrous oxide emissions were one of the results that showed great uncertainty in all the analyses. That highlights the challenges of the modelling activity for accurate N2O simulations in a dynamic ecosystem.
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Masola, Francinah. "Sport students' experiences of role modelling when teaching responsibility to Grade 3 learners." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62884.
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This qualitative research study explores the sports students’ experiences of role modelling when teaching responsibility to Grade 3 learners. For this study, the sports students were identified as primary participants, whereas the Grade 3 learners were considered as indirect participants. This study was informed by an interpretivist paradigm and guided by a conceptual and theoretical framework. The literature on sports students acting as role models informed me about the capabilities of young adults to become better people and to influence Grade 3 learners to become responsible citizens through rugby. The literature highlighted the use of physical activities as sport to promote social responsibility in young learners. The data collection methods and instruments used in the study were designed to ascertain the opinions and perceptions of the sports students as well as the Grade 3 learners. The involvement of the Grade 3 learners as indirect participants and the sports students helped me to form the foundation on which my research was based. In addition, their participation in this study helped me to answer the main and secondary research questions. Bandura’s theory was used to analyse and understand the findings of this study. The data collection instruments include observations, field notes, sports students’ reflections, learners’ artefacts and photo voice method. These methods and instruments were used to collect data from every research participant, I then coded the data from sports students’ reflections and learners’ artefacts, to formulate an in-depth understanding of their responses. The key findings of the study confirmed that sports students acting as role models can positively influence young learners to become responsible citizens. It was evident in the study that sports students could become better people and future responsible citizens.Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Early Childhood Education
MEd
Unrestricted
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Maréchaux, Isabelle. "Individual-based modelling of tropical forests : role of biodiversity and responses to drought." Thesis, Toulouse 3, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016TOU30244/document.
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La faible représentation de la biodiversité dans les modèles de végétation a longtemps été un obstacle à la compréhension et à la projection des processus écosystémiques. La forte biodiversité des forêts tropicales, leur rôle clé dans les cycles biogéochimiques globaux, ainsi que leur vulnérabilité aux perturbations anthropiques directes et indirectes, amplifient les difficultés et enjeux de ces questions de recherche. En particulier, l'augmentation prédite de la fréquence et de l'intensité des sécheresses pourrait impacter la structure et composition floristique de ces forêts, comme dors et déjà observé au cours d'expériences naturelles et artificielles. Cette thèse explore ces questions de recherche à travers deux approches complémentaires, de modélisation et de mesures écophysiologiques. Dans le premier chapitre, je décris un simulateur de croissance forestière individu-centré et spatialement-explicite, TROLL, qui intègre les progrès récents en physiologie des plantes. Les processus sont paramétrés à l'aide de traits fonctionnels espèce-spécifiques, pour une forêt tropicale amazonienne. Une régénération forestière est simulée, et validée par des observations faites en Guyane française. La sensibilité du modèle à plusieurs paramètres globaux clés est évaluée. Enfin, l'influence de la variation de la richesse et composition spécifiques sur les propriétés écosystémiques est explorée. La réponse des forêts tropicales à la sécheresse est mal connue, empêchant la représentation pertinente des processus en jeu dans les modèles de végétation. Les chapitres 2 à 5 de cette thèse ont ainsi pour but de documenter la tolérance à la sécheresse et sa diversité dans une forêt amazonienne. Une méthode récente et rapide de détermination d'un trait de tolérance des feuilles à la sécheresse, le potentiel hydrique des feuilles au point de perte de turgescence (ptlp), est validée et utilisée, permettant de quantifier pour la première fois un tel trait de tolérance à la sécheresse dans une forêt amazonienne à l'échelle de la communauté. Ce jeu de données permet l'exploration des déterminants de la tolérance à la sécheresse des feuilles, à travers les espèces d'arbres, les tailles des individus, les stades de succession, les expositions à la lumière, ainsi que les lianes. La variabilité de ptlp observée suggère une large diversité de réponses à la sécheresse au sein des communautés de plantes amazoniennes. Ceci est confirmé par le suivi direct du flux de sève au cours d'une saison sèche sur divers arbres de canopée. Enfin, je discute les implications de ces résultats pour le développement des futurs modèles de végétationA great part of uncertainties in our current understanding and projections of the carbon cycle lies in the vegetation compartment. The problem of biodiversity representation in vegetation models has long been an impediment to a detailed understanding of ecosystem processes. The high biodiversity of tropical forests, their disproportionate role in global biogeochemical cycles, together with their vulnerability to direct and indirect anthropogenic perturbations, amplify the relevance of this research challenge. In particular, the predicted increase in drought intensity and frequency in the tropics may impact forest structure and composition, as already observed in natural and artificial experiments. This thesis explores how new advances in modelling and ecophysiology should help improve our understanding of these processes in the future. In the first chapter, I describe an individual-based and spatially-explicit forest growth simulator, TROLL, that integrates recent advances in plant physiology. Processes are linked to species-specific functional traits parameterized for an Amazonian tropical rainforest. This model is used to simulate a forest regeneration, which is validated against observations in French Guiana. Model sensitivity is assessed for a number of key global parameters. Finally, we test the influence of varying the species richness and composition on ecosystem properties. Tropical forest response to drought is not well understood, and this hampers attempts to model these processes. In chapters 2 to 5 I aimed at documenting drought-tolerance and its diversity in an Amazonian forest. A rapid method of determination of a leaf drought tolerance trait, the leaf water potential at turgor loss point (ptlp), was validated and applied to a range of plant species. We established the first community-wide assessment of drought tolerance in an Amazonian forest. These results inform on the drivers and determinants of leaf drought tolerance, across tree species and lianas, tree size, successional stages, light exposition, and seasons. Variability in ptlp among species indicates the potential for a range of species responses to drought within Amazonian forest communities. This is further confirmed by direct monitoring of whole-plant water use on diverse canopy trees during a marked dry season. Finally, I discuss the implications of these results to increase the dialogue between the vegetation modeling community and ecology, to enhance model's predictive ability, and to inform policy choices
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Silva, Ana Carina Vieira da. "Integrating public preferences in biodiversity conservation decision-making: a choice-modelling approach." Doctoral thesis, ISA-UL, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/14959.
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Doutoramento em Alterações Climáticas e Políticas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, especialidade em Ciências do Ambiente - Universidade de Lisboa: Faculdade de Ciências, Faculdade de Letras, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Instituto Superior Técnico / Universidade Nova de Lisboa: Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaThe need to reverse current trends of biodiversity loss is acknowledged by a wide range of international scientific and political initiatives. Along with the scientific and political agenda, the protection of biodiversity has become an important issue in public opinion too. Nevertheless, general public concerns are not typically considered by decision-makers and conservation planning continues to emphasize only ecological concerns ignoring social considerations. But since public involvement is essential for the success of conservation initiatives we must start thinking on how to capture public concerns and preferences so that they can be posteriorly integrated in conservation decision-making. This was the starting point for the present dissertation. This dissertation proposes an economic valuation approach to capture public preferences regarding biodiversity conservation and to translate them into monetary values, so they can be later incorporated in decision-making to ensure a truly societal management. Using choice experiments method allows for a valuation approach focused on biodiversity roles biodiversity plays for human well-being (benefits) rather than on components, which should simplify the cognitive process of preference formation and translation into monetary values. Considering this main aim, four main research questions arose: 1) Is the public aware of biodiversity roles/benefits? 2) Can we translate public preferences for biodiversity roles into monetary terms through economic valuation? 3) Are public preferences affected by the excludability degree of biodiversity roles? and 4) Are public preferences for biodiversity roles influenced by environmental education and a close contact with some of its components? Research results show that the general public share interesting social representations of biodiversity and seems to choose conservation priorities rationally. Additionally, choice modelling seems to be an appropriate approach to capture and translate public preferences into monetary terms allowing for biodiversity decomposing in different roles (or benefits) perceived by the public
N/A
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Felstead, I. "An exploration of the impact of role modelling on adult nursing students' professional development." Thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University, 2013. http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/13012/.
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Service users expect to be cared for by a nurse who is both competent and professional, a particularly pertinent point following the Francis and Keogh reports (DH 2013a, DH 2013b). Nursing students’ experience of education in practice strongly shapes their behaviour and knowledge but the ways in which this influences development of their professionalism is not yet fully understood. This study explored nursing students’ lived experience of role modelling aiming to understand the impact on their development as professional practitioners. In June 2013 twelve student nurses (4 first years, 4 second years, 4 third years) participated in in-depth interviews which were non-structured to allow exploration of the phenomenon that were most important to the participant. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, the information gathered from participants underwent several stages of thematic analysis. The influence of peers and service users on students’ professional development expands upon previously reported research. This is directly related to how students perceive their role model status and although not generalizable participants in this study found that reflecting on experiences with peers and observing the reaction by service users to care delivery had a positive influence on their professional development. Other principal findings include the importance to students of feeling valued as part of the team within their clinical placements and the potentially deleterious impact on students working with nurses who are displaying signs of burnout. Consequent to these findings, it would appear important for student nurse education to include acknowledgement of how clinical nurse observed behaviour may influence student development, facilitation of peer-to-peer interaction as appropriate to the clinical situation and the potential impact of fostering a ‘personal yet professional’ relationship with the student. A number of other issues are also identified. Given the potential influence of peers in enhancing students’ education, one way of optimising the effect of this novel finding could be to include a formal peer to peer mentoring system across all three years of a pre-registration programme. The findings indicate a limited awareness of the potential influence of academic staff as professional role models. This is a possible area for development. Students should also be guided to work with a number of staff in order to ensure exposure to a variety of practice behaviours.
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Hoffmann, Leandro Toss. "The role of computational steering in space engineering activities assisted by modelling and simulation." Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), 2014. http://urlib.net/sid.inpe.br/mtc-m21b/2014/09.24.16.28.
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Nowadays, computational simulation has a fundamental role on supporting engineering activities across the life cycle of a space mission. As a consequence, the pursuit for leaner processes and flexible tools has been the focus of numerous investigations in the system engineering and simulation fields. In this direction, the current work presents a novel approach for designing and conducting scenario of spacecraft simulation, envisaging the improvement of space engineering practices by employing computational steering methods. In the context of a scientific application, steering is a technique to enhance the level of user interaction in a computational system in order to allow a specialist to actively guide the course a simulation, by on-line changing model parameters and visually monitoring the effects on the scenario. In order to achieve such level of interactivity, in this work, an advanced simulation facility is proposed to combine state of art concepts on satellite simulation and the most relevant features of computational steering. The benefits of applying these concepts in the development of space systems are demonstrated in case studies inspired in real life problems, such as the verification and validation of a piece of flight software, commonly adopted to determine the direction of Sun on-board the spacecraft. The results have shown that the improvement of user interactivity in the spacecraft simulation is a promising approach to deal with geometrically complex scenarios and problems with high number of parameters, thereby contributing to streamline manifold space engineering processes.Hoje em dia, a simulação computacional tem um papel fundamental no apoio às atividades de engenharia ao longo de todo o ciclo de vida de uma missão espacial. Como consequência, a busca por processos mais enxutos e ferramentas flexíveis tem sido o foco de inúmeras investigações nas áreas de engenharia de sistemas e simulação. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho apresenta uma nova abordagem para a concepção e condução de cenários de simulação de plataformas orbitais, visando à melhoria das práticas de engenharia espaciais por meio do emprego de métodos de esterçamento computacional. No contexto de aplicações científicas, esterçamento é uma técnica para melhorar o nível de interação do usuário em um sistema computacional de modo a permitir que um especialista possa guiar ativamente o curso de uma simulação, alterando parâmetros de modelos em tempo de execução e monitorando visualmente os efeitos no cenário. De maneira a atingir tal nível de interatividade, neste trabalho um ambiente avançado de simulação é proposto para combinar conceitos do estado da arte em simulação de satélite e as características mais relevantes de esterçamento computacional. Os benefícios da aplicação desses conceitos no desenvolvimento de sistemas espaciais são demonstrados em estudo de casos inspirados em problemas reais, tais como a verificação e validação de um artefato de software de voo, comumente empregado na determinação da direção do Sol a bordo da espaçonave. Os resultados mostraram que a melhoria da interatividade do usuário na simulação de satélites é uma abordagem promissora para se lidar com cenários geometricamente complexos e problemas com elevado número de parâmetros, contribuindo assim para tornar mais ágeis diversos processos de engenharia espacial.
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Fouquet, Roger. "Information for energy-related environmental policy : the role of disaggregated dynamic energy demand modelling." Thesis, University of Surrey, 1997. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/844457/.
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Public concern about energy-related environmental damage has put pressure on governments to enhance abatement policies. This has in turn led to increasing demands for information about and analysis of expected and optimal levels of environmental quality, and the means of influencing these levels. Energy demand modelling can act as a valuable tool in the production of this information, particularly where it relates to future levels of environmental quality and to how policy intervention can alter constraints facing consumers in order to achieve desired levels. The thesis focuses on two features of energy demand analysis. First, major developments in dynamic econometrics, and in particular the cointegration approach, have enabled energy demand modellers to incorporate long run equilibrating relationships between energy use and its main determinants, such as economic activity and relative prices, within a dynamic framework. Second, the existence of a diverse market for energy both in terms of the fuels used and the users suggests that energy demand should be analysed at a disaggregated level. The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether disaggregated dynamic energy demand modelling can provide additional valuable information for the formulation of environmental policy. The core of the thesis takes the form of six separate papers: three review papers link dynamic energy demand modelling with environmental policy and three case study papers use disaggregated dynamic energy demand modelling to examine aspects of future United Kingdom energy-related environmental quality and how it can be altered through changing the constraints facing consumers. While theory and traditional econometrics have provided useful information about energy consumption behaviour, the introduction of the cointegration approach and the error correction model are enabling economists to estimate more reliably the long run relationships between energy demand and its main determinants, and the gradual adjustment of consumers towards equilibrium consumption levels after a disequilibrating disturbance. This new information is giving a greater understanding of how to achieve desired future environmental quality levels. The heterogeneous nature of energy use, both in terms of the fuels used and their users, indicates that the accuracy of elasticity estimates and, thus, the quality of information they can provide for environmental policy might be improved through the disaggregation of dynamic energy demand modelling. Employing the cointegration approach and sectoral and fuel specific error correction models to generate estimates of income, three separate papers provide evidence in support of this argument. Individually, these papers provide information about sectoral and fuel specific elasticities, about how residential users alter their behaviour as economic constraints change and about how certain car users alter their fuel consumption patterns when provided with adverse environmental publicity about fuels. Together, these papers suggest that there exists considerable variation in income and real price elasticities between sectors and fuels, and that using the estimates generated by such disaggregated dynamic models will provide greater accuracy than aggregated and static models. These variations are of particular importance to environmental policy makers because of the difference in environmental impact associated with different fuels. The thesis, therefore, finds that, by generating more detailed and reliable elasticity estimates, disaggregated dynamic energy demand models provide new and valuable insights for the formulation of environmental policy. It concludes that disaggregated dynamic energy demand modelling will form an increasing share of the models used for environmental forecasts and policy analysis - although the overall interest in this area of research may shift as levels of certain energy-related environmental indicators improve (eg carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) and others worsen (eg volatile organic compounds and PM10). The thesis suggests that considerable refinements in energy demand modelling can be made, both in the methods used and in the focus of empirical studies, which will lead to further improvements in the formulation of environmental policy.
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Schwartz, Tamlyn. "Anticipated work-family conflict amongst female business students: The influence of parental role modelling." Thesis, University of Cape Town, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/28375.
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For many young women, the transition from late childhood to early adulthood is a challenging time (Arnett, 2000). It is a time spent exploring different career opportunities and relationships and considering future family aspirations. Thinking about one’s future work and family can evoke many concerns amongst emerging adults, especially female students who plan to pursue demanding careers. This is a global phenomenon and South African female students are no exception (Bagraim & Harrison, 2013). Anticipated work-family conflict (AWFC) has received some attention amongst researchers due to the potential impact AWFC can have on students’ decision making (Barnett, Gareis, James, & Steele, 2003; Coyle, Van Leer, Schroeder, & Fulcher, 2015; Michael, Most, & Cinamon, 2011; Westring & Ryan, 2011). Over the past few decades, there has been a global increase in women entering the workforce (Blau & Kahn, 2007; Goldin, 2014). This has resulted in an increase in dual-earner families as both men and women have become co-breadwinners. Despite a shift in shared work responsibilities, many women still feel that taking care of their family is their primary responsibility (Askari, Liss, Erchull, Staebell, & Axelson, 2010). The added pressure that women experience in balancing both work and family domains highlights the importance of better equipping female students with the necessary resources and support as they transition into early adulthood. Not all students experience the same levels of AWFC (Barnett et al., 2003; Coyle et al., 2015). Identifying the key contributors to students’ AWFC has therefore generated a small body of research, which still requires further development. The limited research on students’ perceptions of the work-family interface includes research on several influencing factors, such as gender (e.g. Weer, Greenhaus, Colakoglu, & Foley, 2006); maternal employment (Barnett et al., 2003; Weer et al., 2006), parental education (O'Shea & Kirrane, 2008), self-efficacy to manage future work-family conflict (Cinamon, 2006) and parental role sharing of childcare and housework (Cinamon, 2006). A common thread across the literature is the influence of parents on their children’s perceptions of work and family. Socialisation into the work-family interface begins from early childhood and continues beyond adolescence, with parents shaping their children’s views of work and family life (Levine & Hoffner, 2006; Wiese & Freund, 2011).
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Gustafsson, Andreas, and Jesper Vallett. "Context-Aware Procedural Content Generation with Player Modelling in Mobile Action Role Playing Game." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för teknik och samhälle (TS), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-20530.
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This paper aimed to discover how player satisfaction is affected by context-aware elements based on physical, real-world factors in an action role-playing game. The possibility of utilizing player modelling to counteract the reduction in player empowerment in a game heavily influenced by external factors was also explored. This was accomplished by creating an ARPG heavily integrated with various weather, and daytime, context data obtained from web-based APIs. Followed by conducting qualitative tests with help of eleven participants during a time period of a week. The evaluated results were presented in a manner of relevance for both context-driven applications as a whole, and for further exploration within game developments utilization of state of the art technology.
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Sadreev, Ildar. "Mathematical modelling of inter- and intracellular signal transduction : the regulatory role of multisite interactions." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/21212.
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Signalling processes regulate various aspects of living cells via modulation of protein activity. The interactions between the signalling proteins can occur at single or multiple sites. Although single site protein interactions are relatively easy to understand, these rarely occur in living systems. It is therefore important to investigate multisite interactions. Despite the recent progress in experimental studies, the underlying molecular mechanisms and molecular functions of the multisite interactions are still not clear and therefore require systems approaches for deeper understanding, for example to understand how the system will react to perturbation of one of its components. The examples of the molecular functions that are studied in this thesis are: kinetics of multisite calcium binding to proteins such as calmodulin (CaM), multisite phosphorylation of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF-5) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs). We also study the role of STATs in the overall immune response and in T cell phenotype switching as well as multisite phosphorylation of high osmolarity glycerol factor 1 (Hog1) in mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade during the adaptation of Candida glabrata to osmotic stress. In this thesis, these examples are studied using the systems approach in the context of human diseases: cancer, candidiasis, immunity-related pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. We discuss potential therapeutic implications of the proposed models in these diseases. The predictions of the models developed in this thesis are supported by the experimental data and propose possible mechanisms of the multisite interactions involved in the cellular regulation.
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Skulimowski, Andrzej M. J. "The Role of Creativity in Cooperative Foresight Activities in Living Labs." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-100911.
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This paper presents the cooperative modelling methodology used in the Information Society foresight carried out within the research project SCETIST. The class of models here presented used the concept of group decision creativity that has been elaborated for the use in a Living Lab. The trends and scenarios are discussed and refined during cooperative activities, finally verified using the simulation of a hybrid system consisting of qualitative information processing, and a discretetime- control system with a discrete-event component.
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Kumar, Shikhar. "Role of Semantics in the Reconsolidation of Episodic Memories." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/242452.
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Evidence suggests that when memories are reactivated they become labile and can be updated or even erased. Reactivation induces plasticity in memory representations, rendering them fragile, much as they were after initial acquisition. When a memory has been reactivated it must be re-stabilized, which requires reconsolidation. A recent set of studies established the phenomenon of memory reconsolidation for episodic memory (Hupbach et al., 2007, 2008, 2011). That reconsolidation effects apply to explicit memory, which requires conscious recollection, has far reaching implications. In the Hupbach et al. studies the ability of subtle reminders to trigger reconsolidation was investigated; these reminders consisted of the same spatial context, the same experimenter and a reminder question. Given we live in a predictable world, episodes are not random occurrences of events in time and space, but instead consist of statistical and semantic regularities. This leaves open the question of whether semantic relations and statistical regularities between episodes can trigger a reactivation of episodic memory. If so, how would this affect the status of the reactivated memory? This dissertation explored the role of semantic relatedness between the elements of different episodes in memory reactivation and subsequent updating. We focused particularly on categorical and contextual aspects of semantic relations. A series of experiments considered different kinds of semantic relations between elements of episodes, providing evidence of memory reactivation and updating as a consequence of basic level category relations between items in two separate episodes. We also tested the predictions of the Temporal Context Model (TCM) (Sederberg et al., 2011) for our experimental paradigm and show that the current TCM model is not able to account for all the effects of semantic relatedness in the reconsolidation paradigm. Finally, we explore an alternative approach that seeks to explain memory reconsolidation as Bayesian Inference. Our results provide support for this Bayesian framework, showing the potential of it for exploring different aspects of memory organization.
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Afzal, Muhammad. "Modelling temporal aspects of healthcare processes with Ontologies." Thesis, Jönköping University, JTH, Computer and Electrical Engineering, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-12781.
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This thesis represents the ontological model for the Time Aspects for a Healthcare Organization. It provides information about activities which take place at different interval of time at Ryhov Hospital. These activities are series of actions which may be happen in predefined sequence and at predefined times or may be happen at any time in a General ward or in Emergency ward of a Ryhov Hospital.
For achieving above mentioned objective, our supervisor conducts a workshop at the start of thesis. In this workshop, the domain experts explain the main idea of ward activities. From this workshop; the author got a lot of knowledge about activities and time aspects. After this, the author start literature review for achieving valuable knowledge about ward activities, time aspects and also methodology steps which are essentials for ontological model. After developing ontological model for Time Aspects, our supervisor also conducts a second workshop. In this workshop, the author presents the model for evaluation purpose.
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Passi, Vimmi. "How does positive doctor role modelling influence the development of medical professionalism in future doctors?" Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/62713/.
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Background There has been an explosion of interest in medical professionalism over the past decade but at present there are no evidence based guidelines on how to effectively develop medical professionalism in future doctors (Passi et al. 2010). Role modelling has been highlighted as an important method to help develop professionalism but there is no current theory regarding the process of role modelling (Passi et al. 2013). Therefore, the aim of this PhD was to investigate how positive doctor role modelling influences the development of professionalism in future doctors. Methods A qualitative methodology using the grounded theory inquiry approach of Strauss and Corbin (2008) was used to generate a general explanation (a theory) of the process of role modelling shaped by the views of the participants. The study involved focus groups with final year medical students, semi structured interviews with consultants and semi structured interviews with consultants and final year medical students immediately after outpatient clinics. This systematic approach used involved open coding, axial coding and selective coding to reveal the processes involved in role modelling, which is illustrated in a coding paradigm diagram. Results The results revealed a new theory of doctor role modelling which is described as follows – Doctor role modelling is an important process in medical education that involves conscious and subconscious elements. It consists of an Exposure Phase followed by an Evolution Phase. The exposure phase involves demonstration of professional attributes by the doctor role models (clinical expertise; relationships with patients, students and colleagues; personality and inspirational characteristics). The evolution phase begins with observation of the role model by the modellee, following which the modellee makes a judgement whether or not to trial the observed behaviours of the role model. When the decision to trial is reached, this then leads to the Model Trialling Cycle which involves 5 stages of assembly, emulation, experimentation, adaptation and assimilation. The outcome is the evolution of a professional doctor who has developed their unique professional identity and career aspirations. Conclusion This detailed qualitative study has provided a new theory of doctor role modelling in medical education. The impact of role modelling is in the development of medical professionalism professional identity and the influence of career choice. The theory can now be incorporated in medical curriculums worldwide to enhance the development of medical professionalism. Detailed recommendations for clinical practice and future research are described.
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Lavassani, Mehrzad. "Reliable Information Exchange in IIoT : Investigation into the Role of Data and Data-Driven Modelling." Licentiate thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Avdelningen för informationssystem och -teknologi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-34886.
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The concept of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the tangible building block for the realisation of the fourth industrial revolution. It should improve productivity, efficiency and reliability of industrial automation systems, leading to revenue growth in industrial scenarios. IIoT needs to encompass various disciplines and technologies to constitute an operable and harmonious system. One essential requirement for a system to exhibit such behaviour is reliable exchange of information. In industrial automation, the information life-cycle starts at the field level, with data collected by sensors, and ends at the enterprise level, where that data is processed into knowledge for business decision making. In IIoT, the process of knowledge discovery is expected to start in the lower layers of the automation hierarchy, and to cover the data exchange between the connected smart objects to perform collaborative tasks. This thesis aims to assist the comprehension of the processes for information exchange in IIoT-enabled industrial automation- in particular, how reliable exchange of information can be performed by communication systems at field level given an underlying wireless sensor technology, and how data analytics can complement the processes of various levels of the automation hierarchy. Furthermore, this work explores how an IIoT monitoring system can be designed and developed. The communication reliability is addressed by proposing a redundancy-based medium access control protocol for mission-critical applications, and analysing its performance regarding real-time and deterministic delivery. The importance of the data and the benefits of data analytics for various levels of the automation hierarchy are examined by suggesting data-driven methods for visualisation, centralised system modelling and distributed data streams modelling. The design and development of an IIoT monitoring system are addressed by proposing a novel three-layer framework that incorporates wireless sensor, fog, and cloud technologies. Moreover, an IIoT testbed system is developed to realise the proposed framework. The outcome of this study suggests that redundancy-based mechanisms improve communication reliability. However, they can also introduce drawbacks, such as poor link utilisation and limited scalability, in the context of IIoT. Data-driven methods result in enhanced readability of visualisation, and reduced necessity of the ground truth in system modelling. The results illustrate that distributed modelling can lower the negative effect of the redundancy-based mechanisms on link utilisation, by reducing the up-link traffic. Mathematical analysis reveals that introducing fog layer in the IIoT framework removes the single point of failure and enhances scalability, while meeting the latency requirements of the monitoring application. Finally, the experiment results show that the IIoT testbed works adequately and can serve for the future development and deployment of IIoT applications.SMART (Smarta system och tjänster för ett effektivt och innovativt samhälle)