Dissertations / Theses: 'Scientific approach'

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Kreel, Larry. "The racetrack : a scientific approach." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17342.

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Includes bibliographical references.
Horseracing and its associated activity of gambling invites academic research of a multidisciplinary nature. Economics, psychology, mathematics and statistics are all fields that have investigated the two topics. In 1976 economists discovered a new body of data on which they could test their theories. For many years psychologists have investigated human behaviour in gambling situations. Mathematicians have developed optimal betting strategies. Statisticians have assisted in all the investigations as well as utilised decision theory, probability theory and regression analysis, in their own right, within the discipline. Why do academics devote their time to this subject? The furthering of knowledge in general in the above fields is important. Also, because the possibility of making money with relatively little work exists, people from all walks of life will be drawn to the intellectual challenge of finding winners. Researchers know that in order to derive money making systems, research on an academic scale is necessary. The amount of data available is phenomenal and although much of it is utilized by the public, some of it is not and that which is, is not always used in a consistent manner. The research in this work concentrates on all four fields mentioned above. A general, overview of the work done in each section is as follows. In chapters two and three, the betting market is examined within the framework of the efficient markets hypothesis. Tests of the three well known forms of efficiency are performed. In chapter four, within the framework of the expected utility hypothesis, the behaviour of gamblers is analysed. The investigation concentrates on behaviour observed at the racetrack, but draws ideas from other gambling situations as well. In chapter five, an investigation is made into horseraces, considering a race to be a sports event. This will consider the competing horses as athletes and will try and identify which fundamental factors are most important in determining the victor of such a race. In chapter six, some statistical theory, which has simple applications in horseracing is examined. In chapter seven, the economics of racetrack management is investigated.

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Yeo, Yeongseo. "Bayesian scientific methodology : a naturalistic approach /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2002. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p3074459.

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3

David-Rus, Richard. "Explanation and understanding through scientific models : perspectives for a new approach to scientific explanation." kostenfrei, 2010. http://d-nb.info/1001624556/34.

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4

Bohossian, Nora. "A case of scientific fraud? : a statistical approach." Thesis, McGill University, 2006. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=100774.

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In 1986 Thereza Imanishi-Kari, then an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was at the peak of her career. She had just coauthored a paper in the prestigious journal Cell with David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate. Their research was exciting and their findings promising.
Margot O'Toole, Imanishi-Kari's postdoctoral fellow at the time, was unable to reproduce some of the experimental results published in the paper and could not resolve this with her postdoctoral supervisor. Subsequently, O'Toole became convinced that there were serious errors in the paper and, shortly afterwards, the National Institutes of Health began officially investigating the questions she raised about it.
It may have been simply a character clash between Imanishi-Kari and O'Toole but partly due to the involvement of a figure such as Baltimore, this clash possibly ruined their careers, took 10 years to settle down, cost millions of dollars of public money, polarized the scientific community, and went down in history as one of the most widely followed cases of scientific fraud.
Based on statistical, forensic and other evidence, Imanishi-Kari was found guilty of scientific misconduct and banned from receiving public funding for 10 years. This was not the end of the matter, however, because Imanishi-Kari appealed the decision and was later exonerated.
In this thesis, we tell the statistical story by putting forward the statistical arguments that were used against Imanishi-Kari and the counterarguments to them.

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Stacey, Martin Kenneth. "A model-driven approach to scientific law discovery." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.314674.

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This thesis presents a structural model of one aspect of science, the theory-driven discovery of empirical laws, in terms of the knowledge structures and reasoning processes that it involves; and describes a machine learning system designed to embody the major features of the model, called OZ, which is designed to investigate the transport properties of an unknown membrane separating two solutions. Inductive data-driven discovery is an important process in science, but takes place within very tightly constrained limits defined by theoretical reasoning. An explicit specification of the possible search space for a law is a law framework; this takes the form of a law with some undetermined parameters. Inductive law discovery is the search for the values of these free parameters. According to the model informal qualitative models (IQMs) describing the essential structural features of a physical system are used to guide the selection of appropriate variables for scientific law discovery, and the selection of an appropriate mathematical function for a law. Our analysis differs from previous work in machine discovery in stressing the importance of models of internal structure in scientific discovery. OZ comprises a domain independent control structure and a set of domain independent procedures, plus a set of domain dependent heuristics for the membrane properties domain. It constructs a set of candidate IQMs for the unknown membrane, and designs goal-directed experiments to determine which IQM is the right one, generating and testing qualitative predictions about the patterns to be expected in numerical data. When it has identified a single model as correct, it constructs law frameworks for possible laws describing the transport properties of the membrane, then designs different experiments to gather data to supply to an inductive law discovery function, which looks for a law of the type specified by each law framework.

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McIver, Russell P. "A knowledge-based approach to scientific workflow composition." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2015. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/80633/.

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Scientific Workflow Systems have been developed as a means to enable scientists to carry out complex analysis operations on local and remote data sources in order to achieve their research goals. Systems typically provide a large number of components and facilities to enable such analysis to be performed and have matured to a point where they offer many complex capabilities. This complexity makes it difficult for scientists working with these systems to readily achieve their goals. In this thesis we describe the increasing burden of knowledge required of these scientists in order for them to specify the outcomes they wish to achieve within the workflow systems. We consider ways in which the challenges presented by these systems can be reduced, focusing on the following questions: How can metadata describing the resources available assist users in composing workflows? Can automated assistance be provided to guide users through the composition process? Can such an approach be implemented so as to work with the resources provided by existing Scientific Workflow Systems? We have developed a new approach to workflow composition which makes use of a number of features: an ontology for recording metadata relating to workflow components, a set of algorithms for analyzing the state of a workflow composition and providing suggestions for how to progress based on this metadata, an API to enable both the algorithms and metadata to utilise the resources provided by existing Scientific Workflow Systems, and a prototype user interface to demonstrate how our proposed approach to workflow composition can work in practice. We evaluate the system to show the approach is valid and capable of reducing some of the difficulties presented by existing systems, but that limitations exist regarding the complexity of workflows which can be composed, and also regarding the challenge of initially populating the metadata ontology.

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Kamozut, Mehmet Cem. "A Coherentist Approach To The Justification Of Scientific Theories." Phd thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609409/index.pdf.

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Philosophers of science have long realized that it is not possible to decide which scientific theory is true just by relying on their empirical adequacy. That theories should possess other virtues in order to be accepted by the scientific community is well understood. Nevertheless, empirical adequacy remained as having a privileged value among these virtues. In this thesis I argue that scientific theories are accepted or rejected on the bases of an evaluation of their degree of coherence. In such a coherentist understanding, empirical adequacy still plays some role. However, this is an egalitarian approach where observational reports have no special status. By means of case studies form history of science I provided reasons to think that this coherentist approach is better suited to understanding scientific change as a rational process.

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McArthur, Daniel. "On scientific realism, in defence of a deflationary approach." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ66172.pdf.

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9

Gössling, Andreas. "Device Information Modeling in Automation - A Computer-Scientific Approach." Doctoral thesis, Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2014. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-136655.

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This thesis presents an approach for device information modeling that is meant to ease the challenges of device manufacturers in the automation domain. The basis for this approach are semantic models of the application domain. The author discusses the challenges for integration in the automation domain and especially regarding field devices, device description languages and fieldbuses. A method for the generation of semantic models is presented and an approach is discussed that is meant to help the generation of device descriptions for different device description languages. The approach is then evaluated.

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Shea-Blymyer, Colin Russel. "Distinguishing Dynamical Kinds: An Approach for Automating Scientific Discovery." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101659.

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The automation of scientific discovery has been an active research topic for many years. The promise of a formalized approach to developing and testing scientific hypotheses has attracted researchers from the sciences, machine learning, and philosophy alike. Leveraging the concept of dynamical symmetries a new paradigm is proposed for the collection of scientific knowledge, and algorithms are presented for the development of EUGENE – an automated scientific discovery tool-set. These algorithms have direct applications in model validation, time series analysis, and system identification. Further, the EUGENE tool-set provides a novel metric of dynamical similarity that would allow a system to be clustered into its dynamical regimes. This dynamical distance is sensitive to the presence of chaos, effective order, and nonlinearity. I discuss the history and background of these algorithms, provide examples of their behavior, and present their use for exploring system dynamics.
Master of Science

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11

Chen, Yin. "A binding approach to scientific data and metadata management." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/27784.

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Constantinescu-Fuløp, Zoran. "A Desktop Grid Computing Approach for Scientific Computing and Visualization." Doctoral thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Information Technology, Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-2191.

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Scientific Computing is the collection of tools, techniques, and theories required to solve on a computer, mathematical models of problems from science and engineering, and its main goal is to gain insight in such problems. Generally, it is difficult to understand or communicate information from complex or large datasets generated by Scientific Computing methods and techniques (computational simulations, complex experiments, observational instruments etc.). Therefore, support of Scientific Visualization is needed, to provide the techniques, algorithms, and software tools needed to extract and display appropriately important information from numerical data.

Usually, complex computational and visualization algorithms require large amounts of computational power. The computing power of a single desktop computer is insufficient for running such complex algorithms, and, traditionally, large parallel supercomputers or dedicated clusters were used for this job. However, very high initial investments and maintenance costs limit the availability of such systems. A more convenient solution, which is becoming more and more popular, is based on the use of nondedicated desktop PCs in a Desktop Grid Computing environment. Harnessing idle CPU cycles, storage space and other resources of networked computers to work together on a particularly computational intensive application does this. Increasing power and communication bandwidth of desktop computers provides for this solution.

In a desktop grid system, the execution of an application is orchestrated by a central scheduler node, which distributes the tasks amongst the worker nodes and awaits workers’ results. An application only finishes when all tasks have been completed. The attractiveness of exploiting desktop grids is further reinforced by the fact that costs are highly distributed: every volunteer supports her resources (hardware, power costs and internet connections) while the benefited entity provides management infrastructures, namely network bandwidth, servers and management services, receiving in exchange a massive and otherwise unaffordable computing power. The usefulness of desktop grid computing is not limited to major high throughput public computing projects. Many institutions, ranging from academics to enterprises, hold vast number of desktop machines and could benefit from exploiting the idle cycles of their local machines.

In the work presented in this thesis, the central idea has been to provide a desktop grid computing framework and to prove its viability by testing it in some Scientific Computing and Visualization experiments. We present here QADPZ, an open source system for desktop grid computing that have been developed to meet the above presented needs. QADPZ enables users from a local network or Internet to share their resources. It is a multi-platform, heterogeneous system, where different computing resources from inside an organization can be used. It can be used also for volunteer computing, where the communication infrastructure is the Internet. QADPZ supports the following native operating systems: Linux, Windows, MacOS and Unix variants. The reason behind natively supporting multiple operating systems, and not only one (Unix or Windows, as other systems do), is that often, in real life, this kind of limitation restricts very much the usability of desktop grid computing.

QADPZ provides a flexible object-oriented software framework that makes it easy for programmers to write various applications, and for researchers to address issues such as adaptive parallelism, fault-tolerance, and scalability. The framework supports also the execution of legacy applications, which for different reasons could not be rewritten, and that makes it suitable for other domains as business. It also supports low-level programming languages as C/C++ or high-level language applications, (e.g. Lisp, Python, and Java), and provides the necessary mechanisms to use such applications in a computation. Consequently, users with various backgrounds can benefit from using QADPZ. The flexible object-oriented structure and the modularity allow facile improvements and further extensions to other programming languages.

We have developed a general-purpose runtime and an API to support new kinds of high performance computing applications, and therefore to benefit from the advantages offered by desktop grid computing. This API directly supports the C/C++ programming language. We have shown how distributed computing extends beyond the master-worker paradigm (typical for such systems) and provided QADPZ with an extended API that supports in addition lightweight tasks and parallel computing (using the message passing paradigm - MPI). This extends the range of applications that can be used to already existing MPI based applications - e.g. parallel numerical solvers used in computational science, or parallel visualization algorithms.

Another restriction of existing systems, especially middleware based, is that each resource provider needs to install a runtime module with administrator privileges. This poses some issues regarding data integrity and accessibility on providers computers. The QADPZ system tries to overcome this by allowing the middleware module to run as a non-privileged user, even with restricted access, to the local system.

QADPZ provides also low-level optimizations, such as on-the-fly compression and encryption for communication. The user can choose from different algorithms, depending on the application, improving both the communication overhead imposed by large data transfers and keeping privacy of the data. The system goes further, by providing an experimental, adaptive compression algorithm, which can transparently choose different algorithms to improve the application. QADPZ support two different protocols (UDP and TCP/IP) in order to improve the efficiency of communication.

Free source code allows its flexible installations and modifications based on the particular needs of research projects and institutions. In addition to being a very powerful tool for computationally intensive research, the open sourceness makes QADPZ a flexible educational platform for numerous smallsize student projects in the areas of operating systems, distributed systems, mobile agents, parallel algorithms, etc. Open source software is a natural choice for modern research as well, because it encourages effectively integration, cooperation and boosting of new ideas.

This thesis proposes also an improved conceptual model (based on the master-worker paradigm), which makes contributions in several directions: pull vs. push work-units, pipelining of work-units, more work-units sent at a time, adaptive number of workers, adaptive time-out interval for work-units, and multithreading. We have also demonstrated that the use of desktop grids should not be limited to only master-worker applications, but it can be used for more fine-grained parallel Scientific Computing and Visualization applications, by performing some specific experiments. This thesis makes supplementary contributions: a hierarchical taxonomy of the main existing desktop grids, and an adaptive compression algorithm for remote visualization. QADPZ has also pioneered autonomic computing approach for desktop grids and presents specific self-management features: self-knowledge, self-configuration, selfoptimization and self-healing. It is worth to mention that to the present the QADPZ has over a thousand users who have download it (since July, 2001 when it has been uploaded to sourceforge.net), and many of them use it for their daily tasks (see the appendix). Many of the results have been published or are in course of publishing as it can be seen from the references.

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13

Megler, Veronika Margaret. "Ranked Similarity Search of Scientific Datasets| An Information Retrieval Approach." Thesis, Portland State University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3629331.

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In the past decade, the amount of scientific data collected and generated by scientists has grown dramatically. This growth has intensified an existing problem: in large archives consisting of datasets stored in many files, formats and locations, how can scientists find data relevant to their research interests? We approach this problem in a new way: by adapting Information Retrieval techniques, developed for searching text documents, into the world of (primarily numeric) scientific data. We propose an approach that uses a blend of automated and curated methods to extract metadata from large repositories of scientific data. We then perform searches over this metadata, returning results ranked by similarity to the search criteria. We present a model of this approach, and describe a specific implementation thereof performed at an ocean-observatory data archive and now running in production. Our prototype implements scanners that extract metadata from datasets that contain different kinds of environmental observations, and a search engine with a candidate similarity measure for comparing a set of search terms to the extracted metadata. We evaluate the utility of the prototype by performing two user studies; these studies show that the approach resonates with users, and that our proposed similarity measure performs well when analyzed using standard Information Retrieval evaluation methods. We performed performance tests to explore how continued archive growth will affect our goal of interactive response, developed and applied techniques that mitigate the effects of that growth, and show that the techniques are effective. Lastly, we describe some of the research needed to extend this initial work into a true “Google for data”.

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14

Bailer-Jones, Daniela M. "Scientific models : a cognitive approach with an application in astrophysics." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.284998.

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Gurciullo, S. V. "Influence in economic and political systems : a network scientific approach." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2016. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1532877/.

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Complex social systems strive by exchanging information and resources. By means of the exchange, some actors in the system are able to at least partially determine the behaviour of another actor, thereby influencing it. Both the information exchange process and the degree of actors’ influence are latent, unobserved phenomena in many instances of real-world systems. This thesis presents a framework that intends to unearth the two hidden properties. It does so by introducing a Network Inference and Influence Framework (NIIF), which makes use of graph-based methods to derive a latent network in a social system, and measure the influence of its elements. The framework is applied on three case studies where the latency problem translates into research questions with importance for public policy making. The first case study uses NIIF to estimate the latent network of interdependency across financial institutions, and measures the extent to which a bank may negatively influence the system after an economic distress. In the second case study, a network of information diffusion is extracted from House of Commons parliamentary debates, testing the relation between the resulted metric of influence and speakers’ positions in government. The last case study builds a network of semantic and ideological affinity across UN General Assembly members, showing how graph-based methods can detect global political change. The thesis concludes with a discussion of potential future usages of the framework, as well as ameliorations.

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Plappert, Gary Lee. "Phraseology and epistemology in scientific writing : a corpus-driven approach." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3884/.

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This thesis uses the tools and methods of corpus linguistics to study the process of knowledge encoding in a corpus of texts from the scientific discipline of genetics. It is argued here that the approach taken fits into the tradition of corpus-driven approaches to linguistic questions in that no assumption is made about the linguistic form that this knowledge encoding will take. Instead the study proceeds by identifying a set of keywords using the concept of lexical chains to identify items of terminology. The investigation of these uses the cluster function of WordSmith Tools (Scott 2004) and is qualitative, following Sinclair (1991; 2004) in attempting to develop a picture of the typical linguistic nature of the patterns surrounding these clusters inductively through a process of studying collocation and colligation patterns and identifying phraseology. It is argued here that such an approach is required to discover linguistic aspects of epistemic encoding that have as yet not been identified by those working in the related fields of discourse analysis or corpus linguistics.

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Farkas, Thomas. "A scientific approach to EMI reduction in switching power supplies." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35360.

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Gillrell, Charlotte. "Scientific approach in clinical placement in nursing education -Phenomenographic study." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-25194.

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Gillrell, C. Vetenskapligt förhållningssätt i verksamhetsförlagd-sjuksköterskeutbildning. Fenomenografisk studie. Examensarbete i omvårdnad 15 högskolepoäng. Malmö högskola: Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle, Institutionen för Vårdvetenskap, 2015.Det är en utmaning för sjuksköterskestudenten att identifiera omvårdnadsbehov hos en patient. Aktuell studie har fokuserat på vad den handledande sjuksköterskan uppfattar vara centralt i ett vetenskapligt förhållningssätt i omvårdnadsarbetet och hur fenomenet förmedlas till sjuksköterskestudenter. Resultatet visade variation i syftet med ett vetenskapligt förhållningssätt. En del handledare uppfattade att syftet med fenomenet var att identifiera omvårdnadsbehov, andra menade att syftet var att utföra omvårdnad flexibelt utifrån faktakunskap och vad som var det bästa för patienten. Starkast stöd för målet med ett vetenskapligt förhållningssätt i omvårdnadsarbetet var att ge den bästa och säkraste vården för specifik patient. Fenomenet vetenskapligt förhållningssätt kunde förmedlas om den verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen gavs tid, utrymme och hade strukturerade läraktiviteter samt reflektion i handling, och på handling.
Gillrell, C. Scientific approach in clinical placement in nursing education. A phenomenographic study. Degree project in Care Science 15 credits. Malmö University: Faculty of health and society, Department of Care Science, 2015.It is a challenge for nursing students to identify the care needs of a patient. Current study has focused what the supervising nurse perceived to be the center of a scientific approach in nursing and how the phenomenon was communicated to the nursing students. The results showed variation in the purpose of a scientific approach. Some supervisors perceived that the purpose of the phenomenon was to identify care needs, others meant that the aim was to carry out nursing flexible based on factual knowledge and what was best for the patient. The strongest support for the goal of a scientific approach in nursing work was to provide the best and safest care for a specific patient. The phenomenon of scientific approach could be communicated, in the clinical placement, if given the time and space, and if the student had structured learning activities and reflection in action, and on action.

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LaViola, Joseph J. "Mathematical sketching : a new approach to creating and exploring dynamic illustrations /." View online version; access limited to Brown University users, 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3174634.

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Pereira, Maria Teresa Castelão. "Gaston Bachelard's scientific philosophy : an approach to science and techology studies /." This resource online, 1990. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-03142009-040734/.

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Robinson, L. A. "The scientific basis for an ecosystem approach to managing benthic systems." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.405090.

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Rodríguez, José A. "Genetic editing with CRISPR/Cas9: A scientific, ethical, and pastoral approach." Thesis, Boston College, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108890.

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Thesis advisor: Andrea Vicini
Thesis advisor: Colleen M. Griffith
Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2019
Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry
Discipline: Sacred Theology

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Pereira, Maria Teresa Castelao. "Gaston Bachelard's scientific philosophy: an approach to science and technology studies." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41622.

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The contributions of Gaston Bachelard to the history and philosophy of science are not very well known in the United States. This thesis traces the particular characteristics of Bachelard's epistemology within the context of early twentieth century French culture and science. Bachelard began his career in philosophy comparatively late in life and although his background in mathematics and physics was reflected in his philosophical approach to science, he belonged more to the French intellectual avant-garde than to the traditional philosophies of positivism and pragmatism defended by the Third Republic. Bachelard's writings represent an important contribution to a new vocabulary in epistemology, and they influenced scholars such as Georges Canguilhen, Alexandre Koyré, Louis Althusser and Michel Foucault. His works definitely deserve wider exposure, as they easily connect with problems that American scholars pursue today in Science Studies.
Master of Science

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Kuperman, Aubrey. "Scientific motherhood: a positivist approach to patriarchy in fin-de-siècle Argentina." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2013. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/865.

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In late nineteenth and early twentieth century Argentina underwent large-scale immigration and fast-paced urban changes commonly associated with the coming of modernity. These changes led to elite fears of potential social instability. They turned to the French philosophy of Positivism, which advocated the view that all social problems could be systematically solved through scientific observation in order to "civilize" the Argentine nation. As a result, the government implemented numerous policies that catered to upholding traditional family structures. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the ways in which these policies affected women of different social classes. In developing my arguments, I use secondary literature from prominent scholars in Argentine history, gender studies, and intellectual history, as well as primary sources, including essays written by prominent officials and elite women, government reports, laws and penal codes. This thesis examines the impact of scientific motherhood on Argentine society. Elite men and women viewed their role in society as that of fathers and mothers to the poor and the working classes. This study permits a broader understanding of the impact of Positivism and European influence on Argentine society and policymaking.
B.A.
Bachelors
Arts and Humanities
History

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Du, Preez Johan Joubert. "Call centre design, operation and optimisation : a structured and scientific based approach." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/827.

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Neto, Nestor Brandão. "Knowledge management: an approach of technical & scientific committee in airspace research center." Universidade de Taubaté, 2002. http://www.bdtd.unitau.br/tedesimplificado/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=63.

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Knowledge is the center of operation in modern organizations. This understanding leads them to clearly recognize that their intellectual capital is the essential source of competitive advantage. Organization integration is the todays tendency, which calls for the need to understand the organization as a complete system, implementing new concepts and approaches in an adaptive way to their organizational reality. Knowledge management, in this new approach, incorporates all of these aspects becoming a complex job, which must be fully studied to be brought into the organization routine. This document analyses the technical & scientific committees as an able instrument to contribute to the easiness of group activities in highly complex research organization as the Aerospace Technological Center (CTA) here taken as a case study. Several factors organizational, cultural and behavior have influence when implementing this management tool and need to be analyzed to guarantee a successful way of implementation. The objective of this research is to identify favorable and unfavorable aspects of technical & scientific committees in CTA. These aspects must not be considered separately. To implement these committees successfully the interrelationship of all aspects must be analyzed in a systemic view of the organization. It was possible to verify as well in this research that the committees are considered very important for the Aerospace Technologic al Center activities.
O conhecimento é o centro de operação das organizações, na atualidade. Este entendimento leva as organizações a reconhecerem explicitamente que o seu capital intelectual é fonte essencial de vantagem competitiva. A tendência atual é a de integração da organização, o que cria a necessidade de entendê-la como um todo sistêmico, implementando os novos conceitos e abordagens de forma adaptativa à realidade organizacional. A gestão do conhecimento, nessa nova abordagem, incorpora todos esses aspectos, tornando-se uma tarefa complexa que deve ser amplamente estudada para ser inserida na rotina da organização. Neste trabalho são abordados os comitês técnico-científicos, um instrumento julgado capaz de contribuir para a criação de um contexto de facilitação das atividades em grupo em organizações complexas de ensino e/ou pesquisa, tal como o Centro Técnico Aeroespacial, aqui tomado como estudo de caso. Diversos fatores organizacionais, culturais e comportamentais influenciam a implantação desse instrumento gerencial e necessitam ser analisados, a fim de se ter uma sistemática de implantação que tenha êxito. O objetivo da pesquisa foi a identificação de aspectos favoráveis e desfavoráveis à implantação dos comitês técnico-científicos no Centro. Esses fatores não devem ser considerados isoladamente. Para o sucesso da implantação dos comitês, o inter-relacionamento desses fatores deve ser analisado, contemplando uma visão sistêmica da organização. Pôde-se verificar também, nesta pesquisa, que os comitês são considerados importantes para as atividades do Centro Técnico Aeroespacial.

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Al-Shanbari, Humod Ahmed. "The scientific and technical information system in Saudi higher education : a systems approach." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1998. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/32368.

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Continuing change in the provision of, and access to, scientific and technical information has stimulated the interest of researchers to study current information provision and usage in different work environments. The aim of this thesis is to study the current operation of the STI system in the Saudi higher education environment. A systems approach was adopted in order to have a holistic view of the requirements of this study. Since the systems approach is a concept, rather than a specific methodology, a number of framework research models that take the systems approach into consideration were developed to guide the investigation of both the information systems and the users.

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Shamseer, Larissa. ""Predatory" Journals: An Evidence-Based Approach To Characterizing Them and Considering Where Research Ought to Be Published." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/41858.

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Seemingly unscrupulous entities, referred to as “predatory” journals, have appeared in scholarly publishing over the past decade. Predatory journals have been characterized as using questionable publishing practices and consequently, as publishing questionable research. At the outset of this thesis, such assertions were based on little evidence, making it difficult to understand how to identify a predatory journal and judge the extent of the potential problem they present. This thesis sought to: (1) determine how the apparent operations of predatory journals differ from their presumed legitimate counterparts; (2) to characterize the epidemiology and reporting of biomedical research published in predatory journals; and (3) to determine what, if any, guidance health research funders provide about selecting journals in which to publish funded research. Predatory journals appear to be distinct from presumed legitimate journals in several ways. For example, they lack descriptions of their editorial processes, ethical policies, and content preservation arrangements more often than presumed legitimate journals. Researchers, globally, have published clinical and preclinical studies reporting on millions of research subjects in predatory journals. Such content is poorly reported against established reporting guidelines; some of it originates from high profile institutions and is supported by well-known biomedical research funders. Most major funders propose journal publication as one way of achieving open access, yet few provide guidance on how to select a journal for this purpose. These thesis findings suggest that some features encountered on journals’ websites may signal potentially questionable journal practices. These features should be further evaluated to determine their accuracy in detecting predatory journals. Additionally, researchers may be sending research to predatory journals which may be of low quality, low priority, or unacceptable in legitimate journals. This is problematic because genuine research efforts/participant contributions may go undetected and never contribute to future knowledge generation. Future research ought to be done to determine why and how researchers, globally, choose where to publish. Research funders ought to agree on guidance and policies to ensure funded research can be found by others and is published in journals indicating basic standards for facilitating this.

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Zamka, Ghada Ibrahim. "A cognitive approach to how children understand the concept of death as scientific knowledge." Thesis, University of Hull, 2016. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:14403.

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This study focuses on children’s cognitive understanding of the concept of death from a scientific perspective. The investigation is conducted through the sub-concepts of understanding death - irreversibility, inevitability, universality and non-functionality – derived principally from the work of Jean Piaget. I propose within this study that children’s understanding of these subconcepts is mirrored by their understanding of astronomy as the concept of death includes the idea of hidden phenomena, disappearing, existence, and non-existence, alternation or seriation (death after life) and time. Whilst these concepts are part of other sciences such as physics, cosmology and mathematics, these particular phenomena are only found in the scientific field of astronomy. Specifically, therefore, instead of investigating their understanding of the concept of death through the knowledge of cessation, it is an investigation of their knowledge of the concept of time. The study thus includes the concept of time within the sub-concepts of death to judge the children’s understanding of death. The study employs qualitative methods, uses the interpretive paradigm, and relies on investigating the children’s knowledge of astronomy in order to find out how they construct their understanding. This is related to the common cognitive thinking that children do in their daily life with the phenomena of astronomy. To support this investigation, two common children’s stories are used as tools of the study, in order to probe their cognitive thinking. The first story focuses on the concept of death. The second story focuses on the knowledge of astronomy. The sample includes 21 children from ages 4 to 9 years. The results show that children have a schema of cognitive thinking based on inferences and scientific knowledge that enables them to understand the concept of death beginning at age four. They are able to make logical inferences inductively and deductively. They show that they have developed cognitive concepts, which allows them to classify scientific from non-scientific knowledge. Their understanding of the concept of time and the phenomena of astronomy support them in understanding that death is inevitable, universal, irreversible and non-functional. Children in this sample reflect that they understand non-functionality as they relate it to the concepts of non-existence, invisibility and disappearance from the environment. This study finds that educational intervention can confirm these insights. Inductive and deductive strategies can be used when dealing with the concept of death. The study also sheds light on children’s knowledge of astronomy as a way to acquaint children with the concept of death as scientific knowledge.

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Estiarte, Núria. "Alternaria spp. and their mycotoxins in tomatoes. A scientific approach from field to food industry." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Lleida, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/390957.

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Arran de la publicació del document científic de l’EFSA titulat “Opinió científica sobre el risc existent per animals i la salut pública en relació a la presència de toxines d’Alternaria en productes alimentaris i pinsos” va sorgir la idea de desenvolupar aquesta Tesi Doctoral. En primer lloc, es van escollir dues empreses alimentàries de la província de Lleida i es va iniciar la recol•lecta de mostres de tomata durant dues campanyes per tal de determinar la presència d’espècies viables d’Alternaria mitjançant la tècnica PMA-qPCR i, a la vegada, analitzar la presència de dues micotoxines d’Alternaria (AOH i AME). En segon lloc, es van estudiar dos components de la família de proteïnes Velvet (VeA i LaeA) i, paral•lement, es va indagar en el metabolisme de les poliamines en Alternaria alternata amb l’objectiu de trobar noves diana útils per al disseny de nous fungicides. El següent pas dut a terme, ja en un context de postcollita, va ser analitzar els efectes de l’1-metilciclopropè en A. alternata infectant tomates en relació al creixement fúngic i a la producció d’AOH i AME. Finalment, es va estudiar l’estabilitat de l’AOH i l’AME durant el procés industrial de productes derivats de tomata
Fue a partir de la publicación científica de la EFSA “Opinión científica sobre el riesgo existente para animales y la salud pública en relación a la presencia de toxinas de Alternaria en productos alimentarios y piensos” que surgió la idea de desarrollar esta Tesis Doctoral. En primer lugar, se escogieron dos industrias alimentarias de la provincia de Lleida y se inició la recolecta de muestres de tomate durante dos campañas con el objetivo de determinar la presencia de especies viables de Alternaria mediante la técnica PMA-qPCR y, a su vez, se analizó la presencia de dos micotoxinas de Alternaria (AOH y AME). En segundo lugar, se estudiaron dos componentes de la familia de proteínas Velvet (VeA y LaeA) y, paralelamente, se indagó en el metabolismo de les poliaminas en Alternaria alternata con el objetivo de encontrar nuevas diana útiles para el diseño de nuevos fungicidas. El segundo lugar, se analizaron los efectos del 1-metilciclopropeno en A. alternata infectando tomates en relación al crecimiento fúngico y a la producción de AOH y AME. Finalmente, se estudió la estabilidad de AOH y AME durante el proceso industrial de productos derivados de tomate
As a result of the publication of the EFSA’S scientific report, entitled “Scientific opinion on the risks for animal and public health related to the presence of Alternaria toxins in feed and food”, arose the idea of developing this Doctoral Thesis. The first steps were to assess the presence of viable Alternaria spp. using the PMA-qPCR technique and, additionally, analyze the occurrence of two Alternaria mycotoxins (AOH and AME). A second approach to the problem was to focus the study in analyzing two components of the Velvet family (VeA and LaeA) and, at the same time, the polyamine metabolism in order to find new targets useful to design new fungicides. Secondly, in a postharvest context, effects of 1-methylcyclopropene were analyzed on A. alternata infecting tomatoes in relation to fungal growth and mycotoxin production. Finally, the stability of AOH and AME along the industrial process of tomato derivate products was studied

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Morton, A. Leland. "Making tt intelligible an historical approach to understanding intelligibility in the assessment of scientific theories /." Cincinnati, Ohio : University of Cincinnati, 2006. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=ucin1148312077.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2006.
Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Sept. 15, 2006). Includes abstract. Keywords: Intelligibility; Understanding; Explanation; Articulation; Theory Assessment; Newton; Leibniz; Atrraction. Includes bibliographical references.

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Parveen, Daraksha [Verfasser], and Michael [Akademischer Betreuer] Strube. "A Graph-Based Approach for the Summarization of Scientific Articles / Daraksha Parveen ; Betreuer: Michael Strube." Heidelberg : Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1206347848/34.

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Donaldson, Andrea. "Rehabilitation release of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus hilgerti) in south coast Kenya : a scientific approach." Thesis, Durham University, 2017. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12295/.

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Translocation is a tool for conserving animals and their environment. It is a complex process that involves detailed planning and preparation. The IUCN/SSC/RSG specifies the need for scientific employment in all animal translocation programmes pre-, during- and post-release. In this thesis, I aimed to follow and employ guidelines as detailed by IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group for a rehabilitation release of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus hilgerti) in Kenya. Additionally, I aimed to provide measures of post-release success, using verifiable indicators and criteria against which the release could be quantified. This was achieved by comparing biological and behavioural measures of a release vervet group with indigenous vervet control groups inhabiting the same anthropogenically modified landscape, within the same time period. Data were collected on two habituated control groups of vervet monkeys over a 24-month observation period inhabiting an anthropogenically modified habitat in Kenya. In addition, data were collected over a 20-month pre- and post-release monitoring period on a group of released vervet monkeys, subjected to a rehabilitation release. Datasets included habitat assessments, behavioural ecology, survivorship and social networks. The control data were used to inform release site selection and provided comparable datasets against which the post-release monitoring data could be compared to assess release success. The analysis of the release site selection process indicated that habitat assessments do not provide sufficient detail to be the only selection tool and need to be conducted alongside a minimum one-year food availability study. The behavioural ecology of the control vervet groups showed trends representative of other vervet groups living in anthropogenically modified habitat. Using the control groups behavioural ecology as a unique set of indicators and criteria against which the release group could be monitored, proved to be invaluable. The release was deemed successful due to Release groups survivorship, activity budgets and general feeding ecology falling within the expected ranges set by the control groups. Social network analysis revealed that extended periods of captivity, where new infant individuals are introduced over time, could benefit group cohesion and ultimately post-release survival. The findings of the study indicate that wild-born, rehabilitated vervet monkeys can be successfully returned into the wild, in close proximity to wild conspecifics. It is hoped that future translocations will follow a similar process of comparing biological and behavioural measures between indigenous control groups and newly released groups. Future translocations can benefit from the knowledge gained during this rehabilitation release, and each newly monitored and reported translocation will add vital information to the developing primate translocation model.

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Goldman, Andrew Jacob. "The cognition of musical improvisation : the value and experimental implementation of a new scientific approach." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.709207.

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McNicholas, Chris. "A scientific approach to improvement : the use of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles in healthcare." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/43360.

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This thesis contributes further understanding on how to pursue improvements in healthcare and informs the academic growth of improvement science. Derived from manufacturing industries, QI methods are common approaches to structure the process of making improvements in healthcare, however, questions over their scientific legitimacy and application have arisen due to their varied effectiveness. A review of how QI methods are associated with science identifies the prominent theoretical role of QI methods in facilitating change and improvement by supporting the local application of the scientific method. The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle method is identified as playing a central role in this and a theoretical framework is developed to assess the use of the method in published and local team's accounts. This demonstrates that the method is commonly not used with high fidelity; a key novel addition to the research literature. Studies are presented to further understand the reality of PDSA cycle use. These provide a novel identification and empirically grounded description of the social dimensions of applying the PDSA cycle method including negotiating through a single PDSA cycle and navigating the iteration and scale up of change and complexity of learning. A novel association between understanding, intentions and process of applying the PDSA cycle method and the fidelity of the methods use is also presented as well as the views of teams using the method which demonstrate different conceptual views of the PDSA cycle method and the wider social benefits of using the method. Overall, this thesis provides clarity in regards to the technical and social elements of PDSA cycle use. It demonstrates research approaches to open the 'black box' of PDSA cycle use and investigate the use of QI methods more widely. It calls for continued exploration of applying science to improve the quality of healthcare for patients.

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MORTON, A. LELAND. "MAKING IT INTELLIGIBLE: AN HISTORICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING INTELLIGIBILITY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF SCIENTIFIC THEORIES." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1148312077.

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Kvarnström, Josefin. "Consistency and heritability of personality in red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) : Applying scientific research methods when teaching biology." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Biologi, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-94246.

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Observations of consistency in behavioural responses in animals suggest that animals have personality, a term previously mainly used when describing humans. The expression of differences in personality, similar to expression of variation in behaviour, is in principle dependent on genetic background, environmental factors and experiences. Therefore, by estimating heritability one can determine to which extent the genes affect the phenotypic expression of behaviour. This has rarely been done for variation in animal personality. The aim of the present study was therefore to estimate the consistency and heritability of personality traits in red junglefowl chicks (Gallus gallus). Consistency of behaviours within individuals (n=100) was determined from their responses to repeated novel arena tests, novel object tests and tonic immobility tests. A comparison between the offspring and the parent generation, both with known personalities, through a linear regression enabled me to estimate heritability of behavioural responses in these birds. The results showed a consistency in exploratory, boldness, risk-taking behaviour, and fearfulness in red junglefowl. Additionally, heritability estimates for exploratory, risk-taking and foraging behaviours were found. Taken together, this shows that in the red junglefowl, similar to in other species, personality have both a heritable and an environmental component. An important aim in biology education is the scientific approach, where hypothesis, experimentation, processing results and discussing the results are in focus. Learning and gaining knowledge through the process is a key factor, and will hopefully increase the interest in science among Swedish pupils.

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Gössling, Andreas [Verfasser], Martin [Akademischer Betreuer] Wollschlaeger, and Dimitris [Akademischer Betreuer] Kiritsis. "Device Information Modeling in Automation - A Computer-Scientific Approach / Andreas Gössling. Gutachter: Martin Wollschlaeger ; Dimitris Kiritsis." Dresden : Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2014. http://d-nb.info/1068445777/34.

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Paar-Jakli, Gabriella. "Knowledge Sharing and Networking in Transatlantic Relations: A Network Analytical Approach to Scientific and Technological Cooperation." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1291074262.

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Zetterholm, Magnus. "The formation of Christianity in Antioch : a social-scientific approach to the separation between Judaism and Christianity /." London : Routledge, 2003. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39040379j.

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Martín-Martín, Pedro. "The rhetoric of the abstract in English and Spanish scientific discourse : a cross-cultural genre-analytic approach /." Bern : P. Lang, 2005. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb400649872.

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Shawa, Remmy Malama. "Conceptualising the right to enjoy benefits of scientific progress and exploring its potential to enhance access to effective diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa." Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/11427/31747.

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The lack of access to effective diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) remains a persistent global challenge. Human rights arguments for access to treatment mostly focus on the right to health. However, a key challenge in access to effective diagnosis and treatment is the glaring absence of scientific research in neglected diseases such as TB. This thesis sets out to elaborate the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and explore its potential to increase scientific research in DR-TB and consequently enhance access to effective diagnosis and treatment in South Africa. This research project was conducted using three interrelated sub-studies; a legal analysis sub-study which examines the current conceptualisation of the REBSP in international law; a policy analysis sub-study which interrogates South Africa’s legal and policy efforts towards the realisation of the REBSP and access to diagnosis and treatment for DR-TB; and a qualitative sub-study which explores the South African context regarding research and development (R&D) in general, and in DR-TB in particular. The qualitative sub-study included 17 stakeholders who are active in TB R&D, advocacy and policy work, from human rights and research institutions, government agencies, civil society organisations, and donor agencies. This thesis finds that the REBSP essentially ensures two things, namely the production of science and access to the benefits of scientific progress. However, most countries including South Africa have systems, policies and resources aimed at advancing the production of science but lack similar systems, policies and resources to purposely ensure the enjoyment of the benefits from scientific progress. Internationally, there is no clear guidance on the interpretation of the REBSP, making it difficult for states to domesticate it in their national policies and framework laws. A General Comment by a UN human rights monitoring body is therefore urgently needed to secure global consensus on the interpretation of the REBSP. In the meanwhile, South Africa can still draw inspiration for the REBSP and together with the right to health, use it to advance access to DR-TB diagnosis and treatment alongside many other interventions. To enable better access to effective diagnosis and treatment of DR-TB, this thesis recommends that South Africa i) develops systems that would make scientific progress and results accessible, and affordable; ii) removes system and regulatory barriers that hinder the conduct of research or that delay registration of new drugs; iii) monitors and regulates the conduct of third parties and prevent them from exploiting communities; iv) encourages pharmaceutical companies to provide free access to successful treatment and tools in communities where trials are conducted; and v) mobilises financial and technical resources and allocates them to DR-TB researchfrom drug discovery through to implementation science.

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Isouard, Godfrey, of Western Sydney Macarthur University, and Faculty of Health. "A total quality management approach to appropriate clinical laboratory test utilisation in acute myocardial infarction." THESIS_FH_XXX_Isourd_G.xml, 1996. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/20.

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The first goal of this investigation was to undertake a non-equivalent quasi-experimental design to test the effect of a total Quality management (TQM) approach to improve the appropriateness of clinical laboratory test utilisation in the management of early acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study was conducted at 2 public hospitals in Sydney over a 30 month period, and in 2 stages- pre and post TQM intervention. Using specifically a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) FOCUS-PDCA model, a multidisciplinary team was empowered to make appropriate changes in order to improve a variety of problem areas that affected the total pathology service. Improvement was directed at the total system of pathology testing, not just test ordering. It was observed that the introduction of a TQM environment had provided a more committed, integrated and motivated clinical care effort towards improving the appropriateness of test ordering. Such team efforts were accompanied by demonstrated customer satisfaction at various aspects of the laboratory service and further benefits to patient care. Patient care benefited greatly from the highly significant changes towards more appropriate timing of blood collections for cardiac enzyme testing. Other improvements included overall improvements to the turnaround time of test results, reductions in specimen delivery delays, more appropriate use of clinical laboratory tests, a streamlined distribution of printed reports and marked improvements in communication between staff involved in the process of test ordering. Of major importance was the finding that CQI strategies resulted in substantial savings of 23.0% of the overall cost of pathology services. Adoption of the TQM approach appears to be a strategy worthy of exploration by laboratory directors and health administrators interested in improving patient care while at the same time reducing expenditure.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Beckmann, Astrid. "Learning Mathematics through Scientific Contents and Methods." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-79411.

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The basic idea of this paper is to outline a cross-curricular approach between mathematics and science. The aim is to close the often perceived gap between formal maths and authentic experience and to increase the students’ versatility in the use of mathematical terms. Students are to experience maths as logical, interesting and relevant through extra-mathematical references. Concrete physical or biological correlations may initiate mathematical activities, and mathematical terms are to be understood in logical contexts. Examples: physical experiments can lead to a comprehensive understanding of the concept of functions and of the intersection of medians in triangles. Biological topics can lead to the concepts of similarity and proportion as well as to the construction of pie charts. In the European ScienceMath Project a variety of teaching modules was developed and tested in secondary schools.

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Martinez, Joanne, and Joanne Martinez. "Concept space approach to addressing the vocabulary problem in scientific information retrieval: an experiment on the worm community system." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/557239.

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Elnasser, Amal. "The analysis of scientific report writing by Arabic speaking L2 writers : some aspects of a systemic functional approach, with proposals for an interactive approach to course design." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21226.

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This thesis covers three main areas. The first part deals with the nature and depth of various research methods used in exploring ways of learning, assessing and teaching writing in English, and particularly the writing of English as a foreign language (EFL). The second part of this thesis argues for and demonstrates the usefulness of applying approaches derived from systematic functional linguistics to the teaching and assessment of scientific reports written in English by students studying science, medicine, engineering, and for whom English is a foreign language. This is done through the presentation of practical analyses of the recurrent problematic areas shown in the writing of Arab students, and especially students at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) (from whose work data has been drawn). These problems cover especially the areas of reference, conjunctions, collocation, Theme/Rheme and sentence relations. Possible reformulations of problematic texts are regularly suggested as part of the analysis. The third part of this thesis presents a description of a course design for the teaching of writing scientific research, supported by examples and various possible methodologies that can offer some help for both learners and teachers of English. The thesis concludes with a summary and suggestions for further research that can be carried forward in further investigations of the teaching of research writing to Arabic-speaking students.

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Cloete, Bronwyn Claudia. "An approach to the improvement of the Selenium analysis process of the Western Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/1218.

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Thesis (MTech(Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011
Reliable analytical results represent the pinnacle assessment of the quality of an analytical laboratory. Variability associated with the analytical method, or process known as selenium analysis which is being used at Western Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory (WC PVL), presents a critical quality problem. This is due to the narrow margin of safety between toxic and deficient doses for animal health. In addition, control features of this selenium process, were found to be limited. Limited control features represent ‘process waste’. To overcome the adverse impact of variation and limited control, steps towards process improvement present the best solution.The primary research objective of the research study is: “To establish an alternative accurate and safer digestion procedure within the ‘selenium analysis process, in order to attain quality improvement of the process”.The scientific method was employed to accomplish the research objective. The research design and methodology selected was based on the scientific PDCA cycle, and is known as Lean Six Sigma. A research hypothesis was set as H0 : Variation in process, time and control procedures have a direct impact on the disparity in selenium testing results. Research was able to test the hypothesis using scientific methodology which was empirical, inductive and deductive, systematic, relied on data and was fact based.Implementation of an alternative, more reliable and safer selenium analysis process is believed to result in reduced risks associated to the digestion procedure, while optimising selenium yield and ultimately translating into improved quality in terms of accuracy and precision, thus confidence in results.

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George, Carol Charlene. "Openness and the governance of human stem cell lines : a conceptual approach." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/7807.

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My research examines the extent to which features of ‘openness’ might usefully contribute to mechanisms of governance of human stem cell lines, with a view to the production of therapeutic stem cell treatments for the provision of health benefits. The impetus for the project is the UK Stem Cell Bank, a national repository for stem cell lines and the focal point of a unique set of publicly supported, non-statutory arrangements for the informal (but mandatory) oversight of human embryonic stem cell lines (hESCs) in the UK. The sharing of stem cells through this mechanism promotes public confidence in embryo and stem cell research, and supports research by making (ethically-sourced and quality-controlled) human stem cell lines widely available to researchers, but the structure and functions of the Bank also impose constraints on the imminent commercial development and manufacture of stem cell therapies for human application. My thesis examines the role of ‘openness’ in systems of governance designed to facilitate not just research but the whole trajectory of stem cell technology, from research to production and delivery of clinical treatments. What is openness and what function does it have in purposive attempts to design mechanisms that will advance stem cell technology? The bulk of my thesis maps out the conceptual foundations upon which systems of governance for the production of stem cell therapies may be grounded. It does not address the ethical and social debate surrounding embryo research and the embryonic derivation of stem cell lines, which are legally permissible in the UK. In Part I, I frame the problem of governance of ongoing use of stem cell lines as part of a larger policy endeavour related to the provision of public goods. Secondly, I propose a conception of reflexive governance that is capable of facilitation of technology in a multi-faceted heterogeneous environment. Part II explores traditional narratives of openness in science and technology, and how they might be reconceived in the context of modern scientific technology. In Part III, I apply my conception of facilitative governance to collective strategies or ‘commons’ approaches to facilitative governance. I then identify its applicability for the present UK system governing stem cell lines, and for the proposition of alternative structures and processes that might be better able to achieve the policy goal of provision of health benefits through delivery of therapeutic stem cell treatments.

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Roubert, Francois. "Intensely distributed nanoscience : co-ordinating scientific work in a large multi-sited cross-disciplinary nanomedical project." Thesis, Brunel University, 2017. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/16868.

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This thesis is concerned with the study of biomedical scientific research work that is intensely distributed, i.e. socially distributed across multiple institutions, sites, and disciplines. Specifically, this PhD probes the ways in which scientists co-operating on multi-sited crossdisciplinary projects, design, use and maintain information-based resources to conduct and coordinate their experimental activities. The research focuses on the roles of information artefacts, i.e. the tools, media and devices used to store, track, display, and retrieve information in paper or electronic format, in helping the scientists integrate their activities to achieve concerted action. To examine how scientists in globally distributed settings organise and co-ordinate their scientific work using information artefacts, a multi-method multi-sited study informed by different ethnographic perspectives was conducted focused on a large European crossdisciplinary translational research project in nanodiagnostics. Situated interviews with project scientists, participant observations and participatory learning exercises were designed and deployed. From the data analysis, several abstractions were developed to represent how the joined utilisations of key information artefacts support the co-ordination of experimental activities. Subsequently, a framework was developed to highlight key interactional strategies that need to be managed by experimenters when using artefacts to organise their work cooperatively. This framework was then used as a guiding device to identify innovative ways to design future digital interactive systems to support the co-ordination of intensely distributed scientific work. From this study, several key findings came to light. We identify the role of the experimental protocol acts as a co-ordinative map that is co-designed dynamically to disseminate various instantiations of experimental executions across sites. We have also shed light on the ways the protocol, the lab book and the material log are used jointly to support the articulation of scientific work. The protocol and the lab book are used both locally and across co-operating sites to support four repeatability and reproducibility levels that are key to experimental validation. The use of the local protocol / lab book dyads at each site is further integrated with that of a centralised material log artefact to enable a system of exchange of scientific content (e.g. experimental processes, intermediate results and observations) and experimental materials (both physical materials and key information). We have found that this integration into a co-ordinative cluster supports awareness and the articulation of experimental activities both locally and across remote labs. From this understanding, we have derived several sensitising tensions to frame the strategies that scientific practitioners need to manage when designing their multi-sited experimental work and technologists should consider when designing systems to support them: (1) formalisation / flexibility; (2) articulability / local appropriateness; (3) scrutiny / tinkering; (4) accountability / applicability; (5) traceability / improvisation and (6) lastingness / immediacy. Lastly, based on these tensions, we have suggested a number of implications for the design of interactive information artefacts that can help manage both local and multi-sited co-ordination in intensely distributed scientific projects.

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Tirukkovalur, Sravya. "A Global Address Space Approach to Automated Data Management for Parallel Quantum Monte Carlo Applications." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1307464186.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Scientific approach'

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